By Daniel Todman, Oxford University Press, New York, NY (2016) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. This massive volume represents a unique piece of research and chronologically covers a period of history that is of great interest to your reviewer: the background to and initial stages of World War II. My own particular interests focus
Reviewed by Dr. David Winkler Read our PART I review here. The second episode of the new Smithsonian series on undersea warfare during World War II continued with the devastating efforts of the Kriegsmarine U-boat fleet as the United States entered the war following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. Growing up in Northern New
By Commander David D. Bruhn, U.S.Navy (Retired), Heritage Books, Berwyn Heights, MD (2015) Reviewed by David Kronenfeld We are Sinking, Send Help! presents readers with a well laid out chronology of US Navy salvage vessels and their contributions to the African, Mediterranean and European theaters of battle during World War II. Commander Bruhn carries the
A Four-Part Blog Series By Matthew T. Eng Baseball in Norfolk radically changed the lives of the countless sailors stationed there during World War II. As a means of diversion, sailors at NTS Norfolk created their own private baseball utopia amidst the horrors of war waiting for them in the European and Pacific Theaters. The
Most people in the United States (especially the East Coast) know that the Atlantic Hurricane Season lasts from the beginning of June until the end of November. During those six months, we anxiously watch our television screens as each successive storm passes to the United States, some reaching from the African coast to the reaches
By George Stewart (This is the second of a series of blog posts that discuss the role that Casco Bay played during the Second World War. This is Part I of the series. “Going Ashore” are the collected posts from George Stewart, retired Navy Captain and NHF blog volunteer. Read the first post HERE). By 1942, the
By George Stewart (This is the first of a series of blog posts that discuss the role that Casco Bay played during the Second World War. This is Part I of the series. “Going Ashore” are the collected posts from George Stewart, retired Navy Captain and NHF blog volunteer). This series of blog posts will provide
Friday and Saturday 17 – 18 May 2013 Department of War Studies, King’s College London In the history of warfare few campaigns have been as long, as complex or covered as large an area as the Battle of the Atlantic did in the Second World War. The contest for allied maritime communications began on the
By Robert C. Stern, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD: (2012) Reviewed by Richard P. Hallion, Ph.D. The vast scope, momentous operations, and drama inherent in the Pacific War—think Midway, Guadalcanal, the return to the Philippines, and Okinawa, for just a few examples—have always dominated the narrative of the U.S. Navy’s contribution to the Allied victory
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.
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
Our good friend Bob Fish from the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Museum was on hand for the departure of the battleship ex-USS Iowa from Richmond, CA. You may recall that he shared some great photos in November of the battleship arriving in Richmond for much-needed repair work, see our earlier story. On Saturday, 26 May
From time to time, we get something interesting or surprising in the mail. We recently received a wonderful collection of photographs – completely unsolicited – from Marie Gennette. Upon opening this unexpected package, we were delighted to find dozens of black and white images from the 1940’s. The photographs were from the collection of her
By Ed Offley, Basic Books, New York, NY, (2011) Reviewed by Thomas P. Ostrom Ed Offley brings writing and research skills to his book on the World War II Battle of the Atlantic. The conflict featured German submarines (U-boats) versus the combat ships of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Britain’s Royal Navy, and the Royal
