Norman’s Corner: Pointing to General Genda
By Norman Polmar
While in high school I became interested in the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. As I read about the “date that will live in infamy,” I began to wonder about the six Japanese aircraft carriers that carried out the air strikes: Were they built specifically for the attack? Were they the entire Japanese carrier fleet? Were Japanese carriers involved in World War I? At Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., I did a term paper entitled “Prelude… to Pearl Harbor”—and received an “A.” My “research”—such that it was at the time—at the public library revealed no answers to those questions about aircraft carriers. Some information was found at the Navy Department Library. But the “germ” was planted and I developed an interest in writing a history of aircraft carriers, not just Japanese, but a record of all of the world’s aircraft carriers.
71st Battle of Midway Commemoration Dinner
Tuesday 4 June 2013
Army Navy Country Club, Arlington, VA
Guest Speaker: The Honorable Robert O. Work, Former Undersecretary of the Navy
On 16 April 1863, during the American Civil War, Union gunboats under the command of Admiral David Dixon Porter passed a blockade of Confederate batteries at Vicksburg. This colored lithograph published by Currier & Ives, New York, 1863, depicts the fighting. NHHC image NH 76557-KN.
Naval Historical Foundation Announces Knox Prize for Naval History
NHF is pleased to establish the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing an individual for a body of work in the field of U.S. naval history. The award is named for Commodore Dudley Wright Knox (21 June 1877 – 11 June 1960). A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval War College, Knox had a distinguished career as a naval officer with service in the Spanish American War, Boxer Rebellion, Great White Fleet, and World War I. But it was his abilities as a historian, librarian, and archivist that earned him respect and admiration amongst his peers and later generations.
Hey what do you think of this laser technology that might be used on them?
The U.S. Navy has always been at the forefront of new technology, from the advanced sailing frigates of the War of 1812, to the nuclear submarines developed during the Cold War. We are fascinated by the possibility of lasers for keeping the fleet safe from aerial and small boat attacks. The test results certainly look very encouraging.
» Asked by fatnoodle14
On 15 April 1961 the first nuclear-powered frigate, USS Bainbridge (DLGN 25, later CGN 25) ,was launched at Quincy, MA. She was the only ship of her class. She is shown here underway during her sea trials, 2-3 September 1962. NHHC image NH 98103.
On 14 April 1988 the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) struck an Iranian mine off Qatar, and was saved by the courageous damage control efforts of her crew. While there were numerous injuries, the crew suffered no fatalities.
BOOK REVIEW – Fighting for MacArthur: The Navy and Marine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines
By John Gordon, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2011).
Reviewed by Captain Roger F. Jones, U.S. Navy (Retired)
This is a book well worth reading from several standpoints. First, the role of the Navy and Marine Corps in the defense of the Philippines in World War II, as compared to the Army, is not generally well known, and the author does an outstanding job describing how essential the Sea Services were in the courageous albeit doomed defense of Bataan and Corregidor, particularly in view of their limited armament, supplies and personnel. Second, it documents how General MacArthur and his staff failed to integrate Admiral Hart and his forces into the defense of Manila Bay and Bataan, with significantly adverse consequences. While it is incontrovertible that the much larger and better armed Japanese armed forces would be able to conquer the Philippines at the onset of the war, the speed with which they accomplished this goal was in large part due to the Army’s lack of readiness and the inappropriate defense plans of MacArthur and his staff. Nevertheless, despite heavy losses, the heroic efforts of the Philippine and American military delayed the Japanese war machine long enough for the US to build up and deploy its military in the Pacific arena and go on the offensive. The most famous and decisive of these early actions was the battle of Midway, which took place just one month after the surrender of Corregidor.
On 12 April 1861, the American Civil War began when Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina. These sketches were copied from: “The Soldier In Our Civil War,” Volume 1, Pages 34-35. Top: General view of Charleston, SC from the harbor. Bottom: The Bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate Batteries, 12 April 1861. Sketch from Morris Island, Charleston Harbor, SC. NHHC image NH 59268.
