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Tag Search: World War II
NHHC Photo #NH 1098
U.S. Asiatic Fleet Submarines 1941-42: An Evaluation of Senior Leadership
February 25, 2023
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 ❯
Valor and Courage: The Story of the USS Block Island Escort Carriers in World War II
December 27, 2022
“For the 957 sailors on board, the two German torpedoes with 660 pounds of explosives slamming Block Island caught them in a range of activities including showering, cooking meals, and doing laundry…..immediately heading for the bridge (Captain) Hughes witnessed visible damage, ‘en route I noticed the port side of the flight deck curled back about … CONTINUE READING ❯
Lethal Tides: Mary Sears and the Marine Scientists Who Helped Win World War II
December 26, 2022
On Mary Sears’ eightieth birthday one of the grandfathers of American oceanography, Scripps’ director Roger Revelle, described her as a “force of nature.” In my own research as an historian of American oceanography I once discovered a letter written by the Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Columbus Iselin, that referred to her … CONTINUE READING ❯
The First Class at RAF No. 31 Radio School: August to September, 1941
July 28, 2018
Contents: In the Wilds of Ontario BCATP and the Aerodrome of Democracy A Desperate Measure No. 31 Radio School Launches Drinking from the Radar Fire Hose Life at at the School After the First Class’ Graduation Epilogue Bibliography Paul Renard George Washington University School of Medicine In the Wilds of Ontario William C. Fuchs Hawaii, … CONTINUE READING ❯
Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy
November 18, 2016
In Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy, John Prados argues that the Battle of Leyte Gulf was a pivotal, if not the most important, event of the Pacific War. According to Prados, combat at Leyte Gulf achieved the most thorough destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy and created … CONTINUE READING ❯
The Treatment of Survivors and Prisoners of War, at Sea and Ashore
May 26, 2016
Contents: Background Sinking and Capture USNOB Argentia Boston “Fiery Furnace” at Fort Hunt Reunion Dr. Philip K Lundeberg Curator Emeritus of Naval History, Smithsonian Institution Background On the eve of POW/MIA remembrance day, we may seek deeper understanding by beginning with a critical directive issued by the VCNO to all ships and stations on 19 … CONTINUE READING ❯
The Australian Experience of Joint and Combined Operations: Borneo 1945
May 26, 2016
Contents: Australians and Coalition Warfare during World War II Command Preparing for the OBOE Operations Australian Organization and Structure OBOE I: Tarakan OBOE VI: Brunei Bay and Labuan OBOE II: Balikpapan Action at Balikpapan Lessons Learned and Lessons Missed Gregory P. Gilbert Defence Analyst The last months of World War II saw Australian-led Allied forces … CONTINUE READING ❯
Fabled Fifteen: The Pacific War Saga of Carrier Air Group 15
December 6, 2015
The 1944 combat performance of the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Air Group 15 (CVG-15) is impressive. Flying off of USS Essex (CV-9) during the battles of the Philippine Sea (the “Marianas Turkey Shoot”) and Leyte Gulf, CVG-15’s fighter squadron, VF-15 (“Fighting 15”), shot down 312 Japanese planes and destroyed an additional 348 planes on the ground. … CONTINUE READING ❯
Learning to Fail: Lessons for the Twenty-First Century from the Pacific War
July 1, 2014
Brent Powers Lieutenant, U.S. Navy Introduction Figure 1: Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, has charged his officers with thinking about how they will show up to the next war and be lethal and dominant. Here he briefs the Pentagon press corps on America’s rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine … CONTINUE READING ❯
“A” Force: The Origins of British Deception during the Second World War
July 1, 2014
The role of deception in Allied military operations has been surveyed in several previous monographs, but the contribution of “A” Force, the primary British organization responsible for this side of military operations in the Mediterranean theatre, has heretofore lacked its own accounting. Enter Whitney Bendeck to fill the void and who ably recounts how “A” … CONTINUE READING ❯