Forgotten Fleet: The Mothball Navy (1st Edition) (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A pictorial history of the U.S. Navy's mothball fleet, this handsome book takes a rare look at the so-called fleet behind the fleet, from the end of World War II to the present. Through photographs of the ships and shipyards where they were laid up and brief ship histories, it tells the story of how these ships were paid off and preserved, how some were reactivated, and how most left the reserve fleet to be broken up. Additional photos of the ships in action remind readers that forgotten though they were while in mothballs, many made their marks on history.

Year after year the warships lay quiet and lifeless, like boarded up old houses once full of activity that had outlived their usefulness. The row upon row of mostly now-anonymous vessels, hatches sealed shut, offer a bleak contrast to the drama of their wartime operations. You can almost hear the wind whistling through the masts and superstructures stripped of radars. Below decks there is only the sound of the dehumidifiers, removing moisture from the air, retarding the buildup of rust and deterioration. Berthing areas, repair shops and radio rooms have been frozen in time, looking exactly as they did when sealed decades before. Among them are such well-known ships as the Enterprise and the Midway, as well as little-known ones like the Fall River, and some that were laid up almost as soon as they were completed, like the Oregon City. Here too are the frigates and nuclear submarines of a later age. These are the ships of the forgotten fleet, built for war but resting at peace in coastal parking lots on both sides of the country, their story told for the first time.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press; 1st edition (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557505438
• ISBN-13: 978-1557505439
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #719,786 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, January 5, 2000

By	Tripp Ritter (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

Although the author can get a tad too wistful at times, the book did an excellent job of portraying the fate of much of the Navy post-WWII. I grew up in Norfolk and always enjoyed seeing shops. Visting a mothball squadron in Suisun Bay, CA made me want to learn more about the fleet. This book did a nice job. The pictures were fabulous. My only complaint is that there is not enough discussion about policy.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive, informative addition to military studies., March 4, 2000

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Forgotten Fleet: The Mothball Navy is an impressively illustrated history of the U.S. Navy's deactivated warships that were placed in rows and rows of ship storage lanes, a kind of coastal parking lot for decommissioned warships of all makes and categories. Originally intended for a reserve fleet, some were reactivated, but most of them have been broken up. Daniel Madsen takes the reader through berthing areas, repair shops, radio rooms and more -- all sealed up, frozen in time, looking exactly as they did when they were sealed decades before. Every kind of ship composing this forgotten fleet is represented in this fine history of a heretofore neglected aspect of America's contemporary military experience. Forgotten Fleet is an impressive and informative contribution to any personal or academic military studies collection.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Journey through the Mothball Fleet, February 15, 2001

By	"nagato9" (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

A very interesting book that will appeal to anyone who has ever looked at an old ship and wondered what stories it had to tell. I agree that the focus and tone of this book are satisfying -- it is far more an emotional journey through the rusting relics of history than it is (or, in my opinion, should be) a review of the policy or technology of the mothball fleet. The author's obvious love and respect for these ships gives the book its considerable appeal. However, I opted for four stars instead of five because I thought the organization of the book was a little shaky, moving from the end of World War II; through the mothballing process; to later conflicts and reactivation; then back to World War II through the ship's histories. I also would have enjoyed more photo coverage, including some pictures of the interiors of mothballed ships (the author makes several, tantalizing remarks about the interiors of the mothballed being time capsules of the end of World War II) and pictures of the ultimate fates of mothballed ships (photos of the scrapping of the Enterprise and the listing, rusted hulk of the light carrier Cabot would enhance this book's wistful view of the subject). These thoughts aside, it was a very good book that made me fondly recall looking at one of the mothball fleets years ago with my father.