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27 June 2023
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
In this edition of Tuesday Tidings we offer a salute to the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London, which has been responsible for overseeing the research of a number of American uniformed scholars who have chosen to pursue doctorates, writing on US naval history-related subjects. Indeed, the King’s program has been responsible for a substantial percentage of US naval history dissertations published in recent years with the most recent being Captain Bryan Leese, who is with the Joint Military Operations Department at the Naval War College. Captain Leese, following in the wake of the late John Prados, who published Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II in 1995, covered similar themes in the post-war period with his dissertation titled: The Evolution of US Navy Operational Intelligence in the Cold War. An overview of his dissertation abstract is our feature for this edition.
Leese, who was advised by Andrew Lambert, was preceded last year by Stephen Phillips, a retired Explosives Ordnance Disposal officer. Another Lambert advisee, Phillips wrote on minesweeping efforts during the Earnest Will operation with his dissertation titled: A Poisoned Chalice: The US Navy in the Persian Gulf: 1987–1988.
Among the notable graduates of King's College are David Kohnen from the Naval War College's Hattendorf Center, B. J. Armstrong from the US Naval Academy history department, Charles Steele from the US Air Force History Department, and Henry J. Hendrix, former Director of Naval History.
Why King’s? For most naval officers facing sea-shore rotations, the requirement to accumulate a number of classroom course credits at a brick-and-mortar location makes doctoral studies a non-starter. Leese explained: “King's, like most UK post-graduate institutions, focuses on research. I was not required to take any courses. I spent five years researching and writing. I wrote over 70,000 words in a series of question-response essays with Andrew Lambert. Most of those essays were not cut-and-paste for the dissertation, but critical thinking efforts.” Leese also pointed out that tuition at the London school was less than in the States. Needless to say, as we approach Independence Day, let’s be thankful that the “Mother Country” is helping to forge naval history scholarship on this side of the pond.
Naval History Book Reviews is taking a week off! Please check our updated list of books available for review. As always, send your requests to david.winkler@usnwc.edu. Please note that David Winkler is currently traveling and will respond to your requests after the Fourth of July.
For this week's 'In Case You Missed It' article, in recognition of the upcoming 109th anniversary of the ban on alcohol consumption on Navy ships, we present a 2019 Sea History Today encore.
Tuesday Tidings is compiled by Dr. David F. Winkler and Jessie Henderson. As always, comments are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.
| ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST | |
29 June 2023 - Naval Order of the US Continental Commandery Maritime History Virtual Lecture Series – Sarah C. M. Paine, William S. Sims University Professor of History and Grand Strategy, Strategy & Policy Department, US Naval War “The End of the Cold War.”
7 PM (EDT)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdrjymLPI-s.
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The Evolution of US Navy Operational Intelligence in the Cold War
Captain Bryan Leese has written on a subject of some sensitivity—the collection of intelligence. Though there's a question of which ship cruise books proved to be quite the gold mine. Why? Looking through page after page of sailor mug-shots organized by the sub-divisions they served aboard ship, Leese discerned organizational changes leading to questions on how and why those changes came about. In his abstract Leese writes:
This qualitative, narrative history uses interviews with former Navy personnel, civilians, and available archival records to fill gaps in the US Navy’s shipboard Operational Intelligence (Opintel) historiography. The thesis examines and assesses the evolution of Opintel during the 1960s and 1970s to answer the primary research question: How did afloat Opintel evolve in support of the Navy’s 1970s sea control efforts, and what role did aviation culture play in that evolution? Following the Vietnam War, hyperlethal conventional warfare characterized the Cold War. The Soviet Navy’s growth forced the US Navy to focus on naval warfare and sea control strategies. Technology drove both the revolution in naval affairs and the evolution of Opintel.
Three Opintel evolutionary milestones are analyzed in the thesis: the institutionalization of afloat Opintel, indications and warning for the outer air battle, and the rise of tactical decision support. Each milestone links to an Opintel technological advancement. First, the development of the aircraft carrier Integrated Operational Intelligence Centre (IOIC) with the institutionalization of Opintel. Second, the shore-based Ocean Surveillance Intelligence System (OSIS) networking with shipboard warning and intercept of Soviet long-range aviation. Third, improved tactical decision aids, the Enhanced Calculator Link Processing System (ECLIPS) and a series of demonstrations called Outlaw Hawk and Outlaw Shark, support enhanced command, control, and communications. The research assesses the importance of aviation culture and technology on changing Opintel performance orientations and the significance of organizational decentralization and coordination without hierarchy on the evolvability and organizational learning required to meet those new intelligence demands.
Leese’s chapters covering the Vietnam War provide a better understanding of just what we knew and how that affected decision-making. He also offers excellent perspectives from the North Vietnamese perspective. Using anecdotal tales to illustrate his points, Leese’s narrative is close to being publishable by a reputable press. We wish him luck!
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Seafaring Spirits
In the previous installment of Sea History Today, we discussed how a lot of foodstuffs didn’t fare well stored in barrels in the hold of sailing ships. But did you know that some wine and spirits actually improve over the course of a sea voyage?
Take Madeira wine, for example. This wine from the volcanic island of Madeira in Portugal was found to have improved in quality after months of sloshing in the hold of a ship at tropical temperatures. Portuguese winemakers in the 18th century then tried fortifying the wine—adding a measure of brandy to raise the alcohol content, thus extending the wine’s resistance to deterioration over time. Even after the practice of aging Madeira wine in warm rooms was adopted, a long sea voyage significantly enhanced the price the wine could command.
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USS Constellation. Photo courtesy the Library of Congress | |
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The constant motion of a ship at sea can also be a boon to distilled spirits, when they are being aged in a wooden barrel—the movement maximizing exposure to the barrel’s interior surface. Some modern distilling projects have combined the romance of seafaring with the quest for unique flavors by sending their barrels to sea. In 2016 Maryland-based Tobacco Barn Distillery loaded four bourbon barrels into the hold of USS Constellation, docked in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
After a year in Constellation’s hold, rocking with the ship’s motion and undergoing a range in temperature from 9 to 101 degrees, the rum was bottled and sold at local venues, with a portion of the profits going to Historic Ships in Baltimore, guardian organization of Constellation, the US submarine Torsk, the US Coast Guard Cutter Taney,* and the Lightship Chesapeake, as well as the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse. Meanwhile, a little to the North, Ironworks Distillery, based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, sent four barrels of rum in the barque Picton Castle on a circumnavigation of the globe; that rum is now available under the label Around the World Rum.
*Since the first publication of this installment, the vessel’s name was changed. It is currently referred to as USCG Cutter 37.
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NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | |
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USS Constitution was one of six frigates authorized for construction by an act of Congress in 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed them to be the Navy’s capital ships. Larger and more heavily armed than the standard run of frigate, Constitution and her sisters were formidable opponents even for some ships of the line.
Built in Boston of resilient live oak, Constitution’s planks were up to seven inches thick. Paul Revere forged the copper spikes and bolts that held the planks in place and the copper sheathing that protected the hull. Thus armed, she first put to sea in July 1798 and saw her first service patrolling the southeast coast of the United States during the Quasi-War with France.
In 1803 she was designated flagship for the Mediterranean squadron under Captain Edward Preble and went to serve against the Barbary States of North Africa, which were demanding tribute from the United States in exchange for allowing American merchant vessels access to Mediterranean ports.
Preble began an aggressive campaign against Tripoli, blockading ports and bombarding fortifications. Finally Tripoli, Tunisia and Algeria agreed to a peace treaty. Constitution patrolled the North African coast for two years after the war ended, to enforce the terms of the treaty.
She returned to Boston in 1807 for two years of refitting. The ship was recommissioned as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron in 1809 under Commodore John Rodgers.
By early 1812, relations with Great Britain had deteriorated and the Navy began preparing for war, which was declared on 20 June. Captain Isaac Hull, who had been appointed Constitution’s commanding officer in 1810, put to sea 12 July, without orders, to prevent being blockaded in port. His intention was to join the five ships of Rodgers’ squadron.
Read full article>>
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USS Constitution - A Tour from Keel to Upper Deck
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H-Gram 078: 20 March 2023 >> The Revolt of the Admirals, Ship Renaming
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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.
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