Engraving of a naval gun crew preparing to fire its Dahlgren boat howitzer.

On Our Scope

By Richard G. Latture, Editor-in-Chief
April 2019
One of the great things about history is that new, fascinating chapters—even on familiar topics—lie just beneath the surface.
Japanese Type 93 “Long Lance” torpedo on display at the U.S. Naval Academy

A Massive Torpedo

By Norman Friedman
April 2019
The capabilities of the Type 93 torpedo were such a well-kept secret, and so far beyond those of U.S. torpedoes, that the U.S. Navy did not appreciate the threat it ...
Sailors directing an F-35C Lightning II multirole fighter aircraft assigned to the “Argonauts” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in December 2018.

Naval Aviation 101

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
April 2019
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps perform a wide variety of missions from the decks of ships and from Navy and Marine Corps air stations all over the world.
Battle between Continental Ship Bonhomme Richard and HMS Serapis, 23 September 1779pwreck mystery that has led to at least two possible wreck locations.

Naval History News

April 2019
Another Possible Location for the Bonhomme Richard, new clues in the loss of the Confederate submarine Hunley, and the 160th Anniversary of the Pensacola Naval Air Station lighthouse.
Starboard profile drawing of USS Wyoming (Monitor No. 10)

Last of Her Line

By J. M. Caiella
April 2019
The USS Wyoming (Monitor No. 10) had a relatively benign and unremarkable career as the last of a ship type that saw its heyday in the U.S. Navy nearly a ...

British Sea Power Wins the First Global War

By Lieutenant Colonel Frank G. Hoffman, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Retired)
April 2019
The third-place winner in the CNO Naval History Essay Contest (Professional Historian Category) shines a light on the doctrinal lessons that still resonate from the Seven Years’ War.
Painting of a Mariner reconnaissance platoon returning from a mission during the Vietnam War

Corpsman, Up!

By Ralph DiPietro
April 2019
A Navy corpsman in the Vietnam War pens a gripping firsthand account of the night in 1967 that still haunts him to this day.
Woodblock print, "Picture of the Naval Battle near Pungdo in Korea," by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Humiliation is Prologue

By Commander Mark Metcalf, U.S. Navy (Retired)
April 2019
Those seeking to understand China’s current sea-power ambitions need to realize that, (a) the country suffered major losses more than a century ago, and (b) memories are long.
Painting, "HMS Erebus in the Ice, 1846," by Francois Etienne Musin

Mystery in the Ice

By MacDuff Perkins
April 2019
“Death in the Ice: The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition” assembles a collection of artifacts bringing to life the doomed 1845 Arctic mission to navigate the farthest portion of the ...
Nieuport 28 aircraft taking off from a platform atop a 14-inch gun turret on a U.S. battleship about 1921

The French Connection

By Norman Polmar, Author, Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet
April 2019
Although not flown by the U.S. Navy during the war, the French-built Nieuport 28 had a role in post-war naval aviation development.
The LiIsteners By Roy R. Manstan book cover

Book Reviews

April 2019
The Listeners: U-Boat Hunters During the Great War by Roy R. Manstan, Dragon’s Jaw by Stephen Coonts and Barrett Tillman, and Tidal Wave by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver.
Large bronze Titanic memorial plaque from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England

Pieces of the Past

April 2019
Of all the legends surrounding the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, few are more enduring than the story of the brave musicians who continued to perform as the ...