SeaWaves Today in History January 30, 2007 ********************************************************************* January 30 1649 - England's King Charles I was beheaded 1857 - Uniforms for ratings were formally introduced in the Royal Navy 1861- Secretary John A. Dix of Treasury ordered Lt. Caldwell "to arrest Capt. Breshwood (Confederate sympathizer) assume command of cutter (McClelland) and if anyone attempts to haul down the flag, shoot him on the spot." The telegraph office did not deliver the message. Breshwood turned McClelland over to the State of Louisiana 1862 - Launching of first turreted warship, USS Monitor 1882 - 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, born Hyde Park NY 1902 - An important treaty was signed between Great Britain and Japan, signaling improved cooperation, particularly on naval matters, in the Far East. The treaty met vital needs for both countries. For the British, Japanese support in the Far East allowed the Royal Navy to reduce its commitments in the area at a time when the naval arms race with Imperial Germany was picking up pace and naval power needed to be concentrated closer to home. For the Japanese, rapidly modernizing their country after centuries of isolation, it provided much-sought recognition of her status as a regional power and an alliance with the world's most powerful navy. The nascent Japanese navy drew heavily on British expertise both in training its personnel and in building its ships - the fleet which triumphed over the Russians at Tsushima in 1905 was largely either built in Britain or constructed in Japan along British lines. Cooperation continued into the First World War. The Japanese captured the German port in the Far East, Tsingtao, and most of their fleet was involved in the hunt for Von Spee's squadron, especially the raider Emden. A Japanese destroyer squadron even served in the Mediterranean in 1917-18, helping escort convoys. Tragically, cooperation ended in the 1920s as Japanese and Western interests increasingly found themselves on a collision course, which culminated in the Pacific War 1941-45. One of the features of the old Anglo-Japanese naval alliance was the frequent training of Japanese midshipmen and officers in Britain; and one of its most interesting aspects was that bridge commands on IJN warships were commonly given in English until a few years prior to WWII 1912 - Legendary submariner, Hero of the Soviet Union (1940), personal enemy of Hitler, Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko born 1919 - Minesweeper HMS Dundalk launched 1919 - Minesweeper USS Ortolan launched 1929 - Destroyer FS Vautour laid down 1931 - Heavy cruiser USS Augusta commissioned 1932 - Destroyer FS Gerfaut commissioned 1933 - Destroyer HMS Delight commissioned 1933 - Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany 1934 - Destroyer HMS Escapade launched 1934 - Submarine HNLMS K XVI commissioned 1935 - Soviet submarine SC-120 commissioned 1940 - U-55 attacked convoy OA-80G SW of the Isles of Scilly which was escorted by sloop HMS Fowey. Two ships were hit & sunk, The Greek ship Keramiai (5,085 tons) and the British ship Vaclite (5,026 tons) sank in position 49.20N 07.04W. In the follow up attack Fowey was joined by destroyer HMS Whitshed, the French destroyers Valmy &Guepard and an RAF 228 Sqn aircraft. In the following attacks U-55 was sunk with only a single survivor 1940 - U-25 was refueled by the German tanker Thalia - first occurrence of this type in a Spanish port since the war began 1940 - U-15 sunk in the North Sea at Hoofden after being rammed in error by German torpedo boat Iltis. 25 dead (all hands lost) 1940 - Luftwaffe aircraft attacked shipping off the UK East Coast. One enemy aircraft was destroyed. One merchant ship & several trawlers were sunk 1940 - US freighters SS Examelia, detained since 20 January & SS Cold Harbor detained since 27 January are released by British authorities 1940 - Corvette HMS Fleur de Lys laid down 1941 - U-94 sank SS Rushpool in Convoy SC-19 1941 - U-175, U-217 laid down 1941 - U-555 commissioned 1941 - Destroyer HMS Goathland laid down 1942 - At 1805, the unescorted & unarmed tanker SS Rochester was hit by one torpedo from U-106. As the engine room was flooded, the crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats, while the U-boat surfaced and waited until the boats cleared the ship. The tanker was then shelled with 8 rounds, but then the deck gun jammed and U-106 was forced to fire a second torpedo at 1845, which hit amidships and caused the ship to sink at 1920. After three hours 32 survivors (later one crewmember died of burns) were picked up by destroyer USS Roe & landed at Norfolk the next morning 1942 - Motor minesweepers ordered in Canadian yards - HMS MMS 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 250, 251, 252, 254, 256, 257, 254, 255 1942 - Japanese troops landed on the island of Ambon in the East Indies, defended by Dutch and Australian troops. The island was taken despite a determined defense 1942 - The capsized hulk of the USCGC Alexander Hamilton is sunk by the US Navy after she was torpedoed off the coast of Iceland by the U-132 the previous day. She is the first cutter sunk by enemy action during World War II. 26 of her crew perish 1942 - USS Wakefield (USCG-manned), having disembarked 20,000 British troops, was bombed by the Japanese in Singapore. Five were killed. The ship later evacuates 500 women and children to Bombay before the port falls to the Japanese 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Larne laid down 1942 - Minesweeper HMAS Gympie launched 1942 - Destroyer HMS Lookout commissioned 1942 - Submarine USS Trigger commissioned 1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Loch Arlish sunk by German aircraft off the Humber 1942 - U-231, U-310 laid down 1942 - U-461 commissioned 1942 - At 1100 local, 27 Japanese naval land attack planes bomb Allied shipping at Keppel Harbor (Singapore); the transport USS Wakefield (ex-SS Manhattan), waiting to embark 400 British women and children being evacuated to Ceylon, is damaged by a bomb which kills 5 crewmen; three British transports are also hit. Transport USS West Point (ex-SS America) is straddled and showered with fragments but suffers no damage and provides medical assistance to the crew of USS Wakefield. Both US transports subsequently embark passengers that include dockyard workers from Singapore and their families, in addition to Royal Navy officers and enlisted men and a small RAF contingent. The ships will then proceed to Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies for additional evacuees, and thence on to Colombo, Ceylon, arriving there on 6 February 1943 - Destroyer HMCS Iroquois completed workups & declared operational 1943 - Destroyer HMS Cassandra laid down 1943 - Frigate HMS Teviot commissioned 1943 - Destroyer escorts USS Booth & Carroll laid down 1943 - Corvette HMS Samphire torpedoed & sunk off Bougie, Algeria, in position 36.56N-05.40E while escorting convoy TE-14 by Italian submarine Platino 1943 - With the arrival of the fleet tug Navajo, USS Louisville is relieved of duty towing USS Chicago to safety. Coastwatcher reports and other intelligence report a possible airstrike about 1600. Leaving 5 destroyers and a destroyer transport, Rear Admiral Richard Giffen sails ahead with the 5 cruisers and other destroyers. At this time carriers Enterprise and Saratoga are about 40 miles to the south. The attack results in another torpedo hit about 4 -25 sinking the Chicago. During this final attack, the destroyer LaVallette is described by the Japanese pilots as a "Honolulu-class cruiser". She had turned and placed herself between the Bettys and the Chicago. A near miss damages her and kills 21. The Japanese lose a total of 12 Bettys today 1943 - Grand Admiral Raeder resigns after disagreement with Hitler about the future of the big ships of the Kriegsmarine Surface fleet. Admiral Karl Doenitz, who initially continues also to remain head of the U-Boat arm, succeeds him as Head of the German Navy 1943 - U-237, U-737, U-762 commissioned 1943 - U-1006 laid down 1944 - Frigate HMS Stayner commissioned 1944 - Submarine USS Becuna launched 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Gaynier launched 1944 - At 0346 & 0354, U-957 fired two Gnats at the escorts of the Convoy JW-56B and heard two detonations, which were claimed by Schaar as hits on two destroyers, but they were end-of-run detonations. At 0357, U-278 fired a Gnat that struck HMS Hardy. This hit was observed and claimed by U-957 and also by U-472, which had fired a Gnat at 0357 hours, but missed KNM Stord. At 0420, U-957 fired a spread of three FAT torpedoes at two corvettes, which laid stopped (probably the destroyer HMS Venus rescuing survivors from the torpedoed destroyer HMS Hardy) and heard one detonation after four minutes, but no destroyer had been hit at this time. Hardy had been seriously damaged and had to be sunk by a coup de grâce by HMS Venus. This detonation was heard by U-601, which thought that her Gnat, fired at 0524 had hit this destroyer. The U-boat then crossed the sinking position of Hardy & sighted an oil slick & debris 1944 - U-1014 launched 1944 - Richelieu departs Dakar for the United States 1944 - U-314 sunk in the Barents Sea SE of Bear Island, Norway, in position 73.41N, 24.30E, by depth charges from destroyers HMS Whitehall & Meteor. 49 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - U-364 is listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay as of today. No explanation exists for her loss. 49 dead (all hands lost). 1944 - USN Task Group 38.3 conducted a pre-dawn air attack on Engebi Island 1945 - Submarines HMS Sea Devil & Astute launched 1945 - Destroyer USS Ernest G Small laid down 1945 - At Stolpe Bank off the Polish coast, Soviet submarine S-13 sank the German steamer Wilhelm Gustloff (25.000 GRT) carrying 6-7,000 people. Only about 900 people survived the sinking. Wilhelm Gustloff was taking officials, soldiers, refugees, women and children plus some 300 U-boat personnel from Danzig, Poland to Kiel 1946 - Frigate HMCS St Stephen paid off Halifax NS. Retained for weather ship conversion 1946 - Frigate HMCS Levis arrived Esquimalt BC from Halifax 1948 - Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist 1950 - Diplomatic relations established between the USSR & Democratic Republic of Vietnam 1952 - Submarine HMS Alcide arrived Halifax for ASW training 1954 - Frigate HMCS New Glasgow recommissioned after modernization 1967 - Frigates HMCS New Glasgow & Ste Therese paid off Esquimalt BC 1968 - Tet Offensive begins in Vietnam 1970 - USS Coral Sea port call Sasebo 1991 - Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan claims to have fired the first "Canadian" shots when it fired warning shots to ward off a dhow approaching Pachyderm Palace, on 1 Feb 91 a lady fired shots MCpl Karin Lehmann (maiden name) an AESOP on one of the five Sea Kings operating in the Persian Gulf. The scenario was that the Sea King was tasked to protect the 20 by 20 nautical mile Combat Logistic Force (supply ship) anchorage in the southern Persian Gulf known as Pachyderm Palace. One of the threats was from dhows (fishing boats) loaded with explosives ramming the supply ships. On this occasion a dhow was approaching Pachyderm Palace & the usual means of a crewmember standing in the doorway & holding a sign displaying an international stop sign (Arabic script) & a skull & cross bones failed to ward off the dhow. The next step was to drop a line of smoke markers across the bow (maritime version of a line in the sand). When this failed MCpl Lehmann fired a warning burst from the door-mounted machine gun across the bow & the dhow made a hasty retreat. This event marked two firsts; a Sea King had fired rounds in the Gulf war & Master Corporal Lehmann was the first Canadian female to fire at the enemy 1991 - Navy has flown over 3,500 sorties from six carriers and have launched over 260 Tomahawk cruise missiles. 46 Iraqi naval vessels have been sunk or disabled and 74 enemy prisoners of war have been captured in two engagements. Iraqi naval forces operations severely degraded. Also, maritime interception operations are continuing with over 7,000 intercepts to-date 1991 - Navy A-6s attack three Iraqi landing craft in the vicinity of Shatt al Arab Channel, leaving 2 ships dead in the water. The other ship fled. A-6 reattacks a patrol boat in the northern Arabian Gulf. The boat was set ablaze and left burning. A-6s attack patrol boats at a pier at Umm Qasr Naval Base, sinking one, damaging the other. In the vicinity of Bubiyan Island, USN aircraft engage 4 military vessels, sinking 3 patrol boats and damaging a landing craft. To- date, approximately 60 enemy vessels have either been sunk or damaged 1991 - All 18 F/A-18s aboard USS SARATOGA deliver 100,000 pounds of MK-83 one thousand pound bombs on Iraqi positions in Kuwait, the largest amount of bomb tonnage carried in a single mission 1991 - USS Curts and Leftwich rescues 20 enemy prisoners of war from an Iraqi Polnochny amphibious landing craft sunk by USN A-6 and UK Lynx helos in the northern Arabian Gulf. Leftwich is also primary CSAR platform in Gulf, locating and recovering downed pilots. Leftwich participated in 16 CSAR cases 1998 - MCDV HMCS Yellowknife departed Halifax for Esquimalt 1998 - Official confirmation that the remains found in Ekaterinburg are those of the royal family 2003 - BAE Systems selected as Prime Contractor for new Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers 2004 - SPS Patiño & Canarias depart Rota for Canary Islands as standby due to civil unrest in Equatorial Guinea 2004 - USNS Antares activated to transport materials to Iraq 2005 - At 1400 Swansea Coastguard received a weak VHF call from the 33-foot fishing vessel 'Nikki Lou' with three persons on board reporting that she had run aground on Scarweather Sands, Porthcawl. Due to the swell, she was taking water. Porthcawl Coastguard rescue team were called to observe the fishing vessel from Sker Point. Initially Portcawl RNLI ILB, an Atlantic 75 was requested to launch to tow the vessel off the sands. They were unsuccessful in their attempts, and subsequently the Mumbles RNLI All weather lifeboat was also requested to launch, and they were successful in assisting the vessel off the bank. Mumbles lifeboat evacuated two of the crew off the vessel who were cold and wet and the fishing vessel is being towed to Porthcawl 2005 - A Japan Coast Guard patrol ship rescued 13 crewmembers on board a crippled South Korean fishing boat at sea near Shimane Prefecture on Sunday at the request of South Korean maritime safety authorities, coast guard officials said. The 69-ton No. 7 Bum Yang was found by the patrol ship at around 0930 about six hours after the Japan Coast Guard received the request, the officials said. It began towing the fishing boat into Sakai port in nearby Tottori Prefecture 2005 - USCG rescued a 19-year-old Coos Bay OR girl from the waters near Cape Arago State Park, Ore. Coast Guard Station Coos Bay, Ore., received a phone call at approximately 1920 of a girl in need of help, struggling in the 48-degree water and eight foot surf. Coast Guard Group/Air Station North Bend OR launched an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and Station Coos Bay launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat to assist the girl. Charleston Fire Department was also notified and was the first to arrive. Rescuers reported to Coast Guard units that they had lost visual contact of the girl, but could still hear her. Using night vision goggles, the crew of the helicopter was able to spot the girl, who had been pulled out by the current more than 600 yards from the shore. The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer down to the girl. The swimmer then secured her and they were both hoisted back into the helicopter. She was flown back to Group/Air Station North Bend and transferred to awaiting emergency medical technicians who took her to the Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay for further treatment 2006 - Ships and aircraft from the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal New Zealand Air Force will be conducting two weeks of exercises off the New South Wales Coast from 30 January - 10 February 2006 as part of Exercise Ocean Protector. Taking part are HMAS Warramnuggna, Stuart, Westralia, Success, Tobruk, Manoora, Gascoyne, Hawkesbury, Townsville, Yarra, Armidale 7 Dechaineux; HMNZS Te Kaha 2006 - HMAS Geraldton decommissioned 2006 - The former RFA Sir Percivale departed Southampton for scrapping 2006 - Tidewater Inc. announced that the four workers who were abducted by armed force and taken hostage from its offshore supply vessel Liberty Service offshore the Niger Delta on January 11, 2006, were released safe and well in the early morning hours of January 30, 2006. Three of the hostages were employees of Tidewater Crewing Limited, a Tidewater subsidiary. They were Captain Patrick Landry, 61 years of age, and a citizen of the United States; Harry Ebanks, 54 years of age, and a citizen of Honduras; and Milko Yordanor Nitchev, 56 years of age, and a citizen of Bulgaria. The fourth hostage was Nigel Watson-Clark, a citizen of the United Kingdom and an employee of Ecodrill. Both Tidewater and Ecodrill were working for Shell Nigeria at the time of the attack. All of the workers will undergo medical examinations before repatriation to their homes and families 2006 - USS Blue Ridge arrived in Nagoya for a scheduled port visit. While in port, the ship's approximately 1,000 crewmembers and embarked staff will have a chance to participate in friendship-building and goodwill-generating activities and cultural exchanges 2006 - Two top former military officials have asked the Government to immediately approve the production of nuclear submarines to ensure a guaranteed second strike capability for the Indian armed forces 2006 - USCGC Matagorda repatriated 15 Cuban illegal immigrants and one dog to Bahia de Cabanãs, Cuba. The illegals were intercepted at sea on the 26th. The crew of the cutter Reliance spotted the migrants approximately 50 miles southwest of Key West at 2320. Reliance embarked the illegal persons and dog. The vessel was marked as a hazard to navigation. The migrants and the dog were transferred from Reliance to Matagorda during the night of the 29th. Once on board Coast Guard cutters, all illegals receive food, water and any necessary medical attention 2006 - The Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander departed Long Beach for Sea Launch's first mission of the year. The Sea Launch team is preparing to launch the EchoStar X broadcast satellite on Feb. 8, at the opening of a 49-minute launch window, at 2335 GMT 2006 - About 100 fishermen have been rescued from drifting ice after it broke away from the coast of Sakhalin in the Russian Far East but many more remain stranded. The representative of the local Emergency Situations Ministry's department said an ice floe with 300 to 500 fishermen was 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away from the northeastern coast of the island. Rescuers are using two Emergency Situations Ministry helicopters and boats, as well as vessels supplied by local residents, to pick up the fishermen from the drifting ice 2006 - Crowley announced that Rudy Leming has accepted the position of vice president, Caribbean and Bahamas service, a part of Crowley’s liner services segment. In his new position, Leming will be domiciled in Crowley’s Jacksonville office and will report to Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager Puerto Rico/Caribbean Services 2006 - Yet to be named T-AKE 9 ordered from NASSCO San Diego 2006 - Yet to be named SSN 781 ordered from Electric Boat Groton 2006 - USCG continues the search today for two Aguada fishermen that were reported missing by family members to local authorities Friday at about 1920. USCG and Puerto Rico Police Department Forces United for Rapid Action assets and personnel have been searching since Saturday to find Alejandro Ríos, 31, and Francisco Joel Feliciano, who were expected to return to Aguada around sunrise Friday. During the search for Ríos and Feliciano, USCG personnel from the Sector San Juan Joint Rescue Sub-Center, a C-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., HH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Borinquen, and a HU-25 Falcon Jet from Air Station Miami, Fla. have actively searched an area over 12,309 square nautical miles. USCG and Forces United for Rapid Action have flown a combined effort of 13 search and rescue missions for more than 30 flying hours. Self Locating Datum Marker Buoys are being used to assist with the search efforts. Datum buoys are being dropped in the sea from Coast Guard aircraft to help determine the direction of the ocean current in the vicinity of the search area 2006 - The Coast Guard medevaced a 27-year-old man today after he fell 75 feet from an oil rig about 60 miles east of New Orleans. The victim fell off the oilrig into the Gulf of Mexico and was recovered five minutes later by his co-workers who immediately began CPR. The man suffered severe head trauma and was resuscitated by the rig doctor. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received the call at approximately 1000 and launched an HH-65B Dolphin rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans. The helicopter crew encountered dense fog with low visibility during the case. Once the patient was aboard the helicopter, the crew transported him to West Jefferson Hospital where he was safely transferred to awaiting EMS personnel ============================================================= 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.