The Naval Institute Press is the foremost naval and military history publisher in the United States, and every year, they run a major sale for the holidays. The standard offer, which they've done again this year, is 50% off everything that isn't on clearance and free shipping. Typically, I give this analysis in an open thread, but I decided to split it out this year.

First, a few words about USNI's IT, which has been bad this year even by the rather low standards they've set in previous years. Most, but not all, full-price books have an automatic holiday coupon when you put them in your cart that gives you 50% off. Stuff in the Clear the Decks Clearance and a some books coming out Spring 2024 don't have this coupon. And you only get free shipping if you put something with the coupon in your cart, but if you do have the coupon, it applies to everything in the cart. I've been in touch with them about this, and hope they get things fixed. Read more...

Netflix recently had Midway available, so I decided to give it a watch. Not the abomination from a few years ago, because I've already watched it once and don't hate myself enough to go through that again, but the 1976 version. It opens with a declaration that they're going to use as much combat footage as possible, which is I suppose the best way to handle this in that era. And, wonder of wonders, it skips Pearl Harbor, jumping straight to...the Doolittle Raid. Sort of out of the frying pan and into the fire there in terms of "things bean thinks are overdone", but points for originality and they don't feel the need to rub the whole thing in our faces, getting it over within the credits sequence. Oh, and the bombers aren't hitting Tokyo in formation for once.

Now, for the bad things. The effects aren't great, and the action sequences are made far worse by the fact that this was clearly not a production with a large budget, so a ton of footage was reused, either from previous films or color combat footage, which mostly appears to be from later in the war. This is occasionally amusing (the Kates on the way to Midway carry torpedoes, battleship masts appear at Midway and Hiryu launches her last strike at dawn) but mostly just serves to completely destroy any narrative to the action. It's lots of swooping planes (sometimes even the right type) intercut with closeups of the participants, but no sense of how the battle is going beyond the dialog. There's also wildly variable film quality, and lots of the real footage is very clearly wrong, ranging from 5"/38s appearing on the Japanese side to Yorktown sprouting Bofors as a defensive measure while under air attack. And while they don't slam you in the face the way Michael Bay does with the Spru-cans, there's a lot of 70s-era ships on screen in the new footage (all of which in fairness did serve in WWII) and Yorktown at one point grows a steel flight deck and deck-edge elevator. Read more...

It is time once again for our regular open thread. Talk about whatever you like, so long as it isn't culture war.

Unfortunately, it looks like the USNI sale is currently down, but when it is back, it will be excellent.

Overhauls are Ballistics, Iowa Part 3, the Alaska class Parts One and Two and for 2022, Taranto and Museum Review - DC Redux.

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It is time once again for our regular Open Thread. Talk about whatever you want, so long as it isn't Culture War.

If you want more about what's been going on, see the Navy Day post from Friday.

Except the USNI holiday sale, which has already started. Look for a list of recommendations next week.

Overhauls are Iowa Part 1, Underbottom Explosions, The Last Days of the High Seas Fleet, JDAM, Submarines in the Falklands Part 1 and for 2022 my revised review of Midway and In Defense of Missile Defense

It is once again time to celebrate the US Navy, and the 6th anniversary of this blog.

Every year when I think about this, I grow more astonished that this has continued for so long. It's been a fairly quiet year, with the new stuff happening on the social side. There's the Discord, which I started early in the year and which currently has almost 100 members. It's been a lot of fun, and a good brain trust for everything from world events to blog posts. Second, we had the meetup in LA back in June, which was tremendous fun. So much fun, in fact, that I'm currently in early planning for the next one, which will be held in New England, probably in the first half of May. Attractions include Battleship Cove and the USS Massachusetts, the Submarine Force Museum in Groton and for those more interested in sailing ships, Mystic Seaport. Also expect great company and excellent food, courtesy of the same catering team that did the DSL meetup in DC two weeks ago. If you're interested in attending, please fill out this form so I can keep you appraised of progress. Read more...

The idea that every man¹ has a responsibility to fight for his country is ancient. But different societies have implemented this in different ways, and it's worth taking a deeper look at the system that was developed in the late 19th and early 20th century, and which continues in some countries to this day.

The most important fact to understand about modern conscription is that it is at core based on voluntary compliance, much as the tax system in the US is. I don't particularly like paying taxes, and if the government told me I didn't have to, I would be quite happy, but I (and almost everyone else) accepts the fundamental authority of the government to tax us and complies more or less willingly. Likewise, the sort of broad-based conscription that provided the manpower for the World Wars essentially rested on society as a whole being fundamentally behind the idea that demanding young men pay² in time and danger is normal and fine. Contrast this system, where people get a letter and generally show up, with (for instance) the impressment system, which was implemented by the government sending out a gang to grab people by force, and the gangs were often resisted by force, too. Read more...

On September 8th, 1923, seven American destroyers ran aground at Honda Point, on the coast of California. It was a foggy night, and the crew of the lead destroyer, Delphy, had gotten confused and thought they were further south than they actually were before turning for the Santa Barbara Channel. And a number of the following destroyers, in line at high speed, followed her onto the rocks. Their crews responded magnificently, and the men from four of the ships - Delphy, S. P. Lee, Young and Chauncey - had managed to get ashore, while a fifth, Nicholas, was in a position where the crew couldn't reach shore safely, and would have to wait out the night. The men who had made it ashore got help from the nearby railroad Section House, and aid was summoned from nearby towns.

Woodbury and Fuller aground

Unbeknownst to them, two more ships, Woodbury and Fuller, had struck rocks 300 yards offshore, although fortunately the rock that Woodbury had struck was about 25' high and big enough to shelter the crew until help could arrive. A few men had jumped across to it when the ship first struck, although unsuccessful attempts to back Woodbury off had widened the gap somewhat. A line was quickly passed, and the crew evacuated hand-over-hand despite the attempts of the ship's roll to snap the ropes. A survivor from Young was discovered in the water alongside and fished out, while the Captain had the presence of mind to order food, water and fuel be transferred to the rock, allowing the crew to stay in reasonable comfort. Another stroke of fortune was the presence of DesDiv 33's medical officer aboard Woodbury, although he had few patients to deal with. Read more...

It's time once again for our regular Open Thread. Talk about whatever you want, so long as it isn't Culture War.

First, I am in DC this weekend for a meetup, and readers in the area are invited. Come to Cassander's house (1002 N St NW) at 7 pm on Saturday. There will be interesting company and excellent food. Or if you're in the mood for it, I'm taking a group to Udvar Hazy earlier that afternoon, and will post details if anyone is interested. Feel free to come even if you aren't a typical member/don't comment/etc.

Second, USNI News recently published a long piece on a P-8 patrol over the South China Sea that is well worth reading.

Third, I will repeat my call for guest content and/or questions I can answer in a relatively short amount of time for the upcoming semi-hiatus.

Overhauls are Going back to Iowa, MSC Part 2, and for 2022, Marine Detachments and my review of the San Diego Maritime Museum.

The men aboard the destroyers aground at Honda were in a perilous situation. Some of them were aboard ships still in reasonable shape, although that would change as the hulls worked against the rocks. Others, particularly the men crouched on the upturned side of Young, were in imminent danger of being washed into the pounding seas. All would have to try to reach safety, although for most of them, it was unclear what that would mean, beyond a less exposed position, maybe at the top of the cliffs. The general consensus was that they were aground somewhere like the uninhabited San Miguel Island.

First to begin evacuation was the crew of the S.P. Lee, their ship listing 30° and with waves breaking entirely over the ship. The first threat came from the crippled Nicholas, which was bearing down on the Lee before an encounter with a pinnacle of rock stopped Nicholas clear of her sister. But if Nicholas broke loose, Lee would suffer heavy casualties, and even if she didn't, the pounding surf would soon make Lee untenable. Only 50' separated her from the cliffs, but it was a maelstrom of swirling water. Two men fought their way across in a rubber raft, securing a line to the rocks, although there was only a narrow ledge of rock to land on and no obvious route to the top of the 100' cliffs. While they did this and returned aboard Lee, a signalman aboard her made contact with Nicholas by blinker, and it was reported that the second destroyer was fast aground, but in no immediate danger, so it was decided that, barring a change in her situation, her crew would remain aboard until daylight. Read more...