Things Nautical and Naval # 4 Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Battle of Tsushima.

The Russo-Japanese War began in 1904 and reached its' high water mark with the Battle of Tsushima, fought on May 27-28, 1905. The Russian fleet consisting of 11 battleships, 8 cruisers and 9 destroyers had steamed over 18,000 miles to attempt to relieve the Japanese siege of Port Arthur. The Russians met the Japanese fleet consisting of 4 battleships and 27 cruisers at the Tusushima strait between the southwestern tip of Honshu island and the Korean peninsula. The two day battle resulted in the loss of 21 Russian vessels and the capture of 6 more together with the loss of 4380 men killed with another 5917 captured. The Japanese lost 3 torpedo boats and 116 men. This decisive tactical victory for the Japanese was attributed to their superior training and discipline as well as the lack of training and the poor material condition of even the 4 modern Russian battleships, throughout the Russian fleet. The strategic Japanese victory was even more dramatic. After the battle, the Russian Czar Nickolas II quickly sued for peace and ceded significant territorial concessions to Japan.

The Battle of Jutland was a clash of the Royal Navy's grand Fleet with 37 capital ships (battleships and battle cruisers) with The Imperial German High Seas fleet with 21 capital ships. The battle of 31 May-1 June 1916 resulted in a slight German tactical victory with the loss of 3 RN battle cruisers to the loss of 1 German battle cruiser. The outcome was hardly decisive in that the status quo in the North Sea between the two fleets was not changed. The German High Seas Fleet never again challenged the British Fleet.

The Battle of Surigao Strait was a component battle of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf. This last clash between opposing battleships in history, pitted 2 Japanese battleships and 1 heavy cruiser against 6 U.S. battleships on 25 October, 1944. One battleship was sunk by U.S. destroyer torpedo action early in the battle. By executing the classic "Crossing the T" maneuver the U.S. ships destroyed the IJN Yamashiro.

The Battle of Savo Island was an action during the fight for Guadalcanal in October of 1942. The battle resulted in the loss of 3 U.S. Cruisers and 1 Australian cruiser against almost no damage to Japanese forces. While devastating to US Forces so early in the war the battle was hardly decisive.

Answer: France

The French Aircraft Carrier, Charles DeGaulle (R91) was laid down in 1989 and commissioned in May 2001. At 42,000 ton displacement, she is less than half the size of the USN Nimitz class carriers and carries about half the number of air craft.

Answer: Yes

In the fall of 1842, the U.S.Naval Brig Somers was underway to West Africa when the commanding officer, Commander Alexander Sidell Mackenzie, arrested three crew members for attempted mutiny. The three, a seventeen year old midshipman and two enlisted crew members were brought before a panel of ships officers, examined, found guilty and by order of the commanding officer, hanged three days later.

The midshipman, Phillip Spencer, was the son the Sectary of War John Spencer so, as might be expected, a political furor arose when the execution became known. Captain Mackenzie requested and received a general court martial to clear his name. The court found that he had acted within his authority.

As the three "mutineers" were not tried by a court martial, no person in the history of the USN, has ever been tried, by court martial for the offense of mutiny at sea.

Answer: Not at anchor, or made fast to the shore, or aground.

A vessel does not have to be moving to be legally "underway". Technically the vessel would be "underway, without way on". Day shapes and night running lights displayed would be the same for both situations. If the vessel is underway but unable to maneuver under it's own power, it is considered to be "not under command" and would display the appropriate day shapes( two black balls in a vertical line) or night running lights (Two all around red lights in a vertical line).

Answer: The officer, in small ships without an officer in the rank of commander assigned, who is the next in seniority to the commanding officer.

The title of First Lieutenant goes back to the eighteenth century when the ranks of the commissioned officers in the Royal Navy consisted of captains and lieutenants. The captain commanded the ships and the lieutenants served as subordinate offices. The number of lieutenants assigned to a particular ship depended upon the size or "rate" of a ship. Lieutenants were assigned seniority in strict order according to the dates of their commissions, the first lieutenant would be the most senior, the next senior would be the second lieutenant and so forth.

The first lieutenant was informally called "Number One" The title of first lieutenant for the next senior or executive officer is still used in the RN, especially in smaller ships.

Answer: The officer in charge of the deck department.

In the early USN the officer and ranks followed the Royal Navy tradition. However in the middle to late nineteenth century the custom of the first lieutenant as the second senior officer fell into disuse as other officer ranks were created. The traditional title of the next senior officer evolved into the title Executive Officer, or "XO".

The title of the officer in charge of the ship's boats, deck machinery, painting, and hull maintenance, the deck department, came into existence in the early twentieth century.

Answer: USS America.

The USS America, at 83,573 tons full load displacement and 1048 ft in overall length, was the largest warship ever sunk. After a 30 year service life, the American aircraft carrier was deliberately "expended" as a test target for weapons evaluation in the Atlantic in 2005 and finally sunk in a controlled scuttling on 15 May of that year.

IJN Yamato displaced 71,659 tons full load and was 862 ft. in overall length. She was sunk by U.S. Naval Air forces on 7 April, 1945.

Answer: George Dewey.

On 24 March, 1903, after winning the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, George Dewey was promoted "Admiral of the Navy", retroactive to 2 March, 1899, by Act of Congress . He was authorized to design his own insignia for this rank but chose to wear the 4 stars of an admiral, the rank which he held at the time of the promotion.

David Farragut, the hero of the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay, had the distinction to be the Navy's first Rear Admiral as well as the first Vice Admiral and the first full (4 star) Admiral.

Chester W. Nimitz was one of four senior 4 star admirals promoted to the rank of Fleet Admiral (5 stars) in the latter part of World War Two. He was the last surviving office to hold this rank.

John Paul Jones, the "Father of the USN" never held a higher rank than Captain in the USN. No higher rank then existed in the American Navy. Jones did, however, later become a Rear Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy.

Answer: The marine chronometer.

In 1761, after many frustrating years of hard work Harrison, a clock maker, perfected a watch capable of keeping time accurate to within plus or minus 5 seconds a month. This degree of accuracy allowed, for the first time, accurate and relatively easy determination of a ships' position in longitude or its' East/West position.

Answer: Alfred Thayer Mahan.

As a lecturer and later President of the United States Naval War College in the 1880s and 1890s, Captain Mahan gave a series of lectures which he gathered into a book; "The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783" which was published in 1890. This and his subsequent book, "The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793-1812" became influential in Great Britain and her emerging naval rival, Imperial Germany.