Battle at Sea - 3000 Years of Naval Warfare

Samuel Johnson said in 1759: "No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned." In fact, the great man had understated his case. He was talking of sailors in general, not of those serving in navies in time of war. The naval prayer, first recorded in the 17th century and still part of the church services of Britain's Royal Navy, asks for preservation not only "from the dangers of the sea" but also "from the violence of the enemy." It is this "violence" that is the overriding theme of this book. Naval warfare is almost as old as conflicts between armies on land, and as in land campaigns, it is the great battles that catch the imagination, the titanic clashes that can be said to have changed the course of history. Some, such as Cape Ecnomus between Rome and Carthage, or Leyte Gulf between the US and Japan in Word War II, involved vast fleets; others, such as the battles of Chesapeake Bay or the Nile, were fought by a relatively small number of ships. In spite of this, their strategic consequences were equally momentous.

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Warship Pictorial 003 - USS Louisville CA-28

June 3, 1930: Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington - Various structures emerge from the deck as the Louisville nears completion. The main mast rises in the foreground, straddling the aft fire control position. Further forward, up the wide stairs, four newly installed 5in. anti-aircraft guns sit under protective canvas on the lower gun deck. The upper gun deck over the hangar is awaiting the #2 funnel and the large aircraft crane. A huge tent of canvas covers the entire center of the ship as machinery and boiler spaces are finished underneath. The forward tripod mast (right) can really be appreciated here, as it soars better than 120ft. above the ship's keel.

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CSS Alabama vs USS Kearsarge - Cherbourg 1864

There was a holiday mood in Cherbourg that Sunday - June 19, 1864. The morning weather was perfect. It was the type of fine day seen in northern France when spring was passing into summer. Several hundred Parisians had taken advantage of a new weekend excursion train from Paris to Cherbourg to spend Saturday on Cherbourg's beaches. Most had chosen to stay an extra day skipping the trains return on Sunday morning. Among them was Edouard Manet, the French artist, one of the pioneers of Impressionism. Several British and French yachts were also in Cherbourg that morning. These included Deerhound, a British steam yacht that had steamed into Cherbourg on the Saturday, to pick up the owner, John Lancaster, and his family, who were vacationing in France. Like the Parisian beachgoers, it delayed its departure to await the events of that Sunday morning.

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Proceedings Magazine December 2011

Although the Marines' Hymn proclaims that Leathernecks will "fight our country's battles in the air, on land, and sea," the image that most likely comes to mind for the average American is of Marines racing across the beach from landing craft, often while under heavy enemy fire. This image has been reinforced in popular culture through films from Sands of Iwo Jima to the more recent Flags of Our Fathers. But the Corps, as with all the services, finds its access capabilities coming under increasing budget scrutiny these days. Senior leadership will need to demonstrate the continuing value of the Marines' platforms, whether air or sea, in a tight fiscal environment. To lead off this month, Lieutenant General Terry G. Robling, Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation, does just that. In "Osprey in the Catbird Seat," he tells us why ground commanders and their Marines are saying "We want more" of the newest warbird— the MV-22B. Not only has the tiltrotor aircraft proved safe and survivable despite a troubled early developmental history, it gives the air-ground team a broader array of mission capabilities and command flexibility.

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Ships, Aircraft And Weapons of the United States Navy

The TRIDENT system was established to develop and deploy an improved missil-carrying nuclear submarine with a new long-range missile, to offset increasing strides in Soviet naval anti-submarine warfare capability. The TRIDENT strategic weapons system consists of the TRIDENT missile and its shipboard launcher and fire control, navigation, and missile instrumentation test and readiness subsystems. The TRIDENT (C-4) missile is a three stage, solid propellant stellar inertial guided, submarine-launched, fleet ballistic missile. It has a range greater than the POSEIDON missile, thus providing a several-fold increase in the operational area of the United States submarine fleet. The TRIDENT is now deployed in the OHIO class TRIDENT submarines, as well as in 12 POSEIDON submarines which have been back-fitted with the missile.

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Seapower Magazine November 2011

Seapower magazine and the Almanac of Seapower (published in January) are the official publications of the Navy League of the United States (NLUS). Procurement decision-makers in the defense market, senior officials of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and U.S. Flag Merchant Marine, Congress, and the Departments of Defense and Transportation read Seapower magazine. Seapower is the only audited monthly magazine that focuses exclusively on the nation's maritime defense news. Each issue's editorial content is geared toward updating sea service personnel, procurement specialists, executives in the defense industry, and decision-makers on Capitol Hill.

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Proceedings Magazine November 2011

Although the Marines' Hymn proclaims that Leathernecks will "fight our country's battles in the air, on land, and sea," the image that most likely comes to mind for the average American is of Marines racing across the beach from landing craft, often while under heavy enemy fire. This image has been reinforced in popular culture through films from Sands of Iwo Jima to the more recent Flags of Our Fathers. But the Corps, as with all the services, finds ils access capabilities coming under increasing budget scrutiny these days. Senior leadership will need to demonstrate the continuing value of the Marines' platforms, whether air or sea. in a tight fiscal environment. To lead off this month, Lieutenant General Terry G. Robling, Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation, does just that. In "Osprey in the Catbird Seat," he tells us why ground commanders and their Marines are saying "We want more" of the newest warbird — the MV-22B.

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Yangtze River Gunboats 1900-49

In June 1858, the Treaty of Tientsin (Tianjin) effectively opened the door to Western trade with China. The agreement was just one of several 'unequal treaties' achieved more by force of Western arms than by any Chinese enthusiasm for foreign trade. While Imperial China remained a semi-medieval land, many of its ports were now open to foreigners, and rivers such as the Yangtze (Chang Kiang, or Chang Jiang) could be patrolled by Western warships. The terms of the treaty were quite specific. The clause that governed the activities of the Royal Navy stated that: British ships of war coming for no hostile purposes, or being engaged in the pursuit of pirates, shall be at liberty to visit all ports within the Dominions of the Emperor of China and shall receive every facility for the purchase of provisions and the procuring of water and, if occasion required, for the making of repairs. The Commanders of such ships shall hold intercourse with the Chinese Authorities on terms of equality and courtesy.

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Battle at Sea - 3000 Years of Naval Warfare

Samuel Johnson said in 1759: "No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned." In fact, the great man had understated his case. He was talking of sailors in general, not of those serving in navies in time of war. The naval prayer, first recorded in the 17th century and still part of the church services of Britain's Royal Navy, asks for preservation not only "from the dangers of the sea" but also "from the violence of the enemy." It is this "violence" that is the overriding theme of this book. Naval warfare is almost as old as conflicts between armies on land, and as in land campaigns, it is the great battles that catch the imagination, the titanic clashes that can be said to have changed the course of history. Some, such as Cape Ecnomus between Rome and Carthage, or Leyte Gulf between the US and Japan in Word War II, involved vast fleets; others, such as the battles of Chesapeake Bay or the Nile, were fought by a relatively small number of ships. In spite of this, their strategic consequences were equally momentous.

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Proceedings Magazine October 2011

On behalf of all the McCains who have served in naval aviation—from my grandfather, who earned his wings as a captain in 1936; my oldest son, Doug, who earned his wings in 1985; to my son, Lieutenant (junior grade) Jack McCain, who earned his wings this past January—I thank you for the very-generous recognition you have given my family. It has been a privilege for all of us to serve and to have played a small part in the first 100 years of naval aviation history. Ever since reporting to Pensacola more than 50 years ago, I have had the pleasure of being involved with naval aviation in some capacity. I acknowledge that my early involvement was at times "eventful" and that my mishap record certainly contributed to the national debt. I doubt that I would last very long in today's Navy. One of the benefits of living as long as I have is that you get to see a lot of history in the making. And if you are paying attention, you can learn the lessons of what we did right, and what we did wrong. Both should be carefully studied. At the very least, we should make it our goal to repeat what worked well—and to avoid what didn't. Tonight I would like to talk briefly about what I believe to be the key factor in the success of naval aviation over the past century. It is one of the things we did right. It has to do with leadership.

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Proceedings Magazine September 2011

Whenever the budget gets tight, the age-old large-vs.-small-carrier debate seems to resurface; it has risen again with an article in the May issue of Proceedings by Navy Captain Henry J. Hendrix and retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel J. Noel Williams. In arguing their case that the age of the supercarrier is on the wane, the authors espouse the supposed advantages of using an increased number of smaller ships in place of large carriers. But that viewpoint is based on false assumptions and flawed premises, and the summary conclusion that the supercarrier suffers a "declining utility" is often stated but never proved. The challenge for the adversary in the maritime environment is the same as ours—developing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities as well as remote-targeting capability. To merely assume that initial operational capability of the Chinese DF-21D antiship ballistic missile means the death knell of the large aircraft carrier (a popular mantra now with the anti-large-carrier contingent) is to not understand the full requirements of a successful kill-chain. The notion that the aircraft carrier's radar signature will be the carrier strike group's Achilles' heel is wrong. Current Navy and Department of Defense efforts to combat the DF-21 threat focus on the entire kill-chain to assure access for our maritime forces. The DF-21 is a chess move against our carriers. The United States holds the advantage. It is folly to think that strike-group commanders would not fight in the event of a conflict with China that puts our carriers at risk. Risk calculus will be assessed in the same manner it was assessed for the four decades of the Cold War, against an adversary with fleets and aircraft of dedicated "carrier killers."

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Okrety Wojenne 2011-04

Niemiecki parowiec Chow-Chow-Foo opuścił Amoy z 230 chińskimi kulisami na pokładzie. Po pewnym czasie stało się jasne, że nie wszystko idzie zgodnie z planem. Chińczycy zażądali dostarczenia ich do Singapuru, a ponieważ cel rejsu był inny, podnieśli bunt. Rozlali na pokładzie naftę, którą zamierzali podpalić w przypadku niespełnienia ich żądań, a następnie spróbowali zatrzymać pracę siłowni. Obawiając się o własne życie, szyper i inni biali członkowie załogi statku zabarykadowali się na mostku i zaczęli wysyłać sygnały o pomoc. Los załogi byłby nie do pozazdroszczenia, gdyby 23 grudnia 1889 roku sygnału nie zauważył pancernik Prins Hendrik der Nederlanden. Marynarze natychmiast sformowali oddział abordażowy, który mimo podpalenia nafty, zdołał obezwładnić buntowników. Po wzięciu na pokład niebezpiecznych prowodyrów buntu, 27 grudnia pancernik dostarczył ich na brzeg i przekazał miejscowym władzom. Choć mogło by się to wydawać dziwne, to w rosyjskojęzycz-nej literaturze ten epizod przypisywany jest dzielnym Duńczykom.....

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SeaPower Magazine September 2011

Nearly two decades ago, the Navy launched the first satellite of its Ultra High Frequency Follow-On (UFO) system into orbit to provide bandwidth and communications to troops and vehicles in the field. In less than a year, the service hopes to finally have the first satellite of a next-generation constellation with 10 times the capacity of the current system circling Earth. The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) is a collection of five satellites — four active and one on-orbit spare — that will provide narrowband tactical communications in the ultra-high-frequency (UHF) band to troops in the field. After the Navy launches the first satellite in early 2012, the service will launch one per year until all five are on orbit. But that first launch has proved to be a moving target because integration and technical concerns have taken longer than expected to resolve. At one point, first on-orbit delivery of MUOS was scheduled for March 2010.

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100 Years of Royal Australian Navy

By the 1850s, separate British colonies had been established in New South Wales (NSW), Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. All relied on the Royal Navy's (RN) global supremacy for protection, and the stationing of a small British squadron in Sydney offered some measure of visible presence. Despite this, the discovery of gold and Australia's growing agricultural wealth increasingly raised questions about the adequacy of security provided, particularly with the squadron frequently absent on patrol in the South Pacific. As the possibility of war with Russia waxed and waned, NSW and Victoria went so far as to acquire the beginnings of their own local naval defence. The Victorian acquisition, the armed screw steamer HMVS Victoria, was despatched to New Zealand during the First Taranaki War in 1860. There she earned the first campaign award for an Australian colonial military force, but as yet there remained no legal basis for the establishment of colonial navies.

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Morza Statki i Okrety 2011-0708

Akademia MW ogłosiła przetarg na wykonanie robót przygotowawczych i prac adaptacyjnych okrętu podwodnego Kobben. Znajduje się on obecnie w Stoczni MW, gdzie dokonano konserwacji zewnętrznej części kadłuba. AMW poszukuje wykonawcy adaptacji jednostki do roli gabinetu szkolnego. W kadłubie zostaną wycięte dwa duże otwory (wejście i wyjście) wraz ze schodniami. Oprócz tego zostaną wykonane prace wewnątrz okrętu prowadzące do ułatwienia poruszania się w nim oraz zapewnienia energii elektrycznej do oświetlenia i zasilania niektórych urządzeń. Nadal nie wybrano sposobu w jaki Kobben zostanie przetransportowany ze SMW na teren AMW. Zostały już tam przygotowane łoża pod okręt. Przetransportowanie go w całości wymaga szeregu prac przygotowawczych (platforma, drogi komunikacyjne), natomiast transport w dwóch częściach prowadzi do przecięcia kadłuba oraz późniejszego połączenia go i zakonserwowania.

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Naval History Magazine October 2011

The image is well-known: The underwater explosion of an atomic bomb sends a column of water skyward amid a collection of old warships anchored at Bikini Atoll in July 1946. Among the ships were the decommissioned aircraft carriers Saratoga and Independence, which were not far removed from steaming with the mightiest fleet of warships ever assembled, one that ranged the Pacific, landing Marines on enemy beachheads and delivering strikes against ship and shore. Yet at the beginning of the Cold War, the Navy faced an uncertain future in light of the atomic bomb. Delivery of the superweapon was viewed as the exclusive domain of the U.S. Air Force, which was created in 1947. Air power proponents saw little need for a large conventional navy in the Atomic Age. That notion, combined with a political climate of budget austerity, helped set the stage for interservice battles over roles and missions.

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Italian Battleships of WW2

One of the most misunderstood aspects of the naval war in the Mediterranean is the role of the Italian Navy's capital ships. The commonly held perception is that they were committed only sparingly and, when faced with the British fleet, were always defeated. The actual story is far different and deserves proper attention. After entering the war, the Italians committed their battleships aggressively. Even after the disaster at Taranto, where several ships were placed out of action (but only one for the duration of the war), the Italians continued to employ their battleships as part of their strategy to retain control of the central Mediterranean. It was only late in the war, principally driven by fuel shortages, that the Italians ceased operations of their remaining capital ships. Ironically, the most dramatic loss of an Italian capital ship came at the hands of their former German allies when the Italians changed sides in September 1943. By the end of the war, three of the four rebuilt Italian battleships remained in service, together with two of the three modern battleships. This book tells the story of the seven Italian battleships that saw service between 1940 and 1943.

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Morza Statki i Okrety 2011-01

Po zakończeniu Wielkiej Wojny Włochy na stałe dołączyły do światowych mocarstw morskich. Ze względu na konflikt interesów w Afryce Północnej potencjalnym przeciwnikiem marynarki stała się francuska Marinę Nationale. Obie floty miały podobny potencjał w ciężkich jednostkach i obie po doświadczeniach wojny, odrzuciły teorie Mahana o silnej flocie liniowej oraz decydującej bitwie. Włosi opowiadali się za taktyką wojny zaczepnej na szlakach komunikacyjnych do kolonii w Afryce Północnej, w której przede wszystkim miały się liczyć małe szybkie okręty o silnym uzbrojeniu. Głównym zadaniem Regia Marina było utrzymanie kontroli nad Morzem Jońskim i Tyrreńskim w celu zabezpieczenia komunikacji z Libią i wyspami Dodekanezu. Doprowadziło to do wybuchu lokalnego wyścigu zbrojeń morskich w klasach niszczycieli i okrętów podwodnych. W reakcji na pierwsze duże francuskie kontrtorpedow-ce (contre-torpilleurs) typu Chacal (zw. też typem Jaguar), włoskie stocznie odpowiedziały dużymi niszczycielami typu Navigatori. Równowagę dla czterokomi-nowych superniszczycieli typu Guepard miały stworzyć pierwsze krążowniki lekkie z serii Condottieri (pierwotnie klasyfikowane jako grandi esploratori). Masowo budowano również okręty podwodne.

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Nemecke Valecne Ponorky 1939-1945

Německé válečné ponorky v době 2. světové války podnikaly dlouhé plavby po Atlantiku, napadaly britské obchodní lodě a představovaly největší hrozbu pro přežití Velké Británie. V roce 1939 Britové dováželi polovinu své spotřeby potravin. Ze zámoří pocházely i dvě třetiny veškerých surovin, které zpracovával britský průmysl. Pokud by se německým ponorkám podařilo potápěním spojeneckých obchodních lodí zastavit tok zboží, Hitler by mohl Velkou Británii porazit. Admirál Karl Dönitz, vrchní velitel německého válečného námořnictva, měl o svých prioritách jasnou představu. Předpokládal, že k přerušení britských zásobovacích tras bude potřebovat kolem 250-300 ponorek. Německé vrchní velení však bylo posedlé bitevními loděmi a program budování ponorkového loďstva zanedbávalo. Dönitz byl přesvědčen, že hladinová plavidla válku o Velkou Británii nevyhrají, zatímco ponorky nabízejí reálnou šanci srazit ostrovní království na kolena.

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Morza Statki i Okrety 2010-12

Wraz z napływem nowego sprzętu latającego działalność jednostki zaczęła w końcu lat 20. nabierać tempa. W latach 1926-1927 w MDLot. przeprowadzono kombinowane ćwiczenia z okrętami MW. Dostawy nowych wodnosamolotów sprawiły, że zaistniała konieczność utworzenia kilku nowych pododdziałów z zadaniem szkolenia personelu i zintensyfikowania współpracy z MW, zaś dniem 27 lipca 1929 roku przeniesiono na Polesie celem współdziałania z Flotyllą Pińską MW Pluton Wodnopłatowców Rzecznych (PWR). Sprowadzony z Francji sprzęt był niejednolity pod względem konstrukcji i walorów technicznych, lecz pozwalał na w miarę jednorodne szkolenie taktyczne załóg lotniczych oraz naziemnego personelu technicznego, a tym samym na sprawniejsze funkcjonowanie jednostki. By sprostać tym wymaganiom, przeprowadzono reorganizację MDLot. i w 1926 roku utworzono: I Eskadrę Morską Obserwacyjną (EMO, bliskiego wywiadu, d-ca kpt. pil. Władysław Misiński) oraz II Eskadrę Morską Niszczycielską (EMN, dalekiego wywiadu, d-ca kpt. pil. Bolesław Filanowicz). Szkoleniem personelu latającego od lat 20. zajmowała się Sekcja Ćwiczeń (SĆw.), którą od 1927 roku dowodził por. obs. Kazimierz Żuchowicz (wg wspomnień por. pil. Adolfa Stemp-kowskiego w MDLot. szkoleniem zajmowała się Morska Eskadra Szkolna [MES] dowodzona przez por. obs.

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