On Our Scope

December 2017
With champagne glasses raised, Admiral Arleigh Burke, Captain Edward Beach, and others present joined in a toast: “Captain Lindemann and his brave crew!” The tribute, delivered 37 years ago at ...

In Contact

December 2017
More on the Liberty Incident James M. Scott Jay Cristol claims in his letter (“In Contact,” October, p. 5) that my article (“The Spy Ship Left Out in the Cold,” ...
Golden Anchor

Anchors, Chains, and Stoppers

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
December 2017
Because mooring a Navy ship to a pier is not always possible or desirable, anchors often are used to secure a vessel in place. The equipment associated with anchoring is ...

Naval History News

December 2017
Yorktown Hosts Historic Ships Conference Ships “are more than just hunks of steel,” said one presenter kicking off the Historic Naval Ships Association’s (HNSA’s) annual conference, “they are living entities.” ...

Historic Ships - Heroism in Port

By J. M. Caiella
December 2017
For such a little “boat,” the 15-year-old Bennington (Gunboat No. 4) had not only traveled much of the world, but also carved out a small chunk of history for herself ...

Unprepared But Undaunted

By Peter Hooker
December 2017
Outnumbered by the Royal Navy, Germany’s surface fleet nevertheless waged a raiding campaign that bought time until waves of U-boats could join the Battle of the Atlantic. The German Navy ...

The Not-So-Mighty Bismarck

By Robert J. Winklareth
December 2017
The German battleship Bismarck has been described in superlative terms ever since she sank the “Pride of the Royal Navy,” the venerable battle cruiser HMS Hood at the 24 May ...

Mahan's Interference in U.S. Policy

By Alan M. Anderson
December 2017
n of The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783 thrust its author, Alfred Thayer Mahan, onto the world stage. Previously a relatively unknown instructor at the U.S. Naval War ...

Historic Aircraft - The COD Fish Lines

By Norman Polmar, Author, Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet
December 2017
Almost from the beginning of carrier aviation, various aircraft were used to fly personnel and high-priority parts to carriers at sea. Probably the first systematic effort at what became known ...

Miracle at Dunkirk on Display

By Kevin M. Hymel
December 2017
The Museum, located on the site of the Allied forces’ headquarters during Operation Dynamo, pays tribute to the sailors, airmen, and soldiers who made local evacuations possible.

Book Reviews

December 2017
The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn: An Untold Story of the American Revolution Robert P. Watson. Boston, MA: DaCapo, 2017. 304 pp. Illus. Index. $28. Reviewed by Rear Admiral Joseph Callo ...

Pieces of the Past

December 2017
A ship’s clock exemplifies how even an everyday item, if steeped in a seafaring context, can be transformed from the merely utilitarian to the appealingly evocative. Add historical significance and ...