SeaWaves Today in History June 10, 2009 1527 - Royal Navy captain John Rut, sent by Henry VIII, leaves Gravesend on the Mary Guildford and the Samson on an expedition to find a passage to Asia. Samson lost at sea 1610 - First Dutch settlers arrive (from NJ), to colonize Manhattan Island 1770 - A Spanish force of 5 frigates and 1600 troops took the British settlement at Port Egmont, Falkland Islands/Malvinas (established 1766) - the Spanish had been settled at Puerto Soledad since 1767 when the French had recognized sovereignty and handed over Fort St Louis which had been settled since 1764. By agreement Port Egmont was restored in 1771 but abandoned in 1774 1772 - Burning of the Gaspe, British revenue cutter, by Rhode Islanders 1801 - Tripoli declared war on the United States in a dispute over safe passage of merchant vessels through the Mediterranean 1809 - First US steamboat to a make an ocean voyage leaves New York for Philadelphia 1854 - US Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, holds first formal graduation exercises. Previous classes graduated without ceremony 1896 - Authorization of first experimental ship model tank 1898 - US Marines land in Cuba, during Spanish-American War 1902 - Submarine HMS No 5 launched 1908 - Submarine HMS C30 laid down 1915 - Submarine HMS S3 launched 1918 - Submarine HMS L14 launched 1921 - Submarine HMS L22 completed 1929 - Submarine HMS Royalist laid down 1930 - The USSR Council of Labor and Defense publishes its resolution on the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal 1931 - Destroyer HMCS Skeena commissioned 1939 - Surg/Cdr Archie McCallum RCNVR awarded Volunteer Reserve Decoration 1940 - Italy declared war on France and Britain; Canada declared war on Italy 1940 - French Prime Minister Reynaud appeals to US President Roosevelt to intervene in the war 1940 - Allied operations in Norway end. This has cost the British and French 1 carrier; 2 cruisers; and 9 destroyers plus other smaller craft. There were 6100 KIA. The cost for the Germans was 3 cruisers, 10 destroyers, and several U-boats. There were 5600 KIA. There was also many Norwegian casualties 1940 - Continuing to shepherd the troop convoys home to England, Ark made her first true effort to both cover the convoy and to look for survivors from the missing ships, which included HMS Glorious, Acasta, Ardent, Jupiter, SS Orama, and ST Oilpionieer. At 0245 she put up a 360-degree search, out to 120 miles, using 10 Swordfish. One Swordfish failed to return; signaling it was making a deferred forced landing at sea. While continuing to maintain a fighter patrol over the convoy, she next sent off three Walrus amphibians to search for the crew of the missing Swordfish, but found nothing. Fortunately, the missing trio, Sub-Lieutenant (A) R. C. Eborn RN, Midshipman (A) G. T. Shaddick RN, and Leading Airman P. W. Clitheroe RN had been rescued by the fishing vessel Syrian and would make it safely home on her. At 1100, her service escorting the convoy was deemed complete and the ship separated, steaming for a rendezvous with Commander in Chief Home Fleet, joining at 1440. Thus ended Operation "Alphabet,” the evacuation of Norway 1940 - German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau anchor in Trondheim 1940 - USS Vincennes, escorted by two destroyers, gets underway from Casablanca, French Morocco, for New York City carrying 200 tons of gold, the Bank of France's gold reserves 1940 - US passenger liner SS Washington arrives at Lisbon, Portugal, to board any Americans wishing to return to the US The destroyer USS Dickerson also arrives in Lisbon from Casablanca transporting Americans wishing to board the SS Washington 1940 - Royal Navy begins operation 'Cycle' the evacuation of 11,000 British and Allied troops from Le Havre 1940 - HMCS St Laurent & Restigouche exchanged fire with a German artillery battery at St Valery-en-Caux during the evacuation of the British 51st Highland Division. These were the first shots fired in anger by the RCN during World War II 1940 - Minesweeper (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS BC Lady commissioned 1940 - Patrol vessel HMCS Bras D’Or intercepted & seized Italian freighter Capo Noli 1940 - HMS Grampus departs Malta 1941 - Patrol sloop HMS Pintail mined off the Humber in the North Sea escorting Thames/ Forth coastal convoy FN447 1941 - Admiral Darlan urged French to conquer their illusions and consent to sacrifices. 1941 - Secretary of State Hull reassured Portugal as to its islands in the Atlantic 1941 - Corvettes HMS Mayflower, Spikenard, Trillium & Windflower departed Aultbea to escort Convoy OB-332 for St John’s 1941 - 104 aircraft from Bomber Command attacked three German ships - Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen - sheltering in Brest, but without success 1941 - River Class frigates ordered - HMCS Dunver, Cape Breton, Outremont, Valleyfield, Thetford Mines, Joliette, Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Stormont, Matane, Montreal, Grou, Saint John, Stettler, Edmunston, Magog, Longueuil, La Hulloise, Eastview, Beacon Hill, Kokanee, St Catharines, Waskesiu, Prince Rupert, Swansea. In Aug 2001, it was reported that Croatia's Viktor Lenac Shipyard has now successfully completed the extensive refurbishment of the luxury 'super' yacht Christina O (ex-Stormont), formerly the private yacht Christina of the legendary Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. Owned by the John Paul Papanicolaou Group, she is now the most luxurious 'super' yacht for the commercial cruising market. Commercial director of Viktor Lenac, Raoul Cvecic said - "The approach to this unique project was to keep as much as possible the image of the former ship with its original external splendor & internal luxury. However, the original, but aged ship's hull (built in 1943) as well as the reconstruction of the vessel for its new purpose, set many complex demands." The former yacht's riveted hull, weighing 900 tonnes, was renewed with a total of 600 tonnes of new steel & aluminum, as well as 140 tonnes of piping & 85km of electrical cable. A new helideck was fitted, along with repairs to her 4 stabilizers. Machinery & propulsion system installations involved the fitting of 2 new MAN (2040KW each) main engines, 3 new MAN (515KW each) auxiliary engines, propellers, 2 new struts for shafting, complete equipment & machinery units for the engine room, an additional funnel (built behind the existing funnel), & repair of the existing shaft arrangement. For the ship's systems & equipment, Viktor Lenac completed the fitting of new tanks (fuel oil, lube oil, drinking water & ballast), new vacuum systems (toilet flushing), new incinerator (trash & solid waste), new potable water treatment unit, 4 new AC units & a new revolving crane, which is located on the ship's bow. Viktor Lenac carried out numerous additions for passengers & crew onboard the yacht, involving a total of 18 spacious luxury cabins & a suite (owner), a fitness center, kindergarten, hairdresser's, library, dance hall, music lounge, lapis lounge, dining room (for passengers), mess room (crew), 2 galleys (1 each for the crew & passengers), & a solar Jacuzzi & bar (located on the promenade deck). New navigation & safety equipment was installed, including 2 new thrusters, 2 new lifeboats with davits, 2 new wooden retro look speedboats with davits, & ultra-advanced navigation & communication equipment 1941 - Submarine HMS Tempest launched 1941 - Submarine HMS Una launched 1941 - HMS Torbay makes three attack runs on an Italian convoy off the Dardenelles. The first attack at 0940 failed to produce any results, the second attack at 1043 resulted in a torpedo hit on Italian tanker Utilitas. Unfortunately the torpedo failed to explode. In the third attack at 1208 Italian tanker Giuseppina Ghirardi as torpedoed and sunk 8 nautical miles off Cape Hellas 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Port Arthur arrived Halifax from Montreal 1942 - Operation Harpoon involves a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta, under Admiral Curtis. His escort forces include 1 battleship, 2 carriers, 4 cruisers, and 17 destroyers and 6 merchant ships. There are also several merchant ships sailing independently. Admiral Vian leaves Alexandria with another convoy for Malta under Operation Vigorous. 8 cruisers and 26 destroyers escort the 11 merchant ships 1942 - U-157 sinks a US armed tanker and a US unarmed freighter off Cuba and U-68 sinks a British motor vessel in the Caribbean 1942 - The USN establishes Project Sail at NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island, for the airborne testing and associated work on Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) equipment 1942 - Submarine HMS Seraph completed 1943 - Off Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands, the Japanese submarine HIJMS I-21 is fired on by a USN radar-equipped vessel at 0025 hours local but is not hit. The sub then lands three tons of ammunition and weapons and ten tons of food on Kiska Island and then evacuates two sailors and 78 civilians. The sub departs at 2248 hours and is detected and undergoes five depth-charge attacks but is not sunk 1943 - Operation Husky, Allied landing on Sicily 1943 - Frigate HMCS Annan laid down Aberdeen, Scotland 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Oshawa launched Port Arthur ON 1943 - Corvette HMCS Trillium completed refit Boston, to work ups 1943 - A USCG officer proposes that helicopters be developed for antisubmarine warfare (ASW), "not as a killer craft but as the eyes and ears of the convoy escorts." To accomplish this mission, he recommends that helicopters be equipped with radar and dunking sonar 1943 - HMS Safari torpedoes and sinks the German transport ship KT-12 off Orosei, Sardinia 1944 - HMCS Teme, a River-Class frigate, was damaged in a collision with the RN escort carrier HMS Tracker. She was struck just aft of the bridge and nearly cut in half. Despite this, HMCS Outremont managed to tow her 200 miles to Cardiff, Wales. Her repairs took until Dec 44 and she eventually returned to duties with Escort Group Six, on 09 Feb 45. On 29 Mar 45, Teme was engaged in escorting convoy BTC-11 in the Channel off Falmouth when she was struck by a torpedo that blew off 60 feet of her stern. She was towed to Falmouth where she was declared a Constructive Total Loss. She was paid off on 04 May 45 and handed back to the RN for disposal. Teme was broken up for scrap at Llanelly, Wales, in 1946. AB J. Thompson, who was in the radar cabin at the time of the collision, found himself imprisoned with the door of the cabin jammed. As Tracker under the influence of the swell, chewed into Teme the door of the radar cabin burst open and Thompson landed involuntary on the bridge. L/Sto J. Larusson who was on watch in the diesel generator room was startled to hear the small escape hatch being closed (this is normal procedure when action station is sounded). Larusson felt he would be more comfortable with the hatch opened until he was finished with oiling. He had just opened the hatch when the collision took place and he was literally blown through the opening. OS Ernest Taillon jumped from the bridge at the time of the collision and all he remembers is landing on something soft that felt like sawdust and then being dragged aboard the ship aft. Taillon although wearing heavy sea-boots was equipped with an RCN life jacket and was still practically dry above the waist when rescued. At approximately 0600 on the 10 Jun when we had just commenced the tow, L/Sto A. Rainey RCNVR was taking photographs of the damage from the forecastle. He slipped on the oily deck and went over the side and was eventually fished out from between the two damaged bulkheads of number one boiler room. The supply parties from the forward and aft magazines also had fairly exciting times. On action stations being sounded all hatches are being closed automatically. Instruction to ratings in magazines being that their means of escape was up the ammunition hoists. To escape in this way some assistance from the ammunition party at the top of the hoist is necessary. This was not forthcoming and the ratings were eventually recovered through the water tight hatches, after it had been ascertained that bulkheads were intact There is also the Petty Officer who could not at normal times, negotiate small escape hatches while wearing an RCN life jacket. Immediately following the collision he made the grade 1944 - Tug HMCS Glencove launched Owen Sound ON 1944 - Frigate HMCS Lauzon launched Lauzon PQ 1944 - Fairmile HMCS ML 123 commissioned 1944 - RADM Leonard Warren Murray awarded OBE & CBE 1944 - British carriers Illustrious and Atheling raid Sabong in the Burma Theater 1944 - LCT(5)-209 sunk off northern France 1944 - Destroyer USS Glennon sunk by a mine and gunfire from German shore batteries off Quineville Normandy France 1944 - HMS Tantalus sinks Japanese army cargo ship Hiyoshi Maru with gunfire in the Strait of Malacca 1944 - HMS Untiring torpedoes and sinks the German auxiliary submarine chaser UJ 6078/La Havraise about 12 nautical miles south-west of La Ciotat, southern France 1945 - Destroyer USS William D. Porter sunk after being hit by one Kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa 1945 - Destroyer HMCS Haida arrived Halifax for tropicalization refit 1945 - Frigates HMCS Capilano & Sea Cliff arrived Shelburne and Liverpool NS respectively for tropicalization refit 1945 - Trawler HMCS Cailiff paid off & returned to RN 1945 - Fairmiles HMCS ML 053, ML 055, ML 069 paid off 1945 - Troops of the Australian 9th Division landed in Brunei to secure the vital oil fields and rubber plantations 1945 - A Kamikaze sinks destroyer USS William D. Porter off Okinawa. At 0815 local, an Aichi D3A Navy Type 99 Carrier Bomber, Allied Code Name "Val," dropped unheralded out of the clouds and made straight for the ship but the destroyer managed to evade the suicide plane, and it splashed down close aboard her. Somehow, the explosive-laden plane ended up directly beneath the destroyer before its bomb exploded; the explosion lifted the ship out of the water and then dropped her back again. The ship lost power, suffered broken steam lines and a number of fires broke out. The crew spent three hours attempting to extinguish the fires, repair the damage and keep the ship afloat but finally, the "Abandon Ship" order was given and 12-minutes later, the destroyer heeled over to starboard and sank by the stern. Fortunately, there were no fatalities among the crew 1958 - Sea Cadet facility HMCS Acadia commissioned for summer training Point Edward (Westmount) NS 1960 - Piloted by Cdr Hal Fearon, Commander Air of HMCS Shearwater, the last TBM Avenger (serno 53559) to fly for the RCN, touched down at the station this date. The Avenger was the best aircraft of its time for Canadian Naval Aviation. Reliable, inexpensive, robust, forgiving and easy to maintain, it arrived when the air arm sorely needed such an aircraft. The Avenger was officially struck off strength the following month 1965 - USS Independence port call Singapore 1966 - CPR signs deal with National Harbors Board to end 30-year argument over Vancouver waterfront; enables development of waterfront 1967 - Israel, Syria, Jordan, Iraq & Egypt end "6-Day War" with UN help 1967 - The USSR breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel after the Six Day War. Relations are reestablished only in 1991 1968 - USS Bennington port call Sasebo 1968 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Yokosuka 1971 - USS Oriskany port call Subic Bay 1973 - USS Hancock port call Subic Bay 1992 - International Court of Arbitration gives France control zone of 24 nautical miles around St-Pierre-Miquelon; plus 10.5 mile corridor from sea; only 18% of what France wanted 2003 - Capt. George M. Koucheravy, commander of the Norfolk-based Naval Support Activity, was fired and brought before a non-judicial hearing after a loss of confidence. Koucheravy had been responsible for Navy quality-of-life programs as well as facilities hosting 40 admirals and generals assigned to several locally based commands 2004 - Alaska's first lady, Nancy Murkowski, became the godmother of Princess' newest ship, Sapphire Princess in a special christening ceremony that will celebrate Princess' long relationship with the state of Alaska as well as the line's significantly expanded presence in the homeport of Seattle 2004 - Frigates HMS Kent & Argyll collided during training maneuvers off Plymouth. Each sustained minor damage and returned to their respective homeports of Portsmouth & Devonport 2004 - MV Cape Decision laid up Charleston RRF 2005 - Parliamentary Secretary Shawn Murphy, on behalf of Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced the launch of final public consultations for four new marine protected areas in Atlantic Canada. The four regions being considered as marine protected areas include Basin Head (Prince Edward Island), Musquash Estuary (New Brunswick), Gilbert Bay (Newfoundland and Labrador) and Eastport (Newfoundland and Labrador). It is anticipated that final MPA designation should occur during Fall 2005 2005 - It was a company that could weather the Great Depression, World War II and several recessions. But today's economy proved too difficult. After 76 years in operation, the country's largest kelp harvesting facility originally called the Kelp Co. and today a division of International Specialty Products -- is closing its plant in Barrio Logan. Managers from ISP told the plant's 135 employees this week that operations will be moved early next year to Scotland, where ISP has another production facility. Kelco, as it was once called, grew up alongside San Diego's tuna industry in the late 1920s, harvesting brown seaweed, or kelp, and extracting the algin that is used in countless pharmaceutical, household and food products 2005 - USS Thomas S. Gates & John L. Hall got underway from Naval Station Pascagoula in order to evade approaching Tropical Storm Arlene. USS Stephen W. Groves, currently operating in the Gulf of Mexico, will maneuver to safely avoid the storm. The decision to sortie Thomas S. Gates and John L. Hall from Pascagoula is based on concerns for the safety of Sailors and preservation of the ships and associated equipment 2005 - At 0807 Belfast Coastguard received a 999 call from a man near Ballyronan, Co. Tyrone, reporting that a light aircraft had crashed in the Lough between Ballyronan and Toomebridge. Belfast Coastguard called out the Ardboe and Kinnego Independent Rescue Boats, Kinnego Coastguard Rescue Team and Fire and Rescue Service from Magherafelt and Cookstown. The Irish Coast Guard Rescue helicopter from Sligo was also scrambled. The plane was located upside down on a narrow sandbank, surrounded by deep water either side. The two occupants of the plane, a man and a woman were spotted on top of the aircraft. Ardboe Rescue Boat transferred the couple to a waiting ambulance on shore at Ballyronan Marina and on to Mid-Ulster Hospital. They were reported to be cold and suffering from shock with minor injuries. It is reported that the aircraft, an Avid Speedwing, had taken off from Toome airfield before it got into difficulties and crash landed on the sandbank in the Lough 2006 - Destroyer USS Farragut commissioned at Mayport FL 2006 - CCGC Cape Discovery commissioned Sarnia ON 2006 - Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth D. Stuber will relieve Capt. Richard A. "Mac" McCullough who will retire from a 40-year Coast Guard career in a ceremony following the change of command. McCullough will also be passing the distinction of the Coast Guard Gold Ancient Mariner to Capt. Michael A. Jett. McCullough, who has accumulated over 18 years of sea time, has held the title since June 27, 2003. The Gold Ancient Mariner is an honor reserved for the officer with the earliest date of entitlement to a permanent cutterman's pin, with a minimum of ten years sea service. Jett will be named the Coast Guard's 12th Gold Ancient Mariner during McCullough's retirement ceremony. Polar Star begins an 18-24 month period in caretaker status 2008 - Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen delivers remarks at Coast Guard Foundation in Washington DC 2008 - Nine Nigerian navy members were killed and four civilians injured in a second attack in as many days on a security vessel in the volatile oil-rich south 2008 - Prince William is to become the patron of an appeal to save Britain's last WWII submarine. The prince, who is on a two-month attachment with the Royal Navy and is Commodore in Chief of Submarines, toured HMS Alliance 2008 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced today the following assignments: Rear Adm. (lower half) Richard R. Jeffries, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral, assigned as medical officer to the Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. Rear Adm. (lower half) William E. Leigher assigned as director, information operations, N39, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Rear Adm. (lower half) Matthew L. Nathan assigned as commander, Navy Medicine Capital Area/commander, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. Captain Michael H. Anderson, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as command surgeon, US Pacific Command, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Capt. David F. Baucom, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as director, logistics/fleet supply officer, N41, US Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Va. Capt. Dennis E. Fitzpatrick, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as director, joint operations, N3, US Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Va. Capt. Robert P. Girrier, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as vice commander, Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command, Corpus Christi, Texas. Capt. Norman R. Hayes, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as deputy director for customer relationships, Signals Intelligence Directorate, National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Md. Capt. William R. Kiser, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as commander, Navy Medicine East/commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Va. Capt. Samuel Perez Jr., who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as deputy commander, Joint Interagency Task Force-South, US Southern Command, Miami, Fla. Capt. Robert L. Thomas, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as director, Strategy and Policy Division, N51, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington. Capt. Maude E. Young, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), assigned as program executive officer for space systems/commander, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Space Field Activity/director, Communications Directorate, National Reconnaissance Office, Washington DC 2008 - JMSDF successfully conducted a test in which two MSDF divers swam at 450 meters to prepare for a possible deep-sea submarine accident, MSDF chief Adm. Keiji Akahoshi said 2008 - River gunboat BAP Clavero launched at Iquitos 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