Read more
When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the clamoring in the press for a strong army largely overshadowed the need for considerable naval contributions to the war effort. Although it was small at the time, the U.S. Navy transported thousands of doughboys to France, all the while battling the predatory German U-Boats. Henry Ford tried to put his mass-production techniques to work to produce hundreds of submarine chasers to patrol American coastlines. The fledgling Naval Air Service was assigned the daunting task of dealing with enemy aircraft over France and in the Adriatic Sea. This is the personal account of men who served on the sea and in the air, as well as the captains of industry who made victory possible.
Industrial innovations contributed greatly to the Allied cause. George Eastman's Kodak Company developed ship and aircraft camouflage, and the General Electric Company perfected the hydrophone, a precursor to modern sonar. While many are aware of the exploits of Eddie Rickenbacker, the U.S. Army's ace, few know that the Navy also had an ace. After more than 80 years, these forgotten naval heroes receive the recognition that they well deserve in an account that attempts to give the war a human face through personal diaries, letters, and photographs.
List of contents
Foreword by Dwight R. Messimer
Foreword by Daniel P. Davison
Introduction
Ships, Ships, and More Ships
Battleships to Scapa Flow and the North Sea Barrage
Destroyers at War: Death in the Atlantic
They Came to Fight: The U.S. Navy's Converted Yachts
Sound Detectors, Y-Guns, and Subchasers
The Luck of the U.S.S. Von Steuben: Frederick Lemly's Story
The Death of the U.S.S. President Lincoln
The Loss of the U.S.S. Covington
Saving the U.S.S. Mount Vernon: Roland H. Baker's Story
The Tragedy of the U.S.S. Ticonderoga
Convoy Duty Aboard the U.S.S. Huntington: Howard W. Winn's Story
The U.S.S. San Diego Story
The Otranto Barrage
War in the Pacific: The Yangtze Patrol
The U.S. Navy Air Service: Squadrons to Europe
The Homing Pigeon Goes to War
Cleland Davis and His Amazing Invention
Aerial Photo Reconnaissance and Balloons
The Wings of Yale
The Adventures of Artemus Gates
The U.S. Navy's First Flying Ace
The Sopwith Camel: Deadly Avenger
The Northern Bombing Group
Air War Over the Adriatic
Epilogue
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the author
A. B. FEUER is a military historian and freelance newspaper and magazine journalist. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1946 and is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Society for Military History. His previous works include Commando: The M/Z Unit's Secret War Against Japan (Praeger, 1996), The Spanish-American War at Sea (Praeger, 1995), and The Santiago Campaign of 1898 (Praeger, 1993).
