SeaWaves Today in History March 7, 2008 ********************************************************************* March 7 1778 - Continental Navy frigate Randolph (32 guns) engages HMS Yarmouth (64). Randolph explodes and sinks with the loss of all but 4 men 1792 - Sir John Herschel, the astronomer who first maps the stars of the Southern Hemisphere, is born in Slough 1810 - Admiral Lord Collingwood (2nd in command to Nelson at Trafalgar) dies at sea 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his telephone 1883 - A dramatic rescue was performed by the crew of Assateague Life-Saving Station using a surfboat through a howling storm to save the ten persons stranded on the sinking barquentine, Wolverine 1908 - Station Tillamook Bay (CG Station #325) opened on the north side entrance of Tillamook Bay, five miles northeast of Cape Meares Light. It was originally called Barview Life Saving Station, and operated 30-foot rowboats. 1914 - Submarine HMS W3 laid down 1916 - HMS E5 was sunk by the German Cruiser Strassburg in the North Sea 1918 - British forces began naval operations against Russian revolutionaries in the Murmansk and Archangel areas 1919 - Minesweeper USS Seagull commissioned 1926 - First successful Trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversation, between New York & London 1933 - Destroyer USS Hull laid down 1936 - U-15 commissioned 1940 - British warships detain six Italian coal ships with cargoes of German coal. This action follows a warning that Britain will seize all German coal found at sea. The ships are brought to Kent where they are anchored off the coast while the government decides whether to unload the cargoes. Four more Italian colliers have set sail from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and a further six are loading with Rhineland coal destined for Italy where coal rationing is in force. Many Italians believe that the seizure of their ships is a deliberate attempt to force them to buy British coal on British terms. This becomes known as the "Coal Ships Affair" 1940 - German a/c attack shipping in the North Sea. One enemy a/c is destroyed. There are casualties in the trawlers; an Italian vessel is fired and a Dutch vessel damaged 1940 - Cunard Line's newest ship, RMS Queen Elizabeth was given a heroine's welcome when she docked in New York City at 1700. The 83,673 ton passenger liner, the biggest in the world, dashed across the Atlantic at an average speed of 24.5 knots, relying on her speed to evade the U-boats and dropping her destroyer escort one day out. The voyage was kept a firm secret until the liner shrouded in wartime gray, appeared over the horizon moving towards Nantucket. ... Strict security is being maintained, with no visitors allowed on board. The ship is fitted with a new magnetic mine protector device. How much of the final fitting out work has been done is not yet clear, but what is certain is that she will be prepared for war work, not luxury passengers 1940 - The unescorted, unarmed & neutrally marked SS Vecht was hit by a torpedo from U-14 at 0430, which sank her in 20 minutes at 51.45N, 03.05E 1940 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Acania launched 1940 - Corvette HMS Clarkia launched 1941 - U-47 reported missing in North Atlantic near the Rockall Banks in approximate position 0.00N, 19.00W. 45 dead (all hands lost). There is no confirmation how U-47 was lost. For years was it believed that destroyer HMS Wolverine sank U-47 on 8 March, 1941 after depth charges attacks, but the Wolverine actually attacked Eckermann's U-A. Possible reasons for the loss of U-47 include mines, by its own torpedoes or by an attack by corvettes HMS Camellia & Arbutus. On 14 Oct 1939 the boat made its incredible raid on Scapa Flow sinking battleship HMS Royal Oak 1941 - U-412 laid down 1941 - Submarine HMS Splendid laid down 1941 - Transport USS William P. Biddle escorted by light cruiser USS Concord arrives at Pago Pago on Tutuila Island, & disembarks the 7th Defense Battalion, the first unit of Fleet Marine Force deployed to the Southern Hemisphere in World War II 1941 - Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labor & former leader of the Transport and general Workers' Union, has been given powers to schedule any factory or firm as being engaged on essential work of national importance. Once scheduled, no employee can either leave or be dismissed without the consent of the local national service officer of the ministry. The object is to prevent labor turnover damaging the war effort. As a condition of being rated "essential", employers must guarantee weekly wage rates and welfare arrangements that satisfy the ministry, and workers may be disciplined for lateness or absenteeism. The first "Essential Work Orders" will apply to the engineering, aircraft, building and shipbuilding industries, the railways, the docks and the mines. The 221,000 workers in the five royal dockyards and in 52 private yards are now put under the control of the admiralty, which will decide priorities. Shipyards have been plagued by stoppages at a time when nearly a million tons of shipping has been sunk in the current quarter. This week John Brown's on Clydeside is on strike 1941 - At 1047, the unescorted SS Mentor was hit by one torpedo from U-37 at 59.30N, 25W & sank by the bow with a still turning propeller 1941 - Whale factor ship Terje Viken was hit by a torpedo from U-47 at 0505. 45 minutes later two torpedoes fired by U-99 totally wrecked the ship. Two British destroyers & a corvette finally sank the wreck on 14 March 1941 - U-70 attacked Convoy OB-293 SE of Iceland, but was lost after a second attack at 0725. The survivors claimed that they had hit three ships in the first attack at 0445 hours & another in the second. But in fact three ships were damaged - Athelbeach, Delilian and Mijdrecht. At 0640, U-99 torpedoed the already damaged Athelbeach & the crew abandoned ship. At 0715, the U-boat began to shell the tanker & sank her with a coup de grâce 15 minutes later. The master & six crewmembers were lost. 37 crewmembers were picked up by corvette HMS Camellia & landed at Greenock. At 0725, the Mijdrecht in Convoy OB-293 was hit by one torpedo from U-70 and continued at slow speed. The tanker rammed the U-boat as it tried to deliver a coup de grâce and reported the position to the escorts. The ship arrived in Rothesay Bay on 19 March, was temporary repaired at Govan and later went to Middlesbrough for permanent repairs 1941 - U-70 sunk SE of Iceland, in position 60.15N, 14.00W, by corvettes HMS Camellia & Arbutus. 20 dead, 25 survivors. The conning tower of U-70 had been badly damaged, but the pressure hull remained intact and Matz decided to head away from the convoy for repairs. At 0815, Camellia sighted the U-boat on the surface, which dived shortly afterwards. Until 1030, this corvette & Arbutus carried out five attacks with depth charges, followed by another four attacks by Camellia. Altogether the corvettes dropped 48 depth charges in the nine attacks. The U-boat was forced to surface at 1244 after the last attack & had to be abandoned by the crew. The corvettes picked up 25 survivors 1942 - U-211, 179 commissioned 1942 - Trawler HMS Magdalen launched Midland ON 1942 - HMC ML 068 commissioned 1942 - Japanese forces dealt China its greatest blow by capturing the seaport of Rangoon in Burma and thus cutting off supplies from the Burma Road 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Dubbo launched 1942 - USN Patrol Wing Ten (PatWing-10), which was based in the Philippines in December 1941, completes withdrawal from the Netherlands East Indies, and establishes headquarters in Perth, Western Australia, for patrol operations along the west coast of Australia. Sixty percent of the wing personnel are either dead or captives of the Japanese. Three of the four wing squadrons, Patrol Squadron Twenty One (VP-21), VP-22 and VP-102 are officially disestablished, and the remaining personnel and aircraft assets, PBY-4 and -5 Catalinas, are combined to bring up to full strength the remaining squadron, VP-101 1942 - During the night of the 7th/8th, RAF Bomber Command flies two missions - (1) 15 aircraft bomb the submarine pens at St Nazaire and (2) 11 Hampdens lay mines off Lorient; one Hampden is lost 1942 - Force H, consisting of the aircraft carriers HMS Argus and Eagle and supported by a number of destroyers, sets sail for Malta from Gibraltar with a number of Spitfires on board. Fifteen Spitfires were flown off when Force H comes within range of the island 1942 - While returning from a reconnaissance mission over Gasmata & Rabaul in the Bismarck Archipelago, the crew of an RAAF 32 Sqn Hudson based at Seven Mile Airstrip, Port Moresby, sights a convoy of 11 ships heading for Salamaua 1942 - The practicability of using a radio sonobuoy in aerial ASW was demonstrated in an exercise conducted off New London, Connecticut, by nonrigid airship (or blimp) K-5 & submarine USS S-20. The buoy could detect the sound of the submerged submarine's propellers at distances up to 3 miles and radio reception aboard the blimp was satisfactory up to 5 miles 1942 - Light cruiser USS Vincennes laid down 1942 - Escort carrier HMS Tracker launched 1942 - Destroyer HMS Zetland launched 1942 - At 0835, the unescorted & unarmed Barbara was hit by a torpedo amidships on the port side, despite sailing an approved zigzagging course in moonlight. The torpedo penetrated the hull deep and exploded on the starboard side, causing a fire which damaged the engines, killed the watch below and reached mast high amidships. The fire prevented the survivors from launching any lifeboats, so they had to jump or climb into the water and swim to the life rafts. The ship burned for two and a half hours and sank stern first about nine miles north-northeast of Tortuga Island, Dominican Republic. On 9 March, the master, 15 men and a stewardess were picked up after three days at sea by a USN PBY Catalina flying boat several miles off Porta l'Ecu, Haiti. The pilot who risked two landings and overloaded his plane was cited for the act. A group of 21 survivors landed on Tortuga Island after nearly three days at sea. Able Seaman Maximo Murphy walked 18 hours across the island to get help from natives, who send a Haitian Coast Guard vessel to the survivors. Murphy earned the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions. Two other rafts with 19 survivors made it to the shore safely. Bosn Charles Rooney and AB John Taurin had released a portable gangway when the ship was sunk and clung to this gangway along with a passenger, who died on the second day. Both men were spotted by an aircraft on the forth day and were picked up by a destroyer, which was directed to them by the aircraft. Of the eight officers, 50 crewmen and 27 passengers aboard, four officers, 14 crewmen and eight passengers lost their lives. The master Walter Gwynn Hudgins later commanded the Elizabeth, which was sunk by U-103 on 21 May 1942 1942 - Hog Islander Cardonia sunk by U-126 at 19.53N, 73.27W 1942 - SS Arabutan sunk by U-155 at 35.15N, 73.55W 1942 - Steam tanker Unilawenco sunk by U-161 at 13.23N, 62.04W 1942 - At 2314, steam trawler Nyggjaberg was hit by one torpedo from U-701 & sank within two minutes south of Iceland 1943 - Destroyer HMCS Assiniboine arrived Liverpool UK for refit 1943 - Destroyers USS Miller & Braine launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS JRY Blakely launched 1943 - Submarine USS Grampus lost under mysterious circumstances, possibly to 2 Japanese destroyers on this date. Sister sub Grayback reported seeing her in the area two days earlier & the two Japanese destroyers were lost with their logs two days later 1943 - At 1227, the unescorted MS Jamaica was torpedoed & sunk by U-221. The ship broke in two & sank within two minutes. The survivors launched four lifeboats, but two had been damaged & could not be used. The motor lifeboat was sucked down as the ship sank & came up capsized. This boat was straightened, bailed and later held 13 survivors, while four other survivors were in the gig. The U-boat questioned the survivors and accidentally rammed a lifeboat, throwing the occupants into the sea. The third engineer was picked up by the U-boat & was allowed to swim to the other boat, which picked up the remaining occupants swimming in the sea. On 9 March, the survivors in the lifeboat were spotted by a B-17 Fortress aircraft, which dropped first aid articles for them, but they were not rescued until 18 March, when they were picked up by corvette HMS Borage. The corvette altered course to rendezvous with another corvette that had a doctor onboard & three of the survivors who were severely injured were transferred to her, to be taken to Gibraltar as quickly as possible. Borage first escorted a convoy to England and then landed the remaining survivors at Plymouth on 26 March, arriving at London the next day. The four men in the gig reached the Isle of Barra on 29 March, they later reached London on 6 April 1943 - At 0210, U-230 attacked Convoy SC-121 SSE of Cape Farewell & torpedoed SS Egyptian. Siegmann thought that his victim sank & attacked the convoy again at 0925. He claimed the sinking of another ship of 5000 tons in the former position of the Egyptian, but it seems that both attacks were carried out on the same ship. The Empire Impala was ordered to pick up the survivors, dropped behind the convoy and was sunk with all hands by U-591 at 0906 hours. The master, 36 crewmembers & nine gunners from Egyptian were lost. Three crewmembers were picked up by corvette HMCS Rosthern & landed at Londonderry 1943 - SS Sabor sunk by U-506 at 34.30S, 23.10E 1943 - At 1820, U-638 attacked a straggler from Convoy ON-168 SW of Cape Farewell & Bernbeck thought that he had missed, but SS Empire Light was damaged & abandoned. 39 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. The master, three crewmembers and one gunner were picked up by destroyer HMS Beverley & landed at St John's. At 2212 on 12 March U-468 sank the abandoned Empire Light by two coup de grâce 1944 - Corvette HMCS Petrolia (ex-HMS Sherborne Castle) commissioned 1944 - HMCS Georgian arrived Devonport & joined 14th Minesweeping Flotilla 1944 - HMCS Bayfield arrived Devonport & joined 31st Minesweeping Flotilla 1944 - HMCS Thunder arrived Devonport & joined 32nd Minesweeping Flotilla 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Jack W Wilke commissioned 1944 - Submarine HMS Taciturn launched 1944 - Escort carrier HMS Campania commissioned 1944 - USS PT-337 destroyed by Japanese shore batteries Hansa Bay New Guinea 1944 - MS Tarifa sunk by U-510 at 12.48N, 58.44E 1944 - Steam tanker Valera sunk by U-518 at 11.30N, 76.27W 1944 - Escort carrier USS Vella Gulf laid down 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Woodson laid down 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS William Seiverling, Ulvert M Moore & Kenneth M Willett launched 1944 - U-682, 683 launched 1945 - U-246 reports for the last time on 7 March from position 56.20N, 12.50W while enroute for its operational area in the Irish Sea. She is determined to be lost during April 1945 in the Irish Sea south of the Isle of Man, in position 53.40N, 04.53,5W. Listed as missing on 5 April 1945. No explanation exists for its loss. 48 dead (all hands lost) 1945 - Frigate HMCS Wentworth arrived Shelburne NS for refit 1945 - Frigates HMCS La Hulloise, Thetford Mines & Strathadam sank U-1302 Kptlt Wolfgang Herwartz CO, in St. George's Channel, 52-19N 05-23W/ There were no survivors of the crew of 48. U-1302 a VIIC/41 type U-boat, built by Flensburg Schiffsbau-GES Flensburg, launched 4 Apr 44, commissioned 25 May 44, in service 10 months, with a record of 4 ships sunk for a total of 10,312 tons, (which included on 28 Feb the Canadian-owned, US-registered merchantman Soreldoc (1,926 GRT) which was torpedoed & sunk in the English Channel in position 52.15N, 005.35W) & 1 ship of 6,991 tons damaged. U-1302 was "made" by radar by HMCS Strathadam then by Asdic, & followed by a sighting of a periscope & Schnorkel. While La Hulloise & Thetford Mines held sonar contact, Strathadam made a Hedgehog bomb attack which produced a definite hit, there was a "spectacular underwater flash" a huge air bubble & wreckage, followed moments later by a submarine breaking the surface. Further attacks produced sufficient material to confirm the end of U-1302. Wolfgang Herwartz was born in 1917, at Hildesheim. He joined the navy in 1937. He was seconded as a liaison officer to the Luftwaffe from Oct 39 to Jun 43 & then transferred to the U-boat force. He underwent introductory training from Jul to Dec 43 & was immediately sent on the U-boat commander's course from Dec 43 to Mar 43. After a short time on the staff of the 23rd U-boat Flotilla, he was appointed to command U-1302 on 25 May 44 1945 - Fire tug HMCS Nashwaak assigned to Sydney NS 1945 - Frigates HMCS Charlottetown, Springhill & Stettler departed Halifax for EG-16 Londonderry 1945 - During World War II, US forces crossed the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany, using the damaged but still usable Ludendorff Bridge 1945 - U-548 sailed from Norway on her final patrol 1945 - U-1023 sailed from Norway on her first and final patrol 1945 - US forces crossed the Rhine River at Remagen using the damaged Ludendorff Bridge 1945 - U-2543 commissioned 1955 - Minesweeper HMCS Fundy laid down Lauzon PQ 1958 - Commissioning of USS Grayback, first submarine built from keel up with guided missile capability, to fire Regulus II missile 1959 - Destroyer HMCS Kootenay commissioned 1960 - Submarine HMS Alderney departed Halifax following ASW training 1960 - USS Kearsarge rescues 4 Russian soldiers from their landing craft 1,000 miles from Midway Island, which was drifting several weeks after their engine failed off Kamchatka Peninsula 1966 - USS Hancock port call Subic Bay 1966 - Department of Navy reorganized into present structure under CNO 1967 - PBRs assists Operation Overload II in Rung Sat Zone, Vietnam 1968 - Operation Coronado XII begins in Mekong Delta, Vietnam 1968 - USS Ranger port call Sasebo 1991 - Naval forces execute on-going defensive counter-air and other operations. Navy ships in the region: Six aircraft carriers (Saratoga, John F. Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, Midway, Ranger and America; two battleships (Wisconsin - enroute home - and Missouri); two command ships (Blue Ridge and Lasalle); twelve cruisers; eleven destroyers; ten frigates; four mine warfare ships; thirty-one amphibious ships; thirty-two auxiliaries. Additionally, two hospital ships (Mercy and Comfort) are in the region and other military sealift ships. Forrestal Battle Group is enroute to the region 1991 - Maritime interception operations continue with 7,766 merchants challenged, 945 ships boarded, 48 diverted. The Navy has conducted 547 of the boardings. USS Moosbrugger diverts freighter in N. Red Sea 1991 - Navy ships are also assisting commercial vessels navigate through northern Arabian Gulf waters made potentially dangerous by mines 1994 - US Navy issues first orders to women assigned aboard combat ship, USS Dwight D Eisenhower 2003 - USCGC Oak commissioned Charleston SC 2003 - The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has begun satellite-based digital weather broadcast services to the rescue of our fishermen and seafarers 2005 - Frigate BNS Wielingen commenced drydocking at Antwerp 2005 - Romanian frigate Regina Maria (ex-HMS London) begins sea trials at Portsmouth 2005 - Two Chinese fishing vessels seized for illegally fishing in South Korea's southern territorial waters, local maritime police said. The Maritime Police Agency on Jeju Island said it seized two fishing vessels for illegally operating within South Korea's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 2005 - BAE Systems plc announces that its wholly-owned US subsidiary, BAE Systems North America Inc. entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire United Defense Industries 2005 - Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. signed a letter of intent with Aker Finnyards in Turku, Finland, to add a third ship to its Freedom class of vessels now being built for Royal Caribbean International. The agreement is subject to certain conditions, including board approval. Like the series’ first and second ships, this third Royal Caribbean newbuild is a 158,000-GRT vessel equipped with 1,800 cabins that accommodate 3,600 guests double occupancy. It enters service in early 2008, two years after the class debuts in April 2006, with Freedom of the Seas. The company estimates the cost of the third ship, including the contract price (specified in Euros), capitalized interest, owner-delivered items, and engineering/construction oversight, to be approximately $230,000 per berth, at current exchange rates 2005 - Three Polish ships from 8th Coast Defense Flotilla and four German ships conduct MCM Passex type exercise in western part of the Baltic Sea 2005 - At 1430 Swansea Coastguard were alerted by Severn VTS to a collision between two ships in the Severn estuary. The collision occurred at twenty minutes to two this afternoon between the 17,065 tonne bulk carrier 'Island Gem' which was on passage from Bilbao in Spain to Newport with a cargo of steel products with a crew of nineteen, and the 13,410 tonne 'Bow Traveller' who was on passage from Pembroke to Cardiff with a cargo of fuel products. Both vessels have sustained some damage, but there are no injuries to crewmembers on either ship. So far established by the crew of the 'Island Gem' is a crack in the accommodation area, four to five meters above sea level. There is no ingress of water reported to either vessel. The `Bow Traveller' has sustained damage to the forecastle, and has damaged frames. An initial inspection is going on by the crew throughout the vessel. The 'Island Gem' is continuing to Newport and the 'Bow Traveller' to Cardiff where Maritime and Coastguard Agency surveyors will meet them. There is no risk of pollution. The weather at the time of the incident was North nor' east winds of 6 knots, with good visibility and cloudy 2005 - A rescue boat crew from Coast Guard Station Valdez conducted the unit's first rescue case Friday afternoon since the Coast Guard commissioned the station Dec. 15, 2004. Rescuers aboard a Station Valdez 27-foot boat responded to assist two boaters aboard the 24-foot vessel First Virginia at 1505. Station Valdez personnel observed the First Virginia emitting smoke and believed that fire broke out aboard the boat. The crew responded and found that First Virginia's engine overheated and created white smoke. The First Virginia became disabled in the water and its crew feared it would drift toward the rock jetty. The Station Valdez crew towed the First Virginia to the Valdez small boat harbor where its boaters moored the vessel. Neither of the boaters suffered any injuries in the incident 2005 - NOAA Cites Lincoln City OR as the first community to become tsunami ready since the Indian Ocean Disaster 2006 - Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. announced that it signed an agreement with subsidiaries of Cido Tanker Holding Co. to time charter two product/chemical carriers for a period of seven years, with an additional three year extension option for each vessel. The vessels will be built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea and are scheduled to be delivered to OSG in May and June 2008. The two vessels, the Overseas Aquarius and the Overseas Leo, will be sister ships having a capacity of 47,000 deadweight tons and six segregations, and will be able to transport petroleum products, vegetable oils and IMO III chemicals. Delivery of the vessels will increase the number of International and US Flag product carriers in OSG's fleet to 52 2007 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen attends annual Armed Services YMCA Awards Dinner Ronald Reagan Building 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington DC 2007 - The Commanding Officer of HMCS Whitehorse, Commander James K. Sprang, and 14 members of the ship’s company will visit Whitehorse from March 7 to 12 to build on the good relationship already shared between the ship and her namesake city 2007 - Hon Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, announced the appointment of Mr. J. Douglas Smith of Toronto as chair Great Lakes Pilotage Authority 2007 - Ex-USS Hunley departs from the James River Fleet for scrapping in New Orleans. She was launched September 28, 1961 at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., and commissioned into the US Navy on June 16, 1962 2007 - A Coast Guard helicopter rescued three people who became stranded on shore after their vessel grounded in Island Bay, near Kodiak. Fishing vessel Star Trek notified Sector Anchorage at 0439 that there vessel was beached with a rip in the hull. A Coast Guard HH60 helicopter arrived on scene at 0600 and was able to land nearby. The three crewmembers were reported to have had no injuries, and returned to a Kodiak medical facility 2007 - McHale’s Navy TV series from the 1960s released on DVD 2007 - US Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak's detail as a NASA astronaut has been terminated, effective March 8, by mutual agreement between NASA and the US Navy. Nowak, an active duty naval officer, began her detail with NASA following selection as a member of the astronaut class of 1996. She flew one mission, STS-121 in 2006 2007 - On the same day that a Congressional panel heard testimony on the devastating impacts invasive species are having on the Great Lakes, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced a bill to restore the lakes, drawing praise from the leading coalition working to protect them 2007 - Bill Casey, MP for Cumberland Colchester Musquodoboit Valley on behalf of the Hon Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), today announced the construction of a new DFO Area Office for Eastern Nova Scotia 2007 - Golden Ocean Group Limited agreed to sell Panamax Bulker "MV Golden Dena", for gross sale proceeds of $51.02 million. Delivery to the buyers is expected to take place in June 2007 2007 - Danaos Corporation today announced that it has signed shipbuilding contracts for four 6,800 TEU vessels with China Shipbuilding Trading Company, Limited. The vessels will be built by the Shanghai Jiangnan Changxing Heavy Industry Company Limited and they are expected to be delivered to Danaos during the second and third quarter of 2010 2007 - The central coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau in Vietnam has given a license for a $267M project to build an international port in Tan Thanh district. The approval was given in record time, one day after receiving the application 2007 - A former US Navy sailor was arrested for allegedly releasing classified information that ended up in the hands of a suspected terrorism financier. Hassan Abujihaad, 31, of Phoenix, is accused in a case that began in Connecticut and followed a suspected terrorist network across the country and into Europe and the Middle East. He was arrested in Phoenix on charges of supporting terrorism with an intent to kill US citizens and transmitting classified information to unauthorized people ============================================================= Sources: Colton Shipping Report, NOAA, MARAD, Marine Digest, Leo Pettipas, Kommersant, Samuel Loring Morison, Frank Pierce Young, Navy Times, Naval Institute Proceedings, www.uboat.net, Andrew Etherington, John Nicholas, US Naval Historical Center, Ministry of Defense, US Coast Guard, Thomas N. Carlson, Jack Arrowsmith, Allan Snowie, Ken Hansen, Andy Barber, John Weiss, Jack McKillop, Bernard de Neumann, Sympatico Today in History, Washington History Link, Lloyds List, Fairplay, New York Times, I-Newswire and other news sources in the public domain. Additions, submissions and corrections are always welcomed. ============================================================= Today in History Archives at: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/today_in_history_archive.htm Copyright 2008 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Photos courtesy of US Naval Historical Center, US Coast Guard Historical Center, Wikipedia Encyclopedia or Naval Museum of Manitoba unless otherwise noted. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click.