“Forest” Fire

                                                   29 JULY 1967                                                  “FOREST” FIRE There were three major fires aboard US Navy aircraft carriers during the course of the Vietnam conflict.  The first occurred on 26 October 1966, killing 44 sailors aboard ORISKANY (CVA-34) after a phosphorous parachute flare accidently Read More

The Sacrifice of VT-8

                                                    4 JUNE 1942                                          THE SACRIFICE OF VT-8 Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) from HORNET (CV-8) flew an early version of the TBD Devastator.  A three-seater, behind the pilot a navigator/radioman sat ahead of a rear-most gunner operating the only defensive weapon, a Read More

Lucky 13

                                                 19 MARCH 1945                                                       LUCKY 13 By this date in the Pacific war, the Iwo Jima invasion was well underway, and plans were being made to assault the next island on the path to Japan–Okinawa.  American naval forces had begun striking targets Read More

Fleet Problem IX

                                            23-27 JANUARY 1929                                              FLEET PROBLEM IX Between the World Wars, US military planners began to imagine the Pacific as a direction from which a future enemy might emerge.  They listed Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Alaska, and the Panama Canal as potential Read More

USS OMMANEY BAY

                                                4 JANUARY 1945                                               USS OMMANEY BAY The twin-engine Japanese medium bomber, converted into a flying bomb herself, dove toward USS OMMANEY BAY (CVE-79).  To the American crew it was a complete surprise!  Screened by the numerous small Philippine islands nearby, Ommaney’s Read More