I’ve been writing for a US website, the Navy General Board, for a couple of years now. They are building up a wide array of reference articles on naval history, a fair number of them by Yours Truly.

The NGB have a strong presence on Facebook and a major website – and that’s only the beginning. Now, you might think naval history isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, as it were (or, if you’re in the Royal Navy, cup of cocoa with a knob of butter in it). Personally I think naval history has something for just about everybody. Get this:
- Where did the term ‘cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey’ really come from? Well, you’ll learn it at NGB. I know. I wrote the article: https://www.navygeneralboard.com/was-cold-enough-to-freeze-the-balls-off-a-brass-monkey-a-naval-phrase/
- Steampunk afficionados! Ever heard of the coal-fired torpedo? You have now, thanks to Chris Knupp’s article on this amazing piece of history: https://www.navygeneralboard.com/coal-torpedo-secret-weapon-of-the-confederacy/
- And which early sixteenth century English monarch managed to name his biggest warship, very loosely, ‘Me… thank God!’. Well, that’s there too. Clue: he ate a lot of roasts and had a lot of wives. Check it out at: https://www.navygeneralboard.com/where-did-the-term-battleship-come-from/
There is, of course, a lot more – from the way the 5’3″ Admiral Sir Thomas ‘Tom Thumb’ Phillips managed to under-estimate the Japanese to First World War spy stuff, and the adventure of Germany’s last U-boat in southern waters – off my home town, Napier, in 1945.
Copyright (c) Matthew Wright 2019
Sounds like I have a new destination to go today! Thanks, Matt.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Please do check it out – the content includes my Pacific war articles, which I didn’t link in this post… they’re here: https://www.navygeneralboard.com/david-and-goliath-in-the-solomons-the-pocket-corvettes-kiwi-and-moa-vs-i-1/ and here: https://www.navygeneralboard.com/japans-pacific-submarine-campaign-encounter-off-fiji-1942/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sending me in the right direction!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The site wouldn’t accept my comment, stating a 505 error.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it does that sometimes. Worth giving it a second go!
LikeLiked by 1 person