SeaWaves Today in History January 31, 2010 HM MTB-307 (PT-49 USN BPT-1) Sold Italian Navy Feb 1947 as GIS-019 HM MTB-315 (PT-57 USN BPT-9) Sold Italian Navy Feb 1947 as GIS-020 1806 - George III renamed the Naval Academy at Portsmouth the Royal Naval College 1829 - HMS Black Joke captured a Spanish slave-ship off West Africa 1861 - Texas voted to secede from the Union 1871 - Using his administrative authority, Secretary of the Treasury George S. Boutwell reestablished a Revenue Marine Bureau and assigned Sumner I. Kimball as the civilian Chief with the duty of administering both the revenue cutters and the life-saving stations 1873 - The Royal Naval College opened at its new location at Greenwich 1910 - Submarine HMS C35 & C36 completed 1915 - Patrol vessel HMCS Baleine commissioned 1915 - Submarines HMS E53 & E54 laid down 1915 - Submarine HMS H10 launched 1916 - Battleships HMS Malaya & Revenge commissioned 1916 - Submarine HMS W3 completed 1916 - Submarine HMS E41 completed 1917 - Destroyer HMS Vidette laid down 1917 - Germany commenced "unrestricted" submarine warfare against merchant shipping 1917 - Submarine HMS K2, K6, K11 & K7 completed 1917 - Submarine HMS E48 completed 1918 - Destroyer HMS Winchester launched 1918 - Submarine HMS E50 mined & sunk in North Sea 1919 - Commander Victor Lorck is appointed the 1st Danish Naval Attaché at the Royal Danish Legation in London 1920 - Royal Canadian Mounted Police came into existence 1921 - King County deeds Sand Point Airfield to US Navy 1924 - Great Britain acknowledges the Soviet government 1925 - Destroyer FS L'Alcyon laid down 1926 - Destroyer FS Tigre commissioned 1927 - Heavy cruiser HMS Sussex laid down 1930 - Destroyer FS Vauban launched 1930 - Heavy cruiser USS Augusta launched 1932 - Japanese warships shelled Nanking 1935 - Soviet submarine SC-206 launched 1936 - U-20 commissioned 1938 - Minesweeper HMCS Nootka laid down Esquimalt BC 1938 - The Lighthouse Service Radio Laboratory was moved from the shops of the lighthouse depot in Detroit, MI, "to the Lazaretto Lighthouse Depot in Baltimore, Md., where a building had been constructed providing more adequately for this Important branch of the work of the Service" 1940 - Corvettes HMCS Collingwood, Orillia, Barrie, Galt, Moose Jaw, Battleford, Drumheller, The Pas, Cobalt, Kenogami, Algoma, Rosthern, Morden, Kamsack Oakville & Weyburn ordered 1940 - Swedish SS Fram sunk by U-13 at 57.43N, 02.06W 1940 - At 2044, the unescorted MS Ellen M was torpedoed &sunk by U-59 NE of Lowestoft. The master & six crewmembers were lost 1940 - U-10 had to abort patrol due to some technical problems & reached the German base at Heligoland 1940 - Escort carrier HMS Activity laid down 1940 - Battleship USS Alabama laid down 1940 - U-110, U-559, U-560 laid down 1940 - US freighter SS Exminster is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar; the freighters SS Exochorda, detained since 30 January, and SS Jomar, detained since 31 January, are released 1940 - Japan makes a diplomatic protest to the British government concerning the removal of 21 German nationals from the Japanese liner SS Asama Maru by cruiser HMS Gloucester and demands they be returned 1940 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt writes to the British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston S. Churchill, concerning the detention of US merchantmen, and frankly informs him of adverse American reaction to the British policy. “The general feeling is,” Roosevelt informs Churchill, "that the net benefit to your people and the French is hardly worth the definite annoyance caused to us" 1941 - Heavy cruiser KMS Admiral Hipper sails from Brest 1941 - The 1st Marine Division is activated aboard battleship USS Texas. USMC expansion occurs as the 1st and 2d Marine Brigades are brought up to division strength 1941 - Construction of Fort Greely on Kodiak Island, Alaska begins. The base is built as a coast defense base for the naval base on the island and is designed to accommodate 236 officers and 5, 592 enlisted men 1941 - Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, former Commander Cruisers Battle Force, relieves Admiral JO Richardson as Commander in Chief US Fleet (CINCUS) in the battleship USS Pennsylvania at Pearl Harbor 1941 - The US Navy Department announces the reorganization of the US Fleet, reviving the old names Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet; the Asiatic Fleet remains unchanged 1941 - Admiral Ernest J. King is appointed to command the US Atlantic Fleet 1941 - U-764 laid down 1941 - Submarine USS Trigger laid down 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Hoy launched 1941 - At 2125, SS Nicolas Angelos was hit near the bridge by one torpedo from U-48 after being missed by a first torpedo at 2058. After the crew abandoned ship, the U-boat fired, from 2150 to 2215, 28 shells into the vessel, which caught fire & sank by the bow at 2304. Schultze observed that the survivors set sail in their lifeboat, but they were never found 1941 - U-127 launched 1941 - Monitor HMS Roberts launched 1942 - HMS Thunderbolt torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Absirtea about 6 nautical miles off Cape Dukato, Greece 1942 - USS Enterprise and Yorktown make first WW II air strike, Japanese Marshall Islands 1942 - MFV HMCS Chamiss Bay requisitioned 1942 - Corvettes HMCS Spikenard, Shediac & Louisburg departed St John's to escort Convoy SC-67 1942 - Enlistees after this date were restricted to enlistment in the USCG Reserve. This was done to prevent having too many enlistees in the service at war's end 1942 - SS Tacoma Star torpedoed at 0330 380 miles short of Hampton Roads, where the ship was to join a UK-bound convoy. Apart from a distress signal, no other trace of the ship was found 1942 - U-952, U-1227 laid down 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Blairmore laid down 1942 - The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) "Combined Striking Force" is established with Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, Royal Netherlands Navy, in command. The force consists of two heavy cruisers, nine light cruisers and 24 destroyers. In reality, five of the light cruisers and 14 of the destroyers are obsolete and not fit for modern naval warfare 1942 - USN Task Force Eight (TF 8) (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.), formed around the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, raids the Marshall Islands concentrating on Kwajalein and Wotje, with the heavy cruiser USS Chester bombarding Maleolap Atoll. At Kwajalein, SBD Dauntlesses of Bombing Squadron Six (VB 6) & Scouting Squadron Six (VS 6) and TBD Devastators of Torpedo Squadron Six (VT 6) from USS Enterprise sink a transport and damage light cruiser HIJMS Katori, submarine HIJMS I-23, a minelayer, an auxiliary netlayer, an auxiliary submarine chaser, a submarine depot ship, an oiler, a tanker, and an army cargo ship. In the bombing of shore installations, Rear Admiral Sukeyoshi Yatsushiro (Commander Sixth Base Force) becomes the first Imperial Navy flag officer to die in combat when an SBD scores a direct hit on his headquarters. Off Wotje, gunfire from heavy cruisers USS Northampton & Salt Lake City sink a gunboat while destroyer USS Dunlap shells and sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser. Japanese retaliatory air attacks by six Mitsubishi G3M, Navy Type 96 Attack Bombers (later assigned the Allied Code Name "Nell") of the Chitose Kokutai (Chitose Naval Air Corps) on TF 8 results in damage to USS Enterprise (near-miss of a crashing land attack plane) and heavy cruiser USS Chester (by bomb dropped by carrier fighter). Three SBDs are shot down over Roi Island by Mitsubishi A5M, Navy Type 96 Carrier Fighters (later given the Allied Code Name "Claude") and one "Claude" is shot down by a VS-5 SBD gunner 1942 - USN TF 17 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher), formed around aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, raids the Gilbert Islands targeting enemy installations on Jaluit, Makin, and Mili. Aircraft from Yorktown cause less damage than the attacks on the Marshall Islands, due to a scarcity of targets at the objective. Nevertheless, SBDs of VS-5 bomb and strafe a gunboat at Makin and destroy two Kawanishi H6K, Navy Type 97 Flying Boats (later assigned the Allied Code Name "Mavis") at anchor, while SBDs of VB 5 bomb and strafe a cargo ship at Jaluit. Rear Admiral Fletcher detaches three of his four destroyers to look for downed TBD of VT 5 reported in the water astern of TF 17. During the search, a Japanese “Mavis” flying boat of the Yokohama Kokutai attacks (but does not damage) destroyer USS Sims. Soon thereafter, two F4F Wildcats of Fighting Squadron Forty-Two (VF 42) splash the flying boat. The TBD crew, however, is never found in the prevailing poor weather 1942 - USN TF 11 (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.), formed around aircraft carrier USS Lexington supports the operations from the vicinity of Christmas Island in the Line Islands 1942 - British intelligence suffers its most serious setback of the war when the Germans change their Enigma code used by their U-boats. The British won't break this code, called "Shark," for a year, giving the Germans a major advantage in the Battle of the Atlantic. To make matters worse, the Germans break the British merchant ship code and now the Germans know where the British are, instead of vice versa 1942 - U-84 searched for survivors from blockade runner Spreewald, sunk in error by U-333 1943 - HMS Una damages two sailing vessels with gunfire in the Gulf of Hammamet, Tunisia. Una had to break off the attack due to gunfire from shore batteries 1943 - HMS Turbulent torpedoes and sinks Italian merchant Pozzuoli off Cape San Vito, Sicily 1943 - US PT-111 destroyed by Japanese warships off Guadalcanal Solomon Islands 1943 - US PT-123 destroyed by Japanese aircraft bombing off Guadalcanal Solomon Islands 1943 - US PT-37 sunk by Japanese destroyer Kawakaze off Cape Esperance Guadalcanal 1943 - Destroyer USS De Haven sunk after being bombed by Japanese aircraft off Savo Solomon Islands 1943 - Destroyer HMCS Columbia commenced refit Saint John NB 1943 - Trawler HMS Liscomb collided with minesweeper HMCS Minas off Halifax 1943 - Frigates HMCS Antigonish, St Stephen, Capilano, Strathadam, Northumberland, Wulastock, Stone Town, Hallowell, Royalmount (ex-Alwington), Poundmaker, Tisdale, Hardrock, Ste Agathe, Victoriaville, Pressiville, Toronto (ex-Giffard), Ste Therese, Lasalle, Coaticook, St Pierre, Prestonian (ex-Beaucharnois, Sea Cliff, Rouyn, Buckingham (ex-Royalmount), Inch Arran, Sussexvale (ex-Valdorian), Carlplace, Foster & Megantic ordered 1943 - In the Mediterranean, an explosion occurred at 0615 in the diesel engine room of U-77, resulting in some damage to the boat 1943 - Destroyer USS Cogswell laid down 1943 - During the American landings at Guadalcanal, destroyer USS DeHaven was attacked by 6 Japanese planes. 3 of them were shot down but the remaining three dropped their bombs & fled. The result destroyed the bridge, killing the captain. A fourth bomb split the hull plates and the DeHaven capsized & sank with 167 of her men out of a crew of 299 1943 - Escort carrier USS Tripoli laid down 1943 - Aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard laid down 1943 - Minesweepers USS Pinnacle, Phanton & Peril laid down 1943 - Heavy cruiser USS Bremerton laid down 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Shepparton commissioned 1943 - Submarine HMS Subtle laid down 1943 - 18 Japanese destroyers make the trip down the slot to Guadalcanal. They are on the first of the evacuation runs. Loading 4,935 troops as Kamimbo and Cape Esperance against fierce opposition from US PT Boats, they return to the Shortlands with the loss of one destroyer, Makikumo. Either a mine or torpedo from a PT boat left her without power and she was scuttled. A “Pete” which drops flares spots destroyers USS Radford, Fletcher & Nicholas. The loss of surprise renders any chance of success for Captain Briscoe and Desron 21 to join the fight as futile 1943 - Escort carrier HMS Trouncer laid down 1943 - U-794 laid down 1943 - U-488 commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Stevens commissioned 1943 - At 2310, MFV Joseph Elise was shelled & sunk by U-66 after a torpedo had missed at 2300 1943 - Submarine HMS Surf laid down 1943 - Minelayer HMS Welshman was returning from Malta to Alexandria when she was sunk by the U-617. Only a few survived out of a crew of 148 1944 - Destroyer HMCS Huron arrived Kola Inlet with convoy JW-56B 1944 - HM LST 3501-3517 ordered from Canadian yards 1944 - HMC MTB 726 commissioned 1944 - Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll Invasion 1944 - MAC ship SS Gadila commissioned 1944 - U-1008 commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Thornhill, Gunason, Currier commissioned 1944 - Destroyer USS Buck laid down 1944 - U-453 rammed & sank sailing vessels Salem, Himli, Agia Paraskevi in the Eastern Mediterranean 1944 - An unknown U-boat shoots down an RAF 172 Sqn Wellington 1944 - U-168 turned back for base at Penang because the I WO was suffering from appendicitis 1945 - HMS Tantalus sinks a Japanese tug and three barges in the southern part of the South China Sea 1945 - HMS Spark sinks a Japanese coaster and a barge that this coaster is towing and a Japanese tug with gunfire in the western part of the Java Sea. Also another coaster is forced ashore on Panjang Island 1945 - Escort carrier HMS Puncher joined the RN Home Fleet 1945 - Corvette HMCS Thorlock completed workups Bermuda & departed for Halifax NS 1945 - The following UP report was released to the newswires - The Swedish minesweeper Landsort was attacked by an unidentified submarine today in international waters off Oland Island near the SE coast of Sweden. The submarine discharged a torpedo, which passed about 50 feet from the minesweeper 1945 - US PT-77 sunk in error by the USS Conyngham and USS Lough near Talin Point Luzon 1945 - US PT-79 sunk in error by the USS Conyngham and USS Lough near Talin Point Luzon 1945 - Submarine HMS Talent launched 1946 - Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie chosen first secretary-general of the United Nations 1946 - Destroyer HMCS Crusader paid off 1953 - Submarine HMS Sirdar was swamped by floods while in drydock at the naval dockyard at Sheerness, Kent, and later sank 1953 - HMS Berkley Castle CTL after capsizing in drydock at Sheerness 1955 - Operation Deep Freeze, a research task force, established in Antarctic 1958 - Aircraft carrier HMS Warrior (ex-HMCS Warrior) paid off 1959 - Minesweepers HMCS Port Hope, Gananoque, Malpeque, Milltown & Red Deer sold for scrap 1962 - Submarine HMS Otus laid down 1963 - Submarine HMS Auriga arrived Halifax NS for ASW training 1964 - USS Oriskany port call Hong Kong 1965 - USS Constellation completed Vietnam deployment 1967 - USS Hancock port call Subic Bay 1968 - USS Ranger port call Subic Bay 1969 - Diplomatic relations established between Peru and the USSR 1969 - USS Ticonderoga commenced Vietnam deployment 1977 - Ottawa agrees to give the 3 maritime provinces 100% of the royalties from future offshore mineral finds inside the 5 km limit; 75% of royalties beyond 1991 - MCpl Karin Lehmann, an AESOP on one of the five Canadian Sea Kings operating in the Persian Gulf becomes first Canadian woman to engage in combat in a naval setting. The helicopter was on patrol to protect the Combat Logistic Force anchorage known as Pachyderm Palace in the southern Persian Gulf. One of the threats was from dhows (fishing boats) loaded with explosives ramming the supply ships. On the occasion in question a dhow was approaching Pachyderm Palace and the usual means of a crewmember standing in the doorway and holding a sign displaying an international stop sign (Arabic script) and a skull and cross bones failed to ward off the dhow. The next step was to drop a line of smoke markers across the bow (maritime version of a line in the sand). When this failed MCpl Lehmann fired a warning burst from the door-mounted machine gun across the bow and the dhow made a hasty retreat 1991 - 278 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched to-date 1991 - Naval air strike operations resumed at the Uum Qasr Naval Base. At the Min al Bakir oil terminal, an A-6 attacked a patrol boat, leaving it burning. Helos picked up an additional 15 enemy prisoners of war from the Cor al Amiya oil terminal who were apparently survivors from Iraqi naval vessels engaged over the past 48 hours 1991 - Navy helos involved in EPW operation reported no oil coming from or in vicinity of oil terminal or Min al Bakir platform. Oil slick appears to be broken up, 4 miles long and 1 mile wide 1991 - SECNAV activates 504 additional Naval Reservists from 51 units 1993 - Submarine HMS Vengeance laid down 2003 - USNS Capella activated 2004 - USNS Antares activated 2005 - A search for a 14 year old boy, who fell overboard whilst fishing onboard a boat off Portnahaven, Isle of Islay with his friend. The missing boy’s friend who swam ashore at approximately 1800 raised the alarm. Clyde Coastguard are coordinating the search and have requested the launch of the Islay and Portrush RNLI lifeboats to the scene as well as scrambling Coastguard rescue helicopter 'Mike Uniform' from Stornoway and Rescue helicopter 177 from Royal Naval Air Station Prestwick. Coastguard rescue teams from Port Charlotte and Port Ellen are on scene to assist in the search 2005 - Belfast Coastguard reported death of George Curry, Station Officer of Ballywalter rescue team. George has been a member of Her Majesty's Coastguard for 26 years and he served the coastguard and his community with distinction. George died whilst responding to an incident in his own car on the way to the Coastguard station to pick up the emergency vehicle to attend South Ballywalter. There had been a report of a despondent man sitting on rocks giving some cause for concern to nearby members of the public who called for help from the Emergency services. The incident was resolved successfully a short time later 2005 - HMCS Chicoutimi arrived Halifax aboard MV Eide Transporter 2005 - Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd announced that the Company has agreed to acquire a double hull Suezmax vessel presently under construction in Daewoo shipyard in Korea. The newbuilding is expected to be delivered from the yard at the end of March this year, after which it is expected that the vessel will be employed in the spot market 2005 - Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited announced the sale of the single-hull Aframax Panos G to a third party. The vessel will be delivered to its new owners by mid-March before its scheduled drydocking 2005 - OMI Corporation Stamford, Connecticut announced today that it had agreed to time charter for a seven year period two new Suezmax vessels scheduled for delivery in June and September of 2005. The vessels are two of the four vessels being acquired by affiliates of Konig & Cie GmBH & Co. KG (Konig). Konig has previously entered two other Suezmaxes into OMI's "Gemini Pool." All four new Suezmaxes will enter the Gemini Pool when delivered. This will bring the number of vessels in the pool to twenty-one. OMI has options to extend the term of the time charters and to acquire the vessels it is chartering. The Company also announced that (a) it has sold its two double-sided Handysize crude oil tankers and it has taken delivery of the LAUREN, a new Handymax product carrier that was one of the vessels it contracted to acquire during the summer of 2004 2006 - The Countess of Wessex will launch HMS Daring at BAE Systems Naval Ships' Scotstoun yard in Glasgow on 01 February 2006. HMS Daring will be the first of the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers. Armed with the world-beating Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), these ships will be the biggest and most powerful air defense destroyers ever built for the Royal Navy. The Type 45 program is securing more than 2,000 shipbuilding jobs on the Clyde, 650 shipbuilding jobs in Portsmouth and many more jobs at sub-contractors around the country 2006 - Tim Robinson will leave Thales to become Chief Executive Officer of a UK-based private equity company in the financial services sector. Tim Robinson joined Thales in 2001 as Senior Vice-president, Managing Director of the Secure Operations Business Group in its Information and Service Technology business area. In 2004, he was appointed Senior Vice-President, Managing Director of the Security division during the Group’s reorganization. The Security division will be managed on an interim basis by Reynald Seznec, Senior Vice President in charge of Operations, in addition to his primary responsibility, Operations 2006 - Rao Inderjit Singh took over Indian Minister of State for Defense in South Block 2006 - An Indonesian naval vessel rescued scores of survivors in the early hours after a ferry carrying more than 100 people sank in heavy seas in the country's east on Tuesday night. The warship picked up 74 people. After initial sunny skies, heavy rain had whipped up the seas again, hindering rescue efforts. The ferry was travelling from Kupang on Indonesia's side of Timor Island to nearby Rote Island when authorities lost contact with it on Tuesday night, officials said 2006 - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced that the President has nominated Navy Rear Adm. Robert T. Conway, Jr. for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as commander, Navy Installations Command, Washington, DC. Conway is currently serving as commander, Task Force Warrior, Norfolk 2006 - Royal Navy offered eight surplus Sea Harrier aircraft to the Indian Navy 2006 - Keppel AmFELS received a fifth order from Scorpion Offshore (Scorpion) for a jackup rig valued at US$143 million. This contract is signed with Scorpion’s wholly owned subsidiary, Scorpion Intrepid Ltd. All five jackup orders have been secured within nine months of Scorpion’s execution of the first construction contract in May 2005 2006 - Submarine K-114 Tula of the Delta IV/Project 667BDRM-class returned to the Northern Fleet after an overhaul at the Zvezdochka plant and sea trials 2006 - Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., a leader in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, announced today the appointment of Dr. David J. Bederman to serve as a Director of the Company. Dr. Bederman, 44, is a professor of law at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Since 1991, he has taught international law, admiralty, international institutions, law of international common spaces, legal methods, customary law, as well as seminars on international environmental law and foreign relations power. In addition, he serves as adviser to the Emory International Law Review and is the Director of International Legal Studies at Emory's Law School. Dr. Bederman also leads a private practice and has provided legal counsel to Odyssey since 1998. In private practice, he has been involved with many cases involving maritime law and shipwreck disputes, and has represented clients in the federal courts of appeals, including the US Supreme Court 2006 - Frigate NMM Euro replaced sister ship Maestrale in Operation Enduring Freedom 2007 - Hospitalman Matthew G. Conte, 22, of Mogadore OH died while his unit was conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Conte was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii serving as a hospital corpsman in Iraq under the command of I Marine Expeditionary Force (forward) 2007 - The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) launch a new and improved Maritime Safety Information (MSI) service 2007 - New grain terminal opens in Baku 2007 - In the last 48 hours the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo repatriated 162 Dominican Republic migrants and two Haitian Nationals to La Romana, Dominican Republic 2007 - The US Coast Guard suspended the search for Dr. Jim Gray at 1730 2007 - Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced that a Military Sealift Command contracting team won a 2006 Navy Competition and Procurement Excellence Award for chartering ships to rescue Americans stranded in Lebanon last year. The team - Ken Allen, Lee Anderson, Olivia Bradley, Tim Pickering, Lance Nyman, and Dan Wentzell - worked with companies and brokers from around the world to ensure that more than 6,700 Americans were rescued and moved from war-torn Lebanon to safety in Cyprus during the July 2006 Israeli offensive against Hezbollah militants. Though US military ships also took part in the effort that eventually rescued more than 13,000 people, the MSC-chartered cruise ship Orient Queen was the first to arrive in Lebanon. MSC chartered a total of three ships for the operation 2007 - Maersk Oil was, in the 24th Licensing Round, awarded 15 new exploration blocks - 11 blocks in the central North Sea and 4 blocks west of Shetland 2008 - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Paris to meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy, Prime Minister François Fillon, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner and Minister of Defense Hervé Morin, as well as with members of the White Book Commission on Defense and National Security. He will also deliver a speech at the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches internationales de Sciences-Po (CERI) 2008 - Cmdr. Paul Snodgrass relieved Cmdr. Rodney Mills as commanding officer of attack submarine Boise at Pier 3 at Norfolk Naval Station 2008 - Five Naval personnel were killed and three injured critically during an exercise in the Bay of Bengal. The accident took place on board the Indian Navy’s latest acquisition INS Jalashva taking part in the Naval exercises between Visakhapatanam and Port Blair 2008 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced the following flag officer assignments: Rear Adm. John T. Blake assigned as director, Office of Budget, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and comptroller/director, fiscal management division, N82, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington. Rear Adm. Joseph A. Walsh assigned as deputy and chief of staff, US Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor. Rear Adm. (lower half) William R. Burke assigned as director, Navy Quadrennial Defense Review, N8, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington. Rear Adm. (lower half) Joseph F. Campbell is being assigned as fleet maintenance officer, US Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk. Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael J. Connor is being assigned as commander, Submarine Group Seven, Yokosuka. Rear Adm. (lower half) Douglas J. McAneny is being assigned as commander, submarine force, US Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor. Rear Adm. (lower half) William E. Shannon is being assigned as program executive officer for strike weapons and unmanned aviation, Patuxent River 2008 - Secretary Of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today that the President has made the following nominations: Navy Rear Adm. John M. Bird nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as commander, Seventh Fleet, Yokosuka. Navy Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as deputy chief of naval operations for communication networks, N6, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Pentagon, Washington. Navy Rear Adm. Elizabeth A. Hight nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as director, Defense Information Systems Agency; commander, Joint Task Force - Global Network Operations; and deputy commander, US Strategic Command Global Network Operations and Defense, Arlington 2008 - Commander Jeffery Dow relieved from command of USCGC Willow following allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and subsequent loss of confidence by Rear Adm. Timothy Sullivan Commander of the First Coast Guard District 2009 - US Navy helicopter squadron HSL-47 redesignated HSM-77 Copyright 2010 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 To contact us: 418-145 West Keith Rd North Vancouver BC V7M 1L3 Canada Phone: 778-968-7447