 | Battleship Blücher sinks in WW1 On 24 January 1915, Blücher was part of the German squadron commanded by Vice Admiral Franz Hipper that was surprised by a superior British force of five battlecruisers, under Vice Admiral David Beatty on HMS Lion, at the Battle of Dogger Bank. Due to a misunderstanding of Beatty's orders, the British ships concentrated their fire on Blücher, the slowest and rearmost ship of the retreating German line of battle. She was bombarded by heavy fire from four of the five battlecruisers and finally sunk by torpedoes. 792 of her crew went down with her. 260 were rescued by Beatty's ships. www.itnsource.com Reuters S08020401 |
 | Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8, June 4, 1942) Torpedo Squadron Eight's 15 Douglas Devastators (TBD-1's) attacked the Japanese carriers during the Battle of Midway after launching from the USS Hornet. Lt. Commander John Charles Waldron was their skipper. Before takeoff he appended his own final message to VT-8's attack plan. It read, "Just a word to let you know that I feel we are all ready. We have had a very short time to train and we have worked under the most severe difficulties. But we have done the best humanly possible. I actually believe that under these conditions we are the best in the world. My greatest hope is that we encounter a favorable tactical situation, but if we don't, and the worst comes to worst, I want each of us to do his utmost to destroy our enemies. If there is only one plane left to make a final run-in, I want that man to go in and get a hit. May God be with us all. Good Luck, happy landings, and give 'em hell." The attack by VT-8 paved the way for the USN's dive bombers by causing the Japanese to defend against an attack at sea level. Of the 15 pilots and 15 crew members only Ensign George Gay survived ... all 15 planes were shot down. George Gay's remains were dropped into the sea near the battle area a few years ago. Admiral Nimitz instructed John Ford to film the battle. Ford, then a Lt. Commander in the OSS, was severely injured during the attack while filming on the island. One of his crews, aboard the Hornet, was making a documentary film featuring VT-8. This was their film as it was edited and presented to the families. The film was never released to the public for obvious reasons. This was VT-8's first and only takeoff with a torpedo attached. For entire account see Life Magazine, August 31, 1942. Ford's 19-minute documentary film, Midway, was awarded an Oscar after its release. I've seen snippets from this material but never the entire video. (National Archives 2002 |
 | Is Nuclear Power Worth the Environmental Cost? Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2007/09/13/More_Nuclear_Energy_Why_America_Needs_it_Now Admiral Frank "Skip" Bowman, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, argues that nuclear waste management is a less severe problem than many believe. ----- Frank 'Skip' Bowman discusses "More Nuclear Energy: Why America Needs it Now." The volatility of natural gas prices and the potential for restrictions on coal-fueled power plants have combined to generate greater demand for nuclear power. Nuclear energy expert Bowman will speak frankly on the triumphs and challenges involved in securing a future for nuclear power in the United States. - The Commonwealth Club of California Admiral Frank L. "Skip" Bowman is a native of Chattanooga, Tenn. He was commissioned following graduation in 1966 from Duke University. In 1973 he completed a dual master's program in nuclear engineering and naval architecture/marine engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was elected to the Society of Sigma Xi. Adm. Bowman has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Duke University. Admiral Bowman serves on two visiting committees at MIT (Ocean Engineering and Nuclear Engineering), the Engineering Board of Visitors at Duke University, and the Nuclear Engineering Department Advisory Committee at the University of Tennessee. Ashore, Adm. Bowman has served on the staff of Commander, Submarine Squadron Fifteen, in Guam; twice in the Bureau of Naval Personnel in the Submarine Policy and Assignment Division; as the SSN 21 Attack Submarine Program Coordinator on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations; on the Chief of Naval Operations' Strategic Studies Group; and as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Naval Warfare). In December 1991, he was promoted to flag rank and assigned as Deputy Director of Operations on the Joint Staff (J-3) until June 1992, and then as Director for Political-Military Affairs (J-5) until July 1994. Adm. Bowman served as Chief of Naval Personnel from July 1994 to September 1996. Admiral Bowman assumed duties as Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion, on 27 September 1996, and was promoted to his present rank on 1 October 1996. In this position, he was also Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors in the National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy. Admiral Bowman retired from the Naval Service in November 2005. Admiral Bowman is currently president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), positions he has held since February 2005. NEI is the policy organization for the country's commercial nuclear power industry, and its mission includes interaction with Congress and the Executive Branch, as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. |
 | The Mighty HMS HOOD 1918-1941 HMS Hood was the pride of the Royal Navy.To all intents, HMS Hood was considered to be one of the most powerful battlecruisers afloat in World War Two. However, the Hood suffered from one major flaw -- she did not have the same amount of armour as the Bismarck. She was one of four Admiral-class battlecruisers ordered in mid-1916 under the Emergency War Programme. Construction of Hood began at the John Brown & Company shipyards in Clydebank, Scotland, on 1 September 1916. She was launched on 22 August 1918 by the widow of Rear-Admiral Sir Horace Hood a great-great-grandson of the famous Lord Hood for whom the ship was named and who was killed while commanding the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron and flying his flag in HMS Invincible - one of the three battlecruisers which blew-up at the Battle of Jutland. After fitting out and trials, she was commissioned on 15 May 1920, under Captain Wilfred Tomkinson, C.B. and became flagship of the British Atlantic Fleet's Battle Cruiser Squadron. She had cost £6,025,000 to build. With her conspicuous twin funnels and lean profile.HMS Hood was widely considered a very graceful warship. On May the 24th 1941, the two titans located each other. At 05.52 AM on the 24th May 1941 Hood opened fire on Bismarck.Two minutes later,DKM Bismarck responded to Hood's gunfire and the Battle of Denmark Strait began. At 06.00, a gigantic explosion with a thunderous flame ripped the Hood into two and Hood dissappeared. In less than ten minutes of battle, Hood was lost.Only 3 men survived and more than 1400 died aboard the battlecruiser. Hood was very powerful, fast and beatiful ship. She had 8 X 38 cm. main guns and a top speed of 31 knots but her armor was not as thick as a battleship armor.When Bismarck's heavy 38 cm. shells hit and penetrated her citadel armor and detonated inside an ammunition store, this battlecruiser' s end came quickly. Within 1-2 minutes, the massive 48.360 ton battlecruiser sunk due to a thunderous explosion. But the British people never forgot their brave battlecruiser. |
 | Covent Garden Flowers Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November, 1650 -- 22 October or 23 October 1707), English admiral, was baptised at Cockthorpe in Norfolk, in 1650. Rising through the officer ranks he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated naval career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in the Isles of Scilly. Member of Parliament for Rochester, Kent, from 1695 until his death. There are many different versions used for the spelling of both his Christian name and surname. He used the spelling Cloudesley Shovell in his will written on 20 April 1701 when he was fifty. Both his father and his widow also spelt their surname as Shovell in their wills. The Christian name Cloudesley was often indistinctly signed which may have given rise to variety of spellings used by subsequent biographers. Nonetheless, spellings such as Cloudisley and Shovel are occasionally seen in books and articles on him. Shovell went to sea as a cabin boy under the care of his kinsman Sir Christopher Myngs. He set himself to study navigation, and, owing to his able seamanship and brave and open-hearted disposition, became a general favourite and obtained quick promotion. In 1674 he served as lieutenant under Sir John Narborough in the Mediterranean, where he burned four men-of-war under the castles and walls of Tripoli, belonging to the pirates of that place. He was present as captain of HMS Edgar (70 guns) at the first fight at Bantry Bay, and shortly afterwards was knighted. In 1690 he convoyed William III across St George's Channel to Ireland; the same year he was made Rear-Admiral of the Blue, and was present at the Battle of Beachy Head on July 10. In 1692 he was appointed Rear Admiral of the Red, and joined Admiral Russell, under whom he greatly distinguished himself at La Hougue, by being the first to break through the enemy's line. Not long after, when Admiral Russell was superseded, Shovel was put in joint command of the fleet with Admiral Killigrew[1]and Sir Ralph Delaval. In 1702 he brought home the spoils of the French and Spanish fleets from Vigo, after their capture by Sir George Rooke, and in 1704 he served under Sir George Rooke in the Mediterranean and cooperated in the taking of Gibraltar. Memorial at Porthellick Cove where Cloudesley Shovell's body was washed ashore Cloudesley Shovell's memorial in Westminster AbbeyIn January 1704 he was named Rear-Admiral of England, and shortly afterwards commander-in-chief of the British fleets. He co-operated with the Earl of Peterborough in the capture of Barcelona in 1705, and commanded the naval part of the unsuccessful attempt on Toulon in October 1707. When returning with the fleet to England his ship, HMS Association, at 8pm on October 22 (November 2, by the modern calendar), struck on the rocks near the Isles of Scilly along with several other ships, and was seen by those on board HMS St George to go down in three or four minutes' time, not a soul being saved of 800 men that were on board. In total, 1,400 sailors were lost from his squadron. The body of Sir Cloudesley Shovell was cast ashore next day, and was buried in Westminster Abbey[2][3]. The Council of the Scilly Isles plan to commemorate the three-hundredth anniversary of the disaster. Shovell also served as MP for the city of Rochester in Kent from 1695 until his death. During that time he was a great benefactor to the city, providing at his own expense the fine decorated plaster ceilings in the Guildhall and the market bell, clock and decorated brick facade for the Butchers' Market, (now the Corn Exchange). All these gifts survive, except the clock which, by 1771, had deteriorated so badly that a replacement was installed by Rochester Corporation. Video Picture: marks and spencer flowers. |
 | Pres. Truman Honors the 442nd 1946/07/18 (1946) 1) Parade of 442nd regiment of Japanese-Americans, Truman speaks 2) Siam's king meets death 3) Dirigible Pioneer Retires - Admiral Charles Rosenthal at Lakehurst NJ ceremony 4) Operation Goodwill; aerial parade of RAF bombers over New York, on 30-day tour of U.S. by Squadron 35 of Lancasters 5) Portland, Oregon, World premier of Universal movie Canyon Passage. |
 | The Blue Angels Formed in 1946 under the directive of Admiral Chester Nimitz, the Blue Angels are the US Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron. In the course of their history they have used the F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F9F Panther(first jet), F9F-8 Cougar, F11 Tiger, F-4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk and shown here the F/A-18. Hornet. Music: FC Kahuna - 'Hayling'. |
 | HMS Belfast At the start of the Second World War the 18th Cruiser Squadron was part of the British effort to impose a naval blockade on Germany. As part of this squadron, Belfast intercepted the German liner Cap Norte on 9 October 1939 as the liner was trying to return to Germany disguised as a neutral ship. At around 1:00 a.m. on 21 November 1939 she was seriously damaged as she left the Firth of Forth, with twenty-one men injured, by a magnetic mine laid on 4 November by the German submarine U-21 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Fritz Frauenheim. The mine broke the keel and wrecked the hull and machinery to such an extent that repairs at Devonport took nearly three years. She returned to service in the Home Fleet in November 1942 under the command of Captain Frederick Parham. Improvements had been made to the ship during repairs, notably bulged amidships to improve her longitudinal strength and stability, and fitting the latest radar and fire control; her displacement had risen from 11,175 to 11,553 tons, making her Britain's heaviest cruiser. She was made flagship of the 10th Cruiser Squadron, under Rear-Admiral Robert Burnett, in which capacity she provided cover for Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union. On 26 December 1943, in what became the Battle of North Cape, the cruiser squadron, consisting of Norfolk, Belfast and Sheffield, encountered the German Gneisenau class battlecruiser Scharnhorst, and with the battleship HMS Duke of York subsequently sank her. Belfast was part of the escort force in Operation Tungsten in March 1944, a large carrier-launched airstrike against the Tirpitz, at that stage the last surviving German heavy warship, moored at Altenfjord in northern Norway. Tirpitz was hit by fifteen bombs and severely damaged, but not destroyed. In June 1944 she took part in the bombardment of enemy positions at the beginning of Operation Neptune, the landing phase of the D-Day landings, as flagship of bombardment Force E. Part of the Eastern Naval Task Force, with responsibility for supporting the British and Canadian assaults on Gold and Juno beaches, Belfast was one of the first ships to fire on German positions at 5:30 a.m. on 6 June 1944, Belfast was almost continuously in action for the next five weeks, firing thousands of rounds from her 6-- and 4--inch batteries in support of troops until the battlefront moved out of range inland. Her final salvo in the European war was fired on 8 July during Operation Charnwood, the battle to capture Caen, when she engaged German positions together with the battleship HMS Rodney and the monitor HMS Roberts. Two days later she returned to Devonport for a short refit for service in the Far East, and joined Operation Zipper, which was intended to expel the Japanese from Malaya but turned into a relief operation following the Japanese surrender. During the last days of the war in Europe she was spotted in the North Sea by a German submarine without noticing the enemy vessel. The German commander decided not to fire, as the war was almost over. |
 | P-6M Seamaster Jet Seaplane: Faster than today's B-2s, B-52s Americans do not understand RACKETEERING runs every walk of life to include the U.S. military--what maximizes greed & ego that can be milked perpetually with a built-in weakness to have ready-made excuses to do little or nothing is what's bought over what's BEST and MOST EFFICIENT. There is no "constituency" for military excellence in the military, industrial, congressional think-tank complex President Eisenhower warned us about in 1960. At this same time, the U.S. Navy large supercarrier racketeers were killing off their more efficient competition: the patrol plane Navy whose P-6M Seamaster jet seaplane bomber was so efficient it threatened their multi-billion dollar floating cash cows as well as even the USAF's mighty "bomb 'em into the stone age" B-52 strategic bomber racket. http://www.combatreform2.com/p6mseamaster.htm A squadron of 12 x P-6M Seamasters at 600 mph refueled and rearmed by a handful of tender ships or stealthy submarines can deliver far more bombload than any supercarrier with 70 short-range, "lawn dart" tail-hook fighter-bombers and do it without offering a huge floating target of 5, 000 American Sailors and marines packed like sardines asking for an Exocet high-tech replay of the HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales in WW2. http://www.geocities.com/usnavyindanger The first threat to the Midway Myth re-enactment club that had to be rubbed out was the small seaplane fighter launched from cruisers and battleships that created U.S. naval aviation in the first place in 1911--no gratitude here, the SC-1/2 SeaHawk seaplane fighter was able to defend ships from air attacks even if the carrier decks were in flames, and the SeaDart was supersonic and faster than most carrier jets--racketeer Admiral Pirie cried: CANCEL THEM NOW! http://www.geocities.com/usnavyindanger/seaplanefighters.htm The P-6M Seamaster and other large seaplanes like the amazing 400 mph R3Y Tradewind--even as transports so marines don't get creamed on beaches and air tankers to refuel the supercarrier lawn darts so their "Top Guns" could get the glory were still intolerable to the Navy's carrier "mafia" aka racketeers so they were cancelled, too. http://www.combatreform2.com/seaplanetransports.htm Someday, the American people will wake up and realize their military is no meritocracy and is a racket like any other human area and demand they get the BEST military lead by the BEST men who study war and how to prevent and win them quickly at least cost. Russian jet seaplanes are available today and should be purchased and operated by an excellent USN. Want to know more? Our book, "Air-Mech-Strike: Asymmetric Maneuver Warfare for the 21st Century" is ONLINE for FREE skyjacked by Google! http://books.google.com/books?id=RCWtHnYZ0LMC&pg |
 | USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) A video of the USS Emory S. Land (AS-39)headed to the port of Bremerton. USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) is the lead ship in her class of submarine tenders in the United States Navy. She was named for Admiral Emory Land. The ship provides food, electricity, water, consumable, spare parts, medical, dental, disbursing, mail, legal services,ordnance, and any parts or equipment repair that a submarine may require. To accomplish this, the ship has a physical plant similar to that of a small town, including 53 different specialized shops. In September 1980, Emory S. Land deployed to the Pacific Fleet to provide services to the Indian Ocean Battle Group. In July 1986, Emory S. Land operated as Officer in Tactical Command of four United States ships and five foreign ships in transit from the Virginia Capes operating area to the New York Harbor where she participated in the International Naval Review and Fourth of July Statue of Liberty Rededication ceremonies. In August 1987, Emory S. Land operated as the tactical and communications platform for Submarine Squadron EIGHT and Submarine Squadron SIX to work both with and against a surface combatant group. Emory S. Land served at La Maddalena, Italy as the sole permanently assigned vessel in Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet's Submarine Group 8 - from June, 1999, until September 30, 2007, on which date she departed for Bremerton, Washington. |
 | Blue Angels - F4 Phantom http://www.aviationlive.org Online Aviation Pics,Videos and Forum Blue Angels - Dayton Airshow The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is the world's first officially sanctioned military aerial demonstration team, as well as the oldest currently flying aerobatics team. The Blue Angels first flew three aircraft in formation, then four, and currently operate six aircraft per show. A seventh aircraft is for backup, in the event of mechanical problems with one of the other aircraft, and for giving public relations "demonstration flights" to civilians, usually selected from a press pool. This aerobatic team is split into "the Diamond" (Blue Angels 1 through 4) and the Opposing Solos (Blue Angels 5 and 6). Most of their displays alternate between maneuvers performed by the Diamond and those performed by the Solos. The Diamond, in tight formation and usually at lower speeds, performs maneuvers such as formation loops, barrel rolls, or transitions from one formation to another. The Opposing Solos usually perform maneuvers just under the speed of sound which showcase the capabilities of their individual F/A-18 Hornets through the execution of high-speed passes, slow passes, fast rolls, slow rolls, and very tight turns. Some of the maneuvers include both solo F/A-18s performing at once, such as opposing passes (toward each other in what appears to be a collision course, narrowly missing one another) and mirror formations (back-to-back. belly-to-belly, or wingtip-to-wingtip, with one jet flying inverted). At the end of the routine, all six aircraft join in the Delta formation. After a series of flat passes, turns, loops, and rolls performed in this formation, they execute the team's signature "fleur-de-lis" closing maneuver. The parameters of each show must be tailored to local visibility: In clear weather the "high" show is performed, in overcast conditions it's the "low" show that the spectators see, and in limited visibility (weather permitting) the "flat" show is presented. The "high" show requires an 8,000-foot (2,400 m) ceiling and visibility of 3 nautical miles (6 km) from the show's centerpoint. "Low" and "flat" ceilings are 3,500 and 1,500 feet (460 m) respectively. On April 24, 1946 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester Nimitz issued a directive ordering the formation of a flight exhibition team (the first such official venture by any of the Armed Services) to boost Navy morale, demonstrate naval air power, and maintain public interest in naval aviation. However, an underlying mission was to help the Navy generate public and political support for a larger allocation of the shrinking defense budget. In April of that year, Rear Admiral Ralph Davison personally selected Lieutenant Commander Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris, a World War II fighter ace, to assemble and train a flight demonstration squadron, naming him Officer-in-Charge and Flight Leader. |
 | Marine Corps In Lebanon In 1958 This a a two minute sample. The entire video is 50 minutes. This video is divided into two parts. Part one is narrated documenting the story of the Marines who landed in Lebanon to secure American interests, and the naval personnel that got them there. Titled "Summer Incident" this U.S. Navy film shows the preparations for and the landing of Marines in Lebanon in the summer of 1958 to guarantee the sovereignty of that country and to protect U.S. civilians there. Amphibious Squadron 4 en route to the U.S. is turned around. The carrier ESSEX, at Athens, Greece, gets underway for the eastern Mediterranean, and other Sixth Fleet units sail for Lebanon. Admiral Arleigh Burke, Chief of Naval Operations, is shown in several scenes in the Navy's flag plot in Washington, DC as the operation progresses. The 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines are in the initial landing, from trhe APA 36, LST 1156 and other Sixth Fleet amphibious ships. Aircraft from the ESSEX provide reconnaisance and air support for the landing. This unopposed landing is carried out successfully by the Navy-Marine Corps team. Part two of this video documents Marine Corps activities in and around Beirut including, the airport, waterfront, docks. Also includes a joint patrol of Beirut by Marine, Army, Navy and Lebanese police. |
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