USS South Dakota (BB-57) 9 August 1943. Official U.S. Navy photograph.
Looking for something fun to do with free admission. Please consider our Navy’s Naval History enterprise which consists of a dozen official U.S. Navy museums, NHHC headquarters which is home to the Navy Library, the Navy Art Gallery, and the USS Constitution.
For more information, click here.
Can you Say Road Trip?
Last Friday, April 16th the Navy Department Library was the recipient of a very generous donation. Mrs. Mary Lou Mawdsley, her son Alan Mawdsley, and her grandson Jimmy presented us with 59 cruise books collected by her late husband, Dr. Dean L. Mawdsley. The collection ranges from World War I to the Cold War, with a majority of them coming from the World War II era.
Cruise books are often compared to yearbooks, in that they tell the informal story of a ship and the people who have served onboard. Our collection contains nearly 3,000 cruise books and continues to grow. The publication of cruise books began in the late 19th century to commemorate special events such as the Great White Fleet’s world voyage, and a few were issued for vessels in World War I. World War II helped establish a more widespread practice. These books were not official US Navy publications, and were largely initiated, funded, and produced by the crew of the ship.
Dr. Mawdsley is the author of Cruise Books of the United States Navy in World War II, a bibliography published in 2004 by the former Naval Historical Center now the Naval History and Heritage Command. Dr. Mawdsley was a retired physician with a passion for collecting books. His passion grew into the bibliography, and he was considered an expert on World War II naval cruise books. The contributions he made to the publication and now to our library are significant to researchers and cruise book enthusiasts, and we are very grateful for this incredible donation.
Berthed at Nauticus in Norfolk, VA , the Battleship Wisconsin is one of the largest and last battleships ever built by the U.S. Navy.
For additional images of the USS Wisconsin, click here.
For a ship’s history, click here.
For information about touring the USS Wisconsin, click here.
Click here to become a fan of the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) on Facebook.
Wisconsin crew members, please post your sea stories in our comments section.
Built in an amazing 16 ½ months at Newport News, Virginia, Yorktown was commissioned on April 15, 1943. Yorktown participated significantly in the Pacific Offensive that began in late 1943 and ended with the defeat of Japan in 1945. Yorktown received the Presidential Unit Citation and earned 11 battle stars for service in World War II. Much of the Academy Award-winning (1944) documentary "The Fighting Lady" was filmed aboard Yorktown.
For images of the Yorktown, click here.
To view Yorktown’s entry in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, click here.
To tour the USS Yorktown in Patriots Point, SC, click here.
Yorktown sailors: please share your sea stories in the comments section! Thanks!
Representing a major accomplishment for the Navy Department Library we present to you, A Narrative of the March and Operations of the Army of the Indus. This digitized version of the book is now in our Online Reading Room. This very detailed work describes the march into Afghanistan in 1839 by the British Army combined with the Bengal and Bombay Forces. It is a fascinating look at military operations in Afghanistan in the past, and gives a context for much of today’s fighting. Compiled and largely written by the Judge Advocate General of the “Bengal Column and the Army of the Indus,” it describes in detail the conditions of the march into Afghanistan and the military operations in Ghuznee. Everything from the political climate, including a look at the history of the region, to the number of camels lost on the expedition is covered in this very thorough book. While this book does cover a British Army invasion and is not a work of naval history it does give us a sense of the history of the people of Afghanistan and what today’s sailors and other military members are facing in the region.
Naval History Blog recently caught up with Don Berger who joined the U.S. Merchant Marines in World War II when he was 16 1/2 and became a radio officer the following year. In addition to his service in WW II, Don served in Korea, Vietnam, and Gulf War I. Today, Don is volunteer aboard the SS American Victory in Tampa, FL – one of few WW II Victory ships available for tours and cruises.
