SeaWaves Today in History October 21, 2008 1792 - William Broughton 1762-1821 navigates Columbia River upstream; claims area for Britain; in 'Chatham' 1797 - Launching of USS Constitution at the Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts. The ship is now the oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy 1805 - Vice Admiral of the White Viscount Nelson won his great victory over the Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar, flying his flag in HMS Victory. Nelson commanded 27 ships of the line against Vice-Admiral Villeneuve's 33. The British ships ran a gauntlet of fire to break through the Franco-Spanish line, and fight a devastating close-range gunnery action. 16 French and Spanish ships were destroyed, and four captured. Lord Nelson was fatally wounded by a marksman aboard the Redoutable, but survived long enough to know that his fleet was winning 1825 - The Comet was again on the West Highland run, carrying a boat-load of passengers from Inverness and Fort William to the Clyde. As the vessel rounded Kempock Point, between Gourock and the Cloch Lighthouse, she was struck by another steamboat, the Ayr. The collision was so violent that the Comet sank like a stone, killing 62 of the 80 passengers on board 1910 - Cruiser HMS Niobe redesignated HMCS Niobe 1912 - Battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth laid down 1914 - Russian battleship Gangut commissioned 1918 - Destroyer HMS Tenedos launched 1920 - Soviet submarine A-1 commissioned 1931 - Submarine USS Cachalot laid down 1937 - Light cruiser HMS Euryalus laid down 1937 - Destroyer HMS Tartar launched 1938 - Destroyer HMS Gurkha commissioned 1938 - Minesweeper HMCS Gaspe commissioned Quebec City PQ 1939 - U-15 sank SS Orsa 1939 - U-19 sank SS Capitaine Edmond Laborie & SS Deodata 1939 - Ammunition lighter HMC NAD 01 ordered from Halifax Shipyards. Completed, 21 Mar 40 renamed HMC HC 82, lost 18 Jul 45 Bedford Basin explosion 1939 - Submarine HNLMS O-21 launched 1940 - RAF 218 Sqn bombs a supply convoy of 14 ships with three E-boats escorting. One ships is sunk with a direct hit 1940 - "Secret and personal for the President from Former Naval Person [Churchill] - We hear rumors from various sources that the Vichy Government are preparing their ships and colonial troops to aid the Germans against us. I do not myself believe these reports, but if the French fleet at Toulon were turned over to Germany it would be a very heavy blow. It would certainly be a wise precaution, Mr. President, if you would speak in the strongest terms to the French Ambassador emphasizing the disapprobation with which the United States would view such a betrayal of the cause of democracy and freedom. They will pay great heed in Vichy to such a warning 1940 - In the Red Sea, Convoy BN7, is attacked by Italian destroyers from Massawa. The escorts, including New Zealand cruiser HMS Leander & destroyer HMS Kimberley, drive destroyer Francesco Nullo ashore with gunfire 1940 - U-157 laid down 1940 - Corvette HMCS Jonquil commissioned 1941 - U-79 torpedoed gunboat HMS Gnat. Constructive total loss 1941 - U-82 sank SS Treverbyn & SS Serbino in Convoy SL-89 1941 - U-163, U-253 commissioned 1941 - U-271, U-418, U-713 laid down 1941 - After damaging the British Armed merchant cruiser HMS Aurania in Convoy SL-89, U-123 took one seaman of this ship onboard as a prisoner. In the evening the boat was attacked by a British Sunderland aircraft with two bombs. U-123 suffered slight damage 1941 - Sloop HMS Woodcock laid down 1941 - Escort carrier USS Copahee launched 1941 - Submarine USS Haddock launched 1941 - Corvette HMCS The Pas commissioned 1941 - Corvette HMCS Edmunston commissioned Esquimalt BC 1942 - Submarine USS Gudgeon sinks an armed transport at 03-30 S, 150-30 E, south of Kavieng 1942 - Submarine USS Greenling sinks a sampan at 39-37 N, 142-45 E 1942 - Submarine USS Guardfish sinks a cargo ship at 27-25 N, 123-05 E & another at 27-20 N, 123-42 E 1942 - U-681, U-855 laid down 1942 - U-362, U-536, U-841 launched 1942 - U-273, U-306, U-418, U-667 commissioned 1942 - In the Bay of Biscay, the British submarine HMS Graph (the former German U-boat U-570) fired a four-torpedo fan at U-333, but all torpedoes missed 1942 - Minesweeper USS Bond launched 1942 - Destroyer escort USS Edward C Daly launched 1942 - Minesweeper USS Seer commissioned 1942 - Trawler HMS Campobello completed & loaned to RCN 1942 - Naval college HMCS Royal Roads commissioned Esquimalt BC 1942 - Corvette HMCS Weyburn Oerlikon fitting completed, to Mediterranean escort duty 1942 - Submarine Vesihiisi sinks Soviet sub S-7 at Lågskär by torpedo. Four men, including Commander Sergei Lisin, are taken prisoner 1942 - British submarine lands CAPT Jerauld Wright, USN and four Army officers at Cherchel, French North Africa, to meet with a French military delegation to learn the French attitude toward future Allied landings 1943 - U-999, U-1194 commissioned 1943 - While serving as a Flak boat U-271 was attacked by two Avengers from USS Core & one man from its crew died 1943 - U-101 stricken at Neustadt. Scuttled there on 3 May 1945. Wreck broken up 1943 - U-431 sunk in the Mediterranean out of Algiers in position 37.23N, 00.35E, by depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (Sqn 179/Z). 52 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-68 sank ASW trawler HMS Orfasy 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Chedabucto damaged in collision with cable layer SS Lord Kelvin 30 miles from Rimouski PQ with one killed. Buoy tender USCGC Buttonwood towed Chedabucto towards Ile du Bic PQ 1943 - Frigate HMCS Prince Rupert arrived Halifax from Esquimalt BC 1943 - Submarines USS Bugara & Bullhead laid down 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Rinehart & Roche laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Stephen Potter commissioned 1943 - RN Admiral Pound dies. He had resigned as First Sea Lord October 4 1943 - Admiral Sir John Cunningham succeeds Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in command of Royal Navy units in the Mediterranean 1944 - Submarine USS Chub commissioned 1944 - Light cruiser HMCS Uganda (ex-HMS Uganda) commissioned Charleston SC 1944 - Leyte landings continue. 1944 - U-2356, U-2357, U-2536 laid down 1944 - U-3513, U-3514 launched 1944 - U-2341 commissioned 1944 - The German patrol boat F 631 attacked U-245 in the North Sea by error 1947 - Submarine HMCS U-190 expended as a target by warships & a/c, in approximate area where U-190 sank HMCS Esquimalt 14 Apr 45. A copy of the schedule for Operation Scuppered indicates - U.190 was painted yellow with red horizontal stripes & towed into position by the tug Riverton the sequence of events was to be as follows - 1. 2 Swordfish spot & report a damaged U-boat on the surface - 2. Fireflies attack with rockets - (this attack actually sank the boat) 3. Destroyers attack with 4.7" gunfire - 4. Seafires attack with bombs from 5,000 ft. 5. New Liskeard delivers Hedgehog attack as boat sinks 1951 - Destroyer HMCS Iroquois recommissioned after DDE conversion 1952 - Training facility HMCS D'Iberville commissioned 1960 - HMS Dreadnought, the first nuclear-powered submarine in the Royal Navy, was launched 1964 - Destroyer HMCS Ottawa completed helicopter conversion refit, Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria BC 1964 - USS Hancock commenced Vietnam deployment 1966 - USS Intrepid port call Subic Bay 1967 - First Navy Day celebrated in Egypt 1983 - Destroyer HMCS Kootenay completed life extension refit 1990 - USS O'Brien fired warning shots across the bow of the Iraqi merchant vessel Al Bahar Al Arabi in the Persian Gulf after it failed to alter its course to a non-prohibited port 2002 - Support ship HMCS Protecteur departs Operation Apollo in Persian Gulf region for Esquimalt BC 2002 - Disassembly of the railroad bridge across the Enisey River in Krasnoyarsk was begun. The 103-year-old bridge had won a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. It took four years to build and is expected to take five years to remove 2004 - India and Russia claimed to have signed a 10 year lease on a Project 971 nuclear powered attack submarine. Report later turns out to be false 2004 - CCGC Cape Chaillon Christened at Thunder Bay ON 2005 - The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh guests of the First Sea Lord at a Trafalgar Night Dinner in the Great Cabin of HMS Victory. Prior to dinner, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will attend a reception and The Queen will light the first of a series of national beacons by HMS Victory and the Royal party will then witness a Beat Retreat in Portsmouth Naval Base 2005 - For Trafalgar Day, The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, lit a beacon on Church Green, Ballater on Royal Deeside. The Duke of York lit a beacon at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and also attends a Trafalgar Night Dinner in the Painted Hall of the college. The Princess Royal lit a beacon at HMS Cumbria (an RNR unit) near Barry in South Wales 2005 - Mercy Ships Canada hosts a Gala Dinner & Auction "Launch" evening to help complete and celebrate the launch of the Africa Mercy, the newest and largest ship of the Mercy Ships International fleet. To celebrate the anticipated launch of the vessel in late fall of this year, and to raise funds to complete some of the remaining projects onboard, Mercy Ships Canada is hosting the Gala Dinner & Auction at the Fairmont Empress Hotel 2005 - HMS Victory fired a simulated broadside using small explosive charges between 1800 and 1930, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations 2005 - Royal Navy Warships on deployments around the world will mark the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar by the ringing of 8 bells at 1200 (noon) on Trafalgar Day on Friday 21st October, supporting an international event coordinated by the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers in association with SeaBritain 2005. The ship's bell on Lord Nelson's flagship HMS VICTORY in Portsmouth Naval Dockyard will also take part in the event along with shore-based RN establishments equipped with ship's bells. HMS CHATHAM, a Royal Navy Type 22 frigate will be alongside in Cadiz, Spain preparing to sail to Cape Trafalgar for a commemorative wreath-laying ceremony at sea in company with Spanish aircraft carrier Principe D'Asturias, Spanish Frigate Reina Sofia, and French Frigate Montcalm. Coincidentally, HMS Chatham's Logistics Officer is a trained campanologist (bellringer), although the eight bells peal is not expected to task his skills. The use of bells at sea to mark the time and to signify watch changes dates back to the early 15th century when personal timepieces were extremely expensive. Bells would mark the hours of a watch in half-hour increments. The seamen between decks would then know if it were morning, noon or night. The end of the watch is marked at 8 bells, hence the naval saying, "Eight Bells and All is well." Hundreds of bell towers in churches across the world will take part in ringing commemorative peals. Among those countries taking part are New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, USA, Canada, Hawaii, Malta and Gibraltar. Closer to home the bells of St Paul's Cathedral in London will be rung at 11.20 am for approximately 20 minutes following a formal wreath laying at Nelson's Tomb by the First Sea Lord Admiral Alan West at 11am. A full peal will be attempted in the evening starting at 5.50pm. On Sunday 23rd October the bells will be rung before and after the 3pm commemorative service 2005 - At Cadiz: 1000 - Spanish led wreath laying and Commemoration Service at Spanish Naval Mausoleum, San Fernando with Royal Navy and French Navy representation. 1200 - Military Parade, march past and wreath laying in Central Cadiz at Parque Genoves led by Spanish Military and presided by Spanish Minister of Defense. HMA Spain, Admiral Stanhope will lay a wreath and a small RN guard from HMS Chatham will take part in the Parade. Related descendants of Spanish/French and UK sailors present to witness events along with 18th Century costumed re-enactors. 1200 - 1300 Flotilla of private yachts, including UKSA's Gypsy Moth IV and Oyster owners, lay wreaths off Cape Trafalgar. 1600-sunset Official mourning declared in Cadiz. 1700 SNS Principe De Asturias, (aircraft carrier) SPS Reina Sofia, HMS Chatham and FS Montcalm sail for Cape Trafalgar. 1830 - Wreath laying off Cape Trafalgar. 2100 - Ships return alongside in Cadiz 2005 - Virgin Atlantic Airways' Flight 012 The London Shuttle will go from transatlantic to "Trans-river" as Virgin Atlantic Airways hosts "Row Jet Set, Row," a sprint which will kick off the 2005 Head of the Charles Regatta. In true Virgin high-flying style, the Charles River will be a flash of Virgin red as the best of both "sides of the pond" compete in this inaugural sprint event. Northeastern University and Harvard University will take on two of Great Britain's top crews - Cambridge University and the British National Team (Leander Boat Club) for this 350-yard race. The race immediately follows the Regatta's inaugural press conference starting at the Audi Hospitality Tent and ends at the normal Head Of The Charles finish line 2005 - Three persons were killed in a boat accident which occurred when a boat was sunken at Tri Yen dam in Can Giuoc townhip, Can Giuoc district, in the Mekong Delta province of Long An. The boat was carrying Nguyen Thi Dung, 40, and her sons, Nguyen Ngoc Thai, 10, and Nguyen Tan Linh, 7, from Nhon Trach district, southern Dong Nai province. It capsized while Dung's family was sleeping 2005 - Three Norfolk-based amphibious ships will head to Florida to prepare for possible relief efforts should Hurricane Wilma strike the state. USS Wasp, USS Trenton, and USS Nashville will carry humanitarian relief supplies to the region. They're expected to be in Florida for 10 days 2005 - TOP Tankers Inc announced today that it took delivery of M/T Stormless, a 150,038 DWT double-hull Suezmax tanker, built in 1993 by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd of Japan 2005 - Xtreme Companies, Inc. manufacturer of mission-specific Fire-Rescue and Patrol boats, announced the delivery of its subsidiary First Responders Inc.'s first ever international sale. The XFR.F.12 fire-rescue boat was delivered to Xtreme's Taiwanese distributor Shuanyi Industry Company LTDC two weeks ahead of schedule 2005 - A fire that left six crewmembers injured on an environment service ship in St. Petersburg's trade port has been extinguished, and no oil has spilled into the water. A port administration official said the ship had been undergoing maintenance work when the fire broke out at about 2 p.m. Moscow time. The fire was localized within an hour 2005 - Ukraine's Foreign Ministry appealed to Britain, France, the United States and NATO to help free a ship and its crew seized by pirates on October 18 near the coast of Somalia 2005 - The Fifth version of the Exercise culminated the International of the Marine Transport "Transamérica V", where Chile participated altogether with the Organizations of Inter-American Control of Marine Transport of the Navies of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, the United States and Chile 2005 - Carnival Corporation & plc has assigned the newbuild slot for the previously announced 116,000-ton cruise ship to U.K.-based P&O Cruises. To be built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, the vessel is scheduled to enter service in spring 2008. The new 3,100-passenger vessel will become the largest cruise ship specifically built for British cruise service and continues Carnival's ongoing European expansion strategy. An itinerary for this vessel has not been announced 2005 - The MV Mark Twain is sailing the high seas again. The Department of Maritime Affairs has informed the general public that the MV Mark Twain had been cleared to resume its regular ferry schedule between St. Kitts and Nevis as of yesterday. The MV Mark Twain, which was detained by the department on 10 Oct., to rectify outstanding safety deficiencies, has corrected those deficiencies and has been declared safe to recommence its service. According to the Department of Maritime Affairs, all regulations to ensure the safety of passengers will be enforced on all vessels operating in the coastal waters of St. Kitts and Nevis 2005 - Royal Dutch Shell has added two more product tankers to its managed fleet so the world's third largest oil company can expand its products trading business, writes Martyn Wingrove. Shell International Trading and Shipping Co now has 23 crude and product tankers and 24 liquefied natural gas carriers in its managed fleet, one of the largest in the industry. Shell took delivery of the Achatina, a 12,000 dwt products and chemicals carrier, on September 27 after it was built at Samho shipyard in South Korea. The ship is owned by Viken CPP of Norway, flagged in the Isle of Man and classed by Lloyd's Register. Shell also took delivery of the 2004-built, 12,000 dwt product carrier Arianta on a long-term charter with Pritchard Gordon. The double-hulled vessel is also flagged in the Isle of Man and classed by Lloyd's Register. It has a shallower draught than most product tankers, making it suitable for trading in draft restricted locations such as the Caribbean. Stasco has already taken three other vessels into its managed fleet this year, including the Acavus and the larger, 115,000 dwt Tanea and Torinia. A third ship of the newbuild series will join the fleet early next year, said Shell 2005 - Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher W. Thompson, 25, of N. Wilkesboro NC was killed in action by an IED explosion while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq 2006 - Historians, curators, marine experts and local residents are joining together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Peter Iredale shipwreck during the Graveyard of the Pacific Shipwreck Week. With nine days of activities including artifact and photo exhibits, underwater archeology, stories from survivors, Columbia River Bar pilot demonstrations and festive sea shanties (songs), the commemoration offers unusual and lively ways to learn more about the Pacific Northwest's maritime heritage 2007 - USS Whidbey Island entered the US 5th Fleet area of operations Oct. 21 to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in regional waters 2007 - Rear Admiral Tahir Wasim, Director General Maritime Technological Complex died on in a road mishap returning to Islamabad from Attock along with his family by road 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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