In celebration of more than 240 years of Navy readiness, we ask our fans what they think our most important dates in history are. Every moment in Navy history from the birth of our Navy in 1775 all the way up to Navy's missile attacks against ISIL in September 2014 have played a pivotal role in shaping our Navy and our nation. Below are just a few dates you, our fans, thought were important. For more information on Navy Birthday, check out our tool kit here:
Fan Favorites Include (in no particular order):
1) Battle of Leyte Gulf
On October 23, 1944, the largest naval battle in modern history, the three-day Battle of Leyte Gulf begins. It ends Japan's capacity to fight as an organized force, is the last sea battle between battleships, sees the last "crossing the T" maneuver, and are the first Kamikaze attacks.
2) Doolittle Raid
On April 18, 1942, in the first WWII attack on the Japanese mainland, the
Doolittle Raid launches 16 Army Air Force B-25s from USS
Hornet (CV 8) underway 650 miles off Japan. Of the mission's 80 crewmen, three are lost on the mission and only four of the eight taken prisoner survive.
3) Battle of Midway
On June 4-7, 1942 the
Battle of Midway is fought for a U.S. base on a mid-Pacific atoll. Prior to the battle, Japan had general naval superiority. The loss of four Japanese carriers in the battle turns the tables, enabling the U.S. to go on the offensive on course to victory in the war.
4) USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
On September 30, 1954, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine,
USS Nautilus (SSN-571), is commissioned at Groton, Conn. On August 3, 1958,
Nautilus is the first sub to pass under the North Pole. The boat serves for more than 25 years and is now a museum ship in Groton.
5) Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941 naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan suddenly and deliberately attack the United States of America . It was 6 a.m., when six Japanese carriers launched a first wave of 181 planes composed of torpedo bombers, dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters toward Hawaii.
The attack on Pearl Harbor ended shortly before 10 a.m., less than two hours after it began, and the American forces paid a heavy price. Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged, 188 aircraft destroyed and 159 damaged, the majority hit before they had a chance to take off. American dead numbered more than 2,000 with more than 1,000 military and civilians wounded. The attack which horrified a nation was the catalyst that brought America into World War II.