Naval/Maritime History 19th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
14 December 1907 – The Thomas W. Lawson, the largest ever ship without a heat engine, runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Isles of Scilly in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die.


Thomas W. Lawson was a seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner built for the Pacific trade, but used primarily to haul coal and oil along the East Coast of the United States. Named for copper baron Thomas W. Lawson, a Boston millionaire, stock-broker, book author, and President of the Boston Bay State Gas Co., she was launched in 1902 as the largest schooner and largest sailing vessel without an auxiliary engine ever built.

Thomas W. Lawson was destroyed off the uninhabited island of Annet, in the Isles of Scilly, in a storm on December 14, 1907, killing all but two of her eighteen crew and a harbor pilot already aboard. Her cargo of 58,000 barrels of light paraffin oil caused perhaps the first large marine oil spill.



Development and construction
Designed by naval architect Bowdoin B. Crowninshield (famous for his fast yachts) for Captain John G. Crowley of the Coastwise Transportation Company of Boston, Massachusetts, the construction of Thomas W. Lawson was contracted to the Fore River Ship and Engine Company on June 25, 1901. At a cost of approximately $250,000, she was the only seven-masted schooner, the only seven-masted sailing ship in modern time (see Zheng He's Treasure Ships), the largest schooner, and the largest pure sailing vessel, in terms of tonnage, ever built. Larger sailing vessels with auxiliary engines for propulsion were the French France II (1911) and German R. C. Rickmers (1906), both five-masted barques.

Thomas W. Lawson's design and purpose was an ultimately unsuccessful bid to keep sailing ships competitive with the burgeoning steamship freight transport trade. However the ship's submerged hull was too large and sail area too small for good sailing properties; compounded by a forced reduction in load capacity from 11,000 to 7,400 long tons that made “working to capacity” impossible, the combination undermined expected profits.

Class and type:

• seven-masted steel gaffschooner
• collier, case-oil tanker and bulk-oil carrier (1906)

Tonnage: 5,218 GRT / 4,914 NRT
Displacement: 13,860 ts (at 11,000 ts load); 10,260 ts (at 7,400 ts load)
Length:

• 475 ft (145 m) (overall)
• 394.3 ft (120.2 m) (on deck)
• 369.25 ft (112.55 m) (btw. perpendiculars)

Beam:50 ft (15 m)
Height:

• 189.25 ft (57.68 m) (keel to masthead truck)
• 155.5 ft (47.4 m) (main deck to masthead truck)

Draft:

• 28 ft (8.5 m) at 7,400 ts
• 35.33 ft (10.77 m) at 11,000 ts

Depth: 36.5 ft (11.1 m) (depth moulded)
Depth of hold: 32 ft (9.8 m)
Decks: 2 continuous steel decks, poop and forecastle decks
Installed power: no auxiliary propulsion; donkey engine for sail winches, steam rudder, generator
Propulsion: wind
Sail plan: 25 sails: 7 gaff main sails (No. 1 to 6 of equal size, spanker sail of larger size), 7 gaff topsails, 6 staysails, 5 foresails with 43.000 sq ft (4,000 m²) [46,617 sq ft (4,330.86 m²)] sail area
Speed: 16 knots (29.632 km/h)
Boats & landing craft carried: three lifeboats and captain's gig (stern)
Complement: 1902: 16: 1907: 18
Crew: 1902: 16; 1907: 18 (captain, engineer, 2 stewards, two helmsmen (1st & 2nd mates), 10 to 12 able seamen)



Launched on July 10, 1902, Thomas W. Lawson was 475 ft (145 m) overall, 395 feet (120.4 m) on deck, and contained seven masts of equal height (193 feet (58.8 m)) which carried 25 sails (seven gaff sails, seven gaff topsails, six topmast staysails and five jib sails (fore staysail, jib, flying jib, jib topsail, balloon jib) encompassing 43,000 square feet (4,000 m²)) of canvas. Originally painted white, the ship's hull was later painted black. The naming of her masts was always a subject for some discussion (see external link "The Masts of the Thomas W. Lawson"). In the original sail plan and during construction named (fore to aft): 'no. 1 to no. 7', no. 7 being replaced by "spanker mast." The names of the masts changed then to: 'fore, main, mizzen, spanker, jigger, driver, and pusher' at launch and to: 'forecastle, fore, main, mizzen, jigger, and spanker' after launch. Different naming systems ensued, e.g. 'fore, main, mizzen, rusher, driver, jigger, and spanker' or 'fore, main, mizzen, no. 4, no. 5, no. 6, and no. 7', the naming preferred by the crew (which incorporated a possible misunderstanding between "fore" meaning "foremast" and "mast no. four"). Even a naming after the days of the week was discussed with the foremast being named "Sunday" and the spankermast "Saturday".

The ship consisted of a steel hull with high bulwarks and a double cellular bottom four feet deep and used 1,000 tons of water ballast. She measured 5,218 gross register tons, could carry nearly 11,000 tons of coal, and was operated by a crew of 16 to 18 including captain, engineer, two helmsmen, and two stewards. Due to the shallow depth of the eastern ports except Newport , VA, she could not enter them with her maximum load. As a result, she carried a reduced capacity of 7,400 tons in order to reduce her working draft. She had two continuous decks, poop and forecastle decks, a large superstructure on the poop deck including the captain's rooms with fine furniture and leather seats, the officers' mess and rooms, card room, and a separate rudder house. On the main deck were two deckhouses around mast no. 5 and behind mast no. 6, as well as six main hatches to access the holds between the masts. Two huge steam winches were built in under the forecastle and behind mast no. 6. on the main deck. Smaller electrically driven winches were installed beside each mast. The exhaust for the donkey engine boiler was horizontally installed. All seven lower steel masts were secured by five (foremast: six) shrouds per side, the wooden topmasts with four shrouds per side to the crosstrees. The two ship's stockless anchors weighed five tons each.

Service


Deeply loaded in Boston Harbor, hull painted in black; photo taken in 1906 or 1907

Often criticized by marine writers (and some seamen) and considered difficult to maneuver and sluggish (comparisons to a "bath tub" and a "beached whale" were made), Thomas W. Lawson proved problematic in the ports she was intended to operate in due to the amount of water she displaced. She tended to yaw and needed a strong wind to be held on course. Originally built for the Pacifictrade, the schooner was used as collier along the American East Coast. A year later in 1903, Crowley withdrew her from the coal trade. He had the topmasts, gaff booms and all other wooden sparsremoved and had chartered her out as a sea-going barge for the transportation of case oil. In 1906, she was retrofitted for sail at the Newport Shipbuilding and Drydock Company for use as a bulk oil carrier using the lower steel masts to vent oil gasses from the holds. Her capacity was 60,000 barrels. Under charter to Sun Oil Company, she was the world's first pure sailing tanker, carrying bulk oil from Texas to the eastern seaboard.

Wreck


Thomas W. Lawson

In 1907, Thomas W. Lawson was under charter to the Anglo-American Oil Company (part of Standard Oil) and set sail on November 19 from the piers of Marcus Hook Refinery (20 miles south of Philadelphia) to London with 58,000 barrels of light paraffin oil. Two days before leaving the new captain George Washington Dow had to hire six new men to the crew because six other seamen had quit their jobs due to payment problems. Those new men weren't able seamen and some didn't speak fluent English. Leaving the mouth of the Delaware River, on November 20, the large schooner set course for England under fair weather conditions. But the following day the weather turned considerably worse. The ship was not sighted for more than 20 days during its first transatlantic journey which was quite horrible in extremely stormy weather. With the loss of most of her sails, all but one lifeboat, and the breach of hatch no. 6, causing the ship's pumps to clog due to a mixture of intruding seawater and the engine's coal in the ship's hold, the schooner reached the Celtic Sea north west of the Isles of Scilly. On December 13, entering the English Channel, she mistakenly passed inside the Bishop Rock lighthouse, the westernmost one in Europe, and her captain anchored between the Nundeeps shallows and Gunner's Rock, north-west of the island of Annet, to ride out an impending gale, refusing several requests of St. Agnes and St. Mary's lifeboat crews to abandon the ship. Captain Dow trusting in his anchors only accepted the Trinity House pilot Billy "Cook" Hicks from St. Agnes lifeboat who came aboard at 5 p.m. on Friday 13. Both lifeboats of St. Agnes and St. Mary's had to return to their stations because of an unconscious crewman on the former and a broken mast on the latter. They cabled to Falmouth, Cornwall, for a tug which couldn't put to sea, unable to face the storm.

During the night around 1:15 a.m. the storm increased, her port anchor chain broke, and half an hour later the starboard anchor chain snapped close the hawsepipe. Left to the mercy of the raging seas the pounding schooner was smashed starboardside on against Shag Rock near Annet by tremendously heavy seas after having grounded on the dangerous underwater rocks. All seven masts broke off and fell into the sea with all of the seamen who had climbed the rigging for safety, on their captain's command. The stern section broke apart behind mast no. 6, drifting from the capsizing and sinking ship. In the morning light the ship's upturned keel could be seen near the reef from which the wreck slid off into deeper water. Some 16 of the 18 crew and the Scillonian pilot Wm. "Cook" Hicks who was already on board having climbed up the spanker rigging for safety were lost. Captain George W. Dow and engineer Edward L. Rowe from Boston were the only survivors, probably because they managed to get on deck from the rigging and jumped into the sea before the ship capsized. Both were lucky in being washed to a rock in the Hellweathers, to the south of the wrecking site, to be rescued hours later by the pilot's son, in the six-oared gig Slippen, looking for his father, Despite wearing their lifebelts, the other seamen died in the thick oil layer, the smashing seas, and the schooner's rigging that had drowned so many of the crew, including the pilot. Four bodies were found later - those of Mark Stenton from Brooklyn, cabin boy, of two seamen from Germany and Scandinavia, and that of a man from Nova Scotia or Maine. Furthermore, some bodies without heads, legs or arms were also found which could not be identified. They were all buried in a mass grave in St Agnes cemetery.



The broken up and scattered wreck, was relocated in 1969. The bow lies at 56 ft deep on position 49°53′38″N 06°22′55″W to the north-east of Shag Rock and the stern, with the spanker mast 400m to the south-west.[1] It can be visited by scuba divers under calm weather conditions. One of the anchors is now built into the outside wall of Bleak House, Broadstairs, the former home of Charles Dickens, and can be seen with a picture of the schooner.

Memorial
In 2008 a memorial seat was blessed by the Reverend Guy Scott in the churchyard of St Agnes, the nearest inhabitable island to the wreck and the home of the pilot, Billy "Cook" Hicks. The seat, made of granite from a St Breward quarry, faces the mass, unmarked grave of many of Thomas W. Lawson's dead





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_W._Lawson_(ship)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
14 December 1913 – Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II.


Haruna (榛名) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston and named after Mount Haruna, she was the fourth and last battlecruiser of the Kongō class, amongst the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down in 1912 at the Kawasaki Shipyards in Kobe, Haruna was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, Kirishima. Haruna patrolled off the Chinese coast during World War I. During gunnery drills in 1920, an explosion destroyed one of her guns, damaged the gun turret, and killed seven men. During her career, Haruna underwent two major reconstructions. Beginning in 1926, the Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt her as a battleship, strengthening her armor and improving her speed and power capabilities. In 1933, her superstructure was completely rebuilt, her speed was increased, and she was equipped with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, Haruna was reclassified as a fast battleship. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Haruna transported Imperial Japanese Army troops to mainland China before being redeployed to the Third Battleship Division in 1941. On the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed as part of the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore.


Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Haruna undergoes trials after her second reconstruction.

Haruna fought in almost every major naval action of the Pacific Theater during World War II. She covered the Japanese landings in Malaya (in present-day Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1942 before engaging American forces at the Battle of Midway and during the Guadalcanal Campaign. Throughout 1943, Haruna primarily remained at Truk Lagoon (Micronesia), Kure Naval Base (near Hiroshima), Sasebo Naval Base (near Nagasaki), and the Lingga Islands (in present-day Indonesia), and deployed on several occasions in response to American carrier airstrikes on Japanese island bases. Haruna participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, engaging American vessels in the latter. In 1945, Haruna was transferred to Kure Naval Base, where she was sunk by aircraft of Task Force 38 on 28 July 1945.

Design and construction
See also: Kongō-class battlecruiser
Haruna was the fourth and last of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Kongō-class battlecruisers, a line of capital ships designed by the British naval engineer George Thurston. The class was ordered in 1910 in the Japanese Emergency Naval Expansion Bill after the commissioning of HMS Invincible in 1908. The four battlecruisers of the Kongo-class were designed to match the naval capabilities of the other major powers at the time; they have been called the battlecruiser versions of the British (formerly Turkish) battleship HMS Erin. Their heavy armament and armor protection (which contributed 23.3 percent of their displacement) were greatly superior to those of any other Japanese capital ship afloat at the time.


Haruna's fitting-out at Kôbe in October 1914

The keel of Haruna was laid down at Kobe by Kawasaki on 16 March 1912, with most of the parts used in her construction manufactured in Japan. Due to a shortage of available slipways, Haruna and her sister ship Kirishima were the first two capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy to be built in private shipyards. Launched on 14 December 1913, Haruna's fitting-out began in early 1914. She was completed on 19 April 1915.



Armament
Haruna's main battery consisted of eight 14 in (36 cm) heavy-caliber main guns in four twin turrets (two forward, two aft). The turrets were noted by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence to be "similar to the British 15-inch turrets", with improvements made in flash-tightness. Each of her main guns could fire high-explosive or armor-piercing shells a maximum of 38,770 yd (19.14 nmi; 35.45 km) at a firing rate of two shells per minute. In keeping with the Japanese doctrine of deploying more powerful vessels before their opponents, Haruna and her sister ships were the first vessels in the world equipped with 14 in (36 cm) guns. The main guns carried ammunition for 90 salvoes, and had an approximate barrel life of 250 to 280 rounds. In 1941, separate dyes (used to distinguish between shells fired from multiple ships) were introduced for the armor-piercing shells of the four Kongo-class battleships, with Haruna's armor-piercing shells using black dye.


Haruna undergoing trials after her reconstruction in 1928

Her secondary battery was originally sixteen 6 in (15 cm) 50-caliber medium guns in single casemates (all located amidships), eight 3 in (7.6 cm) guns and eight submerged 21 in (53 cm) torpedo tubes. The six-inch guns could fire five to six rounds per minute, with a barrel life of 500 rounds. The 6"/50 caliber gun was capable of firing both anti-aircraft and anti-ship shells, though the positioning of the guns on Haruna made antiaircraft firing impractical. During her second reconstruction, the older 3-inch guns were removed and replaced with eight 5 in (13 cm) dual-purpose guns. These 5"/40 caliber guns could fire between 8 and 14 rounds per minute, with a barrel life of 800 to 1,500 rounds. The 5"/40 had the widest variety of shot types of Haruna's guns, being designed to fire antiaircraft, antiship, and illumination shells. She was also armed with a large number of 1 in (2.5 cm) antiaircraft machine guns. In 1943, her secondary armament was reconfigured to eight 6 in (15 cm) guns, twelve 5 in (13 cm) guns, and finally by the end of 1944 one hundred and eight Type 96 antiaircraft autocannon in 30 triples and 18 single mounts.


Haruna at her moorings near Kure, Japan, under attack by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft, 28 July 1945 / Haruna, sunken at her moorings after the attack of 28 July 1945


The Kongō-class battlecruiser (金剛型巡洋戦艦 Kongō-gata jun'yōsenkan) was a class of four battlecruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) immediately before World War I. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, the lead ship of the class, Kongō, was the last Japanese capital ship constructed outside Japan, by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness. Her sister ships Haruna, Kirishima and Hiei were all completed in Japan.

During the late 1920s, all but Hiei were reconstructed and reclassified as battleships. After the signing of the London Naval Treaty in 1930, Hiei was reconfigured as a training ship to avoid being scrapped. Following Japan's withdrawal from the London Naval Treaty, all four underwent a massive second reconstruction in the late 1930s. Following the completion of these modifications, which increased top speeds to over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), all four were reclassified as fast battleships.



The Kongō-class battleships were the most active capital ships of the Japanese Navy during World War II, participating in most major engagements of the war. Hiei and Kirishima acted as escorts during the attack on Pearl Harbor, while Kongō and Haruna supported the invasion of Singapore. All four participated in the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal. Hiei and Kirishima were both lost during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942, while Haruna and Kongō jointly bombarded the American Henderson Field airbase on Guadalcanal. The two remaining Kongō-class battleships spent most of 1943 shuttling between Japanese naval bases before participating in the major naval campaigns of 1944. Haruna and Kongō engaged American surface vessels during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Kongō was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Sealion in November 1944, while Haruna was sunk at her moorings by an air attack in Kure Naval Base in late July 1945, but later raised and scrapped in 1946.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Haruna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongō-class_battlecruiser

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
14 December 1944 - Mary B Mitchell was a British and later an Irish schooner, affectionately known as Mary B. wrecked


The Mary B Mitchell was a British and later an Irish schooner, affectionately known as Mary B.. She was a pleasure craft, a war hero, a working schooner, a film star and a transporter of essential cargoes in dangerous waters.



Built in 1892 she carried slate from Wales. In 1912 she was acquired by Lord Penrhyn and converted into a luxury yacht and spent two years cruising the Mediterranean. She resumed carrying cargo; it was china clay on this occasion. In April 1916, she was requisitioned as a Q-ship she featured strongly in reports at the time, however no U-boats were actually damaged. In 1919 she joined the Arklow fleet and for the next dozen years she traded on the Irish Sea. In 1934 she appeared in a film. She featured in a number of films. Mary B. was then retired. At the outbreak of World War II, she was brought out of retirement. Mary B. brought vital food to Britain and vital coal to Ireland. She travelled to Lisbon to collect American cargoes. In December 1944, she was wrecked in a storm.

Early career
Mary B Mitchell was built by Paul Rogers in 1892 at Carrickfergus, as a three-masted topsail schooner.[2] She started her career exporting slate from North Wales to Hamburg. She was owned by Lord Penrhyn and served for a period as a yacht, before being put to work as a coaster,[3] transporting china clay from Cornwall.

World War I
Main article: Mary B Mitchell (Q-ship)
In 1916 three Arklow schooners were requisitioned by the Admiralty to be used as Q-ships, they were: Cymric, Gaelic and Mary B Mitchell. Another Q-ship was the schooner Result which was built in 1893 in the same yard as Mary B Mitchell. Result is now with the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. They sailed the Southwest Approaches, masquerading as merchantmen, inviting attack by U-boats. Their guns were concealed, when a U-boat approached, a "panic party" would abandon the ship, while the gun crews waited for their target to come into range. The expectation was that the U-boat would approach the apparently abandoned ship and would be surprised and sunk when the guns were revealed and opened fire. Great successes were claimed and medals awarded.

In April 1916 the Mary B. was requisitioned for service as a Q-ship. She was armed with a 12-pounder and two 6-pounder guns as well as two machine guns and small arms. She was commissioned on 5 May 1916 and sailed on her first patrol on 26 June 1916.

On 20 June 1917, she claimed to have sunk two u-boats, SM UC-65 and another u-boat and seen a third. On 3 August 1917 Mitchell reported exchanging fire with SM UC-75. A further engagement on 6 December 1916 was also reported. The Naval Intelligence Department stated that none of Mitchell's encounters resulted in the destruction of any U-boat. Nonetheless these claims were widely reported in the popular press. and Lawrie was awarded the DSO.

After the war, it was concluded that Q-ships were greatly overrated, diverting skilled seamen from other duties without sinking enough U-boats to justify the strategy. One Arklow schooner requisitioned as a Q-ship, the Cymric, did sink a submarine. Unfortunately it was HMS J6, a "friendly fire" incident.

Inter-war years

view from fore crosstrees


from poop deck. and fore deck ->


Photos taken on 21 May 1932, in Kingston Dock, Australia, of the Mary B Mitchell with a cargo of china clay (note: Australia is very dubious - she was not known to have sailed further than Newfoundland, Canada, during the 30s)

Mary B Mitchell was "demobbed" on 24 March 1919 and sold to Captain Job Tyrrell of Crinnis Ferrybank, Arklow (note: Job Tyrrell never lived at Crinnis - he lived at Marlborough House; his son, James Tyrrell, bought Crinnis in the 30s) . She was then an "Arklow schooner". A new twin-screw auxiliary diesel engine, known as an "iron topsail", was installed. She spent the next dozen years plying the Irish Sea.

Film roles
In 1934 Mary B Mitchell was chartered by the British International Film Company and featured in a number of films.
She was the doomed Mary Celeste in the film The Mystery of the Mary Celeste, which was released in the U.S. as Phantom Ship (1935), one of the early films from Hammer Film Productions. She featured in the 1936 film McGlusky the Sea Rover, which was released in the U.S. as Hell's Cargo. Other Arklow schooners Harvest King and James Postlethwaite featured in the later, 1956, film Moby Dick.

World War II
At the outbreak of World War II there were only 56 ships on the Irish register, 14 of those were Arklow schooners. These schooners played a vital role in keeping Ireland supplied.[16] Mary B. Mitchell carried food exports and pit props to Wales; returning with cargoes of coal.


In 1943 she went on the hazardous “Lisbon run”. American ships would not enter Irish waters; they brought Irish-bound cargoes to Lisbon. Ships like the Mary B. Mitchell had to collect them. Britain had declared the Bay of Biscay to be an “exclusion zone”; their objective was to prevent supplies from reaching Germany, in particular Japanese exports. However Britain needed foreign currency, which she could obtain by exporting coal to Portugal. ‘Navicerts’ were introduced. Ships with a navicert were permitted safe passage through allied lines. They were to follow the line of longitude at 12° west.[18] Allied convoys to Gibraltar were at least 20° west to avoid the range of German bombers. However, it was difficult for sailing ships to adhere to this straight line, particularly in the stormy conditions, common in the Bay of Biscay.

Mary B. Mitchell made five of these voyages, carrying food to Britain, then British coal to Lisbon, returning with the American cargo to Ireland. Arthur Dowds was captain James Harte was sailing master and Patrick Brennan was first officer. She survived these hazardous journeys. Cymric, another Arklow schooner, which had also been requisitioned as a Q-ship in World War I, was not as fortunate. She vanished with all hands; she may have hit a mine, been torpedoed by a U-boat or bombed by the RAF who were enforcing the blockade of Germany, as was the MV Kerlogue on this same route. Sailing through the Bay of Biscay, Cymric and Mary B Mitchell now neutrals, would have been sailing the same waters as they did as q-ships three decades earlier.

In preparation for D-day, Britain withdrew navicerts in April 1944. At this time there was a severe shortage of fuel in Ireland. Gas rationing was introduced and there was severe curtailment of rail services. The Minister for Supplies instructed the Arklow schooners to cease other imports and only to import coal. The schooners averted a possible great hardship that winter. By the autumn they had imported 40,000 tons of coal, while bringing food supplies to Britain.

Mary B. Mitchell left Dublin for the last time on 13 December 1944; she was bound for Cumberland with a cargo of burnt-ore. She was to return with a cargo of coal. In a storm she was driven onto rocks at the entrance to Kirkcudbright Bay, and lost. Captain Patrick Brennan (the former chief officer) and his crew of eight were taken off by Kirkcudbright lifeboat, all survived. Some items from ship are on display in the Stewartry Museum. Some wreckage remains at the base of the cliff near Senwick Church.

Commemoration
The Mary B Mitchell is commemorated in Bangor, Wales, by a memorial plaque and a bronze weathervane which adorns the city’s new shopping precinct. It was designed and made by Ann Catrin Evans and Roger Wyn Evans. The plaque gives a brief account of the ships history, while the weathervane depicts her in silhouette.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_B_Mitchell_(schooner)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 14 December


1686 – Launch of french Saint Michel 58, later 60 guns (designed and built by Étienne Salicon) at Le Havre – grounded and lost 1 May 1704.


1809 - HMS Defender Brig (14), Lt. John George Nops, wrecked near Folkestone.

second HMS Defender was a 12-gun Archer-class gun-brig built in Chester in 1804

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Defender_(1804)


1859 – French The Duguesclin was a 90-gun Ship of the line wrecked

The Duguesclin was a 90-gun Suffren-class Ship of the line of the French Navy. She was the second ship in French service named in honour of Bertrand du Guesclin.



Bayard was first used as barracks for prisoners sent to deportation to Îles du Salut, and then as a transport for those sent to the Bagne of Cayenne. She then took part in the Crimean War in the Black Sea in 1854 and 1855.

In 14 December 1859, she as she conducted trials of her newly installed steam engine under Commander Choux, she ran aground on Île Longue. All efforts to raise her proved fruitless and she was scrapped. Her engine was used on Jean Bart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Duguesclin_(1848)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffren-class_ship_of_the_line


1911 - USS California (ACR 6) breaks a red, white, and blue ribbon stretched across a Hawaiian channel to become the first ship to call on Pearl Harbor after it becomes a naval base.

The second USS California (ACR-6), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 6", and later renamed San Diego, was a United States Navy Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser.
She was launched on 28 April 1904 by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California, sponsored by Miss Florence Pardee, daughter of California governor George C. Pardee, and commissioned on 1 August 1907, Captain V. L. Cottman in command.[



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_California_(ACR-6)


1944 - The rank of Fleet Admiral (five-star admiral) of the U.S. Navy is established during World War II due to the rapid build-up of U.S. military forces. The first five-star admirals are: William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King, and Chester W. Nimitz. Adm. William F. Halsey joined the selected group Dec. 11, 1945.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_admiral_(United_States)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
15 December 1778 - Battle of St. Lucia.
British squadron of 7 ships, under Samuel Barrington, engaged French Squadron of 12 ships, under Comte d'Estaing.


The Battle of St. Lucia or the Battle of the Cul de Sac was a naval battle fought off the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies during the American Revolutionary War on 15 December 1778, between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.


December 15, 1778, Island of St. Lucia. Naval battle between the 12 French ships of d'Estaing (left) and seven English ships of Admiral Barrington (right).

Background
The French had entered the American Revolutionary War on behalf of the rebels and were conducting actions in the Caribbean to try to take over British colonies there. On 7 September 1778, the French governor of Martinique, the marquis de Bouillé, surprised and captured the British island of Dominica. On 4 November, French Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Comte d'Estaing sailed for the West Indies from the port of Boston, Massachusetts. On that same day, Commodore William Hotham was dispatched from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to reinforce the British fleet in the West Indies. Hotham sailed with "five men of war, a bomb vessel, some frigates, and a large convoy." The convoy Hotham was escorting consisted of 59 transports carrying 5,000 British soldiers under Major General Grant. The French fleet was blown off course by a violent storm, preventing it from arriving in the Caribbean ahead of the British. Admiral Samuel Barrington, the British naval commander stationed on the Leeward Islands, joined the newly arrived Commodore Hotham on 10 December at the island of Barbados. Grant's men were not permitted to disembark and spent the next several days aboard their transports. Barrington and Hotham sailed for the island of St. Lucia on the morning of 12 December.

On the evening of 13 December and morning of 14 December, Major General James Grant, supported by additional troops under Brigadier General William Medows and Brigadier General Robert Prescott, landed at Grand Cul de Sac, St. Lucia. Grant and Prescott took control of the high ground around the bay, while Medows continued on and took Vigie the following morning (14 December). On 14 December the French fleet under d’Estaing arrived, forcing Admiral Barrington to move his ships into line of battle and forgo his plan of moving the transports into Carénage Bay. Admiral Barrington had the following ships at his disposal:





Naval engagement
Admiral Barrington was alerted to the presence of the French fleet by the frigate Ariadne and organised his line of battle so that Isis and his three frigates (Venus, Aurora, and Ariadne) were close to shore guarding the windward approach, and he placed his flagship, Prince of Wales, toward the leeward. Barrington in a defensive strategy, placed his transports inside the bay but behind his battle line, which took him the entire evening of 14 December. By 1100 hours the next day, most of the transports had been safely tucked behind his line.

At 1100 hours 15 December Admiral d’Estaing approached St. Lucia with ten ships of the line, and was fired on by one of the shore batteries. D’Estaing moved to engage Barrington from the rear, and a "warm conflict" raged between the two fleets, with the British supported by two shore batteries. D’Estaing was repulsed but succeeded in reforming his line of battle. At 1600 hours d’Estaing renewed his assault by attacking Barrington’s centre with twelve ships of the line. Again, heavy fire was exchanged, and the French were eventually repulsed for a second time.


This shows Admiral Samuel Barrington's squadron at anchor across the Grand Cul de Sac on the west side of St Lucia, covering his invasion transports within it, on the day following his successful defence of the anchorage (during the American War) against the French West Indies fleet. This is seen in the far left distance as is the conical Pigeon Island off Gros Islet Bay, further north. The picture is the pair to BHC0422, which shows the action of the 15 December, and both were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1780, this one as 'View of the English squadron commanded by Admiral Barrington, and transports in the Cul de Sac with the French fleet under Count d'Estaing, December 16th 1778'. Barrington's flagship 'Prince of Wales', 74 guns, is last in the line, in stern view on the left, and he is shown with other figures standing on the stern gallery of his great cabin. Ahead of him lie Commodore William Hotham's 'Preston', and the 'Centurion' (both 50 guns), the 'Nonsuch', 64, the 'Boyne', 70, the 'St Albans', 64, and the 'Isis', 50. The frigates present, several of which are included, were the 'Venus', 36, 'Pearl', 32, and the 'Aurora', 28, with the smaller 'Ariadne', 20, and the 'Carcass', bomb vessel. The single-masted vessel in the foreground appears to be carrying fascines (bundles of timber used in siege works). A Union flag hanging in Barrington's mizzen rigging is a signal for officers to come on board for a council of war and boats are crossing to him from other ships, or waiting under his stern. In 1824, after Barrington's death, the pair of pictures was presented to the Naval Gallery in the Painted Hall at Greenwich Hospital, together with BHC0370 (and its pair) and BHC0390 (and its pair): these, also by Serres, are smaller pictures of two of Barrington's earlier actions and the donor of all was his brother Shute Barrington, Lord Bishop of Durham. In 1831, William, 3rd Viscount Barrington, nephew of both the admiral and bishop, wrote a letter to the Hospital in which he 'expressed an earnest desire that such of the Pictures as are in duplicate, which were presented to the Hospital by his late Uncle the Bishop of Durham may be restored to him as the representative of the Family.' The Board agreed without comment, retaining the more battle-filled 'halves' of each set. Barrington descendants still have the pendants of BHC0370 and BHC0390. ZBA2204, in untouched condition and still in its original 1780 frame, with the 1820s GH donor and identification 'tablets' fixed to it, was acquired by private treaty from another of them in 2003 to re-unite it with its pair. The 1824 Barrington gift included the admiral's portrait by Reynolds (BHC2534) and a painting by Serres of Henry VIII's 'Grace a Dieu' based on the well-known contemporary painting at Windsor. Although recorded by an engraving (PAD0278) this was destroyed in a fire in the Admiral President's House at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1935.

Outcome
On 16 December Admiral d’Estaing appeared to be preparing for a third assault against Admiral Barrington’s line, but then sailed away towards the windward. On the evening of 16 December d’Estaing anchored in Gros Islet Bay, where he landed 7,000 troops for an assault on the British lines at La Vigie. Three assaults were made but British control of the high ground enabled them to repulse the French. The French troops were re-embarked, and when d'Estaing's fleet left on 29 December, the island surrendered to the British.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_St._Lucia

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
15 December 1785 – Launch of HMS Woolwich, an Adventure-class frigate


HMS Woolwich was an Adventure-class frigate launched in 1784. She essentially spent her career as a storeship before being wrecked in 1813.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with alterations to the head, longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Woolwich (1785), and later used for Sheerness (1787), Severn (1786), Adventure (1784), Gorgon (1785), Chichester (1785), Dover (1786), and Expedition (1784), all 44-gun Fifth Rate, two-deckers. Signed by Edward Hunt [Surveyor of the Navy, 1778-1784]

Career
It is not clear when Woolwich was completed. She was not commissioned until 1790, under the command of Commander William Nowell, who paid her off in November.

Tons burthen: 906 80⁄94 (bm)
Length:

• 1,407 ft 0 in (428.9 m) (overall)
• 115 ft 2 1⁄2 in (35.1 m) (keel)

Beam: 38 ft 6 in (11.7 m)
Depth of hold: 16 ft 9 1⁄4 in (5.1 m)
Complement: 300 (294 from 1794)
Armament:

• 1792:
• Lower deck: 20 x 18-pounder guns
• UD: 22 x 12-pounder guns
• QD:4 x 12-pounder guns
• Fc:2 x 6-pounder guns
• 1793:
• Lower deck: 20 x 18-pounder guns
• UD:22 x 24-pounder carronades
• QD:4 x 13-pounder guns
• Fc:2 x 6-pounder guns
• 1799:22 x 9-pounder guns (UD)

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Woolwich (1785), and later used for Sheerness (1787), Severn (1786), Adventure (1784), Gorgon (1785), Chichester (1785), Dover (1786), and Expedition (1784), all 44-gun Fifth Rate, two-deckers.

Commander John Parker recommissioned her on 18 January 1793 as a storeship. He sailed her to the Mediterranean, before returning to Britain in October. She then sailed for the Leeward Islands on 26 November 1793, arriving in time to be present at the capture of Martinique in February 1794 under Admiral Sir John Jervis. She also participated in the capture of Guadeloupe. Woolwich was among the vessels whose crews qualified for the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM), which the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants, with clasp "17 Mar. Boat Service 1794" for the capture of the French frigate Bienvenue and other vessels in Fort Royal Bay.

The London Gazette published details for four tranches of prize and head money payments for Jervis's campaign. In all some 36 ships qualified, including Woolwich




In 1795 Woolwich was under the command of Commander William Charles Fahie. However, Lieutenant Henry Probyn assumed acting command on 8 December.[10][Note 2] In March 1796 Commander Daniel (or William) Dobree was appointed to command Woolwich. Between 21 April and 25 May Woolwich took part in Admiral Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian and Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby's invasion of Santa Lucia. Dobree commanded a division of flat boats for the landings at Choc Bay and Anse La Raye. He returned her to Britain in October 1797 and paid her off.

Commander Michael Halliday (or Haliday) recommissioned Woolwich in August 1798 for the Channel Fleet. She then sailed for the Cape of Good Hope. In 1799 she lost most of her armament, becoming armed en flute. On 29 June 1799 Halliday was promoted to post captain in Leander.

In October 1799 Commander George Jardine replaced Halliday. Jardine sailed for the Mediterranean on 9 January 1801. He carried as passengers the Earl of Cork and the Honourable Colonel Bligh, who were going to join their regiments. Because Woolwich served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the NGSM. Woolwich returned to Britain in July 1801.

A series of commander followed. In August Commander Robert Campbell replaced Jardine, who died on board the packet Arabella on 21 June as he was returning to England. In February 1802 Commander Richard Bridges replace Campbell. Then in May, Commander Ulick Jennings replaced Bridges. He sailed Woolwich to the West Indies in September. On 14 September Woolwich was at Madeira when the Portuguese vessel Aurora caught fire after an explosion. Woolwich was nearby and her boats were able to rescue two men; the other 32 people on board Aurora perished, including her captain. Jennings returned to Britain on 11 February 1803. Commander Thomas Burton replaced Jennings in March 1803. Woolwich then went into ordinary in May.

In October 1804 Commander Thomas Garth recommissioned her. In June 1805 Commander Francis Beaufort joined her as she was fitting out. She went first to the East Indies and then escorted a convoy of East Indiamen back to Britain. Then the Admiralty tasked him with of conducting a hydrographic survey of the Rio de la Plata estuary in South America during Home Popham's unsuccessful campaign to capture Buenos Aires. On the way Woolwich, Porpoise, and the brig Rolla on 14 May 1806 detained and sent into the Cape of Good Hope the Danish packet ship Three Sisters (or Trende Sostre). After the failure of the British invasion, Woolwich returned to the Cape and then to the Mediterranean. In 1808 Beaufort moved to Blossom.

On 28 November 1808 Woolwich, HMS Active, Delight, and the hired armed ship Lord Eldon escorted a convoy of 50 vessels out of Malta, bound for Gibraltar, Lisbon, and London. However, contrary winds forced about 40 merchantmen, and the escorts to return to Malta within two weeks.

In 1809 Richard Turner was master of Woolwich, which served in the Mediterranean. In 1812 she was in the West Indies under Richard Rumer, master.

In February 1813 Woolwich came under the command of Commander Thomas Ball Sullivan. She then conveyed Sir James Lucas Yeo, 36 officers, and some 450 seamen, as well as the frames of several gun-vessels, from England to Quebec, arriving on 6 May. The gun-vessels were intended for service on the Great Lakes.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the outboard planking expansion of the hull and upperworks for Woolwich, a 44-gun Fifth Rate, two-decker. Initialled by three unidentified draughtsman. The signatures do not match the names of the Master Shipwright at Deptford or Woolwich, or their Assistants. The plan is dated to sometime around 1805, as the paper is watermarked with 1805. NMM, Progress Book, volume 6, folio 292, states that the 'Woolwich' was at Deptford Dockyard between February and May 1805 having her copper replaced, and then at Woolwich Dockyard in July 1805 to be fitted as a Store ship.

Fate
Woolwich sailed from Bermuda on 26 August 1813 in company with a merchant vessel bound for Dominica. On 8 September the weather worsened and by 11 September Woolwich was caught in a gale. By six o'clock land suddenly appeared under her bow and within minutes she was aground. She lost her rudder, bilged immediately, and fell on her side. By morning the weather had cleared and her crew went ashore on what they discovered was the island of Barbuda. Sullivan and his officers were surprised as they had thought that they were 90 miles from the island. However, the gale and a strong current had driven Woolwich off-course. The crew was saved.

Vine, Thompson, master, the merchant vessel that Woolwich had been escorting, also wrecked on Barbuda. However, her cargo was saved.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard planking expansion of the hull and upperworks for Woolwich, a 44-gun Fifth Rate, two-decker. Initialled by three unidentified draughtsman. The signatures do not match the names of the Master Shipwright at Deptford or Woolwich, or their Assistants. The plan is dated to sometime around 1805, as the paper is watermarked with 1805. NMM, Progress Book, volume 6, folio 292, states that the 'Woolwich' was at Deptford Dockyard between February and May 1805 having her copper replaced, and then at Woolwich Dockyard in July 1805 to be fitted as a Store ship.

The Adventure-class ship was a class of eight 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy, classed as a fifth rate like a frigate, but carrying two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 12-pounders. This enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 318 pounds.

The class was designed in 1782 by Edward Hunt, Surveyor of the Navy, as a successor to the Roebuck class design of Sir Thomas Slade. The design saw a slight increase in breadth over the Roebuck class, but was otherwise very similar.

Like the Roebuck class, the Adventure class were not counted by the Admiralty as frigates; although sea officers sometimes casually described them and other small two-deckers as frigates, the Admiralty officially never referred to them as such. By 1750, the Admiralty strictly defined frigates as ships of 28 guns or more, carrying all their main battery (24, 26 or even 28 guns) on the upper deck, with no guns or openings on the lower deck (which could thus be at sea level or even lower). A frigate might carry a few smaller guns – 3-pounders or 6-pounders, later 9-pounders – on their quarterdeck and (perhaps) on the forecastle. The Adventure-class ships were two-deckers with complete batteries on both decks, and hence not frigates.

Eight ships were ordered during 1782 and completed to this design, although none were ready to take part in the American War of Independence. Most were not brought into service until the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War, and survived to serve the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War.

Ships in class

• Woolwich
  • Builder: Thomas Calhoun & John Nowlan, Bursledon
  • Ordered: 5 March 1782
  • Laid down: January 1783
  • Launched: 15 December 1785
  • Completed: 1786 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked off Barbuda on 11 September 1813.
• Severn
  • Builder: James Martin Hillhouse, Bristol
  • Ordered: 17 April 1782
  • Laid down: June 1783
  • Launched: 29 April 1786
  • Completed: 17 July 1793 at Plymouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked off Jersey on 21 December 1804
• Sheerness
  • Builder: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard
  • Ordered: 26 April 1782
  • Laid down: December 1783
  • Launched: 16 July 1787
  • Completed: 20 December 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Wrecked off Trincomalee on 8 January 1805
• Chichester
  • Builder: Crookenden, Taylor & Smith, Itchenor
  • Ordered: 13 May 1782
  • Laid down: August 1782
  • Launched: 10 March 1785
  • Completed: 28 October 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up in July 1815
• Adventure
  • Builder: Perry & Hankey, Blackwall Yard
  • Ordered: 5 June 1782
  • Laid down: October 1782
  • Launched: 19 July 1784
  • Completed: 28 October 1784 at Woolwich Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up in September 1816
• Expedition
  • Builder: John Randall, Rotherhithe
  • Ordered: 5 June 1782
  • Laid down: October 1783
  • Launched: 29 October 1784
  • Completed: March 1786 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up in February 1817
• Gorgon
  • Builder: Perry & Hankey, Blackwall Yard
  • Ordered: 19 June 1782
  • Laid down: December 1782
  • Launched: 27 January 1785
  • Completed: 15 December 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up in February 1817
• Dover
  • Builder: George Parsons, Bursledon
  • Ordered: 8 July 1782
  • Laid down: August 1783
  • Launched: May 1786
  • Completed: 1787 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Burnt by accident 20 August 1806

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Woolwich_(1785)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure-class_ship
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-364643;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=W

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
15 December 1796 - French expedition to Ireland started at Brest,
known in French as the Expédition d'Irlande ("Expedition to Ireland"), which was finally an unsuccessful attempt


The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the Expédition d'Irlande ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican group, in their planned rebellion against British rule. The French intended to land a large expeditionary force in Ireland during the winter of 1796–1797 which would join with the United Irishmen and drive the British out of Ireland. The French anticipated that this would be a major blow to British morale, prestige and military effectiveness, and was also intended to possibly be the first stage of an eventual invasion of Britain itself. To this end, the French Directory gathered a force of approximately 15,000 soldiers at Brest under General Lazare Hoche during late 1796, in readiness for a major landing at Bantry Bay in December.


SUMMARY: French warships, labeled Le Révolutionaire, L'Egalité and The Revolutionary Jolly Boat, being tossed about during a storm blown up by Pitt, Dundas, Grenville and Windham, whose heads appear from the clouds. Charles Fox is the figurehead on Le Révolutionaire which is floundering with broken mast. The Revolutionary Jolly Boat is being swamped, throwing Sheridan, Hall, Erskine, M.A. Taylor and Thelwall overboard.

The operation was launched during one of the stormiest winters of the 18th century, with the French fleet unprepared for such severe conditions. Patrolling British frigates observed the departure of the fleet and notified the British Channel Fleet, most of which was sheltering at Spithead for the winter. The French fleet was subject to confused orders as it left port and was scattered across the approaches to Brest: one ship was wrecked with heavy loss of life and the others widely dispersed. Separated, most of the French fleet managed to reach Bantry Bay late in December, but its commanders were driven miles off course and without them the fleet was unsure of what action to take, with amphibious landings impossible due to the weather conditions, which were the worst recorded since 1708. Within a week the fleet had broken up, small squadrons and individual ships making their way back to Brest through storms, fog and British patrols.

The British were largely unable to interfere with the French fleet before, during or after the invasion. A few ships operating from Cork captured isolated French warships and transports, but the only significant British response came from Captain Sir Edward Pellew, who was able to drive the French ship of the line Droits de l'Homme ashore in the Action of 13 January 1797 with the loss of over 1,000 lives. In total, the French lost 12 ships captured or wrecked and thousands of soldiers and sailors drowned, without a single man reaching Ireland except as prisoners of war. Both navies were criticised by their governments for their behaviour during the campaign, but the French were encouraged to launch a second attempt in 1798, successfully landing 2,000 men in August but failing to influence the Irish Rebellion and again losing significant numbers of men and ships.

Departure
Despite the misgivings of the expedition's commanders, the fleet left Brest as scheduled on 15 December 1796, one day ahead of a message from the Directory calling off the entire operation. De Galles knew that the British would be watching Brest harbour: their frigates were a constant presence as part of the Inshore Squadron of the blockade. In an effort to disguise his force's intentions, he first anchored in Camaret Bay and issued orders for his ships to pass through the Raz de Sein. The Raz was a dangerous narrow channel littered with rocks and sandbanks and subject to heavy surf during bad weather, but would also obscure the size, strength and direction of the French fleet from the British squadron offshore, which French scouts claimed consisted of 30 ships.

Despite the French reports, the principal British blockade squadron was absent from the approaches to Brest during the night of 15 December. Most of the fleet had retired to one of the British Channel Ports to avoid the winter storms, while the remaining squadron under Rear-Admiral John Colpoys had been forced to retreat 40 nautical miles (74 km) into the Atlantic to avoid the risk of being driven onto the rocky French Biscay shoreline during a storm. The only British ships within sight of Brest were a frigate squadron, consisting of HMS Indefatigable, HMS Amazon, HMS Phoebe, HMS Révolutionnaire and the lugger HMS Duke of York, under the command of Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Indefatigable. Pellew had noted French preparations on 11 December and immediately sent Phoebe to warn Colpoys and Amazon to Falmouth, to alert the Admiralty. He remained off Brest with the rest of the squadron, and sighted the main French fleet at 15:30 on 15 December, bringing his frigates inshore towards Camaret Bay to establish its size and purpose. At 15:30 on 16 December, the French sailed from the Bay, Pellew observing closely and despatching Revolutionnaire to assist in the search for Colpoys.


The Western Approaches. The French fleet was scattered across this area during the campaign

Morard de Galles had spent most of 16 December preparing for passage through the Raz de Sein, situating temporary lightships in the channel to warn of hazards and giving instructions on the use of signal rockets during the passage. The fleet was so delayed in this work that darkness began to fall before preparations were complete and he abandoned the plan at approximately 16:00 and signalled for the fleet to leave via the main channel from the port, leading the way in his flagship, the frigate Fraternité. It was so dark by the time the signal was made that most ships failed to see it, Fraternité and the corvette Atalante attempting to notify them by rocket signal. These signals were confusing and many ships failed to understand, sailing for the Raz de Sein rather than the main channel. Pellew added to the problem by weaving ahead of the fleet shining blue lights and firing rockets, further confusing the French captains as to their location.

When dawn broke on 17 December, most of the French fleet was scattered across the approaches to Brest. The largest intact group was that under Vice-amiral François Joseph Bouvet, which had come through the Raz de Sein with nine ships of the line, six frigates and one transport. The other ships, including Fraternité, which also carried General Hoche, were alone or in small groups, the captains forced open their secret orders to discover their destination, in the absence of instructions from any commanding officers. One ship had been lost:, the 74-gun ship of the line Séduisant had driven onto the Grand Stevenent rock during the night and sank with the loss of 680 lives. She too had fired numerous rockets and signal guns in an effort to attract attention, succeeding only in compounding the confusion in the fleet. Pellew, unable now to affect the large French force, sailed for Falmouth to telegraph his report to the Admiralty and replenish his supplies.

The whole information you can find at wikipedia.....

French order of battle in the Expédition d'Irlande


View of the wreck of the French ship Le Droits D' Homme, John Fairburn

The Expédition d'Irlande was a French attempt to invade Ireland in December 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Encouraged by representatives of the Society of United Irishmen, an Irish republican organisation, the French Directory decided that the best strategy for eliminating Britain from the war was to invade Ireland, then under British control. It was hoped that a substantial invasion in the summer of 1796 would encourage a widespread uprising among the Irish population and force the British to abandon Ireland, providing a major strategic and propaganda coup for the French Republic and a staging point for a subsequent invasion of Britain. Assigned to lead the operation was General Lazare Hoche, the Republic's most successful military commander, who was provided with a significant body of troops and the services of the entire French Atlantic fleet.


view of the wreck of the French ship Le Droits D' Homme, John Fairburn

Preparation for the invasion was slow throughout the autumn, and it was not until December that the force was ready to leave Brest. The delay was principally the result of poor organisation and discipline within the French Navy, and preparations were only completed once the commander at Brest, Vice-amiral Villaret de Joyeuse, had been replaced with Vice-amiral Morard de Gallesand Hoche given direct command of discipline within the fleet. Departing Brest on 15 December, the French invasion fleet was almost immediately scattered: a combination of bad weather, inexperience at sea and the depredations of British frigates dispersing the force and destroying one ship of the line. As separate ships and small squadrons made their way independently to the rendezvous point off Mizen Head, the flagship frigate Fraternité was chased deep into the Atlantic by a British frigate and took more than a week to return to Ireland. In that time the rest of the fleet, buffeted by the worst winter storms since 1708, broke up off the landing beaches in Bantry Bay, the weather too fierce to allow any amphibious landings.
By the last week of December 1796 the fleet was in full retreat, having failed to land a single soldier in Ireland. Several ships were wrecked or foundered in heavy seas, and a British frigate squadron based at Cork managed to seize a number of lone frigates and transports during the first two weeks of January. The main British fleet, although ordered to intercept the invasion force, made little progress and did not arrive in the Western Approaches until 13 January, by which time all except three French ships had been accounted for. Two, including the flagship Fraternité, were chased by the British fleet, eventually reaching safety at Rochefort. The third, the ship of the line Droits de l'Homme, was intercepted by two British frigates led by Captain Sir Edward Pellew and destroyed in a running action that cost the lives of over 1,000 Frenchmen.

In total, French losses were 12 ships captured or destroyed and over 2,000 men drowned.[8] The Brest fleet was so badly damaged by the operation that they launched no major operations during 1797 and were unable to respond when the British fleet was paralysed by the Spithead Mutiny a few months later. A second French attempt to invade Ireland was launched in the summer of 1798, in response to the Irish Rebellion, but this too ended in disaster: all of the men landed were captured a few weeks later at the Battle of Ballinamuck. A third and final invasion effort was defeated and destroyed by a British squadron at the Battle of Tory Island in October 1798.




Battle between the French warship Droits de l'Homme and the frigates HMS Amazon and Indefatigable, 13 & 14 January 1797. (Indefatigable on the left, Droits de l'Homme at the centre, Amazon on the right.)


In the summer of 1796 the French conspired with Irish dissidents to send an expedition to Ireland to assist an uprising there, by which it was hoped to detach it from the United Kingdom. Owing to various delays it was mid-December before a well equipped army of 18,000 was embarked for Bantry Bay. Extremely bad weather over Christmas meant the troops could not be landed and the enterprise was abandoned. Some of the ships went as far as the mouth of the Shannon before heading for their French bases, including the ‘Droits de l' Homme’ which had been partly disarmed to act as a troop carrier. She was nearing Brest when she was spotted by the British frigates 'Indefatigable' and 'Amazon'. The running fight lasted from 1730 on 13 January until the early hours of the next morning when land was sighted close ahead. The 'Indefatigable' beat clear but the 'Amazon' was so damaged aloft that she was wrecked. All but six of her crew were saved and made prisoners. The 'Droits de l’Homme' was less fortunate. She had already had over 200 killed and wounded in the fight, was disabled and ran on a sandbank in the Bay of Audierne. For three days she pounded on the bank with the big seas washing through her, before the weather abated enough for boats to get out to her. Some of her crew and the many soldiers aboard tried to swim ashore, but few reached it safely. Altogether about a thousand soldiers and sailors died in the wreck. In the left centre of the picture the 'Droits de l’Homme’ is shown running in a heavy sea, while astern of her the ‘Indefatigable’ is raking her. In the right background the ‘Amazon’ is coming up under a press of sail, so this scene shows the fight in its earliest stage. The painting was probably copied from the aquatint by Edward Duncan after W. J. Huggins. It is signed ‘E.Colls’ and is one of a pair. The second, which when acquired by the Museum was mistakenly identified as showing the stranded ‘Droits de l’Homme’ with the ‘Indefatigable’ clawing off, was taken from a Nicholas Pocock painting of another scene altogether. That one (also a better picture, BHC0532) shows the ‘Endymion’ rescuing a French ship from going ashore on the Spanish coast about 1803.




Coloured aquatint showing the wreck of Les Droits de L'Homme (1794), a French ship chased ashore by the British ship Indefatigable. Inscribed: 'Destruction of Le Droits de L'Homme, showing her situation at Daybreak as forced onshore by the two Frigates in Hodierne Bay near Brest, with the Indefatigable under a press of sail haul'd to clear the land, and throwing up rockets as signals to her consort the Amazon which was unfortunately wrecked at some distance from the enemy's ship'. This action happened on 13 Jan 1797. There are 2 further impressions of this picture in the collection.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_expedition_to_Ireland_(1796)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_order_of_battle_in_the_Expédition_d'Irlande

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
15 December 1808 - HMS Flying Fish Schooner (12), Lt. J. G. Goodwin, wrecked on reef to eastward of Point Salines, St. Domingo


HMS Flying Fish was the schooner Revenge, purchased in the West Indies in 1806 for the Royal Navy. She participated in a notable cutting out expedition and in 1807 in the second of the British invasions of the Río de la Plata; she was wrecked in 1808.

Origins
Flying Fish was purchased in the West Indies and no record of the vessel or the transaction reached the Admiralty in London. Unusually, the acquirers gave her the same name as that of another vessel in the area, HMS Flying Fish (1803). The pre-existing Flying Fish received a name change to Firefly in 1807, but was wrecked that same year. The new Flying Fish may have been commissioned under Lieutenant H.G. Massie, but if so, command quickly transferred to Lieutenant James Glassford Gooding.

Service
Admiral James R. Dacres, commander-in-chief of the Jamaica station, formed a small squadron on 25 August 1806 under the command of Captain George Le Geyt of the 18-gun Stork. The other three vessels in the squadron were Flying Fish under Gooding, Superieure (1803), and the 4-gun schooner Pike. Dacres ordered Le Geyt to bring out or destroy privateers based at Batabano in Cuba.

On 30 August the squadron approached the Isle of Pines. There they sighted a Spanish schooner at anchor. Le Geyt reinforced Pike with a lieutenant and eight seamen and sent her to engage the Spanish vessel. After a short chase and two broadsides from Pike's 12-pounder carronades, the Spaniard surrendered. She turned out to be a guarda costa of 10 guns, with a crew of 45 men. Pike took possession of her and took her back to the squadron.

Le Geyt then discovered that Stork drew too much water to permit her to enter the Gulf of Batabanó. He therefore transferred to the other three vessels his boats and men and sent in the cutting-out expedition under the command of Lieutenant Edward Rushworth, captain of Superieure.

The landing party consisted of 63 officers and men. Ten men from Flying Fish remained to guard the party's boats. The party landed on 2 September and crossed some two miles of marshy ground to storm a fort at Batabano. On their way they had to break through an ambush of enemy soldiers and militia. In the process they killed two and wounded one badly. At the fort they captured six 18-pounder long guns, which they spiked. The party then proceeded to take possession of the vessels in the bay. There is some disagreement as to how many vessels they captured and took as prizes, with the total rising as high as 12. According to Rushworth's letter (an after action report), the prizes included a felucca, pierced for 14 guns but only mounting one 18-pounder, a schooner pierced for 12 guns, a French 4-gun privateer, and three Spanish privateers of one gun each. The party also burnt at least six smaller coasting vessels after having removed their cargoes. Total British casualties amounted to one man badly wounded. A later accounting reported that in all cases the crews of the captured vessels escaped.

Flying Fish was at Spithead on 7 November 1806 when Admiral George Murray took command of the naval forces involved in the operations to capture Buenos Aires, supporting General John Whitelocke's soldiers.[6] Murray and the naval forces were for the most part limited to conveying troops, and subsequently organising their evacuation. The Spanish colonists, though discontented with Spanish rule, were not disposed to accept British rule. They rose against the soldiers who landed, and took them prisoners.

By 24 November Flying Fish and the rest of the naval force were at Saint Helena. From there they traveled to Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope, from where Murry wrote that the fleet was very healthy and that he had had to send only one man to hospital, a seaman from Flying Fish, for a fracture. The fleet left the Cape on 6 April, but on 8 April Flying Fish sailed back to Saint Helena with dispatches for onward transfer to Britain. By 27 May she had rejoined the fleet, now at Montevideo, and from then on she was employed in liaison duty, reconnaissance, and transporting senior commanders in support of the operation. By 8 July Flying Fish was with the squadron off Buenos Aires. Around 10 September Flying Fish sailed with the fleet back to Britain.

On 16 April 1808 Flying Fish sailed for Jamaica. She reached Barbados on 10 July with dispatches from Cadiz.

Fate
In December 1808 Flying Fish was sailing along the coast of San Domingo, working her way towards Port Royal, Jamaica, with a schooner in tow, a prize that she had taken. As the weather worsened, Gooding sailed closer to shore. When breakers were sighted ahead, he attempted to turn Flying Fish, but was unable to do so before she grounded. Although the strike was gentle, water poured in and Flying Fish was quickly turned on her side. The prize came in and removed all the men on Flying Fish. The subsequent court martial reprimanded the master for failing to take frequent depth soundings as the vessels approached shore, and admonished Gooding not to sail so close to shore in the future.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Flying_Fish_(1806)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
15 December 1833 – French 74 gun ship Superbe wrecked in storm


Superbe was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

Class and type: Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement:

• 2,966 tonnes
• 5,260 tonnes fully loaded

Length: 55.87 metres (183.3 ft) (172 pied)
Beam: 14.90 metres (48 ft 11 in)
Draught: 7.26 metres (23.8 ft) (22 pied)
Propulsion: Up to 2,485 m2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails
Armament:

• 74 guns:
• • Lower gundeck:
  • • 28 × 36-pounder long guns
  • Upper gundeck:
  • • 30 × 18-pounder long guns
  • Forecastle and Quarter deck:
  • • 6 × 8-pounder long guns
    • 10 × 36-pounder carronades

The Téméraire class ship of the line Superbe was wrecked at Paros, Greece on 15 December 1833

Career
Superbe was built at Antwerp, in a late effort of the First French Empire to replenish its Navy by using all available shipyards. Particularly well-built, to the point of being called the "nicest ship in the Navy", she became the only ship built at Antwerp to survive breaking up after the Bourbon Restoration.

She served in the Caribbean before returning to Brest to be put in the reserve in an inactive state.

In 1830, she took part in the French invasion of Algiers, after which she returned to Toulon to be decommissioned again.

In 1833, she served in the Mediterranean under Captain d'Oysonville. On 15 December, she was caught in a storm off Paros and ran aground at the entrance of Parekia harbour. The survivors returned to Toulon on Iphigénie, Galathée and Duquesne.


Plate No.4. Lithograph. Monochrome print showing the bow and starboard beam of the French ship, Superbe (1814), in danger of breaking up on rocks during a storm off the island of Paros. Only the foremast remains upright, the other masts having fallen back and the the bowsprit splintered. High waves batter the listing hull and the few remaining sails fly in tatters in the wind, most having been stripped from the yards. The stern is submerged and an anchor chain secures the bow. Figures are shown crowded on the foredeck holding on to the broken stem of the bowsprit. A lifeboat is being launched over the side of the ship. Semi-submerged rocks and the hills of the coast can be seen through the mist in the background.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Superbe_(1814)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Téméraire-class_ship_of_the_line

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
15 December 1944 - Ōryoku Maru (鴨緑丸, named after Yalu River) was a Japanese passenger cargo ship bombed by American aircraft, killing 200 Allied POWs. Hundreds more died in the months that followed.


Ōryoku Maru (鴨緑丸, named after Yalu River) was a Japanese passenger cargo ship which was commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II as a troop transport and prisoner of war (POW) transport ship. Japanese POW transport ships are often referred to as hell ships, due to their notoriously unpleasant conditions and the many deaths that occurred on board. In December 1944, the ship was bombed by American aircraft, killing 200 Allied POWs. Hundreds more died in the months that followed.

Sinking


Oryoku burning after attack on 15 December 1944 about 11 AM. Photo by a Hellcat from USS Hornet shows POWs swimming in the water.


Oryoku burning on 15 December 1944.

The Oryoku Maru left Manila on December 13, 1944, with 1,620 prisoners of war (including 1,556 American, 50 British and Dutch, 7 Czech, 4 Norwegians and several other nationalities) packed in the holds, and 1,900 Japanese civilians and military personnel in the cabins. As she neared the naval base at Olongapo in Subic Bay, US Navy planes from the USS Hornet attacked the unmarked ship, causing it to sink on December 15. About 270 died aboard ship. Some died from suffocation or dehydration. Others were killed in the attack, drowned or were shot while escaping the ship as it sunk in Subic Bay where the 'Hell Ship Memorial' is located. A colonel, in his official report, wrote:

Many men lost their minds and crawled about in the absolute darkness armed with knives, attempting to kill people in order to drink their blood or armed with canteens filled with urine and swinging them in the dark. The hold was so crowded and everyone so interlocked with one another that the only movement possible was over the heads and bodies of others.


The Oryoku Maru under attack at Olongapo, Luzon, 14-15 December 1944.

Experience of the survivors
The survivors of the sinking were held for several days in an open tennis court at Olongapo Naval Base. While there, the prisoners were afforded no sanitary conditions whatsoever. Prisoners experienced severe mistreatment, and several deaths occurred. The group of prisoners was then moved to San Fernando, Pampanga. While in San Fernando, 15 weak or wounded prisoners were loaded on a truck, believing they would be taken to Bilibid Prison for treatment. In the 1946 war crimes trial, they were reported to have been taken to a nearby cemetery, beheaded, and dumped into a mass grave. The remaining prisoners were then transported by train to San Fernando, La Union. There, about 1,000 of the survivors were loaded on another Japanese ship, the Enoura Maru, while the rest boarded the smaller Brazil Maru. Both ships reached Takao (Kaohsiung) harbor in Taiwan on New Year's Day.

On January 6, the smaller group of prisoners was transferred from Brazil Maru to Enoura Maru, and 37 British and Dutch were taken ashore. However, on January 9, the Enoura Maru was bombed and disabled while in harbor, killing about 350 men. The survivors were put aboard the Brazil Maru which arrived in Moji, Japan, on January 29, 1945. Only 550 of the over 900 who sailed from Taiwan were still alive; 150 more men died in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea in the following months, leaving only 403 survivors of the original 1,620 to be liberated from camps in Kyushu, Korea, Manchuria, and Taiwan in August and September 1945.

Aftermath
Junsaburo Toshino, former Lieutenant and Guard Commandant aboard the ship, was found guilty of murdering and supervising the murder of at least 16 men, and sentenced to death as a Class B war criminal at Yokohama. Shuske Wada, whose charges paralleled those of Toshino, was the official interpreter for the guard group. (Both Toshino and Wada had supervised the San Fernando murders.) Wada was found guilty of causing the deaths of numerous American and Allied prisoners of war by neglecting to transmit to his superiors requests for adequate quarters, food, drinking water, and medical attention. Wada was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor. All the other guards received long prison sentences. The captain of the ship, Shin Kajiyama, was acquitted, "as he had no chance to prevent any atrocities".

Painting
Kihachiro Ueda, who painted many Japanese ships, donated his painting of the ship to Subic Bay Historical Center for its hell ship memorial


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ōryoku_Maru

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 15 December


1671 – Launch of french Précieux 48, later 52 guns (launched 15 December 1671 at Le Havre) - captured by the Dutch 1677 but recovered; condemned 1678 and burnt.

Précieux Class. Designed and built by Barthélémy Tortel.
Heureux 48, later 54 guns guns (launched 3 October 1671 at Le Havre) - hulked 1690 and broken up after 1693.
Précieux 48, later 52 guns (launched 15 December 1671 at Le Havre) - captured by the Dutch 1677 but recovered; condemned 1678 and burnt.


1708 - HMS Cruizer (24) wrecked in the Azores.

HMS Cruizer (1705) was a 24-gun sixth rate, previously the French ship De Meric. She was captured in 1705 by HMS Tryton and was wrecked in 1708.


1752 – Launch of French Actif, a Citoyen class consisted of four 74-gun ships of the line

Illustre class. Designed and built by Pierre Salinoc.
Illustre 64 (launched 1750 at Brest) - taken to pieces in 1761.
Actif 64 (launched 15 December 1752 at Brest) - taken to pieces in 1767.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citoyen-class_ship_of_the_line


1779 – Hunter-class Sloop Viper wrecked

The Hunter class was a class of two sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1755 and 1756. Both were built by contract with commercial builders to a common design prepared by Thomas Slade, the Surveyor of the Navy.

Both were ordered on 5 August 1755, and contracts with the builders were agreed on 8 August. They were two-masted (snow-rigged) vessels, although the Hunter was built with a 'pink' or very narrow stern (and a keel 3 feet longer than the original design), while her sister Viper had a traditional 'square' stern.

Hunter was captured by two American privateers off Boston on 23 November 1775, but was retaken by HMS Greyhound the following day.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-class_sloop


1790 - William Bligh promoted to Captain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bligh


1811 – Launch of French Circé, (launched 15 December 1811 at Rochefort) – deleted 1844.

Armide class, (40-gun design by Pierre Roland, with 28 x 18-pounder and 8 x 12-pounder guns and 4 x 36-pounder obusiers).
Armide, (launched 24 April 1804 at Rochefort) – captured by British Navy 1806, becoming HMS Armide.
Minerve, (launched 9 September 1805 at Rochefort) – captured by British Navy 1806, becoming HMS Alceste.
Pénélope, (launched 28 October 1806 at Bordeaux) – deleted 1826.
Flore, (launched 11 November 1806 at Rochefort) – wrecked 1811.
Amphitrite, (launched 11 April 1808 at Cherbourg) – burnt 1809.
Niémen, (launched 8 November 1808 at Bordeaux) – captured by British Navy 1809, becoming HMS Niemen.
Saale, (launched 28 October 1810 at Rochefort) – renamed Amphitrite September 1814, reverted to Saale March 1815, then Amphitrite again in July 1815 – deleted 1821.
Alcmène, (launched 3 October 1811 at Cherbourg) – captured by British Navy 16 January 1814, becoming HMS Dunira, but quickly renamed HMS Immortalite.
Circé, (launched 15 December 1811 at Rochefort) – deleted 1844.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armide-class_frigate


1845 – USS Yorktown captures the slaver Panther off Kabenda, Africa. Previously that September, Yorktown also captured the slavers Pons and Patuxent.

The first USS Yorktown was a 16-gun sloop-of-war of the United States Navy. Used mostly for patrolling in the Pacific and anti-slave trade duties in African waters, the vessel was wrecked off Maio, Cape Verde in 1850.


The sloop of war USS Dale, similar in design to the Yorktown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(1839)


1944 - USS Hawkbill (SS 366) sinks the Japanese destroyer Momo west of Luzon.

USS Hawkbill (SS-366), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the hawksbill, a large sea turtle (the "-s-" was inadvertently dropped at commissioning.).


Hawkbill (SS-366), launches sideways into the Manitowoc River, 9 January 1944.

Hawkbill (SS-366) was launched by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wisc. 9 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. F. W. Scanland, Jr., and commissioned 17 May 1944, Lt. Comdr. F. Worth Scanland, Jr., in command.

Following a period of training on the Great Lakes, the submarine departed 1 June 1944 from Manitowoc to begin the long journey down the Illinois River and finally by barge down the Mississippi. She arrived New Orleans 10 June and, after combat loading, sailed 16 June for training out of the submarine base, Balboa, Canal Zone. With this vital training completed, she arrived Pearl Harbor 28 July for final preparations before her first war patrol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hawkbill_(SS-366)


1944 - The Battle of Mindoro Island, Philippines begins. During the battle, USS LST 738 is hit by a Japanese kamikaze plane and set ablaze. After attempts to control the fires are unsuccessful, LST-738 is sunk by the guns of other ships of the invasion fleet. USS LST 472 is also hit by the kamikaze attack and sinks six days later.

The Battle of Mindoro (Filipino: Labanan sa Mindoro) was a battle in World War II between forces of the United States and Japan, in Mindoro Island in the central Philippines, from 13–16 December 1944, during the Philippines Campaign.

Troops of the United States Army, supported by the United States Navy and U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), made an amphibious landing on Mindoro and defeated Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) forces there. There was no significant opposition from the Imperial Japanese Navy, nor from the Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces, except for kamikaze(suicide) attacks on American ships.

The Japanese force in Mindoro was not large, and was eliminated in three days. The Army was assisted in the campaign by guerrillas from the local Filipino population.

The U.S. captured Mindoro to establish airfields there, which would be in fighter range of Lingayen Gulf in northern Luzon Island, where the next major amphibious invasion of the Philippines was planned. Ground-based fighter cover was necessary for this operation. Mindoro could also serve as the advanced base for U.S. troops going to fight in Luzon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mindoro


1970 – A South Korean ferry, Namyong Ho, capsizes in the Korea Strait, killing more than 300 people.

A ferry that ran between Busan and Jeju-do, and capsized in Korea Strait, killing 323 people. Only 12 were rescued.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1598 - Battle of Noryang


The Battle of Noryang, the last major battle of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), was fought between the Japanese navy and the combined fleets of the Joseon Kingdom and the Ming dynasty. It took place in the early morning of 16 December (19 November in the Lunar calendar) 1598 and ended past dawn.

The allied force of about 150 Joseon and Ming Chinese ships, led by admirals Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin, attacked and either destroyed or captured more than half of the 500 Japanese ships commanded by Shimazu Yoshihiro, who was attempting to link-up with Konishi Yukinaga. The battered survivors of Shimazu's fleet limped back to Pusan and a few days later, left for Japan. At the height of the battle, Yi was hit by a bullet from an arquebus and died shortly thereafter.


Picture of part of a Naval Battle Scroll from the Imjin War

Background
Due to setbacks in land and sea battles, the Japanese armies had been driven back to their network of fortresses, or wajō (和城), on the southeastern Korean coast. However, the wajō could not hold the entire Japanese army, so, in June 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Taikō who instigated the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), and also the acting Japanese Lord of War, ordered 70,000 troops of mostly the Japanese Army of the Right to withdraw to the archipelago. On 18 September 1598, Hideyoshi unexpectedly died at Fushimi castle. The Japanese forces in Korea were ordered to withdraw back to Japan by the new governing Council of Five Elders. Due to the presence of Joseon and Ming ships, the Japanese garrisons in the wajō could not retreat and stayed in the relative safety of their forts.

The Sunch'on wajō was the westernmost Japanese fortress and contained 14,000 troops commanded by Konishi Yukinaga, who was the leader of Japan's vanguard contingent during the first invasion, in 1592.[8] Yi and Lin blocked Konishi from retreat, but Konishi sent many gifts to Chen in an attempt to bribe the Ming commander into lifting the blockade. At first, Chen agreed to withdraw the allied fleet, but Yi steadfastly refused to comply. Then Lin suggested that the allied fleet attack smaller, more vulnerable wajō, such as the fort at Namhae. Yi rejected that strategy as well. Yi argued that Konishi, who commanded one of the largest wajō, would be allowed to escape if the allies were to leave and fight elsewhere.

On 15 December, about 20,000 Japanese troops from the wajō of Sach'on, Goseong and Namhae boarded 500 ships and began to mass east of the Noryang Strait in an attempt to break the allied blockade of Sunch'on. The overall commander of this relief force was Shimazu Yoshihiro, the leader of the Sach'on wajō.

The objective of the allied fleet was to prevent the link-up of Shimazu's fleet with the fleet of Konishi, then attack and defeat Shimazu's fleet. The objective of Shimazu's fleet was to cross Noryang Strait, link up with Konishi and retreat to Pusan. Shimazu knew that Konishi was trying to cause disunity within the Joseon-Ming alliance and hoped that they would be busy elsewhere or still blockading the Sunch'on wajō and thus vulnerable to an attack from their rear.

Battle


Looking north, sea off Gwaneumpo

On 15 December, a huge Japanese fleet was amassed in Sach'on Bay, on the east end of the Noryang Strait. Shimazu was not sure whether the allied fleet was continuing the blockade of Konishi's wajō, on its way to attack an abandoned wajō further east or blocking their way on the western end of Noryang Strait. Yi, meanwhile, knew exactly where Shimazu was after receiving reports from scouts and local fishermen.

The Joseon fleet consisted of 82 panokseon multi-decked oared ships. The Ming fleet consisted of six large war junks (true battle vessels most likely used as flagships) that were driven by both oars and sails, 57 lighter war ships driven by oars alone (most likely transports converted for battle use), and two panokseon provided by Yi. In terms of manpower, the allied fleet had 8,000 sailors and marines under Yi, 5,000 Ming men of the Guangdong Squadron and 2,600 Ming marines who fought aboard Korean ships, a total of almost 16,000 sailors and fighting men. The Ming fleet was divided into two squadrons, the larger of which was commanded by Lin and the smaller by Deng Zilong. The allied fleet was well equipped with cannon, mortars, archers and arquebusiers. The Japanese had 500 ships, but a significant part of their fleet consisted of light transports. The Japanese ships were well armed with arquebuses and also had some captured Joseon cannon. The allied fleet was outnumbered, but made up for it with ships which, on average, had superior firepower and heavier, more sturdy construction.

The allied fleet waited for Shimazu on the west end of Noryang Strait. The battle began at 02:00 on 16 December. It was, from the very beginning, a desperate affair with the Japanese determined to fight through the allied fleet and the allies equally determined to keep them from breaking through and advancing.

As in Yi's previous battles, the Japanese were unable to respond effectively as the Korean and Chinese cannon prevented them from moving. The narrowness of the Noryang Strait also prevented any maneuverability.

When the Japanese fleet was significantly damaged, Lin ordered his fleet to engage in melee combat. This, however, allowed the Japanese to use their arquebuses and fight using their traditional fighting style of boarding enemy ships. When Chen's flagship was attacked, Yi had to order his fleet to engage in hand-to-hand combat as well.

Song Hui-rip, the captain of Yi's flagship, was struck in the helmet by an arquebus ball and fell unconscious for a time. The vessels got so close that Joseon ships were able to throw burning wood onto the decks of Japanese ships.

Heavy Japanese arquebus fire forced the Chinese sailors to keep their heads low, while the Japanese closed in. Several parties boarded Lin's flagship and in the hand-to-hand fighting that ensued, Chen's son was injured parrying a sword thrust directed at his father. Seeing Chen's ship in trouble, the Ming left wing commander Deng Zilong and two hundred of his personal guard transferred to a Joseon panokseon (one of two given to the Ming fleet by Yi) and rowed to his aid.[14] Several Ming ships, mistaking the panokseon for a Japanese ship, opened fire and disabled it. The stricken panokseon drifted towards the Japanese and they boarded and killed everyone on board, including Deng.

By the middle of the battle, as dawn was about to break, the allied fleet had the upper hand and half of Shimazu's fleet were either sunk or captured. It was said that Yoshihiro's flagship was sunk and that he was clinging to a piece of wood in the icy water. Japanese ships came to his rescue, pulling him to safety. During the course of the battle, the ships fought from the west end of the strait all the way across to the east end, almost to the open water. The Japanese sustained heavy damage and began to retreat along the south coast of Namhae Island, towards Pusan.

Yi's death


A map showing the movements of the navies in the battle

As the Japanese retreated, Yi ordered a vigorous pursuit. During this time a stray arquebus bullet from an enemy ship struck him near the armpit, on his left side. Sensing that the wound was fatal, the admiral uttered, "We are about to win the war – keep beating the war drums. Do not announce my death." and with those words he died.

Only three people witnessed Sun-sin's death including Yi Hoe, his eldest son, Song Hui-rip, and Yi Wan, his nephew. They struggled to regain their composure and carried Sun-sin's body into his cabin before others could notice. For the remainder of the battle, Wan wore his uncle's armor and continued to beat the war drum to let the rest of the fleet know that the Admiral's flagship was still in the fight.

Chen's ship was again in trouble and Yi's flagship rowed to his rescue. Yi's flagship fought off and sunk several Japanese ships and Lin called for Yi to thank him for coming to his aid. However, Chen was met by Wan who announced that his uncle was dead. It is said that Chen himself was so shocked that he fell to the ground three times, beating his chest and crying. of Yi's death spread quickly throughout the allied fleet.

Aftermath
Out of 500 Japanese ships under Shimazu's command, an estimated 200 were able to make it back to Pusan Harbor (other Joseon archives record that Shimazu's remnants were fiercely pursued by the Yi Sun-sin's fleet: only 50 ships of Shimazu's armada ever managed to escape). Konishi Yukinaga left his fortress on 16 December and his men were able to retreat by sailing through the southern end of Namhae Island, bypassing both the Noryang Strait and the battle.[23] Although he knew the battle was raging, he made no effort to help Shimazu. All the Japanese fortresses were now abandoned and Ming and Joseon ground forces moved up to capture them, claim abandoned supplies and round up stragglers. Konishi, Shimazu, Katō Kiyomasa and other Japanese generals of the Left Army congregated in Pusan and withdrew to Japan on 21 December. The last ships sailed to Japan on 24 December, bringing an end to seven years of war.

Yi Sun-sin's body was brought back to his home town in Asan to be buried next to his father, Yi Chong (in accordance with Korean tradition). The court gave him the posthumous rank of minister of the right. Shrines, both official and unofficial, were constructed in his honor. In 1643, Yi was given the title of chungmugong, "duke/lord of loyal valor".

Lin gave a eulogy while attending Yi's funeral. He then withdrew his forces to Ming China and received high military honors.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Noryang

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1693 - Launch of HMS Torbay, an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Deptford Dockyard


HMS Torbay was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard on 16 December 1693.

General characteristics as built
Class and type: 80-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1,202 bm
Length: 156 ft (47.5 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 41 ft 11 in (12.8 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 4 in (5.3 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament: 80 guns of various weights of shot

General characteristics after 1719 rebuild
Class and type: 1706 Establishment 80-gun third rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1,296 bm
Length: 156 ft (47.5 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 43 ft 6 in (13.3 m)
Depth of hold:1 7 ft 8 in (5.4 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:

• 80 guns:
• Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs
• Middle gundeck: 26 × 12 pdrs
• Upper gundeck: 24 × 6 pdrs
• Quarterdeck: 4 × 6 pdrs

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board detail, sheer lines (no waterlines) with inboard detail, and longiudinal half-breadth with deck details for Torbay (1719), a 1706 Establishment 80-gun Third Rate, three-decker.


In 1707, she served as flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir John Norris and belonged to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet. She saw action during the unsuccessful Battle of Toulon and was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships (Association, Firebrand, Romney and Eagle) were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. Torbay suffered little to no damage and finally managed to reach Portsmouth.

She was rebuilt at Deptford, according to the 1706 Establishment, and was relaunched on 23 May 1719. After this, her 80 guns were mounted on three gundecks instead of her original two, though she continued to be classified as a third rate.

Torbay was broken up in 1749.

Torbay was notable for breaking the defensive boom in the Battle of Vigo Bay.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longiudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for building Torbay (1719), a 1706 Establishment 80-gun Third Rate, three-decker.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Torbay_(1693)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Torbay_1719

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1796 - french Séduisant, a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class, wrecked


Séduisant was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.

Class and type: Séduisant-class ship of the line
Displacement: 1550 tonnes
Length: 56.3 m (185 ft)
Beam: 14.2 m (47 ft)
Draught: 7.4 m (24 ft)
Complement: 600
Armament: 74 guns


Modèle réduit d'un vaisseau de 74 canons du même type que le Séduisant

She was renamed Pelletier on 30 September 1793, in honour of Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau. Under Savary, she was one of the last ships of the line at the Glorious First of June.

On 30 May 1795 her name was changed back to Séduisant. She sank accidentally on 16 December 1796 while leaving Brest for the Expédition d'Irlande. Out of 600 crew and 610 soldiers, only 60 survived.
Other sources speak of 650-680 survivors. The wreck was rediscovered in 1986.


"Le port de Brest", huile de J.F. Hue, 1793
Musée de La Marine, Paris

The Séduisant class was a sub-class of 74-gun ships of the line of the French Navy, comprising two ships built at Toulon Dockyard to a design by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb in the year immediately following the close of the American Revolutionary War. In reality these two ships followed his design for the Centaure Class, but were completed with a length greater by 5¼ feet,and had also slightly less breadth and depth in hold.

• Séduisant

Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 1 June 1782
Begun: August 1782
Launched: 5 July 1783
Completed: 1783
Fate: Wrecked, 16 December 1796

• Mercure

Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 1 June 1782
Begun: August 1782
Launched: 4 August 1783
Completed: 1783
Fate: Burnt by the British after the Battle of the Nile, 2 August 1798



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Séduisant_(1783)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Séduisant-class_ship_of_the_line
http://www.archeosousmarine.net/seduisant.php
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Séduisant_(1783)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1805 - HMS Kingfisher (18), Nathaniel Day Cochrane, captured French privateer schooner Elisabeth (14) in the West Indies.


HMS Kingfisher (or King's Fisher or Kingsfisher) was a Royal Navy 18-gun ship sloop, built by John King and launched in 1804 at Dover. She served during the Napoleonic Wars, first in the Caribbean and then in the Mediterranean before being broken up in 1816.

Class and type: Ship sloop
Tons burthen: 365 32⁄94 bm
Length:

• 106 ft (32.3 m) (gundeck)
• 87 ft 7 in (26.7 m) (keel)

Beam: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Depth of hold: 13 ft 9 in (4.19 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 121
Armament:

• 16 × 32-pounder carronades
• 2 × 6-pounder chase guns

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plans, sheer lines with alterations to the forecastle, and longitudinal half-breadth for Wolf (1804), Martin (1805), Brisk (1805), Star (1805), Kangaroo (1805), Cygnet (1804), Ariel (1806), Helena (1804), Albacore (1804), Fly (1804), Kingfisher (1804), Otter (1805), Rose (1805), and Halifax (1806), all 16-gun Ship Sloops with quarterdeck and forecastles. These ships were to be built similar to the Merlin (1796) and the Pheasant (1798).

Caribbean
Kingfisher was commissioned under Commander Richard William Cribb in April 1804. He sailed her to the Leeward Islands and initially she operated from Barbados.

In January King's Fisher captured the French privateer schooner Deux Amis. She was pierced for eight guns but only had two on board at the time of her capture, having thrown the others overboard as she tried to escape her pursuers. She had a crew of 39 men, under the command of Francis Dutrique. She was ten days out of Guadeloupe and had captured nothing. Cribb credited His Majesty's schooner Grenada with having chased Deux Amis into his hands. Furthermore, when Grenada's commander saw that Kingfisher would capture Deux Amis, he chased and recaptured the sloop Hero.

On 11 April 1805, her boats cut out the Spanish privateer Damas from an anchorage under Cape St. Juan. She was pierced for four guns but only mounted one 8-pounder. She also carried 40 muskets for her crew of 57 men. Damas had left Cumaná, Venezuela, ten days earlier for a cruise off Demerara on what was her first cruise, but had captured nothing. She put up a little resistance and there was fire from the shore, but Kingsfisher suffered no casualties. In April 1826 head money for the capture of the Deux Amis and the Damaswas finally paid.

On 27 June, when about 180 miles to north-east of Barbuda, Kingfisher, Captain Richard William Cribb, and Osprey, Captain Timothy Clinch, found themselves being chased by French frigates. While making sail to escape, the two sloops hoisted signals and fired guns, as if signaling to a fleet ahead. Their pursuers immediately gave up the chase, which gave Kingfisher and Osprey the opportunity to catch up with a group of 15 French merchant vessels with cargoes of rum, sugar and coffee. The two British sloops left all 15 merchantmen in flames.

Cribb died in June 1805. From July Kingfisher was under the command of Commander Nathaniel Day Cochrane.

On 16 December Kingfisher captured the French privateer Elisabeth, out of Guadaloupe after a 12-hour chase. Elizabeth was armed with ten 6-pounder guns and four 9-pounder carronades. She had a crew of 102, but 11 men were away in the Cambrian, which Elizabeth had captured after Cambrian had left a convoy on 28 October. Cambrian had been carrying a cargo of coal from Cork to Jamaica; HMS Melville recaptured Cambrian. Cochrane noted that Elizabeth was a fine vessel, well worth taking into the Royal Navy, which advice the Navy took, commissioning her as HMS Elizabeth.

Also that day Kingfisher and Hyaena captured a Spanish polacca sailing to Vera Cruz with merchandise. On 28 December Kingsfisher and Heureux captured the Spanish merchant brig Solidad, which was carrying brandy and wine from Cadiz to Vera Cruz.

In 1806, Kingfisher was attached to the British squadron under Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth. On 1 February she brought intelligence that a French squadron of three sail of the line had been seen steering towards the city of Santo Domingo. Duckworth gathered his squadron and on 6 February met the French in the Battle of San Domingo. Kingfisher was highly commended for her services in the aftermath of the action, with Cochrane being promoted to Post-captain. In 1807 Kingfisher shared with the rest of Duckworth's squadron in the prize money for the capture of the Alexander, Jupiter and Brave. In 1847 the Admiralty would issue to any surviving crew members that claimed it the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Domingo".

George Francis Seymour, who had been severely wounded while serving in Northumberland in the battle of San Domingo, succeeded Cochrane. Kingfisher then sailed for the Channel.

European theatre
On 14 May Kingfisher towed Pallas after Pallas had rammed Minerve in the Basque Roads.

In July, Seymour was posted into Aurora and Commander William Hepenstall took command of Kingfisher. On 27 September she was with Admiral Sir Thomas Louis's squadron when the 40-gun French frigate President surrendered to the 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop Dispatch, assisted by the 74-gun third rate Canopus and the frigate Blanche.

In October, Hepenstall sailed Kingsfisher to the Mediterranean. Here, she was operating off the Turkish coast near Karaman, when on 27 June 1808 she captured the French letter of marque Hercule after a six-hour chase and an hour-long fight. Hercule, under Gerome Cavassa (a member of the Legion of Honour), was carrying a cargo of cotton from Aleppo and Cyprus to Marseilles or Genoa. She was armed with 12 guns, ranging in size from 8-pounders to 18-pounders. Her crew numbered 57 men, of whom one was killed and two were wounded. Kingfisher suffered extensive damage to her rigging but had only one man slightly wounded.

In 1809, under Commander Ewell Tritton, on 12 March she was in company with the 38-gun fifth-rate frigate Topaze when Topaze engaged in an inconclusive action in the Adriatic with the 40-gun Flore and the 44-gun Danaé. Topazesustained no casualties or meaningful damage.

On 1 October Kingfisher joined a squadron off Zante. On 3 October the British captured the port.

In 1810, a midshipman from Kingfisher, together with a corporal of marines and four boys, captured a trabaccolo that turned out to have some 100 French soldiers aboard. Kingfisher conveyed them to Malta.

In 1811, Kingfisher was in the Adriatic, participating indirectly in the Action of 29 November 1811 when Active captured Pomone. Kingsfisher came up after the fighting was over and took Pomone in tow. Later, Kingfisher shared in the prize money.

On 29 January 1813 Kingfisher was in company with Cerberus when they captured the Madona della Grazia. Prize money was paid in April 1838.

2 February 1813, after a five-hour chase, her boats captured one trabaccolo and ran nine ashore at St. Catherine's, Corfu, of which five were destroyed. Kingfisher lost two men killed and seven severely wounded.

On 27 May 1813, Kingsfisher was at Port Slano (Croatia). There she destroyed three vessels and took six, laden with grain and wine for Ragussa.

Fate
Between 1814 and 1816, Kingfisher was placed in ordinary at Portsmouth. She was broken up in October 1816


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Merlin (1798) and Pheasant (1798), both 16-gun Ship Sloops to be built by contract in private yards. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813]


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the stern board outline for Merlin (1796) and Pheasant (1798), both 16-gun Ship Sloop with a quarterdeck and forecastle. A copy was sent to Mr Dudman for the Merlin on 15 September 1795 and a copy to Mr Edwards for the Pheasant on 16 November 1795


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Kingfisher_(1804)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83649.html
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-330772;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=M

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1850 – The Charlotte Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, New Zealand.


The Canterbury Association was formed in order to establish a colony in what is now the Canterbury Region in the South Island of New Zealand

Formation of the Association
Main category: Members of the Canterbury Association
The Association was founded in London on 27 March 1848, and incorporated by Royal Charter on 13 November 1849. The prime movers were Edward Gibbon Wakefield and John Robert Godley. Wakefield was heavily involved in the New Zealand Company, which by that time had already established four other colonies in New Zealand. He approached Godley to help him establish a colony sponsored by the Church of England. The President of the Association's Committee of Management was John Sumner, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Committee itself included several other bishops and clergy, as well as members of the peerage and Members of Parliament.[1] At its first meeting, the Association decided upon names. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, presumably after the Archbishop of Canterbury, the seat of the settlement Christchurch after the Oxford college at which Godley had studied.

Establishment of the colony
Main category: Canterbury Pilgrims


Canterbury Association poster aimed at working-class people

The Association re-targeted its planned settlement from the Wairarapa to the Banks Peninsula hinterland, where it arranged to buy land from the New Zealand Company for 10 shillings per acre (4000 m²). The Association then sold the land to its colonists for £3 per acre, reserving the rest, the additional £2 10s, for use in "public objects such as emigration, roads, and Church and school endowments" (20 shillings = £1). The provision of funds for emigration allowed the Association to offer assisted passages to members of the working classes with desirable skills for the new colony. A poster advertising the assisted passages specifically mentions "Gardeners, Shep[herd]s, Farm Servants, Labourers and Country Mechanics". The religious nature of the colony shows in the same poster's requirement that the clergyman of their parish should vouch for applicants, and in the specific earmarking of some of the proceeds from land sales for church endowments.

Godley (with his family) went out to New Zealand in early 1850 to oversee the preparations for the settlement (surveying, roads, accommodation, etc.) already undertaken by a large team of men under the direction of Captain Joseph Thomas. These preparations were advanced, but incomplete when the first ships of settlers arrived on 16 December 1850 - Godley halted them shortly after his arrival in April due to the mounting debts of the Association. Lord Lyttelton, Sir John Simeon, 3rd Baronet, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and Lord Richard Cavendish guaranteed ₤15,000 to the Association, which saved it from financial collapse.

Charlotte Jane and Randolph arrived in Lyttelton Harbour on 16 December 1850, Sir George Seymour on the 17th, and Cressy on the 27th, having set sail from England in September 1850. The British press dubbed the settlers on these first four ships Canterbury Pilgrims. A further 24 shiploads of Canterbury Association settlers, making a total of approximately 3,500, arrived over the next two-and-a-half years.

The affairs of the Canterbury Association were wound up in 1853.


Ship Sir George Seymour ailing down the Channel with other shipping with the coast in the background.

The First Four Ships refers to the four sailing vessels chartered by the Canterbury Association which left Plymouth, England, in September 1850 to transport the first English settlers to new homes in Canterbury, New Zealand.

The ships
Randolph, Cressy, Sir George Seymour, and Charlotte Jane together carried an estimated 790 passengers. In addition, about another 60 worked their passage on the ships or deserted and disembarked. The first of the vessels, Charlotte-Jane, landed at Lyttelton Harbour on the morning of 16 December 1850. Randolph followed that afternoon. Sir George Seymour arrived on 17 December, followed by Cressy on 27 December. The Cressy had taken longer because it had lost its fore-mast south of the Cape of Good Hope.

Social cross section
The "colonists", who travelled in the relative luxury of the cabins, included those men and their families who could afford to buy land in the new colony. Some of these settlers' families remain prominent in Christchurch to this day. "Emigrants" included farm workers, labourers and tradesmen, who made the journey in steerage, some having assisted passage. Like their employers, the emigrants included devout Anglicans selected to help build a community founded on religious virtues. Each ship carried a chaplain, a doctor and a schoolmaster, and included in the cargo was a printing press, a library of 2,000 books, a church organ and several pre-fabricated houses in sections. Cabin passengers paid £42 and cheaper berths were £25, whilst steerage passengers paid £15.

Greeting the settlers
Sir George Grey, the Governor, came down the coast in Her Majesty's sloop of war Fly to welcome their arrival. He and Lady Grey left before the arrival of Cressy. John Robert Godley was also at Lyttelton to meet the settlers.

A marble plaque in Cathedral Square in Christchurch lists the names of the Canterbury Pilgrims.


Port Lyttelton, showing the first four ships and emigrants landing from the Cressy, December 28th 1850


Charlotte Jane was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Tons burthen: 730 tons bm
Length: 131 ft 8 in (40.13 m)
Beam: 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)
Depth: 21 ft 8 in (6.60 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship

Arrival in Lyttelton
Randolph, Cressy, Sir George Seymour and Charlotte Jane together carried an estimated 790 passengers. In addition, about another 60 worked their passage on the ships or deserted and disembarked. The first of the vessels to arrive was Charlotte Jane in Lyttelton on 16 December 1850 in the morning. Randolph followed that afternoon. Sir George Seymour arrived on 17 December, followed by Cressy on 27 December. Charlotte Jane carried the equipment for the production of the region's first newspaper, the Lyttelton Times, which was first published less than one month after the ship's arrival.

Passengers


Marble plaques in Cathedral Square

Charlotte Jane carried approximately 154 passengers. Exact numbers are not known because the surgeons' lists and the shipping lists do not match, and some young children were not counted.

The passengers aboard these four ships were referred to as "the Pilgrims". Their names are inscribed on marble plaques in Cathedral Square in the centre of Christchurch, where 157 passengers are listed.

Notable passengers
The first passenger who leapt onto the shore was James FitzGerald, who became an important politician in New Zealand. One of her most notable passengers was the architect Benjamin Mountfort. Charles Bowen was later Speaker of the New Zealand Legislative Council.[6] James Stuart-Wortley was a member of the 1st New Zealand Parliament before he returned to England in 1855. James Temple Fisher was elected to Parliament in 1876.[8] Edward Bishop was the 6th Mayor of Christchurch.

Harriet Simpson became the first nurse at Lyttelton Hospital.

Alfred Charles Barker was the surgeon on the voyage. He was Canterbury's first doctor


Randolph was a 664-ton ship-rigged merchant vessel constructed in 1849 in Sunderland. She was one of the First Four Ships to settle Christchurch, New Zealand (the other three were Cressy, Sir George Seymour and Charlotte Jane).

Randolph left Gravesend on 4 September 1850, and Plymouth on the night of 7 September 1850. The Canterbury Association chartered Randolph, with Captain William Dale serving as the ship's captain. She arrived at Lyttelton 99 days later on 16 December 1850, with 34 cabin passengers, 15 intermediate and 161 steerage passengers.

She was lost on 25 June 1851, on a reef off Amber Island (Mapon). She had on board a cargo of sugar for London, a large amount of money, and 254 Indian emigrants for Port Louis. Nothing belonging to the vessel could be saved. Mr. Scott, an officer of the Madras Army, swam on shore, but died a moment after reaching it from exhaustion. Two European sailors, nine men (immigrants), ten women, and three children were drowned.

Randolph's entry in Lloyd's Register for 1851 carries the annotation "Wrecked".


Randolph memorial in Cathedral Square in front of the former Chief Post Office



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Association
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Jane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_(ship)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Four_Ships

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1900 - The german training ship SMS Gneisenau sinks in storm near harbour of Malaga in Spain. 40 of the crew died.


SMS Gneisenau was a Bismarck-class corvette built for the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in the late 1870s. The ship was named after the Prussian Field MarshalAugust von Gneisenau. She was the fifth member of the class, which included five other vessels. The Bismarck-class corvettes were ordered as part of a major naval construction program in the early 1870s, and she was designed to serve as a fleet scout and on extended tours in Germany's colonial empire. Gneisenau was laid down in June 1877, launchedin September 1879, and was commissioned into the fleet in October 1880. She was armed with a battery of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) guns and had a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine on long cruises abroad.


SMS Gneisenau, photo by Arthur Renard, Kiel, 1899, showing the ship as cadets' training ship.

Gneisenau went abroad on two major foreign deployments in the first decade of her career. The first, in 1882, was to protect German nationals in Egypt during the 'Urabi revolt, though by the time she arrived, British forces had largely defeated the rebels, allowing Gneisenau to return home. The second, lengthier deployment came two years later and lasted from 1884 to 1886, and primarily focused on German colonial designs on eastern Africa. She was involved in the seizure of the colony of German East Africa in 1885, and she briefly toured German interests in the Pacific Ocean in 1886.

In 1887, Gneisenau began her service as a training ship, a role she held for more than a decade. During this period, she was generally occupied with training cruises and individual, squadron, and fleet training. Long-distance cruises frequently alternated between the West Indies and the Mediterranean Sea. While on one such cruise on 16 December 1900, the ship was driven into the mole outside Málaga by heavy winds and destroyed, with the loss of 41 officers and crew. Her wreck proved impossible to salvage, and so she was sold for scrap shortly after the accident.

Design


An unidentified Bismarck-class corvette
Main article: Bismarck-class corvette

The six ships of the Bismarck class were ordered in the early 1870s to supplement Germany's fleet of cruising warships, which at that time relied on several ships that were twenty years old. Gneisenau and her sister ships were intended to patrol Germany's colonial empire and safeguard German economic interests around the world.

Gneisenau was 82 meters (269 ft 0 in) long overall, with a beam of 13.7 m (44 ft 11 in) and a draft of 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) forward. She displaced2,994 metric tons (2,947 long tons) at full load. The ship's crew consisted of 18 officers and 386 enlisted men. She was powered by a single marine steam engine that drove one 2-bladed screw propeller, with steam provided by four coal-fired fire-tube boilers, which gave her a top speed of 13.8 knots (25.6 km/h; 15.9 mph) at 2,866 metric horsepower (2,827 ihp). She had a cruising radius of 2,380 nautical miles(4,410 km; 2,740 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). As built, Gneisenau was equipped with a full ship rig, but this was later reduced.

Gneisenau was armed with a battery of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) 22-caliber (cal.) quick-firing guns and two 8.8 cm (3.5 in) 30-cal. guns. She also carried six 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon.

Construction and first overseas deployment


Gneisenau in port, likely in the 1880s

The new corvette, ordered under the contract name "D", was laid down in June 1877 at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Danzig (Gdańsk). She was launched on 4 September 1879, and was christened with the name Gneisenau, after the veteran of the Napoleonic Wars and Prussian military reformer Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) August von Gneisenau, during the launching ceremony by Admiral Albrecht von Stosch, the head of the Kaiserliche Admiralität (Imperial Admiralty). She was commissioned on 3 October 1880 before work on the ship actually finished in order to transfer her to the Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel, where her guns were installed. Sea trials were then conducted, lasting from the end of December to 12 February 1881, after which she was decommissioned and placed in reserve. Her commander during this period was Kapitän zur See (KzS—Captain at Sea) Bartholomäus von Werner. At the time, Stosch had implemented a plan whereby Germany's colonies would be protected by gunboats, while larger warships would generally be kept in reserve, with a handful assigned to a flying squadron that could respond to crises quickly.

By the early 1880s, French and British controls in Egypt and particularly the Suez Canal produced the 'Urabi revolt, led by Ahmed ‘Urabi. In June 1882, the revolutionaries, angered by foreign influence in the country, murdered fifty Europeans, prompting the British Royal Navy to bombard Alexandria and then land forces to pursue the rebels. In the wake of the conflict, the German government determined that warships should be sent to protect Germans in the country. Initially hoping to avoid mobilizing any vessels in Germany to keep the cost of the operation to a minimum, the Admiralität ordered a pair of gunboats, Habicht and Möwe, that had been returning from overseas deployments to proceed to Egypt. There, they sent sailors ashore to protect Germans in Alexandria and Port Said, respectively.

These two small vessels proved to be insufficient for the task, and so on 13 August, Gneisenau, the corvette Nymphe, the aviso Zieten, and the gunboat Cyclop were commissioned to reinforce them. They departed Kiel on 19 August, under the command of Gneisenau's captain KzS Max von der Goltz, who was made Kommodore of the squadron. The ships arrived in Port Said on 21 August, and on 13 September the British defeated 'Urabi's forces at the Battle of Tell El Kebir, effectively ending the rebellion. The German squadron remained in the area until December, when it was disbanded; Gneisenau arrived back in Kiel on 24 December, where she was decommissioned on 9 January 1883, though Nymphe and Cyclop remained in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as a precaution against further unrest


A painting of Gneisenau, Stein, and Stosch under sail, by Alexander Kircher

Loss


Memorial for a sailor killed aboard Gneisenau

On 18 September, she left Kiel once again for another overseas cruise, stopping in Dartmouth on the way through the English Channel. She toured ports in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, stopping in Málaga on 13 November, where she remained for nearly a month. On 10 December, she left the port to begin shooting exercises; she moored off the mole, some 800 to 900 m (2,600 to 3,000 ft) from shore, where the exercises were held. At around 10:30 on 16 December, the weather off Málaga worsened considerably, with force 8 winds. The ship's commander, KzSKretschmann, ordered the crew to raise steam in the boilers so the ship could be moved into the safety of the harbor, and thirty minutes later a miscommunication between the engine room personnel and the captain led to Kretschmann ordering the anchors raised so the ship could get underway. The commander believed the engine room had reported 50 revolutions per minute(rpm) on the propeller shaft, but the actual figure was 15 rpm, not sufficient to propel the ship. As a result, the now-unmoored ship drifted helplessly in the heavy winds.

The crew attempted to drop the starboard anchor, but it did not catch in the stony ground. Gneisenau was driven into the mole repeatedly, striking it with her stern twice before being turned and pushed bow-first on the starboard side, forcing her aground. A merchant ship attempted to come to the crew's aid, but they were unable to connect a line between the two ships before Gneisenau began to list 35 degrees. A boat from shore also attempted to rescue the crew, but it too was forced ashore in the heavy seas. Wave action quickly smashed Gneisenau's hull against the mole, and part of her crew attempted to find safety by climbing the rigging. The ship rolled over onto her side, and the surviving crewmen reached shore with a line. Forty-one men were killed in the accident, including Kretschmann and the ship's first officer. Charlotte and the British ironclad HMS Devastation were sent to aid the wounded. Those killed in the sinking were buried in Málaga's cemetery, and the survivors returned to Germany aboard the HAPAG steamship SS Andalusia on 2 January 1901.

The equipment director from the Kaiserliche Werft of Wilhelmshaven, KK Otto Mandt, surveyed the wreck to determine if it could be salvaged, but he determined that it was too badly damaged. Instead, the guns and other valuable equipment were removed and the wreck was blown up to test the strength of the hull's construction. The remains of the ship were then sold for scrap, to be broken up in situ.




https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Gneisenau_(1879)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1907 – The American Great White Fleet begins its circumnavigation of the world.


The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the powerful United States Navy battle fleet that completed a journey around the globe from 16 December 1907, to 22 February 1909, by order of United States President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was to make friendly courtesy visits to numerous countries, while displaying new U.S. naval power to the world.


Kansas sails ahead of Vermont as the fleet leaves Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 16 December 1907.

It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with various escorts. Roosevelt sought to demonstrate growing American military power and blue-water navy capability. Hoping to enforce treaties and protect overseas holdings, the United States Congress appropriated funds to build American naval power. Beginning in the 1880s with just 90 small ships, over one-third of them wooden and therefore obsolete, the navy quickly grew to include new modern steel fighting vessels. The hulls of these ships were painted a stark white, giving the armada the nickname "Great White Fleet"


Background and purpose


Flagship Connecticut: one of a set of commemorative postcards of the ships of the Great White Fleet

In the twilight of his administration, United States President Theodore Roosevelt dispatched 16 U.S. Navy battleships of the Atlantic Fleet on a worldwide voyage of circumnavigation from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909. The hulls were painted white, the Navy's peacetime color scheme, decorated with gilded scrollwork with a red, white, and blue banner on their bows. These ships would later come to be known as the Great White Fleet.

The purpose of the fleet deployment was multifaceted. Ostensibly, it served as a showpiece of American goodwill, as the fleet visited numerous countries and harbors. In this, the voyage was not unprecedented. Naval courtesy calls, many times in conjunction with the birthdays of various monarchs and other foreign celebrations, had become common in the 19th century. Port calls showcased pomp, ceremony, and militarism during a period of rising pre-war nationalism. In 1891, a large French fleet visited Kronstadt, Russia, in conjunction with negotiations between the two nations. Although France and Russia had been hostile to each other for at least three decades prior, the significance of the call was not lost on Russia, and Tsar Nicholas IIsigned a treaty of alliance with France in 1894. As navies grew larger, naval pageants grew longer, more elaborate, and more frequent. The United States began participating in these events in 1902 when Roosevelt invited Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to send a squadron for a courtesy call to New York City. Invitations for U.S. Navy ships to participate in fleet celebrations in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany followed.

Additionally, the voyage of the Great White Fleet demonstrated both at home and on the world stage that the U.S. had become a major sea power in the years after its triumph in the Spanish–American War, with possessions that included Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.[5] It was not the first flexing of U.S. naval muscle since that war, however; during the Algeciras Conference in 1906, which was convened to settle a diplomatic crisis between France and Germany over the fate of Morocco, Roosevelt had ordered eight battleships to maintain a presence in the Mediterranean Sea.[6] Since Japan had arisen as a major sea power with the 1905 annihilation of the Russian fleet at Tsushima, the deployment of the Great White Fleet was therefore intended, at least in part, to send a message to Tokyo that the American fleet could be deployed anywhere, even from its Atlantic ports, and would be able to defend American interests in the Philippines and the Pacific

That gesture capitalized on diplomatic trouble that had resulted from anti-Japanese riots in San Francisco. Those problems had been resolved by the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 and the fleet visit was a friendly gesture to Japan. The Japanese welcomed it.[9] Roosevelt saw the deployment as one that would encourage patriotism, and give the impression that he would teach Japan "a lesson in polite behavior", as historian Robert A. Hart phrased it.[10] After the fleet had crossed the Pacific, Japanese statesmen realized that the balance of power in the East had changed since the Root–Takahira Agreement that defined relevant spheres of interest of the United States and Japan.

The voyage also provided an opportunity to improve the sea- and battle-worthiness of the fleet. While earlier capital ship classes such as the Kearsarge, Illinois and Maine were designed primarily for coastal defense, later classes such as the Virginia and Connecticut incorporated lessons learned from the Spanish–American War and were conceived as ships with "the highest practicable speed and the greatest radius of action", in the words of the appropriation bills approved by the United States Congress for their construction. They were intended as modern warships capable of long-range operations. Nevertheless, the experience gained in the recent war with Spain had been limited.


Map of the Great White Fleet's voyage (2009 political boundaries shown).

Concerns and preparations
Roosevelt's stated intent was to give the navy practice in navigation, communication, coal consumption and fleet maneuvering; navy professionals maintained, however, that such matters could be served better in home waters. In light of what had happened to the Russian Baltic Fleet, they were concerned about sending their own fleet on a long deployment, especially since part of the intent was to impress a modern, battle-tested navy that had not known defeat. The fleet was untested in making such a voyage, and Tsushima had proven that extended deployments had no place in practical strategy.[12] The Japanese Navy was close to coaling and repair facilities; while American ships could coal in the Philippines, docking facilities were far from optimal. An extended stop on the West Coast of the United States during the voyage for overhaul and refurbishment in dry dock would be a necessity. Planning for the voyage, however, showed a dearth of adequate facilities there, as well. The main sea channel of the Mare Island Navy Yard near San Francisco was too shallow for battleships, which left only the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, for refit and repair. The Hunter's Point civilian yard in San Francisco could accommodate capital ships, but had been closed due to lack of use and was slated for demolition. President Roosevelt ordered that Hunter's Point be reopened, facilities be brought up to date, and the fleet to report there.

Also, the question of adequate resources for coaling existed. This was not an issue when the Atlantic Fleet cruised the Atlantic or Caribbean, as fuel supplies were readily available. However, the United States did not enjoy a worldwide network of coaling stations like that of Great Britain, nor did it have an adequate supply of auxiliary vessels for resupply. During the Spanish–American War, this lack had forced Admiral George Dewey to buy a collier-load of British coal in Hong Kong before the Battle of Manila Bay to ensure his squadron would not run out of steam at sea. The need had been even more pressing for the Russian Baltic Fleet during its long deployment during the Russo-Japanese War, not just for the distance it was to steam, but also because, as a belligerent nation in wartime, most neutral ports were closed to it due to international law. While the lack of support vessels was pointed out and a vigorous program of building such ships suggested by Rear Admiral George W. Melville, who had served as chief of the Bureau of Equipment, his words were not heeded adequately until World War II.

Federal regulations that restricted supply vessels for Navy ships to those flying the United States flag, complicated by the lack of an adequate United States Merchant Marine, proved another obstacle. Roosevelt initially offered to award Navy supply contracts to American skippers whose bids exceeded those of foreign captains by less than 50 percent. Many carriers declined this offer because they could not obtain enough cargo to cover the cost of the return trip. Two months before the fleet sailed, Roosevelt ordered the Navy Department to contract 38 ships to supply the fleet with the 125,000 tons of coal it would need to steam from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to San Francisco. Only eight of these were American-registered; most of the other 30 were of British registry. This development was potentially awkward, since part of the mission was to impress Japan with the perception of overwhelming American naval power. Britain had become a military ally of Japan in 1905 with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, which obliged it to aid Japan should a foreign power declare war against it. Technically, the list of potential combatants included the United States. The British government decided to play both sides of the political fence with the intent of moderating any Japanese-American friction that might arise.

Voyage


A 1908 postcard welcoming the fleet to Australia

The Fleet Passing Through the Magellan Straits by naval artist Henry Reuterdahl, who traveled with the fleet on USS Culgoa

As the Panama Canal was not yet complete, the fleet had to pass through the Straits of Magellan. The scope of such an operation was unprecedented in U.S. history, as ships had to sail from all points of the compass to rendezvous points and proceed according to a carefully orchestrated, well-conceived plan. It involved almost the entire operational capability of the U.S. Navy. Unlike the formidable obstacles that had faced the Russian fleet on its voyage from the Baltic to the Pacific, which eventually led to its destruction by the Japanese in 1905, the U.S. effort benefited from a peaceful environment which aided the coordination of ship movements.

In port after port, citizens in the thousands turned out to see and greet the fleet. In 1908, the Great White Fleet visited Monterey, California, from 1–4 May. The nearby Hotel Del Monte in Del Monte, California, hosted a grand ball for the officers of the fleet.

In Australia, the arrival of the Great White Fleet on 20 August 1908 was used to encourage support for the forming of Australia's own navy. When the fleet sailed into Yokohama, the Japanese went to extraordinary lengths to show that their country desired peace with the U.S.; thousands of Japanese schoolchildren waved American flags to greet navy officials as they came ashore. In Sicily, the sailors helped in recovery operations after the 1908 Messina earthquake.

In February 1909, Roosevelt was in Hampton Roads, Virginia, to witness the triumphant return of the fleet from its long voyage, and what he saw as a fitting finish for his administration. To the officers and men of the fleet, Roosevelt said, "Other nations may do what you have done, but they'll have to follow you." This parting act of grand strategy by Roosevelt greatly expanded foreign respect for the United States, as well as its role in the international arena

Read more about the composition and the ships at wikipedia.......



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_White_Fleet

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1912 – First Balkan War: The Royal Hellenic Navy defeats the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Elli.


The Battle of Elli (Greek: Ναυμαχία της Έλλης, Turkish: İmroz Deniz Muharebesi) or the Battle of the Dardanelles took place near the mouth of the Dardanelles on 16 December [O.S. 3 December] 1912 as part of the First Balkan War between the fleets of the Kingdom of Greece and the Ottoman Empire. It was the largest sea battle of the Balkan Wars


Elli naval battle, painting by Vasiileios Chatzis

Battle
The Royal Hellenic Navy, led by Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis on board the flagship Averof, defeated the Ottoman Navy, led by Captain Ramiz Bey, just outside the entrance to the Dardanelles (Hellespont). During the battle, Kountouriotis, frustrated by the slow speed of the three older Greek battleships Hydra, Spetsai and Psara, hoisted the Z flag which stood for "Independent Action", and sailed forward alone at a speed of 20 knots, against the Ottoman fleet. Taking full advantage in her superior speed, guns and armour, Averof succeeded in crossing the Ottoman fleet's "T" and concentrated her fire against the Ottoman flagship Barbaros Hayreddin, thus forcing the Ottoman fleet to retreat in disorder. The Greek fleet, including the destroyers Aetos, Ierax and Panthir continued to pursue the Ottoman fleet off-and-on between the dates of December 13 and December 26, 1912.

Aftermath
The Ottomans suffered 7 killed and 14 wounded on the Barbaros Hayreddin, 8 killed and 20 wounded on the Turgut Reis, and 3 dead and 7 wounded on the Mesudiye.

This victory was quite significant in that the Ottoman navy retreated within the Straits and left the Aegean Sea to the Greeks who were now free to occupy the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Lemnos and Samos. It also prevented any transfer of Ottoman troop reinforcements by sea and effectively secured Ottoman defeat on land.






https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Elli

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
16 December 1914 – World War I: Admiral Franz von Hipper commands a raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby.


The Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on 16 December 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British ports of Scarborough, Hartlepool, West Hartlepool and Whitby. The attack resulted in 592 casualties, many of them civilians, of whom 137 died. The attack caused public outrage towards the German Navy for the attack, and against the Royal Navy for its failure to prevent the raid.


British propaganda poster following the raid

Background
Main article: High Seas Fleet
The German High Seas Fleet had been seeking opportunities to draw out small sections of the Grand Fleet which it could trap and destroy. Shortly before, a raid on Yarmouth had produced few results but demonstrated the potential for fast raiding into British waters. On 16 November, Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper—commander of the German battlecruisersquadron—persuaded his superior, Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, to ask the Kaiser for permission to conduct another raid. The U-boat U-17 was sent to reconnoitre coastal defences near Scarborough and Hartlepool. The submarine reported little onshore defence, no mines within 12 mi (10 nmi; 19 km) of the shore and a steady stream of shipping.

It was also believed that two British battlecruisers—which would be the fast ships sent out first to investigate any attack—had been despatched to South America and had taken part in the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Hipper commanded the battlecruisers SMS Seydlitz, Von der Tann, Moltke and Derfflinger, the slightly smaller armoured cruiser SMS Blücher, the light cruisers SMS Strassburg, Graudenz, Kolberg and Stralsund and 18 destroyers. Ingenohl took the 85 ships of the High Seas Fleet to a position just east of the Dogger Bankwhere they could assist, if Hipper's ships came under attack from larger forces but were still close to Germany for safety, as standing orders from the Kaiser instructed.


Prelude
Admiral John Jellicoe, commanding the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow, was ordered to despatch the First Battlecruiser Squadron (Vice Admiral David Beatty) with HMS Lion, Queen Mary, Tiger and New Zealand together with the Second Battle Squadron (Vice Admiral Sir George Warrender) containing of the modern dreadnoughts, HMS King George V, Ajax, Centurion, Orion, Monarch and Conqueror, with the First Light Cruiser Squadron (Commodore William Goodenough) commanding HMS Southampton, Birmingham, Falmouth and Nottingham. Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt at Harwich was ordered to sea with his two light cruisers, HMS Aurora and Undaunted and 42 destroyers. Commodore Roger Keyes was ordered to send eight submarines and his two command destroyers HMS Lurcher and Firedrake to take station off the island of Terschelling, to catch the German ships should they turn west into the English Channel. Jellicoe protested that although such a force should be sufficient to deal with Hipper, it would not be able to face the High Seas Fleet. The Third Cruiser Squadron (Rear Admiral William Pakenham) from Rosyth with the armoured cruisers HMS Devonshire, Antrim, Argyll and Roxburgh were added to the force. Jellicoe chose the point for this fleet to assemble, 25 mi (22 nmi; 40 km) south-east of the Dogger Bank. The intention was to allow the raid to take place, then ambush the German ships as they returned.

Raid


Admiral Hipper left the Jade River at 03:00 on 15 December. During the following night, SMS S33, a destroyer escort, became separated from the rest and radioed for direction. This risked giving away the presence of the ships and the destroyer was ordered to be silent. Still lost, it headed for home but on the way, sighted four British destroyers which it reported by radio. Hipper also noted radio traffic from British ships which caused concern that the British might be aware something was happening. He attributed this to possible spying by trawlers which were encountered during the day. The deteriorating weather was also causing problems. At 06:35 on 16 December, the destroyers and three light cruisers were ordered to return to Germany. Kolbergremained, as she had 100 mines on board to lay.[6]

The remaining ships divided, Seydlitz, Blücher and Moltke proceeded toward Hartlepool, while Derfflinger, Von der Tann and Kolberg approached Scarborough. At 08:15, Kolberg started laying mines off Flamborough Head in a line extending 10 mi (8.7 nmi; 16 km) out to sea. At 08:00, Derfflinger and Von der Tann began shelling the town. Scarborough Castle, the prominent Grand Hotel, three churches and various other properties were hit. People crowded to the railway station and the roads leading out of the town. At 09:30, the bombardment stopped and the two battlecruisers moved on to nearby Whitby, where a coastguard station was shelled, incidentally hitting Whitby Abbey and other buildings in the town.

Hartlepool was a more significant target than the resort town of Scarborough. The port had extensive civilian docks and factories and was defended by three BL 6 inch Mk VII naval guns on the seafront. Two guns were at Heugh Battery and one at Lighthouse Battery. The guns were manned by 11 officers and 155 local men of the Durham Royal Garrison Artillery. The gun crews were warned at 04:30 of the possibility of an attack and issued live ammunition. At 07:46, they received word that large ships had been sighted and at 08:10, a bombardment of the town began. No warning had been given to naval patrols in the area, which were meant to be always on duty and the poor weather just before the raid meant that only four destroyers were on patrol, while two light cruisers and a submarine, which might otherwise have been out, remained in Hartlepool harbour. The destroyers HMS Doon, Test, Waveney and HMS Moy were on patrol when—at 07:45—Doon saw three large vessels approaching, which opened fire shortly after. The only weapons the destroyers had capable of damaging a large vessel were torpedoes; they were out of torpedo range and three destroyers turned away. Doon closed to 5,000 yd (2.5 nmi; 4.6 km), fired one torpedo which missed and retreated.

The shore batteries remained confused about the approaching ships, until shells began to fall. Shells from the ships were fired at such short range that their fuses did not have time to set, so many failed to explode on impact or ricochetted into the town, because they were travelling horizontally, rather than plunging. Two shore guns fired at the leading ship, while the third fired at the last, smaller, vessel. The gunners were hampered by a rising cloud of smoke and dust around them, affecting visibility. They found their shells had no effect on the armoured sides of the ships, so instead aimed at masts and rigging. The accuracy of the third gun was sufficient to oblige Blücher to move behind the lighthouse to prevent further hits. Two of her 6-inch guns were disabled, the bridge and another 8 in (200 mm) gun were damaged.

In the harbour, Captain Bruce of the light cruiser HMS Patrol attempted to get his ship to sea but the ship was struck by two 8-inch shells, forcing the captain to run her aground. The second cruiser HMS Forward had no steam in her boilers, so it could not move. The submarine HMS C9 followed Patrol to sea, but had to dive when shells started falling around it. By the time she got clear of the harbour, the German ships had gone. Commodore Roger Keyes commented afterwards, that a target of three stationary cruisers was exactly what the submarine had been intended to attack. At 08:50, the German ships departed.

Encounter with the High Seas Fleet
The battleships and cruisers commanded by Warrender set out from Scapa Flow at 05:30 on 15 December. The bad weather meant that he could not take destroyers with him but Beatty brought seven when he departed from Cromartyat 06:00, together with the battlecruiser squadron. The two forces combined at 11:00 near Moray Firth. As the senior admiral, Warrender had overall command of the force, which sailed toward its assigned interception point at Dogger Bank.[ At 05:15 on 16 December, the destroyer HMS Lynx sighted an enemy ship (SMS V155). The destroyer squadron went to investigate, and a battle ensued with a force of German destroyers and cruisers. Lynx was hit, damaging a propeller. HMS Ambuscade was taking on water and had to drop out of the engagement. HMS Hardy came under heavy fire from cruiser SMS Hamburg, taking heavy damage and catching fire but managed to fire a torpedo. of a torpedo attack was passed to Admiral Ingenohl commanding the High Seas Fleet, whose outlying destroyers were the ones involved in the fighting. The engagement broke off after a couple of hours in the dark, but at 06:03 the following morning one of the four destroyers still able to fight, HMS Shark, again came in contact with five enemy destroyers and the four attacked. The German ships withdrew, reporting another contact with an enemy force to the admiral.

Ingenohl had already exceeded the strict limit of his standing orders from the Kaiser by involving the main German fleet in the operation, without informing the Kaiser. At 05:30, mindful of the orders not to place the fleet in jeopardy and fearing he had encountered the advance guard of the British Grand Fleet, he reversed course towards Germany. Had he continued, he would shortly have engaged the four British battlecruisers and six battleships with his much larger force, which included 22 battleships. This was the opportunity that German strategy had been seeking, to even the odds in the war. The ten British capital ships would have been outnumbered and outgunned, with significant losses likely. Their loss would have equalised the power of the two navies. Churchill later defended the situation, arguing that the British ships were faster and could simply have turned about and run. Others, such as Jellicoe, felt there was a risk that an admiral such as Beatty would have insisted upon engaging the enemy once contact was established. Admiral Tirpitz commented "Ingenohl had the fate of Germany in his hand".

At 06:50, Shark and the destroyers again sighted an enemy ship, the cruiser SMS Roon, defended by destroyers. Captain Jones reported his sightings at 07:25, the signal being received by Warrender and also by New Zealand in Beatty's squadron but the information was not passed on to Beatty. At 07:40 Jones, attempting to close on Roon to fire torpedoes, discovered that she was accompanied by two other cruisers and was obliged to withdraw at full speed. The German ships gave chase but could not keep up and shortly returned to their fleet. Warrender changed course towards the position given by Shark, expecting Beatty to do the same. At 07:36, he attempted to confirm that Beatty had changed course but did not get a reply. At 07:55, he managed to make contact, and Beatty belatedly sent his nearest ship—New Zealand—to intercept, followed by the three light cruisers, spaced 2 mi (1.7 nmi; 3.2 km) apart, to maximise their chance of spotting the enemy, followed by the remaining battlecruisers. At 08:42, both Warrender and Beatty intercepted a message from Patrol at Scarborough advising that she was under attack by two battlecruisers. The chase of Roon, which might have led to an encounter with the main German fleet, was abandoned and the British squadron turned north to attempt to intercept Hipper.

Hipper's return

British recruiting poster picturing damage from German naval artillery to a civilian house:

At 09:30 on 16 December, Hipper's ships recombined and headed for home at maximum speed. His destroyers were now some 50 mi (43 nmi; 80 km) ahead, still moving slowly through bad weather. On inquiring where the High Seas Fleet was now stationed, he discovered that it had returned home and that his destroyers had sighted enemy ships. Jellicoe was now requested to move south with the Grand Fleet, which was waiting at Scapa Flow. Tyrwhitt was ordered to join Warrender with his destroyer flotilla but bad weather prevented this. Instead he joined the chase with just his four light cruisers. Keyes's submarines were to move into Heligoland Bight to intercept ships returning to Germany. Warrender and Beatty remained separated, first to avoid shallow water over the Dogger Bank but then to cut off different routes which Hipper might take to avoid minefields laid off the Yorkshire coast. Beatty's light cruisers entered the minefield channels to search.

At 11:25, the light cruiser Southampton sighted enemy ships ahead. The weather—which had started clear with good visibility—had now deteriorated. Southampton reported that she was engaging a German cruiser accompanied by destroyers and Birmingham went to assist. Goodenough now sighted two more cruisers, Strassburg and Graudenz but failed to report the additional ships. The two remaining British light cruisers moved off to assist but Beatty, not having been informed of the larger force, called one of them back. Due to confusion in the signalling, the first cruiser misunderstood the message flashed by searchlight and passed it on to the others. The result was that all four disengaged from the enemy and turned back to Beatty. Had Beatty appreciated the number of German ships, it is likely that he would have moved forward with all his ships, instead of recalling the one cruiser to screen his battlecruisers. The larger force suggested that major German ships would be following behind. The ships had now disappeared but were heading toward the opposite end of the minefield, where Warrender was waiting. At 12:15, the German cruisers and destroyers exited the southern edge of the minefield and saw battleships ahead. Stralsund flashed the recognition signal, which had been sent to her shortly before when she encountered Southampton, gaining a little time. Visibility was now poor through rain and not all the battleships had seen the enemy. Orion's captain, Frederic Charles Dreyer, trained his guns on Stralsund and requested permission of his superior, Rear Admiral Sir Robert Arbuthnot, to open fire. Arbuthnot refused until Warrender granted permission. Warrender also saw the ships and ordered Packenham to give chase with the four armoured cruisers. These were too slow and the Germans disappeared again into the mist.

Beatty received the news that Warrender had sighted the ships and assumed that the battlecruisers would be following on behind the lighter vessels. He consequently abandoned the northern exit of the minefield and moved east and then south, attempting to position his ships to catch the German battlecruisers, should they slip past the slower British battleships. Hipper initially attempted to catch up with his cruisers and come to their aid but once they reported the presence of British battleships to the south and that they had slipped past, he turned north to avoid them. Warrender, realising that no battlecruisers had appeared in his direction, moved north but saw nothing. Kolberg, damaged in the raid and thus lagging behind the others, saw the smoke from his ships but was not herself seen. Hipper escaped. Belatedly, the Admiralty intercepted signals from the High Seas Fleet at Heligoland as it returned to port and now warned the British ships that the German fleet was coming out. Jellicoe with the Grand Fleet continued to search on 17 December, attempting to engage the High Seas Fleet but failed to find it as it was safely in harbour. Keyes's submarines had been despatched to attempt to find returning German ships. They also failed, although one torpedo was fired at SMS Posen by HMS E11, which missed. As a last ditch attempt to catch Hipper, the Admiralty ordered Keyes to take his two destroyers and attempt to torpedo Hipper as he returned home around 02:00. Keyes himself had considered this and wanted to try. Unfortunately, the message was delayed and failed to reach him until too late.

Aftermath


The raid had an enormous effect upon British public opinion, as a rallying cry against Germany for an attack upon civilians and in generating criticism of the Royal Navy for being unable to prevent it. The attack became part of a British propaganda campaign. 'Remember Scarborough' was used on army recruitment posters and editorials in neutral America condemned it; "This is not warfare, this is murder."

Damage to the Scarborough lighthouse is assessed after the raid.

Blame for the light cruisers commanded by Beatty disengaging from the enemy initially fell upon their commander, Goodenough, but the action was contrary to his past good record. Blame eventually settled on the confused signals, which had been drafted by Lieutenant Commander Ralph Seymour. Seymour remained flag officer to Beatty and continued in the same vein, making costly mistakes at both the Battle of Dogger Bank and at Jutland. A new order was drafted to captains to double check any orders to disengage if involved in a winnable battle.


Casualties
The German ships fired 1,150 shells into Hartlepool, striking targets including the steelworks, gasworks, railways, seven churches and 300 houses. People fled the town by road and attempted to do so by train; 86 civilians were killed and injured 424 (122 killed and 443 wounded according to Marder). Seven soldiers were killed and 14 injured. The raid resulted in the first death of a British soldier from enemy action on British soil for 200 years, when Private Theophilus Jones, of the Durham Light Infantry, age 29, was killed. Eight German sailors were killed and 12 wounded



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Scarborough,_Hartlepool_and_Whitby