SeaWaves Today in History January 30, 2008 ********************************************************************* January 30 ? 1649 - England's King Charles I was beheaded ? 1697 - Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville leads 90 men (in five boats) in an unsuccessful attack against the fortified English fishing village on Carbonear Island in Newfoundland ? 1857 - Uniforms for ratings were formally introduced in the Royal Navy ? 1861- Secretary John A. Dix of Treasury ordered Lt. Caldwell "to arrest Capt. Breshwood (Confederate sympathizer) assume command of cutter (McClelland) and if anyone attempts to haul down the flag, shoot him on the spot." The telegraph office did not deliver the message. Breshwood turned McClelland over to the State of Louisiana ? 1862 - Launching of first turreted warship, USS Monitor ? 1882 - 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, born Hyde Park NY ? 1902 - An important treaty was signed between Great Britain and Japan, signaling improved cooperation, particularly on naval matters, in the Far East. The treaty met vital needs for both countries. For the British, Japanese support in the Far East allowed the Royal Navy to reduce its commitments in the area at a time when the naval arms race with Imperial Germany was picking up pace and naval power needed to be concentrated closer to home. For the Japanese, rapidly modernizing their country after centuries of isolation, it provided much-sought recognition of her status as a regional power and an alliance with the world's most powerful navy. The nascent Japanese navy drew heavily on British expertise both in training its personnel and in building its ships - the fleet which triumphed over the Russians at Tsushima in 1905 was largely either built in Britain or constructed in Japan along British lines. Cooperation continued into the First World War. The Japanese captured the German port in the Far East, Tsingtao, and most of their fleet was involved in the hunt for Von Spee's squadron, especially the raider Emden. A Japanese destroyer squadron even served in the Mediterranean in 1917-18, helping escort convoys. Tragically, cooperation ended in the 1920s as Japanese and Western interests increasingly found themselves on a collision course, which culminated in the Pacific War 1941-45. One of the features of the old Anglo-Japanese naval alliance was the frequent training of Japanese midshipmen and officers in Britain; and one of its most interesting aspects was that bridge commands on IJN warships were commonly given in English until a few years prior to WWII ? 1912 - Legendary submariner, Hero of the Soviet Union (1940), personal enemy of Hitler, Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko born ? 1919 - Minesweeper HMS Dundalk launched ? 1919 - Minesweeper USS Ortolan launched ? 1929 - Destroyer FS Vautour laid down ? 1931 - Heavy cruiser USS Augusta commissioned ? 1932 - Destroyer FS Gerfaut commissioned ? 1933 - Destroyer HMS Delight commissioned ? 1933 - Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany ? 1934 - Destroyer HMS Escapade launched ? 1934 - Submarine HNLMS K XVI commissioned ? 1935 - Soviet submarine SC-120 commissioned ? 1940 - U-55 attacked convoy OA-80G SW of the Isles of Scilly which was escorted by sloop HMS Fowey. Two ships were hit & sunk, The Greek ship Keramiai (5,085 tons) and the British ship Vaclite (5,026 tons) sank in position 49.20N 07.04W. In the follow up attack Fowey was joined by destroyer HMS Whitshed, the French destroyers Valmy &Guepard and an RAF 228 Sqn aircraft. In the following attacks U-55 was sunk with only a single survivor ? 1940 - U-25 was refueled by the German tanker Thalia - first occurrence of this type in a Spanish port since the war began ? 1940 - U-15 sunk in the North Sea at Hoofden after being rammed in error by German torpedo boat Iltis. 25 dead (all hands lost) ? 1940 - Luftwaffe aircraft attacked shipping off the UK East Coast. One enemy aircraft was destroyed. One merchant ship & several trawlers were sunk ? 1940 - US freighters SS Examelia, detained since 20 January & SS Cold Harbor detained since 27 January are released by British authorities ? 1940 - Corvette HMS Fleur de Lys laid down ? 1941 - U-94 sank SS Rushpool in Convoy SC-19 ? 1941 - U-175, U-217 laid down ? 1941 - U-555 commissioned ? 1941 - Destroyer HMS Goathland laid down ? 1942 - At 1805, the unescorted & unarmed tanker SS Rochester was hit by one torpedo from U-106. As the engine room was flooded, the crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats, while the U-boat surfaced and waited until the boats cleared the ship. The tanker was then shelled with 8 rounds, but then the deck gun jammed and U-106 was forced to fire a second torpedo at 1845, which hit amidships and caused the ship to sink at 1920. After three hours 32 survivors (later one crewmember died of burns) were picked up by destroyer USS Roe & landed at Norfolk the next morning ? 1942 - Motor minesweepers ordered in Canadian yards - HMS MMS 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 250, 251, 252, 254, 256, 257, 254, 255 ? 1942 - Japanese troops landed on the island of Ambon in the East Indies, defended by Dutch and Australian troops. The island was taken despite a determined defense ? 1942 - The capsized hulk of the USCGC Alexander Hamilton is sunk by the US Navy after she was torpedoed off the coast of Iceland by the U-132 the previous day. She is the first cutter sunk by enemy action during World War II. 26 of her crew perish ? 1942 - USS Wakefield (USCG-manned), having disembarked 20,000 British troops, was bombed by the Japanese in Singapore. Five were killed. The ship later evacuates 500 women and children to Bombay before the port falls to the Japanese ? 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Larne laid down ? 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Gympie launched ? 1942 - Destroyer HMS Lookout commissioned ? 1942 - Submarine USS Trigger commissioned ? 1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Loch Arlish sunk by German aircraft off the Humber ? 1942 - U-231, U-310 laid down ? 1942 - U-461 commissioned ? 1942 - At 1100 local, 27 Japanese naval land attack planes bomb Allied shipping at Keppel Harbor (Singapore); the transport USS Wakefield (ex-SS Manhattan), waiting to embark 400 British women and children being evacuated to Ceylon, is damaged by a bomb which kills 5 crewmen; three British transports are also hit. Transport USS West Point (ex-SS America) is straddled and showered with fragments but suffers no damage and provides medical assistance to the crew of USS Wakefield. Both US transports subsequently embark passengers that include dockyard workers from Singapore and their families, in addition to Royal Navy officers and enlisted men and a small RAF contingent. The ships will then proceed to Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies for additional evacuees, and thence on to Colombo, Ceylon, arriving there on 6 February ? 1943 - Destroyer HMCS Iroquois completed workups & declared operational ? 1943 - Destroyer HMS Cassandra laid down ? 1943 - Frigate HMS Teviot commissioned ? 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Booth & Carroll laid down ? 1943 - Corvette HMS Samphire torpedoed & sunk off Bougie, Algeria, in position 36.56N-05.40E while escorting convoy TE-14 by Italian submarine Platino ? 1943 - With the arrival of the fleet tug Navajo, USS Louisville is relieved of duty towing USS Chicago to safety. Coastwatcher reports and other intelligence report a possible airstrike about 1600. Leaving 5 destroyers and a destroyer transport, Rear Admiral Richard Giffen sails ahead with the 5 cruisers and other destroyers. At this time carriers Enterprise and Saratoga are about 40 miles to the south. The attack results in another torpedo hit about 4 -25 sinking the Chicago. During this final attack, the destroyer LaVallette is described by the Japanese pilots as a "Honolulu-class cruiser". She had turned and placed herself between the Bettys and the Chicago. A near miss damages her and kills 21. The Japanese lose a total of 12 Bettys today ? 1943 - Grand Admiral Raeder resigns after disagreement with Hitler about the future of the big ships of the Kriegsmarine Surface fleet. Admiral Karl Doenitz, who initially continues also to remain head of the U-Boat arm, succeeds him as Head of the German Navy ? 1943 - U-237, U-737, U-762 commissioned ? 1943 - U-1006 laid down ? 1944 - Frigate HMS Stayner commissioned ? 1944 - Submarine USS Becuna launched ? 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Gaynier launched ? 1944 - At 0346 & 0354, U-957 fired two Gnats at the escorts of the Convoy JW-56B and heard two detonations, which were claimed by Schaar as hits on two destroyers, but they were end-of-run detonations. At 0357, U-278 fired a Gnat that struck HMS Hardy. This hit was observed and claimed by U-957 and also by U-472, which had fired a Gnat at 0357 hours, but missed KNM Stord. At 0420, U-957 fired a spread of three FAT torpedoes at two corvettes, which laid stopped (probably the destroyer HMS Venus rescuing survivors from the torpedoed destroyer HMS Hardy) and heard one detonation after four minutes, but no destroyer had been hit at this time. Hardy had been seriously damaged and had to be sunk by a coup de grâce by HMS Venus. This detonation was heard by U-601, which thought that her Gnat, fired at 0524 had hit this destroyer. The U-boat then crossed the sinking position of Hardy & sighted an oil slick & debris ? 1944 - U-1014 launched ? 1944 - Richelieu departs Dakar for the United States ? 1944 - U-314 sunk in the Barents Sea SE of Bear Island, Norway, in position 73.41N, 24.30E, by depth charges from destroyers HMS Whitehall & Meteor. 49 dead (all hands lost) ? 1944 - U-364 is listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay as of today. No explanation exists for her loss. 49 dead (all hands lost). ? 1944 - USN Task Group 38.3 conducted a pre-dawn air attack on Engebi Island ? 1945 - Provision Store Ship USS Pontiac scrapped after foundering off Halifax ? 1945 - Submarines HMS Sea Devil & Astute launched ? 1945 - Destroyer USS Ernest G Small laid down ? 1945 - At Stolpe Bank off the Polish coast, Soviet submarine S-13 sank the German steamer Wilhelm Gustloff (25.000 GRT) carrying 6-7,000 people. Only about 900 people survived the sinking. Wilhelm Gustloff was taking officials, soldiers, refugees, women and children plus some 300 U-boat personnel from Danzig, Poland to Kiel ? 1946 - Frigate HMCS St Stephen paid off Halifax NS. Retained for weather ship conversion ? 1946 - Frigate HMCS Levis arrived Esquimalt BC from Halifax ? 1948 - Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist ? 1950 - Diplomatic relations established between the USSR & Democratic Republic of Vietnam ? 1952 - Submarine HMS Alcide arrived Halifax for ASW training ? 1954 - Frigate HMCS New Glasgow recommissioned after modernization ? 1967 - Frigates HMCS New Glasgow & Ste Therese paid off Esquimalt BC ? 1968 - Tet Offensive begins in Vietnam ? 1970 - USS Coral Sea port call Sasebo ? 1991 - Navy has flown over 3,500 sorties from six carriers and have launched over 260 Tomahawk cruise missiles. 46 Iraqi naval vessels have been sunk or disabled and 74 enemy prisoners of war have been captured in two engagements. Iraqi naval forces operations severely degraded. Also, maritime interception operations are continuing with over 7,000 intercepts to-date ? 1991 - Navy A-6s attack three Iraqi landing craft in the vicinity of Shatt al Arab Channel, leaving 2 ships dead in the water. The other ship fled. A-6 reattacks a patrol boat in the northern Arabian Gulf. The boat was set ablaze and left burning. A-6s attack patrol boats at a pier at Umm Qasr Naval Base, sinking one, damaging the other. In the vicinity of Bubiyan Island, USN aircraft engage 4 military vessels, sinking 3 patrol boats and damaging a landing craft. To- date, approximately 60 enemy vessels have either been sunk or damaged ? 1991 - All 18 F/A-18s aboard USS SARATOGA deliver 100,000 pounds of MK-83 one thousand pound bombs on Iraqi positions in Kuwait, the largest amount of bomb tonnage carried in a single mission ? 1991 - USS Curts and Leftwich rescues 20 enemy prisoners of war from an Iraqi Polnochny amphibious landing craft sunk by USN A-6 and UK Lynx helos in the northern Arabian Gulf. Leftwich is also primary CSAR platform in Gulf, locating and recovering downed pilots. Leftwich participated in 16 CSAR cases ? 1998 - MCDV HMCS Yellowknife departed Halifax for Esquimalt ? 1998 - Official confirmation that the remains found in Ekaterinburg are those of the royal family ? 2003 - BAE Systems selected as Prime Contractor for new Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers ? 2004 - SPS Patiño & Canarias depart Rota for Canary Islands as standby due to civil unrest in Equatorial Guinea ? 2004 - USNS Antares activated to transport materials to Iraq ? 2005 - At 1400 Swansea Coastguard received a weak VHF call from the 33-foot fishing vessel 'Nikki Lou' with three persons on board reporting that she had run aground on Scarweather Sands, Porthcawl. Due to the swell, she was taking water. Porthcawl Coastguard rescue team were called to observe the fishing vessel from Sker Point. Initially Portcawl RNLI ILB, an Atlantic 75 was requested to launch to tow the vessel off the sands. They were unsuccessful in their attempts, and subsequently the Mumbles RNLI All weather lifeboat was also requested to launch, and they were successful in assisting the vessel off the bank. Mumbles lifeboat evacuated two of the crew off the vessel who were cold and wet and the fishing vessel is being towed to Porthcawl ? 2005 - A Japan Coast Guard patrol ship rescued 13 crewmembers on board a crippled South Korean fishing boat at sea near Shimane Prefecture on Sunday at the request of South Korean maritime safety authorities, coast guard officials said. The 69-ton No. 7 Bum Yang was found by the patrol ship at around 0930 about six hours after the Japan Coast Guard received the request, the officials said. It began towing the fishing boat into Sakai port in nearby Tottori Prefecture ? 2005 - USCG rescued a 19-year-old Coos Bay OR girl from the waters near Cape Arago State Park, Ore. Coast Guard Station Coos Bay, Ore., received a phone call at approximately 1920 of a girl in need of help, struggling in the 48-degree water and eight foot surf. Coast Guard Group/Air Station North Bend OR launched an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and Station Coos Bay launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat to assist the girl. Charleston Fire Department was also notified and was the first to arrive. Rescuers reported to Coast Guard units that they had lost visual contact of the girl, but could still hear her. Using night vision goggles, the crew of the helicopter was able to spot the girl, who had been pulled out by the current more than 600 yards from the shore. The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer down to the girl. The swimmer then secured her and they were both hoisted back into the helicopter. She was flown back to Group/Air Station North Bend and transferred to awaiting emergency medical technicians who took her to the Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay for further treatment ? 2006 - Ships and aircraft from the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal New Zealand Air Force will be conducting two weeks of exercises off the New South Wales Coast from 30 January - 10 February 2006 as part of Exercise Ocean Protector. Taking part are HMAS Warramnunga, Stuart, Westralia, Success, Tobruk, Manoora, Gascoyne, Hawkesbury, Townsville, Yarra, Armidale 7 Dechaineux; HMNZS Te Kaha ? 2006 - HMAS Geraldton decommissioned ? 2006 - The former RFA Sir Percivale departed Southampton for scrapping ? 2006 - Tidewater Inc. announced that the four workers who were abducted by armed force and taken hostage from its offshore supply vessel Liberty Service offshore the Niger Delta on January 11, 2006, were released safe and well in the early morning hours of January 30, 2006. Three of the hostages were employees of Tidewater Crewing Limited, a Tidewater subsidiary. They were Captain Patrick Landry, 61 years of age, and a citizen of the United States; Harry Ebanks, 54 years of age, and a citizen of Honduras; and Milko Yordanor Nitchev, 56 years of age, and a citizen of Bulgaria. The fourth hostage was Nigel Watson-Clark, a citizen of the United Kingdom and an employee of Ecodrill. Both Tidewater and Ecodrill were working for Shell Nigeria at the time of the attack. All of the workers will undergo medical examinations before repatriation to their homes and families ? 2006 - USS Blue Ridge arrived in Nagoya for a scheduled port visit. While in port, the ship's approximately 1,000 crewmembers and embarked staff will have a chance to participate in friendship-building and goodwill-generating activities and cultural exchanges ? 2006 - Two top former military officials have asked the Government to immediately approve the production of nuclear submarines to ensure a guaranteed second strike capability for the Indian armed forces ? 2006 - USCGC Matagorda repatriated 15 Cuban illegal immigrants and one dog to Bahia de Cabanãs, Cuba. The illegals were intercepted at sea on the 26th. The crew of the cutter Reliance spotted the migrants approximately 50 miles southwest of Key West at 2320. Reliance embarked the illegal persons and dog. The vessel was marked as a hazard to navigation. The migrants and the dog were transferred from Reliance to Matagorda during the night of the 29th. Once on board Coast Guard cutters, all illegals receive food, water and any necessary medical attention ? 2006 - The Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander departed Long Beach for Sea Launch's first mission of the year. The Sea Launch team is preparing to launch the EchoStar X broadcast satellite on Feb. 8, at the opening of a 49-minute launch window, at 2335 GMT ? 2006 - About 100 fishermen have been rescued from drifting ice after it broke away from the coast of Sakhalin in the Russian Far East but many more remain stranded. The representative of the local Emergency Situations Ministry's department said an ice floe with 300 to 500 fishermen was 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away from the northeastern coast of the island. Rescuers are using two Emergency Situations Ministry helicopters and boats, as well as vessels supplied by local residents, to pick up the fishermen from the drifting ice ? 2006 - Crowley announced that Rudy Leming has accepted the position of vice president, Caribbean and Bahamas service, a part of Crowley’s liner services segment. In his new position, Leming will be domiciled in Crowley’s Jacksonville office and will report to Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager Puerto Rico/Caribbean Services ? 2006 - Yet to be named T-AKE 9 ordered from NASSCO San Diego ? 2006 - Yet to be named SSN 781 ordered from Electric Boat Groton ? 2006 - USCG continues the search today for two Aguada fishermen that were reported missing by family members to local authorities Friday at about 1920. USCG and Puerto Rico Police Department Forces United for Rapid Action assets and personnel have been searching since Saturday to find Alejandro Ríos, 31, and Francisco Joel Feliciano, who were expected to return to Aguada around sunrise Friday. During the search for Ríos and Feliciano, USCG personnel from the Sector San Juan Joint Rescue Sub-Center, a C-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., HH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Borinquen, and a HU-25 Falcon Jet from Air Station Miami, Fla. have actively searched an area over 12,309 square nautical miles. USCG and Forces United for Rapid Action have flown a combined effort of 13 search and rescue missions for more than 30 flying hours. Self Locating Datum Marker Buoys are being used to assist with the search efforts. Datum buoys are being dropped in the sea from Coast Guard aircraft to help determine the direction of the ocean current in the vicinity of the search area ? 2006 - The Coast Guard medevaced a 27-year-old man today after he fell 75 feet from an oil rig about 60 miles east of New Orleans. The victim fell off the oilrig into the Gulf of Mexico and was recovered five minutes later by his co-workers who immediately began CPR. The man suffered severe head trauma and was resuscitated by the rig doctor. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received the call at approximately 1000 and launched an HH-65B Dolphin rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans. The helicopter crew encountered dense fog with low visibility during the case. Once the patient was aboard the helicopter, the crew transported him to West Jefferson Hospital where he was safely transferred to awaiting EMS personnel ? 2007 - SUEZ Energy North America's subsidiary, Neptune LNG LLC, announced that the US Maritime Administration has decided to issue a deepwater port license to the company to build, own, and operate the Neptune offshore LNG delivery system in Massachusetts Bay. Neptune is the first offshore LNG project on the United States' East Coast to reach this milestone ? 2007 - The commander of a US nuclear submarine has been relieved of duty following his boat’s collision with a tanker in the Persian Gulf. The Navy has revealed that Cmdr Matthew Weingart had been relieved of his command due to "a lack of confidence in his ability to command." The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine Newport News he was commanding was pulled up into the keel of the 299,999dwt Japan-flagged double-hull tanker Mogamigawa as the giant vessel passed over the sub on 8 January ? 2007 - Finnish ferry owner Viking Line has signed up for a new 1,500-passenger ship at Astilleros de Sevilla in Spain, three months after letting options lapse for 2 bigger vessels at Aker Yards. The company said the ferry will carry 520 cars and will cost EUR 60 mn ? 2007 - CMA CGM announced a new service linking South America to Persian Gulf, Red Sea, India and South Africa ? 2007 - A Sea Launch Zenit-3SL vehicle, carrying the NSS-8 satellite, experienced an anomaly today during launch operations. All personnel at the launch site are safe and accounted for ? 2007 - Estonia's Saaremaa Shipping Company is in talks with Fiskerstrand Verft of Norway over an order for 3 new car ferries ? 2007 - MOL will start a shuttle service between Singapore and Durban (South African Express - ZAX) in April to replace the calls at Durban eliminated from the CSW service. MOL will operate this weekly service independently, with 4 containerships in the 1,600-1,700 TEU class ? 2007 - USCG responding to a 938-foot cargo ship adrift in 20 foot seas, 1200 miles west of Seattle. RCC Juneau received notification at 0055 that the cargo vessel Hyundai Confidence was disabled and adrift due to mechanical problems. At the time of notification, the ship was experiencing heavy rolls, which injured two of the 23 crew members. However, wind speed has dropped to 20 knots as of 0830. The Coast Guard put out an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB) and deployed a C-130 out of Kodiak, which is now on scene with radio communications. USCGC Acushnet was diverted to the scene and will arrive in approximately three days. USCGC Mellon has also been diverted with no estimated time of arrival. The civilian vessel Suez Canal Bridge has responded to the UMIB, and is expected to be on scene by approximately 1330. The Coast Guard is awaiting report of a civilian tug agency to be contracted by Hyundai Merchant Marine. The Hyundai Confidence is a Hyundai Merchant Marine owned, Panamanian flagged vessel. Hyundai Confidence was on its way from Busan, Korea to Los Angeles. The cause of the vessel's engine trouble is unknown at this time. ============================================================= 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.