May 2, 2022

A Frigate Battle through Enemy Eyes

During the War of 1812, USS United States, one of six original frigates of the U.S. Navy, defeated and captured HMS Macedonian. Samuel Leech, a seaman aboard Macedonian, later described in vivid and gruesome detail what it was like to be on the losing end of a battle with an American warship.

Nov. 16, 2021

A Unique Artifact Goes Virtual: Digitizing NR-1’s Control Room

It’s a challenge museums will always face: fulfilling our missions means collecting more artifacts than we have room to display. The advent of online platforms like social media, websites, and photo-sharing sites has substantially increased virtual access to artifact collections, to the delight of curators and educators. But there’s a catch —

May 6, 2021

The Establishment of NECC

Fifteen years ago, on January 13, 2006, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) formally stood up as the Navy's Type Commander (TYCOM) for expeditionary forces.

Dec. 18, 2020

On the 50th Anniversary of First Flight, 14 Important Moments in the Life of the Tomcat

An air-to-air right side view of two Fighter Squadron 124 (VF-124) F-14 Tomcat aircraft. Advancements during the Cold War in Soviet long-range patrol and bomber aircraft dictated a requirement for a fleet defense fighter that could engage high-altitude bombers from well beyond visual range. The iconic F-14 was Grumman's answer. Continuing the

Dec. 11, 2020

The Loss of USS Saginaw

This month marks the 150th anniversary of the loss of the USS Saginaw and the tremendous voyage of five of her crew to seek help for their stranded shipmates. The USS Saginaw, the first ship built at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, was a side paddlewheel steamer. Commissioned in January of 1860, she spent the majority of her career in the Pacific.

Sept. 23, 2020

USS Thresher - What We Learned From Loss

The tragic loss of USS Thresher remains a pivotal moment in U.S. submarine operations, safety and culture.USS Thresher (SSN 593) got underway with 129 crew and shipyard personnel aboard for her post availability sea trials from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on April 9th, 1963, accompanied by the Submarine Rescue Ship Skylark (ASR-20). The first day of

Sept. 8, 2020

From Cafeteria to Conservation Lab: NHHC's Conservation Branch at Five Years

190814-N-HP188-0049 RICHMOND, Va. (August 14, 2019) Karl Knauer, a conservator at the Collection Management Facility, Naval History and Heritage Command, applies a customized sealant as part of the conservation process for a Vietnamese watercraft cal...

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)...

June 4, 2020

The Importance of Getting Navy Artifacts To the Public

You may have noticed that USS Reno (CL 96), named in honor of the city in Nevada, has garnered national attention this week regarding a World War II ensign and pennant that is on display at City Hall in Reno, Nev. The 48-star ensign, along with a commissioning pennant and the ship's bell have been on loan to the City of Reno from the Naval History

June 3, 2020

Great Lake: The Fascinating History of NNSY's World War II Aircraft Carrier USS Lake Champlain

Photos Courtesy of Marcus Robbins, Shipyard HistorianBefore it became a facility dedicated to maintenance and modernization almost 70 years ago, Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) used to build ships. In the case of World War II, sometimes 27,000-ton ones.June 3 will mark the 75th anniversary of commissioning the NNSY aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain

May 11, 2020

Final Resting Place of USS Nevada

Photo courtesy of Ocean Infinity/SEARCH, Inc....

April 27, 2020

Curator Day 2020

USS Comfort (AH 6) Pennant (NHHC 2019.075.005): This pennant is from the former USS Comfort (AH 6), the second of three hospital ships to bear that name. The Curator Branch collects a wide variety of material to include rare textiles such as this. T...

April 15, 2020

The Epidemic Fighters: The Origin of Navy Preventive Medicine Units

On March 20, 2020, the Navy embarked a Forward Deployable Preventive Medicine Unit (FDPMU) aboard ships of the 7th Fleet. Its mission: "to help combat the risk of and provide laboratory batch testing for COVID-19." The role of Preventive Medical Units (PMUs) in this pandemic is nothing new. PMUs have long been on the frontlines in the war against

March 31, 2020

Answering the Call: Stateside Deployments of U.S. Navy Hospital Ships

Editor's note: this blog was originally published in the Navy Live blog.On March 18, President Trump announced Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and Comfort (T-AH-20) were to be activated and deployed stateside to serve as referral centers for non-COVID-19 patients. The longest-serving hospital ships in continuous operation in our history,

March 30, 2020

Weathering the Storm Aboard USS Constitution

On behalf of the crew of USS Constitution, thank you to our partners, fans, and supporters who have celebrated and shared our many accomplishments and events over the years.We also share our trials, and there is no doubt that the global pandemic of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a time that demands strong leaders and unity.In the naval profession,

March 25, 2020

Attack on Amphibious Assault Ship LSM(R)-188: A Lesson in Courage

On the night of March 28-29, 1945 (LOVE-Day minus three), amphibious assault ship LSM(R)-188 conducted an aggressive harassment patrol only eight miles off the town of Naha, Okinawa Jima. At 0557 on March 29, Japanese suicide dive-bombers appeared overhead, and the crew quickly went to battle stations, with the antiaircraft battery immediately

Feb. 11, 2020

Amidst the Timbers of a Storied Past: Nautical Archaeologists Visit Constitution

In early January 2020, I and many of my fellow archaeologists gathered in Boston, Massachusetts for the 2020 Society for Historical Archaeology meetings. For myself, and some of my fellow graduate students from Texas A&M University's Nautical Archaeology Program, this presented a potential opportunity to visit USS Constitution, one of the original

Dec. 31, 2019

2019 Year in Review

Dr. Nicklas Pisias, a professor emeritus at Oregon State University, is the 2018 recipient of the Maurice Ewing Medal, sponsored jointly by the U.S. Navy and the American Geophysical Union. Pisias helped create the field of paleoceanography--the stud...

Dec. 12, 2019

When Caroline Kennedy Last Christened a Ship in the Name of Her Father

191207-N-PG550-1463 NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Dec. 7, 2019) Caroline Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy's daughter, former ambassador to Japan, and sponsor of the Ford-class aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), christens the ship, Dec. 7, 2019. US...

Nov. 27, 2019

"This is Dad's letter!"

Photo of Y3c Richard Calvin McVay submitted by his family to the United States Navy Memorial Log. McVay served from February 1944-April 1946....