1968—From a Distance

By Paul Stillwell

August 2008

As we look back 40 years, books and documentaries tell us that 1968 was one of the most divisive years in the United States in the 20th century. Anniversaries of ...

On Our Scope

By Richard G. Latture, Editor-in-Chief

August 2008

In this issue of Naval History we're commemorating the anniversaries of two significant events in U.S. Navy history—the first a voyage that made world headlines 50 years ago, and the ...

In Contact

August 2008

'The Atlantic Campaign' (See pp. 12-36, June 2008 Naval History) Rear Admiral Norman C. Venzke, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired) • Congratulations on this issue. I read all the articles ...

Naval History News

August 2008

Found After 66 Years The wreck of the missing Royal Australian Navy light cruiser HMAS Sydney II has been discovered barely 12 nautical miles from the remains of the German ...

Historic Fleets

By Robert J. Cressman

August 2008

"Service to other vessels," the USS Medusa's commanding officer asserted in 1939, "is the only justification for [this ship's] existence." History validates the assertion because the Medusa was the ...

Historic Aircraft

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

August 2008

Edward "Ed" Heinemann must be recognized as history's outstanding designer of carrier-based aircraft. After participating in or directing the design of several notable models, Heinemann, in the late 1940s and ...

A British View of the Naval War of 1812

By Jeremy Black

August 2008

Initially challenged on the high seas by oversized U.S. Navy frigates, the Royal Navy countered by implementing a tight blockade of American ports.

'Perfect in Every Respect'

By Captain Stephen F. Davis Jr., U.S. Navy

August 2008

In an August 1943 night battle that forever changed American destroyer tactics, six U.S. tin cans ambushed and decimated a Japanese force in the central Solomons Vella Gulf.

To the 1920 Olympics by Cruiser

By Robert Shenk

August 2008

A team of U.S. Navy athletes got international exposureas well as plenty of adventurewhen they visited Europe to compete in the VII Olympiad.

'Halsey Knows the Straight Story'

By Alan P. Rems

August 2008

In just over a year after its founding in 1942, the I Marine Amphibious Corps had five commanders, including Major General Charles D. Barrett, who died under mysterious circumstances.

'Out-Sputniking' the Soviets

By Carl LaVo

August 2008

As the United States struggled to enter the space race in 1958, the U.S. Navy won a strategic undersea race when the USS Nautilus became the first submarine to reach ...

Raiding Robert E. Lee's Commissary

By Chuck Veit

August 2008

In December 1864, Yankee Sailors and Soldiers swooped down on tiny Pitch Landing, North Carolina, and scored a victory against the Army of Northern Virgina besieged at Petersburg.

Alliance—The Last Continental Navy Frigate

By Louis Arthur Norton

August 2008

While commanded by a scoundrel, the Alliance infamously fired on the Bonhomme Richard as she battled HMS Serapis. But under capable leadership she also scored an important victory in the ...

Book Reviews

August 2008

Midway: Dauntless Victory-Fresh Perspectives on America's Seminal Naval Victory of World War II Peter C. Smith. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen and Sword Books, Ltd., 2007. 378 pp. Illus. Appens ...

Museum Report

By Robert McLaren

August 2008

Just a short ride from the ferry on the north shore of Staten Island, New York, along the Kill Van Kull, lies the Snug Harbor Cultural Center—a collection of museums ...