SeaWaves Today in History October 18, 2008 Chile Flag Day. Visiting warships Dress Ship with Masthead Flags 1690 - William Phips 1651-1695 starts bombarding Quebec with 37 ships and 2,200 men, after Count Frontenac refused to surrender; shelling has little effect, and after a defeat at Beauport on the 21st, the English retreat 1799 - USRC Pickering (70 men) captured French privateer L'Egypte Conquiste (250 men) HMS Caroline conducted a highly successful operation against Dutch coastal traffic, capturing two ships, and driving ashore four warships and eight merchant vessels 1812 - US sloop of war Wasp captures HM brig Frolic 1848 - Captain Douglas Ottinger, USRM, was designated by the Secretary of the Treasury to supervise the construction of the first Life-Saving Stations and the equipment and boats to be place at them 1854 - At Sevastopol, as work continued to establish the siege batteries, two Royal Navy officers - Captain Peel and Midshipman Daniel - distinguished themselves supplying the guns with powder under heavy fire, Peel at one point throwing an enemy shell clear of a magazine just before it exploded. Nearby, Private Grady, 4th Regiment, worked in the open to shore up the defenses of a Royal Navy shore battery under heavy Russian fire. All three were awarded the Victoria Cross 1859 - US Marines reach Harper's Ferry, VA and assault the arsenal seized by John Brown and his followers 1867 - USS Ossippee and USS Resaca participate in formal transfer of Alaska to US authority at Sitka and remain to enforce law and order in new territory. The Russian flag was lowered and the American flag hoisted in Alaska. This vast territory in the north of the American continent was sold to the United States by Russia for 7.2 million dollars. At first, the deal was criticized in America for, as some people claimed, such a big sum was spent mainly on ice. The street and most newspapers -- and quite a few in Congress -- referred to Alaska as "Seward's Folly", after the name of the Secretary of State who managed the deal. It was another 30-odd years before that chilly vastness was found to be a virtual national gold mine 1898 - The American flag was raised in Puerto Rico shortly before Spain formally relinquished control of the island to the United States 1914 - HMS E3 left Harwich 16th Oct 1914 to patrol an area off Borkum. At the time U27 was patrolling off the mouth of the Ems. At 1025 18 October U27 sighted E3 on the surface and was able to approach unobserved firing her torpedoes at a range of approximately 300 yards. The resulting explosion broke E3 in half and sent her immediately to the bottom 1917 - Light cruiser HMS Calcutta laid down 1917 - Destroyer HMAS Stuart laid down 1917 - Submarine HMS K13 completed 1919 - Destroyer USS John D Edwards launched 1922 - Submarine USS S-27 launched 1924 - Heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland laid down 1929 - Submarine FS Surcouf launched 1930 - Destroyer leader HMS Kempenfelt laid down 1934 - Torpedo boats Bouclier & La Bayonnaise laid down 1935 - Britain reassured Italy that it had no intention of taking independent action in the Mediterranean. France promised unlimited solidarity of action in the matter of military, air, and naval assistance to Britain if she were attacked as the result of the application of Article 16 1937 - Submarine USS Sailfish laid down 1938 - Destroyer HMS Gurkha laid down 1939 - After the attacks on the Home Fleet in Scapa Flow, the Admiralty transfers the Home Fleet to safe anchorage on the Clyde. This move significantly weakens the Fleet's strike effectiveness against any German naval unit that might put out to sea in the Atlantic or approach the eastern coat of Great Britain. The Germans fail to act upon this strategic advantage. The German aerial operations against the fleet also reveal the ineffectiveness of the German SC 550-lb bombs. Goering orders the development of heavier bombs 1939 - Pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee transfers crews of British freighters SS Newton Beech & SS Ashlea to tanker Altmark. The two German ships then part company for a time 1939 - In China, a USN landing force from gunboats USS Asheville & Tulsa along with destroyer USS Whipple is withdrawn from Kulangsu where it had been protecting the American Consulate and the Hope Memorial Hospital since 17 May 1939 - In the U.K., US freighter SS West Hobomac is detained by British authorities 1939 - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt bars belligerent submarines from US ports and waters 1940 - U-100 damaged SS Boekelo & Shekatika in Convoy SC-7 1940 - U-101 sank SS Creekirk & damaged SS Blairspey in Convoy SC-7 1940 - U-38 damaged SS Carsbreck in Convoy SC-7 1940 - U-46 sank SS Beatus, SS Convallaria & SS Gunborg in Convoy SC-7 1940 - U-99 sank SS Fiscus, SS Niritos & SS Empire Miniver in Convoy SC-7 1940 - U-48 sank SS Sandsend in Convoy OB-227 1940 - U-251 laid down 1940 - U-75 launched 1940 - Destroyer HMS Exmoor commissioned 1940 - Minesweeper HMCS Minas laid down North Vancouver BC 1940 - Patrol vessel HMCS Raccoon departed Halifax for conversion & arming at Pictou 1940 - Convoys SC-7 and HX-79 suffered grievously at the hands of U-boat Wolfpacks, losing seventeen and fourteen ships respectively 1940 - Italian submarine Durbo goes down, in the Mediterranean, to attacks by destroyers HMS Firedrake & Wrestler and RAF London flying boats on No. 202 Squadron 1941 - U-206 fired three torpedoes at an escort of convoy HG-74 in the North Atlantic, but without success 1941 - Destroyer HMS Exmoor (ex-HMS Burton) commissioned 1941 - Corvette HMS Pennywort launched 1941 - Destroyer HMS Broadwater (ex-USS Mason) sunk by U-101 in North Atlantic 1941 - U-227, U-228 laid down 1941 - U-756 launched 1941 - U-132 sank SS Argun 1941 - A PBY-5A Catalina of USN Patrol Squadron Seventy Three based at Reykjavik, Iceland, drops a package containing blood plasma and transfusion gear for use in treating the wounded on board the destroyer USS Kearny torpedoed yesterday; destroyer USS Monssen retrieves the package but the gear becomes disengaged and sinks. A PBM-1 Mariner of a VP-74 detachment also based at Reykjavik repeats the operation a few hours later; this time the drop is successful and USS Monssen retrieves the medical supplies intact 1941 - Destroyers USS Plunkett, Livermore & Decatur make concerted depth charge attacks on sound contacts at 54°53'N, 33°08'W with no visible results. German submarines break off operations against convoy SC 48 1942 - U-618 sank SS Angelina in Convoy ON-137 1942 - Escort carrier HMS Ameer (ex-USS Baffins) launched 1942 - Minesweepers USS Admirable & Adopt launched 1942 - Corvettes HMCS Baddeck, Port Arthur & Baddeck departed St. John's to join with the 50-ship New York City to Liverpool convoy SC-105 and subsequent support to Operation Torch, the North African Landings. SC-105 arrived safely in Liverpool on 31 Oct 42 1942 - Corvette HMCS Louisburg completed fitting with extra a/a armament at Humber 1942 - US Fifth Air Force B-17s attack schooners and buildings at Lorengau on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands 1942 - Admiral William F. Halsey arrives at Noumea, New Caledonia prior to the arrival of his flagship Enterprise to scout the situation. He receives a sealed envelope containing orders, from Admiral Nimitz, to immediately take command of the South Pacific Ocean Area. In relieving Admiral Ghormley just days after the public release of the Battle of Savo Island, the blame for the loss is attached publicly to Ghormley 1942 - In the Atlantic, US freighter SS Steel Navigator, straggling from convoy ON 137, takes on 40° list as her sand ballast shifts; USN Armed Guard volunteers shovel ballast for 30 hours without relief (reducing the list to 12°) until financial bonus offered by ship's master induces reluctant merchant sailors to lend a hand in the arduous work 1943 - Submarine USS Flier commissioned 1943 - Frigate SAS Natal laid down 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Jack W Wilke laid down 1943 - Frigate USS Muskogee launched 1943 - Destroyer HMS Termagant commissioned 1943 - Submarine HMS Tradewind commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Brackett, Leopold, Neuendorf & Eisele commissioned 1943 - During stormy weather a lookout broke his arm on U-190 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Serene launched Toronto ON 1943 - Training ship HMCS Caribou assigned to HMCS Cornwallis 1943 - Submarine USS Silversides sinks a cargo ship at 00-22 N, 143-23 E 1943 - Submarine USS Lapon sinks a cargo ship at 33-59 N, 136-21 E 1943 - Submarine USS Lapon sinks an armed minesweeper at 33-59 N, 136-21 E 1943 - USAAF B-25s sink 2 vessels at the Bismarck Archipelago 1944 - Frigate HMS Loch Glendhu launched 1944 - Minesweeper USS Redstart launched 1944 - Submarine USS Springer commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Success commissioned 1944 - U-2355, U-3027, U-3526 laid down 1944 - U-2332, U-2343, U-2521, U-3012 launched 1944 - Corvette HMCS Woodstock departed Halifax for Esquimalt for conversion to weather ship 1944 - 3rd Fleet Carrier aircraft attack Japanese ships in harbor and land forces around Manila 1944 - Submarine USS Bluegill sinks four Japanese cargo ships in one day 1944 - Submarine USS Raton sinks two cargo ships 1944 - Minesweeper HMAS Geelong sinks after colliding with merchant ship SS York off New Guinea at 06 04S 147 50E. There are no casualties and 70 survivors 1944 - USN's Task Groups 38.1 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) and TG 38.4 (Rear Admiral Ralph E. Davison) attack principal Japanese airfields near Manila and shipping in the harbor, sinking a passenger-cargo ship, an army cargo ship and a merchant cargo ship. Meanwhile, TG 38.2 (Rear Admiral Gerald F. Bogan) pounds enemy shipping off northern Luzon, sinking an auxiliary submarine chaser, two transports, and three merchant cargo ships off Camiguin, northern Luzon; a cargo ship near Babuyan Channel; and two landing ships and a minelayer/netlayer off NE Luzon. Japanese sources state that USN carrier air strikes have destroyed 650 Japanese aircraft on Formosa and the Philippines; the USN has lost 76 aircraft and had 2 cruisers damaged. US warships, led by the battleships USS California, Maryland, Mississippi, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, begin shelling the landing beaches on Leyte. The escort aircraft carriers of Task Group 77.4 begin a preinvasion bombardment against airfields in the Visayan Islands, Leyte and northern Mindanao. They sink six Japanese ships in the Cebu area 1946 - Submarine HMS Alcide commissioned 1953 - Destroyer HMCS Crusader departed Esquimalt for Korean operations 1965 - HMCS Nipigon, an Annapolis-class destroyer, CDR Donald Roy Saxon, DSC, RCN, CO, was damaged by a fire in the JP5 fuel handling room, during which one crewmember was killed, and eight injured. The injured were evacuated to HMCS Bonaventure for treatment. Five casualties were subsequently evacuated by helicopter to RAF St. Mawgan. An explosion in the JP5 (helicopter fuel) compartment caused a flash fire in 12 Mess. LS Doyle Clement White, RCN, was in the mess and, although suffering from burned hands, rushed to the quartermaster's lobby to raise the alarm and then returned to assist in fighting the fire. LS White and AB Wendell Tolson Gray, RCN, donned breathing equipment and re-entered the mess to search for a missing man. The mess was filled JP5 fumes and heavy black smoke. The man, who was injured, was located and evacuated. Afterwards they both assisted in fire fighting and with damage control parties 1968 - In Operation Sea Lords, the Navy's three major operating forces in Vietnam (TF 115, 116, and 117) are brought together for the first time to stop Vietcong infiltration deep into South Vietnam's Mekong Delta 1973 - USS Oriskany commenced Vietnam deployment 1974 - USS Ranger completed Vietnam deployment 1974 - USS Enterprise port call Cubi Point 1993 - Support ship HMCS Preserver with destroyers Gatineau & Fraser arrived off Haiti for Operation Forward Action under the command of Captain AL Vey, Commander, First Canadian Destroyer Squadron 1999 - Two more Knox-class frigates leased from the United States are commissioned in order to help beef up the Republic of China's naval defense capabilities 2003 - Destroyer USS Chafee commissioned 2003 - A sailor and four civilian workers were injured in a mishap at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard while working on submarine USS Norfolk 2003 - USNS Mendonca placed in reduced operating status 2004 - An Su-25 UTG aircraft made an emergency landing on the aircraft carrier RFS Admiral Kuznetsov’s flight deck after completing a planned daytime mission. Because of a hard landing, the aircraft's right wheel broke and the plane was carried by inertia toward the aircraft carrier's superstructure. The only thing that saved the aircraft carrier from a major accident was that during landing the hook on the fighter's tail caught the first aircraft arresting wire 2005 - The Coast Guard is working with the Washington Department of Natural Resources to remove a potential pollution threat from a derelict 151-foot motor vessel in the Port Washington Narrows Waterway near Bremerton, Wash. The mooring lines of the motor vessel Ked are significantly deteriorated and place it in danger of breaking free or sinking. The vessel may present a threat to human health and safety, the environment or impede navigation of vessels should it break free. Coast Guard Sector Seattle has opened the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act Fund and the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to pay for the removal of the pollution threat and hazardous materials. The funds have been opened because the vessel’s owner failed to take appropriate actions in a timely manner to remove the pollution threat. Global Diving and Salvage has been hired to remove the hazardous materials and an estimated 15,000 gallons of oil product mixed with 15,000 gallons of water onboard. Global Diving and Salvage performed an assessment of the Ked and removed three cubic yards of hazardous materials October 11. The Department of Natural Resources plans to anchor the Ked in place to further stabilize the vessel. The removal of the oily waste will begin Oct 11th 2005 - Seaspan Corporation announced today that it acquired its 13th vessel, CP Kanha, a newly built 4250-TEU vessel, from a wholly owned subsidiary of Seaspan Container Lines Limited. The Kanha was constructed and delivered by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. approximately eight weeks ahead of the contractual delivery date. The Kanha is the first of the nine vessels subject to long-term, fixed-rate charters with CP USA, a subsidiary of CP Ships Limited 2005 - A $676,144 competitive redevelopment contract has been awarded to Construction Jean & Robert Ltd of Gascons PQ to move the Gascons breakwater at the Ruisseau Chapados. This contract, awarded on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, will be completed in January 2006. The announcement was made today by Jean Lapierre, Minister of Transport, on behalf of Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services. The work consists mainly in moving the breakwater located at the entrance to Gascons. Construction Jean & Robert Ltd must demolish part of the existing breakwater, dredge the channel in the rock to the prescribed level and build a new structure. Gascons is located in the Gaspe tourist region and is a historically significant fishing site 2005 - Russian destroyer Admiral Levchenko set sail from Severomorsk on sovereignty patrol 2005 - General Maritime Corporation announced that it agreed to sell ten single-hull and double-sided Suezmax vessels en bloc to Tanker Pacific for $294.5 million. The Company expects to realize a net gain of $109 million from the sale of these ten vessels. The company intends to utilize the proceeds to pay down debt and therefore the proceeds will be excluded in the calculation of the dividend for the applicable quarters. The delivery of the vessels is expected to take place between November 2005 and January 2006 2005 - Lockheed Martin in support of the US Navy and the crews of destroyers USS Halsey and Howard and the Spanish Navy frigate Blas de Lezo continued the international Aegis success story by completing a three-ship international joint Combat System Ship Qualification Trials (CSSQT) last week. This CSSQT, conducted off the California coast, is part of a planned series of four joint tests between Spain and the United States. During the CSSQT, the ships' Aegis Combat Systems were evaluated for combat-readiness through comprehensive surface, subsurface and anti-air warfare exercises, including manned raids and electronic attack scenarios, as well as through testing of the systems' tactical data link and air defense capabilities. The air defense testing was the culmination of the CSSQT, where the three ships successfully engaged more than a dozen missile targets 2005 - The refitting of Indian navy's Kilo class diesel-electric submarine INS Sindhughosh has been completed, with Russia handing it over to the crew. The work, which started two years ago, involved refit and upgrade at the Zvyozdochka Shipyard in Severodvinsk on the White Sea. After successfully passing the final tests in the White Sea last week, the sub is to set to sail for homeport this weekend. Earlier this month, Sindhughosh completed the tests of newly fitted deadly Club-S cruise missiles at a firing range of the Russian Northern Fleet's Belomorskaya naval station in the White Sea, Regions. Sindhughosh is the third Kilo class submarine of project 877EKM modernized by Zvyozdochka. It was built in 1985 at Soviet Admiralty Shipyard in Leningrad, now St Petersburg 2005 - The captain of a ship that caused the death of a Dutch diver last summer yesterday asserted he was not responsible for the operations on the vessel when the accident took place. He said the ship's bow thruster was found running after the man was killed. The German captain and chief engineer of the Verlaine, Peter Bargmann, 63, and Herman Dieter Raake, 57, are accused of causing the death of 40-year-old diver Raymond Van Beck through negligence at around 1000 on 11 July 2005 - The South Korean government said it will build a 6,000-ton icebreaker that can support national Antarctic exploration efforts. The new ship is expected to have a crew of 25 and be able to sail 37,000 kilometers without replenishment, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said. The ship will carry a maximum of 60 people 2005 - K-Sea Transportation Partners LP announced it has completed its recently announced acquisition of Sea Coast Transportation LLC (formerly Sea Coast Towing, Inc.) of Seattle 2005 - The Royal Australian Navy's newest ship, HMAS Armidale, the first of the Armidale class patrol boats, has assisted overnight in an illegal fishing boat apprehension as it starts patrolling and protecting Australia's coastline. HMAS Armidale completed her Mission Readiness Evaluation last Friday - a key milestone - and has instantly found itself involved in a successful apprehension on day two of duty. In a joint operation with the Australian Customs Vessel Roebuck Bay the Navy vessel assisted in the difficult boarding of a large Indonesian Type 111 ice boat which could not have been achieved without HMAS Armidale's assistance. HMAS Armidale is now towing the fishing boat to Darwin 2006 - Underwater Adventures Aquarium(R) at the Mall of America unveiled "The Glass Sea Treasures of Harvard: The Age of Darwin," the largest collection of Blaschka models Harvard University has ever allowed to travel. German artisans Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka hand-crafted these delicate life-like models in the mid-19th century, in response to worldwide interest in Charles Darwin's Origin of Species. The Blaschkas went on to create Harvard's world-famous collection of "Glass Flowers" 2006 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen addresses the Fall 2006 International Conference on Maritime Security Capital Hilton Hotel Washington DC 2006 - At 1713 Humber Coastguard were informed by the vessel 'Trans Aguilla' that a sail board had been spotted in the water approximately 20miles offshore North East of Spurn Point 2006 - A seaborne attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on the Sri Lankan port town of Galle Wednesday has highlighted the guerrillas' lethal "Sea Tiger" arm, whose suicide wing claims to have inspired al-Qaeda 2006 - USCG responded to fishing vessel Ocean Challenger, 60 miles south of Sand Point in the Aleutian Island Chain after receiving a mayday call relayed by the car carrier Overseas Joyce at 0939. Three of the Ocean Challenger's four crewmembers were recovered after falling overboard during the capsizing 2007 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad Allen and Transportation Security Administration Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Program Manager Maurine Fanguy will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on TWIC 2007 - Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) gunboats opened fire on a boat with fleeing refugees from Naachchikkudaa, 55 km north of Mannaar to Tamil Nadu, India, in the seas off Peasaalai claimed Tamil sources. At least three civilians from a single family believed killed. Two children with serious injuries brought to Mannaar hospital in unconscious state, 5 hours after the attack 2007 - William Crowe, an Annapolis-trained submarine officer who rose to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as ambassador to Great Britain died at Bethesda Naval Hospital 2007 - Five medals stolen from Second World War veteran Harry Francis were replaced by Veterans Minister Derek Twigg during a presentation at the Ministry of Defence 2007 - Russian Navy commander Vladimir Vysotskii, said the Northern Fleet should improve organization of combat preparedness, as well develop land-based infrastructure 2008 - USN's newest submarine, USS New Hampshire formally commissioned at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The Navy selected the shipyard to host the commissioning ceremony after members of New Hampshire's congressional delegation wrote to senior officials last year 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