SeaWaves Today in History May 28, 2009 Philippines - Flag Day 1778 - James Cook 1728-1779 anchors HMS Resolution in Resolution Cove, Nootka Sound; begins to chart the coast of British Columbia along with Captain George Vancouver 1757-1798 1813 - Frigate Essex and prize capture five British whalers 1898 Philippine flag formally raised at the proclamation of independence in Kawit, Cavite 1905 - After a two-day running day and night time battle, the Japanese Navy forced the Russian fleet to surrender north of Tsushima 1909 - Submarine HMS C25 & C26 completed 1916 - Submarine HMS L7 & L8 laid down 1917 - First underway fueling in US Navy, USS Maumee fuels 6 destroyers in North Atlantic. LCDR Chester W. Nimitz served as Maumee's executive officer and chief engineer 1918 - Minesweeper HMC TR 30 commissioned Montreal PQ 1918 - Destroyer USS Palmer laid down 1918 - Submarine USS S-34 laid down 1918 - Destroyer USS Tarbell launched 1918 - Destroyers HMS Vivien commissioned 1919 - Minesweeper USS Bittern commissioned 1926 - Submarine FS Espadon launched 1927 - Destroyers HNLMS Van Galen & Witte de With laid down 1927 - Submarine ORP Rys laid down 1930 - Submarines FS Achille & Ajax launched 1935 - Light cruiser USS Philadelphia laid down 1935 - Submarine HMS Seawolf launched 1938 - Boom defense vessel HMS Barbrook launched 1940 - MS Brazza sunk by U-37 at 42.43N 11.00W 1940 - At 1630, the Julien was shelled and sunk by U-37 1940 - U-121 commissioned 1940 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Thomas Bartlett mined & sunk off Calais 1940 - ASW trawler HMS Thuringia mined & sunk in North Sea 1940 - U-177, U-178, U-179, U-180 ordered 1940 - Corvette HMCS Sackville laid down Saint John NB 1940 - HMCS Caribou & Renard depart Halifax for Quebec City for naval conversions 1940 - Through today 17,800 men have been evacuated as a result of operation Dynamo. One destroyer has been lost in addition to various small craft 1940 - AA cruiser HMS Cairo is badly damaged off the town of Narvik itself, just as French and Polish troops under French command complete its capture. HMS Glorious is detected by a snooper, resulting in one section of 802 Squadron, led by Lt. G. D. D. Lyver, RN, being sent off and ultimately downs one He-111. Thereafter, Glorious is ordered to return to Scapa. She arrives off the harbor at 1600 on the 29th, but is unable to enter due to fog 1940 - US Ambassador to France, William C. Bullitt, sends a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull urging that the US Navy sends a cruiser to Bordeaux, France to (1) provide the French police with arms and ammunition to quell a "Communist uprising" and (2) to take the French and Belgium gold reserves to the US. He also urges that the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet be sent to the Mediterranean to assist the British and French in keeping German attacks away from the US. President Roosevelt agrees with point (2) above and the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes and two destroyers are ordered to the Azores to be in position to pick up any gold shipment 1940 - ASW trawler HMS Lady Rosemary commissioned 1940 - Soviet submarines M-121 & M-122 laid down 1941 - At 1452, the unescorted Papalemos was hit on the port side in the stern by one torpedo from U-107. The explosion destroyed large parts of the superstructure and a lifeboat. After the crew had abandoned ship in two lifeboats the sinking was accelerated with shots from the AA guns into the waterline at 1600. The U-boat went to the lifeboats for questioning, took care of three wounded survivors and provided them cigarettes, chocolate and provisions before leaving the area on a deception course 1941 - U-183 laid down 1941 - U-579, U-580 launched 1941 - The many warships deployed from all parts of the North Atlantic to hunt the Bismarck, return to other duties. As they do, heavy attacks by German aircraft sink Tribal-class destroyer HMS Mashona off the West Coast of Ireland. Mashona is attacked by a He-111 which drops a bomb that penetrates #1 boiler room. However the forward bulkhead is riddled with shell splinter holes and begins to take in water. Eventually Mashona rolls over on to her side and is abandoned 100 miles west of Ireland at 52 58N 11 36W. There are 46 casualties. The survivors are picked up by HMS Tartar, which attempts to sink the hull with a torpedo, but when this failed, it was sent to the bottom by gunfire from HMCS St Croix & HMS Sherwood 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Kelowna launched Prince Rupert BC 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Guysborough laid down North Vancouver BC 1941 - US President Roosevelt makes a speech warning of Hitler attempting world domination and directly threatening the United States - "... the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands, if occupied or controlled by Germany, would directly endanger the freedom of the Atlantic and our own physical safety. Under German domination they would become bases for submarines, warships and airplanes raiding the waters which lie immediately off our own coasts and attacking the shipping in the South Atlantic. They would provide a springboard for actual attack against the integrity and independence of Brazil and her neighboring republics." 1941 - Hamilton Fish in the House of Representatives Naval Affairs Committee says that the British have thus far filed 132 requests with the US government for permission to put warships into American ports in order to repair damages incurred in naval engagements 1941 - Destroyer ORP Krakowiak (ex-HMS Silverton) commissioned 1941 - Destroyer HMS Lightning commissioned 1941 - Destroyer HMS Panther launched 1941 - Corvette HMS Cowslip launched 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Professor launched 1941 - Corvette FS Roselys (ex-HMS Sundew) launched 1942 - At 1142, the unescorted New Jersey was hit by one torpedo from U-103 about 90 miles SW of Grand Cayman Island, after the U-boat had missed her with a first torpedo at 0759. The torpedo struck on the port side behind the bridge at the #5 and #6 tank. The engines were secured and the eight officers, 29 crewmen and five armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in and two .30cal guns) abandoned ship in two lifeboats. At 1205, a coup de grâce was fired, which struck at the #8 tank. When the ship stayed afloat the U-boat surfaced and fired 25 rounds into the waterline. The after housing of the tanker caught fire and the ship sank by the stern at 1255. 23 crewmembers and three armed guards were picked up after 33 hours by USS Tattnall & landed at Kingston, Jamaica on 30 May. USS Biddle picked up 13 crewmembers and two armed guards on 1 June 1942 - At 0208, the unescorted Mentor (Master Alexander Pope) was hit on the port side in the stern by one torpedo from U-106 north of Cabo Catoche and sank within six minutes, following a coup de grâce at 0238. The U-boat surfaced and questioned the crew, which told them that the name of the ship was Bengloe. The fourth engineer and three Chinese crewmembers were killed on watch below when the engine room was flooded. The master, 74 crewmembers and seven gunners were picked up after three days by the British merchantman Antilochus and landed at Key West, Florida 1942 - At 2000 on 27 May, U-155 had sighted an unescorted steamer of estimated 5000 tons near Barbados and unsuccessfully tried to overtake the vessel, so Piening decided to attack surfaced during the night. At 0500 hours on 28 May, a first spread of two torpedoes missed but at 0630 another spread of two torpedoes was fired of which one hit the ship between the stack and the mast aft. Shortly thereafter a boiler explosion caused the ship to sink by the stern quickly. It is quite sure that his victim was the Poseidon 1942 - At 0200, the zigzagging, unescorted and unarmed Alcoa Pilgrim was hit by a torpedo from U-502 on the starboard side just below the waterline in the engine room. The ship sank in 90 seconds about 150 miles south of the Mona Passage. The crew of nine officers and 31 men had no time to launch a lifeboat and only nine managed to get on board of two rafts. U-502 came alongside one of the rafts and an officer inquired about the name of the ship, her nationality, tonnage and cargo. He also asked if the rafts had sails and wished the men luck. Six days later, the American SS Thomas Nelson picked up the surviving three officers and six men and landed them at Port of Spain on 5 June 1942 - SS Yorkmoor sunk by U-506 at 29.30N, 72.29W 1942 - U-225, U-384 launched 1942 - U-624 commissioned 1942 - Those Imperial Japanese Naval forces that have not previously sailed, leave today for the Midway operation 1942 - US TF 16, carriers Enterprise and Hornet under Admiral Spruance, sails from Pearl Harbor for Midway. Admiral Fletcher will leave later with the Yorktown and TF 17. The Enterprise Air Group in USS Enterprise consists of Bombing Squadron Six with SBD Dauntless, Fighting Squadron Six with F4F Wildcats, Scouting Squadron Six with SBDs, and Torpedo Squadron Six with TBD Devastators. The Hornet Air Group in USS Hornet consists of VB-8 with SBDs, VF-8 with F4Fs, VS-8 with SBDs and VT-8 with TBDs 1942 - U-103, part of Operation Drumbeat, sinks an armed US merchant tanker SW of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean 1942 - Minesweeping trawlers HMS Unst & Gairsay launched 1942 - Destroyer HMS Tuscan launched 1943 - Between 0443 & 0446, U-154 fired six torpedoes at Convoy BT-14 about 125 miles east of Fortaleza, Brazil and reported one tanker damaged, one freighter sunk, one tanker probably sunk and two more freighters sunk. In fact each of the three ships Florida in station #53, Cardinal Gibbons in station #61 and John Worthington in station #42 were hit by one torpedo and all reached port safely, but the last ship was never repaired. The Cardinal Gibbons was struck on the starboard side abaft the stem and a hole was ripped in the forepeak tank containing fresh water. The eight officers, 35 crewmen and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in and nine 20mm guns) remained on board and suffered no injuries. The vessel remained on course and arrived in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 5 June. The Florida was struck forward of the after peak on the starboard side 15 feet beneath the waterline. The explosion opened a hole 16 feet by six feet and broke her back. The ship lost way as water filled the engine room and the stern settled until the stern gun platform was awash. 15 minutes after the attack, the eight officers, 34 crewmen and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in three lifeboats. A fourth boat swamped in the moderate seas. All hands were picked up by USS PC-592 and landed at Fortaleza the same day. A salvage crew boarded the tanker and corvette USS Saucy towed her into Fortaleza. The salvage ship USS Crusader later towed the Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico for temporary repairs. Permanent repairs were done at Chester, Pennsylvania, after which the tanker returned to service. The John Worthington was struck by one torpedo at the #8 tank. The explosion blew a hole 30 feet by 10 feet in her side, buckled the deck and pushed fragments out the port side. The ship veered 30° to starboard, but regained her course and continued on her way, rejoining the convoy the next morning. Only a few of the eight officers, 34 crewmen and 14 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in, two .50cal and two .30cal guns) suffered slight injuries. After temporary repairs at Trinidad the ship was sailed on 10 June to Galveston, Texas for major repairs, arriving on 21 June. But the tanker was never repaired and did not return to service 1943 - At 2353, U-177 attacked Convoy CD-20 and claimed two ships with 16000 grt sunk. The ships sunk were the Storaas and the Agwimonte. The Agwimonte was in station #53 (last ship of the starboard column) and the lookouts spotted the wake of a torpedo from U-177 but it was too late. The torpedo struck on the starboard side between the #2 and #3 hatches, causing the ship to heel to starboard and the sea washed over the foredeck and the bridge. The watch below secured the engines and the ship settled on even keel. Ten officers, 36 men and 23 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in, eight 20mm and two 30cal guns) abandoned ship in two lifeboats and three rafts. The first boat swamped in the swells when the after fall failed to release. The men tumbled into the sea and climbed back on board the Agwimonte. Several of these men left the ship with the overcrowded second lifeboat. The master and 5 men bailed out the swamped boat and picked up two men from a raft. One hour and twenty minutes later they witnessed a second torpedo attack, which caused the boiler to explode and she sank bow first off Cape Agulhas in ten minutes with the general alarm still blaring. Two of the survivors on one of the rafts later transferred to an abandoned lifeboat of the Storaas. The armed trawler SAS Vereeniging picked up 61 survivors from a lifeboat and two rafts and landed them at Port Elizabeth, South Africa. A South African Army plane sighted the other two boats in the afternoon of 29 May. An Army crash boat rescued the occupants of those boats 18 hours after the attack and landed them two hours later at Gordon Bay 1943 - Frigate HMCS Saint John laid down Montreal PQ 1943 - Light fleet carrier USS Cowpens commissioned 1943 - Destroyers USS Erben & Trathen commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escort USS McConnell commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Archerfish launched 1943 - Frigate USS Glendale launched 1943 - Destroyer USS Tingey launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Calcaterra, Chambers & Spangler laid down 1943 - U-304 sunk in the North Atlantic SE of Cape Farewell, Greenland in position 54.50N, 37.20W by depth charges from an RAF 120 Sqn Liberator. 46 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-755 sunk in the Mediterranean NW of Majorca, in position 39.58N, 01.41E, by rockets from an RAF 608 Sqn Hudson. 40 dead and 9 survivors 1943 - U-475 launched 1944 - USS Narwhal lands 23-men & 25 tons of supplies on Samar Island, Philippines 1944 - HMCS Algonquin & Sioux departed Scapa Flow to Portsmouth & D-Day Ops 1944 - HMCS Magog & Stettler arrived in Halifax from builder in Montreal 1944 - HMCS Toronto arrived in Halifax from builder in Levis, Quebec 1944 - Frigate HMCS Ste Therese commissioned 1944 - Submarines USS Charr & Lagarto launched 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-179 was commissioned. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area. She was decommissioned on 1 October 1945. 1945 - HMCS Beacon Hill departed Greenock for Halifax 1945 - Off Okinawa, the Japanese wage their last strong air effort and sink one ship and damage five others - - The destroyer USS Drexler is attacked by two kamikazes at 0700 hours. One aircraft is shot down and the second tries to crash USS Lowry and failing, stumbled into Drexler, cutting off all power and starting large gasoline fires. At 0703, another suicide attacker crashed in flames into Drexler's superstructure resulting in a tremendous explosion and the destroyer rolled on her starboard side and sank stern first in less than a minute after the second hit. Because of the speed with which she sank, casualties were heavy - 168 dead and 52 wounded. - While unloading cargo at 0730, the attack transport USS Sandoval is attacked by a kamikaze, which crashes into the portside of the wheelhouse. Five men are killed and 29 wounded; three of the latter died later. Flames lit the bridge, central fire control was lost and radar and interior communications were knocked out. The fire on the bridge was extinguished by 0830 and central fire control was regained after 0900. - The large support landing craft LCS (L)-119 is damaged by a kamikaze. - The armed US freighter SS Mary A. Livermore is hit by a kamikaze which kills four sailors and seven merchant sailors. - The armed US freighter SS Brown Victory is hit by a kamikaze off Ie Shima killing three sailors and one merchant sailor. - The armed US freighter SS Josiah Snelling is also hit by a kamikaze. Gunfire by the Armed Guard deflect the plane from hitting a vital part of the ship and nobody is killed 1945 - Mines previously laid by B-29 Superfortresses sink a Japanese transport and damage a coast defense vessel, two freighters and a fishing boat in Japanese waters 1945 - Destroyer USS Bausell laid down 1945 - Destroyer USS Henderson launched 1945 - HMS Trump sinks a Japanese coaster with gunfire off the Sapudi Strait 1952 - Destroyer HMCS Nootka East Coast of Korea & relieved HMAS Warramunga off Yang Do 1954 - RCNR unit HMCS Tecumseh VC 924 Sqn receives a Fairey Swordfish (Maint Trg), North American Harvard II & a Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor for training purposes 1957 - 1st of 24 detonations, Operation Plumbbob nuclear test 1958 - Guided missile cruiser USS Galveston commissioned 1958 - Submarine USS Stickleback accidentally rammed & sunk by destroyer escort USS Silverstein during training exercises off Hawaii 1959 - Yachts KC McRae, Kona Kai, Coral Reef II & Toroa authorized to fly Canadian Blue Ensign 1962 - Submarine HMS Onyx ordered from HM Dockyard Chatham 1969 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Sasebo 1971 - USS Hancock port call Pearl Harbor 1980 - 55 women become first women graduates from the US Naval Academy 1982 - Destroyer HMCS Fraser completed DELEX life extension refit Montreal PQ 1982 - 2 Para battle for Goose Green and Darwin. This was the first major battle of the conflict. 2 Para were split into three rifles companies (A, B and D). The terrain was unfamiliar and was to be covered at night, and at speed, to take advantage of the darkness while it lasted. The attack began at 0200Z when HMS Arrow moved to the southern end of Grantham Sound providing naval gunfire support. Firing 120 rounds she seriously weakened the enemy's initial resistance. In the face of heavy resistance 'B' Company led by Major John Crosland, supported by 'D' Company led by Major Phil Neame managed to clear enemy positions. In so doing D Company lost three men. The main HQ regimental aid post and defense platoon move to the north of Darwin where they can co-ordinate the evacuation of casualties and prisoners and organize the resupply of ammunition. HMS Arrow leaves for San Carlos Water for its own safety and weather does not allow Harrier Strikes, so the only fire support is from the three guns of 8 Battery Royal Artillery 1984 - Destroyer HMCS Yukon commenced DELEX life extension refit Esquimalt BC 2002 - Frigate HMCS Vancouver returned Esquimalt from Operation Apollo. Vancouver intercepted & inspected vessels operating in the northern Arabian Sea & Arabian Gulf, making 14 transits through the Straits of Hormuz. The operational record included contacting over 600 merchant ships & boarding 21 for closer inspection. The 443 Maritime Helicopter Sqn detachment launched the ship's CH-124 Sea King helicopter for 157 sorties during the deployment. During the more than 7 month deployment the ship was in port for 13 days & was at sea continuously for a remarkable 79 days. In total the ship traveled over 60,000 nautical miles 2002 - HMS Portland, on patrol in the Gulf to enforce United Nations sanctions against Iraq, intercepted a vessel attempting to smuggle several thousand tons of illegal diesel fuel out of the country 2003 - Polisini-1, a Greek-registered and Russian crewed oil tanker crashed into four floating restaurants on the Bosphorus, sinking one 2004 - Ex-Decatur, former Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS) at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD), replaced by Ex-Paul F Foster and no longer serves the Navy as a test and evaluation platform. Ex-Decatur was towed away by the Fleet Ocean Tug, USNS Sioux, the beginning of its two-week journey to Hawaii, where it will be a target in RIMPAC 2004 and play an integral part in the training of today’s Fleet. During this multi-national maritime exercise to be conducted in the waters off Hawaii this summer, Decatur and four other decommissioned ships will be fired upon and sunk in waters more than 12,000 feet deep 2004 - Canadian Navy YFU 124 placed on sales list by Crown Assets 2004 - MV Cape Race laid up Portsmouth RRF 2004 - MV Cape Washington & Cape Wrath laid up Baltimore RRF 2005 - A family of five got into difficulties when surfing off Castle Beach, Tenby. The family, 2 adults and 3 children aged 14, 12 and 10 years, were body boarding in the surf when the children were blown into deeper water by the strong winds. The children's father abandoned his surfboard to swim and rescue the children whilst their mother attracted the attention of the public to raise the alarm. The Tenby RNLI Inshore Lifeboat were quickly notified of the incident and self-launched. They were able to locate the family quickly and recovered them to the Lifeboat, from which they were transferred ashore. Tenby Coastguard Team received the casualties ashore and initial first aid was given to two of the children who were suffering from mild hypothermia. An ambulance then transferred the two children to Tenby Cottage Hospital. The weather conditions at the time: Wind south-westerly force 7 to 8, sea state - slight close to the shore but within 100m became very rough. Later in the day at just after 1700 Milford Haven Coastguard received a number of 999 calls reporting two young persons in difficulties off the same beach. The two persons were reported being blown out to sea, and towards an Island off Castle Beach. The Tenby RNLI Inshore Lifeboat was called and immediately launched, along with Tenby Coastguard Team. Fortunately the two boys aged 12, made the shore prior to the arrival of units on scene. Although visibly shaken medical assistance was not required, and the Coastguard took the two boy’s home 2005 - A major sea search off Blackpool seafront for a missing man who attempted to rescue a dog from the sea. Liverpool CG are currently coordinating a major search for the man using a Sea King rescue helicopter from RAF Valley in Anglesey, lifeboats from Lytham and Fleetwood and a police helicopter . CG teams from Lytham and Fleetwood have been deployed and are searching along the coastline. The search began after two men had jumped into the sea on Blackpool sea front in an attempt to rescue a dog. The RAF helicopter had just taken from Valley on a training mission when it was sent to the incident, recovering one of the men from the sea shortly after arriving on scene. This man has been recovered and transferred to Blackpool hospital and the search is continuing for his companion who is believed to be aged between 18 and 22 2005 - Humber Coastguard coordinated the search for a missing 15 year old female from a jet ski off Cleethorpes earlier this morning following the report from a ferry at the mouth of Humber River. At 2230 a call had been received from the fishing vessel Zuider Zee identifying a female aged 15 in shock they had found in the water with a jet ski who recounted that a female friend with whom she had been with had disappeared. The missing girl was wearing a blue lifejacket. A major search was launched with the Cleethorpes in shore lifeboat and Humber all weather lifeboat requested to launch, and along with Zuider Zee began to search the area. A rescue helicopter from Leconfield was also scrambled. A further inshore lifeboat also joined the search from Mablethorpe. Further vessels that also took part included the Gitta Liza, Stenheime and the Shepard Lass. The abandoned jet ski was found later in the morning. The local Police were informed who stayed with the relatives of the missing girl who was wearing a blue and yellow topped black short wet suit whilst the search was on going. Cleethorpes Beach rescue also launched their inshore jet ski to keep a close eye near the surf line 2005 - NOAA commissions new fisheries survey vessel Oscar Dyson in Kodiak. Oscar Dyson is the first of four planned fisheries survey vessels (FSVs) to be designed and built to meet the requirements of NOAA Fisheries. The 206-foot ship named in honor of the late Alaskan fishing industry leader will be homeported in Kodiak. It will conduct fishery stock assessments -- particularly of Alaskan pollock, the nation's largest fishery - - and monitor ecosystems primarily in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Among the most technologically advanced fisheries survey ships in the world, Oscar Dyson has a low acoustic signature, which will enable it to study fish without altering their behavior. Commissioning of this ship is a significant milestone in the modernization of the NOAA fleet 2006 - At 1900 Maritime & Coastguard Agency surveyors detained the 1975 built cruise vessel Van Gogh at Harwich on the advice of the local Director of Public Health after a severe viral infection was reported to be rife on board the ship during its previous cruise. The 1999 refitted, 15,402 GT ship which can carry up to 795 passengers was due to leave the port at 1700 bound for a seven-day trip to Norway. The Marshall Island flagged ship was due to visit Bergen, Flam, Gudvangen & Rosendal. The vessel is owned by Club Cruise based in the Netherlands. Earlier it had been reported that over 100 people were infected, including 16 of the 250 crew during its earlier voyage, and when the vessel docked earlier today 14 passengers were still suffering from the same symptoms. Two passengers were taken by ambulance to Colchester Hospital's accident and emergency unit after being taken off the ship by stretcher. 500 passengers who were on the dockside and waiting for the cruise to begin were advised to return home. The vessel is likely to be in dock for at least 48 hours whilst the vessel and its crew are monitored for the further outbreaks 2006 - Strong winds pushed cruise ship Vistamar aground in the Kiel Canal on passage from London to Kiel close to Rendsburg. At 0800 the pilot ordered a tug from Brunsbuttel for assistance. After hours Vistamar was towed back into deeper water. In Kiel the ship will go to the Lindenau Yard the next day for drydocking. Less than two voyages have been canceled as result of arrest in the UK and the yard time in Kiel 2007 - Italian Navy in dire financial straits due to UN & NATO commitments. Almost all port visits have been cancelled 2007 - 73 members of International Whaling Commission 59th meeting in Anchorage May 28-31 2007 - 8,063 TEU OOCL Southampton christened at Samsung Heavy Industries 2007 - USCG suspended search for Marquise Hill, 25, found deceased in Lake Pontchartrain 2008 - Secretary General of NATO Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in New York to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss a range of issues, including Kosovo and Afghanistan 2008 - Aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk departs Yokosuka for last time 2008 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced Rear Adm. (lower half) Philip H. Cullom, who has been selected to the rank of rear admiral, is being assigned as director, Fleet Readiness Division, N43, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington 2008 - Russian rescue system coupled with a NATO submarine for first time in a joint exercise off Norway 2008 - USCG Rogue River SAR Detachment began broadcasting bar restriction and bar condition information on AM radio channel 1610 2008 - Alec Douglas, a retired navy commander and Dalhousie University graduate, has been named the winner of the Navy League of Canada’s Robert I. Hendy Award for Maritime Affairs. The award honours people who have accomplished feats of national or international significance in maritime affairs. Mr. Douglas joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1951, serving on seven ships and as a squadron operations officer during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. He was stationed in Halifax between 1955 and 1964. While in the navy he earned his master’s degree in history from Dalhousie and a doctorate from Queen’s University and went on to become one of Canada’s most prolific authors on naval history 2008 - French Navy tug Tenace vandalized by striking fishermen while in drydock at Concarneau 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. To contact us: 418-145 West Keith Rd North Vancouver BC V7M 1L3 Canada Phone: 778-968-7447