SeaWaves Today in History May 25, 2009 1810 - Argentina began its revolt against Spain 1858 - First shipload of gold miners from California arrives in British Columbia at Victoria 1898 - Moran Shipyard completes 12 steamships in Seattle 1911 - Battleship USS Wyoming launched 1916 - Destroyer HMS Valorous laid down 1918 - Minesweeper USS Teal launched 1918 - Destroyer USS Dickerson laid down 1918 - Minesweeper USS Mallard laid down 1929 - Destroyer FS Basque launched 1932 - Submarine FS La Vestale launched 1934 - Soviet submarine SC-209 laid down 1934 - Submarine HMS Seawolf laid down 1934 - Soviet submarine SC-202 launched 1936 - Naval agreement between France, United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand. ("Desiring to reduce the burdens and prevent the dangers inherent in competition in naval armament; "Desiring, in view of the forthcoming expiration of the Treaty for the Limitation of Naval Armament signed at Washington on the 6th of February, 1922, and of the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament signed in London on the 22nd of April, 1930, . . . to make provision for the limitation of naval armament, and for the exchange of information concerning naval construction; . . ." 1936 - Submarine USS Seal laid down 1936 - Destroyer FS Le Triomphant commissioned 1939 - Submarine USS Sea Lion launched 1940 - Destroyer FS L'Adroit bombed & sunk in shallow water off Dunkirk at 1200 by German Heinkel-111s. The ship didn't explode & lay on the beach of Malo-les-Bains. Only one man was injured, the rest of the crew was safe and served on shore batteries until the French capitulation 1940 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Charles Boyes mined & sunk in the North Sea 1940 - Destroyer ORP Slazak (ex-HMS Bedale) laid down 1940 - U-149, U-150, U-452 laid down 1940 - U-104 launched 1940 - Aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious commissioned 1940 - Destroyer USS Gwin launched 1940 - Corvette HMS Asphodel launched 1940 - HMS Illustrious, having passed her acceptance trials, is officially commissioned into the Royal Navy. She will remain at Devonport for minor alterations until 2 June. Thoughts are given to committing her to the Norwegian Campaign, but cooler heads prevail, and she will instead embark on a shakedown cruise to the West Indies 1940 - At 1545, HMS Ark Royal (Flagship, Vice-Admiral Air) and HMS Furious depart Scapa escorted by destroyers HMS Antelope, Campbell, Amazon, Encounter & Viscount bound for the Clyde. Meanwhile, HMS Glorious continues her approach to the Narvik area 1941 - U-983, U-984, U-985, U-986, U-987, U-988, U-989, U-990, U-991, U-992, U-993, U-994 ordered 1941 - U-653 commissioned 1941 - Boom defense vessel HMS Barsound launched 1941 - At 1631, the unescorted Radames was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-103 after being chased for about five hours and sank slowly by the stern 1941 - SS Wangi Wangi sunk by U-103 at 05.24N, 12W 1941 - Sloop HMS Grimsby and the supply ship she is escorting on the run to Tobruk are both sunk by bombers NE of the port 1941 - In the early hours of the 25th, the Bismarck alters course to the SE for France and the cruisers lose contact. At this point Adm. Tovey's heavy ships are only 100 miles away. Bismarck holds her southeasterly course but breaks radio silence. Unfortunately the British radio direction finding service put her on a northeasterly heading. Adm Tovey sails in that direction for a while before turning to the SE in pursuit. Now he is well astern of his quarry. Only be slowing her down can her destruction become possible. In the meantime, Force H continues to sail north to take up a blocking position between Bismarck and her new goal of Brest 1941 - Night of 25/26 May 1941 U-69 (Jost Metzler) enters Lagos Harbor, going between the armed moles on the surface and lays seven mines. She leaves undetected, and to the consternation of the British, the dredge Robert Hughes is sunk in the entrance after striking a mine on 4 Jun 1941 1942 - Escort carrier HMS Slinger laid down 1942 - At 1552, USS Blakeley was patrolling off Martinique in the French West Indies, when she was hit by a torpedo from U-156 which carried away 60 feet of her bow. The explosion killed six men and wounded 21, but the ship did not sink and reached Port de France, Martinique for emergency repairs. After additional repairs in Port Castries, Santa Lucia and in San Juan, Puerto Rico the destroyer sailed to Philadelphia where she was refitted with the bow taken from her stricken sister ship USS Taylor & was thoroughly overhauled. She returned to duty in the Caribbean in 1942 1942 - At 0134, the unescorted and unarmed Beatrice was hit by a torpedo from U-558 in moderate seas, which failed to explode. U-558 then surfaced directly astern and opened fire with the 88-mm and the 20-mm guns at the zigzagging ship from a range of about one mile and fired about 30 shells. After the first hits, the master concluded he could not escape and ordered the ship abandoned. The crew of eight officers and 22 men left the ship in one lifeboat and three rafts. One of the rafts drifted into the firing line of the U-boat and presumably one man was killed. At 0305, a PBY Catalina aircraft appeared and dropped depth charges, but U-558 escaped undamaged. The Beatrice was last saw by the survivors afloat and burning, she sank 15 hours after the attack. The lifeboat with 21 men sailed to Pigeon Island, Jamaica. The patrol boat HMS Hauken picked up the nine remaining survivors from one raft and landed them at Kingston, Jamaica 1942 - At 2053, the Persephone sailing in an unknown convoy was torpedoed by U-593 off Barnegat Light and sank later in only eight fathoms of water in 46°15N/74°02W after breaking in two. The bow section was salvaged and towed to New York, where 21,000 barrels of oil were saved by barges. Her midship house was even removed intact and placed on the tanker Livingston Roe. The USCG later blew up the stern section after passing ships collided with it more than once 1942 - At 0416, the Haakon Hauan was hit by one torpedo from U-753 amidships. The U-boat had then to evade an escort vessel and did not find the tanker again. The damaged ship was taken to New Orleans, then towed to Mobile where she was repaired for three months 1942 - During a patrol in the Caribbean one man from U-594 was lost during crash-diving. [Matrosengefreiter Walter Kunde] 1942 - Patrol vessel HMCS Raccoon returned Gaspe Defense Force, escorting Convoys Quebec-Sydney 1942 - Two light carriers and two cruisers leave Hokkaido, Japan to begin diversionary raids on the Aleutian Islands as part of the Japanese Midway operation 1942 - US submarines sail to patrol positions from Hawaii to counter the Japanese Midway operation 1942 - Japanese submarine HIJMS I-9 launches a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane, Allied Code Name "Glen," to fly a reconnaissance mission over Kiska and Amchitka Islands in the Aleutian Islands 1942 - Another unarmed US merchant freighter is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico by torpedoes and shellfire from U-103 1942 - USS St Louis, part of a reinforcement group carrying Marine aircraft and personnel to Midway, disembarks Companies C and D of the Second Marine Raider Battalion and a 37mm gun battery of the Third Defense Battalion 1943 - The King was Graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross for great valor in command of HM Submarines to Commander John Wallace Linton DSO DSC RN 1943 - U-414 sunk in the western Mediterranean NW of Tenes, in position 36.31N, 00.40E, by depth charges from corvette HMS Vetch 1943 - Frigate USS Peoria laid down 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Cannon launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Crouter commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Harding commissioned 1943 - U-467 sunk SE of Iceland, in position 62.25N, 14.52W, by a Fido homing torpedo from a USN VP 84 Catalina. 46 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-289, U-857 launched 1943 - U-1235 laid down 1943 - Corvette HMCS Hespeler (ex-HMS Guildford Castle) laid down Leith, Scotland 1943 - Frigate HMCS Teme (ex-HMS Teme) laid down South Bank-on-Tees, UK 1943 - Ruotsinsalmi and Patrol Boat VMV 6 sink enemy sub Shtsh 408 at Keri by depth charges 1944 - U-853 drove off an attack by three RN Swordfish from MAC ship Empire MacKendrick. All were damaged and one was deemed a total loss on return to the ship and was jettisoned 1944 - Submarine USS Sea Robin launched 1944 - Destroyer minelayer USS Robert H Smith launched 1944 - Submarine USS Cusk laid down 1944 - U-476 scuttled after aircraft attack the previous day at 0102 NW of Trondheim in position 65.08N, 04.53E, by torpedoes from U-990. 34 killed when U-990 sunk later that day & 21 survivors 1944 - U-990 sunk in North Sea west of Bodö, in position 65.05N, 07.28W, by depth charges from an RAF 59 Sqn Liberator. 20 dead and 33 survivors 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Edwin A Howard, Howard F Clark & Paul G Baker commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Ardent commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper HMAS Parkes commissioned 1944 - U-827, U-1021, U-1302 commissioned 1944 - Corvette HMCS Arrowhead completed forecastle extension refit Baltimore MD 1944 - Corvette HMCS Midland completed forecastle extension refit Galveston TX 1945 - Submarine HMS Truncheon commissioned 1945 - Destroyer HMAS Bataan commissioned 1945 - Submarine USS Chopper commissioned 1945 - Off Okinawa, kamikazes sink two US Navy vessels and damage seven others. - The high-speed transport USS Bates is sunk. Three aircraft attack the ship at 1115 hours; the first plane dropped a bomb, scoring a near miss, which ruptured the starboard hull of the ship, and then crashed into the starboard side of the fantail. The second plane, almost simultaneously, made a suicide hit on the pilothouse. Shortly thereafter the third plane made a bombing run scoring a near miss amidships, portside, rupturing the hull. Twenty-one of her crew was either dead or missing from the attacks. The crew abandoned ship and at 1923, the still burning Bates capsized and sank. - The medium landing ship LSM-135 is also sunk. - During the night, the destroyer USS Guest is attacked by a kamikaze that glanced off her mast and crashed alongside causing minor damage. - At 0905 hours, the destroyer USS Stormes is struck by a kamikaze which crashes into the aft torpedo mount and its bomb explodes in the magazine under her number three 5-inch mount. By noon, repair parties had extinguished the fires and plugged the holes. Twenty-one members of the crew were killed and 15 injured. - The destroyer escort USS O'Neill is hit by a kamikaze that kills two and wounds 17. - The high-speed transport USS Barry is struck by a kamikaze below her bridge. Shrapnel wounds twenty-eight of the crew. The explosion of the plane's gasoline tanks and bomb ignited fuel oil escaping from ruptured tanks and the fire threatens the forward magazine, which could not be reached to flood. The abandon ship order is given at 1340 hours and all hands take to the boats. By 1500 hours the water had risen until the forward magazine was covered, minimizing the danger of explosion. A skeleton crew, together with parties from two other ships, reboarded Barry and the last fires were extinguished at 0630 hours the next day and she is towed to the anchorage at Kerama Retto. - The high-speed transport USS Roper is struck by a kamikaze and is damaged. - The high-speed minesweeper USS Butler is struck by bombs from a suicide plane which explode under Butler's keel, killing nine men and blowing out steam lines and flooding the forward fire room causing the loss of all steam and electric power. Power is regained and she proceeds to Kerama Retto tomorrow for temporary repairs. - The minesweeper USS Spectacle is struck by a diving kamikaze at 0805 hours; the aircraft strikes the ship under her port 40-millimeter gun tub, causing extensive damage and blowing many of her crew overboard. Her rudder is jammed so she drops anchor to avoid running over her men in the water. Spectacle's losses were - eleven killed outright, four who died of wounds, six wounded, and 14 missing in action. She is towed to Ie Shima for temporary repairs. A Japanese plane torpedoes a US freighter in Buckner Bay killing six merchant sailors and a stevedore 1945 - Tug HMCS Glendon commissioned Vancouver BC 1945 - Frigate HMCS Monnow departed Londonderry for Sheerness 1945 - Light cruiser HMCS Ontario completed refit to trials & work-ups 1946 - RCN Fleet Requirement Unit, (FRU) 743, reactivated, initially with Swordfish & Walrus a/c, subsequently Harvard II's, & Anson V's as well as a maintenance unit formed Shearwater NS 1948 - Aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent departed UK for Canada 1951 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga completed refit Esquimalt BC 1952 - Destroyer HMCS Crusader departed Esquimalt for first tour in Korean War. CO Cdr Bovey is famous for having revealed some of the behind the scenes story of how narrowly run and ad hoc the RCN's preparations for the Korean Conflict were. The lack of an orderly naval force generation system meant that the traditional 'all or nothing' approach left large periods of unpreparedness. The Korean War caught the RCN (and everyone else) by surprise. Despite the lack of warning, within three weeks of being tasked the RCN sailed a task group of three destroyers for duty in Korean waters. Within sixty days the task group was on station and undertaking operations in support of the campaign plan. But, these accomplishments were achieved only through enormous efforts on the part of the entire navy, which had great difficulty in sustaining the deployed force. When the crisis arose, the ships of the Pacific Fleet were all in various stages of maintenance and leave cycles. All three Commanding Officer and the Squadron Commander had been recently appointed. The ships were far from being ready for a deployment on operations. When the task group sailed no system had been devised for their logistical support in theatre. The entire system of preparing a small group of warships for operations was impromptu and unstructured. In his article "The Destroyers' War in Korea", Cdr Bovey described the pre-deployment training as "hopelessly inadequate". (James A Boutilier, ed., The RCN in Retrospect 1910 - 1968, Vancouver, BC - University of British Columbia Press, 1982, 256) 1952 - USS Iowa bombards Chongjin, Korea 1958 - RCN VC 920 Avenger a/c #53437 crashed Forthill ON. Pilot killed 1961 - Destroyer HMCS Mackenzie launched Montreal PQ 1963 - Destroyer HMCS Yukon commissioned 1964 - Chilean tug Yagan capsized & sank in Punta Arenas assisting merchant ship aground on a sandbank during storm 1968 - USS Ranger completed Vietnam deployment 1970 - USS Oriskany port call Pearl Harbor 1971 - ROK patrol craft Albbani CTL after grounding 1973 - Launch of Skylab 2 mission, which was first US manned orbiting space station. It had an all Navy crew of CAPT Charles Conrad, Jr., USN (commanding), CDR Joseph P. Kerwin, USN and CDR Paul J. Weitz, USN. During the 28-day mission of 404 orbits, the craft rendezvoused with Skylab to make repairs and conduct science experiments. Recovery by USS Ticonderoga 1982 - HMS Coventry caught on port side with canon fire and three bombs from Argentinean A4 Skyhawk aircraft, at least two exploded and soon there were fires, smoke and flooding. HMS Coventry capsized and sunk with a loss of eighteen lives 1982 - Two Exocet missiles both locked on to the Atlantic Conveyor she was caught in the starboard quarter. With major fires and dense black smoke there was little choice but to abandon ship which later sunk. Nine crew died in total; all of them in the water, including the ship's captain, Captain Ian North 1982 - UN Security Council debate on Falklands ends 1982 - Three Argentine aircraft shot down 1982 - HMS Broadsword is tasked to operate in 'missile trap' to the North of Pebble Island and is bombed while still engaged on those operations when one bomb bounces off the sea entering through the hull and exiting up through the flight deck taking the nose off a Lynx helicopter before landing in the sea on the other side without exploding 1983 - Destroyer HMCS Qu'Appelle commenced DELEX life extension refit Esquimalt BC 2004 - MV Cape Orlando laid up Hunters Point San Francisco RRF 2004 - MV Cape Douglas laid up Charleston RRF 2004 - Destroyer USS Fletcher makes final visit to homeport of Pearl Harbor after being at sea for two years and manned by four different crews as part of an experiment to keep warships in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Fletcher will be decommissioned October 1, 2004 in San Diego 2005 - The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that 11 foreign ships were under detention in UK ports during March 2005 after failing Port State Control safety inspection. Monthly figures show that there were 7 new detentions of foreign flagged ships in UK ports during March 2005, along with 4 other ships still under detention from previous months. This represents a decrease of 4 new detentions in comparison to February. The overall rate of detentions compared with inspections carried out over the last 12 months is 5.3% with is a decrease of 0.8% compared to February's 12 month rates 2005 - Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners approved a permit amendment that paves the way for the City of Los Angeles to settle a damage claim filed by China Shipping Holding Company, Ltd. The claim stems from a 2001 lawsuit filed against the City, Port and Harbor Commission over the Port's permit with China Shipping to operate a container terminal and an environmental impact report (EIR) generated in 1997 to support that permit. The First Amendment to Permit No. 999 with China Shipping provides reimbursement from the City for financial losses related to court-ordered delays in construction and operations at China Shipping's Berth 100 facility at the Port. Under the settlement, the Port also reimburses certain costs that China Shipping incurred to fund environmental mitigation measures required by an amended stipulated judgment resulting from a Los Angeles Superior Court case filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., et al (NRDC) against the City. Subject to Los Angeles City Council review and approval, the $22,224,583 settlement Harbor Commissioners approved includes an upfront $10 million reimbursement to China Shipping for costs associated with the delay in delivering terminal operations on schedule. The environmental mitigation costs also covered by the reimbursement include the purchase of alternative fueled yard (dockside) equipment. The Port also will credit China Shipping prospectively with an additional $12,224,583.33 in rent-related compensation. In addition to purchasing environmentally-friendly yard equipment as a term of the amended stipulated judgment in the NRDC lawsuit, China Shipping agreed to vessel retrofits that have enabled its container ships to plug into electrical power while at berth by way of Mayor James K. Hahn's Alternative Maritime Power or "AMP" program, initiated with China Shipping last summer 2005 - Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre today proposed the appointment of Mr. David K. Gardiner of Chilliwack BC as chair of the board of directors of the Pacific Pilotage Authority. This proposed appointment will be referred to the Standing Committee on Transport for review. David Gardiner holds a bachelor of arts, with a major in economics, from Concordia University. He currently serves as principal, COMFAC Services Ltd., and as executive director of the Western Transportation Advisory Council (WESTAC), both based in Vancouver. From 1994 until 2002, Mr. Gardiner served as the president of 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 Neptune Bulk Terminals Ltd. 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 - FS Charles de Gaulle conducted another operational practice firing of its SAAM-FR antimissile self-defense system. The purpose of this firing was to engage a high subsonic anti-ship target with a salvo of 2 Aster 15 equipped with warheads. All the objectives of this firing were achieved. Once again, the system demonstrated its outstanding precision, with a direct hit of the target engaged by the Aster 15 missile. This firing is the latest in a 100%-successful series of SAAM-FR practice firings using the Aster 15, including in particular, in 2004, a firing from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in December, and one firing from each of the 3 frigates in the SAWARI II program on 23 March, 7 September and 29 September 2004 respectively 2005 - Norwegian frigate Roald Amundsen launched at 1814 local time in Spain 2006 - The first updated helicopter arrives at Air Station Houston. HH-65B helicopters will continue to be used until all the helicopters have been updated 2006 - Just before 1300 Humber Coastguard received a 999 emergency call from a man who was stranded, with his young family, in rising water on the Holy Island Causeway, Northumberland. Humber Coastguard advised the man to evacuate his family to the refuge box as soon as possible as the tide was still rising rapidly. Humber Coastguard alerted the Seahouses Coastguard Rescue Team together with the RNLI Seahouses Inshore Lifeboat to attend and assist with the evacuation to shore 2006 - Bill White, President and Susan Marenoff, Executive Director, of The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum presided over the NYSE opening bell to celebrate Fleet Week 2007 - Korea launched its first Aegis destroyer (King Sejong) at Hyundai Shipyard in Ulsan, becoming the fifth country in the world to own such a ship 2007 - OOCL christened the seventh of its eight 5,888-TEU vessels built by the Imabari Shipbuilding Group, MV OOCL Oakland 2007 - Armed men have abducted several foreign oil workers from a ship off the coast of Nigeria 2007 - RAN announces Seasprite helicopters will be returned to sea 2007 - Col. David A. Smith assumed command of Fleet Readiness Center East from Col. J. Mark Reed in a change of command ceremony on Cherry Point 2007 - "Tolling of the Boats" memorial observance Naval Undersea Museum Keyport by members of US Submarine Veterans Inc. Keynote speaker: Cmdr. Carl Lahti, commanding officer of Trident ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska Gold Crew 2007 - Disneyland recommissions submarines for upcoming Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage 2007 - Training Air Wing (TRAWING) 5 established a third advanced helicopter training command, Helicopter Training Squadron (HT) 28 "Hellions" in at NAS Whiting Field 2008 - Revealed that frigate ROU Pedro Campbell (Ex-NRP Comandante Sacadura Cabral) badly damaged while conducting practice RAS approaches in African waters with sister ship Uruguay (Ex-NRP Comandante Joao Belo) on delivery voyage from Portugal 2008 - Indonesian Navy arrested a tanker and tugboat suspected of carrying 2800 tons of illegal fuel oil Copyright 2009 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Today in History Archives This information is licensed to the recipient only. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click. Royal Navy photos are Courtesy of www.oldships.org.uk unless otherwise indicated. 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