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Norman’s Corner: The Envelope Aircraft Carrier

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the eighth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) A telephone call in early March 1974 from one of my consulting customers in the Navy Department alerted me to a

Norman’s Corner: Pointing to General Genda

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the seventh in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) While in high school I became interested in the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. As I

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Norman’s Corner: Disappointing Captain Beach

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) As mentioned in previous blogs, in the early 1960s I was befriended by then-Captain F.J. (Fritz) Harlfinger and then-Commander Dominic Paolucci.

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BOOK REVIEW – The U.S. Nuclear Arsenal: A History of Weapons and Delivery Systems Since 1945

By Norman Polmar and Robert S. Norris, Naval Institute Press, 2009. Reviewed by Captain James B. Bryant. U.S. Navy (Retired) This is more than a well-written and researched reference book, but also an examination by experts of the evolution of nuclear weapons policy. When you absolutely need to know everything about how, why and where

Norman’s Corner: Convincing Admiral Burke

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Admiral Arleigh A. Burke was a top destroyer commander and then chief of staff for the Fast Carrier Force during World

Norman’s Corner: Analyzing Exercise Okean

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) In the spring of 1970 I was working at my desk when the phone rang. I was an employee of the

Norman’s Corner: Louis Wolf and the Proceedings

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Long before the massive FBI building was erected on Ninth Street in northwest Washington, the few blocks between F Street and

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Forthcoming Histories of the Vietnam War

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the conflict in Southeast Asia, the Naval Historical Foundation and the Naval History and Heritage Command are cosponsoring a series of monographs entitled The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War. Soon to be published in that series is a lavishly illustrated work on the Navy’s “in-country war” entitled Combat

BOOK REVIEWS: Two Books on U.S. Fast Battleships, Reviewed by Norman Polmar

U.S. Fast Battleships 1936-47: The North Carolina and South Dakota Classes U.S. Fast Battleships 1938-1991: The Iowa Class By Lawrence Burr, Osprey Publishing, Leeds (UK) (2010).   Reviewed by Norman Polmar With hundreds of books having been written about battleships, the question must be asked: Can these two slim monographs make a contribution to the

BOOK REVIEW: Project AZORIAN – the CIA and the Raising of the K-129

by Norman Polmar and Michael White. Naval Institute Press, 2010. 173 pp. Reviewed by Captain James B. Bryant, U.S. Navy (Retired) The year 1968 was bad for submarines.  In January the Israelis and the French lost their diesel-electric powered submarines Dakar and Minerve at sea with all hands and a submerged grounding badly damaged the