SeaWaves Today in History July 31, 2009 1498 - Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad 1741 - Vitus Jonassen Bering 1681-1741 puts landing party ashore in North America for several hours, before returning to Kamchatka; beginning of Russian trade presence on the pacific coast 1786 - James Strange 1753-1840 claims Vancouver Island for England John Ericsson born, invented screw propeller, built USS Monitor 1815 - Commodore Stephen Decatur concludes agreement with Bey of Tunis to compensate US for seizure of merchant ships during the War of 1812 George Melville polar explorer, naval engineer born 1865 - East India Squadron established to operate from Sunda Strait to Japan 1874 - Commissioning of USS Intrepid, first US warship equipped with torpedoes 1899 - Snoqualmie Falls generators begin producing electricity 1911 - Cruiser HMCS Niobe grounded off Sable Island, Lt (The Right Honorable) Alastair Mungo Graham RN, subsequently Court Martialed and found Negligent, (first Court Martial in Canadian Navy) 1912 - First attempt to launch an airplane by catapult made at Annapolis 1916 - Submarine HMS J6 completed 1916 - William Landymore Royal Canadian Navy Admiral, born on this day in 1916 in Brantford, Ontario. Landymore served in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic theatres during World War II and commanded the destroyer Iroquois on active duty off Korea in 1951-53. In 1965 he was appointed head of Maritime Command, but resigned in 1966 over the issue of unification 1918 - Destroyer USS Wickes commissioned 1918 - Destroyers USS Belknap, Humphreys, McFarland laid down 1922 - Depot ship HMCS Naden paid off 1923 - Light cruiser USS Detroit commissioned 1930 - Submarine FS Protee launched 1933 - Destroyer HMS Faulknor laid down 1935 - Deception Pass and Canoe Pass bridges are dedicated 1933 - USS Constitution commences tour of principal US seaports 1934 - Longshoremen return to work, ending major West Coast waterfront strike 1935 - U-4 launched 1935 - Destroyer USS Bagley laid down 1935 - Light cruiser FS Jean de Vienne launched 1936 - U-21 launched 1938 - Soviet submarine K-3 launched 1940 - HMCS Standard Coaster hired as harbor oiler 1940 - AMC HMCS Prince Robert commissioned 1940 - Operation "Hurry", the first ship launched aerial reinforcement of Malta begins. On 23 July, HMS Argus sailed from Greenock escorted by HMS Encounter, Gallant, Greyhound & Hotspur, bound for Gibraltar with 2 war-weary Skua IIs (to carry the lead navigators) and 12 new RAF Hurricanes Mk Is 418 Flight, and arrived safely on 30 July. The force then sortied into the Western Mediterranean on 31 July heading for a flying off point West of Malta. The reinforcement force is covered by Force H, comprising HMS Ark Royal, Hood, Valiant, Resolution, Arethusa, Delhi, Enterprise, Faulknor, Forester, Foresight, Foxhound, Fearless, Escapade, Active, and Wrestler. Improperly reviewed plans call for the Hurricanes to fly off on 1 August. The Italians discover the force late in the afternoon 1940 - German raider Komet sails for the Pacific through the NE Passage across the top of Siberia with the aid of Russian icebreakers. She operates in the Pacific and Indian Ocean until her return to Germany in November 1941. She is the last of the first wave of raiders 1940 - In the Battle of the Atlantic, Convoys are now being rerouted through the North Western Approaches to the British Isles instead of to the south of Ireland and through the Irish Sea. North Channel and the sea lanes leading to it becomes a focal point for all shipping leaving or arriving in British waters 1940 - Thames-out OA convoys are now joining FN East Coast ships and passing around the north of Scotland before going out through the North West Approaches. They stop altogether in October. The Thames/Forth FN/FS convoys continue along the East Coast. Two additional ones are Forth/ Clyde EN/WN around the north of Scotland. Thames/English Channel CW/CE through the Strait of Dover. [Losses in the Channel are so heavy that the latter have to be stopped for a while.] Slow Sydney, Cape Breton/UK convoys start in August with SC1. The limits of the few escorts available are only just pushed out from 15 W to 17 W where they stay until October. U-boats are patrolling well beyond this range and so many sinkings are taking place in unescorted convoys or when the ships have dispersed. Losses - 34 ships of 173,000 tons and 1 destroyer. 1 U-boat. European Waters - 67 ships of 192,000 tons. Mediterranean Waters - 2 merchant ships of 7,000 tons 1940 - British Prime Minister again sends a telegram to US Secretary of State Cordell Hull asking President Roosevelt for the loan of destroyers. In the past ten day, the RN has lost four destroyers and seven others have been damaged. Churchill states that, "If we cannot get reinforcements, the whole fate of the war may be decided by this minor and easily remediable factor" 1940 - At 0138, the unescorted Jamaica Progress was torpedoed by U-99 40 miles SW of Barra Head. The ship was sunk by a coup de grâce at 0244. Six crewmembers and one gunner were lost. The master, 24 crewmembers, one gunner and four passengers were picked up by the British trawler Newland and landed at Fleetwood. The chief officer and 16 crewmembers landed at Barra, Hebrides 1940 - At 1324, the Jersey City in Convoy OB-191 was torpedoed and sunk by U-99 70 miles NW of Tory Island. Two crewmembers were lost. The master and 42 crewmembers were picked up by the British-flagged Gloucester City, transferred to destroyer HMS Walker and landed at Liverpool 1940 - Destroyer HMS Whitshed struck a mine off Harwich and was badly damaged. She was towed back to port by HMS Wild Swan 1940 - ASW trawler HMS Rumba launched 1941 - Corvette HMCS Battleford commissioned 1941 - Force H covers a small convoy to Malta. Destroyers and aircraft for HMS Ark Royal attack Alghero in Sardinia 1941 - Royal Navy hopes are high as this month ends that they are over the worst in their battle with the U-boats. Losses to Allied shipping are now running at under one-fifth of the peak rate of 688,000 tons suffered in April 1941 - Battle of the Atlantic - Losses - 23 ships of 98,000 tons. Losses in home waters - 18 ships of 15,000 tons 1941 - The US Asiatic Fleet and US Army Harbor Defense Command close Manila harbor by mining. Henceforth, civilian shipping requires escort through the minefields by Asiatic Fleet vessels or by US Army Mine Planters assigned to the Harbor Defense Command 1941 - The Japanese government assures the US government that the bombing of the river gunboat USS Tutuila at Chungking, China, yesterday was an accident 1941 - U-711 laid down 1941 - U-581 commissioned 1941 - U-172 launched 1941 - Destroyers USS Duncan, Lansdowne, Pringle laid down 1941 - Corvettes HMS Monkshood, Pentstemon commissioned 1941 - Escort carrier HMS Pursuer laid down 1942 - Armed yacht HMCS Caribou arrived Halifax. Determined to be unfit for patrol so assigned to training duties 1942 - Destroyer HMCS Skeena & corvette HMCS Wetaskiwin sank U-588 (Type VIIC) Kptlt Viktor Vogel CO, at 49-59N, 36-36W. From the crew of 46, there were no survivors. U-588 was a VIIC type U-boat built by F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG Kiel, launched 23 Jul 41, commissioned 18 Sep 41, in service 10 months, While in North American waters in May 42 U-588 sank 6 ships for 25,541 tons & torpedoed one of 7,460 tons that did not sink. U-588 was part of a six-boat "pack" that had operating against the 41-ship Liverpool to Boston convoy ON.115. U-588 was sighted on the surface by Skeena during the night of 30-31 Jul & forced to submerge. Skeena & Wetaskiwin hunted & attacked the U-boat until 1000hrs when Skeena delivered the fatal attack. Convoy ON.115 arrived in Boston on 8 Aug 41 having lost two ships totaling 16,500 tons, to U-553 & U-607 1942 - U-754 (Type VIIC) is sunk in North Atlantic north of Boston, USA at position 43.02N, 64.52W, by a Royal Canadian Air Force Hudson Mk III, s/n BW625, piloted by Squadron Leader N.E. Small of No. 113 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron based at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. All hands, 43-men, on the U-boat are lost. This was the first submarine sunk by the RCAF's Eastern Air Command. 43 dead 1942 - Destroyer HMS Whirlwind laid down 1942 - U-213 was sunk in the North Atlantic east of the Azores, in position 36.45N, 22.50W by depth charges from sloops HMS Erne, Rochester & Sandwich 1942 - Aircraft carrier USS Essex launched 1942 - Destroyer USS Jenkins commissioned 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Dubbo commissioned 1942 - Destroyer HMS Eskdale commissioned 1943 - HMS Unsparing torpedoes and sinks the Italian tanker Flegetonte off Bari 1943 - Corvette HMCS Norsyd launched Quebec City PQ 1943 - Frigate HMCS St Catharines commissioned 1943 - In the Pacific, USN submarines sink a Japanese army cargo ship and an aircraft transport. They also land supplies and equipment on Panay Island, Philippine Islands, and a survey party on the West Coast of Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands 1943 - U-199 is sunk in the South Atlantic east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in position 23.54S, 42.54W, by depth charges from a USN PBM-3 Mariner, plane number 7 of Patrol Squadron Seventy Four based at Natal, Brazil, and a Forca Aerea Brasileira PBY Catalina and A-28A Hudson based at Rio de Janeiro 1943 - In the South Pacific, the RN's aircraft carrier HMS Victorious is detached from the US Third Fleet and ordered back to duty with the RN 1943 - Submarine HMS Terrapin launched 1943 - U-748 commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper USS Mirth laid down 1943 - Minesweepers USS Mainstay, Marvel launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Thomas launched 1943 - Destroyer USS Prichett launched 1943 - Submarine USS Aspro commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Young commissioned 1943 - Frigates HMS Braithwaite, Cam launched 1943 - Corvette HMS Carisbrooke Castle launched 1944 - Cruisers HMS Diadem & Bellona along with destroyers HMCS Chaudiere, St Laurent & Kootenay departed Devonport on anti convoy sweep "Kinetic" no enemy contact 1944 - Corvette HMCS Battleford completed forecastle extension refit Sydney NS 1944 - HMCS Loch Achanalt (ex HMS Loch Achanalt) commissioned 1944 - HMC MTB 485 commissioned. Log - 29th flotilla, "G" Type, 44 tons, 71.75x20.6x5.6ft, 39kts, crew 3/14, 1-6pdr, 2-20mm(1xII) 4-18in TT 1944 - Admiral Fraser assumes command of the British Eastern Fleet from Admiral Sommerville 1944 - In the Pacific, USN submarines sink a transport, two merchant tankers, a merchant freighter and a small cargo vessel and damage six other ships 1944 - Admiral Chester W. Nimitz approves a realignment of the number of aircraft assigned to a USN carrier air group (CVG). Currently, the standard is 36 F6F Hellcats, 36 SB2C Helldivers and 18 TBM Avengers. The new standard is 24 SB2C Helldivers, 18 TBM Avengers and as many F6F Hellcats as can be accommodated; in some aircraft carriers, this is 54 F6Fs. In addition, F6F pilots are to receive additional training in the fighter-bomber role especially in the use of air-to-ground rockets 1944 - U-333 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the North Atlantic west of the Scilly Isles, at position 49.39N, 07.28W, by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Starling and the frigate Loch Killin. 45 dead (all crew lost) 1944 - Repair ship HMS Hecla launched 1944 - Frigate HMS Nyasaland commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Kendal C Campbell, Neal A Scott commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Intrigue commissioned 1944 - At 0843, Soviet patrol craft MO-101 was torpedoed & sunk by U-370 in Björkö Sound in the Baltic Sea 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-187 was commissioned at New Orleans with LTJG W. A. Skelton, Jr. USCGR, first commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area including Manila, Tacloban, etc 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-315 was commissioned at New York with LT D. B. Oaksmith, USCGR, as commanding officer. He was succeeded by LTJG S. N. Megos, USCG. She departed New York on September 9, l944. During August 1945 she was engaged in transportation service in the Philippine cruising some 1,788 miles with 343 tons of cargo hauled and 21 passengers 1945 - The four-man midget submarine XE.3, commanded by Lieutenant Fraser, crept into the Johore Straits at Singapore to attack the Japanese heavy cruiser Takao, whilst XE.1 headed for Myoko. After 11 hours bumping along the bottom in often dangerously shallow water, Fraser managed to position XE.3 directly below Takao, and his diver, Magennis, squeezed out a hatch which could only be partly opened, blocked by the cruiser's hull, to attached limpet mines to the her. The task was made even more difficult by problems with his breathing apparatus. Once Magennis had returned to XE.3, Fraser released the submarine's main weapons - large explosive charges carried on each side of the vessel. However, one of the racks for the limpet mines would not release, upsetting the trim of the submarine; Magennis once more had to swim outside to help free it, which he managed after several minutes of difficult work. XE.3 was then able to make her escape. Meanwhile, XE.1 could not find Myoko, so her crew decided also to attack Takao, even though there was a risk that XE.3's charges might go off whilst they were underneath the cruiser. Charges dropped, XE.1 followed her sister out to sea. Takao was badly damaged by the explosions and never went to sea again. Fraser and Magennis both received the Victoria Cross 1945 - Off Japan, the USN's Task Force 38 and RN's Task Group 37.2 cease flying operations and retire from an oncoming typhoon 1945 - Minesweeper HMCS Star & HMC ML 101 paid off 1945 - Destroyer USS Richard E Kraus laid down 1945 - Destroyers USS Kenneth D Bailey, Floyd B Parks, Sarsfield commissioned 1945 - Minesweepers HMCS Truro & Trois-Rivieres transferred to RCMP at Sydney NS for rum running patrol duties. Renamed Herches & MacBrien respectively. Plans to transfer HMCS Lachine as Starnes and Digby as Perry cancelled 1945 - HMS Tiptoe damages a Japanese coaster with gunfire off the Sunda Strait 1946 - Minesweeper HMCS Portage Paid off 1946 - Submarine HMS Aeneas commissioned 1950 - HMCS Athabaskan escorts fast troop ship General Morton to Pusan 1952 - Submarine HMS Alderney arrived Halifax for ASW training 1953 - Minesweeper HMCS Trinity launched Lauzon PQ 1953 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga departs Esquimalt for Seattle WA 1957 - Approval received to transfer RCAF facilities Patricia Bay BC to RCN for use by Utility Squadron VU 33 1959 - Minesweeper HMCS Wallaceburg sold to Belgian Navy as Georges Lecointe. Currently in use as a firefighting structure in Zeebrugge 1964 - All-nuclear task force with USS Long Beach, Enterprise & Bainbridge leaves Norfolk VA to begin voyage, Operation Sea Orbit, to circle the globe without refueling. They returned on 3 October 1973 - Destroyer HMCS Kootenay departed ICCS duties South Vietnam for Esquimalt 1991 - Destroyer HMCS Qu'Appelle paid off. Sold 1994 for scrap in China 1992 - Destroyer HMCS Ottawa paid off 1996 - Frigate HMCS Ottawa accepted from builder Saint John NB 2002 - Seattle Seafair commences 2003 - USS Lexington Museum, Corpus Christi TX added to National Register of Historic Places 2004 - Christening ceremony for the Virginia-class submarine Texas at Northrop Grumman Corporation's Newport News. Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States, is the ship's sponsor and will christen the ship named for her native state. US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), the keynote speaker for the ceremony 2005 - SEALs stationed in Rota are to leave the base permanently, The unit consists of about 35 personnel will join other groups scheduled to leave the base including Naval Security, aircraft maintenance and base security. The SEAL unit in question is the unit used for commando & clandestine works in the nearby North African theater and is mainly used to search out terrorist groups working in this area. The Pentagon announced this to the Spanish Government at the beginning of June. The SEAL unit was officially part of the base at Rota in 2002 although it was known that they worked out from year many years before 2005 - The keels of a new frigate & large amphibious landing ship laid on Navy Day in Russia 2005 - The last of the navy's esteemed Adams-class destroyers shuddered when the first explosion tore a huge hole in its hull. As 37 more underwater charges exploded within seconds, HMAS Brisbane lurched forward, its bow disappearing beneath the waters off Mudjimba on the Sunshine Coast. Two minutes later - and 38 years after the 4000-tonne destroyer was commissioned - it was resting on the seabed, 28m below the surface. On a picture-postcard Queensland winter morning, a flotilla of hundreds of boats farewelled HMAS Brisbane. "I will admit a tear came to my eye," said the ship's former captain, Rear-Admiral Geoffrey Loosli. "I'm pleased she's gone very gracefully to her final resting place to begin a new life." That will be as an artificial reef and the centerpiece of the 38sqkm HMAS Brisbane Marine Park. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie, who detonated the explosives, said it cost $5million to sink the ship, but it would generate $23million a year in tourism revenue. "This offers divers a unique experience by providing access to the engine room and boiler room, something no other Australian dive wreck of this class has," Mr Beattie said. The last of the navy's steamships, HMAS Brisbane did two tours of duty in Vietnam, played a key role in Darwin after Cyclone Tracy in 1974, and served in the first Gulf War in the early 1990s. The 130m vessel had a crew of 332 and gave the navy a sophisticated medium-range missile capacity. About 400 tonnes of heavy metals and other contaminants, including 20,000km of cables and piping, were removed for environmental reasons before the sinking 2005 - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Pacific Fleet Commander Viktor Fyodorov, the leaders of the Primorye region and Vladivostok officials have laid down wreaths and flowers to the legendary S-56 submarine on the occasion of Russian Navy Day 2005 - Violence has caused Lloyd's Market Association to designate the Malacca Strait a warzone like Iraq for insurance purposes - a designation that translates into higher costs of doing business. But business problems breed business solutions - in this case, private navies that provide onboard security and naval escort services to cargo ships and tankers. Five security companies from Britain and the US have entered the private navy business in the region in the last year, hoping to tap a market that prices security at a minimum of $50,000 per ship. Companies like Background Asia Risk Solutions, the first naval security firm to open for business in Singapore, hire US and British Commonwealth ex-military and police personnel, many with experience in Iraq or Afghanistan. While forbidden by law from using heavy machine guns, the armed escorts provide onboard security and chartered patrol boats to escort client ships. Some firms even claim to be able to recapture ships or oilrigs from hijackers by rappelling security forces from helicopters 2005 - Humber Coastguard were contacted by Race Control of The Tall Ships' Races 2005, reporting that Smialy, one of the vessels in the Tall Ships Races had missed three scheduled communications with race control and had not been in contact since 1am on Saturday July 30th. The vessel has since missed two more scheduled (twice daily) communications. Humber Coastguard issued an alert to all shipping in the area asking for information on Smialy. Coastguards in Humber, Aberdeen and Forth have undertaken harbor checks with nothing found. Humber Coastguard have also alerted non UK Coastguard stations on the North Sea and Coastguards in Norway, Denmark, Germany and Holland have been monitoring communications for any contact with the Smialy. Humber Coastguard will continue with hourly broadcasts to shipping on both VHF and MF radio tonight. The Polish sailing vessel Smialy is an 18-meter Bermudan Ketch with a white hull and a white sail, which set off on 28th July with the Tall Ships Races from the River Tyne to Fredrikstad, Norway. There are reported to be 9 persons on board. Winds have been mainly Northerly Force 7 2006 - Vice Admiral Jagjit Singh Bedi relieved retiring Vice Admiral SCS Bangara as Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Command Kochi 2006 - One Lebanese soldier was killed and three others were wounded by Israeli naval fire near the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre 2006 - Commodore Ronald Warwick OBE, LLD, FNI retires with 36 years of company service after his final transatlantic crossing on Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 from New York on July 24 2006 - FAC INS Batti Malv commissioned by CINC Andaman and Nicobar unified command Vice Admiral Arun Kumar Singh at Port Blair 2006 - Clear Lake is launching a $25M cleanup project. It is in hopes of improving the lake's visibility after decades of damage by farm and yard runoff. Local residents and leaders have teamed up with the state to set up a massive dredging project at the northern Iowa lake. It is expected to cut pollution by two-thirds at the west end of the lake 2006 - Oil tanker Makhambet for Mobilex Energy of Kazakhstan is launched at Viborg shipyard. The vessel is purposed for crude oil and oil products transportation in Caspian Sea. The tanker was designed in Vimpel construction bureau. Makhambet is the sixth in a row built and commissioned at Viborg Shipyard OAO for Kazakh customers. First two vessels in the row, Astana and Almati, were built as per basic design 00210 and delivered first half 2005 2006 - A Florida woman who disappeared while on a cruise ship sailing along the coast of Italy is dead, relatives said 2006 - Rear Adm. (lower half)(sel.) Thomas J. Eccles is being assigned as deputy commander for undersea warfare, SEA-07, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington DC. Eccles is currently serving as major program manager for Seawolf, Program Executive Office Submarines, Washington DC. Rear Adm. (lower half) (sel.) John Elnitsky II is being assigned as commander, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Washington DC. Elnitsky is currently serving as major program manager for undersea mobility, PM 399, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington DC 2006 - Deep Blue Marine Inc. divers found an unclaimed wreck, and research is now in the process of determining the age and nation of registry 2006 - VT Shipbuilding started production of Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender. Work was officially started by Matt Roberts, Leader of the Defense Procurement Agency's Type 45 Integrated Project Team. He started cutting steel on VT's advanced laser machine to signal the launch of production 2006 - Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd. agreed to acquire its eleventh and twelfth Suezmax tanker. These vessels, one built in 2002 and one in 2003 in the Samsung shipyard in South Korea, are sister vessels to the Company's tenth vessel (built 2003) whose acquisition was announced on July 17 2006 - South Korea's Foreign Ministry confirmed that eight South Korean seamen kidnapped by pirates in Somalia in April have been released and are on their way home. It added that 17 other crew members from Indonesia, China, and Vietnam were also freed unharmed 2006 - Bow section of future HMS Dauntless departed Portsmouth for Scotland under tow 2006 - 19 year old male died after rescue from a capsized canoe off Portmahomack about 2200 2006 - The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) merged 195 Squadron with 191 Squadron to form the new 191 Squadron. Effective from 1 Aug 06, the new 191 Sqn will be commanded by Colonel Bernard Miranda and managed by the Third Flotilla under Headquarters Fleet. The new 191 Sqn will operate the RSN's Landing Ships Tank (LSTs), Fast Craft Utility (FCUs), Fast Craft for Equipment and Personnel (FCEPs), Pontoons, and Ramp-Powered Lighters. A simple ceremony marking the merger was held at Tuas Naval Base 2006 - Coast Guard Station Ft. Myers Beach rescued four people from a half-submerged vessel, 14-nautical-miles west of Ft. Myers Beach, Fla 2006 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair along with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and more than a dozen CEO's visited the British Petroleum terminal at the Port of Long Beach. Coast Guard Station Los Angeles-Long Beach and Marine Safety and Security Team 91103 assisted the US Secret Service, Long Beach Port Police and Long Beach Police Department in securing the area surrounding Blair's visit. The Coast Guard provided on water security by establishing a security zone at the Long Beach Terminal. Coast Guard K-9 units along with a multi-agency dive team swept the facility for explosives and other potential threats to the Prime Minster, Governor and guests 2007 - RNLN halted operations with one of its four Walrus-class diesel-electric attack submarines for at least a year. HNLMS Bruinvis, the newest of the class, was confined to port due to a lack of qualified personnel 2007 - Rear Admiral Brian Salerno USCG will testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on the Coast Guard's Administrative Law System 2007 - Capt. Leo Goff relieved by Capt. Patrick Scanlon in command of USS Frank Cable. Guest speaker was Rear Adm. Bruce MacDonald, Judge Advocate General of the Navy 2007 - The Sri Lanka Navy claimed to have destroyed two Sea Tiger boats which were trying to pass off as part of a cluster of Indian trawlers 2007 - Shri Vijay Singh becomes Indian Defense Secretary 2007 - NRP Vigilante commissioned. First of a class of three lifeboats 2008 - Deputy Assistant Secretary, Ship Programs Allison Stiller and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration of Resources and Capabilities Vice Adm. Barry McCullough testify at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Navy destroyer acquisition programs 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