USS Bennington Boiler Explosion and Rescues
A boiler explosion aboard the gunboat Bennington on July 21, 1905 turned routine naval service into a mass-casualty emergency. Rescue, medical care, investigation and public mourning followed.
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72 results for “USS L-3”
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USS Chesapeake vs HMS Shannon
Just days after Fort George fell, another drama played out at sea off the American coast. On June 1st, 1813, the American frigate USS Chesapeake sailed from Boston to challenge the British blockading ship HMS Shannon. In a furious, close-range engagement that lasted only minutes, British gunnery and boarding tactics shattered the Chesapeake’s crew, leaving Captain James Lawrence mortally wounded.
USS Constitution defeats HMS Guerriere
Early in the War of 1812, the United States Navy frigate Constitution intercepted the British frigate Guerriere in the Atlantic and accepted battle. In a sharp engagement marked by heavy gunnery and aggressive maneuvering, Constitution’s solid hull shrugged off many British round shot, giving rise to the famous nickname “Old Ironsides.” American broadsides dismasted Guerriere and left her so badly damaged that she ha
USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere
A story of a wooden frigate under fire, a nickname earned in cannon smoke, and a young navy learning it could stand toe-to-toe with the world’s best.
USS Iowa
Lead ship of the Iowa class, with service in World War II, Korea, and the renewed battleship program of the 1980s.
USS Kearsarge sinks CSS Alabama
Off the French port of Cherbourg, two warships met in a duel that captured worldwide attention and helped decide a quieter but crucial front in the Civil War. The Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama had spent years attacking Union merchant shipping across the globe, forcing the United States to divert warships to hunt her and driving up insurance rates.
USS Maine arrives in Havana harbor
As revolt simmered in Spanish-ruled Cuba and American public opinion burned with sympathy for Cuban insurgents, the armored cruiser USS Maine steamed into Havana harbor. Officially, the ship’s mission was to make a friendly visit and protect American citizens and interests in case unrest spilled over. Unofficially, her presence sent a blunt message that the United States was watching events closely and was willing to
USS Maine Explodes in Havana Harbor
On the night of February 15th, 1898, the battleship USS Maine exploded and sank while riding at anchor in Havana Harbor, killing more than two hundred American sailors. The ship had been sent to Cuba during a period of unrest as a visible symbol of United States interest in the island’s struggle against Spanish rule. When the Maine erupted and settled into the harbor mud, the immediate cause was unclear, and controve
USS Monitor
USS Monitor served for only ten months, but her rotating turret, battle with CSS Virginia, loss at sea, and continuing archaeological conservation made her one of the most consequential warships of the nineteenth century.
USS Nautilus reaches the North Pole underwater
In the Cold War, geography and technology combined to redefine what counted as a front line. The nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus had already shown that a boat freed from the need to surface for air could stay submerged for long periods. In early August 1958, Nautilus undertook a bold transit under the polar ice cap, passing directly beneath the geographic North Pole on August 3rd.
USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
A story of nuclear propulsion, undersea endurance, and how one boat reshaped the Cold War at sea.
USS Princeton gun disaster
On a winter day on the Potomac River in 1844, the brand-new steam warship USS Princeton hosted Washington dignitaries for a demonstration cruise. The pride of the ship was a massive naval gun nicknamed “Peacemaker,” intended to showcase the Navy’s technical skill and the promise of long-range, heavy artillery at sea.
USS Pueblo seized by North Korea
In the chilly waters off the Korean coast, the lightly armed intelligence-gathering ship USS Pueblo operated under orders to monitor North Korean communications. On January 23rd, 1968, North Korean patrol craft closed in, opening fire and boarding the ship after a tense confrontation in which one American sailor was killed and others wounded. The crew attempted to destroy classified material, but much was seized alon
USS Stark missile attack
On the evening of May 17th, 1987, the guided missile frigate USS Stark patrols the Persian Gulf during the long Iran–Iraq War, monitoring traffic in tense and crowded waters. An Iraqi aircraft approaches and launches two anti-ship missiles that strike the ship, causing fires and damage that kill dozens of sailors. In the chaos that follows, the crew fights to control the blaze, tend to the wounded, and keep the ship
USS Texas
USS Texas served from the Veracruz crisis through two world wars, fired in support of major amphibious operations, and survived as one of the most important preserved dreadnoughts.
Cassin Young
The first explosions rolled across Pearl Harbor like distant thunder, then slammed into the harbor with terrifying clarity. On the repair ship USS Vestal, moored outboard of the battleship USS Arizona, Commander Cassin Young felt his ship shudder as bombs found their mark up and down the fleet. Men sprinted for their battle stations, the air already thick with smoke, the rising whine of diving aircraft cutting throug
Decatur’s Raid in Tripoli Harbor
In the dark waters off Tripoli on February 16th, 1804, a young United States Navy officer, Stephen Decatur, led a small boarding party into one of the most celebrated raids in early naval history. The frigate USS Philadelphia had run aground and been captured months earlier, and Tripolitan forces now held her as a valuable prize in the First Barbary War.
Donald A. Gary
How a quiet engineering officer led hundreds from the dark below decks during one of World War II’s worst carrier disasters.