Publisher's Page

By Jim Barber Publisher

October 1994

It was the greatest naval engagement of all time—the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In this issue we join the fight—50 years later—with long-time Naval Institute contributor Lieutenant Commander Thomas J ...

Greatest of All Sea Battles

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

October 1994

The fight for the Philippines 50 years ago in and around Leyte Gulf involved 300 ships, 200,000 men, snap decisions, and geographic luck.

"All Life Has a Plot": An Interview with Shelby Foote

October 1994

Shelby Foote is best known in literary circles for his three-volume history of the War Between the States,

The Saga of the “Double Ds”

By Captain Ernest L. Schwab, U.S. Navy (Retired)

October 1994

The navigator in the USS Darter tells how she went aground near the fighting at Leyte Gulf.

I Fought At Yalu

By John Laudermilk

October 1994

When one Naval Academy graduate left Annapolis for China, he found the adventure he sought in the 1894 Battle of the Yalu.

Philo McGiffin Lore

By Major Eames L. Yates, U.S. Army 

October 1994

As a small boy, I heard many wonderful stories about McGiffin from my grandfather, who was graduated from Annapolis in McGiffin’s class of 1882.

On War Patrol at THE NEW YORKER

October 1994

For nearly 70 years, the magazine has used drawings and cartoons to look at the lighter side of serious world issues.

The Navy Discovers Shore Bombardment

By Spencer C. Tucker

October 1994

Heavily armed, shallow-draft vessels designed to bring high-trajectory fire to bear on coastal targets were borrowed by LT Stephen Decatur to use against Tripoli.

Presence in the Pacific

By Dean C. Allard

October 1994

Ever since World War II the principal objective where has been to protect Australia and to avoid conflict in central Asia.

“I Don’t Know Anything About Art”

By Barrett Tillman

October 1994

But aviation artist Ted Wilbur combines years of flying experience and natural talent to create paintings that strike a chord among fellow aviators.

Looking Back

By Paul Stillwell

October 1994

A trip to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center earlier this year brought back memories of 32 years ago. When the train from Chicago stopped at the gate one night ...

In Contact...

October 1994

“As If History Had Stopped” (See P. Stillwell, pp. 52-54, March-April 1994; J. Weitkamp, L. G. Shurtleff, D. A. Brown, pp. 7-8, July-August 1994 Naval History) Richard A. Freedman I ...

Recovering the Hollands

By Richard Compton-Hall

October 1994

Salvaging the Holland 1 submarine boat from the sea floor was only the beginning. Now the Royal Navy Submarine Museum is attempting to rescue the submarine again—from itself.

Book Reviews

Reviewed by John Stobart, Joseph P. Reidy, Ph.D., & Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

October 1994

Sail & Steam: A Century of Maritime Enterprise: 1840- 1935: Photographs from the National Maritime Museum John Falconer. Boston, MA: David R. Godine, Publisher, 1993. 192 pp. Photos. $50.00 ($45.00). ...

Naval History News

Edited By Bert Hubinger

October 1994

Battleship that Never Died Just outside Florida’s Pensacola Bay lie the 100-year-old remains of the USS Massachusetts (BB-2), America’s oldest battleship, now protected by the state. Launched in 1893 as ...

Salty Talk

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

October 1994

Someone speaking of “beating a dead horse” may have in mind an image of a jockey trying to get his deceased mount to move, but the phrase also has a ...

Historic Fleets

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

October 1994

The slow death of a fine ship: the former Coral Sea (CV-43), at right, being scrapped by Sea Witch Salvage Company at Baltimore, Maryland, in March 1994. Launched on 2 ...