SeaWaves Today in History February 13, 2008 ********************************************************************* February 13 ? 1806 - Vice admiral, hero of the defense of Sevastopol Vladimir Alexeevich Kornilov born. Died in the first bombardment of that city October 17, 1854 ? 1854 - Admiral Perry anchors off Yokosuka, Japan to receive Emperor's reply to treaty proposal ? 1878 - Vice Admiral Phipps Hornby took a Royal Navy squadron up the Dardanelles to Constantinople as a warning to Russia not to threaten the city during the implementation of the armistice at the close of the Russo-Turkish War ? 1913 - Naval Radio Station, Arlington, VA begins operations ? 1919 - Submarine USS S-34 launched ? 1919 - Battleship FS Mirabeau ran aground & wrecked. Salvage April 1919 & disarmed at Toulon ? 1934 - The ship Chelyuskin is crushed by ice in the Sea of Chukotka ? 1940 - US freighter SS Exford, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 5 February, is released ? 1940 - Japan cancels their arbitration treaty with the Netherlands ? 1940 - MS Chastine Maersk sunk by U-25 at 61.30N, 02.00E ? 1940 - Boom defense vessel HMS Barwell launched ? 1940 - Destroyer HMS Pytchley launched ? 1940 - SS Norna torpedoed and sunk by U-53. The ship went missing after leaving Gibraltar ? 1941 - In Merano, Italy Admirals Arturo Riccardi of Italy and Erich Raeder of Germany meet to discuss naval cooperation ? 1941 - Carrier-based aircraft from HMS Formidable attack Massawa. HMS Formidable cannot pass through the Suez Canal to join the Mediterranean Fleet owing to mines that have been dropped by Luftwaffe planes, which are being cleared ? 1941 - Spanish King Alfonso XIII, who left Spain in 1931, renounces the throne in favor of his son Juan ? 1941 - Light cruisers USS Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Savannah & stores issue ship USS Antares arrive at Midway with the remainder of the Marine 3d Defense Battalion ? 1941 - Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco meets Vichy French Premier Marshal Henri Petain in Vichy "to discuss matters relating to the prosecution of the war" ? 1941 - ASW trawler HMS Rubens sunk by a German FW 200 aircraft off Ireland ? 1941 - Boom defense vessel HMS Barrymore launched ? 1941 - Corvette HMS Alisma commissioned ? 1941 - At 1508, Clea, a straggler from convoy HX-106, was torpedoed and sunk by U-96 SE of Iceland. The master and 58 crewmembers were lost ? 1941 - U-557 commissioned ? 1941 - At 1625, U-103 damaged the Arthur F. Corwin, a straggler from convoy HX-106, with two torpedoes SE of Iceland (grid AL 3245). The U-boat then left the burning tanker in a sinking condition. At 1950 the same day, U-96 came across the wreck of Arthur F. Corwin, which was still afloat and sank her with two coups de grâce. The master, 43 crewmembers and two gunners were lost ? 1941 - SS Westcliffe Hall (1,900 GRT) Canadian Hall Corporation merchantman, was damaged by bombs from Luftwaffe a/c in the North Sea, off Whitby. There is no record of loss of life in this incident ? 1941 - The British offensive in Italian Somaliland under Lieutenant General Cunningham continued to make good progress, with the Gold Coast Regiment moving up the coast towards the port of Kismayu, whilst South African Air Force aircraft and the cruiser HMS Shropshire bombarded Mogadishu, and Fleet Air Arm Albacore bombers from HMS Formidable bombed Massawa in Eritrea ? 1942 - U-482 laid down ? 1942 - German Operation Sealion is formally cancelled. This is the plan for the cross channel invasion of England. While postponed many times, this cancellation makes it final ? 1942 - On Java, Lieutenant General John Lavarack, General Officer Commanding 1st Australian Army, tells General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, the he has drafted a recommendation that the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) should not be landed in the East Indies ? 1942 - An RAF reconnaissance plane sights a large concentration of Japanese shipping north of Bangka Island, at the same time many boats, full of British and Australian troops, were fleeing Singapore and found themselves among the enemy vessels. The launch carrying Rear-Admiral Spooner, Rear Admiral, Malaya, and Air Vice-Marshal Pulford, Air Officer Commanding, Far East, is driven ashore on a small uninhabited island north of Bangka Island. Two months later disease and starvation forced the survivors to surrender; the two flag officers were not among hem and are never seen again ? 1942 - Admiral Erich Raeder, head of the German Navy, brings a new plan to Chancellor Adolf Hitler. Raeder proposes that the Germans drive through Libya, into Egypt, and keep on going through Iraq, Iran, and all the way to India, thus drying up Britain's oil supply, hooking up with the Japanese, and winning the war. To do so, the German will have to divert more resources to the Mediterranean, starting with massive supplies to North Africa. To do that, the Germans will have to invade Malta. Hitler orders the Luftwaffe's Air Fleet 2 to hammer Malta and knock out its airfields and will to resist. General Erwin Rommel, commanding the Afrika Korps, who will lead the drive to India, thinks it's a great idea ? 1942 - The superstitious Admiral Halsey refuses to take Task Force 13 out of Pearl Harbor, as scheduled. The renumbered Task Force 16 will sail tomorrow ? 1942 - Chartered US passenger ship SS President Taylor, transporting 900 Army troops to occupy Canton Island, runs aground on a reef off her destination, and becomes stranded ? 1942 - A Congressional subcommittee recommends immediate evacuation of all Japanese-Americans from strategic areas on the West Coast. The US Army has already drawn up plans to move the Japanese-Americans east of California's Sierra Nevada mountains ? 1942 - Submarine USS Seadragon ends her first war patrol at Surabaya. Due to the continuous Japanese air raids on this Dutch base she left for Tjilatjap 21 Feb 1942. Later she was ordered to Fremantle where she arrived Mar 1942 ? 1942 - Submarine USS Salmon ended her first war patrol at Tjilatjap, Java ? 1942 - Submarine USS Sturgeon ends her second war patrol at Surabaya. Due to the Japanese air attacks on that base she departed for Tjilatjap shortly afterwards ? 1942 - USS PC-555 & PC-562 laid down ? 1942 - USS PC-552 launched ? 1942 - USS YMS-113 launched ? 1942 - Submarine HMS Tempest was blown to the surface by depth charges and gunfire from Italian torpedo boat Circe. Tempest was on patrol in the Gulf of Taranto in position 39.15N, 17.45E. The Italians tried to take Tempest in tow but this failed when she suddenly started to sink ? 1942 - Patrol vessel HMCS Seiner commissioned ? 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Farquhar launched ? 1943 - During heavy seas U-653 lost an officer overboard. [Oberleutnant zur See Werner Laudon] ? 1943 - HMS Bayntun commissioned ? 1943 - U-507 (Type IXC) is sunk n the South Atlantic northwest of Natal, in position 01.38S, 39.52W, by depth charges from a US Catalina aircraft (VP-83/P-10). 54 dead (all hands lost). Previously, U-507 (along with U-156 and U-506 and Italian submarine Cappellini) took part in the rescue operations after the sinking of SS Laconia in September 1942 off Africa. About 1500 men were saved by these boats and French ships from Dakar (which arrived on Sept 16, 4 days after the sinking). 7 Oct 1942 One man lost after illness at sea. [Obersteuermann Kurt Warkentin] ? 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Austin commissioned ? 1943 - Destroyer USS Ordronaux commissioned ? 1943 - USS SC-1063, SC-1266 & SC-752 commissioned ? 1943 - U-620 sunk NW of Lisbon, Portugal, in position 39.18N, 11.17W, by 5 depth charges from an RAF 202 Sqn Catalina. 47 dead (all hands lost) ? 1943 - USS PC-1086 laid down ? 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Ira Jeffery & Poole laid down ? 1943 - Fleet tug USS Yuma laid down ? 1943 - USS PCS-1378 laid down ? 1943 - USS SC-1357 laid down ? 1943 - U-280 commissioned ? 1943 - U-322 laid down ? 1943 - Submarine USS Trigger departs Midway for her 4th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off Palau ? 1943 - Submarine USS Scamp arrives at Pearl Harbor ? 1943 - Corvette HMCS Chambly completed refit Liverpool NS ? 1943 - N/S Edna Louise Belden RCN, through the physical danger of blinding snowstorms (during which one plane was lost) Belden, accompanied from St John's Newfoundland to Toronto ON, two critically burned cases, and two who were helpless, with head and hand burns. Throughout the five days of the trip, originally planned to be a few hours, she showed great nursing skills, resourcefulness in meeting the contingencies of the delays and changes in transportation, devotion to duty and exemplary cheerfulness ? 1944 - USS PC-1548 launched ? 1944 - LCT(5)-220 sunk at Anzio 1944 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Cap d'Antifer sunk by a German Motor Torpedo Boat in the North Sea ? 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Conklin, Corbesier, Earl K Olsen & Slater launched ? 1944 - USS PGM-19 laid down ? 1944 - Submarine USS Hake sinks a Japanese sampam with gunfire in the Banda Sea in position 04.37S, 125.26E ? 1944 - Tugs HMCS Pierreville, Loganville & Barkerville ordered ? 1944 - HMC HPC 42, 43, 44 ordered ? 1945 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-408 was commissioned at Stockton with LTJG F. Roebuck, USCG, as commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated to the Southwest Pacific and Western Pacific areas, including Zamboanga, San Fernando, Tacloban, etc. On 9 November 1945, LT Roebuck was relieved by Captain Carl C. Elliott, WTDTC ? 1945 - First naval units enter Manila Bay since 1942 ? 1945 - Destroyer USS Benner commissioned ? 1945 - USS YMS-433 commissioned ? 1945 - Submarine HMS Talent launched ? 1945 - In the early morning hours, U-992 attacked convoy JW-64 (29 ships, 22 escorts at various times) and reported a steamer damaged. But the ship hit was corvette HMS Denbigh Castle that was towed by corvette HMS Bluebell and a Russian tug into the Kola Inlet. The ship was beached, but later capsized and was declared a total loss ? 1945 - Destroyer USS Steinaker launched ? 1945 - Destroyer USS Brownson laid down ? 1945 - Frigate USS Corpus Christi picked up 15 survivors from the American Liberty ship Peter Silvester that was torpedoed on 6 February by U-862 in position 34.19S, 99.37E. The survivors were landed at Fremantle on the 18th ? 1945 - U-3041, U-4704 launched ? 1945 - The following AP report was released to the newswires: Sinking of a German U-boat, probable sinking of another and attacks on other undersea raiders in North Atlantic battles in which speed torpedoes were launched at Canadian ships were announced here today by Navy Minister Angus MacDonald. He said corvette St. Thomas recently sank a U-boat in the North Atlantic ? 1945 - Frigate HMCS Orkney collided with SS Blairnevis which sank. There is no record of loss of life in this incident. Orkney proceeded to Dunstaffnage, Scotland, for repairs. Orkney was part of Escort Group 25, which was engaged in escorting merchant shipping into Liverpool when the accident occurred. The weather the time of the accident was foul with heavy rain that further reduced visibility. Blairnevis was a new merchant ship, loaded with valuable bauxite. She had to be grounded to avoid her sinking & blocking the swept channel in the Mersey River estuary. Following the collision, Orkney's repairs lasted until Apr 45 when she proceeded to Louisbourg NS, for a refit to modify her for tropical duty in preparation for the invasion of Japan ? 1946 - U-181 (I-501) and U-862 (I-502) are scuttled at Singapore ? 1946 - U-2518 is transferred from the US to France and becomes the Roland Morillot ? 1960 - A Coast Guard RSD aircraft from Honolulu dropped a pump to the Japanese training vessel Toyama Maru, which had radioed that it was taking on water and was in danger of sinking off Palmyra Island. The pump controlled flooding until the arrival of USCGC Bering Strait, whose crew made repairs to the Japanese vessel, using 2,500 pounds of sand and cement parachuted by a Honolulu-based SC-130B plane ? 1966 - USS Ranger port call Subic Bay ? 1968 - Operation Coronado XI begins in Mekong Delta ? 1969 - The National Transportation Safety Board issued its "Study of Recreational Boat Accidents, Boating Safety Programs, and Preventive Recommendations" ? 1970 - USS Coral Sea port call Subic Bay ? 1973 - USS Saratoga completed her only Vietnam deployment ? 1974 - USS Midway port call Subic Bay ? 1979 - Hood Canal Bridge sinks during a severe storm ? 1991 - USS America Carrier Battle Group transits Strait of Hormuz enroute Arabian Gulf redeployment ? 1991 - Naval aircraft destroyed an Exocet missile-capable Frelon helicopter on the ground ? 1991 - Navy aircraft are assisting in the Arabian Gulf oil clean-up by providing information on the extent and movement of the spill ? 1991 - 25 Iraqi naval craft have been sunk or damaged and 66 mines destroyed ? 1991 - Two HU-25A Falcon jets from Air Station Cape Cod, equipped with Aireye technology depart for Saudi Arabia for the Inter-agency oil spill assessment team use. They were accompanied in flight by two C-130 aircraft from Air Station Clearwater carrying parts and deployment packages ? 2003 - Rear Adm. Steven Kunkle, commander of the Kitty Hawk carrier battle group based in Japan, was fired for engaging in an ''improper relationship'' with a female junior officer. Capt. Thomas Hejl, the carrier’s skipper, had been fired in September 2002 due to a loss of confidence ? 2004 - RRF Cape Isabel & Cape Wrath activated ? 2005 - A 198-ton Japanese longline fishing boat with a 16-member crew on board has been seized by Russian border security authorities off the Kuril Islands in the Russian Far East, the Japan Coast Guard ? 2005 - At 20 minutes to noon today Brixham Coastguard were alerted by numerous 999 calls to the Dartmouth Higher Ferry which had broken free from its guide chains In poor and squally weather it was seen to be drifting down river with 34 people plus two crew on board and 15 cars. The ferry was seen to be drifting amongst other vessels and turning in the wind. Dartmouth; Torbay and Berry Head Coastguard Rescue Teams were immediately sent to the area who quickly established that no one was in the water and the Police were notified. A Fire crew was also mustered and attended with the fireboat. An Ambulance was also called in case its crew needed to attend to anyone on board, and the Torbay lifeboat was also requested to launch. The ferry crew managed to arrest its drift by securing the vessel to a mooring buoy between Dart Haven Marina and the Higher ferry slipway 100 yards off shore. It was quickly established that the passengers could then be evacuated to the Dartmouth Haven Hotel and an instruction was given by the Harbor Authority for all passengers to leave their ignition keys in their cars. A local ferry evacuated 11 of the passengers and the Torbay RNLI lifeboat took off 23 people. One person required minor medical attention. At a little after 1230 passengers began to be evacuated and by 1245 just essential crew were left on the ferry ? 2005 - Falmouth Coastguard were contacted at just before 0600 from the 167-meter Bermuda flagged Ro-Ro passenger ferry Diplomat with 72 passengers and 33 crew which had broken down and was drifting near to Wolf Rock, west of the Cornish peninsular. The 16,776-ton vessel was en route between Rosslare and Cherbourg when the vessel began to have engine problems and the Coastguard then sent the Anglian Princess, the Coastguard tug to stand by the vessel. She arrived near to the ferry at about 0900. A further tug the Neftegas 57 is lso standing by if required. Sennen Cove lifeboat was also requested to launch and to standby ? 2006 - President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam went where none of his predecessors have been when he took a three-hour ride in a submarine in the waters of the Indian Ocean ? 2006 - Aker Yards has confirmed an optional agreement with Siem Offshore Inc for the building of two Platform Supply Vessels. The value of the contract is approximately NOK 275 million. Delivery is scheduled for second quarter 2007 from Aker Yards, Aukra. The vessels are of Vik Sandvik design, VS 470 Mk II. The vessels will be equipped with dynamic positioning, special product tanks, azimuth thrusters and accommodation for 34 persons ? 2006 - The Coast Guard is responding to an oil spill at the Chevron Perth Amboy facility, in Perth Amboy, NJ, that was reported at 0800. The spill occurred during a transfer of approximately 1.5 million gallons of number six heavy fuel oil from a barge to the facility. It is unknown how much of the product entered the water. A New York Police Department over-flight confirmed the spill stretching from the Chevron facility to Smoking Point, Staten Island, in the Arthur Kill. Chevron Perth Amboy has assumed responsibility for the spill and has contracted Clean Harbors and Atlantic Response to help with the cleanup. The Coast Guard has setup a safety zone from the Outer Bridge Crossing to Fresh Kills, Staten Island, to contain the spread of the spill. This area is closed to vessel traffic. Coast Guard investigators from Sector New York are on-scene overseeing the response ? 2006 - The Coast Guard conducted a long range offshore medical evacuation of a 52 year old male having a heart attack from a vessel located 180 miles Southeast of Corpus Christi today. ? At approximately 1030 the Coast Guard received a call for assistance from the crew of the 85-foot fishing vessel St. Benedict. The crew reported that their National Marine Fisheries Service observer was having a heart attack. An HH-65B Dolphin helicopter and HU-25 Falcon jet were dispatched from NAS Corpus Christi to assist. Once on scene, the helicopter crew lowered a rescue swimmer to the vessel to care for the patient who was hoisted aboard the helicopter after being stabilized. The helicopter crew then transported the patient to the Spohn Memorial helicopter pad here in Corpus Christi for treatment. The Falcon jet was diverted from another mission to provide communications and assistance due to the extreme distance involved. The crew of the Hoover Diana, an oilrig located approximately 20 miles from the vessel, initially relayed the call for help to the Coast Guard because the ships radios were not able to reach shore. Hoover Diana also provided fuel for the helicopter after the rescue allowing the helicopter crew to deliver the patient to the hospital here in Corpus Christi with minimal delay ? 2006 - Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans announces the upgrade of the unit's HH-65B Dolphin rescue helicopter to the more capable HH-65C model ? 2006 - USCGC Polar Star arrived in McMurdo Station, Antarctica after a non-stop 8,200 nautical mile transit from its homeport of Seattle ? 2007 - US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen Annual State of the Coast Guard Address Renaissance Hotel 999 9th Street NW Washington DC ? 2007 - A Nazi submarine sunk off Norway at the end of the second world war is to be buried in the sea bed so that its cargo of toxic mercury will not contaminate the coast. U-864 was sunk by Allied forces off west Norway on February 9 1945, and is believed still to hold 65 tonnes of mercury. Despite villagers' demands for the hazard to be removed, the fisheries and coastal affairs minister, Dag Terje Andersen, said the government would have the wreck buried at sea. To raise it would involve "the great risk of spreading mercury pollution to new areas, areas currently clean." The sub was found by the Norwegian navy in March 2003 and last December the Norwegian coastal administration advised encasing it. Nearby polluted areas, as well as the sub, will be covered by an absorbent sand, under a heavier fill to prevent erosion ? 2007 - A Dutch-based oil trading company has agreed to pay the Ivory Coast government $198.4 million (€150 million) to settle a dispute over toxic waste that the company had been accused of illegally dumping in the port city of Abidjan, the Ivory Coast government said ? 2007 - Divers from the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Unit and a private salvage company successfully searched a portion of the interior section of the fishing vessel Lady of Grace before they were forced to stop dive operations due to deteriorating weather ? 2007 - China Shipbuilding Corp has changed its English name to CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, after a government move to drop China from the names of state-controlled organizations ? 2007 - Advanced new generation of rail freight-carrying ro-pax ferry made its debut on the Bohai Strait, representing an important investment in the transport infrastructure of northeast China. The 25,000 grt Zhong Tie Bohai 1 is the first of three sisters ordered from Tianjin Xingang Shipyard for the Sinorail Bohai Train Ferry Company to serve the route between Dalian and Yantai. The design is distinguished by the use of diesel-electric power plant and podded propulsors ? 2007 - French Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Alain Oudot de Dainville visited Pakistani Naval Headquarters. Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir received him on arrival, who is currently on an official visit to Pakistan. A smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan Navy presented him Guard of Honor. He took the salute and reviewed the guard. Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir then introduced the Chief of French Navy to the Principal Staff Officers ? 2007 - USS Anzio came to the rescue of a Pakistan-flagged dhow in distress in the Arabian Sea while conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the 5th Fleet area of operations ============================================================= 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.