WWII Submarine USS Cod Returns to Cleveland After $1.4 Million Drydocking and Repairs

Tomorrow, the Gato Class submarine USS Cod commissioned in 1943, will be towed back to its dock in Cleveland, OH following a $1.4 million drydocking at Donjon Shipbuilding in Erie, PA. While on dock, the 78-year old submarine had ballast … Continue reading

Vaccinations at the USS Juneau Center, Remembering Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock

My wife and I recently received the second of two shots of Covid-19 vaccine at a drive-through vaccination state set up at the USS Juneau Center, on the site of the old Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in Kearny, NJ. … Continue reading

Tallboy Bomb from 1945 Attack on German Cruiser Lützow Detonated in Polish Canal

The biggest World War II bomb ever found in Poland exploded underwater on Tuesday as navy divers tried to defuse it with a remote control device. No one was injured in the explosion. During World War II, the British developed … Continue reading

Eighty Years Ago Today — Sinking of the HMT Lancastria, the Worst Maritime Disaster in British History

On June 17, 1940, the HMT Lancastria was sunk by German bombers near the French port of Saint-Nazaire. An estimated 4,000 people died in the sinking. Fewer than 2,500 survived. It was the worst maritime disaster in British history, worse … Continue reading

TBT — World War II Combat Footage: Sinking of the Bismarck

On Throw-Back-Thursday, here is footage of the sinking of the German battleship Bismark, 79 years ago yesterday, by the Royal Navy in a three-day running battle in which the Bismark sank the British battlecruiser HMS Hood.  Ultimately, the German battleship … Continue reading

80 Years Ago — Operation Dynamo, the Evacuation of Dunkirk

Eighty years ago today, on May 26, 1940, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of British and other Allied troops from the French port of Dunkirk, began. Following a Blitzkrieg attack by German forces in early May, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), … Continue reading

Wreck of USS Nevada, the Ship Too Tough to Die, Found Off Oahu

The wreck of the USS Nevada, deliberately sunk by the US Navy in 1948, has been located in water nearly three miles deep, 65 nautical miles southwest of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.  The old battlewagon has been called the … Continue reading

Review — Hellfire Corner by Alaric Bond, First of His Coastal Force Series

The Strait of Dover, only 18 nautical miles wide between Britain and France, dividing the English Channel from the North Sea, is one of the world’s busiest seaways. While requiring careful navigation today, during World War II it was a … Continue reading

Seventy Five Years Ago Today — Battle off Samar, a Victory Against All Odds

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought seventy-five years ago this week between the US and Australian navies and the Imperial Japanese Navy.  It was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some standards the largest naval … Continue reading

Researchers Locate Akagi — Second Japanese Carrier Sunk at Midway in WWII

The RV Petrel has located the wreckage of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi, sunk in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The ship is the second of two sunken Japanese carriers that the Petrel has located two days apart. … Continue reading

On the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, Remembering Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Higgins Boat

I am aware of only one man who was praised by both Eisenhower and Hitler. A repost on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. General Dwight David Eisenhower said that “Andrew Higgins … is the man who won the war for … Continue reading