29 SEPTEMBER-12 OCTOBER 1565 MATANZAS Spain gained a foothold in the Caribbean in the 1490s after her sponsorship of Christopher Columbus’ expeditions. By the 16th century she had effectively cornered the profitable Caribbean spice and sugar trade. Spain’s Caribbean bases also Read More
TODAY IN NAVAL HISTORY 25 SEPTEMBER 1899 THE CAPTURE OF URDANETA The autumn of 1898 saw the end of the Spanish-American war and the ceding of the Philippine Islands from Spain to the United States. Militant Filipinos who had been Read More
20 SEPTEMBER 1975 – 21 SEPTEMBER 2005 THE “SPRU-CANS” By the 1960s our aging fleet of WWII Allen M. Sumner and Gearing-class destroyers was increasingly inadequate against the growing threat of Soviet submarines. A more capable platform for convoy escort and Read More
14 SEPTEMBER 1861 THE FIRING OF JUDAH Had other theaters of the early Civil War not been in the limelight, the tension at Pensacola might have been keener. The Confederates held the Pensacola Navy Yard and Forts Barrancas and McRee guarding Read More
9 SEPTEMBER 1965 STOCKDALE SHOOT-DOWN The cockpit clock in his A-4 Skyhawk read 1210 as he pushed over toward a line of railroad cars at 400 knots. Bad weather over Vinh, North Vietnam, had forced a diversion to this familiar secondary Read More
3 SEPTEMBER 1804 BOMBSHIP INTREPID One of the first missions assigned to our fledgling Navy around the turn of the 19th century was the protection of US merchant shipping from the piracy of the southern Mediterranean Barbary States of Tripoli, Algeria, Read More