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HNLMS Zuiderkruis (1975-2012) was the second Fast Combat Support Ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy. It was primarily intended for Replenishment At Sea, fueling task groups and NATO units. As a modern design Zuiderkruis enabled a “one stop replenishment” and also carried AVCAT, fresh water and spare parts. A helicopter deck facilitated vertical replenishment.

HMS Leander was completed in 1963 as the first ship of the Leander Class Improved Type 12 General Purpose Frigates. In 1974, she joined the 3rd Frigate Squadron, which included other Leander-class frigates. The design was the most successful Western frigate of its time and led to several new international designs.

The ships of the Jacob van Heemskerck class of the Royal Netherlands Navy were constructed as specialized air defense frigates. The two ships that were built served for about twenty years in the R.N.N. Since 2005, both ships are in service as the Almirante Latorre class in the Chilean Navy.

The ships of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class were designed in the United States in the mid-1970’s as general-purpose escort vessels. They were inexpensive enough to be bought in large quantities and replace older ships. Meant to protect amphibious landing forces, supply and replenishment groups, and merchant convoys from submarines, they also became part of battleship-centric groups and aircraft battle/strike groups.

The ships of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class were designed in the United States in the mid-1970’s as general-purpose escort vessels. They were inexpensive enough to be bought in large quantities and replace older ships. Meant to protect amphibious landing forces, supply and replenishment groups, and merchant convoys from submarines, they also became part of battleship-centric groups and aircraft battle/strike groups.

A definitive study of Union naval power and the blockade that reshaped the Civil War.

In From Cape Charles to Cape Fear, acclaimed historian Robert M. Browning, Jr. offers a vivid and authoritative account of the Union Navy’s North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, a critical force in the American Civil War. Charged with enforcing the blockade along the Atlantic coastline from Virginia to North Carolina, the squadron played a decisive role in crippling the Confederacy’s economy and restricting its access to vital supplies.

Browning reveals the blockade as far more than a passive defensive strategy. Through detailed analysis of naval operations, coastal engagements, and strategic planning, he demonstrates how Union forces exerted control over key waterways and ports, including Norfolk and Wilmington. These contested hubs became focal points in a high-stakes struggle involving daring blockade runners, shifting naval tactics, and constant pressure on Southern trade networks.

Blending operational history with compelling narrative, Browning also captures the human dimension of naval warfare. Sailors and officers faced unpredictable weather, dangerous missions, and the relentless demands of maintaining control over an expansive coastline. Their experiences illuminate the challenges and complexities of maritime warfare during one of America’s defining conflicts.

Accessible yet richly researched, this book highlights the central importance of naval power in shaping Civil War outcomes. From Cape Charles to Cape Fear stands as an essential work for readers interested in Civil War history, naval strategy, and the enduring impact of maritime operations on the American past.
 

One woman’s quest for knowledge of her father lost at sea

Mary Lee Coe Fowler was a posthumous child, born after her father, a submarine skipper in the Pacific, was lost at sea in 1943. Her mother quickly remarried into a difficult and troubled relationship, and Mary Lee’s biological father was never mentioned. It was not until her mother died and Mary Lee was a middle-aged adult that she set out to learn not only who her father was, but what happened to him and his crew, and why—and also to confront why she had shied away from asking these questions until it was nearly too late.

Fowler searched through old ships’ logs, letters, and naval communiqués; visited submarine museums, the Naval Academy, and other pertinent sites; interviewed old friends and crew members who knew her dad and mom or served concurrently; and slowly reconstructed the world in which they lived. Beautifully written, Fowler’s memoir reveals what she eventually learned: of the perils and harships of submarine service in wartime, of the tragic irony of how her father’s sub was probably lost, and of the long-term damage experienced by the families of those who do not come home from war.