Two Amazing Stories From USCGC Escanaba – Heroism And Heartbreak In The North Atlantic, 1943
The Rescue of the Dorchester USCGC Escanaba was steaming along calmly on February 2, 1943. She was part of a six-ship convoy; three escorts, and…
How the Other Side Ate: Meals of Royal Naval Officers During The Napoleonic Wars
Officers of the Royal Navy at the turn of the 19th century were expected to live charmed and genteel lives. This was reflected in almost…
How The Royal Navy Fed Its Sailors Over 200 Years Ago
An army marches on its stomach, and while a Navy sails on the sea, its sailors still need feeding. In the 1790s and early 1800s,…
How the Royal Navy kept order, Through Caning, Flogging, and Hanging
By the end of the 18th century, the wooden walls of England, as her Navy was so often called, was comprised of one of the…
How An Explosion In Northern New Jersey Put 62,000 People Onto The Front Lines Of World War 1
By October 1918, the 1st World War was winding down. It was clear to most observers that the Western Allies would be victorious. Life in…
A Look At The Royal Navy Through Three Sea Songs
Sailors have always been happy singing, whether to make the day go faster or keep the work going steady. The Royal Navy banned the use…
The Pressing of American Seamen And The War of 1812
Imagine yourself as an American sailor; the year is 1804. You are 30 years old, born in 1774, and have spent most of your adult…
How HMS Speedy Captured The El Gamo, Which Was 3 Times Her Size & Had 5 Times Her Crew
On March 28th, 1800, a Scottish aristocrat took command of the small Brig-Sloop HMS Speedy, based at Port Mahon. The Scotsman, Thomas Cochrane, was an…
HMAS Sydney Faces German Cruiser Kormoran In A Fight to the Death
Off the western coast of Australia, two ships lie on the bottom, time capsules of a battle which took place over 75 years ago. In…
VC: With His Plane On Fire, This Pilot Refused To Bail Out Without Taking Down A German Fighter
On a bright sunny morning in August 1940, No. 249 Squadron, Royal Air Force, was patrolling near Southampton, in southern England. There was hardly any…
When An American Submarine Took Out a Japanese Troop Train and Much More in the Pacific in WW2
On the 22nd of January, 1945, 30 Japanese merchant ships sat in Namkwan Harbor, in Southern China. They felt safe in their well-defended home, surrounded…
The Heroic US Coast Guard Who Gave His Life To Save His Shipmates During A Desperate Rescue In WW2
US Coast Guard Cutter Comanche left Boston in January 1943. She made contact with her convoy on the 29th and proceeded as scheduled. It was…