SeaWaves Today in History June 15, 2009

 

Denmark - Valdemar’s Day. (b1131-d1182) (Won independence from the Holy Roman Empire.) Visiting warships Dress Ship with Masthead Flags

1215 - England's King John put his seal to Magna Carta (the Great Charter) at Runnymede
1520 - Pope Leo X threatened to excommunicate Martin Luther if he didn’t recant his religious beliefs
1534 - Jacques Cartier 1491-1557 steers southward along West Coast of Newfoundland to Cabot Strait, then turns west
1629 - Brothers David, Lewis and Thomas Kirke reach Gaspe on a second privateering expedition with nine ships; plan to capture Quebec and the St. Lawrence River trade; accompanied by Sir William Alexander, Jr., proprietor of Nova Scotia, who sails directly south for Port Royal, while the Kirkes found a settlement at Port aux Baleines
1811 - John Jacob Astor's ship Tonquin attacked by local Nootka who kill the sailors and destroy the ship the next day; end of New York fur trader's hopes for NW coast trade in competition with North West Company
1814 - The British lift their blockade of the naval installation at Sacketts Harbour NY as the Americans are about to launch 2 large warships which will shift the balance of power in their favor on Lake Ontario
1844 - Charles Goodyear received a patent for his process to strengthen rubber
1846 - Britain cedes its claims to the Pacific Northwest by signing the Treaty of Oregon 
1849 - James Polk, the 11th president of the United States, died in Nashville
1859 - Lyman Cutlar touches off Pig War between US and Great Britain 
1864 - Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground, which became Arlington National Cemetery. The site was plantation of Robert E Lee prior to the Civil War
1896 - Tsunami strikes Shinto festival on beach at Sanriku Japan 27,000 are killed, 9,000 injured, with 13,000 houses destroyed 
1904 - Side-wheeler "General Slocum" burns in NY's East River (1,031 die)
1905 - Newfoundland bans sale of bait and granting of licenses to Canadian and foreign fishing fleets
1916 - Cruiser HNLMS Sumatra laid down
1916 - Submarine HMS G12 completed 
1916 - Submarine HMS K4 launched 
1917 - Cruiser HMS Caradoc commissioned
1918 - Minesweeper USS Seagull laid down
1918 - HMC TR 13 commissioned
1918 - Minesweeper USS Bobolink launched
1918 - Destroyer HMS Scout commissioned
1919 - First nonstop Atlantic flight (Alcock & Brown) lands in Ireland 
1922 - Submarine USS S-32 commissioned
1928 - Destroyer FS Brestois commissioned
1930 - Destroyer FS Fougeaux commissioned
1933 - Submarine HMS Salmon laid down 
1935 - U-1 launched
1938 - Light cruiser USS Honolulu commissioned
1938 - Destroyers HMCS Ottawa & Restigouche commissioned Chatham UK
1939 - U-61 launched
1940 - U-137 commissioned
1940 - U-105 launched
1940 - U-572, U-574 laid down
1940 - At 0101 & 0105, U-38 fired torpedoes at Convoy HX-47 about 60 miles west of the Scilly Isles and sank the Italia and Erik Boye
1940 - SS Erik Boye (2,238,GRT) ex-Danish mercantile, Canadian manned, was torpedoed & sunk off Land's End, UK, in position 50.37 N, 008.44W, by U-38, Kptlt Heinrich Liebe, Knights Cross and Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, CO. There were no casualties in this incident. Erik Boye was part of convoy HX-47, a 57-ship convoy from Halifax to Liverpool. She was loaded with 3,568 tons of wheat. U-38 had sunk the Norwegian 10,000-ton tanker ITALIA a day earlier. The convoy arrived in the UK on 17 June 1940 having lost two of its ships to U-38. U-38 was a long-range Type IX U-boat built by AG Weser at Bremen. Commissioned 24 Oct 38. U-38 conducted 11 patrols & compiled an impressive record of 35 ships sunk for a total of 187,077 tons & 1 ship damaged for a further 3,670 tons. U-38 survived the war & was scuttled on 05 May 45 at Wesermünde. She was later salvaged & was broken up for scrap in 1948. Heinrich Liebe was born in 1908, at Gotha. He joined the navy in 1927. In 1931 he served on battleship Schleswig-Holstein. In Sep 35 he transferred to the newly formed U-boat force. He commanded U-2 & U-10 before he commissioned U-38. Due to the very small size of the pre-war U-boat force, Liebe was one of only a very few experienced commanders. His professional competence quickly showed during his command of U-38, in which he made nine operational patrols. On his last patrol he sank eight ships for a total of 47,279 tons in the waters off Freetown, Africa. During this patrol he received the Oak Leaves cluster to the Knight's Cross. In total, Liebe became the fifth highest U-boat ace. In Jul 41 he left U-38 & spent the next three years as a staff officer in German Navy High Command. From Aug 44 to the end of the war he served on the staff of the U-boat HQ. On 01 Oct 44 he was promoted to Fregattenkapitän (senior Commander). There is no record of his having been detained at the end of the war, as most U-boat officers were
1940 - HMS Andania (Armed merchant cruiser) is lost to UA (an ex-Turkish boat) while on Northern Patrol between Ireland and Iceland
1940 - Submarine HMS P32 launched 
1940 - Italian submarine 'Macalle' runs aground and is a total loss1940 - In the US, President Roosevelt signs a Congressional Act authorizing the USN to have a strength of not more than 10,000 aircraft which overrides the bill signed yesterday authorizing a strength of 4,500 aircraft. The act also specifies 850 aircraft for the Naval Reserve and not more than 48 useful airships
1940 - US passenger liner SS Washington sails from Galway, Eire, with 1,872 US citizens escaping Europe. She will arrive in New York City unmolested
1940 - French admiralty orders all ships to be ready to sail to England
1941 - Submarine HMS Talisman departed Halifax to escort a convoy to St John's
1941 - Submarine HM S/M Talisman departed Halifax as escort for convoy to St. John's Nfld
1941 - Two gate vessels ordered for RCN from Marine Industries Sorel PQ
1941 - Floating dock ordered for RCN from EA Chappelle Summerside PEI
1941 - Off the Syrian coast HMS Jervis and Kimberley had a short engagement with French Destroyers Guepard and Valmy with the latter using their superior speed to retire after having straddled HMS Jervis several times
1941 - Churchill wants American warships to be stationed at Singapore to stave off the Japanese threat
1941 - While bombing Chunking, China, some bombs from Japanese aircraft land near the USN's river gunboat USS Tutuila, the US military attaché’s office and the USN canteen. The Japanese apologize stating that the bombing was "wholly unintentional"
1942 - U-860, U-925, U-971, U-972 laid down
1942 - U-198 launched
1942 - At 0058, the Dutch Princess was shelled and sunk by U-126
1942 - At 2000, the Bennestvet was hit by a torpedo from U-172 and sank within one minute. Eleven Norwegians and one foreigner died, the first engineer was the only surviving officer. The U-boat surfaced, questioned the survivors and gave them two loaves of bread. A few days later the survivors were located by an aircraft, were picked up by a patrol vessel and taken to Cristobal
1942 - At 0844, U-431 attacked with her deck gun a landing craft off Tobruk, which floated away after being hit. The attacked vessel was probably HMS LCT-119, which was captured by the Germans on 21 June at Tobruk
1942 - On 24 May 1942, the Cold Harbor had left New York in convoy and then spent several days anchored in Chesapeake Bay awaiting another convoy to Trinidad. While the convoy was located between Yucatan and the Panama Canal she was ordered to proceed to Port of Spain, Trinidad alone. At 0410, the Cold Harbor was hit by one torpedo from U-502 about 100 miles NW of Trinidad. The torpedo struck on the starboard side just forward of the bridge. The explosion caused the ammo in #2 hold to blow up and the ship took a heavy list to starboard. About 30 minutes later, a second torpedo struck in the port side between #4 and #5 hatches, causing the ship to sink port side up after 15 minutes. The crew of 10 armed guards and 41 men of many nationalities including four Americans were ordered to abandon ship 10 minutes after the first hit. They left the ship in three lifeboats and two rafts because the #1 boat had been destroyed. The master, chief engineer and the radio operator remained on board until the second hit and left in another raft. The eight survivors on this raft were picked up at 0900 by the patrol yacht USS Opal and were first taken to the American Naval Base and then to Port of Spain. 19 survivors in two boats were picked up by the American steam merchant Exmouth about 24 hours after the attack and were also taken to Port of Spain. The Kahuku picked up the 14 crewmembers and three armed guards in the third boat, which was herself sunk by U-126 at 0320. One crewmember and one armed guard died, USS Opal also picked up the remaining survivors. 
1942 - At 0100, the unescorted Scottsburg was hit by two torpedoes from U-502 about 90 miles west of Grenada while steaming on a nonevasive course at 7 knots. The first torpedo struck on the port side in the engine room and killed two crewmen on watch below and the second hit at the after end of the #2 hatch, destroyed steam pipes and both port lifeboats and blew cargo all over the deck. The most of the ten officers, 30 crewmen and eleven armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, four 20mm and two .30cal guns) on board abandoned ship in the two starboard lifeboats and one raft. The master and radio operator stayed behind as they tried to send distress signals and went down with the ship. A total of three officers and two crewmen were lost. After 18 hours, Kahuku picked up the survivors, but six of them died when the ship was sunk by U-126 (Bauer) on 16 June. Some men were picked up by the U-boat and placed on rafts, but Able Seaman Archie Gibbs, a survivor from Scottsburg stayed aboard for four days, until he was placed on board the small Venezuelan vessel Minataora about 45 miles off Curaçao and landed there
1942 - SS Hardaway sunk by U-502 at 11.50N, 62.15W 
1942 - At 0433, U-552 fired three torpedoes at the convoy HG-84 west of Cape Finisterre, observed hits after 45 seconds and 1 minute 32 seconds and heard a detonation after 1 minute and 55 seconds. Two ships, the City of Oxford and the Thurso were hit and sunk. The master Alfred Norbury, 36 crewmembers and six gunners from the City of Oxford were picked up by the British rescue ship Copeland, transferred to corvette HMS Marigold, transferred to sloop HMS Stork and landed at Liverpool. One crewmember was lost
1942 - At 0058 & 0059 hours on 15 Jun 1942, U-552 attacked the convoy HG-84 west of Corunna and sank three ships, Etrib, Pelayo and Slemdal. The master, 34 crewmembers, four gunners and two passengers (DBS) from the Etrib were picked up by the British corvette HMS Marigold, transferred to the British rescue ship Copeland and landed at Gourock on 20 June. Two crewmembers and two gunners were lost 
1942 - At 0058 and 0059, U-552 attacked the convoy HG-84 about 400 miles WNW of Corunna and sank three ships, Etrib, Pelayo and Slemdal. The Pelayo was the ship of the convoy commodore H.T. Hudson RNR RD. The commodore, eleven crewmembers, three gunners and two naval staff members were lost. The master, 24 crewmembers, two gunners and three naval staff members were picked up by the British rescue ship Copeland and landed at Gourock on 20 June. Slemdal was torpedoed in the foreship on the starboard side and sank about 90 minutes later. 20 survivors were picked up by HMS Marigold and 17 survivors by the British rescue ship Copeland and landed at Gourock on 20 June
1942 - SS Thurso sunk by U-552 at 43.41N, 18.02W 
1942 - The Frimaire was a Vichy French tanker operating under Portuguese charter sunk by U-68
1942 - Convoy KN-109 came into a minefield laid on 11 June by U-701 off Virginia Beach. HMS Kingston Ceylonite sank and the tankers Robert C. Tuttle and Esso Augusta, along with the destroyer USS Bainbridge were damaged. The Esso Augusta traveled in the two-column convoy in the lead station of the port column. At 2304, the Robert C. Tuttle struck a mine and thinking a U-boat had torpedoed the ship, the helmsman put the wheel hard right and the master ordered full speed ahead on a zigzag course toward the safety in Chesapeake Bay. During the large circle to the right, an explosion occurred about ten feet off the port quarter less than one-half mile due south of Chesapeake Bay Entrance Lighted Whistle Buoy. The blast disabled the main engines and the steering gear of the ship, blew of the rudder and stern post, burst steam and fuel lines and broke auxiliary foundations. None of the crew of eight officers, 36 men and 13 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in, four .50cal and two .30cal guns) reported serious injuries and they did not abandon ship. A tug was requested and three hours later the Keshena arrived and took the tanker in tow. Later the tug Coyote and another tug arrived and together they towed the tanker to Norfolk, Virginia, arriving at the Esso dock the next day. Permanent repairs were made at Baltimore, Maryland and she returned to service on 7 Nov 1942
1942 - Minesweepers USS Concise, Control & Counsel laid down
1942 - Destroyer HMS Petard commissioned
1942 - Light cruiser USS Cleveland commissioned
1942 - Escort carrier USS Copahee commissioned
1942 - Corvette USS Brisk (ex-HMS Flax) launched
1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Staffa launched
1942 - Destroyer USS Boyle launched
1942 - Destroyer USS Nields laid down
1942 - Destroyer HMS Airedale bombed by German aircraft south of Crete. Scuttled by HMS Aldenham.
1942 - HMS Bedouin was one of the Home Fleet destroyers detached to the Mediterranean for the purpose of Operation Harpoon / Vigorous, a double supply convoy to Malta in June 1942. South of Pantellaria an Italian cruiser and destroyer force led by the cruisers Eugenio di Savoia and Montecuccoli intercepted the convoy, but were driven off by HMS Bedouin, Marne, Matchless, Ithuriel and Partridge. Although both Bedouin and Partridge were damaged, Bedouin was completely disabled. Partridge managed to get under way once more, towing HMS Bedouin. When the Italian squadron later reappeared the tow was cast off as Partridge endeavored to defend herself. Eventually it was an Italian aircraft that finished off HMS Bedouin with a torpedo while HMS Partridge escaped
1942 - 14th June 1942 S-55 torpedoed and damaged the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Hasty. British forces sank her the next day
1942 - Soviet submarine M-95 sunk by mine east of Suursaari Island (Baltic Area)
1942 - While escorting a convoy from Alexandria to Malta HMS Newcastle was hit by a torpedo from the German motor torpedo boat S-56. The torpedo hit on the starboard side forward and did considerable damage. The ship went to Bombay, India to be patched up. She arrived at the New York Navy Yard on 10 October 1942 for permanent repairs. HMS Newcastle returned to service in March 1943
1942 - Harbor craft ordered for RCN - HC 178, HC 179, HC 192, HC 211, HC 212, and HC 213
1942 - Convoys approaching Malta from both West ("Harpoon" and East ("Vigorous". Both had already generated much action in the prior three days. "Harpoon" convoy, protected by as many fighters as the venerable carriers HMS Eagle and HMS Argus could carry, fought its way through repeated air attacks throughout the 13th and 14th, before retiring and leaving the convoy, with a light escort, to pass through the Sicilian Straits. Vigorous" was beset by stronger odds. With no operational capital ships, the Mediterranean Fleet's escort consisted only of a cruiser covering force and a strong ASW screen, all operating under the limited aerial protection of the two RAF Beaufighter Squadron's in theatre, 252 and 272. Under air attack throughout the 13th and 14th, the odds took a decided turn for the worse when late afternoon reconnaissance flights picked up the presence of a strong contingent of the Italian Fleet, built around the two modern 15" battleships Vittorio Veneto and Littorio. This was exactly the target the two Beaufort squadron's had been held back to hit. Dawn would see them do just that. First to fight were was Malta based 217 Squadron. Taking off 0415 in the pre-dawn darkness was the Wing Commander W. A. L. Davis leading nine Beauforts. Unfortunately, 217 contained few experienced crews, and the group was unable to form up. Davis found himself leading but five while the other four proceeded independently. In the event, 21-year-old veteran FO Arthur H. Aldridge, already with a DFC to his credit, came upon an Italian heavy cruiser division in the pre-dawn light. Mistaking him for their arriving air escort, the Italians paid the Beaufort no notice and he slipped his torpedo into the cruiser Trento, bringing her to a halt, before a shot was even fired at him! The resulting bedlam soon attracted the rest of the squadron. Arriving from several different directions. WC Davis' Vic (Davis, FO Goodale, and Sgt. Hutcheson) and SL Lynn's pair (Lynn, Sgt. Downe) attacked the battleships from opposite directions. Lt. Strever, SAAF, and Sgt. Nolan also went after them, while FO Stevens took a crack at the crippled Trento. While several hits were claimed, none were made, though by the time the attack had ended the Italian fleet was in total disarray. Better yet, all nine aircraft returned to Malta, though Strever had to belly in his battered DD975, which was written off. While all this was going on, on the other side of Malta, the battle to push "Harpoon" convoy through had come to a climax. The convoy's remaining escort was but a light AA/ASW screen of one old AA cruiser (HMS Cairo), five fleet destroyers, and four Hunts. To their horror, dawn brought into view a strong Italian force out of Sardinia with two cruisers (Raimondo Montecuccoli and Eugenio di Savoia) and five destroyers, and the escort soon found itself embroiled in the a surface action, while signaling to Malta the need for immediate air support. Unfortunately, with 217 Squadron already well on its way to attack the battleships threatening Vigorous convoy, Malta had little to offer - 217's last two operational Beauforts, only now being fitted with torpedo couplings, and four Fleet Air Arm Albacores! Undaunted by the odds, fortified by the promise of a full squadron of Spitfires as escort (though they could not go the whole way), the six torpedo planes set off at 0930. The two Beauforts, flown by the least experienced of 217's crews, soon outdistanced the plodding Albacores, arrived in the middle of the on again, off again gunnery action, and flung themselves at the lead cruiser, Montecuccoli (which had, by this time, been damaged by the British destroyers). Sgt. Fenton, who pressed to within 800 yards before dropping, was outdone by his leader, FO Minster. On his first operational sortie, Minster accomplished a technical first when he pressed in so close that his torpedo, set to arm at 300 yards, passed right under the target amidships without the magnetic exploder having armed! While neither torpedo hit, the ferocity of the sudden assault had a more than detrimental effect on the Italian's willingness to continue the surface battle. Both aircraft returned safely. While only one actual hit had been scored, the Beauforts had done the job they set out to do, keeping the Italian Fleet at bay. As an additional plus, after 217 Squadron had left Trento stationary and on fire, submarine HMS Umbra had slipped in and administered the "coup de grace" with two torpedoes
1942 - German submarines sink three more US merchant vessels in the Atlantic and Caribbean. U-502 sinks two ships, an unarmed freighter NW of Trinidad and an armed freighter 150 miles ESE of Punta Herrero, Mexico; and U-126 sinks an unarmed freighter west of Grenada. Two armed US tankers in convoy KN-109 strike mines laid by U-701. One ship strikes a mine off Virginia Beach, Virginia, while the second strikes a mine in the entrance to Chesapeake Bay
1942 - Tribal class destroyer HMS Bedouin is damaged by surface gunfire and an aircraft launched torpedo, which hits the engine room and blows the ship in two. There are 28 casualties, but 213 survivors rescued by an Italian hospital ship become POW's. Location SW of Pantellaria 36 12N 11 38E
1942 - While escorting convoy "Vigorous", HMS Hasty is attacked by a force of S-Boats from Crete - and takes a (torpedo?) hit from S-55 which damages her so seriously that she had to be sunk. Location SE of Crete at 34 10N 22 00E
1943 - Submarine HMS Umbra torpedoed and sank the Italian heavy cruiser Trento. Trento was already damaged by a torpedo from an RAF 217 Sqn Beaufort from Malta)
1943 - Submarine HMS Ultor sinks the Italian auxiliary minesweeper Tullio/No.92 (137 BRT)
1943 - Submarine HMS P 512 arrived Bermuda for ASW training
1943 - Destroyer HMS Swift launched
1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Menges & Sederstrom launched
1943 - Destroyer escort USS Gary laid down
1943 - At 1419, U-24 fired a spread of two torpedoes at the BTShCh-411 Zashchitnik (No 26), which had been spotted at 1354 and observed one hit in the stern after 1 minute 30 seconds. The vessel broke in two and sank about 20 miles west of Suchumi. The survivors were picked up by the Soviet patrol craft SKA-0101 and SKA-0138
1943 - At 1430, the Athelmonarch, escorted by the Greek destroyer Aetos, was torpedoed and sunk by U-97 NW of Jaffa, Palestine. Four crewmembers were lost. The master, 35 crewmembers and eleven gunners were picked up by the destroyer and landed at Beirut
1943 - U-674, U-852 commissioned
1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Probe commissioned
1943 - Submarine HMS Stonehenge commissioned
1943 - Destroyer USS Hale commissioned
1943 - Corvette HMCS Owen Sound launched Collingwood ON
1943 - In the Aleutians, six USN Patrol Wing Four (PatWing-4) PV-1 Venturas based on Adak Island, bomb Kiska
1943 - President Roosevelt approves a ceiling of 31,447 useful aircraft for the USN
1944 - Minesweeper HMCS Marmion launched Port Arthur ON
1944 - Corvette HMCS Strathroy launched Midland ON
1944 - Corvette HMCS Huntsville commissioned
1944 - U-1023 commissioned
1944 - U-2502 launched
1944 - At 0803, the USS LST-280, in a convoy of landing ships, was hit by a Gnat from U-621 off St Malo. The ship was towed to port, repaired by Britain and returned to service as HMS LST-280 on 26 Oct 1944
1944 - Frigate HMS Blackwood was on patrol as part of the 4th Escort Group in the west end of the English Channel to protect the ships of the Normandy landings, when she was hit by a Gnat from U-764 off Brittany. She foundered while under tow off Portland Bill the following day
1944 - Frigate HMS Mourne from the 5th Escort Group was hit and sunk by a Gnat from U-767 in the English Channel
1944 - U-860 sunk in the South Atlantic south of St Helena, in position 25.27S, 05.30W, by depth charges and rockets from 7 Avenger and Wildcat aircraft (Task Group 22.10) of the US escort carrier USS Solomons. 42 dead and 20 survivors. Two Avengers were shot down in this battle
1944 - Minesweeper HMS Rowena launched
1944 - U-987 sunk in the North Sea west of Narvik, in position 68.01N, 05.08W by torpedoes from submarine HMS Satyr. 53 dead (all hands lost)
1944 - Escort carrier USS Rendova laid down
1944 - Frigate HMS Loch Craggie commissioned
1944 - Destroyer escort USS Peiffer commissioned
1944 - Minesweeper USS Density commissioned
1944 - Submarine HMS L-23 assigned to ASW training Digby NS
1944 - Submarines HMS L-26 & L-27 assigned to ASW training Bermuda
1944 - Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Groups 58.1 and 58.4 attack Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands and Chichi Jima and Haha Jima in the Bonin Islands during the afternoon. The attacks are an attempt to block the only viable route for the Japanese to reinforce the Mariana Islands with land-based aircraft. The main targets are airfields, fuel supplies and barracks. US losses are two TBM Avengers, two SB2C Helldivers and three F6F Hellcats; all of the crews of the seven aircraft are lost
1944 - Fifth Fleet lands Marines on Saipan, under the cover of naval gunfire, in conquest of Marianas
1944 - Submarine HM S/M L 23 arrived Digby NS for ASW training
1944 - Submarines HM S/M L 26 & L 27 arrived Bermuda for ASW training
1944 - Corvette HMCS Huntsville commissioned 
1944 - Minesweeper HMS Marmion launched Port Arthur ON 
1944 - Corvette HMCS Strathroy launched Midland ON 
1944 - British Task Group 111.2, RADM E.J.P. Brind, consisting of aircraft carrier Implacable, escort carrier Ruler, light cruisers Swiftsure, Newfoundland, HMCS Uganda and HMNZS Achilles along with destroyers Termagent, Troubridge, Tenacious, Terpischore and Teaser, commences air strikes on Truk just after 1100. Prior to that, the four light cruisers and destroyers Teaser, Tenacious and Troubridge shell Truk. They continues attacks against Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands begun yesterday
1944 - Frigate HMS Blackwood takes a hit from a Zaunkönig fired by U-674 (Oberleutnant zur See Hanskurt Von Bremen). The explosion blows off her (sic) bows but she remains afloat and is taken in tow until foundering on the following day, 23 miles SE of Portland. There are 58 casualties. Subsequently assessed as a bottomed U-boat, a Canadian escort group engaged in A/S operations, depth charge the wreck which sets off her own cargo of depth charges in a terrific explosion! Location - 50 04N 02 15W
1944 - Frigate HMS Mourne takes a hit from a Zaunkönig fired by U-767 (Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve Walter Dankleff) which hits her forward and blows off her bows. She sank within a minute. Location - English Channel 49 20N 05 30W
1945 - Corvettes HMCS Buctouche & Cobourg paid off Sorel PQ
1945 - Destroyer HMS Armada adopted by the town of Brentwood, Essex, UK
1945 - Frigate HMS St Brides Bay commissioned
1945 - Submarine USS Volador laid down 
1945 - The US Navy establishes Experimental Development Squadron Two Hundred (XVF-200) and Experimental Utility Squadron Twenty Five (XVJ-25) at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine, to provide, under the direct operational control of Commander-In-Chief (COMINCH, flight facilities for evaluating and testing tactics, procedure, and equipment for use in special defense tasks particularly those concerned with defense against the Kamikaze
1945 - Corvettes HMCS Buctouche & Cobourg paid off Sorel PQ
1945 - 803 (Fighter) Sqn reformed 25 Supermarine Seafire LIII RNAS Arbroth for HMCS Warrior 
1949 - Submarine HMS Tudor departs Halifax following ASW training
1950 - U-953 scrapped in England after extensive trials
1950 - HMC NRS Churchill commissioned 
1951 - Surg/Lt Joseph Claude CYR RCN, whose real name was Ferninand "Fred" Waldo Demara Jr., had enrolled fraudulently using Dr Cyr's papers, however, publicity of alleged medical/surgical feats brought an enquiry from the real Dr CYR, which resulted in Demara's "Misconduct release" on 21 Nov 51. On 9 Jun 82 Demara died due to heart failure. Movie later made of this escapade starring Tony Curtis
1953 - RCN 30th CAG (VF 871, eight Sea Furies and VS 881, eight Avengers) participated in the massive Coronation Flypast following the Fleet Review this date at Spithead, UK. HMC ships forming the Canadian Coronation Squadron for the occasion comprised Magnificent, Quebec, Ontario, Sioux, Swansea, and La Hulloise
1954 - Destroyer HMCS Kootenay launched North Vancouver BC 
1954 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga departed Yokosuka for ASW exercises
1954 - Submarine HMS Porpoise laid down 
1955 - RCN VT 40 Sea Fury a/c #WZ634 lost in flying accident. Pilot killed
1956 - Submarine HMS Ambush departed Halifax following ASW training
1963 - Launching of combat store ship, Mars, first of new class of underway replenishment ships
1967 - USS Intrepid port call Subic Bay
1967 - Destroyer HMCS Fraser conducted first Sea King helicopter landings
1969 - Destroyer HMCS Huron laid down Sorel PQ
1970 - USS Bon Homme Richard port call Subic Bay
1972 - USS Constellation port call Subic Bay
1991 - Frigate HMCS Calgary laid down Sorel PQ
1991 - 2 battle groups and amphibious ships evacuate dependents and Air Force personnel from Clark Air Force Base after Mount Pinatubo erupts in Philippines
1994 - Submarines HMS Unseen, Ursula & Upholder paid off
1996 - Destroyer HMCS Columbia sold to Artificial Reef Society of BC
1997 - Duke Point terminal of BC Ferries opens in Nanaimo
2000 - Miss Freei breaks hydroplane world speed record on Lake Washington 
2003 - Frigate HMCS Calgary departed Esquimalt for Operation Apollo
2005 - Ruth Mompati, Mayor of Vryburg, launched the first RSA Navy Type 209 submarines
2004 - Frigate SPS Cataluña decommissioned at El Ferrol
2005 - Destroyer USS Stethem homeport changed to Yokosuka, Japan
2005 - Halifax was host to the seventh annual Canada-New England Cruise Symposium June 15-17, 2005. The symposium welcomed participants in the cruise industry from both Canada and the United States including cruise lines, ports, destination marketing agencies, tour operators and suppliers ranging from attractions to companies who build cruise ships
2005 - Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre announced the appointment of Mr. John Holditch of Burlington, Ontario, to the board of directors of the Hamilton Port Authority. Mr. Holditch is a graduate of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute and holds a Bachelor of Arts in commerce from the University of Toronto. He is currently an advisory board member for Brickworks Communications Inc., Fellfab Limited and Joe Ng Group of Companies. He is also vice-president and director of FNP Company and managing director of Holditch Group Inc. He has worked for Dofasco Inc. as director of quality and manufacturing technology development and as general manager of primary manufacturing. He has also been president and general manager of Gallatin Steel Company. Mr. Holditch has served on the Hamilton and District Chamber of Commerce and on the Conference Board of Canada Forum for Business Excellence. He is also the past president of the Iron and Steel Society
2005 - Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre announced the appointment of Mr. Jacques de Villers of St-Lambert, Quebec, to the board of directors of the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority. Mr. de Villers has worked as a pilot in the Cornwall and Lake Ontario pilotage districts for more than a decade. He also served as a director of the Corporation of River and St. Lawrence Seaway Pilots. He holds a college degree in maritime technologies from the Ministry of Education of Quebec and pilotage certificates for the Cornwall district and for Lake Ontario and harbors; both issued by the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority. In addition, he has held pilotage licenses for the ports of St. John’s and Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. From 1985 until 1988, he served as Master for Enerchem Transport Inc., an oil and chemical products shipping company. He has held the post of vice-president, Great Lakes, of the Canadian Maritime Pilots Association, and from 1991 to 1995, he was president of the Pilots Corporation Lake Ontario and Harbors
2005 - Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre today announced the appointment of Mel Nunweiler of Richmond, BC, to the board of directors of the Fraser River Port Authority. Mr. Nunweiler began his career with Canadian National Railway in British Columbia. He then worked as a transportation analyst and transportation manager for Prince George Pulp and Paper Limited prior to serving as general distribution manager for Canadian Forest Products Limited in Vancouver. He later served as a transportation consultant whose clients included, among others, Weldwood of Canada Ltd. Mr. Nunwiler served on many association committees including the Council of Forest Industries of British Columbia, Western Canada Shippers’ Coalition and the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association (now Forest Products Association of Canada) where he also served as Chair of the transportation section. Mr. Nunweiler served as director and vice-chair of the Fraser River Port Authority from 2000 to 2003.
2005 - NASCENT Technology, LLC awarded a contract from Olympic Container Terminal, LLC, a subsidiary of Yang Ming Lines, to provide its SYNAPSE(TM) Gate System for Terminal 7 in Tacoma, Washington. The system, which combines a host of gate control hardware and software including lane-mounted video cameras, video digitizers, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) communications, printers, bar-code scanners, and phone handsets, will allow any clerk to remotely process visiting drivers at any of the entry and exit points throughout the terminal
2005 - The Coast Guard received a call at 1100 from Alaska State Troopers reporting a missing crewman from the fishing vessel Diane Carol. A crewman aboard the anchored vessel in Cinder River discovered George Brown missing. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak dispatched a helicopter rescue crew to the scene. The crew found George Brown's body at the mouth of the Cinder River, and airlifted him to King Salmon Hospital. Officials there pronounced him dead
2005 - The Coast Guard received a call at 1159 requesting a medevac of 47-year-old Gary Wright (hometown unavailable), who became trapped under a logging truck that rolled over. Coast Guard Aviation Support Facility Cordova and Air Station Kodiak dispatched helicopter rescue crews to the scene. Rescuers extracted Wright from under the truck while other rescue crews transited to the scene. Once Coast Guard rescue arrived, they airlifted Wright and transported him to Cordova Hospital. Hospital officials listed Wright in stable condition
2005 - Some 20 Russian ships at the Japanese port Wakkanai got the order not to take to sea over a police investigation into a murder that took place on the outskirts of the city on the northern Hokkaido Island. A car with the body of Masato Ishii, 38, was found in the area on Tuesday. According to police information, the killed man engaged in money exchange for Russian sailors and maintained close contacts with them. Periodical incidents with Russian citizens happen in Wakkanai. For instance, a Russian employee of a company trading in seafood products was killed there in 2001. In another incident last April; local authorities arrested a captain of a Russian ship on suspicion of killing a sailor
2006 - USS Robin and Osprey decommissioned Ingleside TX and laid up NDRF Beaumont TX
2006 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad Allen testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Fisheries and the Coast Guard on the USCG fiscal year 2007 budget
2006 - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace participate in a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the beginning of work on the Pentagon Memorial. The Pentagon Memorial will commemorate the 184 innocent lives lost in the Pentagon and on American Airlines Flight 77 on Sept. 11, 2001
2006 - Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Toledo change of command ceremony at the Valentine Theater. The area of responsibility for MSU Toledo extends along Lake Erie from Monroe, Michigan to Vermilion, Ohio. Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Keith O. Pelletier will be relieving Commander (CDR) Russell C. Proctor as Commanding Officer. LCDR Pelletier comes to Toledo from Training Center Yorktown VA as the Chief of the Coast Guard's Marine Inspections and Investigation School. Upon relief, CDR Proctor will be reporting to USCG Sector Portland OR, where he will serve as Deputy Sector Commander
2006 - Two Grumman F-14 Tomcats will take their final victory lap across the skies of Long Island, where they were conceived and built, landing at the American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale, so that the public may inspect these aircraft one last time
2006 - Captain Robert R. O'Brien, Jr. relieves Captain Glenn A. Wiltshire as Commander of US Coast Guard Sector New York and as Captain of the Port of New York/New Jersey at the Staten Island Homeport Pier, 355 Front St., Staten Island
2006 - President George W. Bush declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument, making it the largest marine reserve on the planet. The action will protect one of the last intact marine ecosystems in the world, one that is home to sharks, whales, extensive coral colonies and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. The marine reserve would be free from commercial and extractive activities, allowing the entire marine ecosystem to continue to thrive for future generations
2006 - To better serve the increasingly active Danish shipping sector, ABS has opened a new office in Copenhagen headed by Principal Surveyor Thore Johnsson who has relocated from the class society’s regional office in Gothenburg, Sweden
2006 - ABS announces the appointment of Peter Tang-Jensen to the position of Senior Vice President of Technology. Tang-Jensen, former Executive Vice President of Odense Steel Shipyard, Ltd., will report directly to ABS President and COO Robert E. Kramek. He will be based at the ABS Corporate World Headquarters in Houston, TX, USA. Tang-Jensen assumes his new duties in September
2006 - Keppel FELS Ltd (Keppel FELS) has secured its fourth order from India for a KFELS B Class jackup rig. Valued at US$182 million, this rig is for the Great Eastern Shipping Co. Ltd. Group (GE Shipping). This will be GE Shipping’s first newbuild drilling rig and is scheduled for delivery by the fourth quarter of 2009
2006 - Government of Kerala has banned deep sea trawling in the state for 45 days. The Government has also decided to take stern action against foreign vessels, which enter the Indian waters during the ban period
2006 - The Port of Los Angeles' $848.5 million fiscal year 2006/2007 budget includes more than $33 million for safety and security initiatives. Included in the budget are $2.5 million for the design of Joint Container Inspection Facility, $8 million for a port-wide security surveillance system, and $22.6 million in federally funded grants for port-wide security deterrents
2006 - A Good Samaritan assisted two boaters, an adult and a child, who were having difficulty rowing their raft ashore in Jamaica Bay, Queens, at 2130. Citywide 911 operators notified the Coast Guard after a beachgoer spotted them having difficulty. The Coast Guard immediately launched a rescue boat from Station New York and broadcast an urgent marine information broadcast via marine band radio. A Good Samaritan responded to the broadcast and within minutes pulled them safely to shore where New York City Police Department officers from the 100th Precinct met them to verify their safe arrival
2006 - Coast Guard, partnered with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as many of the key port players, exercised risk management strategies today aimed at protecting the City and the Port of Memphis. The exercise was led by the DHS Protective Security Advisor for the Memphis District, Mr. Greg Innis. The exercise participants included representatives from Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Office of Homeland Security, Tennessee and Shelby County Emergency Management Agencies, Memphis Police Department, Shelby County Sheriff's Department, US Attorney's Office, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Port Commission, Railroad Police and many local facility security officers. The group conducted a tabletop exercise to assess the area's ability to rapidly increase security measures within the Port of Memphis
2006 - MARAD signed contracts for the disposal of four ships from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet at Benicia, CA, bringing to nine the number that have left the facility for recycling since October 2005. The four ships are World War II-vintage Victory ships: Hannibal Victory, the Barnard Victory, the Occidental Victory and the Sioux Falls Victory. When ships are no longer considered useful for defense or aid missions, MARAD arranges for their proper disposal and works closely with the Coast Guard to ensure the safe transport of the vessels to their final destinations. Before towing from the fleet, all ships are inspected by an independent party. In addition, they must meet extensive Coast Guard and international regulations regarding environmental safeguards, seaworthiness, and watertight integrity Marine Metal, Inc., of Brownsville, TX, will dismantle the Hannibal Victory and the Sioux Falls Victory, under the terms of contracts each worth $978,698. All Star Metals, Inc., also of Brownsville, will dismantle the Barnard Victory for $1,202,949 and the Occidental Victory for $1,191,987. The steel from all four ships will be recycled
2006 - Statoil has signed a letter of intent with Aker Kvaerner to deliver a subsea seawater injection system for the Tyrihans project in the Norwegian Sea
2006 - A man trapped on rocks by an incoming tide was rescued near Abby Island, Wash. The Coast Guard received a call from a park ranger reporting that a man was stranded on the rocks at the Olympic National Park at 1800. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles was launched to assist the man. The man was safely hoisted off the rocks at 1830 and transferred to park rangers on the beach
2006 - The Navy disestablished the "World Famous Screwbirds" of Sea Control Squadron (VS) 33, one of now five remaining S-3 Viking Squadrons, during a ceremony at NAS North Island
2006 - Northrop Grumman Corporation employees Charles Pierce and Jimmy Shoulars painted the carrier designation "77" onto the island of the nation's newest aircraft carrier, George H W Bush (CVN 77), in preparation for its crane lift onto the carrier's flight deck July 8
2007 - Service of remembrance and sunset wreath laying ceremony for Merchant Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary
2007 - The flight deck of USS John C. Stennis tallied its 100,000th arrested landing with the trap of an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the “Black Knights” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 154
2007 - USS Seawolf, a fast-attack submarine whose homeport for the last 10 years has been Groton, will be relocating to the West Coast as part of the Submarine Force realignment process
2007 - Akwa Ibom State Governor, Barrister Godswill Akpabio, has enlisted the support of the Nigerian Navy in the patrol of creeks around the Le Meridian Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, to achieve effective security of the environment
2007 - Ferries between Germany and Sweden cancelled due to strikes by German dockworkers
2007 - The Khaled bin Sultan LIVING OCEANS Foundation today announced that Dr. Mark R. Patterson of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science will lead Project SeaCAMEL (Classroom Aquarius Marine Education Live), the first in a series of "sea to shore" education missions planned by the Foundation
2007 - Cdr Craig Baines assumed command of HMCS Winnipeg from Cdr Dermot Mulholland. Cmdre Nigel Greenwood, Commander Canadian Fleet Pacific, presided over the ceremony held at the Naval Officer Training Center





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