Since the beginning of the 20th century, the United States has sought to achieve Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan's vision of "command of the sea" using large battle fleets of capital ships. This strategy has been generally successful: no force can oppose the U.S. Navy on the open seas. Yet capital ship theory has become increasingly irrelevant. Globally, irregular warfare dominates the spectrum of conflict, especially in the aftermath of 9/11. Fleet engagements are a thing of the past and even small scale missions that rely on capital ships are challenged by irregular warfare. In a pattern evident since World War II, the U.S. Navy has attempted to adapt its capital ship theory to irregular conflicts-with mixed results-before returning to traditional operations with little or no strategic debate. This book discusses the challenges of irregular warfare in the 21st century, and the need for U.S. naval power to develop a new strategic paradigm.

During World War I, the Second Division, American Expeditionary Force, saw more action and captured more ground and enemy combatants than any other division in that war, including the vaunted First Division. The 4th Marine Brigade, especially, earned a reputation as a steadfast unit of superb fighting men. This riveting volume follows those Marines through their service in France in 1917 and 1918, during the post-war occupation of Germany, and their arrival in New York City in August, 1919. Seven battalion-oriented chapters, along with one dedicated to the entire 4th Marine Brigade, recount the Brigade's role in some of the most intense battles of the war, including at Belleau Wood, Soissons, St. Mihiel, Blanc Mont, and the Meuse River. Descriptions of the Armistice, welcome home parades, and the brigade's disbandment at Quantico in August 1919 complete this comprehensive chronicle of one of the American military's most distinguished units.

A History of Seafaring in the Classical World, first published in 1986, presents a complete treatment of all aspects of the maritime history of the Classical world, designed for the use of students as well as scholars. Beginning with Crete and Mycenae in the third millennium BC, the author expounds a concise history of seafaring up to the sixth century AD. The development of ship design and of the different types of ship, the varied purposes of shipping, and the status and conditions of sailors are all discussed. Many of the most important sea battles are investigated, and the book is illustrated with a number of line drawings and photographs. Greek and Latin word are only used if they are technical terms, ensuring A History of Seafaring in the Classical World is accessible to students of ancient history who are not familiar with the Classical languages.

The Royal Navy's dramatic race to save the crew of a trapped Russian submarine. 5 August 2005. On a secret mission to an underwater military installation 30 miles off the coast of Kamchatka, Russian Navy submersible AS-28 ran into a web of cables and stuck fast. With 600 feet of freezing water above them, there was no escape for the seven crew. Trapped in a titanium tomb, all they could do was wait as their air supply slowly dwindled. For more than 24 hours the Russian Navy tried to reach them. Finally - still haunted by the loss of the nuclear submarine Kursk five years before - they requested international assistance. On the other side of the world Commander Ian Riches, leader of the Royal Navy's Submarine Rescue Service, got the call: there was a sub down. With the expertise and specialist equipment available to him Riches knew his team had a chance to save the men, but Kamchatka was at the very limit of their range and time was running out. As the Royal Navy prepared to deploy to Russia's Pacific coast aboard a giant Royal Air Force C-17 airlifter, rescue teams from the United States and Japan also scrambled to reach the area. On board AS-28 the Russian crew shut down all non-essential systems, climbed into thick thermal suits to keep the bone-chilling damp at bay and waited, desperate to eke out the stale, thin air inside the pressure hull of their craft. But as the first of them began to drift in and out of consciousness, they knew the end was close. They started writing their farewells. 72 HOURS tells the extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat and real-life story of one of the most dramatic rescue missions of recent years.

A fascinating look at the British naval intervention in the Baltic in 1918-20, and at the British, Soviet and Baltic nationalist fleets that fought. Following the Russian Revolution of October 1917, the Baltic states became a battleground between Russian Reds and Whites, German troops and emerging Baltic independence forces. In November 1918, the British government decided to intervene, to protect British interests and to support the emerging Baltic states. This initial small force of cruisers and destroyers was eventually augmented by other British warships, including aircraft carriers, a monitor, as well as a handful of submarines and torpedo boats. Opposing them was the far more powerful Russian Baltic Fleet, now controlled by the Bolsheviks. The campaign that followed involved naval clashes between the two sides, the most spectacular of which was an attack on the Soviet naval base of Kronstadt in June 1919 by a force of small British torpedo boats. They torpedoed and sunk the Russian cruiser Oleg, an action which effectively bottled the Baltic fleet up in port for the remainder of the campaign. Finally, in early 1920, the British squadron was withdrawn, following Soviet recognition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This New Vanguard title explores the naval side of this little-known but strategically crucial campaign fought by the war-weary navies of Britain and Russia and by warships of the emerging Baltic states. Describing the political background to the conflict, and the key points of the naval campaign as well as the warships involved, this is a concise and fascinating account of an overlooked naval campaign that helped reshape the map of Europe.

As the Vietnam War reached its tragic climax in the last days of April 1975, a task force of U.S. Navy ships cruised off South Vietnam's coast. Their mission was to support the evacuation of American embassy personnel and military advisers from Saigon as well as to secure the safety of the South Vietnamese whose lives were in endangered by the North Vietnamese victory. The Lucky Few recounts the role of the USS Kirk in the rescue of remnants of the South Vietnamese fleet and the refugees on board. The story of the Kirk reflects one of America's few shining moments at the end of the Vietnam War. Now in paperback in time for the 40th anniversary of the end of the war, The Lucky Few brings to life the heroism of Captain Paul Jacobs and the crew of the USS Kirk.

During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Samuel Bentham influenced both the technology and the administrative ideas employed in the management of the British navy. His influence stemmed from his passion for science, from his desire to achieve improvements based on a belief in the principle of Utility, and from experience gained over eleven years in Russia, a large part in the service of Catherine the Great and Prince Potemkin. Having travelled extensively throughout the north and south of Russia, Poland and Siberia, he managed Potemkin's industries at Krichev, built fast river galleys, armed the Russian flotilla of small craft at Kherson and served with the flotilla that defeated the Turks in the Black Sea. His main ambition was to open river communication in Siberia and develop trade into the Pacific. However he returned to England and in 1796 became Inspector General of Naval Works, a post in which he fought for innovations in the technology and management of the British royal dockyards. Regarded then by the Navy Board as a dangerous maverick, this book reveals the experiences, creativity and thinking that made him a major figure in British naval development.

This study of the Anglo--Dutch Wars (1652-54, 1665-67, 1672-74) sets them in their naval, political and economic contexts. Competing essentially over trade, both governments were crucially influenced by mercantile interests and by the representative institutions that were central to England and the Dutch Republic. Professor Jones compares the effectiveness of the governments under pressure - English with Dutch, Commonwealth with restored monarchy, Republican with Orangist - and the effects on their economies; and examines the importance of the wars in accelerating the formation of a professional officer corps and establishing battle tactics that would endure throughout the age of sail.

Britain's Anti-Submarine Capability, 1919-1939 is the first unified study of the development of Britain's anti-submarine capability between the armistice in 1919 and the onset of the second world German submarine attack on Britain's maritime trade in 1939. Well researched and yet accessibly written, this book challenges the widespread belief that the Royal Navy failed to anticipate the threat of the U-boat in the Second World War.

This authoritative register brings together a wealth of detailed historical and technical information about all the major combat ships in the U. S. Navy--from the sail frigates of the Revolution to today's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, from the ships of George Washington to the fleet that fought Operation Desert Storm. Conceived and developed by K. Jack Bauer before his death, and extended and brought up-to-date by Stephen S. Roberts, this reference guide is designed for the general student of American naval history, for military historians, for navy/ship buffs, and indeed for all who thirst for interesting information about American ships over the last 300 years. The volume contains tables, notes, sixty-eight photographs, a list of ship and engine builders, and indexes to the hull numbers and names of all ships included in the volume.

The register provides a brief introduction and then covers the Sail Navy (1775-1853), the Old Steam Navy (1814-1876), and the New Navy (1883 to present). Ships are arranged by type and then chronologically by date of authorization. The entry for each class begins with a listing of the key technical specifications, including important changes in armament. Next comes a table listing all the ships in the class with their builders and construction dates, and final disposition. The entry concludes with notes containing other essential information, including reconstructions, renamings, and reclassifications. In many cases these notes also indicate why the ships were built and point to the significance of their designs. Merchant ships acquired for service as major combatants are also described in an abbreviated format.

When she was launched in 1765, HMS Victory was the ultimate warship of the Georgian era. As Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, she has since become inextricably linked to the memory of Britain's greatest naval hero. The Victory was built in the 18th century, with an expected life span of less than two decades, so the fact that she survives today - over 250 years later - is remarkable. Published with the cooperation of the Royal Navy this book takes readers onboard Nelson's Victory to examine the innermost workings of this maritime icon - from stem to stem, above and below decks.

Sir Julian Corbett was regarded as one of the greatest naval historians of the early twentieth century. Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905 was never available to the public during his lifetime. As noted in the introduction to Volume I, Corbett dealt not with "minute details and themes,...but a continuous narrative that demonstrated the interrelationship of land and sea events as they impinged on each other in conception, execution and results. Thus political objectives, geographic factors, and the machinery of government all could be seen working together as part of a whole." Corbett's work delineated the differences between maritime and land warfare, while also exploring their interaction. Published in hardcover by the Naval Institute Press in 1994, both volumes are now available in paperback for the first time.

Unlike his contemporary American theorist, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Britain's eminent maritime strategist, Sir Julian Corbett, believed that victory in war did not come simply by the exercise of sea power and that, historically, this had never been the case. Corbett's keen analysis of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 and his discussion of the pros and cons of limited conflict is still of great value to our understanding of today's limited wars. Based on intelligence reports provided by the Japanese government, this work on the Russo-Japanese naval war was written as an official study in the years just before World War I and classified "confidential" by the Royal Navy. The two-volume study demonstrates the lessons the war held for the future and shows the essential differences between maritime and continental warfare, while also exploring their interaction.

This challenging new book argues that the People's Republic of China is pursuing a long-term strategy to extend its national power by sea.

This edited volume comprises a series of essays about Patrick Maynard Stewart Blackett, one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century, as well as a prominent figure in the Royal Navy and British politics.

This book makes a valuable and original contribution to the study of strategic thinking of one of the greatest naval theoreticians of all time. Rather than taking one of Mahan's many works and reprinting it, this volume offers a unique collection of articles and chapters from many books by Mahan, selected to capture the whole range of his thinking. With these key selections, readers have a single, convenient reference to help them toward a full understanding of Mahan's logic and thinking.

Over the last 30 years, hydrographical marine surveys in the English Channel helped uncover the potential wreck sites of German submarines, or U-boats, sunk during the conflicts of World War I and World War II. Through a series of systemic dives, nautical archaeologist and historian Innes McCartney surveyed and recorded these wrecks, discovering that the distribution and number of wrecks conflicted with the published histories of U-boat losses. Of all the U-boat war losses in the Channel, McCartney found that some 41% were heretofore unaccounted for in the historical literature of World War I and World War II. This book reconciles these inaccuracies with the archaeological record by presenting case studies of a number of dives conducted in the English Channel. Using empirical evidence, this book investigates possible reasons historical inconsistencies persist and what Allied operational and intelligence-based processes caused them to occur in the first place. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers in the fields of nautical archaeology and naval history, as well as wreck explorers.

An essential new account of how anti-submarine warfare is conducted, with a focus on both historic and present-day operations.

This new book shows how until 1944 U-boats operated as submersible torpedo craft which relied heavily on the surface for movement and charging their batteries. This pattern was repeated in WWII until Allied anti-submarine countermeasures had forced the Germans to modify their existing U-boats with the schnorkel. Countermeasures along also pushed the development of high-speed U-boats capable of continuously submerged operations.

This study shows how these improved submarines became benchmark of the post-war Russian submarine challenge. Royal Navy doctrine was developed by professional anti-submarine officers, and based on the well-tried combination of defensive and offensive anti-submarine measures that had stood the press of time since 1917, notwithstanding considerable technological change.

This consistent and holistic view of anti-submarine warfare has not been understood by most of the subsequent historians of these anti-submarine campaigns, and this book provides an essential and new insight into how Cold War, and indeed modern, anti-submarine warfare is conducted.

"Zumwalt" is a compelling portrait of the controversial military man who is widely regarded as the founder of the modern U.S. Navy, Admiral Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt. As Chief of Naval Operations during the decades-long Cold War crisis, Zumwalt implemented major strategic innovations that endure to this day, especially in his campaign against racism and sexism throughout the fleet. Larry Berman, the author of "Perfect Spy," offers a fascinating, detailed look at an extraordinary man--recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom--an inspiring portrait of leadership that is essential in these troubled times.

Maritime issues are particularly important for Asian countries, where there is a high reliance on shipping routes for international trade, many difficult disputes over maritime boundaries, and the prospect of increasing tensions where maritime power might play a significant role. This book uses contributions by 17 experts to build a comprehensive survey of the maritime issues affecting Asia. It discusses the issues overall, goes on to examine the issues from the perspective of each of 14 key countries, and concludes by assessing the prospects for resolving common problems in order to preserve good order at sea.

The second volume of this authoritative biography of America's first admiral examines the last ten years of David Glasgow Farragut's life, which included the ever-fascinating period of the Civil War. Farragut was as carefully methodical in preparation for battle as he was fearlessly swift in the execution of his plans. In Our First Admiral, the reader will learn of gross inefficiency and waste in the conduct of war, in the North as well as the South; of jealous ambition and malicious criticism; of lukewarm support of the government, lack of cooperation between the Army and Navy, and the inroads upon morale made by war weariness and disease, all of which tried Farragut's courage as much as the enemy in battle. Farragut was a practical resourceful leader with vision and intuition (a rare combination), a courageous hard-hitting fighter who hated war, and a deeply religious man with an exuberant spirit and love of fellowship who was also exceedingly loyal to the Navy and his country. Though he was small in physical stature, Farragut was tall indeed in the fundamental characteristics of true manhood.

In the summer of 1942 Jim Vernon, a nineteen-year-old student in Butte, Montana, joined the U.S. Navy's aviation cadet training program. By the end of the war he was flying F6F Hellcats from the USS "Ticonderoga" against the Japanese mainland. This memoir provides a carrier pilot's view of the conflict in the Pacific during the final months of the war when the atomic bombs were dropped and Japan capitulated.

A member of VBF-87, Vernon gives a highly personal eyewitness account of life in a bomber-fighter squadron and the roller-coaster emotions involved in combat sorties over the hostile sea and land. He describes his feelings about meeting the challenges of war and offers stirring memories of his love of flying and the camaraderie of his flying mates--both in the air and on liberty. Added to this entertaining narrative are details of the mobilization and training of carrier pilots as well as a discussion of the high incidence of noncombat fatalities and the air group's response to the kamikaze threat, information that contributes important dimensions to the overall story of the air war.

Completely candid about his emotions regarding day and night landings and errors made in the cockpit, Vernon gives a vivid glimpse into the past at a time when teenagers matured rapidly as they faced the realities of war. His recollections will strike a cord of recognition with aviators everywhere and will inform and entertain those with an interest in World War II combat.

The risks dealt with in this study are set in the context of current radioactive contamination issues in the Arctic, the operation and infrastructure of the Russian Nuclear fleet, and the world-wide decommissioning of nuclear submarines. The risks involve those of spent nuclear fuel, and low and intermediate level liquid and solid wastes. Risk assessment and monitoring techniques are also dealt with.

The Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Co. was formed in South Portland, Maine, in 1940, followed by the South Portland Shipbuilding Corp. in 1942. This book details the formation of the two shipyards, and the congressional investigation of South Portland's operation that resulted in the merger of both companies into the New England Shipbuilding Corporation in April, 1943. Included is a list of all 2,710 Liberty ships delivered by U.S. shipyards, giving each ship's namesake and detailed descriptions of the companies that built the ships and the steamship companies that operated them during the war. Also featured is the Jeremiah O'Brien. Built by New England Ship in 1943 and one of only two operational Liberty ships left in the world, its service history and crew information are given along with its, postwar restoration and return to Normandy in 1994.

The epic mission to destroy the flagship of Hitler's navy.'Bismarck was now loose in the Atlantic ... we had to find and sink her.' May, 1941. The most powerful battleship the world has ever seen, the German Navy's Bismarck, breaks out into the Atlantic to ravage Allied convoys. Together with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, the Bismarck will seek to deliver a killer blow to Britain's war effort. The British launch an all-or-nothing bid to sink her, with the Home Fleet and other naval units steaming hard from all points of the compass, straining every sinew to trap and destroy Bismarck. HMS Hood, the battlecruiser pride of the Royal Navy, is destroyed within eight minutes of engaging Bismarck on 24 May. However, the brand new battleship HMS Prince of Wales lands a pivotal blow on Bismarck, puncturing a fuel tank, forcing the German battleship to make for refuge in a friendly port. Reeling from the loss of the Hood, the Royal Navy redoubles its efforts, intent on avenging lost shipmates. Aircraft carrier Ark Royal, along with battleships King George V and Rodney, plus cruisers and destroyers, are among those who hunt and pursue the foe over more than 1,700 miles. This is the story of Bismarck's fateful final twenty-four hours on 26/27 May 1941: the finale of the hunt and the culminating brutal close-quarters battle as Bismarck makes a desperate bid to escape the enemy. Using eyewitness accounts of Royal Navy sailors, Royal Marines and Swordfish torpedo-bomber aviators - including searing testimony gleaned by the author during unique interviews with a 'band of brothers' who were in the thick of the action - Ballantyne brings one of the Second World War's most dramatic events thundering to life. He also draws on new research in museum archives and other accounts from both the British and German side, to present a multi-dimensional, cinematic telling of a legendary episode in naval combat history. An epic story, told with compelling immediacy, it takes readers aboard warships in unforgiving seas, into the cockpits of warplanes in shrapnel-lashed skies and even inside a U-boat under a cruel ocean. Perfect for readers of Richard Hough and Saul David.