SeaWaves Today in History January 2, 2008 ********************************************************************* January 2 1492 - The leader of the last Moor stronghold in Spain surrendered to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. The last of those centuries-old Islamic strongholds was the province of Andalucia, and was never Arab. 'The Iberian peninsula was taken early in the 8th Century by a people the indigenous Dark Ages Spanish routinely referred to as "Moors", who were not Arab at all (Arabs were in the Near East) , but out of an ancient tribe spread around present-day Morocco called "Mauri", from which the Romans got the term Mauritania (and the Cunard Line the name of its famous liner) for the region. The so-called Moors were in fact Berbers, an ethnic mixture that ranged from people who were very dark and looked like Ethiopians, to blue-eyed blonds who would have passed for local in old Sweden. Though some Arabs certainly got into the peninsula much later on, they were not true Moors at all, though in the Spanish language, all such Islamics were "Moors", a term carried eastward as far as the Philippines, where Islamic people on Mindanao were commonly referred to by early exploring Spaniards as "Moros", and they still are 1736 - The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences discussed a proposal by Academic DeLille to fire a cannon from the Admiralty every day at noon 1779 - The chapel of the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich was destroyed by fire. James "Athenian" Stuart was commissioned to rebuild it, and ten years later his Rococo masterpiece was completed 1813 - Lt. Colonel Myers, writing from Ft. George (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.), sets in motion a plan to transport shipwrights to Ft. Malden (Amherstburg, Ont.) by sleigh as soon as possible 1835 - Military historian, member of the first Russian expedition to sail around the world (1803-1806) Vasily Nikolaevich Berkh died 1862 - Electrical engineer, creator of three-phase current equipment Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky born 1900 - Secretary of State John Hay announced "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China 1905 - Japanese General Nogi received from Russian General Stoessel at 9 p.m. a letter formally offering to surrender, ending the Russo-Japanese War 1909 - Cleveland, Ohio, Lake Erie, the gas launch Junk Boy was damaged in the ice and started a bad leak. It was drifting before the wind when discovered by the keeper. He went to the aid of the occupant who had kept the launch afloat by bailing. The keeper towed the launch to the dock, passed straps under the hull, and hoisted her out. He then patched the leaks with sheets of tin and the owner ran his boat up the river 1918 - Destroyer USS Chew laid down 1919 - Destroyer USS Buchanan launched 1929 - United States and Canada reached agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls 1934 - Destroyers USS Clark, Moffett & Phelps laid down 1934 - Heavy cruiser USS Vincennes laid down 1936 - U-29 laid down 1939 - Destroyer HMS Maori commissioned 1939 - U-62, U-63 laid down 1940 - U-555, U-556, U-751 laid down 1940 - AA cruiser HMS Coventry damaged in a German air attack on the Shetland Islands 1941 - At 2207, SS Nalgora, dispersed from convoy OB-261 on 22 December, was hit by one stern torpedo from U-65 about 350 miles north of the Cape Verde Islands and sunk 20 minutes later by 70 rounds from the deck gun. The master, 101 crewmembers and three passengers were rescued after eight days adrift in lifeboats. 52 survivors were picked up by the British merchantman Nolisement and landed at Freetown, while 34 survivors were picked up by the British merchant Umgeni in 21°35N/20°59W and landed in Glasgow on 13 January. 19 crewmembers in a lifeboat reached shore at San Antonio, Cape Verde Islands 1941 - U-38 was attacked by an escort with depth charges and suffered slight damage 1941 - Submarine USS Tuna commissioned 1941 - ASW trawler HMS Sarabande commissioned 1941 - U-174, U-462, U-707, U-762 laid down 1941 - U-66 commissioned 1941 - A 100-mile swathe of neutral Irish territory was bombed by German aircraft today for the second time in 48 hours. It is thought that they might be intended to intimidate the Irish into remaining neutral in spite of Anglo-American pressure for the use of Irish bases to protect convoys 1941 - Doenitz meets with Jodl to ask for better air-submarine cooperation & more air reconnaissance over the North Atlantic. He gets a daily reconnaissance sweep by 12 Focke-Wulf Kondors of 40 Group based in Bordeaux 1941 - HMS Terror, Aphis & Ladybird bombard Bardia in preparation for an assault 1942 - Harbor Tug USS Iona sunk by Japanese aircraft at Cavite, Luzon, Philippines 1942 - Harbor Tug USS Mercedes destroyed to prevent capture at Cavite, Luzon, Philippines 1942 - U-603 commissioned 1942 - SS Waziristan sunk by U-134 in position 74.09N, 19.10E - Grid AB 6362 1942 - Submarine USS Hoe laid down 1942 - Escort carrier USS Core laid down 1942 - Revised Flower Class (Increased Endurance) 1942-43 ordered - HMCS North Bay, Owen Sound, Lindsay, Frontenac, Atholl, Riviere Du Loup, Louisburg & Norsyd 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Blairmore laid down Port Arthur ON 1942 - The Philippine capital of Manila and the nearby naval base of Cavite were captured by Japanese forces during World War II 1943 - U-410 saved 80 survivors from the sunken German ship Rhakotis 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Alger laid down 1943 - AMC HMCS Prince Robert commenced conversion to AA cruiser North Vancouver BC 1944 - U-445 was attacked in the North Atlantic by 5 bombs from an RAF Halifax aircraft. One crewmember was badly wounded and the boat suffered some damage 1944 - U-539 was the first U-boat to depart on a combat patrol equipped with the Snorkel breathing device 1944 - During an attack by 2 Liberators (RAF Sqn 224/C/G) on U-625, the Commander, Kptlt. Hans Benker, and one man were lost overboard. The boat, on its return leg of the patrol, was damaged and returned to Brest on 6 Jan 1944 - Submarine USS Baya launched 1945 - Coast Guard-manned Army FS-283 was commissioned at New York with LTJG A. H. Coane, USCGR, as commanding officer. She departed New York on 29 January 1945, for the Southwest Pacific where she operated during the war at Parang, Jacquinat Bay, etc. She was decommissioned 25 September 1945. 1945 - Frigate USS Peoria commissioned 1945 - Submarine HMS Alcide laid down 1945 - Escort carriers USS Mindoro & Rabaul laid down 1945 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Haybourn Wyke torpedoed & sunk by a German Seehund midget submarine of Ostend 1945 - Admiral Ramsay RN is killed in an air accident 1947 - Oiler HMCS Dundurn paid off Esquimalt BC. Recommissioned as civilian manned CNAV Dundurn 1951 - Chinese break UN lines north of Seoul. ROK Divisions forced to retreat 1956 - Captain Chester Edward Dimick, retired professor, died of a heart attack at age 75 on Jan. 2 at his home in Twin Gates, Tryon, North Carolina. As instructor and Head of the Mathematics Department of the US Coast Guard Academy at New London, CT from 1906 to 1945, he contributed more to the education and development of Coast Guard officers than any other officer in the Service. He was affectionately known as the "Dean" to the cadets 1960 - Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination 1969 - Operation Barrier Reef began in Mekong Delta, Vietnam 1972 - USS Constellation port call Subic Bay 1973 - USS Midway port call Subic Bay 1989 - Destroyer HMCS Assiniboine paid off 1991 - CINCCENTCOM updates numbers of intercepts - 6,221; boardings - 749; diversions - 32. Navy ship strength: 25 (Arabian Gulf), 20 (North Arabian Sea/Gulf of Oman), 10 (Red Sea). 6 anti-ship mines discovered floating in Gulf during December, all destroyed. Investigation of origin/date of deployment continues 1991 - USNS Andrew J Higgins runs aground on an uncharted reef off Oman, hull rupture leaks undetermined amount of mixed fuels. No injuries 2000 - Retired Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., known early in his career for modernizing the USN and later for ordering the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam, died in Durham, N.C., at age 79 2003 - USNS Brittin activated 2006 - Coast Guard and New York Police Department crews rescued two people from a downed plane in the Hudson River near the Yonker's City Pier in NY, around 1140. Coast Guard rescue crews from Station New York, a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, and New York Police Department marine and helicopter units immediately deployed to the site where the plane had crashed. The two survivors were taken to the Jacobi Medical Center. The cause of the accident is under investigation 2006 - HMAS Fremantle decommissioned 2006 - Wärtsilä Corporation has been awarded two significant orders for power plants in the Russian Arctic. The two contracts are worth close to EUR 30 millions in total. The first contract, awarded in October, is for a 32 MW power plant to generate electricity for the Varandey oil terminal in northwest Russia on the Pechora Sea, which is part of the Barents Sea. The oil terminal is used to ship crude oil from the Timan-Pechora oil fields to world markets. Wärtsilä is to supply four 18-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 generating sets, which will use the same crude oil as fuel. This is a major contract from the Russian oil industry for Finland and the power plant design complies with strict safety and environmental protection requirements. The Varandey oil terminal and its power plant are being constructed by the Russian contractor Globalstroy-Engineering. The power plant will be fully operational in 2007 2006 - The Pakistan Navy decommissioned four of its Daphne-class submarines at a ceremony held at a dockyard in Karachi. Vice Admiral Mohammad Haroon, vice chief of the navy, was the senior most serving submariner who attended the event to mark the decommissioning of the French-made submarines. Haroon said despite the phasing out of the vessels, the submarine arm was capable of generating a forceful deterrence during wartime. With the induction of Agosta-class submarines, Pakistan had entered a new era of dealing with sophisticated technology. He said the government was determined to make the navy a strong maritime force equipped with modern platforms and weapons. The four submarines were decommissioned after 35 years of service 2006 - US aircraft bombed a building where suspected insurgents were hiding north of Baghdad, killing seven people and wounding four, Iraqi police said. The bombing took place in Beiji, site of Iraq's largest oil refinery, said Iraqi police Capt. Arkan Jassim, who reported the casualty figures. The US military did not comment on the deaths. It said only that an unmanned aircraft spotted three men planting a roadside bomb in the city 155 miles north of Baghdad, and that F-14s bombed a nearby building the three had entered 2007 - Combined export quotas of Caspian Sea caviar for 2007 have been set 15 per cent lower than for 2005, the last year such quotas were published, as long-term efforts continue to reverse the impact of decades of over-fishing, the United Nations-backed body overseeing a global treaty governing trade in endangered species announced 2007 - Passing an honor guard and welcomed with applause from staff, new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived at the New York Headquarters today for his first official day of work. Mr. Ban, who succeeded Kofi Annan to become the UN's eighth Secretary-General as the New Year came in on 1 January, smiled broadly as he entered the towering landmark building on New York's East River. After paying tribute at the memorial for UN personnel who have fallen in the line of duty, he was to address staff on his hopes and aspirations 2007 - US Navy releases names of two Norfolk-based sailors killed in a submarine accident Friday. They are Senior Chief Thomas Higgins of Paducah, Kentucky and Petty Officer Second Class Michael Holtz of Lakewood, Ohio. The men were washed off the deck of the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul as it pulled away from a British port in rough weather. The Navy says the men were tied to the deck with ropes, which is standard procedure 2007 - The latest force in the Navy’s amphibious fleet has been officially welcomed into service with a dedication ceremony in Portsmouth. RFA Largs Bay is the second ship in a four-strong class which replaces the venerable Knights of the Round Table. The landing support ship is intended to serve in the second wave of an amphibious assault, ferrying troops, vehicles and kit ashore either using landing craft operating from her dock, or by helicopter from her flight deck. Ship’s sponsor Lady West, wife of former First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West, and head of the RFA Cdre Bob Thornton joined Largs’ captain Capt Ian Johnson, sailors and guests in the huge loading dock for the service of dedication, led by the Rev Mark Jackson, Chaplain to the RFA 2007 - Peter Cardy - a charity boss with no experience of the maritime sector - has been appointed chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. He succeeds John Astbury, who will step down from this acting chief executive role in May. Mr Cardy was previously chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, and is also former head of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Motor Neurone Disease Association, after an early career in adult education 2006 - Smoking has been banned in barracks and other facilities of the British armed forces. Up till now it was allowed to smoke inside army lodgings and at designated places of official buildings 2007 - Workers at container ports in Piraeus and Thessaloniki ended a seven-week protest after Greece's conservative government agreed to postpone plans to privatize the facilities 2007 - A Cambodian fishing boat operated by a predominantly Russian crew was detained overnight for alleged poaching off the Kamchatcka Peninsula, in Russia's Far East. Coast Guard inspectors arrested the Orion 1 boat and her crew, consisting of 13 Russian nationals and two citizens of Burma, in the small hours Tuesday, after discovering more than ten metric tons of crab on board. The vessel's captain failed to produce any documents authorizing the catch. The boat will now be convoyed to the port of Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky for an inquiry ============================================================= 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 2007 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.