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1545: Who Sank the Mary Rose?

Reviewed by Dr. John. R. Satterfield. In the early evening on July 19, 1545, as she turned away from a French fleet gathered in the Solent, the narrow channel between the Isle of Wight and the English mainland harbors of Portsmouth and Southampton, the Mary Rose, one of Henry VIII‘s largest and most powerful warships,

The Cruise of the Bismarck

Article by Naval History and Heritage Command:  www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/sinking-of-the-bismarck/the-cruise-of-the-bismarck.html At noon on May 19, 1941, the German battleship Bismarck lay in Kiel Bay, about to set out on her first and last war cruise. Admiral Gunther Lutjens, who had been decorated with the Knight Insignia of the Iron Cross for his part in the Norwegian campaign, addressed the

Battleship Bismarck: A Design and Operational History

Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. The battleship Bismarck is one of the most-written about World War II Nazi German capital ships (Admiral Graf Spee and Tirpitz are close seconds). Eliminating USNS City of Bismarck (JHSV-9), often cited as Bismarck (and named after Bismarck, North Dakota, USA) and other specious references in WorldCat, there are

The Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Age: Senior Service 1800 – 1815

Reviewed by Dr. John R. Satterfield. Maritime historians divide their discipline into eras, and the Age of Sail is undoubtedly studied most widely.  Sailing ships dominated trade and naval warfare for about three centuries, from the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the last large engagement involving rowed galleys to the Battle of Hampton Roads in

Sighted Sub, Sank Same: The United States Navy’s Air Campaign against the U-Boat

Reviewed by LT Brian Hayes, USNR This book tells the story of World War II U.S. naval aviation operations against the German U-Boat arm.  It’s an interesting and important story, but other books tell it better.  Aircraft were essential to the Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.  Unlike modern submarines, early U-Boats operated

British Submarines in Two World Wars

Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. Defense expert Norman Friedman is one of America’s most prominent naval analysts, and the author of more than thirty books covering a range of naval subjects, especially American and British vessels (battleships, cruisers, destroyers and frigates, and submarines) from the Victorian era through two World Wars, and the Cold War,

Admiral Richard H. Cruzen and Operation Highjump

Text below from article “Burton Island” by Naval History and Heritage Command – original article may be viewed at: www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/burton-island-i.html In late 1946, the Navy desperately needed the services of the not-yet-commissioned icebreaker Burton Island (AG-88)for the First Antarctic Developments Project. The largest expedition to the Antarctic continent to date, also known as Operation Highjump, sought to explore and

The Boys Next Door: A Marine Returns to Vietnam

Reviewed by Diana L. Ahmad In 1968-1969, R. L. Tecklenburg, the author, served as a U.S. Marine in a Combined Action Team (CAP) unit in the rural Phu Loc District.  Tecklenburg provided a brief autobiographical look at his year in Vietnam.  Since leaving Vietnam, the author searched for meaning in his experiences during the conflict. 

The USS Swordfish, The World War II Patrols of the First American Submarine to Sink a Japanese Ship

Reviewed by Commander James G. Zoulias, USN. The tale of USS Swordfish provides a comprehensive look at its operational history within the context of the broader maritime campaign in the Pacific during World War II.  Because George J. Billy had an uncle who served aboard USS Swordfish, he wrote this book to document the notable

Richard E. Byrd

Richard Evelyn Byrd was born on 25 October 1888 in Winchester, Virginia. He was appointed from that same state to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and graduated in 1912. He was temporarily assigned to USS South Carolina and subsequently served on board USS Kentucky, USS Wyoming, USS Missouri, and the armored cruiser Washington.

The Silver Waterfall: A Novel of the Battle of Midway

Reviewed by David F, Winkler, Ph.D. Since its inception, the Naval Historical Foundation book review program has welcomed historical fiction submissions, recognizing that fictional writers, released from the constraints of demonstrating documented sources, can sometimes convey a better sense of what actually happened to a broader audience. Such is the case with The Silver Waterfall,

Catastrophe at Spithead: The Sinking of the Royal George

Reviewed by C. Herbert Gilliland. How could a splendid 100-gun ship of the line, quietly anchored while preparing to deploy as flagship of one of Britain’s most admired admirals, suddenly capsize and go down? Yet that happened on August 29, 1782 at Spithead, the great roadstead of the British navy near Portsmouth.  In 1782 Great