SeaWaves Today in History January 22, 2007 ********************************************************************* January 22 New Zealand - Local anniversary day in the City of Wellington. Visiting Warships dress overall 1720 - Shares in the South Sea Company, which had a monopoly of trade with South Africa, rose rapidly. Speculation followed and when the "South Sea bubble" burst, thousands were ruined 1758 - Russian Army seizes Koenigsberg. Manifesto of Elizabeth I annexes East Prussia to Russia 1800 - CAPT Thomas Tingey ordered to duty as first Superintendent of the Washington Navy Yard 1901 - Britain's Queen Victoria died at age 82 1905 - SS Minnesota sails from Seattle for Asia with largest cargo to cross the Pacific 1905 - Thousands of demonstrating Russian workers were fired on by Imperial army troops in St. Petersburg on what became known as "Red Sunday" or "Bloody Sunday." 1906 - US steamer Valencia sinks off Vancouver Island; 126 drown 1913 - Aircraft carrier HMS Eagle laid down 1917 - President Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for "peace without victory" 1919 - Minesweepers HMC TR-27, TR-30, TR-32, TR-33 paid off & returned to RN 1920 - Destroyers USS Bulmer & McCormick launched 1924 - Submarine USS S-27 commissioned 1936 - Sloop HMS Aberdeen launched 1936 - Destroyer HMS Imperial laid down 1936 - Destroyer HMS Glowworm commissioned 1940 - The US freighter SS Excellency is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; the US freighter SS Nishmaha, detained there the yesterday, is released 1940 - US - Joint amphibious exercise concludes in Monterey Bay CA area, having afforded the Fleet profitable experience in joint planning. It also demonstrates inter-service cooperation 1940 - SS Songa sunk by U-25 1940 - U-51 sank SS Gothia 30 miles SW of St Kilda 1940 - U-55 sank SS Segovia 1940 - SS Sydvold sunk by U-61 1940 - Destroyer HMS Hesperus commissioned 1940 - Flower-class corvettes ordered in Canada - HMS Windflower, Hepatica, Snowberry, Spikenard, Arrowhead, Fennel, Bittersweet, HMCS Pictou, Baddeck, Buctouche, Shediac, Rimouski, Dunvegan, Camrose, and Sherbrooke 1941 - Heavy cruiser USS Louisville arrives at New York City, with US $148,342,212.55 in British gold brought from Simonstown, South Africa, to be deposited in American banks 1941 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Luda Lady mined & sunk off the Humber 1941 - Rescue tug HMS St Cyrus mined & sunk off the Humber 1941 - U-67 commissioned 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Minas launched North Vancouver BC 1941 - Australian infantry with British tank and artillery support, including gunfire from Royal Navy gunboats and monitors, took the key Libyan town of Tobruk in the face of fierce resistance from its Italian garrison 1942 - Carrier-based aircraft from HIJMS Akagi & Kaga attack Rabaul on New Britain Island for the third straight day. The last of the fixed defenses are destroyed 1942 - Japanese troops land on Mussau Island, largest island in the Saint Mathias group, located 113 miles NW of Kavieng, New Ireland Island 1942 - USN TF 11 (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.), formed around carrier USS Lexington, departs Oahu to raid Wake Island 1942 - The Japanese invasion force headed for Balikpapan, Borneo, crosses the equator at 2000 hours local. From this date through 3 February, US Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses launch at least 15 missions out of Malang, Java, against shipping moving through Makassar Strait between Borneo and Celebes Island. Four missions abort due to bad weather, six end with negative results, and the remaining five suffer heavy losses but sink 4 ships 1942 - Sloops HMAS Warrego & Koolama land reinforcements on Ambon Island 1942 - Carrier based aircraft from HIJMS Shokaku & Zuikaku attack Lae, Salamaua and Bulolo 1942 - The Japanese begin a series of amphibious operations during the night of 22-23 January, when a battalion embarks in barges at Moron and sails toward Caibobo Point, below Bagac, Philippines 1942 - USS PT-34 sinks two Japanese landing barges in the Philippines 1942 - Japanese reinforcements land in the Subic Bay area 1942 - In Leningrad, the mass evacuation of civilians begins via the "ice road" across Lake Ladoga. (About 440,000 people are transported out of Leningrad between 22 January and 15 April 1942) 1942 - SS Gandia sunk by U-135 in Convoy ON-54 at 45.00N, 41.00W - Grid BC 9159 1942 - U-333 sank SS Vassilios A. Polemis in Convoy ON-53 at 42.32N, 52.38W - Grid BB 9600 1942 - At 2243, the unescorted motor tanker Innerøy was torpedoed by U-553, caught fire & sank. The master, 30 Norwegians, two British, two Portuguese and one Canadian crewmembers were lost. Five survivors were picked up from a lifeboat 15 hours after the attack by SS Empire Amethyst, which had come across two empty lifeboats from the tanker before locating the survivors who were landed at Halifax. 1942 - SS Caledonian Monarch, previously damaged, sunk by U-333 near Loch Ewe 1942 - U-203 sank ASW trawler HMS Rosemonde 1942 - At 1239, U-66 fired two stern torpedoes at an unescorted steamer, which broke in two & sank within one minute after being hit twice. The vessel was probably tanker Olympic, which was reported missing after leaving Curaçao 1942 - At 2310, SS Athelcrown dispersed from Convoy ON-56, was torpedoed & sunk by U-82 SE of Cape Race. Five crewmembers were lost. The master, 26 crewmembers & six gunners were picked up by the British merchant Argos Hill and landed at Halifax. A British warship rescued eight crewmembers. Four crewmembers found the abandoned, drifting wreck of the Diala, which had been torpedoed on 15 January by U-553 (Thurmann) in 47°28N/39°19W. They remained on board for eight days before they were rescued by the Swedish merchant Saturnus and landed on the Faeroe Isles. The wreck of the Diala was sunk on 23 March by U-587 1942 - Destroyer USS Hobson commissioned 1942 - U-662 launched 1942 - U-606 commissioned 1942 - Patrol craft (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS Loyal II renamed HMCS Foam 1942 - Gate vessels HMS Venosta & Viernoe renamed CY 509 & CY 512 1942 - Corvette HMCS Regina commissioned 1943 - Leutnant zur See Wilhem Deutsch of was lost by washing overboard. (When U-268 was sunk four weeks later only 44 men were killed, instead of the normally reported figure of 45 men) 1943 - U-775 laid down 1943 - SS Neva sunk by U-358 at 61.35N, 14.15W - Grid AE 8575 1943 - At 2351 hours on 22 Jan, 1943, the Mount Mycale, a straggler from Convoy SC-117, was torpedoed by U-413 & sunk by a coup de grâce at 2356 1943 - Tug HMCS Glenora laid down Owen Sound ON 1943 - Submarine USS Archerfish laid down 1943 - Submarine HMS Varne launched 1944 - Minesweeper USS Portent mined & sunk off Anzio 1944 - U-399 commissioned 1944 - One crewmember from U-984 was washed overboard in the North Atlantic. [Maschinenobergefreiter Hermann Keller] 1944 - Operation Shingle, Commonwealth and US forces landed at Anzio in an attempt to break the deadlock in the Italian campaign, landing behind the formidable German defenses of the Gustav Line. The first day of the landings proved a great success, 50,000 men and 3,000 vehicles being put ashore with only 13 casualties, mainly caused by mines. German resistance escalated significantly, however, in the following days. This occurred because the American advance, which at landing had a wide-open path before it, was commanded by a nervous general worried that it seemed far too easy; fast moving would surely run right into serious waiting danger. So he stopped the movement pending reinforcement and more logistical support. This gave the Germans plenty of time to swing into defensive positions, thus Churchill's famous remark about the "stranded whale." When the true nature of what had happened soaked in, that tentative US general was relieved on the spot 1944 - Destroyer HMCS Huron departed Loch Ewe as part of the close escort for a 15-ship convoy to the Kola Inlet. In the summer of 1942, all subsequent Arctic convoys to Russian sailed in the winter months, taking advantage of foul weather & reduced daylight to conceal their movements from German aerial reconnaissance. This was very successful & subsequent losses were negligible 1944 - Submarine HMS Terrapin commissioned 1944 - Frigate USS Everett commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Prime launched 1944 - Destroyer escort USS O'Toole commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Willard Keith & William C Lawe laid down 1944 - Submarine USS Pipefish commissioned 1944 - Minesweeper USS Saunter commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Thomas F Nickel, Robert Brazier & Lough launched 1945 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-285 was commissioned at Wheeler Shipyard, Whitestone, NY with LTJG Gordon E. Miniclier, USCG, as first commanding officer. She departed New York on 19 February 1945 for the Southwest Pacific, where she operated during the war. LTJG Carl A. Haldenwanger, USCG succeeded LTJG Miniclier on 22 September 1945. He, in turn, was succeeded by BMC U. L. Needles on 26 November 1945 1945 - US carrier aircraft attack Okinawa 1945 - U-3023, U-3026 commissioned 1945 - U-2542 launched 1945 - Frigate HMCS Chebogue being prepared for Transatlantic crossing under tow Newport, Wales 1945 - Aircraft from HMS Indefatigable attack Palembang 1945 - Frigate USS Racine commissioned 1946 - Submarine HMS Amphion launched 1946 - Frigate HMCS Orkney paid off to reserve Bedford Basin, Halifax NS 1951 - Destroyer HMCS Huron departed Halifax for Korean War under United Nations command 1954 - Air raid on UN warships at Taeyong Pyong Do 1955 - Frigate HMCS Ste Therese recommissioned after modernization 1962 - Submarine HMS Alderney arrived Halifax NS for ASW training 1967 - USS Hancock port call Yokosuka 1968 - USS Ticonderoga port call Subic Bay 1973 - USS Constellation port call Subic Bay 1987 - The US Coast Guard established a new aviation facility, named the Air Interdiction Facility at Norfolk Naval Air Station. The aircrews flew Navy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft on narcotics interdiction patrols 1991 - USAF special operations forces recovered one crewmember of F-14 downed on 21 January, LT Devon Jones. Second aircrewmember is missing 1991 - 4 USN A-6s attacked and disabled an Iraqi T-43 class ship, capable of laying 20 mines, in the northern Arabian Gulf. Vessel was seen sinking 1991 - US ships attacked 3 Iraqi patrol boats, disabling one and chasing off two others. 3 additional mines were found and destroyed 1996 - MCDV HMCS Glace Bay launched Halifax NS 1997 - Cable-stayed bridge over Thea Foss Waterway in Washington State completed 2003 - SS Cape Taylor activated from RRF 2004 - Six paintings of Canadian naval operations in Operation Apollo by artist John Horton unveiled at a showing in Esquimalt BC 2004 - Dock landing ship JDS Kunisaki rammed a breakwater in Kure. 13 crewmembers injured; four seriously 2005 - Swansea Coastguard coordinated the rescue of three people this evening after their 16 foot angling boat, 'Kasam', foundered on Bideford Bar in rough weather. The vessel had suffered engine failure, in an eighteen-foot swell. As the crew attempted to effect repairs, the huge surf swamped the boat. The three crew (two men and a boy of 15 from Barnstaple) were unable to fit their auxiliary engine and raised the alarm by calling 999 on their mobile phone. They also set off a red distress flare. The boat did not carry a VHF radio or DSC. Upon receiving the call at 1930, Swansea Coastguard launched the Appledore inshore and all weather RNLI lifeboats and scrambled an RAF Rescue Helicopter. Westward Ho! Coastguard Rescue Team also attended the scene. The three people were evacuated from their boat onto the inshore lifeboat minutes before their boat sank. All of them were suffering with shock and cold and were treated onshore by paramedics 2005 - US Navy christened the newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Kidd during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Ingalls Operations in Pascagoula, Miss 2005 - First of 12 new Armidale Class patrol boats being built for the Royal Australian Navy as part of a A$550 million contract named in an official ceremony at Henderson WA 2005 - The Singapore Government is filing a civil suit against the owners of ANL Indonesia, the 52,000-tonne Dutch container ship, which collided with the navy's RSS Courageous on Jan 3, 2003. The collision led to the death of four naval officers. In a suit filed by senior counsel Steven Chong of the law firm of Rajah & Tann, the Government is asking for 'loss, damage and/or expense suffered as a result of the collision' 2005 - USS Ronald Reagan delivered two Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30 C-2A Greyhound aircraft (known as Cods by Navy personnel) at Pearl Harbor. The aircraft will be sent off to tsunami relief efforts in Asia 2005 - HMS Scott arrived in Indonesian waters to carry out an underwater survey of the seabed around the epicenter of the huge Dec. 26 earthquake that triggered the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami. Scott will collect data that will be interpreted by scientists to assess the stability of the region's tectonic plates. The magnitude 9 earthquake - the most powerful in 40 years - spawned killer waves that raced across the Indian Ocean killing 158,000 to 221,000 people 2005 - ANZAC-class frigate HMAS Ballarat ran aground at Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. The ship was engaged in Operation Relex II, a border protection activity, at the time. No one was injured. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed but there is known to be damage to the ship's rudder and propeller. The ship's hull was not holed. Navy will conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the grounding as soon as possible 2006 - China's first scientific research ship to circumnavigate the globe returned home after 300 days at sea. The mission has fulfilled the long-held Chinese dream to make a transoceanic voyage, and also brought back more than 1,000 kilograms of hydrothermal sulfide samples containing copper, zinc and precious metals such as gold and silver. Setting off from East China's coastal city Qingdao last April, "Dayang Yihao (Ocean No 1)" traveled 43,230 nautical miles (79,975 kilometers), first visiting the Pacific and then sailing across the Atlantic through the Panama Canal. It then traveled to the Indian Ocean, rounding the Cape of Good Hope before continuing back to the Pacific through the Straits of Malacca 2006 - Malaysian authorities have launched a massive investigations on the ammunition lost at a navy base in northern Malaysia and arrested at least 12 people, a local newspaper said. Malaysian police and the navy had been probing the case over the past few weeks in a bid to retrieve the ammunition lost from the depot of the navy base near Lumut in the state of Perak, including explosives and grenades 2006 - USCG recovered a body from Long Island Sound at 11:40 a.m. today that matches the description of a windsurfer reported missing in Long Island Sound about two miles southeast of Stratford Point, Conn., 1700. The Coast Guard Cutter Sanibel located the body, which was recovered by an HH-60 from Air Station Cape Cod and flown to Bridgeport Hospital for identification. The Coast Guard initially received a call from a person on shore near Stratford Point 5:00 p.m. Saturday and immediately coordinated a multi-agency search. Rescue boats from Coast Guard Stations New Haven and Eaton's Neck and an HH-60 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod were joined by rescue boats from the Stratford Fire-Rescue unit and the Bridgeport Marine Police, and an Air National Guard helicopter from Gabreski Field on Long Island. Additionally, the 224-foot training vessel, the King's Pointer, based at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., was nearby and joined in the search. The Bridgeport Marine Police reported at approximately 1735 on the 21st that its rescue boat had recovered a kite in the search area. The Coast Guard Cutter Sanibel, a 110-foot patrol boat based at Woods Hole, Mass., and a Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel joined the search at first light today. This Coast Guard-led multi-agency search effort conducted 17 total air and surface searches throughout the night and into the today and covered approximately 260 square miles about two miles southeast of the Housatonic River. The water temperature was reported at 39 degrees and air temperature at 42 degrees 2006 - USCG and Washington Department of Ecology are overseeing the salvage of a tugboat that sunk in the Duwamish Waterway. USCG Sector Seattle received a call at 1151 that the tugboat Island Brave, owned by Island Tug and Barge, was sinking at Terminal 7 in the Port of Seattle. Coast Guard pollution investigators and representatives from the Department of Ecology were dispatched. Port of Seattle Police and the Seattle Fire Department fireboat Chief Seattle also responded. Island Brave sunk at about 1330. A minor diesel sheen was observed after the vessel sunk, but containment boom and absorbent materials were placed around the vessel to contain the pollution. A contractor, Global Diving and Salvage, has been hired by the owner of the tug to respond to the pollution and to raise the sunken vessel. Divers have successfully plugged the vents of the tug’s fuel tanks limiting the further release of fuel on board. The onboard tanks of the Island Brave have a potential capacity of 31,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Plans to raise the Island Brave are in development with operations tentatively planned for Monday morning. Coast Guard Sector Seattle and Washington State Department of Ecology will continue to monitor the pollution response and mitigation efforts, and raising of the vessel. The cause of the sinking is under investigation 2006 - A 25-year-old woman was rushed to hospital after ascending too quickly. The woman panicked at a depth of 28.6 meters (94 feet) after becoming disoriented and made a rapid ascent to the surface. San Diego lifeguards who responded to the scuba diving accident said the woman was not fully aware of her surroundings when they rescued her. San Diego lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma said the woman was taken to UCSD Medical Center for treatment. Yukon is a Canadian destroyer that was scuttled off the coast of San Diego as a scuba diving attraction 2007 - Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen provided keynote remarks at the Marine Log Maritime and Port Security Conference at Crystal Gateway Marriott Arlington VA ============================================================= 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.