SeaWaves Today in History June 20, 2009 1632 - Britain grants 2nd Lord Baltimore rights to Chesapeake Bay area 1783 - Off the coast of Dacca, Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and Chef d'Escadre de Suffren fought a further round in their epic series of battles for control of the Indian Ocean 1813 - Fifteen US gunboats engage 3 British ships in Hampton Roads, VA 1815 - Trials of Fulton I, built by Robert Fulton, are completed in New York. This ship would become the Navy's first steam-driven warship 1819 - Savannah becomes 1st steamship to cross any ocean (Atlantic) 1867 - President Andrew Johnson announces purchase of Alaska 1874 - 1st US Lifesaving Medal awarded (Lucian Clemons) 1887 - The second Tay Bridge, the longest railway bridge in Britain, was opened 1898 - US forces occupied Guam, which became first colony of US in the Pacific 1909 - Submarine HMS C19 launched 1913 - First fatal accident in Naval Aviation, ENS W. D. Billingsley killed at Annapolis MD 1917 - Patrol vessel HMCS Cartier commissioned after conversion from survey ship 1917 - Minesweeper HMS Tedworth launched 1917 - Patrol vessel HMCS Acadian and Italian Submarines H3-H5 arrived Halifax from Quebec City PQ 1918 - Minesweeper USS Auk laid down 1919 - Submarine USS S-37 launched 1922 - Cruiser USS Detroit launched 1923 - Cruiser USS Milwaukee commissioned 1925 - Sloop HMAS Moresby commissioned 1928 - Destroyer HMS Codrington laid down 1934 - Minesweeper HMS Speedwell laid down 1934 - Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet Admiral Frank Upham reports to CNO that based on analyses of Japanese radio traffic, "any attack by (Japan) would be made without previous declaration of war or intentional warning" 1935 - Submarine USS Porpoise launched 1935 - U-13 laid down 1936 - Light cruiser HMS Glasgow launched 1938 - Sloop HMS Black Swan laid down 1938 - Submarine USS Sea Lion laid down 1940 - U-29 refueled from the German supply ship Bessel in Vigo, Spain 1940 - U-30 sunk SS Otterpool in Convoy HGF-34 1940 - U-38 sank SS Tilia Gorthon 1940 - U-48 sank SS Moordrecht 1940 - U-127, U-164 laid down 1940 - 40 miles NW of the island of Halten, Norway HMS Clyde hit the German battlecruiser Gneisenau in the bow with one torpedo. Gneisenau had to return to Trondheim for emergency repairs 1940 - Minesweepers HMCS Clayoquot & Quatsino laid down Prince Rupert BC 1940 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Acacia commissioned 1940 - Submarine HMS Tigris commissioned 1940 - Corvette HMS Cyclamen launched 1940 - Tug HMS Fresco launched 1940 - Armed Yacht HMCS Elk (ex US yacht Arcadia/KFZL) commissioned 1940 - Minesweepers HMCS Clayoquot & Quatsino laid down Prince Rupert BC 1940 - As the damaged Scharnhorst heads for Germany, Gneisenau makes a feint towards Iceland. West of Trondheim she is torpedoed and damaged by submarine HMS Clyde. Both ships are out of action until the end of the year 1940 - Henry Stimson becomes Secretary for War and Frank Knox becomes Secretary of the Navy in a US cabinet shuffle. President Roosevelt has brought these prominent Republicans on board to strengthen his Cabinet 1940 - Dutch submarine O-13 is torpedoed in error by Polish Wilk. Both were on passage to their patrol areas 1940 - Italian submarine Diamante is sunk by submarine HMS Parthian 30 miles off Tobruk in position 32.42N, 23.49E 1940 - HMS Salmon fires two torpedoes against a German convoy about 15 nautical miles south-west of Egersund, Norway. Both torpedoes missed their intended targets 1940 - Italian submarine Provana sunk by a French sloop off Oran 1940 - Italian submarines Argonauta and Rubino sunk by RAF Sunderlands 1940 - USS Vincennes and two destroyers arrive at the New York Navy Yard carrying 200 tons of gold, the Bank of France's gold reserves. The gold will be deposited in US banks. They’d left Casablanca earlier in June 1941 - USS Texas, escorted by three destroyers, is sailing in what the Germans consider as the war, or "blockade" zone, when sighted by the submarine U-203. The Americans are unaware of the sub but they outdistance the sub preventing an attack. As a result of this event, Grossadmiral Erich Raeder, chief of the German Navy, issues an order stating that US warships may only be attacked if they cross the western boundary of the blockade area by 20+ miles or within the 20-mile strip along the western edge of the zone 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Brockville launched Sorel PQ 1941 - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the Congress regarding the sinking of the US merchant freighter SS Robin Moor by the German submarine U-69 on 21 May 1940. In his speech, the President notes that the sinking of the ship is a "warning that the United States may use the high seas of the world only with Nazi consent. Were we to yield on this we would inevitably submit to world-domination at the hands of the present leaders of the German Reich. We are not yielding and we do not propose to yield." The speech is forwarded to the German Embassy for their information 1941 - The USN's Task Group 2.6 consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Wasp, the heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa and two destroyers departs Hampton Roads, Virginia, for a neutrality patrol that ends at Bermuda on 4 July. Serving on USS Wasp is Marine Bombing Squadron One, Fighting Squadron Seventy-One and Scouting Squadron Seventy-Two 1941 - Three USN submarines conduct deep submergence tests off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. At 0738 hours, USS O-9 submerged with 33 men aboard; the sub did not surface thereafter but was crushed by the pressure of the water 402 feet below. The sub went down 15 miles off Portsmouth in the area where submarine USS Squalus had been lost on 23 May 1939. The sub was too deep for rescue efforts and the ship was declared a total loss on 22 June 1941 - U-506 launched 1941 - U-351 commissioned 1941 - Destroyer HMS Relentless laid down 1941 - Escort carrier HMS Audacity (ex-SS Hannover) commissioned 1941 - Minelayer HMS Manxman commissioned 1941 - Corvette HMS Campion launched 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Brockville launched Sorel PQ 1941 - Trawler HMS Resmilo bombed & sunk off Peterhead 1941 - U-123 sank SS Ganda 1942 - U-67 damaged SS Nortind 1942 - Frigate HMCS (ex-HMS) Nene laid down 1942 - Destroyer USS Thatcher laid down 1942 - Escort carrier HMS Searcher launched 1942 - Destroyer HMS Wensleydale launched 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Lachine commissioned 1942 - U-426, U-845 laid down 1942 - U-224, U-446 commissioned 1942 - A Japanese submarine, I-26, LCdr Minoura YOKOTA CO, shelled the lighthouse at the isolated location of Estevan Point, Vancouver Island. HMCS Moolock & Santa Maria dispatched to the area but no further contact reported. There was very little damage & no loss of life as a result of this incident. This was the only known time that Canadian territory was taken under enemy fire during World War II 1942 - Corvette HMCS Lethbridge departed Londonderry for Halifax 1942 - Corvette HMCS Edmunston rescued 31 crewmembers from SS Fort Camosun, which had been torpedoed & shelled by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-26 off the coast of Washington State HMCS Quesnel took Fort Camosun under tow & brought her safely into Victoria BC 1942 - Corvette HMCS Lethbridge departed Londonderry for Halifax 1942 - Frigate HMS Nene (later HMCS Nene) laid down, South Bank-on-Tees, UK 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Lachine commissioned 1942 - The crew of the US submarine USS S-27 that sank yesterday off Amchitka Island, Aleutian Islands, reaches a deserted village on the island and sets up camp 1942 - U-128 sinks an armed US merchant freighter 120 miles (193.1 km) SE of Barbados 1942 - The first nonstop commercial flight across the Atlantic Ocean is completed by an American Export Air Lines Vought Sikorsky VS-44A flying boat. American Export flew between New York City and Foynes, Eire, under contract to the USN 1942 - Reconnaissance planes of the Malta based 69 Squadron located an Italian convoy running across the Med. With Rommel's desert offensive in full gear, it was critical that the island attempt to stop the vital supplies. The Italian convoy consisted of two merchant vessels, the MV Mario Roselli (6,835 BRT), and the MV Nino Bixio (7,137 BRT), escorted by three destroyers/torpedo boats, and was spotted exiting the Gulf of Taranto. A hasty strike force was put together, ten Beauforts of 217 Squadron, led by OC Wing Commander W. A. L. Davis, escorted by seven Beaufighters of 235 Squadron. In the event, only seven Beauforts and three Beaufighters got off initially and rendezvoused, although two other Beauforts left later on their own. Unfortunately, the entire operation went bust, as the main strike force missed the target and returned empty handed. Adding injury to insult, the two trailing Beauforts were bounced by long range Ju-88Cs of I/NJG-2. FO Frank John Robert Thomond Minster, RAFVR, having only flown his first operation on the 15th, was force-landed DD959 on fire. Although he and his crew were seen to get into their dinghy, that was the last time any was seen. Fortunately, Sgt. Hutcheson managed to fly his Beaufort back to Luqa. Reconnaissance reported the convoy put into Palermo 1943 - Kiska is bombed by six USN PV-1 Venturas based on Adak Island 1943 - Lighter Covered (Self-propelled) YF-401 lost 1943 - LCT(5)-208 sunk off Algeria 1943 - Minesweepers HMS Jasper & Pique launched 1943 - U-388 sunk in the North Atlantic SE of Cape Farewell, Greenland, in position 57.36N, 31.20W, by depth charges from a USN VP 84 Catalina. 47 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-214 damaged Santa Maria 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Waterman launched 1943 - Submarines USS Rock & Flasher launched 1943 - Destroyers USS Dortch & Gatling launched 1943 - In the Pacific a Japanese freighter and a transport are sunk by US submarines 1943 - U-388 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the North Atlantic SE of Cape Farewell, Greenland, at position 57.36N, 31.20W, by depth charges from an US Catalina aircraft (VP 84). 47 dead (all crew lost) 1943 - HMS United torpedoes and sinks Italian merchant Olbia 20 miles south of Cape Spartivento, Italy 1943 - Submarine HMS Volatile launched 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Traw commissioned 1944 - Submarine HMS Utica commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Signet commissioned 1944 - Repair ship HMS Assistance launched 1944 - Minesweeper HMS Hare launched 1944 - During the First Battle at Philippine Sea (also known as "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot"), USS Enterprise (as a part of 5th Fleet) send her aircraft against Japanese vessels. Americans sank the carrier Hiyo and damaged several other ships 1944 - A/L/Sto Thomas Houston Forrester RCNVR awarded Distinguished Service Meda. Lt (E) Geoffrey Lionel Goodwin RCNVR awarded Mention-in-Dispatches 1944 - Ordered for RCN - HC 348, HC 344, HC 335, HC 345 & HC 351 1944 - During the night of 19/20 June, the USN's Task Groups 58.1, 58.2 and 58.3 sailed westward to attack the Japanese First Mobile Fleet which has about 100 operation aircraft. The Americans launch carrier-based search planes at dawn in addition to PBM Mariners based at Saipan and PB4Y-1 Liberators based on Los Negros Island. The Japanese are finally located at 1540 hours by a Torpedo Squadron Ten TBM Avenger in USS Enterprise but the radio message from the aircraft is garbled. It isn't until 1605 hours that the position of the Japanese ships is pinpointed and at 1621 hours the carriers turned into the wind and launch 216 aircraft in just 11 minutes. The air strike consists of 84 F6F Hellcat fighters, 54 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers (VT-24 aircraft are the only ones carrying torpedoes; the rest have bombs), and 51 SB2C Helldivers and 26 SBD Dauntless dive-bombers. The Japanese ships are located at 1830 hours, 30 minutes prior to dusk. Due to their losses, only 35 fighters (Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied Code Name "Zeke") are airborne. The first ships sighted by the Americans are two oilers and two of them are attacked and so badly damaged that they were later scuttled. The aircraft carrier HIJMS Hiyo is attacked by four TBM Avengers of VT-24 in the light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood and the ship is hit bay at least one torpedo and later sinks. US dive-bombers then attack the aircraft carriers HIJMS Zuikaku and HIJMS Junyo and the light aircraft carriers HIJMS Chiyoda and HIJMS Ryuho and the battleship HIJMS Haruna; all five ships are damaged. US losses are ten SB2Cs, six F6Fs and four TBMs. By nightfall, the Japanese had lost three aircraft carriers and of the 430 aircraft available prior to the battle, only 35 are still operational. The Americans also have problems; their aircraft are 275-300 miles (443-483 km) from their carriers and they will be low on fuel when they arrive. The first aircraft return to their ships at 2045 hours on an exceptionally dark night. Admiral Mitscher, who always showed an unusual concern for his flyers, makes an unusual decision. He orders that all ships in the fleet turn on their lights and destroyers are to fire star shells during the two hours it takes to recover the aircraft. Despite these efforts, 35 SB2Cs, 28 TBMs and 17 F6Fs are forced to ditch at sea. All but 16 pilots and 33 aircrew are rescued. At 2046 hours, the Japanese fleet is ordered to withdraw from the Philippine Sea the ships of Task Force 58 continue westward during the night of 20/21 June was still hunting the remaining Japanese ships 1944 - A heavy air attack to mine depot on Kirkonmaa Island sank two mine transporters and blow up the mine depot. About 600 mines and anti-sweeping devices were lost 1944 - A USN submarine in the Pacific sinks an army cargo ship 1944 - USS Narwhal lands four US enlisted men and supplies on Panay Island in the Philippines and then evacuates 13 men and one woman 1944 - HMS Ultor torpedoes and sinks the German tug Cebre south of Cannes 1945 - HMCS Runnymede departed Halifax for Esquimalt 1945 - Frigates HMCS Annan, Loch Achanalt & Loch Morlich paid off & returned to RN at Sheerness 1945 - Corvettes HMCS Dauphin & Chambly paid off Sorel PQ 1945 - The USN's Task Group 12.4 launches five strikes against Japanese positions on Wake Island while enroute from Pearl Harbor to Leyte in the Philippine Islands; this is the fifth Wake Raid. TG 12.4 consists of the light aircraft carrier USS Cowpens with Light Carrier Air Group Fifty and the aircraft carriers USS Hancock with Carrier Air Group Six and USS Lexington with CVG-94 plus escorting vessels 1945 - Mines previously laid by B-29 Superfortresses in Japanese waters sink a cargo ship, a freighter and a tanker and damage two freighters. Other mines sink a freighter. PB4Y-2 Privateers of the USN's Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Eighteen based at Yonton, Okinawa, again sow mines in the Korean Archipelago 1945 - USN submarines in the Pacific sink an auxiliary sailing vessel, an army cargo ship and a freighter 1945 - Destroyers USS Epperson & Robert H McCard laid down 1946 - Destroyer USS Agerholm commissioned 1951 - HMCS Cowichan (II) laid down at Davie Shipbuilding 1952 - Destroyer HMCS Iroquois arrived Korean waters and assumed duties as Canadian flagship 1953 - Minesweeper HMCS Resolute launched Kingston ON 1954 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga arrived Sasebo 1956 - Soviet submarine P-2 stricken & scrapped at Leningrad 1956 - Surg/Capt David Walker Johnstone RCN(R) awarded Volunteer Reserve Decoration 1967 - USS Oriskany port call Pearl Harbor 1967 - USS Bon Homme Richard port call Subic Bay 1968 - Submarine HMS Churchill launched 1972 - USS Constellation port call Yokosuka 1977 - Oil enters Trans-Alaska pipeline exits 38 days later at Valdez RADM Daniel "Dan" Nicholas Mainguy awarded Commander-Order of Military Merit. Cdr McGregor Fullerton MacIntosh awarded Officer-Order of Military Merit. Lt (N) Garry Ivan Olmstead Member-Order of Military Merit 2003 - USS Oldendorf officially decommissioned 2003 - IMO cancels Greenpeace observer status 2004 - Chinese and British navies conducted joint maritime exercises for the first time, off the coast of East China's Qingdao City 2005 - Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre today announced the appointment of Mr. David K. Gardiner of Chilliwack, BC, as chair of the board of directors of the Pacific Pilotage Authority. David Gardiner holds a bachelor of arts, with a major in economics, from Concordia University. He currently serves as principal, COMFAC Services Ltd. From 1994 until 2002, Mr. Gardiner served as the president of the Western Transportation Advisory Council (WESTAC). He was previously employed as president and chief executive officer of Great Lakes Bulk Carriers Inc., and as vice-president of Terminal Development at Federal Industries. Mr. Gardiner has served as a member of the Canada Marine Act Review Panel and the Canadian Flag Shipping Review Task Force. He has also served as chairman of the Canadian Shipowners Association and the Canadian Lake Carriers Association 2005 - Hawkes Ocean Technologies today named Autodesk, Inc. Founding Sponsor of the research and engineering firm's breakthrough deep sea exploration innovations. Today's recognition of Founding Sponsor marks a decade of support from Autodesk, just days before Hawkes plans to display its Deep Flight I, the first-ever submersible designed for underwater flight. The vehicle will be highlighted at Wired magazine's NextFest, an exhibition of discoveries and achievements by the leading minds in science and technology, June 24-26 at Chicago's Navy Pier 2005 - Italian Minister of the Defense Antonio Martino accompanied from the Chief of General Staff Admiral Giampaolo attended to the ceremony of closing of the academic year of the CASD 2005 - The Directive Council of the Congress of the Republic of Peru passed a motion recognizing 70 years of service of BAP Loreto and Amazonas with Amazon Flotilla. These two ships were built by Electric Boat of Groton and first entered service in 1934. They took part in the border war with Ecuador in 1941 2005 - Submarine FGS U-12, the last 205-class boat in service, departed Eckernforde for Wilhelmshaven where she will be decommissioned at the end of the month and laid up. Her last usage had been as trials ship for communications and sonar equipment for the new 212-class submarines 2005 - Aberdeen Coastguard assisted two fishing vessels who requested their help within seconds of each other, in the same area, with the same problem and in the Pentland Firth area. At 1951the fishing vessel Edward Henry (10 crew aboard) put out a pan pan call (urgency call) on channel 16 requesting assistance, having fouled its propeller. Seconds later, the fishing vessel Boy Jordan (2 crew aboard) also advised Aberdeen Coastguard of its identical predicament. The RNLI Longhope lifeboat in Orkney was also launched to assist the Edward Henry, but was returned to base once Thurso lifeboat had towed Boy Jordan into Scrabster. Thurso lifeboat then escorted Edward Henry into Scrabster just after 2130 2005 - The operator of a 30-foot commercial fishing vessel was cited for safety violations and drug possession during a Coast Guard boarding near Aberdeen, Wash. A boarding team from Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor, Wash., cited the master of the Quinault Tribal Nation fishing vessel for not having serviceable flotation devices on board. During the inspection 2-3 grams of marijuana was found resulting in an additional citation from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for possession of a controlled substance. The Coast Guard safely escorted the vessel to the Aberdeen Marina. The Coast Guard and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have planned to meet with tribal council members to discuss the events of this case and build a working relationship with tribal fisherman to improve commercial fishing vessel safety 2006 - USCG Rear Admiral William Baumgartner testifies before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Coast Guard and Merchant Marine Subcommittee on the USCG fiscal year 2007 authorization 2006 - MV Kanaya, a cargo ship carrying 20,000 tons of coal sank off the coast of Somalia. 18 crewmembers from the vessel are believed to be floating on liferafts 2006 - Crew abandoned the Marshall Islands-registered 142,031 dwt Front Sunda after a blast in one of its cargo tanks developed into a fire. The single-hull tanker was left abandoned and unmanned yesterday evening in calm conditions around 200 miles northeast of Singapore 2006 - CGAS Astoria hosts an open house and SAR demonstration 2006 - Asia Netcom signed an agreement with NEC to double the capacity on the southern segment of its Pan-Asian submarine cable system, EAC. The upgrade on the EAC2 ring of the system, which spans Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan, will raise the bandwidth capacity on those routes to 160 Gbps. This will be the third incremental capacity expansion this year for Asia Netcom. Previous upgrades have already more than doubled the capacity on the northern segment of the EAC system 2006 - Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett met with the Control Arms campaign (Amnesty International, Oxfam and IANSA) and the Defense Manufacturers Assn to discuss the case for an international Arms Trade Treaty. Following their meeting, campaigners present Beckett with the Million Faces Petition - a global, visual petition to which 150,000 people in the UK have “put their faces,” calling for an international Arms Trade Treaty 2006 - USCG suspended the search for a missing swimmer in the Quinnipiac River at 1243. Coast Guard received a report that a 17-year-old male disappeared after swimming with three friends in the Quinnipiac River near the Ferry Street Bridge 2158 the previous day. A concerned citizen, who lives along the river, notified the New Haven Police Department after hearing noises emanating from the river. The Coast Guard was notified and immediately initiated a multi-agency response including the New Haven Police and Fire Departments, Milford, Branford, West Haven, and Connecticut State Police Departments and rescue crews from Coast Guard Station New Haven and Air Station Cape Cod. Resources from New Haven, West Haven, Milford, Branford, and the Connecticut State Police are continuing the search with surface assets and divers 2006 - USNS Lewis and Clark, a dry cargo/ammunition ship, was delivered to the US Navy's Military Sealift Command. The ship, designated T-AKE, is the first in a new class of Combat Logistics Force ships and is able to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy's carrier strike groups and other naval forces worldwide 2006 - The United States signed a Declaration of Principles (DOPs) today with the Government of Jamaica to help thwart smuggling of nuclear and other radioactive material. The DOP was co-signed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) 2006 - BP Shipping honored at a dockside flag-raising ceremony by the Port of Long Beach for BP's compliance with the "Green Flag" clean air program and other environmental achievements. Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill and Harbor Commissioners will recognize BP's environmental stewardship, which includes eight Green Flag vessels, cold-ironing initiatives, electric booster pumps and environmentally friendly tanker design 2006 - Aldabra Acquisition Corp announced it has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with the parent company of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp 2006 - Washington State Department of Transportation bridge crews finished the annual inspection and maintenance work on the SR 520 Floating Bridge 2006 - Taiwan's state-run China Shipbuilding Corp signed a contract with Peter Dohle, a German leasing company, to build nine freighters 2006 - Two US warships with sensors that would swiftly detect and track a missile's flight were operating off the North Korean coast. They are USS Curtis Wilbur & USS Fitzgerald, both Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers based in Japan 2006 - Foggy conditions are being blamed for a tugboat striking the concrete bridge abutments on the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge. The incident occurred when the tugboat Cheyenne was pushing two barges with scrap metal and stone south on the river and could not see the abutment because of dense fog, according to the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office 2006 - Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, announced the Dept of Fisheries and Oceans will be enhancing its conservation and protection presence in British Columbia 2006 - A Chinese delegation returned to Beijing after observing a large-scale US military exercise in Guam. It was the first time that Chinese military personnel had been invited to observe a war game conducted by the US. The 10-member delegation, together with delegations from six other countries, observed Exercise Valiant Shield-06 2007 - South Korea plans to build four 4,500-ton amphibious warfare ships between 2013 and 2016 using its own technology 2007 - Unloading of sections of six windmills from MV Beluga Efficiency. This initial shipment of 6 windmills consists of 155 pieces totaling 2,356,702 kg. The 21 windmill blades are each 130 feet in length and are accompanied by the tower sections which are upwards of 80 feet long. These are the largest windmills made by Enercon. The German-made windmills will then be transported by truck to Ripley, Ontario 2007 - Two towboats, with four people sank, while tied alongside the dock on the Atchafalaya River in Krotz Springs, La 2007 - Australia announces that the Spanish F100 has one the AWD destroyer competition 2007 - Ex-SPS Pollux (A22), painted black and stripped of all equipment, sent to the bottom in "Sinkex 07" along with Ex-SPS Cataluna (F73) 2007 - C&G Boat Works of Mobile awarded an $18,260,565 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of two YP Class Training Craft, with one lot of spare parts, for the US Naval Academy 2008 - VADM Dean McFadden relieves LTGEN Marc Dumais as head of Canada Command 2008 - Hospitalman Dustin Kelby Burnett, 19, of Fort Mohave AZ assigned to First Marine Division Detachment, Twentynine Palms died while conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan 2008 - Ex-destroyer USS David R Ray left Bremerton under tow for target duty at RIMPAC 08 2008 - Northern Shipyard in St. Petersburg appointed only supplier of Project 20380 corvettes and Project 21270 service craft to the Russian Navy Copyright 2009 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Today in History Archives This information is licensed to the recipient only. 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