SeaWaves Today in History March 11, 2008 ********************************************************************* March 11 1850 - Richard Blanshard arrives at Fort Victoria; reads proclamation establishing the new colony of Vancouver Island, with himself as the first Governor 1905 - With no backing for further negotiations, Norwegian Prime Minister Francis Hagerup resigns and Christian Michelsen forms a new government 1916 - Battleship USS Nevada commissioned 1918 - Destroyer USS Breckinridge laid down 1918 - Minesweeper USS Lark laid down 1921 - Liner (future AMC) Antonia launched 1924 - Patrol vessel HMCS Stadacona sold to Central American Shipping of Vancouver. Resold to Ocean Salvage Co. Owner was Joseph W. Hobbs. Ship was engaged in Liquor trade to US. Name later changed to Kuyakuzmt, later renamed Lady Stinson. Sold 1929, renamed Moonlight Maid 1925 - Liner (future AMC) Transylvania launched 1926 - Heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall launched 1931 - Sales and imports of the Bible are banned in the USSR 1933 - Submarine HMS Porpoise commissioned 1935 - U-7 laid down 1935 - Birth of Naval Security Group when OP-20G became the Communications Security Group 1937 - Submarine USS Pompano launched 1938 - Destroyer FS Le Flibustier laid down 1940 - French battleship Bretagne & cruiser Algerie sail for Canada, from Toulon, France, with 2,379 gold bullion bars part of the national reserve 1940 - US freighter SS Exmoor, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 9 March, is released 1940 - At 0317, motor tanker Eulota was hit by a torpedo from U-28 about 120 miles west of Ouessant. The torpedo, fired from about 1000 meters, struck amidships, broke her in two and set her on fire. The crew abandoned ship, but returned later that morning. An Allied aircraft sighted the burning tanker in the afternoon and directed HMS Broke & Wild Swan to the ship. They picked up the survivors and scuttled the still floating bow section 1940 - U-333, U-352 laid down 1940 - U-101 commissioned 1940 - Corvette HMCS Levis laid down Lauzon PQ 1940 - Passenger liner SS Prince Henry purchased for conversion to AMC HMCS Prince Henry 1940 - U-31 (Lt. Habekost) is bombed and sunk by a solo RAF Blenheim of Bomber Command in the Heligoland Bight (Schilling Roads) (near Bremen off the north-west German coast). 58 dead (all hands lost). She is salvaged and re-commissioned to be lost once and for all eight months later 1940 - The French battleship Bretagne and cruiser Algerie sail for Canada, from Toulon, France, with 2,379 gold bullion bars part of the national reserve 1941 - At 1546, the unescorted SS Memnon was hit by one torpedo from U-106 about 200 miles west of Cape Blanco, French West Africa and sank by the stern 15 minutes later following a second hit at 1547 hours. Three crewmembers and two passengers (RAF personnel) were lost. The master and 21 survivors landed at Yoff near Dakar on 21 March and were detained by the Vichy French authorities, were later released and went to Bathurst. The remaining survivors landed at Bathurst on 24 March, one of these lifeboats with 24 survivors had been found by the German battleship Gneisenau, which took three passengers and one gunner as prisoners on board 1941 - The US House of Representatives had passed House Resolution 1776, which would eventually become known as the Lend-Lease Act, in February and the Senate passed their version of the bill on 8 March. The two bills had differences requiring a committee of House and Senate members to resolve them and both houses passed the new bill today. The bill was rushed to the White House and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law at 1550 hours. This new act changes the "cash and carry" provisions of the Neutrality Act of 1939 to permit transfer of munitions to Allies. The initial aid package worth roughly US$7 billion but by the time the aid ended in 1946, the US funneled US$50.6 billion worth of Lend-Lease aid to 44 countries, the majority of which went to the UK & USSR 1941 - Steam trawler Frodi was attacked by U-74 with gunfire about 192 miles SE of Westman Islands, Iceland. The vessel was heavily damaged by gunfire but made it back to Iceland 1941 - Submarine HMS Severn departed Halifax for anti-U-boat patrol off Freetown 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Miramichi laid down North Vancouver BC 1941 - Corvette HMS Pennywort laid down 1941 - Destroyer HMS Offa launched 1941 - Lend-Lease Act approved by President Roosevelt to extend lend-lease aid to countries whose defense is vital to that of the United States 1942 - LCdr. Herbert Sharples RAYNER, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). The citation (awarded as per the London Gazette) read: "For courage and enterprise in action against enemy submarines." Herbert Rayner was born on 16 January 1911, at Clinton, Ontario. He joined the navy as a Paymaster Cadet in 1928 and was appointed as a Midshipman in 1930. He underwent training in the British battleships Revenge and Warspite before being posted to HMCS Champlain in 1933. He underwent the RN Torpedo Officer Long Course at HMS Vernon in 1935, which was followed by service in the battlecruiser HMS Renown in 1936. He returned to the RCN in 1937, when he was appointed as the First Lieutenant in HMCS Skeena. Later, he served as the Commanding Officer of Skeena from 10 Mar 40 to 01 Apr 40, followed by Commanding Officer of HMCS St Laurent from 14 July 1940 to 18 February 1942, which included the period when his DSC was awarded. 'Herbbie' Rayner had a distinguished career and retired in 1964 as V-Adm. Rayner, the eighth and last Chief of the Naval Staff. His decorations included Croix de Guerre avec Palme en Bronze (France), Legionnaire - Legion of Honor (France), a second DSC, and two Mention-in-Dispatches 1942 - At 0758, the unescorted & unarmed Caribsea was missed by one torpedo from U-158 about 14 miles east of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. The torpedo missed, because Rostin thought the ship (misidentified as Coast Guard vessel) lay dead in the water, but the master reduced the speed of the vessel to four or five knots, according the order he has received to pass Cape Hatteras in daylight. A second torpedo was fired, which struck the starboard bow at the #2 hatch, causing the boilers to explode. The Caribsea sank by the head due her cargo in less than three minutes. So no radio distress signals were sent and the crew of eight officers and 20 men had no chance to launch the lifeboats. The few survivors climbed onto two rafts that floated free and they later observed U-158 passing within 100 yards. Two officers and five crewmen were picked up by the American SS Norlindo ten hours after the attack and took them to the Cape Henry Lighthouse 1942 - At 0316, the unescorted and unarmed Hvoslef was hit by two torpedoes from U-94 and sank within two minutes two miles east of Fenwick Island off Delaware Bay. The master, three Norwegian and two Swedish crewmembers were lost. The survivors kept themselves afloat in a damaged lifeboat until they landed on Rehobeth Beach near Cape Henlopen about a half-mile north of Fenwick Island Light after 14 hours. Three injured men were hospitalized in the Babe Hospital in Lewis, while the other survivors were sent to New York the following day. The body of the master was later found on a cork raft, which was located by an aircraft two days later 1942 - Corvette HMCS Galt completed refit Liverpool NS 1942 - General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General US Army Forces, Far East, his family, Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell and their staffs embark from Corridor and Bataan in four motor torpedo (PT) boats, PT-32, PT-34, PT-35 and PT-41, of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three (MTBRon 3). The plan is that the boats will make for Tagauayan Island, in the Cuyo Group, and arrive by 0730 hours tomorrow morning 1942 - German submarine U-565 sinks HMS Naiad (cruiser) in the Mediterranean north of Sollum, Egypt. Seventy-seven of Naiad's 470 crewmembers were lost 1942 - U-957 laid down 1942 - U-186, U-212 launched 1942 - ASW trawler HMS Stella Capella torpedoed & sunk by U-701 south of Iceland 1942 - The Brazilian government confiscates Axis property in reprisal for sinking of Brazilian merchant ships 1942 - Submarine USS Pollack, operating in the East China Sea about 270 miles east of Shanghai, China, sinks a Japanese cargo ship and a passenger-cargo ship 1943 - At 2310, the unescorted Aelybryn was torpedoed & sunk by U-160 ENE of Durban. The U-boat misidentified the vessel as the American SS Arian. Nine crewmembers were lost. The master, 27 crewmembers & four gunners were picked up by the Portuguese SS Lourenco Marques and landed at Capetown 1943 - At 0752, the unescorted Olancho was hit by one torpedo from U-183 about 30 miles west of Cape San Antonio, Cuba. The torpedo struck on the starboard side amidships abaft #2 hatch, ripping open the hull and demolishing the wheelhouse and starboard engine wing. The engine room flooded immediately and the port engine could not be stopped thus the ship kept going at full speed in circles until the screw was clear of the water due to the settling by the bow. At 0811 hours a coup de grâce hit the port side between #3 and #4 hatch, causing the ship to sink in 10 minutes. 41 crewmembers and 5 armed guards abandoned ship after the second torpedo hit in one lifeboat, on one raft and by jumping overboard. Three men went under with the suction of the sinking ship after the jumped from the stern and one was hit by the turning screw and later died after being picked up by the raft. Seven more survivors clung to a hatch cover. The 27 men in the lifeboat and the nine on the raft were picked up at 1255 by SS Choluteca. The remaining seven survivors were picked up by USS Absecon on 13 March and taken to Jacksonville. Green phosphorus flares dropped from aircraft were very helpful in assisting the ship to locate the survivors 1943 - At 0215, U-590 fired torpedoes at Convoy HX-228 and observed two hits on a steamer and reported that the ship sank within one minute. In fact, SS Jamaica Producer was only damaged and managed to reach port 1943 - At 1917, SS Baron Kinnaird, a straggler from Convoy ONS-169 since 6 March, was torpedoed & sunk by U-621 NW of Belle Ile. The master, 35 crewmembers and six gunners were lost 1943 - HMS LCT-2398 was on transfer from the USA to the UK aboard SS William C. Gorgas and was lost on 11 Mar, 1943, when this ship was sunk by U-757 in Convoy HX-228 1943 - At 0503, U-86 attacked with FAT torpedoes on the starboard side of Convoy HX-228 and claimed to have sunk a tanker and an ammunition ship, which exploded. In fact, only SS Brant County was hit by one torpedo, which ignited her load of carbide. Of the five men on the bridge, three managed to get to the lifeboat and the other two died - the master in the flames and the other jumped overboard and drowned. Three of the four men in the engine room died and the fourth was unable to stop the engine but managed to get on deck. Among the dead were also eight military passengers. The 24 survivors abandoned ship in one lifeboat and when it was about 200 meters away the flames reached the cargo of explosives. Brant County disappeared in a huge explosion, which sent pieces of metal and other debris in the air. The British SS Stuart Prince picked up the survivors after 30 minutes. One of them was badly burned and died shortly thereafter 1943 - Sloop HMS Wild Goose commissioned 1943 - Frigates HMS Capel & Cooke laid down 1943 - Submarine USS Barbel laid down 1943 - Destroyer HNLMS Kortenaer (ex-HMS Scorpion) commissioned 1943 - Destroyer HMS Tuscan commissioned 1943 - Destroyer HMS Harvester (ex-Brazilian Jurus) rams U-444 but is disabled and the U-boat has to be finished off by French corvette Aconit. Harvester, now stationary, is sunk by U-432 which is in turn brought to the surface in mid-Atlantic by Aconit's depth charges and finally destroyed by gunfire and ramming 1943 - U-345, U-428, U-743, U-744, U-853, U-974 launched 1943 - U-868 laid down 1943 - U-849, U-967 commissioned 1943 - U-432 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the North Atlantic, position 51.35N, 28.20W, by depth charges and gunfire from the Free French corvette Aconit. 26 dead, 20 survivors 1943 - U-444 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the North Atlantic, position 51.14N, 29.18W, by ramming and depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Harvester and the Free French corvette Aconit. 41 dead and 4 survivors 1944 - Corvette HMCS Chambly completed forecastle extension refit Liverpool NS 1944 - Corvette HMCS Hespeler commissioned 1944 - Destroyer HMS Zodiac launched 1944 - Salvage vessel HMS Salvictor launched 1944 - Rescue tug HMS Enticer launched 1944 - Destroyer KNM Svenner (ex-HMS Shark) commissioned 1944 - Submarine USS Queenfish commissioned 1944 - German submarine UIT-22 is sunk south of the Cape of Good Hope by a South African aircraft. UIT-22 was the former Italian submarine Alberto Bagnolini launched 28 October 1939. It was taken over by Germany at the Bordeaux submarine base, at the time of the Italian capitulation and commissioned into German service on 9 September 1943 1944 - U-255 was attacked by aircraft and 2 men were wounded 1944 - U-380 destroyed during an air raid on Toulon. One man from its crew was killed. [Maschinenmaat Jonny Christoph] 1944 - RCAF 407 Sqn Wellington crashed preparing to attack U-256 1945 - Frigate USS Alexandria commissioned 1945 - Destroyer HMCS Sioux departed Clyde with Convoy JW-65 for Kola Inlet 1945 - HMCS Ottawa (ex-HMS Griffin, a Greyhound or G-class fleet destroyer known in the RCN as River-class, was damaged in a collision off of Halifax with HMCS Stratford, a Bangor-class minesweeper. Both ships suffered considerable damage to their bows. Repairs to Ottawa were not completed until Apr 45. Stratford was refitted from May to Aug but was inactive after the collision and was finally paid off on 04 Jan 46 1945 - Corvette HMCS Chambly departed Londonderry for refit Louisburg NS 1945 - Destroyers USS Buck & Hanson launched 1945 - Large cruiser USS Hawaii launched 1945 - Use of first Navy landing craft to cross Rhine River at Bad Neuenahr 1945 - The carrier USS Randolph is damaged by a kamikaze attack while in the fleet anchorage at Ulithi. This was a special attack called the Tan Operation, launched by the Azusa Special Attack Unit of the Fifth Air Fleet on Kyushu. At least the guide planes came from Kanoya, but I don't know about the main attack force. The main force consisted of twenty-four Frances twin-engine bombers, likely the only IJN aircraft with the range to reach Ulithi. Thirteen of them dropped out along the way because of engine trouble, which might say a good deal about Japanese manufacturing or maintenance quality at that stage of the war 1946 - Soviet minesweeper T-201 (ex-HMCS Willow Lake) commissioned 1946 - Frigate HMS Padstow Bay commissioned 1946 - S/Lt(A) Douglas Jerrold O'Leary Shortt RCNVR of Kingston, Ontario and based at HMS Merganser, RNAS Rattray with 766 RN Sqn, lost in a flying accident with a Fairey Firefly Mk 1 during operational training near Rattray, Scotland. Interred, St. Fergus Old Churchyard, Aberdeenshire, UK 1946 - A modification of the class designation of US naval aircraft eliminated the VB and VT used for bomber and torpedo aircraft and set up VA to identify aircraft with a primary mission of attacking surface targets. This change was responsible for the subsequent redesignation of most BT2D and BTM aircraft as AD and AM 1947 - RCN Firefly TR-1 #MB588 from HMCS Warrior ditched 1949 - Canada helps draft North Atlantic Security Treaty with Britain, USA, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Norway; leads to creation of NATO 1949 - HMCS Crescent arrives at Nanking at 1700. The warship has made the journey up the Yangtze River in case Canadian nationals need to be evacuated from mainland China. (Chinese Nationalist and Communist forces are at war.) The vessel's stay in these waters will be uneventful 1965 - Market Time patrols begin off South Vietnam coast 1971 - USS Ticonderoga commenced Vietnam deployment 1974 - Destroyer HMCS Fraser departed Davie Shipyard to complete refit at HMC Dockyard Halifax 1985 - Mikhail S. Gorbachev was chosen to succeed the late Soviet President Konstantin U. Chernenko 1991 - USS Saratoga and Midway Carrier Battle Groups commence redeployments to their respective homeports. Saratoga transits the Suez Canal enroute Mayport and MIDWAY departs Arabian Gulf enroute Yokosuka. Naval forces continue defensive counter-air, combat air patrols, surface surveillance, maritime interceptions and minesweeping operations 1991 - With helo from USS Biddle providing air cover, the 1.000th boarding of a freighter is completed in the N. Red Sea. The Cypriot-flagged Dimis is allowed to proceed after inspection of cargo 1991 - USNS Mercy ordered to stand down. At end of 210-day deployment, hospital ship with crew of 1,200, including 265 Naval Reservists, has treated 6,050+ outpatients from sea and land-based units, admitted 650+ patients, performed 290+ surgeries, created 900 pairs of glasses, filled 16,000 prescriptions, took 5,500+ x-rays, and conducted 21,000 laboratory procedures. Dental staff treated 2,000 + patients; physical therapy department treated 2,000 patients. 1,300+ helos landed on the ship 1991 - USNS Comfort ordered to stand down. At end of seven month deployment, hospital ship with crew of 1,200, admitted 700+ patients and treated 8,000+ patients. With 750 personnel redeployed to CONUS, skeleton crew of 380 got underway from Bahrain anchorage at 1314 (EST) as part of the 15-ship Atlantic Amphibious Task Force led by USS Nassau 1991 - Fleet Hospitals Five and Six ordered to stand down. At end of deployment, Fleet Hospital Five has treated more than 32,000 patients, including all coalition forces, ex-patriots, EPWs and refugees, admitted 4,250 patients, performed 600 surgeries, treated 3,100+ dental patients, and filled 22,000 prescriptions 2005 - The new Nimrod Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft will be based at RAF Kinloss until at least 2013, Minister for the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram announced 2005 - First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West today performed the traditional 'laying the keel' ceremony for HMS Artful - one of the biggest and most powerful attack submarines ever procured by the Royal Navy. The ceremony marks the formal start of construction of HMS Artful - the third Astute class submarine under construction by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness. She joins HMS Astute and HMS Ambush, currently being assembled at the Barrow shipyard 2005 - Shipping in the South Atlantic is being warned of at least two massive icebergs that may not have appeared previously on weather routing services. A Maltese flagged Handymax bulker, Alex A, spotted the icebergs about 12 miles off the South Georgia Islands this morning, shortly after embarking from Chile with a shipment of lumber for Arabian Gulf ports 2005 - The need to drive 8,600 TEU capacity containerships at 27 knots has resulted in the first openly acknowledged order for a 14-cylinder low-speed marine diesel engine. Wärtsilä has won a deal to supply the most powerful versions to date of its RT-flex96C common rail engine, to equip four Hyundai Merchant Marine ships built two apiece by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries 2005 - Air Station Kodiak crewmen escort the third injured member of the bulk carrier Sun Bulker from the Jayhawk helicopter to Kodiak emergency medical personnel. The three crewmen injured themselves aboard the ship while securing a grab bucket in heavy weather Mar 10 2005 - An Atlas V launch vehicle carried its largest payload to date into orbit from Cape Canaveral, the Inmarsat 4-F1 satellite that weighs nearly 6 metric tons (5,959 kgs/13,138 pounds). This also marked the third launch of the year for International Launch Services (ILS) 2005 - HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was invited by Lord Greenway, Chairman of the World Ship Trust, to present the Trust's Maritime Heritage Award for 2005 to HMS Victory in respect of the excellence of her restoration and interpretation. Individual Awards to those who have been involved in this restoration and interpretation where presented similarly by the Duke of Edinburgh to: Dr Alan McGowan, Chairman of Victory Advisory Technical Committee for over 20 years; Mr Peter Goodwin, Keeper & Curator of HMS Victory; Mr George Lawrence, Fleet Support Limited Technical Coordinator and Shipwright on board HMS Victory since 1970. The Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, received the Maritime Heritage Award on behalf of HMS Victory 2006 - A USCG HH-60 Rescue Helicopter medically evacuated a 59-year-old man suffering from a stroke 145 miles WSW of Naples this morning. The Coast Guard received a call at 1030 requesting a medical evacuation off the cruise ship CARNIVAL MIRACLE for passenger suffering a stroke. The HH-60 hoisted William Hall, a resident of Safety Harbor, at 1230 and arrived at Tampa General Hospital at 1415 with Hall in stable condition. His wife and a nurse from the cruise ship were also hoisted 2006 - Department of Homeland Security officials returned to the Saudi Government 132 pounds of ancient coins seized in an investigation after being illegally removed from a shipwreck in the Red Sea 2006 - A cargo vessel carrying about 17,000 bags of rice and 22 people sank off the Cebu Harbor after colliding with another vessel, the Philippine Coast Guard said. The MV Premship-X sank near the North Entrance of the Cebu Harbor, or about 1.5 nautical miles off the PKS Shipyard in Tayud, Consolacion, after colliding with the MV Mijara II about 1800 2007 - A disturbance in Tumon resulted in the arrest of several active navy personnel. An officer went to find out why the men were loitering along Fujita Road in the heart of Guam's visitor capitol, when the men allegedly became belligerent and combative. Seven active duty navy personnel were arrested on numerous charges to include resisting arrest, obstruction of government functions and public intoxication 2007 - The managing director of Captain Cook Cruises and a former senior navy officer, Semi Koroilavesau is the new chairman of the Fiji Ports Corporation Limited 2007 - Five oil workers in Trinidad rushed to hospital in serious or critical condition after suffering burns in a fire that erupted on an oil rig. The fire occurred during a well servicing exercise by a private contractor 2007 - Queen Mary 2 makes her first call into Dubai as part of her Maiden "Around the World in 80 Days" World Cruise, becoming the largest passenger ship ever to visit Dubai ============================================================= 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.