This Day In United States Naval History

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 2nd

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1777 - The frigate, USS Raleigh, commanded by Thomas Thompson, captures the British brig, HMS Nancy, while en route to France to purchase military stores.

1864 - During the Civil War, the 8-gun paddle-wheeler, USS Naiad, engages a Confederate battery at Rowes Landing, La., and silences it.

1918 - U.S. Navy ships and crews assist earthquake victims of Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan.

1940 - As the Battle of Britain intensifies, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull agrees to the transfer 50 warships to the Royal Navy. In exchange, the U.S. is granted land in various British possessions for the establishment of naval or air bases, on ninety-nine-year rent-free leases.

1944 - USS Finback (SS 230) rescues Lt. j.g. George H.W. Bush, who is shot down while attacking Chi Chi Jima. During this time, Lt. j.g. Bush serves with Torpedo Squadron Fifty One (VT 51) based on board USS San Jacinto (CVL 30). Lt. j.g. Bush later becomes the 41st President of the United States.

1945 - More than two weeks after accepting the Allies terms, Japan formally surrenders, marking the end of World War II. The ceremonies, less than half an hour long, take place on board the battleship USS Missouri (BB 63), anchored with other United States and British ships in Tokyo Bay.

1989 - USS Sentry (MCM 3) is commissioned. The Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship is the second to bear that name. USS Sentry moves to its new homeport of Ingleside, Texas, on Aug. 25, 1992.

[gillan1220]

Sept 2, 2020 5:41:30 GMT lordroel said:

1945 - More than two weeks after accepting the Allies terms, Japan formally surrenders, marking the end of World War II. The ceremonies, less than half an hour long, take place on board the battleship USS Missouri (BB 63), anchored with other United States and British ships in Tokyo Bay.

Japanese Surrender in HD Color 1945

We are gathered here, representatives of the major warring powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored.

The issues involving divergent ideals and ideologies have been determined on the battlefields of the world, and hence are not for our discussion or debate.

Nor is it for us here to meet, representing as we do a majority of the peoples of the earth, in a spirit of distrust, malice, or hatred.

But rather it is for us, both victors and vanquished, to rise to that higher dignity which alone befits the sacred purposes we are about to serve, committing all of our peoples unreservedly to faithful compliance with the undertakings they are here formally to assume.

It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past -- a world founded upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice.

The terms and conditions upon which surrender of the Japanese Imperial Forces is here to be given and accepted are contained in the Instrument of Surrender now before you.

As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, I announce it my firm purpose, in the tradition of the countries I represent, to proceed in the discharge of my responsibilities with justice and tolerance, while taking all necessary dispositions to insure that the terms of surrender are fully, promptly, and faithfully complied with.

I now invite the representatives of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters to sign the Instrument of Surrender at the places indicated.

- General Douglas MacArthur on the official signing of Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri, Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 3rd

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1782 - The man-of-warship America is given to France to replace the French ship, Magnifique, which ran aground and was destroyed Aug. 11 while attempting to enter Boston harbor. The ship symbolizes the appreciation for France's service to America and her sacrifices during the American Revolution.

1783 - The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the American Revolution. The United States is acknowledged as a sovereign and independent nation.

1925 - The rigid airship, USS Shenandoah (ZR 1), crashes near Byesville, Ohio. There were fourteen casualties including the Commanding Officer, Lt. Zachary Lansdowne. Twenty-nine crew members survive.

1944 - A PB4Y-1 Liberator plane launches to attack German submarine pens on Helgoland Island. The pilot, Lt. Ralph Spading, sets the radio controls and parachutes out of the Liberator, which is then controlled as a drone by Ensign J.M. Simpson in a PV-1.

1945 - The surrender of the Bonin Islands takes place on board USS Dunlap (DD 384) off Chichi Jima. Lt. Gen. Yoshio Tachibana, the local commander, signs the surrender documents. He is later convicted and executed for a particularly gruesome series of war crimes perpetuated against U.S. aviators who had been captured in the area during 1944-45.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 4th

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1804 - The ketch USS Intrepid, outfitted with a large explosive charge to destroy the enemy fleet in Tripoli harbor, is apparently intercepted while entering the harbor and is destroyed in a violent explosion. Lt. Richard Somers, commanding USS Intrepid, and his dozen volunteer officers and men perish in the mission.

1941 - The German submarine U-652 attacks the destroyer USS Greer (DD 145), which is tracking the submarine southeast of Iceland. Though the destroyer is not damaged in the attack, USS Greers depth charges damage U-652. The attack leads President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue his shoot-on-sight order, directing the Navy to attack any ship threatening U.S. shipping or foreign shipping under escort.

1954 - The icebreakers USS Burton Island (AGB 1) and USCGC Northwind complete the first transit of Northwest Passage through the McClure Strait.

1954 - A P2V-5 Neptune from VP-19 is attacked by two Soviet MiG-15s and crashes in the Sea of Japan, 40 miles off the coast of Siberia. One crewman is lost and the other nine are rescued by a USAF SA-16 amphibian.

1960 - USS Bushnell (AS 15) and USS Penguin (ASR 12) begin relief operations in Marathon, Fla., after Hurricane Donna.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 5th

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1776 - The Continental Navy adopts the first uniforms for naval officers. The dress prescribed was extremely somber and reflected the attitude of the Congress to eliminate the ornate trappings evidenced in the Royal Navy and move towards a democratic society. The naval officers quickly rebelled and demanded a more ornate uniform with dark blue coat and tri-corner hat, colored facings, and cuffs with gold buttons and lace, a uniform strikingly similar to that of the Royal Navy.

1781 - During the Battle of the Virginia Capes, the French prevent the British fleet from entering the Chesapeake Bay to relieve Maj. Gen. Lord Cornwallis' army at Yorktown, Va. After a siege by American and French forces, Cornwallis is forced to surrender on Oct. 19, 1781, leading the British to abandon the effort to prevent American independence.

1813 - The schooner USS Enterprise captures the brig HMS Boxer off Portland, Maine in a 20-minute battle where both commanding officers die in battle.

1918 - The transport, USS Mount Vernon (ID# 4508), is torpedoed by German submarine U-82 off France. Thirty-six of her crew are killed and another 13 are injured, but damage control efforts contain her flooding and keep her underway.

1923 - The U.S. Asiatic Fleet arrives at Yokohama, Japan, to provide medical assistance and supplies after the Great Kanto earthquake, occurs just days prior. On Sept. 1, during the earthquake, Lt. j.g. Thomas J. Ryan rescues a woman from the burning Grand Hotel in Yokohama. For his "extraordinary heroism" on that occasion, he is awarded the Medal of Honor.

1946 - USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB 42), and four escorts visit Greece to underscore U.S. support for the Greek Government which faces a Communist insurgency.

1990 - During Operation Desert Shield, USS Acadia (AD 42) departs San Diego for the first war-time deployment of a male-female crew.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 6th

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1861 - USS Tyler and USS Lexington support Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Army operations against strategic Paducah and Smithland, Ky. The ships mobile firepower assists in the capture of the cities, helping to preserve Kentucky in the Union.

1918 - In the first use of major-caliber naval guns in a land offensive, a U.S. naval railway battery of five, 14-inch guns begin long-range bombardment of German forces near Soissons, France.

1930 - USS Grebe (AM 43) arrives at Santo Domingo with supplies and medicines for victims of a hurricane three days prior. She is joined by USS Gilmer (DD 223) with a party of Marines for relief and rescue work.

1939 - The Navy begins formation of the Neutrality Patrol for the Atlantic Ocean.

1940 - First destroyers transferred to Great Britain at Halifax, Nova Scotia, under "Destroyers-for-Bases" agreement.

1944 - USS Independence (CVL 22) begins the use of a specially trained air-group for night work. This time was the first in which a fully equipped night carrier operated with a fast carrier task force.

1947 - A captured German V 2 rocket from World War II is successfully launched from a ship, fired by USS Midway (CVB 41).

1953 - Exchange of prisoners of war from Korean War called Operation Big Switch ends.

1997 - USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) is commissioned at its homeport of Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. The boat is the last of the Navys 18 Ohio-class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarines.

1997 - USS Hopper (DDG 70) is commissioned at San Francisco, Calif. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is the first ship in the Navy to be named after the pioneering computer scientist Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, often referred to as Grandma COBOL.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 7th

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1775 - During the American Revolution, the British supply ship Unity is taken by the Continental schooner, Hannah, paid for by Army Gen. George Washington. It is the first prize taken by a Continental vessel.

1776 - David Bushnell's submarine Turtle is used by Sgt. Erza Lee to attack HMS Eagle in New York Harbor. Lees efforts to attach a "torpedo" to the ship's hull are frustrated by copper-sheathing, marine growth, perhaps merely a hard spot in the hull, which prevents the drill from boring into the ship bottom and it drifts away.

1797 - USS Constellation, the second of the original six frigates, is launched. Notable service includes the battles between the French frigate, LInsurgente and Vengeance, during the Quasi-War with France; participation in the Barbary Wars where she helps capture the Algerian frigate, Mashuda in 1815; and service in the West Indies Squadron against piracy and slavery.

1825 - The frigate USS Brandywine receives the Marquis de Lafayette on board for return to France after his year-long tour of the United States. The name honors the battle where the Marquis was wounded while serving with the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

1945 - The Japanese surrender the Ryukyu Islands area at the U.S. Tenth Army Headquarters on Okinawa.

2013 - USS Minnesota (SSN 783) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk is the 10th of the Virginia-class submarines and the third Navy vessel to be named after the state of Minnesota.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 8th

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1858 - The sloop-of-war USS Marion captures the American slave ship Brothers off the southeast coast of Africa.

1923 - At Honda Point, Calif., seven destroyers are run aground due to bad weather, strong currents, and faulty navigation. Twenty-three lives are lost during the disaster.

1933 - Six consolidated P2Y 1 flying boats of Patrol Squadron 5, under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Herman Halland, make a record formation distance flight of 2.059 miles from Norfolk, Va. to Coco Solo, Canal Zone in 25 hours and 19 minutes.

1939 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims limited national emergency and increases enlisted strength in the Navy and Marine Corps; also authorizes the recall to active duty of officer, men and nurses on the retired lists of the Navy and Marine Corps.

1944 - On a daring night attack, USS Spadefish (SS 411) attacks a Japanese convoy off Sakishima Gunto and sinks four Japanese vessels.

1954 - The United States signs the Manila Treaty forming the Southeast Asia Treaty (SEATO), which created to block further communist gains and to be a Southeast Asian version of NATO, in which the military forces of each member would be coordinated to provide for the collective defense of the members' country.

1958 - Lt. R. H. Tabor, wearing a Navy-developed pressure suit, completes a 72-hour simulated flight at altitudes as high as 139,000 feet. It was another step in the development of the Navy spacesuit, which NASA accepted in 1959 for use by Mercury astronauts.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 9th

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1841 - Congress authorizes the first iron-hulled warship. Designed by Samuel Hart, USS Michigan launches in December 1843 and serves to protect the Great Lakes.

1943 - Operation Avalanche, Task Force 80 (Western Naval Task Force) under Vice Adm. Henry K. Hewitt, lands the Allied Fifth Army on the assault beaches in the Gulf of Salerno, Italy. Naval gunfire delivers a great volume of counter-battery, interdiction, and neutralization fire m becoming one of the decisive factors in holding the Salerno beachhead.

1944 - USS Bang (SS 385) attacks a Japanese convoy 3905, en route from Tokyo Bay to Chichi Jima, and sinks transport Tokiwasan Maru, and freighter Shoryu Maru.

1945 - Japanese forces in the southern part of Korea surrender in ceremonies held in Seoul, marking the end of three and a half decades of Japanese rule in Korea.

1947 - Lt. Grace Hopper is part of a team that finds a moth that is bugging up the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard. After debugging the system, the moth is affixed to the computer log, where Hopper notes: "First actual case of bug being found." Lt. Hopper later attains the rank of rear admiral.

1961 - USS Long Beach (CG (N) 9) is commissioned at Boston as the first nuclear-power surface warship in history and is assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and home ported at Norfolk, Va.

1989
USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) is commissioned at New London, Conn. The fourth Navy vessel to be named after the Keystone State, the Ohio-class nuclear-powered.

2006 - USS Texas (SSN 775) is commissioned at Newport News, Va. The second Virginia-class attack submarine is the first named for the Lone Star State. Previous ships named Texas have included two battleships and a cruiser.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 10th

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1813 - During the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver H. Perry leads his fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie, flying his "Don't give up the ship" flag on the brig USS Lawrence, which is destroyed during battle. Rowing in open boat to Niagara with survivors, Perry brings the fleet into action and wins the engagement. Reporting on British squadron defeat, he writes: "We have met the enemy and they are ours...."

1846 - John Y. Mason becomes the 18th Secretary of the Navy, serving until March 1849. This term is marked by efforts to sustain the Navy's force in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast, to construct new steamers and an effort to obtain warships thorough the subsidization of civilian mail steamships.

1851 - The paddle frigate USS Mississippi carries Gov. Louis Kossuth and the other refugees of the overthrown government of the Hungarian Republic from Dardanelles to Gibraltar.

1861 - During the Civil War, USS Lexington and USS Conestoga support an armed advance at Lucas Bend, Mo. While supporting the advance, the vessels damage the Confederate gunboat, CSS Jackson, and silence a Confederate battery.

1944 - Submarine USS Sunfish (SS 281) torpedoes and sinks Japanese merchant tanker, Chihaya Maru, east of Quelpart Island.

1945 - USS Midway (CVB/CVA/CV 41) is commissioned as the lead ship of its class. USS Midway is the largest ship in the world until 1955. USS Midway serves for 47 years during the Vietnam War and as the Persian Gulf flagship in 1991's Operation Desert Storm. In 1992, USS Midway is decommissioned and is now a museum ship at the USS Midway Museum, in San Diego, CA.

2017 - Hurricane Irma makes landfall as a Category 4 storm in the Florida Keys, and makes landfall a second time the same day on Marco Island on the state's Gulf Coast. The Navy responds by sending USS Wasp (LHD 1), USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), USS New York (LPD 21), USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and 16 aircraft to provide humanitarian assistance that lasts until Sept. 19.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 11th

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1814 - During the Battle of Lake Champlain, Commodore Thomas Macdonough anchors his ships in a position that the British squadron attacks head on, using only a few guns at a time. The British squadron is defeated, ending the final invasion of the British in the northern states. USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), a guided missile cruiser, is named after the famous battle.

1942 - Pharmacists Mate First Class Wheeler B. Lipes performs an emergency appendectomy on Seaman 1st Class Darrell D. Rector on board USS Seadragon (SS 194) on patrol in the South China Sea.

1943
During the Salerno, Italy operations, USS Savannah (CL 42) is hit by a German guided bomb. The explosion kills nearly 200 of her crew, but she remains under her own power to return to the U.S. for repairs.

1944 - USS Albacore (SS 218) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser (Cha 165) off Kyushu, Japan, while USS Finback (SS 230) sinks Japanese army cargo ship, Hassho Maru, and merchant cargo ship, No. 2, Hakuun Maru, north of Chichi Jima. Also on this date, USS Pargo (SS 264) sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer, Hinoki Maru, in Java Sea.

1982 - USS Michigan (SSGN 727) is commissioned at Groton, Conn. The second Ohio-class nuclear-powered guided missile submarine, it is the third Navy vessel to honor the State of Michigan.

2001 - American Airlines Flight 77 is hijacked by terrorists and hits the Pentagon, causing 184 fatalities. Specific to DON, the fatalities are: 33 military personnel, six civilians, and three contractors. American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 hit the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, New York City. United Airlines Flight 93 goes down in Shanksville, Pa., after passengers engage the hijackers.

2010 - USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11) is christened and launched and now operated by the Military Sealift Command. The dry cargo/ammunition ship provides ammunition, food, repair parts, stores and small quantities of fuel for the U.S. Marine Corps. The ship is named for Capt. Washington Chambers, a pioneer in US naval aviation.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 12th

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1804 - In the First Barbary War, the frigates USS Constellation and USS President capture two ships while attempting to enter the harbor during the blockade of Barbary ports, while the brig USS Argus, and USS Constellation later capture a third vessel attempting to enter.

1855 - Marines and Sailors from the frigate USS John Adams land at Nukulau, Fiji Islands to seek owed debt to Americans from the King of Fiji, Cakobau. Refusing, he appeals to the American Ambassador in Australia. After years of refusal, Fiji becomes a British possession in 1874 instead.

1942 - The Brazilian Navy is placed under operational control of the US Navy. The Navy is commanded by Vice Adm. Jonas H. Ingram as Commander, South Atlantic Force, Atlantic Fleet.

1944
USS Growler (SS 215) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese destroyer Shikinami 240 miles south of Hong Kong, and escort vessel Hirado 250 miles east of Hainan Island.

1944 - USS Noa (APD 24) and USS Fullam (DD 474) collide off the Palau Islands. Despite this, USS Fullam, not only rescues all of USS Noa's men, but she also carries out daily shore bombardment and night harassing fire, as well as underwater demolition.

1966 - Gemini 11 is launched. Gemini 11's Commander is Charles Conrad Jr., Command Pilot. The mission lasts two days and 23 hours and includes 44 orbits at an altitude of 1368.9 km. An HS-3 helicopter from USS Guam (LPH 9) recovers the crew.

1987 - USS Key West (SSN 722) is commissioned at her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Va. Following the ceremony, the 35th Los Angeles-class attack submarine made a trip down to its name-sake city at Key West, Fla. The boat is the third US Navy vessel to be named after the nations southern-most city.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 13th

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1803 - Commodore John Barry dies at Philadelphia, Pa., having served in numerous commands and over vessels in the Continental Navy during the American Revolution and in the newly formed U.S. Navy.

1814 - During the War of 1812, the British bomb Fort McHenry at Baltimore Harbor for 25 hours. The sight of Fort McHenry's flag and the British withdrawing from Baltimore the next morning inspires Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner.

1847 - During the Mexican-American War, Chapultepec - the gateway to Mexico City - is successfully stormed by Marines. The next day they are assigned to duty as guards to the National Palace, called the Halls of Montezuma. This action inspires the first line of the Marine Hymn.

1906 - Sailors and Marines from USS Denver (Cruiser #14) land in Havana at the request of the Cuban government to preserve order during a revolution.

1944 - USS Warrington (DD 383) sinks off the Bahamas in a hurricane. After a prolonged search, numerous Navy vessels rescue only five officers and 68 men of the destroyer's 20 officers and 301 men.

1996 - USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The 62nd and last of the Los Angeles-class attack submarines, USS Cheyenne is the third to be named after Wyomings capital city.

2008 - Hurricane Ike hits Galveston and Houston, Texas. At Galvestons Seawolf Park, a maritime museum, the museum ship USS Stewart (DE 238) and museum submarine USS Cavalla (SS 244), suffer damage as they are thrown out of the water onto land. Both vessels are restored to the prior locations and undergo renovations.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 14th

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1814 - During the War of 1812, the sloop-of-war, Wasp captures and burns the British merchant brig, HMS Bacchus, in the Atlantic. A week later, she captures the brig, Atlanta.

1899 - During the Philippine Insurrection Campaign, the gunboat, USS Concord, and the monitor, USS Monterey, capture two insurgent schooners at Aparri, Philippine Islands.

1944 - USS Ludlow (DD 438) fires at an enemy shore battery and also fires direct hits on enemy vessels off Imperia.

1952 - USS Lewis (DE 535) and USS Evansville (PF 70) are fired on by enemy shore batteries off Wonsan, Korea. Their counter-batteries silence the enemy guns.

1971 - USS Wiltsie (DD 716) spots a crippled A-7 Corsair plunging into the Gulf of Tonkin and rescues the pilot from the water.

1976 - While conducting nighttime underway replenishments off Scotland, USS Bordelon (DD 881) loses control and collides with USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). Though suffering extensive superstructure damage with six men injured, USS Bordelon continues under her own power.

1991 - USS Hue City (CG 66) is commissioned at Pascagoula, MS. The 20th of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers, Hue City is the first ship named after a battle of the Vietnam War.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - September 15th

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1942 - USS Wasp (CV 7) is torpedoed by a Japanese submarine while operating in the Southwestern Pacific in support of forces on Guadalcanal. USS O'Brien (DD 415) and USS North Carolina (BB 55) are also struck by torpedoes from the same submarine.

1943 - USS Saufley (DD 465) and a Catalina Patrol Bomber piloted by Lt. W. J. Geritz from Patrol Squadron Twenty Three (VP 23) sinks the Japanese submarine RO-101 100 miles southeast of San Cristobal, Solomons.

1944 - USS Pampanito (SS 383) and USS Sealion (SS 315) rescue 73 British and 54 Australian POWs who survive the loss of Japanese freighter, Rakuyo Maru, after she is sunk by Sealion on Sept. 12, about 300 miles west of Cape Bojeador, Luzon. There had been 1,300 men on board Rakuyo Maru when she is torpedoed.

1950 - During the Korean War, after preliminary naval gunfire and air bombardment on Sept. 13, the First and Fifth Marines go ashore for the Inchon Invasion, which includes US Army and Korean forces.

2012 - USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) is christened and launched at Mobile, Ala. The joint high-speed vessel provides rapid transport of military equipment and personnel in theater.