Naval History Blog

An Allied armada hoisted anchor on 6 June 1944 and departed its base to force a landing on a hostile shore. The result would prove decisive to the outcome of the World War II and would free an enslaved population from years of brutal oppression. That day the world’s attention was focused on the north coast of France, where Allied troops were pushing inland in the largest-ever amphibious assault. While Operation Overlord would become the one and only D-Day in the public’s mind, in truth there were many other D-Days, many other H-Hours on many beaches throughout the world. From… Read the rest of this entry »

USS Kitty Hawk’s (CV 63) fourteenth deployment in early 1984 found her at the center of a great deal of activity. During the joint United States/Republic of Korea Exercise Team Spirit 84-1, Kitty Hawk’s Battle Group Bravo encountered numerous Soviet forces during the eight-day event. Reconnaissance aircraft overflew the group 43 times while six Soviet surface units and one submarine made an appearance. It was the submarine, however, that had a lasting impact on the ship and its cruise. At 2207 on 21 March the submarine surfaced and collided with the carrier. The captain and starboard lookout both saw the… Read the rest of this entry »

On 16 January 1930 the aircraft carrier Lexington (CV 2) completed thirty days of providing electrical power to the city of Tacoma, Washington, during a city-wide power shortage caused by drought at the area’s hydroelectric generation facilities. Like some other capital ships of that era, Lexington’s turbines produced electricity to operate the shaft motors, but didn’t turn the shafts themselves as on most steam-driven ships then and now. The ship therefore had great electrical generation capacity that made her ideal for this task. Lexington provided power twelve hours a day between 17 December 1929 and 16 January 1930, ultimately totaling… Read the rest of this entry »