Captains,
This week, the big celebration of the U.S. Naval Institute's 150th anniversary continues in World of Warships. Every week during Update 12.8, we'll be publishing a new article covering a different aspect of our partner institution’s long and storied history, and each article will be accompanied by a claimable combat mission chain. The previous one is here.
Complete at least three of these weekly chains to earn the “U.S. Naval Institute’s 150th Anniversary” in-game flag and more. For more information about the USNI Anniversary Month, click here.
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Young men and women entering the Navy are introduced to their new world by way of The Bluejacket’s Manual.
It is unlikely that its first author, Lieutenant Ridley McLean, had any inkling his book would become an American institution, but this practical guide has been in print for more than a century, serving U.S. sailors as both an introduction to the Navy and a handy reference guide in their continuing service.
Cover of the Bluejacket’s Manual, 1915 edition
In the first edition, published by the Naval Institute in 1902, McLean articulated these purposes in succinct terms, writing that “this manual is designed to be of value to men just entering the service and for this reason an attempt has been made to give, in condensed form, information with which every person in the naval service should be familiar.” He added, “petty officers will find this book valuable for reference.”
The first edition measured 4 by 5.5 inches and was slightly more than 0.75 inches thick, with seven chapters covering seamanship, ordnance, and gunnery; signals; boats; “Duties in Connection with Life on board Ship”; “Petty Officers and their Duties”; and “Miscellaneous Extracts from Navy Regulations.” The manual also included two special pockets built into the binding that sailors could use to stash additional notes or other items.
Since its first edition, The Bluejacket’s Manual has undergone various changes in shape and size as well as content. As both technology and American culture changed, new terms were added to that strange lexicon of the sea, and as more topics were added and the manual grew, it lost the pockets.
Rates and Ranks of the U.S. Armed Forces, 1944 Bluejackets’ Manual
By the end of World War I, the sixth edition had grown to more than 1.5 inches thick and included specific information for various ratings such as blacksmiths, carpenter’s mates, water-tenders (i.e., stokers or firemen), machinist’s mates, shipwrights, and pharmacist’s mates. Curiously, the book’s title was changed—with the possessive apostrophe moved to follow the “s” (as in Bluejackets’).
In 1943, the 11th edition ballooned to 1,150 pages—nearly 2 inches thick and weighing just under two pounds. Coupled with the training provided at the Navy’s “boot camps,” the manual’s wartime mission was to help turn an ordinary civilian into “an able sea- man and a thorough man-of-war’s man,” as Admiral William D. Leahy noted in the preface to the edition. This was no small task considering the nation was in the midst of a global war and ordinary citizens were being transformed into sailors by the hundreds of thousands.
Cover of the current, 26th Edition, of The Bluejacket’s Manual
Although the term “bluejacket” is used less often today than “sailor,” the original name has been retained out of respect for tradition—something the Navy has always valued highly. American bluejackets themselves have evolved, and the differences in the tone of the 1902 edition and the current one are apparent. Today’s volunteers are more informed and often more educated than sailors of yesteryear, and the content of the current manual reflects these differences.
Different methods of stowing line. Picture from the 26th editions.
While The Bluejacket’s Manual has evolved through its 26 revisions (and counting), its original purpose has remained steadfastly on course. Like its predecessors, the latest edition, despite its 700 pages, makes no attempt to be a comprehensive textbook on all things naval—to do so today would require a multivolume set that would defy practicality—but it continues to serve modern sailors much as the original did, converting civilians to sailors and providing a handy reference as they continue their service, whether for one “hitch” or for an entire career.
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