NASA Legend HighlightsU.S. Naval Institute History Conference
With a special video address from former President George H. W. Bush, the U.S. Naval Institute welcomed an audience that included several hundred midshipmen to the 2011 U.S. Naval History Conference commemorating the centennial of naval aviation. The conference, held 17 September at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, covered the evolution of naval aviation from the earliest prop planes to today’s unmanned aircraft and beyond.
An astronauts’ panel with retired Navy Captains Jim Lovell and Wendy Lawrence and retired Marine Major General Charles Bolden served to remind the audience that U.S. naval pilots have been instrumental in space exploration. In addition to discussions about the development of manned space flight and the future of NASA, Lovell recounted the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission. Although the flight failed to reach its objective, the Moon, Lovell believed it could be viewed as a triumph because there were important lessons to be learned from it.
Directing his comments to the enthralled midshipmen in the audience, Lovell said: “Things don’t always go the way they’re planned. You’ll see that on your cruises. You’ll see that on your various assignments. You’ve got to regroup. You’ve got to change the plan. You’ve got to determine how to get out of crisis and what you have to work for, do the job, and get your solution.
“These are the things that I think [Apollo] 13 brought home to a lot of people—not just in the space program or not just in the military but a lot of people in business and government.”
Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman also was part of the conference’s program. He discussed his belief that naval aviation won the Cold War, pointing out that it was the Navy that maintained the nuclear balance with the Soviet Union until the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“Nobody knows this and nobody writes about it, but the fact is, naval aviation carried the weight of the nuclear deterrent,” Lehman said.
Looking to the future, a panel debated the role of Navy pilots in an era when the U.S. military is increasingly resorting to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). While cost efficiency seems to be the impetus for bringing more UAVs into the Navy’s arsenal, most of the panelists agreed that pilot-dependent aircraft will remain the core of air power for at least another generation.
Lieutenant Colonel Mikel Huber of Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron Two noted that even with rapid technological advancements, UAVs are still not trusted enough for sensitive operations and serve best in a complementary role to manned vehicles.
Who Will Save the Big Guns of WWII?
What is 68 feet long and weighs 119 tons? A 16-inch gun from the USS Missouri (BB-63) that was mounted on board the battleship at the time of the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945. This big gun that witnessed history was one of 15 that had been in storage in Nevada for several decades. Now, the rest have been cut up, destroyed for scrap, and are gone for good; only this one survived.
The Missouri’s historic gun, a 16-inch/50-caliber Mark 7, was saved from the wrecker’s yard this summer by the National Park Service, which stepped in at the last minute and acquired the gigantic artifact for display at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s Battery Townsley in Marin County, California.
Eight more of these 16-inch 50s—all of which were on board the Missouri or the other Iowa-class battleships during World War II—remain in storage at the St. Julian’s Creek Naval Annex in Portsmouth, Virginia. But they too now face destruction as the Navy clears out yesteryear’s battleship-materiel inventory.
Four various groups, from state parks to state governments, from Delaware to Arizona, are crusading to raise the funds to rescue these guns before they are lost to history. For more information about the ongoing efforts, or to find out about donating, contact the Coast Defense Study Group at [email protected] or visit www.cdsg.org.
Battleship Iowa to Become Museum Ship
The U.S. Navy announced in September that the historic USS Iowa (BB-61) will be donated to the nonprofit Pacific Battleship Center for permanent berthing and public display at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California.
The Iowa was the leader of a class of powerful and heavily armed fast battleships, the last of their type constructed for the U.S. Navy. After transporting President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic on the first leg of his journey to the conference with Allied war leaders at Tehran, Iran, in 1943, she served in Pacific Fleet fast-carrier task forces and conducted shore bombardments during World War II and the Korean War. Decades later the Iowa participated in U.S. operations to protect Kuwaiti tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988.
The ship suffered a disaster in 1989, when an explosion in one of her 16-inch gun turrets killed 47 crewmen, and a year later she was decommissioned.
The Iowa was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 2006, paving the way for her eventual donation as a musem ship.
The Iowa is the last of the four Iowa-class battleships to be donated. The New Jersey (BB-62), located in Camden, New Jersey, was donated in 2000. The Missouri (BB-63) made the transition in 1998 and is on view in Honolulu. The Wisconsin (BB-64), now in Norfolk, Virginia, was donated in 2009.
USMC Heritage Foundation Accepting Submissions
The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation is now accepting works for submission to its annual awards program. Each year, the foundation presents a series of awards honoring the work of individuals in preserving and propagating the history, traditions, and culture of the Marine Corps. Marines and civilians alike may submit their own entries or the distinguished work of others for consideration. Awards will be presented during the foundation’s annual ceremony at the Marine Corps Heritage Center in Dumfries, Virginia, on 21 April 2012. The submission deadline is 31 December.
The awards program draws entries from a broad spectrum of individuals interested in portraying or recognizing some aspect of Marine life, culture, history, or work. The foundation recognizes superior achievement in literature, art, photography, videography, and museum exhibits. Submission categories include historical scholarship, journalism and letters, and arts, for a total of 14 awards. For more information, go to www.marineheritage.org/Awards.asp.
Wanted: Papers on Maritime History
The North American Society of Oceanic Historians (NASOH) has issued a call for papers to be considered for presentation at its conference and annual meeting to be held in Galveston, Texas, 22–26 April 2012. The deadline for submissions is 1 January 2012.
The conference will consist of sessions that focus on maritime topics. “Maritime” is broadly construed to include all waterways and the societies that border them; waterborne commerce and transportation; fisheries; marine sciences; exploration; and military and naval conflicts worldwide. Papers focusing on the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and their littoral regions are particularly welcome.
Paper proposals should include a cover sheet with the paper title and the author’s name, affiliation, email address, and mailing address; a 300-word description of the paper; and a single-page vita.
Session proposals should include a cover sheet with the session title as well as the names, affiliations, e-mail addresses, and mailing addresses of all participants, including the chair and commentator; a 300-word description of the session as a whole; a 300-word summary for each paper or presentation; and a single-page vita from each participant.
Individuals interested in chairing or commenting on a session are invited to submit a single-page vita. Materials should be emailed to the program chair, Dr. James Bradford, at [email protected]. For more conference information, go to www.nasoh.org.