This Day In United States Naval History

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This Day In United States Naval History - January 25th

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1941 - The keel to USS Wisconsin (BB 64) is laid. Commissioned in April 1944, she serves during the later stages of World War II in the Pacific. She is now a museum battleship stationed in Norfolk, Va.

1943 - USS Shad (SS 235) encounters German blockade runners transporting ore in the Bay of Biscay. Shad fires on Nordfels, but the torpedo fails to explode, and Nordfels returns to Bilbao, Spain.

1945 - USS McLanahan (DD 615) shells the German command post on the Italian Rivera and silences the shore battery.

1945 - USS Silversides (SS 236), despite the presence of auxiliary submarine chasers, sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Malay Maru off Kuro Jima.

1952 - High speed transport ship USS Wantuck (APD 125 ) under CTF 95 OpControl, lands South Korean troops at night for demolition raid on enemy rail line, tunnels and bridges east coast of Korea.

1963 - The 1st Seabee Technical Assistance Team arrives in Vietnam. By the end of 1964, 14 teams are operating or have completed their six-month tours.

1986 - Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine USS Alaska (SSBN 732) is commissioned.

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This Day In United States Naval History - January 26th

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1913 - The body of John Paul Jones is laid in its final resting place in the Chapel of the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

1943 - USS Wahoo (SS 238) sinks entire convoy of four Japanese supply ships north of New Guinea.

1944 - USS Skipjack (SS 184) sinks the Japanese destroyer Suzukaze and the aircraft ferry Okitsu Maru in the Caroline Islands area. Also on this date, USS Hake (SS 256) sinks the Japanese auxiliary netlayer Shuko Maru off Ambon and USS Crevalle (SS 291) sinks the Japanese gunboat Busho Maru 175 miles southeast of Cape St. Jacques, French Indochina.

1949 - USS Norton Sound (AVM-1), the first guided-missile ship, launched the first guided-missile, Loon.

1960 - Destroyer USS John S. McCain (DL-3) rescues the entire 41-man crew of the sinking Japanese freighter, Shinwa Maru, in the East China Sea.

1991 - Fast Attack Submarine USS Scranton (SSN 756) is commissioned.

2019 - The Navy's newest Zumwalt-class destroyer, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), was commissioned Jan. 26 at Naval Air Station North Island, California.

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This Day In United States Naval History - January 27th

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1778 - During the American Revolution, the Continental sloop Providence, commanded by Capt. O. P. Rathburne, attacks New Providence Island, spikes the guns of the fort, captures small arms, holds off the sloop of war Grayton, and captures a privateer and five other vessels, while freeing 20 released American prisoners.

1942 - Submarine USS Gudgeon (SS-211) becomes the first US Navy submarine to sink an enemy Japanese submarine in action during World War II.

1945 - Destroyer USS Higbee (DD-806) is commissioned. She is the first U.S. Navy combat ship to bear the name of a female member of the naval service.

1952 - US Navy carrier aircraft cut the Korean railroad, a constant target during the Korean War, in 165 places, a record for a single days aircraft operations by Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 77).

1967 - Tragedy strikes the Apollo space program when a flash fire occurs in command module 012 during a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle being prepared for the first piloted flight, the AS-204 mission. Three astronauts, Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, a veteran of Mercury and Gemini missions; Lt. Col. Edward H. White, the astronaut who had performed the first United States extravehicular activity during the Gemini program; and (Navy LCDR) Roger B. Chaffee, an astronaut preparing for his first space flight, die in this tragic accident.

1973 - The Paris Peace Accords are signed, ending U.S. participation in the Vietnam War.

1996 - Coastal Patrol Ship USS Shamal (PC 13) is commissioned.

2014 - Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) is officially placed in commission and immediately departs the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., where she was built. She was en route to Coronado, Calif. where a formal commissioning ceremony was held April 5, 2014.

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This Day In United States Naval History - January 28th

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1865 - Confederate torpedo boat St. Patrick strikes the side-wheel gunboat USS Octorara, off Mobile Bay, but her spar torpedo fails to explode.

1944 - PB4Y-1 (VB 103) aircraft sink German submarine, U 271, off Limerick, Ireland.

1945 - Submarine USS Spadefish (SS 411) attacks Japanese convoy west of Chuja Kundo, Korea and sinks escort vessel Kume and transport Sanuki Maru.

1962 - USS Cook (APD-130) rescues 25 survivors from Panamanian tanker, SS Stanvac Sumatra, which broke in two in the South China Sea.

1986 - The Space Shuttle Challenger tragically explodes early in its boost phase, killing all seven astronauts, including Navy Cmdr. Michael Smith.

1995 - Coastal Patrol Ship USS Chinook (PC 9) is commissioned.

2006 - Guided Missile Destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) is commissioned.

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This Day In United States Naval History - January 29th

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1862 - The storeship USS Supply captures schooner Stephen Hart loaded with a argo of arms and munitions, south of Sarasota, Fla., with cargo of arms and munitions.

1942 - USS Quail (AM 15) bombards Japanese troop concentrations at Longoskawayan Point, Luzon.

1943 - The Battle of Rennell Island begins when Japanese shore-based aircraft attack Task Force 18 cruisers and destroyers covering the movement of transports toward Guadalcanal. USS Chicago (CA 29) is damaged and sinks the next day.

1944 - USS Tambor (SS 198) attacks a Japanese convoy in the Nansei Shoto and sinks freighter Shuntai Maru north of Okinawa.

1944 - The battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) is christened. Built at the New York Navy Yard, her keel was laid on Jan. 6, 1941. After her christening and launching Jan. 29, she is completed rapidly, commissioning on June 11 of the same year, the last battleship to enter active service in the U.S. Navy.

1945 - While loading a cargo of depth charges in Lunga Roads, off Guadalcanal, USS Serpens (AK-97) is destroyed by a massive explosion. All but two of the 198 Coast Guard crewmen, plus 57 Army stevedores are killed.

2017 - Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, 36, of Peoria, Illinois, died Jan. 29 in the Arabian Peninsula of Yemen, of wounds sustained in a raid against al-Qaida.

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This Day In United States Naval History - January 30th

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1862 - The first U.S. Navy ironclad warship, USS Monitor, is launched. Commissioned a month later, she soon engages in battle against CSS Virginia, the first battle between ironclad warships.

1863 - While Landsman Richard Stout is a member of the crew of USS Isaac Smith, which is operating on the Stono River, S.C., Confederate forces ambush and capture the ship. For his brave conduct during this action, in which he is badly wounded, Landsman Stout is awarded the Medal of Honor.

1944 - U.S. Navy ships, including battleship North Carolina, and aircraft, sink nine Japanese vessels.

1944 - PB2Y aircraft (VP 13 and VP 102) from Midway Island carry out nocturnal bombing raids on Wake Island to neutralize Japanese airfield installations. The strike marks the first time Coronados are used as bombers.

1960 - The guided-missile destroyer USS John King (DDG 3) is launched at Bath, Maine.

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This Day In United States Naval History - January 31st

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1944 - The Marshall Island Invasion begins with US Marine and Army troops landing at Kwajalein and Majuro atolls and then on Roi and Namur the following day. Vice Adm. Raymond A. Spruance, Task Force 50, commands the overall operation, while the landing force is under the command of Marine Maj. Gen. Holland M. Smith.

1944 - USS Guest (DD 472) and USS Hudson (DD 475) sink the Japanese submarine I-171 off the Bismarck Archipelago. Also on this date, USS Trigger (SS 237) sinks the Japanese minelayer Nasami and damages a destroyer in the Central Pacific area, while USS Tullibee (SS 284) sinks the Japanese auxiliary netlayer Miro Maru north-northwest of Saipan

1945 - USS Boarfish (SS 327) attacks Japanese HI 88 convoy and sinks freighter Enki Maru 50 miles southeast of Tourance, French Indochina. She also damages a cargo ship that runs aground and 14th Air Force aircraft destroys it the next day.

1961 - Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. becomes first African-American to command a combat ship, USS Falgout (DER 324). By 1976, he attains the rank of vice admiral.

1968 - The main phase of the Tet Offensive begins as Communist Vietnamese troops attack military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam, attempting to incite an uprising in the general populace that will topple the Saigon government.

1981 - The era of Enlisted Naval Aviators comes to a close when the last enlisted pilot, Master Chief Robert K. Jones, retires after 38 years of naval service.

2019- Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced today that the next Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship will be named USS Augusta (LCS 34).

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This Day In United States Naval History - February 1st

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1800 - USS Constellation engages French frigate La Vengeance in a 5-hour battle during the Quasi War.

1902 - USS Plunger (SS-2), the lead ship of the Plunger-class submarine, launches. She is commissioned Sept. 19, 1903, at the Holland Company yard at New Suffolk, Long Island, N.Y. Ensign Chester W. Nimitz is the submarines final commander when Plunger is decommissioned Nov. 6, 1909 at the Charleston Navy Shipyard.

1942 - USS Enterprise (CV 6) and USS Yorktown (CV 5) make the first World War II air strike against the Japanese at their outposts in the Marshall Islands to protect the Trans-Pacific supply route to Australia.

1944 - Three US Navy submarines, Guardfish (SS 217), Hake (SS 256) and Seahorse (SS 304), attack Japanese convoys, sinking a destroyer, cargo ship and another vessel.

1944 - USS Guest (DD 472) and USS Hudson (DD 475) sink the Japanese submarine I-171 off the Bismarck Archipelago.

1945 - USS Jenkins (DD 447), USS OBannon (DD 450), USS Bell (DD 587) and destroyer escort Ulvert M. Moore (DE 442) sink the Japanese submarine RO 115, 125 miles southwest of Manila.

1955 - Task Force 43 is established to plan US Navy Antarctic operations called Operation Deep Freeze.

2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates and is lost with all astronauts due to a failure in the shuttle heat shield protective system on the leading edge of the left wing during its re-entry into the Earths atmosphere.

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This Day In United States Naval History - February 2nd

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1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War and establishes the boundaries between the two republics.

1862 - Capt. David G. Farragut, commander of his flagship, the screw sloop of war Hartford, departs Hampton Roads for Ship Island, Miss., where Farragut takes command of the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron in preparation for the assault on New Orleans.

1938 - While piloting a PBY-2 aircraft in a tactical exercise off California, Lt. Carlton B. Hutchins collides with another VP-11 PBY-2. Remaining at his badly damaged planes controls, Hutchins courageously allows members of his crew to parachute to safety, but is killed in the planes subsequent crash. For his "extraordinary heroism," he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

1942 - USS Seadragon (SS 194) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Tamagawa Maru.

1943 - A Japanese destroyer is damaged, and later scuttled, by a mine laid by US Navy light minelayers off Cape Esperance.

1944 - Destroyer USS Walker (DD 517) sinks Japanese submarine RO 39, 10 miles east of Wotje, Marshall Islands.

2019 - USS South Dakota (SSN 790) became the newest and 17th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine in the U.S. Navy during her commissioning ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London, Feb. 2.

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This Day In United States Naval History - February 3rd

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1863 - The "double-ender" side wheel steam gunboat USS Sonoma captures the blockade running British bark Springbok during the Civil War.

1917 - President Woodrow Wilson, in an address to Congress, severs diplomatic relations with Germany after the country decides on the first of the month to reintroduce the policy of unrestricted U-boat warfare.

1944 - PBY Catalinas and USAAF B-25s 5th Air Force aircraft attack a Japanese convoy west of New Hanover and sink a cargo ship, Nichiai Maru.

1944 - USS Tambor (SS 198) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks Goyu Maru and merchant tanker Ariake Maru about 200 miles southeast of Shanghai.

1990 - Dock Landing Ship USS Comstock (LSD 45) is commissioned.

2017 - The aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN 65) is decommissioned in a ceremony held in the ship's hangar bay, Feb. 3. The ceremony marks the end the ship's nearly 55-year career, and is the first decommissioning of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

2019 - The U.S. Navy commissioned the USS Omaha (LCS 12), the 11th littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the sixth of the Independence-variant design, during a ceremony at Broadway pier in San Diego.

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This Day In United States Naval History - February 4th

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1779 - Capt. John Paul Jones takes command of Bonhomme Richard (formerly Duc de Duras), which was given to the United States by King Louis XVI of France. The name honors Benjamin Franklin, the American commissioner at Paris whose famous almanacs had been published in France under the title Les Maximes du Bonhomme Richard.

1813 - During the War of 1812, the sloop ship Hornet, commanded by James Lawrence, captures and burns the British merchant ship Resolute off Pernambuco, Brazil.

1942 - While the battle for Bataan rages throughout the night, USS Trout (SS-202) loads 20 tons of gold bars and 18 tons of silver coins as ballast to replace the weight of ammunition they had just delivered to US and Philippine forces in Manila.

1944 - Destroyers Charrette (DD 581) and Fair (DE 35) sink Japanese submarine I 175, 100 miles north of Jaluit, Marshall Islands.

1944 - PV-1 Ventura aircraft sink Japanese water tanker Goryu Maru off Emidj Island, Jaluit.

2019 - Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced that the next Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship will be named USS Kingsville (LCS 36).

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This Day In United States Naval History - February 5th

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1813 - During the War of 1812, the frigate Chesapeake chases the British merchant brig Earl Percy ashore on Long Island. Chesapeakes crew saves the Earl Percys crew and the 58 prisoners who are on board.

1854 - The dedication of the first chapel built on Naval property was held at Annapolis, Md.

1942 - USS Bernadou (DD 153), escorting convoy HX 173, rescues 10 survivors of the Belgian freighter Ganda that had been sunk by German submarine U 135 on Jan. 22.

1944 - USS Flasher (SS 249) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taishin Maru off Mindoro. Also on this date, USS Narwhal (SS 167) lands 45 tons of ammunition and cargo to support Filipino guerrilla operations at Libertad, Panay, Philippines.

1962 - USS Stoddard (DD 566) and USS Surfbird (ADG-383) rescue 29 crewmen from the sinking Greek merchant vessel Yanix off Luzon, Philippine Islands.

1971 - Apollo 14 astronauts Capt. Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander, and Cmdr. Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, become the fifth and sixth humans to walk on the moon.

2019 - Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced that the next Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship will be named USS Pierre (LCS 38). The future USS Pierre (LCS 38) is named in honor of the capital city of South Dakota and is the second ship to bear the name.

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This Day In United States Naval History - February 6th

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1862 - During the Civil War, naval forces under Flag Officer A. H. Foote capture strategic Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, breaching the Confederate line and opening the flood gates for the flow of Union power deep into the South.

1922 - The world powers of the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France and Italy, sign the Washington Naval Treaty providing for limitation of naval armament.

1944 - Lt. j.g. Carrell I. "Zoom" Pinnell, in his PB4Y-1 Liberator aircraft, sinks German submarine U-177 west of Ascension Island, in the South Atlantic.

1945 - U.S. Navy submarine USS Pampanito (SS 383) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks merchant tanker Engen Maru about 200 miles northeast of Singapore. Also on this date, USS Spadefish (SS 411) sinks Japanese merchant passenger-cargo ship Shohei Maru off Port Arthur, Korea.

1973 - In accordance with the agreement at the Paris Peace Talks, Navy Task Force 78 begins

1973 - Operation End Sweep, the mine clearance of North Vietnamese waters of mines laid in 1972.

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This Day In United States Naval History - February 7th

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1800 - The frigate Essex, commanded by Capt. Edward Preble, becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to cross the Equator.

1814 - During the War of 1812, the schooner Enterprise and the brig Rattlesnake capture and burn the British merchant brig Rambler in the Caribbean Sea.

1832 - The frigate Potomac, commanded by Capt. John Downes, shells a pirate stronghold at Qualla Battoo, Sumatra, destroying a fort. The day before a Potomac landing party destroys four forts, killing 150 pirates and the pirate leader, Rajah Po Mohamet. The Malays agree not to make further attacks on American ships.

1943 - USS Growler (SS-215) fights a desperate night battle with the Japanese supply ship Hayasaki, during which the boat's commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Howard W. Gilmore rams the enemy ship, badly bending Growler's bow. Wounded by machine gun fire and unable to go below, Gilmore gives the order "Take her down!," sacrificing himself so his submarine could dive to safety. For his "distinguished gallantry and valor" on this occasion and earlier in the patrol, he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted one rank.

1945 - USS Thomason (DE 203) sinks the Japanese submarine RO 55 off Iba, Luzon. USS Bergall (SS 320) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks Coast Defense Vessel No. 53 off Cam Ranh Bay. USS Guavina (SS 362) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks merchant tanker Taigyo Maru, off Saigon, French Indochina while USS Parche (SS 384) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Okinoyama Maru in Tokara Retto.

1955 - Seventh Fleet ships began the evacuation of Chinese nationalists from Tachen Islands.

1965 - During Operation Flaming Dart, USS Coral Sea (CVA 43) and USS Hancock (CVA 19) aircraft attack the North Vietnamese area near Donghoi in response to a Viet Cong attack on the barracks area at Pleiku, South Vietnam.

1984 - Naval Aviator/Astronaut Bruce McCandless II makes the first untethered spacewalk as he flies some 300 feet from the Space Shuttle Challenger in the first test of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).

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This Day In United States Naval History - February 8th

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1862 - During the Civil War, a joint amphibious expedition under the command of Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough and U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Ambrose Burnside captures Roanoke Island, N.C., securing Norfolk Navy Yard and eventually the destruction of CSS Virginia.

1890 - A detachment of USS Omaha Sailors and Marines comes ashore at the town of Hodogaya, Japan, to assist in fighting an extensive fire.

1942 - A Japanese destroyer sinks after being torpedoed by Navy submarine S37 (SS 142) the day before off Makassar.

1943 - USS Snook (SS 279) attacks a Japanese convoy off the west coast of Kyushu and sinks the transport Lima Maru and survives depth charges about 30 miles southeast of Goto Retto.

1953 - USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD 729) conducts counter-battery fire on a gun shelling Korean sampans in the Kojo area, silencing the enemy guns.

1986 - Dock Landing Ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) is commissioned.

1991 - As part of Operation Desert Storm, USS Wisconsin (BB 64) attacks a dozen Iraqi artillery emplacements with 36 rounds of its 16-inch guns in support of a Marine reconnaissance probe into occupied Kuwait.

1991 - Mine Countermeasures Ship USS Champion (MCM 4) is commissioned.