Tag Archives: Navy

WWII

A Day of Infamy at Pearl Harbor

Scrap from a Japanese bomb used at Pearl Harbor

A Day of Infamy at Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941. We all know the date. We all know what happened at Pearl Harbor. This picture is of a piece of a bomb that was dropped by a Japanese airplane that morning.

The build up to the war between the US and Japan was a slow burn. That burn was brought to a boil when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931. Japan needed space and China had it. The story of what happened to the Chinese people during the occupation is for another time. While the US had many interests in China, it was not prepared to go to war, yet.

Fast forward almost a decade and we see Germany making taking over much of Europe, but being very, very careful to not bring the US into the war even though they were ostensibly supporting the Allies through the Lend Lease act. Germany, however had allies of their own, namely Japan.

Conspiracy?

This is where things get a little difficult. There are those that believe that the US, and President Roosevelt, took steps to goad Japan into war, which because of their alliances, would force Germany into direct conflict with the US.

Acting through a series of laws and executive orders, exports of many items classified as war materials were banned for export The president was granted the authority to make exceptions to this law and he did, choosing to provide material to the Allies.  He refused to allow Japan access to those resources. Not long after the administration seized Japanese assets in the US and cut off their supply of oil.

Cut off from these much-needed imports meant they needed to find the material somewhere. The rest of the Pacific Rim would do. All this happened in an environment where the Japanese tried seeking diplomatic solutions, but war with the US looked more and more like a possibility.

The hope was that a strong enough blow would stun the US into inaction. This would give Japan time to expand its holdings and replace much of what the embargoes were disallowing. Once done they would then try to negotiate a peace with the US.

Infamy

On December 7, 1941 they attacked the US Fleet at Pearl Harbor and struck a crippling blow. The biggest mistake was that while they decimated the fleet, they missed the aircraft carriers that were not in port that day. While stunned, America maintained the capacity to strike back.

Japan, declared war, the US declared war on Japan, and right on cue Germany declared war on the US. Roosevelt got just what he wanted.

That little piece of metal is a souvenir that we get to keep from that day, a day which will live in infamy.

To learn more about the historic sites located at Pearl Harbor, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modern, WWII

Hot Racking

Ah the US Navy. So many young people join up expecting to see the word, new and exotic places and people. However there may be something left out of most of the “travel brochures.” In the photo above you see racks, also known as bunks from a US Navy warship, in this an aircraft carrier.  Three beds in a fairly small space. See during you time stationed aboard the ships that tiny space is your home and your personal space. The beds lift for storage for your personal items and you have the little curtains, so maybe not so bad right?

Maybe.

Or maybe not.

See on some ships, smaller ones for sure, submarines for certain, that bed you see. Well, odds are good you share that with at least one, maybe two other people. Not at the same time of course.

It is called hot racking (or hot bunking) and it is the process where multiple people share a single berth. While one person is on watch (working) someone is sleeping in the bed. When when the shift is over the one returns to the rack that is probably still warm from the person that just got up to go and enjoy their day of work. Wash, rinse repeat, for six months. Yes, that also means that you could be sharing a bed with someone who you have never actually met. What would your mother say?

Don’t feel bad though. They do the same sort of things in prisons sometimes.

 

Civil War

The Confederate Navy

The Confederate States of America started life in a pretty good position. Having just broken away from the United States it pretty much had a template for a central government, a government infrastructure to start with and even a decent economy. Building an army to defend all of it was not even much of a challenge as tens of thousands of men flocked to the colors. There was however one area that they were going to lag far behind, they needed a navy.

In February 1861 the Confederate Navy had 30 ships of which only 13 were actually considered seaworthy. This was compared to the US that had over 90 ships in their fleet. They would never really catch up so they relied on technology and tactics to make up the lost ground.

The Confederate Navy would pioneer the use of ironclads and submarines and even a rough version of the torpedo (mines).  As the United States Navy attempted to control the rivers and coast of the Confederacy and implement a blockade against them the rebels fought the best they could, but soon focused their naval efforts on two fronts.

Running the blockade with war supplies, luxury items and other sundries was their lifeline and the navy was tasked helping to make that possible. Then of course were the privateers who became the living embodiment of the struggle on the seas as they made the US economy bleed.

Eventually the Confederate Navy would number over a hundred ships with names such as Virginia, Alabama and the infamous CSS Shenandoah who fought on after the war only surrendering her colors in November 1865, five full months after the war had ended.

 

Civil War

Darn the Mines! Move in a forward direction!

IMAG0179_48

 

What you are seeing in this picture is a water mine, or as they referred to at the time, a “torpedo”. You can see the anchor and the chain, the barrel that was loaded with explosive and the trigger. A ship would bump against the trigger and detonate the mine. This one was taken from Mobile Bay during the Civil War.

In August of 1864 Mobile, Alabama remained one of the last ports in the Confederacy and outside of the trickle of blockade runners, its last line to the outside world. Mobile Bay was defended by three forts that could pound and attacking fleet into mincemeat. If that wasn’t enough the bay was seeded with mines (torpedoes).  This would not dissuade the Federal forces.
Led by Rear Admiral David Farragut the US Navy, in a joint assault with the US Army, moved to close the bay. They were met by a CSA fleet and a general battle was commenced under the eyes of the three powerful forts. Having to contend with both the enemy fleet, forts and torpedoes Farragut issued his orders. Only one ship, the Tecumseh, fell victim to the mines, but they were still responsible for one of the lasting anecdotes of the war.
It was during this battle that Farragut reportedly told his officer, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Now, there is some doubt that he actually said it. He probably said something like it, but a lot of these famous sayings, especially ones that happen in the middle of a battle, tend to become more legend than reality. As a way to rally troops or motivate your co-workers, this saying is great in saying just go and do what you need to do, and deal with the consequences later.
The naval battle lasted about three hours. After after a number of weeks the forts all fell one by one. By the end of August 1864 Mobile Bay was securely in the hands of the Federals. The city of Mobile itself would be spared until the end o the war, but as a supply port it was out of the war.
Interwar Years, WWII

CV-1 USS Langley First of Her Kind

USS Langley

CV-1 USS Langley First of Her Kind

The above is commemorative print of the USS Langley or as the picture shows, the U.S. Aeroplane Carrier. Yep, the Langley was our first official aircraft carrier.

In 1920 she was converted from the USS Jupiter, a collier and was one of several planned conversions. These took a different path as the Washington Naval Treaty (Hey! Didn’t we talk about that?) lead to several partial constructed battle cruisers becoming carriers instead, the Lexington and the Saratoga.

She had a carrier pigeon-house built on her stern. While this was not highly unusual as pigeons were used by seaplanes at the time. Of course things did not go as planned. If the pigeons were released one or two at a time, they would always come back as they were supposed to, but once the entire flock was released they went home to Norfolk and never came back to the ship. The coop was eventually turned into the Executive Officers quarters. (Please commence jokes now.)

Early on in WWII she ferried airplanes around the Southeast Asia theater and served as part of anti-submarine patrols.  She was not going to be able to avoid danger forever though. In February 27, 1942 the Japanese had their way with her, causing so much damage that she had to be scuttled. A twenty-two year career and she went out with a bang.

In a tragic foot note, after being scuttled most of her surviving crew was put aboard the USS Pecos for the trip back to Australia. Unfortunately the ship sunk on the journey back.

 

 

 

Civil War

CSS Jackson Remains of the Ram

CSS Jackson 1

CSS Jackson Remains of the Ram

 

When you think about the naval aspect of the Civil War you probably don’t often think about Columbus, Georgia. However in Columbus, not far down the way from Ft. Benning is the National Civil War Naval Museum. Filled with many fantastic exhibits of the naval war there is one that stands out. Taking up well over half the display area is the remains of the CSS Jackson. An ironclad ram that was scuttled at the end of the war and raised from the river a hundred years later.

The building of the Jackson was started in Columbus in 1862.  Originally it was to be named the Muskcogee. Lack of materials and delays in the building kept it from being commissioned until December 1864. She was then officially named the Jackson. Further lack of men and material kept her out of the fight. April 1865 she was burned and scuttled by a Union raiding party. She never got to see any action in her brief career.

Built to Ram

 

The Jackson was designed to be a ram, which is basically as it sounds. Its main weapon was a reinforced prow that would be aimed at an enemy ship. The goal was to hit it hard enough and do enough damage to cause it to sink. It was a lot like how ships in Ancient Greece fought their battles, without all the boarding parties. Besides being an ironclad, which was basically sheets of iron placed on a wooden frame for protection, she was also a screw steamer, which meant instead of wind, she used a propeller for locomotion.

The remaining hull is on display in the museum with a white steel frame hanging over to give you an idea of what the ship looked like back in the day.

For a little more on the CSS Jackson click here.

Click here for a short YouTube Video on the project to raise the ship from the riverbed back in the 1960’s.