SeaWaves Today in History December 12, 2008 Iran - Armed Forces Day. Visiting warships dress overall & appropriate gun salutes fired Kenya - Independence Day. Visiting warships dress overall 1781 - A squadron under Rear Admiral Kempenfelt, flying his flag in HMS Victory, captured a French convoy in the Atlantic 1862 - Confederate torpedo (mine) sinks USS Cairo in Yazoo River 1876 - First examination for Revenue Cutter cadets held in Washington 1901 - Guglielmo Marconi 1874-1937 sends and receives first transatlantic radio message on Signal Hill 3,200 km away across Atlantic from Poldhu, Cornwall; from a box kite trailing a 121 meter long copper wire antenna. The first transatlantic wireless test signal is heard as the faint clicking of Morse code - of the letter 'S' repeated over and over. Here he is in his Cabot Tower laboratory on Signal Hill. Four days later, Marconi will be officially notified by the Anglo-American Telegraph Company that it will take legal action against him unless he immediately ceases his wireless experiments and removes his equipment from Newfoundland; Anglo-American has a fifty-year monopoly on electrical communications in Newfoundland starting in 1858, and is determined to hinder radio telegraphy, which it knows is a serious threat to its transatlantic electric telegraph business operated by submarine cables; Marconi soon decides to move his base of operations to Cape Breton 1917 - Submarine USS R-3 (later became HMS P511) laid down 1917 - Minesweeper USS Whippoorwill laid down 1918 - Submarine HMS R9 launched 1918 - Submarine USS S-37 laid down 1918 - Destroyer USS Chew commissioned 1922 - The end of the Moscow conference on arms reduction which started on December 2 on the initiative of the Russian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic (RSFSR). It was attended by representatives of Poland, Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania 1924 - US Navy ZR3 ‘Los Angeles’, a Zeppelin built as part of German reparations, leaves Friedrichshaven for Lakehurst in New Jersey 1928 - Heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk launched 1933 - Soviet submarine SC-113 launched 1935 - Destroyer USS Porter launched 1936 - U-34 took a supervisory part in the German Operation Ursula in Spanish waters during the Civil War there. The boat, then under the command of Kptlt. Harald Grosse, probably sank the Spanish submarine C-3 on this date in 1936, but no concrete proof has yet been unearthed 1936 - Battleship FS Jean Bart laid down 1936 - Minesweeper HMS Jason laid down 1936 - Battlecruiser FS Strasbourg launched 1937 - The gunboat USS Panay had sailed up the Yangtze River leaving Nanking yesterday. She is carrying the diplomatic staff from the overrun Chinese capital to the new location in Chunking. She is also escorting 3 Standard Oil Company barges. Japanese shore batteries take her under fire. Later a flight of 20 Japanese aircraft attack. Panay and 2 of the barges are sunk. The aircraft then strafe those aboard attempting to abandon ship in the lifeboats. 3 Americans are killed and eleven others are seriously wounded. Due to the lengthy ongoing hostilities between Japan and China, these US vessels are prominently flying the US flag. It is hard to believe the claims of the Japanese pilots that they thought these vessels were Chinese. The Panay was indeed prominently marked as a USN vessel, with flags all over it including one laid out on deck so aircraft could plainly see it. Nor did the attack on Panay stop at planes machine-gunning survivors. A boat put out from shore with armed Japanese soldiers on it, who boarded the sunken gunboat (the waters were shallow) and went all over it. Some American sailors hid along the shore lest they be seen and shot at. The attack was of course deliberate, but also of course whitewashed diplomatically at the time -- not that this did anything to halt Japanese incursions, the strength of which the attack was intended to exemplify, nor to calm American public anger. Much was made of this in America at the time, where the press had already published much on the Japanese rape of Nanking, the most infamous photo of it being that of a tiny little Chinese baby sitting on a railway track weeping and bloody 1937 - Japanese attacked British warships on Yangtze 1938 - Destroyer HMS Somali commissioned 1939 - U-13 laid a mine barrier off the Firth of Tay, which later claimed one ship sunk 1939 - On U-23, two later heroes of the U-boat war, Otto Kretschmer and Adi Schnee, fired two torpedoes at a rock, which appeared in the darkness to be a warship 1939 - U-141, U-142 laid down 1939 - U-50 commissioned 1939 - Destroyer HMS Duchess collides with battleship HMS Barham & sinks nine miles off the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland 1939 - AMC HMAS Manoora commissioned 1939 - Destroyer HMS Kipling commissioned 1939 - Destroyer HMS Cottesmore laid down 1939 - Destroyers HMS Atherstone & Hambledon launched 1939 - Minesweeping trawlers HMS Elm & Bay launched 1939 - U-59 sank SS Marwick Head 1939 - The Secretary for Air in the UK announces that 57 attacks have been made on German submarines 1939 - German liner Bremen arrives at Bremerhaven from Murmansk, having evaded the British blockade. Bremen (51000 tons) was intercepted by submarine HMS Salmon but the submarine observed the then current rules of engagement and surfaced to order Bremen to heave-to. However, a German flying boat appeared and Salmon was forced to dive and Bremen escaped 1939 - Hitler orders the production of sea mines doubled 1940 - U-96 sank SS Macedonier & SS Stureholm in Convoy HX-92 1940 - Minesweeper HMCS Chignecto launched North Vancouver BC 1940 - HMCS Loos reacquired by RCN 1940 - Destroyer HMS Martin launched 1940 - Submarine HMS Urge commissioned 1940 - Minesweeper HMS Romney commissioned 1940 - The George Cross is Gazetted for Sub-Lt Peter Victor Danckwerts (1916-84), RNVR, who had only handled mines under instruction when, after just five weeks in the services, he disarmed 16 mines in 48 hours 1940 - Destroyer USS Claxton recommissioned as HMS Salisbury, part of the destroyers-for-bases deal 1941 - Algerine-class minesweepers HMCS Sault Ste Marie (ex-HMCS The Soo), Winnipeg, St Boniface, Portage, Wallaceburg, Border Cities, Middlesex, Oshawa, Kapuskasing & Rockcliffe ordered 1941 - SS Shinai (2,410 GRT) privately owned (George L. Shaw) Canadian merchantman off Kuching, captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy off northern Borneo. At least one man, the Chief Engineer, is known to have died during his time as a POW of the Japanese. The ship was renamed Shinai Maru & was sunk by Allied a/c on 17 Sep 44 1941 - SS Nereus (10,653 GRT) Canadian Saguenay Terminals bulk carrier, (ex-USN collier) disappeared in the Caribbean Sea. There were no survivors from the 61 passengers & crew that were onboard. The cause of her loss has never been established although sabotage was originally suspected. RAdm George van Deurs, USN (Retired) who had served in this class of ship, has suggested the class was poorly constructed to begin with & that the natural acidity of coal seriously weakened the ship's plating & frame. It is now generally accepted that both Nereus & sister ship Proteus were unseaworthy & broke up in heavy seas 1941 - Destroyers HMS Panther & Paladin commissioned 1941 - U-458 commissioned 1941 - U-575 was supported in the Spanish harbor Vigo from 2130hrs to 0200hrs 1941 - Naval Air Transport Service is established 1941 - Haiti, Honduras, Panama declared war on Germany and Italy 1941 - Rumania declared war with the United States 1942 - Lighter Open Cargo YCK-8 lost off Key West Florida 1942 - U-219 commissioned 1942 - U-738 launched 1942 - Aircraft carrier HMS Warrior (ex-Brave) laid down Belfast NI 1942 - Submarine HMS P-512 lost a man overboard off Pictou NS 1942 - Escort carrier USS Coral Sea laid down 1942 - Destroyer USS Porterfield laid down 1942 - Frigate HMS Inver launched 1942 - Destroyer USS Bradford launched 1942 - Minesweeper USS Champion launched 1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Protest commissioned 1942 - Minesweeper USS Pheasant commissioned 1942 - U-301 had a fire on board after a short circuit, forcing her to return to base 1942 - U-453 sustained so much damage during a depth charge attack that she was forced to return to base in the Mediterranean 1942 - U-161 sank SS Ripley 1942 - U-177 sank SS Empire Gull 1942 - Submarine HMS P-222 sunk by depth charging from Italian torpedo boat Fortunale in Bay of Naples, SE of Capri 1942 - The four surviving canoeists from the Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment - Major Hasler, Marine Sparks, Corporal Laver, Marine Mills - reached their target, the ports at Bordeaux and Bassens, having set out on 7 December. Their limpet mines destroyed or damaged four merchant ships, a tanker and a naval auxiliary. The Marines then attempted to escape on foot to Spain. Only Hasler and Sparks reached safety. The other eight Royal Marines who set out on Frankton either drowned at sea or were captured and executed by the Germans 1942 - Italian midget submarines sink four ships at Algiers 1943 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan departed Loch Ewe as part of the close escort for the 19-ship convoy JW-55A, bound for the Kola Inlet. A RN battleship & several other fleet units formed the distant escort due to the threat of attack by the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst. JW-55A arrived safely on 22 Dec 43 1943 - Destroyer minelayer USS Aaron Ward laid down 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Gendreau, Garfield Thomas, Gandy, Eisner & Coates launched 1943 - Frigate HMS Whitaker launched 1943 - Submarines USS Barbero & Hardhead launched 1943 - Destroyer USS Preston launched 1943 - Minesweeper USS Indicative launched 1943 - Sloop HMS Hart commissioned 1943 - Escort carrier HMS Nairana commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Breeman commissioned 1943 - Destroyer HMS Holcombe hit by a Gnat from U-593 & sank NE of Bougie, Algeria. Earlier that day, the U-boat sank sistership Tynedale near convoy KMS-34. U-593 was chased by several escort vessels, being sunk after 32-hour chase 1943 - U-250, U-867 commissioned 1944 - U-2525 commissioned 1944 - Minelayer HMCS Whitethroat commissioned 1944 - Corvette KNM Tunsberg Castle (ex-HMS Schrewsbury Castle) mined off Båtsfjord, Norway. 5 Crewmembers lost 1944 - USS SC-1059 lost by grounding off the Bahamas 1945 - USS PC-814 destroyed by typhoon at Okinawa 1945 - Corvette HMCS Moncton paid off Esquimalt BC 1946 - Soviet TS-16, the former German U-9 is broken up sometime shortly after this date 1950 - Submarine HMS Artful departed Halifax following ASW training 1951 - First flight of helicopter with gas-turbine engine at Windsor Locks, CT, demonstrates adaptability of this engine to helicopters 1953 - Frigate HMCS Lauzon recommissioned after modernization 1957 - Minesweeper HMCS Cowichan commissioned 1958 - Minesweeper HMS Seabear (ex-HMCS St Thomas) arrived Ward, Preston & broken up 1959 - Aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure lost a Tracker a/c during takeoff accident. Crew of four all killed. It was a CS2F-1, 1529, from VS 880. It was s/o/s on 4 January 1960. The crew was LCdr Roger Harris, S/Lt Gordon Mowat, ABOM Francis Dawson, and P2OM Jack Bottaro. It pitched up violently as it cleared the end of the deck and crashed in a steep dive beside the ship. The depth charges automatically detonated as the aircraft passed through 50 feet, leaving nothing of the crew or aircraft to recover. The cause was due to either a combination of weight, power, speed, and center of gravity or to a fault with the control lock mechanism. Given the circumstances of the accident, the state of the aircraft, past USN accidents, and tests by VX 10, no definitive answer was determined, but one of the above two possibilities were considered likely 1959 - Destroyer RHS Pindos (ex-HMS Bolebroke) returned to Royal Navy 1963 - Kenya gained its independence from Britain 1967 - USS Ranger port call Subic Bay 1968 - USS Coral Sea port call Yokosuka 1969 - USS Coral Sea port call Sasebo 1971 - USS Enterprise holding off Singapore while Indo-Pakistani War in progress 1972 - Captain Eugene A. Cernan, USN, commander of Apollo 17, walks on the Moon. Commander Ronald E. Evans, USN, was the Command Module Pilot. The mission lasted 12 days, 13 hours and 52 minutes. Recovery by HC-1 helicopters from USS Ticonderoga 1990 - The Boeing Vertol/Bell Helicopter Textron V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor technology aircraft completes its sea trials with the United States Navy (USN). 1993 - Meeting on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of sinking of destroyer HMS Tynedale by U-593 in Hexham, England. Invited were the former commander, Kptlt. Gerd Kelbling & a crewmember, welcomed with great friendship & deep respect 1995 - Frigate HMCS St John's delivered from builder 2002 - USNS Pililaau activated 2003 - Cdr Tito Dua, commanding officer of the frigate Gary, based in Japan, lost his job for loss of confidence 2005 - USS Kitty Hawk returned to its forward-deployed operating port of Yokosuka after completing its fall underway period, during which the ship’s crew overcame several challenges and experienced many successes. The highlights of Kitty Hawk’s fall underway period included passing two major assessments, participating in an annual exercise (ANNUALEX) involving the USN & JMSDF and a four-day port visit to Hong Kong 2005 - Tug Fotiy Krylov heading to assistance of container ship CP Valour which ran aground December 9th at Ribeira das Cabras in the Azores 2005 - A 19-year-old sailor died aboard the Project 115R destroyer Admiral Panteleyev after reputedly breaking electricity safety rules 2005 - The defense minister said Russia would continue combat tours of its naval forces, similar to the recent tour of a combat group from the Pacific fleet in the Indian Ocean 2005 - While entering the harbor at Grand Haven MI, USCGC Mackinaw struck the south break wall. No personnel were injured in the incident, and minor damage to the ship’s hull was reported. According to the Ninth Coast Guard District Commander, Rear Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., an investigation will be conducted into the incident. Mackinaw is the newest Coast Guard icebreaker on the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard took possession of the Mackinaw November 16 in Marinette, Wis. Mackinaw was transiting Lake Michigan on an area familiarization cruise on its way to its homeport in Cheboygan, Mich 2005 - A Coast Guard rescue boat crew from Station New York is assisting the New York City Police and Fire Departments responding to a report of a car in the Hudson River today near 72nd street on Manhattan's West Side. A witness reported seeing a black Lincoln speed up before entering the river. The New York Police Department Dive Team is currently searching. The Coast Guard is working with the New York Police and Fire Departments to search for anyone in the water. Water temperature is reported at 35 degrees and air temperature is 37 degrees 2005 - Four Greenpeace climbers climbed to top of the loading crane at the Port of Toulon, where the Clemenceau, a French Navy air carrier is berthed and preparing to depart to India where it will be finally dismantled. Three other activists are currently on the mast of the ship and have unfurled banners that say: “Asbestos carrier, Stay out of India!” An eighth activist circled the ship on a motorized paraglider flying a banner that read in French: Asbestos carrier: not here, not anywhere. Three other activists on an inflatable were stopped by local authorities 2005 - Russian and Italian firms are working up technical drawings for a new diesel submarine for the export market. Fincantieri and Russian submarine-builder Rubin are in the second phase of developing a 1,000-ton conventional submarine, the S1000, which will be equipped with an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system said to be capable of staying underwater for 10 days. The project was launched by the Italian government in April 2004 2005 - Estonia announces they are negotiating for the purchase of surplus Sandown-class minehunters from the UK 2005 - FPV HMS Mersey was involved in a rescue operation in adverse weather conditions in the Irish Sea. The ship received a Mayday call at 1100 from the fishing vessel Gizmonde which was foundering 50 miles west of Milford Haven. HMS Mersey responded immediately and after sailing 12 miles north at top speed arrived on the scene 25 minutes later. The Gizmonde's pumps and a generator had failed and the boat was taking on water fast. After assessing the situation and in co-operation with the Southern Irish Coastguard the Commanding Officer of HMS Mersey, Lieutenant Commander Ian Lynn from Blackawton in Devon, sent over a three man team by sea boat to the stricken vessel. The rescue team was led by the ship's engineering officer Chief Petty Officer Bernie Bolt, supported by Marine Engineering Mechanic Billy Beaumont and Chef Mark Winnel. When they arrived on board they were confronted with three feet of water in the engine room. It took them three hours to get the situation under control and prevent the fishing vessel from sinking. Assisting in the operation was a search and rescue helicopter from the Southern Irish Coast Guard. With pumps supplied by the Coast Guard and HMS Mersey the fishing vessel was able to get underway on her own steam to make for her homeport of Dunmore East in Southern Ireland 2005 - Odyssey Marine Exploration began operations on the shipwreck site believed to be HMS Sussex. The Company's 251' deep-ocean archaeological platform - the Odyssey Explorer - has returned to the western Mediterranean from the "Atlas" search area. The ship and crew have been conducting the initial phases of Odyssey's Sussex project plan previously approved by the Government of the United Kingdom 2005 - Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Hank Ort relieved French Vice Adm. Jacques Mazars as the commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 during a handover ceremony aboard FS Var while in port in Djibouti. The command of Task Force 150, held by French Rear-Admiral Jacques Mazars since 17 August 2005 ended. Made of about ten ships from eight countries (including the United States, Great Britain, Pakistan, Germany, and France with escort vessel Commandant Birot), Task Force 150's duty is to control the air-and-sea space of its action zone (Red Sea, Oman Sea, Arabian Sea and the Gulf), and to prevent the exfiltration of terrorists from the Afghanistan zone towards the Arabic peninsula or the horn of Africa. Three French ships are still included in the Task Force: Enseigne de vaisseau Jacoubet, Var, and the Marne 2006 - USCG Admiral Thad W. Allen will provide keynote remarks at the George Washington University Center for Innovation in Public Service symposium, “A Human Capital Management Architecture for Federal Leaders” 2006 - The Brazilian navy has chosen Germany's HDW-ThyssenKrupp to build a new conventional submarine and upgrade its underwater fleet. But the draft deal worth $1.4 billion means the postponement of the military's goal of producing its own nuclear-powered sub. Brazil's five submarines are all based on the same firm's diesel-electrical IKL-209 model. The new IKL-214 has an improved design but is far from the concept of a teardrop-shaped hull of a nuclear submarine built to operate for years undetected without resurfacing 2006 - General Dynamics NASSCO held a keel laying ceremony for the fifth ship in the US Navy's T-AKE program. The ship is named USNS Robert E. Peary in honor of the former Navy rear admiral who was one of the first men to explore the Arctic Circle 2006 - US Shipping Partners LP entered into a long-term charter agreement with BP for a new double-hulled product tanker being built for US Shipping Partners' tanker joint venture by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego. This vessel is due for delivery in early 2009 and will be employed by BP in the US domestic coastwise trade. The ship is the first in US Shipping's new series of nine vessels 2006 - CNOOC Limited announced that its parent company, China National Offshore Oil Corp ("CNOOC") has signed two production sharing contracts (PSC) with Devon Energy Corp for deepwater blocks 64/18 and 53/30. Block 64/18, located in Qiong Dong Nan Basin in the Western South China Sea, covers a total area of 7,712 square kilometers. The other block 53/30 covers approximately 6,313 square kilometers in the Pearl River Mouth Basin. Water depth of the two blocks ranges from 300 to 2000 meters 2006 - TBS International entered into an agreement to acquire a multi-purpose tweendecker, MV Blu Mistral II to be renamed MV Nanticoke Belle. TBS agreed to acquire the vessel charter free for $16.95 million . The vessel is expected to be delivered to TBS between February 15, 2007 and March 31, 2007 2006 - Trailer Bridge to be exclusive carrier to Puerto Rico for all new vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company 2006 - Travel agents honored Celebrity Cruises President Dan Hanrahan by naming him 2006 Executive of the Year in Travel Trade’s annual industry-wide election 2006 - A Coast Guard helicopter assisted with the medical evacuation of a civilian crewman who experienced medical complications while aboard a submerged US Navy submarine conducting sea trials about 77 nautical miles south-southwest of Cape Cod. USS Pittsburgh resurfaced after the 25-year-old Portsmouth, NH, Naval Shipyard employee began having neurological problems. He was safely transferred via small boat to the submarine support vessel Carolyn Chouest and continued to receive treatment by Pittsburgh's corpsman. Carolyn Chouest contacted the Coast Guard about 1210 to request a medical evacuation of the victim 2006 - AMEC managers have confirmed they are to close their offshore yard on the Tyne and move the workers to another site 2006 - USS San Antonio successfully completed the finale of the ship's 10-month Unit Level Training (ULT) with a successful Final Evaluation Period (FEP) off the coast of Virginia 2006 - Commander, US Pacific Fleet Adm. Gary Roughead said farewell to Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 2’s Executive Transport Detachment (ETD) in a disestablishment ceremony at Marine Corps Base Hawaii 2006 - DSME has recently acquired 6 new orders for ships: two 157K TDW COTs for Russian based Sovcomflot; two 6,000 Unit PCTCs(Pure Car & Truck Carrier) for Norwegian based Leif Hoegh & Co. Limited. Furthermore, two VLCCs were ordered by another owner. This represents a noteworthy 600 million USD in orders combined. All vessels will be delivered to their owners by January of 2011 2007 - USCG Commandant, Admiral Thad Allen testified before Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard on threats, risks, and vulnerabilities oil spills from non-tank vessels 2007 - FS Andromede exploded at British MK VI 1000lb bomb from World War off Cherbourg 2007 - Russian Federation unilaterally “suspends” implementation of CFE Treaty 2007 - Virginia-class submarine North Carolina (SSN 777) left for first set of sea trials, referred to as Alpha trials from Northrop Grumman Newport News 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. Royal Navy photos are Courtesy of www.oldships.org.uk unless otherwise indicated. 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