SeaWaves Today in History September 24, 2008 1568 - The first major confrontation between Elizabeth I's piratical adventurers and the Spanish Navy. John Hawkins had lead a slaving and trading expedition attempting to break into the lucrative but closed markets of the Spanish Americas, funded partly by private merchants, partly by Elizabeth, who had provided the ship Jesus of Lubeck to act as Hawkins' flagship. Hawkins' small squadron was caught sheltering at San Juan d'Ulloa in the West Indies by a much stronger Spanish squadron. After being overwhelmed, Hawkins managed to escape in a small ship with some of his men. A young relative of Hawkins, Francis Drake, was also present, in command of the small ship Judith, but appears to have offered little assistance 1897 - Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company and the Niagara Falls International Bridge Company open new double track steel arch bridge; upper floor leased to the Grand Trunk Railway 1911 - Russian battleship Gangut launched 1918 - Destroyers USS George E Badger & Welborn C Wood laid down 1918 - Ensign David S. Ingalls, USNR, in a Sopwith Camel, shoots down his fifth enemy aircraft, becoming the first US Navy ace while flying with the British Royal Air Force 1919 - Light cruiser HMS Despatch launched 1919 - Light cruiser HMS Cairo commissioned 1919 - Destroyer USS Southard commissioned 1920 - Destroyer USS Reuben James commissioned 1923 - Submarine HNLMS K X commissioned 1924 - Destroyer FS Chacal launched 1926 - Submarine HMS Oberon launched 1929 - Minesweeper HNLMS B launched 1931 - Light cruiser HMS Neptune laid down 1935 - Soviet submarine SC-317 launched 1935 - U-15 laid down 1936 - U-23 commissioned 1936 - U-24 & U-35 launched 1936 - Destroyer HMS Sikh laid down 1937 - Destroyer HMS Jackal laid down 1938 - Destroyer USS Jouett launched 1939 - US freighter SS Black Condor, detained by the British for the past week, is released 1939 - U-13 sank SS Phryne 1939 - U-31 sank SS Hazelside 1939 - U-33 sank SS Caldew 1939 - U-34 captured SS Hanonia 1939 - U-4 sank SS Gertrud Bratt 1940 - Minelayer HMCS Sankaty commissioned Halifax NS. Built Quincy Mass., 459/11, 195x38x9.75ft, 8kts, crew 3/39, 1-303 mg ex-Staford, Oyster Bay Mass., Staten Island ferry, employed minelaying, loop laying, maintenance vessel. Pendant's (FY61)>(Z29)>(M01) Post WW.II, sold 1947, renamed Charles A Dunning, Prince Edward Island ferry 1940 - U-106 commissioned 1940 - U-508 laid down 1940 - Submarine FS Ajax sunk off Dakar by destroyer HMS Fortune 1940 - The following ex-USN destroyers were commissioned into the RCN at Halifax, NS - HMCS Annapolis, ex-USS Mackenzie (Wickes-class), A/Cdr. Harry Kinglsey, RCN, CO; HMCS Columbia, ex-USS Haraden (Wickes-class), LCdr. Somerville Wentworth Davis, DSC, RCN, CO; HMCS Niagara, ex-USS Thathcer (Wickes-class), LCdr. Edgar Lorne Armstrong, RCN, CO; HMCS St Clair, ex-USS Williams (Wickes-class), Lt Dickson Carlisle Wallace, RCNR, CO; HMCS St Croix, ex-USS McCook (Clemson-class), Lt. Morson Alexander "Miff" Medland, RCN, CO; and HMCS St Francis, ex-USS Bancroft (Clemson-class), LCdr. Hugh Francis Pullen, RCN, CO. On 02 Sep 40, the Congress of the United States approved a deal brokered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to transfer 50 old destroyers to the Royal Navy to replace losses suffered during the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Norwegian Campaign. Between 09 Sep and 05 Dec 40, the USN transferred three Shaw-class, 23 Wickes-class, and 18 Clemson-class destroyers to the RN, plus four Wickes-class and two Clemson-class destroyers to the RCN. The destroyers in British service were known as the Town-class and were broken into the “Belmont,” “Lewes,” “Campbeltown,” and “Bath” groups. The ships transferred to the RCN were given the names of Canadian rivers but were also known as Town-class ships to distinguish them from the A- and C-class British destroyers in Canadian service and already know as the River-class. In 1941, ten 250-foot Lake-class US Coast Guard cutters were also transferred to Britain. The former cutters were known as the Banff-class (names after British life saving stations) and were designated as escort sloops because of their substantially greater endurance. The Wickes-class destroyers normally carried only 225 tons of fuel and were considered very ‘short-legged’. By using all 'emergency' fuel storage spaces, their bunker capacity could be increased to 290 tons, producing an endurance of between 3,200 and 3,500 miles at 12 knots; barely enough to get across the Atlantic Ocean. Their endurance was inferior even to the Flower-class corvette (230 tons, 3450 mile at 12 knots), that was known to be seriously fuel-limited. Because of the recognized endurance deficiency of the Wickes-class, the Clemson-class was designed to carry 35 percent more fuel than the Wickes-class through the use of cylindrical 'wing tanks' in the boiler rooms. Normally, they carried 305 tons of fuel but, like the Wickes-class, through the use of their ballast tank, could increase this to 395 tons, resulting in an endurance of about 3,900 miles at 12 knots. This made them marginally more useful but they were still practically unsuited to mid-ocean or transoceanic escort work in the Atlantic. An effort to increase the bunkerage of the Wickes-class by eliminating the aftermost of four boiler rooms and replacing it with fuel tanks and mess decks raised their fuel capacity to 385 tons and gave them an endurance of between 4,300 and 4,500 miles at 12 knots. Some of the Clemson-class destroyers underwent a similar conversion but, because they already had a heavier fuel load, gained relatively less through the process - their bunkerage was increased to 457 tons and their endurance climbed to between 4,400 and 4,600 miles at 12 knots. By comparison, most of the River-class destroyers carried 380 tons of fuel and had an endurance of 4,800 miles at 15 knots, which also proved to be too low for mid-ocean escort work. The fuel inefficiency of the Clemson-class is very evident. The Lake-class cutter had an endurance of 8,000 miles at 10 knots on 355 tons of fuel. Their extraordinary fuel economy was due to an innovative turbo-electric propulsion system that was both simple and efficient. Only when the River-class frigates arrived did an escort vessel with adequate endurance enter into RCN service (440 tons, 7,200 miles at 12 knots). In addition to the fuel improvements, the USN's own 'four-stackers' went through other upgrades to improve their value as escorts. All of the Wickes and most of the Clemsons had their old single-purpose 4-inch guns replaced by dual-purpose 3-inch guns. They had two of their four sets of torpedo tubes landed and replaced by one 'Y-gun' depth charge launcher with ten charges. The number of 300-lb depth charges in the stern racks was increased from 14 to 24. Finally, the number of .50-calibre machine guns was increased from two to four. The USN conversion program was halted in Nov 43. By that time virtually all of the Wickes and most of the Clemsons had been converted. All of the ships transferred to the RN and RCN were in their original condition. Gilbert Tucker recorded that the Towns were literally forced on the RCN by the Admiralty against the better judgement of the Naval Staff. Moreover, all of the American destroyers (except Columbia) transferred to Britain and Canada were built by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which had a reputation for building notoriously inefficient 'fuel hogs.' This was due to defects in their boiler and turbine construction. The USN did not retain the Bethlehem-built ships for their own use, either scrapping them or putting them into reserve status. The ships transferred to the RN and RCN have been described as "The Fifty Ships That Saved the World" in the title of a book by Philip Goodhart, (London, UK - Heinemann, 1965). In fact, the ships were virtually worthless as escorts in their original condition and only marginal as modified by the USN. They proved to be a serious drain on precious manpower and dockyard resources in the UK and in Canada. The Banff-class cutters, on the other hand, proved to be outstanding escort vessels and were judged by the Admiralty to be "worth their weight in gold" 1940 - Dakar is bombarded by the RN warships of "Force M", and 'Richilieu' is attacked by HMS Ark Royal's aircraft. Vichy submarine Ajax is sunk by destroyer HMS Fortune. Battleship HMS Barham is hit by the coast batteries but suffers little damage 1940 - Gibraltar has been hit by bombs for the first time in the war - dropped by Vichy aircraft 1941 - U-67 sank SS St Clair II in Convoy SL-87 1941 - U-107 sank SS Dixcove, John Holt & Lafian in Convoy SL-87 1941 - Corvette HMS Godetia launched 1941 - The first German U-Boat passes Gibraltar today. Over the next two weeks 6 more U-Boats will pass into the Mediterranean during the next two weeks. The German Submarine Force will later have about 50% of its active submarine force engaged in the Mediterranean 1941 - Operation Halberd begins today and lasts through the 30th. A major effort to move supplies from Gibraltar to Malta. The 9 transports are covered by a naval force including 3 battleships, HMS Nelson, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Rodney, one aircraft carrier (HMS Ark Royal), 5 cruisers and 18 destroyers. This convoy, bringing 50,000 tons of supplies mostly food, will reach Malta losing only 1 transport. The British will sink one Italian submarine and sustain minor damage on HMS Nelson from a torpedo plane. Pantellaria will also be shelled 1941 - The following message is sent to the Japanese consulate in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii - "Henceforth, we would like to have you make reports concerning vessels along the following lines insofar as possible - 1. The waters (of Pearl Harbor) are to be divided roughly into five sub-areas. (We have no objections to your abbreviating as much as you like.) Area A. Waters between Ford Island and the Arsenal. Area B. Waters adjacent to the Island south and west of Ford Island. (This area is on the opposite side of the Island from Area A.) Area C. East Loch. Area D. Middle Loch. Area E. West Loch and the communicating water routes. 2. With regard to warships and aircraft carriers, we would like to have you report on those at anchor, (these are not so important) tied up at wharves, buoys and in locks. (Designate types and classes briefly. If possible we would like to have you make mention of the fact when there are two or more vessels alongside the same wharf)" 1942 - Submarine HMS P-36 commissioned 1942 - Destroyer USS Brownson launched 1942 - Submarine HMS Usurper launched 1942 - Sloop HMS Chanticleer launched 1942 - Frigate HMS Mourne launched 1942 - Destroyer HMS Savage launched 1942 - Submarine HMS Sea Dog commissioned 1942 - Escort carrier USS Suwanee commissioned 1942 - Destroyer USS Charles J Badger laid down 1942 - U-190 commissioned 1942 - U-641 commissioned 1942 - U-421 & U-713 launched 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Fort William arrived Halifax from builder Port Arthur ON 1942 - Corvette HMCS North Bay laid down Collingwood ON 1942 - U-175 sank SS West Chetac in Convoy TRIN-14 1942 - U-432 sank SS Penmar in Convoy SC-100 1942 - U-512 sank SS Antinous 1942 - U-561 sank SS Sphinx 1942 - U-617 sank SS Roumanie in Convoy SC-100 1942 - U-619 sank SS John Winthrop in Convoy ON-131 1942 - This was indeed a black day for U-755. At 0549 hrs she was attacked by a convoy escort with gunfire; two hours later the boat unsuccessfully attacked convoy SC-100 with four torpedoes. She was attacked again at 1615 by an aircraft. Finally an escort attacked the boat at 1700, enduring which the boat was so heavily damaged that she had to return to base 1942 - Soviet submarine M-60 mined and sunk in Odessa Gulf, close to Bolshoi Fontan 1943 - U-387 put a weather reporting unit ashore on Spitsbergen in the Arctic Sea 1943 - U-711 used its deck gun to attack the Soviet radio station Blagopolucya on the island of Nova Zemlja in the Barents Sea 1943 - Destroyer HMS Urchin commissioned 1943 - Frigates HMS Mounsey, Moorsom, Manners & Hoste launched 1943 - Tug HMCS Norton launched Montreal PQ 1943 - U-370 launched 1943 - Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance USN recommends to Admiral Chester Nimitz that an amphibious operation against Makin Island be substituted for projected invasion of Nauru. This plan is subsequently accepted 1944 - U-3521 laid down 1944 - U-1110 commissioned 1944 - USS YMS-19 sunk by mine off Palau Caroline Islands 1944 - U-739 sank Soviet minesweeper T-120 (ex USS Assail) 1944 - U-565 scuttled by three depth charges in Salamis. 5 dead, unknown number of survivors 1944 - U-596 scuttled in the Mediterranean in Skaramanga Bay, near Salamis in position 37.59N, 23.34E, after being damaged by US bombs. 1 dead, unknown number of survivors 1944 - For the third day, USN carrier-based aircraft from the 12 aircraft carriers of Task Groups 38.1, 38.2 and 38.3 continue their attacks on Japanese shipping in Philippine water. The toll for today is 15 ships sunk and 7 damaged. The three task groups will retire tonight to several anchorages for replenishment 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-383 was commissioned at Decatur with LTJG G. P. Kretzschman, USCGR, as her first commanding officer. He was succeeded by LT H .A. Mister. He was succeeded by LT W. L. Stansell, USCGR, on 31 October 1945. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area, including Funafuti during the war. 1944 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-384 was commissioned at Decatur, AL with LT R. L. Young, USCGR, as her first commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest and Western Pacific areas, including Biak, during the war. She was decommissioned 28 September 1945. 1945 - Submarine HMS Ambush launched 1945 - Frigate HMCS Port Colborne completed tropicalization refit at Liverpool NS 1945 - Minesweepers HMCS Canso & Bayfield paid off & returned to RN at Sheerness 1945 - Hirohito says that he did not want war, and blames Tojo for Pearl Harbor 1947 - The Coast Guard announced that it had virtually completed the return of United States buoys, lights, and other aids to navigation, to a peacetime basis A large demonstration is held in Seoul Sept. 24 demanding that Japanese fishing boats be barred from South Korean waters. The demonstrators say Japan committed "another aggression" by sending armed escorts to take the Japanese boats out of Korean waters 1955 - Destroyer HMCS Sioux arrived Esquimalt from Korean UN duties 1957 - Minesweepers HMCS Wallaceburg & Portage paid off 1960 - First nuclear powered aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, launched Newport News, VA 1964 - Ferry Chippewa ends 64 years of ferry service on Puget Sound 1965 - USS Hornet port call Yokosuka 1965 - Chatham England - Royal Canadian Navy commissions HMCS Ojibwa, first of three Oberon Class submarines 1972 - USS Enterprise port call Subic Bay 1974 - USS Constellation port call Hong Kong 2002 - USNS Soderman delivered to MSC 2004 - Typhoon-class submarine Dmitry Donskoy test-fired a new Bulava ICBM 2004 - Destroyer USS O’Brien decommissioned 2006 - Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen will give keynote remarks at the 47th Annual National Association of State Boating Law Administrators Conference in Louisville KY 2006 - USCGC Orcas, homeported in Coos Bay OR terminated the voyage of fishing vessel Helen McColl after finding that the rudder packing was leaking at a rate of five gallons a minute 2007 - Boeing delivered the first production EA-18G Growler to the USN 2007 - Keel laid for future USS Anchorage at NGSS Avondale 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