Eric Wertheim is a defense consultant, columnist, and author specializing in naval and maritime affairs. He is author of the past three editions of the Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, and has served as a speechwriter for Pentagon officials, and an advisor to private industry and the U.S. government. Mr. Wertheim has been a columnist for Proceedings magazine since 1994.

Articles by Eric Wertheim

USS Rinehart (DE-196) underway off the New York Navy Yard.

USS Rinehart (DE-196)

By Eric Wertheim
March 1997
The U.S. Navy destroyer Rinehart (DE-196), built by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Newark, New Jersey, was laid down on 21 October 1943 and commissioned on 12 ...

USS Hake (SS-256)

By Eric Wertheim
January 1997
The U.S. submarine Hake (SS-256), built by Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut, was launched on 17 July 1942 and commissioned on 30 October 1942 with Lieutenant Commander J.C. Broach in ...
Port broadside view of the USS Vance (DER-387) entering Pearl Harbor post 1955.

USS Vance (DE/DER-87)

By Eric Wertheim
December 1996
Launched on 16 July 1943, the U.S. destroyer escort Vance (DE- 387) was commissioned on 1 November 1943 and placed under the command of Lieutenant Commander E.A. Anderson, U.S. Coast ...
Broadside view of the USS Wilkes Barre (CL-103) underway

USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103)

By Eric Wertheim
October 1996
Launched on 24 December 1943, the USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103) was commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 1 July 1944 with Captain Robert Porter, Jr. in Command. Following shakedown training ...
Starboard bow view 45 degrees off centerline of the USS Leonard Wood (APA-12), 11 June 1945, San Francisco, California.

USS Leonard Wood (AP-25/APA-12)

By Eric Wertheim
September 1996
The transport vessel Leonard Wood (AP-25), formerly called the Nutmeg State and Western World , was built in 1922 and renamed Leonard Wood after being purchased by the War Department ...
Starboard broadside view of the USS Baltimore (CA-68)

USS Baltimore (CA-68)

By Eric Wertheim
July 1996
Lead ship of the largest class of heavy cruisers ever built, the USS Baltimore (CA-68), was the lead ship of the Baltimore -class of heavy cruisers, and the fifth U.S ...
Starboard bow view of the USS Soley (DD-707)

USS Soley (DD-707)

By Eric Wertheim
March 1996
The USS Soley (DD-707), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was built by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Kearny, New Jersey. Commissioned on 7 December 1944, the Soley was ...

USS Argonaut (SS-475)

By Eric Wertheim
November 1995
The second U.S. submarine to bear the name “ Arg­onaut ,” the SS-475, was laid down on 28 June 1944 by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Navy Yard. She was launched ...