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History of Naval Aviation Part 3 – “Flight Quarters in the Nation’s Capital”

By NHF Staff Historian Dr. Dave Winkler    Sea Power, October 2016 On April 10, 1922, at hearings of the Senate Subcommittee of Naval Affairs, Sen. David I. Walsh of Massachusetts asked Lt. Willis B. Haviland, a pilot who had been assigned to a recently commissioned ship, “What is the Langley?” Haviland responded, “She is a poor excuse for

Admiral John S. McCain and the Triumph of Naval Airpower

Reviewed by NHF Director of Membership Programs, ENS Sean Bland, USNR A professor of history at Auburn University in Alabama, William F. Trimble has written extensively on the history of Naval Aviation, including studies of Glenn Curtiss, Admiral William Moffett, and the Seaplane Striking Force program. Drawing from this in-depth knowledge of the history of naval

History of Naval Aviation Part 2 – “Father of the Trap”

By NHF Staff Historian Dr. Dave Winkler Sea Power, October 2017 As plans proceeded to convert the collier Jupiter to become the Navy’s first aircraft carrier Langley at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the carrier’s prospective flight officer, Lt. Cdr. Godfrey deC. Chevalier noted an oversight in the plans. Interviewed in 1970, Alfred “Mel” Pride recalled “Chevalier told me that I

History of Naval Aviation Part 1 – “Naval Aviation Pioneer Henry C. Mustin”

First published in Sea Power – October 2009 By NHF Staff Historian Dr. Dave Winkler [Editors note: Rear Admiral John Mustin, Vice Commander, Fleet Forces Command, great grandson of Captain Henry Mustin (featured below) is currently overseeing the USN Comfort as it assists medical operations to battle the novel Coronavirus pandemic in New York City.]

Kangaroo Squadron: American Courage in the Darkest Days of World War II

Reviewed by CWO Darien Garland On December 6th 1941, in the days of celestial navigation, there were flying boats in the sky over the Pacific Ocean, heading towards the Hawaiian island of Oahu. As the sun appeared above the horizon, the pilots of the approaching B-17 Bombers were ready for their island-time crew rest and

USNS COMFORT and the HAITI EARTHQUAKE: January 13-16, 2010

By Rear Admiral Robert Wray, USN (Ret.) With the recent response to the Coronavirus/COVID19 and the recent deployments of Navy Medical personnel and the USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy to New York City and San Francisco, the Naval Historical Foundation (NHF) asked me to recall the response of the USNS COMFORT to the Haiti earthquake

The Lusitania Sinking: Eyewitness Accounts from Survivors

Reviewed by Kenneth J. Blume, Ph.D. The torpedoing and then sinking of the Cunard liner Lusitania on 7 May 1915 is of course one of the iconic events of World War I—with broad military/naval and diplomatic consequences.  Anthony Richards tells the story from a human perspective, with the bulk of the book drawing upon contemporary

“The Great Pandemic”

This article is a reprint from Ready Then, Ready Now, Ready Always: More than a Century of Service by Citizen-Sailors By NHF Historian Dr. Dave Winkler Navy nurse Josie Brown reflected on the horrible ordeal that she and her colleagues had to confront in 1918: The morgues were packed almost to the ceiling with bodies stacked

The Washington Navy Yard: An Illustrated History. Special Commemorative Memorial Edition

Reviewed by Kenneth J. Blume, Ph.D. The original edition of this volume was published in 1999 to commemorate the bicentennial of the Washington Navy Yard. This slightly revised edition has been published to honor those workers killed in the infamous September 2013 mass shooting at NAVSEA Building 197. The main changes in this edition include

The Battleships of the Iowa Class – A Design and Operational History

Reviewed by Mr. Charles Bogart Philippe Caresse is a former French naval officer and author of two books on French warships of the World War I, both of which were published by the Naval Institute Press. The book under review, Battleships of the Iowa Class, can be enjoyed both as a coffee table book and

Paul Nitze, Grand Strategy, and the United States Navy

Fifteen years ago today (March 5, 2005), the USS Nitze (DDG-94) was commissioned. An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Nitze has deployed many times in her service history, and was involved in a confrontation with Iranian vessels in August of 2016. She was named for former Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze – Nitze served in this capacity under President Lyndon Johnson from 1963 to 1967,

The Navy’s First Enlisted Women: Patriotic Pioneers

Reviewed by Mary S. Bell, PhD. Women have volunteered to serve during every war or conflict since the U.S. fought for its independence in the 18th century. However, there is little written on women’s roles in winning the nation’s wars relative to the amount written on men’s roles. The contributions of women and other minorities

Launching The Navy Family Support Program: A Heartfelt Blend of History and Memoir

Reviewed by David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Class of 1957 Chair of Naval Heritage, U.S. Naval Academy. The 1970s were tumultuous years for the U.S. Navy, a transitional period from the war in Vietnam where a draft kept the sea service fully-manned with young single Sailors who readily enlisted in the Navy rather than serve “In

The Sound Toll at Elsinore: Politics, Shipping and the Collection of Duties 1429-1857

Reviewed by CDR Daniel Orchard-Hays, USN. As the title suggests, this anthology provides varying perspectives on the tariff collected in the sound that runs between Denmark and Sweden thus joining the North Sea to the Baltic Sea at Elsinore.  For over 400 years beginning in the mid-15th century, the Sound Toll played a significant role