THE ROYAL NAVY

IN WW II

Never as well publicized as its counterpart Royal Air Force, Britain’s Naval Air Arm nevertheless made its presence felt in every major action of the sea war

This happens to be a "TWO PART" article....so if your in for "darn good read"...and your into the "airborne" part of WW II's "sea fight"....this will certainly be an eye opener for you.

I'm going to put an 'intro' here so you can get a feel for what these "two parts" entail....

With his usual steely resolve L/Cmdr. Eugene Esmonde, skipper of 825 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, climbed into the open cockpit of his Swordfish biplane torpedo-bomber knowing in all probability he would not  survive the mission. At best, the task Esmonde and hi fellow 17 flyers had been assigned was suicidal for they were ordered to intercept and sink the powerfully armed German battle-cruisers Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen. Detected making a sudden break from their heavily defended anchorages at Brest on 12 February 1942, the trio was making a desperate attempt to return to the Baltic’s less-hazardous

waters.  

Compounding the dangers of this suddenly organized mission was the knowledge that the German ship were escorted by several squadrons of elite German fighters under the command of Luftwaffe ace Adolph Galland; that the deadly anti-aircraft batteries of the battle-cruisers had been tripled during their lengthy stay in occupied France. What’s more, the warship’s daring daylight departure, which came to be known as the “Channel Dash” or Operation Cereberus, was conducted in broad daylight thereby denying the lumbering Swordfish the cover of night.

Accepting their assignment with stoic indifference, squadron commander Esmonde, who a day earlier had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order for leading the daring assault on the Bismarck in May 1941, took off from the Naval air base at Manston shortly after noon.  Once airborne, Esmonde learned that only one squadron of Spitfires was available to protect his flight of six 90-mph fabric-cover Swordfish, or “String Bags,” as they were affectionately known............................

PART ONE

PART TWO

Hope you enjoy hearing about this tad of history 

THE KENTUCKY.."ONE BIG DUDE"

This is a fairly long article....and actually there is a huge amount of data offered in this article about this 'Battleship"....which in my opinion was one very awesome vessel, so I'm not going to go into a great deal of detail on this intro.....

Yes, it is and older warship.....but it also provides a great deal of info on what this warship was involved in as an example of involvement in the goings on of the "Great White Fleet"....

You can link up to this article by clicking : HERE


Hope you enjoy the article

cshortridge73@gmail.com

THE "FRIGATES"

If you've got a fair amount of interest in ships, nautical and naval history it is highly likely that the word "frigate" has bubbled to the surface of what you've read or heard.  I'm sure you've learned that this word was in reference to a particular type of warship that has been around for at least 250 + years.

The "frigate" is a type of warship that has went through many, many changes....not only in the U.S., but by every nation that has maintained a Navy....actually there has been over 200 changes to this type of vessel  for most to the Navies of the world.

I'm also fairly certain that you've heard of the term "sons of a gun" or "son of a gun"....well this article will tell you just how that term is in reference to the this type of vessel,.....also you'll learn just how needed this type of vessel was to fight the U-boat war...so as the people of England could receive much needed food during the War.

This article is pretty darn interesting....both with the history of this type of vessel but just how far it has evolved over the years and it is still around....and a glimpse of the future of this puppy...
You can link to the complete article by clicking: HERE 

Hope you enjoy the article.

cshortridge73@gmail.com

LAST MYSTERY SHIPWRECK

The "Newest" of the Japanese weapons was used on ole "Miss"....the weapon was referred to as the "Kaiten"....translated ["turning of the heavens" or "heaven shaker"]...this 48 ft long weapon....carried 3,418 pounds of high explosives...which was four times the size of the parent torpedo’s successful armament. Launched from the deck of specially adapted I-class mother submarines, single pilots could guide their unwieldy craft towards targets as far as 30 miles away, usually at depths between 15 to 40 feet and at speeds up to 27 knots.

Once released, there was no return.

If you'd care to let your eyes dance over this 6 or so page article on how all this came about...just click: SHIP WRECK  and you'll be taken right too the article.

Hope you enjoy!!

TERRIBLE TURNER

THE MAN WHO GAVE THE NAVY WEB FEET

Yes...Adm. Richmond Kelly Turner....was one tough ole bird....gruff, irascible and egotistical...all of that and then some, but say what you wish of this guy he taught the Navy the basics of amphibious warfare, and many don't realize that he master-planned most of the Pacific War's major invasions.

Although Turner has the scrubbed look of a Catholic priest, he had a reputation of having a hot temper, rude  bluntness and a resolute dislike for officers who did not display a keen interest in their duties. To be chewed out by the gruff admiral was to have been dressed down by a master.

So great a debacle as the slaughter at Savo called for someone in the chain of command to be held  accountable. After so many months of seeing America’s military humiliated and humbled by the forces of

Imperial Japan, Washington and an outraged American public demanded a scapegoat. And that someone was hot-tempered R/Adm. Richmond Kelly Turner, for as Commander of Amphibious Forces he was in overall charge of the Navy’s first thrust to retake conquered Japanese territory.

Here is a tad of info in my opinion one of the great military men of our time....yes, rough and told it like it was, owned up to his mistakes.....but you can say all you want about his ways...."HE DID GET THE JOB DONE!"

If you wish to read the story on Mr. "Terrible Turner".....just click: HERE

Hope you enjoy the article.