I love it when people ask me what I do. I tell them I write about naval history. Some say, “I could never do that, I hate history too much.” Talk about not making any sense! These are the same people who wake up on a new day and have no idea that yesterday is now history. Today is history in the making. Next Wednesday is history of the future. In short, you’re stuck with history not matter how much you kick and scream.

My book on the history of “Aquatic” warfare and the development of Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) gets a similar reaction at times. One guy  said, ”I would buy one of your books if it was just about ELCO PT boats.” So the whole scope of historical data that led to the creation of the ELCO PT is of no concern to him? This reminds me of the words of a history teacher who said long ago, “American mentality is of farmers and fisherman at heart, and the rest of the world does not exist for them.” We like to think we are a country of sophisticates, but in truth we’re just a bunch of farmers at heart. So drop that $4.75 Starbucks coffee and go get a hoe.

In other discussions, some knothead said something like, “MTB and PTs came to an end in 1945.” Wrong again. The evolutionary process is without end in all fields of science, technology, engineering – and boat construction. The North Koreans have developed a whole line of small, fast watercraft that are based on the MTN designs of WWII – only these are better. They have small, powerful engines. They are made of composite materials and difficult for radar to target. They started out using these to run their agents into South Korea and Japan. The boats had an appeal to Iran and other Mideast countries, and the North Koreans are making real money with their small boat business.

The Russians have reached back in time and re-invented a torpedo based on the concept of John D. Desaguliers’ 1730 “Underwater Rocket Torpedo.” Talk about a throwback to the past! The Russian model is a bit better. It has achieved the speed of sound underwater, but militarily it is not being taken too seriously. Its range is terribly short.

The point is that evolutionary thought never stops. People got all excited about the advanced wire-guided missiles of the 1980s, but wait a minute, Pardner! Louis P. Brennan put a patent on his “Wire-Driven Dirigible Torpedo” in 1874. His design was based on Samuel Colt’s “Electric Submarine Torpedo” of 1842.

See, we’re not such hot shots after all. History, that hated monster to some, keeps showing us that past concepts never change. Technology changes, but never concepts. We are never going to be done with small-boat warfare and “Aquatic” weapons.

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