Sailor W.R. Martin points out details of the Japanese trophy flags painted on the cruiser's pilothouse as a scoreboard of enemy ships claimed sunk in the Battle of Cape Esperance, 11-12 October 1942. The six Japanese ships (two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and three destroyers) represented in this scoreboard greatly overstates the actual enemy losses, which were one heavy cruiser (Furutaka) and one destroyer (Fubuki) sunk and one heavy cruiser (Aoba) badly damaged. This overclaiming was typical of contemporary night surface actions. Photographed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon after Boise arrived there for battle damage repairs in November 1942. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (NHHC 80-G-36296)

Oct. 5, 2022

Variation on a Theme: Groping Blindly in the Dark at Savo Island and Cape Esperance

Low-hanging clouds drifted listlessly across a moonless sky on a tropical midsummer night. The occasional thunderclap stirred the silence and temporarily illuminated the otherwise calm seas that enveloped the Solomon Islands. In the months following the initial July 1942 occupation of Guadalcanal by Japanese forces, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)

Sept. 20, 2022

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral James Granville Storms III, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral James Granville Storms III, U.S. Navy (Retired), on 19 July 2022 at age 90. Rear Admiral Storms entered the Naval Reserve in September 1951 and served as a surface warfare officer until his retirement in September 1986 as Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Surface Warfare

Sept. 20, 2022

In Memoriam: Vice Admiral Albert Joseph Herberger, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Vice Admiral Albert Joseph Herberger, U.S. Navy (Retired), on 26 August 2022 at age 91. Vice Admiral Herberger was commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve in February 1955 and served as a surface warfare officer until his retirement in April 1990 as deputy commander-in-chief/chief of staff for

“Navy-Yard.” broadside distributed by Constitution’s constructor George Claghorn two days before the frigate’s scheduled launch. The New England Magazine

Sept. 19, 2022

“…she will be one of the finest vessels that ever floated” – The First Attempts to Launch USS Constitution – Part I

Editor’s Note: On May 10, 2022, Naval History and Heritage Command began commemorating the 225th anniversary of the launch of the first of the U.S. Navy’s six frigates (United States), which began the new United States Navy. The launch of the frigates is a significant moment in both U.S. Navy and American history, and the U.S. Navy’s earliest

Chief of Naval Operations Lieutenant Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt and Mouza Zumwalt (right) attend a luncheon with Commandant of the Marine Corps General Leonard Chapman and Emily Champan (left).

Sept. 16, 2022

When Bud Met Mouza: The Zumwalts' Whirlwind Romance and Lifelong Love

Mouza Coutelais-du-Roche married Lieutenant Elmo Zumwalt Jr. after a three-week whirlwind romance in Shanghai. The challenges she faced adapting to both a new country and life as a Navy spouse inspired her lifelong mission to support Navy families.

USS Constellation by RADM John W. Schmidt. Courtesy Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Jemison

Sept. 2, 2022

“A Better Launch I Never Saw”: The Creation of the Frigate Constellation

Editor’s Note: On May 10, 2022, Naval History and Heritage Command began commemorating the 225th anniversary of the launch of the first of the U.S. Navy’s six frigates (United States), which began the new United States Navy.  The launch of the frigates is a significant moment in both U.S. Navy and American history, and he U.S. Navy’s earliest

The USS NEWPORT NEWS (CA-148) fires its big 8-inch/55 caliber gun to provide support for Allied Forces fighting the ground war in Vietnam just south of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) during Operation Sea Dragon, October 1967.

Aug. 24, 2022

“Shoot ‘Em Up”: Operation Lion’s Den, 27 August 1972

“Another experience as Command of Seventh Fleet was the fact that the Joint Chiefs of Staff, probably due to some urging by our admirals back in Washington, decided that this was a great opportunity to show the capabilities of our ships to provide gunfire support.” Leaning back against his chair with the first button of his finely-pressed collared

Aug. 17, 2022

In Memoriam: World War II Ace Commander Dean S. “Diz” Laird, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Navy World War II ace Commander Dean S. “Diz” Laird, U.S. Navy (Retired), on 9 August 2022 at age 101. Diz Laird entered the U.S. Navy in January 1942 and served as a naval aviator until his retirement in 1971 as the executive officer of Aviation Air Transportation Ferry Squadron THREE TWO

USS Constitution at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, c. 1875. The exterior hull planking above the waterline has been removed exposing the “bed of timber” that was the closely spaced live oak frames of the early U.S. Navy frigates.

Aug. 10, 2022

USS Constitution and the Legacy of Live Oak

"Editor's Note: On May 10, 2022, Naval History and Heritage Command will commemorate the 225th anniversary of the launch of the first of the U.S. Navy's six frigates (United States), which began the new United States Navy. The launch of the frigates is a significant moment in both U.S. Navy and American history,  and the U.S. Navy's earliest

Ware Drawings Record Group 45 Naval Records of the Office of Naval Records and Library, 1691-1945

Aug. 10, 2022

USS Congress Becomes the First U.S. Navy Ship to Visit China, 1819

In 1819, the frigate Congress became the first American warship to visit China. Although the cruise did little to protect American commerce in the Far East, which was the ship’s mission, showing the U.S. flag in distant places made a symbolic impact and foreshadowed the Navy’s future role in the Western Pacific.