1.
Michigan
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Michigan /ˈmɪʃᵻɡən/ is a state in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions of the United States. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, Michigan is the tenth most populous of the 50 United States, with the 11th most extensive total area. Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit, Michigan is the only state to consist of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula, to which the name Michigan was originally applied, is noted to be shaped like a mitten. The Upper Peninsula is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, the two peninsulas are connected by the Mackinac Bridge. The state has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the world, being bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, as a result, it is one of the leading U. S. states for recreational boating. Michigan also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds, a person in the state is never more than six miles from a natural water source or more than 85 miles from a Great Lakes shoreline. What is now the state of Michigan was first settled by Native American tribes before being colonized by French explorers in the 17th century, the area was organized as part of the larger Northwest Territory until 1800, when western Michigan became part of the Indiana Territory. Eventually, in 1805, the Michigan Territory was formed, which lasted until it was admitted into the Union on January 26,1837, the state of Michigan soon became an important center of industry and trade in the Great Lakes region and a popular immigrant destination. Though Michigan has come to develop an economy, it is widely known as the center of the U. S. automotive industry. When the first European explorers arrived, the most populous tribes were Algonquian peoples, which include the Anishinaabe groups of Ojibwe, Odaawaa/Odawa, the three nations co-existed peacefully as part of a loose confederation called the Council of Three Fires. The Ojibwe, whose numbers are estimated to have been between 25,000 and 35,000, were the largest, French voyageurs and coureurs des bois explored and settled in Michigan in the 17th century. The first Europeans to reach what became Michigan were those of Étienne Brûlés expedition in 1622, the first permanent European settlement was founded in 1668 on the site where Père Jacques Marquette established Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan as a base for Catholic missions, missionaries in 1671–75 founded outlying stations at Saint Ignace and Marquette. Jesuit missionaries were received by the areas Indian populations, with relatively few difficulties or hostilities. In 1679, Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle built Fort Miami at present-day St. Joseph, in 1691, the French established a trading post and Fort St. Joseph along the St. Joseph River at the present day city of Niles. The hundred soldiers and workers who accompanied Cadillac built a fort enclosing one arpent, cadillacs wife, Marie Thérèse Guyon, soon moved to Detroit, becoming one of the first European women to settle in the Michigan wilderness. The town quickly became a major fur-trading and shipping post, the Église de Saint-Anne was founded the same year
2.
Newcastle, Maine
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Newcastle is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,752 at the 2010 census, the village of Newcastle is located in the western part of the town, on the Damariscotta River. Together with the village of Damariscotta linked by the Main Street bridge, originally called Sheepscot Plantation, Newcastle was first settled in the 1630s by fishermen and around 50 families. Around 1649-50, John Mason purchased a tract of land from the sachems Chief Robinhood. The territory was claimed in 1665 by the Duke of York, renamed New Dartmouth, the plantation was attacked and destroyed in 1676 during King Philips War. When the war was over, some of the inhabitants returned, but it was destroyed again in 1689 during King Williams War, and the village was not reoccupied for about 40 years. In 1730, Colonel David Dunbar, the superintendent and governor of the Province of Sagadahoc, resettled it as Newcastle, in 1978, the picturesque village of Sheepscot on the Sheepscot River in western Newcastle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Sheepscot Historic District. It includes 51 buildings in the Italianate, Greek Revival, and Federal styles, on 12,000 acres. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 32.57 square miles. Newcastle is situated beside the Damariscotta River, the town is crossed by U. S. Route 1 and state routes 194 and 215. It borders the towns of Jefferson to the north, Edgecomb to the south, separated by water, it is near the towns of Wiscasset to the southwest, and Nobleboro, Damariscotta, Bristol and South Bristol to the east. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,748 people,724 households, the population density was 60.3 people per square mile. There were 880 housing units at a density of 30.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98. 74% White,0. 11% African American,0. 11% Native American,0. 29% Asian,0. 06% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 69% of the population. 26. 4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12. 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.86. In the town, the population was out with 22. 7% under the age of 18,5. 0% from 18 to 24,22. 7% from 25 to 44,30. 8% from 45 to 64. The median age was 45 years, for every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males, the median income for a household in the town was $43,000, and the median income for a family was $51,250
3.
Maine
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Maine is the northernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 39th most extensive and the 41st most populous of the U. S. states and territories and it is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the north. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and it is known for its jagged, rocky coastline, low, rolling mountains, heavily forested interior, and picturesque waterways, and also its seafood cuisine, especially clams and lobster. There is a continental climate throughout the state, even in areas such as its most populous city of Portland. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples were the inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine. At the time of European arrival in what is now Maine, the first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived Popham Colony, established by the Plymouth Company in 1607, as Maine entered the 18th century, only a half dozen European settlements had survived. Loyalist and Patriot forces contended for Maines territory during the American Revolution, Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820, when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become an independent state. On March 15,1820, it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state under the Missouri Compromise, there is no definitive explanation for the origin of the name Maine, but the most likely origin is the name given by early explorers after a province in France. Whatever the origin, the name was fixed for English settlers in 1665 when the English Kings Commissioners ordered that the Province of Maine be entered from then on in official records. The state legislature in 2001 adopted a resolution establishing Franco-American Day, other theories mention earlier places with similar names, or claim it is a nautical reference to the mainland. Attempts to uncover the history of the name of Maine began with James Sullivans 1795 History of the District of Maine. He made the allegation that the Province of Maine was a compliment to the queen of Charles I, Henrietta Maria. MAINE appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in reference to the county of Dorset, the view generally held among British place name scholars is that Mayne in Dorset is Brythonic, corresponding to modern Welsh maen, plural main or meini. Some early spellings are, MAINE1086, MEINE1200, MEINES1204, mason had served with the Royal Navy in the Orkney Islands where the chief island is called Mainland, a possible name derivation for these English sailors. Initially, several tracts along the coast of New England were referred to as Main or Maine, Maine is the only state whose name has exactly one syllable. The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples, including the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Penobscot, who had a loose confederacy. European contact with what is now called Maine started around 1200 CE when Norwegians interacted with the native Penobscot in present-day Hancock County, most likely through trade
4.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
5.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
6.
Admiral (United States)
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Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below fleet admiral in the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service do not have an established grade above admiral. Admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the uniformed services. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps has never had a hold the grade of admiral. However,37 U. S. C. §201 of the U. S. Code established the grade for the NOAA Corps in the case a position is created that merits the four-star grade. The United States Navy did not have any admirals until 1862 because many felt the title too reminiscent of royalty, such as the British Royal Navy. Others saw the need for ranks above captain, among them John Paul Jones and he also felt there must be ranks above captain to avoid disputes among senior captains. Two years later Congress authorized the appointment of an admiral from among the nine rear admirals. Another bill allowed the President of the United States to appoint Farragut to admiral on July 25,1866, when Farragut died in 1870, Porter became admiral and Stephen C. Rowan was promoted to vice admiral, there was one admiral in the interim, however. In 1899, Congress recognized George Deweys accomplishments during the Spanish–American War by authorizing the President to appoint him Admiral of the Navy and he held that rank until he died in 1917. Nobody has since held that title, in 1944, Congress approved the five-star grade of fleet admiral. The first to hold it were William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King, the Senate confirmed their appointments December 15,1944. Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey got his star in December 1945. The rear admiral got his two-inch stripe and one half-inch stripe in 1866, the sleeve stripes had been more elaborate. When the rear admiral rank started in 1862 the sleeve arrangement was three stripes of three-quarter-inch lace alternating with three stripes of quarter-inch lace and it was some ten inches from top to bottom. The vice admiral, of course, had even more stripes, on their dress uniforms the admirals wore bands of gold embroidery of live oak leaves and acorns. The admirals of the 1860s wore the number of stars on their shoulders as admirals of corresponding grades do today. During the 20th century, the ranks of the modern U. S. admiralty were firmly established, an oddity that did exist was that the navy did not have a one-star rank except briefly during World War II when Congress established a temporary war rank of commodore
7.
USS Terry (DD-25)
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USS Terry was a modified Paulding-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I, and later in the United States Coast Guard, designated CG-19. She was the first ship named for Edward Terry, and the first ship commanded by future Fleet Admiral, following trials off the east coast, Terry joined the Atlantic Fleet Torpedo Flotilla in winter operations in Cuban waters. She conducted both torpedo exercises with the flotilla and general maneuvers with the Fleet as a whole, in 1911 Terry made the first airplane rescue at sea, saving the life of James McCurdy 10 miles from Havana, Cuba. Soon after entering Charleston Navy Yard, Terry was placed in reserve, though still in reserve after her overhaul was completed, Terry continued to be active. During 1914, she patrolled the coast of Florida, and by February 1915 and that summer, Terry steamed as far north as Newport, Rhode Island to conduct another round of torpedo exercises. Upon completion of the mission, she returned to her base at Charleston, by 1 January 1916, the torpedo boat destroyer was operating with a reduced complement destroyer division. On the 31st, she cruised with units of the Atlantic Fleet to Key West, in May, she steamed to Santo Domingo. On 10 June, while maneuvering in the harbor at Puerto Plata, she struck a reef. On the 13th, under the supervision of the officer of Sacramento, Terrys officers. The warship was refloated on 26 July, temporarily repaired by 7 July, americas entry into World War I saw Terry undergoing extensive repairs at Charleston. Upon completion, she began patrolling along the Atlantic coast and escorting merchantmen bound for Europe, in January 1918, Terry put to sea for operations with the destroyer force based at Queenstown, Ireland. There, she escorted convoys through the waters surrounding the British Isles. Her tour of duty at Queenstown was a peaceful, though rigorous. While she never sighted a German U-boat nor engaged in combat operations, on another occasion,19 March 1918, she assisted Manley with casualties after that destroyer was damaged by an accidental depth charge explosion. In December 1918, Terry returned to the United States, and after 11 months of limited service. She remained there until she was transferred to the Coast Guard on 7 June 1924, based in New York, she served as part of the Rum Patrol. On 2 May 1934, Terry was sold for scrapping and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 June 1934. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, the entry can be found here
8.
USS Yankton (1893)
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USS Yankton was a steel-hulled schooner built in 1893 at Leith, Scotland, by Ramage & Ferguson. She was acquired by the US Navy in May 1898, renamed Yankton, according to Charles Armstrong, who was Medical Officer of the Yankton in 1918, the Penelope had been the extravagant yacht of Sarah Bernhardt, a well-known French actress. She was converted to a gunboat by the US Navy and partook in the Spanish–American War patrolling and engaging the enemy in Cuban waters, the Yankton accompanied the Navys Great White Fleet on the round the world cruise as a fleet tender in 1907–1908. In World War I she headed for Gibraltar to join the Patrol Forces protecting Allied shipping from German U-boats, after extensive litigation, she returned to merchant service. In May 1923, the Associated Press reported that Yankton, then under British registry, had seized as a rum runner. The ship was broken up at Boston during the summer of 1930, detailed coverage of the ships history Photo gallery at navsource. org
9.
USS Luce (DD-99)
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The first USS Luce was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and the years following. She was named in honor of Stephen B, Luce departed Boston 19 September 1918 and reported to Commander Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet, in New York 2 days later. She sailed with Troop Convoy 67 for France 23 September, upon arrival at the Azores 1 October, she was detached and proceeded to Gibraltar 19 October. Luce performed escort and patrol duty in the Mediterranean for the duration of the war, on 26 November she departed for the Adriatic and for 5 months patrolled the area in cooperation with the Food Commission. After voyaging to the eastern Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas in May and June 1919 and she arrived in New York 10 July and proceeded to Boston for overhaul. On 29 October she was transferred to Reserve Squadron 1, Atlantic Fleet, in April she departed Boston for Newport, Rhode Island, where she operated with the destroyer force until July. On 5 July 1921 she joined Mine Squadron 1, Gloucester, Massachusetts, after a cruise to the Caribbean in January 1922, Luce arrived in Philadelphia where she decommissioned 30 June 1922. Luce recommissioned 19 March 1930 and sailed to Panama 18 April where she operated with submarines of the Canal Zone Control Force until May and she returned to the east coast 4 June and trained with Mine Squadron 1 until steaming to Boston where she decommissioned 31 January 1931. Luce was sold to Schiavone-Bonomo Corporation, New York,29 September 1936 and this article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here, navSource Photos Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center
10.
USS Mahan (DD-102)
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The first USS Mahan was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan. The ship was converted into a light minelayer on 17 July 1920, Mahan was a flush deck destroyer, so-called because she was designed without a raised forecastle like past US destroyers. The ship had four smokestacks, and was built with a hull for increased strength. The flush deck destroyers included the Caldwell, Wickes and Clemson classes, mahans keel was laid down on 4 May 1918 by the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 4 August 1918, sponsored by Miss Ellen K. Mahan, the ship was commissioned on 24 October 1918 with Lieutenant Commander F. P. Conger in command. After shakedown, Mahan operated off Cuba until May 1919 and she then steamed to the Azores to become one of the guide ships for the transatlantic flights of the Navy flying boats, NC-1, NC-3, and NC-4. Mahan returned to Boston, Massachusetts, via Brest, France and she was converted into a light minelayer on 17 July 1920 and designated as DM-7. With the exception of a cruise to Pearl Harbor for maneuvers in early 1925, Mahan operated along the east coast, the Caribbean Sea, and off the Panama Canal Zone for the next 10 years. During this time, the participated in fleet training exercises. Mahan conducted reserve-training cruises in the Caribbean Sea from 1928 to September 1929, throughout the decade, in addition to her regular duties, Mahan served as an experimental ship testing new equipment for the Navy’s future use. On 20 September 1929, Mahan entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard where she decommissioned on 1 May 1930 and she was sold for scrap on 17 January 1931 to the Boston Iron & Metal Company of Baltimore, Maryland. USS Mahan was used in the Destroyermen series, written by Taylor Anderson, in the books, Mahan and her sister ship USS Walker are pursued by superior Japanese naval forces after the Battle of the Java Sea and seek refuge in a squall. The squall transports Mahan and Walker to an earth, one where a different evolutionary path occurred. Anderson also uses other decommissioned ships in the series, USS S-19, US Destroyers, An Illustrated Design History. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, the entry can be found here. NavSource Photos History of USS Mahan-named ships
11.
USS Arctic (AF-7)
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USS Arctic was an Arctic-class stores ship acquired by the United States Navy shortly after World War I, which saw extensive service in World War II. She served in the dangerous Pacific Ocean, delivering food and household items to ships, renamed Arctic on 2 November 1921, she was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 7 November 1921, Lieutenant Commander Charles H. Bullock in command. Assigned to the Base Force, Pacific Fleet, Arctic arrived at San Diego, for almost 20 years, she served chiefly in the Pacific, operating with the fleets train. During the second of her two voyages to Hawaiian waters in 1925, she accompanied the fleet on its Australasian cruise to New Zealand, assigned to Train Squadron 2, her yearly operations varied little, with the ship issuing provisions to the Battle Fleet wherever it was operating. Her cruises along the seaboard of the United States took her to San Diego, San Pedro and San Francisco, California, Portland, Oregon. During the winter of 1936/1937, Arctic found herself busier than ever, a maritime strike, which paralyzed American flag merchant shipping during this period, meant a revision in the storeships operating schedule. The outbreak of hostilities with Japan on 7 December 1941 found Arctic one day out of Hawaiian waters, for the first five months of 1942, a time punctuated with yard periods at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Arctic operated between Pearl Harbor and San Francisco. She then deployed briefly to Alaskan waters, to supply the ships of Task Force 8, returning thence to the west coast, she arrived at San Francisco on 24 July and soon thereafter sailed for the South Pacific. After touching en route at Pearl Harbor and at Tongatapu, Arctic commenced a routine of supplying ships and shore stations at New Caledonia, before 1942 was over, the storeship visited Noumea twice and Espiritu Santo once. During the following year,1943, she voyaged twice to Nouméa, thrice to Espiritu Santo, an overhaul at Alameda, California and at Oakland from 4 July-27 September broke this period of operations. Following her third call at Espiritu Santo from 23 October-5 November, west Coast for engine repairs, reaching San Francisco on 29 November and remaining there into the following year. Departing the west coast on 29 January 1944, the arrived at Pearl Harbor on 8 February. Assigned thence to Service Squadron 8 over the six months, Arctic made five round-trip voyages to the Marshall Islands, provisioning ships at Majuro, Kwajalein. Shifting to Seeadler Harbor — at Manus — on 20 September, touching at Saipan on 5 April, Arctic proceeded to Iwo Jima, where — from 9–12 April — she provisioned island forces, various units of the Pacific Fleet, and small craft. Returning to Guam on 15 April, the boat then sailed for the United States. A severe tropical storm enlivened her passage home before she arrived at San Francisco on 12 May, after Japan capitulated, she returned to Pearl Harbor on 11 September for repairs and reloading, before sailing for Japanese waters on 24 October. While en route to Tokyo, she sank a mine with gunfire on 12 November, from 21 November-13 December, Arctic provisioned fleet units off Yokosuka before she returned to Hawaiian waters — again sinking a mine en route — on 20 December. She departed Pearl Harbor on 2 January 1946 and arrived at San Diego on the 16th and she left the west coast of the United States for the last time on 18 February, bound for the Gulf of Mexico
12.
USS Wright (AV-1)
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USS Wright was a one-of-a-kind auxiliary ship in the United States Navy, named for aviation pioneer Orville Wright. 680, the ship was laid down at Hog Island, Pennsylvania by the American International Shipbuilding Corporation under a United States Shipping Board contract, named Wright on 20 April 1920, the ship was launched on 28 April. On 17 July 1920, the ship received that classification and was designated AZ-1, Wright was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 16 December 1921. Her first commanding officer was Captain Alfred W. Johnson, who discharged the collateral duties of Commander, Air Squadrons. From the New York Navy Yard, Wright sailed for the Philadelphia Navy Yard, three days later, the tender put to sea for operations with Scouting Division 1 out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There, she was joined by the six planes of Division 2. A few weeks after Wright reached her destination, the NC-10 flying boat had her bottom sucked out while she attempted to take off, a rescue and repair party salvaged the hull and other parts of the seaplane and brought them on board the tender. Two days later, Wright sailed for the Philadelphia Navy Yard and, after stops at Norfolk and Charleston en route. Following repairs and alterations at Philadelphia between 8 May and 21 June, Wright headed south and conducted tending operations from Norfolk to Pensacola, Florida, and back. While in Hampton Roads on 16 July, Wright sent up her kite balloon for the last time before transferring it ashore to be based at the Hampton Roads Naval Air Station. Later that summer, Wright visited New York City and then shifted to Newport, Rhode Island, the ship tended seaplanes in that vicinity, as they engaged in formation bombing exercises on stationary and towed targets. Wright and her brood subsequently operated off Solomons Island, Maryland where the seaplanes conducted battle practice, from 15 to 24 September, she tended the 13 F5L seaplanes from Scouting Squadron 1 as they conducted bombing practice on towed targets in the Chesapeake Bay region. Later that autumn, Wright visited Baltimore, following her visit to that port, Wright cruised down the eastern seaboard for training operations out of Key West. Between 18 and 22 February, Wrights planes participated in Fleet Problem I — a phase of which tested the defenses of the Panama Canal, the attacking Black fleet used two battleships as substitutes for aircraft carriers which it did not possess. On 21 February, one of those simulated flattops, Oklahoma, launched a single plane to scout ahead of the Black fleet, and and that aircraft – which took off from Naranyas Cay — represented a carrier air group, and made her approach to the canal undetected. It dropped ten miniature bombs and theoretically destroyed the Gatun spillway, Wright ultimately departed Hampton Roads on 21 January 1925 as flagship for Captain Harry E. Yarnell, Commander, Air Squadrons, Scouting Fleet, bound for the Pacific Ocean. Soon after Wrights return to the Eastern Seaboard, work began to convert the ship to an aircraft tender and, by 1 December. Reclassified AV-1, the continued to support the seaplanes of the Scouting Fleet, operating out of Hampton Roads and Newport, to ports of Florida, Cuba
13.
USS Langley (CV-1)
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USS Langley was the United States Navys first aircraft carrier, converted in 1920 from the collier USS Jupiter, and also the US Navys first turbo-electric-powered ship. Langley was named after Samuel Pierpont Langley, an American aviation pioneer, following another conversion, to a seaplane tender, Langley fought in World War II. On 27 February 1942, she was attacked by nine twin-engine Japanese bombers of the Japanese 21st and 23rd Naval Air Flotillas, president William H. Taft attended the ceremony when Jupiters keel was laid down on 18 October 1911 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. She was launched on 14 August 1912 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas F. Ruhm and her sister ships were Cyclops, which disappeared without a trace in World War I, Proteus, and Nereus, which disappeared on the same route as Cyclops in World War II. She remained on the Pacific coast until she departed for Philadelphia on 10 October, en route, the collier steamed through the Panama Canal on Columbus Day, the first vessel to transit it from west to east. Prior to Americas entry into World War I, she cruised the Atlantic, the first voyage transported a naval aviation detachment of 7 officers and 122 men to England. It was the first US aviation detachment to arrive in Europe and was commanded by Lieutenant Kenneth Whiting, who became Langleys first executive officer five years later. Jupiter was back in Norfolk on 23 January 1919 whence she sailed for Brest, upon reaching Norfolk on 17 August, the ship was transferred to the West Coast. Her conversion to a carrier was authorized on 11 July 1919, and she sailed to Hampton Roads, Virginia on 12 December. Jupiter was converted into the first US aircraft carrier at the Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia, for the purpose of conducting experiments in the new idea of seaborne aviation. On 11 April 1920, she was renamed Langley in honor of Samuel Pierpont Langley, an American astronomer, physicist, aeronautics pioneer and aircraft engineer and she recommissioned on 20 March 1922 with Commander Kenneth Whiting in command. As the first American aircraft carrier, Langley was the scene of several events in US naval aviation. On 17 October 1922, Lt. Virgil C. Griffin piloted the first plane—a Vought VE-7—launched from her decks, the era of the aircraft carrier was born introducing into the navy what was to become the vanguard of its forces in the future. With Langley underway nine days later, Lieutenant Commander Godfrey de Courcelles Chevalier made the first landing in an Aeromarine 39B, on 18 November, Commander Whiting was the first aviator to be catapulted from a carriers deck. An unusual feature of Langley was provision for a pigeon house on the stern between the 5 in /51 caliber guns. Pigeons had been carried aboard seaplanes for message transport since World War I, the pigeons were trained at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard while Langley was undergoing conversion. By 15 January 1923, Langley had begun flight operations and tests in the Caribbean Sea for carrier landings, in June, she steamed to Washington, D. C. to give a demonstration at a flying exhibition before civil and military dignitaries. She arrived at Norfolk on 13 June, and commenced training along the Atlantic coast, in 1927, Langley was at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
14.
Naval Station Norfolk
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Naval Station Norfolk, is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia. It supports naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, the installation occupies about 4 miles of waterfront space and 11 miles of pier and wharf space of the Hampton Roads peninsula known as Sewells Point. Over 150,000 passengers and 264,000 tons of mail and cargo depart annually on Air Mobility Command aircraft, the area where the base is located was the site of the original 1907 Jamestown Exposition. In April 1917, not long after the United States entered World War I, a bill was passed for the purchase of the land, and money was set aside in the amount of $1.6 million for the development of the base. The Fifth Naval Headquarters was established along with the Naval Operating Base, by 1918, there were 34,000 enlisted men at the base. However, by the end, the base was reduced in personnel. New facilities were built including new runways for aircraft, part of NAS Norfolk and it also had ramps built to be used by seaplanes to be operated by the navy during the war. About 400 acres was acquired and by 1943, the air station had become an airfield for operations. Due to the expansion, it contributed to ending the war due to the training it provided to air units. On 1 January 1953, the name of the base was changed to Naval Station Norfolk after being known as the NOB. In 1968, the Naval Air Station was given a role in John F. Kennedys vision of putting a man on the moon. The air station became Recovery Control Center Atlantic, which provided command, control, due to the end of the Cold War. A drawdown began in the 1990s, and the navy began reducing shore installations to help with operating cost. Due to this, the navy merged the separate Naval Station and Naval Air Station into an installation to be called Naval Station Norfolk. Following the attack on the USS Cole and September 11,2001 terrorist attacks, the base had some major upgrades to its security gates costing more than $12.5 million. On 26 January 2017, NS Norfolk celebrated its centennial at the Pennsylvania House, Naval Station Norfolk is homeport for the USS Cole, which was the victim of an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack in October 2000 while it was harbored and being refueled in the port of Aden, Yemen. 17 American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured in the attack, the USS Cole remains in active service and remains homeported at Norfolk. On March 24,2014, a shooting at NS Norfolk resulted in the death of a sailor, the shooting occurred around 11,20 p. m. EST aboard the USS Mahan
15.
USS Lexington (CV-2)
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USS Lexington, nicknamed Lady Lex, was an early aircraft carrier built for the United States Navy. She was the ship of the Lexington class, her only sister ship. The ship entered service in 1928 and was assigned to the Pacific Fleet for her entire career, Lexington and Saratoga were used to develop and refine carrier tactics in a series of annual exercises before World War II. On more than one occasion these included successfully staged surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, the ships turbo-electric propulsion system allowed her to supplement the electrical supply of Tacoma, Washington, during a drought in late 1929 to early 1930. She also delivered medical personnel and relief supplies to Managua, Nicaragua, Lexington was at sea when the Pacific War began on 7 December 1941, ferrying fighter aircraft to Midway Island. Her mission was cancelled and she returned to Pearl Harbor a week later, after a few days, she was sent to create a diversion from the force en route to relieve the besieged Wake Island garrison by attacking Japanese installations in the Marshall Islands. The island was forced to surrender before the force got close enough. A planned attack on Wake Island in January 1942 had to be cancelled when a submarine sank the oiler required to supply the fuel for the return trip, Lexington was sent to the Coral Sea the following month to block any Japanese advances into the area. The ship was spotted by Japanese search aircraft while approaching Rabaul, New Britain, together with the carrier Yorktown, she successfully attacked Japanese shipping off the east coast of New Guinea in early March. Lexington was briefly refitted in Pearl Harbor at the end of the month, a few days later the Japanese began Operation Mo, the invasion of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and the two American carriers attempted to stop the invasion forces. They sank the aircraft carrier Shōhō on 7 May during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Aircraft from Lexington and Yorktown succeeded in badly damaging Shōkaku, Lexington was the fourth US Navy ship named after the 1775 Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the Revolutionary War. After the war the ship was redesigned, partially as a result of British experience. Given the hull number of CC-1, Lexington was laid down on 8 January 1921 by Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, before the Washington Naval Conference concluded, the ships construction was suspended in February 1922, when she was 24.2 percent complete. She was re-designated and re-authorized as a carrier on 1 July 1922. Her displacement was reduced by a total of 4,000 long tons, the main armor belt was retained, but was reduced in height to save weight. The general line of the hull remained unaltered, as did the torpedo system, because they had already been built. The ship had a length of 888 feet, a beam of 106 feet
16.
NAS Pensacola
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Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola, The Cradle of Naval Aviation, is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits. Because of contamination by metals and other hazardous materials during this history. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps and U. S. Coast Guard, the NATTC facility at NAS Pensacola is also home to the USAF Detachment 1, a GSU whose home unit is the 359th TRS located at Eglin AFB. Detachment 1 trains over 800 Airmen annually in three structural maintenance disciplines, Low Observable, Non-Destructive Inspection, and Aircraft Structural Maintenance. TRAWING SIX consists of the Training Squadron 4 Warbucks, Training Squadron 10 Wildcats and Training Squadron 86 Sabrehawks, flying the T-45C Goshawk, the 479 FTG is a tenant activity at NAS Pensacola and a geographically separated unit of the 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph AFB, Texas. The 479 FTG operates USAF T-6A Texan II and T-1A Jayhawk aircraft, a total of 131 aircraft operate out of Sherman Field, generating 110,000 flight operations each year. The site now occupied by NAS Pensacola has been controlled by varying nations, in 1559, Spanish explorer Don Tristan de Luna founded a colony on Santa Rosa Island, considered the first European settlement of the Pensacola area. The Spanish built the wooden Fort San Carlos de Austria on this bluff in 1697-1698, although besieged by Indians in 1707, the fort was not taken. Spain was competing in North America with the French, who settled lower Louisiana, the French destroyed this fort when they captured Pensacola in 1719. After Great Britain defeated the French in the Seven Years War and exchanging some territory with Spain, British colonists took over this site, in 1781, as an ally of the American rebels during the American Revolutionary War, the Spanish captured Pensacola. Britain ceded West Florida to Spain following the war, the Spanish completed the fort San Carlos de Barrancas in 1797. Barranca is a Spanish word for bluff, the natural feature that makes this location ideal for the fortress. Pensacola was taken by General Andrew Jackson in November 1814 during the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States, British forces destroyed Fort San Carlos as they swept through the area. The Spanish remained in control of the region until 1821, when the Adams-Onís Treaty confirmed the purchase of Spanish Florida by the United States, in 1825, the US designated this area for the Pensacola Navy Yard was designated and Congress appropriated $6,000 for a lighthouse. Operational that year, it is said to be haunted by a light keeper murdered by his wife, Fort Barrancas was rebuilt, 1839-1844, the U. S. Army deactivating it on 15 April 1947. Designated a National Historic Site in 1960, control of the site was transferred to the National Park Service in 1971, after extensive restoration during 1971-1980, Fort Barrancas was opened to the public. Navy captains William Bainbridge, Lewis Warrington, and James Biddle selected the site on Pensacola Bay, Construction began in April 1826, and the Pensacola Navy Yard, also known as the Warrington Navy Yard, became one of the best equipped naval stations in the country. Pensacola Navy Yard was built with enslaved labor, Captain Lewis Warrington The first Commandant of the Pensacola Navy Yard complained to the Board of Navy Commissioners “neither laborers nor mechanics are to be obtained here
17.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
18.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
19.
Battle of the Coral Sea
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The battle was the first action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other, as well as the first in which neither sides ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. Fletcher, to oppose the Japanese offensive, on 3–4 May, Japanese forces successfully invaded and occupied Tulagi, although several of their supporting warships were surprised and sunk or damaged by aircraft from the US fleet carrier Yorktown. Now aware of the presence of US carriers in the area, beginning on 7 May, the carrier forces from the two sides exchanged airstrikes over two consecutive days. The first day, the US sank the Japanese light carrier Shōhō, while the Japanese sank a US destroyer, the next day, the Japanese fleet carrier Shōkaku was heavily damaged, the US fleet carrier Lexington was critically damaged, and the Yorktown was damaged. With both sides having suffered losses in aircraft and carriers damaged or sunk, the two fleets disengaged and retired from the battle area. Because of the loss of air cover, Inoue recalled the Port Moresby invasion fleet. Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, the battle marked the first time since the start of the war that a major Japanese advance had been checked by the Allies. The severe losses in carriers at Midway prevented the Japanese from reattempting to invade Port Moresby from the ocean, on 7 December 1941, using aircraft carriers, Japan attacked the U. S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the attack destroyed or crippled most of the U. S. Pacific Fleets battleships and brought the United States into the war, in launching this war, Japanese leaders sought to neutralize the American fleet, seize territory rich in natural resources, and obtain strategic military bases to defend their far-flung empire. At the same time that they were attacking Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked Malaya, causing Britain, Australia, Japan planned to use these conquered territories to establish a perimeter defense for its empire from which it expected to employ attritional tactics to defeat or exhaust any Allied counterattacks. The Imperial Japanese Army, however, rejected the recommendation, stating that it did not have the forces or shipping capacity available to such an operation. Inoue believed the capture and control of these locations would provide greater security, in April 1942, the army and navy developed a plan that was titled Operation MO. The plan called for Port Moresby to be invaded from the ocean, upon the completion of MO, the navy planned to initiate Operation RY, using ships released from MO, to seize Nauru and Ocean Island for their phosphate deposits on 15 May. Further operations against Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia were to be planned once MO, Inoue was especially worried about Allied bombers stationed at air bases in Townsville and Cooktown, Australia, beyond the range of his own bombers located at Rabaul and Lae. By March 1942, the U. S. was able to decipher up to 15% of the IJNs Ro or Naval Codebook D code which was used by the IJN for approximately half of its communications. By the end of April the Americans were reading up to 85% of the signals broadcast in the Ro code, in March 1942, the U. S. first noticed mention of the MO operation in intercepted messages. On 5 April, the Americans intercepted an IJN message directing a carrier and other warships to proceed to Inoues area of operations
20.
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
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In similar fashion to the battles of Coral Sea, Midway, and the Eastern Solomons, the ships of the two adversaries were rarely in direct visual range of each other. Instead, almost all attacks by both sides were mounted by carrier or land-based aircraft, in support of this offensive, and with the hope of engaging Allied naval forces, Japanese carriers and other large warships moved into a position near the southern Solomon Islands. From this location, the Japanese naval forces hoped to engage and decisively defeat any Allied naval forces, especially carrier forces, Allied naval forces also hoped to meet the Japanese naval forces in battle, with the same objectives of breaking the stalemate and decisively defeating their adversary. After an exchange of air attacks, Allied surface ships were forced to retreat from the battle area with one carrier sunk. The participating Japanese carrier forces, however, also retired because of high aircraft, the high casualties for the Japanese prevented their carrier forces from further significant involvement in the battle for Guadalcanal, contributing to the eventual Allied victory in that campaign. On 7 August 1942, Allied forces landed on Japanese-occupied Guadalcanal, Tulagi, the landings on the islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as bases for threatening the supply routes between the U. S. The landings initiated the six-month-long Guadalcanal campaign. S, carrier task forces remained in the South Pacific area. The area of ocean in which the U. S. carrier task forces operated was known as Torpedo Junction by U. S. forces because of the concentration of Japanese submarines in the area. On 31 August, USS Saratoga was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-26 and was out of action for three months for repairs, with power knocked out from torpedo damage, Wasps damage-control teams were unable to contain the ensuing large fires, and she was abandoned and scuttled. Although the U. S. However, at night, when aircraft were not able to operate effectively, by mid-October, both sides had roughly an equal number of troops on the island. The stalemate was interrupted by two large-ship naval actions. On the night of 11/12 October, a U. S. naval force intercepted and defeated a Japanese naval force en route to bombard Henderson Field in the Battle of Cape Esperance. Although still marginally operational, it several weeks for the airfield to recover from the damage. At this time, the U. S. made two moves to try to break the stalemate in the battle for Guadalcanal, first, repairs to Enterprise were expedited so that she could return to the South Pacific as soon as possible. Nimitz felt that Ghormley had become too myopic and pessimistic to lead Allied forces effectively in the struggle for Guadalcanal, Halsey was reportedly respected throughout the U. S. naval fleet as a fighter. Upon assuming command, Halsey immediately began making plans to draw the Japanese naval forces into a battle, writing to Nimitz, the Japanese Combined Fleet was also seeking to draw Allied naval forces into what was hoped to be a decisive battle. Two fleet carriers—Hiyō and Junyō—and one light carrier—Zuihō—arrived at the main Japanese naval base at Truk Atoll from Japan in early October, from 20–25 October, Japanese land forces on Guadalcanal attempted to capture Henderson Field with a large-scale attack against U. S. troops defending the airfield. However, the attack was defeated with heavy casualties for the Japanese during the Battle for Henderson Field
21.
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
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The action consisted of combined air and sea engagements over four days, most near Guadalcanal and all related to a Japanese effort to reinforce land forces on the island. The only two U. S. Navy admirals to be killed in an engagement in the war were lost in this battle. Allied forces, primarily from the U. S. had landed on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942 and seized an airfield, later called Henderson Field, that was under construction by the Japanese military. There were several subsequent attempts by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, using reinforcements delivered to Guadalcanal by ship, to recapture the airfield, which ultimately failed. In early November 1942, the Japanese organized a convoy to take 7,000 infantry troops. Several Japanese warship forces were assigned to bombard Henderson Field with the goal of destroying Allied aircraft that posed a threat to the convoy. Learning of the Japanese reinforcement effort, U. S. forces launched aircraft and warship attacks to defend Henderson Field, in the resulting battle, both sides lost numerous warships in two extremely destructive surface engagements at night. Nevertheless, the U. S. succeeded in turning back attempts by the Japanese to bombard Henderson Field with battleships, Allied aircraft also sank most of the Japanese troop transports and prevented the majority of the Japanese troops and equipment from reaching Guadalcanal. The Japanese had occupied Tulagi in May 1942 and began constructing an airfield on Guadalcanal in June 1942, by nightfall on 8 August, the 11,000 Allied troops secured Tulagi, the nearby small islands, and a Japanese airfield under construction at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal. Allied aircraft operating out of Henderson were called the Cactus Air Force after the Allied code name for Guadalcanal, to protect the airfield, the U. S. Marines established a defense around Lunga Point. Additional reinforcements over the two months increased the number of U. S. troops at Lunga Point to more than 20,000 men. Units of the 17th Army began to arrive on Guadalcanal on 19 August, because of the threat by CAF aircraft based at Henderson Field, the Japanese were unable to use large, slow transport ships to deliver troops and supplies to the island. Instead, they used warships based at Rabaul and the Shortland Islands and these high-speed warship runs to Guadalcanal occurred throughout the campaign and came to be known as the Tokyo Express by Allied forces and Rat Transportation by the Japanese. The first Japanese attempt to recapture Henderson Field failed when a 917-man force was defeated on 21 August in the Battle of the Tenaru. The next attempt took place from 12–14 September, ending in the defeat of the 6,000 men under the command of Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi at the Battle of Edsons Ridge. In October, the Japanese again tried to recapture Henderson Field by delivering 15,000 more men—mainly from the Armys 2nd Infantry Division—to Guadalcanal. In addition to delivering the troops and their equipment by Tokyo Express runs, the next Imperial attempt to retake the island with the newly arrived troops occurred from 20–26 October and was defeated with heavy losses in the Battle for Henderson Field
22.
Distinguished Service Medal (United States Navy)
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The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919. The medal is presented to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United States while serving in a duty or position of great responsibility. The award is the Navy and Marine Corps equivalent to the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal was originally senior to the Navy Cross, until August 1942 when the precedence of the two decorations was reversed. Currently, it is worn after the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, at the start of World War I, the Navy had the Medal of Honor as the only decoration with which to recognize heroism. The law made the award retroactive to 6 April 1917, the first award of the decoration was a posthumous presentation to Brigadier General Charles A. Doyen, USMC, on 13 March 1919. Originally, senior in precedence to the Navy Cross, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal assumed its current place below the Navy Cross by congressional action on 7 August 1942. To justify this decoration, exceptional performance of duty must be clearly above that normally expected, generally, the Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to officers in principal commands at sea, or in the field, whose service is of a manner to justify the award. However, this does not preclude the award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to any individual who meets the service requirements, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a gilt bronze medallion 1.25 inches in diameter. The obverse of the medal depicts an American bald eagle in the center displaying its wings, the eagle holds an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left talons. The eagle is surrounded by an enameled ring with the words, • UNITED • STATES • OF • AMERICA • at the top. Surrounding the blue ring is a gold border of scroll waves depicted moving in a clockwise direction. The medal is surmounted by a white five-pointed star, point up, in the center of the star is a blue anchor, while gold rays radiate between the arms of the star. The reverse of the medal depicts a trident surrounded by a laurel wreath, the wreath is surrounded by a blue enamel ring containing the inscription FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE. Like the obverse, the blue ring on the reverse is surrounded by scroll waves. The medals suspension and service ribbon is blue with a single central stripe of yellow. Additional awards of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal are denoted by gold and silver 5/16 inch stars worn on the medals suspension, awards and decorations of the United States military
23.
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
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Two of the airmen died in a mid-air collision trying to land at Buenos Aires on February 26,1927, and received their awards posthumously. Since the award had only authorized by Congress the previous year, no medals had yet been struck. Among the ten airmen were Major Herbert A. Dargue, Captains Ira C, eaker and Muir S. Fairchild, and 1st Lt. Ennis C. The medal had hurriedly been struck and readied just for that occasion, numerous military recipients of the medal would later earn greater fame in other occupations—a number of astronauts, actors, and politicians have been Distinguished Flying Cross recipients. DFC awards could be retroactive to cover notable achievements back until the beginning of World War I, on February 23,1929, Congress passed special legislation to allow the award of the DFC to the Wright brothers for their December 17,1903 flight. Other civilians who have received the award include Wiley Post, Jacqueline Cochran, Roscoe Turner, Amelia Earhart, Glenn H. Curtiss, eventually, it was limited to military personnel by an Executive Order. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to receive the DFC on July 29,1932 when it was presented to her by Vice President Charles Curtis in Los Angeles, Earhart received the decoration for her solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean earlier that year. During World War II the medals award criteria varied widely depending on the theater of operations, aerial combat, in the Pacific oftentimes commissioned officers were awarded the DFC, while enlisted men were given the Air Medal. In Europe some crews, often received it for performances throughout a tour of duty, during wartime, members of the Armed Forces of friendly foreign nations serving with the United States are eligible for the Distinguished Flying Cross. It is also given to those who display heroism while working as instructors or students at flying schools, Colonel Francis S. Gabby Gabreski, USAF, received 13 Distinguished Flying Crosses—the most earned by any individual. He is followed by Admiral Stan Arthur, USN, with 11 DFCs, during the Vietnam War high ranking Army officers often received the DFC for directing combat operations from aircraft. The Distinguished Flying Cross was authorized by Section 12 of the Air Corps Act enacted by the United States Congress on July 2,1926, as amended by Executive Order 7786 on January 8,1938. ”The Distinguished Flying Cross was designed by Elizabeth Will and Arthur E. DuBois. The medal is a cross pattee, on whose obverse is superimposed a four-bladed propeller,1 11/16 inches in width. Five rays extend from the reentrant angles, forming a one-inch square, the reverse is blank, it is suitable for engraving the recipients name and rank. The cross is suspended from a rectangular bar, the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps may authorize the V device for wear on the DFC to denote valor in combat, Navy and Marine Corps, Combat V. The Army does not authorize the V Device to be worn on the DFC, in July 2014, the United States Senate passed the Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act. The act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 25,2014, in the movie Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian the character of Amelia Earhart mentions that she received the Flying Cross. The real life Amelia Earhart did, in fact, receive the Distinguished Flying Cross and was the first woman and civilian to do so
24.
Legion of Merit
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The Legion of Merit is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the seven uniformed services of the United States as well as to military and political figures of foreign governments. The Legion of Merit is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as an order and the only United States military decoration which may be issued in award degrees. The Legion of Merit is sixth in the order of precedence of U. S. military awards and is worn after the Defense Superior Service Medal, in contemporary use in the U. S. S. However, this degree was awarded by President Roosevelt to some Allied World War II theater commanders, Commander, Equivalent of a U. S. military chief of staff or higher position, but not to a head of state. Legionnaire, All recipients not included above, when the Legion of Merit is awarded to members of the Uniformed Services of the United States, it is awarded without reference to degree. The performance must have such as to merit recognition of key individuals for service rendered in a clearly exceptional manner. Performance of duties normal to the grade, branch, specialty, or assignment, for service not related to actual war, the term key individual applies to a narrower range of positions than in time of war and requires evidence of significant achievement. In peacetime, service should be in the nature of a requirement or of an extremely difficult duty performed in an unprecedented. However, justification of the award may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a succession of important positions, the degrees and the design of the decoration were influenced by the French Legion of Honour. Although recommendations for creation of a Meritorious Service Medal were initiated as early as September 1937, no formal action was taken toward approval. Proposed designs prepared by Bailey, Banks and Biddle and the Office of the Quartermaster General were provided to Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel Colonel Heard) by the QMG on January 5,1942. The Assistant Chief of Staff, in a response to the QMG on April 3,1942, the design of the Legion of Merit would be ready for issue immediately after legislation authorizing it was enacted into law. The medal was announced in War Department Bulletin No, executive Order 9260, dated October 29,1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established the rules for the Legion of Merit and required the Presidents approval for the award. The Legion of Merit is similar to the French Legion of Honor in both its design, a five armed cross, and in that it is awarded in multiple degrees, unlike the Legion of Honor, however, the Legion of Merit is only awarded to military personnel. Additionally, it is the award in the world with multiple degrees of which the higher degrees cannot be awarded to citizens of the country of the awards origin. She received the award for her service during the defense of the Philippines, LTJG Bernatitus was also the first recipient of the Legion of Merit authorized to wear a Combat V with the medal. General Eisenhower was presented the Legion of Merit by President Roosevelt, while he was en route to the Tehran Conference, in Cairo, in 1943, at the request of Army Chief of Staff General George C
25.
Admiral
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Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually abbreviated to Adm or ADM, in the Commonwealth and the U. S. a full admiral is equivalent to a full general in the army, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet. In NATO, admirals have a code of OF-9 as a four-star rank. The word admiral in Middle English comes from Anglo-French amiral, commander, from Medieval Latin admiralis and these themselves come from Arabic amīr, or amīr al-, commander of, as in amīr al-baḥr, commander of the sea. The term was in use for the Greco-Arab naval leaders of Norman Sicily, the Norman Roger II of Sicily, employed a Greek Christian known as George of Antioch, who previously had served as a naval commander for several North African Muslim rulers. Roger styled George in Abbasid fashion as Amir of Amirs, i. e. Commander of Commanders, the Sicilians and later Genoese took the first two parts of the term and used them as one word, amiral, from their Aragon opponents. The French and Spanish gave their sea commanders similar titles while in Portuguese the word changed to almirante, the word admiral has today come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest naval rank in most of the worlds navies, equivalent to the army rank of general. However, this wasnt always the case, for example, in some European countries prior to the end of World War II, admiral was the third highest naval rank after general admiral and grand admiral. The rank of admiral has also been subdivided into various grades, the Royal Navy used colours to indicate seniority of its admirals until 1864, for example, Horatio Nelsons highest rank was vice admiral of the white. The generic term for these naval equivalents of army generals is flag officer, some navies have also used army-type titles for them, such as the Cromwellian general at sea. Admiral is a German Navy OF-9 four-star flag officer rank, equivalent to the German Army, see also Post-WWII rank is Bakurocho or Chief of Staff, Joint Staff 幕僚長 with limited function as an advisory staff to Minister of Defense, compared to Gensui during 1872–1873 and 1898–1945. Admiral of Castile was a post with a long and important history in Spain
26.
Aircraft pilot
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A pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Other aircrew members such as attendants, mechanics and ground crew, are not classified as aviators. In recognition of the qualifications and responsibilities, most militaries and many airlines worldwide award aviator badges to their pilots. The first recorded use of the aviator was in 1887, as a variation of aviation, from the Latin avis. The term aviatrix, now archaic, was used for a female aviator. These terms were used more in the days of aviation, when airplanes were extremely rare. For example, a 1905 reference work described the Wright brothers first airplane, The weight, the Aéro-Club de France delivered the first certificate to Louis Blériot in 1908—followed by Glenn Curtiss, Léon Delagrange, and Robert Esnault-Pelterie. The absolute authority given to the pilot in command derives from that of a ships captain, when flying for an airline, pilots are usually referred to as airline pilots, with the pilot in command often referred to as the captain. While the flight decks of U. S. and European airliners do have ex-military pilots, military training and flying, while rigorous, is fundamentally different in many ways from civilian piloting. Pilots licensing in Canada is similar to the United States, the Aeronautics Act of 1985 and Canadian Aviation Regulations provide rules for pilots in Canada. Retirement age is provided by each airline with some set to age 60, in 1930, the Air Commerce Act established pilot licensing requirements for American civil aviation. Commercial airline pilots in the United States have a retirement age of 65. Military pilots fly with the forces of a government or nation-state. Their tasks involve combat and non-combat operations, including direct hostile engagements, military pilots undergo specialized training, often with weapons. Examples of military pilots include fighter pilots, bomber pilots, transport pilots, military pilots also serve as flight crews on aircraft for government personnel, such as Air Force One and Air Force Two in the United States. Military pilots are trained with a different syllabus than civilian pilots and this is due to the different aircraft, flight goals, flight situations and chains of responsibility. Many military pilots do transfer to civilian-pilot qualification after they leave the military, the person controlling a remotely piloted UAV may be referred to as its pilot or operator. Most jurisdictions have restrictions on the use of UAVs which have limited their use in controlled airspace, UAVs have mostly been limited to military
27.
United States Naval Academy
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The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to historic sites, buildings. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. Candidates for admission generally must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a Member of Congress, students are officers-in-training and are referred to as midshipmen. Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation, approximately 1,200 plebes enter the Academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer, but only about 1,000 midshipmen graduate. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the according to starting salary. Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academys Honor Concept, the United States Naval Academys campus is located in Annapolis, Maryland, at the confluence of the Severn River and the Chesapeake Bay. In its 2016 edition, U. S. News & World Report ranked the U. S. Naval Academy as the No.1 public liberal arts college and tied for the 9th best overall liberal arts college in the U. S. In the category of High School Counselor Rankings of National Liberal Arts Colleges, Military Academy and the U. S. Air Force Academy, and is tied for the No.5 spot for Best Undergraduate Engineering program at schools where doctorates not offered. In 2016, Forbes ranked the U. S. Naval Academy as No.24 overall in its report Americas Top Colleges, nominations may be made by members of and delegates to Congress, the President or Vice-President, the Secretary of the Navy or certain other sources. Candidates must also pass a fitness test and a thorough medical exam as part of the application process. In the 21st century, there have been about 1,200 students in each new class of plebes, the U. S. government pays for tuition, room, and board. Midshipmen receive monthly pay of $1,017.00, as of 2015, from this amount, pay is automatically deducted for the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, services, and other miscellaneous expenses. Midshipmen only receive a portion of their pay in cash while the rest is released during firstie year. Midshipmen fourth-class to midshipmen second-class receive monthly stipends of $100, $200, $300, Midshipmen first-class receive the difference between pay and outstanding expenses. Students at the academy are addressed as Midshipman, an official military rank. The same term comprises both males and females, upon graduation, most naval academy midshipmen are commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps and serve a minimum of five years after their commissioning. If they are selected to serve as a pilot, they will serve 8–11 years minimum from their date of winging, Foreign midshipmen are commissioned into the armed forces of their native countries
28.
Saint Ignace, Michigan
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Saint Ignace, usually written as St. Ignace, is a city at the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula of the U. S. state of Michigan, bordering the Straits of Mackinac. The population was 2,452 at the 2010 census and it is the county seat of Mackinac County. For travelers coming from the Lower Peninsula, St. Ignace is the gateway to the part of the state. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, located in Michigans Upper Peninsula, St. Ignace is at the northern end of the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinaw City is the southern end. The bridge connects the Lower and the Upper peninsulas of Michigan, as of the 2010 census, nearly one-third of the population of the city identified as Native American. The Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians, a recognized tribe, is headquartered at St. Ignace. In addition, the federally recognized Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians owns and operates a casino on its land in St. Ignace, St. Ignace is the second-oldest city founded by Europeans in Michigan. Before French contact, various cultures of Native Americans had inhabited the area for thousands of years, early historic peoples here were predominantly the Iroquoian-speaking Wendat, whom the French called the Huron. By the early 18th century, the Anishinaabe Ojibwe, who one of the Algonquian languages. Another related Anishinaabe people were the Ottawa, the third member of the Council of Three Fires, a loose confederacy of these tribes, was the Potowatomi people. All three peoples are members of federally recognized tribes in northern Michigan. French explorer and priest Jacques Marquette founded the St. Ignace Mission on this site in 1671 and was buried there after his death and he named it for St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order, whose priests were active as missionaries across North America. Jesuits served at missions to convert First Nations/Native Americans to Catholicism, in 1673, Marquette joined the expedition of Louis Jolliet, a French-Canadian explorer, and departed from St. Ignace on August 27,1679. Louis de La Porte, Sieur de Louvigny founded Fort de Buade here in 1681 as a fur trading post and it was later directed by Antoine Cadillac. It was closed by the French in 1697, the Jesuits abandoned their mission in 1705. The Ojibwe, who came to dominate most of the territory of present-day Michigan in the 18th century among Native Americans, were allies of the French in the Seven Years War against the British. After the British victory in the Seven Years War, in 1763 they took over the territory of France in North America, including this part of the former New France
29.
Armored cruiser
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The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Varying in size, it was distinguished from other types of cruiser by its belt armor—thick iron plating on much of the hull to protect the ship from shellfire much like that on battleships. The first armored cruiser, the Imperial Russian Navys General-Admiral, was launched in 1873 and combined sail, by the 1890s cruisers had abandoned sail and took on a modern appearance. The invention of face-hardened armor in the mid-1890s offered effective protection with less weight than previously, at around the same time, the term light cruiser came into use for small cruisers with armored belts. Despite the fact they were now considered second-class ships, armored cruisers were used in World War I. A handful survived in one form or another until World War II, the armored cruiser was developed in the 1870s as an attempt to combine the virtues of the armored ironclad warship and the fast and long-ranged, but unarmored, cruisers of the time. Such a ship was desirable to protect trade and, especially for the French and British. Concern over obsolescence in official circles was fueled by the race between the increasing size of naval guns and of armor strong enough to withstand such fire. In 1860, one of the largest naval cannons in use had a bore of 8 inches. By 1884, guns with as wide a bore as 16.25 inches, firing an 1 and this gun could penetrate up to 34 inches of wrought iron, the earliest form of naval armor. These were muzzle-loading guns, as had been used on ships from the 1500s, breech-loading cannon, which were readopted into naval use in the 1870s, were more destructive than muzzle loaders due to their higher rate of fire. The development of rifled cannon, which improved accuracy, and advancements in shells were other factors, the adoption of rolled iron armor in 1865 and sandwich armor in 1870 gave ships a chance to withstand fire from larger guns. Both these protective schemes used wood as an important component, which made them heavy and limited speed. Powered by both sail and steam but without the weight of armor, these ships could reach speeds of up to 16 or 17 knots. The most powerful among them were the British Inconstant, the U. S. Navys Wampanoag, the British especially had hoped to rely on these vessels to serve the more distant reaches of its empire. Ship propulsion was improving but was taking time to develop. Naval engines in the 1860s were single-expansion types, in which steam was expanded into a cylinder, with greater efficiency came increasingly complex machinery and the larger potential for breakdown. By the 1870s, compound engines had become standard for warships, compounding by itself did not increase power or speed significantly, although it allowed for a much greater operating range
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USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4)
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The second USS Pennsylvania, also referred to as Armored Cruiser No. 4, and later renamed Pittsburgh, was a United States Navy armored cruiser and she visited Chile and Peru in 1910. On 18 January 1911, a plane flown by Eugene Ely from the Tanforan airfield in San Bruno and this was the first successful aircraft landing on a ship, and the first using a tailhook apparatus, thus opening the era of naval aviation and aircraft carriers. While in reserve at Puget Sound from 1 July 1911 –30 May 1913 and she was renamed Pittsburgh on 27 August 1912 to free the Pennsylvania name for a new battleship. Recommissioning, Pittsburgh patrolled the west coast of Mexico during the times of insurrection that led to American involvement with the Veracruz landing in April 1914. Later she served as flagship for Admiral William B, caperton—Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet—during South American patrols and visits during World War I. Cooperating with the British, she scouted German raiders and acted as a deterrent against their penetration of the eastern Pacific. Future Rear Admiral Ellis M. Zacharias served as an officer aboard Pittsburgh during World War I. Future Governor of American Samoa George Landenberger commanded the vessel, returning to the east coast, Pittsburgh prepared for duty as flagship for Commander, US Naval Forces in the eastern Mediterranean, for which she sailed from Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 19 June 1919. In June 1920, she sailed north to visit French and British ports, on 9 September 1920, she ran aground on rocks in the Baltic Sea off Libau. She was assisted by HMS Dauntless and Frederick, Frederick escorted her to Sheerness Royal Dockyard, Kent, before 12 October she had moved up river to Chatham Dockyard where she went into dry dock. On that date a team from Pittsburgh routed a team of British officers 21-8 at baseball, the following month, with Pittsburgh still in dry dock, a court martial absolved Captain Todd of blame for the grounding but the navigator and watch officer were held accountable. She returned to decommission at Philadelphia on 15 October 1921, recommissioned on 2 October 1922, Pittsburgh returned to European and Mediterranean waters as flagship of Naval Forces Europe, arriving in Gibraltar on 19 October. On 23 October, she hoisted the flag of Vice Admiral Long when Utah returned to the US, by 10 July 1923 Pittsburgh was in the harbor at Cherbourg, France, to disembark 3 officers and 60 enlisted men of her Marine Detachment. They were detailed to travel to the dedication of the Belleau Wood National Monument to the American Expeditionary Force, Belleau Wood was where the US Marine Corps made a famous stand during the Allied Campaign of 1918. Pittsburgh became flagship for two of the Commanders-in-Chief, US Naval Forces European Waters, Admiral Philip Andrews in 1924–1925 and she sailed on 16 October for Chefoo, arriving on 23 December. Early in January 1927, she landed sailors and Marines to protect Americans and other foreigners in Shanghai from the turmoil, when Chiang Kai-sheks National Revolutionary Army won control of Shanghai in March, Pittsburgh resumed patrol operations and exercises with the Asiatic Fleet. Six days later, she steamed for Suez en route to Hampton Roads and she was decommissioned on 10 July, and under the terms of the London Naval Treaty, sold for scrapping to Union Shipbuilding, Baltimore, Maryland on 21 December
31.
Torpedo boat
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A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and they were created to counter battleships and other slow and heavily armed ships by using speed, agility, and the power of their torpedo weapons. A number of torpedo boats attacking en masse could overwhelm a larger ships ability to fight them off using its large. The introduction of fast torpedo boats in the late 19th century was a concern to the eras naval strategists. In response, navies operating large ships introduced smaller ships to torpedo boats. The destroyer eventually became the predominant type of warship in the guided missile age. In the modern era, the old concept of a small, fast. The American Civil War saw a number of innovations in warfare, including an early type of torpedo boat. In 1861 President Lincoln instituted a blockade of Southern ports. The South also lacked the means to construct a fleet capable of taking on the Union Navy on even terms. One strategy to counter the blockade saw the development of torpedo boats, the David class of torpedo boats were steam powered with a partially enclosed hull. They were not true submarines but were semi-submersible, when ballasted, only the smokestack, the CSS Midge and CSS St. Patrick were David-class torpedo boats. The CSS Squib and CSS Scorpion represented another class of boats that were also low built but had open decks. The Confederate torpedo boats were armed with spar torpedoes and this was a charge of powder in a waterproof case, mounted to the bow of the torpedo boat below the water line on a long spar. The torpedo boat attacked by ramming her intended target, which stuck the torpedo to the ship by means of a barb on the front of the torpedo. The torpedo boat would back away to a distance and detonate the torpedo. In general, the Confederate torpedo boats were not very successful and their low sides made them susceptible to swamping in high seas, and even to having their boiler fires extinguished by spray from their own torpedo explosions. Torpedo misfires and duds were common, in 1864 Union Naval Lieutenant Cushing fitted a steam launch with a spar torpedo to attack the Confederate ironclad Albemarle
32.
USS Chauncey (DD-3)
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The first USS Chauncey was a Bainbridge-class destroyer, also referred to as a Torpedo-boat destroyer, in the United States Navy named for Commodore Isaac Chauncey. She was launched in 1901 and sunk in 1917, Chauncey was laid down at Neafie and Levy Ship and Engine Building Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 2 December 1899 as a member of the Bainbridge class, and was launched on 26 October 1901. Chauncey was 249 ft 9 7⁄8 in long overall and 244 ft 2 7⁄8 in at the waterline, with a beam of 23 ft 5 in and a draft of 6 ft 6 in. As the Bainbridge class was intended to be more seaworthy than the US Navys torpedo boats, design displacement was 420 long tons and 631 long tons full load, although all ships of the class were overweight. Four Thornycroft boilers fed steam at 250 psi to triple expansion engines rated at 8,000 ihp driving two shafts for a design speed of 28 kn. Armament consisted of two 3-inch /50 caliber guns, five 6-pounder guns and two 18-inch torpedo tubes, Chauncey was placed in reduced commission on 20 November 1902, then placed in reserve on 2 December 1902 and received full commission on 21 February 1903. Lieutenant Stanford Elwood Moses was placed in command and Chauncey reported to the Atlantic Fleet, Chauncey served with the Coast Squadron until 20 September 1903, when she was transferred to the Asiatic Fleet and left Key West for the Orient on 18 December. After sailing by way of the Suez Canal, she arrived at Cavite to join the force representing US interest in the Far East as it cruised in the Philippines during winters and off China during summers. Aside from the period of 3 December 1905 –12 January 1907, the destroyer sailed from Cavite on 1 August 1917 for convoy escort duty in the eastern Atlantic, based at St. Nazaire, France. On 19 November, while about 110 mi west of Gibraltar on escort duty, seventy survivors were picked up by Rose, and carried to port. The novel Delilah was written by a survivor of Chauncey, Marcus Goodrich, ensign Joseph Rollie Defrees Lieutenant Frank Jack Fletcher - Fletcher-class destroyer named for him Citations
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Ensign (rank)
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Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in a regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag. This rank has generally replaced in army ranks by second lieutenant. Ensigns were generally the lowest ranking commissioned officer, except where the rank of subaltern existed. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, لواء, liwa, derives from the command of units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is today the equivalent of a major general. Ensign is enseigne in French, and chorąży in Polish, each of which derives from a term for a flag, the Spanish alférez and Portuguese alferes is a junior officer rank below lieutenant associated with carrying the flag, and so is often translated as ensign. Unlike the rank in other languages, its etymology has nothing to do with flags, in the German Landsknecht armies, the equivalent rank of a Cornet existed for those men who carried the troop standard. It is still used in the artillery and cavalry divisions of the Netherlands, the NATO rank code is OF-1. In Argentina, the rank of ensign is used by both the air force and the gendarmerie and it is, however, used differently in the two services. The air force uses the rank for newly qualified officers, while the gendarmerie uses ensign ranks as an equivalent for the armys lieutenant ranks, the other armed forces of Argentina have ranks equivalent to ensign, subteniente in the army and guardiamarina in the navy. In the army, the most junior sublieutenant in a regiment is also the flag carrier, during the Ancien Régime in France, as in other countries, the ensign was the banner of an infantry regiment. As in other countries, the name began to be used for the officers who carried the ensign and it was renamed sub-lieutenant at the end of the 18th century. The Navy used a rank of ensign, which was the first officer rank. It was briefly renamed ship-of-the-line sub-lieutenant in the end of the 18th century, nowadays, the rank is still used in the Marine Nationale, Ship-of-the-line ensign is the name of the two lowest officer ranks Both ranks of ensign use the style lieutenant. However, French-Canadian sub-lieutenants use the form of enseigne instead of lieutenant. The rank ensign is used to refer to second lieutenants in household regiments of the Canadian Army. Fähnrich which has a parallel etymology to ensign, containing the corresponding German word stem of flag in it, is a German, the word Fähnrich comes from an older German military title, Fahnenträger, and first became a distinct military rank on 1 January 1899. The German Fähnrich is a non-commissioned officer promoted from the rank of Fahnenjunker or Seekadett, Fähnrich is equivalent to Feldwebel, but with additional responsibilities as an officer cadet
34.
USS Rainbow
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USS Rainbow was the only ship in the United States Navy by that name. The ship was converted to a distilling ship in 1898. Rainbow was built in 1890 as the merchant ship Norse King by James Laing at Sunderland, England, Rainbow was commissioned in full on 2 December 1901, Comdr. S. A. Stanton in command, and was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet. En route to the Philippines, she sailed via Gibraltar for the Suez Canal, calling at Palermo, Sicily, Port Said, Egypt, Colombo, Ceylon, and Singapore before arriving at Cavite on 3 April 1902. Rainbow, as flagship of the Philippine Squadron, remained in the Philippines, with only runs to Hong Kong for repairs. Her range was expanded from an annual circuit among Philippine ports to include visits to various Japanese ports, and in November 1907. Then, designated tender to the First Torpedo Flotilla, she alternated between the China coast and the Philippines until pressed into service as a transport in 1911, saratoga relieved Rainbow as Asiatic Fleet flagship on 10 April 1912. Rainbow then proceeded to Whampoa where she became the flagship of the China Squadron on 13 April and she supported Marine expeditionary forces on the China coast until 30 August 1912, when she sailed from Chefoo for repairs at Olongapo, Philippine Islands. Rainbow shifted from Olongapo to Cavite on 8 October 1912 and served there as flagship for the Commander-in-Chief. She departed Cavite on 7 November 1912, bound by way of Woosung, Shanghai, and she arrived at Nanking on 20 November and sailed 10 days later to cruise with the American ambassador to the ports of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Swatow, Amoy, and Woosung. She departed Woosung on 28 December 1912, investigating the landing facilities at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines before being repaired at Olongapo in January 1913. Rainbow shifted from Olongapo to Cavite on 26 January 1913 and remained in the Philippines until 28 March when she set course for the coast of China. She transferred stores and men to Piscataqua at Woosung, then served as a ship at Shanghai until 4 November 1913. After calling at Olongapo, she proceeded to Manila, embarked the Commander-in-Chief for transport to Shanghai, Rainbow resumed station ship duty at Cavite on 22 January 1914. She again became flagship of the Commander-in-Chief at Cavite on 1 March 1914. She departed Manila Bay on 16 July 1914, taking refuge from a storm in Lingayen Gulf the 18th, before proceeding to survey the French Frigate Shoals and she arrived at Honolulu 12 August, basing there for further survey work off the French Frigate Shoals until 14 November 1914. She then set course for San Francisco, arriving 24 November 1914 and she decommissioned in the Mare Island Navy Yard on 24 December 1914
35.
USS Concord (PG-3)
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USS Concord was a member of the Yorktown class of steel-hulled, twin-screw gunboats in the United States Navy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the second U. S. Navy ship named in honor of the town of Concord, Massachusetts, the contract to build Concord was awarded to N. F. Palmer & Co. of Philadelphia in the 1888 fiscal year. Her hull was subcontracted to the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works which laid down her keel in May 1888, Concord was launched in March 1890. She was just over 244 feet long and 36 feet abeam and she was equipped with two steam engines which were supplemented with three schooner-rigged masts. The ships main battery consisted of six 6-inch guns and was augmented by an assortment of smaller caliber guns, after her 1891 commissioning, Concord spent the next few years sailing along the East Coast, in the West Indies, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Concord cruised on the Asiatic Station—interrupted only by a stint on the Alaskan sealing patrol—from 1893 until May 1896. After the battle, Concord supported United States Army operations in the Philippines in the Philippine–American War, for the rest of her active career, Concord patrolled off the Mexican and Alaskan coasts and served on the Yangtze Patrol. Concord was authorized in the 1888 fiscal year, and the contract for her construction was awarded to N. F. Palmer & Co. of Chester, Pennsylvania. The hull for Concord was sublet by Palmer to the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works and built to the Navys Bureau of Construction, the mechanical design was patterned after the layout for older sister ship Yorktown developed by William Cramp & Sons. Concords keel was laid down in May 1888, and the ship was launched on 8 March 1890, sponsored by Minnie Darlington Coates, the daughter of Major Joseph R. T. Coates, among those in attendance at the launch ceremony was sculptor Daniel Chester French. As built, Concord was 244 feet 5 inches in length and 36 feet abeam and her steel hull had an average draft of 14 feet, which was expected to give her the ability to escape from larger ships into shallow water. At the waterline was a deck of ⅜-inch steel that formed a watertight seal over the lower spaces. The deck had a crown at the level of the waterline, below this armored deck were twelve compartments separated by watertight bulkheads, the spaces above were equipped with watertight doors intended to be closed during battle. Above the armored deck, Concord had forecastle and poop decks with a gun deck that spanned the length of the ship between them. The conning tower was located forward on the deck and was oval-shaped to deflect shot. It was outfitted with a steering wheel, a telegraph. Concord was powered by two steam engines which each drove one of the pair of 10. 5-foot, three-bladed screw propellers. The cylinders of each engine were 22,31, and 51 inches in diameter and had a 30-inch stroke, each engine was rated at 3,400 indicated horsepower and together were designed to move the ship at 16 knots, though the ship exceeded that in her trials
36.
Torpedo
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Historically, it was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive or fish torpedo, colloquially called a fish. The term torpedo was originally employed for a variety of devices, from about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate an underwater self-propelled weapon. Todays torpedoes can be divided into lightweight and heavyweight classes, and into straight-running, autonomous homers and they can be launched from a variety of platforms. The word torpedo comes from the name of a genus of rays in the order Torpediniformes. In naval usage, the American Robert Fulton introduced the name to refer to a gunpowder charge used by his French submarine Nautilus to demonstrate that it could sink warships. The concept of a torpedo existed many centuries before it was successfully developed. In 1275, Hasan al-Rammah described. an egg which moves itself, in modern language, a torpedo is an underwater self-propelled explosive, —but historically, the term also applied to primitive naval mines. These were used on an ad hoc basis during the modern period up to the late 19th century. An early submarine, the Turtle, attempted to lay a bomb with a fuse on the hull of HMS Eagle during the American Revolutionary War. In the early 1800s, the American inventor Robert Fulton, while in France and he coined the term torpedo in reference to the explosive charges he outfitted his submarine Nautilus. However, both the French and the Dutch governments were uninterested in the submarine, Fulton then concentrated on developing the torpedo independent of a submarine deployment. However, the British government refused to purchase the invention, stating they did not wish to introduce into naval warfare a system that would give advantage to weaker maritime nations. Fulton carried out a demonstration for the US government on 20 July 1807. Further development languished as Fulton focused on his steam-boat matters, during the War of 1812, torpedoes were employed in attempts to destroy British vessels and protect American harbors. In fact a submarine deployed torpedo was used in an attempt to destroy HMS Ramillies while in New Londons harbor. Hardy to warn the Americans to cease efforts with the use of any boat in this cruel and unheard-of warfare. Torpedoes were used by the Russian Empire during the Crimean War in 1855 against British warships in the Gulf of Finland and they used an early form of chemical detonator. During the American Civil War, the torpedo was used for what is today called a contact mine
37.
Naval Undersea Warfare Center
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One of the corporate laboratories of the Naval Sea Systems Command, NUWC is headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island, and has two major subordinate activities — Division Newport and Division Keyport. NUWC also controls the Fox Island Facility and Gould Island, NUWC employs more than 4,400 civilian and military personnel, with budgets of over US$1 billion. In 1869 the U. S. Naval Torpedo Station was founded in Newport on Goat Island, the United States Army adopted the Navy formulation in 1908 and began manufacture at Picatinny Arsenal. A factory was built in 1907 to manufacture steam torpedoes for the United States Navy, the torpedo factory became a major employer in the Newport area as Rhode Island congressmen protected the factory from competition. The Torpedo Station designed the Mark VI magnetic influence fuze for torpedoes during the 1920s, fuze design and production was undertaken in great secrecy for the newly designed Mark 14 torpedo. Economies of the Great Depression limited torpedo production and prevented adequate testing of either the Mark 14 torpedo or the new Mark VI fuze, skilled craftsmen at the torpedo factory unknowingly produced a nonfunctional design. Newports torpedo factory was unable to produce enough torpedoes to match combat use through the first year of World War II, Newport Torpedo Stations unjustified confidence in their precision-crafted torpedoes delayed recognition of problems being reported by submarines using the torpedoes in combat. Testing which might have been completed at the Torpedo Station was less effectively undertaken by operational submarines. Acknowledgement of inaccurate depth settings was delayed until August 1942, the Naval Torpedo Station researched and tested underwater weaponry through World War I and World War II creating additional facilities on Rose Island, Fox Island and Gould Island. In 1951 the station on Goat Island was reorganized, For the next 15 years, it was the Underwater Ordnance Station and that year, the Underwater Sound Laboratory from New London, Conn. was combined with the Newport facility to form the Naval Underwater Systems Center or NUSC. In 1992, the command was reorganized as the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the Connecticut office concentrated on passive sonar systems and devices while the Massachusetts office developed active systems and devices. Significant accomplishments during World War II included the development of greatly improved surface ship and submarine sonar systems, acoustic homing torpedoes, sonobuoys, and acoustic mines. This work contributed greatly to the success against U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic, also in 1941 the United States Navy established the Underwater Sound Reference Laboratory in Orlando, Florida. The lab was built on the site of Fort Gatlin on the shore of Lake Gem Mary because the sinkhole-formed lake is very deep. The Orlando lab closed in 1997 and the building was turned over to civil administration thereafter. By 1946, the efforts of the Harvard and Columbia labs were combined at Fort Trumbull as the Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory under the Navys Bureau of Ships. Research intensified during the Cold War, which was as much a race with the Soviets as it was an arms race. The Sound Labs efforts were key to the development of both submarine and anti-submarine warfare
38.
Newport, Rhode Island
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Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The City of Newport is located approximately 37 miles southeast of Providence,21 miles south of Fall River and it is known as a New England summer resort and famous for its mansions. It was a major 18th-century port city and also contains a number of surviving buildings from the colonial era of the United States. The city is the county seat of Newport County and it was known for being the city of some of the Summer White Houses during the administrations of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. The population was 24,027 as of 2013 and its eight founders and first officers were Nicholas Easton, William Coddington, John Clarke, John Coggeshall, William Brenton, Jeremy Clark, Thomas Hazard, and Henry Bull. They left Portsmouth, Rhode Island after a fallout with Anne Hutchinson. As part of the agreement, Coddington and his followers took control of the side of the island. They were soon joined by Nicholas Easton, who had recently expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony for holding heretical beliefs. The settlement grew to be the largest of the four settlements of Rhode Island. Many of the first colonists in Newport became Baptists, and the second Baptist congregation in Rhode Island was formed in 1640 under the leadership of John Clarke, peace did not last long in Newport, as many did not like Coddingtons autocratic style. As a result, a counter-faction was formed by 1650, led by Nicholas Easton, Newport became the most important port in colonial Rhode Island, and a public school was established in 1640. In 1658, a group of Jews were allowed to settle in Newport who were fleeing the Inquisition in Spain, the Newport congregation is now referred to as Congregation Jeshuat Israel and is the second-oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. It meets in Touro Synagogue, the oldest standing synagogue in the United States, in 1663, the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations received its Royal Charter, and Benedict Arnold was elected its first Governor at Newport. The commercial activity which raised Newport to its fame as a port was begun by a second wave of Portuguese Jews who settled there about the middle of the 18th century. They brought with them experience and connections, capital. Most prominent among those were Jacob Rodrigues Rivera who arrived in 1745, Rivera introduced into America the manufacture of sperm oil, which became one of the leading industries and made Newport rich. Newports inhabitants who were engaged in whaling developed 17 manufactories of oil and candles, Aaron Lopez fled to Newport from Lisbon in 1752 and is credited with making Newport an important center of trade. To him in a degree than to any one else was due the rapid commercial development which made Newport for a quarter of a century afterward the most formidable rival of New York
39.
USS Montgomery (C-9)
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The fourth USS Montgomery, the lead ship of her class, was an unprotected cruiser in the United States Navy authorized in the Naval Appropriations Act of September 7,1888. Montgomery served during the Spanish–American War and in World War I and was named for Montgomery, assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, the new cruiser operated along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean. During the Spanish-American War, she cruised near Cuba and Haiti in April 1898 and she took two prizes, Lorenzo and Frasquito,5 May, and shelled the Spanish forts a week later. On 13 June a 280mm Krupp gun at the Santa Clara Battery fired on Montgomery, at a range of 9,000 meters, apparently without effect. Recommissioned 15 May 1902, she was assigned to the Caribbean Division, North Atlantic Squadron, Montgomery recommissioned 2 January 1908 and operated in the 5th Naval District as a torpedo experimental ship. From 1914 to 1918 she served with the Maryland Naval Militia, renamed Anniston 14 March 1918, she was assigned to Division 2, American Patrol Detachment, for patrol and escort duty along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean. Decommissioning at Charleston, South Carolina,16 May 1918, Anniston was struck from the Navy list 25 August 1919 and this article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here, photo gallery of USS Montgomery at NavSource Naval History
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Battleship
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A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the battleship was the most powerful type of warship, the word battleship was coined around 1794 and is a contraction of the phrase line-of-battle ship, the dominant wooden warship during the Age of Sail. The term came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ironclad warship. In 1906, the commissioning of HMS Dreadnought heralded a revolution in battleship design, subsequent battleship designs, influenced by HMS Dreadnought, were referred to as dreadnoughts. Battleships were a symbol of naval dominance and national might, the launch of Dreadnought in 1906 commenced a new naval arms race. Jutland was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war, the Naval Treaties of the 1920s and 1930s limited the number of battleships, though technical innovation in battleship design continued. The value of the battleship has been questioned, even during their heyday, there were few of the decisive fleet battles that battleship proponents expected, and used to justify the vast resources spent on building battlefleets. Battleships were retained by the United States Navy into the Cold War for fire support purposes before being stricken from the U. S. Naval Vessel Register in the 2000s. A ship of the line was a large, unarmored wooden sailing ship which mounted a battery of up to 120 smoothbore guns, from 1794, the alternative term line of battle ship was contracted to battle ship or battleship. The sheer number of guns fired broadside meant a sail battleship could wreck any wooden enemy, holing her hull, knocking down masts, wrecking her rigging, and killing her crew. However, the range of the guns was as little as a few hundred yards. The first major change to the ship of the concept was the introduction of steam power as an auxiliary propulsion system. Steam power was introduced to the navy in the first half of the 19th century, initially for small craft. The French Navy introduced steam to the line of battle with the 90-gun Napoléon in 1850—the first true steam battleship, Napoléon was armed as a conventional ship-of-the-line, but her steam engines could give her a speed of 12 knots, regardless of the wind condition. This was a decisive advantage in a naval engagement. The introduction of steam accelerated the growth in size of battleships, the adoption of steam power was only one of a number of technological advances which revolutionized warship design in the 19th century. The ship of the line was overtaken by the ironclad, powered by steam, protected by metal armor, and armed with guns firing high-explosive shells. In the Crimean War, six ships and two frigates of the Russian Black Sea Fleet destroyed seven Turkish frigates and three corvettes with explosive shells at the Battle of Sinop in 1853
41.
USS Delaware (BB-28)
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USS Delaware was a dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. She was laid down at Newport News Shipbuilding in November 1907, launched in January 1909 and she was also the first battleship of the US Navy to be capable of steaming at full speed for 24 continuous hours without suffering a breakdown. Delaware served in the Atlantic Fleet throughout her career, during World War I, she sailed to Great Britain to reinforce the British Grand Fleet, in the 6th Battle Squadron. She saw no action during the war, however, as both the British and Germans had abandoned direct confrontation with each other, after the end of the war, she returned to her peacetime duties of fleet maneuvers, midshipmen cruises, and good-will visits to foreign ports. Delaware was 518 ft 9 in long overall and had a beam of 85 ft 3 in and she displaced 20,380 long tons as designed and up to 22,400 long tons at full combat load. Her bow had an example of bulbous forefoot. The ship was powered by two-shaft vertical triple-expansion engines rated at 25,000 shp and fourteen coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers, the ship had a cruising range of 6,000 nmi at a speed of 10 kn. She had a crew of 933 officers and men, the ship was armed with a main battery of ten 12-inch/45 caliber Mark 5 guns in five twin Mark 7 gun turrets on the centerline, two of which were placed in a superfiring pair forward. The other three turrets were placed aft of the superstructure, the secondary battery consisted of twenty-one 5-inch /50 caliber Mark 6 guns mounted on Mark 9 and Mark 12 pedestal mounts in casemates along the side of the hull. As was standard for ships of the period, she carried a pair of 21-inch torpedo tubes. The main armored belt was 11 in thick, while the deck was 2 in thick. The gun turrets had 12 in thick faces and the tower had 11.5 in thick sides. At the time of her construction, Delaware was the largest and most powerful battleship then building in the world, Delaware was built by Newport News Shipbuilding, she was laid down on 11 November 1907, and launched on 6 January 1909. After completion of the work, the ship was commissioned into the US Navy on 4 April 1910. On 3 October, she steamed to Wilmington, Delaware, where she received a set of service from her namesake state. The battleship then returned to Hampton Roads on the 9th, and remained there until she left to join the First Division, Atlantic Fleet and she and the rest of the division visited England and France, and then conducted maneuvers off Cuba in January 1911. On 17 January, an explosion aboard Delaware killed eight men. On 31 January, the ship carried the remains of Anibal Cruz and she steamed by way of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, around the tip of South America, to Punta Arenas, Chile
42.
USS Balch (DD-50)
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USS Balch was an Aylwin-class destroyer built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. Balch was laid down by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia in May 1912, the ship was a little more than 305 ft in length, just over 31 ft abeam, and had a standard displacement of 1,036 long tons. She was armed with four 4 in guns and had eight 18 in torpedo tubes, Balch was powered by a pair of steam turbines that propelled her at up to 29.5 kn. After her March 1914 commissioning, she participated in a Presidential Fleet Review at New York City in May, after a period in reserve, Balch served on Neutrality Patrol duty. As a part of that duty in October 1916, she was one of several US destroyers sent to survivors from five victims of German submarine U-53 off the Lightship Nantucket. She picked up passengers and crew from a British ocean liner before the U-boat sank it, after the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Balch was sent overseas to patrol the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland. Balch made several attacks on U-boats. In October 1918, US destroyer Paulding collided with Balch, sending her into Queenstown for two weeks of repairs, upon returning to the United States after the war in January 1919, Balch was placed in reduced commission. After alternating periods of activity and time in reserve, Balch was decommissioned at Philadelphia in June 1922, in November 1933 she dropped her name, becoming known only as DD-50. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in March 1935, Balch was authorized in March 1911 as the last of four ships of the Aylwin class, which was almost identical to the Cassin-class destroyers authorized at the same time. Construction of the vessel—like her three sister ships—was awarded to William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia which laid down her keel on 7 May 1912, on 21 December, Balch was launched by sponsor Miss Grace Balch, daughter of the ships namesake, George Beale Balch. The ship was the first U. S, as built, the destroyer was 305 ft 3 in in length,31 feet 2 inches abeam, and drew 10 ft 6 in. The ship had a displacement of 1,036 long tons. Balch had two steam turbines that drove her two propellers, and an additional pair triple-expansion steam engines, each connected to one of the propeller shafts. Four oil-burning boilers powered the engines, which could generate 16,000 shp, Balchs main battery consisted of four 4 in /50 caliber Mark 9 guns, with each gun weighing in excess of 6,100 lb. The guns fired 33 lb armor-piercing projectiles at 2,900 ft/s, at an elevation of 20°, the guns had a range of 15,920 yd. Balch was also equipped with four twin 18-inch torpedo tubes. Balch was commissioned into the United States Navy on 26 March 1914 under the command of Lieutenant Commander David C, returning to the New York Navy Yard that summer, Balch was placed in reserve commission on 24 July 1914. The destroyer was placed in commission again on 17 December 1914
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USS Duncan (DD-46)
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The first USS Duncan was a Cassin-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I. She was named for Commander Silas Duncan, Duncan sailed along the East Coast and in the Caribbean for training, target practice, and exercises until 24 October 1914, when she was placed out of commission at Boston, Massachusetts. From 8–30 September 1917, she escorted a convoy to an eastern rendezvous, sailing for New York on 30 October, Duncan escorted a convoy to Brest, France, arriving at Queenstown, Ireland, on 15 November to escort convoys and hunt submarines in the Irish Sea. Remaining in European waters after the war, Duncan joined in escorting George Washington, bearing President Woodrow Wilson and she cleared Queenstown on 26 December for the Azores, Bermuda, and Norfolk, Virginia, arriving on 12 January 1919. She was scrapped on 8 March 1935 in accordance with the terms of the London Naval Treaty and this article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here, photo gallery of USS Duncan at NavSource Naval History
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United States Fleet Forces Command
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The United States Fleet Forces Command is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U. S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United States Northern Command under the authority of the Secretary of Defense. Originally formed as United States Atlantic Fleet in 1906, it has been a part of the defense of the United States of America for most of the 20th century. The command is based at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Northern Command and is a supporting command under the U. S. Strategic Command. The Fleet was a combination of the North Atlantic Fleet and the South Atlantic Squadron, the first commander of the fleet was Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, who hoisted his flag in the battleship USS Maine on 1 January 1906. In January 1913 the fleet consisted of six divisions, a torpedo flotilla, submarines. The fleet was under the command of Rear Admiral Hugo Osterhaus, the First Division, under Rear Admiral Bradley A. Fiske, consisted of USS Florida, USS Delaware, and USS North Dakota. The Second Division, under Rear Admiral Nathaniel R. Usher with his flag aboard the USS Vermont, consisted of USS Louisiana, USS Michigan, USS New Hampshire, the Third Division, under Rear Admiral Cameron McR. Winslow, comprised USS Virginia, USS Georgia, USS New Jersey, USS Rhode Island, the Fourth Division, under Rear Admiral Frank F. Fletcher, consisted of the USS Minnesota, USS Connecticut, USS Ohio, USS Idaho, and USS Kansas. Fifth and Sixth Divisions were made up of protected cruisers, USS St. Louis, USS Tennessee, USS Washington, and USS Cleveland, USS Denver, USS Des Moines, and USS Tacoma. The Cruiser and Transport Force, under Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves served in Atlantic waters during World War I moving the American Expeditionary Forces to Europe, United States Battleship Division Nine joined the Grand Fleet in the UK. The Atlantic Fleet was reorganized into the Scouting Force in 1923, in January 1939 the Atlantic Squadron, United States Fleet, was formed. The aircraft carrier USS Ranger was transferred to the Atlantic Ocean, Vice Admiral Alfred Wilkinson Johnson commanded the squadron. On 1 November 1940 the Atlantic Squadron was renamed the Patrol Force, the Patrol Force was organized into type commands, Battleships, Patrol Force, Cruisers, Patrol Force, Destroyers, Patrol Force, and, Train, Patrol Force. On 1 February 1941, the Atlantic Fleet was resurrected and organized from the Patrol Force. Along with the Pacific Fleet and Asiatic Fleet, the fleet was to be under the command of a full Admiral, which jumped the fleets commander Ernest J. King from a two-star to a four-star. Subsequently, the headquarters was in an odd assortment of ships, the USS Augusta, then the old wooden ship USS Constellation, USS Vixen. In 1948, the HQ moved into the naval hospital at Norfolk, Virginia
45.
USS Wyoming (BB-32)
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USS Wyoming was the lead ship of her class of dreadnought battleships and was the third ship of the United States Navy named Wyoming, although she was only the second named in honor of the 44th state. Wyoming was laid down at the William Cramp and Sons in Philadelphia in February 1910, was launched in May 1911 and she was armed with a main battery of twelve 12-inch guns and capable of a top speed of 20.5 kn. During the First World War, she was part of the Battleship Division Nine, during the war, she was primarily tasked with patrolling in the North Sea and escorting convoys to Norway. She served in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets throughout the 1920s, and in 1931–1932, she was converted into a training ship according to the terms of the London Naval Treaty of 1930. Wyoming served as a training ship throughout the 1930s, and in November 1941 and she operated primarily in the Chesapeake Bay area, which earned her the nickname Chesapeake Raider. In this capacity, she trained some 35,000 gunners for the hugely expanded US Navy during World War II. She continued in this duty until 1947, when she was decommissioned on 1 August and subsequently sold for scrap, Wyoming was 562 ft long overall and had a beam of 93 ft 3 in and a draft of 28 ft 6 in. She displaced 26,000 long tons as designed and up to 27,243 long tons at combat load. The ship was powered by four-shaft Parsons steam turbines and twelve coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers rated at 28,000 shp, the ship had a cruising range of 8,000 nmi at a speed of 10 kn. The ship was armed with a battery of twelve 12-inch/50 caliber Mark 7 guns in six Mark 9 twin gun turrets on the centerline. The other four turrets were placed aft of the superstructure in two superfiring pairs, the secondary battery consisted of twenty-one 5-inch /51 caliber guns mounted in casemates along the side of the hull. The main armored belt was 11 in thick, while the gun turrets had 12 in thick faces, the conning tower had 11.5 in thick sides. In 1925, Wyoming was modernized in the Philadelphia Navy Yard and her displacement increased significantly, to 26,066 long tons standard and 30,610 long tons full load. Her beam was widened to 106 ft, primarily from the installation of anti-torpedo bulges, and draft increased to 29 ft 11.75 in. The ships deck armor was strengthened by the addition of 3.5 in of armor to the deck between the end barbettes, plus 1.75 in of armor on the third deck on the bow. The deck armor over the engines and boilers was increased by 0.75 in and 1.25 in, five of the 5-inch guns were removed and eight 3-inch /50 caliber anti-aircraft guns were installed. The mainmast was removed to provide space for a catapult mounted on the Number 3 turret amidships. Wyoming was laid down at the William Cramp and Sons shipyard in Philadelphia on 9 February 1910 and she was completed a year and four months later, on 25 September 1912
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Grand Fleet
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The Grand Fleet was the main fleet of the British Royal Navy during the First World War. It was formed in August 1914 from the First Fleet and elements of the Second Fleet of the Home Fleets and it was initially commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. He was succeeded by Admiral Sir David Beatty in December 1916, in April 1919 the Grand Fleet was disbanded, with much of its strength forming a new Atlantic Fleet. Not all the Grand Fleet was available to put to sea at any one time, because ships required maintenance and repairs. For a list of the ships that were part of the Grand Fleet at the time of the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, the order of battle of the Grand Fleet at the end of the war appears in Naval order of 24 October 1918. After the United States entered the war, United States Battleship Division Nine was attached to the Grand Fleet as the Sixth Battle Squadron, adding four, British Admirals of the Fleet 1734–1995, A Biographical Dictionary. U. S. Battleship Operations in World War I, the Grand Fleet Royal Navy History
47.
Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex
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It served as an annex to the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot. The land for the Annex was bought by the U. S. Navy in 1941, from local landowners, to expand the nearby Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot, the Depot was the main ammunition supplier for Naval Forces of the U. S. Atlantic Fleet, during World War II, employing 2,091 civilians along with 721 naval officers and sailors and 375 Marine guards at its peak in June,1945. A rail spur, sided off the Old Colony Greenbush Line, was built to facilitate the transfer of ammunition, stored in cement bunkers at the Annex, to the Depot at the Hingham Shipyard. Reverted to maintenance status after the War, the Annex was reactivated for the Korean War, during time it held some of the Navys first experimental nuclear depth charges. Depth charges, bombs, and rocket motors were assembled at the Annex until declared surplus, by the Navy, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts took possession of the Annex, in 1966, and later turned the 3,500 acres into the present day Wompatuck State Park. The last military activity at the Annex took place when the U. S. Army Reserve 187th Infantry Brigade was stationed at United States Army Reserve Center Hingham from 1971 to 1982. In the late 1990s the government, who were in charge of the section of the Depot that was not turned into Wompatuck. This involved, first, cleaning the area, featuring the demolition of the remaining buildings, gates have been created at the end of Leavitt St. in Hingham and from the Doane St. path from Cohasset. Bunkers here, as well as those in the remains of the original Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot in what is now Bare Cove Park, had used as shelter by homeless persons. Following the grisly murder of two men in Bare Cove in 2005, the remaining bunkers in the park have been demolished. However, local Boy Scouts have worked to some of these bunkers, including N9, as a memorial to the military. Info on the state and cleanup of the site
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Hingham, Massachusetts
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Hingham is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U. S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2010 census, the population was 22,157, Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on Boston Harbor. The town was named after Hingham, Norfolk, England, and was first settled by English colonists in 1633, the town of Hingham was dubbed Bare Cove by the first colonizing English in 1633, but two years later was incorporated as a town under the name Hingham. The land on which Hingham was settled was deeded to the English by the Wampanoag sachem Wompatuck in 1655, the town was within Suffolk County from its founding in 1643 until 1803, and Plymouth County from 1803 to the present. The eastern part of the split off to become Cohasset in 1770. A statue of President Lincoln adorns the area adjacent to downtown Hingham Square, Hingham was born of religious dissent. Peck was known for what the eminent Norfolk historian Rev. Francis Blomefield called his violent schismatical spirit, Peck lowered the chancel railing of the church, in accord with Puritan sentiment that the Anglican church of the day was too removed from its parishioners. He also antagonized ecclesiastical authorities with other forbidden practices, Hobart, born in Hingham, Norfolk, in 1604 and, like Peck, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge, sought shelter from the prevailing discipline of the high church among his fellow Puritans. The cost to those who emigrated was steep and they sold their possessions for half their value, noted a contemporary account, and named the place of their settlement after their natal town. While most of the early Hingham settlers came from Hingham and other villages in East Anglia. The early settlers of Dorchester, Massachusetts, for instance, had come under the guidance of Rev. John White of Dorchester in Dorset, prominent East Anglian Puritans like the Hobarts and the Cushings, for instance, were used to holding sway in matters of governance. Eventually the controversy became so heated that John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley were drawn into the fray, the bitter trainband controversy dragged on for several years, culminating in stiff fines. Although the town was incorporated in 1635, the colonists didnt get around to negotiating purchase from the Wampanoag, on July 4,1665, the tribes chief sachem, Josiah Wompatuck, sold the township to Capt. Joshua Hobart and Ensign John Thaxter, representatives of Hinghams colonial residents, having occupied the land for 30 years, the Englishmen presumably felt entitled to a steep discount. The sum promised Josiah Wompatuck for the land encompassing Hingham was to be paid by two Hingham landowners, Lieut, John Smith and Deacon John Leavitt, who had been granted 12 acres on Hinghams Turkey Hill earlier that year. Now the two men were instructed to deliver payment for their 12-acre grant to Josiah the chief Sachem, with that payment the matter was considered settled. The third town clerk of Hingham was Daniel Cushing, who emigrated to Hingham from Hingham, Norfolk, Cushings meticulous records of early Hingham enabled subsequent town historians to reconstruct much of early Hingham history as well as that of the early families. Cushing was rather unusual in that he included the towns gossip along with the more conventional formal record-keeping
49.
Frenchman Bay
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Frenchman Bay is a bay in Hancock County, Maine, named for Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer who visited the area in 1604. Frenchman Bay may have been the location of the Jesuit St. Sauveur mission, established in 1613. In a 1960 book titled, The Story of Mount Desert Island, Samuel Eliot Morison wrote, the bay is bounded on the east by the Schoodic Peninsula, and on the west by Mount Desert Island, parts of both are in Acadia National Park. It contains numerous islands, the largest of which is Ironbound Island, the highest elevation of the islands in the bay is found on Jordan Island. The largest town on the bay is Bar Harbor, on Mount Desert Island, the bay extends for roughly 15 miles and spans 7 miles at its widest
50.
Minelayer
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Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. Before World War I, mine ships were termed mine planters generally, during and after that war the term mine planter became particularly associated with defensive coastal fortifications. The term minelayer was applied to vessels deploying both defensive- and offensive mine barrages and large scale sea mining, minelayer lasted well past the last common use of mine planter in the late 1940s. An armys special-purpose combat engineering vehicles used to lay landmines are sometimes called minelayers, the most common use of the term minelayer is a naval ship used for deploying sea mines. In the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I, mines laid by the Ottoman Empires Navys Nusret sank HMS Irresistible, HMS Ocean, Russian minelayers were also efficient, sinking the Japanese battleships Hatsuse and Yashima in 1904 in the Russo-Japanese War. In World War II, the British employed the Abdiel minelayers both as minelayers and as transports to isolated garrisons, such as Malta and Tobruk and their combination of high speed and carrying capacity was highly valued. The French used the concept for the cruiser Pluton. A naval minelayer can vary considerably in size, from boats of several hundred tonnes in displacement to destroyer-like ships of several thousand tonnes displacement. Apart from their loads of sea mines, most would also carry weapons for self-defense. The first submarine to be designed as such was the Russian submarine Krab, USS Argonaut was another such minelaying submarine. Although there are no modern submarine minelayers, mines sized to be deployed from a submarines torpedo tubes, such as the Stonefish, in modern times, few navies worldwide still possess minelaying vessels. The United States Navy, for example, uses aircraft to lay sea mines instead, mines themselves have evolved from purely passive to active, for example the US CAPTOR that sits as a mine until detecting a target upon which a torpedo is launched. A few navies still have dedicated minelayers in commission, including those of South Korea, Poland, Sweden and Finland, countries with long, shallow coastlines where sea mines are most effective. Other navies have plans to create extemporised minelayers in times of war, beginning in World War II, military aircraft were used to deliver naval mines by dropping them, attached to a parachute. Germany, Britain and the USA made significant use of aerial minelaying, the British Royal Air Force minelaying operations were codenamed Gardening. In the Pacific, the US dropped thousands of mines in Japanese home waters, aerial mining was also used in the Korean and Vietnam Wars
United States of America
United States Navy
Admiral
