SeaWaves Today in History July 25, 2008 ********************************************************************* July 25 1629 - David & Lewis Kirke defeat Emery De Caen and capture his supply ship; first naval combat on the St. Lawrence between the English privateers and French merchants 1729 - North Carolina becomes royal colony 1758 - James Wolfe's troops silence Louisbourg's Island battery, and an exploding shell lands on the deck of the French warship Celèbre, setting off barrels of gunpowder; the fire jumps from ship to ship, destroying all but two of the French warships, the Prudent and Bienfaisant. At midnight, Amherst sends 25 boatloads of Marines into the harbor and takes the last two French ships 1779 - Amphibious expedition against British in Penobscot Bay, ME 1863 - US Squadron bombards Fort Wagner, NC 1866 - Rank of Admiral created. David G. Farragut is appointed the first Admiral in the US Navy 1898 - Landing party from armed yacht Gloucester occupies Guanica, Puerto Rico 1899 - Battleship FS Suffren launched 1908 - Submarine HMS D2 launched 1911 - Battleship FS Condorcet commissioned 1912 - First specifications for naval aircraft published 1920 - Canadian Marconi Company makes first transatlantic two-way radio broadcast from Signal Hill to the SS Victoria 1934 - First President to visit Hawaii, Franklin D. Roosevelt, reaches Hilo on board USS Houston 1940 - The US prohibits the export of oil and metal products to countries outside the Americas and Britain 1940 - Italian bombers attack British naval bases at Haifa and Alexandria 1940 - USS Trenton arrives at Annapolis MD carrying the royal family of the Duchy of Luxembourg. The ship departed Lisbon on 15 July 1940 - Submarine HMS Sceptre laid down 1941 - Corvette HMCS Dundas launched Victoria BC 1941 - Bureau of Ordnance issues first Navy "E" certificates (for excellence) for industry. By late 1942 these certificates had become virtual icons for most any plant doing any sort of war work. Around this time the award of a certificate took with it the right to fly an "E" pennant on a company's flagpole, and both management and workers took considerable pride in earning the right to have one. These pennants were usually royal blue with a golden yellow edge all around, and a large white block letter E on it. Small versions became popular decorations on shop floors. The flagpole E pennants may occasionally be seen in old wartime photographs 1941 - The United States froze Japanese assets 1941 - Cruiser HMS Newcastle intercepts the German ship Erlangen, which scuttles herself 1941 - The Grand Harbor at Malta is unusually filled with merchant ships from the newly-arrived convoy - Operation Substance - high-speed Italian motor boats, their bow packed with high explosive, made a daredevil attack here tonight. Only one freighter had been damaged in this successful attempt to beat the Axis in "bomb alley" - although the cruiser HMS Manchester was damaged and the destroyer HMS Fearless sunk 1942 - Escort Group C3 (HMCS Saguenay, Skeena, Galt, Sackville, Wetaskiwin & Louisburg depart Londonderry to escort Convoy ON 115 1943 - In the Aleutians, the USN's Task Group 16.21, consisting of battleships and cruisers, fights the "Battle of the Pips" off Kiska Island. Radar on the ships detected seven pips and believing them to be a Japanese force resupplying Kiska, all ships, except the light cruiser USS Santa Fe open fire. (USS Santa Fe had the most modern radar and saw nothing and she did not fire on the "targets.") A total of 518 14-inch rounds and 487 8-inch rounds are fired at the "Japanese ships." Nobody has ever determined what caused the seven pips on the ships' radar. The Japanese task group sent to evacuate the garrison from Kiska is actually 500 miles (805 km) SW of Kiska refueling before dashing in to rescue the garrison. Because of the expenditure of fuel and ammunition fighting the "pips," the USN's TG 16.21 retires to refuel and rearm leaving the door open to the Japanese. 1943 - King Vittorio Emmanuelle announced the resignation of Premier Mussolini and his cabinet. Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio appointed Premier 1943 - Launching of USS Harmon, first ship named for African-American 1943 - Submarine HMS Tantivy completed 1944 - Corvette HMCS Coppercliff commissioned Blyth UK 1944 - Frigate HMCS Coaticook commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper HMCS Coquitlam commissioned 1944 - The British Eastern Fleet, Admiral Somerville, attacks Sabang in the Indian Ocean. Carriers HMS Victorious and Illustrious are involved 1944 - Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Groups 58.2 and 58.3 attack Japanese installations in the Palau Islands while aircraft of TG 58.1 attack targets on Ulithi and Yap Atolls 1944 - Soviet warplane sinks sweepers Vilppula and Mercurius in Porkkala, Träskö pier 1945 - HMC ML 118 paid off 1945 - HMC ML 052 & HMC ML 063 returned from loan to Free French & paid off 1945 - In Japan, carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Force 38 and RN's Task Group 37.2 continues attacks in the Inland Sea area; six ships are sunk and a number damaged. Task Group 35.3 consisting of four light cruisers and six destroyers, bombards an IJN seaplane base on Honshu 1946 - US detonates underwater A-bomb at Bikini 1947 - US Air Force, Navy & War Dept form US Dept of Defense 1949 - Minesweeper HMCS Llewellyn recommissioned 1952 - Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States 1956 - 51 people died when the Italian liner Andrea Doria sank after colliding with the Swedish ship Stockholm off the New England coast 1957 - Submarine HMS Untiring sunk as a target 1961 - Submarine HMS Sealion completed 1966 - SS Koula F (ex-Empire Trumpet built 1943) ran aground on Qais/Kish Island in the approaches to the Straits of Hormuz in posn 26,20N 53,54E (Bandar Shapur for Greece). Attempts to refloat her by Dutch salvage tug Orinoco were unsuccessful and she was abandoned as a constructive total loss 1968 - USS Ticonderoga port call Subic Bay 1990 - USS Cimarron rescues 25 refugees adrift SE of Subic Bay, Philippines 1991 - Torpedo Sound Range Vessel CFAV Stikine commissioned 1996 - Flood losses in the Saguenay region top $500 million 2003 - South Korean government decided to use deep-sea water in manufacturing such products as health drinks and cosmetics 2003 - Landing ship USS Mount Vernon decommissioned at San Diego 2003 - USCG escorts Norman Lady, an 800-foot LNG vessel carrying approximately 87,000 cubic meters of LNG, into Dominion’s natural gas facility in Lusby MD. This is the first vessel to unload product at the facility in 23 years 2003 - MV Wahana Asia carrying timber from Indonesia to Quy Nhon, Vietnam' sank off the coast of the southern province of Binh Thuan 2004 - SS Cape Isabel laid up Long Beach RRF 2005 - Rear Admiral Roger Girouard will hand-over command of Canadian Fleet Pacific (CANFLTPAC) to Commodore Bruce Donaldson on Friday, and will accept command of Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) from Vice-Admiral Jean Yves Forcier on Monday, July 25. The appointment of Vice-Admiral Forcier as the first commander of the newly created Canada Command was announced recently. The turnovers will take place in two separate and very different ceremonies as follows: The CANFLTPAC change of command will happen Friday at 1100 when Rear Admiral Girouard returns to Esquimalt aboard the flagship HMCS Algonquin, which is presently involved in a three-ship task group exercise. The short ceremony will occur under ‘operational’ conditions with the ship’s company, the ceremony principals, the Naden Band and military spectators wearing naval combat dress. The new commander, Commodore Donaldson, will return to sea in Algonquin to lead the task group through to the end of the exercise July 29. CANFLTPAC is the seagoing arm of MARPAC. It includes all ships, deployable naval units and assigned maritime aircraft under a single commander reporting to the Commander MARPAC. Commodore Donaldson was most recently the Commanding Officer of HMCS Athabaskan and previously Director General Maritime Forces Development at National Defense Headquarters. On Monday, July 25, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson will witness the change of command for MARPAC with the Chief of the Maritime Staff, Vice-Admiral Bruce MacLean. The ceremony, complete with the Naden Band and a 100 person Guard of Honor, will take place at 1030 on A-Jetty in HMC Dockyard, and will see Rear Admiral Girouard relieve Vice-Admiral Forcier. Guests will include federal, provincial and municipal political leaders, members of First Nations, Victoria area business leaders, as well as current and former serving members of the US and Canadian militaries and Coast Guards. The MARPAC Commander controls Canadian maritime forces in the Pacific and is responsible for National Search and Rescue responses throughout BC and the Yukon 2005 - 16 Argentine flagged jiggers and trawlers will be participating in a shortfin squid (Illex argentinus) research survey undertaken by the Mar del Plata National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development, INIDEP 2005 - An underwater archeological team working in the Baltic Sea, off Russia's northwestern coast, has found anchors from two Swedish ships, the team's leader, Retired Admiral Konstantin Shopotov, reported. While exploring a site where the remains of an 18th-century Swedish battleship Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte had been discovered several years ago (she hit a rock and sunk during the naval battle of Vyborg on June 22, 1790), the archeologists found an anchor and an iron-plated wooden lifting device, as well as four muskets, Shopotov said. According to him, the Hedwig Elizabeth's 300 marines threw their muskets overboard before they were taken prisoner by the Russians. One of the four surviving muskets has a rusty barrel, but its brass metalwork is remarkably well preserved. The Shopotov-led archeologists also worked on a site where a sunken Swedish frigate, the Uppland, had recently been found. This ship exploded during the battle of Vyborg, and her fragments were scattered across the seafloor in an area 400 meters in diameter. Another anchor was found at this site, as well as the wheels of a cannon mount, whose other parts were hoisted out several years before and are now on display at an underwater archeology museum. Shopotov's team is carrying out its 16th expedition. Over the years of fieldwork, it has found and examined over 20 vessels. Its most interesting finds include several warships that sank during the battle of Vyborg and a sailing boat, laden with granite slabs, that is believed to have been shipwrecked in the early 18th century. These vessels form the basis of the collection of the Underwater Archeology Museum housed in the Vyborg Castle, outside St. Petersburg 2005 - A rusting ship which has lain as an eyesore in Leith's upmarket Shore is to be turned into a restaurant again. The owners of the Ocean Mist are spending £500,000 transforming the boat in preparation for the "exciting" new venture. While they remain tight-lipped about the details, they revealed that another company wants to buy and restore the ship into a "very, very special" restaurant. They are certain that the latest project will be a success, even though the boat's previous owners closed the last restaurant because of a lack of business. It is five years since the Ocean Mist closed its doors as the host of the Cruise Ship Restaurant. New owners Water of Leith 2000 began gutting and repainting the boat in March. The interior has been ripped out and new decking will be in place by next week. The company planned to relaunch the ship as a floating office but ditched that idea after a mystery company came forward with the restaurant bid. The business plans to buy the boat and press ahead with the development, which will also include conference facilities. The refit of the steamer is being carried out by a team of experts from Edinburgh-based company Logie Refurbishment. Water of Leith is spending around £2 million to transform the former Navy steamer and a group of specially-built barges, which are moored at the Shore. The firm also operates the ship Mary of Guise, which is moored next to Ocean Mist, as an office. They plan to bring two more barges alongside the boats and open them up as floating offices. The firm is also putting the finishing touches to a 102-year-old steam yacht, which is moored in Leith Docks but will be setting sail for a new home in France. Ron Kitchin, of Water of Leith 2000, said full details would be released very soon. "This company is launching a very exciting development. This is something that will be very, very special and will add value to the area," he added. "This will not be yet another restaurant - it will be totally different from the others and will not be in competition with them." Mike Church, one of the owners of the Ship on the Shore bar and restaurant, welcomed the news. He said: "I am delighted. For five years, we've had a rusting hulk of a ship on our doorstep. I am glad that it will be used in this way. It is good for the area. "I expect that there will be some cross-pollination of business, such as people booking to eat there then coming here for a drink, or vice versa." Lorne Councilor Philip Attridge also said that he was pleased that the Ocean Mist will finally be used again. He added: "It is such an eyesore at the moment. Anything will be an improvement and I am glad to see that it is going to be in use. "The more restaurants in that area, the better. Sometimes it is really difficult to book somewhere around here for a meal." Ocean Mist, originally called the Samuel Green, was built by shipbuilders George Brown and Company of Greenock in 1919. The steamer was intended for the Royal Navy but the First World War had finished by the time she was ready for use. She was sold as a yacht and her illustrious owners included the Guinness family and the Duke of Leeds, before ending up at Inverlochy Castle, near Fort William. She was brought to Leith by three businessmen in the mid-1980s and converted into a restaurant. The Cruise Ship Restaurant closed in December 2000 because it wasn't generating enough business 2005 - Tidewater Inc. announced today the pending sale of six of its KMAR 404 class of Anchor Handling Towing Supply vessels to Deep Sea Supply ASA for a total cash price of $188 mill 2005 - United States and the Republic of Cyprus signed a reciprocal Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) Ship Boarding Agreement. Cypriot Foreign Minister Georgios Iacovou signed the agreement on behalf of Cyprus. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed on behalf of the United States. The Proliferation Security Initiative was announced by President Bush on May 31, 2003, and is aimed at establishing cooperative partnerships worldwide to prevent the flow of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern. Proliferation Security Initiative partners marked the recent second anniversary of the Initiative through a series of activities, including an exercises in the Czech Republic and Spain and an event hosted by Secretary Rice on May 31 for the Washington diplomatic corps. The ship boarding agreement signed by the US and Cyprus will facilitate cooperation between the two countries to prevent the maritime transfer of proliferation-related shipments by establishing points of contact and procedures to expedite requests to board and search suspect vessels in international waters. If a US- or Cypriot-flagged vessel is suspected of carrying proliferation-related cargo, either Party to this agreement can request the other to confirm the nationality of the ship in question and, if needed, to authorize the boarding, search, and possible detention of the vessel and its cargo. The agreement does not apply to the vessels of third states. Cyprus the world's sixth largest ship registry by gross tonnage and the first European Union member state to sign such an agreement with the US. Today's Proliferation Security Initiative Ship Boarding Agreement is our fifth following ones with Liberia, Panama, the Marshall Islands and Croatia. The combination of states with which we have boarding agreements and Proliferation Security Initiative partner commitments means that more than 60 percent of the global commercial shipping fleet dead weight tonnage is now subject to rapid action consent procedures for boarding, search, and seizure. Signing the ship boarding agreement demonstrates the commitment of Cyprus and the United States to ensuring the highest standards of security for their flag registries. This reciprocal agreement also sends a clear message to proliferators that neither the US nor Cyprus will tolerate the involvement of their vessels in the trade of proliferation-related cargoes. We believe that Proliferation Security Initiative ship boarding agreements simultaneously deter proliferators and attract legitimate commercial shipping interests that want to ensure their goods are transported under a reputable and responsible flag, which is not "misused" to transport illicit proliferation-related shipments 2005 - SeaHAVN Corporation announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, SeaHAVN Group, Ltd. (Bahamas) has reached agreement on the sale of its recently acquired 8x62 meter Factory Fishing Freezer Trawlers, their Charter Agreements to Pact Industrie A/S, Nouakchott, Mauritania for USD28million. Pact Industrie A/S owns, operates and/manages more than 13 comparable or larger vessels in resource-rich exclusive fishing zones and will provide fishing licenses for the vessels 2005 - Frigate BAP Palacios (ex-NMM Orsa) commissioned 2005 - The Ushuaia port terminal in Tierra del Fuego which concentrates a majority of world maritime traffic with Antarctica has been officially certified as a safe port by the International Maritime Organization 2005 - At 1630 at Base Naval de Val-de-Cães the Brazilian Minister of Defense commissioned the new medical evacuation launch or Lancha de Apoio Médico (LAM) Ambulancha. Dimensions are 7.8 x 2.8 x 0.6 meters and are able to carry 30 persons 2006 - Larry Miller, MP for Bruce--Grey--Owen Sound, announced today on behalf of the Honorable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that the federal government will repair the wall structure at the harbor facility in Southampton, Ontario 2006 - Dave Van Kesteren, MP for Chatham-Kent--Essex, announced today on behalf of the Honorable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that the federal government is funding dredging at the Rondeau commercial fishing harbor in Erieau, Ontario 2006 - Dubai Ports World will invest in expanding the Centerm Container Terminal in Vancouver 2006 - The dredging of PCBs in the Hudson River won't start until the spring of 2008 because unresolved legal and environmental issues can't be decided in time to build a cleanup facility before spring 2007 2006 - The Godspeed opened today at the Newport Yachting Center for the sixth and final stop in the 17th-century replica ship's 80-day tour of six East Coast cities. America's 400th Anniversary's Godspeed Sail brings the story of the journey that changed the world and the nation's birthplace, Jamestown, VA, to hundreds of thousands of visitors who will have a glimpse into early 17th-century America and the legacies on which our nation was founded 2006 - A few minutes after midnight Brixham Coastguard received an emergency call from a member of the public, alerting them to someone shouting for help from somewhere on the River Dart at Dittisham. The Coastguard understood the calls for help being near to the moored yacht Bare Poles but not from which side of the river. Two ambulances were then asked to proceed to the area, one to each side of the river based on the distress and urgency of the first informant who rang 999. It was then discovered that there were injuries on two separate boats which had somehow collided on the river. Initially confusing reports suggested two men; one injured and in shock, and another who was hypothermic, whilst on a second boat a further man was severely injured with facial injuries and who was barely conscious and who had lost a lot of blood. The boats were both in the river at the time and the injured were unable to make immediate landfall 2006 - The Coast Guard rescued two fishermen today after their boat sank into the Nantucket Sound. At 0714, the Coast Guard received a distress call from the captain of the fishing vessel Scratcher who reported that his boat was taking on water. The 35-foot boat had struck an object in the vicinity of Horseshoe Shoal and immediately began taking on water. Shortly thereafter, the two-man crew sent out a distress call via their marine radio. The distress call from Scratcher was received by the Coast Guard command center at Sector Southeastern New England where resources were dispatched immediately. A Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod was diverted to the scene, as well as small boats from Station Chatham and Station Woods Hole. The fishermen fought the flooding, but were forced to abandon ship as the water rose uncontrollably. Shortly after the vessel sank, the Coast Guard helicopter hoisted the two fishermen from the water and returned them safely to land 2006 - Master CPO Michael A. Gibbs relieved by Master CPO Amritt A. Villa as the Coast Guard's Silver Ancient Mariner in a ceremony onboard USCGC Cheyenne in St Louis. The titles of Ancient Mariner, both Gold (Officer) and Silver (Enlisted), were established in 1978 to honor those who have chosen to accept the responsibilities of a cutterman and follow the path of a life at sea. It not only recognizes seagoing longevity, but also awards the cutterman whose personal character and performance standards honor the most venerable practitioners of seamanship and reflection of the Coast Guard core values of Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty. Recipients of this title are charged with keeping a close watch to ensure sea-service traditions are continued and that the time-honored reputation of the Coast Guard is maintained 2006 - Typhoon Kaemi, fifth to hit China this year, slammed into Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, at 1550 2006 - South Korea's STX Shipbuilding Co. won a US$151M order to supply three crude oil tankers to a Turkish shipping company 2006 - Sailors assigned to Assault Craft Unit Five (ACU-5) assist the Los Angeles Fire Department by delivering their crew carrier vehicles to Catalina Island aboard a Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC). The fire department was working to contain a fire that broke out due to lightening strikes on the island 2006 - USCG saved three after their 68-foot fishing boat sunk 70 miles west of Depoe Bay OR 2006 - Carl M. Brashear, the first black US Navy diver who was portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the 2000 film "Men of Honor," died 2006 - John Cummins, MP for Delta-Richmond East, announced the commitment of $1.4m for improvements at five fishing harbors in British Columbia 2006 - The "Edward L. Ryerson", built in 1960 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding (Hull 425), and one of the only two remaining straight-deck lakers, has been refurbished by Bay Shipbuilding and returned to service by Central Marine Logistics, after being laid up for eight years 2006 - A container ship that ran aground in the St. John's River near the Little Jetties Park today was freed at 11:15 p.m. by tugboats and is on its way to Blount Island, Fla. Horizon Discovery, a 670-foot container ship from New York, was set free by tugs from Moran Towing 2006 - The Finn presumed dead after an Israeli air strike on a UN observation post in southern Lebanon is Lieutenant-Commander Jarno Mäkinen, 29, from Kaarina 2006 - Capt. Bill Truelove officially took over command of the CFB Esquimalt-based naval group commonly referred to as MOG 4 2007 - Ten crew members of LCT Ayu-5, which sank on Seram Island waters, Maluku, last week, were rescued by the island’s local fishermen 2007 - Scientists found the use of in-ground waste disposal is producing sewage-contaminated groundwater, threatening Florida corals and human health. University of Georgia study involved the offshore reefs of the upper Florida Keys 2007 - The decision to retain Clyde, Portsmouth and Plymouth Naval Bases announced 2007 - UK confirmation of the two ship carrier construction program 2007 - Five anti-nuclear protestors arrested at the Faslane submarine base near Helensburgh 2007 - Defense Minister Phil Goff announced Rear Admiral Jack Steer RNZN will become the next Vice Chief of Defense Force (VCDF) 2007 - A US judge has ordered Sudan to pay nearly eight million dollars to the families of 17 sailors killed in the 2000 terrorist attack on USS Cole in Aden 2007 - Commander of the US Reserve Force, Vice Adm. John G. Cotton, met with more than 150 sailors during an all hands call at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain ============================================================= 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.