Naval History Blog

World War II saw a great leap forward in military technology from things like sonar to jet aircraft. However, one basic human activity became “weaponized” and a very valuable addition to the U.S. Navy’s arsenal. Swimming grew from simple physical training and life saving into a war-fighting skill designed to overcome German and Japanese beach defenses and insure success in numerous amphibious invasions around the world. A major center for preparing such combat swimmers for action was the Amphibious Training Base in sunny Fort Pierce, Florida.[i] Here the Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDUs), later organized into larger Underwater Demolition Teams,… Read the rest of this entry »

This week marks the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, where astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” became the first humans to step foot on the moon and astronaut Michael Collins piloted the command module to and from their destination. Launching from Cape Kennedy on July 16th, 1969, the astronauts splashed down in the North Pacific Ocean on July 24th when they were retrieved by helicopter and brought aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CVS-12) for a successful conclusion of their mission. But then began three weeks of quarantine. At the time, no one could predict with absolute certainty… Read the rest of this entry »

In the early morning hours of 2 May 1964, Captain Borge Langeland of the USNS Card (T-AKV-40) was supervising the loading of old helicopters aboard the converted auxiliary aircraft carrier for their return to the United States from the Port of Saigon. The Card had just unloaded her cargo of helicopters and fighter-bombers from Manila, the Philippines, and was now preparing to return to the United States. It was all routine work. Captain Langeland, a Norwegian by birth, was undoubtedly happy with routine. He had seen more than his share action as second mate on board the Norwegian ship Grenanger… Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a snippet of history from Navy TV – a 1959 newsreel about Navy Frogmen, that demonstrates a long-endurance dive by Underwater Demolition Team “frogmen” who stayed underwater for a record 48 hours. Yes, dated and funny! And another one -about the UDTs (the precursor to the Seals) this is supposed to be a recruiting film – makes you think twice!! Hell Week, the Tower – the whole 1957 Underwater Demolition Team training. Dated, but exhausting.