Blog | Naval Historical Foundation | Preservation, Education, and Commemoration of Naval History

Brigadier General James L. Collins Jr. Book Prize in Military History

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

The U.S. Commission on Military History announces the inauguration of the Brigadier General James L. Collins Jr. Book Prize in Military History. The prize entails a $1,000 award to the author of any nationality of the best book written in English on U.S. military history published during 2009, 2010, and 2011. The Collins Book Prize Committee, comprised of USCMH members Dr. Edward J. Marolda, Chair, Dr. Jeffrey Clark, and Dr. Kelly Devries, will select the winner based on the following criteria. Topics in all periods and all aspects of U.S. military history (including naval and air warfare) will be considered, including theory, operations, biography, technology and science, strategy and tactics, social, and diplomatic. Special consideration will be given to those works promising to have the most significant impact on the study of America’s military past, and in keeping with the mission of the USCMH, award preference will be given to books that highlight the international aspects of U.S. military history.

Books considered by the Collins Book Prize Committee must be submitted to the USCMH by 30 June 2012. Upon notification from the selection committee, the Collins Book Prize will be presented at the USCMH Annual General Meeting usually held in November. For information contact the Collins Book Prize Committee Chair at: Edward.Marolda@navy.mil.

The late Brigadier General James L. Collins Jr., former Chief of Military History (1970-1982, and a founding member of the U.S. Commission on Military History was a pivotal figure in the resurgence and sustained use of history in the United States Army. His long tenure, the longest of any Chief of Military History, solid integrity, gracious manners, quick intellect, and love of history and historians makes it highly appropriate that a U.S. Commission on Military History book prize is named for him.

General Collins had a long and distinguished career before coming to the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Born in 1917 in El Paso, Texas, he graduated from West Point in 1939. He served in World War II in the Field Artillery, landed on Utah Beach in the Normandy invasion, and ended the war as a battalion commander. A skilled linguist, he served as the first director of the Defense Language Institute in 1959. In Vietnam he served as the special assistant to Commander U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (COMUSMACV) General William Westmoreland. Following his retirement in 1969 he was recalled first to serve as a U.S. representative on a mission to the Soviet Union and then to take the helm as Chief of Military History. In the latter capacity he inaugurated the Vietnam War Monograph series and staffed the Center to begin work on the official U.S. Army history of that war. General Collins was key to establishment of the USCMH in association with the ICMH; in 1973 the Center and the Smithsonian Institution jointly sponsored the first American meeting. He again retired from the Army in 1982 but remained active in the historical profession until the end of his life. During his years on active duty, General Collins earned the Distinguished Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device (for valor), and the Purple Heart.

Posted in Awards, Call for Papers | Tagged army, author, award, book, historian, history, military, naval, navy, prize | Leave a comment

New Photo Donation: Submarine USS BESUGO (SS 321)

Posted on May 14, 2012 by admin

Thomas Earl Gennette

From time to time, we get something interesting or surprising in the mail. We recently received a wonderful collection of photographs – completely unsolicited – from Marie Gennette. Upon opening this unexpected package, we were delighted to find dozens of black and white images from the 1940′s. The photographs were from the collection of her father, Tom Gennette, a sailor from Fort Benton, Montana. He’d served in the Navy as a Fireman in the late 1940′s, and the images document a portion of his service. In particular, his time serving in the submarine USS Besugo (SS 321) is very well represented in the collection.

We’ve scanned just a small sample of the Gennette images, and want to share a few with you here in this story. The collection seems to primarily focus on life on board Besugo, likely during her 1947 Far East cruise. A selection of images ashore in China (one of which bears the caption “Tsingtao”) seems to confirm that suspicion. There are numerous images taken on board the submarine (most of them on deck with the submarine on the surface), primarily showing the crew lounging around or mugging for photos. There are photos of sailors operating machinery, loading torpedoes, and tinkering with film projectors. There are views of a dog that was perhaps the ship’s mascot, and a few images of a crossing the line ceremony. Also included are a series of images of what appears to be a hasty wedding for one of the sailors. There are even a couple of photographs taken through the sub’s periscope. Unfortunately, most of the images do not have captions, so the identities of the men shown are not known.

We have contacted the Photographic Section of the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), and have arranged the transfer of these images to their collection. There, the images will be archived and made available to researchers. You can see images of USS Besugo on the NHHC website here.

We thank Marie Gennette for her generous donation!

Posted in Donation, History | Tagged cold war, donation, donor, history, naval, navy, pacific, photograph, photographs, photos, sub, submarine, torpedo, WW2, WWII | Leave a comment

BOOK REVIEW: Turning the Tide – How a Small Band of Allied Sailors Defeated the U-Boats and Won the Battle of the Atlantic

Posted on May 10, 2012 by admin

By Ed Offley, Basic Books, New York, NY, (2011)

Reviewed by Thomas P. Ostrom

Ed Offley brings writing and research skills to his book on the World War II Battle of the Atlantic. The conflict featured German submarines (U-boats) versus the combat ships of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Britain’s Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy and their respective deadly fleets of corvettes, destroyers, destroyer escorts, cutters, frigates, patrol boats and aircraft which took off from aircraft carriers and land bases. Offley’s book reflects his experience as a military reporter, author, and U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran. This book resurrects his nautical credibility after naval experts asserted his previous book on the tragic 1968 sinking of the submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589) consisted of unsubstantiated assertions.

The Battle of the Atlantic preceded the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. Had the U-boat “Wolf Packs” driven Allied cargo ships and submarine hunters from the sea, Britain would likely have been defeated. It was a close call, but Adm. Karl Donitz, the German Navy and U-boat commander-in-chief, and German dictator Adolf Hitler lost.

Merchant mariner sailors suffered high casualties, as did U.S. Navy Armed Guards stationed on the merchant vessels, and German submariners. Tens of thousands of civilian and naval personnel perished in the Atlantic campaign. Offley traced the missions, tactics, technologies, and carnage. By 1943, the U-boat war was nearly over.

Allied technology, teamwork, and nautical skills prevailed on the treacherous, stormy, foggy, icy seas that stretched from the Eastern Seaboard of Canada and the United States, to Iceland and Greenland, and the coasts of Western Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.

Cryptological complexities were vividly described by the author, as were the Allied technologies of radio communications, sonar (Asdic), radar, high frequency direction finders (HF/DF), gunnery, and depth charge weaponry.

Offley emphasized U.S. and British-Canadian strategies and leadership, but neglected Rear Adm. Adolphus Andrews (USN), the creative commander of air and convoy escort vessels on the Eastern Sea Frontier (ESF). Adm. Andrews initially relied on limited U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army air and sea craft in his innovative inter-service operations. The ESF included the Atlantic maritime domain from south Florida to the Canadian border.

The author included the significant contributions of the U.S. Coast Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic. Offley described the competent crews and technological and seafaring assets of the 327-foot Treasury Class cutters that performed treacherous SAR missions in stormy, U-boat infested waters. Offley chronicled the U-boat hunter cutters Ingham, Campbell, and Spencer; the SAR missions of the USCGC Bibb; and the maritime expertise exhibited by Ensign John M. Waters, Jr. (USCG), a future Coast Guard captain, and future author of a book on the Atlantic U-boat war appropriately titled Bloody Winter.

The missions of Royal Canadian Navy combat and SAR include the voyages of the Sunflower and Zamalec. The USN escort aircraft carrier USS Bogue launched planes on dangerous and successful support missions in joint missions with USS Card and Santee, and HMS Archer.

Offley described the challenges, successes, and failures of U.S., British, and Canadian combat vessels and their courageous commissioned and enlisted personnel.

The author covered the unneutral diplomacy crafted at the Atlantic Charter meeting off the Canadian coast between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose nation was not yet officially in the war.

Offley lists diplomatic meetings and treaties, and described the leadership qualities of Churchill, First Sea Lord, Adm. Dudley Pound, and Adm. Sir Max Horton (RN), commander of Allied operations in the North Atlantic; and the comparable commands of U.S. Navy Admirals Harold R. Stark and Ernest J. King. Offley provides scholarly documentation. Convoy routes and designated ports in the U.S., Canada, Iceland, and the United Kingdom are cited in appendices; and an index of German submarines, British, Canadian and U.S. warships, and merchant vessels. The text contains photographs and other illustrations; and primary and secondary sources, including military intelligence reports and documents.

Turning the Tide is a historic reminder of the exemplary skills of civilian factory workers who furnished the equipment and supplies of war, industrial and political leaders, and the military personnel who were instrumental in achieving victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The author described the significance of the Battle of the Atlantic and the realistic perceptions of its German and Allied participants: “They knew that victory and defeat, (and) life and death, would be determined on the open ocean before the grisly end game of the war could play out on land…And they committed themselves accordingly.”

Thomas P. Ostrom is a member of the Naval Historical Foundation and the author of United States Coast Guard in World War II.

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged ASW, books, destroyer, history, naval, navy, reviews, submarine, World War II, WWII | Leave a comment

Three New Aircraft Models Installed in Cold War Gallery

Posted on May 9, 2012 by admin

LCDR Michael "Pyscho" McLeod, USN (Ret) (foreground) and CAPT Ted Bronson, USN (Ret) consider the placement of the new AJ-1 Savage model (held in Pyscho's hand in the photo) in the Cold War Gallery display case

The Cold War Gallery houses an impressive collection of aircraft models, all built by retired naval aviator Michael “Pyscho” McLeod. On Wednesday, 2 May 2012, three new models joined the collection. Psycho lives in Florida, and builds the aircraft in his workshop at his home. He is currently a pilot for Delta Airlines, and was able to hop a flight up last week to install the three models. As usual on his visits, he relied on the hospitality of long time NHF volunteer Captain Ted Bronson, USN (Ret), who facilitated the transport of the models from Florida, and the model builder from the airport!

Each of the three new models has a unique story. Two are replicas of Medal of Honor aircraft, and the other played a fascinating role in early Cold War nuclear deterrence. Perhaps the most well known of the aircraft is the Douglas A-4E Skyhawk, modeled after the one flown by then-Lieutenant Commander Michael J. Estocin over the skies of Vietnam in 1967. In April of that year, he led 3-plane anti-SAM (surface to air missile) strikes that came under heavy enemy fire. On 20 April he led a successful attack against 3 SAM sites, despite heavy damage to his aircraft, and returned safely to the carrier USS Ticonderoga (CVA 14). Estocin led another anti-SAM strike group on 26 April, and once again came under heavy fire. With his aircraft aflame, he managed to launch his SHRIKE missiles at the target, and then turned and head for home. But he never made it – the damaged aircraft fell from the sky and crashed. Estocin was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor. This model was sponsored by Captain Dale Lewey, his squadron mate.

The new helicopter model is a Sikorsky HOS3-1, flown by Lieutenant Junior Grade John Koelsch during the Korean War. In July 1951, Koelsch flew his HOS3-1 into a deeply overcast mountainous area in an attempt to rescue a downed Marine aviator. He succeeded in rescuing the injured Marine, despite heavy enemy gunfire and approaching darkness. During the rescue attempt, the helicopter was shot down, but Koelsch brought the chopper down safely and helped his crew and the Marine escape, then led them through 9 days of evasion from enemy capture. The men were ultimately captured, but Koelsch continued to show exemplary leadership and restraint during captivity, until his eventual death while still a prisoner of war. He, too, was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor. Koelsch’s HOS3-1 model was sponsored by Captain Colleen Nevius.

The final new model is a North American AJ-1 Savage. The Savage had a relatively short career in the Navy, serving as a carrier based nuclear capable bomber in the early 1950′s. The AJ-1model was sponsored by Vice Admiral Jerry Miller, in honor of Vice Admiral Dick Ashworth, who flew it for VC-6 in 1951. This model proved to be particularly challenging for Psycho, as the kit needed to build it is exceedingly rare. The master molds for the kit seem to have disappeared somewhere in Eastern Europe, and Psycho had to scour online vendors and collectors to finally locate a kit for sale. The Savage, unique with its two propeller engines and one jet engine, was a large aircraft, and the resulting model is one of the larger ones now on display in the Cold War Gallery aircraft model case.

Brazo Zulu to Psycho for yet another fantastic set of aircraft models! Please visit the “Fly Navy” page of our Cold War Gallery website to see photos of the 34 aircraft models now on display.

A-4E Skyhawk Model, sponsored by Captain Dale Lewey, in honor of Lieutenant Commander Michael J. Estocin, VA-192, 1967

HO3S-1 Model, sponsored by Captain Colleen Nevius, in honor of Lieutenant Junior Grade John Koelsch, HU-2, 1951

AJ-1 Savage Model, sponsored by Vice Admiral Jerry Miller, in honor of Vice Admiral Dick Ashworth, VC-6, 1951

Posted in Cold War Gallery, History, Navy Museum | Tagged A4, aircraft, airplane, AJ, chopper, history, model, museum, naval, navy, plane, scale | Leave a comment

New Video Series on the War of 1812

Posted on May 8, 2012 by admin

Chase of the CONSTITUTION, July 1812 Painting by Anton Otto Fischer, depicting the boats of U.S. Frigate CONSTITUTION towing her in a calm, while she was being pursued by a squadron of British warships, 18 July 1812. NHHC Photo NH 85542-KN

RH Rositzke & Associates, LLC, has completed work on five videos for the U.S. Navy’s War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemoration. We’ve posted previously about some of their recent work, including a video on last year’s Centennial of Naval Aviation and a series on the U.S. Navy in the Civil War. This latest release on the War of 1812 will be displayed as part of Navy exhibits at venues across the country, where the Bicentennial is being observed. The videos will, for the most part, be accessible on visitors’ smartphones, to be watched while they are waiting in line for the exhibits. They will also be displayed, in some locations, on video monitors.

Said Bob Rositzke,“We were pleased to be able to make a contribution to the Navy’s observance of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. Many call this ‘the forgotten war,’ but the Navy’s role in this conflict should not be overlooked. In many ways this war put our Navy on the path to becoming a world class power.”

The video series has five parts, broken down as follows:

USS Constitution: A profile of the Navy’s most famous frigate and our enduring Ship of State

On The Home Front: A description of the Battles of Lake Erie and Lake Champlain and how these two naval engagements were key to the war’s outcome

Our Flag Was Still There: The story of the British invasion from Chesapeake Bay, resulting in the burning of Washington. The brave stand at Bladensburg and the bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, which resulted in The Star Spangled Banner.

On Land and Sea: The story of the Battle of New Orleans, a classic example of a brilliant joint operation between the U.S. Navy and Major General Andrew Jackson.

Postwar Times: A look at how the Navy’s role in the War of 1812 shaped the crucial years that followed.

We’re pleased to share the full five part series as one consecutive video here:

Posted in History | Tagged 1812, documentary, film, history, naval, navy, video, war, War of 1812 | Leave a comment

Navy Museum Kicks off Mission Ocean Educational Program

Posted on May 3, 2012 by admin

Captain John Paulson, USN (Ret) works with students during the 3D Mission Ocean simulation

On Friday, 27 April, and Tuesday, 1 May, the Mission Ocean program was inaugurated in the Cold War Gallery, at the National Navy Museum in Washington DC. One hundred-thirty students from two Prince William County schools were the first children to conduct undersea exploration missions, employing networked computers to operate their research submarine, while observing their sub’s search on a 3D video display. Investigating the continental shelf area in the Aleutian Islands, students used ocean temperature and sulfur dioxide measurements to locate an actively erupting volcano in the virtual Education Center at the Cold War Gallery, part of the National Navy Museum in Washington, D.C.

Over the past month, a complex network of equipment was installed in the Cold War Gallery in order to facilitate the program. A grant provided by the Office of Naval Research enabled Purdue University Calumet to conduct the program, including the purchase of eight laptop computers for the Education Center. The laptops were then networked through a desktop PC to the Mission Ocean program at Purdue-Calumet’s Center for Innovation Through Visualization and Simulation. The Naval Historical Foundation purchased the desktop PC, as well as a wide screen 3D television to display the submarine and the surrounding ocean. NHF Education Director Captain John Paulson, USN (Ret), former commanding officer of the nuclear attack submarine USS Philadelphia (SSN 690) as well as a retired school teacher, worked closely with the team from Purdue-Calumet to ensure that the simulation was running smoothly, and then led the students through the program.

Four Prince William County schools, Enterprise Elementary, Westridge Elementary, Parkside Middle, and Gainesville Middle, have piloted the Mission Ocean Program during the past year school year, conducting teamed hands-on activities to investigate bearing, range, charts, course, distance, speed, communications, data keeping, plotting, navigation, weight, mass, density, buoyancy, hovering, and then applying their constructed knowledge to simulation of each aspect of operating a research submarine on laptop computers to get underway, drive, dive, and explore.

During their visit to the museum, students were organized into teams, each taking their turn at the 45-minute submarine exploration problem. Student teams included the command team, plus drive, dive, ballast/trim, navigation, propulsion/electrical, research data, and scientist. All teams were successful in their mission, owing to great teamwork and year-long preparation. When not conducting the research mission, the students worked at projects developed by the staff of the Museum: “Underwater Research Vessel Challenge,” where students could build submarines with LEGO building blocks, “Straw Rockets” to learn about Newton’s Laws of Motion, mapping of an underwater wreck site, “Sink or Swim” engineering challenge plus the science of Cartesian divers, visiting the Navy Museum exhibits of the Trieste and Alvin submersibles, and conducting a deep diving research, navigation, and exploration scavenger hunt.

Students command the Mission Ocean submarine at individual stations, with a 3D view on the big screen

Students build underwater research vessels out of LEGOs in between Mission Ocean runs

Posted in Cold War Gallery, Navy Museum, News, STEM | Tagged educator, history, museum, naval, navy, STEM, student, submarine, teacher | Leave a comment

Salvaging Exhibit Artifacts from a Decommissioned Destroyer

Posted on April 30, 2012 by admin

NHF staff Dave Colamaria (left) and Todd Creekman (right) with INACTSHIPOFF escort Matt Spaeth (center) prepare to board ex-USS FORREST SHERMAN

The new exhibit for the Cold War Gallery, “Into the Lion’s Den,” is scheduled to open this summer at the Washington Navy Yard. Construction on the exhibit is ongoing (see our recent update here) but we are still in the process of obtaining some of the many artifacts that will be on display. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a reconstruction of the armored bridge of the cruiser USS Newport News (CA 148). In order to make the exhibit as realistic as possible, we have been working closely with the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) to locate artifacts from the era. But as construction moved ahead at a steady pace, it became apparent that we were coming up short on the type of equipment that would have been mounted on the bulkheads and overheads of a Cold War era surface warship. To that end, arrangements were made to take a trip up to the Inactive Ships Management Office (INACTSHIPOFF) in Philadelphia, home to a large number of decommissioned Navy ships. After coordination with both NHHC and INACTSHIPOFF, a plan was hatched to scour the bridge and Combat Information Center (CIC) of the destroyer ex-USS Forrest Sherman (DD 931). While Forrest Sherman is a destroyer and Newport News was a cruiser, much of the equipment used on board the ships was standard Navy issue regardless of ship class. Thus, anything scavenged from Forrest Sherman would be an appropriate and interesting addition to the exhibit.

Forrest Sherman was commissioned in 1955 as the lead ship in a new class of destroyers. She served for almost 30 years, and was decommissioned in 1982. She was later stricken from the Naval Vessels Register, sold for scrap to Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA, and then re-acquired by the Navy when the shipyard went bankrupt. Over the past 5 years there was some hope that Forrest Sherman would be saved and preserved as a museum ship in Delaware, but those plans fell through and the destroyer is once again set to be scrapped.

Radio Circuit Equipment

On Thursday 26 April, NHF staff members Todd Creekman and Dave Colamaria, along with volunteer Jim Moses, met up at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center (formerly Philadelphia Naval Shipyard) for a day of hard work. After a safety orientation by INACTSHIPOFF’s Sue Morrell, the three were joined by an escort from the shipyard, Matt Spaeth. A short drive around the Reserve Basin led the team to the gangway to Forrest Sherman. The destroyer is moored between two other Cold War-era destroyers, ex-USS Edson (DD 946), formerly of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City and now bound for display at Saginaw, MI, and ex-USS Charles F. Adams (DDG 2), a potential museum ship in Jacksonville, FL. After loading up tools and supplies (no cameras allowed on board!) the four made their way up to the bridge and surveyed the scene. Creekman and Moses are both retired surface warfare officers, veterans of the Cold War, so the equipment on board was a familiar sight.

Surprisingly, despite having been decommissioned three decades ago, and pored over by museum ships looking for useful equipment, Forrest Sherman was full of exactly the kind of gear needed for the Lion’s Den exhibit. Of particular interest were internal communications equipment, such as sound powered phone jack boxes and handset cradles. The team was also on the lookout for speakers, radio circuit boxes, and wall mounted aluminum document holders. A quick survey of the bridge and CIC turned up a bounty of precisely the type of equipment that was needed. The morning was spent loosening and dismounting equipment. Many of the bolts and screws had decades of corrosion and paint holding them fast, but the NHF team made quick work of them. In fact – aside from one stubborn overhead loudspeaker with screws painted solid that had to be cut off – all of the equipment came off with nothing more than muscle and determination. By lunch, the team had loosened all of the screws and prepared everything for final inspection of wiring, and removal by INACTSHIPOFF electricians in the early afternoon.

After a quick bite to eat, Creekman, Moses, and Colamaria met back with their escort Spaeth, and rendezvoused with electricians Chris Savoy and Harry Wilson for the final work. The electricians inspected the components designated for removal and then determined the best way to cut the remaining wiring. Fortunately, despite the fact that electricity still flows in the ship (including working outlets which were crucial to powering the tools and lights used in the removal efforts) none of the selected equipment had juice flowing, and the electricians made short work of the wiring. All that was left was to haul nearly 10 bags of equipment down two decks and off the ship for transport back to the Washington Navy Yard. After officially signing for the transfer of the gear with INACTSHIPOFF, the team dispersed and headed home. The equipment has since been photographed and shipped off to Design and Production, Inc, for inclusion in the exhibit. We look forward to seeing it again when it is part of a brand next exhibit for the National Navy Museum this summer.

Some of the gear salvaged from destroyer ex-USS FORREST SHERMAN

NHF volunteer Jim Moses on board ex-USS FORREST SHERMAN, with ex-USS EDSON in the background to port and ex-USS CHARLES F. ADAMS to starboard.

Posted in Cold War Gallery, History | Tagged bridge, CIC, Cold, cold war, cruiser, destroyer, equipment, exhibit, history, mothball, mothballed, museum, naval, navy, Philadelphia, ship, shipyard, vietnam, war | 3 Comments

OUTLAW SHARK Submarine History Seminar a Success

Posted on April 30, 2012 by admin

LT Chris Rose, USN, Naval Academy Ocean Engineering Instructor and Officer Representative for the Dolphin Club, joins NHF Chairman ADM Bruce DeMars, USN (Ret.) (at left) and NSL Chairman ADM Rich Mies, USN (Ret.) (at right) in cutting the 112th Submarine Force Birthday cake.

The 2012 Submarine History Seminar was held on the evening of 24 April 2012, as part of the National War College Commandant’s Lecture Series in historic Roosevelt Hall at the War College’s Fort McNair campus in southwest Washington, DC. 2012 marks the 11th year that the Naval Historical Foundation has partnered with the Naval Submarine League to stage these compelling looks back at the U.S. Navy’s submarine force in war and peace. This year’s topic was “OUTLAW SHARK – The Beginning of Over-The-Horizon Targeting.” The seminar took an in-depth look back at the intensive effort in the 1970s and 1980s to develop over-the-horizon (OTH) targeting methods needed to ensure that newly developed HARPOON and TOMAHAWK cruise missiles could be employed reliably to their full range potentials. Moderated by NHF Vice President RADM Jerry Holland, USN (Ret), panelists included:

RADM Guy Shaffer, USN (Ret), who had served for five years as Director, Navy Command and Control and Communications Projects for the Naval Electronics Systems Command in the 1970s;
RADM Walter Locke, USN (Ret), who had served as Director of the Joint Cruise Missiles Project from 1977-1982;
Dr. (and retired Navy CAPT) Robert Hess, who directed and performed contract analyses in areas of ocean surveillance, OTH targeting, command and control and related fields for numerous Navy and DoD offices in the 1970s and 1980s;
CAPT Lynn Wessman, USN (Ret.), who served as project officer for OUTLAW SHARK at Submarine Group Eight in Naples, Italy in the late 1970s.

The audience of nearly 70 active duty and retired Navy personnel, plus eight midshipmen of the Naval Academy’s Dolphin Club, listened with rapt attention to the participants’ enthralling descriptions of the U.S. Navy’s ultimately successful effort to target the Soviet Navy before they were able to develop the same capability to target USN ships.

The seminar was preceded by food and refreshments sponsored again this year by the Northrop Grumman Marine Systems office and included a ceremonial cake to mark this month’s 112th birthday of the U.S. Navy’s submarine force.

Seminar attendees enjoy food, drink, and camaraderie before the seminar in the foyer of historic Roosevelt Hall at the Naval War College.

Seminar participants (left to right) RADM Shaffer, RADM Locke, DR. Hess, CAPT Wessman.

Ceremonial cake featuring OUTLAW SHARK logo.

Posted in History | Tagged birthday, force, history, missile, naval, navy, seminar, sub, submarine, target | Leave a comment

BOOK REVIEW: Nile 1798 – Nelson’s First Great Victory

Posted on April 27, 2012 by admin

By Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Osprey Publishing, UK (2011).

Reviewed by Captain John A. Rodgaard USN (Ret.)

Osprey Publishing’s Campaign Series of books are noted for their concise quality in conveying military history. One of their latest offerings, written by Dr. Gregory Fremont-Barnes, is no exception. Nile 1798: Nelson’s first great victory is well laid-out; succinctly written and beautifully illustrated, to include many examples from the author’s own collection of prints.

In his introduction, the author’s rationale for labelling the Battle of the Nile as one of the most decisive battles in naval history is spot on. The Battle of the Nile, together with Nelson’s other two great victories, Copenhagen in 1801 and Trafalgar in 1805, would secure Britain (after another 17 years of global warfare, to include the sideshow with the United States) as the pre-eminent maritime power for the next one hundred years. They laid the foundation for Britain to expand its empire and commonwealth.

Fremont-Barnes provides a biography of the opposing commanders’ naval service – Vice Admiral Brueys and Rear Admiral Villeneuve for the French and Nelson, to include a short biographical piece for each one of his senior commanders – Nelson’s ‘Band of Brothers’. Unfortunately, he didn’t do the same for the French. However, he did name them in the listing of the French order-of-battle, and one can look them up on the Internet with varying degrees of success.

The author provides a description of the opposing order-of-battle that acknowledges the superiority of Nelson’s squadron in fighting efficiency. This advantage was critical, because the ships of the French squadron were superior in almost all respects – armament, construction, sailing qualities and manpower. However, the collective advantage of the French squadron was squandered as a result of a series of decisions made by Brueys – he possessed four frigates, but none were at sea to provide him with timely warning of the British squadron’s presence. He decided to array his squadron at anchor, in a line ahead formation, thinking that it was close enough to the shoals that would prevent the British from sailing between the shore and his ships, thus providing an opportunity for Nelson to engage Brueys’ squadron from both sides – doubly-up. Brueys planned to force the British into a simple one-on-one gunnery duel; a duel that greatly favoured French weight of shot.

Brueys also discounted the effect that wind direction would have on his squadron for he intended to fight in place, thus giving the British a critical manoeuvring advantage of having the wind at their backs. Finally, Brueys had decided to send hundreds of his men ashore to fetch fresh water. This drastically reduced the fighting efficiency of his ships.

Fremont-Barnes’ description of the battle itself is tightly woven. For one who is familiar with the battle, the author’s writing style still captures a sense of drama, and gives the reader a sense that the outcome could have been much different; one that might have prevented the annihilation of the French squadron. His description is enhanced by a series of three-dimensional views depicting the phases of the battle. These approximations are very helpful and guide the reader through the three primary phases of the battle. Unfortunately, I found the contemporary interpretative paintings of the battle a little hooky and unnecessary.

Dr. Fremont-Barnes has produced an excellent treatise on the battle, weaving it into the overall land and sea phases of the campaign that initially saw Napoleon triumphant, but later forced him to abandon his army and return to France. The immediate result was to bring Napoleon to the fore. However, he would eventually surrender to one of the ship’s that fought at the Nile, HMS Bellerophon. Ironic?

Recently retired, Captain Rodgaard currently commands the National Capitol Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States.

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged books, Britain, Egypt, England, France, history, Napoleon, naval, reviews | Leave a comment

2012 STEM-H Teacher Fellows Selected

Posted on April 25, 2012 by admin

The Naval Historical Foundation is pleased to announce the eight selectees for the 2012 Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and History (STEM-H) Teacher Fellowship. Selectees will use the exhibits of the Cold War Gallery of the National Navy Museum in Washington DC during their two-week fellowship to develop standards-based lesson plans, based on the technology, engineering, science, and mathematics inherent in the museum exhibits. Since the history of the Navy is the history of technology, three certified history teachers have been added to this year’s fellowship teams to develop history lesson plans complementary to the STEM lesson plans.

The first fellowship team will concentrate on the Covert Submarine Operations exhibit, to expand the submarine navigation, communications, nuclear propulsion, torpedo, missile, sonar, fire control and undersea engineering areas. In addition to the exhibits in the museum, a submarine tour will be part of their 2-week schedule. Coming to DC for the period 9 – 20 July are:

Benjamin J. Barris, a physics and mathematics teacher at A.C. Jones High School, Beeville, TX
Janice Cunningham, a mathematics, robotics and engineering teacher for Berkeley County School District, SC
Bill Sanford, a mathematics, physics, and computer science teacher at Nansemond Suffolk Academy, Suffolk, VA
Cynthia Woolston, a history teacher for Brunswick R-II School District, Brunswick, MO

The second fellowship team will widen the lesson planning scope to include naval aircraft and surface ships, their missiles, and naval research and development. Visits to Patuxent River, MD and Dahlgren, VA are planned. Naval Air Station Patuxent River is home to the full spectrum of Research, Development, Acquisition, Test & Evaluation (RDAT&E) for all of naval aviation. Dahlgren Laboratory is a premier naval research and development center that serves as a specialty site for weapon system integration, with unique ability to rapidly introduce new technology into complex warfighting systems based on Dahlgren’s longstanding competencies in Science and Technology RDAT&E. Also planned is a tour of an AEGIS destroyer or cruiser. For the 23 July – 3 August period, selectees are:

Donald G. Belle, biology and chemistry teacher at Gwynn Park High School, Brandywine, MD
John Clark, mathematics, physics, chemistry, earth/space science, and history teacher at Deltona High School, Deltona, FL
J. Paul Parker, earth science teacher at McCant’s Middle School, Anderson, SC
Danielle Thomas, history teacher at Chesnee Middle School, Chesnee, SC

Finally, a small cadre’ of returning STEM fellows from last summer will overlap with the new STEM-H teams from July 16-27. Jeff Derda, a STEM teacher, and Ken Nagel, an earth science and environmental science teacher, from the Academy of Information Technology at Apex High School, Apex, NC, will be in Washington DC to present their fellowship experiences at the National Academy Foundation conference. They will also help to guide and assist the new fellowship teachers, with a view toward expanding the STEM-H fellowship program under Jeff’s and Ken’s leadership to several of the other twelve Navy museums nationwide; see http://www.history.navy.mil/museums/index.html .

Submarine-related lesson plans from last year’s STEM fellowship teachers can be viewed at: http://www.usnavymuseum.org/Education.asp.

Posted in Cold War Gallery, Navy Museum, STEM | Tagged educator, history, naval, navy, STEM, teacher | Leave a comment

RDML Jay DeLoach Steps Down as Director of Naval History

Posted on April 23, 2012 by admin

A statement from Rear Admiral Jay DeLoach, USN (Ret), Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command:

“I shared with my command today that I will be voluntarily stepping down as their director. The turnover process with the new director will commence May 1 and end prior to May 15. When I took this job in 2008, I was tasked by the Chief of Naval Operations with fixing an organization that had fallen into obscurity for a variety of reasons and to rebuild it into a viable Echelon II command capable of executing its mission and making naval history ‘come alive’ for the Navy and the American public. Since then, the revived Naval History and Heritage Command has made tremendous improvements in collecting, preserving, protecting, and making available the history of the Navy as noted by the recent Blue Ribbon Panel.

While I am very impressed with the strides that this team has made in preserving and telling the history of the world’s finest Navy, I believe it’s time for a new leader to expand on recent progress and deal with the challenges before us. I am proud of the men and women of the History and Heritage Command and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead them. We have been on a long journey together over the past 4 years, and would not be as far along as we are without the dedication and commitment of everyone at NHHC.

My successor will bring a new infusion of energy to the command to continue on our journey into the future. The past four years at NHHC has tested every aspect of my professional talents and leadership and I am confident of the legacy of change and the connection with our Navy that I leave to my successor.”

Posted in History, News | Tagged command, director, heritage, history, naval, navy, NHHC, resign, resignation | 7 Comments

“Into the Lion’s Den” Exhibit Construction: On Schedule

Posted on April 23, 2012 by admin

Projectiles from the collection of the Naval History and Heritage Command are prepped for restoration prior to installation in the exhibit

Construction of the new Cold War Gallery exhibit, “Into the Lion’s Den,” is progressing nicely. The exhibit remembers the 1972 night battle in the narrow, mined confines of Haiphong Harbor between U.S. Navy surface warships and aircraft, and North Vietnamese PT boats. The centerpiece of the new exhibit will be a reconstruction of the armored bridge of the cruiser USS Newport News (CA 148). We’ve got a series of photos below detailing the progress of the construction in April 2012.

Work is being done off-site at Design and Production, Inc. (D&P), in Lorton, VA. Once fabrication of the exhibit is complete in Lorton, it will be disassembled, transported to the Washington Navy Yard, and reassembled inside Building 70, the Cold War Gallery. The exhibit will be constructed using a combination of authentic Vietnam era artifacts, and newly constructed reproductions. As you can see in the photos below, the framework of the exhibit is being built at the D&P workshop. Much of the equipment that will be mounted in the exhibit is from the collection of the Curator Branch of the Naval History and Heritage Command. Other items will be obtained by scavenging parts from mothballed ships – a story we’ll have more on in the coming weeks.

To learn more about the exhibit and the history that inspired it, please read our earlier blog story. We plan to cut the ribbon on this new exhibit at our Annual Meeting in June. The Naval Historical Foundation is still raising funds to underwrite the construction of this new exhibit, and we hope you will consider donating on our Fundly page, using the Donate button below.

Fabrication of the exhibit deck, shown flipped upside down

Lion's Den Construction Progess April 2012

Replica bulkheads under construction at D&P

Posted in Cold War Gallery, Fundraising, Navy Museum | Tagged artifact, cold war, construction, cruiser, display, exhibit, history, museum, navy, project | 1 Comment

BOOK REVIEW: Stockpile – The Story Behind 10,000 Strategic Nuclear Weapons

Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin

By Jerry Miller, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, ( 2010)

Reviewed by Charles Bogart

This well-written and crafted book is an insider’s look at how the United States’ strategic nuclear weapon stockpile grew from three weapons in 1945 to over 10,000 in 1980 and then began to shrink to its present level of some 2,000. The author is multifaceted in telling this story. He discusses the political and military process by which the United States reached decisions on the quantity and quality of nuclear weapons to place in its arsenal. Tied in with this discussion is the question, “Were United States nuclear weapons for use in a first strike force or to be held for a retaliatory strike?” Buried within this discussion is the question of what were the Soviet Union targets that the United States nuclear weapon systems should be programmed to hit. This discussion then leads to the question of how many weapons do you have to allocate to hit a target to insure the target is destroyed and what do you target–military forces, industrial sites, urban population centers, or some sort of combination of these sites. Wrapped within all of these discussions are comments concerning command and control issues affecting the military and their civilian masters.

The author traces the nuclear weapon stockpile program’s growth and decline from the Roosevelt to the Obama administration. Each President and his Secretary of Defense are examined to show that administration’s concerns about the size of the United States’ nuclear weapon stockpile. Each administration, to a certain extent, wrestled with the question of how many strategic nuclear weapons did the United States need to insure parity or superiority to the Soviet Union and to provide Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) capability.

Much of the discussion within the book keeps returning to the subject of the United States’ Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP). One question that kept coming up as the SIOP was revised was the ratio of nuclear weapons to be targeted against military and civilian sites. This, in turn, led to the question of which service and which component of that service would hit a specific target. Further complicating the development of the SIOP plan was the need to address what was the type of nuclear retaliation to be launched that was proportional to the attack on the United States.

One constant theme in the book is the author’s contention that the developers of the SIOP and their masters had a fixation on land based missiles and aircraft. The result was that they never understood the threat the Soviet Ballistic Missile Submarine force posed or the relative invulnerability of the United States Ballistic Missile Submarines. While a lot of publicity was given to the concept of a Triad nuclear weapon delivery system during the period 1960 to 1990, the truth was that the United States gave more thought to the use of land based airpower and missiles than to sea based nuclear response capability.

The author intertwines within his story of the growth of the United States nuclear stockpile efforts by others to contain and reduce the number of nuclear weapons. This story seeks to explain that counting the total number of nuclear weapons possessed is not necessarily the way to quantify nuclear weapon superiority. The first hesitant steps taken by both the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia to limit each others nuclear weapon arsenals is an interesting read.

With the last chapter of the book “The Future: What is Next?” the author looks ahead at such nuclear weapon topics as threats, status of the deterrent force, arms control, testing, proliferation, force composition, and other topics. This is an intellectual tour of various actual and potential problems facing the United States over the next decade. It gives one pause to think and reflect on what should the United States’ nuclear weapon policy be for the next decade.

Those seeking a good, concise explanation of the theory of deployment of nuclear weapons by the United States will find this book enlightening. It is a great addition to and complements the author’s first book Nuclear Weapons and Aircraft Carriers.

Charles H. Bogart of Frankfort, KY, served in the Navy from 1958-1961. He recently retired as a Planning Supervisor from the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs and is now employed as a Historian by Frankfort Parks and Historical Sites.

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged atomic, bomb, books, cold war, history, ICBM, missile, naval, navy, nuclear, nuke, reviews | Leave a comment

2012 Cold War Essay Prize Competition

Posted on April 19, 2012 by admin

For the eighth year, the John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis at the Virginia Military Institute is pleased to announce that it will award prizes for the best unpublished research papers dealing with the United States military in the Cold War era (1945-1991). Any aspect of the Cold War military is eligible, with papers on war planning, operations, intelligence, logistics, and mobilization especially welcome. Please note that essays which relate aspects of the Korean and Southeast Asian conflicts to the larger Cold War are also open for consideration.

They welcome submissions of previously unpublished pieces, and encourage you to pass along this notice to colleagues or promising graduate students who might be working in this area.

Prizes: First place will earn a plaque and a cash award of $2000; second place, $1000 and a plaque; and third place, $500 and a plaque.

Procedures: Entries should be tendered to the Adams Center at VMI by 31 July 2012. Please make your submission by Microsoft Word and limit your entry to a maximum of 7500 words (minimum 4,000 words), exclusive of preferred endnote documentation and bibliography. A panel of judges will, over the summer, examine all papers; the Adams Center will then announce its top three rankings early in the fall of 2012. The Journal of Military History will be happy to consider those award winners for publication. In addition, the Adams Center would like to post the better papers on its website–with the permission of the author, of course.

Submissions and questions:

James L. Adams, Ed.D.
Director, John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis
Department of History
Virginia Military Institute; Lexington, VA 24450
adamsjl@vmi.edu
540-464-7447
Fax: 540-464-7246

Results of the 2011 Cold War Essay Contest
sponsored by the John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis Department of History Virginia Military Institute

First prize: $2000

“Virtually Useless: The Rise and Fall of the Safeguard Ballistic Missile Defense System”
by Joseph C. Scott, United States Military Academy

Second prize: $1000

“New Look Over Taiwan: The Eisenhower Administration and the Formosa Straits Crisis, August-October 1958”
by James Young, Kansas State University

Third prize: $500

“Without Mercy: US Strategic Intelligence and Finland in the Cold War”
by Jukka Rislakki, Jarmala, Latvia

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order)

“History of the Special Forces Medic and the Role of Medicine in Counterinsurgency, 1952-1975”
by Justin Barr, Yale University

“Blue versus Orange: The United States Naval War College, Japan, and the Old Enemy in the Pacific, 1945-1946”
by Hal M. Friedman, Henry Ford Community College

“Failure to Plant the SEAD: USAF Suppression of Enemy Air Defense Doctrine and Linebacker Offensives”
by James Young, Kansas State University

Posted in Call for Papers, History | Tagged article, author, award, essay, history, prize, writing | Leave a comment

Remembering the Contributions of the Mine Warfare Community

Posted on April 17, 2012 by admin

A demolition charge detonates 1,500 meters from the mine countermeasures ship USS Scout (MCM 8) in the Straits of Hormuz on Nov. 19, 2010. The charge was built and detonated by sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 1 and Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2, attached to Combined Task Group 56.1 during joint mine countermeasures training. US Navy photo 101119-N-QW632-023

Commander David Bruhn, USN (Ret) is one of the leading authorities on the history of U.S. Navy mine warfare. He is perhaps best known as the author of the multi-volume Wooden Ships and Iron Men series. Volume I, The U.S. Navy’s Ocean Minesweepers, 1953–1994, tells the story of the long service lives of the 65 U.S. Navy ocean minesweepers (MSO). In addition to duties sweeping mines, they also searched for lost aircraft, ships, and munitions on the sea floor, showed the flag around the world, and participated in nuclear test programs and the NASA space program. Volume II, The U.S. Navy’s Coastal and Motor Minesweepers, 1941–1953, studies World War II, Korea, and the early Cold War. 561 of these coastal and motor minesweepers earned nearly 700 battle stars, 21 Presidential Unit Citations, and 15 Navy Unit Commendations during World War II. Reduced to only 16 vessels by the time of the Korean War, this class of ships nonetheless bravely earned 124 battle stars, 7 Presidential Unit Citations, and 7 Navy Unit Commendations. Volume III of the set, The U.S. Navy’s Coastal and Inshore Minesweepers, and the Minecraft That Served in Vietnam, 1953–1976, looks at the role these boats played during the Vietnam War, including coastal interdiction patrols and ensuring safe passage on inland waterways. During the war, these boats earned four Presidential Unit Citations, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, and three Navy Unit Commendations. Bruhn’s diligent research brings the story of Navy mine warfare to life in this three volume set.

Bruhn served twenty-two years on active duty and two in the Naval Reserve, as both an enlisted man and as an officer, between 1977 and 2001, including two tours aboard Mine Warfare ships. The idea for the first book in the series came to him when he learned during a tour in the Pentagon that USS Excel (MSO-439), which he had served aboard as a junior officer, had been decommissioned and relegated to the “Ghost Fleet” at Suisun Bay, near San Francisco. Research, however, revealed that there was not enough riveting material about Excel to fill a text – but that collectively MSOs had, during nearly four decades of service, participated in many interesting events. Thus was borne the idea of recording their history before it would all be obscured by the passage of time. Volume III is the capstone book in the trilogy devoted to minesweepers, the link between the first two volumes, and companion book to Volume I. After having started working on a book about the smaller brethren of ocean minesweepers, the coastal and inshore minesweepers, he began researching their predecessors from the World War II and Korean War eras, and found an extraordinarily rich and largely ignored subject since Arnold Lott’s book Most Dangerous Sea was published in 1959. Someone once wryly noted that if the submarine force is the “silent service,” then mine warfare is the “unknown service” within the Navy, receiving few resources and little publicity. Bruhn, who commanded two Avenger-class Mine Countermeasures Vessels, hopes the collective contributions of minesweep sailors since World War II, presented in his Wooden Ships and Iron Men trilogy and the Mine Warfare Hall of Valor, will help change this precept.

Bruhn’s work on the history of mine warfare continues in the online arena. He maintains a website which contains an extensive “Mine Warfare Hall of Valor” as well as a “Yard Patrol Vessel Hall of Valor.” These online documents tabulate awards presented to both ships and individuals, as well as the text from individual citations. His goal is to link the citations for medals of valor to create a coherent portrait of the rich history of the U.S. Navy’s Mine Warfare community. He is focusing on Minesweeping helicopter crewmen, Explosive Ordnance Disposal divers, Underwater Demolition Team divers, Minesweep sailors, and Minemen. Bruhn hopes that this online Hall of Valor will help preserve the collective legacy of these past and present members of the Mine Warfare Community, and also provide in a single location useful information for historians and researchers. This online information is a work in progress, and he welcomes corrections and changes where appropriate. Additionally, he is seeking additional information from the Mine Warfare community, including citations that he can provide links to. The ultimate goal is to provide a comprehensive resource for the public to use. Bruhn can be contacted at davidbruhn@davidbruhn.com.

USS Endurance (MSO 435) engages North Vietnamese gunrunner in historic wooden versus steel ship confrontation in November 1970. (painting "Sea Battle off the Cua Co Chien River" by Richard DeRosset.)

Posted in History | Tagged history, mine, minefield, minesweeper, naval, navy | Leave a comment

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