Naval History Magazine - October 2020 Volume 34, Number 5

A signalman at his post during World War II convoy operations.

On Our Scope

October 2020

World War II ended 75 years ago—and with it, the most epic-scale naval warfare the world has ever seen. We’ve been covering the salient naval historical highlights throughout these 75th ...

Admiral Kelso in August 1990. If Saddam Hussein had advanced from Kuwait into Saudi Arabia at the time, “frankly we didn’t have much military force in a position to prevent him.”

Desert Shield at 30 ‘The Mission Was Defined Early . . . Throw the Iraqis Out of Kuwait’

By Admiral Frank B. Kelso II, U.S. Navy (Retired)

October 2020

In June 1990, Admiral Frank B. Kelso II became the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO); little did he know that in a matter of months, he would be overseeing the ...

In Contact

October 2020

Coverage of Other Navies Mark C. Jones Outgoing editor Richard Latture, in his “On Our Scope” column in the June 2020 issue (p. 2), explains the origin of the article ...

Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, based in Seattle, Washington, built more than 130 ships from 1917 to 1989, including the USS Stark (FFG-31), Fahrion (FFG-22), and Boone (FFG-28). Shipbuilding has its own unique terminology, from decks to stanchions to screw guards.

Speaking the Language: Ship Structural Terms

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

October 2020

In some respects, a ship is like a building, having floors (decks), ceilings (overheads), corridors (passageways), and stairs (ladders). But there are ...

The helm of the USS Constitution shows the characteristic features of ships’ wheels from the time before steam or electric motors controlled the rudder. Two wheels, separated by a winch barrel, allowed extra helmsmen to assist in heavy weather. The barrel is connected through the deck by a series of blocks and tackles to the tiller, which turns the rudder.

Steering with a Wheel

By Philip K. Allan

October 2020

Steering a ship with a wheel seems such a universal concept that it is hard to imagine a time when it was not done. But in fact, Columbus sailed the ...

The museum ship Slater, veteran of World War II and the Cold War Hellenic Navy, left her moorings for a shipyard sojourn this summer.

Naval History News

October 2020

WWII Destroyer Escort Heads Down the Hudson On Sunday, 5 July, onlookers gathered on boat decks and along the shoreline to cap off the Fourth of July weekend with a ...

An F-5L from Utility Squadron 1. Note the open cockpits. The tail has red, white, and blue stripes; on the upper wing surfaces are white stars with red center circles on blue circles

A Convoluted Success Story

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

October 2020

The Curtiss F-5L flying boat probably has the most convoluted history of any aircraft.1 Its predecessors saw action in the Great War (1914–18) and established the flying boat as a ...

With ships out to the horizon as far as the eye can see, landing craft of the massive U.S. invasion armada pour out supplies and military equipment onto the beach at Okinawa in April 1945. From late 1944 into 1945, U.S. naval forces unleashed a “dazzling display of maritime power” while advancing toward Japan “with hardly a pause and without an important defeat.”

The Greatest Naval War Ever Fought

By Vincent P. O’Hara

October 2020

From Midway to Leyte, from Torch to Normandy, the fate of World War II hinged on the decisive factor of sea power writ large.

Front row seat to history: Sailors crowd the decks of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay to witness the formal Japanese surrender proceedings on 2 September 1945.

A Fitting Place to End a War

By Paul Stillwell

October 2020

After serving in the late phases of the Pacific war, the battleship Missouri met her distinctive historic destiny—as the ship of victory.

Final mission: A kamikaze pilot (a naval lieutenant, as indicated by the two bars on his sleeve) salutes as he receives his sortie orders. In their deadly attacks on U.S. ships, “kamikazes exploited everything the Japanese had learned about Navy radars and their limitations.”

Countering the Kamikaze

By Trent Hone

October 2020

The U.S. Navy needed to evolve and adapt to overcome Japan’s last-ditch suicide tactics.

Japan’s Deadliest Weapons

By Norman Polmar

October 2020

Inside Unit 731, home of human experimentation and Japan’s bioweapons—weapons that almost came into play at war’s end.

Marines of the III Marine Amphibious Force (MAF) in 1968. III MAF was to be a key component in an invasion that would have altered the trajectory of the Vietnam War.

Invading North Vietnam

By Colonel Michael F. Morris, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

October 2020

An amphibious invasion that was planned but never happened provides surprising insights into the war in Southeast Asia.

Benedict Arnold’s home-grown fleet (foreground) faces off against the superior British force on Lake Champlain, 11 October 1776. (Valcour Island is to the left.) Similar to how the Continental Army kept the American Revolution alive by fighting, retreating, and living to fight another day, Arnold’s cut-and-run naval engagement served to keep the Revolutionary torch lit.

The Battle of Valcour Island and the Fight for Independence

By Lieutenant Commander Daniel Foose, U.S. Navy

October 2020

With an ad hoc fleet and soldiers-turned-sailors, Benedict Arnold stalled the British advance on Lake Champlain and set the stage for victory in the Revolutionary War.

Acts of Valor: Master Chief Edward C. Byers Jr.

By Kelly Swann

October 2020

Graphic artistry depicts the daring rescue of a doctor in Afghanistan—a heroic act that garnered the Medal of Honor for a Navy SEAL.

The motor lifeboat CG 36500 was acquired by the Orleans (Massachusetts) Historical Society in 1981 and restored to operating condition. She has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

‘Work That We Were Supposed to Do’

By J. M. Caiella

October 2020

A historic ship can be of any class, size, or utility, but the one thing they all have in common is that their status was achieved because of their crews ...

Dunkirk: Operation “Dynamo” 26th May–4th June 1940: An Epic of Gallantry Foreword by Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, Royal Navy (Retired); introduction by M. J. Pearce. Dartmouth, UK: Britannia Museum Trust ...

The Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre has been open to the public since 2005.

Jewel in the Crown Down Under

By William Twaddell

October 2020

Located on Garden Island in the heart of Sydney Harbour is one of the jewels of Australia—the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre. More a treasure chest than a single jewel ...

Pieces of the Past

By Jeff Harding

October 2020

“First copy signed with the Woo gift pen and second copy signed with my old green Parker pen.” Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz penned these words in a letter to ...

October 2020

On Our Scope

Desert Shield at 30 ‘The Mission Was Defined Early . . . Throw the Iraqis Out of Kuwait’

In Contact

Speaking the Language: Ship Structural Terms

Steering with a Wheel

Naval History News

A Convoluted Success Story

The Greatest Naval War Ever Fought

A Fitting Place to End a War

Countering the Kamikaze

Japan’s Deadliest Weapons

Invading North Vietnam

The Battle of Valcour Island and the Fight for Independence

Acts of Valor: Master Chief Edward C. Byers Jr.

‘Work That We Were Supposed to Do’

Book Reviews

Jewel in the Crown Down Under

Pieces of the Past

Quicklinks

October 2020

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