SeaWaves Today in History January 31, 2007 ********************************************************************* January 31 1606 - Guy Fawkes, convicted for his part in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed 1855 - Makah leaders and Territorial Gov. Stevens sign treaty at Neah Bay 1865 - Gen. Robert E. Lee was named General-in-Chief of all Confederate armies 1867 - The four great bronze lions at the base of Nelson's Column are completed by painter Sir Edwin Landseer and positioned in Trafalgar Square 1913 - Battleship HMS Valiant laid down 1917 - Destroyer HMS Versatile laid down 1917 - Germany served notice it was beginning a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare 1918 - Battle of May Island - A tragic series of accidents during a night exercise in the First World War cost the lives of over 100 Royal Navy submariners. The tragedy centered on the K-class of submarines. The First World War had quickly proved the potential of the submarine as a weapon of war, with both Royal Navy submarines and German U-boats enjoying particular success. But the early submarines were very slow compared to surface warships. Admirals were keen to have their battle fleets supported by the new weapon; it seemed logical to have submarines accompany the fleet on the surface, diving to attack the enemy fleet when it was spotted. But diesel engines of the period simply could not provide enough speed on the surface for a submarine to keep up even with battleships. The K-class was the Royal Navy's answer - huge (for the time) submarines, with powerful steam-driven propulsion on the surface, normal electric motors whilst submerged. From the start, the K-boats were plagued with misfortune. Built with great haste during wartime, and pushing submarine technology to the limits, they had a poor reputation for mechanical reliability. The steam-propulsion, complete with funnels, took a long time to prepare for a dive. One, K-13, fulfilled the worst fears of the superstitious by sinking on her maiden dive on 29 January 1917 with the loss of thirty lives. But they were fast on the surface, and the Royal Navy determined to use them for Fleet work, including K-13, salvaged and renamed K-22. On 31 January, Admiral Beatty took to sea the Grand Fleet for an intensive exercise - EC1 - to ensure the fleet remained at full efficiency whilst waiting for the German High Seas Fleet to risk battle again, after its experience at Jutland in 1916. Nine K-boats sailed from Rosyth that evening, along with the battlecruiser squadrons. A U-boat was thought to be in the area, so all ships increased speed as they approached May Island, to offer a more difficult target. In the dark, two small patrol boats wandered into the path of the K-boats of 13th Flotilla. Turning to avoid them, the rudder of K-14 jammed. She ended up broadside on to the unlucky K-22, which saw her too late in the dark to avoid her and a serious collision left both submarines dead in the water, with lights only showing dimly and their very silhouettes almost impossible to spot. They were nearly run over and sunk by the huge battlecruiser HMS Australia, but were narrowly missed. It seemed as if a disaster had been averted. However, the light cruiser Ithuriel and the other three K-boats of 13th Flotilla had turned back to help. Unfortunately, the 12th Flotilla K-boats, led by the light cruiser HMS Fearless, were unaware of the accident ahead and ran straight into their sister Flotilla. HMS Fearless rammed K-17, and the submarine sank with all hands in a matter of minutes. K-6 hit K-4, and nearly cut her in half. The two submarines sat locked together, but K-7 was approaching fast astern. Spotting K-6, she just managed to avoid her, but was totally unaware of K-4 lying across her path, and a further collision ensued. The second hit proved fatal for K-4, and she sank. Only nine men were pulled from the water, and one of these died before he could receive medical treatment. Over 100 men were lost that night. Two submarines had been sunk, and four damaged, along with a light cruiser. 84 years on, a cairn has been erected in their memory at Anstruther on the Forth shore opposite May Island, and was unveiled on 31 January 2002 by members of Fife Council and representatives of the Royal Navy Submarine Service 1919 - Destroyer USS McCook launched 1919 - Destroyer HMS Whitshed launched 1919 - Minesweepers USS Auk & Swan commissioned 1919 - Drifter HMC CD-4 paid off 1919 - HMC TR-5, TR-7, TR-15, TR-18, TR-23, TR-28 & TR-35 paid off & returned to RN 1923 - The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was established 1929 - Heavy cruiser HMS London commissioned 1933 - Light cruiser HMS Neptune launched 1934 - Destroyer USS Hull launched 1935 - Light cruiser HMS Sheffield laid down 1936 - Destroyer HMS Greyhound commissioned 1939 - U-116, U-117, U-118 ordered 1939 - Light cruiser HMS Gloucester commissioned 1940 - SS Start sunk by U-13 1940 - SS Vidar sunk by U-21 at 58.39N, 02.00E - Grid AN 4245 1940 - US passenger liner SS Washington is detained for several hours at Gibraltar by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed the same day; the freighter SS Jomar is also detained there 1941 - Destroyer USS Edison commissioned 1941 - U-751 commissioned 1941 - Submarine USS Finback commissioned 1941 - Submarine USS Grayback launched 1941 - Minesweeper HMS Huntley sunk by German aircraft in the eastern Mediterranean 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Caraquet laid down North Vancouver BC 1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Winnipeg laid down Port Arthur ON 1942 - Corvette HMCS New Westminster commissioned 1942 - The United States Pacific fleet severely attacked Japanese positions in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, destroying numerous Japanese ships, planes, and, shore establishments. 1942 - Japanese drove British from Malaya mainland and laid siege to Singapore. 1942 - HMS Culver (ex-USCGC Mendota) torpedoed with 13 survivors 1942 - Destroyer HMS Belmont (ex-USS Satterlee) of the 3rd Escort Group sunk by U-82. There were no survivors, all 138 crewmembers perished 1942 - Motor tanker San Arcadio sunk by U-107 at 38.10N, 63.50W - Grid CB 5478 1942 - German blockade-runner MS Spreewald accidentally sunk by U-333 at 45N, 25W - Grid BE 7142. Spreewald was disguised as the Norwegian ship Elg and was in the area ahead of schedule by mistake 1942 - U-217 commissioned 1942 - U-951 laid down 1942 - U-443 launched 1942 - At 2331, U-125 fired a salvo of four torpedoes at the convoy SL-98 and observed two hits and a large explosion. Schuch thought that he had hit an ammunition freighter, but in fact it was the HMS Culver (Y 87) (Cdr Gordon-Duff) that had blown up with the loss of the commander, seven officers and 118 ratings 1942 - Submarine HMS Uther laid down 1942 - Destroyer HMS Vigilant laid down 1942 - Destroyer HMS Champlin laid down 1942 - Destroyer HMAS Quiberon launched 1942 - Destroyer USS Barton launched 1942 - HMS Culver (ex USCGC Mendota) was torpedoed by a U-boat in the mid-Atlantic on 31 Jan 42 1942 - USN Task Force Eleven (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.), formed around aircraft carrier USS Lexington, departs Pearl Harbor to cover the retirement of TF 8 (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.) and TF 17 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher) from the Marshall and Gilbert Islands 1942 - Destroyer USS Helm evacuates civilian radio operators and weather observers from Howland & Baker Islands. She is bombed by a Japanese reconnaissance flying boat off Baker, but is not damaged 1943 - Escort carrier HMS Tracker commissioned 1943 - Yard Floating Dry Dock, Non Self-Propelled YFD-20 lost off California 1943 - Destroyer USS Walker launched 1943 - U-376 left Bergen, Norway on 30 Jan for the 6th patrol, but the next day at 0057 lost the third watch officer when he was washed overboard. U-376 then headed back to Bergen, took aboard a replacement and departed for patrol the same day. [ObersTEUermann Heinz Richter] 1943 - U-519 reported missing in the Bay of Biscay. There is no explanation for its loss. 50 dead (all hands lost) 1944 - American amphibious landing on Kwajalein, Marshall Islands 1944 - Escort carrier USS Bismark Sea laid down 1944 - Destroyer escorts USS Dufilho & Douglas A Munro laid down 1944 - Destroyer USS Douglas H Fox laid down 1944 - Destroyer minelayer USS Thomas E Fraser laid down 1944 - Minesweeper HMCS New Liskeard launched 1944 - Escort carrier USS Sargent Bay launched 1944 - Destroyer USS Robinson commissioned 1944 - Aircraft carrier USS Franklin commissioned 1944 - Escort carrier HMS Trouncer commissioned 1944 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Pine torpedoed & sunk by a German motor torpedo boat in the English Channel 1944 - U-608 shot down an RAF 172 Sqn Wellington 1944 - Frigates HMS Cam & Holmes commissioned 1944 - U-592 sunk at 1000 in the North Atlantic SW of Ireland, in position 50.20N, 17.29W, by depth charges from sloops HMS Starling, Wild Goose & Magpie. 49 dead (all hands lost) 1945 - Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-222 was built at Higgins Industries, Inc. and commissioned at New Orleans with LTJG J. A. Sayre, USCGR, as first commanding officer. He was succeeded by LT J. V. Freeny, USCGR, who in turn was succeeded on 25 September 1945, by LTJG A. L. Lundberg, USCG. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area. On 18 January 18, 1946, FS-222 was released from control of Coast Guard, AF WESPAC and transferred to control of Administration Commander, Coast Guard Activities SWPA, Philippine Sea Frontier. 1945 - U-3525 commissioned 1945 - U-3037 launched 1945 - U-3520 Sunk 31 Jan 1945 in the Baltic Sea NE of Bülk, in position 54.28N, 10.12E, by mines. 85 dead (all hands lost) 1945 - U-927 sailed from Kristiansand on her first & final patrol 1945 - Corvette HMS Farnham Castle commissioned 1945 - The German "Strength Through Joy" liner Wilhelm Gustloff was torpedoed by the Russian submarine S-13 off the Hela Peninsula last night. Crowded with refugees and wounded from East Prussia, the liner sank swiftly in the freezing seas and it is feared that some 7,000 people died, the greatest sea tragedy yet recorded. The refugees had struggled to get on board the doomed liner. As she cast off small boats appeared and women held up their children crying - "Take us with you. Save the children." The liner drifted while the ship's crew put out nets and the refugees scrambled aboard. Few survived. The S-13 is one of the Baltic submarines now active following the uncorking of the Baltic after Finland's departure from the war. Commanded by Captain Third Class Sasha Marinescu, she is based at the Finnish port of Turku. The tragic irony of this disaster is that Marinescu might not have been in position to intercept the Wilhelm Gustloff if he had not put to sea to escape the secret police after a heavy drinking bout 1945 - The first weapon-grade plutonium is ready for shipment from Hanford, Washington 1946 - MFV HMCS Universe paid off & returned to owner 1946 - Aircraft carrier HMCS Warrior arrived Halifax NS for first time 1947 - Patrol vessel HMCS Sans Peur paid off Halifax NS 1948 - Mrs. Fannie M. Salter, keeper of the Turkey Point Lighthouse in upper Chesapeake Bay since 1925 and the last woman keeper of a lighthouse in the United States, retired from active service. This ended nearly 150 years during which women were employed as keepers of United States lighthouses 1950 - President Truman announced he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb 1952 - Minesweeper HMCS Trinity laid down Lauzon PQ 1953 - The ferry Princess Victoria went down off the County Down coast with only 44 survivors out of 177 people who set out that morning on the short crossing from Scotland 1953 - HMCS Cape Breton (ex-HMS Flamborough Head) commissioned as engineering school in Halifax. Would serve in this role, complete with RN-style hammock accommodation, for five years until converted to escort repair ship for Pacific Fleet 1954 - Submarine HMS Tally Ho arrived Halifax NS for ASW training 1958 - Frigate HMCS New Waterford recommissioned after modernization 1961 - Lieutenant Commander Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. becomes first African-American to command a combat ship in peacetime, USS Falgout 1968 - USS Oriskany completed Vietnam deployment 1969 - USS Coral Sea port call Singapore 1969 - USS Constellation completed Vietnam deployment 1970 - Helicopter designer Mikhail Leontyevich Mil died. Born November 22, 1909 1981 - Era of Enlisted Naval Aviators ends when last pilot retired 1984 - Cruiser USS Chicago stricken 1991 - To-date, 37 mines have been located and destroyed. USS Leftwich captures 15 EPWs from Khawar al Amaya oil platform. Iraqi SCUD missile is fired at Israel, falls harmlessly in the West Bank 2000 - Alaska Airlines Flight 261plummeted into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 people aboard 2003 - USNS Bellatrix & Bob Hope activated 2003 - MV Cape Ducato activated from RRF 2004 - USNS Stalwart laid up in NDRF; last of 16 ship Stalwart-class of T-AGOS ships in USN service 2005 - The guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) responded to a distress call from the motor vessel Apollo Sun, a Japanese-owned, Panamanian-flagged tanker steaming from Chiba, Japan to Kwohr Fahkan, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 31. The master of Apollo Sun radioed Bunker Hill and informed them that one of the crewmembers of Apollo Sun was unconscious and suffering from a life threatening illness. Bunker Hill immediately set a course to rendezvous with Apollo Sun, and prepped its SH-60B Seahawk helicopter for launch. As Bunker Hill moved closer to Apollo Sun’s position, Chief Hospital Corpsman (SW) Paul McFadden provided medical advice via bridge-to-bridge radio, then prepared to fly as a medical air crewman. Minutes later, Bunker Hill’s helicopter, Red Stinger 106, took off toward the tanker. The helicopter crew from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) (HSL) 49, Det. 2, consisted of Lt Matthew Somerville, Lt (jg) John Mikols, Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 3rd Class David Stewart and McFadden. As they approached the large tanker, the aircrew coordinated via radio with Apollo Sun to hoist the ill mariner off the deck. The 55-year-old Japanese mariner was brought to the small flight pad on Apollo Sun and secured into the rescue litter by Apollo Sun crewmembers. Red Stinger 106 then hoisted up the litter, recovered the afflicted mariner, and proceeded to Seeb International Airport, near Muscat, Oman. A waiting ambulance then took the mariner to the nearest medical facility 2005 - Fourteen crewmembers of the trawler Kafor out of Sakhalin have been rescued in the Sea of Japan. The border patrol boat Primorye picked up 10 of the trawler‘s crewmembers from life rafts and another four have been saved by the Ka-27 helicopter flying from its base in the Primorye (Maritime) territory based in the Nikolayevka settlement not far from Nakhodka. According to the Vladivostok-based sea rescue-coordinating center crew comprised 19 men. Aviation and ships of border guards and the Pacific Fleet also engaged in rescue efforts 2005 - Members of the maritime industry required to provide arrival and departure information to the US Coast Guard and US Customs and Border Protection able to by submission of one report. The Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) require vessels to submit crew, passenger, vessel, voyage and cargo information for safety and security purposes and for the enforcement of US immigration, import, and export laws, prior to arrival in a US port or place. In the past, vessels were required to submit this information separately to both the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection. The new Electronic Notice of Arrival/Departure System (eNOAD) will provide the maritime industry with one avenue to submit the required vessel, crew, and passenger information. This system currently cannot receive information for Customs and Border Protection's mandatory electronic cargo information regulation; however, the two agencies are continuing to work on ways to share this kind of information. Other enhancements to the system include allowing the user to update previously submitted information. The system will also send an e-mail acknowledgement that the report was received 2005 - Problems building two naval ships for the Ministry of Defense have helped push Swan Hunter almost £6m into the red. Losses associated with RFA Largs Bay - the first ship to launch from the Tyne in a decade - turned a 2002 profit of £564,000 into a deficit of £5.8m for the Wallsend yard. And a dearth of new orders saw turnover fall from £111m to £45.5m during the 12 months to December 31, 2003, according to company accounts made public. Chairman Jaap Kroese - who invested his fortune to rescue Swan Hunter from receivership in 1995 - personally put £5m into the yard during 2003 and 2004 to help keep it afloat year 2005 - The Indian Navy rescued ten men from the clutches of drowning death over the high seas. The men reportedly rendered adrift when their mechanized trawler capsized in the early hour of 29 Jan 05 following heavy seawater ingress in the engine compartment. The incident occurred about six nautical miles from the Visakhapatnam Coast. At about 1200 on 29 Jan 05, INS Gaj, the Indian Navy's Ocean going Tug, which was at sea, sighted the capsized trawler. The survivors were seen clinging on to the upturned bottom of the boat and floats spread around it. The crew of the INS Gaj quickly swung into action and maneuvered their ship close to the survivors. The sea was rough and gale was strong. These factors made the operation decisively difficult. One by one the hapless survivors were hauled onboard by using life buoys attached with ropes. The ship's diver entered the water to assist the visibly shaken men in climbing up the ship's ladder. Most of the men were in a wretched state, weak by exhaustion. The ship's crew quickly administered them first aid and provided hot food. It was learnt from the survivors that while they were returning from Gopalpur (Orissa) their trawler was caught into very strong winds and high waves on the night of 28 Jan 05. In the early hours of 29th January the trawler's engine compartment was flooded with seawater. Eventually the vessel capsized. The survivors remained adrift and alive by clinging on to the partly submerged trawler till INS Gaj spotted and rescued them. All the rescued ten men claim to be residents of villages in and around Visakhapatnam. The were handed over to civil police on the ship's return to Naval Dockyard inside Visakhapatnam 2006 - Two British helicopters are on scene with a Marshall Islands chemical tanker which was involved in a mid channel collision in the early hours of morning. Two RNLI lifeboats from Alderney and St Peterport are also on scene. Portland Coastguard are coordinating the British response to the incident which happened in the French search and rescue region, just west of the Casquets Mid Channel Traffic Separation Scheme. The Coastguard Rescue helicopter, India Juliet, from Lee on Solent, and Rescue 169 from RAF Chivenor are on scene. India Juliet is lifting crew off the chemical tanker Ece that has a significant list to port. Their Coastguard colleagues at CROSS Joburg called Portland Coastguard at 0200. CROSS Joburg are coordinating the incident with the British Coastguard assisting. The incident happened approximately half way between Guernsey and Brixham. The 8,003-ton chemical tanker Ece is Marshall Islands registered and appears to have sustained significant damage with some of its cargo leaking. The bulk carrier General Grot-Rowecki reportedly has no significant damage. The Coastguard helicopter, India Juliet, from Lee on Solent has just airlifted ten crewmen from the tanker Ece that was in collision with a bulk carrier General Grot-Rowecki in the early hours of this morning. A further twelve crewmen were also rescued from the ship by the St Peterport RNLI lifeboat. All twenty-two of the crew was taken to Guernsey. There are no serious injuries. India Juliet is now re-fueling in Guernsey and will be returning to the scene to assist as necessary. A French naval tug is now on scene assessing the situation with Ece. Once the assessment is complete, plans will be made regarding the possible removal of the ship. 2006 - Lloyd’s Register EMEA has issued a Green Passport to Maersk Line, Limited, based in Norfolk, Virginia, for its container ship Maersk Arizona 2006 - Rolls-Royce has unveiled the latest design in its family of coastal protection vessels at the Pacific 2006 exhibition in Sydney, Australia, building on a series of order successes worldwide 2006 - M Ship Co. announced the launch of the M80 Stiletto, designed as an operational experiment for the Pentagon's Office of Force Transformation (OFT) and an example of the next generation of military vessels that combines new materials (carbon fiber), with a networked architecture and a revolutionary hull 2006 - Noel Cunningham, former Los Angeles Port Police Chief and most recently Director of Operations and Emergency Management for the Port, has retired after nearly 40 years in law enforcement, 15 with the Port of Los Angeles 2006 - Coast Guard Sector Boston responded to a large oil sheen Jan. 10 in the vicinity of the Island End River and adjacent waterways. The Coast Guard, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Clean Harbors Incorporated have overseen the cleanup operations of Island End River for the past three weeks. Cleanup efforts have resulted in 3,500 gallons of low sulfur diesel recovered from the Island End River. To date, the Coast Guard has spent more than $140,000 from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund toward the cleanup effort. Coast Guard Sector Boston will continue to monitor the cleanup of the site. During the course of the extensive investigation to locate the source of the spill, numerous samples were collected from suspected sources within the affected area, including ExxonMobil. The collected samples were sent to the Coast Guard Marine Safety Lab for analysis. Several of the samples collected from the affected waterway matched the sample removed from ExxonMobil property. The Coast Guard has designated ExxonMobil as the responsible party and will pursue potential civil penalty action against the company 2006 - Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine), a leading shipbuilder which is part of the Singapore Technologies Engineering Group, has been selected to build two large roll-on and roll-off vessels for the shipment of A380 sections. The two vessels are due for delivery in 2008 and will join the existing A380 Transport vessel "Ville de Bordeaux", which entered service in 2004. FRET/Cetam, a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfuss ArmaTEUrs of France and Leif Hoegh of Norway, is commissioning the new vessels. The value of the two vessels is €60 million. Airbus will use the new vessels for the transportation of A380 sections from its sites in Hamburg, Germany, Broughton, UK, Puerto Real, Spain and Saint Nazaire, France to a port facility close to Bordeaux in France. Special barges then carry the aircraft sections along the River Garonne to Langon, where they are then transferred to road trailers for the final 250-km journey to the A380 final assembly line in Toulouse. The 3,500 dwt Ro/Ro vessels measure approximately 127 m long and 21 m wide and are specially designed to transport aircraft sections efficiently and are equipped with highly automated ship control systems. To meet the special requirements for loading aircraft sections, the vessels will incorporate unique features such as a stern mooring system, cargo hold environment control and lashing arrangements. The vessels are designed with a cargo deck space of approximately 9,300 square meters and lanes totaling 3,100 m 2006 - USS Nassau and embarked units provided assistance to a distressed vessel off the coast of Kenya while conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the area. Motor vessel Al Manara reported a need for provisions, engineering assistance and medical attention. The crew aboard Nassau responded as part of their MSO mission to provide supplies, medicine and assistance to the vessel’s crew 2006 - Atlantis Events, Inc., the world's largest company specializing in all-gay and lesbian cruises and resort vacations, became the first company to bring a major gay tourism event to the Cayman Islands since one of its cruises was denied permission to make a port call there in 1998 2006 - USCG and California Dept of Fish and Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) have ceased pollution response operations onboard the fishing vessel Miss Kelley 2006 - A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued one person from a life raft, after his vessel sank, five miles northwest of Cape Decision. The Coast Guard received a distress call at 1240 from John Cessnun over VHF-FM channel 16. Cessnun stated his vessel Hermes II, a 50-foot trawler homeported in Craig, was taking on water and that he was the only person aboard. An Air Station Sitka Jayhawk helicopter crew dispatched to the scene. Once on scene, the helicopter crew rescued the uninjured Cessnun from a life raft and transported him to Sitka. Cessnun was wearing a cold weather survival suit at the time of his rescue. The cause of the Hermes II sinking is unknown at this time. Marine Safety Office Sitka has been notified of the incident ============================================================= 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.