Tuesday Tidings is published by the National Maritime Historical Society with support from the US Naval Institute. Interested in joining USNI? Click on the USNI logo to become a member! | | | |
20 May 2025
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
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Congratulations to two retired Navy captains who found success in the academic world and will be recognized for their lifetime work of scholarship, leadership, and mentoring others in the field of naval history through the receipt of the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Medal at the ceremony to be held at the Jack C. Taylor auditorium on Friday, 19 September, immediately following the final session of the McMullen Naval History Symposium. Dr. David Alan Rosenberg and Dr. Bernard C. Cole have been named as the 2025 recipients of the award and they will join the 2024 recipient, librarian Virginia Steele Wood, on stage to receive the lifetime honor. The Naval Institute announced additional honors at their annual meeting last week. See below for details!
Tomorrow kicks off the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Nautical Research Society. For a preview of what our Canadian friends will be discussing up in Port Hudson, Ontario, a draft program is below! Then there is the Nautical Research Society based on the other side of the pond. Details about that organization’s forthcoming meeting are also offered.
By now most Tuesday Tidings readers have seen the tragic video of the Mexican Navy training ship Cuauhtémoc being carried by a heavy current under the Brooklyn Bridge. Last night, ABC World News Tonight turned to NMHS trustee Dr. Sal Mercogliano of Campbell University who offered his take on a contributing cause of the tragedy. It’s worth noting that this was the fourth of a series of tall sail training ships built in Bilbao, Spain, over four decades ago. For a brief backgrounder on this unique vessel, the Wikipedia link is HERE.
For this week’s Naval History Book Review, we thank Tuesday Tidings book editor Lt. Cdr. Sean Walsh for his review of the US Naval Institute’s latest study on F4U Corsairs. Enjoy.
We wish all of our readers a safe and relaxing holiday weekend. With the purpose of the national holiday to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, Tuesday Tidings will be present at this Sunday’s National Memorial Concert at the US Capitol; a focal point of the program will be the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
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Tuesday Tidings is compiled by Dr. David F. Winkler and Jessie Henderson as a benefit for members of the National Maritime Historical Society and friends of naval history.
As always, comments and naval history news items are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.
| | Marolda & Lambert Earn USNI Recognition! | | |
At the 152nd Annual Meeting of the US Naval Institute last Wednesday, two well-known naval historians earned honors for work published with USNI during the 2024 calendar year. Dr. Edward J. Marolda was recognized by Naval History editor Eric Mills for two articles he published in April’s Naval History, starting with “Survival, Resistance, Evasion, and Escape,” that told the saga of Lt. Charles F. Klusmann, the first naval aviator to be shot down during the Vietnam conflict. He then capped the year with a December article titled “A Study in Contrast: Admirals Zumwalt and Holloway at the Helm of the US Navy.” It was well-deserved recognition for Marolda, who long held the post as the Senior Historian of the Navy and published an article on riverine warfare in Vietnam decades ago in the first edition of Naval History.
Following Marolda’s gracious acceptance speech, Naval Institute Press editor Adam Kane stepped forth and called Dr. Nicholas Lambert on stage to receive his Book of the Year award for The Neptune Factor: Alfred Thayer Mahan and the Concept of $ea Power. Quick to point out that the dollar sign was not a typo, Lambert points out that Mahan is still germane—more so in what is becoming a bipolar struggle between two economic giants, the United States and China. Whereas in recent decades Andrew Lambert of King’s College has praised the British naval theorist and Mahan contemporary Sir Julian Corbett, we have another Brit with the same last name (no relation) extolling the American theorist. A recent review of The Neptune Factor can be found in the latest edition of The International Journal of Naval History.
| | Adam Kane congratulated Dr. Lambert. (Courtesy US Naval Institute) | | |
CNRS DRAFT PROGRAM
Ships, People, Ports, Canals and Trade
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Port Hope Public Library
Wednesday 21 May
Evening (18:00–21:00)
Informal no-host Meet & Greet at the Ganaraska Brew Pub (33 Mill Street)
Thursday 22 May
Forenoon (09:00–11:30)
Introductory Round Table
Sam McLean, Canada and Context in ADM 8 Vols I & II [1673–92]
Walter Lewis, Rush-Bagot and Naval Re-armament on the Great Lakes, 1838–1847
Afternoon (13:30–15:00)
Catherine Brooks, “Fitting up a Green-House on the Quarter Deck:” Innovations in Shipboard Plant Transportation in the Late 17th Century
Brandon Lentz, Descent into Madness: “Diseases of the Mind” and the North America and West Indies Station, 1793–1818
15:00 – Walking Tour / Port Hope Waterfront
Friday, 23 May
Forenoon (09:00–12:00)
Bob Banks & Will Banks, Locating the Nine-Mile Portage
David Gray, Lost and Found: One Fishing Net (the Estai Story)
Margot Dixon, The Misadventures of the Loudon Hill [1907–09]
Michael Moir, Steel shipbuilding at Port Arthur, 1908–1926: the American response to government intervention
Afternoon (13:30–17:30)
Roger Sarty, The Borden Government’s ‘Permanent’ Naval Policy and its Sequel, 1911–1922
Malcolm Butler, A Community Born of War: Ajax, Ontario [1940–]
Wes Cross, Conspicuous Service: Convoy Rescue Ships [1941–45]
** Jeff Noakes, South Asian seafarer accommodation camps in Canada, 1945–1946
** Adam Coombs, Too Wet, Too Steep and Covered with Sand: The Role of Sable Island in Anti-Submarine Warfare during the 20th Century [1940–68]
Evening (17:30….)
Informal no-host dining (locale to be determined, weather dependent)
Saturday, 23 May (10:00-12:00)
Awards Presentation
Annual General Meeting
| | Society for Nautical Research Reminder & How to Attend | | |
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting, 2025, of The Society for Nautical Research is to be held in the Guildhall, Exeter, at 5 PM on Saturday, 7 June 2025.
Amongst other matters, members will elect the officers of the Society for the year commencing 1 July 2025 and will be brought up to date with the work of:
- Communications & Membership Committee (including Mariner’s Mirror Podcast)
- Research and Programmes Committee
- Maritime Heritage Committee
To attend this year’s AGM, please upgrade your membership to Full or Student status via our website and contact the Honorary Secretary: mark.barton@snr.org.uk
Related documents and any further updated information about the AGM is available on the SNR website: https://snr.org.uk/snr-events/snr-agm-2025/
As well as being able to attend the AGM, Full and Student members are invited to the Annual Dinner with an associated talk to be given by N. A. M. Rodgers, and to book onto the private tours of the Lynher River Barge arranged for the following morning (details of both are also available in the Events area of the SNR website).
| | NAVAL HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS | | |
F4U Corsair: Naval History Special Edition, By Ernest M. Snowden, Naval Institute Press, (2025)
Reviewed by Lt. Cdr. Sean Walsh, USN (Ret.)
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Author Snowden begins the book by acknowledging the many previous accounts documenting the Corsair’s history, and his challenge in providing a fresh perspective. Drawing on his background as a Naval Academy graduate, second generation naval aviator, reserve aeronautical engineering duty officer, and Navy civilian, and his work for several aerospace firms including Vought (giving him access to historical files), he has succeeded.
Snowden begins by giving an account of the company’s namesake, Chauncey “Chance” Vought and the preceding models, many also bearing the name Corsair. Next, he goes into the 1938 Bureau of Aeronautics solicitation that the Corsair won. Interestingly, although the Navy had a clear preference for air-cooled powerplants, they did not exclude water-cooled plants, and Bell entered a derivative of the P-39 with the Allison engine. Vought had a close relationship with their sister United Aircraft company Pratt & Whitney and selected the still experimental R-2800 Twin Wasp (later used on the F6F Hellcat), which promised outstanding performance and resulted in Vought being awarded a contract for a prototype and engineering data.
A chapter is devoted to initial testing, which demonstrated outstanding performance, although deficiencies were identified to be resolved during development testing. Of interest is that the issues affecting carrier suitability were not flagged during this phase and full-scale production was approved. A contract for production incorporating several required changes for 583 planes was awarded in June 1941.
The next chapter is devoted to the challenges of gearing up for production and includes four full pages of photographs showing various aspects. Even before Pearl Harbor, the need for capacity beyond what Vought could produce was recognized and Goodyear and Brewster (designer of the ill-fated Buffalo) were brought on as second sources. Goodyear proved to be a major second source but Brewster had cost, schedule, and quality issues and their contract was ultimately terminated although some aircraft were delivered to the British Fleet Air Arm. It was also during this period that the deficiencies with carrier suitability were identified.
Finally, in January 1943, the Corsair started equipping South Pacific bound squadrons. Although popular myth is that it was assigned to land-based squadrons only, according to Snowden, two of the first three squadrons were Navy and carrier-qualified stateside before deploying. One of these was directed to switch to Hellcats and the other, VF-17, was assigned ashore. Snowden makes the case that carrier logistics concerns had as much to do with the decision to not deploy on carriers as carrier suitability. Consequently, most of the Corsairs went to Marine squadrons, replacing the old F4F Wildcats and some also equipped New Zealand squadrons.
Read full review>>
| | NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | | |
Check out the USNA Museum Preble Hall podcast as John Quarstein and Robert Worden join Dr. Stephen Phillips to discuss their book, From Ironclads to Admiral: John Lorimer Worden and Naval Leadership. This important work is a detailed biography with emphasis on Worden’s service on USS Monitor and other ironclads during the Civil War. Equally interesting is Worden's time as Superintendent at the US Naval Academy and as a founding member, with membership number 1, of the US Naval Institute.
Listen here>>
| | Call for Papers: International Journal of Naval History | | |
Maritime Communities Celebrating Milestones
SAVE THE DATES!
24–27 September 2025 • Buffalo, NY
We are delighted to be holding the 12th Maritime Heritage Conference in Buffalo in September 2025.
The conference brings together organizations and participants that engage in all aspects of maritime heritage. This includes maritime museums, historic lighthouses, tall ships for sail training and youth, small craft, marine art, sailing, naval and maritime scholars, advocacy, and more. It is also a gathering of the leadership of the maritime heritage community. Buffalo will host the first Maritime Heritage Conference to be held in the Great Lakes region.
The 12th Maritime Heritage Conference (MHC) will bring together nautical heritage organizations and individuals for an information-packed conference encompassing a broad array of topics on the banks of Lake Erie at historic Buffalo, New York. Following in the wake of the World Canal Conference, which concludes with a bicentennial celebration of the opening of the Erie Canal, the 12th MHC will use that historic milestone to open a three-day program that invites attendees to consider other historic nautical milestones worthy of broader public attention.
The MHC has earned a reputation for its high take-away value, networking opportunities, and camaraderie. The conference steering committee invites you to become involved as a presenter; both session and individual proposals are encouraged. Don’t miss this opportunity to gather with individuals from all segments of the maritime community.
Call for Papers & Session Proposals Papers and session topics include, but are not limited to:
- Inland Water Commerce and Seaport Operations (Erie Canal bicentennial!)
- Maritime and Naval History (2025 marks USN/USMC 250th Birthday)
- Maritime Art, Literature, and Music
- Education and Preservation
- Underwater Archaeology
- Trade and Communications
- Maritime Libraries, Archives, and Museums
- Marine Science and Ocean Conservation
- Historic Vessel Restoration
- Maritime Heritage Grant Program
- Maritime Landscapes
- National Marine Sanctuaries
- Small Craft
- Shipbuilding
- Marine Protected Areas
Focus sessions include, but are not limited to:
- Non-Profit administration
- Event Management
- Fundraising
- Media and Publications
- Media and Social Media
Submissions
Individual paper and session proposals should include a 250–400 word abstract and a one-paragraph biography about each presenter.
Please e-mail proposals and other queries to Dr. David Winkler at: MHC@seahistory.org
Deadline for proposals for papers and sessions is 31 May 2025.
| | UPCOMING NAVAL & MARITIME HISTORY GATHERINGS | | PREBLE HALL NAVAL HISTORY PODCAST | |
A naval history podcast from Preble Hall – the United States Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. Preble Hall interviews historians, practitioners, military personnel, and other experts on a variety of naval history topics from ancient history to more current events.
Click here for the latest episode: 248 - Marc Leepson - Unlikely War Hero>>
Click here for all Preble Hall Podcasts >>
| DRACHINIFEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL | |
NAVY HISTORY MATTERS
Welcome to Navy History Matters, the Naval History and Heritage Command’s biweekly compilation of articles, commentaries, and blogs related to history and heritage. Every other week, they gather the top-interest items from a variety of media and social media sources that link to related content at NHHC’s website, your authoritative source for Navy history.
Click here for most recent article>>
| SUPPORTING US NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE | |
With the 250th anniversary of the US Navy on the horizon, NMHS seeks your support as we plan to honor those who have provided for our maritime security.
Click here to donate today >>
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