History:(Devil-Dog Dugan I#3/4 (fb) - BTS) - Burke received his training as a sailor at Fort Pierce, Florida. This included the frogman underwater demolition course.
"BATTLESHIP" BURKE
Real Name: Burke (first name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human (post-World
War II era)
Occupation: Sailor (chief petty officer)
Group Membership: U.S. Navy
Affiliations: Lt. Commander Bailey, Blinky, Shannon Burke, Chu Cho Cha, Commander Perry, Lt. Perry, Captain Regan, Lt. Hoon Sik-Soo, Salty Smith, Sgt. Tanner
Enemies: Admiral Chu-Chung, Hungnam Hannah, Captain Hu, Lu, Major Mong, Red Mary, T'ao Kuk the Terrible
Known Relatives: Shannon Burke (brother), unidentified mother
Aliases: Impersonated Major Mong
Base of Operations: Mobile aboard a destroyer in the Yellow Sea during the Korean War
First Appearance: Navy Action I#1 (August, 1954)
Powers/Abilities: "Battleship" Burke was a trained sailor with experience in military vessel operations, including piloting a PT boat and operating heavy deck artillery. He was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. He was also trained as a frogman in the underwater demolition course. He also knew how to deliver messages using naval semaphore flags.
Height: Unrevealed
(approximately 6'0")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 180 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
History:
(Devil-Dog Dugan I#3/4 (fb) - BTS) - Burke received his training as a
sailor at Fort Pierce, Florida. This included the frogman underwater
demolition course.
(Navy Action I#2) - On September 15, 1950, "Battleship" Burke and his friend "Salty" Smith participated in the storming of Inchon at the beginning of the Korean War. Piloting landing craft that transported U.S. Marines to the shore, Burke and Smith cleared out Chinese defenses to help the U.S. Navy land more ground forces. After seeing all the tanks, ammunition, supplies and soldiers landing on the beaches, Burke and Smith wondered if they should have joined the Army instead of the Navy.
(Devil-Dog Dugan I#3/4) - In October 1950, as their destroyer proceeded towards waters which had been cleared by minesweepers the previous day, a ship ahead of Burke and "Salty"'s hit a mine that had been placed during the night. Burke and Smith retrieved the survivors and their commanding officer asked them to use their underwater demolitions training to remove the mines immediately ahead so that their invasion plans would not be delayed. Although a Chinese torpedo boat destroyed the boat Burke and Smith used, their destroyer eliminated the torpedo boats, giving Burke and Smith the time and space they needed to remove the mines.
(Navy Action I#1/2) - On December 10, 1950, Burke and Smith were among the U.S. Navy forces under the command of Admiral James H. Doyle sent to Hungnam Harbor to evacuate the 1st division of U.S. Marines. Burke and Smith were sent ashore to assist in the evacuation but while waiting, the two men snuck up into the hills and started a fight with Chinese soldiers they found there. After besting the Chinese, they crossed a hill and discover an enormous Anzio Annie cannon which the Communists had mounted on a pair of skis so that it could be relocated. The gun was controlled by Hungnam Hannah, who captured the duo and ordered their deaths at the hands of her subordinate Captain Hu but Burke and Smith caused an avalanche with their voices that buried Hu and Burke stabbed Hu to death with an icicle. The two escaped and told their destroyer where to find the cannon but Hungnam Hannah moved it on its skis before it could be destroyed. Returning to the hills, Burke and Smith captured the cannon and drove it downhill, over a cliff and into the ocean.
(Navy Action I#3) - While on leave in Seoul, Burke and "Salty" were kidnapped by the guerrilla Red Mary and forced to guide her fleet of junks carrying weapons through the U.S. minefields. However, there were no actual mines and instead Burke guided the junks towards his and "Salty"'s destroyer. "Salty" started a fire to alert the destroyer and the junks were destroyed while Red Mary was taken prisoner.
(Navy Action I#4) - In a rowboat, Burke and "Salty" were returning from their shore leave in Inchon when they were captured by an enemy submarine that surfaced from below them. The submarine crew forced them to labor on their torpedoes. However, the duo sabotaged many of the torpedoes so that when they were fired at Inchon, they turned around and destroyed the enemy sub. Burke and "Salty" escaped back to their own ship, where their admiral informed them they had returned early from shore leave - they'd been granted twelve days' leave not twelve hours.
(Navy Action I#5) - While taking a motorboat from Inchon back to their destroyer with what they were told was a valuable package, Burke and Smith were caught by the Chinese and brought to T'ao Kuk the Terrible's naval base, where they learned of his plans to attack the U.S. Navy. They managed to escape and discovered T'ao Kuk had rigged boats with explosives for suicide runs. They turned the ammunition against T'ao Kuk's own base, destroying him. Returning to the destroyer, they learned the "valuable package" they had kept safe for the admiral through their adventure was simply a container of ice cream for his birthday.
(Navy Action I#6) - Burke and Smith took a power boat in pursuit of a motorboat containing a single Chinese soldier but were nabbed by a Chinese submarine and transported to a cell with Lt. Hoon Sik-Soo of the South Korean Air Force. A bombing run blasted the prison open and Sik-Soo flew the duo to safety in a captured plane then rammed his craft into an enemy bomber before it could hit Burke's destroyer.
(Navy Action I#7 (fb)) - In August 1952, Burke and Smith used a 24-hour shore leave to go looking for Burke's younger brother Shannon, who was in the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. Heading ashore, they went riding on bicycles to where they expected to find Shannon but were ambushed by a squad of Chinese soldiers.
(Navy Action I#7) - After defeating the soldiers, Burke and Smith met up Shannon's platoon and learned Shannon and his subordinate Sgt. Tanner had both disappeared after setting out to destroy an enemy dam. Seeing that the two men were being held prisoner atop the dam, "Battleship" swam out and rescued them. Back with Shannon's platoon, "Battleship" suggested they destroy the dam "the Navy way." Tying together a raft built from gasoline containers, "Battleship" attached to it a stack of dynamite that exploded when it hit the dam, destroying it. With the crisis passed, "Battleship" revealed he'd wanted to find Shannon because their mother had sent him a pair of socks as a birthday present.
(Navy Action I#8) - In June 1953, Burke met Chu Cho Cha, a South Korean woman who swam to Burke's destroyer so that she could tell Burke and Smith that she saw sailors being kidnapped by Communist soldiers. Burke and Smith's superior Lt. Bailey sent them ashore to investigate Chu Cho Cha's story and they followed her into an ambush. Burke and Smith were placed in a Communist jail but Chu Cho Cha used her baby to smuggle them items to break out of confinement. She revealed that her baby was being used as a hostage to make her lead them into the ambush then helped them escape with a map of enemy mines printed on her baby's diaper. However, with no boat to use to reach their destroyer, Burke and Smith were left trying to hitchhike at the pier.
(Navy Action I#9) - Burke and Smith were sent to escort Commander Perry's daughter Lt. Perry to their destroyer. En route, they were ambushed by Chinese soldiers and Burke and Lt. Perry were captured and ordered by the Chinese to lead Commander Perry's ship into a submarine and artillery ambush but Burke signaled the ship in time to warn them and they destroyed the Communist bushwhackers. Lt. Perry gave Burke a kiss after they were rescued.
(Navy Action I#10) - After learning important papers were sealed in a ship they sunk, Burke and Smith went diving underwater to retrieve the papers, overcoming sharks and enemy divers. The papers they retrieved proved to contain every Communist infantry, tank and artillery position along with dates and places of coming assaults, locations of ammunition factories and big brass headquarters.
(Navy Action I#10/5) - Burke and Smith discovered Chinese sailors taking photographs of U.S. naval positions to deliver to Chowchun. The duo went to Chowchun and briefly dressed up as enemy officers (Burke as Major Mong) to see what the enemy had learned about their positions before allowing their forces to bombard the location.
(Navy Action I#11) - Burke and "Salty" shot down a new type of Chinese plane then went to search the wreckage under orders. They found a two-man Chinese submarine searching for the wreckage and redirected it into a coral formation, leaving it unable to rise. The crew were taken prisoner by Burke and "Salty."
(Navy Action I#11/5) - Burke and "Salty" were on leave in Seoul when they befriended two U.S. Army soldiers, Blinky and his sergeant, and wound up being assigned with them on a mission to destroy Chinese ammunition dumps, which they accomplished by driving speedboats through rice paddy fields. Blinky and the sergeant were so impressed with Burke and "Salty" that they wanted to transfer to the U.S. Navy.
(Sailor Sweeney I#14/4) - Burke and "Salty"'s PT boat was caught by the North Koreans and they were brought to North Korea for imprisonment but the men escaped and liberated a POW camp, leading the prisoners to South Korea.
(Navy Action I#15) - Burke and "Salty" donned asbestos suits to fend off fires caused by MIGs who bombed their destroyer. When another MIG dove at their craft, they shot their fire extinguisher foam at the MIG, making it crash into another MIG. After escorting a commander to a U.N. base aboard a motorboat, Burke and "Salty" encountered a speedboat of Chinese agents who tried to board and capture their destroyer but, once again, they used the foam to blind their enemies and take them prisoner.
(Navy Action I#15/5) - Burke and "Salty" were on a boring shore leave in a small Korean town when they heard a call to help reinforce the frontline against the Chinese. Serving under the command of Captain Regan of the U.S. Army, they joined soldiers from the UK, Ethiopia and Turkey in battle, with Burke even building a raft to help rout the Chinese from their flank. Burke and Smith found their shore leave much more exciting thanks to all the fighting.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer (possibly Hank Chapman) and Mac L. Pakula.
This profile was completed 07/21/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Battleship Burke should not be confused with:
Shannon BurkeShannon Burke was "Battleship" Burke's younger brother. Unlike his elder brother, Shannon served in the U.S. Army and in August 1952 was fighting in Korea. Lt. Burke and Sgt. Tanner went to destroy an enemy dam but were instead captured by the Chinese and held prisoner atop the dam. "Battleship" Burke rescued Shannon and Sgt. Tanner and returned them to Shannon's platoon. To complete Shannon's mission, "Battleship" built a raft with dynamite and floated it down river to destroy the dam. "Battleship" gave Shannon a birthday present from their mother: a pair of socks.
--Navy Action I#7
"Salty" SmithSeaman First Class "Salty" Smith was a sailor who served alongside "Battleship" Burke. "Salty" accompanied "Battleship" on all of his adventures. Like Burke, he was a versatile sailor who was capable in both armed and unarmed combat and in frogman underwater demolitions.
--Navy Action I#1/2 (2-9, 10/1, 10/5, 11, 11/5, Sailor Sweeney I#14/4, Devil-Dog Dugan I#3/4, Navy Action I#15/1, 15/5
images: (without ads)
Navy Action I#15/5, page 1, panel 1 (Burke, main)
Devil-Dog Dugan I#3/4, page 3, panel 6 (Burke, face)
Navy Action I#7, page 5, panel 6 (Shannon)
Navy Action I#3, page 5, panel 4 ("Salty")
Appearances:
Navy Action I#1-4 (August, 1954-February, 1955) - unidentified writer,
Mac L. Pakula (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Navy Action I#5-9 (April-December, 1955) - unidentified writer, Joe
Maneely (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Navy Action I#10-11 (February-April, 1956) - unidentified writer, Syd
Shores (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Sailor Sweeney I#14/4 (November, 1956) - unidentified writer, Syd Shores
(artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Devil-Dog Dugan I#3/4 (November, 1956) - unidentified writer, Syd Shores
(artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Navy Action I#15/1,5 (January, 1957) - unidentified writer, Dick Ayers
(artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/20/2026
Last updated:
07/21/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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