Naval History Blog

February 1st, 1955

Operation Deep Freeze is Established in Antarctica

        The research task force titled Operation Deep Freeze was first established in Antarctica in 1955.  This first mission was the first in an ongoing series of American research missions to the Antarctic continent, which has facillitated many researchers and scientists to explore, study, and perform experiements.  In March, 1970, Proceedings published a firsthand account of one of the first Deep Freeze missions, undertaken thirteen years after the beginning of the operation.  In “Deep Freeze Diary, 1968,” Commander James S, McNeely, USN (retired), described his experience of Antarctica, from recieving his orders to the end of his assignment.  Mcneely provides a detailed account of the dark Antarctic winter, as well as the risks and challenges of living in such a barren environment, but emphasizes the importance of such long and lonely missions in advancing human knowledge and exploration.

        “BUPERS ORDERS … CDR JAMES S. MC NEELY … DIRDET … AS CO ANTARCTICSUPPACT DET ALFA …”  Me!  The Bureau of Personnel had ordered me to duty in Antarctica as Commanding Officer of the wintering-over detachment.  Great! Read the rest of this entry »

January 26th, 1913

The body of John Paul Jones is interred at the U. S. Naval Academy.

        Almost a full century ago, the body of John Paul Jones, recently discovered in a Parisian cemetery, reached its final resting place in an ornate crypt on the campus of the U. S. Naval Academy.  Fifty years after the discovery of his remains, the July 1955 issue of Proceedings printed a an article about the search for and identification of Jones’ body, written by a freelance writer, Dorothy Tooker.  In her article, Tooker told the story of restoring the American naval hero to his rightful tomb, from the challenges of finding his body in Paris, to the task of identifying his remains after they had been discovered in an unmarked coffin.  For John Paul Jones, whose mystery endured almost 113 years after his death, this story of his return to the United States makes a fitting end.

        The breeze blew cold through the tunnel, and the smell of damp from its earthen walls permeated the men’s nostrils.  At the bend in the passageway the grave gentlemen in derby hats halted while workmen dragged an old leaden coffin into the passageway.  It was outmoded, tapered at the foot with a widened, rounded projection at the head, and encrusted with dirt and mold from long burial.   Read the rest of this entry »

January 19, 1840

Lieutenant Charles Wilkes discovers Antarctic Coast

        On January 19th, 1840, Lt. Charles Wilkes, during an expedition circumnavigating the globe, became the first American to sight the Antarctic Coast, and to discover the existence of an Antarctic continent.  This discovery was the highlight of a four-year surveying expedition which greatly contributed to the scientific and cultural knowledge of the time.  In October 1939, Proceedings published a detailed article about the expedition, excerpted below, written by Captain G. S. Bryan, U. S. Navy.  In his article, Captain Bryan charts the course of Wilkes’ expedition, from beginning to end, and emphasizes not only the profound impact of the expedition and its discoveries, but the character and temperament of the commander responsible for its accomplishments as well:

        The closing months of 1939 and early 1940 mark the one hundredth anniversary of the crowning achievement of the United States Exploring Expedition, or the Wilkes Exploring Expedition as it was later called.  The accomplishments of this expedition under the command of Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, U. S. Navy, stand perhaps as the greatest achievement in the field of exploration that this country has ever known. Read the rest of this entry »

HL Hunley in its conservation tank at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, Charleston.

On February 17, 1864, Confederate-built H.L. Hunley became the world’s first successful combat submarine when it attacked and sank the 1240-short ton screw sloop USS Housatonic at the entrance  to the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. H.L. Hunley surfaced briefly to signal a successful mission to comrades on shore with a blue magnesium light, after which it was never seen again. All eight of its crewmen were presumed lost and despite multiple search efforts, the submarine could not be relocated. 

Over 136 years later, on 8 August, 2000, H.L. Hunley was raised from the sea floor using a specially-designed support frame, or truss. A multi-disciplinary team, under Project Director and Head of the NHHC Underwater Archaeology Branch, Dr. Robert Neyland, coordinated Hunley‘s recovery. 

Post recovery, the 40-foot, 17,000 pound truss continued to support the sub in a custom built, 90,000-gallon conservation tank at Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, SC while it underwent archaeological investigation. During the careful, year long excavation of its interior, H.L. Hunley remained in the same tilted position in which it was found to ensure minimal disturbance of its contents. Conservation of the recovered artifacts is being conducted by professionals from the Warren Lasch Conservation Center and Clemson University. In 2011, after the interior of the hull had been completely excavated, Hunley was re-positioned so that it now sits upright and no longer requires the support of the truss, which will be removed tomorrow morning on 12 January, 2012.   

Throughout its treatment, the submarine has been on display to the public, however, when the truss is removed, visitors finally will be able to have a fully-unobstructed view of the vessel in its conservation tank.

A 3-D animation of the recovery and rotation of H.L. Hunley may be viewed here: Hunley Submarine Rotation

For more information on the H.L. Hunley project, please visit the Friends of the Hunley website: http://www.hunley.org/ 

HL Hunley in its truss at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, Charleston.

On 13 November 1942 the light cruiser Juneau (CL 52) sank off Guadalcanal, with the loss of all but ten of her crew. Among the dead were all five brothers of the Sullivan family from Waterloo, Iowa. Albert, Francis, George, Joseph, and Madison Sullivan had enlisted together on 3 January 1942, with condition that they be allowed to serve on the same ship. News of the deaths of all five brothers became a rallying point for the war effort, with posters and speeches honoring their sacrifice, extensive newspaper and radio coverage, and war bond drives and other patriotic campaigns which culminated in the 1944 movie, “The Sullivans.”

Their sister Genevieve enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Specialist (Recruiter) Third Class and, with her parents, visited more than 200 manufacturing plants and shipyards under the auspices of the Industrial Incentive Division, Executive Office of the Secretary, Navy Department. According to a 9 February 1943 Navy Department Press Release, the Sullivans “visited war production plants urging employees to work harder to produce weapons for the Navy so that the war may come to an end sooner.” By January 1944 the three surviving Sullivans had spoken to over a million workers in sixty-five cities and reached millions of others over the radio.

On 10 February 1943 the Navy officially canceled the name Putnam (DD 537) and assigned the name The Sullivans to a destroyer under construction. Sponsored by Mrs. Alleta Sullivan, mother of the five Sullivan brothers, and commissioned 30 September 1943, The Sullivans served the Navy until decommissioning on 7 January 1965. In 1977 the destroyer was donated to the city of Buffalo, New York, as a memorial in the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Servicemen’s Park. The second The Sullivans (DDG 68) was laid down on 14 June 1993 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works Co. and launched on 12 August 1995 sponsored by Kelly Sullivan Loughren, granddaughter of Albert Leo Sullivan. Commissioned on 19 April 1997 at Staten Island, New York, under the command of Commander Gerard D. Roncolato, the ship’s motto, “We Stick Together,” echoes the determination and dedication of the brothers for which the ship was named.

This week, the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial is celebration the commemoration of the Port Royal Expedition.  The expedition, which entered the sound on 3 November 1861, was the largest assemblage of ships (77) by the U.S. Navy at that point.  The battle was an overwhelming victory for the Union, as well as a testament to combined Army/Navy operations that would subsist for the remainder of the war. 

CWN 150 bloggers are focusing their attention on the battle this week HERE.

The blog will show the most up to date information.  There are now several posts about the history of the event, anecdotes and profiles of pivital figures involved, and special programs offered for the sesquicentennial anniversary in South Carolina.   Port Royal blog posts will appear until 7 November. 

The following is the list of current Port Royal Blog posts at the Civil War Navy 150 blog (in order of most recent): 

Brother Against Brother at Port Royal

Storms off the South Carolina Coast

Navy Leadership at Port Royal

Port Royal Week for CWN 150 Bloggers

The Port Royal Expedition and the NY Times

The 1861 “Expedition Hurricane” and Port Royal

EXECUTIVE ORDER 8929

DIRECTING THE COAST GUARD TO OPERATE AS A PART OF THE NAVY

November 1, 1941

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1 of the act of Congress approved January 28, 1915, 38 Stat. 800 (U.S.C., title 14, sec. 1), as amended by sections 5 and 6 of the act of July 11, 1941, Public Law 166, 77th Congress, 1st Session, it is hereby directed that the Coast Guard shall from this date, until further orders, operate as a part of the Navy, subject to the orders of the Secretary of the Navy.

All Coast Guard personnel operating as a part of the Navy, subject to the orders of the Secretary of the Navy, pursuant to this order, shall, while so serving, be subject to the laws enacted for the government of the Navy: Provided, That in the initiation, prosecution, and completion of disciplinary action, including remission or mitigation of punishments for any offense committed by any officer or enlisted man of the Coast Guard, the jurisdiction shall depend upon and be in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Department having jurisdiction of the person of such offender at the various stages of such action: Provided further, That any punishment imposed and executed in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph shall not exceed that to which the offender was liable at the time of the commission of the offense.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

THE WHITE HOUSE,

November 1, 1941.

Exec. Order No. 8929, 6 FR 5581, 1941 WL 4041 (Pres.)

The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands occurred when Task Forces 16 and 17, under Rear Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid and Rear Adm. George D. Murray, respectively, fought numerically superior Japanese forces under Vice Adm. Nagumo Chuichi that supported an overland thrust by Japanese troops at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.

SBD-3 Dauntlesses of VB-8 and VS-8 from HORNET (CV 8) damaged the carrier SHOKAKU and the destroyer TERUTSUKI, and TBF-1 Avengers of VT-6 from HORNET damaged the heavy cruiser CHIKUMA. In addition, Dauntlesses of VS-10 from ENTERPRISE (CV 6) damaged the light carrier ZUIHO. Japanese planes from SHOKAKU and the light carrier JUNYO twice damaged ENTERPRISE, however, killing 44 men and wounding 75 more. Aircraft from SHOKAKU, ZUIKAKU, and JUNYO tore into HORNET in a coordinated attack, during which in barely 10 minutes two torpedoes, four bombs, and a crashing Aichi D3A1 Type 99 carrier bomber struck HORNET, setting her ablaze.

While HUGHES (DD 410), which had been damaged by friendly fire earlier in the action, aided the battle against Hornet’s fires and took off survivors, the destroyer collided with the carrier. The destroyers ANDERSON (DD 411) and MUSTIN (DD 413) attempted to scuttle the irreparably damaged HORNET with gunfire and torpedoes, but she defiantly remained afloat. The Japanese destroyers AKIGUMO and MAKIGUMO sank HORNET the following day.

Meanwhile, Japanese aircraft from JUNYO damaged the battleship SOUTH DAKOTA (BB 57) and the light cruiser SAN JUAN (CL 54); a crashing carrier attack plane struck the destroyer SMITH (DD 378); and a battle-damaged TBF-1 from VT-10 accidentally torpedoed the destroyer PORTER (DD 356) as the Avenger ditched. PORTER was deemed beyond salvage and scuttled by the destroyer SHAW (DD 373). The Japanese lost almost 100 planes and the Americans 74.

While this battle was a tactical naval victory for the Japanese, U.S. Marines and soldiers repulsed the enemy’s simultaneous land offensive on Guadalcanal, thwarting the Japanese from fully exploiting their triumph and thus conferring a strategic victory to the Americans. The dwindling number of Japanese carrier planes failed to destroy Henderson Field, and fuel shortages compelled the Combined Fleet to retire on Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands and to eventually surrender control of the skies above the sea routes to Guadalcanal.