SeaWaves Today in History May 30, 2009

 

1539 - Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto landed in Florida
1792 - Captain George Vancouver drops anchor off Elliott Point (future Mukilteo) at midnight
1814 - Russia, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia, the countries of the anti-Napoleonic coalition, sign the Paris Peace Treaty with France
1814 - British seamen ambushed in Sandy Creek, near Sackett's Harbour NY; War of 1812
1826 - Colonel John By arrives in Canada to build a canal system from Ottawa to Kingston. This waterway is intended as a bypass to the St. Lawrence River, should the latter fall under American control in a future war
1832 - Rideau Canal officially opened to traffic, with 47 locks linking the Ottawa River at Ottawa with Lake Ontario at Kingston; first proposed as a military route between the two cities; 50 dams built to control water levels along the route
1849 - Quebec Assembly authorizes the Chambly ship canal from Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence River
1853 - Elisha Kent Kane 1820-1857 commands the second Grinnell expedition in the Advance to Baffin Bay, through Smith Sound to Kane Basin; winters at Rensselaer Bay, Greenland
1883 - A rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge was in danger of collapsing triggered a stampede that led to the trampling deaths of 12 people
1915 - Scow explodes in Elliott Bay (Seattle)
1917 - Destroyer HMS Scimitar laid down
1918 - HMC TR 29 & TR 28 commissioned Montreal PQ
1918 - Minesweeper USS Brant launched
1926 - Al Faussett rides over Sunset Falls (Skykomish River) in a dugout canoe
1927 - Submarine HMS Oswald laid down
1930 - Submarine HNLMS K XVI laid down
1932 - Destroyer HMS Kempenfelt commissioned
1934 - Light cruiser HMS Penelope laid down
1935 - Destroyer HMS Firedrake commissioned
1935 - Destroyer HMS Hardy laid down
1938 - U-69, U-70, U-93, U-94, U-95, U-96, U-97, U-98 ordered
1938 - Minesweeper HMS Seagull commissioned
1938 - Soviet submarine K-53 laid down
1939 - Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit Esquimalt, marking the end of months of preparation by all the Services. The royal couple is driven from the Empress Hotel to Beacon Hill, where the RCN parades 15 officers and 639 ratings under Captain Brodeur for the presentation of the King's Color. This marks the first occasion outside the British Isles on which the ruling Sovereign personally presents his Color, after consecration, to any of his naval forces. The Color is a White Ensign made of silk, with the crown and royal cipher superimposed on the center of the larger St. George's Cross
1940 - U-100 & U-123 commissioned
1940 - SS Stanhall sunk by U-101 at 48.59N, 05.17W 
1940 - Operation Dynamo evacuates 52,823 men from Dunkirk including Lt. General Alan Brooke
1940 - Destroyer FS Bourrasque sunk near Nieuport after being mined and finished off by German artillery fire. The ship was participating in the evacuation off Allied soldiers from Dunkirk
1940 - ASW trawler HMS St Ahilleus mined & sunk off Dunkirk
1940 - HMS Ark Royal, fully stocked to return to the fight, departed Greenock at 0545, escorted by destroyers HMS Acasta, Ardent & Acheron. Meanwhile, HMS Glorious, escorted by destroyers HMS Highlander and HMS Wren, finally enters Scapa at 1515 to refuel
1940 - Soviet submarine SC-216 launched
1940 - Destroyer HMS Wheatland laid down
1941 - At 0036, the unescorted Silveryew was hit in the stern by one of two torpedoes from U-106 and sank west of the Cape Verde Islands. One crewmember was lost. The master, 49 crewmembers and three gunners made landfall at San Antonio, Cape Verde Islands
1941 - At 1311, the unescorted Empire Protector was torpedoed & sunk by U-38 southwest of Freetown. Five crewmembers were lost. The master, 29 crewmembers and three gunners were picked up by the Dutch merchantman Arundo and landed at Freetown
1941 - HMCS Restigouche & Ottawa arrived in St John’s, Newfoundland, and became the first destroyers to join the newly formed Newfoundland Escort Force
1941 - Grand Admiral Raeder renews his proposal to Hitler that there should be a 'decisive Egypt-Suez offensive for the autumn of 1941 which would be more deadly to the British Empire than the capture of London.' Hitler decides that this can wait until the collapse of the Soviet Union that should happen no later than October
1941 - Early in the day more troops are lifted from the southern port of Sphakia, on Crete, by another cruiser force. Well to the south cruiser HMAS Perth is bombed and damaged
1941 - The tenth and last Lake-class cutter, USCGC Itasca, is transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Gorleston. Itasca was present at Howland Island in 1937 during the Amelia Earhart around-the-world flight
1941 - HMS Calcutta was bombed and sunk by two German Ju-88 bomber aircraft in the Mediterranean north-west of Alexandria, Egypt, during the Battle of Crete. Calcutta was from the third group of the 'C type’ cruisers that were based on the WWI-vintage Arethusa Class light cruiser. They were intended to serve as leaders for destroyer flotillas and as scouts for the battle fleet in the North Sea. Several were converted into AA cruisers in the late 1930’s. Their low endurance and relatively poor seakeeping characteristics limited their utility outside of ‘small sea’ operating areas
1941 - Corvette HMS Myosotis commissioned
1941 - Submarine HMS P-33 commissioned
1941 - HMS Sealion fires 6 torpedoes against the German submarine U-74 in the Bay of Biscay about 45 nautical miles southwest of Belle-Ile Island, France. All six torpedoes missed their target
1941 - HMS Torbay sinks two sailing vessels with gunfire in the Aegean Sea
1941 - HMS Triumph torpedoes and damages the Italian armed merchant cruiser Ramb III at Bengasi, Libya
1941 - HMS Utmost makes a torpedo attack on a convoy off Sirte. All torpedoes miss their targets
1942 - U-743 laid down
1942 - U-759 launched
1942 - U-445 commissioned
1942 - At 0651, the unescorted Baghdad was hit by a torpedo from U-155, the gun fell over and eight men were killed and several badly injured. Shortly after two lifeboats had been lowered, another torpedo hit in the middle of the ship and she sank within minutes east of Martinique. One of the injured men died later in a lifeboat
1942 - At 1024, lookouts on the unarmed & unescorted Alcoa Shipper spotted the U-404 surfacing about 500 miles east of Cape Charles, Virginia. Despite using two different zigzag patterns, just then one torpedo struck the starboard side at the fireroom and caused the boiler to explode. The vessel immediately stopped and settled within five minutes, so fast that the two lifeboats being launched became fouled and went down with the ship. Three men were killed on the watch below and four others drowned. 25 out of a total crew of eight officers and 24 crewmen abandoned ship on three rafts that released themselves. The U-boat approached the survivors; the Germans questioned them and then gave several bottles of rum, cigarettes and a pair of dungarees for a man who had escaped with little clothing. 56 hours later five officers and 20 men were picked up by the Norwegian SS Margrethe Bakke and landed in New York on 3 June
1942 - The Canadian Markland Shipping coastal freighter Liverpool Packet (1,188 GRT), Captain N.E. Smith, Master, was torpedoed and sunk west of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, in position 43.20N, 066.20W, by U-432, OLtzS. Heinz-Otto Schultze, Knight's Cross, CO. Two men were lost from her crew of twenty-three men. Liverpool Packet was proceeding alone from New York City for Newfoundland with a cargo of ‘US Government supplies’ when she was torpedoed. The ship broke in two and sank quickly. The crew was questioned about their cargo and destination by the bridge staff of U-432, which derisively sang ‘There’ll Always Be An England’ as they departed. The survivors rowed to Cape Sable Island, where they were rescued. U-432 was a medium-range Type VIIC submarine built by Schichau Shipyard, at Danzig. She was commissioned on 26 Apr 41. U-432 conducted nine patrols and compiled a record of 20 ships sunk for a total of 66,005 tons and damaged two ships for a further 15,666 tons. U-432 was sunk on 11 Mar 43, in the North Atlantic, in position 51.35N, 028.20W, by depth charges and gunfire from the Free French corvette Aconit, during operations against convoy HX-228. Kptlt. Herman Eckhardt was the commanding officer of U-432 at the time of her loss. U-432 had just torpedoed and sunk the H-class destroyer HMS Harvester (ex-Brazilian Jutahy) when Aconit counterattacked her. Harvester was rejoining the convoy after a battle that resulted in the sinking of U-444, OLtzS Albert Langfeld, CO. Heinz-Otto Schultze was born in 1915, at Kiel. He joined the navy in 1934 and transferred to the U-boat force in May 37. When war commenced he had already been selected for command was under preparatory instruction with the 1st U-boat Flotilla. He was appointed to command the Type IIA training boat U-4 on 08 Jun 40 and, soon afterwards, on 21 Aug 40, was transferred to commission the new Type IID training boat U-141. Next, on 26 Apr 41 he was appointed to commission the new Type VIIC U-432, at the age of 25. Schultze was extremely successful with U-432, sinking 19 ships for a total of 64,665 tons and damaging two ships for a further 15,666 tons, making him the 66th highest-scoring U-boat ‘ace’ of the war. He was promoted to Kptlt. on 01 Nov 41 and was awarded the Knight’s Cross 09 Jul 42, the 56th presented in the U-boat force. On 11 Mar 43, he was assigned to commission the new long-range Type IXD2 boat U-849. This was one of the ‘Monssen boats’ that carried vital cargoes from the Far East. Kptlt. Schultze was among the 63 men lost when, on 09 Jul 43, U-849 was sunk in the South Atlantic, west of the Congo estuary, in position 06.30S, 005.40W, by depth charges from a USN ‘Liberator’ patrol aircraft from VP-107 Squadron
1942 - Submarine USS Runner launched
1942 - Escort carrier HMS Activity launched
1942 - Corvette HMS Balsam launched
1942 - AA cruiser HMS Royalist launched
1942 - Frigate HMS Test launched
1942 - Corvette HMCS Brantford arrived Halifax from builder Montreal PQ
1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Noranda arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City PQ
1942 - A Japanese task force consisting of two light aircraft carriers and two troop transports departs northern Honshu Island for the Aleutian Islands
1942 - US Navy Task Force 17, consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, departs Pearl Harbor to join Task Force 16 NE of Midway Island. The Yorktown Air Group consists of Bombing Squadron Three with Douglas SBD Dauntlesses, VB-5 with SBDs, Fighting Squadron Three with Grumman F4F Wildcats, and Torpedo Squadron Three with Douglas TBD Devastators
1942 - Japanese submarine HIJMS I-10 launches a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane, Allied Code Name "Glen," to fly a reconnaissance mission over Diego Suarez, Madagascar
1942 - An unarmed US merchant freighter is sunk by the submarine U-404 in the Atlantic
1942 - The Harbor of Diego Suarez - Nightfall on with the sky clear, bright and a full moon. Some reports suggest that the midget submarine from I-16 was unsuccessful in getting into the harbor. This statement is not supported by eyewitness reports from crewmembers on both the British Loyalty and HMS Ramillies. Both reported seeing the conning towers of two small submarines in the harbor around the time of the attack. The midget submarine from I-20 was definitely in the harbor and at 2025 hours started a torpedo attack. It almost immediately scored a hit on HMS Ramillies, which blasted a 30ft by 30ft hole in her port bulge. It caused severe flooding to a number of decks as well as power and communication failures within the vessel. In spite of HMS Ramillies' severe damage there were no fatalities on board and injuries were limited to one broken arm and some bumps, bruising and concussion. The torpedo had passed very close to the stern of the tanker British Loyalty on its path to the Ramillies. Having witnessed the attack on the Ramillies, the Master of the British Loyalty ordered her crew to get all the boats out and heave up the anchor. He then rang the Engine Room Telegraph signaling "standby". It was now nearly an hour since the first attack and the Loyalty was just beginning to move astern, away from her original forward anchor point. Signalman Harry Barnet was watching from the deck of HMS Ramillies and was horrified to see the track of a second torpedo, which appeared to be heading directly towards his ship. As he looked out he could see British Loyalty, just underway, going astern and directly into the torpedo's path. It was now 2120 hours and the tanker was hit in the after part of the engine room and caught the full blast of the weapon that had been intended for the Battleship. The crew on the midget from I-20 had fired their second torpedo. The stern of British Loyalty began to sink rapidly and her Master, R. Wastell, gave the order to "Abandon Ship". If this second torpedo had hit the already badly damaged Ramillies, this elderly battleship would have certainly sunk. Nearly all the Ramillies' crew was engaged in stemming the flow of water through the damaged hull and pumping out the flooded decks. They also had the delicate task of removing bombs, shells and bullets from the flooded ammunition stores. In the meantime the British Loyalty had sunk to the bottom of the harbor in around 67 feet of water with only part of her funnel visible above the surface. Her stern was now firmly embedded in the harbor mud. After the attack, the two-man crew of the midget submarine from I-20 attempted to leave the harbor, but in their haste and due to defective steering, grounded the midget on a reef. They abandoned their craft, swam ashore and started to walk across the barren countryside of Northern Madagascar in an attempt to reach the agreed rendezvous point with their mother submarine I-20 near the thickly wooded hills of Cape Amber. They also knew I-20 would wait for two days at the pickup point before finally departing
1943 - Submarines USS Hackleback & Devilfish launched
1943 - Vichy broadcast announcement that French naval squadron at Alexandria had gone over to the Allies 
1943 - LCT(5)-28 sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 
1943 - Canadian and American forces secured the Aleutian island of Attu from the Japanese during World War II
1943 - The first new aircraft carrier to arrive in the Pacific in a year, USS Essex with Carrier Air Group Nine arrives at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii
1943 - U-921 commissioned
1943 - At 2157, the Flora MacDonald, escorted by armed trawler HMS Fandango, was hit by one torpedo from U-126. The torpedo struck on the port side in the engine room, killing the third assistant engineer and a fireman. The explosion opened a large hole that immediately flooded the engine room, stopped the engines and caused the ship to settle by the stern. A fire started in the #3 hold and flames, shooting 40 feet in the air, quickly trapped some of the men in their quarters. The surviving crewmembers of the eight officers, 36 men, 24 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in and nine 20mm guns) and two passengers abandoned ship in six lifeboats and two rafts. Five of these men suffered severe burns. The fire raged out of control and spread to the #2 and #4 holds and the entire midships house. The armed trawler picked up the survivors and decided to head to Freetown, so the badly burned men could be treated. Three of them died on board and the other two died in the hospital in Freetown from their burns. 20 men were hospitalized. At 1430 the next day, tug HMS Zwarte Zee, escorted by sloop HMS Milford & corvettes HMS Woodruff & Tamarisk, took the still burning vessel in tow for Freetown at 5.5 knots. At 1800 on 1 June, they beached the ship in Freetown Harbor where the cargo of rubber was salvaged. The Liberty ship burned for 16 days and was later declared a total loss
1943 - U-418 fought off an RAF 210 Sqn Catalina aircraft. The aircraft made it home but was so "holed" that she sank on landing. Later salvaged. The boat was most probably U-418, which was lost shortly afterwards
1943 - U-459 shot down an RAF 10 Sqn Whitley 
1943 - HMS Untamed was exercising with ships of the 8th Escort Group off Cambeltown. At 0950 that morning Untamed dived and commenced the first run of the day. After three hours the submarine surfaced and prepared for the next run. Just after 1345 the submarine once again dived and the second exercise of the day began. This exercise involved the anti-submarine training yacht Shemara firing practice mortars against the submarine. The first two runs were successful with Untamed indicating her position after each with a white smoke candle. At 1450 following the third run the submarine did not immediately indicate her position, The Shemara fired INDICATE POSITION charge, came to a stop and began tapping on the hull. The efforts of the Shemara were greeted by a yellow smoke candle. Shemara moved to a position by the marker and once again began tapping the hull. At this point a swirl of water was seen near the marker. Shemara called a halt to the exercise and signaled the submarine to surface: there was no reply. A second surface signal was sent, again without result. At 1602 Shemara sent a signal for assistance to the Naval Officer in Command and continued to search for the submarine. At 1716 the sound of the submarine blowing her tanks was heard. Using asdic the Shemara located the submarine. For the next ten minutes the sound of the submarine blowing her tanks and stopping and starting her engines could be heard. At 1733 HMS Thrasher arrived to render assistance and tried to contact the Untamed. At 1745 all sound from the submarine ceased. Because of worsening weather conditions divers were not able to inspect the stricken submarine until 1115 on 1st June - 45 hours after she had dived. There was no reply to the divers tapping on the hull of the submarine and an inspection of the vessels hull showed no obvious damage. 
Only when the Untamed had been salvaged did the cause of her loss become clear, the forward part of the submarine had been flooded through a sluice valve
1943 - While on patrol in the Gulf of Lyon HMS Trespasser fires three torpedoes at a dead whale ......... oops ! 
1944 - HMS Ultor fires 4 torpedoes at the German netlayer NT 38 off Cap Camarat, southern France. The torpedoes miss. She does sink the German auxiliary patrol vessel Vinotra III
1944 - HMS Unruly sinks a sailing vessel with scuttling charges off Souda Bay, Crete
1944 - U-3001 launched
1944 - U-683 commissioned
1944 - Submarine USS Mapiro laid down
1944 - Destroyer escort USS Hemminger commissioned
1944 - Minesweeper USS Sentry commissioned
1944 - Corvette HMS Bamborough Castle commissioned
1944 - Frigates HMS Bigbury Bay, St Austell Bay & St Brides Bay laid down
1944 - USS Herndon, commissioned as HMS Churchill on 9 Sep 1940; is transferred to Russia as Dyatelnyi. She will be torpedoed and sunk by U-956 on 16 Jan. 1945 while escorting a White Sea convoy; the last war loss of the class and the only one of the destroyers transferred to Russia to be lost
1944 - President Carlos Arroyo del Rio of Ecuador and his cabinet resigned after a revolutionary junta seized power in Guayaquil
1945 - Salvage vessel HMS Salvigil launched
1945 - HMCS Capilano departed Londonderry for tropicalization refit in Shelburne NS
1945 - HMCS Westmount returned to Halifax from workups at Bermuda
1945 - HMCS Ettrick paid off and returned to RN at Southampton
1945 - Mines previously laid by B-29 Superfortresses of the USAAF's Twentieth Air Force sink a Japanese transport and three freighters off Japan
1945 - U-985 (Type VIIC) which had been heavily damaged on 15 Nov, 1944 at Lister by mine, returned to Kristiansand and taken out of service, is on this day in 1945, transferred from Kristiansand-S to Loch Ryan, Scotland for Operation Deadlight. U-4706 (Type XXIII) is on this day in 1945 transferred from Kristiansand Süd, Norway to Loch Ryan, Scotland and given a British pennant number. Subsequently transferred to Norway in October 1948, to become KNM Knerter. Used for storage by the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club from 14 Apr 1950. Stricken in 1954 and broken up
1952 - Destroyers HMCS Nootka & USS John W Thomason arrived in waters off Chongjin, Korea. Communist batteries near Kyongsong shelled Nootka. Shells landed close enough to blow helmet off of lookout in port sponson but no direct hits
1954 - Destroyer HMCS Cayuga exercising at Tomie Wan
1959 - The first full-sized experimental hovercraft, built by Saunders-Roe, was launched at Cowes on the Isle of Wight
1964 - Destroyer HMCS Nipigon commissioned Halifax NS
1974 - USS Oriskany port call Pearl Harbor
1975 - USS Coral Sea port call Perth
1982 - Spain became NATO's 16th member
1982 - Argentine air attacks resumed on RN Task Force but Exocets missed.  Two Argentine Skyhawks shot down
2003 - Roland H Webb resigns as President & COO of Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle
2005 - Service on BC Ferries Mill Bay-Brentwood Bay route will be temporarily suspended from Monday, May 30 through Friday, June 3, 2005 while the MV Mill Bay undergoes refit. Work on the 49-year-old vessel, which includes extending the wheelhouse, installing a new emergency boat and conducting preventive maintenance on the main engine, will be done at the Brentwood Bay terminal
2005 - Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force to dress ship on that day and to ring eight bells at 1500 local time, wherever they are in the world as part of the National Moment of Remembrance
2005 - Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Georgiy Mamedov, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Canada today hailed the joint collaboration by Canada and Russia in addressing international overfishing in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area (NRA). On May 19, 2005, Russian authorities recalled the vessel Odoevsk to home port and suspended the vessel's fishing license when it was issued a citation by Canadian NAFO inspectors for the use of an illegal net liner. In response to citations issued to the vessel Matrioska for misrecording catches and failing to label their catches in April 2005, Russian authorities recalled the vessel to port in Vigo, Spain and Canadian inspectors were invited to observe the port inspection
2005 - Mr. Robert Thibault, MP for West Nova, Nova Scotia, today announced, on behalf of Joe Fontana, Minister of Labor and Housing, that a health and safety inspection of the Digby Fishermen's Wharf in Nova Scotia will take place without delay
2005 - A Chinese Navy submarine stalled apparently after a fire broke out aboard the vessel while it was submerged in the South China Sea, sources close to the Japanese and US defense authorities said. As of the afternoon, the submarine was being towed above the water in the direction of Hainan Island. The Japanese and US governments have been monitoring the vessel, and it is unknown whether there were any casualties, the sources said. The warship in question is a Chinese Navy Ming-class diesel-powered hunter-killer submarine, the sources added. According to the sources, the accident occurred in international waters about halfway between Taiwan and Hainan Island on Thursday, and the submarine was being towed by a Chinese vessel apparently in the direction of Yulin Naval Port on the island. It is not known whether the submarine surfaced on its own, the sources added. Three or four Chinese warships were spotted around the site of the accident, and another Chinese submarine was detected, which suggests that an accident may have occurred during a military exercise, the sources said
2005 - Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Andy Mitchel announced on behalf of Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that the federal government will invest in the reconstruction of the Port Loring harbor facility in Ontario. This project is part of a transfer agreement with the Local Services Board of Loring, Port Loring and District. The timber crib and span wharf that was located on Wilson Lake in Port Loring, had been slowly deteriorating and was recently demolished in the interest of public safety. The current work will involve the construction of a small concrete head block as well as the construction and installation of floating docks. The docks will provide the same berthing capacity as the recently demolished wharf. It is expected that work will begin this summer
2005 - Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group (SNTG), a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen S.A. announced today that it has acquired Ermefer, the food-grade container business of Group Ermewa S.A., a global provider of logistics services. Financial terms were not disclosed
2005 - Navy divers have blown up most of the remaining shells on a Labrador shoal where a British cruiser was scuttled after the First World War. Hundreds of shells from the war have been lying in the shallows off Forteau Bay in southernmost Labrador for more than 80 years. They've posed a danger to residents and tourists, occasionally washing ashore. For three years, Canadian navy divers have been periodically clearing away the shells by attaching plastic explosives and setting them off from shore. A navy spokesman said the latest round of detonations last week have left only about 10 to 12 shells below the surface. The shells were carried there by the HMS Raleigh, a 184-meter British cruiser that ran aground in strong currents at Point Amour, Nfld. in 1922. After as much as possible had been salvaged, British navy engineers blew up the Raleigh in 1926. The engineers assumed the shells would be destroyed in the blast, but instead many were scattered across the sea bottom
2005 - After almost a decade, the only active volcano on a tiny deserted island in India's tsunami-hit Andaman and Nicobar archipelago has started spewing out smoke and lava, Indo-Asian News Service reported. The spiraling columns of smoke from the volcano, situated on Barren Island, was reported by an Indian Coast Guard ship and a Dornier aircraft on patrol in the Andaman Seas on the evening of the 28th. Officials from Indian Ministry of Science and Technology and Ocean Development said the volcanic activity was "intermittent" and had begun on Saturday
2006 - Tom Watson, UK Minister for Veterans, paid tribute to the courage and professionalism of Suez veterans when he addresses them at an event to commemorate 50 years from the withdrawal from the Canal Zone
2006 - Secretary General of NATO Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will participate in the Spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA) in Paris where he will make a keynote address
2006 - 8 schoolchildren drowned when an Indian Navy boat on which they were having a joyride capsized in the Wullar lake in north Kashmir's Baramulla district even as rescuers managed to save 15, police said
2006 - USCG Sector Boston received a call early this morning reporting a heavy fuel oil spill in the vicinity of the ExxonMobil facility located in Everett, Massachusetts. Sector Boston dispatched teams, including small boats and a helicopter, to investigate the source and extent of the oil spill. USCG personnel along with ExxonMobil representatives identified the source of the spill to be a small hole in a facility cargo pipe. ExxonMobil accepted responsibility for the spill and hired cleanup contractors to contain and recover the spilled oil. Sector Boston personnel will continue to monitor the cleanup efforts underway by the responsible party. The amount of oil spilled into the Mystic River is undetermined at this time. Primary and secondary containment booms have been deployed around the spill. Recovery operations commenced late this morning and will continue through the evening. The factors leading to the release of oil from the holed cargo pipe are under investigation
2006 - The Coast Guard received a transmission from the fishing vessel Fin that a humpback whale was entangled in its gill net in Frederick Sound outside Petersburg AK at 1702 and the crew of the cutter Anacapa launched its small boat to assess the situation. When the small boat arrived on scene, it was determined that the master of the Fin was in no immediate danger
2007 - Seventh District Commander Rear Adm. David Kunkel and Director of Governmental and Public Affairs Rear Adm. Mary Landry conduct a press conference on the Coast Guard’s hurricane season preparedness at CGAS Miami
2007 - The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the crash of a seaplane in Miami, FL, in late 2005, was "the failure and separation of the right wing, which resulted from (1) the failure of Chalk's Ocean Airways' maintenance program to identify and properly repair fatigue cracks in the wing, and (2) the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to detect and correct deficiencies in the company's maintenance program."
2007 - Ukrainian frigate, URS Ternopil, is now actively supporting Operation Active Endeavour, NATO’s maritime counter-terrorist operation in the Mediterranean, through till the end of June
2007 - The Defense Minister of Republic of Korea Mr. Kim Jang Soo called on Defense Minister Shri AK Antony in Defense Headquarters 
2007 - DoD POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a US serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and was be returned to his family for burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. He is Lt. Michael T. Newell USN of Ellenville NY 
2007 - A Casa 212 aircraft belonging to the Indonesian Navy skidded off the runway during a landing at Osibil airport in the easternmost province of Papua 
2007 - Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced the President made the following nominations: Navy Reserve Rear Adm. (lower half) Jeffrey A. Lemmons nominated for appointment to the grade of rear admiral while serving as commander, Naval Air Force Reserve/vice commander, Naval Air Force, US Pacific Fleet, San Diego. Navy Reserve Rear Adm. (lower half) Carol M. Pottenger nominated for appointment to the grade of rear admiral while serving as commander, Expeditionary Strike Group One/commander, Amphibious Group One, Okinawa. Navy Reserve Rear Adm. (lower half) Frank F. Rennie IV nominated for appointment to the grade of rear admiral while serving as battle staff director, J3R, US European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany. Navy Reserve Rear Adm. (lower half) Robin M. Watters nominated for appointment to the grade of rear admiral while serving as deputy commander, Seventh Fleet, Yokosuka
2007 - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen announced the following flag officer assignments: Rear Adm. (Selectee) Dan W. Davenport is being assigned as director of joint innovation and experimentation, J9, US Joint Forces Command, Suffolk, Va. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Joseph P. Aucoin is being assigned as director, Aviation Plans and Requirements Branch, N880, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Robert J. Bianchi is being assigned as commander, Navy Exchange Service Command, Norfolk, Va. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Patrick H. Brady is being assigned as commander, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Washington, D.C. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Ted N. Branch is being assigned as director, Information, Planning, Security Division, N3 IPS, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington. Rear Adm. (lower half)(Selectee) Thomas H. Copeman III is being assigned as deputy chief of staff for operations, training and readiness, N3/N7, US Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Kevin M. Donegan is being assigned as director, Strategy and Policy Division, N51, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Earl L. Gay is being assigned as commandant, Naval District Washington, Washington, D.C. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Mark D. Guadagnini is being assigned as chief of Naval Air Training, Corpus Christi. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Joseph A. Horn is being assigned as deputy director, surface warfare for combat systems/weapons, N86F, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Anthony M. Kurta is being assigned as director, Navy Europe programs, resources, and support/director, transformation activities, US Naval Forces, Europe, Naples, Italy. Rear Adm. (lower half)(Selectee) Richard B. Landolt is being assigned as deputy director, expeditionary warfare, N85B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Thomas S. Rowden is being assigned as commander, Navy Region Korea/commander, US Naval Forces, Korea/commander, Naval Component, US Forces Korea, UN Command, Korea. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Thomas C. Traaen assigned as deputy chief of staff for logistics, fleet supply and ordnance, N4, US Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor. Rear Adm. (lower half) (Selectee) Nora W. Tyson assigned as commander, Logistics Group, Western Pacific/commander, Task Force 73/commander, Navy Region Singapore
2008 - Pearl Harbor may become a national monument, a designation that establishes the base as an area of importance for protection and conservation
2008 - Capt. James B. McPherson assumed command from Capt. James Rendon as commander of Coast Guard Sector Northern New England at the Coast Guard base in South Portland ME
2008 - Divers working for a Japanese gas company have found the wreckage of a US Navy Catalina flying boat from the Second World War. It's the last of six American Catalinas wrecks to be found in Darwin. Japanese resource company Inpex is surveying the seabed in Darwin for a proposed gas plant
2008 - USS Dubuque rescues six Filipino mariners from a sinking vessel in the Balabac Strait
2008 - Submarine USS Hyman G Rickover arrives Bremerton for scrapping under tow by USNS Grapple
2008 - One of the most decorated infantry regiments of the Indian Army, the Grenadiers, got affiliated to frigate, INS Beas, in a glittering ceremony in Mumbai
2008 - Hetman Sagaidachny, a Ukrainian frigate with a ship-borne helicopter, deployed in support of Operation Active Endeavour, NATO’s maritime counter-terrorist operation in the Mediterranean, from 30 May to 2 August





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