World War 2 In Review

The British aircraft carrier Illustrious during operations against the Japanese in the Indian Ocean in 1944.

HMS Emperor.

Flower Class Corvette HMS Arbutus (K86).

HMS Arbutus was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy, which was active during the Second World War. She was a successful escort vessel, and took part in the destruction of two U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic. Arbutus was sunk in the North Atlantic in February 1942.

Arbutus was placed on order in July 1939, one of the first 26 "Flowers" of the pre-war building program. She was laid down at the Blyth Shipbuilding Company, at Blyth, Northumberland, on 30 November 1939. She was launched on 5 June 1940 and completed 12 October 1940. She commissioned on the same day under the command of Lt. Cdr. H Lloyd Williams, RNVR, one of the earliest Volunteer Reserve command appointments.

After trials and working up Arbutus joined Western Approaches Command and was assigned to 6 Escort Group, led by J M Rowland in HMS Wolverine for convoy escort duties. In this role she was engaged in all the duties performed by escort ships; protecting convoys, searching for and attacking U-boats, and rescuing survivors. Over the next 14 months Arbutus escorted 26 convoys on the Atlantic routes, helping to bring over 750 ships to safety, though a number were lost in various incidents. She was involved in two convoy battles, and helped destroy two U-boats.

In March 1941, Arbutus, with 6 EG, escorted convoy OB 293 when it came under attack by a force of U-boats. The escort group mounted a vigorous and aggressive defense, resulting in the destruction of two U-boats and damage to a third, for the loss of two ships sunk and three damaged. During the two-night action, on 7 March 1941, Arbutus and Camellia found and attacked U-70; she was depth-charged and brought to the surface, where she was abandoned and sank.

In April 1941 6EG went to the aid of convoy SC 26 which was under attack. On 5 April Arbutus, with Wolverine and Scarborough, found and attacked U-76, which was brought to the surface and abandoned. As she surfaced Arbutus was closing in order to ram her; when he saw she was being abandoned Arbutus' then commander, Lt. A L W Warren, changed plans and attempted to capture the submarine before it sank. U-76 was boarded by several members of the corvette's crew, and efforts were made to secure and search the boat while Arbutus made fast to the U-boat with hawsers. However, U-76 was sinking too fast, and the capture failed. This was the first such instance of a U-boat boarding and acquisition in World War II, though it was unsuccessful; the exploit was repeated the following month when U-110 was captured by ships of 3 Escort Group.

On 5 February 1942 Arbutus was escorting convoy ON 63 when it was detected by U-136. The U-boat sent a sighting report and commenced shadowing, but the transmission was DFed and escorts Chelsea and Arbutus ran down the bearing to attack. The U-boat commander, K/L H Zimmmerman, responded aggressively, counter-attacking and torpedoing Arbutus as she approached. The corvette broke in half and sank, with the loss of half her crew.[9] 43 men, including her commander, were lost. U-136 was subsequently depth-charged by Chelsea, damaged and forced to abandon her pursuit, saving ON 63 from further harm.

British battleship HMS King George V alongside her younger sister HMS Howe in July 1943, Algiers.

A boat load of Royal Engineers leaves HMS Cairo on board a Motor Fishing Vessel to land at Narvik in Norway, June 1940.

Motor Launches for the Royal Navy were built in the Middle East, August and September 1942: Fairmile Motor Launches were built for the Royal Navy by the Anglo-American Nile Transport Co in their Shubra Yard, Cairo. Following the launch and commissioning, the boats were taken in tow from Cairo to Port Said by way of the Ismalia Canal, a journey of three days. At the end of the Ismalia Canal the boats entered Lake Timsah and proceeded via the Suez Canal to Port Said for fitting out. The keel is shown with part of the hull supports in position. (Imperial War Museum A15763)

A general view of the work in progress. (Imperial War Museum A15766)

Native laborers working on the bows, riveting. (Imperial War Museum A15765)

A native laborer driving home one of the thousands of copper nails used in the construction of these craft. (Imperial War Museum A15764)

A dirty job! Natives man-handling chunks of mud for laying down the slipway. (Imperial War Museum A15769)

Egyptian workers carving out large chunks of mud by hand to prepare the ground for laying down a slipway. Original Second World War caption issued with this photograph: Up to their thighs in mud are natives hewing out chunks of mud by hand prior to laying down a slipway. (Imperial War Museum A15770)

Mrs Wilkinson, wife of Captain Wilkinson, RN, about to perform one of the launching ceremonies. (Imperial War Museum A15771)

The Motor Launch being "Piped" down the slipway. (Imperial War Museum A15772)

A Motor Launch enters the waters. Note the natives on the bows calling for the Blessings of Allah. (Imperial War Museum A15774)

A general view of a launching ceremony. (Imperial War Museum A15775)

The late Lord Moyne, right, Deputy Minister of State for the Middle East, watching one of the launching ceremonies. (Imperial War Museum A15773)

A boat made fast alongside after launching. (Imperial War Museum A15776)

The commissioning ceremony. The Commanding Officer, right, addresses his crew. (Imperial War Museum A15779)

The commissioning ceremony. Officers salute the White Ensign. (Imperial War Museum A15778)

The commissioning ceremony. The White Ensign is hoisted aft with the crew facing it while the officers salute. (Imperial War Museum A15777)

After the commissioning ceremony the crew bring aboard cooking utensils, buckets etc. (Imperial War Museum A15780)

Festooned with old car tires (to prevent the sides being damaged) the Motor Launch leaves the shipyard on her journey from Cairo to Port Said. (Imperial War Museum A15781)

A Motor Launch in the Sweet Water Canal en route. (Imperial War Museum A15789)

In the Sweet Water Canal en route. (Imperial War Museum A15791)

In the Sweet Water Canal en route. (Imperial War Museum A15790)

Waiting for the bridge to open at Bilbeis. (Imperial War Museum A15785)

The lock gates opening at Bilbeis. (Imperial War Museum A15786)

Entering Bilbeis lock. (Imperial War Museum A15787)

Maneuvering past barges on leaving the lock at Bilbeis. (Imperial War Museum A15788)

An Indian sentry stands guard as the boat enters Shubra lock. (Imperial War Museum A15782)

The boat in Shubra lock, the first of many locks on her journey from Cairo to Port Said. In the background is the River Nile. (Imperial War Museum A15783)

Leaving one of the locks just outside Cairo. (Imperial War Museum A15784)

Protecting the boats' side as she comes alongside at Port Said. (Imperial War Museum A15793)

The Motor Launches safely berthed at Port Said. (Imperial War Museum A15794)

Piecing together the awning. (Imperial War Museum A15768)

Piecing together the awning. (Imperial War Museum A15767)

Mounting the forward Gun at Port Said. (Imperial War Museum A15795)

Lowering the after gun on board at Port Said. (Imperial War Museum A15797)

Mounting the after gun at Port Said. (Imperial War Museum A15796)

Arriving at Port Said. (Imperial War Museum A15799)

The Motor Launch at speed during her acceptance trials at Port Said. (Imperial War Museum A15798)

A prototype X-craft churns along during trials. The British sent 10 X-craft midget submarines against the Tirpitz in September 1943. Two succeeded in depositing mines that damaged the battleship.

Prototype midget submarine X-3 or X-4 gets underway during trials in 1942.

British seamen operate their X-craft in the cramped space available for the four-man crew.

Midget submarine HMS XE8 'Expunger', plies the waters of the harbor at Sydney, Australia, in 1945, built by Broadbent, sunk as target 1952, recovered 1973 and preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard, on loan from the Imperial War Museum.

British midget submarine XE9.

Midget submarine HMS Sprat.

Midget submarine HMS Shrimp.

Midget submarine HMS Stickleback X51.

British midget submarine XE7.

A veteran of Operations Torch (North Africa), Husky (Sicily), and Avalanche (Salerno, Italy), HMS Roberts fires on German positions in the vicinity of Sword Beach with its 15-inch guns.

A British landing craft burns after being hit by a German shell off Sword Beach.

The Royal Navy heavy cruisers HMS Dorsetshire and HMS Cornwall under heavy air attack by Japanese carrier aircraft on 5 April 1942. The photo was taken from a Japanese aircraft.

HMS Belfast, Edinburgh class light cruiser.

HMS Campbeltown being converted for the raid on Saint Nazaire harbor. There are twin lines of armor plate down each side of the ship and the Oerlikon mountings. Two of her funnels have been removed, with the remaining two cut at an angle.

HMS Campbeltown after the raid.

Close up of HMS Campbeltown after the raid. Note the shell damage in the hull and upper works and the German personnel on board the vessel.

The Normandie Dock months after the raid. The wreck of HMS Campbeltown can be seen inside the dry dock.

Town class destroyer HMS Broadway (H90). Originally commissioned as Clemson class USS Hunt (DD-194) and transferred to Britain in 1940.

2nd Submarine Squadron, Gibraltar.

The British subs at Malta. Even in the island’s blackest days subs still sailed from Malta to attack the enemy’s North Africa supply lines.

British ferry ships were devised by the British War Department to carry special gear so that locomotives and rolling stock could be quickly linked up with a nearby railway system. Cherbourg, 1944.

Fairmile D motor torpedo boat.

Cargo ship SS Agnete Maersk. Agnete Maersk was launched by Yarrow & Co. Shipbuilders Ltd. in Scotland in 1921. The merchant weighed 2,104 GRT, was 286 feet (87.17 meters) long, powered by a 208 nhp three-cylinder triple expansion engine (one screw), and could make 9 knots. The vessel's first owner was the Danish company Nord-Psterso, based in Copenhagen. Under the name "SS Aabenraa", the ship was operated until 1924. A. P. Moller, also based in Copenhagen, then acquired the vessel and renamed it "Agnete Maersk". The merchant remained in service until it was taken by the British for convoy duty on February 11th, 1941. While part of Convoy OG 56 ("OG" standing for "Outbound to Gibraltar"--usually forming off the west coast of France), Agnete Maersk was torpedoed and sunk by Italian Marcello-class submarine Veniero (1938) on March 24th, 1941. There were no survivors. I believe the vessel was operated by a crew of 28 and was likely captained by Rasmus Peter Henry Parkholm at the time.

QF 2-pdr Mark VIII "multiple pom-pom" AA gun(s?). Development of the multiple pom-pom began in the early-1920s, based on the earlier single-barreled Mark II "pom-pom." The weapon was designed to fulfill a requirement for a multi-barreled AA weapon that could effectively engage aircraft at a close range. The weapon entered service in 1930. The multiple pom-pom came in many different arrangements. There were single-barrel versions, quad versions, etc. This particular mount appears to have seven or eight barrels. The pom-pom cannon was widely used by Allied naval forces, often mounted on corvettes, destroyers, aircraft carriers, and many other vessels.

HMS Olympus (N-35) in Grand Harbour, Malta, in December 1941.

HMS Egret (L75) in 1942, with four twin 4-inch mountings. HMS Egret was a sloop of the British Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class. She was built by J. Samuel White at Cowes, Isle of Wight and was launched on 31 May 1938. Egret was the first ship ever to be sunk by a guided missile. The Germans had used the Henschel Hs 293 glider bomb for the first time on 25 August 1943 against the 40th Support Group in the Bay of Biscay. Landguard was slightly damaged by a near miss. Bideford was hit and damaged, with one sailor killed, though more serious damage was avoided because the bomb's explosive charge did not fully detonate.

HMS Mermaid underway in 1944. HMS Mermaid was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. Mermaid saw service as a convoy escort during the Second World War, taking part in the sinking of two German submarines while escorting Arctic convoys to and from the Soviet Union. Mermaid, built by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, Scotland, was laid down on 8 September 1942, launched on 11 November 1943, and completed 12 May 1944.

The wartime HMS Mermaid, Black Swan program.

HMS Rochester in 1945. HMS Rochester (L50) was a Shoreham-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and was a successful anti-submarine warfare vessel, being credited with the destruction of five U-boats.

British Fairmile B motor launch.

British cruiser HMS Penelope.

A group of “little ships” on their way up the Thames River for minor repairs after the evacuation of Dunkirk was over. May 1940.

The sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse as seen from a Japanese bomber.

This Royal Marine supply party in the HMS Illustrious is passing ammunition up to the 4.5-inch guns in the mounting above. The white hoods and gloves, always worn in action, protected them against burns.

Flower class corvette HMS Lotus. Note the "acoustic hammer" fitted to the bow for exploding mines at a safe distance using sound waves.

HMS Tally Ho was launched in 1943 and successfully sank scores of Japanese enemy warships.

HMS Tally Ho’s crest. ‘Celeriter in hostem’ was the sub's motto, which translates as ‘Swiftly among the foe.’

A motor launch boat still smoldering in the Loire Estuary after the Saint Nazaire raid.

British submarines Taku (foreground) and Unison in Malta Harbour in 1943.

HMS Barham.

The battleships HMS Valiant, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Barham steam in line, 1941. Valiant is nearest the camera.

HMS Broadway, a destroyer built as the USS Hunt in 1918. Broadway was one of the fifty American destroyers loaned to Britain in September 1940. On 26 January 1940, USS Hunt once again was taken out of mothballs and brought to life by a fresh crew as the Navy needed ships for the new neutrality patrol in the initial stages of World War II. Shipping for the Caribbean, she escorted the USS Searaven (SS-196), a Sargo-class submarine, from the Canal Zone to Florida then performed training tasks in the Chesapeake. Hunt got underway from Newport 3 October 1940 and reached Halifax, Nova Scotia two days later, where she took on 103 British sailors and, three days after that, she decommissioned from the U.S. Navy, was struck from the Naval List, and taken up by the Royal Navy as the Town-class destroyer HMS Broadway (H80) as part of the infamous “Destroyers for Bases Agreement” between the two countries. As noted by Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason’s service histories, “Broadway” had not previously been used for any RN ship but did represent both a city in the UK and one in the U.S. Changes to her by the Brits included removal of mainmast and shortening of the foremast, trimming the after funnels, and replacing the 3in and 4in guns mounted aft with a 12pdr British HA gun in X position. The aft torpedo tubes were also jettisoned and the U.S. style depth charges were replaced with British ones.

The huge ‘Magic Eye’ on the bows of the HMS Broadway as she leaves on another trip. HMS Broadway also picked up an “Evil Eye” or “Magic Eye” on her bow, painted by her crew to ward off bad spirits. Joining 11th Escort Group, she had an eventful career in the Atlantic, joining in no less than 29 convoys between and 10 December 1940 and 21 June 1943– just 18 months! During this time, she directly helped shorten the war on 9 May 1941 when assisting the destroyer HMS Bulldog and corvette HMS Aubretia, she captured German submarine U-110 between Iceland and Greenland. The Type IXB U-boat provided several secret cipher documents to the British as part of Operation Primrose and was one of the biggest intel coups of the war, helping to break the German Enigma codes.

HMS Broadway also helped chalk up a second German torpedo slinger when on 12 May 1943 she joined frigate HMS Lagan and aircraft from escort carrier HMS Biter in destroying U-89 off the Azores.

Sub Lieut Roy A. Gentles, RCNVR, officer on loan to the Royal Navy, who was the first lieutenant on board HMS Broadway in the successful anti-u-boat action in the North Atlantic.

The destroyer HMS Broadway off the East coast of Scotland April 1944 after becoming an Air Target Ship. Hunt/Broadway, showing her age, was relegated to training duties by 1944 in Scotland, where she was a target ship for non-destructive bombing and practice strafing runs by new pilots. For this much of her armament to include her radar, anti-submarine mortar, torpedo tubes, and HF D/F outfit was removed. She did get one last hurrah in at the end of the war, sailing for Norwegian waters where she performed occupation duties that included taking charge of several surrendered German U-boats in Narvik and Tromso as part of Operation Deadlight. Hunt/Broadway, who served more in the Royal Navy than she ever did in the naval service of her homeland, was paid off 9 August 1945 and placed in an unmaintained reserve status. She was eventually sold to BISCO on 18th February 1947 for demolition by Metal Industries and towed to the breaker’s yard in Charlestown near Rosyth in 1948.

A sailor aboard an anti-submarine patrol vessel off the North African coast mans a Lewis Mk III machine gun on an anti-aircraft mounting, 13 April 1942. (Imperial War Museum E10583)

British Army reinforcements arrive in the Middle East having been transported by the liner QUEEN ELIZABETH, 22 July 1942. (Imperial War Museum photo E 14706)

Destroyer HMS Glowworm burning as seen from the Admiral Hipper, during the action on 8 April 1940.

HMS Glowworm burning as seen from Admiral Hipper.

View through Hipper's range finder showing survivors on the hull of HMS Glowworm before she sank.

Painting of Glowworm moving to ram the Admiral Hipper.

Destroyer HMS Glowworm as seen from the Admiral Hipper.

HMS Glowworm recoiling from German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper after ramming her off Norway in April 1940.

Oil-soaked crew members of the destroyer HMS Glowworm, just sunk by the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, wallow on a nearly swamped lifeboat while being hoisted aboard by the raider’s crew. The Glowworm was caught alone off the Norwegian coast by the Hipper and four destroyers on 8 April 1942.

HMS Duke of York in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, the day the Japanese surrender was signed on USS Missouri BB-63. The Ensigns of all Allied nations were flown for a ceremonial “Sunset.” Note the two Quad QF 2-pounder/ 40mm “Pom-Pom” gun mounts and five smart Royal Marine buglers (center) ready to sound Sunset. Nimitz called upon Adm. Sir Bruce Fraser aboard HMS Duke of York on the eve of the Japanese surrender ceremony. Nimitz noted that the visit was “partly on official business, partly because I like him, and mostly to get a scotch and soda before dinner because our ships are dry.”

HMS Euryalus on the Whang-Poo River, Shanghi, China, date unknown.

HMS Glowworm.

HMS Hermione, named after Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and Helen in Greek mythology. As such, she was the Royal Navy’s third ship to carry that moniker, the first a Napoleonic war 32-gun frigate, and the second being a World War I-era Astraea-class protected cruiser, both with somewhat unlucky histories. The frigate’s crew had mutinied and surrendered to the Spanish while the old cruiser had grounded herself at least twice and was too obsolete to take an active part in the Great War.

The Town class cruiser HMS Edinburgh, along with the Dido-class sisters HMS Hermione (center), and HMS Euryalus, steaming in line abreast whilst they escort a convoy as part of Operation Halberd, at the time the largest resupply effort to Malta, to which the entire Italian navy sortied to attempt to stop. These runs carried fighters to Malta, oil and supplies to Montgomery’s troops fighting Rommel in North Africa, and other valuable commodities. As such, Hermione shot down attacking dive bombers, endured endless hours on alert for U-boats and fast attack craft, and had her ‘turn in the barrel’ everyday for over a year running this gauntlet.

The Hermione's good luck charm “Convoy“, Hermione‘s ship’s cat, sleeps in his own hammock whilst members of the crew look on.

On the night of August 2, 1941 Hermione encountered the Italian Adua-class submarine Tembien on the surface preparing to send a brace of torpedoes into the precious carrier HMS Ark Royal. Had the Ark been sunk, British naval power in the Med would have changed for the worse. It was on that evening the daughter of Menelaus sliced the Roman shark in two, sending her to the bottom. For her role in sinking the Italian submarine, the cruiser Hermione was immortalized in wartime martial art, which was soon turned into war propaganda posters. Tragically, the cruiser had already met her own fate before the ink was dry on these posters.

The British Dido-class light cruiser HMS Hermione (Pennant 74) of the Royal Navy slicing through the Italian coastal submarine Tembien like butter on 2 August 1941, west of Malta. The (gouache on board) artwork is entitled, “A British cruiser ramming an Italian submarine” by Marc Stone. This was the basis for the previous photo of a poster.

Assigned to the 15th Cruiser squadron in the eastern Med, HMS Hermione came face to face with a boat who had already tried to sink her once the previous winter. On 16 June 1942, she was sunk after being torpedoed just off Alexandria by the German U-boat U-205 with a loss of some 85 of her crew. Commanded by Kptlt. Franz-Georg Reschke, U-205 herself the subject of a blood vendetta by the Royal Navy, who sent her to the bottom near the coast of Libya 17 February 1943, with the destroyer HMS Paladin finishing her off.

HMS Hood circa 1932 while fitted with an aircraft catapult aft.

Close-up of HMS Hood's armored conning tower and superstructure during her fitting out at Clydebank.

HMS Hood fitting out at Clydebank. Excellent view of the 5.5" (140mm) secondary guns of which she had 12. Note the men in suits posing next to the dockyard workers. The haze above the funnel means that at least some of her boilers are lit.

HMS Hood nearing the final stages of fitting out. Note the 150ft tall Titan Clydebank hammer crane looming in the background. The Titan Crane is one of the last still extant remnants of the John Brown & Co shipyards that built so many magnificent warships.

HMS King George V, flagship of the British Pacific Fleet returns to Sydney. 1945, she was the first battleship to return from Japanese waters since the fall of Japan.

The battleship HMS King George V displays her 10 x 14-inch guns at maximum elevation.

British destroyer HMS Legion.

Queen Elizabeth-class battleship HMS Malaya.

HMS Manchester, circa 1940.

Thomas Ward and Sons Shipbreaking Yard, Inverkeithing, Scotland in 1949. Seen here: HMS Nelson, HMS Rodney and HMS Royal Sovereign meet their end.

HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbor surrounded by anti-torpedo nets.

The battlecruiser HMS Renown being overflown by a Fulmar fighter, circa 1940/42.

HMS Renown in Scapa Flow waters, 14 August 1943.

HMS Repulse.

HMS Repulse sailing from Singapore on her last operation. Two days later she was sunk with great loss of life by Japanese aircraft along with HMS Prince of Wales.

HMS Rodney lightens her load sometime in the 1930's.

Italian MTSM (Motoscafo da Turismo Silurante Modificato) on a trailer. The MTSM motor torpedo boat was a series of small motor torpedo boats developed by the Italian Royal Navy during World War II. The vessel was an improved version of its predecessor, the motor torpedo boat MTS. This was achieved through a larger sea-going hull with reinforced keel and a sharper stem. The MTSM were designed to be towed by larger motorboats into the target area. Once there, the MTSM could carry out a torpedo attack on moored or stationary ships. The boat could also be transported by land on trailers. On 29 August 1942, while a flotilla of destroyers was bombarding Axis positions at El Daba, Egypt, MTSM-228, manned by Sub-Lieutenant Pietro Carminatti, and crewman Cesare Sani torpedoed and disabled HMS Eridge. The crippled destroyer was towed to Alexandria by HMS Aldenham, where she was declared a constructive total loss and was used as a base ship for the rest of the war. Eridge was scrapped in 1946.

Italian MT explosive motorboat.

The Italian explosive motorboat MT (Motoscafo da Turismo) also known as barchino (Italian for "little boat") captured by the USS Gleaves on 2 October 1944 off the coast of San Remo. These were a series of small explosive motor boats developed by the Italian Royal Navy, which was based on its predecessors, the prototype boat MA (Motoscafo d'Assalto) and the MAT (Motoscafo Avio Trasportato), an airborne prototype. Explosive motorboats were designed to make a silent approach to a moored warship, set a collision course and run into full gear until the last 200 or 100 yards to the target, when the pilot would eject after blocking the rudder. At impact, the hull would be broken amidships by a small explosive charge, sinking the boat and the warhead, which was fitted with a water-pressure fuse set to go off at a depth of one meter. By the end of September 1938 the Navy Department ordered six explosive boats. The one-pilot vessels were built by the companies Baglietto of Varazze and CABI of Milan, which was also to supply the engines. The small vessels were used by the Italian Navy in at least two major operations in the Mediterranean theatre during World War II.

Italian MTM captured by the USS Gleaves on 2 October 1944 off the coast of San Remo.

Italian MTM, La Spezia, 1947.

The remains of St. Elmo Bridge which collapsed after the Italia MT boat attack of 1941 (before a new bridge was built in 2012).

Italian MTM in the Naval Museum, Venice.

Italian destroyer Sella, one of the mother ships of the explosive motor boats.

Italian cruiser Fiume.

Fiume, a Zara-class heavy cruiser of the Italian Regia Marina. Sunk during Battle of Cape Matapan, 29 March 1941. Painting by Adam Werka.

Torpedo boat IJN Tomozuru on February 24, 1934, the day of her completion. She capsized in a storm just two weeks later, leading the IJN to inspect many of their existing ships and revealing systemic issues of overweight and top-heaviness.

Japanese Navy at Tsingtao, China (ships shown from left to right are: Akagi, Kirishima, Kongo, Mikuma, Ryujo, Kumano and Fuso), 25 March 1938.

IJN Kikuzuki after salvage, 1944.

Rear Admiral Robert Bostwick Carney, center with holster, Chief of Staff to Admiral William F. Halsey, is saluted by Vice Admiral Michitaro Tazuka, Commander, First Japanese Naval District, as he turns over the Yokosuka Naval Base to the U.S. Navy.

The Japanese fleet under attack during the battle of Midway.

One of the Truk recon photos taken on 4 February 1944. Dublon Island, site of Fourth Fleet Headquarters, is at the lower left; in the center is the Japanese naval airbase on Eten. Two aircraft carriers are at anchor under the clouds at center right, and various other ships dot the harbor. The image of an oddly-shaped ship in the corner of one of the Marine photos turned out to be the first picture of the Yamato-class battleship, leading to extensive intelligence analysis of that type of ship.

Rabaul under attack by American carrier aircraft on 5 November 1943, when intelligence enabled Halsey’s South Pacific forces to arrive just hours after a powerful Japanese fleet entered the base. Taken by a plane from the USS Saratoga, it shows Japanese vessels fleeing at high speed. Burning brightly and stationary in the middle of Simpson Harbor is the cruiser Maya.

Rabaul Harbor, New Britain Island.

IJN Yamato explodes and capsizes. The smoke cloud billowing thousands of feet were seen by coastwatchers in Kyushu more than 100 miles away. 7 April 1945.

IJN Musashi, 1942.

IJN Musashi leaving Brunei in 1944.

Emperor Hirohito and his staff aboard the IJN Musashi on June 24, 1943.

IJN Nagato at Kure, November 1920.

IJN Nagato at Yokosuka, 1922.

IJN Nagato and Akagi at Yokosuka, 15 August 1930.

IJN Nagato at Sacki Bay, 1931.

IJN Nagato, September 1931.

IJN Nagato, 1941.

IJN Nagato during target practice, 1941.

USS Antietam (CV-36) underway off Philadelphia Navy Yard, 2 March 1945.

Patrol yacht USS Argus (PY-14). Argus originally started out as the American yacht Haida, built in Germany by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in 1929. The vessel was under the ownership of yeast manufacturer Charles Fleischmann. In October of 1940, Haida was transferred to the U.S. Navy and renamed USS Argus. The ship was used for patrolling the U.S. West Coast, primarily in the waters around San Francisco, CA. Briefly in 1941/42, Argus was transferred to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey as USC&GS Pioneer. After a short career of survey work, the yacht was returned to the U.S. Navy as Argus and would operate until 1946. During this time, the vessel would help pick up merchant sailors torpedoed by Japanese submarines and also perform meteorological duties. After 1946, Argus returned to civilian yacht duties and would pass from a number of different hands. The ship was renamed quite a few times, but is currently named "Haida 1929". The yacht continues to run today, and is based in England.

Vertical aerial photograph from 17,200 feet altitude, looking directly down on East Loch and on the Fleet Air Base on Ford Island. Taken on 3 May 1940, after the conclusion of Fleet Problem XXI, and just prior to the 7 May receipt of word that the Fleet was to be retained in Hawaiian waters. There are eight battleships and the carrier Yorktown (CV-5) tied up along the island's southeastern side (toward the top), with two more battleships alongside 1010 dock at top right center. Two light cruisers and two destroyers are among the ships moored along Ford Island's northwestern side. Seventeen other cruisers and over thirty destroyers are also visible, mainly in East Loch. At the seaplane base, at the southern (top right) tip of Ford Island, are at least 38 PBY patrol planes.

USS Augusta at anchor in Bermuda waters, September 1941, while serving as flagship of the Atlantic Fleet.

USS Augusta in a Far Eastern harbor, circa 1936.

USS Augusta “dressed overall” in honor of King George VI’s coronation while at Hankow, China, May 12-14, 1937, while serving as flagship, U.S. Asiatic Fleet.

USS Augusta anchored off Pootung Point, Shanghai, China, during Sino-Japanese hostilities, circa August 1937. Fires from combat action are burning ashore, beyond the ship.

USS Augusta steaming off Portland, Maine, on 9 May 1945.

Augusta anchored in the Hudson River, off New York City, at the time of the Navy Day Fleet Review, circa late October 1945.

Asiatic Fleet Change of Command, 25 July 1939. Admiral Thomas C. Hart, incoming Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet (left center), his predecessor, Admiral Harry E. Yarnell (right center), and members of their staffs salute as Yarnell’s flag is taken down and Hart’s is raised, during ceremonies on board Augusta off Shanghai, China. Black armbands are worn in mourning for the late Secretary of the Navy, Claude A. Swanson, who had died on 3 March 1939.

View looking toward Augusta’s bow from her foremast, with a rangefinder and her two forward triple eight-inch gun turrets in the lower half of the image, circa 1936. Augusta is dressed with flags for a holiday or other celebration.

USS Boxer CV-21.

USS Buchanan (DD-131),one of six destroyers leaving Boston 6 September 1940 for delivery to Great Britain, under Lend-Lease.

USS Buckley (DE-51).

USS California (BB-44) taken on 25 January 1944 after her overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard.

USS Charger was an escort aircraft carrier during World War II. In 1949 the USS Charger was converted to a passenger ship, called the Fairsea with the intention of transporting people from Europe to Australia.

USS Colorado (BB-45) in action off the Philippines, October 1944.

Liberty ship USS Crater (AK-70).

USS Higbee (DD-806).

Bombs rip through the decks and explode deep inside aircraft carrier the USS Hornet. Painting by Tom Lea.

On 21 October 1942, Lea left the Hornet, pulling away on a fleet oiler that would land him back at Pearl Harbor. The cleared sketches would appear in Life in March and April 1943, sadly, after the carrier had been sunk. The ship in which Lea had spent those hectic two months was sent to the bottom, sunk in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942– just five days after he left. Back at Pearl Harbor, Lea showed Admiral Nimitz some of his drawings. One of them was the one above. Underneath the drawing, he inscribed a quotation from Deuteronomy: “Moreover the Lord thy God shall send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.” Admiral Nimitz looked at the drawing for a long time, then turned his head to Lea, and said: “Something has happened to the Hornet.” That was how Lea found out that the aircraft carrier he had been on, together with his friends, perished.

A captured member of the crew of the sunk German submarine U175, the senior motor engineer Otto Herzke (maschinengefreiter Otto Herzke), lifted out of the water, aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Duane. Atlantic, April 20, 1943.

With ships out to the horizon as far as the eye can see, landing craft of the massive U.S. invasion armada pour out supplies and military equipment onto the beach at Okinawa in April 1945. From late 1944 into 1945, U.S. naval forces unleashed a “dazzling display of maritime power” while advancing toward Japan “with hardly a pause and without an important defeat.”

At the Battle of Tassafaronga, last of the night battles off Guadalcanal, the U.S. Navy suffered the loss of a number of ships—but succeeded nonetheless in thwarting the Japanese goal of resupplying troops on shore. (John Hamilton, Battle Of Tassafaronga, Navy Art Collection, Naval History And Heritage Command)

The ships of Task Force 64 vie for dominance with the Imperial Japanese Navy off Guadalcanal in the 11 October 1942 Battle of Cape Esperance—one of a series of challenging nocturnal engagements. While the U.S. Navy could claim victory, the battle failed to thwart Japanese control of the sea. (Rodolfo Claudus, Battle of Cape Esperance, Navy Art Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command)

Admiral Chester Nimitz (left) awards the Navy Cross to Messman Third Class Doris “Dori” Miller. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

Admiral Nimitz, Sandy Walker, and Admiral Raymond Spruance at a party in the naval yard. In Makalapa, Nimitz was required to entertain VIPs, both civilian and military, with dinners often stretched late into the night. Having Sandy and his wife, Una, to round out his dinner table ensured lively conversation.

Admiral Nimitz enjoys some time on the beach with the Walker’s daughters, Maile and Sheila, who Nimitz nicknamed Major and Minor Gremlin spent so much time at Muliwai that he became more like family than a friend.

Closing in on the finish line: With the wall map of the Pacific Ocean and East Asia as a backdrop, Nimitz is seated in his office at CINCPAC Advanced Headquarters, Guam, in July 1945. National Archives.

November 1943: On an inspection tour of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands in the wake of the hard-fought U.S. success there, Nimitz is shown the damage done by U.S. naval gunfire. In the fight for the Gilberts, “surprise and deception had enabled another crucial victory.” (Naval History And Heritage Command)

Nimitz points on the map to the unwavering ultimate goal of the hard-fought trek across the Pacific: Tokyo. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

2 May 1942: Nimitz inspects the defenses at Midway during the buildup to the decisive battle that at last would curtail the Japanese juggernaut. The admiral’s “calculated risk” of concentrating his forces along this line would change the trajectory of the war. (National Museum Of The Pacific War)

Throughout his celebrated leadership during the largest-scale naval war in history, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz cannily relied on “an aggressive theory of combat . . . to shape the conflict in the Pacific.” (Nimitz Library, U.S. Naval Academy)

The Gallant Destroyers of D-Day. The big-gun battleships softened the German defenses and made for dramatic newsreel footage 60 years ago. But the spunky destroyers in the Normandy Invasion—including the Emmons (left) and Doyle (background right) in Dwight Shepler’s dramatic combat art—came within less than 1,000 yards from the shore, providing direct gunfire support for troops on the beach.

Battle of the Coral Sea, 8 May 1942: A U.S. Navy Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless of Scouting Squadron 2 (VS-2) passes through the "screen" for the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) during the anti-torpedo plane patrol action of that day. The plane may be that of Lieutenant Junior Grade William E. Hall (who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day) or Ensign John A. Leppla (who was awarded a Navy Cross). Previous captions state that this is a Japanese plane. The silhouette matches that of an SBD, however. U.S. Navy photo 80-G-7390 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command.

Aerial view of the Allied invasion fleet for the invasion of Leyte, Philippines, in Seeadler Harbor, Manus Island on 6 October 1944.

Leslie Cole’s 1943 painting of the Allied amphibious attack on Pantelleria depicts the scene from the cruiser HMS Newfoundland, from which Admiral C.H.J. Harcourt flew his flag. (Imperial War Museum photo Art.IWM ART LD 3555)

The Tirpitz constituted a “fleet in being” that tied up British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force resources delegated to countering the threat of the battleship sortieing from her Norwegian lair.

Tirpitz firing her main guns.

In addition to her own guns, the Tirpitz was protected by multiple antiaircraft batteries and antisubmarine and anti-torpedo netting.

Obscured by camouflage netting, the German super battleship Tirpitz was nevertheless caught in the lens of a RAF reconnaissance aircraft while anchored in Aas Fjord in February 1942.

Kongo class battleship.

The Japanese super battleship Yamato, with 18.1-inch main guns, stirs a wake as it maneuvers during the battle off Samar. A Japanese heavy cruiser is visible of the Yamato’s port quarter.

During the opening minutes of the Battle off Samar, the escort carrier USS Gambier Bay and others make smoke to disrupt the aim of Japanese gunners aboard the heavy cruisers and battleships that were poised to wreak havoc with the American troops and transports at Leyte.

The destroyer USS Heermann brews up a smokescreen off Samar and fights to defend the escort carriers of Taffy 3.

Heavy-caliber shells from Japanese ships bracket the escort carrier USS Gambier Bay during the battle off Samar. Already hit and on fire, the little escort carrier eventually rolled over and sank.

After sustaining torpedo damage during the battle off Samar on October 25, 1944, the Japanese cruiser Chikuma maneuvers violently to avoid more damage.

The escort carrier USS St. Lo was struck by a Japanese kamikaze suicide plane on the same day of the battle off Samar. The small carrier was wracked by explosions and later sank.

Nagato in its original configuration undergoing sea trials shortly after completion in 1920 (Taisho 9). It was the first battleship to be equipped with the world's largest 41cm (16-inch) guns at the time, and achieved a speed of 26.7 knots (49.4 km/h).

Returning to Pearl Harbor aboard the submarine USS Nautilus following the Makin raid, these members of the 2nd Raider Battalion await the opportunity to go ashore.

On D-Day at Tarawa amphibious landing craft head for the reef-encircled north beaches of Betio, smoking from air and surface bombardment.

Extending far into the distance, U.S. Navy ships of the Third Fleet steam toward Tokyo Bay in August 1945.

USN destroyer carrying Japanese envoys pulled up alongside the battleship USS Missouri for the official signing of the unconditional surrender of Japan held in Tokyo Bay, Japan on September 2, 1945.

Post-war view of USS New Jersey while anchored in Tokyo Bay. The Japanese battleship Nagato can be seen in the right background in this image, 30 December 1945.

Original caption: The Invasion Stream Floods the Beaches of France. Bulging with reinforcements from the liberation waves that struck the French beaches and breached the vaunted Atlantic Wall, Coast Guard landing barges ferry the flood of fighting men who are spreading over Normandy. They are transferred from a Coast Guard assault transport in the English Channel. In the distance, a Rhino loaded with ambulances easing toward the beach.

Gerald W. Haddon, seaman second class, has been under the fire of battle and is a veteran of 13 landings on the Normandy beach. Granted to be the youngest invader in the Allied Forces, “The Kid” enlisted when he was 14 and celebrated his 15th birthday under a German bombing attack in the Mediterranean. The truth of his age came out after Normandy, when he failed to report for morning muster aboard a Coast Guard-manned LST. He was found fast asleep in his bunk, too tired to “hit the deck.” But Coast Guardsman Haddon, now in England, is fighting to stay in the fight.

Off Okinawa, Third Fleet commander Admiral William Halsey arrives aboard the New Mexico (BB-40) prior to relieving Admiral Raymond Spruance (right), commander of the Fifth Fleet.

USS LST-831 approaching the beachhead at Okinawa on D-Day, 1 April 1945. Note the unauthorized letters “USCG” stenciled on her inner hull above the main ramp. By 1943, the Coast Guard had evolved to manning larger LCI(L)s and LSTs, running 28 of the former and no less than 77 of the latter. Besides this, some 288 of the Army’s ships—AMRS (Army Marine Repair Ship), TY (tankers), LT (large tugs), FS (freight and supply vessels), and F (Freight vessels)—were manned by the Coast Guard and were responsible for keeping those chains of islands in the Pacific as well as ports along the Mediterranean supplied and running. By 1945, with the Coast Guard counting 171,192 officers and enlisted (including 8,877 women in the SPARS), the service was more than pulling its own. If it came across a beach in any theatre, odds are the Coasties had a hand in putting it there.

Kamikazes target the USS Tennessee and a U.S. destroyer (far left) off Okinawa on 12 April 1945. Commander Samuel Eliot Morison had his closest World War II brush with death when one of the planes barely missed the Tennessee’s bridge before crashing on the ship’s starboard side. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

Black smoke pours from the Yorktown on June 4, 1942.

Destroyer Hammon comes to the rescue of the listing Yorktown which was hit by Japanese bombs and torpedoes during the Battle of Midway, June 1942.

The Yorktown transfers crewmen to a destroyer after being damaged by Japanese bombs and torpedoes during the Battle of Midway.

Japanese cruiser Mikuma smolders after being attacked by American dive bombers.

Smoke pouring from the sinking battleship California and the capsized Oklahoma in right background, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941.

The destroyer Shaw explodes at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack, December 7, 1941.

The battered remains of the battleship Arizona lies in the mud of Pearl Harbor, December 1941.

Aerial view of Battleship Row, Pearl Harbor, during the Japanese attack, December 7, 1941.

In a flooded dry dock in Pearl Harbor, the destroyer Cassin lies partly submerged and leaning against the destroyer Downes. The battleship Pennsylvania in the background remained relatively undamaged after the Japanese attack, December 1941.

Japanese carrier under attack by B-17's, June 4, 1942.

USS Arizona looking forward. Rear gun turret and superstructure details, after her sinking, are easily visible.

USS Arizona, 17 February 1942.

USS Arizona salvage operation, September 20, 1943.

Allied warships of Bombarding Force 'O', supporting the landings in the Omaha area. The column is led by USS Texas (BB-35) (left) with HMS Glasgow, USS Arkansas (BB-33), FFS Georges Leygues and FFS Montcalm following.

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942: USS South Dakota firing her anti-aircraft guns at attacking Japanese planes during the action, 26 October 1942. A Japanese Type 97 Shipboard Attack Aircraft ("Kate") is at right, apparently leaving the area after having dropped its torpedo.

USS West Virginia (BB-48) En route to the west coast after she had been salvaged and given preliminary repairs at Pearl Harbor. 20 April 1943.

USS South Dakota (BB-57) underway with Task Force 17 in 1942.

USS Iowa (BB-61) raising her anchor, as she prepares to move from Bayonne, New Jersey, to Gravesend Bay, 29 March 1943.

Armor cross-sections of the US fast battleships – USS North Carolina, USS South Dakota and USS Iowa.

USS Hornet (CV-8) view taken 3 March 1941, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, quarter bow view, in drydock, under construction.

Taken from USS Hornet (CV-12) on 14 May 1945. Japanese plane exploding after being struck by gun fire of Task Group 58-1. USS Bennington in foreground.

USS Stoddert (DD-302) (left) operating under radio command, circa 1931, following conversion to a target ship. Her control ship, USS Dent (DD-116), is steaming astern.

USS Swordfish (SS-193) at San Francisco Navy Yard, June 13, 1943.

USS Hollandia (CVE-97) arrives at Naval Air Station Alameda, on 29 November 1945. She was transporting 1100 servicemen home from Eniwetok and Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands, as part of Operation Magic Carpet.

A firefighting detail works through a pall of smoke aboard the Yorktown after its bombing by Japanese aircraft.

The listing USS Yorktown after being hit by Japanese bombs and torpedoes.

Shell bursts and splashes from the guns of the aircraft carrier Yorktown as Japanese torpedo bombers approach.

Aerial view of Naval Air Station Ford Island, Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii, 10 December 1941; note damaged PBY aircraft, USS Curtiss, and USS Shaw.

Anti-aircraft gunners, center foreground, pour a deadly stream of fire into an already-burning Japanese Kamikaze plane plummeting toward the flight deck of the USS Sangamon, a Navy escort carrier, during action in the Ryukyu Islands near Japan, on May 4, 1945. This suicide plane landed in the sea close to the carrier. Another Japanese aircraft later succeeded in hitting the ship deck, inflicting heavy damage.

USS Maryland, BB-46, during construction.

USS Maryland entering drydock at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard 10 July 1944, for torpedo (aerial) damage repair and the replacement of her bow after being struck by a Japanese aerial torpedo at Saipan.

Bow view of USS Maryland (BB-46) off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, 5 August 1945.

USS Tennessee (BB-43) training her guns on Okinawa, Ryukyu Island, defenses during invasion, as landing craft scurry to shore.

Ex-USS New York (BB-34) is towed from Pearl Harbor to be sunk as a target, 6 July 1948. USS Conserver (ARS-39), at left, is the main towing ship, assisted by two harbor tugs on New York's port side.

USS Enterprise (CV-6) operating in the Pacific, circa late June 1941. She is turning into the wind to recover aircraft. Note her "natural wood" flight deck stain and dark Measure One camouflage paint scheme. The flight deck was stained blue in July 1941, during camouflage experiments that gave her a unique deck stripe pattern.

USS Enterprise at Ford Island in late May 1942 being readied for the Battle of Midway.

USS Yorktown (CV-5) shown shortly after completion in 1937. The three sisters – USS Yorktown, USS Hornet, and USS Enterprise – bore the brunt of the early battles of the war in the Pacific.

USS Yorktown (CV-5) in Dry Dock # 1 at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 29 May 1942, receiving urgent repairs for damage received in the Battle of Coral Sea. She left Pearl Harbor the next day to participate in the Battle of Midway. Note the raised 20-mm/70-cal Oerlikon AA mounts beneath the forward edge of the flight deck. The CXAM radar antenna is in the "down" position, and is therefore out of sight. USS West Virginia (BB-48), sunk in the 7 December 1941 Japanese air attack, is being salvaged in the left distance.

When the Yorktown was damaged, Fletcher transferred his flag to the USS Astoria (CA 34). Here he is seen boarding the cruiser.

View of the underside of USS Yorktown’s flight deck structure, showing the impact hole made by the Japanese bomb that struck the ship amidships during the Battle of the Coral Sea. A patch over the flight deck’s broken wooden planking is visible within the hole. Note structural beam in lower part of the photo, distorted by the bomb’s passage.

View of damage on the third and fourth decks, amidships, aboard the USS Yorktown. This view looks forward and to starboard from the ship’s centerline at frame 110. The photographer is in compartment C-301-L, shooting down through the third deck into compartment C-402-A. The large hole in the deck was made by the bomb’s explosion. Many men were killed or badly injured in C-301-L, a crew’s messing space that was the assembly area for the ship’s engineering repair party.

Pre-war appearance of USS West Virginia, August 1935. Note the open-mounted 5-inch L/51 gun and the minesweeping gear abreast her B turret, also the awning stanchions and stretchers, and the bow anchor.

USS West Virginia after her total reconstruction. She was the only ship of this class reconstructed to the design of the earlier Tennessee class. Her camouflage painting is in accordance with Measure 32. She is equipped with a SK antenna.

USS West Virginia, October 1944, as rebuilt, rejoining the fleet off the Philippines.

USS Essex departing San Francisco Naval Shipyard, California, United States, 15 April 1944.

The launching of the USS Robalo at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States, 9 May 1943.

USS South Dakota in Puget Sound, Washington, United States, 21 August 1944.

USS Enterprise being pushed by tug boats, New York, United States, 17 October 1945.

USS Missouri in the Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal, 13 October 1945.

Miles Davis King carrying a loaded magazine for a 20-mm gun aboard CVE USS Tulagi en route to France, August 1944.

USS Langley in heavy seas in the South China Sea in the morning of 13 January 1945. Note the trailing USS Washington riding the storm much better.

New Mexico class battleship USS Idaho, 1943: she was fortunate in not being at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, but as a result was not as extensively modernized as those ships requiring significant repair. She served throughout the Pacific campaign, mainly in shore bombardment roles.

The Iowa (BB-61) and Indiana (BB-58) (background) underway, possibly during the Marshall Islands Campaign. This 1944 photo shows Iowa in her anti-submarine camouflage measure, applied in December or in early January 1944 with Navy Blue (5-N) and Light Grey (5-L) and Deck Blue (20-B) horizontal surfaces. Highly visible in this view are the fine forward hull lines for a higher speed than the preceding South Dakota-class battleships. Consequently her #1 turret had little depth for torpedo protection. Note the 20mm gallery atop #2 turret.

Japanese aircraft being shot down as it attempted to attack escort carrier USS Kitkun Bay, near Marianas Islands, June 1944.

USS Enterprise gunnery crews practice with their 20mm anti-aircraft guns off Hawaii, May 1942.

Replacement aircraft for Espiritu Santo crowd the flight deck of the escort carrier USS Kwajalein as she steams from San Pedro, California, United States, 19 July 1944.

USS Missouri (left) and USS Iowa (right) off Japan, 20 August 1945.

USS Missouri and USS Iowa en route to Japan, August 1945.

The Stars and Stripes flutters in the Pacific breeze over the flight deck of the USS Lexington (CV-16). 1944.

USS Hornet (CV-8), as completed, 27 October 1941.

USS Hornet (CV-8) photographed circa late 1941, soon after completion, probably at a U.S. east coast port. Note flight deck overhang and large crane stowed in the small boat area. A ferry boat and "Eagle Boat" (PE) are in the background.

The damaged U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) with the destroyer USS Mustin (DD-413) alongside, during the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, at 1155, 26 October 1942. The photo was taken by a cameraman on a TBM Avenger from Hornet.

USS Hornet after commissioning, Norfolk Navy Yard, 19 November 1941.

USS Hornet, Norfolk Navy Yard, 28 February 1942.

USS Hornet, Norfolk Navy Yard, 28 February 1942, looking forward from island along starboard side of flight deck with Grumman F4F fighters and Curtiss SBC dive bombers.

USS Hornet arriving at Pearl Harbor after the Doolittle Raid, April 1942.

USS Hornet entering Pearl Harbor, 26 May 1942.

USS Hornet being abandoned 26 October 1942 as seen from Russell (DD-414).

The heavy cruiser USS Northampton (CA-26) (right) attempting to tow the aircraft carrier USS Hornet after the latter had been damaged by Japanese air attacks on 26 October 1942 during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

USS Hornet, severely listing, is abandoned by her crew at about 17:00 on October 26, 1942.

USS Idaho photographed in 1934, following modernization.

USS Idaho in 1936 following her 1931-34 modernization at the Norfolk Navy Yard.

USS Idaho underway at sea, circa the mid-1930s.

USS Idaho before World War II with New Mexico in the background. Note the searchlights on the platforms beside the funnel.

USS Idaho anchored in Hvaeldefjord, Iceland, October 1941.

USS Idaho after her first wartime modification, December 1942. She looks similar to the Mississippi, but her casemate guns have been removed.

USS Idaho after her modification, seen on 3 January 1943. She carries her SK radar antenna on the foremast. Her SRa antenna is mounted on top of her aft tower superstructure. Note the single 5-inch turrets amidships. Only Idaho was so armed.

USS Idaho in 1943 after her last modifications. Note the enlarged structure carrying the 5-inch L/38 single-mounts. The SRa radar antenna is mounted above the bridge. She has a very narrow base for her stabilized rangefinders. Note the unusual funnel cap.

USS Idaho bombarding Iwo Jima, circa late February 1945. For the full story of the Idaho, see The Big Spud: The U.S.S. Idaho in World War II: A War Diary by a Member of its VO Squadron by William Schumann, published by Merriam Press, 2008.

USS Wisconsin alongside the hulk of the Oklahoma (BB-37) at Pearl Harbor, 11 November 1944.

The Iowa class (BB-61 / 66) inboard profile.

Commissioning ceremonies on the Iowa's after deck, at the New York Navy Yard, NY, 22 February 1943. Note: Mark 38 main battery director with Mark 8 fire control radar on top, 16”/50 triple gun turret, freshly raised National Ensign, and incomplete condition of some features of the ship’s after superstructure.

The Iowa class (BB-61 / 66) design model shows the kinship between this class and the South Dakotas. Note the hull slot, which was fared over when the ships were built. The model also shows the usual prewar compliment of 12-foot navigational range finders (including one atop No.3 turret) and range clocks (the forward one is just visible under the platform atop the forward fire control tower). Note, too, the usual pair of boat cranes. They were never fitted, and the planned boat stowage was replaced by three quadruple 40mm mounts on each side, on high platforms. When the New Jersey (BB-62) was being refitted in 1982, workmen found the original boat skids under these platforms. The object atop the conning towers is a spotting glass, which actually was installed aboard the South Dakotas but not aboard these ships.

The Iowa class (BB-61 / 66) design model.

USS Hawaii (CB-3) leaving the launching ways at the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NJ on 3 November 1945.

The USS Nevada (BB-36) beached and burning after being hit by Japanese bombs and torpedoes. Thanks to the actions of Ensign Joseph K. Taussig Jr., the Nevada was able to get underway during the attack. (National Archives photo)

Joseph K. Taussig Jr. as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy U.S. Naval Academy.

A map of the Battle of Midway. (Manila American Cemetery photo)

Soldiers line the docks at Pearl Harbor and prepare to embark on the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) on 15 October 1945. The carrier was one of the many ships in the U.S. Navy’s Operation Magic Carpet to return veterans to the United States from the Pacific after Japan’s surrender. (U.S. Navy photo)

USS Bougainville (CVE-100) crewmen celebrate after listening to the announcement of Japan’s surrender, 14 August 1945. Unfortunately, it would take several months to return all U.S. service members home from the Pacific. (National Archives photo)

Spectators and photographers crowd the USS Missouri’s superstructure to witness the formal ceremonies marking Japan’s surrender, 2 September 1945. (National Archives photo)

Location of Magic Carpet ships, 17 November 1945. To view larger version, click on image. (Naval History and Heritage Command photo)

Hundreds of men crowd aboard the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-12) as she prepares to sail for the United States from Pearl Harbor on 16 October 1945 as part of Operation Magic Carpet. The larger fleet carriers could accommodate up to 8,000 passengers at a time. (U.S. Navy photo)

Where hulking warplanes once awaited the call to action, bunks and cots now pack the hangar deck of the USS Salamaua (CVE-96). A Casablanca-class escort carrier, the Salamaua was one of the many warships converted into a troopship to serve in the Navy’s Magic Carpet fleet. Conditions were cramped, but no one seemed to mind if it meant getting home. (U.S. Navy photo)

From left: Jack Lemmon, James Cagney, Henry Fonda, and William Powell in 1955’s tragicomic Mister Roberts, one of the most beloved Navy movies ever.

Henry Fonda (left) and Robert Burton in the stage production of Mister Roberts. The dramatization added more overarching plot to the source material’s vignettes, and Fonda would star in some 1,700 performances of the play, both on Broadway and on the road. (Arthur Zinn photo)

Memorable, colorful characters: Jack Lemmon (left) as the ne’er-do-well Ensign Pulver and Ward Bond as the sturdy, reliable Chief Petty Officer Dowdy.

Though only a lieutenant, Mister Roberts (Henry Fonda, right) is really the de facto leader of the USS Reluctant, while Captain Morton (James Cagney) is a dysfunctional tyrant (but he’s such a bantam rooster that he’s as comedic as he is villainous).

A Valentine tank making its way up the beach after being unloaded from a landing craft, 9 February 1942. (Imperial War Museum photo E 8174)

25-pdr field guns and 'Quads' being unloaded from a ship into a landing craft for transport ashore, 9 February 1942. (Imperial War Museum photo E 8161)

A Matilda tank coming ashore from a tank landing craft, 9 February 1942. (Imperial War Museum photo E 8173)

Field Marshal Smuts with Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian, KBE, on board Rear Admiral Vian's flagship HMS CLEOPATRA, 16 May 1942, Alexandria Harbour. Field Marshal Smuts visited ships of the Royal Navy and South African Naval Forces in the Middle East. (Imperial War Museum photo A 9106)

Field Marshal Smuts with Vice Admiral Sir Henry Pridham-Wippell, KCB, CVO, acting C in C Eastern Mediterranean, and Senior Naval officers. (Imperial War Museum photo A 9103)

Field Marshal Smuts on board HMS CLEOPATRA chatting to South African Naval personnel serving with the Royal Navy. (Imperial War Museum photo A 9107)

Field Marshal Smuts inspecting Royal Marine Guard of Honour on board the cruiser HMS CLEOPATRA. (Imperial War Museum photo A 9105)

Italian prisoners, captured in Libya, on board ship on route to the United Kingdom. One of the ship's gun emplacements can be seen in the foreground. (Imperial War Museum photo A 10602)

British paratroops marching away after disembarking from a troopship on quayside in Allied-occupied Algiers, Operation Torch, 12-13 November 1942. Note the French liner VILLE D'ORAN in the background. (Imperial War Museum photo NA 89)

Sea Power in World War II Album #1 (320 photos)