The United States Navy played a fundamental role in victory in World War Two, especially in the Pacific. Despite the setback following the Pearl Harbor attack, the US Navy was able to quickly recover and within a year it was on the way to eventual naval supremacy. Learn more about the US Navy's origins, the US Navy's history, and the US Navy's importance in World War Two in this article.
US Navy History
Naval forces have been important to military strategy and national defense since before the United States existed. However, the development of professional naval forces dates to not long after the nation's founding.
US Navy Origins
The Continental Congress established the Continental Navy in October 1775, the first origins of the US Navy. This navy was disbanded after US independence.
However, pirates from the Barbary States in North Africa that targeted American trade ships in the Mediterranean prompted President John Adams to create a permanent standing navy with the Naval Act of 1794.
Fig 1 - The USS United States, one of the original 6 ships built after the establishment of the US Navy, scores a victory in the War of 1812.
The Old Navy
Naval historians often split the US Navy's history into two eras, the "Old Navy," dating from the US Navy's origins in 1794 to a modernization effort in the late 1800s that ushered in the era known as the "New Navy."
The Civil War
While the Old Navy participated in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War in 1846 as well as smaller conflicts, its most important pre-modern era was during the US Civil War.
Union naval forces installed a blockade of the Confederate states as part of its war strategy, although Confederate blockade runners were at times successful at breaking it.
Ironclads and Submarine Warfare: Achievements of the US Navy in the Civil War
In March 1862, a historic first occurred at the Battle of Hampton Roads. Two ships armored with iron engaged each other in combat. The first armoed ships, called ironclads, were developed by France just 3 years earlier, and each side in the US Civil War had begun using them by 1861. Their effectiveness on the battlefield meant that steam powered, armored ships would permanently replace wooden sailing ships as the backbone of naval forces in the closing years of the 19th century.
Another historic naval first also occurred during the US Civil War. In February 1864, the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sank a Union ship participating in the blockade off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, the first successful use of submarine warfare in history. The Hunley was lost after its attack, but by the time of the First World War, submarines had become common and would be even more imporant during World War Two.
Mystery and Discovery of the Hunley
The Hunley had actually sunk and killed its entire crew twice in practice runs before the successful attack. After its loss the third time, the location of the Hunley remained a mystery until it was finally discovered in 1995. It was raised in 2000 and is currently on display at a preservation center. There has long been considerable debate over why the submarine was lost and how its crew died. A 2017 study by Duke University suggested that the blast wave created by its torpedo may have instantly killed the crew even while leaving the submarine intact.
FIg 2 - The first meeting of ironclad ships during the US Civil War.
The New Navy
After the Civil War, the Navy shrunk and by the 1880s, most of its ships were outdated or in disrepair. Around this time, the US Navy underwent a modernization effort that helped turn it into one of the strongest navies in the world.
Especially influential was a book written by US naval officer Alfred Thayer Mahan who argued that naval power was fundamental to national power. He argued that having a strong navy not only gave nations advantages in wars, but also secured trade and ensured prosperity. His book was highly influential not only in the US, but also around the world and contributed to a massive build up of naval forces at home and in Europe.
The securing of shipping lanes and coal stations were key motivating factors in the expansion of the United States in the closing years of the 19th century and opening years of the 20th. The Spanish-American War in 1898 saw the US gain control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and it also annexed Hawaii the same year. A US naval ship played a key role in Panamanian independence, which led to the US acquiring the rights to build the Panama Canal.
A strong US Navy would be supported by these new colonies and would, in turn, protect these new overseas territories.
The Great White Fleet
From December 1907 to February 1909, a US naval fleet completed a trip around the world ordered by US President Theodore Roosevelt. The 16 battleships and smaller escort ships were painted white, and it visited many countries during its voyage.
While the visits were friendly, the fleet was also meant to signal to the world that the US was now a major naval, and by extension, major world power.
Fig 3 - The Great White Fleet.
The US Navy was also active after the US entry to World War One. In the years following World War One, with the advent of the aircraft as a major tool on the battlefield, the aircraft carrier became one of the most important aspects of naval warfare.
A sign of how much the US Navy had grown was the agreement reached in the Washington Naval Treaty, an outcome of the Washington Naval Conference. In this treaty, the major powers agreed to limit their naval production to certain ratios to prevent an arms race. The US was allowed to build the same number as Great Britain, the strongest traditional naval power. Of course, by the late 1930s, all major powers, including the US, were engaged in arms buildups before the start of World War Two that included the expansion of their navies.
The US Navy's Importance in WWII
When World War II broke out in 1939, though the United States was not yet involved, the U.S. Navy began to build even more vessels, including aircraft carriers, planes, warships, and more.
From Disaster to Supremacy: Pearl Harbor to the Midway
The United States entered the war after the infamous December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan.
The Japanese goal at Pearl Harbor had been to sufficiently weaken the US navy so that it could expand uncontested in the Pacific. While the attack was successful in the element of surprise, and a number of ships were sunk, including 4 battleships, it ultimately failed to be the decisive blow the Japanese had hoped it would be.
Fig 4 - The USS Arizona Battlship sinks at Pearl Harbor.
The US Navy's aircraft carriers were not at Pearl Harbor, and the attacks did not destroy the repair yards, allowing some of the ships sunk to be salvaged and allowing Pearl Harbor to continue to function in support for the war effort. The attack also became a key part of US propaganda and rallied support for the war effort among the public.
We won a great tactical victory at Pearl Harbor and thereby lost the war.1
Did You Know?
There is an oft cited quote from Japanese admiral Yamamoto that says, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." This quote originated in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!, and the filmmakers claim it is from Yamamoto's diary. However, there is no evidence that Yamamoto ever actually said or wrote these words, although the quote lives on as a powerful myth and arguably a true characterization of the outcome of the attack.
The Battle of the Midway in June 1942 is considered the turning point in the War in the Pacific. During this battle, the US Navy scored a decisive victory over the Japanese, including sinking all four of the Japanese aircraft carriers at the battle.
While it left the war in the Pacific far from decided, the victory at the Battle of the Midway allowed the US Navy to get off the back foot reacting defensively and gain the strategic initiative. The Japanese also were unable to sufficiently keep pace with construction of new ships to replace losses after this battle, paving the way for the US to achieve naval supremacy.
Fig 5 - The Japanese ship Mikuna sinking at the Battle of the Midway.
Other Important US Navy Battles in World War Two
The navy began to back up ground forces with both seacraft and aircraft. A few important US Navy battles during World War Two in addition to the Battle of the Midway include:
Participation and support in the invasions of North Africa and Italy.
The Battle of the Atlantic, where the US Navy took a leading role in hunting down and countering German submarines from its entrance into the war in December 1941 until the war's end in 1945.
At Guadalcanal, the US navy played a key support role in bombarding Japanese land positions from the sea.
The June 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea, the largest aircraft carrier battle in history, was another decisive victory for the US Navy, and all but ended Japan's ability to carry out large naval operations.
The US Navy played a key support role and provided the landing craft for the Normandy D-Day invasion.
During the combined land and sea battle of Okinawa, the US Navy suffered heavy losses from Japanese kamikaze pilots.
Island Hopping
As part of the US Navy's strategy in the War in the Pacific, they adopted a policy of "island hopping." As Guadacanal, and later battles at places like Okinawa and Iwo Jima, illustrated, landing and defeating Japanese land forces on the small islands in the Pacific were incredibly costly.
Therefore, this strategy called for US forces to pick and choose strategically located islands to take rather than take every single one, effectively hopping or skipping over some of the islands. The US Navy played a key role in clearing the way to the islands and bombarding Japanese positions as part of the invasions. Airbases on the islands taken would play a role in the taking of the next one, until finally, Japan itself could be struck.
Even with this stragegy, invasion of the islands was incredibly costly in the face of ferocious Japanese resistance. Many historians believe the carnage on Okinawa was a key factor in Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb rather than carry out an invasion of the Japanese mainland.
Women in the US Navy
In the summer of 1942, with the war in full force, the U.S. Navy established the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). About 100,000 women stepped up to help defend the country. In previous wars, women mostly served as nurses, but as WAVES, they performed various duties as clerks and trainers, often afforded the opportunity to work in jobs that were traditionally done by men. Beginning in October 1944, WAVES began accepting African-American women.
In 1948, Congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, which established the WAVES as a permanent unit in the navy. In 1978, all-women units were integrated with all-male units.
Fig 6 - African-American WAVES enlistees.
US Navy Since World War Two
The US Navy was clearly decisive in the outcome of World War Two, especially in the Pacific. It would go on to play an important role in the Cold War as well with nuclear submarines especially becoming ever more important. Aircraft carriers used to provide air support also played important roles in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
In more recent times, the US Navy was important in both invasions of Iraq and the War in Afghanistan. It primarily provided support with aircraft carriers and the firing of cruise missles against strategic targets in these present day conflicts.
The end of the Cold War left the US Navy as the strongest in the world, but the opening decades of the 21st century have seen renewed naval tension with China. The traditional 50/50 split of US naval forces in the Pacific and Atlantic was revised to a 60/40 split in favor of the Pacific in a sign that the Pacific is again seen as the main theater of potential naval competition.
Did You Know?
The US Navy was the largest in the world from 1943, when it surpassed the British Royal Navy during World War Two, until 2020, when China's navy surpassed the US in number of ships.
US Navy Structure
The US Navy's structure today consits of four main bodies:
- Office of the Secretary of the Navy - an executive department within the US Department of Defense. The Secretary of the Navy must be a civilian at least 5 years removed from active service.
- Office of the Chief of Naval Operations - this executive office is meant to assist the Secretary of the Navy in making decisions and overseeing navy operations.
- Operating Forces - these are the actual active US naval units deployed. There are 9 geographical areas where the US operates task forces. Currently, there are 7 active US naval fleets.
- Shore Establishment - the Shore Establishment is responsible for running land based operations that provide logistical support and repair for the US Navy.
Interesting Fact
The Secretary of the Navy (and the secretaries of the Army and Airforce) were considered members of the US President's Cabinent until a reorgainzation in 1949 put them all under the authority of the Secretary of Defense. A number of admirals vehemently opposed this, publicly criticizing Harry Truman in what was called the Admiral's Revolt.
The US-Navy - Key takeaways
- The US Navy's origins date to its permanent establishment in 1794.
- US naval forces played an important role in the Civil War, including the first use of ironclads and the first successful attack by a submarine.
- After 1880, the US Navy underwent an important modernization, setting it on the path to becoming one of the largest naval forces in the world.
- After the setback from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the US Navy was forced to rapidly recover but ultimately played a decisive role in the War in the Pacific. After a major victory over the Japanese Navy at the Battle of the Midway, the US Navy held the strategic initiative for the rest of the war.
- The US Navy became the largest in the world by 1943, and it played a key role in the conflicts of the Cold War and those of more recent years.
References
- Japanese Admiral Tadachai Hara, quoted in Codebreakers' Victory: How the Allied Cryptographers Won World War II by Hervie Haulfer.
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