This Day In United States Naval History

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 3rd

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1777 - During the American Revolution, the Continental lugger Surprise, led by Capt. Gustavus conyngham, captures the British mail packet Prince of Orange and the brig Joseph in the North Sea.

1898 - During the Spanish-American War, U.S. Marines from cruisers Baltimore and Raleigh (C 8), raise US flag over Cavite, Philippines.

1942 - USS Spearfish (SS 190) evacuates naval and military officers, including nurses, from Corregidor before surrendering island to Japan.

1944 - USS Flasher (SS 249) sinks the Japanese freighter, USS Sand Lance (SS 381) sinks Japanese transport, and USS Tautog (SS 199) sinks Japanese army cargo ship, USS Tinosa (SS 283) sinks the Japanese freighter.

1949 - The U.S. Navy executes its first firing of a high altitude Viking rocket at White Sands, N.M.

1975 - USS Nimitz (CVN 68) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. Only America can make a machine like this, notes President Gerald R. Ford about the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. There is nothing like her in the world.

1980 - USS Peleliu (LHA 5) is commissioned in Pascagoula, Miss. She is the final Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship built and the first to be named in honor of the battles fought in the Palau Islands.

1988 - USNS Victorious (T-AGOS 19) is launched from the McDermott Shipyards at Morgan City, La. The first-in-her-class ocean surveillance ship is acquired by the Navy in 1991.

2008 - USS North Carolina (SSN 777) is commissioned at Port of Wilmington, N.C., before sailing for its homeport of Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 4th

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1917 - Destroyer Division 8, commanded by Cmdr. Joseph K. Taussig, arrive at Queenstown, Ireland, to protect convoy escorts against German U-Boats.

1942 - Battle of the Coral Sea begins when TF 17 attacks the Japanese Tulagi Invasion Force at Tulagi, Solomons.

1945 - Marine Sgt. Elbert L. Kinser throws himself upon a grenade during the Okinawa Campaign and saves his fellow Marines. He is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

1945 - During the Okinawa Campaign, the Japanese attempt to land on Okinawa but are repulsed by the Allied naval forces. Kamikazes attack and sink: USS Luce (DD 522), USS Morrison (DD 560), USS LSM 190, USS LSM 194. Damaged by the suicide bombers are USS Birmingham (CL 62) and USS Sangamon (CVE 26).

1961 - Cmdr. Malcolm D. Ross, pilot, and medical observer Lt. Cmdr. Victor A. Prather, Jr, ascend in two hours to more than 110,000 feet in Strato-Lab 5, setting altitude record for manned open gondola.

2013 - USS Anchorage (LPD 23) is commissioned in her namesake city. The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock is the second ship to be named after the Alaskan city. She is homeported in San Diego, Calif.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 5th

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1943 - USS Permit (SS 178), USS Snook (SS 279) and USS Sawfish (SS 276) damage two Japanese ships and sink two freighters and a gunboat.

1944 - The hospital ship, USS Comfort (AH-6), is commissioned at San Pedro, Calif., and is the first ship to be manned jointly by U.S. Army and U.S. Navy personnel.

1948 - Fighter Squadron Seventeen A (VF-17A), with 16 FH-1 Phantoms, becomes the first carrier-qualified jet squadron in the U.S. Navy.

1961 - Cmdr. Alan Shepard Jr. makes the first U.S. manned space flight. USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) recovers the capsule after the 15 minute flight.

1979 - USS Robert E. Peary (FF 1073) rescues 440 Vietnamese refugees from their disabled craft 400 miles south of Thailand.

2007 - USS Hawaii (SSN 776) is commissioned at Groton, Conn. The Virginia-class submarine, the first to be named after the Aloha State, arrives at its homeport of Pearl Harbor July 23, 2009 following her maiden underway period.

2012 - USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) is launched at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, Calif. The Military Sea Lift Commands dry cargo ammunition ship honors the prominent civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, who served in the Navy during World War II and later founded the National Farm Works Association, which becomes the United Farm Workers union.

2017 - Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken, 38, of Falmouth, Maine, is killed during a Somali National Army-led operation with U.S. Africa Command against al-Shabaab May 5 in a remote area approximately 40 miles west of Mogadishu.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 6th

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1860 - The sloop-of-war Portsmouth, commanded by John Calhoun, captures the slaver brig Falmouth off Porto Praya.

1908 - The Great White Fleet anchors in San Francisco Bay, Calif. The fleet is delayed from its round-the-world cruise after both Rear Adm. Robley D. Evans and Rear Adm. Charles M. Thomas fall ill. On May 15, Rear Adm. Charles S. Sperry assumed command and completes the cruise ending Feb. 22, 1909.

1916 - The first ship-to-shore radio telephone voice conversation was held on board USS New Hampshire (BB 25) off the Virginia Capes.

1944 - USS Buckley (DE 51) rams German submarine U 66 while TBMs (VC 55) from USS Block Island (CVE 21) attack U 66 near Cape Verdes.

1945 - USS Farquhar (DE 139) sinks the last German submarine, U 881, in the North Atlantic.

1995 - USNS Laramie (T-AO 203) is launched at the Avondale Shipyard, Inc. at New Orleans, La. The Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler is operated by the Military Sealift Command. The Laramie enters non-commissioned U.S. Navy service May 7, 1996.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 7th

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1779 - The Continental Navy sloop Providence, captures the British brig Diligent off Sandy Hook and is later acquired for service in the Continental Navy.

1934 - The frigate Constitution completes her 3-year tour of 76 port cities along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts and then returns to Boston, Mass. Prior to her journey that began July 1931, the 137-year-old frigate undergoes a refit and overhaul. Congress authorized the restoration of Constitution in March 1925.

1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea resumes as Task Force Seventeen (TF-17) intercepts the Japanese intending to invade Port Moresby, New Guinea marking the first naval battle where aircraft carriers engage each other out of sight from one another.

1945 - Marine Pfc. Albert E. Schwab scales a cliff, alone and under fire, to the enemy position skillfully uses his flame thrower to destroy two hostile gun emplacements. He is mortally wounded and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

1945 - Gen. Afred Jodl, Chief of the German General Staff, signs the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich at Reims, France at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF).

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 8th

1863 - USS Flag, commanded by Cmdr. James H. Strong, captures schooner Amelia while attempting to run the blockade out of Charleston.

1911 - Capt. Washington I. Chambers prepares the requisition for the first US Navy airplane, the Triad A-1, marking the birth of Naval Aviation.

1919 - Seaplane Division One, comprised of three NC flying boats, takes off from Naval Air Station, Rockaway, New York for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the first leg of a projected Transatlantic flight.

1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea ends with the Japanese retiring from the area and calling off the Port Moresby amphibious operation. During battle, SBDs from USS Lexington (CV 2) and USS Yorktown (CV 5) damage the Japanese carrier Shokaku and force her to retire.

1945 - The unconditional surrender of Germany was ratified by Allies in Berlin. This event is remembered as V-E Day!

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 9th

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1860 - While off the Isle of Pines (now named Isla de la Juventud) near the south coast of Cuba, the screw gunboat Wyandotte captures the slaver William, which carries 570 Africans.

1926 - Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd and Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett report reaching the North Pole in their heavier-than-air-flight aircraft. Both receive the Medal of Honor for this event.

1942 - USS Wasp (CV 7) launches 47 RAF Spitfires, British carrier Eagle accompanies Wasp and launches 17 additional Spitfires.

1945 - German submarine U 249 surrenders to PB4Y-1 Liberator from (FAW 7) off the Scilly Islands, England, becoming the first to do so after hostilities ceased in Europe.

1952 - USS Douglas H. Fox (DD 779) launches a boat raid on the inner harbor of Hungnam, Korea, and returns with two prisoners and two small sailing junks.

1992 - USS Ashland (LSD 48) is commissioned in New Orleans, La. Following the ceremony, the dock landing ship sails for its homeport at Little Creek, Va.

2017 - A South Korean fishing vessel collides with the port side, amid ship of USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) while the guided-missile cruiser is conducting routine operations in international waters. No one is injured in the incident.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 10th

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1775 - American forces under Gen. Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen cross Lake Champlain and capture the British fort at Ticonderoga, New York. The US Navy has honored this action by naming five ships after the battle.

1862 - The Norfolk Navy Yard is burned before being evacuated by Confederate forces in a general withdrawal up the peninsula to defend Richmond. Also on this date, Pensacola is re-occupied by Union Army and Navy forces. Confederate forces destroyed the Navy Yard the day before.

1944 - USS Cod (SS 224) attacks a large Japanese convoy and destroyer off the west coast of Luzon. USS Silversides (SS 236) attacks a Japanese convoy about 120 miles south-southwest of Guam.

1945 - During the Okinawa Campaign, Pharmacists Mate Second Class William D. Halyburton aids a fallen Marine, shields his body, and is mortally wounded. He is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. USS Halyburton (FFG-40) is named in his honor.

1952 - During the Korean War, USS Maddox (DD 731) and USS Laffey (DD 724) fire on railroad targets at Wonson.

1960 - USS Triton (SSRN 586), commanded by Capt. Edward L. Beach, completes a submerged circumnavigation of the world in 84 days following many of the routes taken by Magellan.

1993 - USS Lake Erie (CG 70) is commissioned at Bath Iron Works in Maine. Two days later, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser sets sail for her homeport at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 11th

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1862 - CSS Virginia is destroyed by Confederates off Craney Island to prevent capture.

1898 - During the Spanish-American War, Marines and Sailors from USS Marblehead (C 11) and USS Nashville (PG 7) cut the trans-oceanic cable near Cienfuegos, Cuba, isolating Cuba from Spain. For heroism during this action, 54 Marines and Sailors received the Medal of Honor.

1943 - In the Attu Operation, Task Force 16, commanded by Rear Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid, landed a force of 3,000 US Army troops of the 7th Division in the cold and the mist of the Aleutians.

1945 - During the Okinawa Campaign, kamikazes crash into Task Force 58s flagship, USS Bunker Hill (CV 17). As a result, Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitscher transfers his flag to USS English (DD 696), then to USS Enterprise (CV 6) on May 14.

1945 - German submarine U 541 surrenders to Allied Forces.

1950 - Viking Rocket #4 is launched from USS Norton Sound (AV-11), near the equator, for a successful 106.4 mile vertical flight called Project Reach.

[stevep]

May 11, 2020 2:52:58 GMT lordroel said:

This Day In United States Naval History - May 11th

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1898 - During the Spanish-American War, Marines and Sailors from USS Marblehead (C 11) and USS Nashville (PG 7) cut the trans-oceanic cable near Cienfuegos, Cuba, isolating Cuba from Spain. For heroism during this action, 54 Marines and Sailors received the Medal of Honor.

  lordroel,

  That cable must have put up a hell of a fight!   Guessing that there was some attempt to interfere by the Spanish.  Possibly it was close enough that a coastal fortress could fire on the ships during the operation.

  Steve

[lordroel]

May 11, 2020 9:24:05 GMT stevep said:

May 11, 2020 2:52:58 GMT lordroel said:

This Day In United States Naval History - May 11th

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1898 - During the Spanish-American War, Marines and Sailors from USS Marblehead (C 11) and USS Nashville (PG 7) cut the trans-oceanic cable near Cienfuegos, Cuba, isolating Cuba from Spain. For heroism during this action, 54 Marines and Sailors received the Medal of Honor.

  lordroel,

  That cable must have put up a hell of a fight!   Guessing that there was some attempt to interfere by the Spanish.  Possibly it was close enough that a coastal fortress could fire on the ships during the operation.

  Steve

I think it is this battle stevep: Battle of Cárdenas

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 12th

1780 - The city of Charleston, S.C., falls to the British when Continental Gen. Benjamin Lincoln surrenders during the American Revolution. Three Continental Navy frigates (Boston, Providence, and Ranger) are captured; and one American frigate (Queen of France) is sunk to prevent capture.

1938 - USS Enterprise (CV 6) is commissioned. Notable service during WWII include the Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal Campaign, Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the Okinawa Campaign, where she was badly damaged by a kamikaze strike.

1942 - USS Massachusetts (BB 59) is commissioned. She serves in both the Atlantic and Pacific during World War II, notably participating in Operation Torch, Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the bombing of the Japanese homeland.

1975 - SS Mayaguez, a tanker ship, is seized by Khmer Rouge, the Communist party of Kampuchea, and is escorted to Koh Tang Island with her 39 crew. President Gerald Ford sends in Marines who meet heavy resistance, but after crew is found safe, they retreat, although three Marines are inadvertently left behind and killed.

1986 - USS David R. Ray (DD 971) deters an Iranian Navy frigates attempt to board SS President McKinley in the Gulf of Oman.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 13th

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1846 - Congress declares war against Mexico. Commodore David Conner is responsible for the landing of the Army at Vera Cruz. In April 1847, Commodore Matthew C. Perry relieves Conner. On Feb. 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed ending hostilities.

1908 - The Navy Nurse Corps is established by Public Law No. 115, though nurses have been volunteering onboard Navy ships prior to the Civil War.

1908 - The Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, later called Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, is authorized for the enlargement and dredging of the Pearl Harbor channel and locks to admit the largest ships as it becomes a coaling station for the U.S. Navy.

1944 - USS Francis M. Robinson (DE 220) sinks Japanese submarine RO 501 (ex-German U 1124) en route to Japan on her maiden voyage, 400 miles south-southwest of the Azores.

1964 - The first all nuclear-powered task group, USS Enterprise (CVAN 65), USS Long Beach (CGN 9) and USS Bainbridge (DLGN 25), is organized and deploys to the Sixth Fleet. The task group departs in July and circumnavigates the globe without refueling, returning that October.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 14th

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1801 - Tripoli declares war on the United States for not increasing the annual tribute paid as protection money to prevent raids on its ships. Within a week, a squadron with USS President, USS Philadelphia and USS Essex sets sail to protect American interests.

1836 - Congress authorizes the U.S. Exploring Expedition to conduct an exploration of the Pacific Ocean and South Seas, making the first major US scientific expedition overseas. Lt. Charles Wilkes leads the expedition to survey South America, Antarctica, the Far East, and the North Pacific in his flagship USS Vincennes.

1919 - The Marine detachment from USS Arizona (BB 39) guards the U.S. consulate at Constantinople, Turkey, during the Greek occupation of the city.

1944 - USS Bonefish (SS 223) attacks a Japanese convoy bound for Sibitu Passage, Borneo, and sinks Japanese destroyer Inazuma near TawiTawi, east of Borneo and survives counter-attacks by Japanese destroyer Hibiki. Also on this date, USS Aspro (SS 309) and USS Bowfin (SS 287) attack a Japanese convoy and sinks cargo ship BisanMaru.

1945 - German submarine (U 858) arrives at Cape May, Del., after surrendering at sea four days earlier. USS Pillsbury (DE 133) and USS Pope (DE 134) arrive later that day, take over the boat, place U.S. Navy crew on board, and remove 1/2 of her German crew, including three of her four officers. (U 858) is later scuttled off the coast of New England during torpedo trials.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 15th

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1800 - The frigate USS Essex, commanded by Capt. Edward Preble, arrives in Batavia, Java, to escort United States merchant ships. During her journey, she is the first U.S. Navy warship to cross the Equator and the first U.S. man-of-war to double the Cape of Good Hope.

1930 - The streamlined submarine (V 5) is commissioned, then named Narwhal in Feb. 1931, and receives the hull number (SS 167) that July. During World War II, Narwhal participates in 15 war patrols, serving in the Pacific Theatre, earning 15 battle stars.

1939 - A contract is issued to Curtiss-Wright for the XSB2C-1 dive bomber, thereby completing action on a 1938 design competition. Retired from the active Navy in 1947, SB2Cs continues to serve in the reserves until 1950.

1942 - The first Naval Air Transport Service flight across the Pacific takes place.

1944 - PBY-5 Catalina aircraft from (VP 63) and British escort vessels HMS Kilmarnock and HMS Blackfly sink German submarine U 731 off Tangiers.

1969 - The pre-commissioned submarine Guitarro (SSN 665) accidentally sinks while moored at U.S. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Calif. Due to the damage, her commissioning date is rescheduled to Sept. 1972.