Last Call from GRUNION

                                                   30 JULY 1942                                       LAST CALL FROM GRUNION On 30 June 1942, LCDR Mannert L. Abele conned the new Gato-class submarine USS GRUNION (SS-216) out of Pearl Harbor on her first war patrol.  WWII was seven months old, and the first glimmers Read More

LIONs, CUBs, and NAS Cubi Point

                                                   25 JULY 1956                                LIONS, CUBS, AND NAS CUBI POINT WWII’s clouds were gathering in the late 1930s, and it was increasingly recognized that existing naval bases along our Atlantic and Pacific seaboards would be inadequate to fully support operations thousands of Read More

SAN DIEGO Lost

                                                   19 JULY 1918                                                SAN DIEGO LOST Almost as our ten Pennsylvania and Tennessee-class armored cruisers entered service at the turn of the 20th century they were rendered obsolete by advances in technology and dreadnaught design.  By the entry of the US Read More

USS ASP vs. Overwhelming Odds

                                                   14 JULY 1813                                USS ASP vs. OVERWHELMING ODDS In February of 1813 our nation was struggling once again against the naval superpower of the day, Britain, and fears of a British incursion into the Chesapeake were real.  Our Navy was no Read More

“This Can’t Be Good”

                                                   10 JULY 1975                                           “THIS CAN’T BE GOOD” “This can’t be good,” Chief Paul DeLange thought to himself as he stood on the deck of the attack submarine USS FINBACK (SSN-670) early this morning overseeing the aft line handlers.  Disco music blared Read More

Koelsch and Neal

                                                    3 JULY 1951                                             KOELSCH AND NEAL John K. Koelsch was English, born in London and educated at the Choate School.  In 1940 he joined the Royal Air Force and fought in the Blitz.  He came to the United States in 1942 Read More