SeaWaves Today in History May 22, 2008 ********************************************************************* May 22 United Sates - National Maritime Day, in commemoration of the day the steamship Savannah set sail across the Atlantic in 1819 - Visiting warships Dress Ship overall 1611 - Biencourt arrives at Port Royal with the first Jesuits in New France 1713 - Helsingfors (now Helsinki) is taken by Russian sea and land forces after three days of battles. Three months later Abo (Turku) is taken, a turning point in the Northern War 1850 - Henry Grinnell of New York 1799-1874 finances American expedition in search of the lost Franklin expedition; two ships commanded by Edwin De Haven (1816-1865) will enter Wellington Channel in August; find some Franklin relics 1882 - Commodore Shufeldt signs commerce treaty opening Korea to US trade 1917 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Moy launched 1917 - Submarine HMS K14 completed 1918 - HMC TR 26 & TR 27 completed by Canadian Vickers Montreal PQ 1920 - Submarine USS S-17 launched 1924 - Submarine USS S-29 commissioned 1924 - Destroyer FS Typhon launched 1926 - Submarine USS Bonita commissioned 1927 - Destroyer FS Vauban laid down 1929 - Submarine HMS Perseus launched 1931 - Destroyer HMCS Saguenay commissioned 1933 - President Franklin Roosevelt inaugurated National Maritime Day in commemoration of the first voyage of a steam ship across the Atlantic Ocean. On May 22, 1819, SS Savannah departed for Europe under steam. Although the ship was also rigged with sails, it paved the way for future steamship success. National Maritime Day honors merchant mariners and shipping in general 1939 - U-100, U-102 laid down 1939 - Destroyer USS Buck launched 1939 - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a "Pact of Steel" committing Germany and Italy to a military alliance 1940 - U-101 encountered an enemy submarine in the North Atlantic, but neither boat attacked 1940 - U-599, U-600, U-601, U-602, U-603, U-604, U-605, U-606, U-607, U-608, U-609, U-610 ordered 1940 - ASW trawler HMS Melbourne bombed & sunk off Narvik 1940 - Destroyer HMAS Napier launched 1940 - Destroyer HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes (ex-HMS Nonpareil) laid down 1940 - Destroyer HMS Obedient laid down 1940 - Corvette HMS Heather laid down 1940 - Corvette HMS Mallow launched 1940 - After 2300, the Dunster Grange was damaged by gunfire from U-37 and escaped 1940 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Almond launched 1940 - All three fleet carriers are proceeding to Scapa Flow in thick fog. HMS Ark Royal in company with the destroyers HMS Brazen, HMS Encounter, and HMS Volunteer in one force, while HMS Glorious and HMS Furious form the core of a second force. The later force arrived at 2134, 23 May, and commenced refueling 1941 - Minelayer HNLMS Nautilus sunk due to a collision with the British merchantman Murrayfield at 0023 near Saltfleet in position 53.36N, 00.25E. There were no fatalities 1941 - Minesweeper USS Nuthatch laid down 1941 - U-564 rescued four crewmembers from a crashed JU 88 off Gotenhafen 1941 - Soviet destroyer Razjarennyj launched 1941 - U-373, U-571 commissioned 1941 - At 2252, the unescorted British Grenadier was torpedoed and damaged by U-103 SW of Freetown. The tanker later foundered in 06°20N/12°50W. The Portuguese SS Ganda picked up the master, 22 crewmembers and two gunners and 24 crewmembers were rescued by the Spanish tanker Jose Calvo Sotelo and landed at Freetown 1941 - At 1340, the Barnby, dispersed from Convoy HX-126, was torpedoed and sunk by U-111 SW of Iceland. One crewmember was lost. The master, 35 crewmembers and eight gunners landed at Reykjavik 1941 - Corvette HMCS Arvida commissioned 1941 - Destroyer HMCS Saguenay completed refit Barrow-in-Furness UK 1941 - Bismarck is sighted in the Denmark Strait by cruisers HMS Norfolk & Suffolk. The main body of the British Home Fleet under Adm Tovey leaves Scapa Flow and heads west. Battleship HMS King George V, fleet carrier HMS Victorious, cruisers and destroyers are later joined by battlecruiser HMS Repulse 1941 - Operation Merkur (Mercury), the German invasion of Crete began at 0800 on Tuesday, 20 May 20. It was the first airborne invasion in history. The German plan involved moving 23,000 troops using 500 transport aircraft and gliders in three days. The Luftwaffe's Fliegerkorps VIII, totaling 716 aircraft, supported the operation. The Luftwaffe had air supremacy over Crete. The British Eastern Mediterranean Fleet, commanded by Admiral Andrew B. Cunningham, was given the task of destroying the seaborne follow-on element of the German force. The RN would operate without air support, which had been withdrawn to Egypt. To cover all avenues of approach, Cunningham divided his fleet into four separate forces. Two cruiser-destroyer forces were used to cover the west end of Crete and one was placed in the east. A battleship support force was kept to the southwest of Crete in the event that the Italian Fleet put to sea to support the invasion force. Cunningham directed that the British forces should retire south of Crete by day beyond the range of German aircraft. He also directed his forces to concentrate for better anti-aircraft barrage fire. Cunningham did not go to sea to command this operation. Force A, made up of the battleships Warspite and Valiant with the destroyers Napier, Kimberley, Janus, Isis, Imperial and Griffin, was positioned 100 miles southwest of Crete. Vice-Admiral H.B. Rawlings commanded with his flag in Warspite. Force B, made up of the light cruisers Gloucester and Fiji with the destroyers Greyhound and Griffin, carried out sweeps between the mainland of Greece and Kythira Island. Captain H.A. Rowley commanded with his flag in Gloucester. Force C, made up of the light cruisers Naiad and Perth plus four destroyers covered the Kaso Strait at the east end of Crete. Rear Admiral E.L.S King commanded with his flag in Naiad Force D, made up of the light cruisers Dido, Orion and Ajax with the destroyers Hasty, Hero & Hereward, was positioned off the west end of Crete. Rear-Admiral I.G. Glennie commanded with his flag in Naiad. During the afternoon of 20 May, allied aerial reconnaissance located a flotilla of twenty-five enemy caiques (small motor-sailing vessels common to the Bosphorus) travelling from Piraeus towards their advance base at Milos. They arrived in the late evening. The next leg of their voyage was 17 kilometers to Maleme, on the northwest coast of Crete. During the forenoon and afternoon of Wednesday, 21 May, the British fleet was attacked many times by the Luftwaffe. Ajax was damage during the morning and by the afternoon Force D had fallen back of Force A. Admiral Rawlings sent a signal warning all ships to conserve their ammunition. In the east, at 13 -00, after three hours of heavy air attacks, Force C lost the destroyer Juno. German airborne forces soon captured the airport at Maleme and the decision was taken to send two small convoys of caiques and small coastal steamers with reinforcements, arms, and supplies to Crete. Each caique carried about 100 German and Italian troops plus equipment and stores. The first of the two convoys set off from Milos in the early hours of 21st May. The slow speed of caiques meant 17 hours was required to reach Crete. This provided an opportunity for the RN forces to intercept the convoys at night. Allied reconnaissance soon reported both convoys and Cunningham ordered them destroyed. Forces B, C, and D were deployed to the northwest coast of Crete to intercept the invasion fleets. Admiral Glennie's Force D intercepted the first convoy 18 miles north of Crete at 23 -30. The sole escort, the Italian destroyer Lupo, Cdr. Mimbelli, CO, convoy laid a smoke screen and then engaged the British ships with gunfire and torpedoes. Over the next two hours, Lupo was hit by 18 6-inch shells and left for dead. The British cruisers and destroyers roamed about hunting down the small craft and, despite waving white sheets in a signal of surrender, all but a few of the caiques were sunk at close range using secondary anti-aircraft armament. Survivors were machine-gunned in the water and run down by warships as they raced about in the hunt. Only the badly damaged Lupo and rescue seaplanes saved a few survivors the next day. Accounts of British atrocities reached Luftwaffe units by the next morning, whose pilots swore revenge. Dawn on the morning of 22 May found Forces B, C, and D off the northwest coast of Crete. Admiral King's Force C intercepted the second German convoy in the mid-forenoon and destroyed approximately half of the force before threat of air attack forced King to break off the pursuit. Heavy air attacks soon developed and all forces began to fall back upon Force A for support. Admiral Rawlings, concerned over reports of low ammunition moved Force A north to join the three retiring cruiser-destroyer forces. Force A was within sight of Force B when Warspite suffered a direct hit that reduced her speed. Meanwhile, the destroyer Greyhound was hit and sank quickly. Gloucester, going to pick up survivors from Greyhound, was hit by four bombs and near-missed by three others. Fiji and Griffin dropped life rafts to survivors from Gloucester, which was out of control and obviously doomed, as they swept past. German aircraft machine-gunned British life rafts and swimmers. The cruisers Naiad and Carlisle, which had joined King's Force C, were also damaged. The British force was eventually able to join together and withdrew to the south. Three and a half-hours later, Fiji was hit by a single fighter-bomber operating at the extreme limit of its endurance. Fiji sank soon afterwards with heavy loss of life. Two destroyers from Lord Louis Mountbatten's 5th Destroyer Flotilla were sunk in the next days. Of the fifty-four British ships engaged in the battle for Crete and the subsequent evacuation of troops from the island, eleven vessels were lost and twenty-two were damaged. A total of 2,261 men were either killed or missing. Admiral Cunningham claimed that the "Golden Rule" in the confined waters of the Mediterranean was that ships must keep together for mutual defense and never be deployed for individual tasks. However, it was Cunningham's plan that split his force into four units and gave them the impossible task of defending a lost outpost under air attack. Cunningham was determined to make a scapegoat of someone and on 30 May wrote to the First Sea Lord, Sir Dudley Pound, complaining that Admiral King had failed to completely destroy the second caique convoy - "I could cheerfully put up with our losses had we had some thousands more Hun soldiers swimming in the Aegean." Admiral King conducted two valiant evacuation operations subsequent to the events of 21-22 May but the damage had already been done. Despite Cunningham's contradictory directions to concentrate the fleet and be mindful of the air threat, Admiral King was removed from his post for lack of aggression and was given a desk job at the Admiralty. King never went to sea again and was placed on the Retired List on 15 Jun 44 1942 - Destroyer USS Kimberly laid down 1942 - U-366 laid down 1942 - U-264 commissioned 1942 - Escort carrier USS Altamaha launched 1942 - At 2010, the unescorted and unarmed Plow City was hit by one torpedo from U-588 about 200 miles off Cape May, New Jersey. The ship had spotted at 1500 hours a lifeboat with a sail from the Peisander, which had been sunk by U-653 on 17 May, but the master suspected an U-boat and fled the area on a zigzag course at eight knots. The U-boat had noticed the smoke, chased the ship for four hours before firing a spread of two torpedoes. The first missed by about five feet ahead and the second struck on the port side aft of the #2 hold at the waterline. The second mate was blown overboard by the explosion and drowned. The watch below secured the engines and the most of the eight officers and 23 crewmen abandoned ship in two lifeboats, while the radio operator stayed behind to send distress messages. At 2022, a coup de grāce hit the engine room on the starboard side and caused the ship to sink by the stern within three minutes. One survivor was taken aboard the U-boat for questioning and returned him along with rations of cigarettes and rum. The Germans also righted one of the boats that capsized during launching before leaving the area. The survivors were picked up after five days by patrol yacht USS Sapphire 1942 - At 0730, U-753 stopped the sailing vessel EP Theriault with gunfire and placed demolition charges on board. The vessel was heavily damaged but did not sink 1942 - Submarine depot ship HMS Wolfe commissioned 1942 - Escort carrier HMS Hunter (ex-HMS Trailer ex-USS Block Island) launched 1942 - Mexico declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan 1942 - U-558 torpedoes an unarmed US tanker south of Jamaica in the Caribbean but the ship makes port under her own power 1942 - The Canadian Upper Lakers & St. Lawrence Transportation bulk laker Frank B Baird (1,748 GRT), CS Tate, Master, was sunk SE of Bermuda in position 28.03N, 58.50W, by gunfire from U-158, Kptlt. Erwin Rostin, Knights Cross, CO. The ship was sailing independently from St. Lucia for Sydney, Cape Breton, with a load of bauxite. The Master, who had abandoned ship by jumping overboard, was unable to reach the two lifeboats and was in danger of drowning when he was sighted by U-158 and rescued. Kptlt. Rostin apologized for "sinking such a small ship so far from shore," provided both boats with food, cigarettes and matches, and transferred Captain Tate to one of the lifeboats before departing. All 23 crewmen were rescued a few hours later by SS Talisman. They were landed in the Belgian Congo and, after a considerable period in West Africa, managed to return home to Canada and Barbados. U-158 was a long-range Type IXC submarine built by AG Weser at Bremen. She was commissioned on 25 Sep 41, Kptlt. Erwin Rostin, Knight's Cross, CO. U-158 conducted only two patrols but compiled an impressive record of 17 ships sunk for a total of 101,321 tons and two ships damaged for a further 15,264 tons. U-158 was sunk on 30 Jun 42 west of the Bermudas, in position 32.50N, 067.28W, by depth charges from a USN Mariner from VP-74 Squadron. All of her 54 crewmembers were lost. Erwin Rostin was born in 1907, at Güstin, Mecklemburg. He joined the navy in 1933. He commanded the minesweepers M-98 and M-21 and the 7th and 4th Minesweeping Flotillas before he transferred to the U-boat force in Mar 41. He completed his conversion training by Jun 41 was immediately selected for the U-boat Commander's Course. He was appointed to commission U-158 on 25 Sep 41, at the age of 34. Despite his lack of operational experience in U-boats, during his first war patrol off the US East Coast he sank four ships for a total of 29,234 tons. His second patrol in the Gulf of Mexico became the fifth most successful of the war, sinking 12 ships for a total of 62,536 tons. The boat was sunk with all hands on 30 Jun 42 by a USN 'Mariner' patrol aircraft after it had been detected by an HF/DF intercept. Kptlt Rostin received word of his Knight's Cross two days before he died in this attack. In all, he sank 17 ships for a total of 101,321 tons ranking him at 30th on the list of German U-boat aces 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS George & Lovelace laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Kimberly commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Caperton launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Harveson launched 1943 - Light fleet carrier USS Langley launched 1943 - Frigate HMS Duff launched 1943 - U-569 was scuttled by her own crew in the North Atlantic, in position 50.40N, 35.21W, after being badly damaged by depth charges from two Avenger aircraft from escort carrier USS Bogue 1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Ganilly launched 1943 - U-877 laid down 1943 - U-305 was attacked twice at 1302 & 1521 by Avengers from USS Bogue. The boat had to return to base 1943 - Fifteen Mitsubishi G4M Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name "Betty," make a torpedo attack on the gunboat USS Charleston and destroyer USS Phelps patrolling Attu. The ships suffer only negligible damage and shoot down one "Betty" 1943 - The large Japanese Naval Force consisting of the battleships HIJMS Musashi, Kongo and Haruna; the aircraft carrier HIJMS Hiyo; the heavy cruisers HIJMS Tone & Chikuma; and five destroyers that departed Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands on 16 May, arrives in Tokyo Harbor and joins the Attu relief force 1943 - Two Grumman TBF Avengers of Composite Squadron Nine (VC-9) in the auxiliary aircraft carrier USS Bogue depth charge and damage the German submarine U-569 in the North Atlantic. The sub is subsequently scuttled by her crew in position 50.40N, 35.21W; 25 of the 46-man crew survive. This is the first U-boat sunk by an escort carrier on a hunter-killer patrol 1943 - German Admiral Karl Donitz withdraws his U-boats from the North Atlantic after mounting losses 1943 - Finnish patrol boats in action against their Soviet counterparts. VMV 17 is hit by gunfire, two men lost and one wounded, in addition two wounded in other boats. Two enemy boats sunk 1943 - Corvette HMCS Napanee arrived Montreal PQ for refit 1944 - Submarine KNM Utsira (ex-HMS Variance) launched 1944 - Corvette HMS Caistor Castle launched 1944 - Minesweeper HMS Cheerful launched 1944 - Salvage vessel HMS Kingarth launched 1944 - Destroyer USS Duncan laid down 1944 - Minesweeper USS Inaugural laid down 1944 - Destroyer escort USS John L Williamson laid down 1944 - Submarine USS Trutta laid down 1944 - Submarine USS Trepang commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Instill commissioned 1944 - Frigate USS Forsyth launched 1944 - Destroyer USS Little launched 1944 - Escort carrier USS Mantanikau launched 1944 - U-476 encountered an enemy submarine in the Arctic Sea, but neither boat attacked 1944 - U-1164 hit a mine in the Baltic Sea and was damaged 1944 - Two new RCN torpedo boat flotillas start operating off coast of France 1944 - A US submarine spots the IJN forces near Tawi Tawi 1944 - Wake Island is bombarded by a strong US destroyer force 1944 - USS England sinks a second Japanese submarine in three days. HIJMS RO-106, Lt. Eyasu Uda, part of Operation "NA," is sunk 250 miles north of Kavieng, New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago 1944 - Two USN destroyers bombard Wotje Atoll, consisting of 65 islets in the Marshall Islands 1944 - Frigate HMCS Charlottetown visited namesake enroute Halifax from builder Quebec City PQ 1944 - Corvette HMCS Ville de Quebec commenced workups at Bermuda 1944 - ASW towing vessel HMCS Wildwood assigned to Esquimalt BC 1945 - The Coast Guard accepted the Army vessel, FS-34. On 4 October 1945, she was ordered to proceed to Ketchikan for further transfer to DCGO, 13th Naval District. On 6 October 1945, she departed Dutch Harbor for Kodiak and Ketchikan for Seattle. On 25 January 1946 she was at sea on a freight and supply run to Spring Island and DCGO, Seattle, advised that she would be turned back to the Army on her arrival in Seattle. On 30 January 1946, she was decommissioned as a Coast Guard-manned vessel and returned to the Army on 6 February 1946 1945 - Escort carrier USS Okinawa laid down 1945 - Minesweeper USS Shoveler commissioned 1945 - Destroyer USS Harwood launched 1945 - 30 B-29 Superfortresses mine Shimonoseki Strait and approaches in Japan; one B-29 is lost 1945 - HMC MTB 726 paid off 1947 - VP-HL-1 ex VP-116 disestablished 1947 - Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey 1947 - Submarine USS Artful launched 1958 - Naval aircraft F4D-1 Sky Ray sets five world speed-to-climb records, 22-23 May 1965 - Frigate HMCS Fort Erie arrived La Spezia, Italy under tow for scrapping 1967 - New York City reaches agreement to purchase Brooklyn Navy Yard, ending 166 years of construction and repair of naval vessels 1966 - USS Ranger port call Yokosuka 1968 - USS Kearsarge port call Manila 1968 - USS Scorpion lost with all hands 1970 - In Japan, supply ship HMCS Provider visits Yokosuka; destroyers HMCS Mackenzie & Yukon visit Hakodate 1971 - Norwegian cruise vessel Meteor catches fire in Strait of Georgia; 70 passengers saved, 32 crewmembers killed 1972 - Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka with the adoption of a new constitution 1982 - Argentine Coastguard craft, Rio Iguazu, was spotted in Choiseul Sound and strafed. She was beached and abandoned, 12 miles from Darwin. Two Argentine Daggers and three A4Bs attacked ships in San Carlos after approaching from the south. One aircraft ditched its bomb load at the entrance. HMS Broadsword and Coventry tasked to patrol 50 miles west of the northern entrance to the Falkland Sound to use their Sea Dart/Sea Wolf combination to intercept and destroy incoming aircraft 1985 - HMCS Skeena & USS Richard E Byrd depart Leixoes, Portugal, to intercept & observe Kiev task group 1993 - Frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec arrived Halifax NS for first time 2002 - Supply ship HMCS Protecteur departed Esquimalt to replace HMCS Preserver in Operation Apollo in Arabian Sea 2002 - Frigate HMCS St John's replaces HMCS Vancouver in Operation Apollo in Arabian Sea 2003 - SS Cape Intrepid laid up at Tacoma WA RRF 2003 - SS Enterprise (ex RRF Cape Bon, ex SS Velma Lykes) placed in service as training ship for Massachusetts Maritime Academy replacing Patriot State 2003 - USCGC Bramble decommissioned & donated to Port Huron MI Maritime Museum Submarine USS North Carolina laid down at Newport News VA 2004 - USCGC Sawfish commissioned Key West FL 2005 - A surfer pulled out to sea by strong currents near Cannon Beach, Ore., is safe after a Coast Guard helicopter rescued him. At about 1600 Coast Guard Group/Air Station Astoria, Ore., received a call from the Seaside 911 dispatcher advising them of a surfer in distress near Cannon Beach. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Astoria was launched to assist the surfer in distress. The man was located near Tillamook Head and was safely hoisted into the helicopter with the assistance of a rescue swimmer. He was transported to the air station in Astoria where he was released with no injuries 2006 - A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale occurred at the Celebes Sea, 379km northwest of Minado and 488km South East of Lahad Datu 2006 - HMAS Gawler decommissioned 2006 - US Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao will honor the Merchant Mariners at a National Maritime Day annual luncheon hosted by the Propeller Club. She will be the first Secretary of Labor to address the Propeller Club's National Maritime Day luncheon. National Maritime Day honors the contributions made by merchant mariners and the maritime industry. Secretary Chao will recognize the contributions of the US Merchant Marines in Operation Iraqi Freedom 2006 - Police have recovered the bodies of Albert Chow and Duylunong Diep who were unaccounted for after they were forced to abandon their vessel on Rice Lake in Ontario. The men were part of a group of seven people who went fishing the previous afternoon when their boat was hit by high waves and began to sink. Provincial police found their bodies late morning not far from where the vessel went down. Police recovered the body of 54-year-old Holland Chow on the south shore following the incident. Two men and two women ranging in age from 17 to 59 years old reached shore near Harwood, southeast of Peterborough, and were rescued 2006 - Pakistani Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Ehsan ul Haq, who is currently in Bahrain on an official visit, called on Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, Commander of US Naval Central Command as well as the Commander US Fifth Fleet and Combined Forces Maritime Component Command 2006 - America's 400th Anniversary kicked off with a cannon fire salute and the departure of Godspeed from her home berth at Jamestown Settlement for an 80-day goodwill tour. Her voyage to six East Coast cities marks the beginning of an 18-month series of events and programs commemorating the 1607 founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas 2006 - In conjunction with National Maritime Day, Governor Edward G. Rendell today proclaimed May 22 as Pennsylvania Ports Day, recognizing the publicly- and privately owned ports, Port Authorities and maritime-related businesses in the commonwealth 2006 - Shipping Minister Stephen Ladyman launched the Government's Ports Policy Review and invited responses on a range of broad strategic issues. He also announced the outcome of a review of the management of ports in local authority ownership in England and Wales 2007 - Rear Adm. Dan Holloway, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 12, relieved Cmdr. E.J. McClure, of command of the guided missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command. Holloway temporarily reassigned McClure to commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic in Norfolk, pending the final results of an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the May 15 grounding of Arleigh Burke 2008 - Rear Adm. Peter V. Neffenger will relieve Rear Adm. John E. Crowley, Jr., as Commander Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland ============================================================= 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.