3 April 1945.
Original Caption: “Dragon teeth on the Siegfried Line presented an obstacle to tanks of U. S. Seventh Army in the Wissembourg area, France. Note teeth extend to mountains which raise a natural barrier.”
Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-203387 Photographer: Sgt. Robert G. Heller.
Fast forward some 80 years, and the line has moved well East but still looks much the same, only a bit less angular and more…NATO.
Some 110 years ago this month.
Imperial Russian Army pilots and observers training in Kiev, Ukraine, August 1916, with American-made Colt 1895 pattern “potato digger” machine guns, likely made by Marlin-Rockwell.
Contrary to the common trope of being underarmed, the Tsar’s purchasing agents were fond of all things machine gun, with Cossack cavalry carrying Madsen guns in Manchuria in 1904 and the Tula Arsenal putting the Russian version of the water-cooled light Vickers (Maxim) in mass production by 1910– a model that is still in active service today around the world.
As best recalled from “Quiet Flows the Don” by Mikhail Sholokhov, when a young Cossack came to the unit’s attention in 1920:
“I’d like to ask to be transferred to the machine gun team.”
“Are you familiar with a machine gun?”
“I know the systems of Shosha, Bertier, Madsen, Maxim, Gochkis, Bergman, Vickers, Lewis, and Schwarzloze.”
Some 85 years ago this week, on 22 August 1941, at the Navy Gun Factory (now the Washington Navy Yard), Mine Recovery School Class No. 1 graduated, minting 10 officers (three of them Coasties), five chiefs, and eight ratings in the art of Navy EOD.
Note the distinctive broad eagle cloth cap insignias on the three USCG officers in the front row, standing out from the smaller eagle devices on the USN officers
These men, who all certainly went on to risk life and limb around moody, explosive-filled devices so that others may keep theirs, were the Navy’s first “Crabs.”
Over 340 American EOD techs have lost their lives since 1942.
The first U.S. casualty in mine disposal was Navy Ensign John M. Howard (who graduated in Class No. 2) when the washed-up German TMA-1 magnetic influence mine he was attempting to defuse on 11 June 1942 exploded on Corton sands at Garton, near Lowestoft in England.
Today, the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal community numbers roughly 2,290 active and about 140 reserve personnel, but has been very well seasoned, especially during the Sandbox years, in counter-IED and UXO disposal, while keeping their gratefully lesser-used skills of underwater de-mining and WMD disposal at more of an academic level.
Plus, the Crabs of today benefit from investments in unmanned underwater vehicles, advanced sensors, and a “fusion of machine learning and artificial intelligence to extend the reach and lethality of operators.”
Their unofficial motto is a very understandable, “Initial success or total failure.”
We covered the story of the civilian-mariner-operated Homeland Security Cutter Ocean (the leased M/V Connor Bordelon) back in June.
A 257-foot/3,285 LT “Ultralight subsea intervention vessel” with a 60-ton AHC crane and a 55-foot helicopter platform, Ocean has the capacity to carry nearly 70,000 gallons of potable water, produce another 3,100 a day, and carry 122,000 gallons of transferable diesel. She also has a massive open deck that can carry a diverse mixture of CEUs, which can carry additional supplies.
Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean moored at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, June 26, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)
Well, HSC Ocean is online and recently was used to conduct a replenishment at sea with the 270-foot diesel-powered Bear-class USCGC Forward (WMEC 911) in the Caribbean Sea, a historic first for the service.
Note the CEUs on HSC-Ocean’s deck
Nice to see a MK75 76mm OTO still in U.S. service
Of course, it was stationary in a near-zero sea state, but it was still an all-USCG RAS between two decent-sized non-USN/MSC vessels, which is saying something about how expeditionary warfare could look in the coming years in the West Pac or CENTCOM.
As noted by USCG Atlantic Area:
The HSC-Ocean initiative rapidly deploys leased commercial support vessel capabilities to deliver supplies, equipment, and personnel directly to our cutters underway. By integrating this commercial logistics technology, we keep our high-demand assets on station longer—enhancing our ability to save lives, strengthen border security, and ensure our crews are always ready to respond to maritime crises in the Caribbean and Western Hemisphere.
EMCM/MDV (Ret) Mary J. Bonnin has passed in an accident on dry land, near her home in Panama City, at age 63.
Wisconsin-born Mary joined the Navy in 1976, finished “A” school to become an Electrician’s Mate (EM), and became one of the first women (following Donna Tobias in 1975) to complete Navy Second Class Dive School in Little Creek in 1977 (with a 200-pound dive rig), graduating at the top of her class, the Honorman position.
After service on a dry dock, in 1982, she completed First Class diving school in Panama City, becoming the first enlisted female diver certified in both air and gas diving (with a 300-pound hard hat rig).
Finishing tours with USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37) working on ships husbandry, she became an instructor training at the Second Class Dive School at NAB Coronado for three years, then shipped out as Master Diver on the salvage ship USS Grasp (ARS-51), having made MD in 1990 by unanimous decision of the Board.
Keep in mind that of the 7,750 dive-certified personnel in the Navy, only about 1,300 are rated as Navy Divers (ND) and only about 75 of those are Master Divers.
She was the Navy’s only female MD until 2024!
She trained for another three years at the First Class school at Panama City, finished her uniformed career at the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, Virginia as a Master Chief (E-9) Master Diver, retiring in 1996.
During her six years as a Navy diving instructor, Bonnin trained more than 1,000 divers, shaping that very small community for decades.
Mary Bonnin was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2000.
She had three sons, and reportedly kept diving for practice torpedoes while eight months pregnant with her first.
She hosted a great sub-Reddit and made a great podcast appearance on Bottom Dwellers a few years back.
And so we remember,
On the road in Idaho at an industry event, so instead of our regular Warship Wednesday programming, please accept this glimpse of the past.
Every warship fan knows of the (in)famous Great War-era Moltke-class battlecruiser SMS Goeben, which had been used by the Ottomans as Yavuz Sultan Selim and then by the Turkish Navy simply as TCG Yavuz.
Decommissioned in 1950 and used as a pier-side naval headquarters until 1960, she was put up for sale when efforts by the Turkish government to have West Germany buy her back as a museum ship for a nominal fee failed.
By August 1966, the old girl was sitting idle at Gölcük Naval Base, Turkey, nearing the final chapter of her historic existence, being recycled for her value in pre-Atomic steel.
A series of amazing, if somewhat forlorn, images was captured by British gentleman photographer Aubrey Houston Bowden in August 1966, now in the Imperial War Museum, which chronicled the world’s last remaining battle cruiser and the final capital ship of both the Kaiserliche Marine, the Donanma-yı Humayun, and the Türk Deniz Kuvvetleri.
Below is a sample:
Check out these great new recruiting posters for the USCG, which show off current programs (MSRT, Blackfin MH-65Es with HITRON, etc.) in an early 1980s throwback style.
The last features a great image by Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Robertson of Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Ilima Maiava, an aviation survival technician assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Kapolei, Hawaii, during training with a Barbers Point MH-65 Dolphin June 3, 2026. The station uses rescue watercraft to assist in rescue swimmer training by providing safety watch, mitigating the use of two helicopters.
It also serves as a good Segway to the new…
Earlier this year, the Coast Guard stood up a program to train maritime LE folks on high-speed watercraft to intercept human smugglers and deter unlawful migration in shallow surf zones and restrictive environments where traditional pursuit boats cannot safely go.
Based in San Diego, the program excels in using jetskis to conduct shallow water pursuits in tight spaces, narrow channels, and shallow surf zones. The training is part of the Office of Rapid Response and Prototyping (CG-RAPTOR) Coast Guard program, which identifies, tests, and deploys new technologies, including tactical personal watercraft.
Coast Guard members conduct personal watercraft interdiction training at Coronado Beach, California, Jan. 15, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Roberto Nieves)
They are using what looks to be all-black Yamaha FX Series WaveRunners with P2P Rescue attachments while the livery includes USCG ensign flashes and white stencils, but no racing stripes.
U.S. Coast Guard personnel demonstrate the use of jet skis during a training exercise in San Diego, California, Feb. 11, 2026. The training highlights the service’s implementation of new watercraft assets to enhance rapid response, interdiction, and maritime safety operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA2 Carmen Caver)
And yes, they use Nods and blue/green lights.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Austin Ladner, a maritime enforcement specialist, maneuvers his personal watercraft during night operations training near San Diego on May 8, 2026. Ladner was one of the first qualified Coast Guard PWC operators and instructors; he initially trained with qualified U.S. Border Patrol personnel. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Dugan, a maritime enforcement specialist, instructs his class of unqualified PWC operators during night operations training near San Diego on May 7, 2026. Dugan was one of the first qualified Coast Guard PWC operators and instructors; he initially trained with qualified U.S. Border Patrol personnel. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)
They can work directly alongside tactical pursuit boat crews as a combined unit and perform physically demanding interventions in dark, turbulent surf to stop smugglers from abandoning migrants in dangerous waters.
U.S. Coast Guard personal watercraft operators follow behind a Coast Guard boatcrew near Point Loma in San Diego on May 8, 2026. The unqualified PWC operators followed behind a boatcrew as part of a force package before simulating a pursuit by chasing their qualified instructors at high speeds. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)
Note the very sharp USCG insignia on the front cowling of the above image in the below inset:
260508-G-JO805-6513
The force was seen in New York Harbor during the recent Sail250 evolution as well.
Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Dorian Casey, assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard National Motor Lifeboat School in Ilwaco, Washington, operates a Coast Guard personal watercraft near the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in New York Harbor during Sail 250, July 5, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Perry Shirzad)
You gotta admit, it sells itself as far as recruiting goes.
Some 52 years ago this month, a high speed formation off the coast of southern California. August 1974.
We see the front runner, the Interdiction Craft Experimental (CPIC-X), in the center, flanked closely by the experimental hydrofoil USS Flagstaff (PGH-1) at the top and the Osprey class PTF (Fast Patrol Boat) 24 at the bottom.
NHHC Catalog #: K-104584
For reference, CPIC-X was a 100-foot high-performance turbine powered prototype combatant built in 1974 by Tacoma Boatbuilding Company and used as a test bed for the Emerlec 30mm mount among other installations. She was loaned to the ROK Navy for a few years then returned.
The Grumman-built Rolls Royce turbine-powered 73-foot Flagstaff entered service in 1968, was loaned to the USCG from November 1974 to March 1977, then returned with a blown engine and abandoned, fading into history around 1999.
The 95-foot Osprey class PTF-24 was among the Navy’s last PT boats and was disposed of in the 1980s, although some of her sisters have been poking around in civilian hands.
A recent addition to Naval Station Norfolk’s Gate 2 are a pair of historic, and rare, Cold War era twin mounts: two twin 3″/70 Mark 26 guns in Mark 37 mounts.
The guns came from the old USS Norfolk (DL-1), the one-off ASW destroyer flotilla leader commissioned in 1953.
The first major warship not built to a WWII design, she was as big as a light cruiser (5,600 tons, 540-feet), carried eight 21-inch torpedo tubes, 4 twin 3″/70 Mark 37s, and Weapon Alpha/Able, the latter a gee-whiz sub-buster that could toss a dozen 525-pound ASW rockets to 800 yards
USS Norfolk (DL-1) was one of the few ships outfitted with Weapon Alpha. Two of the four mounts can be seen side-by-side forward of the bridge. Note two of her twin 3″/70s forward. She is seen here in 19 September 1957. NH 94160
While Weapon Alpha was replaced by ASROC, the rapid-fire 3″/70s were almost as quickly phased out with four mounts on the command light cruiser USS Northampton (CLC-1), four on Norfolk, and two each on the four Mitscher-class DLs for a total of about 16 or so mounts. They were fast, capable of firing as many as 100 15-pound shells per minute to 38,000 feet in an AAA role (19,500 yards range at 45 degrees).
Once Norfolk was scrapped in 1974, two remaining 3″/70 mounts were originally on display at the Recruit Training Center (RTC) Orlando. After the center closed in the mid-1990s and all recruit training consolidated at Great Lakes, they were moved to the Boca Raton Community High School in Florida and finally to Naval Station Norfolk in 2020, where they have been in storage for a bit.
Restored back in May, they arrived at Gate 2 for duty renewed.
Some 55 years ago, Southeast Asia.
Loading a 6th Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment M107 175mm self-propelled howitzers onto USNS LST-546. Photos by David D. Lozano, B Battery 6/32ed Artillery. Cam Ranh Bay for a move to the DMZ 1971. Hattip Big Guns of the Vietnam War group on FB.
The gator, a 328-foot 1,600-ton LST-542-class tank landing ship, was a war baby, built at the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company, Evansville, Indiana, and commissioned on 27 March 1944, serving in the Pacific with LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven.
In mothballs from 1946 to 1952, she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (today’s Military Sealift Command), where she served in a non-commissioned status as USNS LST-546 until 15 July 1972. With the Vietnam drawdown, she was transferred to the Philippines as BRP Surigao del Sur, first leased then sold, and served until 1988 when she was sold, presumably for breaking.
As for the 6/32ed, known as the “Proud Americans,” they constituted in July 1918 as part of the 11th Infantry Division but didn’t make it “over there” in the Great War. By 1940, as part of the 1st Infantry Division, they were back in the fray and were credited with the first artillery round fired by U.S. Artillery against an enemy in the European-African, Middle Eastern Theater in World War II: a 105mm round kicked off in Algeria at 1020 on 8 November 1942. Fighting through the rest of the war, including El Guettar and Omaha Beach, they picked up two Croix de Guerre and two Presidential Unit Citations.
The 6/32nd Artillery was deployed to Vietnam in July 1967 and provided heavy fire support throughout the conflict with its 175s and 8-inchers, earning the Meritorious Unit Citation in Vietnam while supporting 85 operations.
After returning from Vietnam in 1971, the 6th Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery was deactivated at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and remained dormant for 15 years until reactivated in 1987 when the unit converted from tubes to rocketry, equipped with the MGM-52 Lance.
In 1991, the 6-32 FA (MLRS) “Proud Americans” were the first active ATACMS-capable MLRS Battalion on the Army’s books before casing their colors in December 1993.