Thirty years ago the U.S. Naval Institute debuted Naval History. With 163 issues under its belt, the magazine remains the only publication dedicated to documenting and preserving the history of the U.S. Sea Services—the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Over the years, two of Naval History’s most popular subjects have been aviation and the Pacific war. So it makes sense to focus on those topics in this milestone issue.
“The Plane That Won the War” is a broad look at the SBD Dauntless dive bomber, the key weapon in the Navy’s Pacific war arsenal, according to author Barrett Tillman. The first of Tillman’s 50 books was The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II (Naval Institute Press, 1976), the idea for which occurred to him while he had “rivet gun in hand” restoring a Dauntless acquired by his family.
David Sears’ companion articles, “Flying the Empire Express” and “Pipeline to Freedom,” highlight two little-remembered Pacific war chapters: U.S. Navy bomber recon flights over Japan’s Kurile Islands and the Soviet internment of many of the missions’ aviators. Naval Institute member and supporter Carroll Brooks brought the topics to my attention, telling me she knew one of the interned airmen, William A. King. She arranged for her friend Donald McCarthy to obtain a copy of the diary King kept during his confinement. McCarthy also contacted his friend King, which led to Sears interviewing him.
While Naval History has completed its third decade, there’s no denying that the digital explosion and declining ad revenue are having an earthquake-like effect on print publications. My favorite “big three” newsweekly, U.S. News & World Report, is long gone. The tectonic shift also has shaken history magazines. After 16 years on newsstands, North & South ceased publication in 2013; Armchair General lasted 11 years before closing down in 2015.
Rest assured that there are no plans for Naval History to go away, but the magazine must evolve to keep up with the reality of the times. You may notice some changes in this issue. Our goals are to maintain high quality while making Naval History more appealing—to increase the magazine’s vibrancy, while also strengthening its viability.
The department “Bluejacket’s Manual,” by Lieutenant Commander Thomas Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), is a new regular offering. A longtime contributor, Cutler is the author of The Bluejacket’s Manual (Naval Institute Press), the concise encyclopedia of naval know-how that’s included in every new U.S. sailor’s sea bag. Cutler’s column is an entry point into the world of naval history that will appeal equally to pollywogs and shellbacks.
Other changes include the end of Paul Stillwell’s “Looking Back,” a regular department since the October 1993 issue that is now being retired. A former editor-in-chief of Naval History who has a gift for writing as if he’s conversing with the reader, Paul remains part of the magazine’s team. He’ll continue contributing to “As I Recall,” and I look forward to seeing his byline on future articles. Fred Schultz, another former Naval History editor-in-chief who’s continued to make valuable contributions to the magazine, recently retired from the Naval Institute. Fortunately, he’ll continue work on Naval History as a freelancer.
Finally, keep in mind that while most of its competitors are in business to make a profit, Naval History is part of the nonprofit Naval Institute. In fact, the magazine is the most visible way the Institute fulfills one of its strategic goals—preserving naval history.
Naval Institute members who receive Naval History in lieu of Proceedings should have received a 2017 Naval Institute ballot with this issue. Biographies of Board of Directors and Editorial Board candidates appear on pages 56–58. Members who receive Proceedings will receive a ballot with their January issue. For more information about the Naval Institute, visit www.usni.org.
Richard G. Latture
Editor-in-Chief