SeaWaves Today in History November 15, 2008 Brazil - Proclamation of the Republic. Visiting warships Dress Ship Overall. Gun salutes are fired 1492 - Christopher Columbus noted in his journal the use of tobacco among Indians - the first recorded reference to tobacco, which was brought to Europe by a French ambassador, Jacques Nicot - hence nicotine 1690 - Three supply ships evade Phips' squadron and relieve Quebec 1761 - Louis-Joseph Gaultier de la Verendrye 1717-1761 drowns when his ship, en route from Quebec to France, is smashed on the shores of Cape Breton during a gale; member of the family of fur traders and explorers of the Canadian and American west 1798 - British troops landed by a Royal Navy squadron captured the strategically important island of Minorca, particularly valued for the harbor at Port Mahon 1805 - Lewis and Clark Expedition reaches the Pacific Ocean 1815 - The first local steam vessel cruised down the Neva River 1848 - Captain Alexander V. Fraser, appointed the first chief of Revenue Marine Bureau in 1843, was detached to proceed around Cape Horn to San Francisco with new brig Lawrence Original Point Loma Lighthouse established at entrance to San Diego 1860 - The light in the massive stone Minots Ledge Lighthouse, which was built on the original site of the one lost in 1851, was exhibited. Work on the new lighthouse was commenced in 1855 and finished in 1860. "It ranks, by the engineering difficulties surrounding its erection and by the skill and science shown in the details of its construction, among the chief of the great sea-rock lighthouses of the world" 1875 - Russian explorer of the Arctic, Vladimir Rusanov, born 1882 - LCDR French Chadwick reports to American Legation in London as first Naval Attaché 1887 - British ship Bax Jeng caught fire in the port of Hong Kong 1917 - Destroyer USS Boggs laid down 1918 - Minesweeper USS Sandpiper laid down 1924 - Heavy cruiser HMS Kent laid down 1926 - Destroyer Le Fortune launched 1931 - Destroyer FS Le Fantasque laid down 1932 - Submarine HMS Seahorse launched 1932 - Heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis commissioned 1933 - Soviet submarine SC-203 commissioned 1933 - Heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa launched 1933 - Light cruiser FS Montcalm laid down 1933 - Heavy cruiser USS Quincy laid down 1937 - Destroyer FS Georges Leygues commissioned 1937 - Light cruisers FS Montcalm & Gloire commissioned 1937 - Destroyer USS Anderson laid down 1938 - Destroyer HMS Lightning laid down 1938 - Destroyer HMCS Restigouche departed Esquimalt for Halifax 1939 - Corvette HMS Azalea laid down 1939 - Destroyers USS Swanson & Ingraham laid down 1939 - Destroyer HMAS Arunta laid down 1939 - Boom defense vessel HMAS Kangaroo laid down 1939 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Ullswater commissioned 1939 - Destroyer USS Benson launched 1940 - U-65 sank SS Havbør & Kohinur in Convoy OB-235 1940 - Motor minesweepers HM MMS 119, MMS 120, MMS 121, MMS 122 ordered 1940 - Submarine USS Trout commissioned 1940 - Corvette HMS Delphinium commissioned 1940 - U-65 captured the second officer of the ship Kohinur after sinking that vessel 1941 - Hong Kong - The converted passenger liner Awatea arrived here this evening, carrying 2,000 Canadian troops under Brigadier J Lawson. The Canadians will boost the garrison in Hong Kong, but, as Churchill himself has pointed out, two semi-trained battalions are unlikely to deter Japan from war, but will merely increase the numbers of prisoners the Japanese can take. The Canadians seem only too aware of this. "Oh God, another Dunkirk," Signalman William Allister said when he heard where he was going. "No fella," another voice added, "at Dunkirk they had somewhere to go" 1941 - Minelayer HMS Apollo laid down 1941 - Minesweepers USS Portent & Prevail laid down 1941 - U-583 sank at 2148hrs in the Baltic, near Danzig, in position 55.23N, 17.05E after a collision with U-153. 45 dead (all hands lost) 1941 - Patrol vessel HMCS Talapus commissioned 1941 - U-752 sank Soviet minesweeping trawler T-889/No 34 (ex-RT-3) 1942 - Admiral Tanaka heads his destroyers north from Guadalcanal at 0430 after beaching the four remaining transports from his convoy. Between 0600 and 0845 the Cactus AF and aircraft from Enterprise attack these ships and the supplies unloaded on shore. They are joined by 155-mm Arty from the 244th Coast Artillery and 2 of the 5" coast defense cannon of the Marines. Destroyer USS Meade, which escorted the cargo ship Okpara to Guadalcanal, joins in. She ignites blazes on the 3 transports not already on fire from the aircraft strikes. Later in the day the Cactus AF strikes at some of the transports abandoned previously in the slot. The air and sea battle, which has raged around Guadalcanal, has been fought to enable each side to resupply their forces on the island. The Japanese have landed 2000 troops with few supplies and losing all transports committed. The US lands 5500+ men (2 Btns of the 182nd Infantry) and full supplies, losing no transports 1942 - HMCS Saguenay, a River-class destroyer, was damaged when she was rammed by the Panamanian freighter SS AZRA, south of Cape Race Newfoundland. She was damaged further when her own depth charges exploded and destroyed her stern. Saguenay was declared a constructive total loss and was assigned to harbor training duties for the remainder of the war at Cornwallis, NS. She was paid off on 30 Jul 45 and broken up for scrap in 1946 at Hamilton, ON 1942 - U-98 sunk in North Atlantic west of Gibraltar in position 36.09N, 07.42W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Wrestler. 46 dead (all hands lost) 1942 - U-259 sunk in the Mediterranean north of Algiers, in position 37.20N, 03.05E, by depth charges from British Hudson aircraft (Sqn 500/S). 48 dead (all hands lost). The aircraft's depth charges exploded on contact crippling the aircraft forcing the crew to bail out. 1942 - The commander of U-603 fell ill, forcing the boat to return to base 1942 - Destroyer USS John D Henley launched 1942 - Destroyers USS Thorn, Turner & Van Valkenburgh laid down 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Algerine torpedoed & sunk off Bougie, Algeria by the Italian submarine Ascianghi 1942 - At 0305, escort carrier HMS Avenger was torpedoed by U-155. Avenger was hit on the port side amidships, which in turn ignited her bomb room, blowing out the center section of the ship. Her bow and stern sections rose in the air and sunk within 2 minutes, leaving only 12 survivors 1942 - Destroyer USS Benham sunk by Japanese warships off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands 1942 - British Long Island-class escort carrier Avenger was sunk off Gibraltar by U-155, KptLt Adolf Piening, Knight's Cross, CO.U-155 was a Type IXC U-boat built by AG Weser, at Bremen. She was commissioned on 23 Aug 41. U-155 conducted ten patrols and compiled a record of 26 ships sunk (including the British escort carrier HMS Avenger) for a total of 140,449 tons and one ship damaged for a further 6,736 tons. U-155 survived five attacks by aircraft and shot down two - a British 'Mosquito' fighter-bomber on 14 Jun 43 and a British 'Mustang' fighter on 04 May 45. U-155 survived the war and was transferred from Wilhelmshaven to Loch Ryan, Scotland, on 30 Jun 45 where she was sunk in Operation Deadlight. Adolf Cornelius Piening was born in 1910, at Süderende. He joined the navy in 1930. His first operational duty was with the 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla where he commanded M-72 and M-2. He transferred to the U-boat force in Oct 40 and, after conversion training, was immediately selected for command. After his U-boat commander's course he went for two months of supernumerary training with the 24th U-boat Flotilla. He was appointed to command U-155 on 23 Aug 41 at the age of 30. Despite his lack of experience, Piening proved to be a very successful U-boat commander. In all, Piening compiled a record of 26 ships sunk for a total of 140,449 tons (including the HMS Avenger) and one ship damaged for a further 6,736 tons. He ranked as the 19th highest-scoring U-boat ace of the war. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 13 Aug 42 (the 59th presented in the U-boat force) and was promoted to KKpt on 01 Apr 43. Piening is also famous for the so-called 'Piening Route', which he invented as a means to escape Allied patrol aircraft in the Bay of Biscay by following the Spanish coastline. In Mar 44 he became the commander of the 7th Flotilla. On 30 Apr 45 he laid mines outside St. Nazaire with U-255. After the war he spent more than two years in Allied captivity and was finally released in Jan 48. In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine and rose to the rank of Kapitän zur See, retiring after serving for 13 years. Adolf Piening died in Kiel on 15 May 1984 1942 - Admiral Darlan proclaimed protectorate over all French North Africa, and named General Giraud as commander in chief of the armed forces. Admiral Darlan assumed position of protector of French interests in North Africa, appointing General Giraud as commander in chief of French armed forces in North Africa 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Kentville arrived Halifax from builder Port Arthur ON 1942 - U-155 sank SS Ettrick & damaged USS Almaack & Electra in Convoy MKF-1Y 1942 - U-178 damaged SS Adviser 1942 - U-67 sank SS King Arthur 1943 - Escort carrier USS White Plains commissioned 1943 - Escort carrier HMS Vindex commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Darby, Falgout & Underhill commissioned 1943 - Destroyer HMCS Chaudiere (ex-HMS Hero) was commissioned into the RCN at Portsmouth UK 1943 - Destroyers HMCS Haida, Huron & Iroquois departed Loch Ewe with the 19-ship convoy JW-54A to Kola Inlet. All ships were Tribal-class destroyers. The trip with JW54A was an uneventful passage to Archangel. On the return trip, with convoy JW55B, the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst was sunk. Although not actively involved in the sinking, the three Canadian destroyers contributed indirectly to the battle's outcome 1943 - Corvette HMCS Baddeck completed forecastle extension refit Liverpool NS 1943 - Frigate HMCS Port Colborne commissioned 1943 - Frigates HMS Pasley & Loring commissioned 1943 - Frigate HMCS Sussexvale (ex-HMCS Valdorian) laid down 1943 - Submarine HMS Sentinel laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Ault laid down 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Edwin A Howard laid down 1943 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Crowlin launched 1943 - Submarine USS Plaice launched 1943 - Escort carrier USS Tulagi launched 1943 - Submarine HMS L-23 arrived Halifax for ASW training 1943 - U-565 sank HMS Simoom 1943 - U-453 torpedoed destroyer HMS Quail. Damaged beyond repair 1943 - Corvette HMCS Lindsay commissioned 1944 - Submarine USS Bugara commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Execute commissioned 1944 - Frigate USS Orlando commissioned 1944 - U-985 decommissioned following Heavy damages on 23 Oct 1944 at Lister by a German mine. Returned to Kristiansand and taken out of service. Captured there and broken up 1944 - U-479 reported missing in the Gulf of Finland. No explanation exists for its loss. 51 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - Submarine HMS L-27 arrived Digby NS for ASW training 1944 - Frigate HMCS Royalmount arrived St John's for EGC-1 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-528 was commissioned at Chicago with LT W. E. Ehrman, USCG, as first commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area. On 25 November 1945 Captain Bjorn Krogaeth assumed command of FS-528 as her Coast Guard crew was removed 1945 - 786 RN Sqn, Barracuda a/c #LS926 lost in flying accident at sea. Pilot killed 1945 - Patrol vessel HMCS Fleur de Lis paid off 1945 - Corvette HMCS Hespeler paid off Esquimalt BC 1945 - Destroyer HMCS Crusader commissioned 1946 - To correct the results of demobilization which had left squadron numbers all out of sequence and a system of no apparent order, sweeping changes were made in air unit designation. US Carrier Air Groups of four types were designated according to their assigned ship, as CVBG for Battle Carrier, CVG for Attack Carrier, CVLG for Light Carrier and CVEG for Escort Carrier. Carrier squadrons were limited to Fighter and Attack, thus abolishing the VBF, VB and VT designations, and were assigned suffix letters to indicate their carrier type assignment. Patrol squadrons were redesignated to show in addition to the VP, an abbreviation of their aircraft class, as VP-MS-1 for Patrol Squadron 1 operating medium seaplanes. Observation squadron numbers again followed the parent ship division but suffix letters B or C were added to differentiate between battleship and cruiser units. The VJ for utility became VU, VPP replaced the VD for photographic squadrons, and VPM replaced VPW for meteorological squadrons. Reserve units were changed to the same system but were assigned consecutive numbers of a higher series. Marine Corps units were not affected by the change 1956 - Minesweeper HMS Lioness (ex-HMCS Petrolia) arrived Rosyth for scrap 1957 - Frigate HMCS New Glasgow paid off to refit 1960 - First Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine, USS George Washington, leaves Charleston SC on initial fleet ballistic missile patrol 1963 - Submarine HMS Auriga arrived Halifax for ASW training 1966 - USS Franklin D Roosevelt port call Subic Bay 1967 - USS Kearsarge port call Subic Bay 1974 - Destroyer HMCS St Croix paid off to become pierside training ship in Halifax 1974 - USS Midway port call Subic Bay 1990 - Joint Combined exercise Imminent Thunder conducted inside Saudi Arabia, including amphibious exercises in the eastern province, air to air and close air support exercises and ground force training. The exercise included 16 ships, 1000 marines and 1100 aircraft 1991 - Authorization approved to extend Reserve call-up from 90 to 180 days. SECNAV announces call-up of 30 Naval Reserve units from 13 states and the District of Columbia 1996 - MCDV HMCS Shawinigan launched Halifax NS 2003 - 15 killed & 30 injured in gangway collapse on cruise ship Queen Mary 2 2004 - A ship owned by a Gujarati businessman sank near Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden. 10 crewmembers missing, nine swam ashore. Yasinbhai, owner of the Al Share-e-Hind merchant vessel, said it had sunk 2004 - MITSUI OSK Lines has signed up for 10 Japanese built car carriers, in a deal worth an estimated $600m. The line says volumes are so strong now there are not enough ships in the world to meet demand. Japan's second largest shipping firm will give six orders to Minaminippon Shipbuilding and four to Shin Kurushima Dockyard. The ship type is a 6,400 unit hi-tech design that MOL developed alongside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Class NK. MOL had previously ordered a total of 18 prior to this ten 2004 - USCGC Nunivak redelivered after Deepwater modernization 2004 - The USCG National Motor Lifeboat school in Illwaco WA held a ceremony to honor past and present members who have served as surfmen. Coast Guard surfmen are motor lifeboat operators who are specially trained to perform rescues at sea in hazardous conditions. More than 30 active duty and retired surfmen were at the ceremony. Rear Admiral Jeffrey Garrett, commander of the Pacific Northwest Coast Guard District also attended. The day of the ceremony also marks the beginning of the newest surfman training class, a demanding course that roughly only fifty-percent of candidates successfully complete 2004 - South Korean fishing vessel No. 9 Haekyungho was seized by Japanese authorities for allegedly violating Japanese territorial waters 2004 - The bodies of five among seven crewmen who went missing after their sand-collecting ship went down at 0550. High seas sank the 1,556-ton boat 20 miles southwest of Eocheong Island off Gunsan, 274 kilometers south of Seoul 2004 - Minehunter HMS Inverness decommissioned at Faslane 2005 - A German research ship began construction of a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean, similar to the US-backed system that monitors the Pacific Ocean 2005 - The Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, travels to Copenhagen. The Secretary General will attend the autumn session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA), where he will make a keynote address. The Secretary General will also meet the Danish Prime Minister, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the Minister of Defense, Mr. Søren Gade 2005 - Marking the first time that a Canadian submarine will be preserved as a museum, the Department of National Defense today announced that Musée de la Mer de Pointe-au-Père, Que. has acquired Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Onondaga 2005 - Sea Launch has signed a firm launch contract with DIRECTV, for a mission scheduled in early 2007. The contract includes an option for an additional launch. The new contract calls for a Zenit-3SL vehicle to launch a DIRECTV spacecraft to geosynchronous transfer orbit from Sea Launch's Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned on the Equator. Sea Launch's reliable direct insertion into equatorial orbit is expected to yield additional years of life for this spacecraft. The DIRECTV spacecraft, with a mass of about 6080 kg, is one of three Boeing 702 model spacecraft DIRECTV has ordered from The Boeing Company and is among the largest and most powerful Ka-band satellites ever built. The new satellite will optimize DIRECTV's advanced transmission techniques and state-of-the-art video compression technology. It will deliver national high-definition (HD) programming and will be capable of supporting spot beams carrying local HD broadcast channels in all 50 states 2005 - Humber Coastguard were contacted at 1845 by Ambulance Control requesting Coastguard assistance to evacuate two injured anglers from the slipway beneath the Tyne Piers. It was reported that three anglers had arrived at the pier to find the gate locked and had attempted to climb around the end of the barrier. One of the three, who has cerebral palsy, was being carried on the back of another and it was these two who fell approximately 15ft onto the slipway beneath. Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade were tasked to attend and arrived on scene with the keys for the pier gate as ambulance crews were attempting to climb around the barrier. Tynemouth Lifeboat was also requested to stand off the pier as a safety measure. It was quickly established that both fallers appeared to have serious head injuries and Rescue Helicopter 131 from RAF Boulmer was called to airlift both casualties to Newcastle General Hospital, where Blyth Coastguard manned the landing site 2005 - USS George Washington hosted a reception aboard the ship Nov. 15 to bid farewell to the City of Newport News, Va. Newport News Mayor Joe Frank, Newport News City Council members, and various community organizations in the Hampton Roads area joined GW's commanding officer, Capt. Garry White, and more than 120 Sailors for the afternoon event in the ship's hangar bay. According to White, GW wanted to host the reception to thank the city for the hospitality they gave the crew during the ship's 11-month availability 2005 - A group of killer whales that visits Washington state’s Puget Sound every summer has been listed as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service announced today. Known officially as Southern Resident killer whales, they were proposed a year ago for “threatened” status under the Endangered Species Act 2005 - Retired Adm. Barry K. Atkins, who commanded a destroyer that sank a Japanese battleship in a historic World War II battle, died his family said. He was 94. Atkins, a 1932 Naval Academy graduate who retired from the Navy in 1959, received the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism as the commanding officer of the USS Melvin during the Battle of Surigao Strait in the Philippines. Military historians believe the sinking of the Japanese vessel Fuso was the only instance in the war of a destroyer sinking a battleship. On Oct. 25, 1944, a torpedo fired by the Melvin hit the Fuso broadside, triggering a series of explosions that ultimately sank the ship. The Melvin's crewmen have been waging an effort to have a ship named in honor of their former commander. Atkins also served tours of duty on the USS Parrott, USS Tennessee and USS New Mexico, among others, and received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and many other ribbons and commendations 2005 - Two diesel generators for New Orleans (LPD 18) were energized for the first time at Northrop Grumman's New Orleans shipyard providing electrical power for many of the ship's systems. This significant schedule milestone was accomplished less than three months after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast region. Participating in the milestone event were, Brad Skillman, LPD 18 prospective commanding officer; Allen Summerall, LPD 18 chief engineer; and Frank Laska, ship's test engineer for Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, who started up the generators. The all-electric auxiliaries, including heating and electric water heaters, and the zonal electrical distribution system will be powered by five 2500 kW diesel generators. The electrical plant for the San Antonio LPD 17-class is a significant improvement on efficiency over previous designs and will lead to reduced maintenance requirements 2006 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Mr. Gela Bezhuashvili, visited NATO Headquarters 2006 - Emergency officials in British Columbia have lifted a tsunami watch for the province's "outer coast." Officials say no impacts are expected from any tsunami wave in B.C. following a massive 8.1-magnitude earthquake off Japan. The earthquake near the Kuril Islands at 0314 HST generated a tsunami watch bulletin for the Hawaiian Islands by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center as well 2006 - Italian Minister of State for Defense Mr. Giovanni Lorenzo Forcieri accompanied by a high level delegation called on Minister of State for Defense Shri MM Pallam Raju in New Delhi 2006 - The Honorable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, announced the appointment of Mr. Daniel R. McKinnon of Oakville, Ontario, to the board of directors of the Hamilton Port Authority for a period of three years 2006 - An Apache attack helicopter has been landed on an Invincible-class aircraft carrier for the first time, marking another milestone in the return to service of the carrier HMS Ark Royal 2006 - Industries, Inc. announced signing of two contracts for construction of two 98', Z-Tech 7500 Class Terminal/Escort Tugs with Bay-Houston Towing Co. and Suderman & Young Towing Company, L.P. These ABS classed tugs will provide harbor tug services for LNG vessels calling at the Freeport LNG terminal which is currently under construction in the Port of Freeport, Texas. G&H Towing Company of Galveston, Texas will operate the two tugboats 2007 - The creation of a USS Iowa memorial and museum in Vallejo moved closer to reality with the Navy's declaration that Mare Island is the mothballed battleship's only practical option 2007 - Tropical Cyclone Sidr is pushing north through the Bay of Bengal towards eastern India and Bangladesh to hit this afternoon/ evening the Southern Coastal Region of Bangladesh Copyright 2008 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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