SeaWaves Today in History November 18, 2008 1775 - Catherine the Great set up gubernias (provinces) in Russia 1820 - US Navy Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer discovered the frozen continent of Antarctica 1883 - Sanford Fleming's Standard Time scheme adopted in Canada; other nations endorse idea at 1884 conference 1890 - USS Maine, American battleship, is launched 1905 - The Storting selects Prince Carl of Denmark to accede to Norway’s throne 1906 - SS Dix collides and sinks off Alki Point, with a loss of 39 lives 1914 - Naval battle off Sarych Cape in the Crimea, German cruiser Goeben and Russian battleship Yevstafy were damaged 1917 - Destroyer USS Hulbert laid down 1918 - Destroyers USS Noa & William B Preston laid down 1922 - CDR Kenneth Whiting in a PT seaplane, makes first catapult launching from aircraft carrier, USS Langley, at anchor in the York River 1928 - The first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon, Walt Disney's ''Steamboat Willie,'' starring Mickey Mouse, premiered in New York. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the world-famous Mouse is that he began film life not as a mouse, but as a rat, with the rat's distinctive long nose and cunning. Early Mickey was not a very nice sort; he had all the personal style of a low-grade Detroit mob member during Prohibition. Walt Disney perceived a problem. Soon, his ratlike appearance and attitude got adjusted, and he increasingly became cute, cuddly, friendly, and a bit naive as well. The modified Mickey of "Steamboat Willie" was the start of his loveable fame. His cartoon naiveté is perhaps best found as the delightfully inept Sorcerer's Apprentice in "Fantasia" 1933 - Light cruiser FS La Galissonniere launched 1934 - Soviet submarine SC-212 laid down 1937 - Submarine HMS Taku laid down 1937 - Light cruiser HMS Birmingham commissioned 1939 - Corvette FS La Bastiaise laid down 1939 - Destroyers HMS Blencartha & Brocklesby laid down 1939 - U-18 sank SS Wigmore 1939 - U-19 sank SS Carica Milica 1939 - U-22 sank SS Parkhill 1939 - A Dutch passenger liner today became the latest civilian ship to fall victim to German mines, in the North Sea. The Simon Bolivar sank with about 400 passengers and crew aboard. It is estimated that 86 people, many of them women and children, have lost their lives. ... The Dutch believe that the mines are of a deadly new magnetic type. This view was supported today by a Danish skipper, Captain Knudsen, giving evidence in Copenhagen about the sinking of his ship, Canada, off the Humber on 4 November. The Germans, who claim that their U-boats sank 115 ships in the first two months of the war, are clearly putting a further massive effort into the war at sea. The total British tonnage lost so far is small, only around 300,000 out of nearly 18 million tons. No one knows how many mines are already laid 1940 - U-65 sank SS Congonian 1940 - HMC MTB 1 commissioned 1940 - Premier Mussolini announced his intention to break Greece 1940 - Churchill berates the First Lord of the Admiralty about the number of destroyers available for service in the NW Approaches. Out of 151 destroyers available only 84 are serviceable. Of these only 33 are marked for use in the area. What has happened to the American destroyers, are repairs and construction falling behind? 1940 - Heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire bombards Zante in Italian Somaliland 1941 - U-704 commissioned 1941 - U-179, U-514 launched 1941 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan launched Newcastle-on-Tyne 1941 - Corvette HMCS Kitchener (ex-HMCS Vancouver) launched Sorel PQ 1941 - Corvette HMCS Oakville commissioned 1941 - HMC ML 050 commissioned 1941 - Corvettes HMCS Dunvegan & Sorel departed St John's escort the 46-ship Sydney to Liverpool convoy SC-55 as far as Iceland. Convoy arrived safely in Liverpool on 05 Dec intact 1941 - Minesweepers USS Sway & Symbol laid down 1941 - Destroyer HMS Belvoir launched 1941 - Submarine HMS Safari launched 1941 - Soviet submarine SC-137 commissioned 1941 - Special emissary Kurusu intimated Japan might do something to "outshine" the Axis Pact 1941 - Eleven Japanese submarines sail from their homeports to take part in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nine submarines from Kwajalein will also sail for their stations 1942 - U-245, U-319, U-400 laid down 1942 - U-307, U-419 commissioned 1942 - At 0851 hours, corvette KNM Montbretia, while escorting Convoy ONS-144, was hit in the starboard bow by one of three torpedoes fired from U-262, while she was investigating a radar contact. The corvette had already been missed earlier that night by a torpedo from U-624 at 0603 hours. The torpedo explosion opened a large hole in the bow, the forecastle deck twisted upwards and caused the ammunition of the 4in gun to explode, sending debris of the gun platform over the after deck killing three men. The roof of the Asdic deck came down, the bridge distorted and the bulkheads in the wheelhouse stowed in, killing the helmsman. The commander gave order to abandon ship and three carley floats were launched until a second torpedo struck on the port side in the boiler room, breaking the ship in two and caused the ship to sink rapidly. First it was thought that the corvette was hit by two different U-boats, but U-262 had fired a single torpedo at 08.57 hours on a second escort vessel, apparently the corvette turned around after the first hit and was hit by the same U-boat. KNM Potentilla picked up 20 survivors from two carley floats and five from a cork net. Some of them were badly injured and two later died and were buried at sea that same afternoon 1942 - Submarines HMS Varne & Vulpine laid down 1942 - Corvette HMS Linaria launched 1942 - Destroyer USS Hobby commissioned 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Horsham commissioned 1942 - Destroyer ORP Orkan (ex-HMS Myrmidon) commissioned 1942 - Frigate HMCS Outremont laid down Quebec City PQ 1942 - HMC ML 103 commissioned 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Goderich damaged collision with Tanker Iocoma off Halifax. After three weeks under repair, she was returned to service & saw extensive escort duty in the western Atlantic until the end of the war 1942 - Corvette HMCS Lethbridge arrived New York for duty under USN Commander Eastern Frontier. Employed escorting New York-Guantanamo convoys, Nov 42-Mar 43 1942 - U-154 sank SS Tower Grange 1942 - U-43 torpedoed SS Brilliant in Convoy SC-109. Damaged beyond repair 1942 - U-522 sank SS Yaka in Convoy ONS-144 1942 - U-624 sank SS Parismina, President Sergent & damaged SS Yaka in Convoy ONS-144 1942 - U-67 sank SS Tortugas 1942 - Finnish motor torpedo boats Syöksy, Vinha and Vihuri sink enemy gunboat Krasnoje Znamja in Lavansaari 1942 - Spanish tanker Campares rescues nine survivors (including six Armed Guard sailors) from US freighter West Kebar, sunk on October 29 1943 - Submarines USS Cabezon, Dentuda & Sea Devil laid down 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Gilligan, La Prade, McCoy Reynolds, Sheehan & Straus laid down 1943 - Frigate HMAS Gascoyne commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Laws commissioned 1943 - Corvette HMS Berkeley Castle commissioned 1943 - Frigate HMCS Capilano laid down Esquimalt BC 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Wallaceburg commissioned 1943 - Tug HMCS Glenada launched Owen Sound ON 1943 - Corvette HMCS Strathroy laid down Midland ON 1943 - U-18 damaged SS Josif Stalin 1943 - U-81 sank SS Empire Dunstan in Convoy KMS-31 1943 - U-515 torpedoed sloop HMS Chanticleer in Convoy MKS-30. Total loss 1943 - U-1231 launched 1943 - U-771, U-1001, U-1196 commissioned 1943 - U-718 sunk in the Baltic Sea NE of Bornholm in position 55.21N, 15.24E after collision with U-476. 43 dead & 7 survivors 1944 - USS PT-311 destroyed by enemy mine Ligurian Sea Mediterranean Sea 1944 - USS LST-6 sunk by a mine in the Seine River while enroute from Rouen France to Portland England 1944 - Corvette HMCS Woodstock arrived Esquimalt from Halifax to become a weather ship 1944 - Corvette HMCS Fergus commissioned 1944 - Frigate HMCS Inch Arran commissioned 1944 - Frigate HMS St Austell Bay launched 1944 - Aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge launched 1944 - U-679 sank Soviet minesweeper SK-62 1944 - Destroyer USS Metcalf commissioned 1944 - Frigate USS New Bedford commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Rampart commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Corbesier shot down a Japanese plane in Leyte Gulf 1944 - U-3037 laid down 1944 - U-1108, U-3511 commissioned 1945 - Frigate HMCS St Catharines paid off 1945 - Frigate HMCS Thetford Mines paid off Sydney NS 1945 - Minesweeper HMCS Elm Lake completed & assigned to USSR as T-193 1945 - Aircraft carrier USS Princeton commissioned 1947 - Submarine HMS Amphion commissioned 1948 - U-1105 is sunk during explosive trials in the Chesapeake Bay, USA She is later raised 1949 - Icebreaker HMCS Labrador laid down Sorel PQ 1952 - SS Chicoutimi (ex-minesweeper HMCS Ross Norman) stranded & sunk Gridstone Island PQ 1952 - Destroyer HMCS Huron recommissioned after modernization 1953 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan departed Korean waters for Esquimalt 1962 - USS Currictuck rescues 13 Japanese fishermen from their disabled fishing boat Seiyu Maru, which was damaged in Typhoon Karen 1967 - USS Kitty Hawk commenced Vietnam deployment 1970 - USS Shangri-La port call Sydney 1974 - USS Enterprise port call Hong Kong 2004 - The Pasha Group announced they’d been awarded a multi-year contract to handle the Chrysler Group's new car requirements for the Hawaiian Islands, beginning in March 2005 2004 - Cdr Ken Hansen, Head of Maritime Studies Department Canadian Forces College, defended his MA thesis "Fuel, Endurance and Replenishment at Sea in the Royal Canadian Navy, 1935-1945" at the Royal Military College, in Kingston ON. The defense was successful and the Defense Committee Chair, Dr. George Ahkras, nominated the thesis for the Governor General's Gold Medal for graduate studies work 2005 - One of the most successful design stories in the history of commercial shipbuilding reached a major milestone with the placing of the 500th order for a Rolls-Royce UT vessel. The Rolls-Royce UT-Design has been around for over 30 years with the very first ship of the class still in service, operating in West African waters. The latest version will enter service with the Norwegian ship owner Island Offshore. Built to service oil rigs in the developing North Sea oil and gas fields of the 1970s, other versions of the basic design have also proved to be just as adaptable in the search for new reserves 2005 - Stolt Offshore S.A. awarded a new contract by Petrobras for a firm period of six years for deepwater flexible pipelay offshore Brazil. The contract, which will commence in January 2007 and is valued at approximately $250 million, will be undertaken by the CS Pertinacia, which will be on long-term charter to Stolt Offshore from mid 2006. At the start of the charter period the ship will be converted from her original cable lay configuration to enable her to transport and install up to 2,500 tonnes of flexible flowlines in water depths of up to 2000 meters. The investment in the ship conversion and in project specific equipment will be approximately $55 million 2005 - Adm Thomas Collins, Commandant of the USCG announced today the appointment of Jeffery G Orner as Deputy Assistant Commandant for Coast Guard engineering and logistics. Orner will begin his duties at the Coast Guard’s Washington headquarters on November 28, where he will provide executive level leadership and management for engineering and logistics program. His primary responsibilities include: establishing innovative approaches to engineering, logistics, supply and industrial management systems to reduce the engineering and logistics footprint, improve availability, improve reliability and reduce total ownership cost. Orner graduated from Wittenberg University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and earned a Master of Science degree from American University in Washington DC. Orner also is a graduate of the Contemporary Executive Development Program at George Washington University, of the Advanced Program Management Course at the Defense Systems Management College, and of the Navy Executive Business Course at the University of North Carolina. He is a member of the Acquisition Professional Corps, certified in both the Program Management and the Acquisition Logistics career fields. He recently was named a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives. He has received both the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal and the Navy Superior Civilian Service Medal. Orner was the first winner of the Admiral Stan Arthur Award for Logistics Excellence. Orner was appointed to the federal government’s senior executive service in 1999. A native of Ebensburg PA, Orner comes to the Coast Guard from the Naval Supply Systems Command, where he served as executive director and senior civilian 2005 - A Coast Guard motor-lifeboat crew from Station Gloucester, Mass., responded to a collision, seven miles east of Rockport MA about 0730. The station received a report at 0715 that two fishing vessels, the Catherine and Rebecca of Rockport, Mass. and SS Melon II or Gloucester MA had collided and the SS Melon II was taking on water. The crew from the SS Melon II was safely taken aboard the Catherine and Rebecca. Which then attempted to tow the heavily damaged SS Melon II. The tow was abandoned as the SS Melon II went down. The Coast Guard 47-foot lifeboat arrived on scene, about 0745. Two rescue and assist team members went aboard the Catherine and Rebecca and determined she was sea-worthy enough to return to shore. The Coast Guard escorted the Catherine and Rebecca to Station Gloucester. The Coast Guard has issued a notice to mariners to warn them of the sunken vessel. The SS Melon II's super structure and mast were reported to be visible at 0800. No injuries were reported. The cause of the accident is under investigation 2005 - A Chinese cargo ship saved 20 foreigners from a sinking ship in the seawaters around Luzon Island in the Philippines. The 20 foreigners, 10 from South Korea and 10 from the Philippines, are in a good condition, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) said. A cargo ship of the Qingdao Ocean Shipping Company under the COSCO received SOS signals on its way back from Australia Friday morning and it found a sinking ship at 1220 and the crew of the South Korea-registered ship were waiting for help in life boats. Despite strong wind and big waves, Chinese sailors managed to take the 20 people back to the cargo ship. The South Korean ship captain said that one sailor was missing. After one hour's searching they failed to find the missing sailor. With the captain's agreement, the Chinese ship stopped searching and resumed its original course to Dalian, a coastal city in northeast China's Liaoning Province 2005 - Taiwan High Court yesterday found former navy commander-in-chief Yeh Chang-tung not guilty of covering up a scandal that involved skimming money from a navy fund for buying minesweepers. The court upheld a Taipei District Court ruling the retired admiral had done nothing wrong when he agreed to a proposal from his subordinates to ask LCDR Peng Chi-kang and Commander Yuan Yu-fan to leave the navy, rather than face prosecution. Yuan had been accused of depositing embezzled money in an account controlled by Peng so he could take the interest it accrued. Peng had said he did not know the money was embezzled from the navy. But yesterday the Taiwan High Court rejected that argument and sentenced Peng to one year and two months in jail for offenses relating to illegally obtained property 2005 - Operations have now commenced to lighter cargo from bulk Ever Mighty. Lightering is expected to take approximately 48 hours 2005 - Commodore Bruce Williams OBE RN assumed Command of Task Force 58. His principal mission is to protect the vital oil infrastructure centered around the Oil Platforms off the Iraqi coast. The ‘Oplats’ as they are known are a vital asset in supporting the redevelopment of Iraq, providing 85% of the GDP for the reforming nation and making $11,000 per second. A number of other tasks include supporting the training of the Iraqi Navy and Coastal Defense Force and training the Iraqi Marines. The Task Force has been in existence since the start of Operation Telic and many RN warships have already made major contributions. HMS Marlborough, Somerset and Campbeltown have all served within the Task Force. As the RN assumes Command this month HMS Montrose will arrive in the Northern Arabian Gulf. Early 2006, the Commodore and his staff will be based in HMS Bulwark but until then they will command the force from firstly USS San Jacinto then the USS Cape St George 2005 - The USCG announced that the Alameda-based 378-foot high endurance cutter Munro is slated to be homeported in Kodiak, Alaska, a move designed to minimize patrol days lost due to the long transit from California to the North Pacific. The move will be made in coordination with the decommissioning of the Coast Guard Cutter Storis, homeported in Kodiak, which will be taken out of service in 2007 as part of the Coast Guard's ongoing fleet modernization project 2006 - The first of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new Offshore Patrol Vessels launched by Lady Sponsor, Dame Silvia Cartwright. The ship, to be commissioned into the Navy as HMNZS Otago, will be launched at the Tenix shipyard, Williamstown, Australia at 1120 to correspond to the most appropriate tides. The Minister of Defense, Phil Goff, will also be attending the launch. Otago is one of two 85m long Offshore Patrol Vessels that the Navy has acquired under Project Protector 2006 - USCG icebreaker Polar Sea departs from Seattle for Operation Deep Freeze, a five-month mission in support of the US Antarctic Program 2007 - A submarine under construction at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg caught fire but no one was hurt in the incident 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. To contact us: 418-145 West Keith Rd North Vancouver BC V7M 1L3 Canada Phone: 778-338-4073 Fax: 778-338-4074 Read our Maritime Mishap Blog Manage your subscription