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In This Issue:
The Battle of Midway
The Captain Who Burned His Ships: Captain Thomas Tingey, USN, 1750-1829
The U.S. Nuclear Arsenal: A History of Weapons and Delivery Systems Since 1945
The Navy in Norco
The United States Coast Guard and National Defense - A History from World War I to the Present
So You Want to Write a Book Review?

The Battle of Midway

      

 

 By Craig L. Symonds, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York (2011).

 

Reviewed by Rear Admiral William J. Holland Jr. U.S. Navy (Retired)

 

Though titled after the single battle, the book's narrative begins at the planning of the attack on Pearl Harbor, covers the activities and planning of both sides leading to the decisions to attack Midway and culminates in the ensuing battle. In relating these events, the emphasis is more about people than events. All the principle actors are described in such detail that everyone who has served at sea or on a naval staff can relate to and appreciate their motivations, understandings and interactions. These descriptions and analyses of the actions of individuals are what make this book not just a factual dissection of events but preeminently a personality driven study of why things happened as they did.

 

In his preface, James M. McPherson, a giant of American historians, comments, "Symonds' vivid word portraits of these individuals - Japanese as well as Americans - their personalities, their foibles and virtues are an outstanding feature of the battle of Midway. Readers will come away not only with a better understanding of the strategies, operational details, and tactics of this pivotal battle but with greater appreciation for the men whose decisions and actions made that happen." This could not be better said!

 

Most stirring and inspiring are his descriptions of the relentless attacks by the American torpedo bombers in the face of murderous odds. Their individual resoluteness in the face of overwhelming firepower, with antique airplanes and faulty weapons, is brilliantly told.

 

 As close as any American assault in the manner of the Charge of the Light Brigade, more than anything else in the whole repertory of the battle, the dauntless pressing home of the attacks even though without a single hit was the tipping point on which the battle rested. These 41 airplanes, of which only four returned to their carriers, piloted in the main by Ensigns and Lieutenants (junior grade), absorbed the enemy's total attention thereby opening the skies for the dive bombers that annihilated the Japanese aircraft carriers, the Kido Butai. In the view of this old sailor, these are heroes to be immortalized - and Symonds has done a grand job doing so.

   

The centerpiece leaders are well known but their individual mannerisms and the difficulties faced rarely are so well described. The personality clashes and political hassles that exist in all organizations do not disappear under the pressures of war and those of 1942 are easily inferred from Symonds' work. Nimitz of course is shown calm, cool and collected. The total absence of jealous animosity between Admirals Fletcher and Spruance is a refreshing note where so many instances of clashing personalities handicapped intelligent action. On the other hand, Captain John Redmond, appointed director of the crypto analysis service even though he was unencumbered by experience, attempted to hobble the key to Nimitz's planning, the brilliant code breaker Joseph Rochfort. Rochfort's superior in the chain of command in Washington, Redmond distrusted Rochfort's intuition and wanted to control information flow, a prime example of over-centralization, authority exercised without knowledge.

 

The Japanese leadership problems also included personality defects, timidity by several, and brashness by some. These are briefly but clearly described. When Admiral Yamamoto's plans for the invasion of Midway were questioned at a meeting of the Naval General Staff, the resulting sharp exchanges did not bring about a careful reappraisal but were taken as an affront to Admiral Yamamoto. His threat to resign if his plan was not implemented ended the argument. Another instance proving the dictum that if the leader cannot convince his contemporaries and loyal subordinates of the wisdom his proposals, such proposals should be reexamined and probably discarded.

 

Professor Symonds has given us another marvelous history in The Battle of Midway as well as an inspirational story excitingly told. This book has lessons for officers in every grade and rank, No matter how many times you have read about the battle, or how many volumes on the subject one may own, this book is not to be missed and belongs in the library of every person interested in naval history.

 

Admiral Holland served most of his service in submarines and is Vice President of the Naval Histor ical Foundation.

 

 

The Captain Who Burned His Ships: Captain Thomas Tingey, USN, 1750-1829                                          

 


By Gordon S. Brown Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, (2011).

 

Reviewed by John Grady

 

Thomas Tingey was not a giant among the officers of the early American Navy, but his career as a midshipman in the Royal Navy sailing to Newfoundland and the Caribbean with few prospects of promotion, as a merchantman during and after the Revolution and American naval officer provides a useful framework to measure the struggles inside the administrations of the new republic with its Navy and what role it should play.

 

Gordon Brown, a career foreign service author, has done that skillfully in this slim biography from the Naval Institute Press. Tingey, who was born in Great Britain, spent most of the Revolution as a merchantman carrying on trade in the Caribbean and at least once to Scandinavia in St. Croix, then a Danish colony.

 

 From 1772 on, Tingey had at various times and for short periods lived in Philadelphia, indeed he was one of the first mariners from that city to enter the India trade following the winning of independence. After two decades of being a merchantman, he took the profits from his last trip to Madras and bought a 330-acre estate near Princeton, N.J., for his growing family. He was leaving the capital city at a time when tensions were rising between the United States and France, at the moment and constantly smoldering with Great Britain. The quiet life would elude him.

 

The mid-1790s also was the time when President John Adams wrung from Congress its approval of a Department of the Navy and the laying down of six frigates (eventually) and a number of smaller ships. The new department was also buying large vessels such as the one Tingey had captained on his last voyage and converting them into warships. All these moves by the Federalist administration were being made to protect the Atlantic Coast and American trading in the West Indies from the now-belligerent French and the constantly menacing pirates.

 

Navy Secretary Benjamin Stoddert knew he needed men like Tingey to serve as commanders in the Navy. Tingey also likely worked his own connections in the Navy and in the maritime community of Philadelphia to win his commission. Soon enough, he was again at sea - this time as an American naval officer. The country life proved only an interlude.

 

By 1800, Tingey was in the new capital on the banks of the Potomac supposedly assigned to oversee the construction of a 74-gun ship of the line that he was to command; but with a Navy Yard more of an idea than a reality, he was also helping speed its building.

 

And it was as commandant of the Navy Yard that Tingey made his greatest contributions to the  Navy.

            

I found three areas in Brown's work especially illuminating.

           

The first was how Tingey, a Federalist, worked surprisingly well with the Democratic-Republican administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe especially. These economy-minded administrations turned away from building large ships of the line as too costly to construct, equip and man and embraced gun-boats for coastal defense and protecting American merchantmen in Mediterranean. It was during the eight-year Jefferson administration's middle years that the Washington Navy Yard became truly organized under Tingey and his able superintendent John Cassin. Under Madison, he labored to prepare the yard for the conflict that the "War Hawks" wanted. He also had to re-establish the Washington Navy Yard after its destruction in the wake of the British invasion of the Chesapeake.

 

The second point handled well was how Tingey, who has written on early Washington's political and social life, mixed his duties with providing opportunities for his in-laws, family and friends to benefit from his position and how he moved deftly in elite Washington circles socially, politically and economically - particularly real estate. As Brown wrote following an early dust-up over "the liberality of family contracts" that even when charges were not proven or Congress refused to investigate, there was a pattern of providing "official opportunities for profit to his family and friends." The senior captain also "probably was capable of pressuring his employees to see things his way" in examining contracts for supplying the yard with materials. The nepotism and cronyism and the overbearing exertion of authority were less troubling then and, for the most part, illegal now.

 

The third area is the brisk and deft description Brown presents of the British attack on Washington in 1814 and the very blunt order that Tingey carried out after he had "satisfactorily ascertained that the enemy has driven our army and entered the City" to destroy the undefended Navy Yard. Tingey with a few other officers, civilian workers, sailors and Marines set fire to the powder trains in the yard's warehouses. The fire they set aboard frigate Columbia spread rapidly to the storehouses and then the workshops. Then, the men set fire to the distant storehouses and hulls of three frigates at anchored in the river before they set off for the safety of Alexandria in two gunboats and the commandant's gig. Tingey, in his official report, noted "he had been the last officer to leave the city and the first to return" to the wreck of the yard he had carried out and the looting of his home and the yard by the civilians who stayed behind.

 

As we near the bicentennial of the War of 1812, The Captain Who Burned His Ships is a book worth buying. Brown correctly places Tingey in his proper historical place.

           

John Grady conducts oral histories on behalf of the Naval Historical Foundation

 

The U.S. Nuclear Arsenal: A History of Weapons and Delivery Systems Since 1945       

      

 

By Norman Polmar and Robert S. Norris 

   

Reviewed by Captain James B. Bryant. U.S. Navy (Retired)

 

This is more than a well-written and researched reference book, but also an examination by experts of the evolution of nuclear weapons policy. When you absolutely need to know everything about how, why and where a US nuclear warhead and its delivery system was developed, this is the book you must have. You are spared the technical details, like nuclear physics, but you get a basic understanding of how the warhead reached the target, avoided countermeasures, and the expected damage. Some examples of these fascinating details follow.

 

The rapid development of nuclear weapons delivery technology is presented from its beginnings with the German World War II V-1 (Buzz Bomb) and V-2 rocket designs. The U.S. Army produced an operational German V-1 cruise missile a month after they were used to attack England in June 1944. The design was copied and put into production, but this stockpile was not needed after Japan surrendered. This allowed these "jet bombs" to be used as test platforms for the development of nuclear and conventionally armed cruise missiles including the submarine launched Regulus, the land-launched Snark and the Tomahawk.

 

The first Intercontinental Missile was the strategic cruise missile Snark (Snark is a Lewis Carroll fictional creature from the 1876 book, that survives in modern usage as "snarky"). The 10-year troubled, test program led to so many Snark crashes near Cape Canaveral, FL that these waters became known as "Snark infested." The only operational Snark Wing was retired in June 1961 just one year  after the first missile went on alert.

 

Sometimes these programs went to the extreme, even bizarre. In 1955 the Secretary of Defense directed that Jupiter-S liquid fueled Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles be designed for seaborne launch. The submarine version was proposed to carry three missiles in the middle section where the sail would help accommodate the 50 foot long missiles. The plan to fit these large, liquid-fueled missiles in a submarine that had to surface to launch them only seems bizarre (interesting drawing on page 184). This plan is exactly what the Soviets used in their GOLF and HOTEL class ballistic missile submarines (see Cold War Submarines by Norman Polmar and Kenneth Moore).

 

The Pluto Supersonic Low-Altitude Missile (SLAM) does achieve the bizarre status with its nuclear ramjet engine. This "unmanned bomber" was supposed to cruise at Mach 3 speeds at tree top levels over the Soviet Union while tossing out hydrogen bombs. The program was cancelled in 1964 after spending 320 million dollars because of radiation issues involving the nuclear-powered ramjet.

 

After commanding Guardfish (SSN 612) at the end of the Cold War Captain Bryant was a Deputy Commander of Submarine Squadron 11 before being assigned to the Political-Military Division of the Navy Staff.

 

The Navy in Norco    

 

 

By Kevin Bash and Brigitte Louxtel. Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant SC. (2011)

Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart

This book is part of the Images of America series. Norco, California, is located some 50 miles east of Long Beach. On 8 November 1941, the U.S. Navy began proceedings to purchase the bankrupt 700-acre Norconian Resort and converted it into United States Naval Hospital Number 1. During World War II, the hospital went through a number of name changes, in January 1942 to U S Naval Hospital Norco and in February 1942 to U S Navy Hospital Corona. The hospital was active, with decreasing bed capacity, until 1 November 1949 when it was closed. The hospital was reopened in February 1951 and then closed for good in 1957. Local efforts to have the hospital transferred to the Veterans Administration met with failure. During World War II, while the hospital handled war wounded, it served mainly as a contagious disease treatment center. The hospital had wards devoted solely to the treatment of tuberculosis, polio, and rheumatic fever.

In 1951, the National Bureau of Standards, Missile Development Division, took over a third of the hospital buildings for scientific research. In 1953, this organization was renamed Naval Ordnance Laboratory Corona and in 2011 is still in existence. The laboratory actively participated in supporting missile development based at Point Mugu.


Starting in the 1960s, various portions of the hospital grounds were declared surplus to the Navy's 
 needs and transferred to the state of California and to the city of Norco. The state of California turned its portion of the holdings into a drug treatment center and prison. The division of the land among three different governmental units has led to various land use conflicts. At present, many of the state and city-owned structures are deteriorating due to this ongoing conflict.

The book has a nice two-page introduction which provides an overview history of Norco from 1920 to 2010. This, in turn, is followed by 118 pages of photos divided into eight chapters. With a few exceptions, each page contains two photos, with each photo having 50 to 100 word captions attached. The first three chapters recount the history of Norco before the Navy arrived, while the last five cover the Navy's presence. Chapter Four's 45 pages cover the history of the World War II hospital from the point of view of the staff and its patients. Chapter Five records the various celebrities that visited the hospital and is a Who's Who of Hollywood. Chapter Six covers the relationship of the citizens of Norco with the hospital, bond drives, USO dances, and scrap drives. Chapter Seven covers the Navy's scientific use of the hospital site by the National Bureau of Standards/Naval Ordnance Laboratory. The last chapter looks at the hospital site today and is very sad reading.   


This book should be read by anyone interested in U.S. Navy medical history. One often forgets that diseases during World War II were still a great killer and incapacitator of sailors. Tuberculosis, which today we consider rare, forced the U S Navy during World War II to construct a 500 bed isolation ward at Norco. The pictures and text give an excellent view of the inter-relationship of one community with the U S Navy.

 

Charles H. Bogart of Frankfort Ky is a frequent contributor to Naval Book Reviews 

     

   
The United States Coast Guard and National Defense - A History from World War I to the Present  

 

 

By Thomas P. Ostrom., McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC. (2012).

 

Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart

 

Anyone interested in the United States Coast Guard will want to read this well-written and researched book. The book consists of fifteen chapters and three appendices. Each chapter and appendices is a stand-alone article on the history of the Coast Guard or a report on current Coast Guard operations. The chapters are 1) The Coast Guard from 1790 to 1920; 2) World War II operations; 3) Korean War operations, development of Loran, and duty in Alaska; 4) Incidents of the Cold War and Vietnam; 5) Providing logistical support and training in Indochina; 6) Cold War operational incidents which at times reflect credit on the Coast Guard and at other times do not; 7) Historical and current operations on the Great Lakes including search and rescue, law enforcement and navigational support; 8) Natural disaster response and involvement in the War on Terror at home and abroad; 9) Coast Guard aviation from 1919 to today; 10) Maritime Homeland Security responsibilities; 11) Military and humane support as provide in Kosovo, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf; 12) Port security here and abroad and combating piracy; 13) The Coast Guard today, its budgets, assets, and missions; 14) The Arctic Sea and national security operations and considerations; and 15) The Coast Guard Heritage. The three supporting appendices are, in truth, stand-alone chapters that continue to tell the story of the Coast Guard: A) Discusses Coast Guard operations during Prohibition and provides short biographical sketches of each Commandant from 1928 to 1990; B) Gives short biographical sketches of each Commandant from 1900 to 2010 and sets each one's accomplishment within the framework of government policies and budgets he/she had to work within; C) Is a status report on the Coast Guard in 2010.

 

I found the book very informative concerning the history of the Coast Guard and, more importantly, in learning about the Coast Guard's place within overall U. S. domestic and overseas policies. All of the chapters could be developed into book length treatments. I realize that the author was constrained by page limitations, but I wish he had more fully developed some of his chapters as he has raised some issues deserving of more research. Both the chapter on the Arctic Ocean and the one on the Great Lakes did not do justice to the range of topics the author touched upon. In addition, both Appendices A and B call for an individual to undertake a book that delves deeper into the background of each of the 20th century Commandants of the Coast Guard, and outlines the problems they faced, their response to these problems, and a critique of their term as Commandant.

 

This book goes a long way in providing basic information on today's Coast Guard. I would think that any reporter assigned to cover Coast Guard activities could perform a far better job after having read this book. This book deserves to be in t he library of anyone interested in the Coast Guard or the workings of the U.S. government.

 

Charles H. Bogart of Frankfort Ky is a frequent contributor to Naval Book Reviews  

 
 
So You Want to Write a Book Review?

 

By David F. Winkler, Ph.D.

Naval Historical Foundation

 

The Naval Historical Foundation receives many published naval history monographs, memoirs and some historical fiction an is interested in fostering a monthly e-publication dedicated to drawing attention to these publications. With a membership that includes individuals with real world experience and interests in certain topics, as well as dedicated scholars, we see an opportunity to evaluate and promote these types of publications with good reviews.

 

Interested? In our next edition of Naval History Book Reviews we will be posting a list of books recently received. If you are interested in doing a review of one of the books posted, we will ship that book for you to read and review. You get to keep the book!

 

A good book review does take some craftsmanship! This is more than a second grade book report. A reviewer has a responsibility to be objective and provide good analysis of the work. When I receive a book for review the first thing I look at are the bibliography, citations, and index. If one of those is weak or non-existent, a red flag is noted in my mind and mention will be made in the critique. Reading the book from cover to cover, I'll note if the material is new or a synthesis building on works of others. If this book does build on or differs from the work of others, it is well worth noting those works in the review. How does this book fill a void in our understanding of naval history? How well is the narrative written? Does the author get bogged down with techno-jargon? Finally a word or two about the author's background should be noted. You may want to Google him/her to see what else he/she has written and how those books were reviewed. Many of our reviewers have every taken the opportunity to converse with the author to gain insights about the quality of research and motivation behind the writing. For our purposes, we are looking for 400-800 word reviews.

 

Once you have written your review please send it in and I will work with you to tweak the final product which will then be posted in our Naval History Book Reviews e-letter. Once published, we are retaining the reviews on our www.navyhistory.org website. We will also republish the reviews on our website blog at a later date to get your critique out to an even greater audience.

 

We look forward to working with our members in building on this initiative.

Naval Historical Foundation
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Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia 20374

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