Mr. Twaddell graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with the Class of 1973 and served more than five years as a Marine Corps officer. He now lives and teaches in Japan.  

Articles by William Twaddell

HMS Warspite, celebrated British battlewagon of World Wars I and II, served as the flagship of the Royal Navy’s Eastern Fleet as the Imperial Japanese Navy unleashed its Indian Ocean raid in March–April 1942. She would survive and go on to garner lasting renown as the first ship to open fire in the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944.

Operation C

By William M. Twaddell
April 2024
As the Japanese juggernaut rolled its way across the Pacific, it also made bold moves westward—to destroy the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean in April 1942.
The Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre has been open to the public since 2005.

Jewel in the Crown Down Under

By William Twaddell
October 2020
Located on Garden Island in the heart of Sydney Harbour is one of the jewels of Australia—the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre. More a treasure chest than a single jewel ...