SeaWaves Today in History February 12, 2008 ********************************************************************* February 12 ? 1802 - Revenue Marine (Revenue Cutter Service) has 38 commissioned officers in service, 9 captains, 10 first mates, 9 second mates and 10 third mates ? 1818 - Chile proclaims independence ? 1912 - Gunboat HNLMS Gruno laid down ? 1918 - Destroyer HMS Walpole launched ? 1918 - Destroyer HMS Walker commissioned ? 1918 - Destroyers USS McKean & Yarnall laid down ? 1919 - Minesweeper USS Viking commissioned ? 1924 – Lusby, ex-CD 55, renamed 1923, missing & presumed lost ? 1930 - Sloop HMS Folkestone launched ? 1930 - Liner SS Prince David laid down ? 1935 - Soviet submarine SC-320 launched ? 1938 - Japan refused to reveal her naval building plans to the United States ? 1940 - Heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire stops German freighter SS Wakama 12 miles off Cabo Frio, Brazil; Wakama's crew scuttles her so that their ship will not fall into British hands ? 1940 - At 0955, the unescorted Nidarholm was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-26 after she had been stopped at 0925 by two shots across her bow. The ship broke in two, the bow sank and the afterpart remained afloat. The U-boat fired two coups de grâce at 1009, one torpedo detonated prematurely while the other sank the wreck. The survivors were picked up about 10 hours later by the Norwegian SS Berto, which was enroute from Torrevieja to Bergen via Gibraltar and Kirkwall ? 1940 - SS Dalarö sunk by U-53 at 56.44N, 11.44W. 1 dead and 29 survivors ? 1940 - As part of an operation to intercept six German merchant vessels, the destroyer HMS Hasty captures the 'Morea' in the Atlantic and the cruiser HMS Glasgow captures a trawler off Tromso, Norway ? 1940 - Convoy US.1 carrying the New Zealand 4th Brigade and the Australian 16th Brigade arrives at Ismailia. The convoy had left Auckland on 6 January and Sydney on 10 January ? 1940 - U-33 on a minelaying operation in the Firth of Clyde is sunk by minesweeper HMS Gleaner ? 1940 - U-501 laid down ? 1940 - Destroyer HS Aegion (ex-HMS Avon Vale) laid down ? 1941 - U-301, U-659 laid down ? 1941 - U-651 commissioned ? 1941 - Far to the west of Gibraltar, in position 37 12N 21 20W (between Madeira and the Azores), Admiral Hipper sinks seven ships from unescorted convoy SLS 64 bound for Britain from Sierra Leone. She then returns to Brest and in March heads back to Germany via the Denmark Strait to take no further part in independent commerce raiding. M/S Borgestad NS (3924 grt Built in Copenhagen, Denmark 1925.) Captain Lars Grotnæss, Commodore ship in Convoy SLS 64, with a cargo of cotton. Captain Grotnæss must have given the order to disperse, because ship after ship turned around and desperately tried to get away, but Borgestad and the other ships at the head of the convoy had no time for such maneuvers, as Hipper was quickly advancing, and Grotnæss chose to fight, in spite of Borgestad's inferior armament. He headed directly towards Admiral Hipper, in an effort to get that ship as far away from the convoy as possible, with the gunners loading and firing, loading and firing. Borgestad sank, 30 men and 1 woman went down with her. Other ships lost were the Greek Perseus, 14 died, the British Derrynane, 36 died - Schrewsbury, 20 died, Oswestry Grange, 5 died - Warlaby, 36 lost and Westbury with 5 dead. The 1st mate on Borgestad, Harald Nergaard had his American wife Norma (born Hayes) with him on the ship. She was employed as a stewardess, was 21 years old and from Tacoma. The captain was posthumously awarded the highest ranked Norwegian decoration "Krigskorset" for his actions during this battle, which were officially acknowledged as having saved the convoy from total destruction by Hipper ? 1941 - With at least 40 troop trains a day crossing Hungary to Romania, Hitler is set to build up a formidable 600,000-strong army on the border with the Ukraine. Much of the equipment carried by the German forces is of French make, having been seized after the French collapse last year. The Germans' next move, now the ice has broken on the Danube, is to float pontoon bridges in the river to enable troops to enter Bulgaria, under a secret agreement reached with the Bulgarian government four days ago. The Germans have promised the Bulgarians a slice of Greek territory to give them access to the Aegean Sea - but only after the war ? 1941 - Belgium government-in-exile breaks diplomatic relations with Romania ? 1941 - The submarine HMS Snapper after leaving her escort off Lands End for Bay of Biscay is not heard from again, she is believed lost on mines ? 1941 - Anthony Eden and General Dill leave for a tour of Greece, Turkey and Egypt ? 1941 - Polish destroyers Piorun, Garland and the British destroyer HMS Legion conduct an offensive patrol against enemy submarines. However, no U-boat was encountered ? 1941 - Submarine HMS Snapper sailed from the Clyde to patrol in the Bay of Biscay off Ushant. She was not heard from again. It is possible that she fell victim to German minefield. However it is also possible that German warships sank her since a submarine attacked the German minesweepers M-2, M-13 and M-25 on the night of the 10/11th February in the area where Snapper might have been. The submarine was subjected to a counterattack in which 56 depth charges were dropped ? 1941 - Soviet submarine M-122 launched ? 1941 - Corvettes HMS Aster & Starwort launched ? 1941 - Destroyer HMS Penn launched ? 1941 - Destroyer HMAS Nestor commissioned ? 1941 - Corvette HMS Amaranthus commissioned ? 1941 - Minesweeper HMS Bude commissioned ? 1942 - U-364 laid down ? 1942 - U-609, U-661 commissioned ? 1942 - At 0248, the Blink was hit by three torpedoes from U-108. The first went straight through the hull without detonating, but the next two hit amidships in the engine room, destroyed the radio station, killed five men and sank the ship east of Cape Hatteras. Two men were seen to lower a raft, but were never seen again. The other 23 survivors launched the starboard lifeboat, which capsized at 1045 in bad weather and one man drowned. On the next day 11 men were left, sitting in the boat with cold water up to their chests after the boat had capsized several times, one by one the others had died, including the master. On 14 Feb the boat with only six survivors left was spotted by the American-flagged Monroe in position 33.34N/71.41W. They were picked up and brought to a hospital in Baltimore ? 1942 - U-519 launched ? 1942 - Submarine USS Stingray ended her second war patrol at Surabaya. But due to the dangerous situation there (Japanese air raids) she left for Fremantle, Australia shortly afterwards, arriving there on 3 March ? 1942 - Three USAAF 5th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses on an antishipping damage a transport and a merchant cargo vessel ? 1942 - The Anzac Squadron is formed at Suva on Viti Levu Island. This naval force is composed of heavy cruisers HMAS Australia & USS Chicago, light cruisers HMNZS Achilles & Leander and the destroyers USS Lamson & Perkins ? 1942 - RAF Bomber Command dispatches 12 Hampdens and nine Manchesters to lay further mines in the Frisian Islands, although weather conditions were still unfavorable. Only eight aircraft laid their mines but all returned without loss, but one Hampden crashes in England ? 1942 - The battleship USS Nevada is refloated in Pearl Harbor. Even though struck by a torpedo and possible up to three bombs, she got underway on 7 December 1941, the only battleship that did. While attempting to leave the harbor, she was hit again and fearing she might sink in the channel and block it, she was beached at Hospital Point. Nevada receives temporary repairs at Pearl Harbor and then sails for Puget Sound, Washington, for complete repairs ? 1942 - Three Allied supply ships leave Alexandria, Egypt, for Malta, but all are lost to enemy before reaching destination ? 1942 - The destroyer HMS Maori is sunk while moored in the Grand Harbor at Malta ? 1942 - Many civilians and deserters board ships of all sorts pulling out of Singapore in a desperate evacuation, which in turn are attacked by Japanese aircraft ? 1942 - Spanish dictator Francisco Franco and Portuguese dictator Antonio Salazar meet in Seville and report that they share many views ? 1942 - HMCS Snowberry departed St. John's escort for convoy SC.69 to Londonderry ? 1942 - Frigate HMS Drury (ex-USS Drury) laid down ? 1942 - Destroyer escort USS Andres laid down ? 1942 - Destroyers USS Bush & Waller laid down ? 1942 - USS PC-581 laid down ? 1942 - Submarine USS Grouper commissioned ? 1942 - Destroyers USS Butler, Coghlan & Gherardi launched ? 1942 - Light cruiser USS Montpelier launched ? 1942 - USS PC-571 launched ? 1942 - USS SC-641 launched ? 1942 - Minesweeper USS Sheldrake launched ? 1942 - German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, made their infamous "Channel Dash" from Brest up the English Channel to reach the North German ports. The British had anticipated such a move. Yet despite this, all three German ships reached safety, albeit certainly not unscathed, despite desperate and gallant efforts to stop them. The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau took shelter in Brest on 28 March 1941, after a raiding excursion in the North Atlantic. There the cruiser Prinz Eugen, which had accompanied the battleship Bismarck on her fateful sortie into the Atlantic, joined them. A major French naval base, Brest offered excellent facilities for the ships. But, close to the British Isles, they were exposed to air attack and constant surveillance. The chances of them being able to mount successfully another raid from there were slim. This was well understood in Britain, where as early as 29 April 1941, Operation Fuller was drawn up - contingency planning against a possible attempt by the ships to break out for the relative safety of ports in Germany or Norway. In the meantime, the Royal Air Force began a major air campaign against the three ships in Brest, where the Germans spared no effort in developing truly formidable anti-aircraft defenses. The most famous incident was the heroic attack on 6 April 1941 by an RAF Beaufort torpedo-bomber from 22 Squadron, Coastal Command. Knowing full well the risks they were running, the Beaufort crew, piloted by Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell, penetrated the inner harbor at Brest in bad weather at extreme low level. Under massive anti-aircraft fire, and with little chance of avoiding crashing into the hills behind the harbor, they succeeded in torpedoing Gneisenau before being shot down. All four crew were killed. Their efforts put the battlecruiser into dry dock for repairs for several months, and Campbell was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in recognition of the crew's gallantry. Bomber Command kept up the pressure, and by February 1942 had flown thousands of sorties against Brest, dropping some 3,500 tons of bombs, and had lost 127 aircraft. The ships had been repeatedly damaged, and the Germans recognized that their position was untenable. Hitler compared the risk of running the British blockade to an operation for cancer - the operation might cost the patient's life, but without it he would certainly die. Vice-Admiral Ciliax was ordered to attempt to run up the Channel to safety in Germany. RAF reconnaissance noted the arrival at Brest in late January of German escort ships, and Royal Navy and RAF commanders were duly warned on 3 February that a breakout might be planned. The six Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers of 825 Naval Air Squadron were moved from Lee-on-Solent to RAF Manston, to help concentrate attacks in the chokepoint of the Dover Straits. Despite their night-bombing commitments, 100 Bomber Command aircraft were placed on standby each day as a reaction force. And HMS Manxman and Welshman, plus a number of RAF aircraft, conducted intensive minelaying operations along the possible route up the Channel and beyond. The key flaw in the British plans was an assumption that the German ships would time their run through the Dover Straits for the hours of darkness for maximum safety. Thus, when a reconnaissance flight on the late afternoon of 11 February showed the ships still in port, with no obvious sign of imminent departure, it was assumed that it was again too late for them to set out and still reach the Straits in darkness. Three RAF Hudson aircraft were sent out to conduct routine radar patrols in the Brest area that night. But bad luck and the fragility of the still very new radar technology meant that the two aircraft, which were most likely to have detected the German heavy ships and their escorts slipping out of Brest that night, both suffered radar malfunctions. Similarly, good German luck spared them being spotted by the submarine HMS Sealion, patrolling the area. The next morning at dawn, a pair of Spitfires from RAF Hawkinge patrolling the French coast noted unusual activity by light naval forces. The weather was bad, and getting worse, with snow on the ground, very heavy and low cloud, and poor visibility. At 0920, the Germans began efforts to jam British radar along the South Coast. Given this unusual behavior, a second pair of Spitfires was sent to investigate at 1020. On their return, they reported spotting a "convoy" including a possible capital ship. At the same time, two senior RAF officers flying Spitfires on another operation attacked German fighters, and whilst chasing them suddenly found themselves over the unmistakable shapes of the German battlecruisers. Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde, commanding the six Swordfish of the Fleet Air Arm at RAF Manston, was ordered at 1130 to mount an attack as soon as possible. It was recognized that his slow and vulnerable aircraft would need significant fighter escort to survive. Three fighter squadrons from RAF Biggin Hill and two from RAF Hornchurch were ordered to accompany him. The Biggin Hill aircraft were to defend against the now very large Luftwaffe fighter escort covering the ships, whilst the Hornchurch aircraft were to accompany his torpedo bombers in a low level attack, distracting anti-aircraft fire and strafing the ships to keep gunners heads down. However, the Hornchurch fighter controller telephoned Esmonde to warn him that his squadrons simply could not reach the rendezvous by the allotted time. The timing was also exceptionally tight for the nearer Biggin Hill units. But Esmonde feared that even a short delay might take the German ships out of reach. As soon as the first ten Spitfires from 72 Squadron appeared overhead at Manston at 1228, he set off with his Swordfish, with only one-fifth of his planned escort. The RAF Station Commander at Manston said of Esmonde - "He knew what he was going into. But it was his duty. His face was tense and white. It was the face of a man already dead. It shocked me as nothing has ever done since." German fighter attacks began only ten miles out from the English coast. The Spitfires engaged, but found it impossible to keep track of both their opponents and the Swordfish, flying at only about 100mph at very low level. The other two Biggin Hill squadrons arrived to engage German fighters in the general area. One Spitfire was lost, and two Messerschmitts were thought to have been destroyed. Esmonde's six Swordfish pressed on alone, under heavy fighter attack and then, as the battlescruisers came into sight, intense anti-aircraft fire. The lower port wing of Esmonde's biplane was shot away, but he somehow managed to keep flying until he was eventually shot down and killed with his two crewmen just before he got in torpedo range. The two Swordfish with him managed to drop their torpedoes before being shot down; five of their six crew survived. The second section of three Swordfish was also all shot down, with the loss of all nine men aboard. Their efforts were in vain, with no torpedoes hitting their targets. Esmonde was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, and the other seventeen men were also decorated. Eight Motor Torpedo Boats from Dover and Ramsgate attempted to attack shortly afterwards, but a heavy screen of E-boats forced them to fire their torpedoes at long range, again without success. Seven Beaufort torpedo-bombers of 217 Squadron attempted to find their targets in the bad weather, and eventually five attacked, without success. Fighters shot down one. Other Beauforts and Hudsons attempted attacks, with the loss of four aircraft. Meanwhile, six elderly Royal Navy destroyers usually used for convoy duties, dashed south along the East Coast, coming under several air attacks. A squadron of RAF Whirlwind fighters was sent out to try to ward off the Luftwaffe, but was bounced and lost four aircraft. The effort proved too much for the worn engines of HMS Walpole, and she had to turn for home. The other five made radar contact at 1517, and ran in under heavy fire. The destroyers were repeatedly straddled, and HMS Worcester set on fire. Torpedoes were fired, but once again the range proved too great for accuracy. However, all the destroyers survived and retired to Harwich. Bomber Command joined the fray at the same time, launching no less than 242 aircraft in three waves. Visibility was by now appalling, down to 1000-2000 yards in heavy rain, and the very low cloud base meant that bombs could not be dropped from sufficient altitude to have a chance of penetrating armor. 39 bombers were able to attack the German ships or their escorts, but 188 could not find them, and 15 were shot down. Fighter Command also sent up a total of 398 fighters - 102 strafed German patrol boats in the area, and claimed 16 enemy aircraft shot down, for the loss of 17 RAF fighters. Despite these massive efforts, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen slipped away into the safety of the night. But both battlecruisers had struck mines laid during the previous week, and suffered not insignificant damage. The failure to sink them was regarded in Britain as a humiliating failure. The Times leader on 14 February complained - "Vice-Admiral Ciliax has succeeded where the Duke of Medina Sidonia failed... Nothing more mortifying to the pride of sea power has happened in Home Waters since the 17th Century." But perhaps the fairest judgement came from a senior German officer, General-Admiral Saalwachter - "Our achievement should not disguise the fact that the dangers were still extremely high. We have without question been blessed by considerable good fortune, even when one considers the full significance of our initiative, use of surprise, good planning, strong fighter cover and strict security. I would also consider that the high risks of such an operation do not alter with hindsight." The events leading up to and including 12 February, coupled with the Commando raid a few weeks later on Saint Nazaire, which destroyed the dry-dock there, helped ensure that large German ships never again operated from the Western French ports to endanger North Atlantic convoys ? 1943 - USS YMS-140 laid down ? 1943 - USS PC-787 launched ? 1943 - USS SC-1288 commissioned ? 1943 - Submarine USS Mingo commissioned ? 1943 - Submarine USS Shad ends her 2nd war patrol at Roseneath, Scotland ? 1943 - U-1008 laid down ? 1943 - U-442 sunk west of Cape St. Vincent, in position 37.32N, 11.56W, by depth charges from an RAF 48 Sqn Hudson. 48 dead (all hands lost) ? 1943 - U-529 reported missing in North Atlantic. Reason for loss never determined ? 1943 - The Soviet Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla - Submarine K-3 sunk by surface ASW ships, close to Cape Nordkin ? 1943 - Destroyer HMS Brissenden commissioned ? 1943 - Submarine Rescue Vessel USS Macaw lost grounding on a reef in Midway Channel ? 1944 - HMCS Tillsonburg (ex-HMS Pembroke Castle) launched Port Glasgow, Scotland ? 1944 - HMCS Aristocrat (ex-RCAF B113) commissioned for W/T calibration service ? 1944 - Escort carrier USS Hollandia laid down ? 1944 - Destroyer minelayer USS Shannon laid down ? 1944 - Minelayer HMS Ariadne commissioned ? 1944 - Frigate HMS Seychelles commissioned ? 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Ahrens & Major commissioned ? 1944 - Oilers USS Marias & Manatee commissioned ? 1944 - USS YMS-458 launched ? 1944 - Escort carrier USS Shipley Bay launched ? 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Traw & Key launched ? 1944 - Destroyer USS Lyman K Swenson launched ? 1944 - Submarine USS Plaice commissioned ? 1944 - Fleet tug USS Potawatomi commissioned ? 1944 - Destroyer HMS Caesar commissioned ? 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Rinehart & Tweedy commissioned ? 1944 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Hannaray launched ? 1944 - Destroyer escort FS Somali launched ? 1944 - The Allies, in the Anzio, Italy beachead have been forces back three miles to their final defensive line. Back in London Churchill fumes - "We hurled a wildcat on the shores of Anzio - all we have is a stranded whale." The Prime Minister is livid that there are 18,000 vehicles in Anzio for 72,000 men - and yet no sign of the promised breakout. Constant German attacks have put the beachhead on the defensive, and now the roles on two fronts are reversed. The Anzio landings were designed to break the deadlock at Cassino. Now attacks there are to be stepped up in an attempt to break through to Anzio. Here on the beachhead, morale has reached its lowest ebb. General Von Mackensen's XIV Army is being reinforced almost daily, so that it will soon have ten divisions to confront the Allies five. Although the main counter-offensive is yet to begin, German attacks on the beach-head have already pushed the Allies back to the sea. The heavily reinforced Luftwaffe is joining the attack on the beleaguered Allies. War correspondents have been summoned to headquarters to be told that all news transmissions from the beachhead have been banned. One despatch happened to mention the possibility of evacuation, raising the unwelcome specter of another Dunkirk. No one can ban German leaflets that tell British soldiers - "The Yanks in England ... have loads of money and loads of time to chase after your women." The lurid pictures of naked women are becoming collectors' items however ? 1944 - The weekly edition of G.U.N.S, Guernsey's underground newssheet, in the Channel Islands, was running off the duplicating machine yesterday when Gestapo agents burst into a back room in the island's capital of St. Peter Port. The paper's founder, Charles Machon, was arrested and will be tried before a German court which is likely to sentence him - and the four others also held - to prison in France or Germany. Machan's arrest (and probable torture) highlights the dangers faced by people resisting Nazi rule in the Channel Islands - the only part of the United Kingdom subjected to German occupation. Savage sentences are imposed on islanders found with radio sets, for instance. Stanley Green a cinema projectionist, is in Buchenwald; a fellow Jerseyman, Harold Druillenec, in Belsen; and a rector who hid his radio in the organ loft is feared to be dying in a concentration camp at Spergau ? 1944 - Japanese submarine I-27 sinks the British troopship Khedive Ismail, in the Indian Ocean, killing nearly 2,000 people, and is herself sunk by the destroyers HMS Petard & Paladin ? 1944 - Submarine rescue vessel USS Macaw ran aground on 16 January 1944 in the Midway Channel. Salvage attempts failed and on 12 February 1944 she slipped off the reef and sank ? 1944 - Submarine USS Tambor torpedoes & sinks tanker Ronsan Maru (2735 BRT) in the East China Sea some 40 miles SW of Amami O Shima in position 27.45N, 128.42E. ? 1944 - The US Fleet sails, from Majuro Harbor in Nauru, bound for Truk in the Marianas Islands ? 1944 - U-324, U-486 launched ? 1944 - U-805, U-1053 commissioned ? 1945 - USS Batfish sinks second Japanese submarine within three days ? 1945 - Submarine USS Lancetfish commissioned ? 1945 - Frigate HMS Loch Tralaig launched ? 1945 - Submarine tender USS Nereus launched ? 1945 - Ecuador declares war on Germany ? 1945 - Submarine USS Silversides ends her 12th war patrol at Midway ? 1945 - Submarine USS Croaker ends her 3rd war patrol at Fremantle ? 1945 - Submarine USS Peto tops off with fuel at Saipan ? 1945 - U-3032 commissioned ? 1946 - Destroyer HMS Brilliant went to the rescue of Liberty ship Ponce de Leon which was on the rocks at Gantocks Light, off Dunoon ? 1946 - The last of the Operation Deadlight boats (U-3514) is scuttled NW of Ireland ? 1947 - First launching of guided missile (Loon) from a submarine, USS Cusk ? 1948 - Three naval aircraft -- Hawker Sea Fury F Mk 10 (TF 901), Fairey Firefly FR Mk IV (TW 741), and deHavilland Sea Hornet F Mk 20 (TT193) -- taken on strength by the Canadian military for cold-weather trials with the Winter Experimental Establishment, headquartered at RCAF Station Edmonton with test site RCAF Station Watson Lake, Yukon. The Sea Fury was struck off strength on the same day (12 Feb 48), because it no longer existed! It was destroyed in a fatal crash at Watson Lake on 17 January, almost four weeks before it was officially TOS. The other two a/c went on to successfully complete their full trials program ? 1952 - HMCS Sioux completes 2nd tour of Korea and sets sail for home on Feb 14th. Nootka takes over her patrol after sailing from Halifax via Panama Canal ? 1964 - Frigate HMCS Lauzon purchased by a Toronto buyer ? 1966 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Hong Kong ? 1967 - USS Bon Homme Richard port call Yokosuka ? 1971 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Hong Kong ? 1972 - USS Enterprise commenced Vietnam deployment ? 1973 - USS Constellation port call Subic Bay ? 1973 - HMCS Kootenay arrived Esquimalt & joined 2nd Escort Squadron after modernization ? 1975 - USS Enterprise port call Port Louis, Mauritius ? 1986 - The Channel Tunnel agreement is signed at Canterbury ? 1986 - Rains begin in northern California that last for a week, causing severe flooding. Coast Guard units participate in rescue and relief operations ? 1991 - USS Missouri, USMC aircraft/artillery, and Saudi artillery mounted a combined arms attack on multiple fixed-position targets (Iraqi troops, artillery, a hardened command bunker and tanks) in southern Kuwait. The battleship expended 60 rounds in 9 naval gunfire support missions. 6 additional Iraqis surrendered ? 1997 - Three of four crewmembers of MLB 44363 out of the Quillayute River Motor Lifeboat Station were lost when responding to a distress call from the sailing vessel Gale Runner ? 2003 - Submarine HMAS Dechaineux suffered a major flood while submerged in the Indian Ocean. Incident lead to restrictions on diving depths for Collins-class submarines ? 2003 - Commodore Roger Girouard assumed command of naval Task Force 151. As a result, his command and control responsibility within Operation Apollo expanded. Naval Task Force 151 represents a larger number of coalition naval vessels & a larger area of operations than is the present configuration. The number of vessels within the Task Force can vary significantly depending on the nature of the operation ? 2004 - Asbestos discovered under a turbine during refit of HMCS Preserver in Halifax ? 2004 - USNS Cape Orlando activated ? 2005 - An Indonesian trainee on board a Japanese tuna trawler went missing while the boat was sailing in the Pacific about 720 kilometers off Cape Shiono, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan Coast Guard officials said. Informed by the 67-ton Seiryo Maru No. 1 about the incident, the Coast Guard sent a patrol boat and plane to search for the 21-year-old crewman, who appears to have fallen into the water, the officials said. The trainee was last seen sleeping in the cabin at around 0330. Other crewmembers found him missing four hours later ? 2005 - Clyde Coastguard warned beachcombers and dog walkers to the danger of phosphorus flares in the Girvan and Ayr areas following the discovery yesterday of up to 12 such flares on Girvan beaches. The Coastguard was informed that more flares had been located early today on local beaches. The Coastguard have contacted the Police and the joint Services Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team ? 2005 - An investigation is under way after a suspected "stash of ecstasy pills" were found on board a warship, the Ministry of Defense confirmed. It has been claimed that a sailor left 30 tablets of the drug in HMS Cumberland's mess room after a "night on the town in Plymouth" ? 2005 - Indonesia's Navy plans to buy up to 60 modern patrol vessels over the next decade to strengthen maritime security and catch up with its technologically advanced regional counterparts, a report said today. Indonesia has the biggest Naval force in Asia but it lags behind its Asian peers in terms of armament and technology, navy chief Admiral Bernard Kent Sondakh was quoted as saying by state Antara news agency ? 2005 - The captain of a US submarine that hit an undersea mountain last month in the western Pacific, killing one sailor and injuring 23 others, will be relieved of command, Pentagon officials said Friday. Cdr Kevin Mooney will not be charged with any crime and will not be court-martialed. He received a nonjudicial punishment, most likely in the form of a letter of reprimand from his commander, this week, officials said. Such punishment typically ends an officer's career. ? Mooney was reassigned pending an investigation after the severely damaged the USS San Francisco returned to its homeport in Guam. Details of the investigation were not available. ? Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died of injuries suffered in the accident, which occurred when the attack submarine was en route to Brisbane, Australia ? 2006 - Rescue teams saved all 14 fishermen from an ice floe that had broken away from Sakhalin's eastern coast and drifted into the Sea of Okhotsk. None of the fishermen was hurt. The ice floe broke away from the coast near the village of Zaozyornoye in Makarovsky district, about 180 kilometers north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, at 1450 local time spokesman for the Sakhalin Regional Emergency Situations Department Olga Shekhovtseva reported. When rescuers arrived, the ice floe was more than 600 meters away from the coast. The fishermen were taken from the ice flow by boat and the operation was completed by 1630. It was the third operation of this kind over the past two weeks. Overall, 330 fishermen have been rescued ? 2006 - USCG and Washington Department of Ecology are overseeing the salvage of a fishing boat that went aground on the north jetty near Grays Harbor. Coast Guard Group/Air Station Astoria, Ore. received a mayday call at 1843 that the 59-foot fishing boat Nu C ran into the north jetty and the crew was preparing to abandon ship. Air Station Astoria Launched an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and Station Grays Harbor launched two 47-foot motor lifeboats. The Ocean Shores surf rescue team and local Emergency Medical Services also responded. The four crewmembers were able to safely reach shore where they were treated and released. Coast Guard pollution investigators from Coast Guard Sector Portland and representatives from the Department of Ecology are assessing the extent of the pollution. A diesel sheen was reported after the boat went aground. The amount of oil spilled is unknown. The National Response Corporation has been hired to respond to the pollution and to salvage the boat. The onboard tanks of the Nu C have a potential capacity of 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Plans to salvage the Nu C are in development. Coast Guard Sector Portland and Washington State Department of Ecology will continue to monitor the pollution response and mitigation efforts, and salvage of the vessel. The cause of the grounding is under investigation 2006 - Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicholas Wilson, 25, of Newark Valley, N.Y., died as a result of an improvised explosive device in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Three, based in San Diego ? 2007 - A trial to decide whether oil company Total SA was responsible for France's worst-ever oil spill, a 1999 shipwreck that left much of the country's Atlantic coastline covered with gummy black oil begins. The Maltese-registered "Erika" tanker, hauling fuel oil owned by a unit of Total, split in two and sank in rough seas on Dec. 12, 1999. About 20,000 metric tons (22,000 US tons) of oil leaked into the Atlantic and washed up on the coastline, killing thousands of birds and blackening beaches ? 2007 - Sri Lanka’s Navy destroyed a suspected Tamil Tiger boat and damaged another off the island’s northeast coast before dawn ============================================================= 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.