1050L 24 Oct 1944. USS St. LO (CVE 63) is under heavy air attack. After successfully fending off the superior surface force of VADM Takeo Kurita’s Center Force, “Taffy 3″ is now defending against a surprise air attack that has lasted some 40 minutes already. One of the features of this attack is the use…
* Telegraph from Patrol Wing Two Headquarters warning of the attack on Pearl Harbor Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and…
Quick overview of why the protests in #Ukraine today- (Source: Radio Free Europe) — Until late November, President Viktor Yanukovych had said he intended to sign a pact with Europe, but backed out after pressure from Moscow. He also refused to allow former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to leave prison for medical care in Germany…
So yes, it’s not really Friday by the calendar – but that hasn’t stopped us before. For your consideration an interesting take on this Independence Day of Americans flying a British fighter for recce missions deep into Germany, sans armor (or armour if you please) and guns, loaded with gas and cameras. Big cameras (for…
…Attend this event for sure: All part of the official rollout for 21st Century Mahan: Sound Military Conclusions for the Modern Era.  Meet the author – get some perspective on another aspect of Mahan beyond his seminal work. And while you’re there – how about picking up a copy to be signed by the…
In every battle there is a moment when the combatants, and the world, seem to catch their breath. It is a fleeting moment, lost in the blink of an eye. But in that same blink, everything changes. Such moments are borne of desperation, of courage, of plain dumb luck. But they are pivotal – for…
It is perhaps fitting that on the calendar, Memorial Day precedes two signatory battles in our history — Midway and D-Day because each in their own way epitomize what Memorial Day is all about. Established to recognize those who gave their lives in the Civil War, it has grown to encompass all those who gave…
♫♬…When the Drone is Called Up Yonder I’ll be There…♬♫ (with apologies to James M. Black) 😀 First the news and a congratulatory note to the Navy-Industry team behind today’s launch of the X-47B off the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77): Of course, as any end-of-deployment flyoff crew knows, it is a heck of…
So – a very good discussion on Midrats yesterday that included a look at China’s maritime claims in the ECS/SCS and regional responses – which of late have seen a ratcheting up of forces in the area. In the wake of that discussion, I came across the illustration below:    of a cover for a…
For some time now we’ve been hosting a link for the USS Ranger Foundation, a group dedicated to moving the ex-USS Ranger (CVA/CV-61) to a site in the northwest US for establishment as the centerpiece of a maritime museum. Contingent on that hope was approval by the US Navy to do so and raising significant…
