SeaWaves Today in History January 23, 2007 ********************************************************************* January 23 1806 - William Pitt (the Younger) died 1813 - Colonel Bruyeres of the Royal Engineers writes to Sir George Prevost, commanding British forces in Canada, about the need to build a small flotilla of gunboats for Lake Huron 1856 - Collins Line steamer Pacific departs Liverpool for New York, never to be heard from again. This loss resulted in the withdrawal of the US Government subsidy & the failure of the line 1909 - The schooner Roderick Dhu was discovered in distress on the bar by a Life-Saving Service patrol from the Point Bonita, California station. The schooner had been in tow by a tug, but parted hawsers when 5 1/2 miles SW of a LSS station. She hoisted a signal, and the keeper reported her condition to the Merchant's Exchange. A tug was sent out and the schooner was towed to sea. The next day she was towed into port, leaking badly, and convoyed by the USRC McCulloch 1915 - Royal Flying Corps reconnaissance aircraft gave warning that Turkish troops were preparing for an attack on the Suez Canal. The subsequent offensive in early February was easily defeated 1918 - Destroyer USS Twiggs laid down 1920 - Dutch Government refused demands of victorious Allies to handover ex-Kaiser of Germany 1929 - Heavy cruiser USS Salt Lake City launched 1932 - New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination 1935 - Destroyer USS Dale launched 1936 - Light cruiser HMS Newcastle launched 1940 - Britain & France warn that they will attack German shipping encountered by their navies in the Pan-American neutral zone 1940 - US freighter SS Excambion, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 17 January, is released to proceed on her voyage to Genoa, Italy, but not before 470 sacks of mail (bound for Germany and Italy) are seized; freighter SS Excellency, detained at Gibraltar yesterday, is also released 1940 - SS Varild sunk by U-18 1940 - At 2213, SS Onto struck a mine laid on 8 January by U-56 & sank within minutes 2.7 miles 251° from Smith’s Lightvessel, Cross Sand. A British destroyer and a Greek steamer rescued all hands 1940 - At 0843, the unescorted SS Baltanglia was torpedoed & sunk by U-19 SE of the Farne Islands. The master and 27 crewmembers landed at Seahouses, Northumberland 1940 - At 0855, SS Pluto was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-19 & sank by the bow after 14 minutes east of Longstone Island. The survivors were picked up by a Finnish vessel and taken to Seahouses 1940 - Corvettes HMCS Matapedia, Arvida, Summerside & Louisburg ordered 1941 - Churchill requests that the Admiralty arrange for faster carrier borne aircraft to be embarked for service in the Mediterranean, he suggests the "Grumman Martlets or converted Brewsters" as "Fulmars are really not fast enough." The Brewster F2A "Buffalo" was designed and built for USN carrier use. Short and plump, it had four .50-cal. mg in its wings, a range of 965 miles, and a cruising speed of 161 mph. Unfortunately, it also was slow of pickup speed, poor of maneuver by comparison to the enemies it would face, and obsolete almost before it saw any service. Though valiantly flown by Dutch and American pilots at the outset of the Pacific War, the Buffalo was no match whatever for the Japanese Zero fighter. Interestingly, the Finns, during the Winter War against the USSR, modified these planes (especially with more powerful engines) and then became very successful with them against Soviet fighters. It may be that Churchill knew of the Finnish "conversions." The Grumman F4F "Wildcat", known to the British as the "Martlet", was also relatively short and also had a plumpish look. Many of Grumman's early output of them went to the UK. At 770 miles its range was shorter, and its cruising speed slightly less at 155 mph. But its fighting speed pickup was fast, it was far more maneuverable, dove faster and better, was physically much stronger, with six .50s in its wings could hit half again harder, in the hands of an experienced pilot could hold its own with a Zero, and until Grumman's big, lean, and very mean F6F "Hellcat" began to appear in number in 1943, the F4F was the main USN carrier fighter 1941 - Under continual attack, HMS Illustrious is repaired temporarily in Malta and leaves for Alexandria. Her sister ship HMS Formidable is sent out via the Cape of Good Hope, but it is some weeks before she reaches the Eastern Mediterranean 1941 - U-204, U-561 launched 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Wasaga launched North Vancouver BC 1941 - Corvette HMCS Agassiz commissioned 1941 - Corvette HMS Bittersweet commissioned Halifax NS 1941 - Minesweeper HMCS Reo II commissioned 1942 - The unarmed US collier SS Venore is torpedoed & sunk by U-66 about 20 miles SE of Cape Hatteras 1942 - Destroyer USS Edsall is damaged by an explosion of its own depth charges during an attack on a submarine contact in Howard Channel, Clarence Strait, one of the approaches to Darwin, Northern Territory 1942 - Five RAAF Catalinas attempt to attack a Japanese convoy off Wantom Island which lies a few kilometers north of Rabaul. The mission is aborted due to darkness and poor visibility 1942 - Fleet oiler USS Neches is torpedoed & sunk by submarine HIJMS I-72, 136 miles WSW of Pearl Harbor at 21.01N, 160.06W. The loss of the oiler supporting Task Force 11 (VAdm Wilson Brown Jr) forces cancellation of the projected raid on Wake Island 1942 - Elements of the Japanese Fourth Fleet invade Kieta on Bougainville Island without opposition 1942 - The Roberts Commission, whose work had begun on 18 December 1941, concludes its investigation to "ascertain and report the facts relating to the attack made by the Japanese armed forces upon the Territory of Hawaii on December 7, 1941..." The exhibits gathered amount to 2,173 printed pages 1942 - Task Force 6814 departs New York for New Zealand and then to New Caledonia. This unit with other additions will become the Americal Division 1942 - Destroyers USS Parrott, John D. Ford, Pope & Paul Jones entered Balikpapan Bay where, lying at anchor, were 16 Japanese transports and three 750 ton torpedo boats, guarded by a destroyer squadron. The foursome fired several patterns of torpedoes and had the satisfaction of seeing four enemy transports and one torpedo boat sink as the Japanese destroyers searched aimlessly in the strait for non-existent submarines 1942 - At 1340, SS Leiesten in Convoy ON-56 was hit by two torpedoes from U-82 about 400 miles ESE of Cape Race. The explosions killed the chief engineer and four men on watch below, as well as injuring several others. The master ordered the second mate to take the injured into a lifeboat, while he himself remained on board with eleven others in an effort to save the ship, but the U-boat appeared and started shelling the vessel. The men jumped overboard and managed to get onto a raft, but the British messboy hesitated too long and was killed on board by the shelling. After 32 hours, all 29 survivors were picked up by the Greek SS Agios Georgios and taken to Halifax on 30 January 1942 - SS Thirlby sunk by U-109 at 43.20N, 66.15W - Grid BA 9956 1942 - Four Swordfish biplanes of 830 Naval Air Squadron succeeded in torpedoing a heavily escorted Italian supply ship in bad weather off North Africa 1942 - Allied sea and air forces attacked a large Japanese convoy in the Makassar Strait, between Borneo and Celebes, and inflicted Japan's first great sea losses. Japanese forces landed in New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands, about 950 miles NE of Australia. The Government of Australia appealed to the United States and Britain for immediate material assistance. By January 26 the Japanese occupied Rabaul on the island of New Britain 1943 - USN submarine chaser SC 709 foundered off Louisbourg NS. Local fishermen effected a daring rescue under extremely adverse conditions. Stranded on a shoal & pounded by 12-foot seas, SC 709 quickly became weighed down by ice & began listing to starboard. Canadian naval authorities in Louisbourg judged it to be too risky to attempt a rescue. The sailors aboard SC 709 could be seen from the shore from time to time as they tried to move about on the wave-swept deck. Mr. Yvon Chiasson, who was a crewman aboard a local fishing schooner, along with several local men, decided to try to reach them in two dories. These they had to drag across the shore ice until they reached open water. Then, they rowed into the teeth of the storm until they reached the wreck. The rescuers were able to remove eight of the sailors that were in the worst shape as the seas raged around them. Winds were blowing at 40 knots & the temperature had fallen to -20C. The American seamen were frostbitten & hypothermic by the time the rescuers reached them. "Those boys were in very poor condition, very poor indeed" Mr. Chiasson recalled. "The navy had no boat that could get close enough. When you're out there in the cold, with the water splashing all over & freezing on you, you're not going to last long." Fishing vessels, who followed Mr. Chiasson's route, saved the rest of the crew soon after. Mr. Chiasson's efforts were recognized in 2000 when he received the Silver Life-Saving Medal from the United States Navy at a ceremony held at Cleveland, Ohio. Rideau Hall has declined to honor Mr. Chiasson with the Canadian Life Saving Medal 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Eisele & Tisdale laid down 1943 - Submarine HMS Vox launched 1943 - ASW trawler HMS Bombardier launched 1943 - Minesweeper HMS Fantome commissioned 1943 - Submarine USS Lapon commissioned 1943 - Destroyer USS Sigsbee commissioned 1943 - U-249, U-296, U-866 laid down 1943 - U-390 launched 1943 - U-847 commissioned 1943 - US Liberty ship SS Benjamin Smith had sailed from Marshall without escort on a noninvasive course, because the escort vessel’s orders had been misforwarded and so the escort arrived a day late. At 0300, the ship was hit by a torpedo from U-175 between #1 & #2 holds, but did not severely damage the ship. The radio antenna was shorted and the engines were secured as the ship took a starboard list. Within five minutes the Benjamin Smith righted herself after the water equalized in the holds and the engines were restarted. The master tried to get away steering a zigzag pattern with a speed of six knots. 20 minutes after the first hit a second torpedo struck the starboard side about ten feet aft of the engine room. The ship was then abandoned by the complement of eight officers, 35 men and 23 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in and nine 20mm guns) in three lifeboats and a raft. Shortly after they got away a third torpedo struck the port side amidships, causing her to sink quickly by the stern about 50 miles off Cape Palmas, Liberia. The Germans questioned the survivors on the raft and directed them to the nearest land after receiving the appropriate answers. He also asked for the master, but they told him that he was not on the raft. At dawn then men on the raft were transferred to the boats and the motorized lifeboat towed the other two into Sassandra, French Ivory Coast on the 24 January. They were later taken to Accra and were repatriated by plane via Belem, Brazil, arriving in USA on 3 March 1943 - Sailing vessel Alexandria sunk by U-431 between Cyprus & Haifa 1944 - Minesweeper USS Swerve commissioned 1944 - Destroyer HMS Janus torpedoed & sunk by a German aircraft off Anzio 1945 - Destroyers HMCS Sioux & Algonquin arrived Clyde with Convoy RA-63 1945 - Destroyer escort USS Corbesier sank HIJMS I-48 off Yap 1945 - U-2360, U-3523 commissioned 1945 - U-2364 launched 1945 - U-242 landed an agent in Finland 1945 - SS Vigsnes sunk by U-1172 at 53.33N, 04.17W 1945 - Hitler belatedly agrees to a major new shipbuilding program & orders the extension of the slave-labor system in the northern dockyards 1945 - The German cruiser Emden transports the bodies of Field Marshall Paul Von Hindenburg and his wife Gertrude back to Germany, in the face of the advancing Soviet forces. They had been buried, against their wishes, at Tannenburg, the site of his greatest WWI victory against the Russians. After the war they will be reburied at Elisabeth Church in Marburg, near Frederick Wilhelm I and Frederick II 1945 - USS Extractor, H.M. Babcock in command, a Navy salvage vessel is torpedoed by the USS Guardfish, Douglas Hammond in command. The Guardfish has mistaken the USN vessel for a Japanese I-class submarine in the early morning light. Both commanders share the blame in a Board of Inquiry hearing 1946 - Frigate HMCS Dunver paid off Esquimalt BC 1950 - Israeli Knesset approved a resolution proclaiming Jerusalem the capital of Israel 1951 - The Danish Hospital Ship Jutlandia leaves Copenhagen on its first out of three missions to Korea, serving under the United Nations, commanded by Captain Kai Hammerich. The expedition ends as Jutlandia returns to Copenhagen on October 16, 1953 after completion of its 3rd mission 1960 - Bathyscaph Trieste descends to deepest part of the ocean, Marianas Trench 1968 - North Korea seized the US Navy ship Pueblo, charging it had intruded into the communist nation's territorial waters on a spying mission. The crew was released 11 months later 1971 - USS Ranger port call Subic Bay 1973 - President Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War 1973 - Destroyer HMCS Kootenay departed Halifax for Esquimalt BC after IRE modernization 1974 - USS Kitty Hawk port call Manila 1975 - USS Midway port call Subic Bay 1991 - USAF F-16 downed by artillery fire over Kuwait; pilot ejected over Persian Gulf, rescued by Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light)44, Detachment Eight, embarked on USS Nicholas, first over-water combat search and rescue 1991 - USN A-6s disable an Al Qaddisiyah-class Iraqi tanker that had been collecting and reporting intelligence data, setting off three explosions, and killing three. A-6s also attacked and sank a Winchester-class hovercraft being re-fueled by the tanker, and a Zhuk patrol boat 2003 - USNS Watson & Red Cloud activated 2003 - Destroyers USS Halsey & Forrest Sherman named 2005 - US Navy veteran and famous television personality Johnny Carson died at 79 2005 - The Prime Minister of Barbados has announced plans to make the Caribbean island a republic, replacing the Queen of England as the official head of state with a locally elected president 2006 - Commissioning ceremony of the 87-foot USCGC Pike at Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, located on the Coast Guard base on Yerba Buena Island. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi will serve as keynote speaker and the ship’s sponsor for the commissioning, a time-honored naval tradition. During the ceremony, Rear Admiral Kevin J. Eldridge, Commander of the Eleventh Coast Guard District, will place Pike into commission; the crew will then board, man the rail and bring the ship to life. Pike has a crew of ten men and women, and is commanded by Lieutenant Junior Grade Robert A. Bixler II. Pike is the latest vessel of the newest class of Coast Guard patrol boats. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, Pike is designed for week-long coastal patrols and is equipped for search & rescue, Homeland Security, environmental protection and maritime law enforcement missions. Pike is one of the most advanced Coastal Patrol Boats in the world and will help the USCG to respond to America’s maritime needs well into the 21st Century 2006 - A major search was conducted overnight for missing boat Spirit of Cornwall one of the 26 competitors in The Atlantic Rowing Race from La Gomera, Canary Islands to Antigua, West Indies. Falmouth Maritime and Rescue Co-ordination Center (MRCC) received detection from a 406Mhz EPIRB registered to Spirit of Cornwall at 1640. An aircraft was sent from Martinique, which was able to locate the life raft with two persons on board. Acting on this information MRCC Falmouth brought the merchant vessel Rainbow, race support vessel Aurora and HMS Southampton to the area. Initially the units were unable to locate the life raft, but following a search downwind a red flare was sighted at 0344 UTC and the liferaft located. The two rowers have now been taken aboard the Aurora and are safe and well, and the vessel is making its way to Antigua 2006 - USS Ronald Reagan port call Brisbane 2006 - Indonesia has expressed its intention to purchase 12 submarines from Russia before 2024. First Admiral Abdul Malik Yusuf, the chief spokesman for the Indonesian Navy was quoted by RIA-Novosti news agency as saying combat submarines were strategic armaments allowing the country to maintain security in its territorial waters. The admiral said the Indonesian waters were defenseless against the penetration of foreign ships. In light of this, the Indonesian Navy turned to the country’s leadership with a proposal to purchase six Kilo-class submarines worth $1.9 billion from Russia in the next five years. The proposal had not yet been accepted due to insufficient budget funds 2006 - The French warship Clemenceau finally entered the Suez Canal overnight after a 10-day controversy over its asbestos insulation that could repeat itself as it heads to India for scrapping 2006 - France is refusing to pay a 100 million pound ($176 million, 145 million Euro) bill which the British government is demanding in return for access to design work for its future aircraft carrier program, according to a report in the international journal Defense News 2006 - India and the Bahamas have decided to enter into an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the possibilities of cooperation in the area of Cruise Shipping. This was decided at a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Public Service of the Bahamas H.E. Mr. Frederick Mitchell and the Union Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Thiru T.R. Baalu. As the Government is formulating a cruise shipping policy to make India an attractive cruise tourism destination with state-of-the-art infrastructure and other facilities at selected ports of the country, the MoU with Bahamas may give a fillip to this plan keeping in view the experience of Bahamas in this area. Bahams is a favored cruise shipping destination in the world and its expertise could be used as valuable signpost in the development of the Indian cruise shipping industry. The two sides also discussed the possibility of having an MoU for engagement of more Indian seafarers on the Bahamas Flagships. Other areas of cooperation in the shipping and port sector also came up for discussion. The meeting was also attended by the Secretary (Shipping), Shri A.K. Mohapatra, Secretary (Road Transport &Highways) Shri L.K. Joshi besides other senior officials of the Ministry 2006 - Osoaviakhm – the Union of Cooperative Societies in Defense and the Aviation-Chemical Industry of the USSR – is founded. In 1951, it was renamed the All-Union Volunteer Cooperative Society of the Army, Aviation and Fleet (Russian abbreviation DOSAAF USSR) and in 1991 it becomes the Russian Defense Sporting and Technical Organization (ROSTO) 2006 - The sturgeon fish resources in the Caspian Sea is at its lowest level all throughout the history of the world’s largest lake, noted director of the International Sturgeon Research Institute of Iran, Mohammad Purkazemi 2006 - Each year the command at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Thirty One (VX-31) at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) China Lake selects members of its military and civilian team as Test Pilot of the Year, Test Naval Flight Officer of the Year and Flight Test Engineer of the Year. "Competition was keen, but in the end, the performance of these individuals was exceptional and made them stand out for the knowledge and performance involving flight test this last year,” explained Cmdr. Tim Morey, VX-31’s commanding officer. For 2005, the honorees are Test Pilot of the Year Lt. Cmdr. Kyle T. Turco, of the Direct Attack Technical Project Office; Test Naval Flight Officer of the Year Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Modlin, FA-18 Advanced Weapons Laboratory; and Flight Test Engineer of the Year Kenneth P. Murphy, of the FA-18 Advanced Weapons Laboratory (AWL). According to the Morey, who presented the awards January 9, their efforts had direct and immediate impact on the global war on terror. “They planned, executed, and reported on flight test activities for several key combat capabilities that made it to the fleet, and saw our warfighters use those capabilities immediately in combat action,” he said at the ceremony. “We are extremely proud of their efforts and the impact they and the rest of their NAWCWD teammates are having on our warfighters.” Test Pilot of the Year 2005-Lt. Cmdr. Kyle T. Turco 2006 - W&T Offshore, Inc. announced S. James Nelson, Jr. has joined its Board of Directors. With the addition of Mr. Nelson to the Company's board, it now has three independent directors. Mr. Nelson will serve as Chairman of the Company's audit committee 2006 - Diana Shipping Inc. entered into a time charter with BHP Billiton Marketing AG for its Panamax dry bulk carrier, the Clio, for a period of 11-13 months, at a rate of US$850 per day above the average rate of four pre-determined time charter routes as published by the Baltic Exchange. The charter is expected to commence on February 2, 2006. The initial charter payment will be made on delivery of the vessel to BHP Billiton based on the average of four pre-determined time charter routes for the 15 days preceding vessel's delivery date. Thereafter, each time charter payment will include an adjustment to reflect the actual average of the four pre-determined time charter routes, for each preceding 15 day period. Clio is a 73,691 dwt Panamax dry bulk carrier built in 2005 2006 - Norwegian shipping company Jinhui Shipping and Transportation Ltd agreed to acquire the Capesize dry bulk carrier Mineral Shanghai from Bocimar International NV. The purchase price for the 2004-built vessel is USD60m 2006 - Secretary Of Defense Donald Rumsfeld presented the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service to Alan Greenspan 2006 - OSG Ship Management (Gr) Ltd has been awarded Lloyd’s Register’s Ballast Water Management Plan (BWMP) notation for its managed fleet of 32 product tankers and chemical carriers. OSG Ship Management (Gr) Ltd is the first tanker operator in the world to have achieved the Lloyd’s Register notation for its entire fleet. To mark the occasion, a certificate-awarding ceremony took place today in Athens. Apostolos Poulovassilis, Managing Director of Lloyd’s Register EMEA’s Piraeus Office presented the certificate to Captain George Dienis, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of OSG Ship Management (GR) Ltd 2006 - The Colombian military and the USCG seized 2.3 tons of cocaine on a boat on the Pacific coast in southwestern Colombia, the largest seizure of the year to date. It is reported that 12 crewmembers of the boat were also arrested. Colombian navy officials said they seized the drugs in a Colombian-registered boat named Angie Mar, 180 km from the port of Tumaco in Narinoand. The drug, which could be worth up to 50 million US dollars on the international market, was hidden in the fuel tank of the boat 2006 - HMCS Calgary will be patrolling the coastal waters of BC from Jan 23 to Feb 3. This “Sovereignty Patrol” is part of a program intended to maintain a marine presence in Pacific waters. During this patrol, HMCS Calgary will spend the majority of time at sea patrolling the waters surrounding the northern half of Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands 2006 - BAP Bolognesi FM 57 (Ex Perseo) & BAP Quiñones FM 58 (Ex Sagittario) arrived La Spezia for reactivation overhauls 2006 - HMCS Fredericton suffered a fire in galley wiring on fisheries patrol off Newfoundland 2006 - TOP Tankers Inc, the owner of the double hull 154,970 dwt M/T Flawless, announced that the vessel reported a minor fuel oil overflow on the vessel's deck to the Estonian Environmental Inspectorate. The incident occurred when the vessel was in international waters having departing Tallinn, Estonia, and after loading a cargo of fuel oil. The overflow occurred when bunker fuel was being transferred between tanks, and was estimated at between 1.5 and 2.0 cubic meters. The overflow was contained on deck and the crew immediately began clean-up procedures 2007 - Destroyer HMS Dauntless launched at the BAE Systems yard in Glasgow. She is the 2nd type 45 class Destroyer to be launched, the other being HMS Daring ============================================================= 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.