SeaWaves Today in History July 23, 2009 1632 - Ship bearing 300 colonists bound for New France leaves the port of Dieppe 1645 - Ascension to throne of second Romanov czar, the 16-year-old Alexei Mikhailovich 1798 - Napoleon captures Alexandria, Egypt 1885 - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States, died in Mount McGregor NY; age 63 1886 - New York saloonkeeper Steve Brodie claimed to have made a daredevil plunge from the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River 1902 - Hero of the Soviet Union, Admiral of the Fleet of the USSR (from 1956 Vice Admiral), People's Commissar of the Navy in 1939 - 1946, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, in 1951 - 1953 Minister of the Navy Nikolay Kuznetsov born. After the catastrophe of the battleship Novorossiisk in 1955 he was dismissed and demoted. In 1988 he was fully rehabilitated posthumously. The Naval Academy in St. Petersburg has been named after him 1914 - Canadian government forces Japanese freighter Komagata Maru to leave Vancouver with its cargo of 376 passengers, mostly Sikhs, after a Board of Enquiry rules that they cannot land; ship departs for Hong Kong, as thousands on the Vancouver docks cheer 1919 - Destroyer USS Parrott laid down 1927 - Submarine HMS Odin laid down 1929 - Submarine HMS Proteus laid down 1931 - Light cruiser HMS Leander commissioned 1931 - Heavy cruiser HMS Exeter commissioned 1931 - Ashmore & Cartier Islands in Indian Ocean transferred to Australia 1932 - Sloop HMS Weston launched 1934 - Soviet submarines SC-126, SC-127, SC-131, SC-134, SC-317, SC-318 laid down 1935 - Light cruiser HMS Aurora laid down 1935 - Destroyer USS Patterson laid down 1936 - Submarine USS Snapper laid down 1936 - Light cruiser HMS Sheffield launched 1936 - Soviet submarines P-1 & P-2 commissioned 1936 - Destroyer USS Tucker commissioned 1939 - Soviet submarine SC-216 laid down 1940 - Soviet submarine M-99 commissioned 1940 - Submarine minelayer HMS Narwhal (instructed to proceed on the surface) is attacked and sunk by a Dornier flying boat in the Norwegian Sea at 55 30N 01 10E. All 59 crew are lost 1941 - U-587, U-588 launched 1941 - Corvette FS Aconit commissioned 1941 - Minesweeper HMAS Mildura commissioned 1941 - Small craft ordered for RCN - HC 1, HC 2, HC 3 & HC 4 1941 - Reconnaissance detected that the Scharnhorst had left her consorts Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen in Brest, and had slipped south to the small port of La Pallice. An attempt had been made to conceal her absence by the substitution of a large tanker, covered with camouflage netting. Fearing that she might be about to attempt an Atlantic raid, six Bomber Command Stirlings braved the German defenses in an unsuccessful evening attack; one failed to return 1941 - One destroyer, HMS Fearless, in the convoy of Operation Substance, from Gibraltar to Malta, is sunk. Cruiser Manchester and three destroyers are damaged in Italian air attacks. Destroyer HMS Fearless is hit aft by an air dropped torpedo and completely disabled. As nothing could be done to save her, the crew was taken off and she was scuttled by HMS Forester, south of Sardinia at 37 40N 08 20E. There are 27 casualties. During the night MAS 532 and MAS 533 hit and damaged the freighter Sidney Star 1941 - RAF 2 Group - 21 Sqn. attack a 4,000-ton tanker escorted by four flak ships off Ostend. Four a/c are shot down by flak and the tanker is undamaged 1942 - Destroyer USS Stevenson laid down 1942 - Submarine USS Billfish & Bowfin laid down 1942 - The unescorted Garmula was torpedoed & sunk by U-752 about 200 miles SW of Freetown. The master, 61 crewmembers and five gunners were picked up by armed trawler HMS Pict and landed at Freetown. 20 crewmembers and one gunner were lost 1942 - At 2222, the unescorted and unarmed Onondaga was hit by one torpedo from U-129 about five miles north of Cayo Guillermo, while steaming on a nonevasive course at 8.5 knots. The torpedo struck on the port side amidships, causing the ship to sink within one minute. The eight officers, 25 crewmen and one passenger abandoned ship by jumping overboard and swam to two rafts that had flooded free. Six officers, 13 crewmen and the passenger were lost. The survivors were picked up by the Cuban fishing boat Laventina the next morning and landed at Punta San Juan, Cuba 1942 - U-640 launched 1942 - U-187, U-632 commissioned 1942 - An RN 815 Sqn Swordfish failed to return from an Eastern Mediterranean ASW sweep 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Cooner launched 1943 - Destroyer USS Charles J Badger commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Dace commissioned 1943 - Corvette USS Pert commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Schmitt, Gantner, Foss commissioned 1943 - U-527 sunk in the mid-Atlantic south of the Azores during support of U-648, in position 35.25N, 27.56W, by depth charges from a VC-9 Avenger from escort carrier USS Bogue. 40 dead & 13 survivors 1943 - U-721 launched 1943 - At 1337, U-407 fired a spread of two torpedoes at the Support Force East during the invasion of Sicily and heard one detonation. HMS Newfoundland was hit in the stern and lost her rudder, but managed to reach Malta, steering only by propellers. After emergency repairs, she went to the Boston Navy Yard where she was repaired from August 1943 to April 1944. The ship then crossed the Atlantic to the Clyde for a long refit until November 1944 1943 - Destroyer ORP Slazak (ex-HMS Bedale) launched 1943 - Destroyer HMS Bleasdale launched 1943 - Corvette HMCS West York laid down Midland ON 1943 - Corvette HMCS Orangeville (ex HMS Hedingham Castle) laid down Leith, Scotland. When being built in the UK, a shipyard worker, on discovering that wartime RCN ships had no official badge, thought that Orangeville deserved one anyway. He designed & carved in wood his impression of scenes that represented Canada - forests & streams. He also added a windmill, mixing up his countries somewhat! The town of Orangeville, which like other towns & cities in Canada adopted "their" ship, somehow, in the course of time, the town received a copy of the unofficial ship's badge. Lo & behold, not having a town coat of arms, the town decided to adopt the ship's badge for their own. To this day, it remains the town's official coat of arms 1943 - In the US, the Joint Chiefs of Staff direct Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to seize Nauru Island in the central Pacific 1943 - Lieutenant (jg) Waugh, flying PB4Y-1 Liberator 107-B-6 of Bombing Squadron One Hundred Seven based at Natal, Brazil, attacks a surfaced U-boat in conjunction with Lieutenant Ford, sinking the submarine. Waugh’s aircraft apparently sustained damage during the attack, plunging into the sea after his bombing pass, all hands were lost. The submarine was U-598 (Type VIIC), Kapitänleutnant Gottfried Holtorf commanding. Only one of the 44-men aboard the U-boat were saved 1943 - U-613 (Type VIIC) is sunk 23 July, in the mid-Atlantic south of the Azores, at position 35.32N, 28.36W, by depth charges from the US destroyer USS George E. Badger. 48 dead (all crew lost) 1944 - Destroyer minelayer USS Adams launched 1944 - Destroyer USS Lowry commissioned 1944 - US forces invade Japanese-held Tinian 1944 - HMC HC 276 Stores Lighter to St. John's Nfld 1944 - HMC HC 270 Water Lighter 79ft, steel to Cornwallis NS 1944 - HMC HC 280 Water Lighter 79ft steel to Halifax NS 1944 - Corvettes HMCS Long Branch & Hespeler departed St. John's as part of escort for convoy HXS 300 1945 - French Marshal Henri Petain who had headed the Vichy government during World War II, went on trial, charged with treason. (He was condemned to death, but his sentence was commuted) 1945 - Corvettes HMCS Collingwood, Lethbridge & Lunenburg paid off Sorel PQ 1945 - Minesweeper HMCS Gaspe & HMC ML 113 paid off 1945 - Minesweeper USS Gavia commissioned 1945 - Destroyer HMS Trafalgar commissioned 1947 - First Navy all jet squadron (VF-17A) receives its first aircraft (FH) 1948 - USS Putnum evacuates UN team from Haifa, Israel and becomes first US Navy ship to fly the UN flag 1950 - USS Boxer sets record crossing of Pacific to bring aircraft, troops, and supplies to Korea at start of the Conflict 1952 - Egyptian military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk I 1952 - Gate vessel HMCS Porte St Louis launched Lauzon PQ 1953 - Armistice agreed to but unsigned and truce becomes effective 1956 - Societ minesweeper T 526 destroyed 1958 - USS Nautilus departs Pearl Harbor for first submerged transit of North Pole 1964 - Egyptian munitions ship "Star of Alexandria" explodes at dockside in Bone, Algeria. 100 die, 160 injured, $20 million damage 1969 - The flight of the American astronauts to the Moon on board Apollo 11 spaceship ended successfully in the Pacific 1970 - USS Oriskany port call Subic Bay 1973 - USS Constellation port call Singapore 1974 - USS Ranger port call Subic Bay 1975 - Ottawa bars Soviet Union's Atlantic fleet from Canadian ports for overfishing quotas 1982 - International Whaling Commission votes to phase out commercial whaling by 1985-86 1992 - Defense Minister Marcel Masse announces 13 year $4.4 billion purchase of 50 new EH-101 high-tech military helicopters to replace the aging Sea Kings; the Chretien government will scrap the deal after they are elected in 1993 1993 - Sarah Deal becomes first women Marine selected for naval aviation training 2003 - Tank landing ships USS Sumter, Cayuga, Harlan County, Barnstable County & Manitowoc stricken from Naval Vessel Register. All on loan to foreign navies 2003 - Queen’s Colors Presentation to Devonport at Plymouth Sound included the following ships - Walney, Albion, Wave Knight, Sir Bedivere, Newcastle, Exeter, Gleaner, Ocean, Norfolk, Grafton, Portland, Severn, Puncher, Raider, Blazer, Tracker, Express, Explorer 2003 - After a three-week Trans-Atlantic crossing, under tow of tug SmitWijs Rotterdam, passenger ship Norway will be docked at Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven until further decisions about repairs are made 2004 - Frigate HMCS Toronto returns to Halifax after deployment with USS George Washington 2004 - New naval helicopter for Canada announced at CFB Shearwater 2004 - Aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrives at homeport of San Diego for first time 2004 - Destroyer USS Harry W Hill sunk as a target in RIMPAC 2004 2005 - The newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Farragut, christened during a ceremony at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. The ship's name honors Adm. David Glasgow Farragut (1801-1870). One of the Union's great heroes, Farragut gained fame for his exploits while in command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron during the Civil War. In 1862, his ships fought past confederate forts to capture New Orleans, proving for the first time that naval forces could take cities. In 1863 at Port Hudson, he gained control of the Mississippi river splitting the Confederacy. In 1864, he boldly led his squadron through a minefield to win the Battle of Mobile Bay. Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs William A. Navas Jr. will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Sen. Susan M. Collins of Maine will serve as ship's sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, she will break a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship "Farragut." Four previous ships have been named Farragut: a torpedo boat (1899-1919); a destroyer (1920-1930); a second destroyer (1934-1945) that earned fourteen battle stars in World War II (including Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Eastern Solomons, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa); and a guided-missile destroyer (1960-1989) that took part in contingency operations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and earned a Navy Unit Commendation. Designated DDG 99, Farragut is the 49th of 62 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. This highly capable multi-mission ship can conduct a variety of operations in support of the national military strategy, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection. Farragut will be capable of fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles simultaneously. The ship contains a number offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century. Cmdr. Deidre L. McLay of Boulder City, Nev., will become the first commanding officer of the ship and will lead her crew of approximately 383 officers and enlisted personnel. The 9,200 ton Farragut is being built by Bath Iron Works, a company of General Dynamics, and is 509.5 feet in length, has a waterline beam of 59 feet, and a navigational draft of 32 feet. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots 2005 - The Coast Guard Cutter Swordfish officially entered the Coast Guard fleet during a commissioning ceremony at Coast Guard Group/ Air Station Port Angeles. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, Adm. Thomas H. Collins, Commandant of the Coast Guard, Rear Adm. Richard Houck, Thirteenth District Commander, and Lt. j.g. Sarah Salazar, Commanding Officer of Swordfish, speaks at the ceremony. Swordfish is an 87-foot patrol boat and is the 58th marine protector class ship built for the Coast Guard. Once placed in service, it will operate out of Coast Guard Group/ Air Station Port Angeles . The primary missions will be search and rescue and maritime law enforcement in the coastal waters of Washington State. In naval tradition the hoisting of the Coast Guard ensign or flag, the assumption of command and manning of the ship at the commissioning ceremony will symbolize Swordfish’s entry into the Coast Guard’s fleet 2005 - Seven people, three adults and four children, are safe tonight after their boat ran aground and was swamped by the rising tide in Sinclair Inlet, near Gorst, Wash., at 1416. Coast Guard Sector Seattle received a report of a 28-foot sailing vessel in distress and diverted a 41-foot utility boat and two 25-foot response boats from Station Seattle. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., was also launched. The two 25-foot response boats arrived at 2:44 p.m., and assisted a Naval Station Bremerton, Wash., small boat in rescuing the boaters. The Naval Station small boat and the 41-foot utility boat transported the boaters to the Port Orchard Marina. No one was injured 2005 - The Coast Guard is searching for a missing person in the water who was last seen at the West 17th Street Pier in Coney Island at 1800. The victim was last seen holding on to a piling underneath the pier by a lifeguard. Visual contact was lost after the person let go. A Coast Guard rescue crew from Station New York, a Coast Guard rescue helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City, NJ, and the New York City Police Department are searching for the victim after receiving the report from 911 operators 2005 - The three missing persons off of Rockaway Beach made their way ashore at 0500 after being in the water since midnight. The Coast Guard launched rescue crews from Station New York and Sandy Hook NJ, Coast Guard Cutter Tybee Island and a rescue helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City NJ in conjunction with the New York City Fire and Police Departments. All three swimmers made it to shore uninjured 2005 - Forth Coastguard coordinated the rescue of nine people from Cramond Island after they were cut off by the tide. Following a call from the police, Forth Coastguard requested the launch of Queensferry RNLI Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) and dispatched South Queensferry Coastguard Rescue Team. The nine were taken safely to shore by the lifeboat. However during the operation it was reported that there was a fire on the island which seemed to be getting larger. Lothian & Borders Fire and Rescue were requested to attend to ascertain the severity of the blaze. The lifeboat took the Fire & Rescue Service along with a member of the Coastguard Team back to the island. More resources were required to contain and extinguish the fire and further firemen arrived and established a firebreak, beating out the flames 2005 - Forth Coastguard coordinated the rescue of a couple after they had become stranded on a large rock which had been cut off by the tide. At 1610 Lothian & Borders Police informed Forth Coastguard that they had received a 999 call reporting that two people had been cut off on rocks on the Coast at Dunbar. Forth Coastguard dispatched Dunbar Coastguard Rescue Team and Dunbar RNLI All Weather and Inshore Lifeboats were requested to launch. The Inshore Lifeboat arrived on scene and immediately requested helicopter assistance as they were unable to attempt to take the two people off the rock because of the surf and sea surge around it without putting themselves and the casualties into further danger. It was also determined that evacuation via the Coastguard Rescue Team was not possible. The inshore lifeboat managed to close to enable a crewman to scramble on to the rock so that the man and woman could be kept calm and reassured. The Royal Navy Rescue Helicopter 178 from HMS Prestwick was scrambled. Once it arrived on scene the man and woman along with the lifeboat man were airlifted off and landed safely on the shore. Apart from being a little worse from their experience all was well and medical assistance was not required 2005 - A diver was found by a Polish ship this afternoon using radar technology at Dover Coastguard. Dover Coastguard were called at 1345 to the dive boat Sundancer to report that they had lost a diver and that he had been missing for an hour. The position given was on the French side of the channel, seven miles north west of Cap Griz Nes. The French Coastguard began co-ordination of the incident and scrambled a French Navy rescue helicopter to begin a search. In the mean time, Dover Coastguard re-plotted the position using computerized search planning software, SARIS (Search and Rescue Information Service) which takes into consideration drift, tides etc and got another position for the diver 8 miles north of Cap Griz Nes. They were then able to use the automatic identification system (AIS) in conjunction with the Channel Navigation Information Service (CNIS) in order to find a ship which was close to the position plotted. They called the Polish ship Rolnik and asked them to keep a sharp look out for the diver. Five minutes later Rolnik responded, reporting that they had spotted the diver and had stopped the ship. They then launched their crash boat and recovered the diver. He was fit and well and was taken back to the ship. Dover Coastguard was then able to call Sundancer back and the dive boat picked its diver up from the ship. Sundancer has now returned back to Dover 2005 - The Navy is investigating a fatal accident that occurred aboard the amphibious assault ship Bataan. The incident was characterized as a “forklift accident,” said James Scott, public affairs officer for Amphibious Group 2 . The sailor was pronounced dead at 1429. The Navy was withholding all information about the sailor’s identity pending notification of relatives. The accident happened while the ship was operating about 120 miles off Key West, Fla., when it was on its way to routine operations with the US Southern Command 2006 - The Spanish government says that more than 11,000 would-be immigrants have made the perilous trip to the Canary Islands from Africa so far this year 2006 - A strong undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Sulawesi Island 2006 - Coast Guard received a call on VHF channel 16 at about 1900 from Panamanian-flagged cruise ship Miracle reporting that passenger Harry Maber was suffering from a hernia. Coast Guard Station Cortez immediately launched a 41-foot rescue boat and transferred the man to EMS in Ft. Desoto, Fla. He will then be taken to St. Petersburg General Hospital 2006 - USCG Galveston received a report from a Good Samaritan at 1614 that a recreational boat was taking on water in the East Bay. Station Galveston dispatched a 25-foot rescue boat and along with the Good Samaritan, rescued all five people from the vessel. The Good Samaritan rescued three of the passengers from the boat and the Coast Guard rescue boat pulled the last two passengers off. The Coast Guard rescue boat towed the vessel in to the Texas City Dyke 2006 - USCG airlifted a man from a fishing vessel located about 25 miles off of San Francisco at noon. Coast Guard received the initial call from the fishing vessel Irene's Way, 40 miles off San Francisco, about 0900 stating that a crewman was injured by a cable line that hit him while he was reeling in a fishing net. At the time, the man was suffering from a sore neck. Coast Guard decided, due to the low 3/4 mile offshore visibility and the condition of the man at the time, that an immediate hoist would be dangerous and unnecessary, but they would continue to keep communications with the vessel. At around 1000 Irene's Way contacted the Coast Guard reporting that the injured man was having difficulty breathing, and he was beginning to slip in and out of consciousness. By this time, the visibility had improved, and Air Station San Francisco launched an HH-65 Dolphin to the vessel around 1100. Air Station San Francisco aircrew arrived on scene at around 1200, hoisted the crewman from the vessel, which was located about 25 miles off shore, and transferred him to the Stanford Medical Hospital at around 1300 2006 - Skiff from the Kodiak-based RV Heritage was headed to St. Matthews Island with four people onboard when it overturned at about 2300. Three of the crewmembers were able to swim to shore. The fourth person is unaccounted for. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and USCGC Morganthau enroute to assist. Heritage is part of the Heritage Fishing Partnership 2006 - The oldest remains of seafaring ships in the world have been found in caves at the edge of the Egyptian desert along with cargo boxes that suggest ancient Egyptians sailed nearly 1,000 miles on rough waters to get treasures from a place they called God's Land, or Punt 2007 - Adm. Robert Willard, commander of the US Pacific Fleet visited Guam 2007 - Maritime Museum of San Diego submitted the only proposal to the Naval Sea Systems Command to convert the USN's last diesel submarine USS Dolphin into a public memorial 2007 - Mexico's Navy plans to build five radars near oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico to safeguard against terrorist attack 2007 - Pervuvian museum submarine Abtao celebrated 200,000th visitor 2007 - A French Navy Super Frelon successfully rescued six crewmembers of sardine boat He Pourquoi Pas II on the rocks near Baie de Douarnenez 2007 - French Navy Rafale F2 and E-2C Hawkeye aircraft conducted training evolutions with USS Enterprise in the Mediterranean. Enterprise is enroute to relieve USS Nimitz in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq 2008 - Former USS Nitro towed away from James River for scrapping in Brownsville TX 2008 - Submarine NR1 arrives at New London for final time before decommissioning 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