SeaWaves Today in History February 8, 2008 ********************************************************************* February 8 ? 1828 - Visionary novelist Jules Verne, creator of the fictional submarine Nautilus (Capt. Nemo) in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, is born in Nantes, France ? 1862 - Joint amphibious force capture Roanoke Island, key to Albemarle Sound ? 1890 - USS Omaha sailors and marines assist Hodogary, Japan in subduing large fire ? 1904 - Russo-Japanese War began provoked by Russian penetration into Manchuria and Korea. Czarist Russia was indeed poking into Manchuria and northern Korea. However, Japan had already walked over Korea and taken it under wholesale control, and was looking at moving on into Manchuria as well. (Which it eventually did, in 1931.) Russia did not think Japan capable of keeping Russian control out of those regions. Diplomatic discussions stalled on 6 February 1904. Two days later, a Japanese fleet bombarded and blockaded Port Arthur -- but with no declaration of war. Organizing a war fleet and moving it into position is not a two-day matter. What this strongly suggests is that the Japanese had planned and prepared to attack WELL BEFORE the pause in negotiations ? 1918 - Submarine HMS R3 & R4 launched ? 1938 - Light cruiser HMS Nigeria laid down ? 1940 - Destroyer HMS Holderness launched ? 1940 - U-37 landed an agent in Donegal Bay (Ireland) ? 1941 - U-83 commissioned ? 1941 - U-37 discovers Convoy HG-53. She attacked on the 9th & sank 3 ships during the next 2 days but she also brought in Condor aircraft from 2/KG 40 which attacked on the 9th, sinking 5 more ships. The heavy cruiser Hipper is also vectored in to the scene but only finds a straggler on the 11th, sinking her ? 1941 - U-602 laid down ? 1941 - Corvette HMCS Dawson launched Victoria BC ? 1942 - U-615, U-616 launched ? 1942 - At 1035, the unescorted SS Ocean Venture was hit by one torpedo from U-108 near Cape Hatteras & stopped. The crew abandoned ship after being hit amidships by a coup de grâce, but the vessel remained afloat & sank by the bow following a second coup de grâce at 1116. 29 crewmembers and two gunners were lost. The master and 13 crewmembers were picked up by USS Roe & landed at Norfolk VA ? 1942 - The first Japanese troops succeeded in crossing the Johore Strait and landed on the NW shore of Singapore Island, forcing back the defenders from the Australian 8th Division ? 1943 - ASW trawler HMS Bredon sunk by U-521 off the Cape Verde Islands ? 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Welfare laid down ? 1943 - U-1051, U-1052, U-1053, U-1196 laid down ? 1943 - Destroyer USS Cotten laid down ? 1943 - SS Roger B Taney torpedoed & sunk by U-160 at 22.00S, 07.45W ? 1943 - At 0142, SS Newton Ash in Convoy SC-118 was torpedoed & sunk by U-402 south of Iceland. The master, 29 crewmembers & four gunners were lost. Four crewmembers were picked up by USCGC Ingham & landed at Reykjavik ? 1943 - At 0237, the wreck of SS Daghild was sunk by one coup de grâce from U-608 & with her landing craft HMS LCT-2335. The corvette Lobelia had now over 100 people onboard, a damaged engine and the U-boat danger was ever present. The next morning the Admiralty sent a destroyer to assist, which took the corvette in tow until that evening, when the destroyer had to search for a lifeboat with 15 men in it, which was sighted by an aircraft. The destroyer returned the next morning, without having found the lifeboat, but at that time Lobelia was able to do 8 knots on her own and proceed alone, because the destroyer, having about 140 shipwrecked people on board had to go to port. The corvette arrived safely at Greenock on 12 February ? 1943 - Minesweeper USS Scout laid down ? 1943 - Submarine HMS X10 commissioned 1943 - Submarine HMS Satyr commissioned ? 1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Sir Kay commissioned ? 1943 - HMCS Regina, a Flower-class corvette, LCdr. Harry "The Horse" Freeland, DSO, RCNR, CO, sank the Italian Platino-class submarine Avorio, Lt. Leone Fiorentini, CO, off Philipeville, in the Mediterranean Sea. Nineteen men were lost from her 46 crewmembers, including the Commanding Officer. Regina and the Bangor-class minesweeper HMS Rhyl were assigned to escort the bulk merchantman Brinkburn from Algiers to Bone, Algeria. She was loaded with 1,500 tons of aviation fuel in 'tin cans'. At 2310, Regina, while in station at 4,000 yards on the port bow of the 'convoy', detected a radar contact at a range of 6,200 yards. She altered towards the contact and increased speed to 12 knots. Avorio, which was on the surface recharging her batteries, was unaware of Regina until she came quite close. The submarine was able to dive and reached 200 feet when Regina launched a 10-charge urgent attack that caused extensive damage to Avorio. When the boat resurfaced it was found that her helm was jammed, the pressure hull was ruptured, and the torpedo tubes distorted. As the submarine attempted to escape on the surface, Regina engaged with her 4-inch and 20-mm guns, to which Avorio replied with a 12.5-mm machine gun. Many hits were soon scored on the submarine and three of her officers and sixteen ratings were killed before fire was ceased. Seven other Italians were wounded, two of them seriously. An attempt was made to board and capture the submarine but it settled quickly, forcing the boarding party to abandon the boat by jumping into the sea. The submarine sank at 0515. Avorio was a medium-range submarine built by the O.T.O. shipyard. Her technical details were: Length - 60.20 m; Beam - 6.45 m; Draft - 4.75 m; Displacement - 710 tonnes surfaced and 870 tonnes submerged; Machinery - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; Speed - 14 knots surfaced and 7.7 knots submerged; Endurance - 5,000 NM @ 8.5 knots on the surface and 80 NM @ 3 knots submerged; Armament - 1 x 100mm gun, 2 x 13.2mm HMG, 6 x 21-inch Torpedo Tubes; Crew - 4 officers + 40 men. Avorio did not sink or damaged any ships on her six war patrols although she had attacked unsuccessfully twice. On 05 Feb, also in the vicinity of Philipeville, she fired torpedoes at the British troop transport Stronsay, which narrowly missed their target. Avorio was sunk in the same area three days later ? 1944 - U-762 sunk in the North Atlantic, in position 49.02N, 16.58W, by depth charges from sloops HMS Woodpecker & Wild Goose. 51 dead (all hands lost). Left Brest 28 Dec 1943 ? 1944 - At 0145, SS Margit, a straggler from Convoy UR-108 since 7 February due to bad weather, was hit in the stern by one of two torpedoes fired by U-985 SE of Iceland. The ship first sank on even keel, but then settled by the stern and finally capsized. The master, 23 crewmembers and six gunners were lost ? 1944 - U-1016, U-1275 launched ? 1944 - Frigate HMS Largo Bay laid down ? 1944 - Submarines USS Pickerel, Grenadier, Grampus, Amberjack laid down ? 1944 - Destroyer USS Henley laid down ? 1944 - Destroyer HMS Camperdown launched ? 1944 - Frigates HMS Lochy & Hotham commissioned ? 1944 - Destroyer USS Laffey commissioned ? 1944 - Submarine HMS Sportsman torpedoed & sank the German POW Transport Petrella north of Souda Bay (Crete). 2,670 out of 3,173 Italian POWs where killed. German Guards did not open the POW rooms and fired at them while they tried to break out ? 1944 - Corvette HMCS Mimico commissioned ? 1944 - Corvette HMCS Arnprior (ex-HMS Rising Castle) launched Belfast NI ? 1944 - HMCS Qu’Appelle, a River-class destroyer (ex-HMS Foxhound), Cdr. D.C. Wallace DSC RCNR, was commissioned into the RCN in the UK. Although Qu’Appelle’s career in the RCN was somewhat unremarkable, she was very active while she served with the RN. At the outbreak of the war, she was a member of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet. On 14 Sep 39, she shared in the destruction of the long-range Type IX submarine U-39, KptLt. Gerhard Glates, CO, off the Hebrides. Foxhound and her sisters Faulkenor and Firedrake were screening the fleet carrier Ark Royal, while engaged in ASW operations. U-39 fired two torpedoes at the carrier, which detonated prematurely only 80 meters short of their target. The explosion alerted the escorts to the submarine’s presence and they eventually located and attacked her, forcing the submarine to the surface where the entire crew safely abandoned the boat before it sank. This was the first U-boat ‘kill’ of the war. In Apr 40, Foxhound took part in the Second Battle of Narvik. In Nov 40, she was transferred to the famous Force ‘H’, based at Gibraltar, and saw extensive service in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. On 18 Jun 41, she shared with four of her F-class sisters in the destruction of the short-range Type II submarine U-138, OLtzS Franz Gramitzky, CO, west of Cadiz. Foxhound was also part of the escort for one of the dangerous ‘Malta Convoys’ during this period. From Jan 42 to May 43, she served with the Eastern Fleet. On completion of this duty, she was transferred to the West Africa Command, based out of Freetown, Sierra Leone. She returned to the UK in Sep 43 for a much needed refit and was transferred to the RCN immediately afterwards ? 1945 - Aircraft carrier HMS Pioneer commissioned ? 1945 - Destroyer USS Shields commissioned ? 1945 - U-1406 commissioned ? 1945 - U-4709 launched ? 1945 - Float Car (Non Self-Propelled) YCF-42 lost December 1944 stricken from Navy List ? 1946 - Destroyer USS James E Kyes commissioned ? 1946 - Minesweeper HMCS Armentieres paid off ? 1946 - Soviet minesweeper T-200 (ex-HMCS Beech Lake) commissioned Vancouver BC ? 1954 - Longshoremen in Puget Sound vote to establish prepaid dental care for members children ? 1960 - Destroyers HMCS Saguenay, Ottawa & St Laurent departed Esquimalt on Pacific cruise ? 1963 - The P1127 prototype, forerunner of the Harrier, made the first test vertical landing and take-off from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal off Portland ? 1966 - USS Hornet port call Yokosuka ? 1969 - USS Intrepid completed Vietnam deployment ? 1978 - Deliberations of the Senate were broadcast on radio for the first time as members opened debate on the Panama Canal treaties ? 1991 - USS Wisconsin attacked a dozen Iraqi artillery emplacements with 36 rounds of its 16-inch guns in support of a Marine reconnaissance probe into occupied Kuwait. Using its remotely pilot vehicle to visually relay pictures and gun-firing coordinates of targets, the battleship's harassment and interdiction mission was designed to pin down and confuse Iraqi gunners during the Marine attack. Off Khafji, Saudi Arabia, Wisconsin also blasted bunkers, troops and artillery sites ? 1991 - A-6s attacked and neutralized an Iraqi training frigate collocated with a TMC-45 class patrol boar (Exocet-capable craft) at Cor A1 Zubayr ? 1991 - Torpedo Sound Range Vessel CNAV Sechelt commissioned ? 2003 - The US Navy has concluded its last scheduled round of targeting exercises on the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques with a ship firing inert shells at the bombing range. The guided-missile cruiser USS Ticonderoga stopped firing 5-inch shells at the island during the afternoon ? 2004 - USNS Algol activated ? 2005 - HMAS Ballarat has departed Fleet Base West for Williamstown, Victoria to undergo repair of damage sustained when the ship ran aground at Christmas Island on 22 January 2005. Repairs will be incorporated in routine maintenance and warranty work at the TENIX facility ? 2005 - Hopes of landing the USS Ranger, at one time the "Top Gun" in the Navy's Pacific Fleet, for a waterfront museum in Tacoma, Wash., ran aground because of the size of the ship ? 2005 - David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry and co-Senior Minister responsible for British Columbia, on behalf of Transport Minister Jean-C Lapierre, today announced the official transfer of the Whaletown public port facility, on Cortes Island, to the Harbor Authority of Cortes Island. The Whaletown public port facility is located on Cortes Island at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia, between Campbell River on central Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. The facility includes a seaplane float, a float for vessels, a shed and a derrick. The transfer agreement includes a contribution of $400,000 from Transport Canada’s Port Divestiture Fund to offset initial operating costs, such as repairs and ongoing maintenance, for the port facility. Since 1997, the federal government has transferred over 60 regional port facilities into local hands in British Columbia, under the National Marine Policy ? 2006 - Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. delivered the Bulldog, a 98 x 37 ft., 6700 hp, Z Drive Firefighting Tug, to Crescent Towing of New Orleans, Louisiana. Bulldog provides ship-assist and escort services for LNG tankers at the Elba Island LNG regasification terminal in Savannah, Georgia. Bulldog is a new Washburn & Doughty in-house design and the first tug built at the yard for Crescent Towing ? 2006 - Deep Blue Marine Inc. is pleased to announce that the company has hired Truman Weatherly, a successful moviemaker and marine historian, to head up the research and filming work to be performed by the company. Weatherly brings with him a wealth of knowledge and connections in the salvage industry ? 2006 - Earlier this morning Humber Coastguard were alerted by Humberside Police to a report of a missing Polish man aged 21 who had become separated from friends after midnight on board the P&O ferry `Pride of Rotterdam' on route to Hull from Rotterdam. Humber Coastguard immediately contacted the vessel and obtained a plot of the ferry at midnight last night and began obtaining details of the action taken subsequent to the loss. It was found that no life saving equipment was missing from the ferry, and that the man had last been seen drinking in the bar at about 1.00 a.m. It was identified that the nearest landfall to the vessel at midnight was 32 miles off Lowestoft, and Yarmouth Coastguard were alerted and took over the co-ordination of the subsequent search and rescue activity. The Withernsea, Cleethorpes and Easington Coastguard Rescue Teams were called out and the Humber RNLI all weather Lifeboat was requested to launch along with an RAF helicopter from Leconfield. The rescue assets then began searching the river and its approaches along the track of the vessel. A Police helicopter also joined the search. The search was concentrated towards the Humber River area as any person in the water may have had more chance of survival time given the sea temperature for this time of year ? 2006 - Coast Guard Cutter Gannet seized approximately 82 kilograms of contraband and detained one suspected smuggler 15 miles off of the coast of Fort Lauderdale at 1245. Gannet spotted the 36-foot cabin cruiser, Our Way II, during a routine patrol. The Gannet crew launched their small boat and boarding team to conduct a routine inspection of the vessel. During the inspection, the boarding team located the contraband on the vessel. One male suspect was taken into custody and transferred to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for further investigation. The vessel Our Way II is a US-flagged vessel. Gannet is a 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Dania Beach, Fla ? 2006 - USCGC Ocracoke repatriated 39 Dominican illegal immigrants to La Romana, Dominican Republic at 1000. The Sector San Juan Joint Rescue Sub Center received a phone call Wednesday at 0945 from José Polonia, a migrant onboard the yola, who reported the yola being disabled and adrift south of Mona Island. Department of Homeland Security agencies and the local police Forces United for Rapid Action responded with surface and air assets to assist the vessel in distress. At 0048 a US Customs and Border Protection HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter spotted the yola 13 nautical miles west of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The Sector San Juan Joint Rescue Sub Center diverted an HU-25 Falcon Jet and the Ocracoke to the position of the yola. At 1422 Ocracoke reported that they had safely embarked all the migrants, 27 males and 12 females, who were traveling to Puerto Rico onboard a yola powered by two outboard engines. The migrant yola was destroyed by the crew of the Ocracoke as a hazard to navigation ? 2006 - USCGC Boutwell returned after a ten-week counternarcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific that prevented nearly 8.5 tons of cocaine from reaching America's streets. Boutwell, working with a Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron unit from Jacksonville deployed with the cutter, as well as other USCG, USN and foreign military assets, interdicted nearly 16,000 pounds of cocaine and detained 22 suspected drug smugglers in two separate incidents ? 2006 - USS Nassau conducted a RAS training evolution with French Navy frigate Courbet while conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the 5th Fleet Area of Operations ? 2006 - A chapter in naval aviation history drew to a close aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt with the last recovery of an F-14 Tomcat from a combat mission. Piloted by Capt. William G. Sizemore II, commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, Fighter Squadron (VF) 213's aircraft 204 was trapped at 0035 and marked one of the final stages of the Navy's transition from the F-14 to F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet ? 2007 - The Coast Guard's "Queen of the Fleet," Cutter Storis will be decommissioned during a ceremony on the Coast Guard base in Kodiak. The ship is known as the Queen of the Fleet for being the oldest active duty cutter in service. During World War II, CGC Storis patrolled the North Atlantic to prevent the establishment of Nazi weather stations in Greenland. In 1948, CGC Storis changed homeport to Juneau, Alaska from where it supplied medical treatment to native villages and survey uncharted waters in the Arctic. In July of 1957 Storis, along with cutters Bramble and Spar which are now decommissioned, completed its historic transit of the Northwest Passage and circumnavigation of the North American continent. Soon thereafter CGC Storis was transferred to its present homeport of Kodiak, Alaska. Proudly bearing its gold "38" hull number - a distinction given only to the oldest cutter in the fleet - the crew of the Storis completed their last patrol in Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea in early December 2006 ? 2007 - With the decommissioning of the Coast Guard cutter Storis, Coast Guard cutter Acushnet will be crowned the next Coast Guard "Queen of the Fleet.” The title "Queen of the Fleet" is a distinction given to the oldest commissioned cutter in the fleet. Acushnet will celebrate its 63rd birthday Feb. 5, 2007 ? 2007 - Canada is facing a serious decision about the future of its heritage lighthouses. If Bill S-220 passes, Canada will be able to save many of its 583 lighthouse landmarks. The special Heritage Lighthouse D-Day meeting in Victoria speakers will include Senator Pat Carney (BC). She will be describing how she steered Bill S-220 through the Senate in late 2006, Peter Stoffer, MP (Sackville-Eastern Shore, NS), outlining his work in promoting legislation in the House of Commons, and Barry MacDonald of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society, reviewing examples of lost lighthouses and preservation opportunities ? 2007 - Chief Procurement Officer Elaine Duke, Secure Border Initiative Executive Director Gregg Giddens, USCG Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, and Inspector General Richard Skinner will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on "Procurement Practices of DHS: Private Contractors as Systems Integrators" 2154 Rayburn House Office Building Washington DC ? 2007 - New South Wales to be gifted the Royal Australian Navy Guided Missile Frigate HMAS Adelaide for sinking as a dive wreck. The New South Wales Government has indicated that the preferred location for HMAS Adelaide is off the New South Wales Central Coast, near Terrigal ? 2007 - The Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander have left the launch site at the Equator and are returning to Sea Launch Home Port in Long Beach, California, following the unsuccessful launch on January 30. In the process of verifying her seaworthiness, the marine crew has confirmed that the Odyssey's main structures are in good condition and marine systems are operational. Like the Sea Launch Commander, the Odyssey is currently in transit to Home Port under her own power and at normal speed, and is expected to make a timely return ? 2007 - The Master of the "Zim Mexico III", which knocked down a crane in the port of Mobile, killing an electrician, has been sentenced to time served and sent home ? 2007 - The largest US-flag dry bulk shipping company, TECO Transport, is up for sale ? 2007 - What is believed to have been the first ever commercial transfer of liquid natural gas (LNG) between two vessels has taken place in Scapa Flow. The complex operation involved handling the volatile gas at about minus 150C. The cargo is worth as much as £30m. The deep and calm waters of Scapa Flow are seen as an ideal site to undertake the transfers ? 2007 - The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced today that it has awarded the financial advisor contract for the Panama Canal expansion to Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. Services within the contract include: reviewing the financial aspects of the ACP's Master Plan and expansion proposal, providing strategic counsel on financing structures and strategies and creating and implementing an integrated financial model, among other items ? 2007 - UN refugee agency called overnight for a boat carrying 400 would-be immigrants drifting off west Africa to be allowed to unload as soon as possible ? 2007 - Gov. Martin O'Malley urged the federal government Wednesday to deny a proposal from AES Corp. to build a liquefied natural gas facility on Sparrows Point. The Arlington, Va., company, filed an application last month with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build the LNG plant near the Turner Station neighborhood of Baltimore County ? 2007 - Cyprus is ready to launch its first international offshore bidding round for 11 southern exploration blocks for liquefied n The first round for the submission of applications for tenders for research and hydrocarbon exploitation will begin ? 2007 - Hanjin Shipping has launched two 6,555-TEU vessels, the Hanjin Tianjin and the Hanjin Xiamen, from the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyards in Ulsan, Korea, which will soon be deployed on the Asia-Europe trade ? 2008 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen speaks at the National Press Club luncheon on modernizing the Coast Guard to meet growing demands ============================================================= Sources: Colton Shipping Report, NOAA, MARAD, Marine Digest, Leo Pettipas, Kommersant, Samuel Loring Morison, Frank Pierce Young, Navy Times, Naval Institute Proceedings, www.uboat.net, Andrew Etherington, John Nicholas, US Naval Historical Center, Ministry of Defense, US Coast Guard, Thomas N. Carlson, Jack Arrowsmith, Allan Snowie, Ken Hansen, Andy Barber, John Weiss, Jack McKillop, Bernard de Neumann, Sympatico Today in History, Washington History Link, Lloyds List, Fairplay, New York Times, I-Newswire and other news sources in the public domain. Additions, submissions and corrections are always welcomed. ============================================================= Today in History Archives at: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/today_in_history_archive.htm Copyright 2008 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Photos courtesy of US Naval Historical Center, US Coast Guard Historical Center, Wikipedia Encyclopedia or Naval Museum of Manitoba unless otherwise noted. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click.