Operations

By Lt. Josh Waters, Navy Department Board of Decorations and Medals World War I saw technological advances that changed the face of warfare. Prominent among these was the use of submarines, or U-boats.  Although they had been in use since the mid-1800’s, submarines only became effective weapons during WWI and …

By: Curtis Utz, Nicholas Roland and Guy Nasuti, Historians, Naval History and Heritage Command Editor’s note: Learning from History is an initiative CNO Richardson has asked the Naval History and Heritage Command to shepherd. Each month, our historians will dissect a seminal moment in Navy’s past and present today’s Fleet …

By U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Stuart R. Lockhart (Ret.) Naval History and Heritage Command writer Carsten Fries’s recent narrative of the support lent by the British carrier HMS Victorious to the U.S. Pacific Fleet in the first half of 1943 brings to mind a comparison of naval aviation experiences …

Editor’s note: This is Part Two of  “USS Robin: When the CNO Needed a Royal Navy Carrier.” Read Part One here. Victorious departed Norfolk on Feb. 3 en route to the Panama Canal—and assigned the U.S. Navy two-syllable call sign “Robin.” Intensive flight operations utilizing U.S. Navy procedures, both with Martlet …

By Dave Werner, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs Few ships can claim a history like that of USS Helena (CL 50). Her distinguished and storied World War II service began at Pearl Harbor and ended in a heroic and determined rescue seemingly too dramatic to be true. In between, she …

By Sandy Gall, Naval History and Heritage Command Communication and Outreach Division Did you know March 29th is Vietnam War Veterans Day?  Every facet of the Navy we know today took part in the Vietnam War effort. Sailors were on the sea, along the rivers, in the air, and on land in support of …

By Daniel Garas, Naval History and Heritage Command Emboldened by a string of victories across the Pacific in the early months of World War II, the Japanese empire launched a bold and unorthodox attack that is seldom remembered today. Though a tactical victory, the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor …

By Sam Cox (Rear Adm. USN, Ret.), Director, Naval History and Heritage Command Why should the U.S. Navy and the American people remember the Indianapolis (CA 35); a ship that sank in the last days of World War II? Why remember one of the worst defeats and a tragic moment …

By Christopher B. Havern Sr., Historian, Naval History and Heritage Command History and Archives Division-Emergent Response “Wisdom comes alone through suffering.” ― Aeschylus On August 7, 1942, Allied amphibious forces landed units of the First Marine Division and surprised the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in …

By Marcus Thompson, Naval History & Heritage Command Intern (Dartmouth College) During the Allied invasion of Salerno in September of 1943, “Operation Avalanche,” the U.S. Navy set a new standard for naval gunfire support (NGFS) only eclipsed by the Okinawa and Iwo Jima campaigns. NGFS, although initially shunned by Army …