This Day In United States Naval History

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 16th

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1811 - The frigate President, commanded by John Rodgers, exchanges several shots with HMS Little Belt during the night. Each captain claims the other fired first, increasing tensions between the two countries prior to the War of 1812.

1820 - The frigate Congress becomes the first U.S. warship to visit China when she visits Guanhzhou (now Canton).

1919 - Three Curtiss NC seaplanes leave from Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, Canada for the first trans-atlantic flight. Only NC 4 makes the flight successfully reaching the Azores on May 17.

1943 - USS MacKenzie (DD 614) sinks the German submarine (U 182) west of Madeira. Before being sunk, (U 182) sinks five Allied merchant vessels, including the American steam merchant Richard D. Spaight on March 10, 1943.

1944 - USS Franks (DD 554), USS Haggard (DD 555) and USS Johnston (DD 557) sink the Japanese submarine (I 176), 150 miles north of Cape Alexander, Solomon Islands, forcing Japanese to shift the position of their subs in the New-Guinea-Carolines area.

1965 - The first US naval gunfire support in Vietnam is performed by USS Henry W. Tucker (DD-875) as she fires upon the Viet Cong coastal concentrations southeast of Saigon.

1981 - USS Jacksonville (SSN 699), is commissioned at Naval Submarine Base, New London, Groton, Conn. Her first homeport is Norfolk, Va.

1992 - Military Sealift Commands USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) is christened and launched at New Orleans, La.

2015 - Armed Forces Day is celebrated the third Saturday of May. Authorized by President Harry S. Truman in 1950, the single-day event replaces three separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 17th

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1942 - USS Tautog (SS 199) sinks Japanese submarine I-28; USS Triton (SS 201) sinks the Japanese submarine (I 64), and USS Skipjack (SS 184) sinks a Japanese army transport ship.

1943 - Destroyers USS Moffett (DD 362) and USS Jouett (DD 396) sink German submarine U 128, which was credited with sinking 12 Allied merchant vessels, including 4 American ships.

1944 - USS Gleaves (DD 423), USS Hilary P. Jones (DD 427), USS Hambleton (DD 455), USS Rodman (DD 456), USS Emmons (DD 457), USS Macomb (DD 458) and USS Nields (DD 616) and RAF Wellington (No.36 Squadron) sink German submarine U 616 off the coast of Algeria.

1973 - Capt. Robin Lindsay Catherine Quigley becomes the first woman to hold a major Navy command when she assumes command of U.S. Navy Service School, San Diego, Calif.

1987 - USS Stark (FFG-31) is struck by two Iraqi Exocet Missiles in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 Sailors and wounding 21.

1990 - USS Roark (FF-1053) rescues 42 refugees from an unseaworthy craft in the South China Sea.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 18th

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1775 - Col. Benedict Arnold captures a British sloop at St. Johns in Quebec, Canada and renames her Enterprise, the first of many famous ships with that name.

1898 - During the Spanish-American War, boat parties from USS St. Louis and USS Wompatuck, under Capt. Caspar F. Goodrich, cut communication cables at Santiago, Cuba.

1902 - Marines and Sailors from the iron-hulled screw steamer, Ranger go ashore at Panama City, Colombia, to protect US citizen lives and property during an insurrection that results in Panamas eventual independence from Colombia on Nov. 3, 1903.

1944 - USS Wilkes (DD 441) and USS Roe (DD 418), carrying the 1st Battalion 163rd Infantry, land on Wakde, off Dutch New Guinea, securing the island and setting up airstrip for the Southwest Pacific offensive.

1951 - USS Duncan (DDR 874), Brinkley Bass (DD 887), and Leonard F. Mason (DD 852) expend 1,100 rounds of 5-inch ammunition at Wonsan, Korea, on interdiction and counter-battery fire. The ships receive heavy fire from shore batteries on Kalma Gak but are not damaged.

1969 - Apollo 10 is launched with Cmdr. John W. Young as command module pilot and Cmdr. Eugene Cernan as the lunar module pilot. The mission is a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 19th

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1813 - During the War of 1812, the frigate Congress, commanded by John Smith, captures and burns the British merchant brig, Jean, in the Atlantic.

1855 - The screw ship Powhatan lands her Marine guard at Shanghai, China, to protect the lives and property of Americans during a period of unrest.

1882 - Commodore Robert W. Shufeldt, onboard USS Swatara, arrives in Korea to negotiate the first commerce treaty between Korea and a Western power. The treaty is signed on May 22, opening Korea to United States trade.

1944 - USS England (DE 635) sinks Japanese submarine I 16, the first of five submarines the destroyer sinks in a weeks time.

1944 - USS Niblack (DD 424), USS Ludlow (DD 438), and British aircraft sink German submarine U 960 off Oran, Algeria.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 20th

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1815 - Commodore Stephen Decatur sails with his flagship USS Guerriere and a squadron of nine ships for the Mediterranean to suppress piracy. Under strict negotiations, Decatur is able to secure a treaty with the Day of Algiers, His Highness Omar Bashaw, on July 3.

1909 - USS Mississippi (BB 23) arrives at Natchez, Miss., and becomes the first U.S. Navy battleship to visit an inland city.

1943 - The Tenth Fleet is established in Washington D.C., under the command of Adm. Ernest J. King, to coordinate U.S. anti-submarine operations in the Atlantic. Disbanded after WWII, the Tenth Fleet is reactivated in Jan. 2010 as U.S. Fleet Cyber Command.

1944 - USS Angler (SS 240) sinks Japanese transport Otori Maru and survives depth charging by its escort, while both USS Silversides (SS 236) and USS Bluegill (SS 242) sink enemy vessels.

1995 - USS Russell (DDG 59) is commissioned during a ceremony at Pascagoula, Miss. The 9th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is named for Rear Adm. John Henry Russell and his son, Commandant of the Marine Corps John Henry Russell Jr.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 21st

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1917 - During World War I, USS Ericsson (DD 56) becomes the first U.S. Navy warship to fire a torpedo in the war at a German U-boat.

1918 - During World War I, while serving as an officer on USS Christabel (SP-162), Ensign Daniel A.J. Sullivan, exhibits "extraordinary heroism" in securing live depth charges that came loose during combat with a German U-Boat. For his action, he receives the Medal of Honor.

1943 - USS Nields (DD 616) sinks Italian submarine Gorgo that is attacking a US convoy off Algeria.

1944 - During preparations for the invasion of Saipan, accidental ordnance blasts on LST 353 at West Loch, Pearl Harbor, kills 163 and injures 396. Six tank landing ships, three tank landing craft, and 17 track landing vehicles are destroyed in explosions and fires.

1983 - USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) is commissioned at Submarine Base New London, Groton, Conn. She is homeported in San Diego, Calif.

2005 - The first T-AKE ship, USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1), is launched at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego, Calif. The dry cargo ship replaces the aging T-AE ammunition ships and T-AFS combat stores ships that are nearing the end of their service lives.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 22nd

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1912 - Marine Corps 1st Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham reports to the Naval Academy, where he receives flight instruction, later becoming the first Marine Corps pilot. This date is considered the Birthday of Marine Corps Aviation.

1943 - During the battle to protect British Royal Navy Convoy (ON 184) in the North Atlantic, TBFs from (VC 9) based on board USS Bogue (ACV 9) sink German submarine (U 569) and damage (U 305).

1958 - Marine Corps Maj. Edward N. LeFaivre, pilots an F4D-1 Skyray at NAMTC Point Mugu, Calif., scoring five world records in speed climbs up to 3,000, 6,000, 9,000, 12,000, and 15,000 meters with marks of 44.392, 66.095, 90.025, 111.224, and 156.233 seconds.

1967 - New York City reaches an agreement to purchase the New York Naval Shipyard, also known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, after it was closed in 1966.

1968 - USS Scorpion (SSN-589) is lost with her crew south-west of the Azores. In late Oct. 1968, her remains are found on the sea floor more than 10,000 feet below the surface by a deep-submergence vehicle towed from USNS Mizar (T-AGOR-11).

1986 - Military Sealift Commands USNS Sgt. William R. Button (T-AK 3012) is christened and launched. The ship serves as one of 17 Container and Roll-on/Roll-off vessels for the Navy and is part of the 36 ships in the Prepositioning Program.

[stevep]

May 22, 2020 2:10:41 GMT lordroel said:

This Day In United States Naval History - May 22nd

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1943 - During the battle to protect British Royal Convoy (ON 184) in the North Atlantic, TBFs from (VC 9) based on board USS Bogue (ACV 9) sink German submarine (U 569) and damage (U 305).

  lordroel ,

  I was a bit puzzled by the reference to "British Royal Convoy" as it sounded odd so tried looking it up.  Couldn't see any reference to ON 184 and Convoy_battles_of_World_War_II, doesn't mention it at all.  Possibly if no MS were sunk although there are a couple of others in the list with no MS sunk. [Actually wrong here as it just refers to ships sunk, regardless of what type and whether this includes U boats?]  There is an odd gap in the list between 30-4-43 and 22-12-43 in the list however. 

  Checking for USS Bogue it does sink U 569 on the 22-5-43 although doesn't give any name for the convoy.  Assume it was ON 184 which isn't on that link for some reason but still a bit puzzled by the term unless its a typo for British Royal Navy Convoy possibly?  Checked on the U 569 and it was crippled by a couple of a/c from the Bogue, surrendering but the captain scuttling it to avoid its capture - which seems to have resulted in the death of 21 of his crew.

  Steve

[lordroel]

May 22, 2020 11:38:13 GMT stevep said:

May 22, 2020 2:10:41 GMT lordroel said:

This Day In United States Naval History - May 22nd

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1943 - During the battle to protect British Royal Convoy (ON 184) in the North Atlantic, TBFs from (VC 9) based on board USS Bogue (ACV 9) sink German submarine (U 569) and damage (U 305).

  lordroel ,

  I was a bit puzzled by the reference to "British Royal Convoy" as it sounded odd so tried looking it up.  Couldn't see any reference to ON 184 and Convoy_battles_of_World_War_II, doesn't mention it at all.  Possibly if no MS were sunk although there are a couple of others in the list with no MS sunk. [Actually wrong here as it just refers to ships sunk, regardless of what type and whether this includes U boats?]  There is an odd gap in the list between 30-4-43 and 22-12-43 in the list however. 

  Checking for USS Bogue it does sink U 569 on the 22-5-43 although doesn't give any name for the convoy.  Assume it was ON 184 which isn't on that link for some reason but still a bit puzzled by the term unless its a typo for British Royal Navy Convoy possibly?  Checked on the U 569 and it was crippled by a couple of a/c from the Bogue, surrendering but the captain scuttling it to avoid its capture - which seems to have resulted in the death of 21 of his crew.

  Steve

Think you are right and they forgot to add Navy to British Royal Convoy, will fix it.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 23rd

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1850 - USS Advance and USS Rescue sail from New York in a failed attempt to rescue Sir John Franklins Expedition, lost in the Arctic since 1847. Caught in the ice and after tremendous hardship, USS Advance returns on Aug. 20, 1851. Rescue returns Sept. 7.

1939 - USS Squalus (SS 192) suffers a catastrophic main induction valve failure during a test dive off the New Hampshire coast and is partially flooded, killing 26 crew members.

1944 - USS England (DE 635) sinks a Japanese submarine near New Ireland, sinking five submarines in a week.

1944 - USS Brooklyn (CL 40), USS Kearny (DD 432) and USS Ericsson (DD 440) shell enemy positions in vicinity of Ardea, Italy, with good results. The three ships repeat bombardment of troop concentrations and supply dumps on May 24 and 26 with equal success.

2009 - USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) responds to a vessel in distress in the Gulf of Aden and rescues 52 men, women and children who are adrift in a small skiff for approximately seven days.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 24th

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1917 - The first U.S. convoy left Hampton Roads, Va. to cross the North Atlantic after entering World War I. During the 18 months of war while American vessels escort convoys through the war zone, 183 attacks are made by submarines, 24 submarines are damaged and two are destroyed.

1918 - USS Olympia (C 6) is anchored at Kola Inlet, Murmansk, Russia, to protect refugees during the Russian Revolution.

1939 - Vice Adm. Allan McCann's Rescue Chamber is first used to rescue 33 men from the sunken USS Squalus (SS 192). Four Navy divers receive the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions on May 24-25 to rescue the trapped men.

1945 - Patrol bomber PBM aircraft sink Japanese Special Coast Defense Ship No.21 off the China coast, Task Force 58 attacks airfields on southern Kyushu. In return, the Japanese attack U.S. positions and ships at Okinawa and kamikazes strike USS William C. Cole (DE 641), USS Sims (APD 50), LCS (L) 121.

1961 - USS Gurke (DD 783) notices signals from 12 men from Truk Island who are stranded for three months first at sea and then on an island. USS Southerland (DD 743) investigates the situation and notifies Truk Island, and provides provisions and supplies to repair their outrigger canoe. The men are picked up on June 7 by the motor launch Kaselehlia.

1962 - Aurora 7 (Mercury 7) is launched and piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Malcolm Scott Carpenter. Aurora 7 completes three orbits in 4 hours, 56 minutes at an altitude up to 166.8 statute miles at 17,549 mph.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 25th

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1911 - USS Wyoming (BB 32) launches. She is commissioned in Sept. 25, 1912 and later participates in the Veracruz Intervention and World War I.

1943 - Patrol bombers from (VP 84) sink German submarine U 467 south-southeast of Iceland.

1944 - USS Flying Fish (SS 229) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks guardboat Daito Maru and freighter Osaka Maru north of Palau.

1952 - USS Iowa (BB 61) begins shelling industrial and rail centers at Chongjin, Korea. For her Korean War service, she receives two battle stars. USS Iowa is decommissioned in 1990 and is struck from the Navys list in 2006. Iowa is currently a museum ship.

1973 - Skylab 2, the first U.S. manned orbiting space station, launches with all-Navy crew: Capt. Charles Conrad, Jr., Cmdr. Paul J. Weitz and Cmdr. Joseph P. Kerwin.

1985 - USS Alabama (SN 731) is commissioned at Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn.

1999 - Military Sealift Commands Mendonca (T-AKR 303) is christened and launched at New Orleans.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 26th

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1943 - USS Saury (SS 189) attacks a Japanese convoy south of Kyushu and sinks transport Kagi Maru, about 10 miles north of the Nansei Shoto. Also on this date, USS Whale (SS 239) sinks Japanese gunboat Shoei Maru (which is transporting men of the Guam Base Detachment) about 17 miles north-northwest of Rota, Mariana Islands.

1944 - USS England (DE 635) sinks its fifth Japanese submarine in a week, (RO 108), 110 miles northeast of Manus.

1952 - The feasibility of the angled-deck concept is demonstrated in tests conducted on a simulated deck by Naval Air Test Center and Atlantic Fleet pilots using both jet and prop aircraft on board USS Midway (CVB 41).

1958 - Medal of Honor recipient Hospitalman William R. Charette selects the World War II Unknown Serviceman onboard USS Canberra (CAG 2) off the Virginia Capes.

1990 - USS Beaufort (ATS 2) rescues 24 Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea.

2018 - The littoral combat ship USS Manchester (LCS 14) was commissioned as the Navy's newest surface combatant in a ceremony in Portsmouth. The Independence-variant LCS is the Navy's second ship to be named for the city of Manchester, New Hampshire.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 27th

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1862 - USS Bienville captures the British blockade-runner Patras off Bulls Island, S.C. and USS Santiago de Cuba captures the schooner Lucy C. Holmes off Charleston.

1919 - The crew of the Curtiss flying boat NC-4 arrives at Lisbon, Portugal for a stop during its transatlantic flight to Portsmouth, England, arriving May 31.

1942 - Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller receives the Navy Cross for his heroism at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz presents the medal to Miller on board USS Enterprise (CV 6). He is killed when his ship is torpedoed Nov. 24, 1943, during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

1943 - USS Runner (SS 275) departs Midway for her third war patrol but is never heard from again. Overdue and presumed lost in July 1943, she is struck from the Navy list that October.

1945 - USS Tench (SS 417) sinks Japanese freighter Kinei Maru off Kushiro Light, and USS Tigrone (SS 419) sinks Japanese guardboat No.3 Yawata Maru off Tori Jima.

1952 - During the Korean War, USS Douglas H. Fox (DD 779) receives eight to 10 rounds of 76-mm fire off Suwon, Korea. The destroyer returns fire, silencing the gun crew.

1995 - USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) is commissioned at Charleston, S.C. before sailing to her homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Paul Hamilton, named for the third Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton, is the 10th in a class of ship that continues to serve the fleet.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - May 28th

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1813 - During the War of 1812, the frigate Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, and her prize, Georgiana, capture the British whalers Atlantic, Greenwich, Catharine (burned), Rose, and Hector (burned) in the Pacific.

1943 - USS Peto (SS 265) sinks Japanese hydrographic-meteorological research ship Tenkai No.2 northeast of Mussau Island. Also on this date, USS Tunny (SS 282) sinks Japanese gunboat Shotoku Maru off the west coast of Rota, Mariana Islands.

1945 - USS Ray (SS 271) sinks Japanese freighter Biko Maru northwest of Changshan. Also on this date, USS Blueback (SS 326) and USS Lamprey (SS 372) damage Japanese submarine chaser Ch1 in a surface gunnery action off Japara, N.E.I.

1958 - USS Galveston (CLG 3, previously CL 93), the first Talos-firing missile cruiser, is placed in commission. USS Galveston participates in the Vietnam War with the Seventh Fleet and serves in the Mediterranean during the Arab-Israeli War during 1967.

1980 - 55 women become the first female graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy.

2017 - Special Operator 1st Class Remington J. Peters, dies of injuries sustained during an airborne demonstration of the Navy Leap Frogs at Liberty State Park for New York Fleet Week. Peters, a veteran of two combat deployments, was a member of the parachute team for more than a year with more than 900 jumps.