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! | | | |
6 May 2025
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
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This week we welcome the US Naval Institute as an underwriter of this weekly e-newsletter for naval heritage situational awareness. Given USNI’s long-standing commitment to promoting our naval heritage through its Naval History publication, oral history program, and various Naval Institute Press titles, its support for the CNO Naval History Essay Context and other writing competitions and recognition programs, and photo archives and library, a week hardly goes by without some mention of their activities. In this edition, we offer details on next week’s annual meeting!
Speaking of meetings, don’t forget this Thursday, the National Maritime Historical Society will host its 2025 Annual Meeting at 7:00 pm ET via Zoom. Agenda items include voting for a slate of new trustees and approving second terms for several current members and a state-of-the-organization update, and Charles Anderson will present on SS United States. Registration in advance is required. You can find that link, which includes registration, trustee ballot (one vote per member), and program details HERE. (We don’t anticipate the meeting going beyond an hour and a half.)
As this Tuesday Tidings is appearing in email inboxes, it is early morning, 7 May, in the Coral Sea, on the 83rd anniversary of the first naval battle in history where opposing warships did not come within visible range. Tactically, the Japanese might argue that the loss of Lexington and damage to Yorktown trumped the loss of Shoho and damage to Shōkaku. However, in turning back an invasion fleet, the allies achieved a strategic win and whereas Shōkaku would not be available for the forthcoming Battle of Midway, Yorktown would—and would be sunk during that pivotal confrontation. NOAA’s recent visit to Yorktown is detailed below.
For this week’s Naval History Book Review, we thank Sam Bartlett for his review of a recent Casemate title on the USS Atlanta written by a Tuesday Tidings co-compiler! Enjoy.
Reminder, the end of the month is the deadline for presentation submissions for the 12th Maritime Heritage Conference. The call for papers is below. There are additional calls for papers as well as an SOS distress signal in the Society for Nautical Research quarterly newsletter Topmasts. A link to that British-based publication is offered below.
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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.
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ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST | |
Thursday, 8 May – A New Look at the Navy in the American Civil War
With Gordon Calhoun
Navy Museum, Navy Yard, Washington, DC
11 AM–Noon (EDT)
Thursday, 8 May – NMHS 2025 Annual Meeting, including the presentation:
Sinking the United States: The Battle to Save the World’s Fastest Ocean Liner and America’s Flagship
With Charles Anderson
Virtual
7 PM–8:30 PM (EDT)
Wednesday, 14 May – Annual Meeting of the US Naval Institute
Annapolis, MD
4 PM (EDT) (In Person/Streaming)
Wednesday, 14 May – Monthly Naval Order History Heritage Program
The Battle of Midway
With Mark Stille
8 PM (EDT) (Zoom)
Wednesday, 4 June – Battle of Midway Victory Dinner
With “The Midway Theater Company”
Army-Navy Country Club, Arlington VA
6–9 PM (In Person)
| | Correcting Course: Revitalizing the Shipbuilding Industry to Meet Strategic Demands | | |
The 152nd Annual Meeting of the US Naval Institute will take place on 14 May 2025.
The Annual Meeting will kick off at 4:00 PM EDT with welcome remarks and an update on the state of the Institute from Rear Adm. Ray Spicer USN, (Ret.). This will be followed by an awards presentation to recognize Authors of the Year and essay award winners. The following featured panel will take place from 4:50 PM–6:00 PM:
The United States is facing extreme challenges in shipbuilding—in both capacity and the health of the maritime industrial base. This conversation will explore how we arrived at this critical inflection point, the urgent need to revitalize the maritime industrial base and its workforce, and what must be done to preserve the strength and resilience of the United States as a maritime nation.
From the stage to the pages of Proceedings, experts have stepped forward to share their insights on revitalizing shipbuilding. Their articles are featured in the February 2025 issue of Proceedings and are available here. Authors Adm. John Richardson, USN (Ret.), Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, USN (Ret.), and Mr. Martin Bollinger will present their perspectives live at the US Naval Institute Annual Meeting.
USNI invites you to join them for this crucial and timely discussion. A networking reception will follow the event.
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Mission to USS Yorktown: Dive Highlights
(Courtesy NOAA)
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On 19 and 20 April, as part of the Papahānaumokuākea ROV and Mapping expedition on the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer, NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners explored the final resting site of USS Yorktown (CV-5). This US Navy aircraft carrier took part in several World War II operations before being sunk by a Japanese submarine following the Battle of Midway. These non-disturbance dives were the first to explore the ship’s hangar deck, revealing a number of unexpected discoveries, described below.
It is important to note that the 2025 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives were not the first to explore the shipwreck. Several investigations of Yorktown have occurred since its 1998 discovery and initial documentation by Dr. Robert Ballard, the National Geographic Society, and the US Navy, including a characterization mission in 2023 led by Ocean Exploration Trust on Exploration Vessel Nautilus. The dives in 2025 built on this previous work, providing answers to existing questions and resulting in new mysteries for historians and scientists to puzzle out.
| | Latest Topmasts Newsletter Claims Intellectual Theft by Meta | | |
In a terse opening column, Society for Nautical Research chairman David Davies discusses how the widespread and rapid adaptation of AI has impacted the society—specifically the content of the journal the Mariners’ Mirror.
“There seems no doubt of the matter,” Davies writes, “…everyone, without exception, who has ever had something published in the Mirror, be it an article, a review or a letter, has had their material stolen by Meta. ‘Stolen’ might seem a strong word, but let’s be clear here: what we’re talking about is theft, pure and simple.”
For more context about what has happened with Mariners' Mirror and other journals as well as more conventional maritime history articles, calls for papers, conference notices, and recently published books see: Edition No. 54 May 2025 - SNR
| | NAVAL HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS | | |
The Mighty A: The short, Heroic Life of the USS Atlanta (CL-51), America’s First Warship Commissioned After Pearl Harbor by David F. Winkler, Havertown PA, Casemate Publishers, (2025).
Reviewed by Samuel R. Bartlett, RG, CEG
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The Mighty A is an out-growth of the author’s 2024 book Witness to Neptune’s Inferno: The Pacific Diary of Lieutenant Commander Lloyd M. Mustin, USS Atlanta (CL-51). The original manuscript for that book was too bulky and it was recommended that it be reconstituted as two books. With additional research utilizing logs, files from the Naval History and Heritage Command, oral histories, and diaries from the National Archives along with the diary of then-Lt. Cdr. Lloyd M. Mustin, the author concentrated on writing this second book devoted to the short but heroic career of USS Atlanta (CL-51), “The Mighty A.”
With Atlanta’s launching on 6 September 1941, sponsored by the author Margret Mitchell, and commissioning on 24 December 1941, a new type of powerful warship entered the US Navy. The Atlanta was armed as a super destroyer/ flotilla leader with a complement of 16 dual-purpose 5-inch guns in eight twin mounts, quadruple torpedo mounts, 3 each 1.1-inch quad AA mounts, sonar, state-of-the-art AA directors (MK 37 with the first FD radars), and SC radar. This powerful anti-aircraft armament gave the Atlanta class a prime role in supporting aircraft carrier task forces. At commissioning, her commander was Capt. Samuel P. Jenkins, a well-liked and respected leader.
Atlanta participated in the Battle of Midway as part of TF-16 protecting the carriers Hornet and Enterprise. Atlanta, to the increasing frustration of her wardroom, was then shuttled routinely between various task groups in the South Pacific, escorting convoys, providing AA coverage, supporting various Guadalcanal resupply runs, escorting damaged ships to safety, and in the process missing several key battles around Guadalcanal. She barely missed the Battle of Santa Cruz when she was transferred out of the Hornet task force just before the battle.
Read full review>>
| | NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | | |
Check out the USNA Museum Preble Hall podcast as Stephen Phillips interviews Adm. James Stavridis about his recent book about recommended professional readings.
View 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: 247 - Admiral James Stavridis and The Admiral’s Bookshelf>>
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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