SeaWaves Today in History August 26, 2008 55 BC - Roman forces under Julius Caesar invade Britain 1576 - Martin Frobisher crewmember finds what may be lump of gold on Baffin Island; turns out to be fool's gold - iron pyrite 1613 - Samuel de Champlain arrives in St-Malo from Tadoussac; will try and get further support for his voyages 1775 - Rhode Island Resolve - Rhode Island delegates to Continental Congress press for creation of Continental Navy to protect the colonies 1784 - Cape Breton Island separated from Nova Scotia; becomes its own colony, with Lieutenant-Governor and council 1786 - Prince, statesman and admiral Alexander Sergeevich Menshikov (Died 1.5.1869) born. He was the commander-in-chief of land and naval forces during the Crimean War. He was ousted after a number of crushing defeats 1791 - John Fitch granted US patent for his working steamboat 1833 - Captain James Ross and his shipwrecked crew of 19 are rescued off Baffin Island by his flagship, the whaler Isabella; Ross and crew survived four winters with the help of the Inuit before abandoning Victory to the ice, and setting off, in shipwrecked boats they had found and repaired, through a lane of water that opened up leading northward 1839 - Brig Washington seizes Spanish slaver, Amistad near Montauk Point, NY 1856 - Hugh Allan 1810-1882 establishes the Allan Line in Montreal with four ships - Canadian, North American, Indian and Anglo Saxon; subsidized with mail contract 1856 - Captain George Pickett begins construction of Fort Bellingham 1861 - Union amphibious force lands near Hatteras, NC 1865 - Civil War ends with US Naval strength over 58,500 men and 600 ships 1884 - British Army start recruiting Canadian voyageurs and boatmen to serve in Wolseley's Nile Expedition to rescue Kitchener at Khartoum 1918 - Submarine HMS L5 launched 1919 - Destroyer HMS Veteran launched 1925 - Heavy cruiser HMAS Australia laid down 1934 - Soviet submarines SC-121 & SC-123 & SC-125 launched 1937 - Destroyers HMS Somali & Tartar laid down 1937 - Destroyers HMS Jervis & Kelly laid down 1937 - Light cruiser HMS Naiad laid down 1937 - Light cruiser USS Honolulu launched 1938 - Soviet submarines SC-135 & SC-136 laid down 1939 - U-43 commissioned 1940 - U-704 laid down 1940 - Corvette HMS Fleur de Lys commissioned 1940 - Bangor Class minesweepers ordered for RCN - HMCS Melville, Granby, Noranda, Lachine, Digby, Truro, Trois Rivieres (ex-Three Rivers), Brockville, Transcona & Esquimalt 1940 - Armed yacht HMCS Lynx (ex-Ramona) commissioned. Built by Newport News S.B. Co., Newport News Va., 495/22, 181x24x9ft, 10kts, crew 5/35, 1-4in, converted to p/v by George T. Davies & Sons Levis PQ, 26 Aug 40, #172357, She was plagued by chronic mechanical problems that were made worse by a lack of spare parts. Sold Jul 43, Post WW.II, Banana trader in Caribbean, Lost near Sydney, Australia under the name Rican Star 1941 - As an Italian battlefleet returns from a sortie against Force H, HMS Triumph torpedoes and damages heavy cruiser Bolzano north of Sicily 1941 - Corvette HMCS Buctouche departed St. John's to join the 64-ship Sydney to Liverpool convoy SC41 which arrived safely on 11 Sep 41. The SC series of convoys was introduced in August of 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. SC-1 sailed on 15 Aug 40. During the winters of ‘41 and ‘42 the SC convoys were shifted to Halifax, due to ice in Sydney and 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 a temporary interval where they also originated from New York between Sep 42 and Mar 43. Of the 177 SC convoys, only three failed to reach their destination. SC-52 lost four of its 34 ships to U-boats in Oct 41 and, with the prospects for continued heavy opposition, was returned to Sydney by a tortuous circumnavigation of Newfoundland. SC-62 and SC-63 were scattered by bad weather in Jan 42 and completed their voyages without loss as independently routed ships. In all, only 29 of the 177 SC convoys were attacked and only 145 ships were lost from the total of 6,806 ships escorted (2.1%). This number is quite misleading. The relatively low loss rate was mainly made possible by intelligence and evasive routing, without which losses would have substantially exceeded the 3% rate considered to be unsustainable. The loss rate for the 29 convoys attacked was 12.3% (145/1175). Up to the end of Mar 43, the loss rate was 13.3% (138/1034). Additionally five other ships were damaged. Also, a large number of ‘stragglers’ were sunk when they dropped out of convoys that were not counted against convoy losses. Likewise, a number of ‘rompers’, ships that detached from the convoy to move ahead independently, were lost that were also not counted. The worst single-convoy losses occurred Oct 40 when convoy SC-7 lost 15 of the 34 merchant ships escorted (44%). Clearly, up until the 'Turning Point' in the Battle of the Atlantic, when the U-boats were able to engage they inflicted losses completely beyond the ability of the Allies to sustain. The key, therefore, was not to engage in a series of tactical battles the Allies could not win. Without the inestimable advantage of signal decryption, the Battle of the Atlantic would have been lost before the 'Turning Point' had been reached 1941 - Corvette HMCS Vancouver (ex-HMCS Kitchener) launched Esquimalt BC 1941 - Destroyer USS Hendon laid down 1941 - Submarine USS Silversides launched 1941 - Minesweeper USS Auk launched 1941 - Destroyer HMS Laforey commissioned 1941 - Submarine HMS Thorn commissioned 1941 - Cutter HMS Lulworth went to the rescue of survivors from a torpedoed Merchantman. The night was dark, with heavy seas running, so that the rescue work was slow and hazardous. As HMS Lulworth was about to abandon search, two men and a woman were found clinging to the wreckage. The men were saved, but as the woman, who was unconscious, was being hauled on board, she slipped from her lifejacket, disappeared below the surface, and came up astern. Lt KEEFER at once dived into the sea to try to save her. He reached her, but both were swept away by the heavy seas, and though search was made for an hour, neither was seen again 1941 - U-505 commissioned 1941 - U-571 attacked SS Marija Uljanova. Constructive total loss 1941 - U-652 damaged SS Southern Prince 1942 - U-130 sank SS Beechwood 1942 - U-162 sank SS Thelma 1942 - U-375 attacked SS Empire Kumari in Convoy LW-38. Constructive total loss 1942 - U-398 laid down 1942 - U-532 laid down 1942 - U-666 commissioned 1942 - Destroyer HMS Scorpion launched 1942 - Destroyer HNLMS Kortenaer launched 1942 - Heavy cruiser USS Boston launched 1942 - Destroyers USS Jeffers & Glennon launched 1942 - Submarine USS Sawfish commissioned 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Border Cities laid down Port Arthur ON 1942 - Trawler (Canadian manned) HMS Baffin commissioned Collingwood ON 1942 - U-517 arrived off Belle Isle, Quebec on war patrol. U-517 was a long-range Type IXC U-boat built by Deutsche Schiff und Machinenbau AG, Seebreck Yard, at Bremen. She was commissioned on 21 Mar 42. U-517 conducted 2 patrols & compiled a record of sinking 9 ships for a total of 31,231 tons. U-517 was sunk on 21 Nov 42 by RN 'Albacore' torpedo-bomber a/c from 817 Sqn of HMS Victorious in the North Atlantic SW of Ireland, at 46-16N, 017-09W. There were 52 survivors from U-517 crew of 53. Paul Hartwig was born in 1915, at Stein, in Vogtland. He joined the navy in 1935 & transferred to the U-boat force in Jul 40. He completed two patrols on the successful Type IXC boat U-125, commanded by KptLt. Günther Kuhnke, Knight's Cross. He was selected for command & underwent his U-boat commander’s course between Nov 41 & Jan 42. U-517 was sunk just four days after leaving Lorient on her second patrol. Hartwig spent the remainder of the war in Allied captivity. After the war Hartwig joined the Bundesmarine & rose to the rank of Vice Admiral 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Ross Norman purchased 1943 - Frigate HMCS Eastview laid down Montreal PQ 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Mariner (ex-HMCS Kincardine) laid down Port Arthur ON 1943 - Soviet submarine SC-203 sunk near Cape Uret by torpedo from Italian submarine SB.4. All hands lost 1943 - Submarine USS Charr laid down 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Stadtfield commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS O'Neill, Bronstein, William T Powell & Chaffee laid down 1943 - Minesweeper USS Dunlin launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Haines launched 1943 - U-750 commissioned 1943 - U-1279 laid down 1943 - U-410 sank SS John Bell & SS Richard Henderson in Convoy UGS-14 1944 - U-745 sank Soviet minesweeper T-45/No 48 1944 - U-957 sank SS Nord 1944 - U-989 sank SS Ashmun J CLough in Convoy TBC-28 1944 - U-3012 laid down 1944 - Minesweeper USS Garland commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Goss commissioned 1944 - Soviet destroyer Druznyj commissioned 1944 - Submarine HMS Acheron laid down 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Thaddeus Parker launched 1944 - Corvette HMCS Tillsonburg departed Londonderry to join EG C-6 of NEF 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-195 was commissioned at New Orleans. Her first commanding officer was Lt. J. P. McNabb, USCGR. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area. 1945 - HMC ML 121 paid off 1946 - Submarine HMS Artemis launched 1949 - On 18 July 1949, submarine USS Cochino put to sea for a cruise to Britain, and arctic operations. Her group ran through a violent polar gale off Norway, and the jolting received by Cochino played their part in causing an electrical fire and battery explosion, followed by the generation of deadly hydrogen [chlorine] on 25 August. Defying the most unfavorable possible weather conditions, men of Cochino and Tusk fought to save the submarine for 14 hours, performing acts of skillful seamanship and high courage. But a second battery explosion on 26 August made "Abandon Ship" the only possible order, and Cochino sank on 71°35' N., 23°35' E. All Cochino’s men were rescued by the valiant Tusk who had lost seven of her own men in the attempt to save Cochino 1957 - The Soviet Union announced it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile 1958 - RCN HS 50 Sikorsky HO4S-3 a/c #55887 crashed & burned on McNabs Island, Halifax. Crew recovered safely but aircraft struck off strength 4 Nov 1958 1968 - Hudson's Bay Company launches replica ketch Nonsuch II at Appledore, UK to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the HBC 1968 - USS Intrepid port call Subic Bay 1971 - USS Midway port call Hong Kong 1990 - United Nations Security Council votes, without dissension, to allow use of military force to uphold trade embargo on Iraq. Commander-in-Chief, United States Central Command, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, establishes his command headquarters in Saudi Arabia. Department of Defense national media pool is officially disbanded due to decision by the government of Saudi Arabia to allow reporters from the US and other countries to cover the military operation in the gulf region 1995 - Frigate HMCS St John's launched Saint John NB 1998 - HMCS Summerside launched Halifax NS 2003 - Landing ship USS Green Bay laid down Avondale LA 2003 - Cdr Jeffrey W Hansen, commanding officer of a fighter-jet training squadron at Lemoore Naval Air Station in California, was relieved after allegations of undisclosed misconduct 2003 - Capt Ruth A. Cooper, head of the Naval Station in Newport RI, was fired for alleged mismanagement of the base and ''questionable personnel actions” 2005 - America's Celebrate Freedom Salute, World War II 60th Commemoration is one of six regional observances selected by the Department of Defense honoring those who served during World War II. The three-day event will occur Aug. 26-28 in Vancouver WA. During a culminating commemoration ceremony Aug. 28, distinguished guests will receive recognition on stage on behalf of 241,093 World War II Coast Guardsmen that served as part of the war effort. Every veteran attending the Sunday ceremony will be presented with a World War II Veteran badge and the honorable service lapel pin. Three veterans representing the Coast Guard will be presented their pins on stage during the ceremony. The Northwest's event is expected to be the largest in the nation. The event is managed by the Vancouver National Historic Reserve Trust and co hosted by the National Park Service and the City of Vancouver in cooperation with the Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard. The festivities will be at the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, home of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site and Vancouver Barracks, which has a military history dating back to 1849 2005 - Now that the world market is undergoing a wheat crisis Kazakhstan, with exports of five million tons of grain expected in 2005, is becoming a major player. Access to the sea for this landlocked country in Central Asia is nevertheless of prime importance. The new grain terminal at Ventspils in Latvia, which is to be launched today, will provide access to the Baltic Sea for Kazakhstan's wheat 2005 - A major rescue effort took place 270 kilometers off the coast of Nova Scotia Friday morning. A fire aboard a fishing vessel was extinguished after a Sea King helicopter, two coast guard vessels, and a Hercules aircraft from Greenwood responded to the emergency. The unidentified boat has four crew on board, but no injuries were reported 2005 - The biggest ever concert to take place in a shipyard will be held in Gdansk, Poland. The shipyard will host the largest audience (over 100 000 people) concert ever in Poland. Jean Michel Jarre's concert, probably the most spectacular event of the celebrations of Solidarity's 25th anniversary, will be broadcast live on Polish TVP1, satellite TVP Polonia 2005 - Flagship of research fleet of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the transport ship Akademik Fyodorov, which is now cruising the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean has independently crossed the 87th latitude, thus becoming the world’s first ship to approach the North Pole so closely without an icebreaker escort. The ship scored the new absolute record at 1600 Moscow time (1200 GMT) said Vladimir Strugatsky, the vice-president of the Association of Russian Polar Researchers. “Not a single transport ship has ever tried to climb so close towards the Pole without an icebreaker,” he said. The Akademik Fyodorov’s crew is expected to take aboard a research expedition drifting on an ice-flow at the moment and to land a new expedition to another ice floe. According to Strugatsky the ship is yet to cover a distance of around 360 nautical miles towards the drifting polar station SP-33 2005 - The Coast Guard Auxiliary safely delivered six personnel to Seward after their vessel, the Alliance, sank near Barwell Island. The Coast Guard received a mayday call from the master of the fishing vessel Alliance at about 0130. He stated that the vessel had struck a rock at Cape Resurrection and was sinking. He and the crew donned immersion suits and abandoned ship. The Good Samaritan vessel Black Velvet retrieved the six people from their skiff and rendezvoused with the Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel that had gotten underway from Seward when they heard the mayday call. The four adults and two children arrived in Seward in good condition at about 0334. The Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Anchorage has dispatched investigators to the scene. The vessel sank in about 50 fathoms of water. The 93-foot Alliance has nearly 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel onboard and 244,000 pounds of King salmon 2005 - A Newfoundland and Labrador provincial court judge has ordered the Motor Vessel (MV) Project Europa to pay a $70,000 penalty for violations of the Canada Shipping Act associated with the unlawful discharge of an oily substance into Canadian waters. On August 23, 2003, a Government of Canada marine pollution surveillance flight detected a slick in the wake of MV Project Europa, a cargo ship registered in the Netherlands and owned by Biglift Goedkoop BV of Amsterdam. At the time, the vessel was approximately 65 miles south of Cape Race, NL and was traveling from Spain towards Montreal. Transport Canada Marine Safety in St. John's, NL made arrangements for the ship to be boarded at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. An on-board investigation was carried out on August 25, 2003 while the ship was en route between Trois-Rivieres and Montreal. A further investigation was carried out upon the ship's arrival in the port of Montreal on the 26th and 27th of August. The Transport Canada Marine Safety investigation determined that the slick contained approximately 40 liters of an oily substance and that the oil originated from the MV Project Europa. The investigation also concluded that, at the time of the sighting, the ship's engineers were working on the oily water separator and that, in the course of that work, they discharged water containing oil overboard. As a result, Transport Canada Marine Safety laid charges against the vessel under the Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations of the Canada Shipping Act. The vessel pleaded guilty to the illegal discharge in provincial court in St. John's, NL on August 26, 2005 and was subsequently fined $70,000 2005 - A crew aboard a 27-foot rescue boat from Coast Guard Station Point Judith, R.I, pulled five people, including two nine-year olds, off of the sailing vessel Ecstasy around 0300 after the fishing vessel Hard to Handle and the anchored Ecstasy collided one mile off Point Judith Harbor. The crew of the Ecstasy contacted the Coast Guard via their VHF radio on ch. 16 saying the vessels collided and the Ecstasy lost of one of its two masts on board the sailboat after an outrigger on the Hard to Handle hit the Ecstasy demasting it. The Hard to Handle was directed to Station Point Judith where a post search and rescue boarding was conducted by members of the Coast Guard Marine Safety in Providence RI and Station Point Judith. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office in Providence. Coast Guard crewman from Station Point Judith also conducted a post search and rescue boarding of the Ecstasy at Point Judith Harbor. The Hard to Handle is currently at the Rhode Island Engine Shipyard and the Ecstasy is at Point Judith Marina 2005 - The frigates USS Stephen W. Groves & John L. Hall got underway from Naval Station Pascagoula in order to evade approaching Hurricane Katrina 2005 - Acting Coast Guard First District Commander, Capt. Mark Campbell presented the Meritorious Public Service award to Dr. L. Roger Currie and Hyannis Fire Commissioner Richard Gallagher, both Hyannisport, Mass. Residents, at the Hyannis Marina. Also in attendance was Senator William Kennedy. Currie and Gallagher rescued six survivors including a three-year old little girl after their 48-foot yacht, Priscilla, burst into flames July 12, in Nantucket Sound, Mass. shortly after they left Hyannisport. Currie and Gallagher observed thick black billowing smoke out of the vessel near the horizon. They quickly arrived on scene and pulled all six survivors off the vessel. The award formally recognizes extraordinary effort in advancing the Coast Guard's mission and exceptional coordination in matters pertaining to the Coast Guard's responsibilities 2005 - A Station Ketchikan boat crew rescued a kayaker from the chilly waters of Tongass Narrows. The crew of a Good Samaritan vessel alerted the Coast Guard that a kayaker had overturned south of Lewis Reef at 1425. A Station Ketchikan response boat diverted to the scene. Once on scene, the crew took the extremely hypothermic 51-year-old man aboard and transported him to Ketchikan, where they transferred him to an ambulance crew 2005 - KD Sri Sarawak, Sundang & Panah transfer ceremony from the Royal Malaysian Navy to the new Malaysian Coast Guard 2006 - Submarine USS Texas commissioned at San Antonio 2006 - Frigate HMAS Perth commissioned at Fremantle 2006 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad Allen will deliver remarks at the 88th Annual American Legion National Convention and accept the Unsung Hero award from the American Legion Auxiliary on behalf of the US Coast Guard in Salt Lake City 2006 - Kidd-class destroyers ROCS Tsuoying and Makung depart Charleston for Taiwan 2006 - 43-year-old man is safe today after his 30-foot recreational vessel sank near the mouth of the Columbia River. The man from Hillsboro, Ore. contacted the Coast Guard at 0715 and reported he had just put out an early morning fire on his vessel and was in need of assistance. Coast Guard Group/ Air Station Astoria, Ore. issued an urgent marine information broadcast minutes after receiving the distress call from the Compromise. Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco WA maintained communication with the vessel and launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew at 0818 to assist. The 43-year-old man used VHF channel 16 at 0825 to report that his vessel was now disabled and taking on water rapidly. The crew of the 47-foot motor lifeboat was able to locate the man at 0923 and transported him the Station Cape Disappointment where he was treated and released by awaiting emergency medical technicians. The man, who was wearing a lifejacket, was in 51 degrees water for about 40 minutes 2006 - Archaeologists say the find which halted work on a section of gas pipeline in west Wales is a 3,400-year-old oak canoe 2006 - North Bay OPP with the assistance of the OPP helicopter and Underwater Search and Recovery Unit have recovered the body of 56 year old Heine Mondrowitz. Mondrowitz along with another Toronto man have been missing since the 21 Aug. Mondrowitz was located on the rocky shore of Lonely Island 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