Last of the Sailing Corvettes

By John D. Barnard

August 1999

Once thought to be a U.S. Navy frigate of 1797—even officially by the Navy itself—the corvette Constellation is still the pride of Baltimore.

The Secret Side of the Tonkin Gulf Incident

By Dale Andradé and Kenneth Conboy

August 1999

Covert attacks of North Vietnam by U.S.-owned Norwegian Nasty fast patrol boats help push the United States into the Vietnam War.

‘The Best Boat E.B. Ever Built’

By Chief Quartermaster John D. Stallings, U.S. Navy (Retired)

August 1999

The Salmon had to have been one of Electric Boat’s finest.

Who Needs a Naval Magazine ?

By Edward L. De Rosa

August 1999

The Navy of the 1830s was changing as well, signified by the publishing of the first magazine for and by naval officers.

Orion Limps to Mare Island

By Lieutenant Commander Wayne Padgett, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve (Retired)

August 1999

While helping to evacuate Commonwealth troops off Crete on 29 May 1941, HMS Orion lost hundreds dead and suffered heavy damage from German dive-bombers.

Tiny Miracle—The Proximity Fuze

By Midshipman Second Class Cameron D. Collier, U.S. Navy

August 1999

“It helped blaze the trail to Japan,” said James Forrestal.

Initiative Creates Opportunity

By Master Chief William R. Wells II, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)

August 1999

When Alex Haley enlisted in the Coast Guard, few occupations were open to African Americans.

VFW Reaches Century Mark

By Blaine Taylor

August 1999

100th Anniversary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States 1899-1999.

My Favorite Year

By Paul Stillwell

August 1999

At a stage in life when I regularly receive membership solicitations from the American Association of Retired Persons, it is appropriate to examine the deposits in my memory bank. Doing ...

In Contact

August 1999

“Advance Warning? The Red Cross Connection” (See D. Borgquist, pp. 20-26, May/June 1999 Naval History ) Malcolm Muir, Jr. Borgquist’s thesis is bizarre: that President Franklin D. Roosevelt would, prior ...

Book Reviews

Reviewed by Carla Rahn Phillips, Lieutenant Colonel Merrill L. Bartlett, USMC (Ret.), Dewey Lambdin & James P. Delgado 

August 1999

The Grand Strategy of Philip II Geoffrey Parker. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1998. 446 pp. Photos. Notes. Bib. Index. $35.00 ($31.50). Reviewed by Carla Rahn Phillips Running a ...

The Last Flying Boat

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

August 1999

The P6M Seamaster was a top- performing aircraft for its time—and the last flying boat developed for the U.S. Navy. Designed by the Martin Company, the P6M was intended primarily ...

Historic Fleets

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

August 1999

With the sinking on 24 March 1999 of the hulk of former guided-missile cruiser Oklahoma City (CLG-5, ex-CL-91) by a single SUT Mod. 2 torpedo launched by the Republic of ...

Naval History News

August 1999

Senate Exonerates Pearl Harbor Commanders On 25 May 1999, the Senate voted 52 to 47 in favor of a measure to exonerate two U.S. military commanders accused of dereliction of ...

Salty Talk

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

August 1999

The use of the cookie jar as an at-home bank is proverbial. In it, the frugal housewife saves whatever she can avoid spending of the weekly budget in order to ...

The Boston National Historical Park Photographic Collection

By Barbara A. Bither and Stephen P. Carlson

August 1999

In 1974, the Boston Naval Shipyard closed as a naval shore establishment after having served the fleet for nearly 175 years. That same year, Congress established the Boston National Historical ...

Navy Yarns

By Captain Roy C. Smith, III, U.S. Navy (Retired)

August 1999

At a U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1934 lunch one day, Rear Admiral Bill Brockett, Chief of the Bureau of Ships, told of escorting Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on ...