SeaWaves Today in History August 18, 2008 1759 - The Battle of Lagos Bay. During the night of 17-18 Aug, five of Admiral de la Clue’s 12 ships became separated from the main body when the French formation altered course in an attempt to shake off their pursuers. The rearmost ships became detached when they lost sight of the flagship and missed a maneuvering signal. Once they realized their predicament, the smaller squadron followed pre-arranged orders and steered for Cadiz. The remaining seven ships, which delayed in an attempt to relocate the lost squadron, were overtaken by Admiral Boscawen’s force on the afternoon of the 18 Aug. The entire British line engaged the rearmost French ship, Centaure (74 guns), as they overtook the French column. Centaure was captured after three hours of action, during which the British flagship Namur (96 guns) was damaged so severely that Admiral Boscawen transferred his flag to Newark (80 guns). Under the cover of darkness, two French ships escaped to the west and eventually reached Brest while the remaining four fled northward and into Lagos Bay, which was in neutral Portuguese waters. Admiral Boscawen was not deterred and pursued them. Admiral de la Clue ordered his ships run aground to prevent their capture. Two ships followed his orders while the other two remained at anchor, sheltering under the guns of a Portuguese fortress. The British entered the bay and captured one of the anchored ships while the other three were destroyed by fire. The captured ship was Ocean, a name that has been perpetuated by six other ships in the Royal Navy and is in use today. Admiral de la Clue was mortally wounded and died in Portugal. The Portuguese government protested the violation of its sovereignty and the British government gave a formal apology. However, Admiral Boscawen was showered with honors indicating no seriousness was attached to the act. Although the defeat and scattering of the Toulon squadron ruined the immediate plans for the concentration of the French navy, French invasion planning continued. Boscawen’s second-in-command, Admiral Broderick, blockaded the five French ships in Cadiz, which eventually returned to Toulon following the destruction of the French fleet from Brest at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, by Admiral Sir Edward Hawke 1817 - Gloucester, Mass, newspapers tells of wild sea serpent seen offshore 1838 - Exploring Expedition under LT Charles Wilkes embarks on world cruise Russian Geographic Society founded in St. Petersburg on initiative of Admiral Fyodor Litke 1894 - Congress established the Bureau of Immigration 1911 - First Navy Nurse Corps superintendent, Esther Voorhees Hasson, appointed 1914 - President Woodrow Wilson issued his Proclamation of Neutrality, aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I 1916 - Battlecruiser HMS Repulse commissioned 1918 - Destroyer USS Waters commissioned 1918 - Destroyer USS Southard laid down 1919 - Destroyer USS Palmer laid down 1919 - Commander Dobson led a small force of Coastal Motor Boats into the heavily defended Kronstadt naval base to attack Bolshevik shipping. Under heavy fire, hits were scored on two Bolshevik capital ships. Dobson and Lieutenant Steele were both awarded the Victoria Cross for their part in the action 1920 - Submarine USS S-21 launched 1920 - Light cruiser USS Trenton laid down 1930 - Destroyer FS Epervier laid down 1931 - Light cruiser FS Emile Bertin laid down 1936 - Destroyer FS Fleuret laid down 1938 - Light cruiser HNLMS Tromp commissioned 1938 - President Roosevelt said the United States would defend Canada against attack. ("We in the Americas are no longer a far away continent, to which the eddies of controversies beyond the seas could bring no interest or no harm. . . . we can assure each other that this hemisphere at least shall remain a strong citadel wherein civilization can flourish unimpaired. The Dominion of Canada is part of the sisterhood of the British Empire. I can give assurance to you that the people of the United States will not stand idly by if domination of Canadian soil is threatened by any other empire") 1938 - Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicate the Thousand Islands (Ivy Lea) Bridge connecting Ontario and New York state 1939 - Patrol vessel HMS Pintail launched 1939 - Light cruiser HMS Kenya laid down 1939 - Donitz dispatched his 35 operational U-boats. 18 go to the eastern Atlantic and the remaining 17 are sent to the Baltic for operations against Poland and possibly Russia too 1940 - Light cruiser USS Columbia laid down 1940 - US President Franklin D Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister W.L. MacKenzie King sign the Ogdensburg Agreement which provides for a Permanent Joint Board for the Defense of the US and Canada 1941 - At 0250, the unescorted Longtaker was hit in the bow and amidships by 1941 - Destroyer USS Badsworth commissioned 1941 - Destroyer depot ship HNLMS Colombia commissioned 1941 - Destroyer HMS Mahratta laid down 1941 - Soviet destroyer Statny mined & sunk in Moon Sound 1941 - U-188 laid down 1941 - Minesweepers HMCS Fort William, Kenora & Milltown laid down Port Arthur ON 1941 - Destroyer HMS Badsworth commissioned 1941 - The US government tasks the US Coast Guard with enforcing laws to protect war-lanes in Alaskan waters 1941 - On 6 Aug, P33 sailed from Malta's 10th Flotilla with orders to intercept an Italian convoy bound for Libya. On 18 Aug, P32 reported hearing a prolonged depth charge attack that lasted for two hours. When the attack was finally over P32 attempted to contact P33 but received no response and it is almost certain that P33 had perished in the attack. Italians claimed she was sunk by torpedo boat Partenope off Pantelleria Island on the 23rd 1942 - Gen. Sir Harold Alexander succeeded General Auchinleck as commander of British imperial forces in the Middle East 1942 - Convoy SC-94 arrived in Liverpool after losing 11 merchant ships totaling 53,412 tons. The material lost amounted to 31,250 tons of general cargo, 6,900 tons of grain, 4,000 tons of US Army stores, 4,000 tons of lumber, 4,000 tons of steel, 3,200 tons of pulp, 3,000 tons of food, 2,500 tons of iron ore, 2,000 tons of ammunition, plus a large amount of military transport vehicles carried as deck cargo. Sixty-one merchant sailors were lost 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Lightfoot laid down 1942 - Destroyer USS Miller & Wadsworth laid down 1942 - Destroyer USS Abner Read launched 1942 - Near convoy SL.119 a Liberator aircraft (Sqn 120/F) attacked U-653. During the crash-diving one man was lost. (There was a report that the man was saved by a British destroyer.) The boat was seriously damaged and had to limp back to base, reaching Brest, France on 30 August [Matrosengefreiter Willi Pröhl] 1942 - U-420 & U-732 launched 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Fremantle launched 1942 - Submarine USS Cabrilla laid down 1942 - U-553 sank SS Blankaholm, Empire Bede & John Hancock Convoy TAW-13 1942 - U-214 sank SS Balingkar, Hatarana & damaged HMS Cheshire Convoy SL-118 1942 - The US submarines USS Argonaut & Nautilus evacuate the Marine raiders landed on Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands yesterday 1943 - USS LST-396 sunk by accidental fire and explosion off Vella Lavella Solomon Islands 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Greiner commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Cone commissioned 1943 - Salvage vessel HMS Succour launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Lake & Maloy launched 1943 - Frigate HMS Rowley laid down 1943 - Submarine HMS Spearhead laid down 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Richard S Bull, Weeden, Richard M Rowell & Curtis W Howard laid down 1943 - U-403 sunk in the mid-Atlantic near Dakar, in position 13.42N, 17.36W, by depth charges from a French Wellington aircraft (Sqn. 344/HZ697). 49 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-868, U-997 & U-998 launched 1943 - U-477 commissioned 1943 - U-84 is ordered to refuel from U-760 today in position 37.00N, 44.30W. This had previously been recorded as sunk 24 Aug, 1943 in the middle of the North Atlantic, in position 27.09N, 37.03W, by aerial torpedoes from aircraft of the US escort carrier USS Core, but which is over 600 nautical miles from the refueling position 1943 - US cruisers and destroyers bombard Palmi and Gioai Taura, Italy 1944 - 899 RN Sqn, Seafire a/c NF661 from HMS Khedive S/Lt (A) David Arthur Carey RCNVR of Stettler AB lost. Flew into hill near Aix-en-Province during low-level attack on motor transports during invasion of Southern France 1944 - Destroyers HMCS Chaudiere A/LCdr Charles Patrick Nixon DSC, RCN, CO, with, HMCS Kootenay A/LCdr William Herbert Willson DSC, HMCS Ottawa Cdr James Douglas "Chummy" Prentice DSO, RCN, CO, sank U-621 Oblt Hermann Stuckmann off La Rochelle, 45-52N 02-36W. U-621 was a VIIC type, built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, launched 29 Mar 42,commissioned 7 May 42, in service 27 months, with a record of sinking 7 ships for a total of 32,845 tons & 1 ship of 10,048 tons damaged. Of a crew of 56 there were no survivors. U-621 had been active in the Wolfpacks in 1942. Wolfpack "Panter" (8-14 Oct) "Puma" group (16-30 Oct) which attacked convoy HX 212 & sank 6 ships. "Raufbold" group (15-22 Dec) which attacked convoy ON 153. The newly formed, all Canadian 11th Escort Group was deployed in the Bay of Biscay to intercept transiting U-boats. Despite their recent creation, this group was composed of well-trained & equipped ships with highly experienced commanders. The familiarity of the ships in co-operative ASW was very evident in this engagement. Kootenay gained Asdic contact at 0953 & Ottawa closed to attack. Despite evasive maneuvers by the U-boat, at 1012 a 'Hedgehog' bomb exploded & Asdic showed the submarine had bottomed. Further attacks were carried out until 1530, when CDR Prentice was convinced that the submarine had been sunk. But CINC Plymouth ordered further attacks & at 1609, after two Hedgehog attacks by Chaudiere, who had been left alone to 'sit' on the datum, a secondary explosion produced wreckage & documents that 'proved' the U-boat's destruction. The nearly 5 years of war experience & improvements in equipment & training had finally produced a Canadian Escort Group of deadly effectiveness; moreover, one that was capable of victory over an experienced enemy 1944 - Corvette HMCS Shediac completed forecastle extension refit Vancouver BC 1944 - Submarine HMS Scotsman launched 1944 - Minesweeper HMS Wave launched 1944 - Submarine USS Trutta launched 1944 - Destroyer USS New launched 1944 - Escort carrier USS Badoeng Strait laid down 1944 - U-107 sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of La Rochelle, in position 46.46N, 03.49W, by depth charges from a British Sunderland aircraft (Sqn 201/W). 58 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - U-129 after being taken out of service at Lorient 4 July 1944, scuttled. Raised and stricken in 1946, and broken up 1944 - U-307 sank SS Ivan Papanin by gunfire 1944 - U-862 sank SS Nairug 1944 - Battlecruiser FS Strasbourg sunk by US bombers 1944 - U-2340 & 3013 laid down 1944 - The Canadian-owned, British-registered cargo ship Fort Gloucester (7,127 GRT) was damaged when she was torpedoed by a German E-boat in the English Channel, 10 miles from Dungeness, during re-supply operations in support of the Normandy Landings. Fort Gloucester was a North Sands-class cargo ship built by West Coast Shipbuilders Ltd., at North Vancouver BC. She was completed in May 43. Fort Gloucester was one of 63 North Sands-class ships provided to Great Britain under the terms of a Bare Boat charter. W.H. Souter & Co. Ltd., of Newcastle-on-Tyne, managed the ship for the British government. Five of these ships were lost and another three were damaged 1945 - Minelayer HMCS Sankaty paid off 1945 - Destroyer USS Cone commissioned 1945 - Destroyer USS New launched 1947 - Naval torpedo & mine factory explodes at Cadiz, Spain killing 300 1948 - Minesweeper HMCS Portage paid off 1949 - Seattle City Light completes Ross Dam 1950 - 120 ROK seamen assault the beaches of Taku Chaku while HMCS Athabaskan shells the Communist HQ at Supo 1953 - Minesweeper HMCS Quinte launched Port Arthur ON 1954 - Canada and the United States reach formal agreement on joint construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway 1954 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga arrived Ominato, Japan 1956 - Opening of Bell Museum at Baddeck, Nova Scotia; showcasing the life and works of Alexander Graham Bell 1847-1922 1959 - The former U-123 stricken from French service (then named Q165). Broken up 1965 - First major amphibious assault in Vietnam, Operation Starlight captures 2,000 Viet Cong 1965 - USS Hornet port call Pearl Harbor 1966 - First ship-to-shore satellite radio message sent from USS Annapolis in South China Sea to Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor 1969 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Subic Bay 1971 - USS Midway port call Subic Bay 1974 - After flooding in Philippines, US Navy helicopters begin 6 days of operations to rescue people and bring supplies (244 flights) 1983 - Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 22 dead and causing more than $1 billion damage 1990 - In separate incidents, USS Reid and USS Bradley fire warning shots across the bows of two Iraqi oil tankers leaving the Persian Gulf. Also, USS England and USS Scott divert freighters in the Arabian Gulf and N. Red Sea, the first diversions by Navy ships 1995 - A freighter with illegal workers from Eritrea sinks off the Yemeni coast. At least 131 people drown 1995 - Destroyer HMCS Kootenay departed Esquimalt for UNITAS exercises off South America 2004 - USNS Antares laid up Norfolk RRF 2004 - SS Cape Inscription laid up Long Beach RRF 2005 - Submarine USS Portsmouth stricken from NVR 2005 - Visby-class corvette H(SW)MS Nyköping launched at Kockums AB Karlskrona 2005 - Frigate HMCS Fredericton departed Halifax for fishery patrol in northern waters 2005 - The Commander of Task Force Fifty-Eight (CTF-58), Commodore Steve Gilmore, CSC, RAN and his 14-member Royal Australian Navy (RAN) team return to Sydney after four months in the Persian Gulf commanding coalition warships 2005 - Rodger Cuzner, Member of Parliament for Cape Breton-Canso, today announced on behalf of Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that the Government of Canada will provide funding in the amount of $1.55 million for work at two fishing harbors in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. At Petit-de-Grat, site of an ongoing major harbor development project, this year's work was expected to involve completion of the service area, installation of floating docks and major wharf reconstruction. The funding announced today will enable construction to begin on a new breakwater wharf as well. The project is expected to be completed next year, a full year ahead of the original schedule. The project at Main-a-Dieu was originally planned to take place over several years with work this summer to include removal of a derelict wharf and installation of floating docks. It was also planned to start on the reinforcement and extension of the west breakwater, a major improvement at the harbor, with the majority of the work scheduled over the next two years. Today's additional funding will allow most of the breakwater work to be completed this year. The harbor entrance at Main-a-Dieu will be better protected by the newly reinforced and extended breakwater 2005 - Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced funding of $230 000 for the stabilization of the historic Nottawasaga Lightstation. The Lightstation, which is located about a half a kilometer off-shore from the Town of Collingwood, consists of a 32-metre stone tower and ruins of a light keeper dwelling. It was built in the mid 1800s and serves as a landmark and tourist attraction for the Community of Collingwood. The tower was damaged in December 2004 resulting in compromising of its structural integrity 2005 - A $2,225,040 competitive contract has been awarded to Allied Shipbuilders Limited, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, to refit the Canadian Coast Guard vessel CCGS Gordon Reid. Awarded on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, this contract will be completed in January 2006. The announcement was made today by Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and first openly gay cabinet minister, in the presence of Don Bell, Member of Parliament for North Vancouver 2005 - Offshore Logistics Inc regretfully reports an accident that claimed the lives of two Air Logistics employees in the US Gulf of Mexico. The aircraft, a single engine Bell helicopter, reportedly departed one production platform and was planning to land at a nearby platform when the accident occurred. The families of the employees involved have been notified and the Company is responding to the tragedy. In addition, the Company has notified the appropriate regulatory authorities, including the National Transportation Safety Board 2005 - Submarine BAP Antofagasta returned to Callao after providing training support to the US Navy Atlantic Fleet 2005 - Frigate HMS Portland makes official visit to Callao 2005 - A Cormorant helicopter and Buffalo aircraft responded to a call to pick up and transfer a seriously ill 74-year-old woman from the cruise ship Crystal Harmony, which was along the West Coast of British Columbia near Bella Bella. The Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) in Victoria received a call from the ship requesting that the passenger be transferred to medical facilities. JRCC immediately requested the Cormorant and Buffalo out of 19 Wing Comox respond. The Cormorant helicopter arrived on scene and hoisted two Search and Rescue Technicians (SAR Techs) to the deck of the ship to prepare the patient for the hoist to the helicopter. Once safely hoisted to the Cormorant, the SAR Techs and Aeromedical Evacuation (AME) team continued to monitor the patient during the flight to Bella Bella, where the helicopter landed. The patient and the AME team was then transferred to the Buffalo aircraft and flown to 19 Wing Comox, where an ambulance was waiting to take her to St. Joseph’s General Hospital 2006 - Falkland Islands Development Corporation (FIDC) has stepped in to run the coastal shipping service following the news that the current supplier, Island Shipping Ltd, has gone into liquidation 2006 - Two Chinese vessels detained in the Sea of Japan near the Primorsky Territory's coast 2006 - Dr John Jenkins CMG, LVO has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic in succession to Mr Peter Ford who will be retiring from the Diplomatic Service. Dr Jenkins will take up his new appointment in December 2006 - Nine fishermen feared missing after their boat capsized in stormy weather in Russia's Far East are alive. The fishermen were pulling out net when the boat turned over in the Sea of Okhotsk off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula. The boat is trapped in fishing ropes about 600 meters from the coast at a depth of five-six meters, said Vladimir Shagin, a spokesman for the local department of the Emergency Situations Ministry 2006 - The Coast Guard medevaced a diver this afternoon from a dive boat in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 15 miles southeast of Freeport, Texas 2006 - Frigate BAP Bolognesi (ex-ITS Perseo) makes maiden arrival at Callao 2006 - Forth Coastguard is searching for a diver who has disappeared near Tod Head Point, south of Stonehaven. The man, who is in his sixties, was shore diving with two other divers when he made the signal to them that he was returning to the surface, but that they should continue with their dive. When they returned to the surface, the diver was missing and they returned to the shore and called the Coastguard on 999 2006 - Yaroslavl Shipyard launched "Mercury", built for the customs. The speed of the new vessel is 50 knots. Trials of the ??-105 99-ton boat are to be held in the Black Sea in October 2006 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen announced the following flag officer assignments: Rear Adm. (lower half) Daniel Holloway is being assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group 12, Norfolk, Va. Holloway is currently serving as assistant commander for Distribution, Pers 4, Navy Personnel Command, Millington, Tenn. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Edward S. Hebner is being assigned as assistant commander for Distribution Pers 4, Millington, Tenn. Hebner is currently serving as executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington DC 2006 - Four crewmembers aboard the USNS John Lenthal were medevaced after being exposed to jet fuel. Coast Guard crewmembers onboard two HH-60 Jayhwk helicopters from Air Station Elizabeth City NC transported the four to the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center for treatment 2007 - Submarine USS Hartford returns to Groton after 17 month overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard 2007 - A ferry carrying a wedding party sank in the Nile south of Cairo - but all those on board have apparently survived. Hundreds of people were on the ferry Princess Hidy when it began sinking in the river off Beni Sweif, 125 miles from the Egyptian capital 2007 - The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has concluded its investigation of the area located near Dirk Hartog Island in Western Australia that was claimed to be the site of the wreck of the RAN’s World War II cruiser, HMAS Sydney II. The Navy Hydrographic survey ship HMAS Leeuwin was diverted from surveying duties earlier in the week and arrived in the area early morning, 17 August 2007. The ship examined the prime location of interest with its high definition multi-beam and towed side scan sonar equipment. That work is now complete. The Leeuwin detected a relatively small wreck that had none of the characteristics normally associated with that of a warship, particularly one the size of Sydney II 2007 - Officials at NAS Whidbey Island looking into the possibility of leasing out a sizable piece of property as well as a separate building on the Seaplane Base 2007 - US Navy pulled the plug on a YouTube video shot aboard the San Diego-based aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan because it shows sailors inappropriately using safety equipment 2007 - Key accused in the Indian Navy war room leak case, Ravi Shankaran was spotted in Sweden claimed CBI. Shankaran is a relative of former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash is “wanted” by the CBI for obtaining classified data, including the navy s acquisition plans and other sensitive material, from the war room or directorate of naval operations 2007 - A man died after diving decommissioned aircraft carrier Oriskany, an intentionally created artificial reef. The 39-year-old man died hours after he was taken to Baptist Hospital 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