SeaWaves Today in History April 13, 2009 1608 - Samuel de Champlain c1570-1635 leaves for New France for a third time aboard the Don-de-Dieu as Lieutenant of de Monts' new company; with orders to set up a trading post at Quebec; arrives at Tadoussac June 3 1847 - Naval Forces begin 5 day battle to capture several towns in Mexico 1861 - Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces 1917 - Battleship USS New Mexico launched 1918 - Submarine USS S-31 laid down 1918 - Destroyer HMS Whitley launched 1937 - Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal launched 1937 - Soviet submarine SC-213 launched 1939 - Destroyer HMS Jackal commissioned 1939 - USS Astoria arrives in Japan under the command of Richard Kelly Turner in an attempt to photograph the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi 1940 - When the German attack on Norway began on 8 Apr, KNM Frøya was enroute from Finnmark to Oslofjord and anchored near the mouth of the Trondheimsfjord, then moved to protect the fortress of Agdenes. On 13 April, after some battles with German warships, the damaged minelayer was beached near Søtvika and demolished by the crew, when the fortress surrendered and the ship was trapped in the Fjord. At 1858, U-34 destroyed the vessel with a coup de grâce to prevent salvage operations 1940 - U-443 & U-444 ordered 1940 - U-64 sunk in the Herjangsfjord near Narvik in approximate position 68.29N, 17.30E, by a bomb from aircraft L 9767 from battleship HMS Warspite. 8 dead and 38 survivors 1940 - RAF aircraft reconnoiter the coastal areas of southern Norway. An enemy cruiser and destroyer are seen heading north off the Haugesund area; two enemy cruisers are anchored at Kristiansand South, and a considerable amount of Flak is encountered. Six Hudsons drop bombs on Stavanger airfield during the afternoon and are attacked by Bf110s, one Bf110 is claimed shot down and one damaged 1940 - Weather prevents a force of Blenheims from attacking German shipping in the Helgoland Bight. During the night Hampdens lay mines in the Kattegat-Kiel area and on the return flight one comes down in the sea 1940 - HMS Ark Royal & Glorious, in company with the destroyers HMAS Stuart, HMS Bulldog, Westcott & Wishard, arrive at Gibraltar 1940 - An advance guard of Royal Marines is landed in the Faeroe Islands, with the eventual agreement of the Danish Governor 1940 - Second Battle of Narvik begins with HMS Warspite and nine destroyers being sent into the Narvik Fjords to finish off the remaining German ships. Then the surviving eight German destroyers are all destroyed or scuttled - Bernd Von Arnim, Diether Von Roeder, Erich Giese, Erich Koellner, Georg Thiele, Hans Ludermann, Hermann Kunne and Wolfgang Zenker. The Royal Navy's HMS Eskimo and HMS Cossack are damaged 1940 - HMS Furious dispatched a striking force composed of six Swordfish of 816 Squadron and four of 818 Squadron, led by Captain A. R. Burch, RM. Each was armed with 4 x 250 lb. SAP bombs and 8 x 20 lb. Cooper bombs. Visibility of the target area was extremely poor, the cloud base extending down to 500 feet and many rainstorms were about. After crossing Baroy Island, visibility began to improve and large caliber gun flashes were observed from HMS Warspite. At 1345, the formation split into individual sub-flights to attack several enemy destroyers observed below. The aircraft attacked first with the 250-pounders, then again with the 20-pounders, again in the face of an intense Flak barrage. Two hits were claimed as well as several near misses, though in reality the only tangible result are near misses on the German destroyers Herman Künne & Bernd Von Arnim and the sinking of the Norwegian patrol vessel Kelt. Two aircraft of 818 Squadron were lost; U3C being shot down, Sub-Lieutenant (A) Grenville Robert Hampden, RN (P) and Naval Airman first class Raymond Frederick Dale, RN (AG) both being lost, while U3M - L2810, with a badly wounded pilot, made a force-landing ashore, Midshipman (A) D. H. Dammers, RN (P) and Leading Airman A. J. Sturges, RN (AG) being saved 1940 - U-64 bombed in fjord near Narvik; 8 trapped below self escape from conning tower after sinking, rescue on hand (British destroyer), all POWs 1940 - USS J. Fred Talbott returns to the Canal Zone after providing medical assistance to passenger on board Japanese steamship SS Arimasan Maru. The warship's medical officer remains with his patient until the Japanese vessel reaches Balboa 1941 - At 2229, the unescorted Corinthic was torpedoed & sunk by U-124 SW of Freetown. Two crewmembers were lost. The master, 36 crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by Dutch tanker Malvina and landed at Freetown 1941 - Japan and USSR sign non-aggression pact 1941 - Lt.(E) Victor Roque Bussereau and Midshipman Frank Johnston, both RCNVR, were lost when AMC HMS Rajputana (16,644 GRT) sunk by a U-108, Kptlt. Klaus Scholtz, Knight's Cross, Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, in the Denmark Strait. Kptlt. Scholtz reported reaching his assigned operations area on 10 Apr 41 On Sat, 12 Apr, he sighted an armed merchant cruiser (AMC) & carried out two attacks. In the first attack, with one torpedo, the weapon failed to fire. In the second attack, with two torpedoes, Rajputana's zigzagging caused the torpedoes to miss. U-108 pursued the AMC to the edge of the ice but had to terminate her efforts to attack due to darkness. On Sunday, 13 Apr, Scholtz re-sighted & attacked Rajputana, this time with a salvo of three torpedoes, two of which hit. U-108 closed the stopped cruiser & finished her with a fourth torpedo. Scholtz reported that two destroyers & a 'Sunderland' flying boat were present as the cruiser went down. U-108 was a long-range Type IXB U-boat built by AG Weser, at Bremen. Commissioned 22 Oct 40. U-108 conducted 11 patrols & compiled an impressive record of 26 ships for 135,166 tons. U-108 was sunk on 11 Apr 44 while alongside in the port of Stettin, during an air attack. She was raised on 17 Jul 44 but was unfit for further service & was eventually scuttled again on 24 Apr 45. There is no record of casualties at the time of her loss. Klaus Scholtz was born in 1908, at Magdeburg. He joined the navy in 1927. At the start of the war he was the commanding officer of the 7th Basic U-boat Training Establishment, at Stralsund. He was selected for command & was appointed to command U-108 on 22 Oct 1940, at the age of 32. During his time in U-108, he conducted seven patrols & compiled a record of 25 ships sunk for a total of 127,990 tons, making him the 18th highest U-boat 'ace' of the war. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 26 Dec 41 & the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross 10 Sep 42 (the 14th presented in the U-boat force). KKpt. Scholtz left U-108 in Oct 42 & became the commander of the 12th Flotilla in Bordeaux. He was promoted to Fregatten Kapitan on 01 Jul 44. He remained in this post until Aug 44, when most of the boats were re-deployed back to Flensburg. On 26 Aug 44, Scholtz set out on foot with the last 220 men of his command in an effort to march back to Germany. They were captured on 11 Sep by US forces near Beaujancie, in the Loire district. He was released from US detention on 20 Apr 46. After the war, he served from 1953 to 1956 in the naval branch of the Federal Frontier Guard & then transferred to the Bundesmarine. He was the commander of several naval bases, including Kiel, Cuxhaven & Wilhelmshaven. He retired in 1966 in the rank of Kapitän zur See. Klaus Scholtz died on 01 May 87, in Bad Schwartau 1941 - Some of the earlier corvettes to see service, with a minimum of time allowed for work-ups upon arrival at Halifax, from Esquimalt - HMCS Agassiz, Alberni & Wetaskiwin (ex-Banff) 1942 - ASW trawler HMS Coral bombed & sunk at Malta 1942 - ASW trawler HMS Lord Snowden sunk after collision off Falmouth 1942 - Destroyer HS Miaoulis (ex-HMS Modbury) launched 1942 - Destroyer HMS Pathfinder commissioned 1942 - A day before U-334 reached base at Trondheim, 9 year old Matrosengefreiter Otto Mayerhofer was lost overboard 1942 - After 0745, the unescorted Korsholm was shelled & sunk by U-123. The U-boat fired 27 rounds of 10.5cm, 86 rounds of 3.7cm and 120 rounds of 2cm 1942 - At 0511, the unescorted Leslie was hit by one torpedo from U-123 about three miles SE of the Hetzel Shoals Gas Buoy. The torpedo struck on the starboard side abaft of amidships at the #3 hold. The explosion blew open the bulkheads, disabled the radio, ruptured tanks and flooded the shaft alley with sugar and water. The ship was stopped as she began listing heavily to starboard and then settled by the stern, leaving the deck awash in 15 minutes. The most of the nine officers, 22 crewmen (the ship was armed with two .30cal guns) and one consular passenger abandoned ship in two lifeboats and landed north of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse the next day. Another survivor was picked up by the American tanker Esso Bayonne and landed at Key West on 14 April. Four crewmembers were lost. The Leslie sank in shallow water, but was not raised until 1954 when the wreck was broken up 1942 - At 0552, the unescorted Empire Amethyst was torpedoed & sunk by U-154 about 40 miles south of Haiti. The master and 45 crewmembers were lost 1942 - At 2326, the Empire Progress, dispersed from Convoy ON-80, was torpedoed & sunk by U-402 south of Cape Race. The master, seven crewmembers and four gunners were lost. 32 crewmembers & six gunners were picked up by the Norwegian Olaf Fostenes & landed at Halifax 1942 - At 0129, the El Occidente was hit by one or two torpedoes from U-435 in the engine room nearly breaking her in two. The vessel sank stern first within two minutes, so fast that there was no time to launch lifeboats. The survivors were forced to jump overboard and were picked up by HMS Speedwell about 30 minutes later. Nine bodies were also picked up and later buried at sea. The survivors were landed at Reykjavik from where they were eventually repatriated to the US aboard the SS Capulin & Artigas 1942 - Harpalion in Convoy QP-10 was bombed & heavily damaged by German Ju-88 aircraft. The crew abandoned the vessel and a reported scuttling attempt by the escort must have failed, because at 1535 U-435 found the abandoned wreck & fired three torpedoes in it. The third torpedo struck in the after part and the vessel sank at 1550 hours by the stern 1942 - At 0059, U-436 fired torpedoes at Convoy QP-10 and heard one hit after a running time of 48 seconds and saw three lifeboats after surfacing at 0215 hours. The ship hit & sunk was the Kiev. The survivors were picked up by a British escort and landed in Iceland 1942 - Trawler HMS Baffin launched Collingwood ON 1942 - Lord Louis Mountbatten appointed as chief of the commando raiders of British army, navy, and air forces 1942 - USS Grayling torpedoes and sinks a Japanese merchant cargo ship off the SW tip of Shikoku, Japan 1942 - Vice Admiral Robert L Ghormley, USN, is assigned as Commander-in-Chief South Pacific (COMSOPAC). He is to command all Allied base and local defense forces (land, sea, and air) in the South Pacific Islands, with the exception of New Zealand land defenses 1943 - Thirteenth Air Force P-38s and Navy aircraft bomb the airfield at Munda Airfield on New Georgia Island and strafe barges 1943 - Destroyer USS Hudson commissioned 1943 - U-325 laid down 1943 - U-346 launched 1943 - U-376 listed as missing in Bay of Biscay. No explanation exists for loss. 47 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - USS Harder sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS Ikazuchi 180 miles SSW of Guam 1944 - Submarine USS Cochino laid down 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Jack Miller commissioned 1944 - Submarine HMS Voracious commissioned 1944 - U-776, U-1017, U-1209 commissioned 1944 - U-1021 & U-1022 launched 1945 - Ft. Drum, a "concrete battleship" in Manila Bay is attacked with 5,000 gallons of fuel oil and burned out over the next 5 days 1945 - RN 1844 Sqn Avenger II #JZ424 from HMS Indomitable shot down by friendly fire 1945 - RN aircraft from the RN's Task Force 57 again attack airfields. TF 57 then retires to refuel at sea and return to its station off the Sakishima Islands in the Ryukyu Islands. 1945 - Off Okinawa, USS Connolly is damaged by kamikaze 1945 - Six Japanese ships are sunk at sea - - Submarine USS Parche sinks an auxiliary minesweeper and a guardboat off northern Honshu, Japan. - RN submarine HMS Stygian sinks an auxiliary minesweeper off Bali in the East Indies. An auxiliary submarine chaser is sunk by aircraft NW of Hainan Island, China. - Mines laid by USAAF B-29 Superfortresses in Japanese waters sinks two cargo ships and damage a coast defense vessel 1945 - Sloop HMS Alacrity commissioned 1945 - Frigate HMS Widemouth Bay commissioned 1945 - U-1105 departed from Kristiansand on her first and final patrol 1945 - U-1228 sailed from Kristiansand on her final patrol 1946 - Submarine HMS Teredo commissioned 1949 - Earthquake hits Puget Sound area 1950 - When the passengers and crew of the British European Airways Viking took off into the skies above London 55 years ago, they could not have known that the fate of the aircraft would become an enduring mystery. As the Viking crossed the French coast near Dieppe, the young stewardess thought she smelt something acidic towards the rear of the plane. Before she had time to investigate, an explosion tore though the fuselage of the aircraft, leaving two large holes. The captain, Ian Harvey, 29, immediately suspected his plane had been struck by lightning and, with a skill and sense of calm at which experts still marvel, he regained control of the Viking, turned it gradually and landed back at Northolt airport with no loss of life. Already a decorated RAF war hero, he was later awarded a George Medal for his courage and skill 1951 - Stone of Destiny was returned to Westminster Abbey in England after being found in Abroath Abbey. All Scottish kings were crowned sitting on the stone before its theft by Edward I of England. Scottish nationalists had stolen the stone from Westminster the previous year. Legend has it that the Stone of Destiny was used as a pillow by Jacob, whose sons founded ten of the twelve tribes of Israel 1960 - US Navy's navigation satellite, Transit, placed into orbit from Cape Canaveral, FL and demonstrates ability to launch another satellite 1966 - Soviet Liner Alexandr Pushkin leaves Leningrad for Montreal as the USSR launches North Atlantic passenger service 1967 - USS Bon Homme Richard port call Subic Bay 1970 - USS Bon Homme Richard port call Pearl Harbor 1973 - USS Ranger port call Subic Bay 2005 - Personnel from USCGC Morgenthau and Marine Safety Detachment (MSD) Unalaska boarded the motor vessel Star Eagle in Dutch Harbor Tuesday to assess a wood pulp hold, the site where a fire occurred Friday. The Coast Guard received a call from the master aboard Star Eagle reporting the number one hold aboard the 589-foot bulk cargo vessel emitting smoke Friday evening. Crewmembers couldn't access the space to determine if the fire was extinguished. Star Eagle's master requested the position of a safe harbor to anchor and evaluate the ship. The Coast Guard recommended the master to transit to Dutch Harbor for assistance. A team consisting of a marine fire expert and salvage master, personnel from MSD Unalaska and damage controlmen from the Morgenthau conducted a preliminary fire assessment Monday. The team determined the wood pulp was no longer on fire in the hold, but found 30 charred bales. The source of the fire was determined to be from clad welding in the adjacent ballast tank 2005 - Allied Command Transformation (ACT), one of NATO’s two strategic commands, held two official signing ceremonies at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The first ceremony, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), will establish the legal framework for the Joint Forces Training Center (JFTC), located in Bydogszcz, Poland. This event is a significant milestone in the development the JFTC and culminates months of work by ACT, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Poland and JFTC’s staff. Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, US Navy Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., and Polish Deputy Minister of Defense Janusz Zemke will sign the MOA. This signing ceremony will bring JFTC closer to meeting its Full Operational Capability date of June 30, 2006. When fully operational, the Center will have a distinct and unique role in focusing on joint and combined training at the tactical level. In particular, it will focus on the conduct of joint tactical training to achieve joint tactical interoperability at the key tactical interfaces one of the critical areas of the weakness identified in the Iraqi campaign. The second ceremony, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), will initiate the functional relationship between headquarters, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Belgium-Netherlands Naval Mine Warfare School (EGUERMIN), located in Oostende, Belgium. This School, staffed with approximately 50 multinational military and civilian personnel, assumes the lead for NATO’s Naval Mine Warfare (NMW) education and training. SACT and military representatives Belgian Army Lieutenant General Hendrik Jennart and Royal Netherlands Air Force Lieutenant General Jo Goddery will sign the MOU. EGUERMIN, translated as School of War for Mines, proposes to train individuals and crews on mine counter measure ships in NMW, advise and assist national and NATO commands and provide subject matter expertise representation in NATO NMW. They currently have international relationships with Netherlands-Belgium OPSCHOOL and Belgian Defense College; Naval Tactical and Weapons Training School, Copenhagen, Denmark; Naval Training Establishment, Haakonsvern, Norway; Naval Mine Warfare School, Ingleside, Texas; Maritime Tactical School, Dryad, United Kingdom and Marineoperationsschule, Bremerhaven, Germany 2005 - USS America towed into Norfolk to prepare for SINKEX 300 miles off the Virginia Capes 2005 - The nine Australians killed in the Sea King helicopter crash will receive humanitarian overseas service medals posthumously, Prime Minister John Howard said. Mr Howard said the Queen had approved changes to allow Australian troops to receive the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal, including the six navy and three air force personnel killed during a mercy mission in Indonesia on April 2 who were eligible to receive the medal posthumously 2005 - With the handover completed on April 13, the new 127 meter, Auto Express 127 trimaran built by the West Australian shipyard, Austal, for Fred. Olsen, S.A. is quite simply the most significant vessel to arrive on the fast ferry stage and is set to allow fast sea transportation to improve and open up new markets beyond the ability of existing fast ferry design for both commercial and military operators. When Austal and European ferry operator Fred. Olsen, S.A. signed a contract in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in May 2003 to build a second high speed vehicle-passenger ferry, it was the signal to start constructing not just another ferry but also the end to an exhaustive design, research and development program with origins dating back as far as early 2000, to create a new hullform which would provide a quantum improvement in the performance and operability of large fast ferries. Fred. Olsen, S.A. pioneered the use of large high-speed ferries in the Canary Islands and currently carries almost three million passengers, half a million cars and a quarter of a million cargo vehicles per year. Since 1999 it has been operating large fast catamarans and while happy with the results, the company identified some limitations in terms of capacity and especially passenger comfort when operating in rough seas. This led to the conclusion that further research was needed in order to develop a new concept for high-speed vessels, combining the softer roll of monohulls with the low resistance, very good stability and carrying capacity of catamarans. With these objectives in mind, Fred. Olsen, S.A. and Austal cooperated on an extensive program of research, tank testing and analysis, firstly to develop a new design and then ensure it would meet Fred. Olsen, SA’s requirements in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The result is correctly described as a slender stabilized monohull, but more commonly referred to as a trimaran. Austal Chairman, Mr John Rothwell, is confident the superior seakeeping performance of the trimaran will provide Fred. Olsen, SA’s passengers with significantly enhanced levels of comfort compared to the company’s existing fast ferries and is also expected to result in noticeably higher levels of operability 2005 - The Kenyan government fined the owners of an Indian tanker Shilling78m ($1m) after a crude oil spill at Mombassa. Government officials said the Ratna Shalini , belonging to Kolkata-based India Steamships, was being fined under the Civil Liability Convention, to which Kenya is a party. However, India Steamship managing director Ashok Kak denied that the spill had been serious enough to pollute the environment to the extent claimed by the Kenyan authorities, and he felt that the fine was unwarranted. The ship could face detention until a formal agreement is reached 2005 - The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and USA in the field of Maritime Transport Science & Technology. USA has extensive experience in growth and development of maritime resources. India can utilize their experience in research and development, safety, security, maintenance and entry into the specialized area of shipping. The cooperation and collaboration is envisaged in the following fields : a) Shipping and inter-modal operations b) Maritime Safety and Security c) Port Management d) Dredging and Dredger construction e) Ship Recycling f) Maritime Training and Education g) Technological developments related to maritime sector h) Inland Water Transport i) Other Fields of Mutual Interest MoC will be signed on April 14, 2005 between India and USA during the visit of H.E. Mr. Norman Y. Mineta, US Secretary of Transportation to India 2005 - Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd announced it has taken physical delivery of MV Powerful, a Panamax bulk vessel. The Company also announced the simultaneous commencement of a two-year charter for the vessel to a major charterer at US $28,000.00 per day. The vessel is a Panamax dry bulk carrier of approximately 70,000 dwt, built in 1994 in China, which the Company agreed to acquire on 22 March, 2005. MV Powerful is the fifteenth vessel that the Company has agreed to acquire since Christopher Georgakis joined Excel Maritime as CEO in late October 2004 and the sixth to be deployed in the fixed term employment market 2005 - Jean-C. Lapierre, Minister of Transport and Regional Minister for Quebec, announced today on behalf of Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, a federal investment of $385,000 for annual maintenance dredging at Grosse-Ile (Cap du Dauphin), Ile d'Entree, Millerand, and Pointe-Basse in the Magdalen Islands 2005 - Cheniere Energy, a Houston-based energy company, received authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct and operate a LNG terminal along La Quinta Channel in Ingleside. The federal agency, charged with overseeing the permitting process for onshore terminals, also authorized the company to build a 23-mile pipeline. Cheniere’s terminal will have the capacity to process 2.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas cooled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit or enough energy to heat and cool about 2,600 homes for a year. Construction will begin this year and the terminal should be ready for operations by late 2008, according to a company news release 2005 - UN General Assembly's unanimous adoption of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. Along with the twelve existing international terrorism conventions and protocols, the Nuclear Terrorism Convention will strengthen the international legal framework to combat terrorism. The Convention will provide a legal basis for international cooperation in the investigation, prosecution, and extradition of those who commit terrorist acts involving radioactive material or a nuclear device 2005 - The remains of 30 British personnel dating back as far as a decisive naval battle of 1798 have been found on an island off Egypt's north coast, the British Embassy in Cairo said yesterday. Italian archaeologist Paolo Gallo was working in Abu Qir bay, east of Alexandria where Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's French fleet in the Battle of the Nile. Britain lost 218 men but no vessels while the French lost 1,400 men and most of their ships. Gallo had been excavating for Greek-Roman artifacts when he discovered the graves of the sailors and soldiers, some dating to the 1798 battle and others to a campaign of 1801. Only the body of British Navy Commander James Russell could be identified as he was the sole casualty to be buried in full uniform. He and the other bodies will be reburied in a ceremony at a British Commonwealth military cemetery in Alexandria on Monday. A descendant of Russell and the commanding officer of warship HMS Chatham will attend 2005 - A Coast Guardsman from the Astoria-based USCGC Fir was airlifted after he became ill. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Astoria, was launched at 1841 after being notified that the crewman was in need of medical attention. The helicopter flew to the Fir's location about 20 miles west of the entrance to the Columbia River. The helicopter crew hoisted the Coast Guardsman crewman from the cutter and flew him to an awaiting ambulance in Astoria which transported him to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, where he was listed in stable condition 2006 - According to reports, Qatar is expected to hire three South Korean shipbuilders to build 44 liquefied natural gas carriers for a total of $10 billion. The joint project between US energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp. and state-run Qatar Petroleum Co. calls for transferring 15.6 million tons of LNG from Qatar to Exxon Mobil’s terminal in the United States 2006 - The US Attorney for the District of New Jersey stated that a ship management company has pled guilty to intentionally failing to maintain the required oil record book (ORB) concerning overboard discharge of oil sludge and oil-contaminated bilge water from one of its ships. The company has agreed to pay a criminal fine of $200,000 and an additional $150,000 community service payment. According to the Information that was also released, the chief engineer on the ship, on various occasions, utilized pipes to bypass the oily water separator 2006 - USCGC Venturous transferred more than 104 bales of cocaine and two suspected smugglers to officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration at 9 a.m. today at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg's South Moorings 2006 - Aker Yards NB 1352 -- Freedom of the Seas -- left Finland heading for Hamburg, where it will be delivered later in the month, after a short docking. The European tour is over on May 3 when the ship will depart for a transatlantic crossing to New York, where she will be officially named, before being repositioned to Florida where the ship will operate cruises to the Caribbean 2006 - The last F-14 Tomcat to fly a combat mission over Iraq made its final flight from USS Theodore Roosevelt to NAS Pensacola. The Tomcat will be immortalized at the National Museum of Naval Aviation here as the final decommissioning stages close and training for its replacement, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, continue. “Bittersweet,” is how Lt. Cmdr. Mark Stufflebeem, the aircraft’s pilot, referred to the final mission. “We were the last aircraft from our squadron to leave, because we’ve had aircraft go to a lot of museums around the country; some of them have gone out to the bone yards to be put to rest. "We’re the last guys to get to man up one of these planes in our squadron, and that felt pretty good,” Stufflebeem said. “You kind of keep that in the back of your mind every time you touch a button or a switch, pretty much knowing that this is the last time you’re going to do that in this particular aircraft.” The F-14D, aircraft bureau number 161159, was assigned to the "Black Lions" of Fighter Squadron (VF) 213 as part of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, embarked aboard Roosevelt to provide close air support to Marines and Soldiers in Iraq, according to Stufflebeem 2007 - Hon Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, announced he is accepting the offer from the Régie intermunicipale des infrastructures portuaires de Trois-Pistoles et Les Escoumins to take charge of the Trois-Pistoles and Les Escoumins wharves 2007 - Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today that the President has made the following nominations: Navy Capt. Robert J. Bianchi has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). Bianchi is currently serving as chief of staff to the commander, Naval Inventory Control Point, Philadelphia. Navy Capt. Michael A. Giorgione has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). Giorgione is currently serving as commanding officer, Naval Facilities Southwest, San Diego. Navy Capt. William M. Roberts has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). Roberts is currently serving as deputy director, medical resources, N093, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington. Navy Capt. Alton L. Stocks has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). Stocks is currently serving as force surgeon, US Naval Forces Europe, Naples. Navy Capt. Thomas C. Traaen has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). Traaen is currently serving as deputy commander for logistics operations, Naval Supply Systems Command, Mechanicsburg. Navy Capt. Richard C. Vinci has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). Vinci is currently serving as deputy naval medical inspector general, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Bethesda 2007 - Golden Ocean Group Limited acquired two newbuilding contracts at Daehan Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., South Korea and two newbuilding contracts at Zhoushan Jinhaiwan Shipyard in China. The vessels of 170,000 dwt and 176.000 dwt respectively will be delivered between Dec 2008 and Oct 2009 2008 - Royal Navy scrapped plans to take part in a joint exercise with Russian warships amid continuing tensions over the crisis in Georgia. A Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesman said it would be "highly inappropriate" to go ahead with the exercise, which was due to take place later this month involving ships from France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States (FRUKUS). The United States has already pulled out of the annual FRUKUS exercise, which was to be hosted by the Russian navy in Vladivostok 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