Typhoon Bearing

In this episode of the U.S. Naval History Podcast, we tell the story of the sinking of the USS Memphis (/Tennessee!), recounting the tragic events leading to the ship's demise as it was dashed against the rocks of the Dominican Republic by rogue waves. Heroic acts by the crew saved most aboard, and this episode highlights the three sailors who earned Medals of Honor for their actions that day.

Released on the anniversary of her wrecking.

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

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For a brief, glorious moment, the US Navy in 1865 was the biggest and most advanced in the world. It was an inflection moment in the history of naval shipbuilding. Sails were out, steam power, armor, and modern gunnery was in. But post-war, the United States took a 20-year innovation hiatus allowing the rest of the world to pass us by during this technological inflection point, only to begin to roar back in the 1880s, build a Navy worthy of the nation, defeated the Spanish, and became one of the great powers of the world. This is that story.

A New Force at Sea by David A. Smith

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

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Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

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Join us on the U.S. Naval History Podcast as we explore the lesser-known prelude to World War Two in the North Atlantic. The not-so-neutral "neutrality patrols" in the North Atlantic were the United States Navy's prelude to WWII. They resulted in an escalating but undeclared shooting war with the German Kriegsmarine before the attack on Pearl Harbor. We talk about the strategic decisions, political implications, and how President Roosevelt and senior U.S. political leaders grappled with the possibility of the Royal Navy falling into German hands. These intense patrols featured the first confrontations between American and German naval forces, from the first exchange of live ammunition to Roosevelt's fiery declaration of shooting first.

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

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Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

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On 29 July 1967, the USS Forrestal experienced a severe fire while operating on Yankee Station off the coast of North Vietnam that killed 134 Sailors, injured 161 more, and destroyed 21 aircraft. This was (and remains) the second worst loss of life on a U.S. Navy ship since World War II. The disaster resulted in a very long list of lessons learned -many of which can be better classified as “lessons forgotten” from carrier fires during World War II. This time, there was a very intentional institutional effort to cement these lessons into the Navy’s damage control psyche, training, and procedures which transformed the U.S. Navy’s approach to firefighting, damage control, and ordnance handling in the 50 years since the Forrestal disaster.

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

Support the show here: https://usnavalhistorypodcast.com/#/portal/signup

Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow me on IG: ⁠⁠⁠@USNavyPodcast⁠⁠⁠

Follow me on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ @ChaseHDalton⁠

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In this episode I answer a few questions that someone sent me via email on the concept of "unsinkable aircraft carriers" in the context of both WWII and China's artificial islands in the South China Sea. I elaborate on the parallels with WWII, explore how Japan's strategy of using islands as unsinkable carriers ultimately failed due to logistical challenges and limited plane production, and how that will differ from a US-China war. The episode also examines the advantages and disadvantages of islands compared to traditional carriers, considering factors such as repairability, defense, logistics, vulnerability, and concentration of forces.

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

Support the show here: https://usnavalhistorypodcast.com/#/portal/signup

Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

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Follow me on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ @ChaseHDalton⁠

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RADM Mike Studeman, the the Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Director of the National Maritime Intelligence Integration Office talks about China’s grand plan for the South China Sea, Xi Jinping and the psychology of authoritarian states, how the Chinese military may have been the tail wagging the dog in China’s recent border skirmishes with India, who would/would not side with the United States in a fight over Taiwan, the consequences for China if they do invade Taiwan, and a whole lot more.

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

Support the show here: https://usnavalhistorypodcast.com/#/portal/signup

Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow me on IG: ⁠⁠⁠@USNavyPodcast⁠⁠⁠

Follow me on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ @ChaseHDalton⁠

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In this episode of the US Naval History podcast's South China Sea miniseries, we delve into the Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) and China's illegal maritime claims. I dissect the misleading claims made by the China Global Television Network and explore the significance of different maritime features, such as islands, rocks, and low tide elevations, and the rights they grant to countries under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Discover why China's artificial islands fail to establish legal entitlements and how FONOPs aim to uphold international maritime rules.

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

Support the show here: https://usnavalhistorypodcast.com/#/portal/signup

Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

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What force wears uniforms, has their boats built by the government, are paid by the government, and attacks an enemy's boats and ships? No...not the Navy. We're talking about China's Maritime Militia in the South China Sea. The maritime militia is inextricably aligned with Xi Jinping's rise to power and assertion of China's "rights" to all of the territory inside of the nine dashed lines. Pushing back against the maritime militia (technically "innocent fishermen") has been a ige challenge for the United States and every other country in the region over the past 30 years. This is the story of the rise of China's maritime militia, and other gray zone tactics in the South China Sea. Enjoy.

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

Support the show here: https://usnavalhistorypodcast.com/#/portal/signup

Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow me on IG: ⁠⁠⁠@USNavyPodcast⁠⁠⁠

Follow me on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ @ChaseHDalton⁠

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The South China Sea is home to numerous disputed islands, reefs, and shoals, which have been the subject of territorial claims and military standoffs between China and its neighboring countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Malaysia. In this episode, we will delve into the complex history of the South China Sea conflict, exploring its origins, key events, and the current state of affairs, as well as the geopolitical and economic implications of this ongoing dispute.

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

Support the show here: https://usnavalhistorypodcast.com/#/portal/signup

Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow me on IG: ⁠⁠⁠@USNavyPodcast⁠⁠⁠

Follow me on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ @ChaseHDalton⁠

Please also share, rate, and subscribe to help the show grow. 

This is an breaking news podcast episode giving my brief thoughts and fears about the news that China will begin to inspect ships in Taiwan Strait. Taiwan says won't cooperate as this would be a major sovereignty violation. This has ling been my feared most-likely scenario for the beginnings of a US/China hot war over the Taiwan Strait. I really hope this is not the start of something hot, but looking back in 100 years, this may be noted as the day things started to go really off the rails for Cold War 2.0, if we're even lucky enough to call it a Cold War.

Link to Reuters article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-inspect-ships-taiwan-strait-taiwan-says-wont-cooperate-2023-04-06/

Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com

Support the show here: https://usnavalhistorypodcast.com/#/portal/signup

Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow me on IG: ⁠⁠⁠@USNavyPodcast⁠⁠⁠

Follow me on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ @ChaseHDalton⁠

Please also share, rate, and subscribe to help the show grow.