Naval History Blog

In October 1944 near the Philippine island of Leyte, Japan unleashed a powerful, unforeseen weapon against enemy warships—the kamikaze. During the next few months, the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, received more than her share of attention from the deadly suicide planes. According to Australian sources, the cruiser became the first Allied ship hit by a kamikaze when on 21 October a D3A “Val” bomber struck her foremast, killing 7 officers—including her commanding officer—and 23 sailors. (Other sources deny the attack was a preplanned suicide attack.) That was just a taste of what was in store for the Australia during the January 1945 operation… Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. national security relations with Mexico stretch back to the 1840s and the presidency of James K. Polk, when the United States wanted to expand the country’s size. Polk was explicit about his policy goals, one of which was the annexation of California,[1] and he viewed his election as a mandate to annex that territory, as well as others if the opportunity arose. That opportunity materialized when Mexico tried to retake Texas[2]. Polk, without hesitation, convinced Congress to declare war on Mexico. President Polk accomplished more than what his constituents expected. Today, the United States shares an open border with… Read the rest of this entry »

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated in the streets of Sarajevo, which loosed the forces that created World War I. Here are the elements that led to this catastrophic event:   AN ANNEXATION CAUSES TROUBLE IN BOSNIA   Following the Crimean War and various conflicts in Eastern Europe, the Congress of Berlin proposed a treaty that granted independence to the smaller nation-states of Romania, Montenegro, and Serbia. While Austria and Russia initially promised to leave these new countries to their own devices, Austria’s sudden annexation of Bosnia in 1908 generated intense… Read the rest of this entry »

On June 26, 1794, the French army launched their military balloon, L’Entreprenant, for reconnaissance during the Battle of Fleurus — the first use of an aircraft for military purposes. The Committee of Public Safety approved the creation of the French Company of Aeronauts in 1794 and sponsored the development of the hydrogen that would be used to raise the craft. After much testing and experimentation with gases and structures, L’Entreprenant was born [1].   Following a brief debut during a bombardment on June 2, L’Entreprenant was used to report enemy movements during a conflict with Austrian forces [2]. At Fleurus, the balloon… Read the rest of this entry »

Paging through Naval Institute’s photo archive, one can come across some unexpected and surprising images — ones where you know there has to be some sort of story behind them. Such is the case of the image featured here. The unusual scene shows the Italian airship M.6 floating over the upturned hull of the sunken battleship Leonardo da Vinci with an angle indicator attached to her rudder. How did such a bizarre scene come about? The story is recounted in a 1921 Proceedings article by Lieut. Colonel A. Guidoni of the Italian Navy, in which is excerpted here below: “The night… Read the rest of this entry »

Today marks the 53rd anniversary of the formal opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway to seagoing ships. The Seaway is a 2,432 mile long international waterway consisting of a system of canals, dams, and locks. It provides passage for large oceangoing vessels into central North America, and has created a fourth seacoast accessible to the industrial and agricultural heartland of North America. To celebrate the opening of the Seaway, President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II, along with twenty-eight Naval vessels, cruised from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes. 1,040 midshipmen, including the entire third class of midshipmen at the Naval… Read the rest of this entry »

April 15th, 1912 The sinking of the S. S. Titanic April 15th, 2012, marks the one-hundred year anniversary of the sinking of the “unsinkable” S. S. Titanic after a collision with an iceberg. The tragedy of the Titanic was not that such a large and well-built ship sank on her first and only voyage, but that she lacked sufficient life-saving equipment, which resulted in the unnecessary loss of many lives. In observance of the fiftieth anniversary of the Titanic disaster, the April 1962 issue of Proceedings contained an article, written by John Carroll Carrothers, which detailed the Titanic‘s brief history, from the beginning… Read the rest of this entry »

April 4th, 1949 NATO is established   In the wake of World War II, and at the beginnings of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded between the United States, Canada, and a large number of European nations. Ten years after the establishment of NATO, Proceedings published an article by Admiral W. F. Boone, USN, in its April 1959 issue. The article focused on the objectives of NATO as well as the acheivements and challenges encountered during the first ten years of its existence. Though establishing such an international union, especially in a time of peace, proved… Read the rest of this entry »