This Day In United States Naval History

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 20th

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1833 - Honorable Edmund Roberts, transported by USS Peacock and accompanied by USS Boxer, signs the Treaty of Amity, with the King of Siam (now Thailand), which is the first treaty between the United States and an Asian power.

1922 - USS Jupiter (Fuel Ship #3) is recommissioned as USS Langley (CV 1), the Navy's first aircraft carrier.

1944 - USS Angler (SS 240) completes the evacuation of 58 U.S. citizens, including women and children, from the west coast of Panay, Philippine Islands. The sub had been told there were only 20 people, straining the boat's supplies until it arrived at Fremantle April 9.

1952 - During the Korean War, USS Wiltsie (DD 716) and USS Brinkley Bass (DD 887) engage shore batteries at Wonsan, Korea. Bass scores seven direct hits on one of the batteries located near the city of Wonsan.

1959 - USS Staten Island (AGB 5) delivers six tons of food and clothing to New Zealand territorial island south of Samoa after storm devastates the area.

1999 - USS Porter (DDG 78) is commissioned at Port Canaveral, Fla. The guided-missile destroyer is the 28th of the Arleigh Burke-class and the fifth U.S. Navy ship to be named after Commodore David Porter and his son, Adm. David Dixon Porter.

2003 - Operation Iraqi Freedom begins after USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) is among the first to launch tomahawk missiles on Iraq, along with other Navy ships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

2009 - USS Gettysburg (CG 64) apprehends six pirates in the Gulf of Aden after a distress call from two nearby merchant vessels.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 21st

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1804 - The brig USS Syren (Siren), commanded by Lt. Charles Stewart, captures the Tripolitan brig Transfer off the coast of Tripoli, renaming it Scourge after being taken into US Navy service.

1903 - The Honduras Expedition, made up with USS Marietta, USS Olympia, USS Panther, USS Raleigh, and USS San Francisco, embark and operate in Honduran waters during a period of civil strife.

1917 - Loretta Walsh becomes the first woman Navy petty officer when sworn in as chief yeoman.

1943 - USS Herring (SS 233) sinks the German submarine U 163 off the Bay of Biscay. The sub was responsible for sinking USS Erie (PG 50) on Nov. 14, 1942.

1945 - USS Baya (SS 318) sinks the auxiliary netlayer Kainan Maru off Cam Ranh Bay.

1952 - During the Korean War, USS Osprey (AMS 28) comes under fire by enemy shore batteries while sweeping the shoreline at Wonsan. Osprey silences the three batteries in a counter-battery engagement.

1957 - An A3D-1 Skywarrior aircraft piloted by Cmdr. Dale W. Cox, Jr., breaks two transcontinental records, one for the Los Angeles to New York flight in nine hours and 21 minutes, 35.4 seconds and the other for the return back east to west flight in five hours and 13 minutes, 49 seconds.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 22nd

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1820 - Commodore Stephen Decatur was mortally wounded in a duel with Capt. James Barron at Bladensburg, Md., over criticism Decatur had when Barron lost his ship, USS Chesapeake, to HMS Leopard in 1807.

1915 - "Naval Aviator" replaces the title "Navy Air Pilot" for officers who become qualified as aviators.

1929 - Destroyers USS Robert Smith (DD 324), USS Moody (DD 277), and USS Selfridge (DD 320) protect Americans and their property during the Mexican Cristero uprising.

1943 - USS Gudgeon (SS 211) attacks a Japanese convoy 30 miles north Surabaya, Java, sinking an army cargo ship while surviving the depth charge attack by her escort vessels. Also on this date, USS Tambor (SS 198) damages a Japanese transport in the Sulu Sea, off Negros, Philippines.

1946 - USS Missouri (BB 63) departs the U.S. to return the body of deceased Turkish ambassador, Mehmet Munir Ertegun, back to his homeland for burial, arriving in Istanbul on April 5.

1991 - USS Macdonough (DDG 39) and USS Nicholas (FFG 47) arrive back at their homeport at Naval Base Charleston, S.C., the first Navy surface combatants to return to CONUS after participating in Desert Storm.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 23rd

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1815 - The sloop-of-war USS Hornet captures the brig sloop HMS Penguin after a 22 minute battle, with neither ship aware the War of 1812 is over.

1882 - Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt (Jan. 7, 1881 to April 16, 1882), creates the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) with General Order No. 292.

1917 - USS New Mexico (BB 40) is launched. She is the first dreadnought with turboelectric drive.

1944 - USS Tunny (SS 282) sinks the Japanese submarine I 42 off the Palau Islands.

1945 - USS Haggard (DD 555) is damaged when she rams and sinks Japanese submarine RO 41 in the Philippine Sea. Also on this date, USS Spadefish (SS 411) attacks Japanese Sasebo-to-Ishigaki convoy SAI-05 in the East China Sea about 120 miles north-northwest of Amami O Shima and sinks transport Doryu Maru.

1953 - During the Korean War, jet aircraft from USS Oriskany (CVA 34) stage a "lights out" program by attacking a water power site below the Fusen Reservoir, resulting in four cuts in the penstocks and damaging two buildings housing generators.

1965 - Navy Lt. Cmdr. John W. Young is a pilot on Gemini III, the first 2-manned spacecraft, that completes three orbits in four hours, 53 minutes at an altitude of 224 km. He is joined by Air Force Lt. Col. Virgil Grissom, command pilot.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 24th

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1898 - The battleship USS Kentucky (BB 6) is launched in Newport News, Va.

1903 - Adm. George Dewey is commissioned Admiral of the Navy, the only person to hold this rank. Upon his death Jan. 16, 1917, Congress deactivates the rank.

1919 - The battleship USS Idaho (BB 42) is commissioned. Idaho serves with the Pacific fleet, participating in gunfire support of the Aleutian, Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa Campaigns, and is in Tokyo Bay Sept. 2, 1945 when Japan formally surrenders.

1936 - USS Balch (DD 363), named after Rear Adm. George B. Balch, is launched.

1944 - USS Bowfin (SS 287) attacks a Japanese convoy, sinking both a transport and army cargo ship.

1977 - The initial service acceptance trials for the CH 53E Super Stallion are completed at Naval Air Test Center (NATC), Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

1986 - The first operational use of a Harpoon missile in combat is used by A-6A aircraft from VA-34 against a Libyan Combatant II G-class fast-attack missile craft. The engagement occurs after Libyan armed forces fire missiles at U.S. Navy forces operating in the Gulf of Sidra. Retaliatory strikes by A-7E Corsair II aircraft put the SA-5 missiles out of action at Surt and VA-85 aircraft then sink the missile craft.

2009 - Coastal patrol craft USS Chinook (PC 9) arrives at Umm Qasr, Iraq. During this port visit to Iraq, she is the first U.S. Navy ship to stay overnight.

2018 - Navy's newest guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) was commissioned during a ceremony March 24, at Columbus Street Pier in Charleston, South Carolina.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 25th

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1813 - During the War of 1812, the frigate Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, takes the Peruvian cruiser Neryeda, which is the first capture by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.

1822 - USS Shark, commanded by Lt. Matthew C. Perry, raises the first U.S. flag over Key West, Fla., and claims the territory for the United States, calling it Thompsons Island to honor Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson.

1898 - Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, recommends to Secretary of the Navy John D. Long that he appoint two officers of scientific attainments and practical ability who, with representatives from the War Department, would examine Professor Samuel P. Langleys flying machine and report upon its practicability and its potential for use in war.

1915 - The submarine, F-4 (SS 23) sinks off Honolulu, Hawaii, with the loss of 21 lives. It is the first commissioned submarine loss for the U.S. Navy.

1944 - USS Manlove (DE 36) and submarine chaser PC 1135 sink Japanese submarine I 32, 50 miles south of Wotje.

1957 - The first F8U-1 Crusader is delivered to a fleet unit, VF-32, in the record time of two years after the first flight of the experimental model.

2007 - Congress designates March 25 each year as National Medal of Honor Day. The day is significant as it is the day the first Medal of Honor was presented in 1863.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 26th

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1942 - During World War II, Adm. Ernest J. King becomes Chief of Naval Operations and also Commander, U.S. Fleet, holding both positions through the rest of the war, guiding the Navy's plans and global operations.

1942 - Task Force 39, commanded by Rear Adm. John W. Wilcox, Jr., sails from Portland, Maine, for Scapa Flow, Orkeny Islands, Scotland, to reinforce the British Home Fleet due the British Fleets involvement in Operation Ironclad, the British invasion of the Vichy French controlled Madagascar. The following day, Rear Adm. Wilcox, while taking an unaccompanied walk on his flagship, USS Washington (BB 56), is washed overboard and disappears in the heavy seas.

1943 - During the Battle of Komandorski Islands, Task Group 16.6, commanded by Rear Adm. Charles H. McMorris, prevents Japanese reinforcements from reaching Kiska, Aleutian Islands. USS Salt Lake City (CA 25) is damaged by gunfire from Japanese heavy cruisers, but damages one with return fire.

1945 - As the main fighting on Iwo Jima nears an end, several hundred Japanese attack Company C, Fifth Pioneer Battalion, 5th Marine Division. 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin organizes resistance, rescues Marines and, until mortally wounded by a grenade, leads a counterattack. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life," he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

1945 - USS Halligan (DD 584) is sunk by a mine off Okinawa. Also on this date, USS Balao (SS-285) sinks Japanese army stores ship No.1 Shinto Maru.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 27th

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1794 - President George Washington signs "An act to provide a naval armament" authorizing the construction of six frigates: United States, Constellation, Constitution, Chesapeake, Congress, and President.

1799 - During the Quasi-War with France, the frigate Constitution recaptures the American sloop Neutrality back from France.

1880 - The sloop of war Constellation departs New York with food for famine victims in Ireland. To modify the sloop for the mission, her armament and some ballast are removed, and carpenters at the New York Navy Yard build bins on the lowest deck to carry a cargo of more than 2,500 barrels of potatoes and flour.

1944 - USS Hake (SS 256) torpedoes and sinks Japanese merchant tanker Yamamizu Maru about 75 miles south of Borneo. Also on this date, USS Rasher (SS 269) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks army cargo ship Nichinan Maru about 50 miles north of Bali.

1975 - The evacuation by sea of Da Nang, Vietnam begins, a four-day effort by Military Sea Command ships that carry more than 30,000 refugees from Da Nang until March 30, when the North Vietnamese troops overrun the city and harbor.

2007 - The last known female veteran of World War I, Charlotte Louise Berry Winters, dies at the age of 109. She enlisted in the Navy in 1917.

2010 - USS New Mexico (SSN 779) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine is the second US naval ship to be named after New Mexico. The sub is homeported in Groton, Conn.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 28th

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1814 - British frigates HMS Phoebe and HMS Cherub capture the frigate USS Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, off Valparaiso, Chile after blockading the ship for six weeks.

1944 - Submarines USS Barb (SS 220) and USS Silversides (SS 236) sink Japanese cargo freighter Fukusei Maru off Rasa Island and Japanese cargo ship Kairyu Maru off Manokwari, New Guinea, respectively.

1944 - USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE 86) is commissioned. She later supports the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns during World War II and serves during the Korean War.

1953 - USS Philippine Sea (CV 47), USS Princeton (CV 37), and USS Oriskany (CV 34) launch 216 sorties against a North Korean supply depot during the Korean War.

1991 - The first US Navy carrier battle groups return to CONUS following action during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) battle group returns to Norfolk, Va., and the USS Saratoga (CV 60) battle group returns to Mayport, Fla.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 29th

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1844 - Uriah P. Levy, the Navys first Jewish flag officer, is promoted to the rank of captain. He also becomes the first of the Jewish faith promoted to commodore and is instrumental in persuading Congress to abolish flogging in the Navy.

1863 - Union troops brought ashore by USS Norwich to Jacksonville, Fla., ransack and loot the residents before evacuating the city. Also on this date, USS South Carolina, captures the schooner Nellie off Port Royal, S.C.

1944 - USS Haddo (SS 255) torpedoes and sinks Japanese army cargo ship Nichian Maru in South China Sea. Also on this date, USS Tunny (SS 282) torpedoes the Japanese battleship Musashi off Palau, necessitating for her to be repaired in Japan.

1944 - USS Ericsson (DD 440) and USS Kearny (DD 432), along with three submarine chasers, sink German U 223, which had sunk five Allied merchant vessels, including U.S. Army transport ship SS Dorchester of Four Chaplains fame on Feb. 3, 1943.

1960 - The first fully integrated Fleet Ballistic Missile system test, an A1X test vehicle, is launched from USS Observation Island (EAG 154).

1985 - The Navy awards a contract to the McDonnell Douglas Corporation for development of night attack capabilities for the F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.

1991 - USS Francis Hammond (FF 1067), USS Shasta (AE 33), USS Niagara Falls (AFS-33) assist a Sri Lankan merchant vessel burning in the Arabian Gulf.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 30th

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1944 - Task Force 58 begins bombing of Japanese airfields, shipping, fleet servicing facilities, and other installations at Palau, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai in the Carolines.

1944 - USS Darter (SS 227) sinks a Japanese army cargo ship near New Guinea, despite the presence of an escort vessel. Also on this date, USS Picuda (SS 382) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks a transport ship near Guam while USS Stingray (SS 186) sinks a transport ship near Saipan.

1953 - During the Korean War, five enemy guns in the Wonsan area fire about 20 rounds at USS Prichett (DD 561), falling about 150 yards short. Prichett silences the enemy guns with counterbattery fire.

1973 - USS Forrestal (CVA 59) and Sixth Fleet ships provided aid to Tunisia following a disastrous flood, relocating 729 persons, 27 tons of cargo and an entire herd of 227 sheep.

1991 - USS Princeton (CG-59) and crew are awarded the Combat Action Ribbon in recognition of the superior and arduous work the crew put in to keep the ship in war-fighting status following the Feb. 18 mining of the ship where three crew members were injured and the ships propeller was damaged during Operation Desert Storm.

1994 - USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) is commissioned at Long Beach, Calif., where then-Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton was the keynote speaker. The Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer is currently homeported in Yokosuka, Japan.

2007 - USS Hawes (FFG 53) provides medical assistance to Liberian cargo vessel MV Harmony while conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the southern Persian Gulf.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 31st

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1854 - Commodore Matthew C. Perry and Japanese officials sign the Treaty of Kanagawa, opening trade between U.S. and Japan. The treaty also provided protection for American merchant seamen wrecked in Japanese waters.

1917 - Rear Adm. James H. Oliver takes possession of the Danish West Indies for the United States, and they are renamed the U.S. Virgin Islands. He also becomes the first governor of the islands under American control.

1945 - USS Morrison (DD 560) and USS Stockton (DD 646) sink the Japanese submarine I 8, 65 miles southeast of Okinawa.

1992 - USS Missouri (BB-63), the last active American battleship, is decommissioned. Commissioned in June 1944, she served during World War II, notably for the location of the official Japanese surrender on Sept. 2, 1945. Today, the "Mighty Mo" is open for visitors in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as the Battleship Missouri Memorial, under the care of the USS Missouri Memorial Association, Inc.

1993 - Two 2 EP-3E aircraft, from Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 (VQ-2), are on station over the Adriatic providing crucial support to the delivery of humanitarian air drops over eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina in Operation Provide Promise. This operation becomes the longest running humanitarian airlift in history at the time and operates from February 1993 to January 1996.

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This Day In United States Naval History - April 1st

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1893 - Navy General Order 409 establishes the rate of Chief Petty Officer.

1899 - A landing party of 60 men from USS Philadelphia (C 4) and a force of 100 friendly natives join 62 men from HMS Porpoise and Royal Isle in Samoa to establish order over Samoan throne.

1943 - USS Shad (SS 235) torpedoes and damages the Italian blockade runner Pietro Orseolo, shortly after the Italian ship reaches the Bay of Biscay and her escort of four German destroyers.

1945 - Under heavy naval gunfire and aircraft support, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops begin the invasion of Okinawa, the last major amphibious assault of World War II.

1948 - Helicopter Utility Squadron ONE and TWO (HU-1 and HU-2), both known as the "Fleet Angels," were formed from the newly decommissioned Helicopter Development Squadron THREE (VX-3) at Lakehurst, New Jersey. These were the Navy's first two helicopter squadrons.

1991 - USS Marvin Shields (FF 1066) arrives at her home port of San Diego, Calif. She is the first West Coast ship to return to CONUS from Operation Desert Storm.

2007 - The last US Navy T-2C Buckeye, assigned to VX-20, retires to Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.

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This Day In United States Naval History - April 2nd

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1781 - During the American Revolution, the Continental frigate Alliance, commanded by John Barry, captures the British privateers Mars and Minerva off the coast of France.

1916 - Lt. R.C. Saufley sets an altitude record for a Navy aircraft, 16,072 feet in a Curtiss pusher type hydroplane at Pensacola, Fla., bettering the record he set on March 29 that was set with a record of 16,010 feet.

1943 - USS Tunny (SS 282) sinks the Japanese transport No.2 Toyo Maru west of Truk.

1951 - Two F9F-2B Panthers of VF-191, each loaded with four 250- and two 100-pound general-purpose bombs, are catapulted from USS Princeton (CV 37) for an attack on a railroad bridge near Songjin, North Korea. This mission is the first US Navy use of a jet fighter as a bomber.

1960 - After floods cause destruction at Paramaribo, Suriname, USS Glacier (AGB 4) begins 12 days of relief operations, providing helicopter and boat transportation and emergency supplies to the residents.

1991 - USS Chicago (SSN 721) arrives at San Diego, Calif., homeport following Operation Desert Storm. During the six-month deployment, the attack submarine works with US and coalition forces deployed to the Southwest Asia area of operations, conducting surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

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This Day In United States Naval History - April 3rd

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1797 - Capt. Thomas Truxtun issues the first known American signal book using a numerary system entitled, Instructions, Signals, and Explanations, Ordered for the United States Fleet.

1942 - Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, is named Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA) and also retains the title of Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC).

1943 - USS Haddock (SS 231) sinks Japanese fleet tanker Arima Maru north of Palau, and USS Pickerel (SS 177) sinks Japanese submarine chaser Ch 1.

1944 - USS Sanders (DE 40), tank landing ship (LST 127), and two infantry landing crafts occupy Mejit Island, Marshall Islands and defeat Japanese force.

1991 - USS America (CV 66), along with USS Normandy (CG 60), and USS William V. Pratt (DDG 44) transit the Suez Canal en route to CONUS after providing support for Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

1992 - The first five co-ed recruit companies from Recruit Training Command, Naval Training Center, Orlando, Fla., graduate. BRAC recommends closure the following year.