Naval journal, workbook, study notes and personal observations of a United States Navy Captain

Smith-Hutton, Henri, Capt

Editore: At sea, and various ports-of-call, 1922

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Folio, pp. [2], 247, plus 30 pages at the back; many blank pages between; pro-forma ledger, ruled throughout, original binding of quarter maroon calf over cloth-covered boards, gilt-lettered spine; old paper repair at the bottom of the spine, top of spine with wear and small cracks; over all very good, with a firm binding, text clean and legible. Captain Smith-Hutton (1901-1977) was born in Alliance, Nebraska and had a fascinating career. Following his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1922, Smith-Hutton had several tours of duty on the old China Station and then went to Tokyo to study the Japanese language. He subsequently served in the cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) and as fleet intelligence officer on the Asiatic Fleet staff. Later tours included attaché duty in Tokyo, serving as executive of the destroyer USS Lawrence (DD-250) and communications officer of the cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31). Smith- Hutton was a U.S. naval attaché and air attaché, stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo when World War II broke out. There's much to be found on his career at the United States Naval Institute (usni[dot]org), he is the author of The Reminiscences of Capt. Henri Smith-Hutton, USN (Ret.), 2 volumes, U.S. Naval Institute, 1976. Offered here is a notebook-journal-commonplace book that Smith-Hutton kept throughout his pre-World War II career, including notes made at ten duty stations up to the time he was sent to Tokyo. It includes sections on such topics as "Japanese Naval Activities," "Japanese Characteristics," and "Fleet Air Tactics." Gunnery still remains a topic of interest, with sections of his notes devoted to "Pistol Shooting Techniques," "Target Angle," and "Torpedo Control." These sections are interspersed with psychological, political, and administrative subjects: "American Naval Officers by a French Officer," "Philippine Defense," "Command Principles, Functions, Processes," and "Task, Type Command Organizations." Then a section of summaries of key books and texts -"Books - Far East," James and Nortin - the Republics of Latin America," "Karlgren - Bolshevik Russia," and a section on studies of Japan, such as "Japan, an Enigma - Unknown Quantity," followed by studies of a more global nature, such as "Navies of the Future," or "USSR Naval Policy." Also included are a number of personal observations, limericks (likely composed by him), aphorisms, slogans, etc. The last two pages of the main section with notes made later, one as late as 1976. Included are double-page manuscript charts of "The Yangtze and Woosung Rivers," "Amoy Harbor and Approaches," "Hong Kong Harbor and Approaches," and "Manilla Bay," a full-page elevation view of Tsing Sue Light, Wagland and surrounding islands, Corregidor (sic) Island, and several mechanical drawings, all drawn by Smith-Hutton in the 1920s. An interesting adjunct to the record of an unusual and interesting career of a U.S. Naval officer from Nebraska.

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Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Naval journal, workbook, study notes and personal observations of a United States Navy Captain
• Editore: At sea, and various ports-of-call
• Data di pubblicazione: 1922
• Cataloghi dei venditori:
  • Americana
  • China
  • Manuscripts