SeaWaves Today in History April 3, 2009 1756 - Marquis de Montcalm sails from St-Malo, France for Canada; he will die at the battle of the Plains of Abraham 1797 - CAPT Thomas Truxtun issued first known American signal book using numerary system 1907 - Submarine HMS C9 launched 1918 - Submarine HMS E9 scuttled in Hesingfors Bay to prevent her falling into German hands 1918 - Submarine HMS E19 scuttled in the Baltic to avoid capture 1919 - Patrol vessel HMCS Margaret paid off 1919 - Destroyer USS Tracy laid down 1922 - Joseph Stalin was appointed general secretary of the Communist Party in Russia 1923 - Destroyer FS Ouragon laid down 1924 - Submarine USS S-18 commissioned 1930 - Liner SS Prince Robert laid down 1934 - Soviet submarine SC-201 launched 1939 - Submarine USS Saury commissioned 1940 - Submarine USS Grayback laid down 1940 - Examination vessel (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS Macsin commissioned 1940 - Final consent is given for the British mining of the Norwegian Leeds 1940 - A Heinkel sinks a trawler off the coast of Yorkshire sunk 1940 - The first German troops leave for Norway. The supply ships bound for Narvik are disguised as cargo ships. Over the next few days 26 merchantmen carrying 8,105 tons of Army stores, 2,660 vehicles and 1,641 horses set out, plus four tankers with fuel for the warships that would be carrying the invasion force 1940 - U-376 laid down 1941 - Corvette HMS Snowberry commissioned Greenock & departs for workups at Tobermoray 1941 - The United States rejected German and Italian protests over the taking possession of steamships Pauline Friedrich and Arauca 1941 - Leading up to the capture of Massawa, in East Africa, the remaining eight Italian destroyers and torpedo boats are lost or scuttled. Five seaworthy destroyers sail to attack Port Sudan. Shore-based Swordfish from carrier HMS Eagle sink the 'Manin' and 'Sauro' 1941 - Only one of the antiquated Italian MAS at Massawa was still seaworthy. It sortied against the British fleet offshore and managed to close within 300 yards and put a torpedo into the cruiser Capetown, which was damaged so badly it had to be towed back to Port Sudan. Then the MAS-213 scuttled herself 1941 - U-boats sink four ships on the 29th meridian, one day before their escort reaches them 1941 - USN's heavy cruisers USS Chicago & Portland and destroyers USS Clark, Conyngham, Reid, Cassin & Downes depart Suva, Fiji Islands, for Pearl Harbor 1941 - AMC HMS Worscestershire was torpedoed & damaged by U-74 in position 58.19N, 27.25W while escorting Convoy SC-26 1941 - At 0042, U-46 attacked Convoy SC-26 for a second time SW of Reykjavik (grid AK 3659) and observed one hit on the Alderpool in station #11. The ship was abandoned and was finished off by U-73 behind the convoy with a coup de grâce at 03.28 hours the same day. The master, 36 crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by the British SS Thirlby and landed at Loch Ewe 1941 - SS Thirlby was torpedoed and damaged by U-69 1941 - At 0832, the British Viscount, dispersed from Convoy SC-26 three hours before, was torpedoed by U-73 SSW of Iceland. The tanker caught fire, was abandoned and foundered later in 58°18N/27°50W. The master & 27 crewmembers were lost. 18 crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by destroyer HMS Havelock & landed at Liverpool 1941 - At 0508, U-73 hit the Westpool in Convoy SC-26 with one torpedo and one minute later missed a presumed AMC with another. At 0512, a third torpedo was fired which struck the Indier under the bridge, causing the ship to sink within one minute by the bow 1941 - At 0500 & 0501, U-74 fired two torpedoes at Convoy SC-26 and observed two detonations and saw one ship sinking after ten minutes. U-74 reported two ships sunk, but probably both torpedoes hit the Leonidas Z. Cambanis 1941 - The Daphne was claimed in a radio signal by U-76, which was lost two days later and was identified by the xB-Dienst. The BdU awarded this ship to U-76 1941 - U-564, U-652 commissioned 1941 - U-46 had to return to base due to serious problems with the flaps of the torpedo tubes 1941 - U-124 aided three shipwrecked survivors from the Umona, which had been sunk three days before, giving them some water, bread, and a bottle of Cognac 1942 - Corvette USS Courage commissioned 1942 - Rescue tug HMS Dexterous launched 1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Switha launched 1942 - ADM Nimitz named Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, a joint command, and retained his other title, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet 1942 - In the Atlantic, a US freighter is torpedoed and sunk 200 miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia, by German submarine U-754 1942 - Light minelayers USS Pruitt, Preble, Sicard & Tracy mine French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiian Group, to prevent Japanese submarines from using the area as a refueling point for flying boat raids on Oahu 1942 - HMCS Orillia, a Flower-class corvette, departed St. John's to join the 51-ship Halifax to Londonderry convoy SC-77. The convoy arrived safely on 16 Apr 42. German submarine activities in this period of the war were concentrated against the US eastern seaboard, the Caribbean Sea, and the South Atlantic, where convoys had not yet been instituted. Although Trans-Atlantic convoys were still weakly escorted, they were allowed to pass almost unchallenged in favor of the completely unopposed hunting possible in other areas. The only U-boats capable of operations in these areas were the large, long-range Type IX boats. Soon, the use of replenishment U-boats allowed the smaller, medium-range Type VII boats to widen their area of operations. At first, allied operations analysts were dumbfounded that the Germans were able to field such high numbers of submarines, as their estimates of operational U-boats had previously been considered to be highly accurate. ULTRA decryption of German naval signals eventually indicated the Kriegsmarine was enjoying a 'force multiplier effect' by employing operational logistics to sustain relatively small numbers of U-boats at sea on extraordinarily long patrols. As the implication of these tanker-submarines became evident, both ULTRA decryptions and HF direction finding of radio signals was used to vector land-based aircraft and escort-carrier hunting groups onto the rendezvous positions for refueling operations. The tanker submarines were quickly dispatched, frequently along with one or more of their attendant customers as they engaged in replenishment 1942 - SS West Irmo sunk by U-505 at 02.10N, 05.35W 1942 - At 0340, the unescorted and unarmed David H. Atwater was attacked by U-552 about ten miles east of Chincoteague Inlet, Virginia. Topp had followed her underwater, surfaced and began to shell the vessel without warning and never allowing the crew to abandon ship. 93 shots were fired from 600 yards distance, hitting her with about 50 shots and set her on fire. USCGC Legare observed the gunfire and headed for the ship, upon arrival at the scene 45 minutes after the attack, they saw the vessel sinking, leaving two feet of mast above water. The crew of eight officers and 19 men had been unable to leave the ship in lifeboats and most jumped overboard and drowned. All officers died and only three men who dove overboard and swam to an empty lifeboat survived the attack. The survivors and three bodies were picked up by CG-218 and taken to Chincoteague Inlet 1942 - At 1149, the unescorted Otho was hit by one torpedo from U-754 about 200 miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia, while proceeding on a nonevasive course at 9.5 knots. The torpedo struck on the starboard side amidships directly below the stack at the bulkhead between the #3 tank and the engine room. The explosion severely damaged the vessel and caused her to sink after twelve minutes. Most of the ten officers, 26 crewmen, ten armed guards and seven passengers abandoned ship within five minutes in three boats and a raft. Three officers, nine crewmen, one armed guard and three passengers were picked up by armed yacht USS Zircon & landed at Cape May on 8 April. On 25 April, one crewman and five armed guards were picked up from a raft by the Norwegian motor tanker Gallia about 150 miles west of Bermuda and landed in Halifax. When they were found, the survivors were too exhausted to move so that two men from the tanker had to jump overboard in order to help them. One of the armed guards died one hour after being picked up. The remaining survivors were never found, in all the master, six officers, 16 crewmen, five armed guards and four passengers were lost 1942 - Soviet Black Sea Fleet destroyer Shaumian sunk 1942 - U-702 mined & sunk in North Sea 1942 - U-77 encountered an enemy submarine, which fired a four torpedo fan, but all missed 1943 - Submarines HMS Varne & Upstart commissioned 1943 - Escort carrier HMS Searcher commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Pickerel missing off northern Honshu 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Edward C Daly commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper USS Portent commissioned 1943 - Destroyers USS Burns & Walker commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Rosario launched 1943 - Destroyer KNM Stord (ex-HMS Success) launched 1943 - Frigates HMS Tavy & Usk launched 1943 - Destroyer USS Charles J Badger launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Burke & Scott launched 1943 - Frigate HMCS Waskesiu launched 1943 - Frigate HMS Rother commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper HMAS Stawell launched 1943 - Destroyer HMS Caesar laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Benham laid down 1943 - In the Pacific, two USN submarines sink a fleet tanker and a submarine chaser. The latter vessel is sunk by USS Pickerel, which is subsequently sunk off northern Honshu, Japan. All hands lost 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Mahone completed refit Liverpool NS 1943 - Fifth Air Force B-17s attack shipping and the airfield at Kavieng on New Ireland Island sinking a transport while single B-24 Liberators bomb Kavieng and damage a heavy cruiser and a destroyer 1943 - German submarine U-156 sinks an armed US tanker off Key West, Florida 1943 - U-285, U-547, U-921 launched 1943 - U-240 commissioned 1943 - Hard working day for the milkcow U-463. She supported nine boats on this day, mostly with fuel, but providing three boats some food as well 1943 - U-591 encountered a British S-class submarine in the North Atlantic, but neither boat attacked 1943 - At 0903, the unescorted Gulfstate was torpedoed by U-155 about 50 miles SE of Marathon Key, Florida while steaming a nonevasive course at 10.5 knots. The torpedo struck on the port side directly under the bridge. The explosion ripped a large hole in the hull at the waterline, causing immediate flooding and the cargo caught fire. Seconds later a second torpedo struck at the engine room. The fire leapt 100 feet in the air and spread from the bridge to the after part of the vessel. The master ordered the engines secured and the ship abandoned, but the vessel sank bow first within four minutes. None of the lifeboats could be launched and all rafts were lost in the fire. Only a single doughnut raft managed to break free of the tanker. The eight officers, 34 crewmen and 19 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, four .50cal and two .30cal guns) had to jump in the water and swim through 600 feet of burning oil surrounding the tanker. The survivors clung to flotsam and the single raft for seven hours before being discovered by a US Navy blimp, which dropped two rubber life rafts. An US Coast Guard seaplane picked up three of the most seriously wounded two hours later and took them to Miami. One hour later the remaining 15 survivors (five of them wounded) were picked up by patrol craft USS YP-351. Three of the wounded were later transferred to destroyer USS Noa for medical treatment. All survivors were landed at Key West. Eight officers, 26 crewmen and nine armed guards were lost 1943 - HMS Safari sinks the Italian sailing vessel Nasello and the Italian fishing vessel S. Francisco di Paola A. with gunfire off the Gulf of Orosei, Sardinia 1943 - HMS Trident fires 6 torpedoes against a submarine off La Spezia, Italy. All torpedoes missed their target 1944 - Corvette HMCS Shediac departed Halifax for Esquimalt 1944 - The German Tirpitz is attacked by British Barracuda bombers from HMS Victorious & Furious along with 4 CVEs from the Home Fleet. The damage will keep Tirpitz out of action for 3 months 1944 - Submarine USS Cobbler laid down 1944 - Submarines USS Barbel & Razorback commissioned 1944 - Frigate USS Burlington commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper HMS Truelove commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Edmonds commissioned 1944 - Destroyer USS Howorth commissioned 1944 - U-218 laid 5 mines off Puerto Rico, but without any result 1944 - U-2501 laid down 1944 - U-1131 launched 1944 - U-288 sunk in the Barents Sea SE of Bear Island, Norway, in position 73.44N, 27.12E, by depth charges and rockets by Swordfish (Sqn 819) and Avenger / Wildcat (Sqn 846) of escort carriers HMS Activity (Sqn 819) & Tracker (Sqn 846). 49 dead (all hands lost). U-288 shot down one of the attacking Swordfish earlier in the action 1944 - U-218 laid 5 mines off Puerto Rico, but without any result 1944 - U-2501 laid down 1944 - U-1131 launched 1944 - U-288 sunk in the Barents Sea SE of Bear Island, Norway, in position 73.44N, 27.12E, by depth charges and rockets by Swordfish (Sqn 819) and Avenger / Wildcat (Sqn 846) of escort carriers HMS Activity (Sqn 819) & Tracker (Sqn 846). 49 dead (all hands lost). U-288 shot down one of the attacking Swordfish earlier in the action 1944 - HMS Ultor sinks four sailing vessels off Kythira Island, Greece 1945 - U-4712 commissioned 1945 - USS YMS-71 sunk by mine off Brunei 1945 - U-1221 sunk at Kiel Buoy 'A 7' by bombs from US aircraft (8th USAAF). 7 dead and 11 survivors 1945 - U-2542 sunk at the Hindenburg Bank at Kiel, by bombs. Wreck broken up 1945 - U-3505 sunk in US air raid 1945 - Off Okinawa, escort carrier USS Wake Island is attacked by two kamikazes. At 1744, a Japanese single-engine plane plunged at the ship from a high angle and missed the port forward corner of the flight deck, exploding in the water abreast the forecastle. Thirty seconds later, a second similar plane whistled down on the starboard side at tremendous speed, narrowly missing the bridge structure and plunging into the water about 10 feet from the hull. The plane exploded after impact, ripping a hole in the ship's side below the waterline, about 45 feet long and about 18 feet from top to bottom and making many shrapnel holes. Parts of the plane were thrown onto the forecastle and into the gun sponsons. Various compartments were flooded, and the shell plating cracked between the first and second decks. Other shell plating buckled, and the main condensers were flooded with salt water, contaminating some 30,000 US gallons of fresh water and 70,000 US gallons of fuel oil. At 1824, salting made it necessary to secure the forward engine, and the ship proceeded on one propeller. Remarkably, there were no injuries; and, by 2140 hours, corrective measures had been taken, and the ship was again steaming on both engines. The next day, the ship steamed to Kerama Retto anchorage with destroyer escorts USS Dennis & Goss for inspection and temporary repairs. The ship sailed for Guam on 6 April. Other ships damaged by kamikazes include the high-speed minesweeper USS Hambleton and the tank landing ships USS LST-599 1945 - HMS Thule sinks two Japanese sailing vessels with gunfire of the west coast of Siam 1946 - Lt. General Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for the Bataan Death March, was executed outside Manila 1946 - Minesweeper HMCS Ungava paid off Halifax NS 1946 - Minesweepers HMCS Blairmore & Courtenay sold to Union Steamship Company Vancouver BC 1948 - President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion in aid for 16 European countries 1953 - TCG Dumlupinar sunk in collision with Swedish-flagged MV Naboland in Dardanelles 1957 - The last official flight of an RCN Sea Fury took place as Lt Derek Prout flew WG 565 to Calgary for use as a ground instruction aid at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. This a/c still survives as a display item at the Naval Museum of Alberta, Calgary 1959 - Tracker #1527 crashed into stern ramp of HMCS Bonaventure during night landing. Crew killed 1966 - Death of CS Forrester 1971 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Subic Bay 1972 - United States prepares hundreds of B-52s and fighter-bombers for possible air strikes to blunt the recently launched North Vietnamese invasion. The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk was sent from the Philippines to join the carriers already off the coast of Vietnam and provide additional air support 1982 - Britain dispatched a naval task force to the south Atlantic to reclaim the disputed Falkland Islands from Argentina 1982 - Following the invasion of the Falklands, Argentine forces landed on South Georgia, defended by a small party of Royal Marines under Lieutenant Keith Mills and Sergeant Leach. The Royal Marines eventually surrendered after inflicting significant losses on their opponents, including damaging a corvette with an anti-tank round 1986 - HMCS Saguenay suffers gunnery misfire of MK 33 3in/50 caliber off Osborne Head NS. Gun crew and one civilian injured 1991 - By 12-1 vote, UN Security Council approves Resolution 687 to formally end Gulf War. Terms, which become effective when Iraq agrees, are: Iraq must give up weapons of mass destruction. UN will inspect and monitor the destruction and removal of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Iraq forbidden from using, developing or acquiring any additional weapons. Iraq must compensate Kuwait for war damages, including environmental. Establishment of a demilitarized zone extending 6 miles into Iraq, 3 miles into Kuwait. UN observer unit will monitor. Recognizes and guarantees 1963 borders between Iraq and Kuwait. Requires Iraq to condemn and renounce terrorism, halt support for international terrorism, forbids terrorist organizations from operating on Iraqi territory. Naval forces continue counter air-defensive, combat air patrols, minesweeping and maritime interception operations. Marine ground forces hold defensive positions 1991 - USS America, Normandy and William V. Pratt transit Suez Canal enroute CONUS 1991 - VAdm Stanley R. Arthur, Commander US Naval Forces Central Command/Commander Seventh Fleet, RADM Raynor AK Taylor, Commander Middle East Force and RADM Robert Sutton, Commander US Naval Logistics Support Force are awarded the Order of Bahrain, First Degree by the Amir of Bahrain for their outstanding professional contributions during Operation Desert Storm 1992 - First five coed recruit companies from Orlando, FL Naval Training Center graduate 2001 - President Bush warned China it risked damaging relations with the United States unless it quickly released the American crew of a damaged Navy spy plane 2003 - Russian Air Force announces they will use SU-24 & SU-25 aircraft to bomb river ice jams to prevent damage to hydro-electric facilities 2003 - VT Group announce their historic Woolston Shipyard in Southampton is for sale 2003 - Frigate USS Estocin decommissioned at Mayport. Transferred to Turkey same date to become TCG Gosku 2004 - MV Cape Vincent laid up Beaumont RRF 2005 - Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc., which explores and recovers deep-sea shipwrecks, suspended searching the presumed grave of the HMS Sussex, an 80-gun English warship lost in 1694 in the Mediterranean Sea during a severe storm. The search, suspended for 15 days, will allow the Spanish government to review the Tampa-based company's exploration and recovery methods. Officials of the European nation are concerned about Spanish ships Odyssey might discover 2005 - The Coast Guard escorted 11 charter vessels through 14-to-16-foot surf on Oregon’s Yaquina Bay bar Saturday, and observed 77 of the 107 people aboard the vessels, including children, not wearing lifejackets. Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat to escort the vessels across the hazardous bar Saturday after sea conditions became severe. Weather conditions Saturday were 14-16-foot surf at the center of the bar and 18-20-foot breakers across the bar. The Coast Guard observed several of the vessel’s passengers not wearing their lifejackets. The charter vessels were notified of the dangerous conditions and advised to have their passengers put on life jackets 2005 - Workers at Kiewit Offshore Services have integrated an enormous offshore platform with a radar system that will play a key role in the nation's fledgling missile defense program, according to a written statement. The 4 million-pound radar was lifted aboard the platform over about 15 hours Sunday, the statement said. The new configuration - dubbed the "SBX" or Sea Based X-Band Radar - will go through sea trials later this spring and will be based in Adak, Alaska, by the end of the year. The SBX will leave the Coastal Bend sometime this summer, said Rick Lehner, spokesman for the US Missile Defense Agency. The two separate parts of the SBX were assembled in South Texas. The platform, originally an oil rig built in Norway, was moved to Ingleside last month after being adapted for a missile defense mission by the Boeing Co. and the Keppel AMFELS shipyard in Brownsville. The radar was built by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems and Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems at the Kiewit facilities beginning in 2003 2005 - Panamanian container ship MSC Roberta, 3016 TEU, collided with the Greek bulker Aegean Wind, 37302 DWT. Three Indian seafarers died (understood) on the bulker ship and the container ship released only some oil. Due to this incident the transit to/from the Black sea was delayed for 21 tankers 2006 - MC Shipping Inc. announced that it has taken delivery of its two recently acquired semi-refrigerated liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers with cargo capacity of 5,600 cbm each. The vessels "Hermann Schulte" (renamed "London Bridge") and "Dorothea Schulte" (renamed "Blackfriars Bridge") were delivered from the Schulte Group and immediately entered into a minimum 12-month time charter to the sellers 2007 - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, LP entered into an agreement to purchase and operate Vancouver Wharves, a bulk marine terminal, from British Columbia Railway Company, a crown corporation owned by the Province of British Columbia 2007 - Port Dolphin Energy LLC, a wholly owned US subsidiary of the Norwegian based company Höegh LNG AS, submitted an application to the USCG for approval to build and operate a deep water port for the import of natural gas to Florida's west coast 2007 - Fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Ericsson won the fiscal year 2006 Secretary of the Navy Environmental Quality Small Ship award 2007 - Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England presented the Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award to the Providence Fire Department for their exemplary courage, dedication and leadership during the response to the three-alarm fire at the MOTIVA Enterprises fuel terminal the night of July 18, 2006 2007 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen participated on a panel at the US Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition 2007 2007 USS New Orleans departed New Orleans for homeport of San Diego. For the last month, it was stationed in New Orleans for an extended stay. The ship was scheduled to go to Northrop Grumman in Pascagoula, Miss., but a shipyard strike caused the Navy to change plans 2007 - XFN reported that China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC) has started construction on two new drydocks in Qingdao, with a projected total investment of 7.4 bln yuan. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said in a statement on its website that construction on the new docks is scheduled to be completed by April 2009 2007 - ABS has named Alexandre N. Artemiev to the position of Country Manager for Russia 2008 - USCG Rear Admiral Arthur Brooks testifies before Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard on management and enforcement of international fisheries Copyright 2009 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Today in History Archives This information is licensed to the recipient only. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click. Royal Navy photos are Courtesy of www.oldships.org.uk unless otherwise indicated. To contact us: 418-145 West Keith Rd North Vancouver BC V7M 1L3 Canada Phone: 778-968-7447