As part of the United States Navy Memorial’s Authors on Deck book lecture series, author William F. Althoff will present his latest work, Arctic Mission: 90 by Airship and Submarine (Naval Institute Press; December 15, 2011). Arctic Mission is a historical volume that explores the U.S. Navy’s major Arctic engagements in 1958, following a turning point in our nation’s history.
In Arctic Mission, Althoff recounts three extraordinary Arctic initiates that have significantly contributed to the understanding of the geophysics of the Arctic Ocean, including the top-secret transit of the nuclear submarine Nautilus (SSN-571) – a mission that would affirm U.S. technological capability – and a unique project initiated by the Office of Naval Research, in which a U.S. Navy airship became the sole military craft to cross the Arctic Circle
Following his presentation, Althroff will be available for a Q&A session and book signing.
William F. Althoff, an environmental geologist by profession, has been published extensively in technical and history-related journals. During 1999–2000 he was a Ramsey Fellow in naval aviation history at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution. He is the author of several books on airships, including Forgotten Weapon: U.S. Navy Airships and the U-boat War. He lives in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.