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By Jim Barber Publisher
October 1996
Naval History
Volume 10 Number 5
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The sinking of the Titanic is arguably the most analyzed maritime disaster in history. In this issue, two underwater forensic experts and naval architects conclude that the ship sank because steel that had been weakened by low water temperatures succumbed to the weight of water rushing through a 12-foot- square hole in the bow. In conjunction, we talk to Robert Ballard— Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist, television host, and leader of the expedition that discovered the wreck of the Titanic—about the proposed raising of a hull section from the ship.

At the height of hurricane season, retired Commander Edward P. (The Big E) Stafford relates how a hurricane bested his squadron in 1950, and writer Eric Adams details how Hurricane Andrew uncovered a sunken ship in 1992.

Also in this issue is the enthralling tale of an Italian Navy lieutenant whose courage and quick thinking saved Italian lives after his country’s Armistice with the Allies in 1943.

Jim Barber Publisher

CAPT James A. Barber Jr., USN (Ret.) (1934–2017), served thirty years as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy before retiring as a captain. His assignments included three commands at sea: a guided-missile cruiser, a guided-missile frigate, and a destroyer escort. Other assignments included special sea detail officer of the deck of an aircraft carrier, senior watch officer of a destroyer, executive officer of a destroyer, and qualification as a convoy commodore. In 1984 he was appointed CEO and publisher of the U.S. Naval Institute, a position he held for fifteen years.↵ Captain Barber earned a PhD at Stanford University and taught at Vanderbilt, the Naval War College, and George Washington University. His awards include the Navy League’s Alfred Thayer Mahan Award, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with combat “V,” the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, and six awards of the Vietnam Service Medal. In 1999 he was presented with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Meritorious Public Service Award, and in 2000 with the Navy’s highest civilian award, the Distinguished Public Service Award. He published two other books, including The Military and American Society: Essays and Readings, co-edited with Stephen Ambrose.

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