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First Continental Congress
Congress produced a statement of rights it believed England should grant the colonists. -
Second Continental Congress
Continental Congress felt forced to act as the provisional government for the colonies. They issued money, established a postal service and created a Continental Navy. -
Birth of the US Navy
Second Continental Congress authorized the purchase of two vessels used to search for munitions ships supplying the Brittish Army. -
Establishment of the Office of Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence from 1882 to 1889 and from 1919 through WWII. Established by William H. Hunt, SECNAV. -
Voyage of the Great White Fleet
US President Roosevelt dispatched 16 Navy battleships of the Atlantic fleet from Hampton Roads, Virginia for a round-the-world cruise to show the flag. -
GM1 Ingrahm attacked by German Submarine on USS Cassin
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Launch of USS Osmond Ingrahm
First ship named after and enlisted man (102.3) -
The On-The-Roof Gang - Radio operator intercept school
CNO announced the establishment of a school to instruct radio operators in intercept operations, specifically for Japanese kana. Classes were held in a wood structure atop Navy Headquarters building in Washington. Since the radiomen could not explain their classwork to others, they acquired the nickname "The On-the-Roof Gang". -
The Purple Code - SIS first deciphered Japnese Purple Code
The SIS made their first solution to the Japanese diplomatic messages enciphered in the Purple Code. The Purple Machine was first used in Japan in June 1938. US and British cryptoanalysts had broken some of its messages well before the attack on Pearl Harbor. -
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Navajo Code Talkers
The Navajo code talkers took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. Code talkers transmitted messages over military telephone and ratio nets in their native language during WWII, a code that the Japanese never broke. -
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Battle of Coral Sea - Worlds first carrier on carrier battle
US broke Japanese Navy code and was alerted to a large Japanese force moving to Coral Sea. Japanese planes sank two minor ships, while US planes sanke and isolated the enemy carriers. One Japanese carrier was damaged, carrier USS Lexington was sunk, carrier USS Yorktown was damaged. Coral Sea was a tactical victory but a strategic set-back for the Japanese. -
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Battle of Midway - Turning point in the Pacific War
The US broke Japanese code again. A juge Japanese armada of 160 warships was approaching midway with 4 aircraft carriers and 11 battleships. The US had 3 carriers and no battleships. Admiral Nimitz positioned his 3 carriers (USS Hornet, USS Enterprise, and USS Yorktown) out of Japanese range. The US sank four Japanese carriers and the Japanese sank the USS Yorktown. -
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Battle of Guadalcanal
The US secured the island of Guadalcanal from the Japanese. All five of the Sullivan brothers were stationed on the USS Juneau. The damaged Juneau left for repairs but was torpedoed. All of the Sullivans and 700 others were lost. Navy policy concerning family member seperations was changed and the USS Sulivans was named in their honor. -
Battle of Normandy - D-Day, Operation OVERLORD
Largest amphibious operation in history. The greatest armada ever assembled. Carried out minesweeping, shore-bombardment, and amphibious operations and transported supplies and troops. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
In a last-chance effort to salvage the Phillipines, the Japanese sent a naval force to Leyte Gulf to attack the US fleet. It backfired and was a complete failure that severed their empire. The homeland was cut off from its main supply source from the south. -
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Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC)
Designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the US Army's balistic research laboratory. Constructed under the code name "Project PX". Conceived and designed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Echert of the University of Pennsylvania. -
The National Security Act of 1947
Signed by President Truman, it reorganized US Armed Forces, foreign policy, and the Intelligence Community after the Cold War. Merged the Department of War and DON into the National Military Establishment (Later known as DoD). Seperated the Air Force from existing Army Air Forces. Unified the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Established the National Security Council. Established the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. -
Mercury 3 - First US manned space flight
Manned by Alan B. Shepard -
Gemeni 3 - First US two-man space mission
First spacecraft to maneuver from one orbit to another, 3 earth orbits. Manned by John W. Young. -
Attack on the USS Pueblo
The USS Pueblo was an ELINT and SIGINT Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). North Korea claimed the vessel had strayed into their territorial watters while the US claimed the ship remained in international waters. USS Pueblo is still held by DPRK today while remaining a commissioned ship of the US Navy. It is located in Wonsan Harbor as a museum ship. It is the only US ship currently in captivity. -
The EC-121 Shootdown
The USN EC-121 was on a SIGINT recon mission and was shot down by North Korean aircraft over the Sea of Japan killing all 31 crewmembers. The EC-121 was under orders not to come closer than 50 miles to the coast. Search and rescue operations revealed only the debris. -
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Apollo 11 - First manned lunar landing
Manned by Neil A. Armstrong -
First message transmitted over ARPANET
The first message transmitted over ARPANET was sent by UCLA student programmer Charley Kline. Transmitted message was from the universities host computer to the Stanford Research Institute's host computer. -
First Permanent ARPANET Link
The first permenant ARPANET link was established between the IMP at UCLA and the IMP at Stanford Research Institute. -
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Apollo 17 - Seventh and final lunar landing
Manned by Eugene A. Cernan and Ronald E. Evans -
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STS-1 - First orbital test flight of a Space Shuttle
All navy crew John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen -
Attack on USS Stark
During the Iran-Iraq war an Iraqi jet fighter fired missiles at the USS Stark killing 37 and wounding 21. It is the only successful anti-ship missle attack on a US Navy warship. The board of inquiry cited lapse of training requirements and procedures. -
Hainan Island EP-3 Incident
A mid-air collision between a US Navy EP-3E surveillance aircraft and a J-8II interceptor fighter jet resulted in an international dispute between the US and China. The 24 Crewmembers were detained and interrogated by the Chinese authorities. For 15 minutes after landing the crew continued to destroy sensitive items and data on the aircraft per DoD protocol. They were taken to a military barracks to be interrogated for two nights. The crew members were detained until April 11th.