SeaWaves Today in History August 15, 2008 India - Independence Day. Visiting warships Dress Ship overall. A 31-gun salute is fired at noon 1519 - Panama City founded 1534 - Jacques Cartier starts his return to France after his first voyage to Canada 1535 - Jacques Cartier rounds what he calls l'Ile de l'Assomption; second voyage to Canada 1587 - John Davis c1543-1605 sails down coast of Labrador; fishes in Chateau Bay before returning to England 1620 - Mayflower sets sail from Southampton with 102 Pilgrims 1620 - Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec with his wife Helene; the ship carries the first donkeys seen in New France 1624 - Samuel de Champlain sails from Quebec with his wife Helene 1646 - Abraham Martin named Pilote Royal of New France; will train other pilots to guide ships up the St. Lawrence 1850 - US Naval Academy (established in 1845 as US Naval School) established at Annapolis 1863 - Submarine HL Hunley arrives in Charleston on railroad cars 1864 - Off New England coast, CSS Tallahassee captures 6 Yankee schooners 1893 - US no longer allowed exclusive rights in Bering Sea 1895 - Commissioning of Texas, the first American steel-hulled battleship. Texas served off Cuba during the Spanish-American War and took part in the naval battle of Santiago. Under the name of San Marcos, she was sunk in weapon effects tests in Chesapeake Bay in 1911. Her hulk continued in use as a gunnery target through World War II Arch Rock, danger to San Francisco Bay shipping, blasted with 30 tons of nitro 1908 - First Navy post offices established in Navy ships 1914 - Panama Canal opens (under cost) 1916 - Aircraft carrier HMS Furious launched as a battlecruiser 1917 - Destroyer HMS Vanoc commissioned 1917 - Out in the North Sea, an armed fishing boat, Nelson, was busy stowing her catch when a U-boat surfaced alongside and raked her with gunfire. The skipper, Mr Crisp, Royal Naval Reserve, was at work below deck and received a severe wound. Nevertheless, he returned to the deck and fought back until Nelson sank. The rest of the crew got off safely and were rescued, but Crisp was too badly wounded to be moved and went down with the boat. Crisp was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross 1918 - Submarines USS S-18, S-19 & S-20 laid down 1918 - First full length cartoon (The Sinking of the Lusitania) 1919 - Mooring vessel HMS Moordale launched 1919 - Paid off & returned to RN - HMC TR 1, HMC TR 10, HMC TR 11, HMC TR 2, HMC TR 3, HMC TR 4, HMC TR 6, HMC CD 18 1919 - Submarine USS R-12 launched 1925 - Sloop HNLMS Flores launched 1928 - Destroyer HNLMS Van Nes laid down 1931 - Heavy cruiser FS Foch commissioned 1933 - Destroyer HMS Foxhound laid down 1933 - Light cruiser HMAS Hobart laid down 1934 - Destroyer HMS Glowworm laid down 1934 - Destroyers USS Cushing, Downes, Perkins & Tucker laid down 1934 - Soviet submarine SC-304 commissioned 1935 - Destroyers HMS Greyhound, Grenville & Griffin launched 1935 - Submarine USS Porpoise commissioned 1938 - Patrol vessel HMS Shearwater laid down 1938 - U-43 laid down 1938 - Submarine HMS Cachalot commissioned 1939 - Destroyer USS Sterett commissioned 1939 - U-54 launched 1939 - Submarine USS Seawolf launched 1939 - Captain Karl Donitz, head of the U-boat arm of the German Navy, is recalled unexpectedly early from leave 1940 - U-51 sank SS Sylvafield in Convoy HX-62 1940 - UA sunk SS Aspasia 1940 - U-97 launched 1940 - U-167, U-168, U-169, U-170, U-181, U-182, U-183, U-184, U-185, U-186, U-187, U-188, U-221, U-222, U-223, U-224, U-225, U-226, U-262, U-263, U-264, U-265, U-266, U-267, U-335, U-336, U-383, U-384, U-385, U-386, U-413, U-414, U-415, U-416, U-463, U-464, U-465, U-466, U-467, U-468, U-525, U-526, U-527, U-528, U-529, U-530, U-531, U-532, U-611, U-612, U-613, U-614, U-615, U-616, U-617, U-618, U-619, U-620, U-621, U-622, U-623, U-624, U-625, U-626, U-627, U-628, U-629, U-630, U-631, U-632, U-633, U-634, U-663, U-664, U-665, U-666, U-667, U-668, U-709, U-710, U-763, U-764, U-765, U-766, U-767, U-768 ordered 1940 - Submarine USS Triton commissioned 1940 - Corvette HMCS Agassiz launched North Vancouver BC 1940 - Convoy SC1 sailed. SC series of convoys were introduced in Aug 1940 to provide a system of protection for slow merchant ships (7.5 knots minimum, often not achieved) which had previously been sailing independently, with disastrous consequences. Sydney, Cape Breton, was chosen as the western terminus to help ease congestion on the port of Halifax. SC1 sailed on 15 Aug 40. During the winters of 41 & 42 the SC convoys were shifted to Halifax, due to ice in Sydney & its approaches. In Aug 42, when the terminus for the HX series of convoys was shifted to New York City, the SC convoys were moved to Halifax, with an interval originating from New York between Sep 42 & Mar 43. Of the 177 SC convoys, only three failed to reach their destination. SC52 lost 4 of its 34 ships to U-boats in Oct 41 & with the prospects for continued heavy opposition, was returned to Sydney by a tortuous circumnavigation of Newfoundland. SC62 & 63 were scattered by bad weather in Jan 42 & completed their voyages as independently routed ships. In all, only 29 of the 177 SC convoys were attacked, mainly made possible by signals intelligence & evasive routing, & only 145 ships were lost from the total of 6,806 (2.1%). This number is somewhat misleading as a large number of stragglers were sunk when they dropped out of convoy that were not counted against convoy losses. Likewise, a number of 'rompers', ships that detached from the convoy to move ahead independently, were lost, & not counted 1940 - Mediterranean Fleet battleships HMS Warspite, Malaya & Ramillies bombard Italian positions around Bardia in Libya, just over the border from Egypt 1940 - Greek cruiser Helle is sunk by an Italian submarine. Greece and Italy are not at war when the Helle was at anchor off Tinos for a religious celebration 1940 - British Prime Minister Churchill replies to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt's telegram of 13 August in which Roosevelt stated that it may be possible to supply 50 overage destroyers to the RN. Churchill states that "the worth of every destroyer that you can spare to us is measured in rubies..." The "moral value of this fresh aid from your Government and your people at this critical time will be very great and widely felt." 1941 - Franklin D Roosevelt in the presidential yacht USS Potomac, fishes while the ship is anchored in Pulpit Harbor, Penobscot Bay, Maine 1941 - U-165, U-334 & U-377 launched 1941 - U-233 laid down 1942 - The tanker Ohio, hit five times, under tow, and almost sinking, arrived in Malta with her priceless cargo of fuel at the end of Operation Pedestal. Fourteen merchantmen had set out to run the gauntlet of submarine and air attack to resupply the island, escorted by the Royal Navy's two most powerful battleships and four aircraft carriers. Without supplies, the island would have had to surrender in early September. In three days of constant attacks, nine of the fourteen merchantmen were sunk, along with the carrier Eagle, two cruisers and a destroyer. But four merchantmen plus the Ohio survived to deliver their cargo. Ohio's Master, Captain Dudley Mason, was awarded the George Cross for his heroism 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Digby arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City PQ 1942 - Tug HMCS Kingsville assigned to Bay of Bulls, Nfld 1942 - Corvette HMCS Atholl laid down Quebec City PQ 1942 - Tug HMCS Glendower laid down Owen Sound ON 1942 - U-705 sank SS Balladier in Convoy SC-95 1942 - U-189, U-358 & U-759 commissioned 1942 - U-272 launched 1942 - U-862 laid down 1942 - Soviet submarine M-97 sunk by depth charges from the Finnish patrol boat VMV 5 at Suursaari 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Antares launched 1942 - Submarines USS Pompon & Snook launched 1942 - Minesweeper USS Threat launched 1942 - Destroyer USS Waller launched 1942 - Destroyers USS Boyle & Butler commissioned 1942 - Four APDs (converted WWI Wickes-class destroyers) land the first supplies, aviation fuel and CUB 1 (aircraft maintenance unit) on Guadalcanal 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Shepparton launched 1942 - Rescue tug HMS Oriana launched 1942 - Submarine USS Hackleback laid down 1943 - Invasion force of 34,426 Canadian and US troops land on Alaska's Kiska Island; Japanese have fled 1943 - United States and Canadian forces landed on Kiska in the Aleutians; occupied by the Japanese since June 12, 1942. No resistance 1943 - Large cruiser USS Alaska launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Kyne launched 1943 - Submarines USS Lancefish & Ling launched 1943 - Minesweeper USS Sentry launched 1943 - Submarine HMS Uther commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Ira Jeffery & Frament commissioned 1943 - Frigate USS Newport launched 1944 - USS YMS-24 sunk by mine off St. Tropez France 1944 - Operation Dragoon, Allied invasion of Southern France. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force units provided cover during the landing of US and Free French troops in southern France 1944 - HMC ships Prince David & Prince Henry both Prince-class Landing Ships - Infantry (LSI), participated Operation DRAGOON, the invasion of southern France. The Prince-class ships were former CNR coastal cargo-liners. Capable of 22 knots, they were fast for merchant ships and had a reasonable cruising range. Despite warnings from the Admiralty that they were too small, all three sister ships were acquired by the RCN at the beginning of the war for conversion to Armed Merchant Cruisers (AMCs) and were assigned to convoy escort, patrol, and inspection duties. They were equipped with four 6-inch guns and two 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and have frequently been referred to as “the most powerfully armed ships in the navy until the arrival of the light cruisers.” In truth, however, their armament was very old (pre-WWI-vintage), being locally directed and controlled. They would have stood virtually no chance in an engagement against any warship. The AMCs were intended as defense against disguised merchant raiders that were assumed to mount destroyer-size armament in the 3-inch to 5-inch range. With their 6-inch armament, they stood a theoretically good chance against such an opponent. However, the standard German weapon in their merchant raiders was a 5.9-inch gun equipped with a truly superior optical director. Also armed with torpedoes, they were very dangerous opponents. The most famous incident involving raiders was the mutual destruction of the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran and the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney. The Princes proved to be very unstable gun platforms, due to a tendency to roll excessively. The average cost of purchase and conversion to AMCs was $1,511,400, which was three times the cost of a minesweeper, twice the cost of a sloop or a used C-class destroyer, and only $200,000 less than the cost of a modern J-class destroyer. Once the threat from German surface raiders diminished, Prince Robert was re-roled and given another expensive conversion, this time as an auxiliary anti-aircraft cruiser (CLAA) with ten 4-inch guns. Prince Henry and Prince David were converted to LSIs, a role for which they were much better suited by virtue of their large lifeboat davits that required no modification to handle landing craft. Lieutenant-General Kenneth Stuart, Chief of the General Staff, testified at the Duff Commission of Inquiry into the defeat at Hong Kong: “The shortage of shipping, particularly ships equipped to carry personnel, had been a problem since the beginning of the war and had become more of a problem as each month passed.” Naval plans to convert the Princes to AMCs were both expensive and ill considered. Prince Henry was decommissioned on 06 Apr 45 while Prince David served until 07 Jan 46 and Prince Robert followed on 18 Jan 46. Only Prince Robert continued to sail after the war as the Italian liner Luciana. Her sister ships were worn out and were scrapped soon after leaving the navy. Class particulars: length (overall) - 385 feet; displacement (full load) - 6,893 tons; endurance - 6,000 miles at 14 knots on an unknown quantity of fuel; crew - 241 as AMC, 405 as CLAA, 322 as LSI plus accommodations for 550 troops and four 20-ton Landing Craft Mk 8 1944 - Submarines HMS United & Upright arrive Bermuda for ASW training 1944 - Escort carrier USS Kula Gulf launched 1944 - U-741 damaged HMS LST 404 in Convoy FTC-69. Later that day sunk in the English Channel NW of Le Havre, in position 50.20.84N, 00.34.68W, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Orchis. 48 dead and 1 survivor 1944 - U-3504 launched 1944 - U-2339 & U-3512 laid down 1944 - USS LST-282 sunk by glider bomb off St. Tropez France 1945 - RCN 803 Sqn re-equipped with 12 Griffon-powered Seafire XV a/c at RNAS Asvroat 1945 - In Japan, 103 carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Force 38 are launched at 0415 hours local and attack airfields in the Tokyo area. They encounter heavy aerial opposition and shoot down 32 Japanese aircraft. A second strike is cancelled while it is en route to objectives; pilots jettison their ordnance and return to their carriers. The last aircraft shot down by the USN in World War II occurs at 1400 hours when an F6F-5 Hellcat pilot of Fighting Squadron Thirty One in the light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood shoots down a "Judy" carrier bomber (Kugisho D4Y Navy Carrier Bomber Suisei) at sea 1947 - India and Pakistan became independent after some 200 years of British rule 1947 - Submarine HMS Artemis commissioned 1948 - The Republic of Korea was proclaimed 1950 - HMCS Cayuga and HMS Mounts Bay Shell Yosu in North Korea. First act of war since WWII for Canadian Navy 1950 - Minesweeper HMCS Rockcliffe paid off 1953 - MV Le Francois ex HMCS French damaged in hurricane off Cape May NJ. Hulk abandoned to underwriters 1953 - First naval officer appointed Chairman, Joints Chiefs of Staff, Admiral William Radford. He served from 15 August 1953 until 15 August 1957 1954 - Destroyer HMCS Crusader departed Korean waters 1957 - The former U-2365 is commissioned in the German navy as U-Hai (S 170). Commander is Kptlt Walter Ehrhardt, who commanded U-1016 from 1944 to 1945 1958 - USS Lexington arrives in vicinity of Taiwan 1959 - Minesweeper HMS Marmion (ex HMCS Orangeville) arrived Clayton & Davie, Dunston for scrap 1966 - USS Intrepid port call Sasebo 1967 - AB Norman Robert Greer RCN onboard HMCS Kootenay at Sault Lock Jetty, in Sault Ste Marie ON heard a mother scream that her son had fallen into the water, crewmembers rushed to the area & saw an infant & a man splashing about in the water between the jetty & the ship. After unsuccessful attempts to reach the two in the water & realizing that the man was unable to assist the terrified child, who by now was submerged, Greer jumped into the water grasped the child & handed him to the crewmembers. He then assisted the man to the jetty's, edge & out of the water 1968 - USS Kearsarge port call Hong Kong 1968 - USS Hancock port call Subic Bay 1969 - USS Hancock port call Pearl Harbor 1973 - French sailors board and seize Canadian yacht Greenpeace II, protesting French nuclear tests; ship had entered security zone around test site at Mururoa Atoll 1986 - RSS Jupiter (ex-USS Whipoorwill) sold for scrap 1989 - Submarine HMS Olympus sold to Canada as a pierside training craft for Halifax 1990 - USS Saratoga Carrier Battle Group transits Strait of Gibraltar enroute to Mediterranean Sea. USS John F Kennedy Carrier Battle Group departs East coast ports enroute to Mediterranean Sea. Ships from Maritime Prepositioned Squadron 2 (Diego Garcia) begin unloading in Saudi Arabia. Hospital Ship USNS Mercy deploys for Middle East 1994 - Frigate HMCS Toronto departed Halifax NS for Operation Sharp Guard, Yugoslavia 1994 - Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the terrorist better known as "Carlos the Jackal," was jailed in France after being captured in Sudan 2001 - Frigate HMCS Halifax departs Halifax for duty with STANAVFORLANT. This will be the last Canadian ship in the force until 2004 2001 - Supply ship HMCS Preserver departed Halifax 2003 - Guided missile destroyer USS Henry B Wilson & frigate Downes sunk off the West Coast 2005 - Environmental groups are continuing their fight against a proposed inter-Hawaiian island ferry system, and have taken their battle to federal court. The groups have asked a federal judge to set aside the Maritime Administration's 'categorical exclusion' from federal environmental laws for Hawaii Superferry so a full environmental impact statement could be ordered. John Garibaldi, chief executive of the ferry firm, says that although the project remains on track to begin operations in early 2007, the lawsuit is holding up the closing of $200M in financing. Hawaii Superferry plans to operate two giant 35-kt catamarans carrying 900 passengers and 250 vehicles between O'ahu and Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. A lawsuit filed earlier in state court over a similar state environmental exemption for the ferry was dismissed in July when the presiding judge ruled the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition didn't have standing to challenge the project. That ruling has been appealed. Friends of Haleakala National Park have joined the other green groups in the federal suit. The groups say they are worried about the impact the vessels will have on the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the possible introduction of alien species 2005 - Japan has issued a tsunami warning after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake hit the northern part of the country 2005 - The Maritime & Coastguard Agency prosecuted a Master of a small bulk carrier in Kingston upon Hull Magistrates Court today for a breach of the International Regulation for Prevention of Collision at Sea (Colregs). Genadijs Ulickins (48) from Riga, Latvia, Master of the Cyprus Cement, was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £500 after failing to cross the South West lane at right angles in the Dover Straits as required by Rule 10(c) of the Colregs. On Friday 15th July 2005 the Bahamian registered cargo vessel Cyprus Cement was heading North East (NE) up the (French side of the) Dover Straits enroute to New Holland on the River Humber. At about 1000utc the Cyprus Cement began to cross the South West lane over to the English side of the Dover Straits However instead of turning on to the recommended course of 315T, the vessel altered on to a northerly course. There was no traffic in the vicinity that could explain this course. This course did not comply with the requirements of rule 10 of the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea 1974, as amended (Colregs). At about 1010utc he Channel Navigation Information Service (CNIS) at Dover became aware of the Cyprus Cement. Despite being advised that his course did not comply with the Colregs, the Master of Cyprus Cement did not alter to the recommended course of 315T. Cyprus Cement crossed ahead and passed within 0.6 miles of a ship shortly before it cleared the SW lane. Cyprus Cement was met at New Holland on its arrival by the MCA on the 18th July 2005. Captain Ulickins was interviewed under caution on the following day. Ulickins stated that he had started to cross the SW lane on 315T. However he had altered to the more northerly course soon afterwards. Ulickins said he could see there was no traffic around and, for that reason, felt it was okay to steer the course that he did. Ulickins felt he had caused no problems to other shipping so his course was acceptable. Ulickins was a regular user of the Dover Straits on previous vessels and knew about the requirements of Rule 10 2006 - CMDR Glenn W Pendrick relieved CMDR William R Merz as commanding officer submarine USS Memphis 2006 - AP Moller-Maersk's shortsea operator is trimming non-core activities by selling Norfolk Line Containers to DFDS for an undisclosed price 2006 - The Pha Rung Shipyard in the northern port city of Hai Phong began work on its largest-ever cargo ship of 34,000 DWT and an oil tanker of 6,500 DWT 2006 - First EA-18G Growler, EA-1, takes off on its maiden flight from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport 2006 - NS Savannah, described by some as the most famous ship in the James River Reserve Fleet, arrived under tow at Colonna's Shipyard for a sprucing up - and the start of a new life. The sleek, white vessel was the world's first and the nation's only nuclear-powered cargo and passenger ship - the brainchild of President Eisenhower and part of his Atoms for Peace program in the 1950s. MARAD plans to have the ship become a museum by 2010 2006 - Honorable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister responsible for British Columbia, announced today on behalf of the Honorable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that Canada’s new government will invest nearly $5.35 million in funding for projects at 15 fishing harbors in British Columbia 2006 - General Dynamics Electric Boat began the renovation of graving docks 1 and 2 at its shipyard, which will enable the company to build upon its submarine-repair capabilities and help retain its workforce in Connecticut. The two-year project will cost $65 million. The docks are used for new submarine construction as well as submarine maintenance and modernization work 2006 - Rear Adm. Townsend G. “Tim” Alexander relieved Rear Adm. Michael C. Vitale as commander, Navy Region Hawaii and commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific 2006 - Under the fleet reduction program the Caspian Shipping Company plans to sell two dry cargo ships ("Akstafa" and "Saatly" timber carriers), reports Trend 2006 - USCGC Kodiak Island repatriated 10 Cuban illegal immigrants and two suspected Dominican migrant smugglers pierside to La Romana, Dominican Republic 2006 - Navy diving team will travel to Darwin this week to determine if an object found in the city's harbor is an unexploded sea mine. A Defense Department spokesman said the object was found recently by contractors working on a sewage pipe, about 400 meters offshore. They took photos to allow Defense officials to make an initial assessment but that proved inconclusive 2007 - Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen presides over a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Coast Guard’s Joint Harbor Operations Center Coast Guard Sector Seattle 2007 - A replica Viking ship has pulled into Dublin nearly 1,000 years after the original sank off Denmark's coast 2007 - A Navy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 120 crashed at sea while conducting operations on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman Copyright 2008 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. To contact us: 418-145 West Keith Rd North Vancouver BC V7M 1L3 Canada Phone: 778-338-4073 Fax: 778-338-4074 Read our Maritime Mishap Blog Manage your subscription