SeaWaves Today in History March 23, 2009 1806 - Explorers Lewis and Clark, having reached the Pacific coast, began their journey back east 1815 - USS Hornet captures HMS Penguin in battle lasting 22 minutes 1865 - British Parliament votes £50,000 for Canadian defense; after Union ship Kearsarge sinks Confederate ship Alabama, built in UK 1882 - SECNAV Hunt issues General Order No. 292 creating Office of Naval Intelligence 1891 - Point Loma Lighthouse in San Diego relocated closer to the water 1905 - Submarine HMS A6 completed 1912 - Submarine HMS D8 completed 1914 - Battleship USS Oklahoma launched 1917 - Launching of USS New Mexico, first dreadnought with turboelectric drive 1918 - Destroyer USS Thomas laid down 1918 - Destroyer USS Dent launched 1920 - Destroyer USS Pope launched 1920 - Submarine HMS H-44 commissioned 1922 - Submarine HMS H42 sunk in collision with HMS Versatile off Gibraltar. As part of the 3rd Submarine Flotilla H42 had spent Christmas 1921 in Portsmouth before sailing in January 1922 for exercises in the Mediterranean. H42 surfaced just off Gibraltar 120 yards in front of the destroyer HMS Versatile who at that time was cruising at 20 knots. The destroyer was unable to take avoiding action and ploughed into the submarine almost slicing her in two 1929 - Sloop HMS Sandwich commissioned 1933 - Destroyers HMS Esk & Express laid down 1934 - Submarine HNLMS K XVIII commissioned 1936 - Torpedo boat FS Bombarde launched 1936 - Destroyer HMS Hotspur launched 1940 - U-161 laid down 1940 - Corvette HMS Nasturtium laid down 1940 - Destroyer HMS Atherstone commissioned 1940 - U-551 sunk about 93 miles SE of the south coast of Iceland by depth charges from trawler HMS Visenda. All 45 crewmen on the sub are lost 1940 - Royal Navy forms the "Malaya Force" to shadow 17 German merchant ships trapped in Netherlands East Indies ports 1941 - At 2326, Chama, a straggler from Convoy OG-56, was torpedoed & sunk by U-97 WSW of Fastnet. The master, 54 crewmembers & four gunners were lost 1941 - U-551 sunk in the North Atlantic SE of Iceland, in position 62.37N, 16.47W, by depth charges from trawler HMS Visenda. 45 dead (all hands lost) 1941 - U-110's 105-mm deck gun exploded during firing wounding 3 men during sinking of SS Siremalm 1941 - RAF Bomber Command - 2 Group - 82 Sqn attacks five ships off the Ems Estuary and claim a destroyer damaged 1942 - U-166 commissioned 1942 - U-236 laid down 1942 - Submarine HMS Vandal launched 1942 - Submarine HMS Tally-Ho launched 1942 - U-298, U-299, U-300, U-1007, U-1008, U-1009, U-1010, U-1013, U-1014, U-1015, U-1016, U-1017, U-1018, U-1271, U-1272, U-1273 ordered 1942 - At 1023, the unescorted & unarmed Naeco was hit by the last torpedo from U-124 about 65 miles SE of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The U-boat attacked the tanker after abandoning an attack on a steam merchant and had missed with first torpedo fired one minute earlier. The torpedo struck on starboard side just aft of the mast and created a huge fireball. Fire engulfed the entire amidships superstructure and burning oil spurted out over the sea. The engines were secured and the surviving men among the eight officers and 30 crewmen on board prepared themselves to abandon ship, but two of the four lifeboats had been destroyed and a third swamped when it touched the water, because the ship had still headway. The tanker later broke in two, the stern section sinking at about 15.30 hours, while the bow section was scuttled by gunfire by USS Roper in the late afternoon. Ten survivors got safely away in the last lifeboat and were picked up after four hours by the USCGC Dione, which also picked up two more from the sea. One men and four bodies were recovered from a raft by minesweeper USS Osprey. A boatswain, who returned to the ship, was taken off by tug USS Umpqua. All survivors, including three wounded, were landed at Morehead City, North Carolina. The master, four officers and 19 crewmen were lost 1942 - The wreck of the Diala was sunk by U-587 1942 - At 1531, British Prudence, a straggler from Convoy HX-181, was torpedoed & sunk by U-754 NE of Halifax. Three crewmembers were lost. The master, 41 crewmembers and five gunners were picked up by destroyer HMS Witherington & landed at Halifax on 24 March 1942 - Japanese forces occupied the Andaman Islands 1942 - Trawler HMS Liscomb launched Kingston ON 1942 - Minesweeper HMS Aries laid down 1942 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Foulness launched 1942 - Patrol vessel (ex-fishing vessel May) HMCS Crest commissioned 1943 - U-1199 laid down 1943 - U-860 launched 1943 - U-311 commissioned 1943 - Soviet submarine K-3 sunk off the Batsfjord, Northern Norway while on her 6th war patrol by depth charges from German escorts UJ 1102, UJ 1106 & UJ 1111 1943 - The following Flower-class corvettes returned to Halifax as part of the escort for the 16-ship Liverpool to New York City Convoy ON-172, after supporting Operation TORCH, the North African Landings - HMCS Summerside, Port Arthur & Alberni. The convoy arrived safely in New York City on 27 Mar 43 1943 - Corvette HMS Berkeley Castle laid down 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Hilbert laid down 1943 - Submarine HMS Stonehenge launched 1943 - Destroyer escort USS Huse launched 1943 - Minesweeper USS Herald commissioned 1943 - Minesweeper HMCS Mimico laid down Toronto ON 1943 - Submarine HMS Talent transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy as Zwaardvisch 1943 - Lighter Covered (Non Self-Propelled) YC-869 lost off Imperial Beach California 1944 - LCT(5)-315 sunk at Eniwetok Atoll Marshall Islands 1944 - Submarine HMS Virulent launched 1944 - Patrol Vessel District YP-331 foundered in heavy weather 1944 - U-775, U-1015, U-1207 commissioned 1944 - Destroyer escort USS Hanna laid down 1944 - Submarine HMS Urtica launched 1944 - Submarine USS Trepang launched 1944 - Corvette HMCS Moose Jaw completed forecastle extension refit Liverpool NS 1944 - Frigate HMS Loch Achanalt launched Leith 1945 - U-1106 sailed from Kristiansand on her first and final patrol 1945 - Carriers begin pre-assault strikes on Okinawa, kamikaze attacks follow 1945 - U-1003 type VIIC/41 is scuttled 8-10 miles north of Inistrahull beacon, Malin Head after ramming with HMCS New Glasgow on the 20th March. 18 of the U-Boat crew are dead, but 31 of them survive 1945 - Corvette HMCS Beauharnois departed Londonderry, escort for Convoy ONS-45 1945 - Destroyer HMCS Sioux departed Kola Inlet with Convoy RA-65 to Clyde 1945 - Frigate HMCS Thetford Mines rescued 33 of 47 crewmembers (2 died later) of U-1003 16 miles NW of Innistrahull. Subsequently HMCS New Glasgow credited with the sinking at 55-25N, 06-53W 1946 - HMCS Warrior CVL (31), deck letter "W"; under the command of Capt. FL Houghton, CBE, RCN steamed into the wind off the Isle of Wight to receive 803 and 825 Sqn before sailing for the first time ever for Canada and her home port of Halifax 1948 - HMCS Warrior was paid off in Belfast, Northern Ireland as the Broad Pennant of her CO Commodore H.G. "Harry" DeWolf CBE, DSO, DSC, RCN was struck and the ship was returned to the Royal Navy 1949 - Royal Assent given to the North America Bill, passed by the British Parliament for the union of Canada and Newfoundland 1954 - Approval was handed down for the formation of an air utility squadron to be based permanently on the West Coast and placed at the disposal of the Flag Officer Pacific Coast. This action culminated in the commissioning of VU 33 at Pat Bay in November of that year 1956 - As a member of "Blueland" force in Operation Spring Tide, VS 881 Avenger 86281 (NAVY 335), operating from Magnificent and piloted by Sqn CO LCdr (P) NJ "Monk" Geary, suffered engine power loss and ditched off Barbados. The crew was rescued unscathed by HMCS Micmac. Note - During this cruise, the recently formed No. 1 Drone Target Unit (LCdr Mike Sandes OIC) was on board Magnificent for the first time. The role of the unit was to test the effectiveness of the carrier's anti-aircraft batteries. Also on board for its inaugural operational deployment in southern waters was ASW helicopter squadron HS 50 1956 - Pakistan became an independent republic within the British Commonwealth 1958 - First launching of simulated Polaris missile from submerged tactical launcher facility off CA 1965 - While deployed on exercise to Puerto Rico, 404 Maritime Patrol and Training Squadron Argus 20727 plunged into the ocean 60 miles north of the island. The entire crew and a government scientist perished in the crash. Those lost on board Argus 20727 were: S/L J.A. Anderson, DSO, DFC, CD, Sgt P. Chapman, CD, F/O H.S. Cocks, F/O B.W.G. Cromlish, F/L J.E.K.A. (Kaye) Huet, F/O R.C. Johnson, Sgt M. Jones, CD, F/O F.A. Knights, F/O G.A. Maguire, F/O J.M. Peele, F/L J.E. Perron, CD, F/O J.A. Richardson, F/L C.M. Sorge, F/L J.W. Tetrault, CD, F/O R.G. Williams, Dr. C.L. Piggott (a Defense Scientist from the Naval Research establishment, now known as DRDC Atlantic) 1965 - LCDR John W. Young, USN, Pilot of Gemini 3 completed 3 orbits in 4 hours, 53 minutes at an altitude of 224 km. Recovery was by helicopters from USS Intrepid 1965 - Frigate HMCS Buckingham paid off 1966 - USS Hornet completed Vietnam deployment 1968 - USS Kearsarge port call Yokosuka 1970 - Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, proclaimed its independence 1991 - Naval forces continue counter air-defensive, combat air patrols, minesweeping and maritime interception operations 1991 - USS Yellowstone arrives at NAVBASE Pearl Harbor homeport. During eight-month deployment to the Mediterranean and Red Seas, the destroyer tender provided repair, supply, logistics and personnel support including the completion of over 10,000 repair jobs on 30 US and coalition ships, as well as the first time transportation of aircraft and transferring missiles 2002 - Destroyer HMCS Algonquin departed Esquimalt to become flagship for Joint Task Force 151 in Arabian Sea. Despite hangar facilities for two aircraft, Algonquin forced to sail with none, a major embarrassment for the Canadian Navy 2004 - Canada announces that two double-hulled supply ships will be ordered to replace HMCS Protecteur & Preserver 2004 - A test firing of MBDA’s Albatros-Aspide naval air-defense system was successfully carried out from the Brazilian Navy’s Defensora, a Niteroi class frigate 23rd March 2004 2005 - Destroyer USS Spruance decommissioned at Mayport 2005 - Destroyer USS Truxtun laid down NGSS Ingalls Operations 2005 - The St. Lawrence Seaway announced it is reducing lockage fees on the Welland Canal for ships carrying cargo that is new to the waterway. The reduced rates are calculated on a sliding scale. All qualifying ships will benefit, with greater reductions going to smaller ships 2005 - Captain Feroze Irani of the MV Pineglen was presented with the ceremonial top hat at Lock 3 this morning, when the Welland Canal, the westernmost part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, officially opened for its 176th consecutive year of service. The Montreal-Lake Ontario section will open Good Friday, March 25. The Seaway has opened on or before March 31 in 20 of the last 26 years and is now in its 47th navigation season 2005 - The ROK Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said it will conduct safety checks on car ferries running between Korea and China March 28-April 2. Ship inspection institutes, an anti-calamity test institute and ocean research institutes will conduct the inspections. The ministry will suspend ferries with serious defects until they improve after inspecting safety equipment and devices such as fire-resistant structures, fire-fighting devices and life-saving devices. Passenger traffic on Korea-China and Korea-Japan sea routes increased about 30 percent to an estimated 1.8 million in 2004 from 1.38 million in 2003. The number of people traveling by sea is also expected to increase this year, he added. Tight control of safety on passenger ferries is needed as marine accidents can cause a large number of victims and property loss as seen in the sinking of a ferry in the West Sea in October 1993 and a fire on a cruise boat on Chungju Lake in 1994. However, most shipping companies deploying ferries between Korea and China are joint ventures of the two countries, while the ferries are registered at third countries, an official said 2005 - Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group (SNTG) announced that Jens Lassen has been appointed Managing Director of Shipowning, based at SNTG's headquarters in Rotterdam. Mr. Lassen was previously Vice President of Technical Operations for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2005 - There will be no increase this year in light dues paid by merchant ships and fishing vessels, Shipping Minister David Jamieson announced. The tonnage threshold of 35,000 tonnes, will also remain the same, Shipping Minister David Jamieson announced today. Light dues are a system of user charges levied on commercial shipping calling at all UK and Republic of Ireland Ports. In the UK, the provision and maintenance of aids to navigation - such as lighthouses, buoys and beacons - falls to Trinity House Lighthouse Service, the Northern Lighthouse Board and the Commissioners of Irish Lights. Their costs are funded from the collection of these charges 2005 - The Russian amphibious ship Nikolai Filchenkov crossed the Ukrainian border near Feodosiya at 0755 and without Ukraine's permission, began landing personnel and hardware from the Black Sea Fleet's 382nd Marine Battalion at the naval training ground near Mt. Opuk. In total, 142 marines and 28 pieces of military hardware were landed 2005 - Three North Korean cargo ships have begun loading fertilizer in South Korea, the first time in more than two decades vessels from the North have visited southern ports 2006 - USCGC Terrapin commissioned at homeport of Bellingham 2006 - The Yemeni Ministry of Transport's Maritime Affairs Authority is urging ships to keep a sharp look-out for the c.c. Hyundai Fortune, which is still on fire off the coast. The vessel is dead in the water and is drifting in a southwesterly direction under the influence of prevailing currents. At 1100 the position of the vessel was reported as: lat 12 41N, long 46 47E 2006 - Star Princess, en route from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay, had fire broke out in passenger accommodation, spreading to adjacent cabins, at 0310, local time 2006 - MSC Cruises announced its plans to expand its seven-ship fleet by adding a new vessel every year through 2009, and to kick off its "Beautiful. Passionate. Italian." campaign featuring actress Sophia Loren. Loren will appear in a $4 million campaign, starting off this month on print, billboards, subway signage and taxi toppers in south Florida and New York 2006 - Attica Holdings S.A. announces that it has contracted to sell to AS Tallink Grupp its ice-class Ro-Pax vessels Superfast VII, Superfast VIII and Superfast IX for a total cash consideration of $371 million. Pending legal and regulatory procedures, the transaction will close April 2006 2006 - MacAndrews has upgraded the existing tonnage on its Swahili Express Service, which provides a regular container service between the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East/Gulf and East Africa, with a more modern, faster vessel. The new ship, MacAndrews SWALA, is 1100 TEU capacity and is one of two vessels in the service which has a nine-day sailing frequency 2006 - Following a request from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Navy and the Air Force have assisted in the disposal of the MV Pong Su under Section 185B of the Customs Act. After Navy towed the Pong Su from Sydney, the vessel was sunk approximately 140 kilometers off Jervis Bay in deep water using two 2000-pound high explosive laser guided bombs as part of an exercise involving four RAAF F-111 strike aircraft. A RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft performed range clearance and safety roles to ensure that unauthorized vessels remained clear of the safety zone during the exercise, and also to ensure that the area was clear of significant marine life 2007 - The Department of Navy announced the Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), honoring the late Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, the first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Donald C. Winter, made the announcement in Dunham’s hometown of Scio NY 2007 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) teaming with US Navy to capture a series of bone chilling adventure scenes for the Studio's upcoming "Stargate SG-1" direct-to-video, "Stargate: Continuum." Cast members, including Ben Browder ("Stargate SG1's" Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell) and Amanda Tapping (Lt. Col. Samantha Carter) will travel to the sub-zero climate of the Arctic to shoot at the Navy's Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) for the week of March 23 through 29. Martin Wood, Director of over 70 "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis" episodes, is confirmed to direct "Stargate: Continuum." Submarine USS Alexandria will take part 2007 - Aircraft carrier USS John F Kennedy decommissioned at Mayport 2007 - USCG Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen delivers keynote address at 27th Annual Association of Naval Services Officers Professional Development and Training Symposium Admiral Kidd Center Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Center Naval Base Point Loma San Diego 2007 - The Minister of Defense of Albania, Mr. Fatmir Mediu, visited NATO Headquarters and met with the Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer 2007 - Secretary Michael Chertoff, Washington State Gov. Chris Gregoire and Canadian Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day sign a Memorandum of Agreement on maritime security in Seattle 2007 - ABS further extends its commitment to marine and offshore education and research with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Center for Offshore Research and Engineering (CORE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) 2007 - Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme visit HMNB Clyde 2007 - AgustaWestland and Linfox announce the RAN has chosen the A109 Power light twin helicopter to provide aircrew with improved training capabilities 2007 - Still looking deeply shocked by a nightmare on the high seas after their ship sank off the coast of northern Philippines Tuesday night, 11 Chinese seamen still couldn't believe that they had the luck to have a passing Indian ship to pick them up and bring them to Manila. The 4,000-ton MV Unicorn Ace was carrying lumber products from Malaysia to Taiwan when it suddenly met with bad weather in the South China Sea and sank within 30 minutes 2007 - Britain is facing a new diplomatic crisis with Iran after 15 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines were seized at gunpoint by Iranian warships off Iraq 2007 - Japanese whaling ship that caught fire and was stranded near the Antarctic coast returned to port with a haul of 508 whales after cutting short its trip. The fire aboard the Nisshin Maru, the 8000-tonne flagship of Japan's whaling fleet, in February left it crippled and raised fears that oil or chemicals could spill into the Southern Ocean, close to the world's biggest Adelie penguin breeding colony 2007 - Weyerhaeuser Company announced appointment of Guy C. Stephenson, 55, as president of Westwood Shipping Lines. He succeeds Craig A. Lawrence, 57, who retires from the company after 17 years of service, on April 20 2007 - At least 28 people died from asphyxiation, beating or drowning and many were badly injured by smugglers in a renewed surge of people smuggling from Somalia to Yemen which saw more than 1,100 brave the perilous exodus across the Gulf of Aden in the past 6 days alone Copyright 2009 Shirlaw News Group ISSN 1710-6966 Today in History Archives This information is licensed to the recipient only. Images may be subject to copyright. Ask before you right-click. Royal Navy photos are Courtesy of www.oldships.org.uk unless otherwise indicated. To contact us: 418-145 West Keith Rd North Vancouver BC V7M 1L3 Canada Phone: 778-968-7447