SeaWaves Today in History January 5, 2008 ********************************************************************* January 5 1762 - Peter III ascends to the Russian throne 1776 - Mines used against British ships in Delaware River 1781 - A British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Virginia 1814 - Kingston Gazette reports the recent British and Canadian successes at Black Rock and Buffalo NY. The "Good and Glorious News" tells of the capture of seven cannon and 100 prisoners and the destruction of five warships 1855 - USS Plymouth crew skirmish with Chinese troops 1875 - CDR Edward Lull begins expedition to locate best ship canal route across Panama. Route followed 30 years later 1883 - At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the crew of the Quoddy Head Station discovered a schooner at anchor. The weather was bitter cold, with a gale from the NW. The men got the boat out and pulled to the vessel. She proved to be Clara Dinsmore from Boston. There were four men onboard, one of them a passenger. With her sails iced up and splitting, she was in need of assistance. The keeper took charge and got the vessel under way with the sails she had left and beat her up the bay to her destination at 6 in the evening 1899 - Battleship FS Suffren laid down 1920 - Admiral A.V. Kolchak resigns after uprisings in Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk. Gen. A.I. Denikin is appointed Supreme Ruler of Russia. Kolchak is kept under virtual house arrest and eventually turned over to the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks 1921 - Submarine USS S-40 launched 1924 - Submarine USS S-47 launched 1933 - Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge which will stretch across San Francisco Bay. With its tall towers and famous red-paint, the bridge quickly became a famous American landmark and a symbol of San Francisco, California 1934 - Soviet submarines SC-205, SC-206 & SC-207 laid down 1935 - Destroyers HMCS Vancouver & Skeena departed Esquimalt for exercises Kingston Jamaica area with HMCS Champlain & Saguenay from Halifax. The Canadian tradition of Caribbean Operations in the midwinter months pre-dates the Second World War. The RCN conducted a series of exercises in the Caribbean together with ships of the Royal Navy in the pre-war years. The significance of participation by four Canadian destroyers lay in the fact that the standard operating formation for destroyers was the flotilla, which was composed of eight ships. The flotilla was maneuvered in divisions of four and subdivisions of two ships. A flotilla commander was normally a senior commander or, rarely, a full captain. The presence of two senior Canadian commanders in the four ships was an indication they were intent on running their own half-flotilla and, if the occasion arose, trying their hand at directing the entire flotilla. The training involved operations with ships of the British North American and West Indies squadron, which occasionally included capital ships. Exercises included formation maneuvers, gunnery and torpedo attacks. Anti-submarine exercises were not included even though the screening of capital ships against submarine attack was a recognized function of destroyers in the interwar period. Skeena and Saguenay, which were built to Canadian specification in Britain, were not fitted with Asdic until 1939 1936 - The Chance Vought XSB2U-1 Vindicator makes its first flight. A total of 170 SB2Us are delivered and the aircraft remains in service with the USN until December 1943 1937 - The Danzig-Polish harbor agreement is extended. This agreement defining the use of the Danzig port by Poland was originally signed on 5 August 1933 1939 - Soviet submarine K-22 laid down 1939 - AA cruiser HMS Cleopatra laid down 1939 - Sloop HNLMS Van Kinsbergen launched 1940 - The German tanker SS Nordmeer, which sailed from Curacao, Netherlands West Indies, on 9 December 1939, reaches Vigo, Spain 1940 - ASW trawler HMS Kingston Cornelian sunk in collision with French SS Chella East of Gibraltar 1940 - Destroyer USS Roe commissioned 1940 - Swedish transport Fenris sunk by gunfire from Soviet submarine SC-311 1940 - U-439, U-440, U-441, U-442 ordered 1940 - U-752 laid down 1940 - The first demonstration of Frequency Modulated (FM) radio transmission, developed by E H Armstrong, is given to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The first US commercial FM radio station will begin broadcasting in Nashville, Tennessee, in March 1941 1940 - USSR accuses Norway and Sweden of pursuing an "unneutral" policy 1941 - Amy Johnson, the famous female pilot who flew solo to Australia in 1931, was killed when the RAF aircraft she was delivering as an Air Transport Auxiliary pilot ran out of fuel in very bad weather and crashed into the Thames Estuary. She was seen to bale out by the crew of HMS Haslemere, a patrol trawler, which went to her aid. Lieutenant Commander Fletcher, Haslemere's captain, dived into the icy water to rescue her, but was unable to keep her afloat. Although his crew managed to get him back on board, he himself died in hospital from the exposure he had suffered 1941 - Ireland is to take the brunt of the British system of issuing Navicerts. The Minister of Economic Warfare announced that after January 22, exports from Eire would be as liable to search on the high seas as exports from enemy territory, unless the cargo is accompanied by a Navicert 1941 - Admiral Leahy arrives in Vichy as US ambassador 1942 - Minesweeper (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS Smith Sound commissioned 1942 - Destroyer HMS Glaisdale launched 1942 - Italian submarine R.Smg. Ammiraglio Saint Bon is sunk at 0542 local by a torpedo from submarine HMS Upholder north of Milazzo, Sicily, in position 38.02N, 15.22E. The Italian submarine is enroute to Libya carrying 155 tons of gasoline and ammunition. The torpedo hits on the starboard side causing the gasoline to explode. There are only three survivors 1942 - The Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet moves HQ from Singapore to Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies 1942 - Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Bulgaria and Finland 1942 - During the night of 5/6 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 154 aircraft, 89 Wellingtons and 65 of other types, to attack German fleet units and the port area at Brest. Eighty seven aircraft are ordered to bomb the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau; 73 do. The remainder are ordered to bomb the naval docks and 65 do. A smoke-screen prevents accurate bombing but large fires are claimed. Another target is the port area at Cherbourg; 16 of the 37 aircraft dispatched bomb the port 1942 - Tokyo accepts Mozambique as suitable site to exchange diplomats with the United States 1942 - In the Ionian Sea, the 5,413 ton Italian auxiliary cruiser and former passenger ship SS Citta di Palermo, is enroute from Brindisi, Italy, to Patras, Greece, escorting the motor vessel MV Calino. On board SS Citta di Palermo are about 600 Italian troops. At 0800 when 30 miles northwest of Cape Dukato, Lefkas Island, Ionian Islands, Greece, she is struck by two torpedoes fired by HM S/M Proteus. Palermo took only six minutes to sink. There were a few survivors but almost all on board went down with the ship 1942 - USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses from Malang, Java stage through Samarinda, Dutch Borneo, during the night of 4/5 January and attack shipping in Davao Bay on Mindanao Island 1942 - A change in USN regulations, covering display of national Insignia on aircraft, returned the star to the upper right and lower left wing surfaces and revised rudder striping to 13 red and white horizontal stripes 1942 - The Soviet Army lands reinforcements on the Crimean coast near Eupatoria and Sudak. in an effort to break the siege of the Sevastopol naval base, but can make little headway against firm German resistance 1943 - The Supreme Court of Canada upholds the War Measures Act, passed in 1914, which gives the federal Cabinet emergency powers to govern by decree when it perceives the existence of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended" 1943 - Six USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and six B-24 Liberators bomb the harbor, shipping and the airfield at Rabaul, New Britain Island. Two B-17s are lost, one taking Brigadier General Kenneth Walker, Commanding General V Bomber Command, to his death 1943 - Corvette HMCS Agassiz commenced refit Liverpool NS 1943 - It was announced that the British Government, together with 16 other governments of the United Nations and the French National Committee had signed a formal declaration to combat and defeat Axis plundering of occupied Europe. The governments reserved all rights to declare invalid and transfers of, or dealings with, all hinds of property, rights, and interests in the Nazi-occupied territories. 1943 - USS Helena fired first proximity fused projectile in combat and shot down Japanese dive bomber in SW Pacific 1943 - HMNZS Achilles joined a US Navy Task Force in the bombardment of Japanese positions on Munda and Kolombangara islands during the Guadalcanal operations, and suffered some damage during a Japanese air attack 1943 - Corvette HMCS Riviere du Loup laid down 1943 - U-865, U-928 laid down 1943 - U-541 launched 1943 - Escort carrier HMS Ranee laid down 1943 - Escort carrier USS Guadalcanal laid down 1943 - Minesweeper USS Penetrate laid down 1943 - Submarines USS Perch & Gabilan laid down 1943 - Minesweeper USS Chief launched 1943 - Three USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells sink a 6,500-ton cargo vessel previously sighted by a USN PBY Catalina off Holtz Bay on the northeast side of Attu Island, where a weather and armed reconnaissance B-24 Liberator with a direct bomb hits and sinks another freighter shortly afterwards 1943 - On Bougainville, USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses with P-38 Lightning escort attack a cruiser at Buin on the southern coast. They are met by 25 "Zeke" (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) and float biplanes; three Japanese aircraft are shot down for the loss of two P-38s 1943 - Ten USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Sousse harbor 1943 - RAF Liberators of No. 160 Squadron hit the harbors at Tunis and Sousse 1944 - Submarine USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor on 29 December for her fourth war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Yellow Sea. On 3 January, she tops off her fuel at Midway Island and heads west. Today, she attempts to rendezvous with sister ship USS Herring to transfer an injured crewmember. Heavy seas prevented the transfer and Scorpion continues west. She is not heard from again and is assumed to be the victim of a Japanese mine, she was declared lost on 6 March 1944 1944 - A USN PBM-3S Mariner of Patrol Squadron Two Hundred Three (VP-203) based at NAF Aratu, Bahia, Brazil, sights German blockade runner SS Burgenland and summons light cruiser USS Omaha and destroyer USS Jouett. Gunfire and scuttling charges sink Burgenland about 552 nautical miles east of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, in position 07.29S, 25.37W 1944 - USAAF flies Mission 176: 131 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 114 B-24 Liberators, escorted by 70 P-38 Lightnings and 41 P-51 Mustangs, are dispatched to bomb the shipyard and industrial area at Kiel; 216 bomb the U-boat yards with the loss of ten bombers and seven fighters 1944 - HMC ML 097 commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper HMCS Coquitlam launched Nanaimo BC 1944 - Corvette HMCS Long Branch commissioned 1944 - Corvette HMCS Lachute departed St. John's escort for Convoy SC-164 1944 - Announcement was made of the establishment under the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission of a system of West Indian conferences 1944 - U-1200 commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Cronin launched 1944 - In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators and medium bombers bomb the Alexishafen, Madang, and Bogadjim areas and attack barges from Finschhafen to Saidor while P-39 Airacobras hit barges and gun positions during a sweep from Sio to Bogadjim 1944 - Escort carrier USS Windham Bay laid down 1944 - Escort carrier USS Petrof Bay launched 1944 - U-1009, U-1010 launched 1945 - USN Task Force 92 (Rear Admiral John L. McCrea), consisting of light cruisers USS Concord, Richmond and Trenton and eight destroyers, bombards Japanese installations (airfield and fish canneries) at Suribachi Wan, Paramushiro, Kurile Islands. Four USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators fly an air coverage mission for a naval task force on its approach to Paramushiru Island 1945 - U-3016, U-3017 commissioned 1945 - In the South China Sea, Japanese air attacks continue against the Lingayen Gulf-bound forces in the teeth of heavy antiaircraft fire and combat air patrol. Of the minesweeping group, an infantry landing craft (gunboat) is damaged by a kamikaze, a small seaplane tender and a fleet tug are damaged by near-misses of suiciders. Kamikazes attacking the bombardment and escort carrier groups succeed in damaging heavy cruiser USS Louisville and destroyer USS Helm about 71 nautical miles northwest of Subic; escort aircraft carriers USS Manila Bay, about 63 miles west northwest of Subic, and USS Savo Island, about 77 nautical miles west-northwest of Subic; and destroyer escort USS Stafford, about 55 nautical miles south-southwest of Subic. Suiciders also damage Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia and destroyer HMAS Arunta. Japanese escort destroyers approach the minesweeping group but turn away at approach of destroyer USS Bennion and frigate HMAS Gascoyne and sloop HMAS Warrego; subsequently, planes from TG 77.4 (escort carrier group) sink HIJMS Momi 20 nautical miles southwest of the entrance to Manila Bay and damage HIJMS Hinoki and Sugi west of Manila Bay 1945 - Two PB4Y-1 Liberators of Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Eleven (VPB 111) based on Tinian, sink Japanese midget submarine Ha.71 about 2 nautical miles southwest of Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands 1945 - Destroyer USS Stickell laid down 1945 - U-11 stricken at Kiel. Scuttled on 3 May 1945 in the Kiel Arsenal. Wreck broken up 1945 - Task Group 94.9 (Rear Admiral Allan E. Smith) consisting of heavy cruisers USS Chester, Pensacola and Salt Lake City and destroyers USS Cummings, David W Taylor, Dunlop, Ellet, Fanning and Roe, together with USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators (escorted by P-38 Lightnings) jointly bombard Japanese shipping and installations on Chichi Jima and Haha Jima. Approaching Chichi Jima, USS Dunlap, Fanning and Cummings damage a landing ship and USS Fanning sinks her. Off Chichi Jima, USS David W. Taylor is damaged by a mine and USS Fanning by gunfire. Off Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, USS Dunlap, Cummings, Ellet and Roe sink a landing ship 1945 - USN PB4Y-1 Liberators mount photographic reconnaissance missions against Iwo Jima 1946 - Destroyer USS Arnold J Isbell commissioned 1946 - Destroyer USS Robert L Wilson launched 1951 - UN Forces evacuated Inchon in Korea. British and Australian warships played a significant part in covering the operation, which successfully rescued some 69,000 personnel, 1,400 vehicles and 62,000 tons of equipment and supplies 1962 - Submarine HMS Aurochs departed Halifax following ASW training 1967 - USS Hancock commenced Vietnam deployment 1968 - First Male Nurse Corps officer in Regular Navy, LT Clarence W. Cote 1969 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Pearl Harbor 1973 - USS Ranger port call Subic Bay 1973 - USS Constellation commenced Vietnam deployment with CVW-9 1991 - With Operation Eastern Exit, the US Ambassador, the Soviet ambassador, and 193 additional foreign nationals evacuated in four helicopter roundtrips from US Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia to USS Guam and Trenton. The rescue operation was initiated from a range of 460 miles, and involved the first in-flight night refueling of helicopters by USMC KC-130s. 60 US Marines provided rear security until 48-hour evacuation completed. Evacuees taken to undisclosed location for processing and return to respective countries 2004 - Aircraft carrier USS Midway arrives in San Diego to become a museum 2004 - SMIT Salvage successfully refloated the Stellamare. The vessel was situated along the quayside and was lying on her portside on the riverbed at Albany NY. Two floating cranes and other marine craft were deployed 2005 - The 1,000-bed hospital ship USNS Mercy departed Naval Station San Diego today en route to the Indian Ocean to aid victims of the earthquake and tsunamis in south Asia. It will take the 894-foot ship about 30 days to reach the region, according to US Navy public affairs. For the mission, called Operation Unified Assistance, the ship's facilities will be staffed to support 250 patient beds, with the option to expand to 1,000 beds if necessary 2005 - Aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis departed San Diego for her new homeport of Bremerton WA. Replaced USS Carl Vinson 2005 - A commercial fishing boat and a leisure fishing boat collided in the sea off Kagoshima Prefecture, killing two and injuring two others. The collision took place off the City of Akune at around 0755 between the 9.1-ton fishing boat Yuki Maru No. 3 and the leisure fishing boat Junten Maru. The site is an area known for its strong currents 2005 - Two men were retrieved from Peterhead Harbor in the early hours of this morning after they fell into the water whilst attempting to board their fishing vessel. Aberdeen Coastguard received a call from Ambulance Control at 0200 reporting that the two were in the water. The Peterhead lifeboat and the Peterhead Coastguard Rescue Team were requested to attend the incident and arrived on scene shortly afterwards. One of the two had already been rescued by a passing member of the public but the second was still in the water. He was found by the lifeboat team 2005 - Another quake was recorded near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands late tonight, bringing the total number of quakes felt by the tsunami-ravaged archipelago today to seven. The latest quake, occurring at 0045, IST, measured 5.5 on the Richter scale and was classified as 'moderate'. Epicenterd at a point lat 10.7N, long 91.5E, to the west of Little Andaman island, it came just seven minutes after a quake, measured 5.2 on the scale was recorded south of Great Nicobar island at 0038, IST. With today's quakes, the total number of aftershocks since Dec 26 has reached 103 2005 - The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) will be conducting Exercise MALAPURA from 5 to 14 Jan 05. The exercise, which is the 16th in this series of bilateral exercises held between the two navies, is hosted by the RSN this year. One of the highlights of this year’s exercise is the conduct of a maritime security serial focusing on coordinated maritime surveillance in the Malacca Straits. The exercise, to be conducted in the Malacca Straits, will involve a total of six ships from the two navies. Colonel Sim Tiong Kian, Commanding Officer of 185 Squadron, RSN, is commanding the exercise task group, with Commander Sabri Bin Zali, Chief Staff Officer Exercise, HQ Fleet Operations Center, RMN, as the deputy commander. The opening ceremony for the exercise, held at Changi Naval Base yesterday, was jointly officiated by RSN Fleet Commander, Colonel Chew Men Leong and RMN Fleet Operations Commander, Vice Admiral Dato Mohammad Bin Nik 2005 - Rear Admirals Francis Etche Agbiti and Samuel Kolawole of the Nigerian Navy were convicted and dismissed from service by the court martial trying them for the disappearance of the illegal oil bunkering ship, MT African Pride. The third accused, Rear Admiral Anthonio Bob-Manuel, was discharged and acquitted on all three counts 2005 - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration took delivery today of the first of a series of fisheries survey vessels from VT Halter Marine Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems Inc., in Pascagoula, Miss. This is NOAA’s first newly constructed fisheries survey vessel in more than 25 years. The ship is named for the late Alaskan fishing industry leader Oscar Dyson, whose numerous private and public contributions improved the industry for many Alaskans who make their living at sea 2006 - INS Nirdeshak arrived at new homeport of INS Kadamba at Karwar 2006 - Nearly 90 years after her burial, Annie Perry Campbell’s death finally marked with a proper ceremony. Killed during the Halifax Explosion, the nine-year-old was buried quickly without a funeral. A service was held in her honor at her grave in the Fairview Lawn Cemetery 2006 - A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Savannah, Ga., medevaced a recreational diver approximately 45 miles off the coast of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., after he surfaced unconscious. Pavel Motylka, a 44 year-old-man, was diving with friends when he suddenly surfaced unconscious. Friends noticed he was purple but still breathing. They then immediately notified Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville. Sector Jacksonville search and rescue coordinators arranged for a dolphin HH-65 in the area to assist the unconscious diver. While the helicopter crew was en route, the diver regained consciousness and became coherent. After the helicopter crew hoisted the man, they flew him to Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville where he was given to hospital workers for care in fair condition 2006 - A US court has ruled that OT Africa Line’s containership Kariba was fully to blame for the collision which sank the vehicle carrier Tricolor, leaving several thousand luxury cars at the bottom of the English Channel. Nevertheless, insurers of the Wilh Wilhelmsen ship face a long wait before being reimbursed for the loss of the Tricolor and the world’s most expensive wreck removal operation. While the US judge decided the Kariba was at fault, a Belgian court will determine compensation payments. Further delaying final settlement is the prospect of an appeal in the US by Kariba’s owner. Lawsuits brought in Antwerp will not proceed until a surveyor appointed by the court to produce a factual account of the accident has delivered the report 2006 - Keppel Shipyard Limited (Keppel Shipyard), a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has signed a contract with Golar LNG Limited for the conversion of an existing LNG carrier into a floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU). The total contract value is approximately Singapore $90 million. When the conversion is completed in the second quarter of 2007, it will be the first of its type in the world. The conversion will be made based on relevant DNV class rules and international standards. Golar LNG will work in partnership with Keppel Shipyard in the engineering, procurement and construction for the project. The scope of work includes installation of a new forward turret, side-by-side mooring system, LNG loading arms, aft thruster with compartment and a re-gasification plant, and replacement of cargo pumps. There is also the upgrading of the existing steam power electrical and marine systems 2006 - Hamburg-based investment company HCI and shipowner Peter Dohle will set a new record when they name three container vessels at the same time at the Hyundai yard. Two large 8,204 TEU containerships - the Hammonia Hamburg and Hammonia Jork - have been chartered by Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Co for 12 years. The 2,556 TEU Hammonia Emden has been chartered for five years by Companhia Libra de Navegacao (Libra) of Rio de Janeiro. It is part of the Chilean CSAV group. The three ships will be named by the wives of three top HCI managers: Carola Friedrichs, Nathalie Freifrau Von Oldershausen and Ursula Konig. "Never before has a German owner had three vessels named at the same time," said Christoph Dohle, managing partner of Peter Dohle. Peter Dohle and the investment company HCI in 2003 jointly set up the shipowning company Hammonia Reederei, which meanwhile has a fleet of 16 vessels chartered out to liner operators and is managed by Dohle. The equity for the Hammonia Hamburg and the Hammonia York was collected by HCI, the ship mortgage financing was provided by HSH Nordbank in Hamburg, the world's largest ship finance lender. The mortgage for the Hammonia Emden comes from Hypovereinsbank, now part of Unicredit 2006 - A 44-year-old woman was airlifted by the Coast Guard today after she became injured while horseback riding on Lopez Island. At 1400 Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., received a call from the San Juan County 911 center requesting medical assistance for the injured woman. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles was launched to medevac the woman at 1430. The woman was then flown to the Bellingham, Wash., Airport where an awaiting ambulance transported her to St. Joseph's Hospital for further medical treatment. Normally, Airlift Northwest, based in Seattle, transports patients from Lopez Island, but due to poor visibility their aircraft was grounded 2006 - A Coast Guard helicopter rescue crew with the help of a detailed float plan located and airlifted an overdue mariner today near Main Pass, 20 miles east of Venice, La., after his vessel ran aground. Brett Ainsworth, 21, of Venice was crab fishing when he inadvertently ran aground. He was reported overdue by his father, who mentioned that Ainsworth had missed an important meeting. Before leaving on his trip, Ainsworth provided his father with a detailed verbal explanation of where he would be and when he expected to return. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans dispatched an HH-65B Dolphin helicopter rescue crew from Air Station New Orleans to search. The rescue crew located Ainsworth aboard his 21-foot skiff in a marshy area with a signal fire burning next to it. After successfully hoisting Ainsworth into the helicopter cabin, the rescue crew proceeded to the Chevron heliport in Venice where members of Coast Guard Station Venice were waiting to reunite him with his family 2006 - The Coast Guard and Maui Fire Department are currently responding to a report of a down helicopter in Honokahau Valley, Maui. The Federal Aviation Administration contacted the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center after receiving an alert that a Blue Hawaii tour helicopter had crashed at about 1130. The FAA reported that there were six people on board including the pilot. A second Blue Hawaii helicopter was reportedly overhead of the crash site, and providing information to rescuers 2006 - Italian war hero Deceduto il Comandante Luigi Ferraro died 2006 - Following three months of extensive drydock maintenance, USS Bonhomme Richard left the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) Jan. 5 and returned to Naval Station San Diego. The multipurpose amphibious assault ship was raised out of the water for the first time in her eight years of commissioned service Oct. 1. While pierside at the naval station, BHR is still undergoing maintenance as a part of the ship’s regularly scheduled Drydocking Planned Maintenance Availability. The crew worked and lived on barges berthed on both the naval station and in NASSCO while the ship was in drydock. BHR Sailors also maintained their readiness by conducting weekly training sessions 2007 - Secretary of Defense has recommended that the President nominate the Commander, US Pacific Command, Adm. William J. Fallon USN, for reappointment to the rank of admiral and assignment as Commander US Central Command Tampa, Florida 2007 - Some four-meter high ocean waves destroyed 65 houses in the southern coast of Huangobotu, Kabila Bone, Bone Bolango district, Gorontalo province of Indonesia 2007 - Korea and the United States have agreed to seek a formula for division of their costs to keep US troops in Korea, the Korean Embassy in Washington said in a released statement 2007 - BG Group confirmed orders for two more liquefied natural gas carriers at Samsung Heavy Industries in a deal which marks another stage in the evolution of the UK integrated gas major’s shipping strategy. The vessels will each have a capacity of 170,000 cu m and utilize a dual-fuel diesel electric (DFDE) propulsion system. The LNG carriers are scheduled to be delivered by the South Korean yard in 2010 2007 - A team of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel has reached the South Pole and is now embarked on the return leg of an extraordinary 1,450 mile (2,320 km), 65 day ski-trek 2007 - Prosecutors in Russia's Far East have opened a criminal case against the captain of a Cambodian fishing boat, which was detained January 2 for alleged poaching 2007 - One of the architects of London's successful Olympic bid is to try to win the America's Cup, the oldest sporting trophy in the world, and bring it back to British shores for the first time since 1851. Sir Keith Mills, founder of the Air Miles and Nectar loyalty card businesses, is to sink up to £80m of his fortune. "We intend to build a team capable of winning the America's Cup to ultimately bring the cup back to Britain for the first time since 1851," he said 2007 - Jan Lundberg joins Hogia after having worked 8 years with Spotfire, a leading provider of business analytics software 2007 - A Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge has lifted the license of a Savannah pilot for driving US Shipping's "Charleston" past the Elba Island LNG terminal at "full ahead". Both the pilot and the ship's master were found guilty of negligence 2007 - RAS Laffan Port is undergoing significant construction work to meet Qatar’s growing LNG export capacity needs 2007 - Vietnam's prime minister has given the go-ahead for joint oil exploration in the Gulf of Tonkin between state-owned Vietnam Petroleum 2007 - HMCS Nanaimo change of command ceremony at noon in the Nixon Drill Hall at the Naval Officer Training Center (NOTC) Venture, located at Work Point in Esquimalt. Lt.-Cmdr. James Vasey will transfer command of the Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defense Vessel (MCDV) to Lt.-Cmdr. Shawn Connelly 2007 - Commander, Submarine Force Pacific Fleet, Rear Adm. Joseph Walsh announced the winners of the 2006 Battle Efficiency Awards (Battle “E”) for the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force, Dec. 31, 2006. Three Pearl Harbor based nuclear-powered attack submarines were selected for the award, including USS La Jolla from Submarine Squadron One, which received the award for the second year in a row. USS Chicago and Tucson from Submarine Squadron’s Three and Seven, respectively, were the other Pearl Harbor-based winners. Capt. Stephen Marr, Commodore, Submarine Squadron One presented La Jolla’s second consecutive Battle “E” to Cmdr. Nelson Hildreth, her commanding officer 2007 - Employees of Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard install new propellers on USS Carl Vinson in drydock in Newport News. The shaft and propeller project is a major milestone in the aircraft carrier's Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH), and is one of the final major components of outside-the-hull work before the ship's undocking later this year ============================================================= 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.