SeaWaves Today in History September 23, 2008 1577 - Gravesend England - Martin Frobisher c1539-1594 returns to England from his second voyage to the Arctic with 200 tons of ore as ballast; his three kidnapped Inuit, a man, woman and child, die a month later of influenza 1578 - Bristol England - Humphrey Gilbert c1539-1583 sets sail on his first trip to North America for Queen Elizabeth; will be turned back at Cape Verde by the Spaniards 1779 - During the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard defeated the HMS Serapis after the American commander, John Paul Jones, is said to have declared - ''I have not yet begun to fight!'' 1905 - The negotiations are brought to a successful conclusion with the drawing up of the Karlstad Agreement 1911 - Battleship FS Courbet launched 1918 - Light cruiser HMS Emerald laid down 1918 - Destroyer HMS Ramsey laid down 1918 - Destroyers USS Long & Meade laid down 1918 - Destroyer HMS Sabre launched 1918 - Destroyer USS Boggs commissioned 1918 - Submarine USS R-2 launched 1919 - Submarine USS R-12 commissioned 1923 - Destroyer FS Cyclone laid down 1930 - Destroyer HMS Boadicea launched 1930 - Submarine HMS Orpheus commissioned 1931 - LT Alfred Pride pilots Navy's first rotary wing aircraft, XOP-1 autogyro, in landings and takeoffs on board USS Langley while underway 1933 - Destroyer USS Aylwin laid down 1934 - Colonial sloop D'Iberville launched 1934 - Submarine FS Iris launched 1935 - Sir Samuel Hoare sent message of reassurance to Italy on the British fleet movements 1936 - Japanese naval authorities took over Hongkew. Three Japanese sailors killed 1936 - Soviet submarine S-2 commissioned 1937 - Destroyer HMS Zulu launched 1937 - Light cruiser USS Philadelphia commissioned 1939 - Admiral Nomura Kichisaburo is appointed Foreign Minister in Prime Minister General Abe Nobuyuki's recently appointed Japanese government. This cabinet will hold office until January of 1940, and make some conciliatory moves towards the US, which will not be reciprocated. This will strengthen the position of the more militant Japanese leaders 1939 - Destroyer USS Rowan commissioned 1939 - U4 sank SS Walna 1939 - U-201, U-202, U-203, U-204, U-251, U-252, U-253, U-254, U-255, U-331, U-332, U-333, U-334, U-371, U-372, U-373, U-374, U-401, U-402, U-403, U-404, U-431, U-432, U-433, U-434 ordered 1939 - U-54 commissioned 1940 - Dakar Expedition - Operation Menace. Because of Dakar's strategic importance to the North and South Atlantic routes, an expedition is mounted to acquire the port for Allied use. Free French troops led by Gen. de Gaulle are carried in ships escorted and supported by units of the Home Fleet and Force H under the command of Vice-Admiral John Cunningham. They include battleships HMS Barham & Resolution, carrier HMS Ark Royal, three cruisers and other smaller ships including Free French. Naval forces at Dakar include the unfinished battleship Richelieu and two of the cruisers recently arrived from Toulon. Attempts to negotiate fail and as Vichy French ships attempt to leave port, shore batteries open fire, damaging heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland and two destroyers. Shortly afterwards, the Vichy submarine Persee is sunk by gunfire and large destroyer L'Audacieux disabled by HMAS Australia and beached. A Free French landing is beaten off 1940 - The 2nd group of 8 "overage" USN destroyers to be turned over to the RN in exchange for bases in the Western Hemisphere are transferred at Halifax, Nova Scotia. USS Abbot recommissioned as HMS Charlestown, USS Foote recommissioned as HMS Roxborough, USS Hopewell recommissioned as HMS Bath, USS Doran recommissioned as HMS St Marys, USS Maddox recommissioned as HMS Georgetown, USS Thomas recommissioned as HMS St Albans and USS Kalk recommissioned as HMCS Hamilton 1940 - Minesweeper HMAS Mildura laid down 1940 - Light cruiser HMS Nigeria commissioned 1940 - Armed yacht HMCS Elk arrived Bermuda & assigned America & West Indies Station 1940 - Destroyer HMCS Iroquois launched Newcastle-on-Tyne 1940 - In naval grid BF 17 U-48 and U-99 search for a crashed German He 111 aircraft 1941 - Famous Stuka ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel who delivered the striking blow to the Soviet battleship Marat on this date. His gunner reported back to Rudel seconds after he released the bomb that the "ship is blowing up, you got her". The 1000kg bomb fell down the "steamtower" and exploded inside the ship. Rudel thus also destroyed a battleship in addition to the hundreds of tanks he hit in the war 1941 - President Roosevelt announces that the arming of merchant shipping is under consideration. The concern about possible German attacks has pushed this issue to the front 1941 - U-118, U-409 launched 1941 - U-634 1943 - U-1064, U-1065, U-1306 laid down 1941 - U-68 inspected the Spanish tanker Gobeo 1941 - U-107 made contact with Convoy SL-87 which was attacked the following day 1941 - Minesweeper HMAS Warrambool commissioned 1941 - Minesweeper HMS Nettle launched 1941 - Destroyer USS Macomb launched 1941 - Battleship USS Massachusetts launched Bethlehem Steel, Quincy MA 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Georgian commissioned 1941 - Depot ship HMCS Avalon II (ex Georgian) (Lakeways Lines Steamer, Great Lakes passenger service) hired St. John's Nfld, requisitioned for use in St John's, as the base facilities there were rudimentary. She was used as an administrative and accommodations facility to support minor warships until the end of the war. Purchased May 42, Laid up Mar 46, later sold 1942 - Destroyer HMAS Voyager is sunk while attempting to land supplies to the "Sparrow Force" fighting a guerrilla war against the Japanese on Timor 1942 - Baseball player Larry French of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a brilliant one-hitter, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 for his 197th career win. After a brief relief stint on 26 September, he joins the US Navy, and rises through the ranks retiring as a captain in 1969 1942 - Destroyer HMS Wrangler laid down 1942 - Destroyer USS Troubridge launched 1942 - Submarine HMS Tudor launched 1942 - Aircraft carrier USS Lexington launched 1942 - Corvettes HMCS Louisburg & Woodstock arrived Humber from Convoy HX-207 for refit & fitting with extra a/a armament 1942 - At 0605hrs a man was lost overboard from U-177. [Bootsmannmaat Erwin Henning] 1942 - U-255 was attacked by Catalina U from 210 RAF Squadron in AE 25. She was so heavily damaged by two depth charges that she had to return to base 1942 - U-505 was attacked by the freighter Antonius with gunfire. The boat crash dived 1942 - U-561 was forced to return to her base in the Mediterranean due to technical problems 1942 - U-534 launched 1942 - U-271 commissioned 1942 U-125 sank SS Bruyère 1942 - U-211 sank SS Esso Williamsburg 1942 - U-515 sank SS Henke Lindvangen & damaged SS Henke Antinous 1942 - U-582 sank SS Vibran in Convoy ON-131 1942 - U-617 sank SS Athelsultan & SS Tennessee in Convoy SC-100 1943 - Submarine USS Brill laid down 1943 - Escort carrier USS Commencement Bay laid down 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Eisner & Garfield Thomas laid down 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Rall launched 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Joseph E Campbell, Micka & Pettit commissioned 1943 - Retreating German troops wreck the port and sink Italian shipping in Naples 1943 - Admiral Thomas C Kinkaid issues Operations Plan (Op Plan) 9-43 which reorganizes the Alaskan Army and Navy air strength. The Commanding General Eleventh Air Force becomes Commander of Task Force 90 (TF 90), composed of Task Group 90.1 (TG 90.1), designated the Air Striking Unit (comprising 16 medium bombers, 12 heavy bombers, 100 fighters) and of TG 90.2, designated the Air Search Group, a Navy air arm. For operations, the Eleventh Air Force is now under the jurisdiction of Commander Northern Pacific (COMNORPAC) Forces. There is no administrative change 1943 - HMCS Chambly, a Flower-class, A/LCdr. Antony Fenwick PICKARD, RCNR, CO, was attacked by U-260, OLtzS Hubertus Purkhold, CO. A ‘Gnat’ acoustic-homing torpedo exploded close astern of Chambly. There was no further contact. U-260 was a medium-range Type VIIC submarine built by Bremer Vulkan, at Bremen-Vegesack. She was commissioned on 14 Mar 42. U-260 conducted nine patrols and compiled a record of one ship sunk for a total of 4,893 tons and one ship damaged for a further 7,176 tons. On 12 Mar 45, while at a depth of 80 meters, U-260, OLtzS. Klaus Becker, CO, struck a mine south of Ireland, in position 51.15N, 009.05W. Despite the damage, the boat was surfaced and then scuttled. The entire crew abandoned the boat safely and was interned in Ireland. Hubertus Purkhold was born in 1916, at Beuthen, Upper Silesia. He joined the navy in 1935. When the war began, he was serving as a Watch Officer in the gunnery training ship Jaguar. He transferred to the U-boat force in Oct 40. After conversion training, he was sent directly onto a U-boat Commander's Course. OLtzS Purkhold then served for five months as the First Watch Officer in the Type VIIA U-30, KKpt. Robert Prützmann, CO. During Apr 41, Purkhold served as the acting commander. At the end of that month, he was appointed to command the Type IIA training boat U-14. Purkhold was appointed to command U-260 on 14 Mar 42, at the age of 25. He was promoted to KptLt on 01 Nov 42 and completed his operational tour in Apr 44 and was assigned as a Company Commander at the Naval College in Mürwick, where he remained until the end of the war. There is no record of his being detained after the capitulation. He sank one ship for a total of 4,893 tons and damaged one other for a further 7,176 tons. Also on this date - HMCS Morden, a Flower-class corvette, Lt. Erin Claude Smith RCNVR, CO, was attacked by U-666, OLtzS Herbert ENGEL, CO. U-666 fired two ‘Gnat’ acoustic-homing torpedoes in the attack. The first Gnat exploded in Morden's wake while the second Gnat hit the River-class frigate HMS Itchen. Itchen sank at 2355 south of Greenland, in position 53-25N 039-42W. There were only three survivors from Itchen. Seventy-seven of the 78 Canadian survivors rescued on 20 Sep after the sinking of HMCS St Croix perished. All but one of the survivors from the corvette HMS Polyanthus also perished. U-666 was a medium-range Type VIIC submarine built by Howaldtswerke, at Hamburg. She was commissioned on 26 Aug 42. U-666 conducted four patrols and compiled a record of one ship sunk for a total of 1,370 tons and one ship damaged for a further 5,234 tons. On 09 May 43, U-666 shot down a ‘Halifax’ patrol aircraft from RAF 58 Squadron. Only two hours later, U-666 also damaged a RAF ‘Whitley’ patrol aircraft. The exact fate of U-666 is unknown. Previously, it was claimed that U-666 had been sunk on 10 Feb 44 in the North Atlantic west of Ireland, in position 53.56N, 017.16W, by depth charges from aircraft of the British escort carrier HMS Fencer. Post-war research has established that this attack was against a ‘non-sub’ target. Today, U-666, OLtzS Ernst Wilberg, CO is officially listed as ‘missing’. All 51 crewmembers were lost. Herbert Engel was born in 1912, at Hamburg. He was conscripted into the navy in 1939, probably from the Merchant Marine, although this is not certain. He served in U-48 for eight months in 1940 before commissioning. After a brief officer training, Engel was appointed in Feb 41 as a Watch Officer in the successful Type VIIC boat U-559, KptLt. Hans Heidtmann, Knight's Cross, CO. Engle was selected for command and underwent preparatory training with the 24th U-Flotilla from Mar to Jul 42. He was appointed to command U-666 on 26 Aug 42, at the age of 29. He was promoted to KptLt. on 01 Sep 43. Engel completed his operational tour in Dec 43 and was assigned to the staff of the 6th U-Flotilla. He was appointed to command U-228 on 12 Aug 44 and the boat sailed that day from St. Nazaire to Bergen, Norway. In Oct 44, KptLt. Engel was assigned as the Testing Adviser to the U-Training Organization, where he remained until the end of the war. There is no record of his having being detained after the capitulation. He sank on ships for 1,370 tons. The use of the 'Gnat' homing weapon gave U-boat commanders new hope of dealing with the increasing number of escorts around convoys. The events described above were all night engagements as the U-boats continued their surfaced attack tactics. U-boats hoped to either destroy or drive off the escorts to allow the submarines to resurface and pursue the merchant ships. For a time, the homing torpedoes were successful but they were eventually thwarted through the use of 'Foxer,' a mechanical noise making device trailed astern of the escort ship. The combination of increased numbers of escorts fitted with radar and noisemakers soon forced U-boats into making submerged attacks, which substantially negated their advance of speed 1943 - 48-ft harbor patrol craft ordered for RCN - HMC HPC 29, HPC 30 & HPC 31 1943 - 46-ft harbor patrol craft ordered for RCN - HMC HC 268, HC 269, HC 270, HC 271, HC 272, HC 283 & HC 274 1943 - Frigate HMCS Glace Bay (ex HMCS Lauzon) laid down Levis PQ 1943 - Corvette HMCS Leaside (ex HMS Walmer Castle) laid down South Bank-on-Tees UK 1943 - U-238 sank SS Fort Jemseg, Oregon Express & Skjelbred in Convoy ON-202 1943 - U-952 damaged SS James Gordon Bennett & sank SS Steel Voyager in Convoy ON-202 1943 - U-422 was attacked by a Liberator aircraft from 10 RAF Squadron. A few crewmembers were wounded and the boat was damaged 1943 - U-601 and U-960 laid a mine barrier off Port Dikson 1943 - German minesweeper M-343 collided with U-962 in Danish waters causing some damage to the U-boat 1943 - U-247 launched 1943 - U-997 & U-1192 commissioned 1944 - Destroyer USS Furse laid down 1944 - Submarines USS Boarfish & Charr commissioned 1944 - Tug HMCS Glenbrook launched Owen Sound ON 1944 - Frigate HMCS Glace Bay arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City PQ 1944 - Corvette HMCS Lunenburg departed Londonderry for refit Saint John NB 1944 - Frigate HMCS Wetaskiwin departed Londonderry to join Convoy EG W-7 1944 - Naval Task Group lands Army troops on Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands 1944 - Under pressure from Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey, the naval C-in-C, Eisenhower is giving top priority to clearing the Scheldt Estuary of enemy forces and bringing Antwerp's port into use. The task will be assigned to the Canadian Army 1944 - Battleship USS West Virginia reaches Pearl Harbor and rejoins the Pacific Fleet, marking the end of the salvage and reconstruction of 18 ships damaged at Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941 1944 - In the Baltic Sea a man was washed overboard from U-370. [Matrosengefreiter Erwin Stiegeler] 1944 - U-267 was the last one to leave the U-boat base at St. Nazaire, France (U-255 remained and eventually surrendered there in May, 1945). She arrived on 29 Oct at Stavanger, Norway 1944 - U-979 was rammed slightly by a convoy escort in naval grid AE 57, suffering damage to her periscope. 1944 - U-859 sunk near Penang in the Straits of Malacca, in position 05.46N, 100.04E, by torpedoes from submarine HMS Trenchant. 47 dead and 20 survivors 1944 - U-1065, U-3504 commissioned 1944 - U-957 sank Brilliant 29 in Convoy VD-1 1945 - Minesweeper USS Gayety commissioned 1946 - Destroyer HMAS Anzac laid down 1947 - James Forrestal, former SECNAV, takes office as first Secretary of Defense 1954 - Destroyer HMCS Haida leaves Korea for Halifax and will circumnavigate the globe 1965 - Submarine HMCS Ojibwa commissioned Chatham UK 1966 - Frigate HMCS Jonquiere paid off 1967- Coho Salmon Fishing Disaster- A severe squall through the Frankfort River Platte area of northern Lake Michigan. Twenty-five-foot waves generated by the squall caught off guard an estimated 1,000 small boats fishing for Coho Salmon. Between 150 and 200 boats were beached and many more were either capsize or otherwise in distress. During the next four days Coast Guard aircraft flew 33 sorties for a total of 55 hours. State and Local police provided beach patrols and private individuals also aided in the operation. One of the greatest problems faced by the Coast Guard was the confusion created by the hundreds of people unaccounted for after the storm; most of who were not in trouble but had just not contacted their friends or family. Each report of a missing person was carefully followed through so that within 4 days it was determined that seven had been recovered and only one person remained unaccounted for. The Coho salmon, which attracted the large number of boats to the area, remained in season for another 3 weeks. During this time the Coast Guard maintained daily aircraft and small boat patrols of the area 1968 - USS Coral Sea port call Yokosuka 1969 - USS Coral Sea commenced Vietnam deployment 1974 - USS Enterprise port call Pearl Harbor 1990 - USNS Mercy and Comfort steam together for the first time in the Arabian Gulf, making naval medical history 1993 - Frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec delivered 2002 - To avoid two hurricanes, USS Ticonderoga, Yorktown, John L Hall & Preble sortied from Pascagoula, Mississippi 2003 - Frigate INS Trishul arrives Mumbai from builder St Petersburg, Russia 2005 - Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf has appointed Vice Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir as Chief of the Naval Staff and promoted him to the rank of admiral. The government has notified that President Musharraf has appointed Tahir as Navy chief and his promotion to the rank of admiral will be effective from the date of taking over. Admiral Tahir will succeed Admiral Shahid Karimullah who will relinquish the command of Pakistan Navy after completion of his tenure. The taking over ceremony of the change of command will be held on Oct. 7 in Islamabad. Tahir was born on Jan. 4, 1949 in Faisalabad. He was commissioned in the Operations Branch of Pakistan Navy in 1970. He saw action in the 1971 war with India. He is a graduate of Joint Services Staff College and National Defense College of Pakistan. Tahir is married and has three daughters and two sons 2005 - Frigate HMCS Vancouver conducts a day sail out of Vancouver for 160 veterans 2005 - Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. announced that it has agreed to acquire the m/v Nordbright, a 52,827 dwt Supramax dry bulk vessel, and the m/v Norsund, a 50,296 dwt Supramax dry bulk vessel from Norden. Upon delivery, each vessel will immediately begin service under their respective time charters with Norden for a period of 24 to 26 months at a rate of $24,000 per day. Eagle Bulk will acquire the two 2001 Japanese-built vessels for a total purchase price of $70 million, and plans to rename the vessels m/v Heron and m/v Merlin, respectively. Eagle Bulk will finance the purchase through borrowings on its $330 million revolving credit facility 2005 - A persistent air crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans claimed the Coast Guard’s first Hurricane Rita rescue. On the first attempt to rescue a family of four from their damaged Port Fourchon home, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer was lowered from a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter in an attempt to convince them to leave, but the family stayed. Undeterred, the same crew made a return flight to the area and was successful in convincing two of the family members, an 8-month pregnant mother and her 4-year old son, to be rescued. The two were hoisted into the helicopter and transported to safety. Coast Guard pilot Lt. Roberto H. Torres, one of the pilots on this mission, was also one of the first pilots to fly a rescue mission for Hurricane Katrina 2005 - Hijackers have reneged on an agreement to release a United Nations World Food Program ship which they seized off the Somali coast three months ago while it was on its way to feed 28,000 tsunami survivors, and the Agency today declared all accords with the interim government on the issue null and void 2006 - Coast Guard Sector Portland OR open house and a search and rescue demonstration 2006 - Coast Guard crews from Station Merrimack River and Air Station Cape Cod are searching for a reported missing person near the North End Boat Club located in Newburyport, Mass 2006 - An EADS-owned Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) ditched into the sea upon approach for landing at San Javier Air Force Base (Murcia / Spain) after a test flight 2006 - Dr. James Lunney, MP for Nanaimo--Alberni, announced on behalf of the Honorable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the naming and dedication of a new 47-foot multi-task high-endurance lifeboat, CCGC Cape McKay, at the Canadian Coast Guard Station at Bamfield, British Columbia 2007 - Capt. Jeffrey S. Lee, commander of 378-foot high-endurance cutter Hamilton, relieved of command by Pacific Area commander Vice Adm. Charles Wurster 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