We recently received an inquiry about some well known photographs from World War II. The images (see below) depict a vast fleet of U.S. Navy warships at anchor at Ulithi Atoll, on 8 December 1944, nicknamed “Murderer’s Row.” A group of model builders is working to recreate the images in question, using 1/2400 scale ship
By Robert J. Moore and John A. Rodgaard, Holywell House Publishing, 2010 (first published in Great Britain by Robert J. Moore, 1990) Reviewed by Rear Admiral Joseph F. Callo, USNR (Ret) Every ship has a unique life, and in the case of HMS Venomous, that life was long and useful, and it covered a wide
By Niklas Zetterling & Michael Tamelander, Casemate Publishers, USA 2009. Reviewed by Capt. John A. Rodgaard, USN (Ret.) Zetterling and Tamelander tell the story of the Tirpitz, Germany’s last super battleship, and the desperate, if not obsessive, efforts by the British to destroy her with a comprehensively different perspective from their previous work about the
By Mark Stille, Osprey Publishing, 2011 Reviewed by Samuel Loring Morison This book, number 176 in Osprey’s “New Vanguard” series discusses the construction, design and role of the six classes of Heavy Cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and the equipment that they employed. The book also includes mid-war modifications.
The following speech was presented on 3 June 2012 by Dr. Craig Symonds at the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway Commemoration Dinner at the Army-Navy Country Club, Arlington, Virginia. You can watch a video of the presentation here. Admiral Greenert, distinguished guests, and especially veterans of the Battle of Midway … don’t we all
By CDR William G. Roy, USN(Ret). CDR Roy describes his experience as a member of the salvage party on board the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) during the Battle of Midway. CDR Roy is a long time Naval Historical Foundation member. I was a member of the Yorktown salvage party. I volunteered 5 June 1942.
A new book has been published by the Naval History and Heritage Command, authored by historian Dr. Edward J. Marolda. It is titled Ready Seapower: A History of the U.S. Seventh Fleet. This historical study covers the service in the Asia-Pacific region of the U.S. Seventh Fleet during the 20th and 21st centuries. The Fleet
By Del Staecker, Cable Publishing, Brule, WI, (2009). Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart The author is the son of Irvin H. Staecker who served on board the Lady Gangster from 1941 to 1945. The Lady Gangster was the crew’s name for USS Fuller (APA 6). The ship’s nickname developed from the fact that many of
By Jerome S. Welna, Heritage Books, Westminster, MD, (2009). Reviewed by J. Wandres Jerome S. Welna makes a heroic effort to tell The True Story of a Destroyer Sailor’s Life at Sea During World War II. The first 90 pages give a pocket peek at events causing and leading to World War II. Welna relies
Slade Cutter (1911–2005) was a career U.S. naval officer and a legendary submariner. He gained early notoriety as an All-American football player at the Naval Academy, and was later named to the College Football Hall of Fame. As commanding officer of USS Seahorse (SS 304) he tied for the second most Japanese ship kills of
On Thursday 17 November the National Museum of the United States Navy hosted a remarkable event to honor those who were lost and those who survived the sinking of USS Houston (CA 30) on 1 March 1942 off Java. Over the past 17 months, the Curator of Ship Models with Navy Sea Systens Command, Dana
By Eric Dietrich-Berryman, Charlotte Hammond, and R. E. White, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2010) Reviewed by Captain Roger F. Jones, U.S. Navy (Retired) This book describes how twenty-two relatively unknown Americans initially fought beside the British by serving in the Royal Navy during the early years of World War II. During this period, the
3-5 May 2012, King’s College London The King’s College London War Studies Group and Global War Studies are pleased to announce a conference on the impact of the sea on the conduct, experience, and legacy of the Second World War. The conference aims to investigate the ways in which the war raised the strategic status
