Showing titles in Naval Forces

Dive into a thrilling naval history showdown where a small, outgunned fleet dismantled Europe's most terrifying empire. Perfect for an educational commute, this dramatic audio experience transports you directly to the treacherous, blood-stained waters of 1588. Feel the intense political...

Discover the gritty maritime history of ruthless outlaw sailors rebelling against the world's most powerful empires. Perfect for a gripping commute, this immersive dive into the Golden Age of Piracy strips away the Hollywood caricatures to reveal desperate seaborne workers. You will experience...

Dive into a gripping military history where an underdog island nation defies a global superpower in a brutal naval war. Transform your daily commute into a tense voyage through sixteenth-century Europe, where religious conflict and imperial rivalry ignite the seas. Feel the storm-lashed rigging...

This gripping maritime history tracks the fatal naval battle that sent a legendary treasure ship to the seafloor. Perfect for a suspenseful morning commute, this immersive narrative transports you back to 1708 off the coast of Colombia. Witness firsthand how the fragile ambitions of a global...

Enter the gripping World War II frontline where one day of intense military combat decided the fate of Europe. Perfect for an engaging morning commute or focused historical listening, this immersive narrative drops you directly into the ticking-clock tension of Operation Overlord. High-level...

Step into the cockpit for a gripping World War II history of the desperate aerial combat that turned the Pacific tide. Perfect for an immersive commute, this harrowing true story chronicles the brutal carrier clashes and jungle airstrip dogfights of the South Pacific. From the devastating shock...

Descend into the tense, claustrophobic world of naval history where stealthy underwater combat dictates global strategy. Perfect for an edge-of-your-seat commute, this immersive military narrative explores the deadly cat-and-mouse hunts that redefined oceanic warfare. Experience the raw suspense...

The surprising and little-known story of how the United States and Russia forged an extraordinary friendship during the Civil War. In 1863, as the Civil War raged, Russian warships suddenly appeared in New York and San Francisco, sparking celebrations across the North and raising hopes that...

When Lt. Cdr. Waldo Drake, USNR arrived in Pearl Harbor in June 1941 as the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s first Public Relations Officer (PRO), he was an admired maritime reporter for the Los Angeles Times and Reserve Officer appointed to intelligence duties. By October 1944, he was hated by most of...

Karen Solt, an eighteen-year-old nonconformist with an alcohol problem, is working at a gas station when a slick Navy recruiter railroads her into enlisting in the military. Before she knows it, she is on a ship in the Deep South, struggling to navigate not only a world much different from her small Northern Arizona hometown, but also her new discovery: she’s gay.

In Too Far on a Whim, Tyler A. Pitrof presents a high-spirited revision of the US Navy's commitment to high-steam propulsion systems, the mainstay of its World War II fleets. Pitrof's research persuasively demonstrates that in its war against the Imperial Japanese Navy, the US Navy succeeded despite its high-steam propulsion systems rather than because of them. Pitrof provides an account that extends far beyond technology and into matters of naval hierarchies and bureaucracy, strategic theory, and ego.

On the evening of June 27, 1918, the Llandovery Castle—an unarmed, clearly marked hospital ship used by the Canadian military—was torpedoed off the Irish Coast by U-Boat 86, a German submarine. Sinking hospital ships violated international law. To conceal his actions, the U-86 commander had the submarine deck guns fire on survivors. One lifeboat escaped with witnesses to the atrocity. Global outrage over the attack ensued.

Following the First World War, it was expected that the next war would be between Japan and the U.S. for control of the vast Pacific Ocean. Responsibility for conducting surveillance of the Pacific to detect attacks from Japan fell to the Navy. This was a problem for the Navy because surface ships were too slow and the Navy had too few of them, and airplanes lacked the range to conduct the needed reconnaissance.

On March 9, 1862, the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia met in the Battle of Hampton Roads—the first time ironclad vessels would engage each other in combat. For four hours the two ships pummeled one another as thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers and civilians watched from the shorelines. Although the battle ended in a draw, this engagement would change the nature of naval warfare by informing both vessel design and battle tactics.

On October 31, 1803, the frigate USS Philadelphia ran aground on a reef a few miles outside the harbor of Tripoli. After hours under fire, the Philadelphia, aground and defenseless, surrendered, and 307 American sailors and marines were captured. The bashaw ordered the crew moved into an old warehouse, and the officers were eventually moved to a dungeon beneath the Bashaw's castle. While the officers were treated as "gentlemen," although imprisoned, the sailors worked as enslaved laborers.

Hard Aground brings together three intertwined stories documenting the US Navy's strategic and materiel evolution from the end of Civil War through the First World War. The first story focuses on the reconstruction of the US Navy following the swift and near-total dismantling of the Union Navy infrastructure after the Civil War. Jampoler argues that the federal government discovered that the fleet requested by the navy, and paid for by Congress, was the wrong fleet.

Simmering racial tensions inflamed by discriminatory punitive measures sparked a violent confrontation aboard the USS Kitty Hawk while it was engaged in air strikes off the coast of North Vietnam. The US Navy charged Black sailors with rioting and assaults on White sailors in an incident referred to as a race riot, while totally ignoring violent unprovoked assaults committed by White sailors and Marines. 

Whether you're an avid paranormal enthusiast or a curious listener seeking a thrilling adventure, Haunted Ships & Boats promises to captivate, entertain, and inspire your imagination. Each chapter offers a captivating exploration of a unique maritime haunting, complete with historical context, spine-tingling eyewitness accounts, and the eerie legends that persist to this day.

Having Seaman Jenna as the mascot on the USS Vandegrift was never meant to be a statement or symbolic act, or to put the crew on the radars of four-star admirals. Jenna came aboard unannounced, a Christmas gift that brought instant joy to the crew and transformed a gray ship into a home for 225 sailors. Her addition was not pre-approved by the chain of command—contrary to military protocol. Before long, Jenna became a phenomenon—the only dog on a Navy ship since World War II—despite the best efforts to keep her from the public eye.

Every Friday, Secretary Thomas Modly wrote a personal message to the entire department, regardless of rank. Those messages were called SECNAV Vectors. Each Vector was intended to clearly communicate his priorities and to establish a rapport with all levels of the organization. The subject of each Vector was inspired by ongoing events that occurred in real time. As these events unfolded, the secretary’s unyielding emphasis on being prepared for the unpredictable was proven to be prescient as the navy found itself, unintentionally, in the center of the Covid-19 crisis.