This Day In United States Naval History

[lordroel]

Mar 5, 2020 16:32:53 GMT stevep said:

Mar 5, 2020 4:02:50 GMT lordroel said:

This Day In United States Naval History - March 5th

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1942 - The "Seabees" name and insignia are officially authorized. Rear Adm. Ben Moreell personally furnishes them with their official motto: Construimus, Batuimus -- "We Build, We Fight."

1943 - Auxiliary aircraft carrier USS Bogue (ACV 9) begins the first anti-submarine operations by an escort carrier in the Atlantic as the nucleus of the pioneer American anti-submarine hunter-killer group.

1945 - USS Sea Robin (SS 407) sinks three Japanese gunboats and USS Bashaw (SS 241) sinks two Japanese tankers.

1960 - USS Newport News (CA 148) and personnel from Port Lyautey complete emergency relief operations at Agadir, Morocco after Feb. 29 earthquake.

2005 - USS Nitze (DDG 94) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is named after former Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze, who was in attendance for the ship's launching and christening in April 2004, but died before the commissioning ceremony.

  Slightly dubious that as Britain started earlier with HMS_Audacity back in 1941,  unless the USN is arguing that their only refering to trans-Atlantic convoys and no other British CVEs were active before Bogue.  Which seems unlikely as there were others produced in 1941-42, see WWII Escort_carriers for more details.

Well you now the Americans, they tend to take credit for a lot and forget some facts along the way.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - March 6th

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1822 - The schooner Enterprise captures four pirate ships in the Gulf of Mexico. During her time in the Gulf, Enterprise takes 13 vessels while suppressing pirates, smugglers, and slaves.

1943 - Task Force 68, commanded by Rear Adm. Aaron S. Merrill, bombards Vila and Munda, Solomons and sinks Japanese destroyers Minegumo and Murasame in the Kula Gulf. For his leadership, Adm. Merrill earned both the Legion of Merit and the Navy Cross.

1944 - USS Nautilus (SS 168) attacks a Japanese convoy approximately 240 miles north-north west of Saipan and sinks transport (ex-hospital ship) America Maru.

1960 - USS Kearsarge (CVS 33) rescues four Russian soldiers from their landing craft 1,000 miles from Midway Island, which had been drifting several weeks after their engine failed off Kamchatka Peninsula.

1986 - MV 1st LT Jack Lummus (AK-3001) is acquired by the Navy and placed into service under Military Sealift Command, becoming one of MSCs 17 container and roll-on/roll-off ships in its prepositioning program. The ship is purchased by MSC Jan. 17, 2006 and redesignated USNS 1st LT Jack Lummus (T-AK-3011).

1991 - President George H. W. Bush addresses a joint session of Congress and states, "I can report to the nation: Aggression is defeated. The war is over."

2010 - USS Dewey (DDG 105) is commissioned at Seal Beach, Calif. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is named after former Adm. of the Navy George Dewey, hero of the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War of 1899.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 7th

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1778 - Continental frigate Randolph explodes while attacking HMS Yarmouth off the coast of Barbados, killing all but four of her 305 crew.

1942 - USS Grenadier (SS 210) torpedoes Japanese Asahisan Maru south of Shioya Saki, causing damage to the transport ship.

1956 - The fleet assignment of the all-weather fighter, F3H-2N Demon, begins with the delivery of six to VF-14 at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Fla.

1958 - USS Grayback (SSG 574) is commissioned. She is the first submarine built from the keel up with guided missile capability to fire the Regulus II missile.

1994 - The Navy issues the first orders for women to be assigned on board a combatant ship, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69).

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 8th

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1822 - Crew from the schooner Enterprise capture and burn seven small pirate vessels off Cape Antonio, Cuba.

1862 - The ironclad CSS Virginia destroys the wooden ships USS Cumberland and USS Congress in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

1943 - PBY-5 Catalinas from VP-53 sink German submarine U 156 east-northeast of Trinidad.

1945 - Phyllis Daley becomes the first African-American ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps and serves at the Naval Dispensary at Boston, Mass.

1945 - Navy patrol bombers hit a Japanese convoy, sinking cargo vessel No. 21 Yusen Maru in Formosa Strait.

1950 - Operation Portrex begins. The two-week-long exercise is the first use of airborne troops in support of an amphibious landing and takes place on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico.

1961 - USS Patrick Henry (SSBN 599) returns from patrol to become the first ballistic missile submarine to use Holy Loch, Scotland, as a refit and upkeep anchorage.

2009 - USNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE 8) is christened and launched at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, Calif.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - March 9th

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1847 - An Army-Navy force begins the siege of Veracruz, Mexico. Approximately 12,000 U.S. troops land on the beaches, along with their horses, mules, artillery, and supplies. Veracruz surrenders March 29, and the forces make their way to Mexico City.

1862 - In the first battle between ironclads, USS Monitor and CSS Virginia engage in close combat in Hampton Roads, Va. Neither side could claim victory, but it eventually ends the era of wooden ships.

1919 - The first flight from a battleship platform is made by Lt. Cmdr. Edward O. McDonnell in a Sopwith Camel from turret No. 2 of USS Texas (BB 35) while anchored at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

1944 - USS Lapon (SS 260), while pursuing a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, sank two freighters and survived a counterattack by Japanese gunboat.

1952 - USS Samuel N. Moore (DD 747) and HMS Morecambe Bay silence enemy shore batteries firing at USS Merganser (AMS-26) near Songjin, Korea.

1991 - USS Cowpens (CG 63) is commissioned in Charleston, S.C. The 17th of her 27-ship Ticonderoga-class of guided-missile cruisers, Cowpens is homeported at Naval Base San Diego.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 10th

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1783 - The last naval action of the American Revolution takes place when the Continental frigate Alliance, commanded by Capt. John Barry, battles HMS Sybil south of Cape Canaveral, Fla. Sybil is damaged in the fight and returns to the two warships that did not join in the battle.

1933 - The Pacific Fleet provides assistance after an earthquake at Long Beach, Calif.

1943 - USS Savannah (CL 42) and USS Eberle (DD 430) intercept German blockade runner Karin in the South Atlantic. After boarding the ship, a timed explosion goes off, killing 11 of Eberles boarding party.

1945 - The Navy and civilian nurses interned at Los Banos, Philippines as prisoners of war since early January 1942 are flown back to U.S. The Navy nurses are later awarded the Bronze Star for their time in captivity.

1948 - The carrier suitability of the FJ-1 Fury jet fighter is tested aboard USS Boxer (CV 21) off San Diego, with a number of landings and takeoffs.

2001 - USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The 31st destroyer of the Arleigh Burke-class is the fourth U.S. Navy warship to be named after a British citizen. Churchill has a Royal Naval officer assigned permanently to the ship and she flies the Royal Navys White Ensign as well as the Stars and Stripes.

2001 - USNS Pomeroy (T-AKR-316) is christened and launched at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, Calif.

2007 - USS New Orleans (LPD 18) is commissioned at New Orleans, La. The second of the 12-ship San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock warships, New Orleans is homeported at Naval Base San Diego.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 11th

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1778 - During the American Revolution, the Continental frigate Boston captures the British ship Martha in the North Atlantic.

1845 - George Bancroft takes office as the 17th Secretary of the Navy. Although he serves in that position only 18 months, he establishes the Naval Academy at Annapolis and encourages the growth and importance of the Naval Observatory.

1941 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act, which permits delivery of war materials to Allied Powers on credit or lease.

1942 - Lt. John Bulkeley, commander of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, helps Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Rear Adm. Francis W. Rockwell, as well as their families and others, escape the Philippines in motor torpedo boats PT 32, PT 34, PT 35, and PT 41. For this action, along with other operations in the Philippines during the start of World War II, he receives the Medal of Honor.

1945 - The US Navy begins use of LCVPs (Landing Craft, Personal Vehicles) to ferry troops across the Rhine River at Bad Neuenahr, Germany.

1965 - Operation Market Time (Coastal Patrol Force) patrols begin off the South Vietnam coast. The objective is to interdict enemy efforts moving supplies to South Vietnam by sea.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 12th

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1864 - During the Civil War, Union screw gunboat Aroostook captures the schooner Marion near Velasco, Texas and the screw steamer Massachusetts captures the sloop Persis in Wassaw Sound, Ga.

1904 - The Marine detachment from USS Cincinnati (C 7) provides protection and assistance during the evacuation of Americans from Chemuplo (Inchon) and Seoul, Korea, when they are endangered by the Russo-Japanese War.

1943 - USS Champlin (DD-601) sinks German submarine U-130, which had previously sunk 25 Allied vessels, including three US Navy ships during Operation Torch.

1956 - The first missile firing aircraft squadron, Attack Squadron 83, is deployed overseas aboard USS Intrepid (CVA 11).

2018 - Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer named the next Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in honor of Marine Corps Vietnam veteran and Navy Cross recipient Lance Cpl. Patrick Gallagher.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 13th

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1941 - USS Ericsson (DD 440) is commissioned. She is the third US Navy warship named for Swedish inventor John Ericsson.

1944 - Torpedo bomber aircraft from Composite Squadron Ninety-Five (VC 95) based on board escort carrier Bogue (CVE 9), along with USS Hobson (DD 464) and USS Haverfield (DE 393), Canadian frigate HMCS Prince Rupert and RAF Flying Fortress (No. 220 Squadron) sink German submarine U 575 in the North Atlantic.

1952 - During the Korean War, counter-battery engagements by USS Manchester (CL 83), USS James E. Kyes (DD 787), USS McGinty (DE 365) and USS Douglas H. Fox (DD 779) are supported by aircraft from Task Force 77 silence enemy guns at Kalmagak during the Siege of Wonsan.

1963 - USS Albany (CG-10) and aircraft from Navy Airborne Early Warning Squadron Four aid five ill crewmembers of Norwegian freighter Jotunfjell.

1982 - USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) is commissioned at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp, Newport News, Va. The warship is the third in the Nimitz-class of aircraft carriers and is homeported at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif.

1993 - USS Montpelier (SSN 765) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk, her homeport. The boat is the 15th in the Los Angeles-Improved class of attack submarines.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 14th

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1863 - A squadron of ships led by Rear Adm. David G. Farragut passes the heavy batteries at Port Hudson, La., to establish blockade of Red River supply lines during the Civil War. USS Mississippi becomes grounded, catches fire and blows up, killing 64.

1929 - During the Elba, Ala., flooding, Navy planes from Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., make 113 flights carrying relief supplies and conducting rescues to flooded towns in southern Alabama and western Florida.

1945 - USS Cotten (DD 669) and USS Dortch (DD 670) sink the Japanese guardboats Futa Maru and No.17 Kaiko Maru off the Bonin Islands.

1945 - During the Battle for Iwo Jima, Marine Pvt. George Phillips and Pvt. Franklin E. Sigler each perform acts of conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life. Both are awarded Medals of Honors, Phillips receives his posthumously.

1945 - USS Bream (SS 243) sinks the Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Kihin Maru in the Java Sea, south of Borneo. Also on this date, USS Trepang (SS 412) sinks the Japanese guardboat Kaiko Maru off Inubo Saki, Japan.

1964 - USS Sacramento (AOE 1) is commissioned at Seattle, Wash. She is the first-of-class Combat Supply Ship that combines the characteristics of an oiler, ammunition and supply ship.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - March 15th

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1889 - A typhoon strikes Apia, Samoa, where American, German and British ships are protecting their national interests. The typhoon drives USS Trenton, USS Vandalia, and USS Nipsic ashore, killing 51 crew members, and sinks all three German ships with the loss of 150 crew.

1943 - U.S. 7th Fleet is established in Brisbane, Australia during WWII, under the command of Adm. Arthur S. "Chips" Carpender.

1944 - USS Shamrock Bay (CVE 84) is commissioned. During World War II, she serves in the Atlantic and is sent to the Pacific due the loss of escort carriers and participates in the Okinawa Campaign.

1947 - Ensign John W. Lee, Jr., becomes the first African-American with a commission in the regular Navy and serves on board USS Kearsarge (CV 33).

1953 - Marine pilots of VMA 312 destroy eight rail cars, two possible radar towers, a power transformer and numerous other assorted targets in Korea before returning to USS Bataan (CVL 29).

1957 - A ZPG-2 airship driven by Cmdr. Jack R. Hunt lands at Naval Air Station Key West, Fla., after a flight that began March 4 at South Weymouth, Mass., then circled over the Atlantic Ocean toward Portugal, the African coast and back for a new world record in distance and endurance, covering 9,448 statute miles and remaining airborne 264 hours 12 minutes without refueling.

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This Day In United States Naval History - March 16th

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1944 - PBY-5A (VP 63) seaplanes, employing magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) gear, detect German submarine U 392 while attempting to transit the Straits of Gibraltar. The sub is attacked and sunk by nearby allied ships.

1945 - During the Iwo Jima Campaign, Pharmacists Mate 1st Class Francis J. Pierce provides aid to a wounded Marine while disregarding his own injuries and directs treatment of the injured man and fires on the enemy to provide cover for his fellow troops. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life," he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

1952 - During the Korean War, USS Wisconsin (BB 64) and USS Duncan (DDR 874) engage in counter-battery fire at Dojo-ri, Korea, making two direct hits on enemy guns.

1963 - The Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship USS Guadalcanal (LPH 7) is launched at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

1966 - Gemini 8 launches. Former naval aviator Neil Armstrong and Air Force Maj. David R. Scott are on this mission that completes seven orbits in 10 hours and 41 minutes at an altitude of 161.3 nautical miles.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - March 17th

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1898 - John Hollands submarine, Holland IV, performs the first successful diving and surfacing tests off Staten Island, N.Y.

1944 - USS Block Island (CVE 21) torpedo bomber aircraft from Composite Squadron (VC 6), along with USS Corry (DD 463) and USS Bronstein (DE 189), sink German submarine U 801 west of Cape Verdes.

1945 - USS Sealion (SS 315) sinks Bangkok-bound Thai oiler Samui off Trengganu coast, while USS Spot (SS 413) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks army cargo vessel Nanking Maru off Yushiyama Island and damages cargo Ikomasan Maru, beached off Matsu Island.

1958 - The Naval Research Laboratory satellite Vanguard 1 is launched into orbit to test the capabilities of a three-stage launch vehicle and effects of the environment on a satellite and its systems in Earths orbit.

1959 - USS Skate (SSN-578) becomes the first submarine to surface at the North Pole, traveling 3,000 miles in and under Arctic ice for more than a month.

1962 - USS Raleigh (LPD-1), the Navys first amphibious transport dock, is launched at New York Naval shipyard.

2018 - USS Colorado (SSN 788), the first submarine to bear the name and third vessel to be named for the state and was brought to life by her sponsor, Annie Maybus Mabus, daughter of the 75th Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - March 18th

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1901 - During the Philippine Insurrection, USS Vicksburg (Gunboat #11), commanded by Cmdr. E.B. Barry, begins supporting the U.S. Armys operations under Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston around Kasiguran Bay and Palanan Bay, Luzon, Philippines.

1945 - Four destroyers, USS Menges (DE 320), USS Mosely (DE 321), USS Pride (DE 323) and USS Lowe (DE 325), sink the German submarine U 866 south of Nova Scotia.

1945 - Planes from Task Force 58 attack airfields on southern Kyushu and shipping lanes, including a Japanese convoy escorted by Coast Defense Vessel No. 29 and submarine chaser Ch 58.

1974 - As a part of the cease fire between Egypt and Israel after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Task Force 56 is sent to sweep mines from the northern part of the Suez Canal as part of Operation Nimble Star.

1989 - USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) is commissioned at Portland, Maine. Named for the naval World War II Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser is homeported in Mayport, Fla.

1991 - The first ship supporting Operation Desert Shield/Storm, combat store ship USS Sylvania (AFS 2), returns back to Norfolk, Va. While supporting Desert Shield/Storm, Sylvania delivered 19,000+ pallets of cargo (equaling 20,500 tons of supplies), answered 30,000+ requisitions, and delivered spare parts and food sustaining 35,000+ sailors aboard 150 ships.

1995 - USS Laboon (DDG 58), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is commissioned.

2006 - While conducting maritime security operations as part of Combined Task Force 150 in the Indian Ocean, USS Cape St. George (CG 71) and USS Gonzalez (DDG 66) return fire on a group of pirates, killing one and wounding five. The incident occurs about 25 nautical miles off the central eastern coast of Somalia in international waters.

[lordroel]

This Day In United States Naval History - March 19th

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1898 - USS Oregon departs San Francisco for the 14,000 mile trip around South America to join more U.S. ships off Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

1918 - Ensign Stephen Potter is the first American to shoot down an enemy seaplane, a German plane off the German coast during World War I.

1924 - Curtis D. Wilbur takes office as the 43rd Secretary of the Navy, where he gains his greatest achievements in enlarging and modernizing the fleet, and establishing a naval air force that would become an overwhelming force during World War II.

1942 - Secretary of Navy James V. Forrestal places the newly-established construction battalions, later called Seabees, under the command of officers with the Civil Engineer Corps who are trained in the skills required for the performance of construction work.

1944 - TBF and FM-2 aircraft from Composite Squadron (VC 6) onboard USS Block Island (CVE 21) sink German submarine U 1059 west-southwest of Dakar.

1945 - Submarine USS Balao (SS 285) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks one troopship and three fishing vessels and damages another off the Yangtze estuary about 90 miles north-northwest of Shanghi.

1945 - As Fast Carrier Task Force 58 planes bomb Kure and Kobe Harbors, Japanese aircraft single out the US Navy carriers for attack. USS Wasp (CV 18), USS Essex (CV 9), and USS Franklin (CV 13) are hit. After struck by a second bomb, Franklin suffers subsequent explosions on the flight and hangar decks. Heroic work by her crew, assisted by nearby ships, bring the fires and flooding under control. For their actions during this occasion, both Lt. Cmdr. Joseph T. OCallaghan and Lt.j.g. Donald A. Gary receive the Medal of Honor.

1969 - While serving with Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, at Phu Loc 6 in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class David R. Ray is killed in action while providing medical aid to injured Marines during an enemy attack on his unit. Petty Officer Ray is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in that action.

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.