SeaWaves Today in History June 4, 2009 Denmark - Constitution Day. Visiting warships Dress Ship with Masthead Flags 1534 - Prince Edward Island sighted by Jacques Cartier 1666 - The last day of the Four Days battle. Prince Rupert's squadron, delayed by contrary winds, finally managed to return to the fleet, and took over the fight. Led by Rupert's Vice-Admiral, Christopher Myngs, who was killed during the battle, the fleet stood on against those of de Ruyter's ships still fit to fight. De Ruyter attempted to close for a boarding action, but this gave Prince Rupert the chance to break the line and gain the advantage of the wind. Fierce fighting ensued, and Rupert's flagship Royal James suffered severe mast damage. Fog put an end to the fight, which overall proved a Dutch victory - they lost only four ships over the four days, whilst the English lost four destroyed and six captured. However, the Comte de Guiche, a French observer with the Royal Navy, commended the discipline and firepower of the English ships in unfavorable conditions 1671 - Simon-François Daumont de Saint-Lusson d1677 takes possession of lands around Sault Ste. Marie and claims Huron and Superior areas for France; sent by Jean Talon to do a survey of the area 1673 - The Second Battle of Schooneveld. De Ruyter attacked the Anglo-French fleet off the Dutch coast. Spragge, commanding the lead allied squadron was at the time in a small boat en route to Prince Rupert's flagship for a conference, and took over two hours to return to his own vessel, delaying the fleet's deployment for action. When it did deploy, it did so in great confusion. However, de Ruyter was unable to take advantage of the situation, and he only had 51 ships against 75 English and Dutch vessels. The battle proved indecisive, with no ships lost on either side 1742 - Le Canada launched; first French warship built in Canada sails for Rochefort, France 1760 - Twenty-two ships carrying New England planters arrive in Nova Scotia to take land forcibly vacated by the Acadians 1792 - Capt. George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for Britain 1812 - Congress votes for war against Britain; the War of 1812 begins June 18, when President James Madison officially proclaims the US to be at war 1908 - Submarine HMS C27 laid down 1908 - Submarine HMS C29 laid down 1913 - Submarine USS H-2 (ex-Nautilus) launched Union Iron Works San Francisco 1915 - Submarine HMS H2 completed 1918 - Minesweeper HMC TR 33 commissioned 1934 - USS Ranger, first US ship designed from the keel up as a carrier, is commissioned at Norfolk, VA 1939 - SS St. Louis, carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees from Germany, was turned away from the Florida coast 1940 - Dunkirk evacuation completed. The nine-day evacuation, the largest of its kind in history and an unexpected success, saved 338,000 Allied troops from capture by the Nazis 1940 - HMCS Shawinigan laid down Lauzon PQ 1940 - The Allied evacuation of Norway begins. 24,500 men will be evacuated over 4 days. Tasked with covering the fleet during the evacuation in the now perpetual daylight of the Arctic, the aircraft on HMS Ark Royal commenced around the clock operations 1940 - Germans enter Dunkirk. Operation Dynamo has evacuated 338,226 of which 112,000 are French. The initial estimate was 50,000 to be evacuated. The last ship, destroyer HMS Shikari, left at 0340. Credit for this success should go to the British land and naval commanders and their troops along with the German hesitation. The RAF played an important part and lost 80 pilots KIA and 106 aircraft during the seven days of the evacuation, the Luftwaffe 150 aircraft 1940 - At 0800 Admiral Wilhelm Marschall, flying his flag on schlachtschiff Gneisenau (Kapitan zur See Harald Netzbandt), leading schlachtschiff Scharnhorst (Kapitan zur See Caesar Hoffmann) and schwere kreuzer Admiral Hipper (Kapitan zur See Hellmuth Heye) and escorted by the only four operational destroyers in the fleet [Hans Lody (Huberts Baron v. Wangenheim), Karl Galster (Theodor Baron v. Bechtolsheim), Erich Steinbrinck (Rolf Johannesson), and Hermann Schoemann (Theodor Detmers, later captain of the raider Kormoran)] as well as two torpedo boats [Falke and Jaguar], had departed Kiel for Operation "Juno" a foray into the waters off Northern Norway 1941 - Kaiser Wilhelm II died today where he has lived in exile in Holland 1941 - British vessels sink four of the Bismarck’s support vessels 1941 - US Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania reported that development of airborne television had progressed to the point that signals transmitted by this means could be used to alter the course of the transmitting aircraft 1942 - The first wave of Japanese Naval aircraft (108) flying from Admiral Nagumo's carriers are launched at Midway Island. USAAF and Marine aircraft based on Midway attack the Japanese carriers. After the limited success of the first wave, a second wave attack, on Midway, is ordered. Meanwhile the US carrier forces off Midway have spotted the Japanese carriers. They get their attack underway. The Japanese scouts then find the US carriers. Nagumo orders a change in armament for the strike. His first wave also returns. The appearance of the US carriers is not something that Nagumo had expected. While the Japanese carriers are re-arming their strike, the US attack force finds them. This strike has been somewhat unorganized. The range has forced a separation of the torpedo planes from the dive-bombers. The TBDs arrive 1st with their torpedoes at low level. Their attack is ineffective with most planes of the force lost. The dive-bombers arrive overhead and attack. The Japanese fighters have been caught at low level and are ineffective against the dive-bombers. Between 10 -25 and 10 -28 this morning hits are made on carriers Kaga, Akagi, and Soryu. These 3 carriers are fatally hit and sink soon thereafter. The US attack has caught them with planes in various stages of refueling and rearming. The fumes and armaments contribute to the rapid demise of these ships. Also a factor is the level of Japanese damage control. The Hiryu launches a strike that hits the USS Yorktown. Despite effective damage control, I-168 launches fatal torpedoes. The Enterprise and Hornet launch another strike, with 4 direct hits, which fatally wound Hiryu. This battle ends and the balance of power changes hands in the Pacific. This victory had born a high cost, particularly among the young Navy, Marine, and Army aviators that had carried the battle to the enemy. During the days fighting the three American carriers had lost seventy-eight aircraft in action, with nine others out of action and a further twenty trapped aboard the abandoned YORKTOWN. Additionally, the Midway based squadrons had lost thirty-six planes, with fifteen others out of action. Overall, the days had cost the bean counters 158 aircraft. But the real cost was in men, not machines. Although twenty-four downed aviators had been rescued during the day, ten were confirmed dead, twenty-two were wounded, and a staggering 183 were missing although, fortunately, twenty-six of these were to be rescued in the next few days 1942 - F/L Reginald Patrick Mahoney "Pat" Gibbs DFC, RAF, age 26, is scheduled to make an early morning strike from LG.05 on an Italian convoy consisting of the MV Reginaldo Giuliani (6,837 BRT) and three escorts, Freccia, Pegaso, and Partenope. Gibbs schedules departure such that the sub-flight, flying in a scouting line, will reach the expected interception point at dawn, limiting the time that defending fighters can use to get off the ground in Libya. Of the three scheduled aircraft, one is scrubbed with a balky engine; leaving two Beauforts for the job, Gibbs flying in AW337. Things go exactly as planned. Gibbs surprises the convoy approaching the harbor, and slips his torpedo into the merchant vessel, stopping her and causing a severe fire. She sinks later that morning 1942 - In the Aleutian Islands, it is rainy with a low-overcast limiting visibility and the two Japanese light aircraft carriers, HIJMS Junyo & Ryujo, wait for it to clear. Finally, planes are dispatched to bomb Dutch Harbor in weather so poor that only the best pilots on the two ships were permitted to fly. Eleven Aichi D3A Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers, Allied Code Name "Val;" ten Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied Code Name "Zeke;" and eight Nakajima B5N Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name "Kate," attack Dutch Harbor in several waves beginning at 1800 hours local; the fighters make a strafing attack followed by the eleven "Vals" that hit four fuel tanks igniting 22,000 barrels (3.5 million liters) of fuel, demolish part of the naval hospital and damage a beached barracks ship. At 1821 hours, three "Kates" attack but do not do any damage; this was followed by five more "Kates" at 1825 hours which hit an AA emplacement killing four US sailors. US Army and Navy casualties during the two days are 43 killed and approximately 50 wounded. After the attack, the eight "Vals" and "Zekes" from the carrier HIJMS Junyo, unaware of the USAAF's new fighter base at Otter Point on Umnak Island, rally at the west end of Umnak and are met by eight P-40s which shoot down two "Vals" and two "Zekes." One other plane from HIJMS Junyo fails to return but all of the aircraft from HIJMS Ryujo return to the ship. A PBY-5A Catalina of the USN's Patrol Squadron Forty-Two locates the Japanese force by radar and circles it for an hour radioing its position. Three USAAF B-26 Marauders make a torpedo attack but none of the ships are hit 1942 - U-158 sinks a US armed freighter in the Caribbean south of the Yucatan Channel 1942 - Tug HMCS Nashwaak assigned to Halifax 1942 - HMS Trusty torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Toyohashi Maru in Strait of Malacca 1943 - HMCS Lasalle laid down Lauzon PQ 1943 - HMCS Lindsay launched Midland ON 1943 - USS PC-496 sunk after being torpedoed by Italian submarine off Bizerte Tunisia 1943 - U-308 (Type VIIC) sunk in the Norwegian Sea NE of the Faroes, at position 64.28N, 03.09W, by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Truculent. 44 dead (all crew lost). U-594 (Type VIIC) sunk west of Gibraltar, at position 35.55N, 09.25W, by rockets from a British Hudson aircraft (48 Sqn). 50 dead (all crew lost) 1943 - Military revolution in Argentina ousted President Castillo 1943 - HMS Truculent torpedoes and sinks U-308 in the Norwegian Sea northeast of the Faeroes 1944 - HMCS Orangeville departed Londonderry escort convoy ONS-239 1944 - US Navy Task Force 22.3 consisting of the escort aircraft carrier USS Guadalcanal, with Composite Squadron Eight aboard, and destroyers escorts USS Chatelain, Flaherty, Jenks, Pillsbury & Pope attack the German U-Boat U-505 in the South Atlantic. Directed by VC-8 TBM Avengers, the Chatelain drops depth charges, one of which blasts a hole in the outer hull of the submarine and rolled the U-boat on its beam ends. The inexperienced U-Boat captain thought his ship was sinking so he surfaced. The US commander of this task force, Captain Daniel V. Gallery, USN, had been planning for an opportunity to board a submarine and capture all the documents and boarding parties had been trained and equipped. A boarding party from Pillsbury was ordered to the submarine and found it abandoned. The men of the boarding party went below seizing all papers and books and closing valves and stopping leaks. By this time, a larger boarding party arrived from Guadalcanal and after securing a towline and rescuing the Germans from the water, the Guadalcanal took U-505 in tow. For their action, the crews of the six ships were awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. U-505 is currently on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago 1944 - Overlord convoys at sea turn back because of bad weather which is expected for tomorrow. The bad weather puts the Germans off guard. Rommel leaves for Germany to see Hitler and celebrate his wife's birthday. Late tonight General Eisenhower decides to go on June 6 1944 - USS Susan B. Anthony, an attack transport, stands out to sea from Bristol. On board are elements of the 90th Infantry Division, VII Corps floating reserve for Utah Beach, and personnel of the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion, 101st Airborne Division 1944 - HMS Templar lays mines in the Strait of Malacca 1944 - Submarine HMS Sickle fired upon shipping in Mitylene Harbour and was engaged in gunfire with German patrol vessels GA76 and GA91 during which Able Seaman Richard Blake, a member of the submarines 3 inch gun crew who was blown over board. The submarine had to make an urgent dive to avoid further hits, and Blake was left in the water and picked up by the Germans to become a POW. Sickle escaped the engagement and continued on her patrol 1945 - HMCS Levis commenced tropicalization refit Lunenburg NS 1945 - HMCS Haida, Huron & Iroquois departed Greenock for Halifax 1945 - HMCS Annapolis paid off 1947 - HMS Seneschal suffers an explosion 1949 - During the dog watches this date, HMCS Magnificent took the ground while approaching the entrance to Port Mouton, Nova Scotia. This traumatic incident was especially memorable for Roy DeNevers who was on board at the time as a pilot with 826 Sqn. His account reads as follows - "I was in the Wardroom with a glass in my hand when she went aground sometime after 1600. The deceleration was sufficient from the hull plates being opened up by the rock like a giant can opener that the drink spilled on my hand from my losing my balance. However, the amount spilled was not sufficient for me to have to get another drink. I had to step more quickly than I normally would do with a drink in my hand to maintain my balance. There was quite a noise of scraping metal as the ship's plates were torn by the rock for a distance of about 200 feet as she ground to a halt." The sea and swell were slight, and four hours later, with the assistance of the accompanying destroyers, Magnificent floated off and made her way slowly back towards Halifax 1951 - Minesweeper HMCS Chignecto laid down Sorel PQ 1954 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga arrived Okinawa 1954 - Minesweeper HMCS Ungava commissioned 1968 - USS Intrepid commenced Vietnam deployment 1976 - Canada declares 200 nautical mile offshore fisheries jurisdiction zone, effective Jan 1, 1977; Canada to set numbers of fish harvested and quotas for foreign fleets 1986 - Jonathan Jay Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty in Washington to spying for Israel 1994 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan completed TRUMP refit Marine Industries Ltd Sorel PQ 2004 - INS Satpura, an indigenously built frigate, was launched at Mazagon Docks in Mumbai. Second of Project 17-class 2004 - North Korean patrol boats crossed over a disputed border into South Korean waters, hours after the two countries agreed to measures to ease half a century of military tensions 2004 - South Africa launches a new Maritime Rescue Center to help coordinate its response to shipping disasters and search-and-rescue operations in the region 2005 - group of World War II veterans has set the record straight about the role their ship, the USS Achernar, played in the D-Day invasion of France 61 years ago today. Achernar, an attack cargo ship, was one of four command vessels for the D-Day mission. Its role was detailed in a June 1944 account in Life magazine, which described the ship loaded with communications equipment to help choreograph the invasion. But for security reasons, the reporter gave the ship a false name: USS Acamar. That precaution has created frustration for veterans ever since. "I've been trying since the war was over to get the ship recognized properly," said Phil Gentilcore, 82, who was a gunner's mate. Gentilcore and eight other veterans of the Achernar gathered Saturday to receive citations commending the ship's role - and recognizing it by its actual name. The Achernar's existence is well-documented, but there has been no reference to the fact that the Acamar and the Achernar were the same until now, said Gentilcore, who lives in Hyattsville, Md. US Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and other politicians drew up citations acknowledging the ship and its crew in time for the veterans' annual reunion and today's D-Day anniversary. The veterans shared stories of their time aboard Achernar, which was named after one of the brightest stars in the sky. Gentilcore remembered seeing the first medical tent go up on Omaha Beach, one of the sites on the Normandy coast where Allied troops were going ashore. He said the sight heartened him because it meant the Allied forces were making progress and the wounded could be treated. They also spoke about lighthearted moments. Gentilcore recalled how sailors on other ships wanted to come aboard the Achernar because it was one of the few ships with an ice cream maker. Bob Lauriguet spoke of a soldier who fell off a dock and broke his leg as he craned his head looking at a group of pretty nurses. Lauriguet said that man was given a Purple Heart, basically for "looking at some nurses." The Achernar, which could carry about 400 people, received three battle stars for World War II service and three battle stars for service in the Korean War. The ship later served the Spanish Navy and was scrapped in 1982 2005 - Cmdre. A.B.F. Fraser-Harris RCN inducted (posthumously) into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Edmonton AB 2005 - The search in the area of Douglas Bay Isle of Man for two crewmembers from RFA Orangeleaf is being scaled down. Search units including Douglas and Port St Mary RNLI lifeboats, RAF Rescue Helicopter R122, Isle of Man Coastguard units, and transiting ferry vessels on approach to Douglas have searched, throughout the night and morning. Nothing has been found 2005 - A Malaysian-flagged bulk carrier sank after colliding with a container ship 14 nautical miles from Pulau Batu Putih, off Mersing. Marine Department (southern region) director Kapt Hazman Hussein said the Malaysian ship, Everise Glory, reported one crewmember missing after the 1150 collision yesterday while the other 22 were uninjured. The collision, he said, had raised concerns of possible oil spillage and the Malaysian marine authorities had deployed several ships to the area to monitor the situation. He said Everise Glory was heading for Singapore from Western Australia while the Taiwan-registered container ship, Uni Concord, had left the Port of Tanjung Pelepas for Bintulu 2005 - The Texas Clipper II set sail on what is to be her final summer cruise - an annual tradition for students training in the Texas State Maritime Program. The ship has been a floating classroom for the Cadets at Texas A&M University's Galveston campus for nearly 10 years. In 1996, it replaced the Texas Clipper I, a former World War II vessel that served as the school's training ship for about 30 years 2006 - US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Viet Nam from June 4-6, 2006 2006 - The search and rescue team has detected oil believed to be the fuel from the Hawk 208 fighter aircraft reported missing off Kuala Rompin coast of Malaysia 2006 - At 1400 Humber Coastguard received a call from leisure dive boat Providence approximately 20 miles off Bridlington, East Yorkshire, reporting one of their divers missing. The diver had been seen to surface but looked distressed, and as Providence proceeded towards him he submerged and was lost from sight. RNLI lifeboats from Humber and Bridlington and Hornsea Independent Rescue boat were requested to launch to search for the missing man. Rescue Helicopter 131 was scrambled from RAF Boulmer and is also searching the area under the coordination of Humber Coastguard. In response to a VHF radio broadcast from Humber Coastguard, HMS Ledbury was diverted from her operations and is now proceeding at full speed to assist 2006 - USS John C. Stennis participated in a joint rescue effort off the coast of San Diego 2007 - Leander-class frigate CNS Lynch decommissioned at Valparaiso 2007 - NOAA announced that the wreck of the coal schooner Paul Palmer, which rests on the seafloor within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places 2008 - US Navy ships that have been positioned off Burma's coast since May 13 with urgently needed humanitarian assistance for the victims of Cyclone Nargis will resume their previously scheduled operations tomorrow. Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of US Pacific Command, recommended to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that the USS Essex group and the Marine Corps' 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit should continue with their previously scheduled operational commitments, and Gates approved his recommendation, US military officials said. Burma's ruling military junta refused to let the ships or its helicopters deliver relief supplies 2008 - Italian frigate Espero relieved sister ship Scirocco in UNIFL duties in Limmassol 2008 - RN’s new advanced naval air defense system, PAAMS (Principal Anti-Air Missile System), was successfully test fired for the first time from the trials barge Longbow at the French DGA’s CELM (Centre d’Essais de Lancement des Missiles ) test range near the Ile du Levant 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. 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