The Journal
‘The Whole History of this Ill-fated Vessel’: HMS Captain, the American Civil War, and the Mid-Victorian Struggle for Naval Superiority
Abstract: In 1869 Hugh Childers, the First Lord of the Admiralty, described HMS Captain as the ‘crack turret ship’ of the British fleet, just before he saw his seventeen-year-old son Leonard (‘Lennie’) transferred over to the experimental ironclad. With her controversially low freeboard, the Captain was to finally embody all of the salient features of American Civil War … CONTINUE READING ❯
Wikimedia
Navigating Uncharted Waters: The Russian Naval General Staff, 1906–1914
Although Russia’s Naval General Staff (Morskoi general’nyi shtab, here abbreviated NGS) has received some attention in the west,((For example, see Evgenii F. Podsoblyaev [sic; Podsobliaev], “The Russian Naval General Staff and the Evolution of Naval Policy, 1905–1914,” Journal of Military History, 66, no. 1 (January 2002), 37–69. Note that all transliterations from Russian have been … CONTINUE READING ❯
Punching Above Its Weight: The Royal Netherlands Navy within Allied Command Atlantic 1952 – mid 1970s
Abstract The Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) was in the mid-1960s the third navy in size and operations within NATO Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT). Also the RNLN was one of the initiators of the Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) and one of the few NATO navies entrusted to operate with US nuclear depth charges in wartime, … CONTINUE READING ❯
HMS Captain by Geoff Hunt
Grace Hopper: Computer Communicator (National History Day)
Tyler Kaus of Chadron Senior History School was honored in the History of Physical Sciences and Technology with his documentary entry titled, Grace Hopper: Computer Communicator. In an interview with local news in Chadron, NE, Tyler had this to say: “I was introduced to National History Day in 6th grade. It was an opportunity for … CONTINUE READING ❯
Wikimedia Commons
Officers in the ‘Fishpond’ and their Roles in the Royal Navy of the Fisher Era 1904-1919
Henrikki Tikkanen Aalto University School of Business Abstract Admiral Sir John Fisher was the leading figure behind the considerable reforms that took place in the Royal Navy before and during the First World War. Britain was engaged in a costly naval arms race with Imperial Germany during the Fisher era of 1904-1919. The controversial admiral … CONTINUE READING ❯
A Question of Faith, A Matter of Tactics: The Royal Navy and the Washington Naval Agreement
At the conclusion of the Washington Conference in February 1922, statesmen had good reason to feel satisfied at their handiwork.[Those attending the conference included the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France, Italy, China, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal with representatives from India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand attached to the British delegation.] A naval arms … CONTINUE READING ❯
NHHC Photo #NH 1098
U.S. Asiatic Fleet Submarines 1941-42: An Evaluation of Senior Leadership
There exists a misperception of submarines as self-sufficient hunters, prowling the seas and conducting their operations with little oversight, using only the cunning of their commanding officers and resourcefulness of their crews to perform their mission. But the reality is that despite the independent nature of their operations, American submarines in the Second World War, … CONTINUE READING ❯
Admiral David Beatty: The Royal Navy Incarnate
Abstract: This paper addresses the connections between David Beatty and ethos in the Royal Navy during World War I. The issue considered herein is the degree to which Beatty conflated his fortunes with those of the organization he served and how this blurring of identities played an outsized role in coloring expectations for the Navy … CONTINUE READING ❯
The Purchase of the Virgin Islands in 1917: Mahan and the American Strategy in the Caribbean Sea
Hans Christian Bjerg Independent Historian, Author, and Lecturer Readers of American and Danish history have considered the American purchase of the former Danish West Indies, The Virgin Islands, in 1916-17, as an isolated political event with a short previous history. Danish historians usually explain the sale to the US as mostly due to financial reasons. … CONTINUE READING ❯
The ‘Public Mind’ of British Imperialism: The Seizure of Weihaiwei and the Populist Revolt against Official Far Eastern Policy in 1898
Viktor M. Stoll University of Cambridge “They always want everything for themselves…whenever anyone takes anything, the English want to take much more,” foreshadowed Czar Nicholas II to German Chancellor Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe during their discussion on Russo-German Far Eastern territorial ambitions at Peterhof, Russia in 1896. [1. “Sie wollen immer…viel mehr nehmen.” Czar Nicholas II … CONTINUE READING ❯