SeaWaves Today in History October 30, 2008 1696 - The Russian Navy began to be organized on the initiative of Peter the Great 1759 - First Spanish trading ship arrives at Montreal 1775 - Congress authorizes four vessels for the defense of the United Colonies 1792 - Royal Navy Lieutenant William Broughton names Point Vancouver 1799 - William Balch becomes Navy's first commissioned Chaplain 1899 - At Quebec City, the Second Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry marches to the town's old parade square before boarding ship for South Africa. Lining the streets to catch a glimpse of the pageantry are 40,000 people 1905 - The Manifesto of Tsar Nicholas II was published in St. Petersburg, which proclaimed personal immunity, the freedom of speech, meetings and unions and the convocation of the State Duma with legislative powers 1905 - The first responses to Foreign Minister Loveland’s request begin to arrive. The first telegram is from Russia, followed later that day by Belgium, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, USA and Brazil 1908 - Dmitry Ustinov, Marshal of the Soviet Union, member of the CPSU politburo, the USSR Minister of Defense, Hero of the Socialist Labor born 1912 - Battleship USS New York launched 1917 - Drifter HMC CD 14 completed Davie Shipbuilding & Repairing Lauzon PQ 1918 - Admiral Georgy Fedorov, Hero of the Soviet Union, former Chief of Staff of the USSR Navy born 1918 - Minesweeper USS Heron commissioned 1918 - Destroyer USS Evans launched 1918 - Destroyer USS Overton laid down 1919 - Destroyer USS Schenk commissioned 1922 - Destroyer HMCS Patrician arrived Esquimalt BC 1923 - Submarine USS S-23 commissioned 1924 - Heavy cruiser FS Duquesne laid down 1929 - Minelayer Nautilus launched 1936 - Destroyer HMS Imogene launched 1939 - Corvettes HMS Calendula & Clarkia laid down 1939 - Submarines HMS Upholder, Urge & Unique laid down 1939 - Corvette USS Ready laid down 1939 - U-34 aborted patrol and returned to base due to serious engine trouble 1939 - AMC HMS Cheshire commissioned 1939 - Submarine S-4 commissioned 1939 - U-56 attacked the Home Fleet and hit battleship HMS Nelson with torpedoes that failed to explode 1939 - U-409, U-410, U-411, U-412, U-451, U-452, U-453, and U-454 ordered 1939 - U-13 sank SS Carmona in Convoy HX-5 1939 - U-37 sank SS Thrasyvoulos 1939 - U-59 sank HMS Northern Rover 1939 – “The Lion Has Wings,” the first war film of the conflict, is shown. It features newsreel footage of RAF Ansons attacking a German fleet 1940 - Destroyer HMAS Arunta launched 1940 - Destroyers HMS Norman, Heythorp, Marne, Nonpareil launched 1940 - Destroyer Kujawaiak launched 1940 - Destroyer HMS Sturdy, local Western Approaches escort for Halifax/UK convoy SC-8, runs aground off the west coast of Scotland on Tiree Island. She is a total loss 1940 - U-591, U-592 laid down 1940 - U-67 launched 1940 - U-146 commissioned 1940 - U-32 sunk NW of Ireland, in position 55.37N, 12.19W, by depth charges from destroyers HMS Harvester & Highlander. 9 dead and 33 survivors 1940 - George Crosses Gazetted today - Lt Robert Selby Armitage (1910-82), RNVR, did very dangerous work in September and October, once tackling a mine in a tree with no chance of escape if the fuse was activated. Sub-Lt William Horace Taylor (b. 1908), RNVR, showed great gallantry in mine disposal throughout September and October, in particular regarding an operation at RAF Uxbridge in Middlesex 1940 - An Italian attempt to attack British shipping at Gibraltar with "human torpedoes", fails 1941 - Submarine HMS Tireless laid down 1941 - Destroyer USS Abner Read laid down 1941 - Minesweeper USS Pioneer laid down 1941 - Destroyer USS Laffey launched 1941 - U-106 damaged USS Salinas in Convoy ON-28 1941 - U-378, U-594 commissioned 1941 - U-602 launched 1941 - U-640 laid down 1941 - U-81 was attacked and severely damaged by the Catalina aircraft Z from 209 RAF Sqn 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Drummondville commissioned 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Thunder arrived Halifax from builder Toronto ON 1941 - RAF Hudson aircraft of Coastal Command conducted a successful night low-level raid on German supply ships moored in the Norwegian port of Aalesund, attacking from heights as low as thirty feet by the light of the moon 1942 - Submarine USS Flier laid down 1942 - U-991, U-992 laid down 1942 - U-659 sank SS Bullmouth & damaged SS Tasmania & Corinaldo in Convoy SL-125 1942 - U-129 sank SS West Kabar 1942 - In the Mediterranean, U-559 was boarded by 3 men who had swum over to the sinking wreck. They went into the boat and captured several vital secret documents which greatly helped (some say, enabled) to break the German Enigma code machine 1942 - U-203 sank SS Corinaldo in Convoy SL-125 1942 - U-409 dank SS Silverwillow & damaged SS Bullmouth in Convoy SL-125 1942 - U-509 sank SS Brittany in Convoy SL-125 1942 - U-604 sank SS Baron Vernon & President Doumer in Convoy SL-125 1942 - Destroyer HMCS Columbia attacked by U-522 Kptlt Schneider, CO. Torpedo missed 1942 - Corvettes HMCS Regina, Moose Jaw & Algoma departed St John's as UK convoy escort and eventual Operation Torch Duty 1942 - RCAF Digby patrol a/c from RCAF 10 Sqn attacked & sank U-520, Kptlt Volkmar Schwartzkopf, CO, east of Nfld, in position 47.47N, 049.50W. All 53 of U-520's crewmembers were lost. U-520 was a long-range Type IXC U-boat built by Deutsche Werft AG, at Hamburg. She was commissioned on 19 May 42. U-520 was on her 1st operational patrol when she was lost & did not sink or damage any ships. Kptlt Schwartzkopf was her only CO. Volkmar Schwartzkopf was born in 1914, at Halle, in Saale. He joined the navy in 1934. His first operational duty was in the destroyer Karl Galster from Mar 39 to Mar 40. He transferred to the U-boat force in Apr 40 & after conversion training, served from Dec 40 to Sep 41 as First Watch Officer in U-109, commanded first by KKpt Hans-Georg Fischer & then by the 'ace' Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt, Knight's Cross. After two months on the staff of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, he underwent his U-boat commander's course between Nov & Dec 41. He was assigned to the U-boat Command HQ for five months, during which time he was promoted to Kptlt. On 19 May 42 he was assigned to commission U-520. U-520 was operating against the 42-ship New York to Liverpool convoy SC-107 when she was attacked & sunk by a patrol a/c. Convoy SC-107 arrived in Liverpool on 10 Nov 42 after having lost 15 of its ships over 3 days to U-84, U-89, U-132, U-402, U-438, U-521, & U-522. U-402, Kptlt Siegfried Freiherr Von Forstner, Knights Cross, CO & U-522, Kptlt Herbert Schneider, Knights Cross, CO, each sank 3 ships & assisted in the sinking of another ship. U-132, Kptlt Ernst Vogelsgang, CO was sunk after it torpedoed the ammunition ship Hatmura at very close range, which exploded. All of U-132's crew of 47 were lost. The battle for SC-107 is considered to be one of the greatest convoy engagements of the war. The tonnage in shipping lost totaled 82,430 tons. The cargo lost included 32,400 tons of general cargo, 11,800 tons of steel, 9,000 tons of fuel oil, 8,500 tons of grain, 8,000 tons of tanks, 7,500 tons of military transport, 7,400 tons of zinc concentrate, 6,200 tons of explosives, 6,000 tons of ammunition, plus an undetermined amount of lumber carried as deck cargo. 150 merchant seamen lost their lives in these attacks 1942 - Canadian 'Hudson' patrol a/c, from RCAF 145 Sqn attacked & sank U-658, Kptlt Hans Senkel, CO, east of Nfld in position 50.32N, 046.32W. There were no survivors from her crew of 48 men. U-658 was a medium-range Type VIIC U-boat built by Howaldtswerke at Hamburg. She was commissioned on 05 Nov 41. U-658 conducted two patrols & compiled a record of three ships sunk for a total of 12,146 tons & one ship damaged for a further 6,466 tons. U-658 was part of a patrol line scouting for an eastbound convoy when she was sunk. Kptlt Hans Senkel was her only commanding officer. Hans Senkel was born in 1910 at Schönbrunn-Thüringen. He joined the navy in 1933. His first operational duty was in the destroyer Friedrich Ihn from Oct 38 to Mar 41, on completion of which he transferred to the U-boat force. After conversion training, he was assigned to the 24th U-boat flotilla for two months & then underwent U-boat commander sea training between Sep & Oct 41 in the type VIIB boat U-74, commanded by the 'ace' Kptlt Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat, Knight's Cross. Senkel was assigned to commission U-658 on 05 Nov 41. Hans Senkel was posthumously promoted to KKpt 1942 - Destroyers HMS Obedient, Racehorse & Wensleydale commissioned 1942 - Destroyer HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes commissioned 1942 - Destroyer USS Cony commissioned 1942 - Submarine USS Hake commissioned 1942 - The German submarine U-559 was badly damaged by Royal Navy destroyers and RAF aircraft in the Mediterranean, and forced to surface. Her crew began to scuttle her and abandoned ship. Lieutenant Fasson and Able Seaman Grazier of HMS Petard scrambled aboard the sinking U-boat and managed to find the top secret Enigma cryptographic machine. They succeeded in passing this safely to colleagues, but were unable to escape themselves before the submarine sank. The recovery of the machine and its latest key settings were invaluable to the Allied code-breaking effort. Both men were awarded a posthumous George Cross 1942 - Japanese fleet reported to have withdrawn from the Solomons 1942 - RCAF planes of Eastern Air Command destroy two German U-boats in one day 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Stockdale, Price, Henry R Kenyon launched 1943 - Submarine USS Sea Cat laid down 1943 - Minesweeper USS Reign laid down 1943 - Destroyer USS Harry E Hubbard laid down 1943 - Frigate HMS Condamine laid down 1943 - Frigates HMS Lochy, Rowley, Seychelles launched 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Parkes launched 1943 - Submarine HMS Thorough launched 1943 - Frigate USS Charlotte launched 1943 - Destroyer USS Monssen launched 1943 - U-1406 laid down 1943 - U-483 launched 1943 - U-415 shot down RAF Wellington aircraft (Sqn 612/C). No survivors from aircraft, the boat had to abort its patrol due to damages sustained 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Flying Fish (ex HMCS Tillsonburg) laid down Toronto ON 1943 - Frigate HMCS Longueuil launched Montreal PQ 1943 - Minesweepers HMCS Fort Frances & Kapuskasing launched Port Arthur ON 1943 - Destroyer HMS Tenacious commissioned 1943 - Frigate HMS Byron commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Mosley, Bangust, Newell & Richey commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Porterfield commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Seahorse sinks a sampan at 30-48 N, 135-36 E 1944 - U-3031 laid down 1944 - U-2524, U-2525 launched 1944 - U-427 took part in operation Specht and guarded a German minefield off Stavanger (Norway) 1944 - Samuel Loring Morison, world renowned naval historian and author, born 1944 - Corvette HMS Hedingham Castle commissioned 1944 - ASW trawler HMS Royal Marine commissioned 1944 - Destroyers USS Floyd B Parks & Herbert J Thomas laid down 1944 - US Naval TF 38 begins to withdraw from the Philippines to Ulithi and 2 carriers are heavily damaged by Kamikaze attacks. The two ships of Task Group 38.4 struck by kamikazes are the aircraft carriers USS Franklin & Belleau Wood. Both retire to Ulithi and then to the US for repairs. The withdrawal of Task Group 38.4 to Ulithi and the escort aircraft carriers of Task Group 77.4 to Manus Island, leaves the defense of the Leyte beachhead in the hands of several USAAF P-38 groups and a P-61 squadron and Carrier Air Group Seven (CVG-7) in USS Hancock, Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Nine (CVLG-29) in USS Cabot and Night Carrier Air Group Forty One [CVLG (N)-41] in USS Independence 1945 - Minesweeper USS Pigeon commissioned 1945 - Minesweepers HMCS Burlington, Coquitlam & Red Deer paid off 1949 - The breaking up of former U-3017, possibly as N 41, at Newport UK 1956 - USCGC Chincoteague manning Ocean Station Delta in the North Atlantic, received a distress message that the German freighter Helgs Bolten was taking on water and wished to abandon ship as soon as possible. After reaching the scene some hours later, the cutter found that the high winds and 25-foot seas made it impossible to launch lifeboats. Two inflatable lifeboats, therefore, were passed by shot line to the freighter, and the 33 crewmen aboard were removed to the cutter unharmed. USCGC Chincoteague then stood by the drifting vessel for seven days, while commercial tugs made salvage attempts. In the all of the survivors returned on board the cutter to Norfolk. VA while a tug towed Helgs Bolten to the Azores 1961 - The Soviet Union tested a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb 1965 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Pearl Harbor 1966 - USS Ticonderoga port call Yokosuka 1966 - USS Kearsarge anchored in Strait of Malacca 1970 - USS Hancock port call Pearl Harbor 1974 - USS Midway port call Subic Bay 1980 - USS Ranger port call Vancouver BC 1990 - A major steam leak in the fire room of the USS Iwo Jima resulted in the deaths of 10 crewmembers. Off Ras al Madrakah Oman, ARG Alfa units, along with the remaining CTG 150.6 units - 4th MEB (Amphibious) embarked - began amphibious rehearsal Exercise Sea Soldier II. Operation Sharp Edge continues, with a total of 2393 evacuations, including 213 US citizens 2002 - HMCS Montreal, a Canadian Forces frigate on patrol in the Arabian Gulf region as part of Operation Apollo, intercepted a ship bound for Iraq carrying suspicious cargo 2003 - Submarine USS Georgia returned to Bangor after final deterrent patrol. To begin SSGN conversion at Norfolk Naval Shipyard commencing August 2004 2003 - HMS Forest Moor, situated at Nidderdale near Harrogate on the edge of the North Yorkshire National Park, decommissioned after 43 years service. The establishment was first used as an intelligence unit, or ‘Y Station’, during World War II. Later used as a specialist communications center, acting as headquarters of the radio services grouping within the MOD’s Defense Communication Services Agency which provides Very Low, Low and High Frequency radio communication services for the British Military and NATO. It was the Royal Navy's major HF receiver station 2004 - Submarine HMS Oracle departed John Pounds Scrapyard in Portsmouth under tow by tug Fairplay XIV for scrapping in Turkey 2004 - Coast Guard Group / Air Station Astoria, Ore., launched an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter equipped with a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensor at about 8:40 a.m. to conduct a first light search of the area. After about an hour, the helicopter crew found the 15-year-old male at the base of a 150-foot cliff. The helicopter lowered the rescue swimmer, and directed ground searchers to the boy's location. County personnel declared the boy deceased at the scene 2005 - As part of Commonwealth Month, HMS Belfast is highlighting the ships Commonwealth connections in food, music and dance. Board the Quarterdeck and explore the ship before sitting down to a traditional Naval feast in one of the unique dining areas. Bookings available for tables of 4 to 8 guests. Lunch takes place at 1230 2005 - Stornoway Coastguard are currently carrying out a search for a Spanish fisherman who fell overboard 145 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis. The Coastguard helicopter from Stornoway and a Nimrod from RAF Kinloss have just arrived on scene and are currently searching. Stornoway Coastguard were informed of the incident by Falmouth Coastguard who had been informed of the incident by an Irish Coastguard at Malinhead who happened to speak Spanish and picked up a broadcast that the fishermen were making on MF2182 kHz. Communications throughout the incident have been difficult since none of the fishermen speak Spanish, so communications are going through Madrid 2005 - CP Ships Limited today welcomed into service the first of nine 4250 TEU containerships ordered two years ago. The ship was formally named CP Kanha after one of India's best-known national parks by Mrs Poonam Puri, wife of Vaishnav Puri, who heads CP Ships' commercial activities in India. The naming ceremony took place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Container Terminal in Nhava Sheva. CP Kanha operates between US East Coast and West Asia and will be joined by sister ship CP Corbett, also named after a well-known Indian national park, when it is delivered in January 2006. CP Ships is also considering deploying a third sister ship in this service during second quarter 2006 2005 - HMCS Windsor was submerged off the Nova Scotia coast on when a transformer meltdown was reported. A small fire created smoke in the submarine and the crew went to immediate emergency stations. The submarine rose to what the navy calls "a safe depth" and extinguished the fire. No sailors were injured and the Windsor remains at sea. The vessel is the navy's only operational submarine 2005 - Rescuers have recovered the body of a California scuba diver who went missing near kelp beds off Point Loma. The San Diego lifeguard dive rescue team recovered the diver's body with the assistance of the USCG boats and a helicopter. According to the lifeguards, the diver went missing shortly after noon and the body was found at about 4pm. Authorities identified the victim as 54-year-old Daniel Fisch of Carlsbad, California but did not release details of the accident, which is under investigation 2005 - Key West service members and their families returned to the island after a weeklong evacuation from Hurricane Wilma. Upon their return, they discovered an air station invaded not only by the sea, but a surge of Navy support hard at work to bring Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West air operations and family life back to full mission capability 2006 - Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will travel to Prague on Monday, 30 October 2006. During his visit he will meet President Vaclav Klaus, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra, Defense Minister Jiri Sedivy, as well as Speaker of the Senate Premysl Sobotka and other parliamentarians 2006 - SINKEX 06 in an area of 4000 meters depth southeast of the Canary Islands and involved 1100 personnel aboard aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias and frigates Canarias, Santa Maria, Navarra and Blas de Lezo. The SINKEX will involve sinking two former small craft of the Spanish Navy. One is the ex LCU 1466 type landing craft L 71 and the other is the small water tanker Torpedista Hernandez a 63 2006 - The Hon Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced the appointments of Mr. Robert Crosbie, Mr. Stan Cook, Ms. Dianne Kelderman, Ms. Heather Tulk and Dr. Wayne Wheeler as members of the board of directors of Marine Atlantic Inc. Mr. Crosbie has been appointed chair of the board 2006 - Sea Launch delivered the XM-4 broadcast satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit 2006 - The Honorable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities announced the appointments of Mr. Léo Cormier, Mr. Albert Doucet, and Mr. Philip G. Evans to the Belledune Port Authority’s board of directors 2006 - The coast guard squadron stationed on Matsu has been equipped with a new 50-tonne patrol boat that should greatly boost Taiwan's ability to catch Chinese poachers. The squad will now operate a fleet of three 50-tonne patrol boats that have a shallow draft, allowing them to cruise between the reefs surrounding Matsu to intercept poachers, who often escape patrols by making for shallow water 2006 - USCG Station Toledo rescued a father and his 10 year old son after their vessel began taking on water and sank a half mile northeast of the Coast Guard station at 1930. Sector Detroit Command Center received notification from the motor vessel Federal Sakura reporting that they could hear screams for help and could see two people clinging to buoy #48 at the entrance to the Maumee River 2006 - The most powerful tunable laser in the world just shattered another power record: the Free-Electron Laser (FEL), supported by the Office of Naval Research and located at the US Department of Energy´s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), produced a 14.2 kilowatt (kW) beam of laser light at an infrared wavelength of 1.61 microns 2007 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen speaks at the 2007 Coast Guard Innovation Expo in New Orleans 2007 UK MOD statement: “A report in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper on 28 October 2007 claimed that the Navy has been forced to "mothball" all Type 42 Destroyers and several Type 22 frigates to save money. This is not correct. In fact there are eight Type 42s and four Type 22s currently in service” 2007 - USCG Capt. Frank Sturm, Transportations Security Administration Transportation Worker Identification Credential Program Director Maurine Fanguy, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Director Vayl Oxford and US Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations Asst Commissioner Thomas Winkowski will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism on the SAFE Port Act 2007 - UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Defence Secretary Des Browne welcomed Prime Minister Maliki's statement that Basra Province will transfer to Iraqi control in December 2007 - There were no injuries reported when a US Navy F/A-18 accidentally dropped an inert training bomb over the resort town of Virginia Beach 2007 - Sailors from Norfolk-based USS James E. Williams boarded a N. Korean merchant ship that had been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, while two other Navy vessels tailed a pirated Japanese ship in the same region. Initial reports said two pirates were killed 2007 - Civilian guard with MOD Police at Faslane submarine base who was dismissed after being convicted of domestic abuse and drink driving has lost an unfair sacking claim 2007 - A memorial to the honor of 120 Norwegian victims of Stalin-era terror opened at the memorial graveyard in Murmansk. A Lutheran cross and a stone plate with the names of all the 120 Norwegian victims of Stalin terror on the Kola Peninsula written are now to be found on the Russian graveyard. Most of the commemorated Norwegians were settlers on the Fisherman’s Island west of Murmansk. When the Soviet regime closed the borders in the 1920s, the settlers ended up caught in Stalin’s system of terror. The memorial was opened in the presence of Norwegian General Consul in Murmansk Rune Åsheim, representatives of public organizations as well as relatives of the victims 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