|
8 August 2023
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
First, congratulations to Adm. Lisa Franchetti, USN. The current Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) has been nominated to relieve the current Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Adm. Michael Gilday, who looks forward to retirement. Of a historical note, she will be the first female to serve in the Navy’s top job and the first female to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Commissioned through the NROTC program at Northwestern University, Franchetti came into the fleet as a Surface Warfare Officer at a time when women were restricted to non-combatant roles. In Franchetti’s case, that meant her first sea tours would be on the destroyer tender Shenandoah (AD 44) and oiler Monongahela (AO 178). Following the first Gulf War, when billets on combatants opened for women, she served on the destroyers Moosbrugger (DD 980) and Stout (DDG 55), and commanded Ross (DDG 71). Other significant sea commands included Destroyer Squadron 21, Carrier Strike Groups 9 and 15, and the Sixth Fleet. A companion with the Naval Order of the United States, she demonstrated her passion for naval history last June at a Midway Dinner address in the nation’s capital.
Hopefully, the future 33rd CNO will never have to confront a calamity such as that which occurred during the tenure of the third CNO—Adm. Edward W. Eberle—the Honda Point disaster. With the forthcoming centennial of that tragic navigational error that led to the loss of seven recently commissioned destroyers, Karl Zingheim of the Midway will be offering a detailed Zoom overview in a History Happenings briefing tomorrow night with the Naval Order. And if you happen to be in the nation’s capital this Saturday, check out David Smith’s talk on Admiral Dewey at the Navy Museum. If you decide to go, you should check out our review of Smith’s new book below. Details for both of these and a Naval Institute/Coast Guard Academy collaboration during the following week are below.
This edition also offers registration links to three forthcoming symposia/conferences. Moved up into our “Immediate Interest” section we offer the link to the upcoming Escort Carrier History Symposium to be held in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday, 25 August. Down in the Upcoming conferences section, there are links to register for the back-to-back Historic Naval Ships Association conference being hosted by USS Slater in Albany and the Naval Academy’s McMullen History Symposium slated for Annapolis. Coinciding with that third week in September activities is the Naval Institute’s Knox Medal Dinner to be held at the conclusion of the McMullen gathering. Profiles of the Lone Sailor and Knox Medal recipients shall be forthcoming in a future edition.
Thank you, John Satterfield and Jeff Schultz, for your reviews of the David Smith and Ken Sayers books. There are still a number of good titles available for others to review listed here. As always send your requests to david.winkler@usnwc.edu.
Tuesday Tidings is compiled by Dr. David F. Winkler and Jessie Henderson. Also a shout out to Capt. John Paulson for your Letter to the Editor published herein. As always, comments are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.
| ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST | |
9 August 2023 - Naval Order of the US Heritage Night featuring Karl Zingheim of USS Midway on The Honda Point Disaster
8 PM–9 PM (EDT) (Zoom)
12 August 2023 - Author Talk with David Smith, “A New Force at Sea: George Dewey and the Rise of the American Navy”
National Museum of the US Navy - Building 76, Washington Navy Yard, DC
Noon–1:00 PM (EDT) (in person)
15 August 2023 - US Naval Institute and the US Coast Guard Academy present: "Airborne Behind the Scenes of Topgun: Maverick – A conversation with CDR Frank Weisser, USN (Ret.)"
Followed by a Q & A with Adm. Charles W. Ray, USCG (Ret.) Former Vice Commandant of the US Coast Guard and Dr. James S. Tyler Distinguished Chair for Leadership Development, US Coast Guard Academy.
US Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT
6:45 PM (EDT) (in person and day of event livestream from www.usni.org)
Please contact conferences@usni.org with questions.
25 August 2023 - Escort Carrier History Symposium
9:30 AM–5 PM (EDT) (in person)
| |
US Naval Academy History Department sends out near final draft of McMullen Naval History Symposium! | |
|
The history department at Annapolis hosts this world-renowned event biennially to highlight the latest research on naval and maritime history from academics and practitioners all over the globe.
The 2023 McMullen Symposium will be held in Annapolis, Maryland, on 21–22 September 2023. Held since 1973, the symposium has been described as the “largest regular meeting of naval historians in the world” and as the US Navy’s “single most important interaction with an academic historical audience.”
It’s not quite solid, but the concrete is hardening on the lineup of presentations that will be offered at this year’s gathering. Congratulations to Cdr. B.J. Armstrong and his team, who organized submissions from around the world into 63 themed panels featuring nearly 200 presentations.
To look at the list of panel submissions click HERE.
To look at the tentative schedule of concurrent panels click HERE.
| |
A Note From Captain John Paulson, USN (Ret.) | |
|
Having been a STEM teacher and the STEM fellowship coordinator at the Naval Historical Foundation (NHF), I have old news to add to your 1 August 2023 congratulations: the US Naval Research Lab is over 100 years old, thanks to inspiration from Thomas Edison. I taught this rich Navy technical history to the STEM fellows for half a decade, and included it on the history of the Washington Navy Yard's neighbors for the historical presentation incorporated in the virtual 3D tour of ex-USS Barry (DD-933), on the historical navy features visible from the display ship’s bridge while moored at the Navy Yard pier.
Similar to the establishment of NHF by the Naval Institute in 1926, inspired by Commodore Dudley W. Knox's writings, the NRL came into existence in 1923, the year it was founded, with the first five buildings of its campus being built on the current site.
Briefly: The Naval Research Laboratory came into existence from an idea that originated from Edison. In a May 1915 editorial piece in the New York Times Magazine, he wrote; “The Government should maintain a great research laboratory... In this could be developed...all the technique of military and naval progression without any vast expense.” This statement addressed concerns about World War I in the United States.
Edison then agreed to serve as the head of the Naval Consulting Board that consisted of civilians who had achieved expertise. The focus of the Naval Consulting Board was as advisor to the US Navy pertaining to science and technology. The board brought forward a plan to create a modern facility for the Navy. In 1916 Congress allocated $1.5 million for implementation. However, construction was delayed until 1920 because of the war and internal disagreements within the board.
The US Naval Research Laboratory, the first modern research institution created within the United States Navy, began operations at 1100 on 2 July 1923. The Laboratory's two original divisions—Radio and Sound—performed research in the fields of high-frequency radio and underwater sound propagation. They produced communications equipment, direction-finding devices, sonar sets, and the first practical radar equipment built in the United States. They performed basic research, participating in the discovery and early exploration of the ionosphere. The NRL gradually worked towards its goal of becoming a broadly based research facility. By the beginning of World War II, five new divisions had been added: Physical Optics, Chemistry, Metallurgy, Mechanics and Electricity, and Internal Communications.
| |
|
A New Force at Sea: George Dewey and the Rise of the American Navy. By David A. Smith. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2023)
Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA
...Dewey continued to enjoy the friendship and support of Theodore Roosevelt, who became president after William McKinley’s assassination in 1901, and Congress created the unique but ceremonial rank of Admiral of the Navy for him in 1903, but celebrity status ended quickly. One sign of Dewey’s impermanent, faddish cynosure was a victory arch erected in New York at Broadway and 5th Avenue. Built of wood and plaster, plans called a permanent marble structure. It was never built, and the city demolished the temporary arch in 1900. Since his new rank was permanent, the Admiral served on the Navy’s General Board, where he supported several improvements in naval technology, although with varied success. He died in 1917, aged seventy-nine.
Although Dr. Smith’s informal style tends to soft-pedal his criticism of Dewey’s faults and shortcomings, he nevertheless makes the point that the Admiral was by no means a central figure during the growth and maturity of the United States to global power and influence. He was, by many measures, a competent but limited military officer who successfully followed the orders of national authority. Little in Dewey’s character seems especially remarkable, except for strong self-discipline, but his story is still worthwhile because it personifies the trajectory of America’s growth and development through a challenging era and encompasses features of the nation’s ethos that, while less than stellar, deserve serious attention.
Read full review>>
| |
|
US Navy Minecraft: A History and Directory from World War I to Today By Ken W. Sayers, McFarland Publishing (2023).
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz
In Chapter #10, Sayers discusses the Mine Countermeasures Ships (MCM), which are the last active minecraft in the US Navy of the many discussed in the book. This chapter should be required reading for Congress and policymakers, as it foretells of potential disaster in the future. The Avenger-class MCM once numbered fourteen, yet only eight remain now, and even those are likely to be out of service relatively soon. This is reflective of the fickle nature of ship acquisition, budget struggles and the convoluted nature of modern American politics. If the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) were supposed to perform the MCM mission via modularized packages, they have proven unreliable hulls and as he wisely states, “ultimately it may have been better to have instead developed an advanced ‘MCM (X),’ fully dedicated and specifically built for the purpose of countering mines, than to adapt the LCS equivalent of a corvette or frigate for that purpose.” [190]
Lastly, in Chapter #28 Sayers offers a look at the wide range of minecraft which ended up in foreign navies, whether via transfer or otherwise. This includes vessels provided to Britain and the Soviet Union as part of Lend-Lease, post-WW2 transfers as part of the larger Cold War efforts to equip our NATO and other allies with mine warfare vessels, the wholesale transfer of many vessels to the embattled Republic of Vietnam or South Vietnamese Navy (VNN) as part of the Nixon-era Vietnamization process and more recent transfers to friendly navies. [431-477] Ken Sayers’s US Navy Minecraft: A History and Directory from World War I to Today should find a wide audience, not only among veterans, their families, and researchers alike but also naval enthusiasts. Thankfully Sayers has maintained his original vision throughout the series and this last work is no exception for its continued quality and breadth of valuable information.
Read full review>>
| |
NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | |
|
Chiefs of Naval Operations
The US Navy has made amazing progress throughout its history. From coal power to nuclear power and hybrid electric drive; from weapons like basic guns and artillery to precision laser-guided munitions, lasers, and developmental electromagnetic railguns; from paper maps and charts to real-time satellite navigation—the Navy has come a long way.
While credit for the operational success of the Navy lies squarely on the shoulders of our sailors, it’s important to know that the tools they use, many of them technological marvels, didn’t just happen. Putting those tools in the hands of sailors, making it possible for them to sail into harm’s way and emerge victorious, takes a complex structure of setting requirements, development, evaluation, acquisition, and distribution on the front end and detailed plans for manning, training, equipping, and maintaining it all on the backend. The dedicated military and civilian personnel of the OPNAV staff have performed the vital functions of resource allocation, risk assessment, and balancing.
For more than 100 years, the person leading that effort has been the Chief of Naval Operations. The office has changed quite a bit since May 11, 1915, when Adm. William S. Benson took office as the first CNO, but the importance of the office’s mission remains the same: to ensure our globally deployed sailors have all the tools and training necessary to successfully achieve their missions and return home safely.
In 2015, the Navy commemorated the establishment of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Download the Commemorative Program. Also available is the Centennial Monograph that includes biographies of the CNOs who served during the first 100 years of the office.
See list of former CNOs here>>
| |
|
Finding Phobos: Discovery of a Martian Moon
If someone were to ask you when fear was first discovered, you could tell them August 11, 1877. That’s when, 134 years ago today, Asaph Hall identified Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons. But even though it’s named after the Greek god of fear, there’s nothing to be afraid of…
Asaph Hall III (1829–1907) was an astronomer working at the US Naval Observatory on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, DC, in 1877, and was in charge of the Observatory’s 26-inch telescope, then the largest refractor telescope in the world. Hall spotted a “faint star near Mars” on August 17 and later identified it as a moon—another moon, actually, since Hall had already identified the smaller Deimos on August 11. That’s two moons in one week! Not too shabby for a self-taught astronomer from Goshen, Connecticut, who dropped out of school at 16.
Read full article>>
| |
NAVAL HISTORY CALLS FOR PAPERS | |
UPCOMING NAVAL & MARITIME HISTORY GATHERINGS | |
|
25–26 August: Fairwell ECSAA Reunion, Arlington, VA
18–21 September 2023: Historic Naval Ship Association Conference aboard USS Slater
21–22 September 2023: McMullen Naval History Symposium, US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
22 September 2023 at 1800: Dudley Knox Award ceremony and dinner, US Naval Institute’s Jack C. Taylor Conference Center in Annapolis, Maryland
3 October: Navy Memorial Lone Sailor Award Dinner. National Building Museum, Washington, DC
9 October: US Naval Institute 150th Celebration
17–22 October 2023: Naval Order of the United States Congress, San Diego
25 October 2023: US Naval Institute Conference –Critical Thinking–Our Greatest Weapon to Winning Tomorrow’s War
| PREBLE HALL NAVAL HISTORY PODCAST | |
A naval history podcast from Preble Hall – the United States Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. Preble Hall will interview 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: 193: Admiral Mike Mullen, Part 12: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff>>
Click here for all Preble Hall Podcasts >>
| DRACHINIFEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL | |
Welcome to Navy History Matters, 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>>
| INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAVAL HISTORY | |
The International Journal of Naval History (IJNH) provides a preeminent forum for works of naval history, researched and written to demonstrable academic standards, with the goal of stimulating and promoting research into naval history and fostering communication among naval historians at an international level. IJNH welcomes any scholarly historical analysis, focused on any period or geographic region, that explores naval power in its national or cultural context. The journal is independent of any institution and operates under the direction of an international editorial board that represents various genres of naval history.
Click here to read the February 2023 edition and archived issues on the IJNH website >>
| 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 >>
| | | | |
