SeaWaves Today in History July 2, 2009 1566 - French astrologer and physician Nostradamus died in Salon 1578 - Martin Frobisher c1539-1594 sights Baffin Island; driven south by storm into what he calls 'Mistaken Strait'; likely Hudson Strait 1613 - Samuel Argall c1572-c1641 burns and destroys St-Sauveur, then Port Royal settlement; first English expedition from Massachusetts against Acadia 1808 - Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser River, lands at Musqueam 1821 - Lower Canada takes over Lachine Canal building from private company 1912 - Admiral Fedor Vasilievich Dubasov, adjutant-general, member of State Council died 1918 - Destroyer USS Stringham commissioned 1919 - Submarine USS S-39 launched 1919 - Destroyer HMS Stronghold commissioned 1923 - Light cruiser USS Richmond commissioned 1923 - Commissioning of Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 1925 - Light cruiser HMS Effingham commissioned 1926 - Distinguished Flying Cross authorized by Congress 1928 - Cruiser HMS Dauntless runs aground on Thrum Cap Shoal while entering Halifax in fog. Refloated after nine days 1928 - Submarine HMS Perseus laid down 1928 - Heavy cruiser USS Augusta laid down 1937 - Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan disappear over Pacific. Navy conducts extensive unsuccessful search 1937 - Soviet submarine V-1 commissioned 1937 - Submarine HMS Sunfish commissioned 1940 - At 2352, the Athellaird, a straggler from Convoy OB-176, was hit by one torpedo from U-29 about 350 miles NW of Cape Finisterre. At 0210 on 3 July, three coup de grâce were fired of which two missed and the third sank the tanker. The master and 41 crewmembers were picked up by sloop HMS Sandwich and landed at Greenock 1940 - At 1125, the unescorted Santa Margarita was stopped by U-29 and was sunk by gunfire at 1345 according to the prize rules because the ship was enroute under British charter with a Yugoslavian crew. Three of the 21 survivors that were picked up by the British merchantman King John were lost when this ship was sunk by the German raider Widder on 13 July 1940 - U-107 launched 1940 - Corvette HMS Gloxinia launched 1940 - Corvette HMS Mallow commissioned 1940 - Ferry Kalakala chosen for final ferry run at Tacoma Narrows 1940 - Lake Washington Floating Bridge dedication ceremonies are held 1940 - OKW issues an order entitled - "The War Against England" It begins "The Fuhrer and Supreme Commander has decided that a landing in England is possible" 1940 - Destroyer HMCS St Laurent arrived on the scene two & half hours after U-47 had sunk SS Arandora Star. 861 survivors were rescued. The liner had been carrying 1,500 'undesirable aliens' & 100 German naval prisoners of war to Canada. U-47 was a medium-range Type VIIB U-boat built by Germaniawerft, at Kiel. Commissioned on 17 Dec 38. U-47 conducted 10 patrols & quickly compiled a most impressive record of 31 ships sunk for a total of 193,808 tons & 8 ships damaged for a further 63,282 tons. Among the ship sunk by U-47 was HMS Royal Oak, which was sunk in daring raid on the fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow on 14 Oct 39. Winston Churchill described this event as "an outstanding feat of arms". He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 20 Oct 40, the first in the Kriegsmarine. There is no certain fate for U-47. Previously, it was believed that HMS Wolverine sank U-47 on 08 Mar 41 but this was actually U-A (the ex-Turkish submarine Batiray), which was damaged & returned to base. U-47 is listed a 'missing' effective 07 Mar 41 in the North Atlantic near the Rockall Banks in approximate position 60.00N, 019.00W. It is now thought that U-47 was hit by one of her own torpedoes launched in an attack against convoy OB 293 that circled back due to a steering malfunction. All of her 45 crewmembers were lost. Günther Prien was born in 1908, at Osterfeld, in Thüringen. He joined the navy in 1931 after service in the merchant marine. His first naval service was in the light cruiser Königsberg. He transferred to the U-boat force in Oct 35 & saw service in U-26 during the Spanish Civil War. Prien was the first U-boat commander to win the Knight's Cross (18 Oct 39). He was often the first submarine to make contact with a convoy & took the dangerous task of vectoring in other boats. During the next 18 months Prien repeatedly demonstrated great skill & daring in convoy battles making him the fourth highest scoring U-boat ace of the war, ranking behind only Otto Kreschmer, Wolfgang Lüth, and Erich Topp. Prien was the only one of the top five German U-boat commanders to be killed during the war 1941 - Patrol vessel HMCS Talapus launched Victoria BC 1941 - RAF bombers damage the cruiser Prinz Eugen at Brest 1941 - Japan is preparing for war against Britain and the US over Indochina by conscripting one million men and recalling all its merchant ships from the Atlantic 1941 - HMS Torbay torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Citta di Tripoli in the Zea Channel, Greece 1941 - HMS Urge fires three torpedoes at an AMC south of the Stait of Messina that miss 1942 - Escort carrier HMS Vindex laid down 1942 - Destroyer escort USS Edsall laid down 1942 - Minesweeper USS Symbol launched 1942 - Submarine HMS Unseen commissioned 1942 - At 0616, the unescorted Gundersen was torpedoed and sunk by gunfire by U-129. 22 survivors were picked up by the SS Dea & taken to Progreso on 3 July 1942 - Soviet destroyer Bditel'ny bombed & sunk at Novorosiysk 1942 - U-629 commissioned 1942 - The British House of Commons reaffirmed its confidence in Prime Minister Churchill and his Cabinet by a vote of 475 to 25 subsequent to a strong attack on the central administration of the war 1942 - Convoys PQ-17, eastbound, and QP-13, westbound, pass each other. Faulty reports cause the Germans some problems in finding these convoys. Aircraft and U-Boats are unsuccessful in their attacks today 1942 - US Joint Chiefs of Staff define three stages for the occupation of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. The first phase is the occupation of the eastern Solomon and Santa Cruz Islands; second, an advance through the rest of the Solomons and along the NE coast of New Guinea; and finally, the liberation of New Britain and New Ireland Islands and further advances in NE New Guinea. The first offensive will be the occupation of eastern Solomons with the code name Operation WATCHTOWER assigned to the invasion of Tulagi Island scheduled for 1 August 1942 1942 - British forces occupy Mayotte, an island off the NE coast of Mozambique 1943 - Corvette HMCS Riviere du Loup launched 1943 - MAC ship SS Empire MacMahon launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS William C Miller commissioned 1943 - At 2107, the unescorted Hoihow was torpedoed and sunk by U-181 105 miles WNW of Mauritius. The master, 90 crewmembers, seven gunners and 47 passengers were lost. Three crewmembers and one passenger were picked up by the American SS Mormacswan and landed at Montevideo on 25 July 1943 - The unescorted Empire Kohinoor was torpedoed and sunk by U-618 about 250 miles SW of Freetown. Six crewmembers were lost. The master, 72 crewmembers and eight gunners were rescued. The first boat was rescued by destroyer HMS Wolverine and landed at Takoradi. The second boat was rescued by the British merchantman Gascony and the third landed at Lumley Beach, Sierra Leone on 7 July 1943 - At 0008, the unescorted Bloody Marsh was on her maiden voyage, when the ship’s torpedo indicator sounded after detecting the approach of a torpedo from U-66. The master ordered a course change to hard left, but 30 seconds later the torpedo struck the port side at the engine room, destroying the room completely, flooding the compartment and killing one officer and two men on watch below. The hull was ruptured on the port side from midship to the engine room. As the tanker settled slowly by the stern, gradually losing headway, the after gun crew reported a conning tower but could not open fire because the explosion had jammed the gun. The forward gun did not get into action because it could not be brought to bear. Most of the ten officers, 40 men and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) left the ship in four lifeboats and three rafts, with the exception of the armed guard commander and three of his men. 20 minutes after the attack, a second torpedo struck the port side amidships, broke the ship in two and immediately sank the tanker about 75 miles east of Savannah, Georgia. The four armed guards jumped overboard as the water reached the after gun platform. At 06.00 hours, a Navy blimp sighted the survivors and signaled that help was on the way. USS SC-1048 picked them up at 0900 and landed them at Charleston, South Carolina 1943 - Over Rendova Island, an estimated 18 IJN "Betty" bombers (Mitsubishi G4M Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers) escorted by estimated 20 IJN "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) attack at 1330 hours local. It is an opportune time because Allied fighter cover had been withdrawn due to impending adverse weather. The bombing kills 59 men on the ground. During the night of 2/3 July, the IJN cruiser HIJMS Yubari and nine destroyers bombard the beachhead. The IJN ships are engaged by three USN motor torpedo boats but the PTs do not score any hits 1943 - In New Guinea, ten Japanese bombers make unopposed bombing and strafing runs against the Allied invasion beaches on Nassau Bay 1943 - U-543 (Type IXC/40) sunk in the mid-Atlantic SW of Tenerife, in position 25.34N, 21.36W, by depth charges and a homing torpedo from an Avenger aircraft (VC-58) of the US escort carrier USS Wake Island. 58 dead (all crew lost) 1943 - While on patrol in the Bay of Biscay HMS Stubborn fires torpedoes at a group of 3 German submarines (U-180, U-518, U-530) escorted by two destroyers. The torpedoes however missed their targets 1943 - HMS Trident sinks three sailing vessels with gunfire off Rhodos, Greece 1943 - HMS Rorqual lays 29 mines off the Gulf of Kassandra, Greece 1943 - 1944 - Heavy cruiser USS Bremerton launched 1944 - USS YMS-350 sunk by mine off Normandy France 1944 - Submarine USS Bugara launched 1944 - U-3008 laid down 1944 - At 0130, the unescorted Bodegraven was torpedoed & sunk by U-547, which took one man on board as POW 1944 - Corvette HMCS Guelph departed Halifax as escort for passage of submarines HMS P-553 & P-554 to Philadelphia 1944 - Minesweepers HMCS Melville arrived Halifax from workups in Bermuda & assigned to Sydney Force 1944 - HMC MTB 460 sunk by mine in English Channel 1944 - In Operation TABLETENNIS, the USN's Task Force 57 lands the USA's 158th Regimental Combat Team (Reinforced) and RAAF personnel on Noemfoor Island in the Schouten Islands off New Guinea. Noemfoor, located 60 miles (96.6 km) west of Biak Island, is small, 15 by 12 miles, but has three airfields, Kamiri, Kornasoren and Namber, and is invaded because of the delay in capturing the airfields on Biak Island. The invasion is support by the USN's Task Force 75 consisting of heavy and light cruisers and destroyers. The USAAF's Fifth Air Force also supports the invasion. In the morning, A-20 Havocs, B-24s, B-25s and fighter-bombers attack the island and provide air support throughout the day 1944 - In the Indian Ocean, the Japanese submarine HIJMS I-8 torpedoes the US armed freighter SS Jean Nicolet and then surfaces and shells the freighter setting it afire. The survivors, 41 merchant seaman, 28 USN armed guards, and 30 passengers are taken aboard the submarine where they are searched, bound and questioned. One man is shot, some are made to run a gauntlet and some are beaten. The master, radio operator and one passenger are kept on the sub while the rest of the survivors are left on deck, still bound. After destroying all of the lifeboats, the sub submerges leaving the bound survivors on deck. Some of the survivors manage to free themselves and swim to the burning freighter which is still afloat and launch rafts which had not been destroyed; a total of 23 are rescued on 4 July and only one of the three interned on the sub survives Japanese captivity 1944 - The first contingent of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force has set sail from Rio de Janeiro heading for Naples to join the Allies forces in the desperate battle to liberate Italy. About 5,000 officers and men left aboard the American troop transport General WA Mann, escorted by three destroyers Marcilio Dias, Mariz Barros & Greenhalgh. Brazil declared war on the Axis in August 1942 and its navy has participated in joint Allied action in the Atlantic. Last November it decided to send troops to join the fighting in Europe. The forces are to operate under the strategic command of the Americans 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-313 was commissioned with LTJG J. F. W. Anderson, USCGR, as commanding officer. On 20 August 1944 she departed New York for Los Angeles towing QS-53. On 27 October 1944 she was withdrawn from her Hawaii assignment and her Coast Guard personnel detached at Los Angeles 1944 - HMS Spiteful sinks a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire northeast of Sumatra 1945 - Destroyer USS Robert L Wilson laid down 1945 - Destroyer HMS Armada commissioned 1945 - Destroyer USS Gyatt commissioned 1945 - Admiral Mountbatten ordered to launch Operation Zipper, the liberation of Malaya in August 1945 - USS Barb bombards Japanese installations on Kaihyo Island, Japan; first successful use of rockets against shore positions 1945 - Cruiser HMCS Ontario departed the Clyde for 4th Cruiser Sqn of the British Pacific Fleet 1945 - Minesweepers HMCS Ingonish & Lockeport paid off & returned to RN at Sheerness 1945 - Corvettes HMCS Orillia & Riviere Du Loup paid off Sorel PQ 1945 - HMC ML 092, 093, 097 & 099 paid off 1945 - HMS Selene sinks a Japanese coaster with gunfire in the Gulf of Siam 1946 - Establishment of VX-3 to evaluate adaptability of helicopters to naval purposes 1947 - Submarine HMS Aurochs damaged in a collision 1950 - USS Juneau and 2 British ships sink 5 of 6 attacking North Korean torpedo boats and gunboats 1957 - 1st sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor completed-USS Seawolf 1957 - HMA tug TB 11 sank under tow near Port Moresby 1957 - 1st submarine designed to fire guided missiles launched-USS Grayback 1959 - "I'llaway II" authorized to Fly The Canadian Blue Peter 1965 - USS Midway port call Yokosuka 1965 - Destroyer HMCS Fraser commenced helicopter conversion Canadian Vickers, Montreal 1967 - USS Oriskany port Cubi Point 1967 - During Operation Bear Claw, Seventh Fleet Amphibious Force conducts helicopter assault 12 miles inland at Con Thien 1969 - USS Enterprise completed Vietnam deployment 1969 - USS Oriskany port call Subic Bay 1975 - USS Coral Sea completed Vietnam deployment 1974 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Pearl Harbor 2004 - USNS Pililau placed in reduced operating status 2005 - The Coast Guard rescued two people after they crashed their small plane seven miles from Whittier. The two were piloting a single engine plane and became lost and low on fuel. They contacted the Flight Security Service (FSS) in Juneau to report the problem. The FSS contacted the Coast Guard for additional assistance around 2000. The Coast Guard diverted an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew from a training flight to locate the small plane. The Jayhawk crew used direction-finding equipment on the small plane's signal and located the aircraft. The Jayhawk crew attempted to escort them to Whittier. Seven miles from Whittier the plane ran out of fuel and crash-landed. The Jayhawk crew immediately rescued the two occupants and delivered them to awaiting emergency medical personnel at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. The two occupants had no injuries and were driven to their home. The HH-60 Jayhawk and crew were forward deployed to Cordova from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. During the summer months a helicopter and crew is kept on standby in Cordova for faster response to events in Prince William Sound 2005 - At just after 2330 a 999 mobile phone call was received by Brixham Coastguard from a sea angler reporting 4 people shouting for help on the rocks at Sharrow point at Whitsand Bay, Cornwall. A further phone call reported one of the group had slipped into the water. Tamar Coastguard, Plymouth and the Looe RNLI lifeboat; a rescue helicopter from the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose and a Plymouth Pilot Boat were asked to attend. On arrival the Coastguard Team discovered that a group of seven individuals were having a party, and that four of their number had decided to take a swim after consuming alcohol. They had all been caught in the current and managed to swim to a rock. However, all were recovered safely; two of the four needing treatment for lacerations and hypothermia and were subsequently taken by ambulance to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth 2005 - At just after 1600 Holyhead Coastguard received an emergency call from the vessel Star Reader reporting that they had come across a capsized 14 foot dinghy which had had four male members from the same family from Bangor on board who had been sea angling. Two people were in the water and were recovered and one required immediate medical assistance. It was reported that two further people were still in the water. All were suffering from severe hypothermia. After a rapid search the remaining two anglers were discovered and pulled aboard. Rescue helicopter 122 from RAF Valley was immediately scrambled by the Coastguard and an inshore lifeboat from Beaumaris was requested to launch. A further vessel Sara Jane who had seen the incident from nearby placed a person with first aid experience on board the Star Reader to assist and then took the dinghy under tow towards the shore. A winchman who had been lowered to the dinghy immediately began to apply cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the more serious casualty before both were winched into the helicopter and flown to hospital where a crash team was standing by. The inshore lifeboat then took a further seriously ill person and a shocked but uninjured angler back to the shoreline where the Coastguard had arranged for an ambulance to meet them. In the meantime the rescue helicopter returned to the Star Reader and took the final casualty to Bangor Hospital where the Police also met them for further assistance. It was confirmed later this afternoon to the Coastguard that the two people had died, one of which was the grandfather and his 9-year-old grandson. A 12-year-old boy and his father survived. All had been wearing lifejackets. The Maritime & Coastguard Agency send its deepest sympathies to the family for their tragic loss. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has been informed 2005 - A man was arrested following a low-key protest against a United States warship visiting Hobart in Tasmania. The guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald and its 300 crew arrived in Hobart early July 1st. Martin Wyness was arrested when, accompanied by his 11 year-old daughter Sophie, he parked his car across the port entrance. Mr Wyness says he believes in the message he was sending 2005 - According to its supporters in the Indian government, it is nothing less than the "Suez of the east". To its opponents it is an environmental catastrophe in the making. Either way, today marks the realization of a 150-year-old plan to dredge a channel in the seabed between India and Sri Lanka as work begins on the project. The £282m project, called the Sethusamudram ship canal, involves digging a 60-mile long, 12-metre deep, 300-metre wide watery groove through the Palk Strait, a shallow stretch of sea between southern India and Sri Lanka 2005 - A large clean-up operation involving at least 26 vessels is taking place off the port of Dalian in northeast China after a tanker spilt oil following a collision with a foreign-flagged containership. The accident happened at 1130 when the 2,500 tonne oil tanker Qian Dao You No.1 (above) and the Malaysia registered Bunga Mas were about five nautical miles from Dalian Port. The report cites the Liaoning Maritime Salvage Association as saying that both vessels were sailing slowly at the time of the incident and no casualties were reported. While it has been suggested that it was a "big" spill, the exact extent has not been determined due to heavy sea fog. The Qian Dao You No.1, which is owned by Zhousan Qiandao Shipping, was carrying 3,800 tonnes of diesel fuel oil on its way to Guangzhou when it collided with Bunga Mas amid heavy fog and poor visibility on its journey to Dalian from Japan 2005 - Honolulu-based Coast Guard assets are currently responding to pollution control vessel Casitas (270 grt, built 1981) that ran aground at about 0200 hrs and is taking on water approximately 1,000 miles north-west of Oahu and 86 nautical miles east-south-east of Midway Island. Twenty-three people are on board the Casitas, which has lowered all six of its work boats used to remove marine debris. Their intentions are to take some personnel four miles to North Island initially and later to Pearl and Hermes Atoll. A C-130 Hercules aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Barber's Point was deployed at 0400 to assist and monitor the situation. The C-130 dropped four dewatering pumps that are being used by the ship's crew. Coast Guard cutter Walnut is also en route, and expects to arrive in five days. Walnut is equipped with a Spilled Oil Recovery System (SORS) to assist with clean up efforts should there be any fuel oil pollution from the ship. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has diverted its research vessel Oscar Elton Sette to the ship, and expects it to be on scene tomorrow evening. Due to the presence of an estimated 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 3,000 gallons of gasoline, and 200 gallons of lubricating oil on board the vessel, the Captain of the Port Honolulu (the Federal On Scene Coordinator), has taken initial steps to manage any potential oil spill. The area of the grounding is a designated marine reserve with the presence of monk seals and other protected species. A Unified Command has been established with representatives from the vessel owner, State of Hawaii, NOAA, and the Coast Guard to manage the incident salvage and environmental protection aspects of the incident. Casitas was en route to Maro Reef and French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for marine debris removal under contract by NOAA, when it ran aground on Pearl and Hermes Atoll causing severe damage to the ship. The crew of Casitas consists of NOAA and University of Hawaii Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR) personnel and ships crew. The island where the people may transit has three NOAA and JIMAR officials on the island currently working to keep track of the Hawaiian monk seal population 2005 - SS Norway sailed from Cape Town, under tow of tug De Da 2006 - USCG and New York City Police search for a missing swimmer that was spotted by a lifeguard going under the surface off of Rockaway Beach at approximately 1700. Missing is an 18 year-old male. Coast Guard rescue crews from Station New York, a Coast Guard Helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City and NYPD divers are actively searching the area 2006 - In the Calcasieu Ship Channel, six vessels transited safely into the port and three are expected to transit outbound. The temporary VTS staffed by Coast Guard personnel and industry stakeholders will control these movements. Contingency operational plans have been devised, as well as equipment and temporary dams placed in at risk areas, in the event of heavy rainfall in the area to counter any problems that may arise from such an event. All commercial docks have been cleared by the Coast Guard to receive vessels 2006 - A man diving in the sea near Höganäs told police he bumped into the body of a woman. After several hours of searching coastguard officials said they had not found any sign of the body 2006 - MV Columbia, which experienced a generator malfunction during its northbound sailing from Bellingham, will remain in Ketchikan for repairs, the Alaska Marine Highway System said 2007 - Captain of a Turkish tanker fined by Georgian authorities on charges of polluting the environment. Leaking oil from a Turkish tanker anchored at the Poti caused contamination. Turkish captain will now pay a fine of approximately YTL 28,000 2007 - A Bangladesh Navy salvage team engaged in a rescue operation for the captain and 16 crewmembers trapped on an Iranian container ship which started sinking in the Bay of Bengal 2007 - Sailing vessel Robertson II sank in Winter Cove BC after running aground 2008 - The 140-foot icebreaking tug USCGC Morro Bay (WTGB 106) rammed the 187-foot ferry Block Island with 257 people on board near Block Island, in Narragansett Bay Copyright 2009 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Today in History Archives This information is licensed to the recipient only. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click. Royal Navy photos are Courtesy of www.oldships.org.uk unless otherwise indicated. To contact us: 418-145 West Keith Rd North Vancouver BC V7M 1L3 Canada Phone: 778-968-7447