Some 70 years ago, Vern Johnson was on the USS Helena when it was struck by Japanese torpedoes in a place called Kula Gulf, sinking the ship and killing more than 100 men. “There was a boom and there ...

A Military Minute in History is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung ...

A team of scientists led by undersea explorer Robert Ballard discovered the bow of the heavy cruiser New Orleans on Monday. (Ocean Exploration Trust) On Nov. 30, 1942, a torpedo slammed into the heavy ...

USS Baltimore primer: During the Second World War, the U.S. Navy’s Baltimore-class heavy cruisers became the first of their kind to be designed without the limitations of the London Treaty. Outlined ...

It’s a bright November morning in the Solomon Sea. Aboard the Japanese heavy cruiser Chokai, Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa surveys his regrouping fleet with confidence. The destroyers glide ahead in ...

WASHINGTON — On a dark night with no moon and heavily overcast skies on Nov. 30, 1942, the USS New Orleans was one of 11 cruisers and destroyers sailing in formation into the waters near the Solomon ...

KEYPORT, Wash. — The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Helena (SSN 725) crew held a decommissioning ceremony July 25 at the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington. The ceremony ...

What was once used to secure a U.S. Navy cruiser during combat is now permanently anchored at one of Helena’s favorite gathering spots. The seven-ton anchor at Anchor Park near Lewis & Clark Library ...

On Nov. 30, 1942, a torpedo slammed into the heavy cruiser New Orleans, sending the bow, two gun turrets and more than 180 sailors to the bottom of Ironbottom Sound, near Guadalcanal in the Solomon ...

Summary and Key Points: The Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, although less famous than Iowa-class battleships, played a key role in World War II by protecting U.S. Navy carrier groups and bombarding ...