Naval War College Historical Monograph Series, 18. Examines in detail, making extensive use of the Naval War College archives, each of the U.S. Navy's twenty-one "fleet problems" conducted between World Wars I and II, elucidating the patterns that emerged, finding a range of enduring lessons, and suggesting their applicability for future naval warfare.

In the century after 1530 the Habsburgs of Spain and the Ottoman Turks fought a maritime war that seemed destined to lead nowhere. Lasting peace was as unlikely as final triumph, in part because the principal beneficiaries of the fighting were pirates or 'corsairs' based in ports such as Malta and Algiers. It was also a war of unequal means, since the Habsburgs had too few good warships and the Ottomans too many bad ones. Phillip Williams here provides a detailed examination of the oared warships used in the fighting, the structures of political and military organization, the role of geography and the environment and the respective claims to be defending 'Christendom' and 'Islam' advanced by Habsburg rulers such as Charles V and Philip II and the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Providing a unique perspective on early modern maritime conflict, this book will be essential reading for all students and researchers of Mediterranean History and the early modern world.

The 1897 Prize Essay for the Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute was this lengthy discussion of "Torpedo Boat Policy" by Lieutenant R.C. Smith. He began by correctly observing: "It seems probable that the United States, after many years hesitation, is about to enter on a policy of torpedo boat construction." This facsimile edition includes a tabular appendix listing all the torpedo boats in service in the world's navies as of 1897. An essential primary source for anyone interested in torpedo boats and their history.

Part of the Torpedo Boat Classics series.

This epic story opens at the hour the Greatest Generation went to war on December 7, 1941, and follows four U.S. Navy ships and their crews in the Pacific until their day of reckoning three years later with a far different enemy: a deadly typhoon. In December 1944, while supporting General MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey neglected the Law of Storms, placing the mighty U.S. Third Fleet in harm's way. Drawing on extensive interviews with nearly every living survivor and rescuer, as well as many families of lost sailors, transcripts and other records from naval courts of inquiry, ships' logs, personal letters, and diaries, Bruce Henderson finds some of the story's truest heroes exhibiting selflessness, courage, and even defiance.

Far and away the most cost-effective way to purchase printed versions of crucial documents about the Littoral Combat Ship, the U.S. Navy's "torpedo boat destroyer" for the 21st century. These 3,600-ton ships, like the destroyers introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, are intended to defeat fast attack craft and other "littoral" threats.This 1,016-page omnibus edition contains GAO reports about LCS from August and February 2010; a CRS report from June 2010; key Congressional testimony and colloquoy from the Armed Services Committee; and postgraduate theses on LCS capabilities, strategy, manpower, risk management, logistics, and technology. An indispensable reference for anyone interested in contemporary naval strategy or the history of torpedo boats and destroyers.

Many Lives of Nelson have been written; one is yet wanting, clear and concise enough to become a manual for the young sailor, which he may carry about with him till he has treasured it up for example in his memory and in his heart. In attempting such a work I shall write the eulogy of our great national hero, for the best eulogy of Nelson is the faithful history of his actions, and the best history must be that which shall relate them most perspicuously.

On a dark night in February 2005, Sara Sheldon arrived at Camp Fallujah, outside the dangerous ancient city for which it was named. Armed only with a camera, a laptop, and notepads, she was a spectator to the war who secured permission to embed with the 1st MEF and observe and interview Marines who happened to be women then posted at Camp Fallujah. In the time she spent there, Sheldon interviewed women who held ranks from corporal to colonel to gain a broad and varied perspective of the experiences representative of female Marines throughout Iraq. She reveals much about her subjects: the preconceived notions they possessed when they enlisted in the Corps, how the experience of serving in Iraq changed them, and what they ultimately took home from the battlefield. Americans are aware that women are actively serving in the armed forces, but few understand what exactly is expected of women in the military, the duties they perform, and the limitations and restrictions placed on them, especially in a combat zone. Sheldon reveals much about her subjects. In some ways, they mirrored their male counterparts. Some enlisted only for four years to receive educational benefits or for an opportunity to escape their home environment. Others made the Corps their career, serving as commissioned officers. Still others were recalled to active duty to serve with their representative Guard units. Sheldon uncovers their stories: the preconceived notions they possessed when they enlisted in the Corps, how the experience of serving in Iraq has changed them, and what they ultimately took home from the battlefield. She also sheds light on the day-to-day grind all American service personnel face in Iraq. Yet, she never loses her main focus. Far removed from the Green Zone, Sheldon and her subjects spent their days in harm's way, but she avoids a running commentary on policy. Instead, she remains committed to examining how women tasked with field duties and various missions at the lower levels of command are impacted by their experiences.

In 1779 the fledgling U.S. naval fleet suffered a catastrophic defeat against the British in the waters of the Penobscot Bay, losing forty ships in a battle that was expected to be a sure victory for the Americans. Commodore Dudley Saltonstall was blamed for the debacle and ultimately court-martialed for his ineptitude. In this groundbreaking book George E. Buker defends Saltonstall providing compelling evidence that he was not to blame for the loss and that in fact the court-martial was rigged against him. Buker s conclusions foster a reassessment of Saltonstall s naval strategies and shed new light on the political maneuvers of the time."

The third of a four-volume documentary history on the naval and maritime aspects of the War of 1821, this publication focuses on the Chesapeake Bay, the Northern Lakes, and Pacific Ocean theaters of operation during the last two years of the war, 1814-1815. In each of these three theaters, a U.S. naval force found itself confronting a superior British naval force. Blockaded in tributaries by a significant British squadron, Commodore Joshua Barney's gunboat flotilla held out for ten weeks, engaging in several pitched battles, until Barney ordered its destruction. Barney's sailors then became foot soldiers and maintained the nation's honor in facing the red-coated foe marching on Washington, when other troops broke and ran at the battle that wit's derided as the "Bladensburg Races." The editors have culled documents from many domestic and foreign repositories and arranged them chronologically by topics within theaters of operations. An introductory essay that provides a context for the documents that follow precedes each theater. Originally published in 2002, this book contains supporting maps and illustrations.

A famous rebel naval captain tells his story
The author of this book, Captain Semmes, was one of the most renowned American seamen of his time-particularly among the sailors of the Confederacy. Whilst it was essential that every nation have its own naval force, for the Southern states this was doubly important because the new 'nation' was heavily reliant on agriculture and its exports, had a paucity of essential manufacturing and was subjected to rigorous blockade by the Federal government to ensure there would be no free or uncontested passage of either. This book covers the activities of two notable and famous ships of the C. S. N-the steamers Alabama and Sumter, and no one was in a better position to report the activities of the Confederate Navy at sea and at war than Captain Semmes who commanded these ships. This essential source work on this subject is available in soft back and cloth bound collectors' hard back with dust wrapper, head and tail bands and gold foil lettering to the spine.