On this day in 1939, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp is launched. She is perhaps best known for her stunning end—and the inspired rescue that followed. Nearly 2,000 sailors and aviators were pulled from the water as she went down nearby.   Wasp was with about a dozen other warships on September 15, 1942. She was escorting transports for the Seventh Marine Regiment, then headed to Guadalcanal. She’d been at general quarters all day even as her planes flew antisubmarine patrol mi

On this day in 1794, the United States begins building the first ships for its Navy. They weren’t the first ships built for an American Navy, of course, but they were the first since the Constitution had been adopted.   Would you be surprised to hear that the Continental Navy created during the American Revolution did not have universal support?   “It is the maddest idea in the world,” Samuel Chase of Maryland stormed, “to think of building an American fleet . . . we should m

On this day in 1942, the United States creates a different kind of fighting force. These men didn’t rely on rifles, though. Instead, they drove bulldozers, concrete mixers, and cranes. They operated jackhammers, shovels, and welding torches.   “The Seabees of the United States Navy were born in the dark days following Pearl Harbor,” the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) website explains, “when the task of building victory from defeat seemed almost insurmountable. The

On this day in 1918, USS Cyclops departs from Barbados, headed for Baltimore. She is never seen again. Her disappearance is among those adding to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle—although that term did not then exist.   “Only God and the sea know what happened to the great ship,” Woodrow Wilson said at the time.   Cyclops  was a Proteus-class collier designed to carry coal. She transported troops and supplies for the United States during World War I, but her service remain

On this day in 1862, a radically different type of warship is commissioned. USS Monitor  was the Union’s first iron-hulled steamship, but it wasn't the only one of its kind. The Confederacy had already been working on its own iron-hulled ship, CSS Virginia , for months. Between the two of them, Monitor  and Virginia  would have a lasting impact on naval warfare.   At this point in the Civil War, Union ships were maintaining a blockade at Hampton Roads in Virginia. When CSS Vi

On this day in 1933, USS Ranger is launched. She was the first U.S. Navy vessel to be built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. She was also the first American carrier to launch attacks against Nazi-controlled territory during World War II.   She would ultimately become the only  American carrier to launch an attack against the European mainland.   Yes, you read that right. She was the only one. The larger, armored aircraft carriers built after Ranger served in the Pacif

On this day in 1864, a Confederate submarine torpedoes and sinks USS Housatonic.  The H.L. Hunley  changed naval warfare forever. It was the first submarine to successfully sink a warship!   Americans had been trying to develop submarines for use in warfare for decades. As early as 1776, an attempt was made to use a submarine during the American Revolution. In the mid-1800s, as the Civil War began, both Union and Confederate forces were still trying to develop this technology

On this day in 1992, the “Father of Naval Special Warfare” passes away. Phil Bucklew has been credited with laying the groundwork for many aspects of today’s naval special forces, including the Navy SEALs.   The former Cleveland Ram had been coaching a football game when Pearl Harbor was attacked. News of the Japanese assault was soon announced over the stadium’s loudspeakers. “We were down in the bar [after the game],” he later described, “and someone said, ‘Let’s all join t

On this day in 1812, USS Constitution wins an intense naval battle against HMS Guerrière . Perhaps you know that Constitution is...

On this day in 1944, a Coast Guardsman leads a daring mission, capturing hundreds of Germans and freeing dozens of American POWs....

On this day in 1968, a nuclear submarine in the United States Navy makes her last contact with an American base. She would soon go...

On this day in 1942, an American passenger-cargo ship travels from Guatemala to New Orleans. No one could then know it, but Heredia  ...

On this day in 1778, American naval hero John Paul Jones writes a “Chivalrous Letter” to the Countess of Selkirk. Or so it has been...

On this day in 1945, Americans destroy a German submarine near Point Judith, Rhode Island. That submarine, U-853, had torpedoed an...

On this day in 1912, RMS Titanic departs on its maiden voyage from Southhampton to New York. That trip famously ended when the ship hit...

On this day in 1942, a Navy chaplain engages in an action that would earn him the Navy Cross.   George S. Rentz is the only Navy Chaplain...

On this day in 1945, kamikazes plow into American warships near Iwo Jima. One aircraft carrier, the USS Bismarck Sea, was fatally...

On this day in 1732, an American Patriot is born in Massachusetts. You may or may not know John Glover’s name, but you do know about the...

On this day in 1803, the Tripolitans capture a stranded American vessel. Mere months later, Navy legend Stephen Decatur would set that...

On this day in 1923, USS Shenandoah  is christened. The rigid airship was intended for airborne surveillance, similar to what Germany...