Fighter pilot Butch O'Hare became one of America's heroes in 1942 when he saved the carrier Lexington in what has been called the most daring single action in the history of combat aviation. In fascinating detail the authors describe how O'Hare shot down five attacking Japanese bombers and severely damaged a sixth and other awe-inspiring feats of aerial combat that won him awards, including the Medal of Honor. They also explain his key role in developing tactics and night-fighting techniques that helped defeat the Japanese.
In addition, the authors investigate events leading up to...
Fighter pilot Butch O'Hare became one of America's heroes in 1942 when he saved the carrier Lexington in what has been called the most daring single a...
In 1983 the Marine Electric, a -reconditioned- World War II vessel, was on a routine voyage thirty miles off the East Coast of the United States when disaster struck: The old coal carrier sank in the frigid forty-foot waves and subzero winds of the Atlantic, and of the thirty-four men aboard, only three survived. Until the Sea Shall Free Them recounts in compelling detail the wreck of the Marine Electric and the legal drama that unfolded in its wake--a lawsuit that led to vital reforms in the laws regarding the safety of ships.
In 1983 the Marine Electric, a -reconditioned- World War II vessel, was on a routine voyage thirty miles off the East Coast of the United States when ...
On 12 August 1943, on Midway Island, Lt. Cdr. I. J. Galantin took command of the fleet submarine USS Halibut. For the next fourteen months, Galantin and his officers and crew would play their part in the unrelenting attack on Japan's navy and merchant marine. But it was in Luzon Strait in November 1944 that the submarine and its crew underwent their greatest ordeal. Detected and driven down while attacking a decoy, Halibut was subjected to an assault of appalling ferocity. Badly damaged, the crippled sub and crew endured hours of desperate maneuvering and helpless waiting before the...
On 12 August 1943, on Midway Island, Lt. Cdr. I. J. Galantin took command of the fleet submarine USS Halibut. For the next fourteen months, Gal...
With a sharp eye and wry wit, Roger Hall recounts his experiences as an American Army officer assigned to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. First published in 1957 to critical and popular acclaim, his book has become a cult favorite in intelligence circles. The story follows Hall's experiences from a junior officer fleeing a tedious training assignment in Louisiana to his quirky and rigorous OSS training rituals in the United States, England, and Scotland. Quick to pick up on the skills necessary for behind-the-lines intelligence work, he became an expert instructor....
With a sharp eye and wry wit, Roger Hall recounts his experiences as an American Army officer assigned to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) durin...
Known to seafarers as the Devil's Jaw, Point Honda has lured ships to its dangerous rocks on California's coast for centuries, but its worst disaster occurred on 8 September 1923. That night nine U.S. Navy destroyers ran into Honda's fog-wrapped reefs. Part of Destroyer Squadron 11, the ships were making a fast run from San Francisco to their homeport of San Diego as fog closed around them. The captain of the flagship Delphy ordered a change of course, but due to navigational errors and unusual currents caused by an earthquake in Japan the previous week, she ran aground. Eight...
Known to seafarers as the Devil's Jaw, Point Honda has lured ships to its dangerous rocks on California's coast for centuries, but its worst disaster ...
In the 1950s and early 1960s a small fraternity of daring, brilliant men made the first exploratory trips into the upper stratosphere, reaching the edge of outer space in tiny capsules suspended beneath plastic balloons. This book tells the story of these tenacious men as they labored on the cusp of a new age, seeing things that no one had ever seen and experiencing conditions no one was sure they could survive.
Mostly U.S. Air Force and Navy officers, among them doctors, physicists, meteorologists, engineers, astronomers, and test pilots, they struggled with meager budgets,...
In the 1950s and early 1960s a small fraternity of daring, brilliant men made the first exploratory trips into the upper stratosphere, reaching the...
The USS Bullhead was the last American naval vessel lost in World War II. This history of the submarine--from launch to disappearance--is told by the only war correspondent allowed on a wartime submarine patrol. Narrow escapes from floating mines, fast dives to avoid enemy aircraft, and a daring sortie to rescue three badly hurt survivors of a downed B-25 are just a few of the adventures Martin Sheridan recounts. Trained as a feature writer, he shares his own experiences as well as the humorous and poignant incidents of everyday life aboard the submarine to capture that intangible...
The USS Bullhead was the last American naval vessel lost in World War II. This history of the submarine--from launch to disappearance--is told ...
In a wartime Navy of giant carriers and battleships, tiny wooden subchasers did not command much attention. Yet these 110-foot warships, manned mostly by inexperienced reservists, performed vital chores for the fleet everywhere there was action in World War II. They led landing craft right up to the assault beaches, protected them from fire, fought off air attacks, swept for mines, laid down smoke screens, and patrolled the sea for killer submarines. One such doughty little ship, subchaser 692, is the subject of this book.
Told by 692's commanding officer Ed Stafford, then a...
In a wartime Navy of giant carriers and battleships, tiny wooden subchasers did not command much attention. Yet these 110-foot warships, manned mostly...
Jesse Leroy Brown was born in 1926 to sharecroppers in the segregated South. An outstanding student and top athlete, he set his sights on becoming a Navy pilot despite the resistance of his family and the rampant Jim Crow laws. Brown went on to become the first black man to fly a Navy fighter and make a carrier landing. Based on archival documents and interviews with those who knew Brown, this is both a stirring story of a man breaking historic racial barriers and a thrilling tale of naval carrier aviation and combat.
Jesse Leroy Brown was born in 1926 to sharecroppers in the segregated South. An outstanding student and top athlete, he set his sights on becoming ...
During the 1920s Herbert O. Yardley was chief of the first peacetime cryptanalytic organization in the United States, the ancestor of today's National Security Agency. Funded by the U.S. Army and the Department of State and working out of New York, his small and highly secret unit succeeded in breaking the diplomatic codes of several nations, including Japan. The decrypts played a critical role in U.S. diplomacy. Despite its extraordinary successes, the Black Chamber, as it came to known, was disbanded in 1929. President Hoover's new Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson refused to continue its...
During the 1920s Herbert O. Yardley was chief of the first peacetime cryptanalytic organization in the United States, the ancestor of today's National...
