SeaWaves Today in History January 14, 2007 ********************************************************************* January 14 1676 - Sir John Narbrough's squadron launched an attack on Algerine corsairs at Tripoli, destroying four of the ships 1697 - Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and his men leave St John's, which they have just captured from the English, and set out to raid fishing villages between Trinity Bay and Conception Bay 1784 - United States ratified a peace treaty with England, ending the Revolutionary War 1813 - US Frigate Chesapeake captures British brig Hero 1814 - The Treaty of Kiel between Denmark and England was ratified. The treaty was a reward to Sweden for its support of England against Denmark in the last Napoleonic War. Under the terms of the agreement, Denmark was force to cede Norway to Sweden in exchange for Rügen and the remaining Swedish territories in Vorpommern. The treaty ended the 400-year old Kingdom of Denmark and Norwegian and broke Denmark's hold on both sides of the entrance to the Baltic Sea. The significant loss of tariff revenue from merchant traffic reduced Denmark's finances to ruinous levels and significantly diminished both the political and military stature of the country. Norway declared independence from Sweden on 17 May 1814 at Eidsvoll, but the Swedes attacked and crushed the independence movement. The union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved in 1905, when Norway declared again independence, this time on 07 June. However, 17 May is celebrated as Independence Day in Norway 1815 - HMS Endymion, Tenedos and Pomone capture USS President 1830 - 'The Rapids' settlement on St. Clair River given the name of Sarnia 1848 - Boats from HMS Philomel succeeded in capturing a slave-ship anchored in a river-mouth in Sierra Leone 1863 - Navy General Order 4, Emancipation Proclamation 1902 - SS Manhattan sails out of Halifax enroute to South Africa, with the Second Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles 1909 - Vice admiral and commander of the 2nd Pacific Squadron Zinovy Petrovich Rozhdestvensky, which was destroyed in the Russian-Japanese War, died. He was severely wounded and captured, then brought before a military court after his release, but released because of his injuries 1911 - Battleship USS Arkansas launched 1915 - Battleship HMS Resolution launched 1919 - Minesweepers HMC TR-34, TR-16, TR-20 & TR-25 paid off & returned to RN 1919 - Destroyers USS Walker & Thatcher commissioned 1919 - Destroyers USS Belknap & Claxton launched 1919 - Submarine USS S-39 laid down 1921 - Destroyer USS Welborn C Wood commissioned 1923 - Destroyer FS Lynx laid down 1926 - Light cruiser HMS Emerald commissioned 1936 - U-20 launched 1936 - Submarine USS Pompano laid down 1940 - The US freighter SS Narbo, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities the previous day, is released to continue her voyage to Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece, but not before some items from her cargo are removed as contraband 1940 - Japanese Prime Minister, General ABE Nobuyki, and all his Cabinet resign and Admiral Yonai Mitsumasa is chosen to form a new government 1940 - The British Minister in Panama, Charles Dodd, transmits the response of the British government to a note sent by the President of Panama on behalf of the 21 American Republics concerning the violation of American neutrality that occurred in the Battle of the River Plate. The British "reserve their full belligerent rights in order to fight the menace presented by German action and policy and to defend that conception of law and that way of life, which they believe to be as dear to the peoples and Governments of America as they are to the peoples and Governments of the British Commonwealth of Nations" 1940 - U-432 laid down 1941 - George Crosses are Gazetted for Sub-Lt John Bryan Peter Duppa-Miller (b. 1903) and AB Stephen John Tuckwell (b.? d.1966), RNVR who dealt with a mine which had fallen into soft mud in a tributary of Barling Creek. In all, they disposed of ten mines in their work together 1941 - Motor minesweepers ordered in Canada - HMS MMS 104, MMS 105, MMS 106, MMS 102, MMS 103, MMS 99, MMS 100 & MMS 101 1941 - Swordfish aircraft from HMS Eagle lost while searching for an Italian convoy 1941 - Destroyer HMS Onslaught laid down 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS MacBeth commissioned 1941 - Corvette HMS Jasmine launched 1941 - Destroyer HMS Oribi launched 1941 - Submarine HMS Torbay commissioned 1942 - The Japanese force slated to invade Rabaul on New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago, departs Guam 1942 - U-381 launched 1942 - U-257 commissioned 1942 - At 0834, the unescorted tanker Norness was hit by one of two stern torpedoes fired by U-123 about 60 miles from Montauk Point, Long Island and began listing to port. At 0853, a coup de grâce hit the tanker underneath the bridge and the ship began settling on even keel, allowing the survivors to abandon ship in the starboard lifeboat and row away from the ship. The port lifeboat had capsized during the launch due to the heavy list and threw the occupants into the cold sea, drowning two Norwegian crewmembers. At 0929, the vessel was hit by a third torpedo in the engine room, after a second coup de grâce at 0910 proved to be a dud. Shortly thereafter, the tanker sank by the stern with the bow still visible over the surface. 30 survivors were spotted in the afternoon by a US Navy blimp, which directed USS Ellyson & USCGC Argo to them, while nine men were picked up by the American fishing boat Malvina. All survivors were landed at Newport RI 1942 - At 0254 U-43 attacked Convoy ON-55 south of Iceland and sank SS Empire Surf. At 0304 the U-boat attacked again and heard a heavy detonation after 40 seconds, but a few minutes later was unable to see the target. The KTB has the marginal comment Apparently not a hit. The master, 37 crewmembers and nine gunners from the Empire Surf were lost. Six crewmembers were picked up by HMS Alisma & landed at Londonderry 1942 - At 0453, U-43 attacked Convoy ON-55 a second time and sank SS Chepo 1942 - Trawler HMS Ironbound launched Kingston ON 1942 - Newfoundland Trawler (Motor Minesweepers) ordered from Steers Shipbuilding St John's, Newfoundland - HMS MMS 238, MMS 239, MMS 240 & MMS 241 1942 - Corvettes HMCS Sherbrooke & Hepatica departed St John's to escort Convoy SC-64 to Londonderry 1942 - Coast Guard plane, a Hall PH-3 No. V-177, dropped food to raft with 6 persons 1942 - Canada orders Japanese Canadians out of British Columbia coastal region; now defined as a 'protected area' 1943 - U-965, U-966 launched 1943 - U-958 commissioned 1943 - Corvette HMCS Norsyd laid down Quebec City PQ 1943 - Corvette HMCS Sackville arrived Liverpool NS for refit 1943 - Casablanca Conference President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, accompanied by the Combined Chiefs of Staff 1943 - In first submarine resupply mission, USS Gudgeon lands 6 men, 2,000 pounds of equipment and supplies on Negros Island 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Atherton laid down 1943 - Aircraft carrier USS Independence commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper USS Swallow commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Gudgeon lands men and equipment near Catmon Point, Negros, Philippines 1943 - Submarine USS Pike is damaged by bombs and depth charges off Ichie Saki, Honshu. Pike returns to base 1943 - Submarine USS Searaven, on her sixth patrol moving through the waters around the Palaus, attacks a Japanese convoy between the Palaus and the Philippine island of Mindanao. Searaven fires a total of four torpedoes. All torpedoes hit targets. Two hit the sole escort, Ganjitsu Maru #1 and two strike SS Shiraha Maru [some sources name the vessel Shirahane Maru]. They sink in position 09°12'N, 130°38'E 1944 - Minesweeper HMCS New Liskeard launched Port Arthur ON 1944 - Frigate HMCS (ex-HMS) Loch Alvie launched 1944 - Destroyer USS Massey laid down 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Abercrombie & Halloran launched 1944 - Frigates HMS Tyler & Spragge commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper HMS Recruit commissioned 1944 - Submarine USS Crevalle, on her second patrol, lays mines off Kega Point, east of Saigon, French Indochina on the night of 14-15 January. The field is laid in position 10°33'N, 108°01'E 1944 - Submarine USS Scamp, embarked on her sixth patrol, attacks a convoy several hundred miles south of Woleai Atoll. In a daytime periscope attack, Scamp fires 6 torpedoes with two hits sinking tanker Nippon Maru in position 05°02'N, 140°50'E. Several hours later, USS Guardfish, on her seventh patrol, sets upon the same convoy and sinks tanker Kenyo Maru in position 05°22'N, 141°27'E after a twilight periscope attack. Five of six torpedoes obliterate the naval tanker. USS Albacore, nearby on her eighth patrol, sinks destroyer Sazanami in position 05°15'N, 141°15'E, near Woleai Atoll 1944 - Submarine USS Seawolf, on her twelfth patrol, attacks a Japanese convoy approximately 300 miles NE of Okinawa in a night surface radar attack. Two of three torpedoes hit home, sinking tanker Yamazuru Maru in position 28°30'N, 133°40'E 1944 - Barge, Fuel Oil (Self-Propelled) YO-159 lost off the New Hebrides Islands 1944 - Submarine USS Swordfish, on her tenth patrol, attacks a Japanese convoy in the waters south of Honshu. In a night periscope attack, Swordfish fires four fish, of which, two hit and sink Yamakuni Maru near Hachijo Jima in position 33°16'N, 139°30'E 1945 - HMC ML 081 begins refit 1945 - Corvette HMCS Trillium, while escorting the 47-ship Southend to New York City Convoy ON-278, suffered a collision with coaster, which sank. No record of either name of the vessel or loss of life, in this incident 1945 - Submarine USS Chivo launched 1945 - U-3521 commissioned 1945 - At 1035, U-1232 attacked Convoy BX-141 east of Halifax, sank SS British Freedom & badly damaged SS Martin Van Buren six minutes later. The U-boat then sank SS Athelviking and missed HMCS Ettrick. Later in the action, HMCS Ettrick, while conducting an attack, ran over the conning tower of U-1232, which was forced to depart for home badly damaged. Dobratz reported sinking four ships totaling 30.400 tons. The master & three crewmembers from SS Athelviking were lost. 39 crewmembers & eight gunners were picked up by HMC ML-102 & landed at Halifax 1945 - U-1208 sailed from Norway on her first & only patrol 1945 - Submarine USS Cobia, making her third patrol, fires a salvo of five torpedoes in a daytime periscope attack against SS Yurijima off the east coast of Malaya SE of Kota Bharu. One torpedo explodes and sinks the coastal minelayer in position 05°51'N, 103°16'E 1951 - Destroyer HMCS Nootka arrived Korean War 1952 - Light cruiser HMCS Uganda renamed HMCS Quebec and commissioned as training ship 1946 - Training vessel HMCS Venture paid off 1946 - Minesweeper HMCS Rockcliffe paid off 1951 - HMCS Nootka, a converted Tribal-class destroyer escort, arrived in Korean War Zone 1953 - Josip Broz Tito was elected president of Yugoslavia by the country's Parliament 1957 - Submarine HMS Amphion arrived Halifax for ASW training 1958 - Diplomatic relations were established between Moscow and Hanoi 1968 - USS Oriskany port call Cubi Point 1969 - An explosion ripped through the US aircraft carrier Enterprise off Hawaii, killing 28 crewmembers with a further 344 men being injured. In addition, 15 aircraft were destroyed and 17 damaged. The dreadful chain of events was started by an exhaust "cooking" off a pod of Zuni rockets which were on a wing pylon of an F-4 Phantom 1970 - USS Ranger port call Sasebo 1971 - USS Ranger port call Hong Kong 1973 - USS Enterprise port call Subic Bay 1986 - First voyage of Rossiya, the USSR's fourth atomic icebreaker 1991 - USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Battle Group transits Suez Canal & arrives on station in the Red Sea 1991 - Navy ship strength in Central Command Area of Responsibility - 91: 35 (Arabian Gulf), 35 (North Arabian Sea/Gulf of Oman), 21 (Red Sea). SECNAV activates 423 additional Naval Reservists from 36 units 1991 - In second call-up, SECNAV activates 357 additional Naval Reservists from 19 units 2004 - USNS Bellatrix activated to transport materials to Iraq 2005 - The Bush Administration today announced a plan to expand US tsunami detection and warning capabilities as part of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, the international effort to develop a comprehensive, sustained and integrated Earth observation system. The plan commits a total of $37.5 million over the next two years 2005 -The RNLN P-3 squadrons (320 and 321) officially disbanded at RNLNAS Valkenburg 2005 - FS Jeanne d’Arc and Georges Leygues arrive Meulaboh, Indonesia on tsunami relief duty 2005 - Around 200 foreign freight ships and oil tankers have been stranded in the area of the Turkish straits of Bosporus and Dardanelles because of a heavy fog. The fog, that is particularly dense in the area of the Sea of Marmara, has paralyzed the "sea taxi" service in Istanbul that carries passengers and cargoes to and from the European part of the city to its Asian neighborhoods, HaberTurk television said on Friday. Around 128 foreign ships have queued up outside the Bosporus strait in the Black Sea waiting for the fog to disperse. Seventy other ships intending to pass into the Black Sea weather permitting have been stranded in the Sea of Marmara. The rules of the navigation in the Turkish straits envisage one-way navigation through the Bosporus strait if a visibility range falls short of one nautical mile. The navigation in the strait is banned altogether if the visibility range is less than 0.5 nautical miles 2005 - At 1017, Swansea Coastguard received a 999 call from anglers reporting that a small boat had capsized near Loughor Bridge and that three persons were in the water. One man had gone under with the boat and the other two were seen drifting down towards the estuary and the sea. Swansea Coastguard requested the launch of Loughor Independent Lifeboat and the RNLI Burry Port Inshore Lifeboat, the Rescue Helicopter from RAF Chivenor and Coastguard Rescue Teams from Loughor and Burry Port. The Loughor Independent Lifeboat reached the two men drifting out of the estuary in a very fast running tide and pulled them out of the water after being in the water for up to 25 minutes. The man seen to go under the boat surfaced and was picked up by the Loughor Boat Club safety boat. All three casualties were transferred by ambulance to Morriston Hospital in Swansea suffering from severe hypothermia. The three men had been on a small boat on a mooring at the Loughor Boat Club when they capsized 2005 - USS Mount Whitney sailed from Norfolk VA to a new home in Gaeta, Italy, to relieve the Mediterranean Sea’s 6th Fleet command ship, LaSalle, which will be retired. Mount Whitney now operated by Military Sealift Command and has cut her crew from 600 sailors to just 157, plus 143 civilian mariners 2005 - USS Iwo Jima’s return to Norfolk was its first use as a flagship in a Maritime Command Limited Experiment. Vice Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, commander of the 2nd Fleet, used the ship in a four-day experiment to see if leaving 340 members of his staff ashore would accomplish the same goals as taking all 400 to sea 2006 - USS San Antonio commissioned at Ingleside TX 2006 - The Queen of Nanaimo returns to service with the 2105 sailing between Tsawwassen and the Gulf Islands after an extensive $14 million refit. The vessel received a significant overhaul during the four-month refit, including safety improvements and expanded passenger amenities, to ensure long-term, safe and reliable service to the Southern Gulf Islands. The project included installing a new life-saving system, comprised of four marine evacuation slides and rafts; surveying and painting the hull; replacing structural steel; renewing the deck plating; updating structural fire protection; renewing and upgrading boilers; installing a new oily-water separator; and rebuilding the main propeller shafts and controllable pitch propellers. Improvements to customer amenities include new flooring, lighting and furniture, upgraded washrooms, a redesigned cafeteria with the addition of Bread Garden sandwiches, a new 540 square foot Passages gift shop and a children’s play area 2006 - Two Coast Guardsmen from the Thirteenth Coast Guard District presented Armed Forces Service Medals during a Qwest Field pre-game ceremony on behalf of nearly 200 regional Coast Guardsman who responded to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year. Rear Adm. Richard Houck, the Thirteenth Coast Guard District Commander, will present the medals to Lt. Julie Andrews from Coast Guard Sector Portland Ore., and Petty Officer 1st Class Kyle Bartlett from Coast Guard Sector Seattle. Both Andrews and Bartlett spent at least 30 days in the region as part of a comprehensive Coast Guard team devoted to putting that region’s devastated and dangerous post-storm environment back in order. The Coast Guard was credited with evacuating and saving more than 33,000 in the wake of the hurricanes 2006 - USNS Yano begins sea trials after Boston drydocking 2006 - At 1518 Portland (UK) Coastguard received a telephone call from the warden at the Charmouth Heritage Coastal Center. He reported that there had been a massive cliff landslide. Portland Coastguard called out the Lyme Regis Coastguard Rescue team to attend the scene and placed the Coastguard rescue helicopter 'Whiskey Bravo' on standby and Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat. When the Coastguards arrived at the site of the cliff fall, it was reported to them by a fossiler that there may be several people trapped the wrong side of the fall with the tide rising fast. The Coastguard Rescue team rescued one child who was in the mud up to his chest and also his father who attempted to rescue his son. Fifteen other people were also led to safety by the Coastguards, including two hangliders who had landed on the beach the wrong side of the fall. A local fossiler believed the fall to be the largest he had seen for thirty years with a possibility of more to fall. Coastguards are checking the land above the fall on the cliff path to ascertain its stability. West Dorset District Council have closed the beach and placed signs warning the public to stay away from the dangerous area 2006 - A group of admirals and senior officers of the Russian Black Sea Fleet headed from the fleet's base in Sevastopol to another Crimean city of Yalta to settle the lighthouse incident, Assistant Navy Commander-in-Chief Igor Dygalo said 2006 - Coast Guard suspended its search at 1845 for an Atlantis, Fla., boater who was reported missing at 2215 the previous day. James Trindade, 54, left Memory Rock, Bahamas yesterday in a 38-foot Donzi, traveling with two other friends which were in a 35-foot and 22-foot boat. His boating friends reported to the Coast Guard that Trindade was ahead of them when one of the boats traveling to Boynton Beach, Fla., had engine problems. The two boaters reported they altered their originally planned route due to the engine problems and upon arriving at the Boca Yacht Club in Palm Beach, Fla., they learned that Trindade never arrived. The search included an HU-25 Falcon jet and an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, Fla., an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and a C-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., and a helicopter from West Palm Beach Sheriff's Office. Search and rescue crews from Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, Fla., Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet, Fla., the Coast Guard Cutter Cormorant and the Coast Guard Cutter Dolphin assisted with the search efforts. A Coast Guard C-130 Hercules rescue crew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., and a Falcon crew searched the area without finding Trindade. The Coast Guard searched a combine 2,200 square mile area 2006 - The Coast Guard medevaced a 22-year-old man after he was injured in a car accident this morning in Powers, Ore. At 0030 Coast Guard Sector North Bend, Ore., received a call from a Coos County 911 dispatcher requesting medical assistance for the 22-year old man who was in a car accident. An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend was launched to medevac the man. The helicopter landed at Powers Airport in Powers and transferred the injured man to Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay for further medical treatment 2006 - The USCG has opened a marine casualty investigation into the boat accident on the Arkansas River near the Pendleton Bridge in which one man died. The other four men in the boat that overturned were rescued. The small boat was operated by an Arkansas duck hunting guide company. An Army Corps of Engineers lock operator reported to the Coast Guard around 1100 that there was a capsized boat and numerous people in the water near the Pendleton Bridge. The Coast Guard coordinated search and rescue efforts with the local authorities in Jefferson and Arkansas counties throughout the day. Marine investigators were on scene last night and the investigation remains ongoing. Search and rescue coordination, marine casualty investigation and all other Coast Guard missions in the Arkansas area are handled by Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River in Memphis 2006 - A Coast Guard helicopter rescue crew from Air Station Barbers Point today airlifted a hiker, who had been stranded overnight on a Kauai cliff since Friday afternoon. The man's name and hometown are unknown. The Coast Guard's HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew located and hoisted the hiker at about 10:30 a.m. today. According to the Coast Guard rescue swimmer the hiker appeared in good condition with some scratches, however he was transported to emergency medical services at Lihue airport for medical evaluation. The State Civil Defense center in Kauai contacted the Coast Guard Command Center in Honolulu Friday at 1330 requesting assistance in locating a stranded hiker. The Civil Defense received notification from two separate tour helicopters of sighting a hiker on the north face of Mt. Waialeale. The two tour helicopters reported spotting the man early Friday afternoon as he waved a distress signal. A Navy H-3 helicopter crew from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands also assisted with the effort to rescue the stranded hiker. As night fell and weather conditions deteriorated the rescue efforts were suspended until this morning 2006 - Gloria Arroyo's official yacht has caught fire while on dry dock for repairs, leaving four crew injured. A navy officer and three enlisted personnel were hurt fighting the blaze aboard the Ang Pangulo (The President) at a shipyard in Bauan town, a port south of Manila, said Navy Captain Geronimo Malabanan. The early morning fire caused "minor damages" to the ship's air-conditioning unit, water piping, electrical wirings, skylight openings, reserve tanks and pressure gauges, Malabanan said. An estimate of the cost of damage was not immediately available, he said. Navy Chief Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga ordered an investigation into the incident. An ocular inspection revealed that "faulty electrical wiring" could have caused the blaze. In initial report from BRP Ang Pangulo captain, Commander Gaudencio Collado Jr., revealed that around 0630, the ship's crew noticed smoke coming out of the engine room. The ship's crew tried to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers before firefighters from the Bauan Bureau of Fire Protection and the Keppel Shipyard arrived, Malabanan said. The blaze, which was later contained, was set to prolong repair work on the vessel, which was sent to the private shipyard in November ============================================================= Sources: Colton Shipping Report, NOAA, MARAD, Marine Digest, Leo Pettipas, Kommersant, Samuel Loring Morison, Frank Pierce Young, Navy Times, Naval Institute Proceedings, www.uboat.net, Andrew Etherington, John Nicholas, US Naval Historical Center, Ministry of Defense, US Coast Guard, Thomas N. Carlson, Jack Arrowsmith, Allan Snowie, Ken Hansen, Andy Barber, John Weiss, Jack McKillop, Bernard de Neumann, Sympatico Today in History, Washington History Link, Lloyds List, Fairplay, New York Times, I-Newswire and other news sources in the public domain. Additions, submissions and corrections are always welcomed. ============================================================= Today in History Archives at: http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/today_in_history_archive.htm Copyright 2007 Seawaves Publishing Inc ISSN 1710-6966 Photos courtesy of US Naval Historical Center, US Coast Guard Historical Center, Wikipedia Encyclopedia or Naval Museum of Manitoba unless otherwise noted. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click.