There will be wars and rumors of wars – What if the losing side wrote the history books?

There will be wars and rumors of wars Matthew 24:6-8 (King James Version) 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: […]

July – August 1925 the US Navy Spends Time Down Under

I was visiting my favorite Library of Congress website today that features newspapers from the history of the US. One of the featured stories on the front page of the Washington Times for August 1, 1925, was about how many American sailors married Australian women after a recent port visit. The story brought a smile to […]

March 1915 – At a Crossroad in the Deveopment of U.S. Navy Submarines

A little under fifteen years from the day the US Navy purchased their first submarine, the future of the small craft was still not settled. In 1915, the United States faced a number of challenges as it observed the growing war in Europe. The conflagration of large-scale war was being brought home to America in […]

Navy Lives in the Past – Admiral Fullam’s View in 1925

Warning- This article may piss you off if you think the US Navy of today (and its bureaucracy) is on the right course This is the fourth in a series of stories about naval preparedness in the 1920s, but it could be ripped from today’s headlines I have previously written about Admiral William Fullam and […]

Rear Admiral Robert Stocker – A visionary Constructor that Changed the Course of a War He Never Saw

Retiring from any long-standing position is always a memorable event. I retired the first time when I was forty years old. It was sooner than I had planned but circumstances made it a reality and I just went with the flow. It was a nice affair and even thirty years later, I remember how honored […]

125 Years ago – Does Tesla’s Telautomaton Predict the Future of Submarines?

This is the 125th year since the United States Navy adopted her first modern submarine. Of course, the country had seen other submarine warfare devices before (Turtle and Hunley among others), but the use of a machine with the ability to surface and dive as well as operate using motive powers was a great leap […]

“if a submarine is hit, the crew will never hear the explosion”

October 1943 was a very busy time for an expanding fleet in every corner of the world. The trials for the leadership of the Navy and Army that had been in charge during the attacks on Hawaii and elsewhere were finally getting under way. Less than two years after that disastrous day, many people were […]

Telegraphic News Flash: Explosion Kills Three on Submarine S-37

Life on submarines has always been risky. Whether it’s defying the physics of overcoming the sea’s depths or the nature of the machinery required to do so, every submariner undestands that the unexpected can be managed to a certain extent, but the uexpected cab still arrive with dire results. One hundred years ago today (October […]

Navy Day 1923 – Illusions of Peace

Editorial from the DAILY KENNEBEC JOURNAL Wednesday, October 10, 1923 “I knew by the smoke that so gracefully curled Above the green elms, that a cottage was near, And I said, ‘If there’s peace to be found in the world, A heart that was humble might hope for it here.’” NAVY DAY It is become […]

We must lead, not follow, in naval development – Even after 100 years, it is still true

Looking around the world today, I am concerned about my country’s ability to defend itself. Government influence and some in the navy’s leadership have made many decisions over the past forty years that are put us at risk. The greatest example is the phenomenal failure of the littoral combat ship project. I had at one […]