SeaWaves Today in History January 18, 2007 ********************************************************************* January 18 1778 - English navigator Captain James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, which he dubbed the ''Sandwich Islands'' 1788 - The first of 11 ships under the command of Captain Arthur Phillips arrived in Botany Bay, Australia, to establish a penal settlement. The first convicts arrived soon after 1806 - Following the fall of Capetown to British forces on 10 January, the whole of the Dutch colony in the Cape of Good Hope surrendered 1862 - 10th president of the United States, John Tyler, died in Richmond VA at age 71 1872 - Naval engineer Ivan Grigoryevich Bubnov born in Russia 1911 - The first aircraft landing onboard a warship took place when Eugene B. Ely (b1886-d1911) landed a biplane on the Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania. This took place soon after Ely’s other notable accomplishment, the first aircraft launch form a ship, which took place on 14 Nov 1910 from the Chester-class scout cruiser USS Birmingham. Later in 1911, Ely joined the California National Guard and conducted some of the first American military aviation flights. Ely was killed on 19 Oct 1911 in a flying accident at Macon, Georgia 1912 - English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had gotten there first 1918 - Destroyer HMS Viceroy commissioned 1919 - Submarine USS S-23 laid down 1919 - Submarine USS R-3 launched 1919 - Minesweeper HMS Huntley launched 1919 - The Peace Conference at Versailles, to draw up the terms for the formal end of the First World War, began 1926 - Submarines HNLMS O-9 & O-11 commissioned 1932 - Submarine HMS Rainbow commissioned 1934 - Light cruiser HMS Orion commissioned 1934 - Minesweeper HMS Skipjack launched 1936 - U-14 commissioned 1936 - Destroyer HMS Imogen laid down 1938 - Destroyer HMS Kandahar laid down 1940 - At 1625, SS Pajala was hit in the bow by one torpedo from U-25, after the ship had been spotted 20 minutes earlier together with an escort. A first coup de grâce at 1650 missed due to bad visibility, but the second at 1703 hours hit in the stern and caused the ship to sink 10 miles 072° from North Rona, Hebrides 1940 - At 1126, MS Canadian Reefer was torpedoed & sunk by U-44 25 nautical miles east of Cape Villano 1940 - At about 1745, SS Foxen was sunk by an explosion about 85 miles from Pentland Sound. The ship broke in two and sank within 90 seconds. On 24 January, the Norwegian steam merchant Leka picked up one survivor, another survivor was rescued earlier by another Norwegian ship, which took him to Bergen. There is no corresponding U-boat report since U-55 did not return from her patrol, but the likelihood is that she sank the Foxen 1940 - At 2030, SS Patria was spotted on a southerly course by U-9 and was suspicious because no national markings could be seen from the distance of 500 meters. At 2223 & 2240, the U-boat fired one torpedo each, but missed with both. 30 minutes later, the Flandria was spotted & sunk with one torpedo at 2.53 about 95 miles north of Ymuiden before the Patria was hit underneath the bridge by one torpedo at 0145 hours on 19 January, which caused the ship to sink rapidly north of Ymuiden 1940 - U-756 laid down 1940 - U-63 commissioned 1940 - A British company has today delivered the first of a very large Admiralty order for buoyant electrical cable. It is to be used in the fight against the magnetic mine. When the cable is towed behind a wooden trawler, a current generated by the ship will produce a magnetic field around it sufficient to detonate a mine. In the meantime ships continue to be sunk by mines - over 260,000 tons between September and December 1939 1941 - Corvette FS Mimosa (ex-HMS Mimose) launched 1941 - Corvette HMS Pentstemon launched 1941 - Destroyer HMS Eskdale laid down 1941 - U-77 commissioned 1942 - An explosion in Gibraltar sank ASW trawler HMS Erin & minesweeping trawler HMS Honjo 1942 - A military convention between Germany, Italy, and Japan was signed in Berlin. 1942 - HMCS Lynx, an armed yacht (ex-SS Ramona), rescued the passengers and crew of the British merchantman MV Empire Kingfisher, which was sunk off Cape Sable by U-109, Kptlt Heinrich Bleichrodt, Knight's Cross, Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, CO. The Newport News Shipbuilding Company, in Virginia built lynx in 1922. She was 181 feet long (o.a.) and displaced 495 tons. Commissioned into the RCN on 26 Aug 40, her first assignment was to the Sydney local escort force. She was plagued by chronic mechanical problems that were made worse by a lack of spare parts. Shortly after her rescue operation, Lynx was condemned as unfit for service at sea and was paid off on 23 Apr 43. She was sold for commercial service and was ultimately lost off the coast of Australia (date unknown). U-109 was a long-range Type IX submarine built by AG Weser, at Bremen. She was commissioned on 05 Dec 40. U-109 completed eight patrols and compiled a record of 14 ships sunk for a total of 86,606 tons and one ship damaged for a further 6,548 tons. U-109 was sunk on 04 May 43, south of Ireland, in position 47-22N, 022-40W, by depth charges from a British B-24 Liberator patrol aircraft from RAF 86 Squadron. All of U-109’s crew of 52 was lost. OLtzS Joachim Schramm was the commander at the time of her loss. Heinrich Bleichrodt joined the navy in 1933 and, after service in the cadet training ship Gorch Fock & heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, transferred to the U-boat force in Oct 39. He took command of U-48 on 08 Sep 40, at the age of 30. His First Watch Officer was ‘Teddy’ Suhren, an eventual winner of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Together they sank eight ships for a total of 36,189 tons. Upon learning that he had been awarded the Knight's Cross on 24 Oct 40 (the 18th awarded in the U-boat force), Bleichrodt refused to wear it until OLtzS Suhren had received one as well, as Suhren had been in charge of all surface firings. Thus, on 03 Nov 40, Suhren became the first Watch Officer to receive the Knight's Cross. In Dec 40, Bleichrodt left U-48 and, in Jan 41, commissioned U-67. In Jun 41 he took command of U-109. Kptlt Beichrodt was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 23 Sep 42, the 15th awarded in the U-boat force. He left U-109 in Jul 43, was promoted to KKpt., and was assigned as a tactical instructor with 2nd U-boat Training Division. From Jul 44 to the end of the war he was the commander of the 22nd U-boat Flotilla. Heinrich Bleichrodt died on 09 Jan 77 in Munich, Germany. In total, ‘Ajax’ Bleichrodt sank 27 ships for a total of 158,957 tons and damaged three ships for a further 16,362 tons in only eight patrols, making him the 10th highest scoring U-boat 'ace' 1942 - U-275 laid down 1942 - At 0644, the unescorted and unarmed SS Frances Salman was hit by one torpedo from U-552 off Newfoundland, after being missed by four torpedoes in four unsuccessful attacks. The ship attempted to escape and several distress signals were sent, but were not heard by Allied stations. The torpedo, fired from about 500 yards, struck the after part of the ship, causing her to sink by the stern within ten minutes in rough seas. The bow remained above the water for about 25 minutes before disappearing. Some of the eight officers and 20 crewmen managed to launch a lifeboat, but due to the state of the seas, none of the men in the boat survived 1942 - The unarmed tanker SS Allan Jackson proceeding independently without routing instructions about 60 miles ENE of Diamond Shoals, North Carolina, when she was hit by two torpedoes from U-66 at 0833. The first hit the starboard side forward of the bridge in the forward tank and the second hit the starboard side aft of the deckhouse between #2 & #3 tanks and broke the ship in two about 25 feet forward of the midship house, nearly in line with the foremast. This caused both parts of the burning tanker to sink within 10 minutes. Flaming oil spewed from the tanker’s side and spread over the water hundreds of feet around the ship, making it hazardous for the crew to abandon ship. Many of the men burned to death because only the #3 boat with eight men could be launched. Five men jumped into the water and clung to wreckage. The lifeboat picked up the radio operator after 15 minutes. Destroyer USS Roe picked up the 2nd mate, the 3rd mate and an able seaman four hours later. The destroyer then picked up the occupants of the lifeboat and found the master after seven hours in the water. On 19 January, all survivors were landed at Norfolk, Virginia. Of the eight officers and 27 men aboard, only three officers and 10 men survived, eight of them injured 1942 - SS Dimitrios G Thermiotis sunk by U-86 while in Convoy SC-63 at 51N, 62W - Grid BC 4110 1942 - Due to heavy monsoon rains and wind that continued throughout the day, the Japanese ships carrying the troops invading Sandakan, British North Borneo, must anchor in Sandakan 1942 - Germany, Italy, and Japan sign a new military pact in Berlin 1942 - Submarine USS Plunger torpedoes & sinks a Japanese merchant cargo ship off the mouth of Kii Suido, Honshu at 33.30N, 135.00E 1942 - The USAAF’s Hawaiian Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses that are part of Task Group 8.9 begin flying ASW patrols from Canton Island 1942 - The first increment (1,400 men) of US forces to be sent to the UK sails for Northern Ireland 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Charles R Greer launched 1943 - Corvette HMCS Kamsack completed refit Halifax NS 1943 - Russian Government announced that the 17-month siege of Leningrad had been raised 1943 - U-1003 laid down 1943 - U-845 launched 1944 - Rescue tugs HMS Cheerly & Sesame commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Oberrender launched 1944 - Escort carrier USS Kadashan Bay commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper HMS Lennox commissioned 1944 - Frigate HMS Torrington commissioned 1944 - Destroyer HMS Urania commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Holder commissioned 1944 - U-1007 commissioned 1945 - Coast Guard manned Amy FS-396 was commissioned at Decatur. Her first commanding officer was LTJG E. H. Bowler, USCGR, who was succeeded on 29 October 1945, by LT R. H. Johnson, USCGR. She was assigned, to and operated in the Southwest Pacific and Western Pacific areas. She departed Manila 28 January 1946, for duty in the Marshall Islands, having been transferred from Coast Guard AF WESPAC to Administration Commander, Coast Guard Activities SWPA, Philippine Sea Frontier on18 January 1946. 1945 - Minesweeper HMS Liberty commissioned 1945 - Frigate USS Milledgeville commissioned 1945 - Destroyer USS Hollister laid down 1945 - HMS LST 3543 ordered from North Vancouver Ship Repairs Ltd 1945 - Corvette HMCS Summerside completed repairs Halifax & departed for workups Bermuda 1945 - U-2533 commissioned 1945 - U-2363 launched 1947 - Sakhalin Region is formed, comprising Sakhalin Island and the Kurile Islands, a total of 59 islands 1950 - Destroyer HMCS Sioux recommissioned 1953 - A Navy N2V Neptune bomber, carrying 13 crewmembers, is shot down by anti-aircraft fire coming from the enemy-held island of Namoa near Taiwan. It is the first US plane shot down while patrolling this area in two and a half years. A Coast Guard PBM seaplane with an eight-man crew lands in rough seas that night and picks up 11 survivors, but it loses an engine taking off and crashes. On Jan. 19 the destroyer Halsey Powell picks up 10 survivors -- seven sailors and three Coast Guardsmen. Six sailors and five Coast guardsmen died 1962 - After a flash fire in the Persian Gulf on Danish tanker, Prima Maersk, burned a crewman, USS Duxbury Bay transfers a Navy doctor to help the Danish crewman and USS Soley took him to the nearest hospital at Bahrain Island 1965 - Frigate HMS Loch Alvie (ex-HMCS Loch Alvie) sold for scrap at Singapore 1965 - USS Yorktown port call Hong Kong 1967 - USS Enterprise port call Subic Bay 1968 - Operation Coronado X begins in Mekong Delta, Vietnam 1972 - Ottawa bans use of aircraft and large ships in Gulf of St. Lawrence seal hunt 1972 - USS Hancock port call Pearl Harbor 1977 - The Trident (C-4) missile development flight test program commenced when C4X-1 was launched from a flight pad at Cape Canaveral, FL 1991 - DOD announces 196 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been launched. Additionally, 2,107 attack sorties have been flown by USN, USMC, USAF, USA and coalition forces; assessed as 80% effective. In air-to-air engagements, eight Iraqi MIG-29s and Mirage F-1s are destroyed; two by 2 USN F/A-18s of USS Saratoga-based Strike Fighter Squadron-81 (directed by E-2Cs from Carrier Air Wing-17). First Navy combat "kills". F/A-18s then transitioned, and bombed targets. Navy has lost two additional aircraft, both A-6s. The crewmen, LT Jeffrey Zaun and LT Robert Wetzel of the USS Saratoga's Attack Squadron 35, and LT Charles Turner and LT William Costen of USS Ranger's Attack Squadron 155 are missing. 1991 - USS Nicholas, operating with embarked Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) 44, Det. 8/USA helos and a Kuwaiti patrol boat, engaged and neutralized Iraqi forces firing on coalition aircraft with antiaircraft artillery and shoulder-fired SAMs from eleven Kuwaiti oil platforms in northern Arabian Gulf In the first combined helicopter missile and surface ship gun engagement, five Iraqis are killed, 3 wounded and 23 Iraqis, the first enemy prisoners of war, were taken board USS Nicholas for transfer to USMC holding facility and Saudi Arabian EPW camp 1991 - USS Moosbrugger SEALs board Sudanese vessel El Obeid, the first boarding by a Navy ship since commencement of hostilities 1991 - SECNAV activates 498 additional Naval Reservists from 37 units 1991 - USS Nicholas attacks and captures Iraqi oil platforms 2003 - Deepquest Sub Sea announced that they intend to raise HMS Sidon 2004 - USNS Bellatrix activated 2005 - A sailor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan died on the way to San Diego after he was scalded with hot water while working on the ship's propulsion system 2005 - NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, introduced nowCOAST. nowCOAST is a Web mapping portal providing the coastal community with real-time coastal observations and NOAA forecasts for major US estuaries and seaports, coastal regions and the Great Lakes 2006 - Rescuers in the Far Eastern Tatar Strait suspended the search for three missing seamen from a sunken ship because of the stormy sea and the icing of their vessels. The Vladivostok rescue center reported that all the vessels taking part in the operation retreated to shelters. The An-26 plane that was flying over the Tatar Strait, returned to the base due to poor visibility. The sunken ship, identified as Zeina-maru, was flying the Belizean flag. Just one survivor was found during the shipwreck on January 17. The sailor, a 28-year-old resident of Nakhodka, was found on a raft. He said the second raft had failed to inflate. The survivor is now on board the Asanda trawler. The bodies of eight Zeina-maru crew were found dead in hydrosuits. The storm caused four-meter-high waves in the Tatar Strait. Water temperature is plus 2 degrees Celsius, and air temperature is minus 8 degrees Celsius, and wind velocity is 20 meters per second 2006 - Portuguese frigate Vasco da Gama sailed to join the NATO SNMG-1 at Kiel 2006 - At 0550 Stornoway Coastguard were contacted by French Maritime Authorities at Cross Gris Nez reporting that they had received communication from the French fishing vessel Jean Le Clerc. The vessel had lost a man overboard in a position 60 nautical miles, NNW of the Butt of Lewis. Stornoway Coastguard are coordinating a search for this man, using Coastguard rescue helicopter 'Mike Uniform', and also a RAF Nimrod aircraft 'R51' from Kinloss. The weather in the area is a southwesterly wind at 11 knots, with poor visibility due to low cloud and drizzle. The missing man is thirty years of age and is a French national 2006 - The SA Navy’s combat support ship SAS Drakensberg sailed from Cape Town today en route for Germany to escort the Navy’s first Type 209 submarine, S101, home 2006 - Coast Guard Station New York and New York Police Department escorted NY Waterways ferry Peter Weiss to Pier 11 in Manhattan after receiving reports the ferry was taking on water near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge at 0756. Tom Beckendorff, the Peter Weiss' master, reported taking on water over its side. Winds were reported at 34 knots sustained with gusts to 50+ knots and wave of two-to-four feet in the harbor. The master ordered the 149 passengers to put on life jackets as a personal safety precaution. No injuries were reported 2006 - A Coast Guard crew secured an adrift double-hulled barge carrying 5.5 million gallons of petroleum product off the southern coast of North Carolina. Members of Coast Guard Sector North Carolina's prevention department hooked towing gear to the tug Justine Foss, with the help of a rescue boat from Station Wrightsville Beach. Justine Foss is the same tug that responded to the original distress call of the tug Valour's crew. The Coast Guard team was lowered from a Marine Corps helicopter based in Cherry Point NC. The Marine helicopter was requested because of its proximity to the operating area. While adrift, the barge hit and displaced the #16 red buoy near Frying Pan Shoals off Wrightsville Beach, N.C. It does not appear that the buoy caused any damage to the barge. The barge was originally set adrift after its tug, the Valour, turned around to recover a crewmember that fell overboard in heavy seas. During the search for the crewman, the tug began taking on water and later sank. The search continues for one crewman. Of the other eight, one crewman is confirmed dead, one is believed to have gone down with the tug, one is in Wilmington NC, one is enroute to Elizabeth City NC and four are safe aboard the Justine Foss 2006 - Captain Sharon Richey, the Captain of the Port at Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Port Arthur, partially reopened a section of the Sabine Neches Waterway today where a barge carrying 94 large concrete pilings lost its cargo in the ship channel. Salvage and dive crews have been on scene since Tuesday morning. After surveying the pilings and addressing all safety issues, salvors commenced removing pilings one at a time. As of 10 a.m. three of the 95-foot long, 32,110-pound pilings had been removed. Salvage operations will continue on a 24-hour basis and is expected to continue for several days. The Sabine Neches Waterway was opened to tug and barge traffic as of 2130 on the 17th and there are no longer any residual delays. The Coast Guard Captain of the Port also allowed other shallow draft vessels to transit the area on a case-by-case basis. There are approximately 18 ships affected by this closure. Seven of those are inbound carrying crude oil. The accident occurred 17 Jan at approximately 0055 in the Sabine Neches Waterway about two miles south of the Rainbow and Veteran’s bridges. As the pilings could damage any passing vessels, the Coast Guard closed the Sabine Neches Waterway from the mouth of the Old River to the Neches River intersection. There were no injuries or pollution as a result of the accident and only the barge sustained minor damage. The cause of this accident is under investigation 2006 - USCG awarded Kenneth J. Alvey, Chief, Ohio Division of Watercraft (Ret.) Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award during the Lake Erie Safe Boating Council's annual awards ceremony held during the Mid-America Boat Show at the Cleveland I-X Center. The Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award is bestowed upon those individuals recognized as having made substantial contributions to the Coast Guard, which furthered the success of mission accomplishment. The award includes a Medal and written Citation. Rear Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr., Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District, will make the presentation on behalf of the Commandant of the Coast Guard 2006 - A project on the second phase of Denmark's assistance program for Vietnamese fisheries sector (FSPS2), worth 245.7 million krone, was singed in Ha Noi. The signatories were Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Peter Hansen, Danish Ambassador to Viet Nam 2006 - CCGS Frank M. Weston listed for sale by Crown Assets at Sydney NS 2006 - Over 300 Crowley and Toyota Logistics Services employees gathered to celebrate the shipment of the 150,000th Toyota vehicle to Puerto Rico from Jacksonville. The ceremony and luncheon took place at Crowley’s Talleyrand terminal yesterday where the Toyotas are regularly loaded onto large ocean-going barges for the trip to San Juan. Beginning with their first shipments of cars from the US to Puerto Rico in 1992, Crowley has been the exclusive carrier of Toyota vehicles to Puerto Rico. The company has nine triple deck barges, some of which are more than two football fields long, which are towed by large oceangoing tugs between Jacksonville and San Juan 2006 - United Arab Emirates cost guard rescued two Iranians on Wednesday whose boat capsized in Persian Gulf waters. WAM news agency reported that they were transferred to hospitals in UAE. A UAE cost guard official said that four Iranians were on board at the time when heavy storms and ferocious winds capsized the boat 2006 - US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael G. Mullen met his South Korean counterpart Adm. Nam Hae-il at the Geryong military compound in South Chungcheong Province to discuss ways of strengthening naval cooperation between the two countries 2006 - At approximately 1948, a single-seat F/A-18C Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 97, based at NAS Lemoore, Calif., crashed approximately five miles north of NAS El Centro, Calif., while conducting a routine training mission. The pilot of the aircraft died in the mishap 2006 - Two people aboard a 33 foot catamaran off the coast of Mexico requested urgent assistance in extreme weather conditions of Force 10 - 11. They battened themselves down in the boat whilst the waves washed over their boat. The alarm was raised at 2130 by a transferred 999 call from a friend who had been contacted by the crew of the British registered catamaran Eclipse, informing Falmouth Coastguard that the vessel was 90 miles from Haultuclo, in force 10. The vessel had no life raft other than a hard dinghy, a handheld radio and flares and the EPIRB had been set off. The two crew on board the vessel were a male from the UK and a female from the USA. Falmouth Coastguard contacted its counterparts in America and Mexico in order to pass coordination of search and rescue onto the Mexican Coast Guard. The vessel by this time had issued a Mayday 2006 - California Mercury (41442 grt, built 1987) reports that due to bad weather they have had a cargo incident. It is reported that 43 containers are overboard and eight damaged. The vessel's ETA at Seattle is Jan 23. -- Lloyd's Agents. California Mercury departed Busan Jan 12 for Seattle 2007 - The Pakistan Navy will get the first of the eight P-3C Orion aircraft from the US ============================================================= 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.