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Thomas Paone

Stories from this author

A white man in his 30s stands in front of a restored biplane displayed on a polished concrete floor inside a museum. He is wearing glasses and a dark suit with a white shirt and burgundy tie.

A Beautiful Biplane Represents a Future That Never Was

The U.S. Navy once dreamed of floating airships that could launch clusters of tiny fighter airplanes.

US Navy blimp L-8 in flight to drop off supplies to the Doolittle Raiders off the coast of California. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)

A Special Delivery for the Doolittle Raiders

On April 2, 1942, the aircraft carrier USS Hornet was part of a secret plan to strike back at Japan. With no room for aditional airplanes to land on the flight deck filled with B-25 Mitchell bombers, the US Navy turned to the Navy blimp L-8 for a specialy delivery.

A US flag flies over the captured U-858 as it receives a K-ship escort to Lewes, Delaware. (Official US Navy photograph via National Archives and Records Administration.)

K-Ships vs. U-Boats

Historian Thomas Paone explores the important role played by K-ships in hunting German U-Boats during World War II.