SeaWaves Today in History February 22, 2008 ********************************************************************* February 22 ? 1512 - Death of Amerigo Vespucci aged 61 ? 1797 - The last attempted invasion of the British mainland was mounted at the Welsh village of Fishguard, when a small French Revolutionary force landed. The Directory in Paris believed that the people of Britain would rise in revolution against the Crown and Government if given a suitable lead. The 1,400 troops of the "Black Legion" who landed at Fishguard, including a large percentage of newly impressed convicts, some reportedly still in leg irons, were, however, hardly the elite of the French forces, lacking both the discipline of the remaining regular army, or the elan and zeal of the Revolutionary militia. Their commander was a septuagenarian Irish-American adventurer, Colonel William Tate. The original plan had been for his force to descend on Bristol, but Royal Navy patrols put paid to that, and so the warships carrying his troops diverted to Cardigan Bay, where they quickly landed the men on the evening of 22 February, then ran back to France before the Royal Navy could find them. Once ashore, Tate's men lost what little discipline they had. A redoubtable Welsh woman, Jemima Nicholas, the wife of the local cobbler, captured twelve of them. Mrs Nicholas, remembered in local lore as Jemima Fawr (Jemima the Great), promptly rounded them up with a pitchfork and marched them into town. Many of the other French troops were preoccupied in looting from cottages - in particular, large quantities of strong drink which the locals had themselves only recently liberated from a wrecked Portuguese merchant vessel. The local home guard forces - the Fencibles and Militia - mustered at Haverfordwest, under the command of Lord Cawdor, and arrived at Fishguard on 24 February. Despite their own lack of military expertise, it was clear to Tate that his rabble would stand no chance, and he surrendered the following morning ? 1819 - Spain ceded Florida to the United States ? 1825 - Russia and Great Britain set the frontier between Alaska and Canada ? 1865 - RADM Porter's gunboat bombardment cause surrender of Wilmington NC ? 1870 - After arriving on USS Nipsic, and supported by USS Guard and USS Nyack, the Darien Expedition, commanded by CDR Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., begins active operations ashore at Caledonia Bay to survey the Isthmus of Darien, Panama, for an inter-ocean ship canal ? 1909 - Great White Fleet returns from round the world cruise to Hampton Roads VA ? 1928 - Heavy cruise HMS Sussex launched ? 1932 - Aurora Bridge (George Washington Memorial Bridge) is dedicated in Seattle ? 1936 - Destroyer HMS Gipsy commissioned ? 1936 - Minesweeper HNLMS Willem van Ewijck launched ? 1940 - North Sea trawlers are attacked by Luftwaffe aircraft. Little damage is done to the trawlers, the bombers are driven off by the trawlers' machine guns, and two are shot down by fighters ? 1940 - Six type 34 destroyers Friedrich Eckholdt flying the flag of Fregattenkapitan Berger, commander of Destroyer Flotilla 1, Richard Beitzen, Theodor Riedel, Leberecht Maass, Max Schultz & Erich Koellner sailed from Schilling Roads with the intent of raiding the British North Sea fishing fleet. While transiting a German minefield, the force sighted, and was sighted by a German aircraft. About a half-hour later the aircraft (an He-111 from 4/KG26) returned & dropped two 100 KG bombs, one of which struck Maass amidships, apparently knocking out her boilers. Eckholdt went to give her assistance. Then, while standing by, the ships came under attack again, with two more bombs being dropped. Either one hit or the ship simultaneously drifted on a mine, but regardless, Maass exploded, broke in half, and sank. There were 60 survivors rescued from the cold water. Some minutes later, the furthest destroyer away from the scene of the Maass demise, Schultz exploded and sank. There was a submarine alarm, an aerial alarm, and she was in the minefield. There were no survivors, and no one apparently saw exactly what happened to her. However, at a subsequent inquiry, it was determined that the Luftwaffe aircraft had claimed hits on both destroyers. There was no British submarine in the area, but it had been mined by British destroyers two weeks before. However, regardless of what actually sank them, the Luftwaffe got the credit ? 1940 - US freighter SS Sahale, detained by British authorities at Gibraltar the previous day, is released ? 1940 - At 0107, the drifting Loch Maddy was hit by a coup de grâce from U-23 and broke in two 20 miles 70° from Copinsay, Orkneys. The bow section sank, but the stern section was taken in tow by rescue tug HMS St. Mellons & beached in the Inganess Bay, Orkneys. The cargo was salved and the vessel declared a total loss ? 1940 - At 0020, steam tanker British Endeavour in Convoy OGF-19 was torpedoed & sunk by U-50 about 100 miles west of Vigo. Five crewmembers were lost. The master and 32 crewmembers were picked up by the British SS Bodnant & landed at Funchal, Maderia on 26 February ? 1940 - Corvette HMS Erica laid down ? 1940 - Destroyer HMS Cattistock launched ? 1941 - Heavy cruiser HMS Shropshire bombards Brava, on the coast between Kismayu and Mogadishu, in Italian Somaliland ? 1941 - German battlecruisers Scharnhorst & Gneisenau sink five unescorted ships 650 miles east of Newfoundland before heading for the Sierra Leone routes ? 1941 - Pocket battleship Admiral Scheer operates successfully off Madagascar before preparing to return to Germany ? 1941 - Monitor HMS Terror (15 inch guns) is damaged by bombing off Tobruk in position 32 40N 22 30E and loses all steam power. She is abandoned by her crew & sinks, but is hastened on by depth charges from HMS Salvia & Fareham. There are no casualties; all 204 of the crew survive ? 1941 - SS Texelstroom hit by a torpedo by U-108 at 2224 below the rear mast. Surprisingly, nothing happened aboard the ship, which set course for the coast and made light signals towards the coast. A coup de grâce exploded prematurely, a third torpedo also malfunctioned and hit the bow as a surface-runner. The ship sank in three minutes and Scholtz reported lifeboats, which fired flares. They were only 25 miles from Iceland, but there were no survivors ? 1941 - Motor tanker Scottish Standard sunk by U-96 at 59.20N, 16.12W ? 1941 - U-257 laid down ? 1941 - U-81 launched ? 1941 - Destroyer HMS Montgomery sank Italian submarine Marcello while sailing with EG-7 ? 1941 - Minesweeper HMAS Echuca laid down ? 1941 - Destroyer HMS Blean laid down ? 1941 - ASW trawler HMS Mazurka commissioned ? 1941 - Submarine HMS Union commissioned ? 1941 - Corvette HMCS Edmunston launched Esquimalt BC ? 1941 - SS AD Huff (6,219 GRT) Canadian Atlantic Transportation Line freighter, was sunk by gunfire in the North Atlantic, 625 miles east of Cape Race in position 47.12N, 040.13W, by the German battlecruiser Gneisenau. Two crewmembers were lost & the remaining thirty-seven were taken prisoner & were eventually returned to Germany in the supply ship Ernland. AD Huff had been returning in ballast with a convoy after delivering a cargo of steel & newsprint to the UK. Her convoy was dispersed off of Cape Race as the ships departed for their destination ports. Two ? German battle cruisers, Scharnhorst & Gneisenau came across the dispersal point soon after the convoy had split up. AD Huff was the fifth ship to be sunk. She tried to evade & was deliberately making smoke while sending a warning message by radio. With a top speed of only eight knots, her fate was already sealed. Thirty-two shots were fired at her with large (11-inch) & medium (5.9-inch) caliber guns before she finally went under ? 1941 - HMC MTB 01 completed refit ? 1941 - Corvette HMCS Chambly completed refit Halifax NS ? 1942 - Dredge (Self-Propelled) YM-4 lost enemy action at Philippines and stricken from Navy List ? 1942 - Dredge (Self-Propelled) YM-13 lost to enemy action at Guam and stricken from Navy List ? 1942 - Five Allied ships leave Fremantle, Western Australia, with 69 USAAF P-40s, motor vehicles and US Army troops destined for India. Two ships of the convoy are the seaplane tender USS Langley, carrying 32 assembled P-40s, and SS Sea Witch, carrying 27 crated fighters; these two ships are destined for Tjilatjap, Java ? 1942 - Three RAF Bomber Command aircraft bomb the port area of Ostend ? 1942 - 36 RAF Bomber Command aircraft attempt to bomb the floating dock at Wilhelmshaven which the Germans might be using to repair the battleships Scharnhorst or Gneisenau. The area was cloud-covered and bombs were mostly released on the estimated position of the city ? 1942 - Submarine USS Swordfish disembarks Philippine President Manuel Quezon and his party at San Jose, Panay, to continue their journey out of the archipelago ? 1942 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General US Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE), to leave the Philippines ? 1942 - At 1151, the unescorted tanker SS Cities Service Empire was hit by two torpedoes from U-128 about 25 miles north of Bethel Shoals off the Florida coast. The tanker had maintained a non-evasive course at 10 knots in moderate to heavy seas and had been missed by the first four torpedoes. The torpedoes struck the vessel amidships at the after pump room deep in the ship’s bowels on the starboard side. Fire broke out immediately and within seconds the ship and the water around the tanker were ablaze. The armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, two .50cal and two .30cal guns) were driven away from their guns and the master gave the order to abandon ship after 10 minutes. All lifeboats had been destroyed by the fire and only two rafts could be launched. Most of the crew of eight officers, 33 men and nine armed guards jumped overboard. USCGC Vigilant reached the burning ship and the commanding officer saw three men at the bow of the tanker. Nosing his ship up to the burning tanker, some men crawled aboard the ship and battled the flames until they rescued two of them. But before they could go back for the third, the tanker exploded, showered the cutter with unignited oil from stem to stern, broke in two and sank at 1210 hours. The master, three armed guards and ten crewmen died. The 34 survivors on the rafts were later picked up by USS Biddle & taken to Fort Pierce, Florida ? 1942 - At 0703, U-155 fired torpedoes at Convoy ONS-67 south of Cape Farewell & heard three detonations. CO Piening observed no effects after the first detonation, but saw explosions on two other ships. He claimed two ships with 15.000 tons sunk and another with 7000 tons damaged but in fact only the Adellen and Sama were hit & sunk. 29 crewmembers & seven gunners from the Adellen were lost. The master, nine crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by HMCS Algoma, transferred to British rescue ship Toward & landed at Halifax on 1 March. Sama was hit by a torpedo at 0703 in the stern & sank in 3-4 minutes in complete darkness. 20 survivors were picked up from debris by destroyer USS Nicholson & rescue ship Toward after two hours ? 1942 - At 0159, the unescorted and unarmed SS J.N. Pew was hit by one of two torpedoes fired by U-502 about 225 miles west of Aruba, while steaming completely blacked out on a zigzagging course at 11 knots. The torpedo struck on the port side between the main mast and the amidships pump room. The explosion sprayed oil over the entire length and set the amidships house afire. The burning tanker was sunk by four coup de grâce fired at 0235, 0242, 0254 & 0304. The eight officers and 28 crewmen tried to abandon ship in the rough seas, but two of the four lifeboats and two floats were destroyed by the fire. One lifeboat cleared the ship with only two men in it and reached shore about 35 miles east of Riohacha, Colombia on 25 February. Friendly Indians helped them reach Riohacha, from where they were taken to Barranquilla, Colombia. A second boat swamped when it hit the water and ten survivors managed to right the boat the next morning, but had to set sail without water, food and survival equipment. On 14 March, only one man was alive when the boat was found by a patrol aircraft off Cristobal, which directed the Panamanian motor merchant Annetta I to it. He was taken to the Coco Naval Base, where he was hospitalized for several weeks before he was able to be sent home. None of the officers survived the sinking ? 1942 - At 0455, the unescorted & unarmed Republic was hit by two torpedoes from U-504 about 3.5 miles northeast of Jupiter Island Lighthouse, Florida. The torpedoes hit on the port side 35 to 50 feet from the stern. The explosions destroyed the engine room, killed one officer and two crewmen on watch below and sprayed oil from the bunkers over the entire ship. As the tanker developed a starboard list and settled by the stern the survivors among the seven officers and 22 crewmen on board abandoned ship in two lifeboats. Two crewmen drowned. One boat with the master and 21 survivors rowed to shore, where they were taken care by residents before they were taken to Palm Beach by trucks. Seven others in the second boat were picked up by the Cities Service Missouri and taken to Port Everglades. The badly damaged Republic was located the next day by the USCG, but she drifted on to reefs about five miles due east of Hobe Sound, Florida and sank on the afternoon of 23 February ? 1942 - At 2257, the Kars was torpedoed by U-96 south of Halifax. The tanker had been in Convoy ONS-67, but lost the convoy and turned back. The ship caught fire and broke in two three days later. The forepart sank and the after part was towed to Halifax, where it was beached on 27 February and declared at total loss. The master, 45 crewmembers and four gunners were lost. Two crewmembers were picked up by minesweeper HMCS Melville & landed at Halifax ? 1942 - The Torungen was lost with all hands. The crew consisted of 12 Norwegians, three Danes, one Swede, one Fin, one Dutchman and one Estonian. A 2/3 water-filled lifeboat with the body of the second engineer was later found off Lockport NS ? 1942 - Destroyers HMS Partridge & Albrighton commissioned ? 1942 - SS West Zeda sunk by U-129 at 09.13N, 59.04W ? 1942 - SS George L Torian (1,754 GRT) Canadian Upper Lakes Company bulk carrier was sunk in the Caribbean off British Guyana, in position 09.13N, 059.04W, by U-129, Kptlt Nicolai Clausen, Knight's Cross, CO. Torian was on route from Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, to Trinidad with a load of bauxite for transhipment. A boat with fifteen of her crewmembers was questioned by the U-boat CO & then was provided with food, water, & directions to the nearest land. A USN PBY Catalina patrol aircraft rescued four other survivors. U-129 a medium-range Type VIIC U-boat built by AG Weser, at Bremen. Commissioned 21 May 41. U-129 completed 10 patrols & compiled an impressive record of 29 ships sunk for a total of 143,791 tons. U-129 was taken out of service at Lorient 4 Jul 44 & was scuttled there on 18 Aug 44. She was raised & broken up for scrap in 1946. Nicolai Clausen joined the Reichsmarine in Oct 29 as a seaman. He spent the next few years on torpedo boats & on the sailing school ship Gorch Fock. In Sep 35, he transferred to the new U-boat force & after training, joined U-26 under Kptlt Werner Hartmann, in Apr 36. In Mar 37 he was selected for commissioning. After officer training, he spent two years in the armored ship Admiral Graf Spee & then was appointed as the commander of minesweeper M-134, in Sep 39. When the war broke out, his former commander in U-26 requested him, & so, 'Niko' Clausen became the First Watch Officer in U-37. He completed three patrols, mostly in the Atlantic, & received his Iron Cross (Second Class) after the first patrol from Karl Donitz, personally. He left the U-37 in the summer of 1940 & in Aug 40 commissioned the Type IID U-boat U-142. Just two months later he returned to U-37 & replaced the commander, Victor Oehrn, at the age of 29. During the next three patrols, Niko Clausen sank twelve ships & was promoted to Kptlt on 01 Jan 41. In May 41 he left U-37, which then became training boat. Three weeks later he commissioned U-129. The first three patrols on U-129, mostly in the Atlantic, ended without success, but on the fourth patrol, in Caribbean waters, Niko Clausen sank seven ships for a total of 25,613 tons. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 13 Mar 42 (the 46th presented in the U-boat force). In May 42, he turned over command of the U-129 to Hans-Ludwig Witt. In Jul 42, Kptlt. Clausen commissioned U-182, a long-range Type IXD U-boat. On his first patrol in the Indian Ocean he sank five ships for a total of 30,071 tons. During the return journey, U-182 encountered convoy UGS-8 on 16 May 43. She was sunk after two depth charge attacks by the Bristol-class destroyer USS Mackenzie. In all, Kptlt Clausen sank 24 ships for a total of 74,807 tons making him the 24th highest scoring U-boat 'ace' of the war. He was promoted to KKpt posthumously with a seniority of 01 May 43. The loss of such an experienced and successful officer was a serious setback for the U-boat force ? 1943 - Patrol Vessel District YP-72 destroyed by grounding at Adak Aleutian Islands 1943 - District Auxiliary Miscellaneous YAG-2 lost enemy action Philippines stricken Navy List 1943 - District Auxiliary Miscellaneous YAG-3 lost enemy action Philippines stricken Navy List 1943 - District Auxiliary Miscellaneous YAG-4 lost enemy action Philippines stricken Navy List ? 1943 - Submarine USS Crevalle launched ? 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Persian launched ? 1943 - MS Roxborough Castle sunk by U-107 at 38.12N, 26.22W ? 1943 - Motor tanker Thorsholm damaged by a mine laid on 1 February by U-118 15 miles off Cape Espartel. The vessel was towed to Gibraltar ? 1943 - At 2220, U-606 attacked Convoy ON-166 & torpedoed three ships, the Empire Redshank, Chattanooga City & Expositor. The U-boat was lost after the attack. The Chattanooga City (Master Robert C. Forbes) was struck by one torpedo in the center of #4 hold. The explosion bodily lifted the ship out of the water, blew off the hatch covers of the #3 and #4 holds, tore deck booms away and probably severed the main shaft. She quickly listed to starboard and settled rapidly. The order to abandon ship was given two minutes after the hit and water reached the well deck one minute later. The ship sank by the stern in about 15 minutes. The ten officers, 27 crewmen and 21 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 12pdr and six 20mm guns) cleared the ship in four lifeboats and one raft. They were picked up three hours later by HMCS Trillium. The armed guard officer and ten of his men were transferred to the USCGC Spencer & landed in Argentia, Newfoundland on 27 February. The remaining survivors were landed at St John's on 26 February. At 23.50 hours on 22 February, the badly damaged Empire Redshank (Master John Houston Clinton) was sunk by gunfire by the Canadian corvette HMCS Trillium after the corvette had picked up the master, 39 crewmembers and seven gunners. The survivors were landed at St John's. Expositor was struck by one torpedo on the port side at the #3 hatch, causing the boiler to explode. The ship took an immediate list to starboard and then righted herself after settling by the stern. Most of the eight officers, 31 men and 21 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in, two .50cal, two .30cal and four 20mm guns) abandoned ship in the single undamaged lifeboat and three rafts. Seven officers, 27 men and all armed guards were picked up by corvette HMCS Trillium. One officer died on the corvette and an engineer later in a hospital in St John's. Three hours after the attack, the corvette blew off the stern of the freighter with depth charges, but the ship remained afloat. U-606 sunk in same action at 47.44N, 33.43W, by depth charges from the USCGC Campbell and destroyer ORP Burza. 36 dead and 11 survivors ? 1943 - At 0436, U-92 fired three FAT torpedoes at Convoy ON-166 & reported two ships sunk & a third as damaged, but the first & third FAT struck the NT Nielsen-Alonso in station #25 and the remaining torpedo missed. The ship was hit on the port side between engine and boiler room, the main engine was flooded, two port lifeboats destroyed and three men on watch below were killed. The crew soon abandoned her in four lifeboats. At 0729, U-753 fired two coups de grâce at the abandoned NT Nielsen-Alonso and hit her with one torpedo amidships, but the ship stayed afloat while the U-boat was chased away by a corvette. The survivors observed this attack, were later picked up by USCGC Campbell & transferred to ORP Burza, which scuttled the wreck at 1300 at 48°N/34°W and landed them in St John's on 27 February ? 1943 - U-971 & U-972 launched ? 1943 - Rescue tug HMS Allegiance launched ? 1943 - Frigate HMS Duff laid down ? 1943 - During the defense of Convoy ON-166, U-606 was sunk in position 47.44N, 33.43W by depth charges from USCGC Campbell & destroyer ORP Burza. There were 36 dead and 11 survivors who were rescued by Campbell ? 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Coolbaugh, Cooner, Darby, Eldridge, Enright, Francis M Robinson, J Douglas Blackwood, Schmitt, Solar, Weber laid down ? 1943 - Minesweeper USS Scrimmage laid down ? 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Smartt, Seid, Walter S Brown, William C Miller launched ? 1943 - USS Iowa, the lead ship of the last class of American fast battleships, is commissioned ? 1943 - Submarine HMS L-23 arrived Philadelphia for refit ? 1943 - Corvette HMCS Mimico (ex-HMS Bulrush) commissioned ? 1943 - Corvette HMCS Weyburn sunk at 1056 in minefield laid by U-118 1 Feb 43, four miles West of Cape Spartel 35-46N 06-02W. Destroyer HMS Wivern was damaged due to Weyburn's exploding depth charges. U-118 was a long-range Type XB U-boat, built by F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, at Kiel. Commissioned 06 Dec 41. Werner Czygan was her only Commanding Officer. U-118 was in service for 18 months & compiled a record of sinking four ships for a total of 14,989 tons & damaging another three ships for a further 13,065 tons. U-118 was primarily a minelayer. On 12 Jun 43 she was located after being dispatched to locate U-758, which had reported being attacked by aircraft, and to fuel U-172. Her transmissions to U-boat Headquarters were intercepted and plotted by US 10th Fleet Headquarters and the USS Bogue escort group was vectored to intercept. U-118 was located only 20 miles astern of the carrier by two aircraft and attacked. U-118 submerged but soon resurfaced and was attacked by eight USN Avenger torpedo-bomber aircraft from USN VC-9 Squadron. A total of 16 depth bombs & over 5,000 rounds of machine gun ammunition were expended, which eventually resulting in an enormous explosion that broke the U-boat in two & threw wreckage over 500 feet into the air. U-118 sank in position 30.49N, 033.49W. Incredibly, there were 16 survivors from her of 59 men. The Commanding Officer was among those lost. Werner Czygan was born in 1904, at Mogilno, Posen. He joined the navy in 1925. His first operational service was in the heavy cruiser Blucher until Apr 40, when she was sunk in Oslo Fjord during Weserubung G. Kptlt. Czygan survived the sinking, was promoted to KKpt & assigned to the staff of the Admiral commanding the Norwegian south coastal area, where he served until Aug 40. Next, he was assigned to headquarters staff for the Norwegian polar coastal area, where he served until Mar 41, when he transferred to the U-boat force. After conversion training, he was immediately selected for command, & after preparatory training, was assigned to commission U-118, on 06 Dec 41, at the age of 37. Werner Czygan was lost, along with his entire crew, when U-118 was sunk west of the Canary Islands ? 1944 - Submarine USS Lamprey laid down ? 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Finnegan, Gilligan & McCoy Reynolds launched ? 1944 - Units of the US 5th Fleet attack the Marianas Islands ? 1944 - Frigate HMS Somaliland commissioned ? 1944 - U-1010 & U-1102 commissioned ? 1944 - An RCAF 162 Sqn Catalina attacked U-550 with machine guns in the North Atlantic. Two crewmembers were killed. The boat was lost on the same patrol on 16 April ? 1944 - U-510 made two attacks at the convoy PA-69 about 200 miles from Aden and reported two tankers and one freighter sunk, one freighter was left burning and sinking and one other freighter was damaged by one torpedo. Three tankers were hit, the San Alvaro, E.G. Seubert and Erling Brøvig. The last stayed afloat with a broken back and both parts were towed to port. It is not clear whether one ship was hit by two torpedoes. E.G. Seubert in station #21 was hit by one torpedo on the port side in the #10 tank and the cross bunkers. The explosion blew one of the after machine guns over the side and started a small fire. The steam smothering line quickly put out the flames. The engines were stopped, as the tanker settled rapidly with a list to port. Only one lifeboat could be launched before the ship suddenly capsized to port and sank by the stern, twelve minutes after the hit. The most of her crew of eight officers, 35 men and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship by jumping overboard and had to swim through fuel oil several inches thick. One officer, two men and three armed guards, including the commanding officer died. The survivors were picked up by minesweeper HMAS Tamworth & corvette HMIS Orissa & taken to Aden, arriving on 24 February. Erling Brøvig broke almost in two after she was hit by one torpedo amidships, but was taken in tow and beached near Aden, where her cargo was transferred to lighters and she was temporarily repaired. The crew reached Aden in lifeboats and was later taken to Capetown on the Panamanian merchant Sewall. On 16 September, the tanker got underway to Massawa, assisted by a tug, but after one day she broke in two behind amidships, both parts still floating. The tug continued with the forepart and the master sailed with the afterpart as far as Suez by her own power. A tug towed her through the canal and she arrived Italy safely, where she was subsequently laid up. After the war, the tanker was repaired in Genoa and reentered service as Bramora in 1946/47. Sold to China in 1960/61 and eventually broken up. San Alvaro was sunk at 13.46N, 48.49E ? 1944 - At 1213, U-969 fired a spread of three torpedoes at Convoy GUS-31 about 15 miles off Bône, Algeria and heard two detonations. The Peter Skene Ogden & George Cleeve were each hit by one torpedo and were both beached, but later declared total losses. George Cleeve in station #121 was hit by one torpedo on the starboard side amidships in the engine room. The explosion created a hole 21 feet long, killed the second assistant engineer on watch below and destroyed the engine and turned it over on its side. The blast forced its way into the #4 hold, blew scrap iron through the deck and enveloped the superstructure in steam and oil. A large crack appeared amidships and the master thought the ship would break in two. The vessel settled with a 20° list to port until the after deck was awash and the bow rose out of the water. About one hour after the attack, the eight officers, 33 men and 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) were ordered to abandon ship in two boats and a raft. The survivors were picked up by the American SS William T. Barry after 30 minutes & landed in Oran on 25 February. One armed guard had been blown overboard and was picked up by a small boat from the other torpedoed ship. A salvage crew later boarded the Liberty ship, which was towed to Bône and beached. After her cargo was discharged, the vessel was declared a total loss and was later scrapped in Italy. Peter Skene Ogden, the ship of the convoy vice-commodore in station #111; was hit by one torpedo on the starboard side at the #5 hold. The explosion threw sand ballast; hatch beams and covers into the air, blew one of the after booms over the side, damaged the shaft and caused the propeller to drop off. When the ship began to settle by the stern, the eight officers, 33 crewmen, 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and eight naval staff members abandoned ship in four lifeboats and four rafts about two hours after the hit. They were picked up by a British escort vessel at 16.30 hours and landed at Bône, while the master and ten volunteers reboarded the Peter Skene Ogden to prepare her salvage. She was towed by tug HMS Hengist to Herbillon, Algeria where she was beached at 1800 on 23 February & later declared a total loss ? 1944 - Destroyer HMS Solebay launched ? 1944 - Submarine HMS Truncheon launched ? 1944 - Heavy cruiser USS Pittsburgh launched ? 1944 - Parry Island (Marshall Islands) invasion ? 1944 - Frigate HMCS Chebogue commissioned ? 1944 - Corvette HMCS Arnprior (ex-HMS Rising Castle) commissioned Belfast ? 1945 - At 1320, SS Alexander Kennedy in Convoy BTC-76 was torpedoed & sunk by U-1004 SE of Falmouth. One crewmember was lost. The master, 15 crewmembers & two gunners were picked up by the British SS Eskwood & Gateshead and landed at Plymouth. The master John William Johnson was awarded the Lloyd’s War Medal for bravery at sea. ? 1945 - U-190 sailed from Kristiansand on her sixth and final patrol ? 1945 - U-246 sailed from Bergen on her second and final patrol ? 1945 - U-2545 launched ? 1945 - U-2529 commissioned ? 1945 - Destroyer USS Wiley commissioned ? 1945 - Minesweepers HMS Recruit, HMS Pincher & yacht HMS Evadne sank U-300 in the North Atlantic west of Cadiz, in position 36.29N, 08.20W, by depth charges, there were 9 dead and 41 survivors ? 1945 - Corvette HMCS Trentonian sunk by U-1004 12 miles East of Falmouth 50-06N 04-50W. U-1004 a VIIC/41 type U-boat, built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, commissioned 16 Dec 43, in service 17 months, with a record of sinking 2 ships for a total of 2,293 tons. U-1004 was eventually scuttled in Operation Deadlight. Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of unwanted German U-boats which the allies got their hands on after the end of World War II. Most of these (if not all) operations took place from Lisahally, Northern Ireland or Loch Ryan, Scotland ? 1946 - Frigate HMAS Condamine commissioned ? 1946 - Frigate HMS Morecambe Bay commissioned ? 1948 - HMCS Magnificent departs Great Britain with a load of 18 Firefly AS 5s for service in 825 Sqn. Officially taken on strength on 16 February, the newly-acquired a/c replaced the squadron's Firefly FR IVs; but Fireflies of all marks were considered inadequate to the RCN's requirements as an A/S vehicle. By May of 1950, the Air Arm would start receiving TBM a/c as the prime and subsequently sole operational ASW a/c in service until the arrival of the CS2F ? 1957 - Tug CNAV Saint Anthony completed Saint John NB & assigned to Pacific Command ? 1957 - Minesweeper HMCS Miramichi launched Victoria BC ? 1958 - Submarine HMS Alliance departed Halifax following ASW training ? 1959 - Submarine HMS Walrus launched ? 1967 - USS Bon Homme Richard port call Subic Bay ? 1968 - The first Soviet polar station, Bellingshausen, opens at the coast of the Western Antarctica, named after the great Russian seafarer ? 1971 - USS Hancock port call Subic Bay ? 1974 - LTJG Barbara Ann Allen becomes first US Navy designated female aviator ? 1975 - USS Enterprise port call Singapore ? 1975 - City of Seattle approves Sand Point site as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Western headquarters ? 1987 - Destroyer HMCS Nipigon's Sea King helicopter assisted in rescue of crew from burning tug Gulf Gale off Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico ? 1990 - Grain carrier collides with Polish fishing vessel in Vancouver; spilling 40,000 liters of diesel fuel ? 1991 - After consultations with coalition partners, President Bush rejects Iraqi peace plan, declares ground campaign will not be initiated if, before 1200 (EST) on 23 February, Iraq publicly agrees to: begin large-scale immediate withdrawal; complete withdrawal within one week; within 48 hours, leave Kuwait City and allow prompt return of the legitimate government of Kuwait; withdraw from all prepared defenses along the Saudi-Kuwait and Saudi-Iraq borders, from Bublyan and Warbah Islands, and from Kuwait's Rumaila oil fields; return troops to Iraqi positions of 1 August 1990; cooperate with International Red Cross and release all POWs and 3rd country civilian prisoners and remains of servicemen within 48 hours; remove all explosives or booby traps and provide data on location and nature of any land or sea mines; cease all combat air fire, aircraft flights over Iraq and Kuwait except for transport aircraft carrying troops out of Kuwait; cease all destructive action against Kuwaiti citizens and property, and release all Kuwaiti detainees. US and coalition agrees not to attack retreating Iraqi forces and will exercise restraint as long as withdrawal proceeds within these guidelines.- Any breach of these terms will bring an instant and sharp response from coalition in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 678 ? 1991 - To date, USS John F Kennedy has launched nearly 80 direct bombing/missile strike missions with over 800 sorties in direct attacks. Naval forces are conducting strike operations, surface surveillance, combat air patrols, mine countermeasures and maritime intercept operations ? 1994 - Destroyer HMCS Terra Nova stopped & boarded MV Pacifico loaded with 5.9 tonnes of cocaine ? 1997 - MCDV HMCS Goose Bay laid down Halifax NS ? 2003 - HMCS Corner Brook SS 878 (ex HMS Ursula) departs Faslane for Canada after being handed over the previous day ? 2003 - Five workers killed at Alang, India while scrapping the oil tanker Amina ? 2005 - Dubai Ports International ("DPI"), one of the world's leading port operators, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of CSX World Terminals ("CSX WT" or "the Company"), the international terminal business of CSX Corporation, for closing cash consideration of USD 1.142 billion, subject to final working capital and long-term debt adjustments. The conclusion of this transaction means that DPI is now one of the world's top 6 operators. DPI currently has extensive operations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and India. The acquisition of CSX WT gives DPI a strong presence in Asia for the first time, including CT3 and CT8W in Hong Kong, Tianjin and Yantai in China as well as operations in Australia, Germany, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. DPI now has a truly international network with the capacity to service the needs of customers across the globe. The combined portfolio consists of interests in 15 operational terminals in 13 locations with a combined capacity in excess of 24 million TEUs. Importantly for the future development and expansion of the network, DPI has acquired the Company's strong pipeline of development projects. In particular, CSX WT has a 25% interest in, and will be the operator of, Pusan Newport, South Korea, a 9-berth facility with a capacity of 5.5 million TEUs that is currently under development and is expected to commence operations in 2006. DPI has also acquired interests in logistics businesses in Hong Kong and China, notably ATL, the market leading logistics operator based at Kwai Chung, Hong Kong. On 30 December 2004, prior to the completion of this transaction, CSX WT announced that it had raised its stake in Asia Container Terminals Ltd ("ACT") to 68.6% giving the Group a majority share in this important operation. ACT is the owner and operator of the premier terminal CT8W in Hong Kong. The transaction was financed from a committed loan facility arranged and underwritten by Deutsche Bank AG on 16 December 2004 for USD 1.45 billion. Deutsche Bank acted as financial adviser to Dubai Ports International and Citigroup Global Markets acted as financial adviser to CSX with respect to the transaction. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal counsel to DPI and Arnold & Porter LLP represented CSX ? 2005 - Exercise Guga, a major maritime exercise is to be conducted by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Western Isles and Highland Councils and is scheduled to take place in Stornoway over two days of February 22nd and 23rd 2005. It is estimated that more than 150 people will be taking part, representing over 15 organizations. Exercise Guga will test the interaction between the Western Isles Council, MCA, and other organizations that support the governmental pollution response support network in the UK. It will test national and local authorities and emergency services preparedness for a major maritime and oil incident in the area, although the `incident' will be simulated and be `located' several miles out to sea. The Exercise will include counter pollution activities and the tasking of the Coastguard Tug, and will also exercise a significant media response to the incident. The exercise will be conducted in real time throughout the 22nd and 23rd, with only the initial key incidents pre-planned. A series of de-briefings for players and Exercise Controllers will take place on the 24th. The short search and rescue phase will be coordinated from Her Majesty's Coastguard Coordination Center at Stornoway. A Marine Response Center will be set up locally in order to deal with the planning for the "pseudo" oil recovery at sea in order to interact with the various oil spill responders. Officers from the Government News Network will role-play the `media' along with journalists from Media First and will replicate the pressures of reporting on such a large incident ? 2005 - HMAS Ballarat Board of Inquiry into the grounding off Christmas Island 22 January 2005. ? 22 - 24 February 2005 at Where: RAAF Base Williams, Point Cook, Victoria ? 2005 - Lynx helicopter from 847 Naval Air Squadron based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton crashed near Modrinje, Bosnia ? 2005 - Tenix Defense began cutting steel for the NZ$500m Project Protector naval shipbuilding contract at its Williamstown, Melbourne shipyard. NZ Secretary of Defense, Mr Graham Fortune, switched on computerized cutting equipment to begin manufacturing plates for two 85m, 1500 tonne Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Royal New Zealand Navy. The ships are being constructed as part of Royal New Zealand Navy seven-ship order, which includes four 55m Inshore Patrol Vessels and a 131m Multi-Role Vessel, as well as the Offshore Patrol Vessels ? 2005 - Northrop Grumman Corporation has won a contract from the Canadian government to supply advanced inertial navigation systems for its four Victoria-class submarines. The firm, fixed-price contract, valued at $9.7 million, was awarded to Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit. Sperry Marine will supply MK49 ring laser gyro (RLG) systems and new-generation navigation distribution systems for the four submarines. The installations will be performed during 2005 and 2006. The MK49 is a ship’s inertial navigation system (SINS) based on Sperry Marine’s unique RLG technology. It provides highly accurate position, attitude, velocity and heading inputs to ships’ navigation and fire-control systems. The Sperry Marine navigation distribution system integrates data from the SINS and other shipboard sensors ? 2005 - A Taiwanese flagged jigger allegedly poaching in the South Atlantic was arrested by the Argentine Coast Guard after intimidating fire. This is the second incident in a week. According to Argentine sources the 35 crew jigger was detected operating in the Isla Rasa area, 199 miles offshore Comodoro Rivadavia, and refused to stop engines when approached by a Coast Guard vessel. Primary reports indicate that “Chich Man 1” was transporting 3,700 boxes of 12.5 kilos each of frozen squid, plus another 68 of fresh squid stored on deck. When the jigger instead of obeying orders tried to flee the Argentine Coast Guard vessel fired intimidating shots. She was then boarded by a party of Argentine sailors and is currently being escorted to Comodoro Rivadavia where the captain will face charges of illegal fishing. Less that a week ago another Taiwanese jigger, “Hsien Hua 6” was caught red-hand poaching in the same area and was by ARA Guerrico and escorted to Puerto Deseado ? 2006 - Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin acted as godmother to Holland America Line's new Vista-class ship, the ms Noordam, in a ceremony dedicating the ship in New York City ? 2006 - Since Queen Mary 2's dazzling debut in 2004, Cunard enthusiasts have wondered if the grand ocean liner would ever meet her legendary predecessor, the Queen Mary. That question will be answered when Queen Mary 2 makes her maiden call to Los Angeles and unites for the first time with her namesake, the Queen Mary, in nearby Long Beach. Retired from maritime service for nearly 40 years, the Queen Mary, which sailed from 1936 through 1967, is now permanently berthed in Long Beach and is one of the city's most well-known attractions ? 2006 - Port of Los Angeles welcomes the defining cruise ship of the 21st Century, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 (QM2). The world's largest cruise ship in service makes her first-ever West Coast call and returns again on February 25 and March 8. The Port of Los Angeles is the only West Coast port where she will be docking, and the Port of Los Angeles will provide up-close viewing locations. The 2,620-passenger QM2 is so large she cannot navigate under the Vincent Thomas Bridge; she will be backing down the Main Channel - an extraordinary visual for an extra-memorable visit ? 2006 - Good Samaritans rescued two people from their life raft near the entrance to Molokini Crater. The people rescued had abandoned ship from the 60-foot fishing vessel Princess Natasha, which sank approximately three-miles from Molokini Crater. A 911 dispatcher contacted the Coast Guard's Sector Honolulu Command Center at 0552 relaying a report from the crew of the tug, Ocean Service, of two red flares in the area of Molokini Crater. After contacting the emergency dispatcher, the crew traveled to the area where they believed the flares originated and located the life raft with two men aboard. The tug crew rescued the men from the life raft and reported in no injuries. A 25-foot rigid hull boat and crew from Coast Guard Station Maui and an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Station Barbers Point also responded to the distress call. Crewmembers from the 25-foot rigid hull boat transferred the survivors from the Ocean Service to their boat and returned to Coast Guard Station Maui in Ma'alaea Harbor. The Coast Guard will investigate the cause of the sinking of the Princess Natasha. The master of the vessel is currently developing a salvage plan ? 2007 - US Customs & Border Protection P-3 Operations Center receives two awards from US Interdiction Coordinator for drug interdiction efforts at NAS Corpus Christi ? 2007 - Carnival Corporation & plc signed a definitive agreement to sell its Windstar Cruises brand to Ambassadors International Inc. Windstar Cruises, which operates three sailing vessels, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Holland America Line, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc ? 2007 - Diana Shipping Inc. entered into a time charter contract with Norden A/S for its Panamax dry bulk carrier Protefs, at gross rate of US$31,650 per day for a minimum 11 to 13 month period ? 2007 - At least 16 people, three of them children, are reported to have died after an Indonesian ferry caught fire in the Bay of Jakarta, about 80km offshore from the Indonesian capital. The ferry, Levina 1, heading for Bangka island off the coast of Sumatra, was carrying about 307 passengers ? 2007 - Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure investment group, part of the Firm’s Investment Management Division, entered into an agreement to acquire an 80 percent interest in Montreal Gateway Terminals from Germany’s TUI, a leading tourism and shipping group. The Port of Montreal is the third largest North Atlantic container port and serves as a key entry point for trade between Europe and Montreal, Toronto and the Midwest US, including Chicago and Detroit ? 2007 - Product tanker Palva delivered from Bordosplit Shipyard in Split. Palva and her sister Stena Poseidon, delivered from the same shipyard in January, are jointly owned by Concordia Maritime and Neste Shipping on a 50-50 basis. Both vessels have been signed to 10-years charters with Neste Oil ? 2007 - Walt Disney Company plans to expand its cruise business by adding two new ocean liners, President and CEO Bob Iger announced today. Scheduled to launch in 2011 and 2012, the ships will more than double the passenger capacity for Disney Cruise Line to meet the sustained demand for Disney's family cruise vacations. The company signed a letter of intent with Meyer Werft shipyard, based in Papenburg, Germany, to negotiate a contract to build the 122,000-ton new cruise liners, which will be two decks taller than the existing 83,000-ton ships, the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. Each ship will have 1,250 staterooms. Specific design plans and itineraries for the yet-unnamed ships are still in development and will be unveiled at a later date ? 2007 - Iran launched a naval destroyer production line in a factory at the Anzali port in the northern part of the country. The Islamic Iranian News Agency (IRNA) said the Minister of Defense General Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar attended the ceremonial inauguration of the plant ? 2007 - Lloyd’s Register and Turkish classification society Türk Loydu have signed a wide ranging co-operation agreement to help enhance maritime safety and encourage technical excellence. The agreement encompasses the classification of ships and mobile offshore units during new construction and in operation, certification of materials and components, EU Directive appraisal and verification, management systems certification, consultancy, research and development, technical training and information technology ? 2007 - CAW/ Marine Workers Federation Local 20 is filing 15 compensation claims for occupational disease with the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (WHSCC) because of past exposures at the Marystown, Newfoundland shipyard ? 2007 - New-look UK Ship Register launched by Shipping Minister Stephen Ladyman after a complete review of customer service provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) ? 2007 - Defense Maritime Services vessel MV Seahorse Standard departed Sydney, commencing the passage to the site where an Army Black Hawk helicopter sank in deep water off Fiji last November. The passage will take approximately ten days ? 2008 - Under Secretary for Science and Technology Jay M. Cohen speaks at Fourth Annual Homeland Security Innovation Security Conference Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Hanahan SC ============================================================= 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.