SeaWaves Today in History October 31, 2008 1534 - Jacques Cartier authorized to provision and arm 2 ships at St-Malo to return to North America in the spring; he will eventually raise £3,000, and equip 3 ships with 110 men for the return trip May 19, 1535 1610 - Henry Hudson on the Discovery orders Prickett and Staffe ashore to find a suitable place for winter at the south-east corner of James Bay; the following day the crew haul the ship aground and start building winter quarters 1809 - John Molson 1764-1836 sends steamboat 'Accommodation' on maiden voyage; first steamboat in Canada makes seven day round trip from Montreal to Quebec and back 1904 - Cape Elizabeth, ME- The morning watch reported a dory adrift 2 miles off the station, and the crew put out in surfboat and towed it to shore 1912 - Battleship HMS Warspite laid down 1917 - Drifters HMCS CD 15 & CD 16 completed by Davie Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd Lauzon PQ 1917 - Destroyer HMS Newmarket laid down 1917 - Submarine HNLMS K VIII laid down 1917 - Destroyer USS Robinson laid down 1917 - Destroyer HMS Versatile launched 1918 - HMCS Galiano, an auxiliary patrol vessel, Lt. Robert Mayes POPE, RNCVR, CO, foundered, in heavy seas, between Cape Scott and Cape St. James, off Triangle Island, in the Queen Charlotte Sound. All 39 of her Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve crewmembers were lost. Galiano was the only Canadian warship lost during the First World War. (Some sources record the date of her loss as 30 October.) Galiano was built in 1913 at the Dublin Dockyard, Ireland, for the Canadian Fisheries Department. Although she was not commissioned into the RCN until 15 Dec 17, she was requisitioned on 15 Sep and had been engaged on ‘naval’ patrols before that date. The ship displaced 393 tons, was 162 feet long (o.a.), and had a maximum speed of 11 knots. Her normal complement was 33 men. She was caught in the same gale that also sank the CPR steamship Princess Sophia. Galiano was transporting supplies and was approaching her destination at Triangle Island when she sent her last message: "Holds full of water, for God's sake send help." W.C. Neary, whose brother was the wireless operator aboard the ship, received the message, and vessels in the vicinity were notified. A search was conducted but only some minor debris and three bodies were found. The loss of Galiano is commemorated in a display at the Canadian Forces Damage Control Training Facility in Esquimalt 1918 - Minesweeper M 1 commissioned 1919 - Destroyer USS Broome commissioned 1919 - Werner Horn 1888-1931 sentenced to 10 years in prison in Fredericton for trying to blowup St. Croix River bridge in 1915; organized by German spy ring in US 1924 - Submarine HMS L23 completed 1931 - Submarine ORP Wilk commissioned 1934 - Destroyer HMS Express commissioned 1936 - Destroyers USS Mugford & Ralph Talbot launched 1936 - Soviet submarines SC-128, SC-129 & SC-324 commissioned 1938 - Soviet submarines SC-212 & SC-213 commissioned 1939 - Colonel Gwido Langer, the leader of the brilliant Polish cryptologists who have been working with their French and British counterparts to solve the mysteries of the German Enigma enciphering machine, arrived in France this month with his team and two Enigma machines. The Poles have thus fulfilled the orders of their General Staff that "in the case of a threat of war the Enigma secret must be used as our Polish contribution to the common cause of defense and divulged to our future allies." It is hoped the Poles, helped on their journey by the British Secret Service, will carry on with their work to enable the Allies to read the German's secret codes 1939 - The RN starts a global hunt for the pocket battleships Admiral Graf Spee and Deutschland. The RN is also stepping up its offensive action against German submarines. Since the Royal Oak was sunk at anchor in Scapa Flow a fortnight ago the fleet has stayed at sea. German battleships have seized at least six merchant ships in the last month, but most damage has been effected by the U-boats. The submarines have been laying mines on all the routes out of the Scottish supply bases and prowling close to shore. British destroyers, frigates and corvettes are in constant action against U-boats, relying mainly on an echo-sounding device from the last war, ASDIC (from its inventors, the Allied Submarine Detection Investigation Committee). Patches of oil can give rise to a kill claim, but they're often deceptive 1939 - U-25 sank SS Baoule 1939 - Corvettes HMS Candytuft, Dianthus, Carnation & Delphinium laid down 1939 - Corvette USS Tenacity laid down 1939 - Submarine HMS Tigris launched 1939 - Submarine HMS Truant commissioned 1940 - Luftwaffe long-range aircraft are now flying from bases in Norway. Inter-service rivalry between the Luftwaffe and the Navy means the Kondor will never be fully integrated into the German effort in the Battle of the Atlantic 1940 - Convoy escort limits are now being pushed out to 19 degrees west 1940 - U-74 commissioned 1940 - U-587, U-588, U-589, U-590 laid down 1940 - U-71 launched 1940 - U-124 sank SS Rutland in Convoy HX-82 1940 - Submarine HMS Upholder commissioned 1940 - Destroyer HMS Bleasdale laid down 1940 - Corvettes HMS Dahlia, Kingcup & Spirae launched 1940 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan (ex-Iroquois) laid down Vickers-Armstrong Ltd, Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK 1940 - Corvette HMCS Trillium commissioned Montreal PQ 1940 - Corvette HMS Windflower arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City PQ 1941 - U-639 laid down 1941 - U-374 sank SS Rose Schiaffino 1941 - U-96 sank SS Bennekom in Convoy OS-10 1941 - German submarine U-552 sinks USS Reuben James, which was escorting Convoy HX 156 south of Iceland, with loss of 115 lives. First US ship lost to enemy action in World War II 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Chignecto commissioned 1941 - HMC ML 052 commissioned 1941 - Sloop HMS Whimbrel laid down 1942 - Submarine USS Thresher sinks a cargo ship at 04-40 S, 118-54 E 1942 - Submarine USS Grayback sinks a cargo ship at 04-37 S, 152-30 E, Rabaul area 1942 - U-103 sank SS Tasmania in Convoy SL-125 1942 - U-510 damaged SS Alaska in Convoy SL-125 1942 - Patrol Vessel District YP-345 sunk southeast of Midway Island 1942 - U-172 sank SS Aldington Court. After sinking the Aldington Court, U-172 captured the vessel's First Officer 1942 - U-174 sank SS Marylyn 1942 - U-504 sank SS Empire Guidon & SS Reynolds 1942 - U-856 laid down 1942 - U-308, U-736, U-801, U-802, U-849 launched 1942 - U-856 laid down 1942 - Minesweeper USS Serene launched 1942 - Corvette HMS Dittany launched 1942 - Destroyer HMCS Sioux (ex-HMS Vixen) laid down 1942 - Escort carrier HMS Premier laid down 1942 - Escort carrier HMS Battler commissioned 1942 - Destroyer HMS Loyal commissioned 1942 - Destroyer USS Maddox commissioned 1942 - U-521 was attacked by a Hudson aircraft from RAF 145 Sqn and sustained minor damage 1943 - Submarine USS Gabilan sinks small patrol craft at 32-50 N, 134-21 E off Murotosaki 1943 - Submarine USS Guitarro sinks an armed cargo ship & 2 cargo ships at 15-15 N, 119-56 E 1943 - U-772 launched 1943 - U-24 sank Soviet minesweeper SKA-088 1943 - U-262 sank SS Hallfried in Convoy SL-138 1943 - U-68 sank SS New Columbia 1943 - U-306 sunk in the North Atlantic NE of the Azores, in position 46.19 N, 20.44 W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Whitehall and the corvette HMS Geranium. 51 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-584 sunk in the North Atlantic, in position 49.14 N, 31.55 W, by a Fido homing torpedo from 3 Avenger aircraft (VC-9) of the escort carrier USS Card. 53 dead (all hands lost) 1943 - U-732 sunk in the mid-Atlantic near Tangier, in position 35.54 N, 05.52 W, by depth charges from the ASW trawler HMS Imperialist and the destroyer HMS Douglas. 31 dead and 18 survivors 1943 - Destroyer USS Irwin launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Bowers, Stern & Swearer launched 1943 - Submarine USS Sea Lion launched 1943 - Destroyer minelayer USS Gwin laid down 1943 - Frigates HMS Rupert & Stockham launched 1943 - Escort carrier USS Tripoli commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Spangler & George commissioned 1943 - Frigate HMS Conn commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper USS Candid commissioned 1943 - Submarine HMS Terrapin launched 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Chedabucto declared a constructive total loss. Lost in a collision with the cable vessel Lord Kelvin 30 miles off Rimouski PQ. One officer was lost with the ship 1943 - LT Hugh D. O'Neill of VF (N)-75 destroys a Japanese aircraft during night attack off Vella Lavella in first kill by a radar-equipped night fighter of the Pacific Fleet 1944 - Submarine USS Seahorse sinks a sampan at 31-19 N, 134-13 E 1944 - Submarine USS Rasher sinks a tanker at 01-25 N, 120-46 E 1944 - U-2541 laid down 1944 - U-2346 launched 1944 - U-2517 commissioned 1944 - U-475 sank Soviet landing craft SB-2 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS John L Williamson & Bivin commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Hazard commissioned 1944 - Frigates HMS Murchison & Enard Bay launched 1944 - Coast Guard-manned FS-140 was accepted and was used for training at Pascagoula, MS; Tampa, FL, Brownsville, TX; Gulfport, MS; Mobile, AL; Corpus Christi, TX; Pensacola, FL, etc 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-141 was commissioned while in the Southwest Pacific area in October 1944, with LT W.J. Holbert, USCGR, as commanding officer. She was assigned and operated in the Southwest Pacific area in the Philippines and Hawaii. Exact date estimated 1945 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-274 was commissioned at New York and LT R. S. Crampton, USCGR, became her first commanding officer on 24 November 1944. He was succeeded on 4 October 1945 by LTJG G. B. Dowley, USCGR. She was assigned to and operated in the Pacific during the war. 1945 - Destroyer HMCS Ottawa paid off 1945 - Minesweeper USS Harrier commissioned 1945 - Destroyer USS Stickel commissioned 1951 - Minesweeper HMCS Llewellyn paid off 1955 - Destroyer HMCS Crescent recommissioned after Type 15 ASW modernization 1956 - Navy men land in R4D Skytrain on the ice at the South Pole. RADM George Dufek, CAPT Douglas Cordiner, CAPT William Hawkes, LCDR Conrad Shinn, LT John Swadener, AD2 J. P. Strider and AD2 William Cumbie are the first men to stand on the South Pole since Captain Robert F. Scott in 1912 1956 - USS Burdo & Harlan R Dickson evacuate 166 persons from Haifa, Israel due to the fighting between Egypt and Israel 1956 - British and French aircraft commenced operations against Egyptian targets, following Nasser's rejection of the ultimatum demanding the security of the Suez Canal 1958 - Minesweeper HMCS Brockville paid off 1961 - End of Lighter than Air in US Navy with disestablishment of Fleet Airship Wing One and ZP-1 and ZP-3, the last operating units in LTA branch of Naval Aviation, at Lakehurst, New Jersey 1962 - Sault Ste Marie, Ontario - Opening of new bridge across St Mary's River to Michigan 1964 - USS Hancock port call Pearl Harbor 1968 - USS America port call Subic Bay 1984 - The tanker Puerto Rican explodes outside of San Francisco Bay. Coast Guard units respond 1999 - EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard 2003 - Buoy tender USCGC Sassafras decommissioned at Guam. Transferred to Nigeria as Obula (A 504) 2005 - Vice Admiral Venkat Bharathan PVSM AVSM VSM, Chief of Personnel has been appointed as Vice Chief of Naval Staff in India. He will take over from Vice Admiral Yashwant Prasad PVSM AVSM VSM who will retire 2005 - Milford Haven Coastguard Graham Wood will be joining the crew of 'BG Spirit' on Monday as they set out on their trip to Southampton. 32 year old Graham, who has been a Coastguard for seven years, will become one of the crew onboard the vessel when it sets sail from Milford Haven. BG Spirit won the Global Challenge 2004/5 yacht race in July this year. Graham is a regular coxswain for the Coastguard boat, MCA Falcon, and often takes Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) surveyors out to survey and inspect vessels. He also gives advice and information to leisure sailors and undertakes fishing vessel inspections 2005 - The Royal Australian Navy annual mine warfare Exercise Dugong commenced in the vicinity of Port Phillip Bay and Yarra River, Victoria. The exercise will be conducted from 31 October until 18 November 2005. The exercise involves four coastal mine hunters (MHC), two auxiliary minesweepers (MSA), clearance diving units and other mine warfare experts from the Royal Australian Navy and explosive ordnance specialists from the Royal Australian Air Force. The principle role of mine hunters is to keep Australia's ports and waterways for trade free from the threat of mines. They use high frequency sonar to search for, detect and classify mine-like objects. Once detected, the ships deploy a remote controlled mine disposal vehicle or clearance divers to identify and, if necessary, neutralize mines. A comprehensive environmental plan has been prepared for Dugong. No mines will be detonated in the water during the exercise. Participating Navy units include mine hunter coastal (MHC) HMA Ships Diamantina, Huon, Hawkesbury and Yarra, mine sweeper auxiliary (MSA) Bandicoot and Wallaroo; Australian Clearance Diving Team One; and mine warfare specialists from HMAS Waterhen. A Royal Australian Air Force explosive ordnance specialist is also participating. During the Exercise ships will berth at Station Pier, Port Philip Bay and Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving specialists will be operating from Fort Gellibrand and TS Voyager, Williamstown. Activities will also be conducted in the vicinity of St Kilda Beach and along the Yarra River. Exercise Dugong was last held in Jervis Bay NSW in 2004 2005 - Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI), signed contracts with Daewoo Ship Building and Marine Engineering Co Ltd of South Korea for building and delivering two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCS). The tankers, to be built at DSME's shipbuilding yard in South Korea, would have a deadweight of about 300,000 tonnes at the design draft of 21.5 meters. The tankers would be built as per the latest and most stringent International Regulations and would be classed with the ABS and IRS Classification Societies. These vessels would join SCI's fleet by end of October 2008 and end-September 2009 respectively, SCI sources said. The SCI's present fleet stands at 84 vessels aggregating about 2.84 million GT (4.93 million DWT) comprising general cargo vessels, cellular container vessels, crude oil tankers (including combination carrier), product tankers, bulk carriers, LPG/Amonia carriers, acid carriers, passenger vessels and offshore supply vessels 2005 - AP MOLLER-Maersk is to axe up to 169 jobs in the Netherlands as part of its drive to integrate recently-acquired P&O Nedlloyd into the group 2005 - The Aker Kvaerner company Aker Marine Contractors and Aberdeen based Sonsub Ltd have signed a three-year cooperation agreement to jointly seek project opportunities in the field of subsea construction and removal. The agreement will allow Sonsub and Aker Marine Contractors to optimize the use of their respective resources and assets. Both parties will provide services, vessels and equipment to support joint projects. North Sea projects will be the initial focus of the agreement; however the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa will provide some of the best opportunities for the application of the two companies' joint offering 2005 - Ice patrol ship HMS Endurance leaves Portsmouth for her annual six-month deployment better equipped than ever. She will carry out, among other things, work that will help scientists study the impact of the Antarctic’s melting ice cap 2005 - Jurong Shipyard in Singapore has awarded Aker Kvaerner MH, a company in the Aker Kvaerner group, the contract for delivery of advanced deepwater drilling system for one semi-submersible drilling rig to PetroMena AS. The contract value is approximately USD 100 million. The award is based on an option included in a contract Aker Kvaerner MH signed with Jurong Shipyard beginning of October this year 2005 - Somali coast is currently the world's most dangerous area as far as piracy is concerned 2005 - The St Petersburg Baltic Factory has begun dockside trials of the world's largest nuclear icebreaker. The project to build the icebreaker was launched December 29, 1993 but was later suspended due to a lack of financing. Partial financing was resumed in the late 1990s. The vessel, a modernized version of the Arktika series icebreakers, is the world's largest nuclear icebreaker measuring 150 meters in length (about 522 feet) and 30 meters in width (about 98 feet), with a displacement of 25,000 metric tons. It is designed to break through ice as thick as 2.8 meters and will be ready for use in 2006 2005 - A memorial service was held for the fallen soldiers of the Israeli Navy on at the Elisheva Park in Ashdod. Minister of Defense, Shaul Mofaz, presided over the event. The Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz and the head of the city council of Ashdod Zvi Zilker, as well as the Commander of the Navy, Major General David Ben Basht, all attended as well. The memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers of the Navy, is an annual event, during which wreaths are placed in the sea by navy ships 2005 - A search is underway for a missing person who boarded the Isle of Wight ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth this evening. The alarm was raised by the master of the ferry just after 1900. Solent Coastguard requested the launch of the Yarmouth all weather RNLI lifeboat and the Lymington inshore RNLI lifeboat. Coastguard Rescue helicopter Victor Alpha was scrambled to the scene 2005 - A T-45 assigned to TAW-2 crashed on the King Ranch one mile northeast of NAS Kingsville, Texas. Instructor and student ejected and were slightly injured 2005 - Diana Shipping Inc. announced that it has agreed to purchase two Panamax dry bulk carriers, the sister vessels M/V CMB Philippe and Hull H1307A. The M/V CMB Philippe of 74,500 dwt, built by Hudong Shipyard in August 2004, has a purchase price of $39.0 million and is expected to be delivered in November 2005. Hull No.H1307A of 74,500 dwt, currently under construction by Hudong Shipyard, has a purchase price of $42.0 million and is expected to be delivered in March 2006. The vessels will be chartered to Bocimar International nv, Antwerp, Belgium, for 11 to 13 months at $21,000 per day gross, commencing from their respective dates of delivery to Diana Shipping Inc. Upon completion of these purchases, as well as the previously announced acquisition of the Panamax dry bulk carrier M/V Bolina (to be renamed Thetis), the Company's fleet will consist of 12 Panamax dry bulk carriers and one Capesize dry bulk carrier. Based on these acquisitions and their delivery schedules, the Company's fixed employment coverage for 2006 will increase to 44% from 30%. The expected time charter equivalent rate of the vessels with fixed employment will average approximately $27,000 gross per day 2005 - HMS Cumberland has seized a two-tonne haul of cocaine with a UK street value of some £200 Million in a Caribbean drug bust. The discovery was made during routine counter drugs operations in the Western Caribbean, following reports indicating that a 'go fast' - the term given to small speedboats - involved in drug trafficking was transiting through the Devonport-based frigate's patrol area. Working closely with a Lynx helicopter from her consort, RFA Wave Knight and with the USCG, HMS Cumberland intercepted the vessel in international waters about 100 miles off Nicaragua. The four crew onboard the go-fast initially tried to outrun the Lynx, but eventually gave themselves up with little resistance after the use of non-lethal disabling shots to stop their engines. A team then boarded the vessel from HMS Cumberland and a search discovered the presence of cocaine onboard. The whole operation took the crew of the go fast by surprise and they were arrested and detained onboard pending further investigations 2005 - The military has decided to withdraw temporarily from a mission to sink capsized chemical/oil carrier Samho Brother carrying a cargo of toxic benzene off Hsinchu, northern Taiwan after conducting inter-ministry consultations, Vice Minister of National Defense Huo Shou-yeh said. The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is currently working to come up with a more feasible plan to handle the capsized ship and its toxic cargo, Huo said at the Legislative Yuan. The military will rejoin the EPA in the mission if requested to in the future and it is believed that military can successfully destroy the highly flammable benzene by setting it alight, Huo said. Samho Brother capsized Oct. 10 after a collision. After the mishap, the EPA decided that the benzene onboard the ship would have to be burnt to prevent it from polluting the adjacent sea area off Taiwan's northwest coast. Discounting media reports that the combat capability of the Republic of China Air Force and Army Aviation Force came under question after two F-16s jet fighters and one Army helicopter were sent to destroy the capsized ship last week but failed to accomplish their missions, Huo said that the four laser-guided missiles fired by the F-16s did hit the target, at both the ship's bow and stern. The missiles failed, however, to ignite the benzene because it was carried in the hold under the deck, which the missiles did not hit, Huo said. Huo said that, even if the missiles had hit the cargo hold, the benzene might not have exploded because there might not have been enough benzene vapor in the hold to facilitate an explosion 2005 - Hochtief Polska has been chosen as a partner in the consortium to build Gdansk's deep-sea container terminal 2005 - With the arrival of the SH-2G model Seasprite, it was thought that HCM in the Royal New Zealand Navy would become a thing of the past, but experience has proven a third crewmember is necessary. The establishment of HCM as a trade was officially recognized when No. 6 Squadron was also re-established. Helicopter support to the Navy has been provided through Naval Support Flight (part of No 3 Squadron) since 1977. No 6 Squadron was re-formed as an independent squadron that will assume the responsibilities and activities of providing helicopter support to naval operations. The aviation trades of the RNZN can now look to the future with a newly established trade and a reformed Squadron to ensure further capabilities and efficiencies 2006 - A USN Tomahawk Block III cruise missile was launched from USS Milius, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer underway in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Calif. The missile was launched vertically, and flew a land attack mission from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) sea ranges. Seconds after launch from the destroyer’s launch system, the Tomahawk missile transitioned to cruise flight. It flew a fully guided 511-nautical mile test flight using global positioning satellite navigation, to a target site on the NAVAIR land range. The total mission lasted one hour and 11 minutes 2006 - NCL confirmed the contract to build two cruise vessels, and an option for a third, by lifting all subjects. The vessels will be delivered from Aker Yards in Saint Nazaire in 2009 and 2010 2007 - Former Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, retired Adm. William James Crowe Jr., was laid to rest with full military honors at the US Naval Academy Cemetery 2007 - The Royal Navy's newest and most advanced nuclear submarine, Astute, is taking her first dive for an underwater test of her systems. The 'Trim and Basin Dive' is taking place in Devonshire Dock, Barrow, over two days, and involves submerging ASTUTE in a dive hole large enough for the 100M-long, 7400 tonne boat. The dive is the first time that the submarine has been fully submerged, and provides the opportunity to test the submarine's underwater stability and systems. 25 of her crew are on board alongside BAE Systems technicians to carry out the tests. Tests include trials of various boat systems and equipment including the mechanism that releases an emergency buoy, the emergency escape tower, and various hydraulics and electrical systems 2007 - Colombian marines discovered two homemade submarines that were to ship drugs from the Pacific Coast. The submarines, made of fiberglass, were found in a clandestine shipyard in the swamps around Buenaventura 2007 - Gunmen in speedboats attacked a Nigerian Navy vessel on the oil-rich Niger Delta coast, killing one officer and wounding several others 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