Naval/Maritime History 22nd of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

17th of April

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Naval/Maritime History - 17th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 16 April 1767 - Birth of Richard Parker, later President of the "Floating Republic" at the Nore, Richard Parker (16 April 1767 – 30 June 1797) was an English sailor executed for his role as president of the so-called "Floating...

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1683 – Launch of HMS Neptune, a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy.
She was built under the 1677 "Thirty Great Ships" Programme at Deptford Dockyard.
One of the old ladies - with 2 Re-launches she served more than 100 years
HMS Neptune was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built under the 1677 "Thirty Great Ships" Programme and launched in 1683 at Deptford Dockyard.

Action of 18 October 1782 between HMS Torbay and London, and the 74-gun Scipion. Torbay is behind London


1780 - The Battle of Martinique, also known as the Combat de la Dominique, took place on 17 April 1780 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy
The Battle of Martinique, also known as the Combat de la Dominique, took place on 17 April 1780 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.

Combat de la Dominique, 17 Avril 1780, by Auguste Louis de Rossel de Cercy (1736–1804)

Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the ‘Centurion’ (1774), a 50-gun small two-decker. The model is decked and rests on a slipway. It has the name ‘Centurion’ painted on the stern. The figurehead depicts a centurion wearing a helmet. The ‘Centurion’ was built at Woolwich by Barnard & Co. and designed by Sir T. Slade. It measured 146 feet along the gun deck by 40 feet in the beam. Between 1775 and 1780, it served in the Caribbean taking part in the Battle of Martinique (1780). It then returned home and had its hull coppered – a relatively new technique employed to protect the underwater hull from the attack of marine boring worms, molluscs and weed growth. Between 1795 and 1805 the ‘Centurion’ served in the East Indies taking part in the Capture of Ceylon (1795) and was involved in Red Sea operations around Suez (1799–1800). It was broken up at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1825 having been a receiving ship there since 1809.


1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in the Americas.
The Battle of San Juan was a 1797 ill-fated British assault on the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan in Puerto Rico. The attack was carried out facing the historic town of Miramar.

The Fortín de San Gerónimo was key to the defense of San Juan.


1798 – Launch of HMS Pheasant, an 18-gun Merlin class sloop of the Royal Navy
HMS Pheasant was an 18-gun Merlin class sloop of the Royal Navy.
She was built in 1798 for the Royal Navy at a cost of £8,087 (equivalent to £836,200 in 2018).
From 1798 to 1803 she was based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

1802 – Launch of french Belle Poule, a Virginie-class frigate of the French Navy, which was built by the Crucy family's shipyard at Basse-Indre to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané
HMS Belle Poule was a Royal Navy fifth rate frigate, formerly Belle Poule, a Virginie-class frigate of the French Navy, which was built by the Crucy family's shipyard at Basse-Indre to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané. She was launched on 17 April 1802, and saw active service in the East, but in 1806 a British squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren captured her off La Palma in the Canary Islands. The Admiralty commissioned her into the Royal Navy as HMS Belle Poule. She was sold in 1816.

Capture of the 'Gypsy', 30 April 1812: left to right: HMS Belle Poule, Gypsy, and HMS Hermes, by Thomas Buttersworth


1806 - HMS Sirius (36), Cptn. Prowse, took Bergere (18), Cptn. Chaney Duolvis, at Civita Vecchia.
HMS Sirius was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Between 1797 and 1805, the Sirius was engaged in maintaining the blockade of Napoleonic Europe. She was lost in 1810 when her crew scuttled her after she grounded during the Battle of Grand Port.

Scuttling of Sirius


1809 – French Hautpoult, a Téméraire class 74-gun French Navy ship of the line, captured by her now-British sister ship, HMS Pompée, after a chase over three nights and two days by Pompée, Recruit, and Neptune.

Intrepid behaviour of Captain Charles Napier, in HM 18-gun Brig Recruit for which he was appointed to the Hautpoult. The 74 now pouring a broadside into her. April 15, 1809. Hautpoult can be seen in the background.


1810 – Launch of HMS Menelaus, a Royal Navy 38-gun fifth rate frigate, at Plymouth
HMS Menelaus was a Royal Navy 38-gun fifth rate frigate, launched in 1810 at Plymouth.

HMS Menelaus (ship in center) sailing with three other ships from a 19th century watercolor painting by artist, William Innes Pocock


1813 – Launch of HMS Cydnus, one of eight Royal Navy 38-gun Cydnus-class fifth-rates.
HMS Cydnus was one of eight Royal Navy 38-gun Cydnus-class (sub-class of Leda-class) fifth-rates. This frigate was built in 1813 at Blackwall Yard, London, and broken up in 1816.

1837 - Texan schooner Independence was one of the four schooners of the First Texas Navy captured during the Battle of Brazos River
The Battle of the Brazos River was an engagement fought in the Brazos River on April 17, 1837, between the Mexican Navy and the Texas Navy.


1855 – Launch of HMS Sutlej, a Constance-class 50-gun fourth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy

Gun deck on HMS Sutlej, circa. 1865-1868


1866 – Launch of HMS Northumberland, the last of the three Minotaur-class armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s.
She had a different armour scheme and heavier armament than her sister ships, and was generally regarded as a half-sister to the other ships of the class.
HMS Northumberland was the last of the three Minotaur-class armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. She had a different armour scheme and heavier armament than her sister ships, and was generally regarded as a half-sister to the other ships of the class. The ship spent her career with the Channel Squadron and occasionally served as a flagship. Northumberland was placed in reserve in 1890 and became a training ship in 1898. She was converted into a coal hulk in 1909 and sold in 1927, although the ship was not scrapped until 1935.

Northumberland in her original 5-masted configuration


1866 – Launch of the passenger clipper Sobraon by Alexander Hall & Co. built the ship in Scotland - she was the largest composite-hull sailing vessel ever built,
later HMAS Tingira, a training ship operated by the Royal Australia Navy (RAN) between 1911 and 1927.
HMAS Tingira was a training ship operated by the Royal Australia Navy (RAN) between 1911 and 1927. Alexander Hall & Co. built the ship in Scotland in 1866 as the passenger clipper Sobraon; she was the largest composite-hull sailing vessel ever built. She sailed on an annual migration run between England and Australia until 1891, when she was sold to the colonial government of New South Wales for use as a reformatory ship. The vessel was then sold to the federal government in 1911, and entered RAN service. Tingira was paid off in 1927, but despite efforts to preserve the ship, was broken up in 1941.

HMAS Tingira moored in Rose Bay, Sydney in 1912

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

18th of April

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Naval/Maritime History - 18th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 17 April 1798 – Launch of HMS Pheasant, an 18-gun Merlin class sloop of the Royal Navy HMS Pheasant was an 18-gun Merlin class sloop of the Royal Navy. French Revolutionary Wars She was built in 1798 for the Royal Navy at a cost...

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1698 – Launch of HMS Salisbury, a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Richard and James Herring at Baileys Hard (near Bucklers Hard) on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire, England
HMS Salisbury was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Richard and James Herring at Baileys Hard (near Bucklers Hard) on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire, England and launched on 18 April 1698.

1772 – Launch of HMS Monmouth, an Intrepid-class 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Plymouth.


1775 – Launch of HMS Berwick, a 74-gun Elizabeth-class third rate of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard, to a design by Sir Thomas Slade.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the internal and external profile of works illustrating the knees, beams and external planking from the main wales and above for Berwick (1775), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker.


1802 – Launch of La République française, a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan class, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané and built by Pierre Rolland.
The République française was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané and built by Pierre Rolland.

1/48 scale model of the Océan class 120-gun ship of the line Commerce de Marseille. On display at Marseille naval museum.


1807 – Launch of french Bellone, a 44-gun Consolante-class frigate of the French Navy


1807 – Launch of French Pauline, a 44-gun Hortense-class frigate of the French Navy

Model of Hortense, on display at Toulon naval museum


1862 - beginning of the Battle of Forts Jackson and St.Philip
The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip (April 18–28, 1862) was the decisive battle for possession of New Orleans in the American Civil War. The two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River south of the city were attacked by a Union Navy fleet. As long as the forts could keep the Federal forces from moving on the city, it was safe, but if they were negated, there were no fall-back positions to impede the Union advance.

One of the "bummers", as they were known in the Union Navy. Mortar Schooner of Porter's Bombardment fleet, New Orleans, 1862. A crewman between the masts is leaning on the muzzle of the 13-inch seacoast mortar.(Peabody Museum of Salem)


1878 – Launch of HMS Curacoa, a Comus-class corvette of the Royal Navy, built by John Elder & Co., Govan,
HMS Curacoa was an Comus-class corvette of the Royal Navy, built by John Elder & Co., Govan, launched in 1878, and sold in 1904 to be broken up.[2]She served on the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station, the Australia Station and as a training cruiser in the Atlantic.

HMS Curacoa drydocked in Sydney Harbour c.1890.


1912 – The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in their shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

1942 - The Doolittle Raid begins
with 16 Army Air Force B-25 bombers launching earlier than expected from USS Hornet (CV 8), approximately 650 miles off Japan, after being spotted by enemy ships. It is the first attack by the U.S. of the Japanese mainland since Pearl Harbor. Most of the 16 B-25s, each with a five-man crew, attack the Tokyo area, with a few hitting Nagoya. Embarrassed, the Japanese revise plans and six weeks later attack the American carrier group near Midway sooner than expected.
The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, on Saturday, April 18, 1942, was an air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on the island of Honshu during World War II, the first air operation to strike the Japanese Home Islands. It demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attack, served as retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces.

Sixteen B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were launched without fighter escort from the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) deep in the Western Pacific Ocean


1943 - World War II: Operation Vengeance
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.
U.S. Army Air Force P-38s off Bougainville, using signals intelligence, shoot down plane carrying Imperial Japanese Navy Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

P-38G Lightnings were the aircraft chosen to carry out the mission.


1949 – The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States is laid down at Newport Drydock and Shipbuilding.
However, construction is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.
USS United States (CVA-58) was to be the lead ship of a new design of aircraft carrier. On 29 July 1948, President Harry Truman approved construction of five "supercarriers", for which funds had been provided in the Naval Appropriations Act of 1949. The keel of the first of the five planned postwar carriers was laid down on 18 April 1949 at Newport Drydock and Shipbuilding. The program was canceled, United States was not completed, and the other four planned carriers were never built.

Artist's rendering of the proposed USS United States handling McDonnell FH-1 Phantom fighters and Lockheed P2V-3C Neptune twin-engine bombers

Commencement of construction

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

19th of April

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 18 April 1807 – Launch of french Bellone, a 44-gun Consolante-class frigate of the French Navy Bellone was a 44-gun Consolante-class frigate of the French Navy. French service Bellone, under the command of Guy-Victor Duperré...

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1694 – Launch of HMS Ipswich, a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Harwich

1759 – Merlin-class sloop HMS Falcon wrecked on the Îles des Saintes, off Guadeloupe, West Indies
The Merlin class was a class of twenty-one sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1743 and 1746. They were all built by contract with commercial builders to a common design prepared by Jacob Acworth, the Surveyor of the Navy; however, there was a difference, with a platform deck being constructed in the hold in Swallow (i), Merlin, Raven and Swallow (ii), whereas the other seventeen had no platform and thus their depth in hold was nearly twice as much.

1782 - The Battle of the Mona Passage was a naval engagement between a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, and a small French fleet.
French ships Jason (64), Caton (64), Aimable (32) and Ceres (18) captured
The Battle of the Mona Passage was a naval engagement on 19 April 1782 between a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, and a small French fleet. It took place in the Mona Passage, the strait separating Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, shortly after the British victory at the Battle of the Saintes. The British overtook and captured four ships, two of which were 64-gun ships of the line.

The Capture of the French 64-gun ships Caton and Jason by the Valiant, 74 in the Mona Passage, 19 April, 1782


1778 - The Frederica naval action was a naval battle during the American Revolutionary War in which three galleys of the Georgia State Navy defeated a British raiding party off the coast of Georgia
The Frederica naval action was a naval battle during the American Revolutionary War in which three galleys of the Georgia State Navy defeated a British raiding party off the coast of Georgia. The action occurred on April 19, 1778.

Georgia Navy vessels capturing the British squadron on Frederica River


1783 – Launch of HMS Europa, a 50-gun fourth-rate of the Royal Navy, built by Woolwich Dockyard
HMS Europa was a 50-gun fourth-rate of the Royal Navy, built by Woolwich Dockyard in 1783. Europa was based out of Jamaica, and ran aground at Montego Bay in 1785, but was not seriously damaged. When reports of the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars reached the British posts in Jamaica, Europa was sent into action along with the entire British squadron based at Jamaica, which consisted of several 12-pounder frigates and a number of smaller vessels, under the command of Commodore John Ford.

1784 - Launch of HMS Venerable, a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Blackwall Yard.

1854 – Launch of Champion of the Seas, the second largest clipper ship destined for the Liverpool, England - Melbourne, Australia passenger service.
Champion of the Seas was the second largest clipper ship destined for the Liverpool, England - Melbourne, Australia passenger service. Champion was ordered by James Baines of the Black Ball Line from Donald McKay. She was launched 19 April 1854 and was abandoned 3 January 1877, off Cape Horn.
Champion of the Seas set a record for the fastest day's run in 24 hours: 465 nautical miles (861 km) noon to noon 10–11 December 1854 under the command of Captain Alexander Newlands. This record stood until August 1984, nearly 130 years.

1890 – Launch of The French ironclad Magenta, an Marceau class ironclad battleship of the French Navy.

1905 – Launch of Liberté, a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the French Navy in the mid-1900s.
She was the lead ship of the Liberté class, which included three other vessels and was a derivative of the preceding République class, with the primary difference being the inclusion of a heavier secondary battery.
Liberté was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the French Navy in the mid-1900s. She was the lead ship of the Liberté class, which included three other vessels and was a derivative of the preceding République class, with the primary difference being the inclusion of a heavier secondary battery. Liberté carried a main battery of four 305 mm (12.0 in) guns, like the République, but mounted ten 194 mm (7.6 in) guns for her secondary armament in place of the 164 mm (6.5 in) guns of the earlier vessels. Like many late pre-dreadnought designs, Liberté was completed after the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought had entered service, rendering her obsolescent.

Liberté in New York during the visit to the United States


1909 – Launch of São Paulo, a dreadnought battleship designed and built by the British companies Armstrong Whitworth and Vickers, respectively, for the Brazilian Navy
São Paulo was a dreadnought battleship designed and built by the British companies Armstrong Whitworth and Vickers, respectively, for the Brazilian Navy. It was the second of two ships in the Minas Geraes class, and was named after the state and city of São Paulo.
São Paulo was launched on 19 April 1909 and commissioned on 12 July 1910. Soon after, it was involved in the Revolt of the Lash (Revolta de Chibata), in which crews on four Brazilian warships mutinied over poor pay and harsh punishments for even minor offenses. After entering the First World War, Brazil offered to send São Paulo and its sister Minas Geraes to Britain for service with the Grand Fleet, but Britain declined since both vessels were in poor condition and lacked the latest fire control technology. In June 1918, Brazil sent São Paulo to the United States for a full refit that was not completed until 7 January 1920, well after the war had ended. On 6 July 1922, São Paulo fired its guns in anger for the first time when it attacked a fort that had been taken during the Tenente revolts. Two years later, mutineers took control of the ship and sailed it to Montevideo in Uruguay, where they obtained asylum.
In the 1930s, São Paulo was passed over for modernization due to its poor condition—it could only reach a top speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), less than half its design speed. For the rest of its career, the ship was reduced to a reserve coastal defense role. When Brazil entered the Second World War, São Paulo sailed to Recife and remained there as the port's main defense for the duration of the war. Stricken in 1947, the dreadnought remained as a training vessel until 1951, when it was taken under tow to be scrapped in the United Kingdom. The tow lines broke during a strong gale on 6 November, when the ships were 150 nmi (280 km; 170 mi) north of the Azores, and São Paulo was lost.

1989 - USS Iowa – An open breech explosion occurred in the center gun of turret Number Two aboard Iowa, killing all 47 men in the turret.
On 19 April 1989, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) exploded. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself. Two major investigations were undertaken into the cause of the explosion, one by the U.S. Navy and then one by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Sandia National Laboratories. The investigations produced conflicting conclusions.
The first investigation into the explosion, conducted by the U.S. Navy, concluded that one of the gun turret crew members, Clayton Hartwig, who died in the explosion, had deliberately caused it. During the investigation, numerous leaks to the media, later attributed to U.S. Navy officers and investigators, implied that Hartwig and another sailor, Kendall Truitt, had engaged in a homosexual relationship and that Hartwig had caused the explosion after their relationship had soured. In its report, however, the U.S. Navy concluded that the evidence did not show that Hartwig was homosexual but that he was suicidal and had caused the explosion with either an electronic or chemical detonator.
The victims' families, the media, and members of the U.S. Congress were sharply critical of the U.S. Navy's findings. The U.S. Senate and U.S. House Armed Services Committees both held hearings to inquire into the Navy's investigation and later released reports disputing the U.S. Navy's conclusions. The Senate committee asked the GAO to review the U.S. Navy's investigation. To assist the GAO, Sandia National Laboratories provided a team of scientists to review the Navy's technical investigation.

A cutaway of a 16-inch gun turret aboard an Iowa-class battleship

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

20th of April

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Naval/Maritime History - 20th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 19 April 1873 – Launch of HMS Amethyst, the lead ship of the Amethyst-class corvettes built for the Royal Navy in the early 1870s. HMS Amethyst was the lead ship of the Amethyst-class corvettes built for the Royal Navy in the early...

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1453 - Fall of Constantinople - Turks fail to prevent Genoese supply ships reaching Constantinople
Three Genoese galleys and a Byzantine blockade runner fight their way through an Ottoman blockading fleet a few weeks before the fall of Constantinople.
The Fall of Constantinople (Greek: Ἅλωσις τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit. Halōsis tēs Kōnstantinoupoleōs; Turkish: İstanbul'un Fethi, lit. 'Conquest of Istanbul') was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading Ottoman army on 29 May 1453. The attackers were commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II, who defeated an army commanded by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos and took control of the imperial capital, ending a 53-day siege that began on 6 April 1453. After conquering the city, Sultan Mehmed transferred the capital of the Ottoman State from Edirne to Constantinople and established his court there.

The Ottoman Turks transport their fleet overland into the Golden Horn.


1657 - Santa Cruz de Teneriffe - British fleet under Robert Blake totally destroyed a Spanish silver fleet of 16 ships at Santa Cruz Bay, Tenerife.
The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a military operation in the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–60) in which an English fleet under Admiral Robert Blakeattacked a Spanish treasure fleet at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands. Most of the Spanish merchantmen were scuttled and the remainder were burnt by the English, though the treasure, which had already been landed, was saved.

1768 – Launch of HMS Trident, a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Portsmouth.
From April until June 1778 she was under the command of John Inglis.
For some of the period between 1793 and 1796, she was under the command of Captain Theophilus Jones.
Trident was sold out of the navy in 1816.

1776 – Launch of HMS Camilla, a Royal Navy 20-gun Sphinx-class post ship.
Camilla was built in Chatham Dockyard to a design by John Williams
HMS Camilla was a Royal Navy 20-gun Sphinx-class post ship. Camilla was built in Chatham Dockyard to a design by John Williams and was launched in 1776. She served in the American Revolution, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars, before being sold in 1831.

The Penobscot Expedition naval battle, by Dominic Serres


1781 - HMS Resource (28), an Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate, Cptn. Bartholomew Rowley, took Licorne, former Unicorn, (28) off Cape Blaize.

To Captain Sir Thomas Williams, This Print representing The Capture of the French Frigate La Tribune by His Majesty's Ship The Unicorn on the 8th June 1796 (PAH7894)


1782 - Third Battle of Ushant
or the Action of 20–21 April 1782 was a naval battle fought during the American Revolutionary War, between a French naval fleet of three ships of the line protecting a convoy and two British Royal naval ships of the line off Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France.
The Third Battle of Ushant or the Action of 20–21 April 1782 was a naval battle fought during the American Revolutionary War, between a French naval fleet of three ships of the line protecting a convoy and two British Royal naval ships of the line off Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France. This was the third battle that occurred in this region during the course of the war.

HMS Foudroyant towing the Pégase entering Portsmouth Harbour, 30 April 1782 by Dominic Serres


1787 – Launch of french brig Alerte
The French brig Alerte was launched in April 1787. The Royal Navy captured her at Toulon in August 1793, and renamed her HMS Vigilante. The British set her on fire when they evacuated Toulon in December of that year. After the French rebuilt her as Alerte, she served at the Battle of Aboukir Bay. The British recaptured her in June 1799 and took her into service as HMS Minorca. Minorca was sold in 1802.


1796 - HMS Indefatigable (44), Sir Edward Pellew, captured French frigate Virginie (40), Cptn. Jacques Bergeret, off the Lizard
On the morning of 20 April 1796, Indefatigable sighted the French 44-gun frigate Virginie off the Lizard. Indefatigable, Amazon, and Concorde chased Virginie, with Indefatigable catching her just after midnight on 21 April after a chase of 15 hours and 168 miles. After an hour and three quarters of fighting, she still had not struck and had somewhat outmaneuvered Indefatigable when Concorde arrived. Seeing that she was outnumbered, Virginie struck.
Virginie carried 44 guns, 18 and 9-pounders, and had a crew of 340 men under the command of Citizen Bergeret, Capitaine de Vaisseau. She had 14 or 15 men killed, 17 badly wounded, and 10 slightly. She also had four feet of water in her hold from shot holes. Indefatigable had no casualties. Pellew sent Virginie into Plymouth under the escort of Concorde, and followed the next day with Amazon, which had sustained some damage. The Royal Navy took Virginie into service as Virginie.

This coloured engraving shows the naval action between the British Indefatigable and the French La Virginie which took place in April 1791. Indefatigable, shown from the starboard stern quarter, on the right of the picture, is on a starboard tack, passing Virginie which is on a port tack. Cannon smoke swirls between the two ships. Both have multiple holes in their sails. Eventually, the captain of Virginie surrenders to Captain SIr Edward Pellew of the Indefatigable


1796 - HMS Inconstant (36) captured Unite (36) in the Mediterranean.
The Unite was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Surprise made famous by the Patrick O'Brian series about Jack Aubrey.
HMS Surprise was the name the Royal Navy gave to the French Navy's corvette Unité after her capture in 1796. Launched on 16 February 1794, the ship gained fame in 1799 for the recapture of HMS Hermione, and in 1802 was sold out of the service.
Historical fiction author Patrick O'Brian set many of his Aubrey–Maturin series aboard HMS Surprise, including the 2003 film.

Contemporary plans of HMS Surprise


1809 - HMS Alcmene (32), W. Henry Tremlett, wrecked on a shoal at the mouth of the Loire.
or 29th April (dates different in some sources)
HMS Alcmene was a 32-gun Alcmene-class fifth rate of the Royal Navy. This frigate served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under the command of several notable officers. Alcmene was active in several theatres of the war, spending most of her time cruising in search of enemy vessels or privateers, and escorting convoys. She fought at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 and served in the blockade of the French coasts during the later Napoleonic Wars until she was wrecked on the French coast in 1809.

1829 – Launch of HMS President, a large frigate in the British Royal Navy (RN).
HMS President was a large frigate in the British Royal Navy (RN). She was built to replace the previous HMS President, redesignated from the heavy frigate USS President built in 1800 as the last of the original six frigates of the United States Navy under the Naval Act of 1794 and which had been the active flagship of the U.S. Navy until captured while trying to escape the Royal Navy blockade around New York in 1815 at the end of the War of 1812, and which served in the RN until broken up in 1818. The new British President was built using her American predecessor's exact lines for reference, as a reminder to the United States of the capture of their flagship – a fact driven home by President being assigned as the flagship of the North America and West Indies Station in the western Atlantic Ocean under the command of Admiral Sir George Cockburn (1772–1853), who had directed raids throughout the Chesapeake Bay in 1813–1814, culminating in the burning of the American capital Washington, D.C. in 1814.

HMS President in South West India Dock, London, ca. 1880


1861 - Union forces burn several ships and Gosport Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., to prevent Yard facilities and ships from falling into Confederate hands during the Civil War.
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most multifaceted. Located on the Elizabeth River, the yard is just a short distance upriver from its mouth at Hampton Roads.
It was established as Gosport Shipyard in 1767. Destroyed during the American Revolutionary War, it was rebuilt and became home to the first operational drydock in the United States in the 1820s. Changing hands during the American Civil War, it served the Confederate States Navy until it was again destroyed in 1862, when it was given its current name. The shipyard was again rebuilt, and has continued operation through the present day.

1893 – Launch of His Majesty's Yacht Britannia, a racing yacht built in 1893 for RYS Commodore Albert Edward, Prince of Wales.
She served both himself and his son King George V, with a long racing career.
His Majesty's Yacht Britannia was a racing yacht built in 1893 for RYS Commodore Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. She served both himself and his son King George V, with a long racing career.

1909 – Launch of French Condorcet, one of the six Danton-class semi-dreadnought battleships built for the French Navy in the early 1900s
Condorcet was one of the six Danton-class semi-dreadnought battleships built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. When World War I began in August 1914, she unsuccessfully searched for the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau in the Western and Central Mediterranean. Later that month, the ship participated in the Battle of Antivari in the Adriatic Sea and helped to sink an Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser. Condorcet spent most of the rest of the war blockading the Straits of Otranto and the Dardanelles to keep German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish warships bottled up.
After the war, she was modernized in 1923–25 and subsequently became a training ship. In 1931, the ship was converted into an accommodation hulk. Condorcet was captured intact when the Germans occupied Vichy France in November 1942 and was used by them to house sailors of their navy (Kriegsmarine). She was badly damaged by Allied bombing in 1944, but was later raised and scrapped by 1949.

1913 – Launch of Provence, one of three Bretagne-class battleships built for the French Navy in the 1910s, named in honor of the French region of Provence; she had two sister ships, Bretagne and Lorraine.
Provence was one of three Bretagne-class battleships built for the French Navy in the 1910s, named in honor of the French region of Provence; she had two sister ships, Bretagne and Lorraine. Provence entered service in March 1916, after the outbreak of World War I. She was armed with a main battery of ten 340 mm (13.4 in) guns and had a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

1916 – Launch of HMS Glorious, the second of the three Courageous-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War.
HMS Glorious was the second of the three Courageous-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, they were relatively lightly armed and armoured. Glorious was completed in late 1916 and spent the war patrolling the North Sea. She participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917 and was present when the German High Seas Fleet surrendered a year later.

1917 - The Second Battle of Dover Strait was a naval battle of the First World War, fought in the Dover Strait in April 1917 and should not be confused with the major Battle of Dover Strait in 1916.
Two Royal Navy destroyers defeated a superior force of German Kaiserliche Marine torpedo boats
Two German torpedo boats were sunk; the British suffered damage to both destroyers.
The Second Battle of Dover Strait was a naval battle of the First World War, fought in the Dover Strait in April 1917 and should not be confused with the major Battle of Dover Strait in 1916. Two Royal Navy destroyers defeated a superior force of German Kaiserliche Marine torpedo boats[1] (Two German torpedo boats were sunk; the British suffered damage to both destroyers.)

1944 - Paul Hamilton – was a Liberty ship serving as a troopship.
On the evening of 20 April 1944 German bombers attacked her off Cape Bengut near Algiers.
One aerial torpedo struck her and detonated her cargo of high explosives and bombs; the ship and all aboard disappeared within 30 seconds.
The crew and passengers, who included 154 officers and men of the 831st Bombardment Squadron, were all lost. Of the 580 men aboard only one body was recovered.
The SS Paul Hamilton (Hull Number 227) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Paul Hamilton, the third United States Secretary of the Navy.

On her fifth voyage the SS Paul Hamilton left Hampton Roads, Virginia on 2 April 1944 as part of convoy UGS 38, carrying supplies and the ground personnel of the 485th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces to Italy. On the evening of 20 April it was attacked 30 miles (48 km) off the coast of Cape Bengut near Algiers in the Mediterranean Sea by 23 German Ju 88 bombers of III./Kampfgeschwader 26, I. and III./Kampfgeschwader 77. One aerial torpedo struck the Paul Hamilton and detonated the cargo of high explosives and bombs, and the ship and crew disappeared within 30 seconds. The crew and passengers, who included 154 officers and men of the 831st Bombardment Squadron and 317 officers and men of the 32nd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, were all lost. Of the 580 men aboard only one body was recovered.

The explosion of SS Paul Hamilton on 20 April 1944


1944 - Dutch steam trawler Voorbode, loaded with 124,000 kg of explosives, exploded at the quay in the center of Bergen. 160 people were killed and 5,000 wounded, mostly civilians
The Dutch steam trawler Voorbode was a fishing vessel, until it was confiscated by the Germans during World War II and used for military transport. In April 1944, it was on its way from Oslo to Kirkenes when it faced mechanical problems, forcing it to seek repair in Bergen, Norway. Due to lack of control, the ship was allowed entrance to Bergen harbour loaded with 124,000 kg (273,000 lb) of explosives, even though the ship did not satisfy security regulations and should not have been allowed into major cities with this cargo.

Resulting damage
On April 20 at 8:39, the ship exploded at the quay in the center of Bergen. The force of the explosion caused a water column that was hundreds of metres high, spreading heavy debris. Several ships were thrown on land and Voorbode's anchor was later found on the 417-metre-high (1,368 ft) mountain Sandviksfjellet at 60.41756°N 5.34043°E. The air pressure from the explosion and the tsunami that followed flattened whole neighbourhoods near the harbour; then fires broke out and further destroyed the wooden houses, leaving 5,000 people homeless; 160 people were killed and 5,000 wounded, mostly civilians. The Nykirken was among the buildings which were severely damaged.

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

21st of April

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Naval/Maritime History - 21st of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 20 April 1810 - Boats of HMS Firm (12), Lt. John Little, HMS Surly (10), Lt. Richard Welch, and HMS Sharpshooter (14), Lt. John Goldie, cut out privateer Alcide (4) from the mouth of the Piron where she had run ashore. On...

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1631 – Launch of HMS Vanguard, a 40-gun ship of the English Royal Navy, at Woolwich
HMS Vanguard was a 40-gun ship of the English Royal Navy, launched in 1631 at Woolwich, and was the second vessel to bear the name. Officially she was rebuilt from the first Vanguard, but likely only shared some of the timber and fittings from the previous ship. By 1660, her armament had been increased to 56 guns.


1761 – Launch of HMS Ocean, a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Chatham
Ocean was commissioned for service in April 1761 under Captain William Langdon. She was initially assigned to the British fleet under the overall command of Admiral Edward Hawke. In March 1763 Ocean was found to be surplus to Hawke's requirements and she was returned to Plymouth Dockyard to be paid off and placed in ordinary. She remained out of service for the following seven years, undergoing minor repairs in 1769 but not being returned to sea. She was finally recommissioned in October 1770 under Captain James Cranston, and set sail to bolster the Royal Navy presence during the Falklands Crisis with Spain and France.
The crisis concluding without battle, Ocean was returned to Plymouth where she was designated as a guard ship for the port, under the command of Captain Joseph Knight. She was the flagship for Port Admiral Richard Spry from 1772, taking part in home waters patrols and in the Spithead review of June 1773. Captain Knight vacated the vessel in 1774, with command passing briefly to Captain John Reynolds and then to Captain John Laforey. In March 1776 Laforey was replaced by Captain Edward Le Cras, but resumed his post in December of the same year.
She was sold out of the service in 1793.

Scale 1:48. A plan showing sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for 'Ocean' (1761), a 90-gun Second Rate, three decker

Scale: 1:64. A contemporary full hull model of a 90-gun, three-decker ship of the line (circa 1760), built in the Georgian style. The model is decked.


1765 – Launch of HMS Europa, a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Lepe, Hampshire.
HMS Europa was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1765 at Lepe, Hampshire. She was renamed HMS Europe in 1778, and spent the rest of her career under this name.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Hannibal (1779), Jupiter (1778), Leander (1780), Adamant (1780), and Europa (1783), all 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-deckers


1798 - The Battle of the Raz de Sein was a naval engagement of the blockade of Brest during the French Revolutionary Wars between a French and Royal Navy ships of the line
French Hercule, a Téméraire class ship of the line of the French Navy, was captured on her maiden voyage by HMS Mars (74), Cptn. Alexander Hood
The Battle of the Raz de Sein was a naval engagement of the blockade of Brest during the French Revolutionary Wars between a French and Royal Navy ships of the line on 21 April 1798. The British blockade fleet under Admiral Lord Bridport had sailed from St Helens on 12 April and on the morning of 21 April was crossing the Iroise Passage when sails were spotted to the east. Three ships were detached in pursuit, led by the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Mars under Captain Alexander Hood. As the British ships approached their quarry a third sail was sighted to the southeast close to the coastline and moving north towards Brest.

The furious action between H.M.S. Mars and the French '74 Hercule off Brest on 21st April 1798, John Christian Schetky


1806 – Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa.
HMS Tremendous (74) and HMS Hindostan (50) engaged Canonniere (50)
The Action of 21 April 1806 was a minor engagement between a French frigate and British forces off South Africa during the Napoleonic Wars. The Île Bonaparte and Île de France constituted French outposts in the Indian Ocean, from which privateers and frigate squadrons could engage in commerce raiding and disrupt British shipping. After encountering a strongly escorted British convoy, the 40-gun Cannonière attempted to flee, but was rejoined by the 74-gun HMS Tremendous. In the ensuing battle, Captain Bourayne displayed superior sailmanship and managed to fend off his much stronger opponent by a combination of manoeuvers that rendered the batteries of Tremendous ineffective, and threatened her with sustaining raking fire. The French frigate thus managed to evade and escape.

In the foreground, HMS Tremendous aborts her attempt at raking Cannonière under the threat of being outmanoeuvred and raked herself by her more agile opponent. In the background, the Indiaman Charlton fires her parting broadside at Cannonière.
The Action of 21 April 1806 as depicted by Pierre-Julien Gilbert. The two events were in fact separated by several hours.


1810 – Launch of HMS America, a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Blackwall Yard.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the mizzen, main and foremast channel elevations, sections, and plan views for America (1810), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as fitted to the plan of Captain James Couch [seniority: 24 January 1824]. Signed by Thomas F Hawkes [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1837-1843]


1837 – Launch of HMS Hazard, an 18-gun Favorite-class sloop of the Royal Navy.
HMS Hazard was an 18-gun Favorite-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was one of four Favorite-class ship sloops, which were a ship-rigged and lengthened version of the 1796 Cruizer-class brig-sloop. All four ships of the class were ordered on 10 June 1823. She was launched in 1837 from Portsmouth Dockyard.

1861 - Sloop-of-War USS Saratoga (22), commanded by Alfred Taylor, captures Nightingale, a clipper slaver, at the mouth of the Congo River at Cabinda, Angola, with 961 slaves on board.
USS Saratoga, a sloop-of-war, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of Saratoga of the American Revolutionary War. Her keel was laid down in the summer of 1841 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 26 July 1842 and commissioned on 4 January 1843 with Commander Josiah Tattnall in command.

1861 - slave ship Nightingale was captured in Africa by USS Saratoga,
Originally the tea clipper and slave ship Nightingale, launched in 1851, captured in Africa in 1861 by Saratoga, taken as a prize and purchased by the United States Navy
USS Nightingale (1851) was originally the tea clipper and slave ship Nightingale, launched in 1851. USS Saratoga captured her off Africa in 1861; the United States Navy then purchased her.
During the American Civil War Nighingale served as a supply ship and collier supporting Union Navy ships blockading the Confederate States of America. After the war the Navy sold Nightingale, which went on to a long career in Arctic exploration and merchant trading before foundering in the North Atlantic in 1893.

1900 – Launch of SMS Kaiser Barbarossa, a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class.
SMS Kaiser Barbarossa (His Majesty's Ship Emperor Barbarossa) was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class. The ship was built for the Imperial Navy, which had begun a program of expansion at the direction of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Construction took place at Schichau, in Danzig. Kaiser Barbarossa was laid down in August 1898, launched on 21 April 1900, and commissioned in June 1901, at the cost of 20,301,000 marks. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns inside of two twin gun turrets.

The German Imperial Navy Kaiser-Friedrich-III-class battleship Kaiser Barbarossa before 1914.


1907 – Launch of Roma, an Italian Regina Elena class dreadnought battleship
Roma was an Italian pre-dreadnought battleship, laid down in 1903, launched in 1907 and completed in 1908. She was the third member of the Regina Elena class, which included three other vessels: Regina Elena, Napoli, and Vittorio Emanuele. Roma was armed with a main battery of two 12 in (300 mm) guns and twelve 8 in (200 mm) guns. She was quite fast for the period, with a top speed of nearly 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).

1936 – Launch of Luigi di Savoia Duca Degli Abruzzi and at the same day Giuseppe Garibaldi, both Italian Duca degli Abruzzi-class light cruisers, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II.
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian Duca degli Abruzzi-class light cruiser, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. After the war she was retained by the Marina Militare and upgraded. She was built by CRDA, in Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard Trieste and named after the Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Decommissioned in 1953, Giuseppe Garibaldi was converted between 1957 and 1961, at the La Spezia shipyards, into a guided missile cruiser.

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

22nd of April

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Naval/Maritime History - 22nd of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 21 April 1861 - Sloop-of-War USS Saratoga (22), commanded by Alfred Taylor, captures Nightingale, a clipper slaver, at the mouth of the Congo River at Cabinda, Angola, with 961 slaves on board. USS Saratoga, a sloop-of-war, was the...

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1401 - According to legend, a Hamburgian fleet led by Simon of Utrecht caught up with Störtebeker's force near Heligoland.
According to some stories, Störtebeker's ship had been disabled by a traitor who cast molten lead into the links of the chain which controlled the ship's rudder.
Störtebeker and his crew were captured and brought to Hamburg, where they were tried for piracy.
Nikolaus Storzenbecher, or Klaus Störtebeker known as Germany's most famous pirate (1360 in Wismar – 20 October 1401 in Hamburg), was a leader and the best known representative of a companionship of privateers known as the Victual Brothers (German: Vitalienbrüder). The Victual Brothers (Latin "victualia") were originally hired during a war between Denmark and Sweden to fight the Danish and supply the besieged Swedish capital Stockholm with provisions. After the end of the war, the Victual Brothers continued to capture merchant vessels for their own account and named themselves "Likedeelers" (literally: equal sharers).



1676 - Battle of Augusta.
A French fleet of 29 men-of-war, 5 frigates and 8 fireships under Abraham Duquesne engaged 17 Dutch and 10 Spanish ships plus 5 fireships under Lieutenant-Admiral-General Michiel de Ruyter.
The battle was a short but intense affair and ended abruptly when Duquesne, after hearing that De Ruyter had been mortally wounded, retreated.
Neither side lost a ship, though there were many dead and wounded, especially among the Dutch.
The naval Battle of Augusta (also known as the Battle of Agosta) took place on 22 April 1676 during the Franco-Dutch War and was fought between a French fleet of 29 man-of-war, five frigates and eight fireships under Abraham Duquesne and a Dutch-Spanish fleet of 27 (17 Dutch, 10 Spanish) plus five fireships with Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral-General Michiel de Ruyter in command. The battle was a short but intense affair and ended abruptly when Duquesne, after hearing that De Ruyter had been mortally wounded when a cannonball struck him in the right leg, retreated. Neither side lost a ship, though there were many dead and wounded, especially among the Dutch.

Naval Battle of Augusta, by Ambroise-Louis Garneray.


1806 - Death of Pierre-Charles Villeneuve French admiral (b. 1763)
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve (31 December 1763 – 22 April 1806) was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and the Spanish fleets that were defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar.



1808 - HMS Goree (18), Joseph Spear, engaged French brigs Pilade and Palinure in Grande Bourg Bay at Marie Galante.
HMS Favourite (or Favorite) was a 16-gun Cormorant-class sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in 1794 at Rotherhithe. The French captured her in 1806 and renamed her Favorite. However, the British recaptured her in 1807 and renamed her HMS Goree. She became a prison ship in 1810 and was broken up in Bermuda in 1817.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with midship framing, and longitudinal half-breadth for Cormorant (1794) and Favourite (1794), both 16-gun Ship Sloop (with quarter deck & forecastle), building at Rotherhithe by Messrs Randall & Brent


1808 - HMS Bermuda Sloop (18), William Henry Byam, wrecked on Memory Rock, Little Bahama Bank.
HMS Bermuda was an 18-gun Bermuda sloop of the Royal Navy.
Bermuda was built in Bermuda of Bermuda cedar in 1805, as the lead ship of her class. The Bermudas were modified versions of the Dasher class of 1797, and eventually consisted of six ships. She was launched in 1805, and commissioned in October that year under the command of William Henry Byam, who transferred from Busy, which was then on the Halifax, Nova Scotia station. Bermuda only spent three years in service before being wrecked on Memory Rock, Little Bermuda, on 22 April 1808. All the crew were saved and Captain Byam went on to command HMS Opossum.

1813 – Launch of HMS Wolfe (later HMS Montreal, originally HMS Sir George Prevost); a 20-gun sloop-of-war, at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard at Kingston, Upper Canada,
HMS Wolfe (later HMS Montreal, originally HMS Sir George Prevost) was a 20-gun sloop-of-war, launched at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard at Kingston, Upper Canada, on 22 April 1813. She served in the British naval squadron in several engagements on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812. Upon her launch, Wolfe was made the flagship of the squadron until larger vessels became available. Along with the naval engagements on Lake Ontario, Wolfe supported land operations in the Niagara region and at the Battle of Fort Oswego (as Montreal). Following the war, the vessel was laid up in reserve and eventually sold in 1832.

Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some inboard details and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Montreal (1814), a 22-gun Sloop, as altered in April 1815 to include a spar deck. Signed by Thomas Strickland [Master Shipwright, Kingston Naval Yard, 1814-1815 (died)]


1902 – Launch of Herzogin Cecilie, a German-built four-mast barque (windjammer)
Herzogin Cecilie was a German-built four-mast barque (windjammer), named after German Crown Princess Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1886–1954), spouse of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1882–1951) (Herzogin being German for Duchess). She sailed under German, French and Finnish flags.

1916 - the troop ship SS Hsin-Yu collided with the Chinese cruiser Hai Yung in a thick fog while en route to Foo Chow south of the Chu Sen Islands.
She sank killing more than 1,000 people. A foreign engineer, nine sailors and 20 soldiers were the only survivors.


1925 - Launch of Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi
Akagi (Japanese: 赤城 "Red Castle") was an aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), named after Mount Akagi in present-day Gunma Prefecture. Though she was laid down as an Amagi-class battlecruiser, Akagi was converted to an aircraft carrier while still under construction to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The ship was rebuilt from 1935 to 1938 with her original three flight decks consolidated into a single enlarged flight deck and an island superstructure. The second Japanese aircraft carrier to enter service, and the first large or "fleet" carrier, Akagi and the related Kaga figured prominently in the development of the IJN's new carrier striking force doctrine that grouped carriers together, concentrating their air power. This doctrine enabled Japan to attain its strategic goals during the early stages of the Pacific War from December 1941 until mid-1942.

Akagi on trials off the coast of Iyo, 17 June 1927, with all three flight decks visible


2010 - Deepwater Horizon, an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig, sunk two days after an uncontrollable blowout caused an explosion on the rig.
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon (a later asset of Transocean), registered in Majuro, and leased to BP from 2001 until September 2013. In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m) in the Tiber Oil Field at Keathley Canyon block 102, approximately 250 miles (400 km) southeast of Houston, in 4,132 feet (1,259 m) of water.
On 20 April 2010, while drilling at the Macondo Prospect, an uncontrollable blowout caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 crewmen and ignited a fireball visible from 40 miles (64 km) away. The fire was inextinguishable and, two days later, on 22 April, the Horizon sank, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and causing the largest oil spill in U.S. waters.

Deadly accident Deepwater Horizon National Geographic Documentary 2017