Publisher's Page

By Jim Barber Publisher
June 1996
In this issue, through words and pictures, we celebrate 50 years of crowd-pleasing performances by the U.S. Navy’s precision aviation team, the Blue Angels. John Bradford reports that Australia is ...

More than Half a Loaf

By Captain Edward L. Beach, U.S. Navy (Retired)
June 1996
The Department of Defense wrapped up the Kimmel Case with a report that rehabilitates the honor of the Pearl Harbor commanders.

Vengeance In Vladivostok

By Ilya Sergievich Okunev and Translated by Victor M. Frank
June 1996
One observer recalls a U.S. Navy Friendship Visit to his homeland in July 1937—and the fate of those who became too friendly with the Americans.

Looking Back

By Paul Stillwell
June 1996
Memoirs abound from individuals with wartime experience; few capture the gritty reality of combat with the skill of E. B. Sledge’s With the Old Breed at Pelelieu and Okinawa. Sledge ...

In Contact

June 1996
‘“That’s What Editors Do’” (See B. Bradlee, pp. 41-45, November- December 1995 Naval History ) Charles Haechling I have a high regard for Ben Bradlee and greatly admire his outstanding ...

Book Reviews

Reviewed by Dr. Gary E. Weir & Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
June 1996
The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867-1918, Navalism, Industrial Development, and the Politics of Dualism Lawrence Sondhaus. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 1994. 450 pp. Append. Ind. Maps. Reviewed by ...

The Historic Caribbean Citadel

By Barbara A. Nadel
June 1996
Rising 140 feet above the Atlantic, with 18-foot-thick masonry walls, six distinct levels, and unlimited ocean views, Puerto Rico’s El Mono is one of the most dramatic citadels ever built.

Naval History News

Edited By Bert Hubinger
June 1996
Marine Corps History and Museum Director Retires Brigadier General Edwin H. Simmons, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), Director of Marine Corps History and Museums, recently retired after more than 20 years ...

Salty Talk

By Commander Ty Martin, U.S. Navy (Retired)
June 1996
The space between each pair of deck planks in a wooden ship was filled with a packing material called “oakum" and then sealed with a mixture of pitch and tar ...

Historic Fleets

By A. D. Baker III, Editor, Combat Fleets of the World
June 1996
The three 33,400-ton New Mexico (BB-40)-class battleships, all launched in 1917, were the last U.S. Navy dreadnoughts to incorporate part of their secondary batteries of 5-inch/51-caliber low-angle weapons in hull ...