13 APRIL 1904 MISSOURI TURRET FIRE The first years of the 20th century were heady times. The Wright brothers had achieved the first heavier-than-air flight only months before this date. Theodore Roosevelt was President, and from a naval perspective, our nation Read More
TODAY IN NAVAL HISTORY 8 JANUARY 1907 THE ORIGIN OF “U.S.S.” Prior to the 20th century there was no policy governing the titling of US warships in official correspondence. Navy vessels were sometimes distinguished from merchant or research ships by Read More
16 DECEMBER 1907 RADIO FAUX PAS Communication between ships at sea had been line-of-sight visual to date, even in foul weather. Experimentation had been in the works for years, indeed in 1888 a genius of naval invention, CAPT Bradley A. Fiske, Read More
21 JUNE-21 JULY 1921 BILLY MITCHELL’S COUP As an early advocate of air power, one of Army Air Service BGEN William “Billy” Mitchell’s loud proclamations was the invincibility of his aircraft over any Navy ship. His assertion was one of several Read More