SeaWaves Today in History February 21, 2008 ********************************************************************* February 21 ? Norway - Birthday of King Harald. Visiting warships Dress Ship overall. Gun salutes are fired ? 1904 - Former Soviet prime minister Alexey Nikolaevich Kosygin born ? 1914 - Port of Seattle opens its first pier ? 1916 - Cruiser HMS Caradoc laid down ? 1918 - Destroyer USS Jacob Jones laid down ? 1918 - Destroyer USS Colhoun launched ? 1918 - Submarine USS O-10 launched ? 1918 - Cruiser HMS Coventry commissioned ? 1920 - Destroyer USS Semmes commissioned ? 1921 - Submarine USS S-41 launched ? 1925 - Destroyer FS Tempete launched ? 1929 - Destroyer FS Albatros laid down ? 1931 - Destroyer HMS Brilliant commissioned ? 1939 - Battleship HMS King George V launched ? 1939 - Aircraft carrier HMS Implacable laid down ? 1940 - US freighter SS Sahale is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar; the freighter SS Exhibitor, detained since ? 17 February, is allowed to proceed ? 1940 - Light cruiser HMS Manchester & destroyer HMS Kimberley capture another of the six German merchant vessels which the Royal Navy is hunting ? 1940 - The cavity magnetron operates for the first time at the University of Birmingham in the UK. It soon becomes apparent that this crude device -- with vacuum seals of sealing wax and penny coins -- is producing several hundred watts of power on the undreamed of wavelength of ten centimeters. The microwave era has begun ? 1940 - At 1809, SS Loch Maddy, a straggler from Convoy HX-19, was hit by one torpedo from U-57 amidships and was abandoned 92 miles SSW of Rockall. Four crewmembers were lost. The master and 34 crewmembers were picked up by destroyer HMS Diana & landed at Scapa Flow ? 1940 - SS Tara sunk by U-50 at 42.45N, 10.25W ? 1940 - An escort attacked U-19 with depth charges in the North Sea. The boat was damaged slightly ? 1941 - Aircraft carrier USS Enterprise arrives off Oahu and launches 30 USAAC P-36 Hawks that will be based at Wheeler Field ? 1941 - The Japanese consulate in Honolulu sends a message to Tokyo stating that "The capital ships and others departed from Pearl Harbor on the 13th and returned on the 19th. (It is said that they will depart again on the coming Wednesday and return on the following Wednesday)." The message also contains a list of the ships in the harbor ? 1941 - U-552 was attacked by an aircraft in the North Atlantic, suffering some damage ? 1941 - U-511 laid down ? 1941 - ASW trawler HMS Lincoln City sunk by German aircraft off the Faeroe Islands ? 1941 - As British forces continued their steady advances in Italian East Africa, Fleet Air Arm Albacore biplanes from the carrier HMS Formidable bombed Massawa in Eritrea ? 1942 - Submarine USS Triton sinks a Japanese merchant cargo vessel 60 miles south of Quelpart Island ? 1941 - The Canadian Tramp Shipping Line merchantman Canadian Cruiser (7,178 GRT) was sunk in the western Indian Ocean north of the Mozambique Channel, in position 06.36S, 047.18E, by the German armored ship, or 'pocket battleship', Admiral Scheer, KptzS Theodore Kranke, CO. The entire crew of thirty-six men was taken prisoner. Canadian Cruiser was carrying a load of iron ore to Durban, South Africa. She was sighted by Admiral Scheer’s floatplane at 09:15 and was finally intercepted in the afternoon. The master claimed to be an neutral American ship but the Germans insisted on boarding to search her, at which point Canadian Cruiser tried to get underway and began transmitting a distress signal. Admiral Scheer opened fire with light AA guns and forced her to take the way off the ship. A boarding party inspected the ship and her documents, which revealed her true identity. Five scuttling charges were set and detonated, which quickly sent the heavily laden ship to the bottom. One of Canadian Cruiser‘s crewmembers, Ordinary Seaman W.H. MacArthur, later escaped from a prisoner of war camp near Bordeaux, France, and made his way home, via Spain. Although many ships had received her original distress signal, it was not until MacArthur returned that her fate was established with certainty ? 1942 - Two RAF Bomber Command Manchesters drop mines off the West Frisian Islands ? 1942 - Eight RAF Bomber Command aircraft attack four airfields to provide a diversion for a Fleet Air Arm strike from the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious on the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which had taken shelter in a Norwegian fjord near Trondheim after being torpedoed and damaged by the submarine HMS Trident. The Fleet Air Arm strike was not successful, because of poor weather conditions. Five aircraft attack Lista and one each attack Christiansand, Mandel and Stavanger. The aircraft attacking Stavanger is lost ? 1942 - The blockade-runner Elcano brings 1,000 tons of food to Corregidor. This is enough to feed Bataan for four days ? 1942 - Destroyer HMS Montgomery (ex-USS Wickes) rescues survivors of Scottish Standard ? 1942 - US Ambassador Admiral William D. Leahy USN (Ret'd) receives an instruction to see French Vice Premier Admiral Jean Darlan immediately about German submarine U-156's receiving assistance at Martinique. Unless the Vichy French can assure the US government that no Axis ships or planes will be allowed to enter French ports or territory in the Western Hemisphere, and that unless such assurances are rigidly maintained, the United States "will take such action in the interest of security of the Western Hemisphere as it may judge necessary and in accordance with existing inter-American obligations." Leahy writes in his diary that everything points to his early recall to Washington "for consultation" ? 1942 - Destroyer HMS Opportune launched ? 1942 - Escort carrier USS Card launched ? 1942 - U-490, U-923 laid down ? 1942 - U-184 launched ? 1942 - U-210, U-441, U-515, U-516 commissioned ? 1942 - Light cruiser HMS Gambia commissioned ? 1942 - Submarines USS Tinosa & Lapon laid down ? 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Arcturus laid down ? 1942 - At 1532, the unescorted SS Kongsgaard was attacked by U-67 with two torpedoes seven miles off North Point, Curaçao. The master saw one torpedo and he tried to evade, but one of the torpedoes struck on the port side between the bridge and the poop deck. The cargo caught fire; sending flames high above the entire afterpart. A dinghy was thrown overboard, whereupon two men tried to save themselves in it, but the flames caught up with them. Some men amidships lowered the starboard boat and then rowed away as fast as they could, after having fished some men out of the sea. At 1902, the U-boat fired a coup de grâce, which missed and at 1930 a second, which struck the afterpart and caused the tanker to sink about seven miles west of North Point. The master and six survivors in the lifeboat were rescued by a fishing vessel three hours later and taken to Curaçao. An eight survivor was also picked up; he jumped off the afterpart and swam through the flames, which had quickly spread on the water after the explosion, until he reached open water ? 1942 - U-432 spotted a steamer of 5000 GRT in heavy seas about 125 miles ESE of Ocean City MD. A first torpedo missed and the U-boat then crossed behind the steamer to the port side. At 0123 a second torpedo was fired at 800 meters, which hit the freighter amidships. At 0242 a third torpedo struck forward of the bridge. It is assumed that this ship was SS Azalea City and that the nature of the cargo caused the ship to capsize after the torpedo hits. None of the eight officers and 30 men on board survived ? 1942 - At 2113, motor tanker Circe Shell, dispersed from Convoy ON-60, was torpedoed & sunk by U-161 20 miles west-northwest of Port of Spain, Trinidad. One crewmember was lost. The master, 51 crewmembers and five gunners were picked up by the British tug Busy and landed at Port of Spain on 23 February ? 1942 - At 1044, motor tanker Egda was torpedoed by U-107 after the ship had left Convoy ON-65 to proceed to the USA alone. U-107 was on her way home with only two torpedoes left. One torpedo struck on port side between the #3 and #4 wing tanks, but she did not sink and reached Halifax safely under own power and continued to New York for repairs ? 1943 - USS YMS-133 foundered off Coos Bay Oregon 1943 - Corvette HMCS Fredericton arrived New York City for Guantanamo escort duties ? 1943 - Submarine HMS Scythian laid down ? 1943 - Destroyer USS Callaghan laid down ? 1943 - U-623 sunk in the Atlantic, in position 48.68N, 29.15W, by 6 depth charges from an RAF 120 Sqn Liberator. 46 dead (all hands lost) ? 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Stanton launched ? 1943 - Destroyer USS Brown launched ? 1943 - Submarine USS Bluefish launched ? 1943 - Rescue tug HMS Weazel launched ? 1943 - At 2135, U-664 fired torpedoes at Convoy ONS-167 about 600 miles west of Ireland and sank SS Rosario in station #11 and tanker SS H.H. Rogers in station #13. H.H. Rogers was struck by one torpedo on the port side around #10 main tank rupturing the tank and the decks in the vicinity and the fireroom bulkhead. This resulted in the engine and fire rooms flooding. After 30 minutes, the officers decided that the ship could not be saved and the order to abandon ship was given. All 47 American crewmembers and 26 armed guards abandoned ship in three lifeboats (one lifeboat had been destroyed in the explosion) and all rafts. One of the lifeboats picked up several survivors from the Rosario, which had been in the water for about one hour. Almost all survivors were picked up by the British rescue ship Rathlin and landed at Halifax on 6 March. Four men on a raft were picked up by a British corvette and landed at St John's on 1 March. The wreck of the tanker was later sunk by U-664 with a coup de grâce in 50°13N/24°48W. ? 1943 - SS Empire Trader was ordered to the Azores with corvette HMCS Dauphin after the ship straggled from Convoy ON-166. At 2226, Empire Trader was torpedoed & damaged by U-92 north of the Azores. The next day, the vessel was abandoned and at 2000 Dauphin tried to sink her with gunfire on Admiralty orders in 48°27N/29°47W. On 23 February, the drifting wreck was last seen in 47°40N/28°46W. The master, 89 crewmembers and 16 gunners were picked up by the British rescue ship Stockport, transferred to Dauphin & landed at St John's, Newfoundland ? 1943 - The Stigstad in Convoy ON-166 was hit at 1659 by torpedo from U-332 in the starboard tank 16. At 1705, two torpedoes fired by U-603 struck amidships & engine room, which sank the ship. The 34 men abandoned their ship in a lifeboat and received some food supplies from U-603. The survivors were picked up by the trawler Thomas Boot after 14 days and were landed on the next day ? 1943 - The USCGC Spencer received credit from the US Navy for attacking and sinking the U-225 in the North Atlantic. The British have since recorded that the U-225 was actually destroyed by the Liberator "S" of RAF No. 120 Squadron on 15 February and they have changed the official British records to reflect this change. The renowned German historian, Professor/Dr. Jurgen Rohwer states that the Spencer "probably" attacked and sank the U-529 on this date, although the Spencer has not received official credit for this sinking ? 1944 - Destroyer HMCS Sioux (ex-HMS Vixen) commissioned ? 1944 - Corvette HMCS Hespeler (ex-HMS Guildford Castle) commissioned ? 1944 - Minesweepers HMCS Guysborough, Kenora, Canso & Wasaga departed Halifax for Devonport via Azores ? 1944 - Submarine USS Chivo laid down ? 1944 - Aircraft carrier USS Leyte laid down ? 1944 - Unescorted SS Fenris torpedoed amidships by U-168, but was able to reach Bombay in damaged condition under own power for repairs ? 1944 - Submarine USS Sea Cat launched ? 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Otter & Roche commissioned ? 1944 - Escort carrier HMS Reaper commissioned ? 1944 - Destroyer USS Ross commissioned ? 1944 - Marines with support of naval bombardment and carrier aircraft secure Eniwetok Atoll ? 1944 - Navy Minister Shimada replaces Admiral Nagano as Chief of Naval General Staff in Japan ? 1945 - LCT(5)-175 sunk 1945 - U-4711 launched ? 1945 - U-2539 commissioned ? 1945 - Corvette HMCS Nanaimo completed refit Esquimalt BC ? 1945 - U-260 sailed from Kristiansand on her final patrol ? 1945 - Frigate HMCS Port Colborne departed Londonderry for tropicalization refit ? 1945 - Aircraft carrier USS Saratoga is damaged by kamikazes between 1645 & 2030 ? 1945 - Casablanca-class escort carrier USS Bismark Sea was sunk by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft off Iwo Jima. Bismarck Sea was launched 17 Apr 1944 by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract. During Jul and Aug 44, Bismarck Sea escorted convoys between San Diego, Calif., and the Marshall Islands. After repairs and additional training at San Diego, she steamed to Ulithi, Caroline Islands, to join the 7th Fleet. During 14-23 Nov 44 she operated off Leyte in support of the operations and later took part in the Lingayen Gulf landings (9-18 Jan 45). On 16 February she arrived off Iwo Jima to support the invasion. On 21 Feb 45, two Japanese suicide planes hit Bismark Sea despite being heavily damaged by defensive gunfire. The kamikaze aircraft started uncontrollable fires that reached several ready use magazines and set off the ammunition. All efforts to save the ship were halted by the exploding ammunition and she sank 90 minutes after being hit. Three hundred and eighteen of her 860 crewmembers were lost in this incident ? 1945 - At 0839, U-1064 attacked Convoy UR-155 about 25 miles out of Belfast and reported three ships of totaling 17,000 tons sunk. In fact, only the Dettifoss was hit & sank within seven minutes, taking 15 lives (three of them passengers) with her. 29 survived the sinking, being rescued after an hour in the sea by HMS Fusilier and were taken to Scotland and from there to Iceland. The sinking of Dettifoss was a harsh blow so soon after the Goðafoss had been sunk by U-300 near Reykjavík on 9 Nov 1944. All public activities in Iceland were cancelled on 24 Feb 1945. U-1064 suffered slight depth charge damage after attack for Fusilier ? 1966 - USS Ticonderoga port call Sasebo ? 1966 - Ferry Kalakala rams new Seattle Ferry Terminal ? 1967 - USS Franklin D Roosevelt completed Vietnam deployment ? 1970 - USS Ranger port call Hong Kong ? 1979 - Ferry service returns to Port Townsend after a 40-year absence ? 1991 - Iraq accepts Soviet-brokered eight-point peace proposal. US expresses "serious" reservations ? 1991 - USS Spruance diverts a freighter in the North Red Sea ? 1991 - Marine Attack Squadron-331 AV-8Bs conducted first of 243 sorties off the night deck of the USS Nassau. This is the first time in history that USMC AV-8Bs have conducted combat missions from a Landing Helicopter Assault ship. 256 tons of ordnance on targets ? 1991 - Two Navy aircraft have been lost in non-combat mishaps. An SH-60's engine failed taking off from USS Halyburton and made emergency water landing. 3 crewmen rescued, helo lost. CH-46 helo from USS Seattle crashed in the North Red Sea. 3 crewmen rescued, another is missing ? 1991 - Firing 50 rounds from off Khafji, USS Wisconsin destroys command complex. RPVs spotted targets and provided coastline reconnaissance ? 1991 - DOD has authorized awarding of National Defense Service Medal to all US service personnel on active duty after 2 August 1990 in special recognition of "outstanding performance during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm" ? 2003 - Submarine HMCS Corner Brook delivered ? 2005 - A major milestone was achieved when the maiden flight of the Japanese EH101 was successfully completed at Agusta Westland’s Yeovil facility in the UK. The helicopter, designated KHI-01, is the first of 14 aircraft ordered by the Japanese Defense Agency to meet its Transportation, Airborne Anti Mine Counter Measures (AMCM) and Antarctic survey requirements ? 2005 - Lloyd’s Register is to class the world’s largest declared capacity container ships – four 10,000 TEU vessels, to be built in Korea at Hyundai Heavy Industries for China Ocean Shipping Corporation (Cosco). The vessels will be delivered between late 2007 and mid-2008. Each of the ships will have a length overall of 349 meters, a breadth of 45.6 meters and a depth of 27.2 meters. Each ship will be fitted with a 12-cylinder 94,000 horsepower engine to enable a trading speed of 25.8 knots ? 2005 - At least 37 people have been killed and more than are 150 missing after a Bangladesh ferry capsized in a storm on a river near the capital Dhaka, police say. The ferry, MV Maharaj, carrying some 200 passengers was sailing to the southern town of Chandpur from Dhaka when it got caught in a sudden tropical storm on the Buriganga River. "So far rescuers have pulled out 37 bodies including nine women and five children, and efforts are on to salvage the sunken ferry," said an officer at Keraniganj police station on the outskirts of Dhaka. District commissioner Harunur Rashid told reporters about 150 people were missing 12 hours after the ferry sank. ? Survivors said the ferry; packed with people heading home for a holiday to mark the Muslim religious occasion of Ashura was on a scheduled voyage when it sank ? 2005 - The MoD is to open the doors of its headquarters to public groups for the first time to host a commemorative Second World War exhibition. School parties have been invited to view the Imperial War Museum's Their Past Your Future travelling exhibition, which will be on display at the Ministry of Defense’s central London location for three weeks. The exhibition is part of a £10 million "Their Past Your Future” program of commemorative and educational events developed with the Big Lottery Fund to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War ? 2005 - Frogmen of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Fire Service dragged out 120 bodies from the ferry that sank near Dhaka late Saturday night. Fire brigade officials said Monday that they suspect more bodies were inside the three-story ferry MV Moharaj, which sank in the river Buriganga after caught in a cyclonic storm Saturday night while going to southeastern Matlab from capital Dhaka. The salvage vessel Hamza joined the Rustam Monday, as Rushtam's strength was far below to lift the three-story ferry. Bangladesh Navy officials, who also joined the rescue operation Sunday, said that since Rustam's capacity was not more than 60 tons, the ferry could not be lifted and for that reason the Hamza was called in to join the operation. Officials said late afternoon on Monday that they could not yet float the ferry, but hope to complete the operation by Monday night. The BIWTA officials said they fear more bodies were trapped inside the ferry ? 2005 - A Uruguayan Navy patrol vessel appealed to intimidating fire to arrest one of two Brazilian fishing vessels caught poaching in Uruguayan waters last week. According to naval reports an air patrol detected the two Brazilian vessels operating ten miles inside Uruguay’s EEZ and 40 miles offshore. When the Brazilian vessels realized a Uruguayan naval patrol was heading for their position, they abandoned nets and other fishing gear and fled northeast towards neighboring Brazilian waters. They further ignored orders to stop engines so the Uruguayan patrol fired two intimidating shots. However one of them “Langosta Vermelha”, and is spite of the shots, tried to ram the Uruguayan patrol which then threatened to open fire directly to the fishing vessel. They finally turned the engines off and a party from the Uruguayan Navy boarded the fishing vessel where they found several tons of fresh fish and evidence of illegal fishing. But the distraction operations allowed the second vessel, “Costa Vermelha” to escape arrest. “Langosta Vermelha” was escorted to the port of La Paloma where the captain and crew will be facing trial for illegal fishing ? 2005 - North Korean transportation authorities warned Japan they would respond in kind to any restriction on the regime's sole ferry route between the two nations ? 2005 - Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Of Staff Gen. Efren L. Abu declared Exercise Balikatan 2005 officially opened Feb. 21 during a ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Manila, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The 21st annual exercise is a bilateral, multiservice event designed to improve planning and interoperability to enhance military capabilities against armed attacks, including those from terrorist threats, as well as increasing readiness to respond to natural disasters ? 2006 - Teekay Shipping Corporation announced an agreement with PGS Production AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS), to form a joint venture company called Teekay Petrojarl Offshore that will focus on pursuing opportunities in the rapidly growing global market for Mobile Production Solutions with emphasis on developing solutions through Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units ? 2006 - Wärtsilä Corporation announced it was awarded an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract in December 2005 for the delivery of a 23.6 MWe combined heat and power plant to Belize Aquaculture, Ltd. for a shrimp farm and associated processing plant in Belize, Central America. The contract is valued at approximately 19 MUSD ? 2006 - At the session of questions on current affairs at the Assemblée Nationale, the Prime Minister declared that "confronted with this difficult situation, the government takes its responsibility, and looks for adapted solutions with a concern for openness […]. All the countries in the world with a fleet are concerned. Most of the countries sink their decayed ships and it is the honor of France to look for other solutions" ? 2006 - Cmdr. Jack Noell, commanding officer of DDG Crew Sierra, turned over command of the guided-missile destroyer USS Gonzalez to Cmdr. Robert Randall and DDG Crew Golf at an exchange of command ceremony in Bahrain. Gonzalez is taking part in the Navy’s Sea Swap program, which is designed to increase forward naval presence by keeping the ship continuously present in its area of operations while swapping crews at six-month intervals ? 2007 - Divers from the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Unit and a private salvage company recovered one body from the sunken fishing vessel Lady of Grace this morning. The body has not yet been positively identified. Crewmembers Rogerio Ventura, Mario Farinhas and Joao Silva went missing after the Lady of Grace sank on January 26. The body of Mr. Antonio Barroqueiro, 50, was recovered from the fishing vessel’s pilothouse on January 29. The State Police Dive Team conducted a thorough search of all accessible spaces. The whereabouts of the two remaining missing crewmembers is unknown. The salvage vessel Andy Lynn VI hired by the owner of Lady of Grace, as well as a 41-foot State Police vessel participated in the operation. A 41-foot patrol boat crew from Coast Guard Station Brant Point enforced a safety zone around the dive location ? 2007 - Russia's foreign minister denied reports about an alleged Russian-Syrian agreement to establish Russian Navy bases on Syria's Mediterranean coast in Tartus and Latakia ? 2007- Minehunter FGS Gromitz, attached to NATO’s MCMFN ran aground in Norwegian waters ? 2007- FS Ailette & Capricorn searching for lost French Air Force Mirage 2000 ? 2007 - BP PLC has shut down an offshore oil field in the Arctic Ocean after a small leak was detected in a gas line ? 2007 - The Lowe's Companies Inc. Home Improvement Transportation Division has awarded Horizon Lines with its most prestigious honor, The 2006 Platinum Carrier Award for the highest levels of delivered service ? 2007 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen announced that Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Ericsson won a 2006 Environmental Quality Small Ship award. The 678-foot ship – currently operating out of Pearl Harbor and crewed by 81 civil service mariners and a military detachment of 23 active-duty Navy sailors – was cited for its crew’s work in preventing pollution, ensuring readiness in responding to environmental issues, conserving resources and complying with environmental regulations ? 2007 - The first of two coastal protection vessels has been handed over to Spain’s Maritime Safety Authority SASEMAR. Don Inda has emergency towing as its main role. Should the worst happen with a tanker it is equipped with a full range of equipment for recovering spilt oil ? 2007 - A territorial court in Iqaluit, Nunavut sends a strong message to marine polluters by fining the MT Mokami $15,000 for the unlawful discharge of a pollutant into Arctic waters. On October 22, 2004, MT Mokami spilled fuel during unloading activities at Coral Harbour, NU. As a result of Transport Canada's investigation, one charge was laid against the vessel under Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations of the Canada Shipping Act for unlawfully depositing waste, oil or an oily substance into waters. MT Mokami, which is owned and operated by Coastal Shipping Limited of Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a subsidiary of the Woodward Group of Companies, plead guilty to the charge ? 2007 - Vice President Dick Cheney visited USS Kitty Hawk to thank military personnel, family members and civilian employees stationed in Japan for their service. The audience of more than 4,000 was made up of personnel stationed at bases throughout Japan’s Kanto Plain region ============================================================= 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.