January 1943, while on her fourth war patrol, the USS Growler (SS 215) from Brisbane, Australia, had been patrolling the sea lanes to Rabaul on the western end of New Ireland, she encountered a fatal missed opportunity. The area had been active and alerted to the presence of an American submarine prowling around. The Growler … Continue reading Prepare for Collision! The Ramming of the USS Growler and a Japanese Gunboat
Today’s post is by Joseph P. Keefe, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at Boston. The USS Braine was a twenty-one-ton Fletcher class destroyer which had been built and launched at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine in March of 1943. Following her participation in General Douglas MacArthur’s campaign to retake the Philippines, the … Continue reading The Kamikaze Attack on the USS Braine, May 27, 1945
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park Just a little over 75 years ago, in early August 1942, American forces landed on Guadalcanal with the mission of pushing the Japanese forces off the island. By the end of December, the Imperial General Headquarters (IGH) decided … Continue reading The Sinking of the Japanese Submarine I-1 off of Guadalcanal and the Recovery of its Secret Documents
Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands has recently been in the news regarding the possibility that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were captured by the Japanese and taken to Jaluit Atoll in July 1937. Whether that happened or … Continue reading Captain Alfred Parker on Jaluit Atoll, March – April 1937
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. This is the third, and final, in a series of posts on the fate of the USS Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea, May 8, 1942. The previous posts (1) described the Battle of the Coral Sea, included … Continue reading The Death of a Lady: The USS Lexington (CV-2) at the Battle of the Coral Sea, Part III: Battle Report
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. The previous post described the Battle of the Coral Sea, included a transcript of portions of the log of the USS Lexington describing the action on May 8 1942, and included images of the entire log for that day. The following … Continue reading The Death of a Lady: The USS Lexington (CV-2) at the Battle of the Coral Sea, Part II: Photographs
Today’s blogger is Stephanie Stork, a summer 2013 intern in the Archives I Reference and Processing Sections who worked with Navy records. Working at the National Archives this past summer as an intern with the Old Navy/Maritime Reference staff allowed me to work with an array of exciting documents, which I’ve come to appreciate as … Continue reading The Curse of Hindsight: December 7, 1941
