Aryeh Wetherhorn is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He served as a Naval Reserve officer in the Vietnam War, earning a Naval Achievement Medal for his performance of duty in USS Okinawa. His biography appears in the Marquis edition of “Who’s Who in the World” in 1998, 2002, and 2003 editions. He has written several full length articles on naval history that appeared in the Polish magazine “Okrety Wojenne” (Warships).
The models featured in this post were giant transatlantic passenger liners. They usually traveled without escort. Their high speed often kept them from being attacked. But Justicia, a former Dutch ship, was sunk by a U-boat while waiting to proceed into port.
When I was in the US Navy there was considerable worry about potential conflict with the Soviet Union. The Red Fleet had the largest number of submarines of any power in the world at that time. It’s not surprising to find that the USN devoted a lot of time and training to fighting submarines. One … More A Visit to Norway
This group of models are examples of merchant ship dazzle patterns used on decoy ships. The ships were designed to appear similar to normal merchant ships but they were actually full-fledged warships with a strong armament that were expected to lure a submarine to the surface by their appearance and then to destroy the U-boat … More RN WWI Camouflage on my models – part IV
Here are a few more models from collection, This time British and Australian smaller cruisers wearing dazzle patterns. Strictly speaking, Amphitrite had already been converted to a minelayer, and Ascot was a minesweeper.
Sukkot is the Jewish holiday where the Children of Israel are enjoined to live in flimsy huts for a week as a remembrance of the way things were when their forefathers traveled for 40 years in the desert. Many Jews today not only take all their meals in their sukkot or huts, they even sleep … More Sukkot Holiday at Sea
When I started this blog one of my earliest posts was about joining the Navy. I mentioned that I had wanted to visit Israel, but my local draft board made it difficult. The redult was that I planned to go to Israel when I finished my initial required active service. The plan was a bit … More A regular student at Hebrew University
While assigned to the service force support group for the Sixth Fleet we had only a few opportunities to work with other supply ships. Usually, our tanker might team up with a stores ship. While we pumped fuel oil to other ships they would send over loads of food and similar items by high line … More A Near Miss
Yesterday a 16 year old Arab boy from the village of Yata, several miles South of where we live, took a large kitchen knife and traveled North, He came to the shopping center at Gush Etzion Center. That’s where we do our regular weekly grocery shopping and often visit other stores in the complex. The … More Teen age Terrorist in the Neighborhood
I did not get along well with the Captain of the Nantahala. There were probably a few others who also suffered as I did. But I thought that he reserved his worst for me because I was Jewish. This is an example from when we were assigned to the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The … More Because I Say So.
When a naval officer is transferred to a new ship or station there is a social protocol for making a formal call on the captain and the next senior officer in the chain of command. It is a formality, but it has roots in a very practical approach to making the newly arrived officer and … More Formal Calls – made and returned
Wetherhorn 