'It Made a Man Out of Me'

An interview with Ernest Borgnine

February 1998

"The Real McHale" talks about his decade in the Navy and what it meant.

The Mark XIX Mod XVII Rum-Hound Torpedo

By Captain William B. Hayler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

February 1998

Unknown at the dawn of the 21st century is the fact that there was a weapon on the drawing boards.

USS PC-1264: Forgotten Groundbreaker

By Captain Roy C. Smith III, U.S. Naval Reserve (Retired)

February 1998

The USS PC-1264 also played a critical role in this achievement.

“Wonderful Duty”

By Stephen May

February 1998

African-American artist Jacob Lawrence created many works as a result of his 1943-45 Coast Guard service.

Naval Explorer Captures Amazon

By Normand E. Klare

February 1998

Lardner Gibbon assisted William Lewis Herndon covering vast territory along the river’s tributaries and recording the scenes in art.

Strike Warfare, 1914

By Captain Carl O. Schuster, U.S. Navy

February 1998

HMS Empress helped usher in a new era of naval warfare with her strikes on zeppelin sheds.

Rudder Assist

By Alfred Giddings

February 1998

Sea trials on board a World War II destroyer escort helped a nuclear-powered submarine that was on her way to surfacing at the North Pole

“Thanks, Al. It Worked Just Fine.”

By Vice Admiral James F. Calvert, U.S. Navy (Retired)

February 1998

The winter voyage, in February and March of 1959, was a different story.

Remembering Iwo Jima from the Texas

By John P. Pawley

February 1998

Here, a Texas crew member recalls the events around the landing, from shipboard.

Flags over Suribachi

By Mike Caruso

February 1998

Two flags were raised atop the volcano crest on 23 February 1945.

If It’s Tuesday . . .

By Paul Stillwell

February 1998

In the late 1960s, one of the movies making the rounds in shipboard wardrooms and mess decks was a comedy titled If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium. It told ...

In Contact

February 1998

“The Wake Island Militia” (See G. J. W. Urwin, pp. 39-44, November/December 1997 Naval History) Richard Willstatter As a history buff, I really do look forward to reading Naval History ...

Book Reviews

Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander Ralph L. Langenheim, Jr., U.S. Naval Reserve (Retired) & Lieutenant Colonel Richard Seamon, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Retired)

February 1998

Cook & Peary the Polar Controversy Resolved Robert M. Bryce. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1133 pp. Ulus. Bib. Notes. Ind. $50.00 ($45.00). Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander Ralph L. Langenheim, Jr ...

The Biggest in the West

By Norman Polmar, Author, Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet

February 1998

The Sikorsky HR2S was the first twin-engine helicopter to enter squadron service with U.S. naval aviation. The big helicopter—flown by the Army as the H-37 Mojave—was developed to fulfill a ...

Historic Fleets

By A. D. Baker III, Editor, Combat Fleets of the World

February 1998

Under a Secretary of the Navy directive dated 27 May 1940, six Fletcher-class destroyers on order (DD-476-481) were to have their armament reduced to accommodate an aircraft catapult for an ...

Naval History News

February 1998

Naval Institute Celebrates A Century and a Quarter All through 1998, the U.S. Naval Institute, publisher of Naval History magazine, will be celebrating its 125th anniversary. Events have been planned ...

Salty Talk

By Commander Ty Martin, U.S. Navy (Retired)

February 1998

For many, an awareness of the bugle call called “Taps” goes back to the days of our youth, to going to camp. It’s easy to recall the plaintively sweet and ...

The Naval War College Museum

By Anthony Nicolosi

February 1998

Newport is home to this collection of naval history and Narragansett Bay traditions.

Navy Yarns

By Captain Roy C. Smith III, U.S. Navy (Retired)

February 1998

After Dad’s 1910 Naval Academy graduation as a passed midshipman he was on a Baltic cruise in the squadron flagship, the South Carolina. He was on the dock at St ...