1913 – PERFECTING THE SUBMARINE

The war clouds were continuing to gather over much of Europe. The Kaiser and his leadership team recognized that in order to continue growing as a country, they needed more land and resources. The English and French were bound together by a series of treaties and this binding would propel all of the Powers towards […]

One Veteran’s Story – Suicide knows no rank (March 28, 1942)

Veteran’s suicide is not a new phenomenon. It has been reported that upwards of twenty-two men and women veterans commit suicide every day. That number is not pure since there are a number of filters and interpretations that are often included in statistics. But even one suicide leaves an impact on the family and those […]

The Three Plane Navy – The Story of Rear Admiral Fullam’s Vision

A little bit longer of a post than normal, but I found this to be an interesting story about a visionary man who played a key role in the Navy in the early 1900’s. Twenty years before the attack on Pearl Harbor, many voices were actively trying to warn about the narrow-minded vision of naval […]

The cost of peace is often the next war.

On February 12, 1922, the American fleet began their annual exercises. These exercises had been conducted for a very long time and were designed to test the readiness of the sips and the men who sailed on them. But in 1922, a very different atmosphere hung heavy over the entire fleet. Coming off of […]

Women went to war; I wonder what they wore ? – February 3 1942

My Mom celebrated her tenth birthday on February 3, 1942. She and I talked a few times about the war that was going on around her at that time and she did not have many memories. She was born into a well to do family and was isolated from the events that were transpiring […]

Rear Admiral Taussig and the Warning Before Pearl Harbor

Rear Admiral Taussig and the Warning Before Pearl Harbor An obscure article in the Southern Jewish Weekly put forward an interesting idea in the form of an article published on January 30, 1942. In some ways, this is part three of a series about Taussig. But it casts the story in a different light and […]

August 12 1941 – Today I wish to save you from yourselves

Grab yourself a coffee and get comfortable. This is a bit of a long read, but one that has historical significance. August 12, 1941 was a very meaningful day in the path to World War 2. In the United States, loud voices were calling for isolation from the storms of Europe and the Far East. […]

USS Pittsburgh – An Honored Name for Ships that Have Defended their Nation

The Pittsburgh Name has an Honored Place in Naval History The City of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania is geographically located far from the open oceans. Despite the busy Three Rivers that offer pathways for shipping and recreation, no ocean going US Navy ships can easily navigate their way to the Point where the three rivers […]

The Stirling Letter and How it Helped to Change the Navy

I am reading about the early American efforts to build submarines. There is a lot of great reference material out there that talks about how we entered the submarine race. In the beginning, there was a gap between the creative forces that invented the early technology and the reality of how to make the submarine […]

A super submarine! (well at least it was supposed to be in 1921)

You can be forgiven if you claim to be a submarine expert but have never heard the name Oswald Flamm before today. To be honest, neither had I before I ran into this interesting thread of information that gives a glimpse into his story. Oswald Flamm, Born July 30, 1861; Deceased June 12, 1935, was […]