Cover Story: A U.S. Navy A-7 Corsair II makes a low bombing run along the North Vietnam–Laos border in Marc Stewart’s painting Mu Gai Mayhem. Harry Hoffman’s account of his 1970 Corsair II mission gone bad, the first of four naval aviation articles, begins with A-7 Punch Out over Laos.

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The U.S. Navy "Over There"

3d Marine Division on Iwo Jima

During the Battle of Lake Erie, the U.S. brig Niagara commanded by Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry delivers a starboard broadside against HMS Detroit and Queen Charlotte. David Curtis Skaggs’ account of Perry’s role in the War of 1812 fight begins with Perry Triumphant.

At the stern of their Higgins boat, grim-faced U.S. Coast Guard crewmen prepare to transport a team of Army assault troops ashore on D-Day. The first article in this issue’s package commemorating the 65th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy begins on page 12.

On a windless sea, Constitution Sailors pull hard on oars as they tow the frigate ahead of a pursuing British squadron in July 1812 during one of naval history’s most dramatic chases. Charles E. Brodine Jr.’s account of Sailor life in the U.S. Navy’s earliest frigates begins on page 14.

Off Cape Engaño during the massive Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese hybrid battleship/carrier Ise throws up antiaircraft fire at attacking U.S. Third Fleet carrier planes. This issue’s commemoration of the battle’s 65th anniversary begins on page 16. (John Hamilton/Naval History & Heritage Command)

As shells from the CSS Tennessee (left) and Fort Morgan burst around them, the USS Hartford and Metacomet steam through the torpedo field at the Battle of Mobile Bay. Our package about the West Gulf Blockading Squardron and the 5 August 1864 battle begins on page 14. For a full view of Patrick O'Brien's Battle of Mobile Bay painting, turn to page 28-29.