Jan. 27, 2022

Once Above, Now Below: Archaeological Investigations of Two Early 1950s Naval Aircraft Wrecks off Pensacola

For northwestern Florida, naval flight training began in 1914 with the arrival of the newly formed aviation unit consisting of nine officers, twenty-three enlisted men, and seven aircraft. Under the direction of Lt. John Towers and Lt. Commander Henry C. Mustin, the unit arrived at the Pensacola Navy Yard in January aboard the battleship

Jan. 27, 2022

Once Above, Now Below: Archaeological Investigations of Two Early 1950s Naval Aircraft Wrecks off Pensacola

For northwestern Florida, naval flight training began in 1914 with the arrival of the newly formed aviation unit consisting of nine officers, twenty-three enlisted men, and seven aircraft. Under the direction of Lt. John Towers and Lt. Commander Henry C. Mustin, the unit arrived at the Pensacola Navy Yard in January aboard the battleship

Nov. 2, 2021

Bearcat in the Chesapeake: Navy’s underwater investigation of a prototype fighter aircraft

Grumman’s F8F Bearcat was lightweight fighter designed to operate from smaller naval aircraft carriers and had a higher rate of climb than its predecessor, the F6F Hellcat. Prototypes were tested starting in 1944, but they were not ready in time to see action in World War II. Noted for their speed and agility, postwar Bearcats became a significant

June 11, 2021

Perry's Revenge — A Continued Look at the Wreck of an Early 19th-Century Naval Schooner off the Coast of Rhode Island

Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) archaeologists collaborated with Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) engineers during the second half of May 2021 to continue documenting the remains of Oliver Hazard Perry's schooner Revenge, which wrecked off of Watch Hill, Rhode Island in 1811. The team, along with local site discoverers, Charles Buffum

April 26, 2021

NHHC Archaeology by Land and By Sea (and Now by Air)

Naval History and Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology Branch (UA) collaborated with NAVAIR UX-24 last week to complete an aerial magnetometer survey over a marshy section of the Patuxent River, where it is thought remains of naval vessels from the War of 1812 are buried.

June 17, 2020

Twenty Years of Fostering Research on Naval Heritage: The NHHC Permitting Program

Caption: Blair Atcheson and George Schwarz, underwater archaeologists with NHHC, prepare a magnetometer to survey the potential USS Revenge wreck on Dec. 7, 2015. (U.S. Navy photo by Heather Brown/Released)...

Oct. 9, 2018

Perry's Revenge Revisited

Last week, the U.S. Navy returned to Rhode Island to continue the archaeological investigation of the site believed to be the remains of Oliver Hazard Perry's schooner Revenge. The 2018 fieldwork builds upon remote sensing surveys conducted in 2012 and 2015 and last year's diver documentation and cannon recovery. Research this year involved

April 11, 2018

Conservators in Action: Uncovering Secrets of the Suspected Revenge Cannon - Part II

Many have been waiting for an update from our last blog post about the ongoing efforts to conserve a cannon recovered from the suspected wreck site of the 14-gun U.S. naval schooner Revenge. Well, the wait is over! Archaeological conservators at the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology (UA) Branch have been carefully

March 9, 2018

Newly Discovered Wreck of USS Lexington Reveals Rare F4F Wildcat

With the discovery of the wreck of Lexington (CV 2) in the depths of the Coral Sea, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his team on board the research vessel Petrel, added another chapter to their recent record of discoveries of U.S. Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy vessels lost during World War II.This particular expedition brought the added bonus

Aug. 2, 2017

Conservators in Action: Uncovering Secrets of the Suspected Revenge Cannon

It's never a dull day at the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology (UA) Conservation Laboratory, especially when a heavily concreted cannon from the suspected wreck site of the 14-gun naval schooner Revenge arrived on May 26, 2017. The cannon, believed to be a six-pounder, was recovered by NHHC archaeologists and divers

May 26, 2017

NHHC Recovers Cannon from possible Revenge Wreck Site

The Naval History and Heritage Command's (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) returned to Rhode Island this week in order to recover a cannon from the suspected wreck site of the 14-gun naval schooner Revenge, which struck a reef and sank off Watch Hill in 1811. Captained by then-Lt. Oliver Hazard Perry, on Jan. 9, 1811, she encountered thick

Nov. 18, 2016

NHHC Reviews U.S. Navy Wrecks in South Pacific Waters and Prepares to Bring New Life to Disturbed Artifacts

The following post is about the conservation of artifacts that were removed, without authorization from the U.S. Navy, from the wreck of USS Salute. In partnership with the government of Brunei, U.S. Navy and Royal Brunei Navy divers this week completed a dive on the ship's wreck in which they honored the service of those lost when the ship sank,

Aug. 22, 2016

Underwater Archaeologist Joins Salvage on Dive Training Operations

From the Field: NHHC underwater archaeologist Dr. Alexis Catsambis recently joined Mobile Diving Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2 on a dive training operations conducted on multiple U.S. Navy sunken military craft."This is an excellent opportunity for two commands with a shared interest in underwater operations to work collaboratively. MDSU-2 divers are

Aug. 4, 2016

Savage Coating: NHHC Conservators Team With USNA to Solve a History Mystery

The remains of Royal Savage, approximately 50 timbers and 1300 artifacts, were excavated in the 1930s and brought to the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology (UA) Branch in July 2015. Most of the Royal Savage artifacts were removed from Lake Champlain more than 80 years ago and received only minimal treatment which

June 17, 2016

Savage Buttons Reveal Secrets of Revolutionary War Shipwreck

When the Naval History and Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology and Conservation Laboratory received over 1,000 artifacts from the Revolutionary War shipwreck assemblage of Royal Savage last summer, conservators recognized that a number of these artifacts were personal effects of the sailors and officers who sailed aboard the

March 18, 2016

Navy's Underwater Archaeologists Conduct Survey of the USS Tulip

Earlier this week, Naval History and Heritage Command's (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology (UAB) Branch partnered with Navy's Supervisor of Diving and Salvage (SUPSALV), Phoenix International Holdings, Inc., and the Institute of Maritime History (IMH) to conduct a two day survey of the wreck site of USS Tulip off Ragged Point, VA utilizing a remotely

Jan. 8, 2016

Twenty Years of Navy Shipwrecks: 1996-2016

In 1996, underwater archaeology was officially incorporated into the U.S. Navy with the creation of a dedicated branch at the Naval Historical Center, which in 2008 became the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC). The development of NHHC's Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) was influenced by a long list of prominent archaeological projects

Dec. 21, 2015

NHHC Participates in Archaeological Survey of Suspected USS Revenge Site

Naval History and Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology Branch participated in a follow-up survey on a suspected War of 1812 vessel off the coast of Watch Hill, R.I. Dec. 7-8, 2015. Below are photos and information about the expedition. NHHC archaeologists Blair Atcheson, Heather Brown, and George Schwarz, Ph.D., joined local divers Charlie

Oct. 23, 2015

Recovering History - CSS Georgia Update

As a conservator for NHHC's Underwater Archaeology (UA) Branch, the majority of my work is focused on treatment of archaeological material recovered from U.S. Navy sunken military craft and primarily takes place in the UA Archaeology & Conservation Laboratory located on the Washington Navy Yard. However, I am occasionally afforded the chance to

Sept. 11, 2015

NHHC Archaeologists Get Out On the Water

Did you know there are U.S. Navy craft in the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay? Recently, NHHC's Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) team got a well-deserved break from our desk work and went out into the field to investigate submerged aircraft in the Chesapeake Bay near NAS Patuxent River. To see the craft, we partnered with Phoenix International