This page features the Online Library's 'What's New?' entries for March through December 2006.
For the more recent entries, and links to previous years'
entries, see:
For earlier entries from the year 2006, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions. |
The
year 2006 ends with further progress on our growing (but still
far from finished) presentation on 1945's Iwo
Jima Operation. Two major sections were added in December,
one concerning Maps
and Wide-Area Aerial Views of Iwo Jima and the other providing
views of the Pre-landing
Bombardment and Other Landing Zone Preparations. An important
element of the latter features nearly thirty original color
photographs of the bombardment made by an officer of USS Sanborn
(APA-193), one of the invasion force transports. These unique
images, a few of which were published about a decade ago, are
part of a significant collection of World War II color photographs
taken by Lieutenant Commander Howard
W. Whalen, USNR. The bulk of this collection will become part
of the Online Library during the next few months.
One other notable Naval Reserve officer joined the ranks this
month, Vice Admiral Paul
F. Foster, whose distinguished Navy career included receipt
of the Medal of Honor for his conduct during the 1914 Vera Cruz
operation, World War I submarine command in combat and "extraordinary
heroism" during a shipboard explosion and fire in 1924. During
the late 1950s Foster became the U.S. representative of the InternationalAtomic
Energy Agency.
Making
their initial Online Library appearances are several ships
of World War II or later vintage, including the amphibious force
command ship Adirondack
(AGC-15), transport Admiral
W.S. Sims (AP-127) -- which saw most of its service as
USNS General William O. Darby (T-AP-127), attack transport
Hocking (APA-121),
vehicle landing ship Montauk
(LSV-6, previously AN-2 and AP-161) -- which was later renamed
Galilea (AKN-6), cargo ship Oberon
(AK-56, later AKA-14) and tank landing ship Stone
County (LST-1141).
A fair number of World War I acquired vessels also made their
way into the ranks. Seagoing ships include the transport Philippines
(ID # 1677); cargo ships Elinor
(ID # 2465), Munaires
(ID # 2197) and Western
Hope (ID # 3771); and oilers Frank
H. Buck (ID # 1613), George
G. Henry (ID # 1560) -- which was also USS Victoria
(AO-46) during World War II, Gold
Shell (ID # 3021) and Hoxbar
(ID # 4341. Patrol boats and other relatively small craft
are Elco # 7,
Elco 10 (both
of which later went to the Italian Navy), Eleanor
(SP-677), Elf (SP-81),
Elfin (SP-965),
Elithro II (SP-15),
Elizabeth (SP-1092)
and Elmasada (SP-109).
There is also the harbor tug Elliott
(ID # 2898). Ships considered for Naval service, but not taken
over, are: freighter Lake
Grainger (ID # 4276) and tanker Silver
Shell (ID # 2270).
We also prepared another hull number list, this one covering AP types, or (for the benefit of
those who have not yet committed the entire Navy ship designation
system to memory) Transports.
31 December 2006
Following
another long interval, we have many new(ish) Online Library
items to report, with the most significant being the beginnings
of what will grow into a rather large presentation on the Iwo Jima Operation
of February and March 1945. This invasion, and the ensuing land
battle between the U.S. Marines and the Japanese, is the subject
of a recent motion picture. It is also an important lesson in
the heroism and high costs involved in overcoming a well planned
and resolutely conducted defense.
Presentations have also been posted on twenty-six of the twenty-seven
men awarded the Medal of Honor for their conduct during the Iwo
Jima operation. These are (in chronological order of the actions
for which the medal war awarded, and with their rank at that time):
Two
other Second World War events have also recently been added to
the Online Library, including the 13 December 1939 Battle of the River
Plate and the 1 February 1944 collision
between the battleships Indiana and Washington,
during the operation to seize the Marshall Islands. The River
Plate page was prepared as part of a presentation on the German
armored ship Admiral
Graf Spee. The page on the two battleships' collision
demonstrates the sometimes tragic consequences of losing situational
awareness while maneuvering at night with other ships in close
company.
A First World War incident contributed three more pages, one
concerning the U.S. Navy cargo ship Ticonderoga
(ID # 1958), which was sunk with great loss of life on 30
September 1918. The
second page and third pages relate to her assailant, the German
submarine U-152,
and her Commanding Officer, Commander James
J. Madison, USNRF. He received the Medal of Honor for his
performance in this action, but died about four years later as
a result of the injuries he had received. USS Madison
(DD-425) was named in his honor.
Several other people have recently joined the Online Library. Moving chronologically, we first encounter Commander William H. Allen, a hero of American conflicts with Great Britain before and during the War of 1812. USS Allen (Destroyer # 66), which bore his name, was posted earlier this year. Officers from later in the 19th Century include Rear Admiral George B. Balch, Lieutenant (later Brigadier General) Edward F. Beale (a notable Mexican War figure), Captain James S. Thornton, Rear Admiral Andrew E.K. Benham and Lieutenant Hugh W. McKee (who was killed in action during the June 1871 assault on Korean fortifications). There is also a notable South Carolina politician, Senator Benjamin R. ("Pitchfork Ben") Tillman, Chairman of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee before and during World War I. There are also five more Medal of Honor recipients. Seaman George H. Rose was awarded the medal for his actions in June 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion. The other four, awarded the medal for their activities during the Vera Cruz intervention of April 1914, are: Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, Captain Edwin A. Anderson, Chief Gunner's Mate George Bradley, and Chief Turret Captain Abraham DeSomer.
A
large number of U.S. Navy ships have been named in honor of most
of these men, with all of those ships now represented in the Online
Library. They include USS Balch
(Destroyer # 50), USS Balch
(DD-363), USS Beale
(Destroyer # 40), USS Beale
(DD-471, later DDE-471), USS Thornton
(Torpedo Boat # 33), USS Thornton
(Destroyer # 270, later AVD-11), USS Benham
(Destroyer # 49), USS Benham
(DD-397), USS Benham
(DD-796), USS McKee
(Torpedo Boat # 18), USS McKee
(Destroyer # 87, USS McKee
(DD-575), USS Tillman
(Destroyer # 135), and USS Tillman
(DD-641). There are older pages covering USS Fletcher
(DD-445, later DDE-445) , USS Fletcher
(DD-992) and USS Anderson
(DD-411). Other recently posted destroyer type ships include
USS Burrows (DD-29),
USS Burrows (DE-105),
USS Sampson (Destroyer
# 63) and USS Sampson
(DD-394).
There
are a good many newly added cruisers, patrol vessels, submarines,
amphibs and auxiliaries. Representing the first two categories
are USS West Virginia
(Armored Cruiser # 5), renamed Huntington in 1916,
USS Maryland (Armored
Cruiser # 8), renamed Frederick in 1916, and USS Might (PG-94). The subs
are USS L-9 (Submarine
# 49), USS O-9 (Submarine
# 70), USS R-6 (Submarine
# 83), USS S-10
(SS-10), USS S-30
(SS-30), USS Searaven
(SS-196), and USS Pilotfish
(SS-386).
The "Gator Navy" offers USS Towner
(AKA-77) and USS Washtenaw
County (LST-1166). Auxiliaries include USS Aludra
(AK-72), sunk by a Japanese submarine in 1943, USS Aludra
(AF-55), USS Cliffrose
(AN-42), USS General
J.C. Breckinridge (AP-176), USS Okala
(ARST-2), and USS Piscataqua
(AT-49).
As
is usually the case, we offer a "flotilla" or so of
World War I acquired vessels, among them the troop transports
Edward Luckenbach (ID
# 1662), Otsego
(ID # 1628), South
Bend (ID # 4019), and Tenadores
(1918-1918). Patrol vessels and utility craft include Edorea (SP-549), Edward J. McKeever (SP-684),
Efco (ID # 2405),
Edamena II (SP-14),
Edith II (SP-246),
Express # 4 (SP-745).
In addition to the already-mentioned USS Ticonderoga,
"new" WWI era cargo ships are Edith
(ID # 3459), El
Capitan (ID # 1407), El
Occidente (ID # 3307), Western
Star (ID # 4210), Westpool
(ID # 3675), West
View (1918-1919), West
Zucker (ID # 3584), and West
Zula (ID # 3501). Other WWI acquired vessels include the
harbor tugs Edgar F.
Coney (SP-346) and Edwin
L. Pillsbury (SP-964), and the personnel ferry (and later
freight and water barge) Rin
Tin Tin.
Finally, there are a couple of civilian vessels that had no U.S.
Navy service: the motor boat Emmigrant
of 1918, and the Norwegian sailing bark Stifinder,
which was built in 1894 for operation as a British merchantman.
30 November 2006
Since
it's been a mighty long time since the last of these reports,
let's reveal the identity of February's "Mystery Photo"
right away, in the hope that somebody will remember it: The ship
shown is HMS Agincourt,
originally built for the Brazilians, then sold to the Turks and
seized by the Royal Navy at the beginning of World War I. It was
of remarkably unique appearance, with seven main battery gun turrets,
one more than any other battleship of the "Dreadnought"
era. The other ship mentioned in February's little teaser was
the previous HMS Agincourt,
one of three British ironclads with five masts.
While
we are on the subject of Brits, during the springtime we added
several more Royal Navy battleships, an armored cruiser and a
most notable merchant steamer. The latter is the famous "great
iron ship", S.S. Great
Eastern, whose title as World's largest ship lasted for
more than four decades. The warships include the other two five-mast
battleships of the 1860s: HMS Minotaur
and HMS Northumberland,
the ill-fated ironclad Vanguard,
the "Pre-Dreadnought" battleship Vengeance,
the armored cruiser Minotaur,
the battleship Vanguard
(which accidently blew up in 1917 with the loss of nearly her
entire crew), the battleship Erin
(also seized from Turkey in 1914) and the last of the Royal Navy's
long line of battleships: HMS Vanguard
of 1946.
Recently
posted U.S. Navy ships include a post-Civil War steam sloop, an
armored cruiser, three long-serving transports and two other Second
World War ships. USS Benicia
of 1869 leads off this list, followed by USS Colorado
(Armored Cruiser # 7), which was renamed Pueblo later
in its career. The transports are USNS General
Simon B. Buckner (T-AP-123), originally named Admiral
E.W. Eberle; USNS General
Nelson M. Walker (T-AP-125), orignally Admiral H.T.
Mayo; and USNS David
C. Shanks (T-AP-180). All three of these ships also served
with the U.S. Army's water transportation service. The final two
ships are USS Inca (IX-229),
which provides an interesting tale of a ship which was apparently
forgotten by a rather busy Navy Department, and USS LST-823.
The
remainder of this report is dedicated to people, among them Admiral
James L Holloway, III,
who was Chief of Naval Operations in 1974-1978 and more recently
has been Chairman of the Naval Historical Foundation. Lieutenant
Commander Andrew B. Cummings,
a hero of the Civil War, and Rear Admiral Stephen
B. Luce, one of the late 19th Century Navy's most influential
officers, complete the initial part of our "people"
list.
The remainder of this listing covers Navy and Marine Corps officers and enlisted men who received the Medal of Honor. Eleven of them were awarded the medal for their conduct during the Civil War, including: Aaron Anderson, Robert Blake, Cornelius Cronin, John Davis, Bartholomew Diggins, James Mifflin, William D. Newland, Joachim Pease, William R. Pelham, Louis C. Shepard and Joseph E. Vantine.
Another
six were awarded the medal for heroic activities during the three
decades after the Civil War: Daniel
Atkins, William Halford
(whose story represents one of the Navy's greatest feats of seamanship),
Patrick J. Kyle, William F. Lukes, Joseph Noil and George
Willis.
The Spanish-American War
is represented by fourteen men who received the Medal of Honor,
among them six who participated in a boat expedition to cut Cuba's
cable communications with the outside World: Benjamin
F. Baker, Austin J.
Durney, William Meyer,
Harry H. Miller, Willard D. Miller and
Samuel S. Triplett.
Eight others took part in a daring attempt to bottle up the Spanish
fleet in the harbor of Santiago, Cuba: Richmond
P. Hobson (who commanded the operation), George
Charette, Claus K.R.
Clausen, Osborn W.
Deignan, Francis Kelly,
Daniel Montague, John E. Murphy and George F. Phillips.
6 July 2006
This page features the Online Library's 'What's New?' entries for March through December 2006.
For the more recent entries, and links to previous years'
entries, see:
For earlier entries from the year 2006, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions. |
Page made 31 December 2006