SeaWaves Today in History June 18, 2009 Egypt - Evacuation Day (1956 - Control of the Suez Canal was relinquished by the UK) Visiting warships Dress Ship overall. A 21-gun salute is fired at noon 1603 - Samuel de Champlain c1570-1635 leaves Quebec with Grave du Pont to go on an exploring trip up the 'River of Canada' - the St. Lawrence; finds that the Iroquois have taken over from the Algonkians as the dominant tribe since the arrival of Jacques Cartier 80 years earlier 1812 - US declares war on Great Britain for impressment of sailors and interference with commerce 1822 - Boundary Commission in London draws up border along St. Lawrence River and through Great Lakes 1855 - Opening of rebuilt Sault Ste. Marie Canal; original canal built by the North-West Company in 1797 1907 - Submarine HMS C9 completed 1915 - Vilhjalmur Stefansson 1879-1962 sights new uncharted land (Banks Island NWT) and claims it for Canada 1917 - Destroyer USS Little laid down 1918 - Cruiser HMS Danae commissioned 1919 - Destroyer USS Sicard laid down 1919 - Cruiser HMS Colombo commissioned 1920 - Destroyer USS Brooks commissioned 1924 - Cruiser minelayer HMS Adventure launched 1931 - Colonial sloop FS Savorgnan de Brazza launched 1931 - Destroyer HMS Daring laid down 1934 - Destroyer USS Farragut commissioned 1935 - Patrol vessel HMS Kingfisher commissioned 1935 - SS North Voyageur, Clarke SS Co. Ltd, Cdr Joseph Edouard Welly Alexander Trembley RCNR (Ret'd) Authority #1153, to fly Blue Ensign 1935 - Hitler signed a naval treaty with Britain limiting the German fleet to 35 percent of Britain's surface craft and 45 percent of her submarines 1938 - HMCS Fundy launched Collingwood ON 1938 - Light cruiser HMS Kenya laid down 1940 - Submarines FS Achille & Agosta, Ouessant, Pasteur, Gunboats Enseigne Henry, Etourdi, Destroyer Cyclone scuttle at Lorient to prevent capture by Germans 1940 - Gunboat FS Vauquois sunk off Brest by magnetic mine 1940 - Corvettes HMS Freesia & Orchis laid down 1940 - Destroyer HMS Southwold laid down 1940 - Submarine HMS P-33 laid down 1940 - Corvette HMS Erica launched 1940 - SS Niagara (13,415 GRT) Canadian Pacific Steamships Line passenger liner sunk when she struck a German mine laid by the disguised merchant raider ORION, in the Hauraki Gulf off, New Zealand, in position 35.53S, 174.53E. She was carrying a secret cargo of gold bullion to purchase military supplies. The gold was recovered a year later after a dangerous diving operation. There was no loss of life in this incident 1940 - At 1200, the Sarmatia was stopped by a shot across her bow by U-28 and the crew immediately abandoned ship. The U-boat had missed with one torpedo at 1100 and then surfaced to stop the ship. She sank vertical by the stern three minutes after being hit in the engine room by a coup de grâce at 1210. The Germans questioned the survivors and gave them cigarettes, a bottle of rum and the course for land before leaving the area. The survivors were picked up by the Spanish trawlers Felix and Pastor Montenegro and landed at Vigo on 21 June 1940 - At 1902, the unescorted and unarmed Altair was torpedoed and shelled by U-32 and sank west of Ireland. The two Norwegian lifeboats picked up 19 fishermen of the two Spanish trawlers Sálvora and Faro-Ons, which were sunk by the same U-boat shortly afterwards. All survivors were picked up later by two other Spanish trawlers and taken to Pasages, Spain on 21 June 1940 - U-32 stopped the two Spanish trawlers Sálvora and Faro-Ons because they were outside of the allowed area of fishing and sank both by gunfire after the crew abandoned ship. Two lifeboats picked up 19 fishermen from both ships from Altair, which had been sunk by the same U-boat a few hours before. All survivors were later rescued by two other Spanish trawlers and taken to Pasages, Spain arriving there on 21 June 1940 - Corvettes HMCS Algoma & Rosthern laid down Port Arthur ON 1940 - Corvette HMS Camellia commissioned 1940 - U-43 refueled from the German supply ship Bessel in Vigo, Spain 1940 - The US Secretary of State Cordell Hull directs the Deputy US Ambassador to France to advise the French government that if the French fleet falls into German hands, France would "permanently lose the friendship and goodwill of the Government of the US" The French reiterate their statement that the French fleet "would not be surrendered to the Germans" 1940 - French admiralty decides to send ships to colonies instead. Richelieu ordered to Dakar 1940 - Bulgaria demanded Dobruja and outlet to Aegean Sea 1940 - The Canadian Pacific Steamships Line passenger liner Niagara (13,415 GRT) was sunk when she struck a German mine laid by the disguised merchant raider Orion, in the Hauraki Gulf off, New Zealand, in position 35.53S, 174.53E. She was carrying a secret cargo of gold bullion to purchase military supplies. The gold was recovered a year later after a dangerous diving operation. There was no loss of life in this incident 1940 - French cruiser Emile Bertin arrives in Halifax with $305 million in gold from the Bank of France; gold released after the war 1941 - At 0328, the unescorted Norfolk was torpedoed by U-552 about 150 miles NW of Malin Head and sunk by two coup de grâce at 0419 & 0438. One crewmember was lost. The master, 63 crewmembers and six gunners were picked up by HMS Skate & landed at Londonderry 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Romeo commissioned 1941 - U-138 sunk west of Cadiz, in position 36.04N, 07.29W, by depth charges from destroyers HMS Faulknor, Fearless, Forester, Foresight & Foxhound. 27 survivors (No casualties) 1941 - Escort carrier USS Copahee laid down 1941 - Submarine USS Peto laid down 1941 - U-753 commissioned 1941 - U-138 is sunk by HMS Faulknor, HMS Fearless, HMS Forester, HMS Firesight and HMS Foxhound. This sinking by depth charges occurs to the west of Cadiz, and all U-Boat crew survive 1942 - A United States-Cuba agreement was announced whereby the Cuban Government granted facilities to the United States War Department for training of aviation personnel and for operations against submarines 1942 - US Navy commissions its first black officer, Harvard University medical student Bernard Whitfield Robinson 1942 - After crossing the Atlantic (submerged at day, surfaced at night) U-584 landed a saboteur team of 4 men on the shore just south of Jacksonville, Florida. This was one of two such teams that landed within a week of each other on the US East Coast; the other team came aboard U-202 1942 - Submarine HMS P-48 commissioned 1942 - Submarine HMS Stoic laid down 1942 - U-226 launched 1942 - At 0621 and 0622, U-124 fired two spreads of two torpedoes at three ships in Convoy ONS-102 in rough seas and observed two hits on the first ship and heard further detonations. Mohr claimed two ships sunk and another damaged, however the only ship hit was Seattle Spirit in station #112. One torpedo struck the Seattle Spirit on the port side amidships in the engine room and quickly flooded the ship, causing a boiler explosion and killing one officer and two crewmen on watch below. The most of the nine officers, 28 crewmen, eleven armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, four .50cal and four .30cal guns) and seven passengers (Canadians) on board abandoned ship in three lifeboats. One sailor died of shock and exposure after jumping into the water. Corvette HMCS Agassiz picked up the 51 survivors, but 45 of them were later transferred to the British rescue ship Perth and landed at Halifax on 24 June, while the remaining men on the corvette were landed at St. Johns. The Seattle Spirit was shelled by the corvette after an officer, who had boarded the ship about four hours after the attack, had determined she could not be salvaged and the vessel sank at 2030 hours. The master Edward W. Myers already experienced another sinking when his previous ship, the Robin Moor had been sunk by U-69 on 21 May, 1941 1942 - On 13 Jun 1942, the Flora picked up the occupants of two lifeboats, they were survivors from three vessels and were since four days in the lifeboats. Because they did not have enough drinking water on board, she had to go to Cristobal, arriving the next day. After landing the survivors and taking on some additional cargo, they left for Curaçao. At 0245 on 18 June, one of the gunners spotted a faint light over the port side and shortly thereafter, U-159 began shelling the vessel, hitting with the first shell. The ship changed course and returned fire unsuccessfully. Shellfire caused a fire, damaged one lifeboat, stopped the engine, destroyed the steering gear and seriously injured the third engineer Van Voorthuisen. The 31 crewmembers and six passengers quickly abandoned ship in a motorboat and one lifeboat. Witte questioned the survivors and misunderstood the name of the ship as Flomar, an American steam merchant of 5551 tons. The survivors headed for the coast of Colombia, which was about 12 miles away. They landed the next night near La Pajaro, but the injured man already died of wounds and was buried there 1942 - At 0500, U-172 sank the unescorted Motorex with 40 rounds from her deck gun NW of Colon 1942 - U-357, U-627 commissioned 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Stawell laid down 1942 - Destroyer HMS Urania laid down 1942 - U-124 sinking an armed US merchant freighter in the Atlantic east of Newfoundland 1943 - HMCS Athabaskan, a Tribal-class destroyer, Capt. George "Gus" Ralph Miles, OBE, RCN, CO, was damaged in a collision with boom defense vessel HMS Bargate at Scapa Flow. This resulted in the destroyer being under repairs at Devonport for a month. Athabaskan was dubbed “The Unlucky Lady” as the result of her many unfortunate escapades. In Apr 43, she was heavily damaged by weather and had to undergo major repairs. After her collision in June, she was hit by a German radio-controlled glider bomb on 27 Aug 43, which also required a lengthy period in a repair yard. Athabaskan was sunk in action on 29 Apr 44 with heavy loss of life 1943 - Submarine USS Burrfish launched Portsmouth NSY 1943 - Tug HMCS Glendower commissioned 1943 - Frigate HMS Byard commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Rinaldo commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Hazelwood commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Smartt commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Lovering & Sanders launched 1943 - Frigate HMS Windrush launched 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Pelorus launched 1943 - Boom defense vessel HMS Barbette launched 1943 - Tug HMCS Glendower commissioned 1943 - Miscellaneous Unclassified USS Ronaki (IX-94) sunk on reef off eastern Australia 1944 - USS PT-107 destroyed by accidental fire while refueling in port Hamburg Bay Emirau Island 1944 - Six German AF barges are ordered to protect transports in Koivisto area. Securing patrol boat VMV 17 is destroyed by Soviet warplanes in Koivisto at Tiurinsaari Island. Six men lost 1944 - In the opening moves of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, nine IJN land-based bombers, Mitsubishi G4M Navy Type 1 Attack Bomber, Allied Code Name "Betty," are dispatched from their base in Yap Atoll to search for the US fleet. The aircraft miss the ships of Task Force 58 but locate one of the Fifth Fleet escort carrier task groups. As a result of their sighting, the Japanese dispatch six land-based bombers, Kugisho P1Y Navy Bomber Ginga, Allied Code Name "Frances," escorted by eleven Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied Code Name "Zeke," from Yap Atoll and 38 A6M "Zekes" and a Kugisho D4Y Navy Carrier Bomber Suisei, Allied Code Name "Judy," from Palau Island. These aircraft fail to locate the escort aircraft carriers but at 1545 hours local, they sight and attack a group of fleet oilers ENE of Guam; two oilers are hit and a third is damaged by a near miss 1944 - U-767 depth charged and sunk at a depth of 230 ft. One crewmember escapes without an airlock with Drager gear and becomes a POW 1944 - Submarines USS Chub & Lamprey launched 1944 - Escort carrier USS Bouganville commissioned 1944 - Frigate HMCS Charlottetown arrived Bermuda for workups 1944 - SS Albert C Field (1,764 GRT) Canadian Upper Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. bulk laker sunk by a torpedo in a dusk attack from a Luftwaffe JU-88 torpedo-bomber a/c, in the English Channel, position 50.28N, 001.46W. The ship was part of the twelve-ship Penarth, Wales, to Normandy beachhead convoy EBC-14. She was carrying a cargo of 2,500 tons of ammunition & 130 bags of US Army mail. The ship broke in half and sank quickly. Four crewmembers were lost from her 33 men. The British Western Isles-class armed trawler HMS HERSCHELL rescued the survivors. The rescue was greatly assisted by the small red lights and whistles that had only recently been added to the standard life vests then in use 1944 - U-767 sunk in the English Channel SW of Guernsey, in position 49.03N, 03.13W, by depth charges from destroyers HMS Fame, Inconstant and Havelock. 49 dead and 1 survivor 1944 - HMS Storm torpedoes and sinks the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Eiko Maru in the Strait of Malacca off Penang, Malaya 1945 - Submarine USS Bonefish is sunk by ASW forces in Toyama Wan, West Coast of Honshu. All hands are lost 1945 - USS YMS-50 sunk by mine off Balikpapan Philippines 1945 - Minesweeper HMCS St Joseph paid off 1945 - Destroyer HMS Camperdown commissioned 1945 - Escort carrier USS Puget Sound commissioned 1945 - HMS Trident sinks a Japanese landing craft with gunfire in the Strait of Malacca 1948 - Submarine HNLMS Zeehond (ex-HMS Tapir) commissioned 1948 - The former German U-boat U-3008 is taken out of service by the USN 1953 - A Naval air facility was established at RCAF Station Scoudouc, New Brunswick to serve as home base for the 31st Support Air Group (VF 870, VS 880 Sqns) while the main runway at HMCS Shearwater was being upgraded 1953 - Destroyers HMCS Iroquois & Huron arrived Korean waters from Halifax; relieving Esquimalt-based HMCS Crusader 1954 - Minesweeper HMCS Chaleur commissioned 1954 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga departed Yokosuka for Sasebo 1954 - Minesweeper HMCS Fundy commissioned 1957 - CNO approves ship characteristics of the Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine 1964 - Submarine HMCS Onondaga laid down HM Dockyard Chatham 1966 - USS Yorktown port call Hong Kong 1967 - USS Constellation port call Yokosuka 1968 - USS Constellation port call Yokosuka 1969 - USS Enterprise port call Subic Bay 1972 - USS Oriskany port call Guam 1973 - USS Constellation port call Subic Bay 1993 - HMCS Vancouver departed Halifax for Esquimalt 2003 - Frigate INS Talwar commissioned in St Petersburg 2004 - USNS Gilliland placed in reduced operating status 2004 - US Military Sealift Command renews charter of M/V Major Bernard Fisher to carry Air Force ammunition for another five years 2005 - Seventeen of the more than 800 crewmembers of the USS Cusk were honored with commemorative plaques during a ceremony held at the Veterans Memorial Center and Museum of Merritt Island. Cusk was the world's first submarine to launch a missile 2005 - Rodolfo Codina Diaz was sworn in as commander of the Chilean Navy to replace Miguel Angel Vergara. Representatives of the armed forces and police, ministers and legislators attended the swearing-in ceremony at the Naval School at the port of Valparaiso. Codina Diaz was born at Valparaiso on July 3, 1949, and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1969. He is a specialist on gunnery and missiles, and an arms engineer, and holds bachelor and master degrees on naval and maritime science 2005 - Australian Fisheries Management Authority located an Indonesian fishing boat that escaped detention off the Northern Territory coast. The Authority believes the boat's crew also picked up some men from another detained vessel before heading out to sea. The Authority says a coastwatch plane spotted the Indonesian boat, but the vessel was about to cross international waters, which meant Fisheries officials couldn't pursue it 2005 - At f2105 the previous evening, Humber Coastguard were alerted by several 999 calls of a man in distress in Whitby. It was reported that the local man had got into difficulties while attempting to swim after a drifting boat. Whitby Coastguard was called out and Whitby RNLI Inshore Lifeboat was requested to launch. Police and ambulance units were also called to the scene. A member of the public borrowed a canoe and recovered the casualty to the beach where he was administered CPR prior to transfer to Scarborough Hospital by ambulance where he was later pronounced dead 2005 - A team of Bristol University archaeologists are heading for Tortola in the British Virgin Islands this week to survey the shipwreck site of the HMS Nymph, a Royal Navy sloop which sank after a fire in 1783. The survey will identify and assess the extent of the ship's remains and will ultimately aid future excavation of the site. The HMS Nymph was launched at Chatham Dockyard in May 1778 and served King George III's Navy as a support vessel in both the East and West Indies. The researchers will gather photographs, video and data through acoustic positioning, a new and more accurate method of mapping shipwreck sites. The two-week survey, scheduled for 18 June to 2 July 2005, will be conducted by a team of four archaeologists, led by Kimberly Monk of the University's Department of Archaeology and Anthropology 2005 - USCGC Healy, homeported in Seattle, sits approximately 100 miles north of Barrow AK in order to conduct scientific ice research. Scientists aboard the Healy are taking core samples from the bottom of the Arctic Ocean in order to determine weather climates thousands of years ago 2005 - The former target-submarine U 11 is back in "service". The company "U-Boot Museum Fehmarn" has bought the 520-ton submarine from the German Navy and lifted it onto a pedestal clear of the water in the Port of Burgstaaken on the Island of Fehmarn (Baltic) 2006 - USCG suspended the search about 1345 for the 41-foot sailing vessel Free Spirit, with four people on board, which was reported to be in distress June 15 approximately 200 nautical miles south of Halifax and 290 nautical miles east of Chatham MA 2006 - Galaxy 16, a high-power fixed satellite service (FSS) spacecraft built for PanAmSat Corporation by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), was successfully launched today at 12:50 am PDT. The satellite was delivered into a geosynchronous transfer orbit aboard a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned on the equator in the Pacific Ocean. Space Systems/Loral is a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications 2006 - Hospital ship USNS Mercy left the Republic of the Philippines after spending four weeks providing humanitarian assistance in three provinces 2006 - Tension prevailed in the coastal village of Rameswaram when a fisherman sustained injuries after being fired upon by Sri Lankan Navy off Dhanushkoti 2006 - In an historic sea-change at the International Whaling Commission the pro-whaling block has seized a majority vote at the annual meeting in St. Kitts. In a vote on the St Kitts and Nevis Declaration -- which described the moratorium on whaling as "no longer necessary" and called for the 'normalization' of the IWC -- pro-whaling nations achieved 33 votes, while anti-whaling nations only achieved 32 2007 - USN's newest and largest simulator USS Trayer (BST 21) commissioned at Great Lakes 2007 - Rear Admiral Salem Bin Abdullah Bin Rashid Al Allawi, Commander of Royal Navy of Oman, on an official visit to Pakistan, visited Naval Headquarters 2007 - Capt Mark D'Andrea handed over command of Coast Guard Group Port Angeles and CGAS Port Angeles to Captain Scott Pollock during a change of command ceremony at 1100. D'Andrea has been the commander of Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles since 2004 and will next be assigned as Chief of Response for the Coast Guard's Thirteenth Coast Guard District based in Seattle 2007 - LTTE sea Tigers with blue T-shirts similar to the uniform worn by the Sri Lanka Naval personnel have fired at an Indian fishing trawler at North of Talaimannar Island 2007 - Japan has changed the name of Iwo Jima, the volcanic island immortalized in one of World War II’s most brutal battles, to reflect the original name given by its inhabitants, the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute said. The new name is Iwo To, which will retain the same written characters and meaning — “Sulfur Island” — but is different when spoken 2008 - Lt.-Cmdr Jeff White, commanding officer for the past two years, relinquishes command to Lt.-Cmdr Erik James of sail training ship HMCS Oriole 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