ON THE COVER:
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG-78) conducts a replenishment-at-sea with the Nimitz-class carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) in the Atlantic Ocean on 26 February. (USN/Nicholas Russel)

FEATURES:

HITLER’S GRAY LADY
The battleship Scharnhorst represented the new Germany. Sleekly elegant and modern, the ship was capable of high speed while toting a respectable armament. However, it may also well have been the most ill-fated ship in the Germany Navy / by Kelly Bell

BUNKER HILL’S LAST STAND
Fighting the island-hopping war to Japan, this Essex-class carrier and its air group were defeating the best the Japanese could throw at them. However, off Okinawa the Bunker Hill met two Zero pilots who were bent on the suicidal destruction of the aircraft carrier / by George Butler

OPERATION FLINTLOCK
The invasion of Guadalcanal and other islands had not been exactly models of success. However, this combined Navy, Marine, and Army invasion would serve as the blueprint for the island-hopping war to Japan / by Timothy L. Francis

MUSEUM NEWS
Continuing exploration of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror reveal what happened to the ships and their crews

INTEL FILE
Is the cost of storing old warships really worth it?

LOST AT SEA
Ships whose sailing days are over / by Susan Duprey

YOUR NAVY
Latest images from the US Navy’s top photojournalists / by Howard Carter

SEA MAIL
News and views from the readers of Sea Classics