Wednesday, August 03, 2005

More Navy History

Today was a busy day in history for the United States Navy, according to their official site. In 1804, under the command of Commodore Edward Preble, the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy, and a squadron attacked Tripoli to free captured, enslaved American seamen. This occurred as a part of the Barbary Wars, waged against slave-trading Moslem kingdoms in North Africa. Hmmm, some things never change, apparently.

On this day in 1861, the construction of the USS Monitor was authorized, leading to a revolution in the design of warships. In 1942, yet another milestone occurred, as the first female officer commissioned in the Naval Reserve. On this day in 1950, Marine aircraft and helicopter actions in the war against North Korea were being taken. And to harken back to my earlier post regarding the USS Nautilus, on this day in 1958, she reached the geographical North Pole- the first ship ever to do so submerged.

Finally, on this day in 1970, the USS James Madison, SSBN 627, fired the first Poseidon missile whilst submerged off the coast of Cape Kennedy.

Please see the Naval Historical Web Site for additional information regarding our Navy's great history.

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