We often hear the phrase, “History repeats itself.” But sometimes knowing about history can help keep us from repeating the mistakes of others. The recent comparisons between Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein, while facile and not completely parallel, still offer plenty of food for thought. What if Great Britain, France, and other nations had in the mid-1930s devised a “European Shield” counterpart to the “Desert Shield” mounted by the coalition forces in 1990-91? Would a quick “European Storm” in, say, 1937 have made it unnecessary for the Allies to fight against the Axis powers from 1939 to 1945? We’ll never know the answers to those questions, of course, but an article in this issue of Naval History helps us to understand that the question of European— particularly British—resolve in the 1930s is more complex than it appears at first glance. Dr. G. A. H. Gordon has done a first-rate job of analyzing the evidence of history and the reasons for Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s method of trying to appease Hitler. It was not just a peace-at- any-price mind-set. Part of his impetus came from the thinking of the British Admiralty. Chamberlain was trying to find a way to match inadequate military assets with global obligations and strategic concerns.
Two articles in this issue demonstrate ways in which an interest in history can go far beyond just reading about it. As a boy, Wilmon Menard developed an engrossing fascination with the 1789 mutiny on the Bounty and the resulting settlement of the mutineers on Pitcairn Island. As a teenager, Menard got his parents’ reluctant blessing and set off for the South Pacific. He talked with a descendant of Fletcher Christian, interviewed one of the authors who helped create Captain William Bligh’s 20th century reputation as a martinet, and went to Pitcairn itself. It’s the sort of journey many of us would like to make; Menard’s article enables us to do so vicariously.
Melbourne Smith, a former Naval Institute staff member, takes a hands-on approach to naval and maritime history. In recent years he and his wife have worked with the state of Pennsylvania to restore and recreate the brig Niagara that served as Oliver Hazard Perry’s flagship on Lake Erie in 1813. The ship was restored several times previously, reminding us of the old joke about the man who owned George Washington’s hatchet. The only problem was that it had received three new heads and seven new handles since George used it. In this case, however, there are still some relics from the original Niagara, and the pictorial in this issue tells of Smith’s pragmatic blend of both old and new technology to build the current replica.
We hope that the upcoming summer months will enable Naval History readers to get out and visit the many maritime museums and preserved ships throughout the United States and Canada. Our guide in this issue can help you, too, to see more of naval history than that which appears on printed pages.