Black History Month — First Black Liberty Ship Captain, Hugh Mulzac, Says No To Jim Crow

Hugh Mulzak served as the first Black Liberty ship captain in World War II. When offered the command, he refused to sail with a segregated crew. An updated repost in honor of Black History Month. Born in 1886 on Union … Continue reading

One Year After Pearl Harbor — Launching of the Battleship USS New Jersey, December 7, 1942

On this, the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, I thought that it might be interesting to look one year forward to gauge how the US responded to the attack. On December 7, 1942, American shipyards launched … Continue reading

Volcanic Activity on Iwo Jima Lifts Sunken WWII Ghost Ships

A number of small Pacific island nations, including Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshal Islands, are facing an existential threat from rising sea levels. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), sea level in the western Pacific Ocean has been … Continue reading

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