Feb. 28, 2014

Launching of USS Indiana (BB 1), the Navy's first battleship

NOTE: This blog posits that USS Indiana (BB 1) was the U.S. Navy's first battleship. Why? The hull number, for one thing - BB 1. There's also the fact that the ships after Indiana were called Indiana-class battleships. Also, based on the Naming of Ships Act of 1819, Indiana was a "first class" battleship based on her 42 guns. Texas was a

Jan. 3, 2014

Return of USS HOUSTON Artifacts to NHHC

Last week, the Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) received a trumpet and ceramic cup and saucer from World War II cruiser USS HOUSTON. The artifacts were returned to the US Naval Attache in Canberra, Australia after their unsanctioned removal from the wreck site and made a journey of more than 10,000 miles

Dec. 24, 2013

Holiday season celebrated by service members at home and abroad

For military personnel deployed in wartime, the arrival of the holiday season brings a mixture of emotions. The sense of normalcy that comes with being home with family is absent, the void filled by brethren in uniform, bonds forged between them in combat in some ways closer than any shared with loved ones. They celebrate a season in which mankind

Dec. 9, 2013

Honoring Shipmates Past and Present: Laying a Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns on Pearl Harbor Day

Dec. 7, 2013 was a bitingly cold day in Northern Virginia, made all the more so by having unseasonable warm days the few days before it. But as two Seaman made their way along the pathways of Arlington National Cemetery to the Tomb of the Unknowns, their attention was less on their cold hands and feet and more on the ceremony less than an hour

Nov. 26, 2013

Battle of Midway lecture offers fascinating detail into US Navy victory

SBD "Dauntless" dive bombers from USS Hornet (CV-8) approaching the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma to make the third set of attacks on her, during the early afternoon of 6 June 1942. Mikuma had been hit earlier by strikes from Hornet and USS E...

Nov. 25, 2013

Battle of Cape St. George proved US's strength on the sea

Capt. Arleigh A. Burke, commander of Destroyer Squadron 23, reading on the starboard bridge wing of his flagship, USS Charles Ausburne (DD 570), during operations in the Solomons in 1943-44. Note the squadron's "Little Beaver" insignia on the side of the bridge. Also note impressive scoreboard painted on the side of the directly over the bridge. US

Nov. 24, 2013

Periscope photography by submarines was vital for Battle of Tarawa

This photo shows USS Nautilus (SS-168) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Calif., April 15,1942, following modernization. Note her very heavy deck armament of two 6"/53 guns; also embrasure in her upper hull side, just in front of the forward gun, for newly-installed topside torpedo tubes. At least two torpedoes are on deck above this location,

Nov. 18, 2013

Remember the Maine, A First-of-its-Kind Warship

The Navy has a long, proud history of leading in energy innovation and change, according to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. "From sail to coal to oil to nuclear and now to alternative fuels, the Navy has led the way," he said during a speech Sept. 11, 2013, to the National Defense University. Such was the case 123 years ago today, Nov. 18, 2013,

June 17, 2013

U.S. Navy recipients of the Medal of Honor: Korean War

Tomorrow, the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, dedicates a Korean War display in the Pentagon. In honor of those who served and gave their life protecting freedom, today we remember the Navy Medal of Honor recipients for actions during the Korean conflict: Hospital Corpsman Third Class Edward C. Benfold; Hospital Corpsman Third Class William R.

June 14, 2013

A New Weapon in the Industrial Age: Howell Torpedo

In 1883 the United States Navy held a public contest to find new design concepts for torpedoes. After reviewing several proposals, the Navy Torpedo Board selected a design submitted by the head of the Department of Astronomy and Navigation for the U.S. Naval Academy, Lieutenant Commander John A. Howell. The Howell torpedo was initially conceived in