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

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 November 1853 – Crimean War: Battle of Sinop:
The Imperial Russian Navy under Pavel Nakhimov destroys the Ottoman fleet under Osman Pasha at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey.

The Battle of Sinop, or the Battle of Sinope, was a Russian naval victory over the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean War that took place on 30 November 1853 at Sinop, a sea port in northern Anatolia, when a squadron of Imperial Russian warships struck and defeated a squadron of Ottoman ships anchored in the harbor. The battle was a contributing factor to bringing France and Great Britain into the conflict. It is commemorated in Russia as a Day of Military Honour.


The Battle of Sinop, by Alexey Bogolyubov

Prelude


Russian ships at the Battle of Sinop, by Ivan Aivazovsky.

The Battle of Sinop was a result of the gradual disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the loss of Ottoman force projection into the Black Sea. By 1850 the Ottoman Empire was deeply in debt and relied exclusively on British and French loans as a means of support. As a result, Ottoman leaders had no choice but to agree to drastic reductions in both army and navy force levels. By 1853 Tsar Nicholas I saw the reductions as an opportunity to press Russian claims in the Trans-Caucasus and along the Danube River. In July 1853 Russian forces occupied several Ottoman principalities and forts along the Danube. Mediation of the disputes broke down, and Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid I responded with a declaration of war. Fearing Russian expansion, the United Kingdom and France issued a concurrent ultimatum: Russia was to fight only defensively. As long as Russia stayed on the defensive the Anglo-French would remain neutral, but if Russia acted "aggressively" the western powers reserved the right to get involved.

Hostilities began officially on 4 October, with a principal theater in Europe and another in the Caucasus. Sultan Abdulmecid ordered an immediate offensive to drive back the Russians and demonstrate Ottoman might before Ottoman finances totally collapsed. The offensive along the Danube met with mixed success, but the Ottoman attack into the Russian Caucasus was relatively successful. By the end of October the Russian Caucasus Corps was in danger of being surrounded.

To support the attack and properly supply his forces before significant snowfall, Sultan Abdulmecid ordered a squadron of frigates, steamers and transports to establish a supply corridor to the Ottoman army in Georgia. Unable to interdict the convoy, Russian naval elements remained in Sevastopol. Abdulmecid ordered a second convoy commanded by Osman Pasha, but by this time it was late November and the fleet was forced to seek winter quarters. It ended up at Sinop, joining the frigate Kaid Zafer which had been part of an earlier patrol, and was joined by the steam frigate Taif from a smaller squadron. The Ottomans had wanted to send ships of the line to Sinop, but the British ambassador in Constantinople, Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, had objected to this plan, and only frigates were sent.

Initial Ottoman activity in the Black Sea had been allowed to proceed unhindered, but as the situation of the Russian Caucasus Corps deteriorated, St. Petersburg was forced to act. Adm. Pavel Nakhimov was ordered to muster the Russian navy and interdict the Ottomans. From 1-23 November Russian squadrons were dispatched into the Black Sea to establish control. Two Ottoman steamers, the Medzhir Tadzhiret and the Pervaz Bahri, were captured by the Russians in short engagements. Russia was able to establish operational control of the sea lanes but storms forced Nakhimov to send back most of his force for repair. Left with only a frigate, a steamer and three ships of the line, Nakhimov continued the search for Osman and the convoy. On 23 November his flag was sighted returning and then entering the harbor at Sinop. Nakhimov immediately deployed his ships into a blockade and sent his only frigate to retrieve as many reinforcements as could be found.

On 30 November Vice Adm. Fyodor Novosiliski rallied six more ships to Nakhimov, completing the blockade force in a loose semi-circle. Additional steamers were expected, but Nakhimov decided to act before the Ottomans could be reinforced by additional ships. Osman for his part had been well aware of the Russian presence since 23 November, but felt his ships were safe in harbor. Sinop had substantial harbor defenses and forts with interlocking fields of fire and ample cannon. Osman did little to break the weak Russian blockade, even allowing many of his crews to disembark.

Battle


The Battle of Sinop, by Ivan Aivazovsky. Oil on Canvas

Three Russian second-class ships of the line (84 cannons each) led by Adm. Nakhimov arrived at Sinop on 23 November to discover the Turkish fleet in the harbor under the defense of the on-shore fortifications strengthened by cannons. Five Russian ships under command of Vice Adm. Fyodor Novosilsky (including three 120-cannon first-class ships of the line) joined Nakhimov on 28 November.

Admiral Nakhimov decided with his officers that they would attack the Ottoman fleet sheltered at Sinop. Strengthened by the squadron of Vice Adm. Fyodor, Nakhimov consolidated over 700 cannon in six ships of the line, two frigates and three armed steamers. The Ottoman forces included seven frigates, three corvettes and two armed steamers. The Russians planned to deploy their ships in two columns that would advance to within close range of the enemy vessels before dropping anchor and opening fire. Under Nakhimov's command, the 84-gun ship Imperatritsa Maria was the first to engage when she fired on the 44-gun Ottoman flagship Auni Allah.

On 30 November the Russian squadron entered the harbor from the northwest in a triangular formation. Nakhimov maneuvered his fleet so that the Ottoman vessels were between the Russian ships and Sinop’s harbor defenses, shielding his own force and exposing the Ottomans to potential friendly fire. Nakhimov spaced his battleships evenly in two lines, covering the entire harbor with interlocking fields of fire. Russian gunners began to score hits on all the Ottoman targets. The shells fired by Russian guns immediately set Ottoman ships on fire. Panic-stricken sailors found firefighting efforts difficult amidst continued fire and almost constant shrapnel. After about 30 minutes of combat the Ottoman frigate was shot full of holes and ran aground when her cable was cut. Imperatritsa Maria then attacked the 44-gun frigate Fazli Allah, which caught fire and grounded. Meanwhile, the other Russian ships engaged the Nizamie and Damiad, which were grounded. The Ottoman frigate Navek Bakhri exploded and sank along with the corvette Guli Sephid.

Only one Ottoman vessel, the 12-gun steamer Taif, managed to escape the battle while all the others were either sunk or purposely run ashore to prevent sinking. She fled to Constantinople and arrived on 2 December, informing the Ottoman government of the defeat at Sinop. Once the enemy fleet was destroyed the Russians engaged Ottoman shore batteries and destroyed them. During the fighting 37 Russians were killed and 229 were wounded, at least three of the ships of the line were damaged. Ottoman forces lost about 3,000 men killed, 150 were taken prisoner and their leader Osman Pasha was captured.

Aftermath


Drawing of Sinop by George Tryonon board HMS Vengeance which visited the scene of the battle in January 1854.

When telegraph reports of the battle reached Russian authorities in St. Petersburg, the reaction was jubilant. The untested and widely hated Russian navy had proved victorious and the recent expenditure in its development seemed warranted. Several balls were held to celebrate the victory and a state-funded parade was held. The affair was rather grand, and included dancers, bands, parading troops who had not taken part in the battle and criminals dressed up in Ottoman uniforms. Military advisors saw the battle as a turning point and pushed for shell-firing guns to be installed on all Russian ships.

The reaction in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople ranged from concern to total panic. Russia had annihilated a vital convoy and now had operational control over the Black Sea. The destruction of the harbor defenses opened the door to Russian invasion and suddenly the entire Samsun and Trabzon Coast was now at risk. Moreover, the Russian violation of the British/French mandate for the war meant that the actions of Russia could no longer be predicted and Russia might not be fighting with one hand tied behind its back. Subsequent policy was directed toward the Anglo-French and the comprehensive military agreement that Istanbul had been trying to avoid.

The attack was treated by external powers as unjustified and caused a wave of anti-Russian sentiment in western Europe.[9] Much of the British press presented the attack as the "Massacre of Sinope".[9] The attack strengthened the pro-war factions in Britain and France, and provided them with the justification for a war to curb Russian bellicosity. Lord Palmerston temporarily resigned over the affair.[10] By March 1854, however, war hawks in the National Government won out and Sinop was seen as a just cause for war, although ultimately the real motivation was to curb Russian expansion in accordance with a balance of power strategy.

Importance to naval warfare


Russian stamp, Battle of Sinop, 2003 (Michel № 1128, Scott № 6800.)

Sinop was presented by the media as not so much a battle but an ambush, but its results were nonetheless important to the practice of 19th-century warfare and the evolution of naval doctrine. Prior to Sinop the standard naval armament were smooth-bores that fired cannonballs, shot, shrapnel or other projectiles. Paixhans guns or regional equivalents were slowly being integrated into navies but only the French, Russian and American navies had made a comprehensive effort. These batteries represented a clear evolution in naval technology that broke through the final ceiling of the Age of Sail. Unlike previous smoothbore ordnance, Paixhans guns fired explosive shells and not mere metal projectiles. The shells themselves did both kinetic and explosive damage, causing fires. In addition, the new guns were heavier, could engage at a greater range, and possessed far greater penetrating power.

However, until 1853 no navy had made comprehensive use of shell-firing guns in a live combat environment. Indeed, many experts disparaged the new weapons and the larger ships required to carry them as too heavy for naval warfare. The results of Sinop were clear and showed that the new weapons were effective. As a result, an arms race ensued with participant nations desperately looking for ways to up-gun existing ships and incorporate the shell-firing guns into new vessels.

Order of battle

Russian Admiral Pavel Nakhimov, hero of Battle of Sinop and the Siege of Sevastopol

Russian Empire

• Velikiy Knyaz Konstantin, ship of the line, 120 guns
• Tri Sviatitelia, ship of the line, 120 guns
• Parizh, 120 guns, ship of the line, transferred flagship
• Imperatritsa Maria, ship of the line, 84 guns, flagship
• Chesma, ship of the line, 84 guns
• Rostislav, ship of the line, 84 guns
• Kulevtcha, frigate, 54 guns
• Kagul, frigate, 44 guns
• Odessa, steamer, 4 guns
• Krym, steamer, 4 guns
• Khersonets, steamer, 4 guns

Ottoman Empire

• Avni Illah, frigate, 44 guns (grounded)
• Fazl Illah, frigate, 44 guns (originally the Russian Rafail, captured during the war of 1828–29) (burned, grounded)
• Nizamieh, frigate, 62 guns (grounded after losing two masts)
• Nessin Zafer, frigate, 60 guns (grounded after her anchor chain broke)
• Navek Bahri, frigate, 58 guns (exploded)
• Damiat, frigate, 56 guns (Egyptian) (grounded)
• Kaid Zafer, frigate, 54 guns (grounded)
• Nejm Fishan, corvette, 24 guns
• Feyz Mabud, corvette, 24 guns (grounded)
• Kel Safid, corvette, 22 guns (exploded)
• Taif, steamer, 12 guns (retreated to Istanbul)
• Erkelye, steamer, 10 guns

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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 November 1881 - The whaler Rodgers is destroyed by a fire at St. Lawrence Bay on the Siberian coast. . Before the fire, Rodgers had charted Wrangel Island, proving conclusively that it was not part of the Asian continent.


USS Rodgers was a steamship in the United States Navy acquired to search for Jeannette in 1881.

On 3 March 1881, Congress, besieged by constituents as well as government agencies, appropriated $175,000 "to enable the Secretary of the Navy to charter, or purchase, equip, and supply a vessel for the prosecution of a search for the steamer 'Jeanette' and such other vessels as might be found to need assistance during said cruise; provided that the vessel be wholly manned by volunteers from the Navy." The "other vessels" of most immediate concern were two whalers, Vigilant and Mount Wollaston missing in the Arctic Ocean since 1879.


Line drawing / print of Whaling Ship /Steam Bark, Mary & Helen of New Bedford (Massachusetts, USA).

The vessel purchased was the whaler Mary and Helen, specifically built for Arctic navigation by Goss, Sawyer, and Packard of Bath, Maine. Launched on 17 July 1879, she was the first steam whaler built as such for American registry and during her first, and only, season not only justified the faith of her owner, Capt. William Lewis of New Bedford, Massachusetts, but revolutionized the American whaling industry.

Acquired by the Navy at San Francisco, the whaler Mary and Helen was renamed Rodgers and commissioned on 30 May 1881, Lieutenant Robert M. Berry in command. She sailed north on 16 June. She arrived at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, 33 days later, where the captain of the Russian corvette Streloch offered "any needed assistance" on behalf of his government.

Continuing on, Rodgers took on two Chukchis as hunters and dog drivers at St. Lawrence Bay and on 20 August entered the Arctic Ocean. At Herald Island, Lt. Berry found that the crew of Corwin on her second search for Jeanette, had already covered the island, unsuccessfully. Wrangell Land was next. As they looked for clues of the missing ship, the crew of Rodgers surveyed the area and proved that Wrangel Island was an island and not the southern edge of a polar land mass.

Rodgers departed the island 13 September and moved north and west until stopped by pack ice on the 18th. Returning to Wrangell, she continued the search on another course until the 27th. Again blocked by ice, she turned south for winter quarters. The first week in October she left a party, under Master Charles F. Putnam, on Tiapka Island off Cape Serdze with provisions, supplies, and fuel for a year; and a boat, dogs, and sleds to explore the coast westward in search of the crews of Jeanette and the missing whalers.

On 8 October, Rodgers steamed for St. Lawrence Bay, where bad weather prevented the transfer of a large part of her provisions and supplies to the shore. On 30 November fire broke out in the still tightly-packed hold. Through the day, stores were removed to ease the firefighting efforts, but at midnight, the fires still raged and the former whaler was abandoned.


USS Rodgers at the Mare Island Navy Yard in 1881 before departing for the Bering Strait and the Arctic.
US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 108357/font>

Rodgers then drifted up the bay, her rigging and sails ablaze. Early the next day her magazine exploded.

A temporary shore camp sheltered the crew until the next day when they moved to the village of Noomamoo, 7 miles (10 km) away. Later divided into four parties, most of the crew wintered there and in three nearby villages.

As the crew adjusted to life ashore, Lieutenant Berry set out to inform Putnam's camp of the fire. Meanwhile, Master Putnam had learned of the disaster and had started for the Bay with supplies for the relief of survivors. Putnam reached St. Lawrence Bay, but on returning to his camp lost his way in a blizzard and drifted out to sea on an ice floe. An unsuccessful, month-long search for him was conducted along the coast.

On 8 February 1882 a party under Lieutenant Berry, who had not yet learned of Putnam's loss, set out on another search along the coast for Jeanette's crew. On 24 March they arrived at the Russian post at Nishne (presumably Nizhnekolymsk) and learned of the landing of part of Jeanette's crew at the mouth of the Lena River the previous September. Berry and his party returned home from Nishne. The remaining members of the crew departed St. Lawrence Bay in May on board the New Bedford whaler North Star and were subsequently transferred to the revenue cutter Corwin. They returned to San Francisco by way of Sitka, Alaska. During the stop at Sitka, the two surgeons of the Rodgers were kept busy dealing with local epidemics of measles and scarlet fever.

On 12 March 1883, Congress appropriated $3,000 to "suitably reward the natives at and about St. Lawrence Bay who housed, fed, and extended other kindness to the officers and men of USS Rodgers."



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Rodgers_(1879)
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/86/86494.htm

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 November 1942 – World War II: Battle of Tassafaronga;
A smaller squadron of Japanese destroyers led by Raizō Tanaka defeats a U.S. cruiser force under Carleton H. Wright.


The Battle of Tassafaronga, sometimes referred to as the Fourth Battle of Savo Island or, in Japanese sources, as the Battle of Lunga Point (ルンガ沖夜戦), was a nighttime naval battle that took place on November 30, 1942, between United States (US) Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy warships during the Guadalcanal campaign. The battle took place in Ironbottom Sound near the Tassafaronga area on Guadalcanal.

In the battle, a US force of five cruisers and four destroyers under the command of Rear Admiral Carleton H. Wright engaged eight Japanese destroyers attempting to deliver food to their forces on Guadalcanal. Using radar, the US warships gained surprise, opened fire, and sank one destroyer. Under the command of Rear Admiral Raizō Tanaka, the other Japanese ships quickly returned fire with Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes, sinking one US cruiser and heavily damaging three others. The rest of Tanaka's force escaped undamaged but also without completing the intended supply mission.


USS Minneapolis at Tulagi with torpedo damage

Supply crisis
Due to a combination of the threat from CAF aircraft, US Navy PT boats stationed at Tulagi, and a cycle of bright moonlight, the Japanese had switched to using submarines to deliver provisions to their forces on Guadalcanal. Beginning on November 16, 1942, and continuing for the next three weeks, 16 submarines made nocturnal deliveries of foodstuffs to the island, with one submarine making the trip each night. Each submarine could deliver 20 to 30 tons of supplies, about one day's worth of food, for the 17th Army, but the difficult task of transporting the supplies by hand through the jungle to the frontline units limited their value to sustain the Japanese troops on Guadalcanal. At the same time, the Japanese tried to establish a chain of three bases in the central Solomons to allow small boats to use them as staging sites for making supply deliveries to Guadalcanal, but damaging Allied airstrikes on the bases forced the abandonment of this plan

On November 26, the 17th Army notified Imamura that it faced a critical food crisis. Some front-line units had not been resupplied for six days and even the rear-area troops were on one-third rations. The situation forced the Japanese to return to using destroyers to deliver the necessary supplies.

The Eighth Fleet's Guadalcanal Reinforcement Unit, based in the Shortland Islands and under the command of Rear Admiral Raizō Tanaka, was tasked by Mikawa with making the first of five scheduled runs using the drum method on the night of November 30. Tanaka's unit was centered on the eight ships of Destroyer Squadron (Desron) 2, with six destroyers assigned to carry from 200 to 240 drums of supplies apiece, to Tassafaronga at Guadalcanal. Tanaka's flagship Naganami along with Takanami acted as escorts. The six drum-carrying destroyers were Kuroshio, Oyashio, Kagerō, Suzukaze, Kawakaze, and Makinami. To save weight, the drum-carrying destroyers left their reloads of Type 93 torpedoes (Long Lances) at the Shortlands, leaving each ship with eight torpedoes, one for each tube.

After the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, US Vice Admiral William Halsey, commander of Allied forces in the South Pacific, had reorganized US naval forces under his command, including, on November 24, the formation of Task Force 67 (TF67) at Espiritu Santo, comprising the heavy cruisers USS Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pensacola, and Northampton, the light cruiser Honolulu, and four destroyers (Fletcher, Drayton, Maury, and Perkins). US Rear Admiral Carleton H. Wright replaced Thomas Kinkaid as commander of TF67 on November 28.

Upon taking command, Wright briefed his ship commanders on his plan for engaging the Japanese in future, expected night battles around Guadalcanal. The plan, which he had drafted with Kinkaid, stated that radar-equipped destroyers were to scout in front of the cruisers and deliver a surprise torpedo attack upon sighting Japanese warships, then vacate the area to give the cruisers a clear field of fire. The cruisers were then to engage with gunfire from 10,000 yards (9,100 m) to 12,000 yards (11,000 m). The cruisers' floatplanes would scout and drop flares during the battle.


TF67 heads for Guadalcanal on November 30. Fletcher (foreground) is followed by Perkins, Maury, Drayton, and the cruisers (far distance).

On November 29, Allied intelligence personnel intercepted and decoded a Japanese message transmitted to the 17th Army on Guadalcanal alerting them to Tanaka's supply run. Informed of the message, Halsey ordered Wright to take TF67 to intercept Tanaka off Guadalcanal. TF67, with Wright flying his flag on Minneapolis, departed Espiritu Santo at 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h) just before midnight on November 29 for the 580 miles (930 km) run to Guadalcanal. En route, destroyers Lamson and Lardner, returning from a convoy escort assignment to Guadalcanal, were ordered to join up with TF67. Lacking the time to brief the commanding officers of the joining destroyers of his battle plan, Wright assigned them a position behind the cruisers. At 17:00 on November 30, Wright's cruisers launched one floatplane each for Tulagi to drop flares during the expected battle that night. At 20:00, Wright sent his crews to battle stations.

Tanaka's force departed the Shortlands just after midnight on November 30 for the run to Guadalcanal. Tanaka attempted to evade Allied aerial reconnaissance aircraft by first heading northeast through Bougainville Strait before turning southeast and then south to pass through Indispensable Strait. Paul Mason, an Australian coastwatcher stationed in southern Bougainville, reported by radio the departure of Tanaka's ships from Shortland and this message was passed to Wright. At the same time, a Japanese search aircraft spotted an Allied convoy near Guadalcanal and communicated the sighting to Tanaka who told his destroyer commanders to expect action that night and that, "In such an event, utmost efforts will be made to destroy the enemy without regard for the unloading of supplies."

Battle
Prelude

US Navy chart of the Battle of Tassafaronga based on accounts by both Japanese and US participants

At 21:40 on November 30, Tanaka's ships sighted Savo Island from Indispensable Strait. The Japanese ships were in line ahead formation, interval 600 metres (660 yd), in the order of Takanami, Oyashio, Kuroshio, Kagerō, Makinami, Naganami, Kawakaze, and Suzukaze. At this same time, TF67 entered Lengo Channel en route to Ironbottom Sound. Wright's ships were in column in the order Fletcher, Perkins, Maury, Drayton, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pensacola, Honolulu, Northampton, Lamson, and Lardner. The four van destroyers led the cruisers by 4,000 yards (3,700 m) and the cruisers steamed 1,000 yards (910 m) apart.

At 22:40, Tanaka's ships passed south of Savo about 3 miles (5 km) offshore from Guadalcanal and slowed to 12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h) as they approached the unloading area. Takanami took station about 1 mile (2 km) seaward to screen the column. At the same time, TF67 exited Lengo Channel into the sound and headed at 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) towards Savo Island. Wright's van destroyers moved to a position slightly inshore of the cruisers. The night sky was moonless with between 2 miles (3 km) and 7 miles (11 km) of visibility. Because of extremely calm seas which created a suction effect on their pontoons, Wright's cruiser floatplanes were delayed in lifting off from Tulagi harbor, and would not be a factor in the battle.

At 23:06, Wright's force began to detect Tanaka's ships on radar near Cape Esperance on Guadalcanal about 23,000 yards (21,000 m) away. Wright's destroyers rejoined the column as it continued to head towards Savo. At the same time, Tanaka's ships, which were not equipped with radar, split into two groups and prepared to shove the drums overboard. Naganami, Kawakaze, and Suzukaze headed for their drop-off point near Doma Reef while Makinami, Kagerō, Oyashio, and Kuroshio aimed for nearby Tassafaronga. At 23:12, Takanami's crew visually sighted Wright's column, quickly confirmed by lookouts on Tanaka's other ships. At 23:16, Tanaka ordered unloading preparations halted and "All ships attack."

Action

USS Minneapolis

At 23:14, operators on Fletcher established firm radar contact with Takanami and the lead group of four drum-carrying destroyers. At 23:15, with the range 7,000 yards (6,400 m), Commander William M. Cole, commander of Wright's destroyer group and captain of Fletcher, radioed Wright for permission to fire torpedoes. Wright waited two minutes and then responded with, "Range on bogies [Tanaka's ships on radar] excessive at present." Cole responded that the range was fine. Another two minutes passed before Wright responded with permission to fire. In the meantime, the US destroyers' targets escaped from an optimum firing setup ahead to a marginal position passing abeam, giving the American torpedoes a long overtaking run near the limit of their range. At 23:20, Fletcher, Perkins, and Drayton fired a total of 20 Mark 15 torpedoes towards Tanaka's ships. Maury, lacking SG radar and thus having no contacts, withheld fire.

At the same time, Wright ordered his force to open fire. At 23:21, Minneapolis complied with her first salvo, quickly followed by the other American cruisers. Cole's four destroyers fired star shells to illuminate the targets as previously directed then increased speed to clear the area for the cruisers to operate.
Because of her closer proximity to Wright's column, Takanami was the target of most of the Americans' initial gunfire. Takanami returned fire and launched her full load of eight torpedoes, but was quickly hit by American gunfire and, within four minutes, was set afire and incapacitated. As Takanami was destroyed, the rest of Tanaka's ships, almost unnoticed by the Americans, were increasing speed, maneuvering, and preparing to respond to the American attack. All of the American torpedoes missed. Historian Russell S. Crenshaw, Jr. postulates that had the twenty-four Mark 15 torpedoes fired by US Navy destroyers during the battle not been fatally flawed, the outcome of the battle might have been different.


Tanaka's flagship, Naganami, reversed course to starboard, opened fire and began laying a smoke screen. The next two ships astern, Kawakaze and Suzukaze, reversed course to port. At 23:23, Suzukaze fired eight torpedoes in the direction of the gunflashes from Wright's cruisers, followed by Naganami and Kawakaze which fired their full loads of eight torpedoes at 23:32 and 23:33 respectively.

Meanwhile, the four destroyers at the head of the Japanese column maintained their heading down the Guadalcanal coast, allowing Wright's cruisers to pass on the opposite course. Once clear of Takanami at 23:28, Kuroshio fired four and Oyashio fired eight torpedoes in the direction of Wright's column and then reversed course and increased speed. Wright's cruisers maintained the same course and speed as the 44 Japanese torpedoes headed in their direction.

At 23:27, as Minneapolis fired her ninth salvo and Wright prepared to order a course change for his column, two torpedoes, from either Suzukaze or Takanami, slammed into her forward half. One warhead exploded the aviation fuel storage tanks forward of turret one and the other knocked out three of the ship's four firerooms. The bow forward of turret one folded down at a 70-degree angle and the ship lost power and steering control. Thirty-seven men were killed.


New Orleans near Tulagi the morning after the battle, showing everything missing forward of turret two

Less than a minute later a torpedo hit New Orleans abreast of turret one and exploded the ship's forward ammunition magazines and aviation gasoline storage. The blast severed the ship's entire bow forward of turret two. The bow twisted to port, damaging the ship's hull as it was wrenched free by the ship's momentum, and sank immediately off the aft port quarter. Everyone in turrets one and two perished. New Orleans was forced into a reverse course to starboard and lost steering and communications. A total of 183 men were killed. Herbert Brown, a seaman in the ship's plotting room, described the scene after the torpedo hit,

I had to see. I walked alongside the silent turret two and was stopped by a lifeline stretched from the outboard port lifeline to the side of the turret. Thank God it was there, for one more step and I would have pitched head first into the dark water thirty feet below. The bow was gone. One hundred and twenty five feet of ship and number one main battery turret with three 8 inch guns were gone. Eighteen hundred tons of ship were gone. Oh my God, all those guys I went through boot camp with – all gone.​

Pensacola followed next astern in the cruiser column. Observing Minneapolis and New Orleans taking hits and slowing, Pensacola steered to pass them on the port side and then, once past, returned to the same base course. At 23:39, Pensacola took a torpedo abreast the mainmast. The explosion spread flaming oil throughout the interior and across the main deck of the ship, killing 125 of the ship's crew. The hit ripped away the port outer driveshaft and the ship took a 13-degree list and lost power, communications, and steering.

Astern of Pensacola, Honolulu's captain chose to pass Minneapolis and New Orleans on the starboard side. At the same time, the ship increased speed to 30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h), maneuvered radically, and successfully transited the battle area without taking any damage while maintaining main battery fire at the rapidly disappearing Japanese destroyers.

The last cruiser in the American column, Northampton, followed Honolulu to pass the damaged cruisers ahead to starboard. Unlike Honolulu, Northampton did not increase speed or attempt any radical maneuvers. At 23:48, after returning to the base course, Northampton was hit by two of Kawakaze'storpedoes. One hit 10 feet (3 m) below the waterline abreast the after engine room, and four seconds later, the second hit 40 feet (12 m) further aft. The after engine room flooded, three of four shafts ceased turning, and the ship listed 10 degrees to port and caught fire. Fifty men were killed.

The last ships in Wright's column, Lamson and Lardner, failed to locate any targets and exited the battle area to the east after being mistakenly fired on by machine guns from New Orleans. Cole's four destroyers circled completely around Savo Island at maximum speed and reentered the battle area, but the engagement had already ended.

Meanwhile, at 23:44 Tanaka ordered his ships to break contact and retire from the battle area. As they proceeded up Guadalcanal's coast, Kuroshio and Kagerō fired eight more torpedoes towards the American ships, which all missed. When Takanami failed to respond to radio calls, Tanaka directed Oyashio and Kuroshio to go to her assistance. The two destroyers located the burning ship at 01:00 on December 1 but abandoned rescue efforts after detecting American warships in the area. Oyashio and Kuroshio quickly departed the sound to rejoin the rest of Tanaka's ships for the return journey to the Shortlands, which they reached 10 hours later. Takanami was the only Japanese warship hit by American gunfire and seriously damaged during the battle.

Aftermath
Takanami's surviving crew abandoned ship at 01:30, but a large explosion killed many more of them in the water, including the destroyer division commander, Toshio Shimizu, and the ship's captain, Masami Ogura. Of her crew of 244, 48 survived to reach shore on Guadalcanal and 19 of them were captured by the Americans.

Northampton's crew was unable to contain the ship's fires and list and began to abandon ship at 01:30. The ship sank at 03:04 about 4 miles (6 km) from Doma Cove on Guadalcanal. Fletcher and Drayton rescued the ship's 773 survivors.

Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Pensacola were able to make it the 19 miles (31 km) to Tulagi on the morning of December 1 where they were berthed for emergency repairs. The fires on Pensacola burned for 12 hours before being extinguished. Pensacoladeparted Tulagi for rear area ports and further repair on December 6. After construction of temporary bows from coconut logs, Minneapolis and New Orleans departed Tulagi for Espiritu Santo or Sydney, Australia on December 12. All three cruisers required lengthy and extensive repairs. New Orleans returned to action in August, Minneapolis in September, and Pensacola in October 1943.


New Orleans 'B' turret following a Japanese torpedo-initiated explosion of the forward magazine

The battle was one of the worst defeats suffered by the US Navy in World War II, third only to the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Savo Island. The battle, along with the losses suffered during the Battle of Savo Island, Cape Esperance and the Naval Battles of Guadalcanal temporarily left the US Navy with only 4 operational heavy cruisers and 9 light cruisers in the entire Pacific Ocean. In spite of his defeat in the battle, Wright was awarded the Navy Cross, one of the highest American military decorations for bravery, for his actions during the engagement.


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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
30 November 1994 – MS Achille Lauro catches fire and sinks 2 days after off the coast of Somalia.


MS Achille Lauro was a cruise ship based in Naples, Italy. Built between 1939 and 1947 as MS Willem Ruys, a passenger liner for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd, she was hijacked by members of the Palestine Liberation Front in 1985.

In other incidents, she also suffered two serious collisions (in 1953 with the MS Oranje and in 1975 with the cargo ship Youseff) and four onboard fires or explosions (in 1965, 1972, 1981, and 1994). In the last of these, in 1994, the ship caught fire and sank in the Indian Ocean off Somalia.




Concept and construction
Ordered in 1938 to replace the aging ships on the Dutch East Indies route, her keel was laid in 1939 at De Schelde shipyard in Vlissingen, Netherlands, for Rotterdamsche Lloyd (now Nedlloyd). Interrupted by World War II and two bombing raids, the ship was finally launched in July 1946, as Willem Ruys. The ship was named after the grandson of the founder of the Rotterdamsche Lloyd who was taken hostage and shot during the war.

Willem Ruys was completed in late 1947. At that time, the Rotterdamsche Lloyd had been granted a royal prefix in honour of its services during the war. Willem Ruys was 192 metres (630 ft) in length, 25 metres (82 ft) in beam, had a draught of 8.9 metres (29.2 ft), and measured 21,119 gross register tons. Eight Sulzer engines drove two propellers. She could accommodate 900 passengers. She featured a superstructure very different from other liners of that era; Willem Ruys pioneered low-slung aluminium lifeboats, within the upper-works' flanks. The next ship to adopt this unique arrangement was the SS Canberra in 1961. Today, all cruise ships follow this layout, with fibreglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) used for lifeboat hulls.

Service history
As the Willem Ruys
On the East Indies route
As Willem Ruys, the ship began her maiden voyage on 5 December 1947. Together with her main competitor and running mate, the MS Oranje of the Netherland Line, she became a popular fixture on the Dutch East Indies route. However, when the East Indies gained independence from The Netherlands in 1949, passengers' numbers decreased.

The former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, had travelled aboard Willem Ruys as a fresh graduate upon completing his studies in the United Kingdom.

Collision with Oranje
On 6 January 1953, Willem Ruys collided in the Red Sea with running mate MS Oranje, which was heading in the opposite direction. At that time, it was common for passenger ships to pass each other at close range to entertain their passengers. During the (later heavily criticized) abrupt and fast approach of Oranje, Willem Ruys made an unexpected swing to the left, resulting in a collision. Oranje badly damaged her bow. Due to the possibility that she would be impounded for safety reasons, she was unable to call at Colombo as scheduled, and went directly to Jakarta. Willem Ruys suffered less damage. There was no loss of life involved. Later, it was determined that miscommunication on both ships had caused the collision.

Journey to Java
During 1957, the English diplomat, author and diarist Harold Nicolson and his wife, the author and poet Vita Sackville-West, toured the Far East for two months aboard Willem Ruys. The voyage is documented in "Journey to Java", his published journal of the trip, which provides a detailed account of first class travel on the vessel in the 1950s.

Later years
After repairs, Royal Rotterdam Lloyd decided to release Willem Ruys on the North Atlantic run. First, she was placed on the New York service, and later Canada was included.

In 1958, the Royal Rotterdamsche Lloyd and the Netherland Line signed a co-operative agreement to create a round-the-world passenger service. The joint fleet would sail under the banner of "The Royal Dutch Mail Ships". Together with Oranje and Johan van Oldenbarneveldt, Willem Ruys underwent an extensive refit to prepare her for this new service. She made two charter trips to Montreal for the Europa-Canada service. Then, from 20 September 1958, until 25 February 1959, she underwent a major facelift at the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard in Amsterdam, turning her from a passenger liner into a cruise ship. Her original four class distinctions became First and Tourist Class. A hundred new cabins were installed and air-conditioning was extended throughout all accommodations. The Javanese crew members were replaced by Europeans, who required upgraded crew accommodation. Externally, she was fitted with a new glazed in Tourist Class Wintergarden, her forward funnel was heightened and stabilizers were fitted. Willem Ruys was now able to accommodate 275 first class, and 770 tourist class passengers, although there were many interchangeable cabins which had additional berths fitted, which could increase the maximum passenger number to 1167. Her new specifications would see her tonnage increase from 21,119 to 23,114 gross register ton.

On 7 March 1959, Willem Ruys went off on her new world service to Australia and New Zealand. She departed from Rotterdam, sailing via Southampton, the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney, New Zealand, returning via the Panama Canal. The Royal Dutch Mail Ships (Willem Ruys, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt and Oranje) became a popular alternative to the British liners.

At the end of 1964, due to a strong drop in passenger numbers, Willem Ruys was laid up in Rotterdam and put up for sale.

As Achille Lauro
In 1965, she was sold to the Flotta Lauro Line, or Star Lauro, (now MSC Cruises) and renamed Achille Lauro after the company's owner. She was extensively rebuilt and modernized after an August 1965 onboard explosion, and entered service in 1966 carrying passengers to Sydney, Australia. The ship played a role in evacuating the families of British servicemen caught up in unrest in Aden, and made one of the last northbound transits through the Suez Canal before its closure during the Six-Day War.

Achille Lauro was converted to a cruise ship in early 1972, during which time she suffered a disastrous fire. A 1975 collision with the cargo ship Youseff resulted in the sinking of the latter, and another onboard fire in 1981 took her out of service for a time. She was laid up in Tenerife when Lauro Lines went bankrupt in 1982. The Chandris Line took possession of her under a charter arrangement in 1985, shortly before the hijacking.

1985 hijacking
Main article: Achille Lauro hijacking
On 7 October 1985, four members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) took control of the liner off Egypt as she was sailing from Alexandria to Port Said. Holding the passengers and crew hostage, they directed the vessel to sail to Tartus, Syria, and demanded the release of 50 Palestinians then in Israeli prisons. After being refused permission to dock at Tartus, the hijackers killed disabled Jewish-American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and then threw his body overboard.[5]

The ship then headed back towards Port Said, and after two days of negotiations, the hijackers agreed to abandon the liner in exchange for safe conduct and were flown towards Tunisia aboard an Egyptian commercial airliner. This plane, however, was intercepted by US fighter aircraft and directed to land in Sicily, where the hijackers were to be tried for murder, but could not be extradited. The hijackers were later given passage to Yugoslavia after being paroled by the Italians and escaped.

Later years, fire, and sinking
The ship continued in service; she was reflagged in 1987 when the Lauro Line was taken over by the Mediterranean Shipping Company to become StarLauro. On 30 November 1994, she caught fire off the coast of Somalia while en route to South Africa. At that time, Italian officials said the fire had been caused by a discarded cigarette, but it actually began in the engine room after one of the engines exploded. Because of a lack of supervision, the fire burned out of control before its discovery. The crew tried to battle the fire for several hours but were unsuccessful. The vessel was abandoned and sank on 2 December 1994.




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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 30 November

1466 – Birth of Andrea Doria, Italian admiral (d. 1560)

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


1498 – Birth of Andrés de Urdaneta, Spanish captain and explorer (d. 1568)

Friar Andrés de Urdaneta, OSA, (November 30, 1498 – June 3, 1568) was a Spanish Basque circumnavigator, explorer and Augustinian friar. As a navigator he achieved in 1536 the "second" world circumnavigation (after the first one led by Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano and their crew in 1522). Urdaneta discovered and plotted a path across the Pacific from the Philippines to Acapulco in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (present day Mexico) used by the Manila galleons, which came to be known as "Urdaneta's route." He was considered as "protector of the Indians" for his treatment of the Filipino natives; also Cebu and the Philippines' first prelate

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


1703 – Launch of French Sylvie, 40 guns, purchased on the stocks for the Navy at Toulon – sold 1706.

Sylvie class, designed by François Coulomb with 22 x 12-pounder, 16 x 6-pounder and 2 x 4-pounder guns:

Sylvie, 40 guns, purchased on the stocks for the Navy and launched 30 November 1703 at Toulon – sold 1706.
Parfaite, 40 guns, launched 29 September 1704 at Toulon – wrecked November 1718 off Cyprus.


1754 – Launch of Spanish Magnánimo (San Pastor) 74 at Ferrol - Wrecked 12 July 1794


1758 – Launch of French Solitaire 64 at Lorient, designed and built by Antoine Groignard) – taken to pieces in 1771.


1780 - HMS Shark (1780 - 28), Cptn. Thomas Lloyd, foundered in a storm off North America

HMS Shark (1780) was a 28-gun sixth rate bought in 1780 that foundered with the loss of her entire crew during a storm off North America in 1780


1805 – HMS Pigeon (1805) wrecked

The Admiralty purchased HMS Pigeon on 28 May 1805 for use as a despatch cutter. She was wrecked, though without loss of life, in November.
After her purchase, Pigeon was fitted for foreign service at Deptford between 25 May and 10 August. She was commissioned in May under Lieutenant John Luckraft. One of his first tasks was to pick up Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, from Tribuneand to convey him up the Elbe River to Hamburg on a diplomatic mission.
Pigeon was wrecked off the Texel on 30 November while carrying despatches for Lieutenant General George Don at Bremerlehe.[2][Note 1] Her crew was saved, but became prisoners of the Dutch. Luckraft was freed the next year.
The court martial on 20 February 1806 found that it was pilot Robert Barron's inexperience that caused the wreck. However, the court also condemned the behavior of Luckraft before the ship was abandoned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Pigeon_(1805)


1811 - Horrid mutiny and murder committed on hoard a prize ship in the Channel. The perpetrators were convicted, and hanged at Plymouth.


1813 - HMS Desiree, Cptn. Farquher, and gun-vessels attacked batteries at Cuxhaven.


1829 – First Welland Canal opens for a trial run, five years to the day from the ground breaking.


A public(k) notice in a newspaper announcing the opening of the canal

The Welland Canal has gone through many incarnations in its history. Today, five distinct canal-construction efforts are recognized. The retronym First Welland Canal is applied to the original canal, constructed from 1824 to 1829 and 1831 to 1833.

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


1912 - Lt. Theodore G. Ellyson, the first U.S. Navy officer to qualify as an airplane pilot, tests the Navys first C-1 flying boat at Hammondsport, N.Y.

Theodore Gordon Ellyson, USN (27 February 1885 – 27 February 1928), nicknamed "Spuds", was the first United States Navy officer designated as an aviator ("Naval Aviator No. 1"). Ellyson served in the experimental development of aviation in the years before and after World War I. He also spent several years before the war as part of the Navy's new submarine service. A recipient of the Navy Cross for his antisubmarine service in World War I, Ellyson died in 1928 when his aircraft crashed over the Chesapeake Bay.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_G._Ellyson

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1768 – The former slave ship Fredensborg sinks off Tromøya in Norway.


The Fredensborg was a frigate built in Copenhagen in 1753. She was originally named Cron Prindz Christian after the crown prince, the future king Christian VII of Denmark and Norway, and was fitted out as a slave ship. Following an initially unsuccessful stint in the triangular trade, her operational area was limited to the Caribbean, where she sailed as a trader until 1756.


Farvelagt tegning visende fregatten / slaveskibet FREDENSBORG, ført af Kaptajn J. Berg i 1788. Privatejet.

The ship was then purchased by another Danish company, which renamed her Fredensborg after Fort Fredensborg, one of the Dano-Norwegian trading stations on the Danish Gold Coast. Her owners put her under the command of Captain Espen Kiønigs.

She embarked from Copenhagen on 24 June 1767 and arrived off the West African coast on 1 October. A cargo of slaves was collected at Fort Christiansborg and Fort Fredensborg, and the ship set sail for the Danish West Indies on 21 April 1768. She arrived at St Croix on 9 July, where the cargo of slaves were unloaded. She had embarked 265 slaves, and she disembarked 235, for a loss rate of 11%. Of the crew of 40, 12 had died en-route. At some point Johan Frantzen Ferentz replaced Kiønigs as captain. She then sailed for home on 14 September.

Fate
On 1 December 1768, the Fredensborg sank in a storm off Tromøya island near Arendal, Norway.

The wreck was discovered by three divers in September 1974, Leif Svalesen, Tore Svalesen and Odd Keilon Ommundsen. Leif Svalesen later worked extensively to document the ship and its history.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredensborg_(slave_ship)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_ship

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1811 – Launch of French Impérial, a 118 gun Ocean-class, at Toulon – Renamed Royal Louis April 1814, renamed Impérial March 1815, renamed Royal Louis July 1815, condemned 31 March 1825 at Toulon.


The Impérial 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 François Poncet.

Class and type: Océan class ship of the line
Displacement: 2 700 tonnes
Length: 65.18 m (213.8 ft) (196,6 French feet)
Beam:1 6.24 m (53.3 ft) (50 French feet)
Draught: 8.12 m (26.6 ft) (25 French feet)
Propulsion:sail, 3 265 m²
Complement: 1 079 men
Armament:

• Lower deck: 32 36-pounder guns
• middle deck: 34 24-pounder guns
• upper deck: 34 12-pounder guns
• forecastle: 18 8-pounder guns, 6 36-pounder carronades

She was begun at Toulon in 1810 and completed in 1812. She was the French flagship during the Action of 5 November 1813.

She was renamed Royal Louis in April 1814 following the downfall of the First Empire, but resumed the name Impérial in March 1815 when Napoléon returned to France. After the Hundred Days and the restitution of Louis XVIII, she was again renamed Royal Louis in July 1815, being disarmed in June 1816. She was condemned in March 1825 and broken up later that year.


1/48 scale model of the Océan class 120-gun ship of the line Commerce de Marseille, on display at Marseille naval museum, combined with a half-hull of a generic Ocean-type 120-gun ship of the line on display at Brest navl museum.

The Océan-class ships of the line were a series of 118-gun three-decker ships of the line of the French Navy, designed by engineer Jacques-Noël Sané. Fifteen were completed from 1788 on, with the last one entering service in 1854; a sixteenth was never completed, and four more were never laid down.

The first two of the series were Commerce de Marseille and États de Bourgogne in the late 1780s. Three ships to the same design followed during the 1790s (a further four ordered in 1793–94 were never built). A second group of eleven were ordered during the First Empire; sometimes described as the Austerlitz class after the first to be ordered, some of the later ships were not launched until after the end of the Napoleonic era, and one was not completed but broken up on the stocks. A 'reduced' (i.e. shortened) version of this design, called the Commerce de Paris class, with only 110 guns, was produced later, of which two examples were completed.

The 5,095-ton 118-gun type was the largest type of ship built up to then, besting the Spanish ship Santísima Trinidad. Up to 1790 Great Britain, the largest of the battle fleet nations, had not built especially large battleships because the need for large numbers of ships had influenced its battleship policy. The French initiated a new phase in battleship competition when they laid down a large number of three-deckers of over 5,000 tons.[2]

Along with the 74-gun of the Téméraire type and the 80-gun of the Tonnant type, the Océan 120-gun type was to become one of the three French standard types of battleships during the war period 1793 to 1815.

These were the most powerful ships of the Napoleonic Wars and a total of ten served during that time. These ships, however, were quite expensive in terms of building materials, artillery and manpower and so were reserved for admirals as their fleet flagships.

Some of the ships spent 40 years on the stocks and were still in service in 1860, three of them having been equipped with auxiliary steam engines in the 1850s.

Design
The design for the first 118-gun three-decker warships originated in 1782 with a design prepared by the shipwright Antoine Groignard. Carrying an extra pair of cannon on each deck (including the quarterdeck), this raised the firepower of these capital ships from 110 to 118 guns, including an unprecedented thirty-two 36-pounder guns in the lowest tier. The French Navy ordered two of these, to be built at Toulon and at Brest, the shipwright entrusted with the construction of the latter ship being Jacques-Noël Sané. However, with the onset of peace following the conclusion of the American War of Independence, these two ships were cancelled in 1783, along with several others. The concept was revived in 1785 when Sané, in conjunction with Jean-Charles de Borda, developed the design of the Commerce de Marseille, marking a leap in the evolution of ship of the line design, when the first two ships were re-ordered at Toulon and Brest. The hull was simple with straight horizontal lines, minimal ornaments, and tumblehome. The poop deck was almost integral the gunwale, and the forecastle was minimal.


Scale model of an Océan-class ship, including the inner disposition of the lower decks, on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne.

They were highly successful as gun platforms and sailers, a fact which indicates that great improvements had been made in warship design since the late 17th century when battleships of less than half their size were regarded as unwieldy giants which ought to be brought into harbour before the September gales began. However, at least the first two of this class appear to have had less strength than necessary - one (Commerce de Marseille) which was taken by the British in 1793, was never used by them, and the other (by now renamed Ocean) had to be extensively rebuilt after a decade. This indicates that the growth in size of wooden warships caused structural problems which only gradually were solved.

Although these ships were costly, their design changed to become even larger in terms of overall tonnage with the introduction of a second (modified) group in 1806. Mounting 18-pounder cannon on her third gun deck (unheard of in French three-decked ships of the period), the Austerlitz set the example for all of the French 118 gun ships to follow.

Ships of the first group
(listed under their names at time of launching, and in order of their launching dates)


Aft pannel of Souverain, on display at Toulon naval museum.

• Commerce de Marseille

Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 30 September 1785
Laid down: September 1786
Launched: 7 August 1788
Completed: October 1790
Fate: captured by the English in Toulon on the 29 August 1793 and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Commerce de Marseille. Converted to a floating prison in February 1799, and scrapped in 1802.

• États de Bourgogne

Builder: Brest
Ordered: 30 September 1785
Laid down: 12 August 1786 as États de Bourgogne
Launched: 8 November 1790
Completed: December 1790
Fate: renamed Montagne on 22 October 1793 and then Peuple on 25 May 1795 and Océan on 30 May 1795, disarmed in 1854 and stricken in 1855.

• Dauphin Royal

Builder: Toulon
Ordered: 21 November 1789
Laid down: May 1790 as Dauphin Royal
Launched: 20 July 1791
Completed: August 1793Fate: renamed Sans Culotte on 29 September 1792 and then Orient on 21 May 1795; blew up at the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798.

• Majestueux

Builder: Rochefort
Ordered: 1793
Laid down: 1794 as République française (renamed February 1803)
Launched: 1802
Completed: August, 1803
Fate: Scrapped in 1839

• Vengeur

Builder: Brest
Ordered: 1793
Laid down: 17 October 1793 as Peuple, renamed to Vengeur in July 1794.
Launched: 1 October 1803.
Completed: February 1804.
Fate: Renamed Impérial on 7 March 1805. Grounded and captured by the British during the Battle of San Domingo on 6 February 1806 and destroyed by fire.

• Four further ships of this class were ordered, two in 1793 at Toulon (to be named Fleurus and probably Quatorze Juillet) and two in 1794 at Brest (Liberté des Mers) and Rochefort (Républicain) respectively, but were never proceeded with.

Ships of the second (modified) group
(listed under their names at time of launching, and in order of their launching dates) Although these constituted a second batch of the Océan class, built to the same dimensions, the design was modified and they had a heavier displacement, and were often referred to as the Austerlitz Class.

• Austerlitz: ordered on 19 December 1805 and laid down on 10 April 1806 at Toulon; launched 15 August 1808 and completed August 1809. Never commissioned after her refit of 1821-22, and broken up in 1837.
• Ville-de-Paris: ordered on 19 July 1806 and laid down in May 1808 at Rochefort as Marengo; renamed to Ville-de-Vienne in 1807, Comte-d'Artois on 8 July 1814, and Ville-de-Paris on 9 August 1830. Launched in 1850. Entered Service in July, 1851. Converted to a dual sail/steam ship in 1858, engine removed and converted to transport in 1870. Stricken in 1882; hulk used as floating barracks until scrapped in 1898.
• Wagram: ordered in early 1809 and laid down April 1809 as Monarque at Toulon; renamed Wagram on 15 February 1810; launched 1 July 1810 and completed March 1811. Scrapped in 1836.
• Impérial: ordered on 4 June 1810 and laid down on 2 July 1810 at Toulon; launched 1 December 1811 and completed in August 1812, renamed to Royal Louis on 9 April 1814, reverted to Impérial on 22 March 1815 and then again to Royal Louis on 15 July 1815, condemned 1825 at Toulon and scrapped.

Montebello, circa 1850

• Montebello: ordered in 1810 and laid down in October 1810 at Toulon, launched on 6 December 1812 and completed in August 1813. Transferred to the gunnery school in 1860 and to the navigation school in 1865. Stricken in 1867. Scrapped in 1889.[3]
• Louis XIV: ordered in early 1811 and laid down as Tonnant in April 1811 at Rochefort; renamed to Louis XIV in 1828, launched on 28 February 1854. Entered service in 1854. Converted to a dual sail/steam ship in 1857. Transferred to the gunnery training school in 1861. Out of service 1873, stricken in 1880, scrapped in 1882.[3]
• Sans Pareil: ordered on 15 March 1811 and laid down as Sans Pareil in April 1811 at Brest. Renamed Roi de Rome in early 1812, then Inflexible on 21 May 1812 and finally reverted to Sans Pareil on 21 December 1812. Cancelled and broken up on the ways in June 1816 without having been launched.
• Héros: ordered on 20 February 1912 and laid down in April 1912 at Toulon; launched on 15 August 1813 and completed in January 1814, but never commissioned. Scrapped in 1828.
• Friedland: ordered on 20 February 1812 and laid down at Cherbourg as Inflexible on 1 May 1812, renamed Duc de Bordeaux on 19 December 1820 and then Friedland on 9 August 1830. Launched on 4 April 1840. Entered service on 5 October 1840. Conversion to dual sail/steam ship started in 1857 but was abandoned and ship was laid up without engine in 1858. Stricken in 1864. hulk renamed Colosse in 1865 and scrapped in 1879.[3]
• Souverain: ordered on 20 March 1813 and laid down at Toulon in April 1813, launched on 25 August 1819. Converted to sail/steam and entered service in 1857. Used as gunnery training vessel from 1860. Stricken in 1867. Hulk scrapped in 1905.[3]
• Trocadéro: ordered on 20 March 1813 and laid down in September 1813 at Toulon as Formidable, renamed to Trocadéro in 1823, launched on 14 April 1824 and completed in October 1824 but never commissioned. Destroyed in an accidental fire on 4 March 1836.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Impérial_(1811)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Océan-class_ship_of_the_line

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1811 – Launch of french Diadème, an 86-gun Bucentaure-class


Diadème was an 86-gun Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané.

Class and type: Bucentaure-class ship of the line
Length:

• 55.88 m (183 ft 4 in) (overall)
• 53.92 m (176 ft 11 in) (keel)

Beam: 15.27 m (50 ft 1 in)
Depth of hold: 7.63 m (25 ft 0 in)
Propulsion: Sail
Sail plan: 2,683 m2 (28,880 sq ft)
Complement: 866
Armament:

• 86 guns
• 30 × 36-pounders
• 32 × 24-pounders
• 18 × 12-pounders
• 6 × 36-pounder howitzers

Commissioned in Lorient in January 1812, Diadème was disarmed at the Bourbon Restoration. She had major refits in 1822 and 1833, and was reactivated in 1826 to join the squadron of the Mediterranean.

From 1856, she was used as a barracks hulk.


The Robuste, sister-ship of the Diadème


The Bucentaure class was a class of 80-gun French ships of the line built to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané from 1802 onwards, of which at least 29 were ordered but only 21 ships were launched. They were a development from his earlier Tonnant class.

• Bucentaure 80 (launched 13 July 1803 at Toulon) – Flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, captured there by the British and wrecked in the subsequent storm
• Neptune 80 (launched 15 August 1803 at Toulon) – Captured by the Spanish at Cadiz in June 1808, renamed Neptuno, BU 1820
• Robuste 80 (launched 30 October 1806 at Toulon) – Driven ashore by the British and burnt near Frontignan in October 1809
• Ville de Varsovie 80 (launched 10 May 1808 at Rochefort) – Captured and burnt by the British in the Battle of the Basque Roads in April 1809
• Donawerth 80 (launched 4 July 1808 at Toulon) – BU 1824
• Eylau 80 (launched 19 November 1808 at Lorient) – BU 1829
• Friedland 80 (launched 2 May 1810 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Vlaming, BU 1823
• Sceptre 80 (launched 15 August 1810 at Toulon) – Condemned 1828
• Tilsitt 80 (launched 25 August 1810 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Neptunus, BU 1818
• Auguste 80 (launched 25 April 1811 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Illustre, returned in September 1814, BU 1827
• Pacificateur 80 (launched 22 May 1811 at Antwerp) – BU 1824
• Illustre 80 (launched 9 June 1811 at Antwerp) – Transferred to the Dutch Navy in August 1814 and renamed Prins van Oranje,BU 1825.
• Diadème 80 (launched 1 December 1811 at Lorient) – 86 guns from 1837; condemned 1856.
• Conquérant 80 (launched 27 April 1812 at Antwerp) – Condemned 1831.
• Zélandais 80 (launched 12 October 1813 at Cherbourg) – renamed Duquesne in April 1814, but reverted to Zélandais in March 1815 then Duquesne again in July 1815. Condemned 1858.
• Magnifique 80 (launched 29 October 1814 at Lorient) – 86 guns from 1837; condemned 1837.
• One further ship begun at Venice to this design was never launched – Saturne, which was broken up on the stocks by the Austrian occupiers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Diadème_(1811)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucentaure-class_ship_of_the_line

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1842 - Midshipman Philip Spence, Boatswains Mate Samuel Cromwell, and Seaman Elisha Small of the Bainbridge-class brig USS Somers are executed for mutiny.
Spencer was the son of then-Secretary of War, John Canfield Spencer.


The second USS Somers was a brig in the United States Navy during the John Tyler administration which became infamous for being the only U.S. Navy ship to undergo a mutinywhich led to executions.



Somers was launched by the New York Navy Yard on 16 April 1842 and commissioned on 12 May 1842, with Commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie in command.

Displacement: 259 long tons (263 t)
Length: 100 ft (30 m)
Beam: 25 ft (7.6 m)
Draft: 14 ft (4.3 m)
Complement: 13 officers and 180 men
Armament: 10 × 32 pdr (15 kg) carronades


Initial cruise
After a shakedown cruise in June–July to the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico and back, the new brig sailed out of New York harbor on 13 September 1842 bound for the Atlantic coast of Africa with dispatches for frigate Vandalia. On this voyage, Somers was acting as an experimental schoolship for naval apprentices.

After calls at Madeira, Tenerife, and Praia, looking for Vandalia, Somers arrived at Monrovia, Liberia on 10 November and learned that the frigate had already sailed for home. The next day, Cdr. Mackenzie headed for the Virgin Islands hoping to meet Vandalia at St. Thomas before returning to New York.

The "Somers Affair"


This Lithograph, published circa 1843, shows the mutineers hanging under the US flag.

On 25 November 1842, during the passage to the West Indies, Midshipman Philip Spencer, the son of Secretary of War John C. Spencer, allegedly told purser's steward J.W. Wales of a planned mutiny by approximately 20 of Somers crew, who intended to use the ship for piracyfrom the Isle of Pines. Seaman Elisha Small was involved in the conversation, and Wales was threatened with death if he revealed Spencer's plan.

On 26 November, Wales notified Captain Mackenzie of the plan through his chain of command via purser H.M. Heiskill and first lieutenant Guert Gansevoort. Captain Mackenzie was not inclined to take the matter seriously, but instructed Lt. Gansevoort to watch Spencer and the crew for evidence of confirmation. Lt. Gansevoort learned from other members of the crew that Spencer had been observed in secret nightly conferences with seaman Small and Boatswain's Mate Samuel Cromwell. Captain Mackenzie confronted Spencer with Wales' allegation that evening. Spencer replied that he told Wales the story as a joke. Spencer was arrested and put in irons on the quarterdeck. Papers written in Greek were discovered in a search of Spencer's locker and translated by Midshipman Henry Rodgers:[1] What is left out of possible reasons for Philip Spencer's so called secret meetings with sailors and the Greek symbols in his journal is the fact that Philip Spencer was a founding member of the Chi Psi Fraternity at Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., in May, 1841. Spencer could have been trying to introduce sailors to a fraternal Navy group. He was also interested in pirates and buccaneers and may have used the pirates democratic model for a sailor's "fraternity". He was insufficiently trained and foolishly unaware of the Captain's authority. Lt. Gansevoort was a cousin of Herman Melville who heard about the Somers Affair from him and turned it into his famous novella Billy Budd which takes place on a British Frigate with a far different character than Philip Spencer.

"CERTAIN: P. Spencer, E. Andrews, D. McKinley, Wales"DOUBTFUL: Wilson (X), McKee (X), Warner, Green, Gedney, Van Veltzor, Sullivan, Godfrey, Gallia (X), Howard (X)"Those doubtful marked (X) will probably be induced to join before the project is carried into execution. The remainder of the doubtful will probably join when the thing is done, if not, they must be forced. If any not marked down wish to join after the thing is done we will pick out the best and dispose of the rest."NOLENS VOLENS: Sibley, Van Brunt, Blackwell, Clarke, Corney, Garratrantz, Strummond, Witmore, Waltham, Nevilles, Dickinson, Riley, Scott, Crawley, Rodman, Selsor, The Doctor"Wheel: McKee"Cabin: Spencer, Small, Wilson"Wardroom: Spencer"Steerage: Spencer, Small, Wilson"Arm Chest: McKinley"
A mast failed and damaged some sail rigging on 27 November. The timing and circumstances were regarded as suspicious; and Cromwell, the largest man on the crew, was questioned about his alleged meetings with Spencer. Cromwell said: "It was not me, sir – it was Small." Small was questioned and admitted meeting with Spencer. Both Cromwell and Small joined Spencer in irons on the quarterdeck.

On 28 November wardroom steward Henry Waltham was flogged for having stolen brandy for Spencer; and, after the flogging, Captain Mackenzie informed the crew of a plot by Spencer to have them murdered. Waltham was flogged again on 29 November for suggesting theft of three bottles of wine to one of the apprentices. Sailmaker's mate Charles A. Wilson was detected attempting to obtain a weapon on that afternoon, and Landsman McKinley and Apprentice Green missed muster when their watch was called at midnight.

Four more men were put in irons on the morning of 30 November: Wilson, McKinley, Green, and Cromwell's friend, Alexander McKie. Captain Mackenzie then addressed a letter to his four wardroom officers (First Lieutenant Gansevoort, Passed Assistant Surgeon L.W. Leecock, Purser Heiskill, and Acting Master M.C. Perry) and three oldest midshipmen (Henry Rodgers, Egbert Thompson, and Charles W. Hayes), asking their opinion as to the best course of action. The seven convened in the wardroom to interview members of the crew.

On 1 December, the officers reported that they had "come to a cool, decided, and unanimous opinion" that Spencer, Cromwell and Small were "guilty of a full and determined intention to commit a mutiny;" and they recommended that the three be put to death, despite Spencer's claim that the accused conspirators "had been pretending piracy". The plotters were hanged that day and buried at sea. Some have noted that the captain could have waited since there were only thirteen days to home port. In response, the captain noted the fatigue of his officers, the smallness of the vessel and the inadequacies of the confinement.

Somers reached St. Thomas on 5 December and returned to New York on 14 December. She remained there during a naval court of inquiry which investigated the alleged mutiny and subsequent executions. The court exonerated Mackenzie, as did a subsequent court-martial, held at his request to avoid a trial in civil court. Nevertheless, the general populace remained skeptical.

In the Home Squadron
On 20 March 1843, Lt. John West assumed command of Somers and the brig was assigned to the Home Squadron. For the next few years, she served along the Atlantic coast and in the West Indies.

Mexican–American War
Somers was in the Gulf of Mexico off Vera Cruz at the opening of the Mexican–American War in the spring of 1846; and, except for runs to Pensacola, Florida, for logistics, remained in that area on blockade duty until the winter. On the evening of 26 November, the brig, commanded by Lt. Raphael Semmes (later the celebrated commanding officer of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama), was blockading Vera Cruz when Mexican schooner Criolla slipped into that port. Somers launched a boat party which boarded and captured the schooner. However, a calm wind prevented the Americans from getting their prize out to sea so they set fire to the vessel and returned through gunfire from the shore to Somers, bringing back seven prisoners. Unfortunately, Criolla proved to be a US spy ship operating for Commodore David Conner.


Loss of USS Somers off Vera Cruz

On 8 December 1846, while chasing a blockade runner off Vera Cruz, Somers capsized and foundered in a sudden squall.[4] Thirty-six of her 80 crew were lost. Eight survivors were rescued by HMS Endymion. Eight more swam to shore and were taken prisoner. English and French vessels rescued the other survivors.[5] On 3 March 1847, Congress authorized gold and silver medals to the officers and men of French, British, and Spanish ships-of-war who aided in the rescue.[4]

Legacy and wreck

Herman Melville – whose first cousin, Lt. Guert Gansevoort, was an officer aboard the brig at the time of the Somers Affair – may have been influenced by the notorious events involving the Somers mutineers. Melville may have used elements of the story in his novella Billy Budd.

The incident is detailed in the novel Voyage to the First of December by Henry Carlisle, written from the viewpoint of the naval surgeon on duty (from his old journals).

The story of the Somers Affair and the subsequent trial is dramatized in the penultimate episode of the sixth season of the television series JAG. The presentation takes place as a dream by Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie, while she prepares to give a lecture at the United States Naval Academy, which came into existence as a result of the Somers Affair.[6] The regular cast portrayed the people involved. Trevor Goddard played the role of Mackenzie, and Catherine Bell (in a play on the identical surname of her usual role in JAG) played Mrs. Mackenzie.

In 1986, an expedition led by George Belcher, an art dealer and explorer from San Francisco, California, discovered the wreck, and in 1987 archaeologists James Delgado and Mitchell Marken confirmed the identification of the wreck. In 1990, Delgado, along with Pilar Luna Erreguerena, co-directed a joint Mexican-US expedition, which involved archaeologists and divers from the US National Park Service, the Armada de Mexico, and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. The project determined that unknown people had looted the wreck sometime after the 1987 expedition. The wreck remains as a site protected by legislation.

The most notable legacy of the Somers Affair is the US Naval Academy which was founded as a direct result of the affair. Appalled that a midshipman would consider mutiny, senior Naval officials ordered the creation of the academy so that midshipmen could receive a formal and supervised education in Naval seamanship and related matters.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Somers_(1842)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1855 – Launch of USS Minnesota, a wooden steam frigate in the United States Navy.


USS Minnesota was a wooden steam frigate in the United States Navy. Launched in 1855 and commissioned eighteen months later, the ship served in east Asia for two years before being decommissioned. She was recommissioned at the outbreak of the American Civil War and returned to service as the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.


USS Minnesota as she appeared in 1871. Note the trim, compact lines, the guns in open gun ports.
US National Archives photo. Photo and text from"Warships of The Civil War Navies" by Paul H. Silverstone.

During the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads on 8 March 1862, Minnesota ran aground, and the following battle badly damaged her and inflicted many casualties. On the second day of the battle, USS Monitor engaged CSS Virginia, allowing tugs to free Minnesota on the morning of 10 March. Minnesota was repaired and returned to duty, and three years later she participated in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. Minnesota served until 1898, when she was stricken, beached and burnt to recover her metal fittings and to clear her name for a newly-ordered battleship, USS Minnesota (BB-22).

Construction and early duties

A cast brass bell from the U.S.S. Minnesota is engraved "MINNESOTA / U.S.W.N.Y. 1856" Image from the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society

Minnesota was laid down in May 1854 by the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.. She was launched on 1 December 1855, sponsored by Susan L. Mann, and commissioned on 21 May 1857 with Captain Samuel Francis Du Pont in command.

Type: Screw frigate
Displacement: 3,307 long tons (3,360 t)
Length: 264 ft 9 in (80.70 m)
Beam: 51 ft 4 in (15.65 m)
Draft: 23 ft 10 in (7.26 m)
Propulsion: Steam engine
Sail plan: Ship Rig
Speed: 12.5 knots
Complement: 646 officers and enlisted
Armament:

• 2 × 10 in (250 mm) guns
• 28 × 9 in (230 mm) guns
• 14 × 8 in (200 mm) guns

Minnesota was named for the Minnesota River. Her sister ships were also named for rivers: the Wabash (first in class), Colorado, Merrimack (salvaged and renamed Virginia by the Confederate Navy), and the Roanoke (later converted to a monitor-type).

Minnesota, carrying William B. Reed, U.S. Minister to China, departed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 1 July 1857 for East Asia. During her service with the East India Squadron, she visited many of the principal ports of China and Japan before departing Hong Kong to bring Reed home with a newly-negotiated commerce treaty, the Treaty of Tianjin, with China. Upon arrival in Boston, Massachusetts, on 2 June 1859, Minnesota was decommissioned at the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the same day and remained in ordinary until the outbreak of the American Civil War in April 1861.

Civil War
Minnesota was recommissioned on 2 May 1861, Captain G. J. Van Brunt in command, and became flagship of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, commanded by Flag Officer Silas Stringham. She arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 13 May and the next day captured the schooners Mary Willis, Delaware Farmer, and Emily Ann. Minnesota took the barkWinfred on the 25th and the bark Sally McGee on 26 June. Schooner Sally Mears became her prize 1 July and bark Mary Warick struck her colors to the steam frigate on the 10th.


Minnesota (center) and other Union warships bombard Confederate forts at Hatteras Inlet

Minnesota led a joint Army-Navy expedition, known as the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, against two important Confederate forts which had been erected at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. The squadron opened fire on Fort Clark on the morning of 28 August 1861, forcing the Confederate gunners to abandon the fort at noon. The following day, the fire of the squadron was concentrated on Fort Hatteras. The bombardment was so effective the Confederates were compelled to seek cover in bomb shelters and surrendered.

When Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough relieved Stringham in command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron on 23 September, he selected Minnesota as his flagship. William B. Cushing, later to distinguish himself for sinking the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle, was assigned as a junior officer to the Minnesota.

Battle of Hampton Roads
While blockading off Hampton Roads, 8 March 1862, Minnesota sighted three Confederate ships, Jamestown, Patrick Henry, and Virginia—the former Merrimack, rebuilt and protected by iron plates—rounding Sewell's Point and heading toward Newport , Virginia. Minnesota slipped her cables and got underway to engage the southern warships in a fight that would come to be known as the Battle of Hampton Roads. When about 1.5 miles from Newport , Minnesota grounded.


USS Monitor takes leave of USS Minnesota to engage CSS Virginia, March 9, 1862, at Hampton Roads, VA.
US Navy Art Collection.

Meanwhile Virginia passed frigate Congress and rammed sloop-of-war Cumberland. Virginia then engaged Congress compelling her to surrender. Then Virginia, Jamestown, and Patrick Henry bombarded Minnesota killing and wounding several of her crew before the Union warship's heavy guns drove them off. Minnesota also fired upon Virginia with her pivot gun. Toward twilight the southern iron-clad withdrew toward Norfolk.

The recoil from her broadside guns forced Minnesota further upon the mud bank. All night tugs worked to haul her off, but to no avail. However, during the night USS Monitor arrived. "All on board felt we had a friend that would stand by us in our hour of trial," wrote Captain Gershom Jacques Van Brunt, the vessel's commander, in his official report the day after the engagement. Early the next morning Virginiar eappeared. As the range closed, Monitor, steaming between Minnesota and the iron-clad, fired gun after gun, and Virginia returned fire with whole broadsides, neither with much apparent effect. Virginia, finding she could not hurt Monitor, turned her attention to Minnesota, who answered with all guns. Virginia fired from her rifled bow gun a shell which passed through the chief engineer's stateroom, through the engineers' mess room, amidships, and burst in the boatswain's room, exploding two charges of powder, starting a fire which was promptly extinguished.

At midday Virginia withdrew toward Norfolk and the Union Navy resumed its efforts to refloat Minnesota. Early the next morning steamer S. R. Spaulding and several tugs managed to refloat the frigate and she anchored opposite Fort Monroe for temporary repairs.

Seven African-American sailors manned the forward gun of the vessel. This black crew mustered in at Boston, Mass., and included William Brown, Charles Johnson, George Moore, George H. Roberts, George Sales, William H. White and Henry Williams.

During the two-day engagement, Minnesota shot off 78 rounds of 10-inch solid shot; 67 rounds of 10-inch solid shot with 15-second fuse; 169 rounds of 9-inch solid shot; 180 9-inch shells with 15-second fuse; 35 8-inch shells with 15-second fuse and 5,567.5 pounds of service powder.

Battles of Fort Fisher
For the next few years she served as flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. During the Battle of Suffolk on 14 April 1863, four of Minnesota's sailors, Coxswains Robert Jordan and Robert B. Wood and Seamen Henry Thielberg and Samuel Woods, earned the Medal of Honor while temporarily assigned to the USS Mount Washington. While anchored off Newport on 9 April 1864, Minnesota was attacked by Confederate torpedo boat Squibwho exploded a torpedo charge alongside without causing damage and escaped.

On 24 and 25 December, Minnesota took part in amphibious operations at Fort Fisher which guarded Wilmington, North Carolina (the First Battle of Fort Fisher). During the landings she took a position about a mile from the fort and laid down a devastating barrage on the Confederate stronghold. However, General Benjamin F. Butler withdrew his troops nullifying the gains won by the joint Army-Navy effort. Three weeks later the Union Navy returned Federal Troops, now commanded by the more vigorous General Alfred Terry, to Fort Fisher (the Second Battle of Fort Fisher). A landing force of 240 men from Minnesota, covered by a barrage from their own ship, participated in the successful assault. This operation closed Wilmington, denying the Confederacy the use of this invaluable port.

During the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, nine sailors and Marines from the Minnesota earned the Medal of Honor as part of the landing party which assaulted the fort. The nine men were:

• Landsman Gurdon H. Barter
• Seaman David L. Bass
• Ordinary Seaman Thomas Connor
• Ordinary Seaman Thomas Harcourt
• Seaman Charles Mills
• Corporal John Rannahan
• Private John Shivers
• Private Henry A. Thompson
• Ordinary Seaman Franklin L. Wilcox

Later service
Ordered to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Minnesota was decommissioned on 16 February 1865. She was recommissioned on 3 June 1867 and made a cruise with midshipmen to Europe. She was placed in ordinary at the New York Navy Yard on 13 January 1868. Recommissioned on 12 June 1875, she remained at the New York Navy Yard as a gunnery and training ship for naval apprentices.

In 1881 she was transferred to Newport, Rhode Island where she served as the flagship of the US Navy Training Squadron. From 1881 to 1884 she was commanded by Captain Stephen Luce who founded the Naval War College in 1884. The warship took part in dedication ceremonies for the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883.

Three sailors assigned to Minnesota were awarded the Medal of Honor during this period: Captain of the Top William Lowell Hill and Ship's Cook Adam Weissel for rescuing fellow sailors from drowning in separate 1881 incidents, and Second Class Boy John Lucy for his actions during a fire at the Castle Garden immigration facility in 1876.

In October 1895, Minnesota was loaned to the Massachusetts Naval Militia, continuing that duty until August 1901 when she was sold to Thomas Butler & Company of Boston. She eventually was burned to salvage her iron fittings at Eastport, Maine.


USS Minnesota housed over as a training hulk, possibly while assigned to the Massachusetts Naval Militia in 1895-1901.
US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo # NH 106687, donation of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2009.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Minnesota_(1855)
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/86/86376.htm

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1865 – Launch of Swedish HSwMS Thordön, the second ship of the John Ericsson-class monitors, built for the Royal Swedish Navy in the mid-1860s.


HSwMS Thordön was the second ship of the John Ericsson-class monitors, built for the Royal Swedish Navy in the mid-1860s. She was designed under the supervision of the Swedish-born inventor, John Ericsson, and built in Sweden. Thordön made one foreign visit to Russia in 1867, but remained in Swedish or Norwegian waters (at the time, Sweden and Norway were united in personal union) for the rest of her career. The ship was reconstructed between 1903 and 1905, but generally remained in reserve. She was mobilized during World War I, and sold in 1922 for conversion to a barge.



Design and description
The John Ericsson-class ironclads were designed to meet the need of the Swedish and Norwegian navies for small, shallow-draft armored ships capable of defending their coastal waters. The standoff between USS Monitor and the much larger CSS Virginia during the Battle of Hampton Roads in early 1862 roused much interest in Sweden in this new type of warship, as it seemed ideal for coastal defense duties. John Ericsson, designer and builder of the Monitor, had been born in Sweden, although he had become an American citizen in 1848, and offered to share his design with the Swedes. In response they sent Lieutenant John Christian d'Ailly to the United States to study monitor design and construction under Ericsson. D'Ailly arrived in July 1862 and toured rolling mills, gun foundries, and visited several different ironclads under construction. He returned to Sweden in 1863 having completed the drawings of a Monitor-type ship under Ericsson's supervision.

The ship measured 60.88 meters (199 ft 9 in) long overall, with a beam of 13.54 meters (44 ft 5 in). She had a draft of 3.4 meters (11 ft 2 in) and displaced 1,522 metric tons (1,498 long tons).[2] John Ericsson was divided into nine main compartments by eight watertight bulkheads. Over time a flying bridge and, later, a full superstructure, was added to each ship between the gun turret and the funnel. Initially her crew numbered 80 officers and men, but this increased to 104 as she was modified with additional weapons.

Propulsion
The John Ericsson-class ships had one twin-cylinder vibrating lever steam engines, designed by Ericsson himself, driving a single four-bladed, 3.74-meter (12 ft 3 in) propeller. Their engines were powered by four fire-tube boilers at a working pressure of 40 psi (276 kPa; 3 kgf/cm2). The engines produced a total of 380 indicated horsepower (280 kW) which gave the monitors a maximum speed of 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph) in calm waters. The ships carried 110 tonnes (110 long tons) of coal, enough for six day's steaming.

Armament
Thordön, and her sister ship Tirfing, were briefly armed with a pair of 267-millimeter (10.5 in) M/66 smoothbore guns[5] before being rearmed in 1873 with two 240-millimeter (9.4 in) M/69 rifled breech loaders, derived from a French design. They weighed 14,670 kilograms (32,340 lb) and fired projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 397 m/s (1,300 ft/s). At their maximum elevation of 7.5° they had a range of 3,500 meters (3,800 yd). An improved version was developed in the 1870s; the guns were heavier, 16,688 kilograms (36,791 lb), but had a higher muzzle velocity of 413 m/s (1,350 ft/s). Coupled with the increased elevation of 11.29°, this gave them a range of 5,000 meters (5,500 yd). Thordönreceived her guns in 1882.

In 1877 each monitor received a pair of 10-barreled 12.17-millimeter (0.479 in) M/75 machine guns designed by Helge Palmcrantz. Each machine gun weighed 115 kilograms (254 lb) and had a rate of fire of 500 rounds per minute. Its projectiles had a muzzle velocity of 386 m/s (1,270 ft/s) and a maximum range of 900 meters (980 yd). These guns were replaced during the 1880s by the 4-barreled 25.4-millimeter (1.00 in) M/77 Nordenfeldt gun, which was an enlarged version of Palmcrantz's original design. The 203-kilogram (448 lb) gun had a rate of fire of 120 rounds per minute and each round had a muzzle velocity of 490 m/s (1,600 ft/s). Its maximum range was 1,600 meters (1,700 yd).

Armor
The John Ericsson-class ships had a complete waterline armor belt of wrought iron that was 1.8 meters (5 ft 11 in) high and 124 millimeters (4.9 in) thick. The armor consisted of five plates backed by 91 millimeters (3.6 in) of wood. The lower edge of this belt was 74.2 millimeters (2.9 in) thick as it was only three plates thick. The maximum thickness of the armored deck was 24.7 millimeters (1.0 in) in two layers. The gun turret's armor consisted of twelve layers of iron, totalling 270 millimeters (10.6 in) in thickness on the first four monitors. The inside of the turret was lined with mattresses to catch splinters. The base of the turret was protected with a 127-millimeter (5.0 in) glacis, 520 millimeters (20.5 in) high, and the turret's roof was 127 millimeters thick. The conning tower was positioned on top of the turret and its sides were ten layers (250 millimeters (9.8 in)) thick. The funnel was protected by six layers of armor with a total thickness of 120 millimeters (4.7 in) up to half its height.

Service
Thordön had her keel laid down on November 1865 and was launched 1 December 1865. She was commissioned on 14 August 1866. In July 1867 Crown Prince Oscar, later King Oscar II, inspected Thordön, John Ericsson, Tirfing, the steam frigates Thor and Vanadis, and the Norwegian monitor Skorpionen in the Stockholm archipelago before they departed for port visits in Helsingfors, later known as Helsinki, and Kronstadt in August, where they were visited by Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia, head of the Imperial Russian Navy. This was the only foreign visit ever made by the ship.

Thordön (later spelled Tordön) was laid up in reserve in 1868 and 1869. She was rearmed with 240-millimeter M/69 guns (serial numbers 5 and 6) in 1872, but was laid up again from 1874 to 1882. The ship ran aground and sank on Lilla Rimö Island, off Norrköping, on 23 July 1883. She was salvaged on 4 August and managed to proceed under her own power to Karlskrona Naval Dockyard for repairs. The subsequent court-martial ordered the ship's captain to pay for the costs of the salvage and repairs, despite a misplaced buoy that caused the ship to ground. She was recommissioned in 1885 and 1888–89 before being placed back in reserve. Tordön was reconstructed in 1903–05; she received a pair of new 120-millimeter (4.7 in) Bofors M/94 guns that were given elevation limits of −7° and +15°. The ship also received eight 57-millimeter guns and new boilers. She was reactivated during World War I and assigned to the Gothenburg local defense flotilla in company with her sister Tirfing. Both ships were decommissioned in 1922 and sold the following year. Their new owner converted them into barges and used them in Stockholm harbor.


The John Ericsson-class monitors were a group of five iron-hulled monitors; four were built for the Royal Swedish Navy and one for the Royal Norwegian Navy in the mid to late 1860s. They were designed under the supervision of the Swedish-born inventor, John Ericsson, and built in Sweden. Generally the monitors were kept in reserve for the majority of the year and were only commissioned for several during the year. The ships made one foreign visit to Russia (visits to Norway did not count as foreign as that country was in a personal union with Sweden) in 1867, but remained in Swedish or Norwegian waters for the rest of their careers. Two of the monitors, Thordon and Mjølner, ran aground, but were salvaged and repaired. Most of the monitors were reconstructed between 1892 and 1905 with more modern guns, but one was scrapped instead as it was not thought cost-effective to rebuild such an old ship. The surviving ships were mobilized during World War I and sold for scrap afterwards.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSwMS_Thordön_(1865)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ericsson-class_monitor

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1906 – Launch of SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie, an ocean liner built in Stettin,


SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie was an ocean liner built in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland), in 1906 for North German Lloyd that had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted to a ship. The last of four ships of the Kaiser class, she was also the last German ship to have been built with four funnels. She was engaged in transatlantic service between her homeport of Bremen and New York until the outbreak of World War I.


SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie entering Bar Harbor, Maine, in August 1914

On 4 August 1914, at sea after departing New York, she turned around and put into Bar Harbor, Maine, where she later was interned by the neutral United States. After that country entered the war in April 1917, the ship was seized and turned over to the United States Navy, and renamed USS Mount Vernon (ID-4508). While serving as a troop transport, Mount Vernon was torpedoed in September 1918. Though damaged, she was able to make port for repairs and returned to service. In October 1919 Mount Vernon was turned over for operation by the Army Transport Service in its Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco. USAT Mount Vernon was sent to Vladivostok, Russia to transport elements of the Czechoslovak Legion to Trieste, Italy and German prisoners of war to Hamburg, Germany. On return from that voyage, lasting from March through July 1920, the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and laid up at Solomons Island, Maryland until September 1940 when she was scrapped at Boston, Massachusetts.

History
Concept
Kronprinzessin Cecilie, built at Stettin, Germany, in 1906 by AG Vulcan Stettin, was the last of a set of four liners built for North German Lloyd, and the last German liner to carry four smokestacks. She was the product of ensuing competition between Germany and the United Kingdom for supremacy in the North Atlantic. Her older sister, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse had been introduced in 1897 and was a great success. Her popularity prompted North German Lloyd to build three more superliners, namely Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901), Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903) and finally Kronprinzessin Cecilie.

Class and type: Kaiser-class ocean liner
Tonnage:

• 19,400 GT
• 18,372 GRT

Length:

• 215.29 m (706 ft 4 in) LOA
• 208.89 m (685 ft 4 in) LBP

Beam: 22.00 m (72 ft 2 in)
Draft: 31 ft 1 in (9.47 m)
Propulsion: four quadruple-expansion steam engines, two screw propellers
Speed: 23–24 knots (43–44 km/h)
Capacity: 1,741
Complement:1,030 (as USS Mount Vernon)
Armament:

• 4 × 5-inch (130 mm) guns
• 2 × 1-pounder guns
• 2 × machine guns

Notes: four funnels, three masts

In 1907 Wiegard trusted Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge with the interior design of the ship. They designed luxury cabins where the beds would convert to sofas and the washstands would convert into tables. All of the metalwork was gilded; the surfaces were generally white while the wooden surfaces of violet amaranth were inlaid with agate, ivory and citron wood.

As designed the ship had 287 first class, 109 second class cabins and 7 compartments for steerage passengers. Passenger capacity was 775 first class, 343 second class and 770 steerage passengers for a total of 1,888 supported by a crew of 679 that included 229 stewards and stewardesses and 42 cooks, pantrymen, barbers, hairdressers and other passenger service people. Two "Imperial suites" had a parlor, private dining room, bedroom and bath room with toilet while eight other suites had all but the dining room. Twelve deluxe rooms had a large bedroom with bathroom and toilet.

The liner was 19,400 GT and was 215.29 metres (706 ft 4 in) length overall, 208.89 metres (685 ft 4 in) length between perpendiculars, by 22.00 metres (72 ft 2 in) abeam. She had four reciprocating, quadruple-expansion steam engines , two per shaft. There were two screw propellers. Kronprinzessin Cecilie sailed at a comfortable 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).


Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge's design for the Bremen ship

German career
Named after Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia, she was launched by her father in law Wilhelm II, German Emperor. In July 1907, the new Kronprinzessin Cecilie was planned to leave Bremerhaven on her maiden voyage. However, before the voyage could take place, the ship sank in Bremerhaven harbour. It was not until the next month on 6 August, had the ship been pumped out and repaired, before finally setting out.


The so-called "Vienna Café" on Kronprinzessin Cecilie

In comparison with a $2,500 first class suite ticket, the immigrant could sail on Kronprinzessin Cecilie for a mere $25 – one hundred times cheaper.

The interiors of the "four flyers", as they were called, were special. The entire ship was fitted with the best of craftsmanship Germany could offer; the salons were full of ornamented wood and gilded mirrors. While her sister, SS Kaiser Wilhelm II was thought by some to be too extravagant, Kronprinzessin Cecilie was a popular ship.[5] Some of her first class suites were fitted with dining rooms so the passengers who booked the suite could dine in private if they did not wish to take their meals in the main restaurant. Also, a fish tank was placed in the kitchen, providing first class passengers with the freshest of fish.

The liner operated on North German Lloyd's transatlantic route travelling from Bremen, with occasional calls at other ports, including Boston and New Orleans. The ship was steaming toward Germany from America with Captain Charles Polack, who had succeeded Dietrich Hogemann in 1913, when she received word of the outbreak of war. In addition to 1,216 passengers, including some British reservist, she was carrying $10,679,000 in gold and $3,000,000 in silver. The ship, bound for Bremen, was nearing Liverpool when directed to head back to the closest port in the neutral United States to avoid capture by the British Navy and French cruisers. Captain Polack had her normally all-buff funnels painted with black tops so as to resemble the liner Olympic or another ship of the British White Star Line as a form of disguise.


Kronprinzessin Cecilie at Bar Harbor, Maine with black funnel tops painted in order to imitate the British liner Olympic

Due to the liner's dwindling fuel Bar Harbor, Maine, though not a large port, was selected with the ship being brought in 4 August 1914 piloted by a local banker and yachtsman as none of the ship's officers were familiar with the port. North German Lloyd representatives met in Washington with officials of the Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce and the United States Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS) with the result USRCS Androscoggin was ordered to Bar Harbor to prevent unauthorized departure of foreign vessels but primarily to protect the transfer of gold and silver, as well as all mail and passengers, from Kronprinzessin Cecilie to shore to be transported by train to New York. Androscoggin, joined by the destroyer USS Warrington, arrived at Bar Harbor on 6 August with wild speculation in the press. On 7 November the ship moved to Boston where she was to remain while civil suits against the ship were resolved in federal court.

American career
Navy


Mount Vernon in a drydock in Brest for repairs after being torpedoed by U-82, September 1918.

Kronprinzessin Cecilie was commandeered by the United States on 3 February 1917 and transferred from the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to the U.S. Navy when America entered the war that April. She was commissioned 28 July 1917 and renamed USS Mount Vernon after George Washington's Virginia home. She was fitted out at Boston to carry troops and materiel to Europe.

Mount Vernon departed New York for Brest on 31 October 1917 for her first U.S. Navy crossing, and during the war made nine successful voyages carrying American troops to fight in Europe. However, early on the morning of 5 September 1918, as the transport steamed homeward in convoy some 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the French coast, her No. 1 gun crew spotted a periscope some 500 yards (460 m) off her starboard bow. Mount Vernon immediately fired one round at German U-boat U-82. The U‑boat simultaneously submerged, but managed to launch a torpedo at the transport. Mount Vernon's officer of the deck promptly ordered right full rudder, but the ship could not turn in time to avoid the missile, which struck her amidships, knocking out half of her boilers, flooding the midsection, and killing 36 sailors and injuring 13. Mount Vernon's guns kept firing ahead of the U‑boat’s wake and her crew launched a pattern of depth charges. Damage-control teams worked to save the ship, and their efforts paid off when the transport was able to return to Brest under her own power. Repaired temporarily at Brest, she proceeded to Boston for complete repairs.

Mount Vernon rejoined the Cruiser and Transport Service in February 1919 and sailed on George Washington’s birthday for France to begin returning veterans to the United States. Mount Vernon pulled out of port on 3 March 1919 at 11 PM to return to the United States. Some of her notable passengers during her naval service were: Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations; General Tasker H. Bliss, Chief of Staff of the United States Army; Col. Edward M. House, Special Adviser to President Wilson; and Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War.

Army

USAT Mount Vernon at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, September 1920


Czech Legion officers aboard Mount Vernon headed for Norfolk, Virginia in 1920

On 17 October 1919 Mount Vernon was transferred to the War Department for operation by the Army Transport Service where the ship was assigned to the Army's Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco. USAT Mount Vernon made one trip between March and July 1920 to Vladivostok, Russia embarking elements of the Czechoslovak Legion to be disembarked at Trieste, Italy and 300 German prisoners of war for Hamburg, Germany. On return the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and laid up at Solomons Island, Maryland.

Scrapping
At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Americans offered the former Kronprinzessin Cecilie to the British as a troop transport, who refused on the pretext that she was too old. The ship was scrapped in Boston, Massachusetts on 13 September 1940


The Kaiser-class ocean liners or Kaiserklasse refer to four transatlantic ocean liners of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, a German shipping company. Built by the AG Vulcan Stettinbetween 1897 and 1907, these ships were designed to be among the largest and best appointed liners of their day. These four ships, two of whom held the prestigious Blue Riband, were known as the "four flyers" and all proved to be popular with wealthy transatlantic travellers. They also took great advantage of the masses of immigrants who wished to leave Europe.

The first of these "superliners" was Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, unique for being the first liner with four funnels. She was credited with sparking the race for maritime supremacy between France, Germany and the United Kingdom which soon saw the creation of some of the most famous ships in history. Although not planned to have had any sister ships, the subsequent Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901), Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903) and Kronprinzessin Cecilie (1906) all enjoyed good careers; however, when World War I broke out, the first was sunk in August 1914 and the other three were seized in 1917 by the United States, never to return to German hands.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Kronprinzessin_Cecilie_(1906)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser-class_ocean_liner

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1910 - The japanese Antarctic Expedition on board of the Kainan Maru started - they will come back in summer 1912


The Japanese Antarctic Expedition of 1910–12 was the first exploration of Antarctic territory by an expedition from Japan. Led by Army Lieutenant Nobu Shirase, its ship Kainan Maru left Tokyo in December 1910, reached the ice on 26 February 1911 and sailed on into the Ross Sea. As it was very late in the Antarctic season, the ship was not able to get beyond Coulman Island, and returned to Sydney, Australia to winter there.




Lt Nobu Shirase, leader of the Japanese Antarctic Expedition

During the following season a third attempt was made to reach an Antarctic landfall, with the specific objective of exploring King Edward VII Land. At the Great Ice Barrier, the Kainan Maru encountered Roald Amundsen's ship Fram, which was waiting in the Bay of Whales for the return of Amundsen's South Pole party. A "Dash Patrol" of seven men from the Kainan Maru then landed on the Barrier and journeyed southward to 80°05'S, at which point adverse weather forced their return. Meanwhile, the ship landed another party on the coast of King Edward VII Land, where an exploration of the lower slopes of the Alexandra Range was carried out. Kainan Maru returned to Japan; it reached Yokohama on 20 June 1912.



Further reading:
https://www.coolantarctica.com/Anta...tarctic_whos_who_shirase_nobu_kainan_maru.php

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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
1 December 1985 - The SSCV Thialf, the worldwide largest crane vessel was delivered


SSCV Thialf is a semi-submersible crane vessel operated by Heerema Marine Contractors, and it is the largest crane vessel in the world.

History
The ship was constructed in 1985 as DB-102 for McDermott International by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. In 1997, it was taken over by Heerema Marine Contractorsafter discontinuation of their joint venture with McDermott, HeereMac, and renamed Thialf.


SSCV (Semi-Submersible Crane Vessel) Thialf in a Norwegian fjord with Fulmar SALM (Single Leg Mooring) buoy.

Layout
Thialf has two cranes with a combined maximum lifting capacity of 14,200 metric tons, making it the largest crane vessel in the world. but has lower height lifting capabilities than its competitor Saipem 7000 (which has lifting capability of 14,000 tonnes at 42 meters while the Thialf can lift 14,200 tonnes at 31.2 meters).

It is equipped with a class III dynamic positioning system. Propulsion and position keeping is by six 5,500 kW retractable azimuthing thrusters. For shallow waters there are 12 Flipper Delta anchors, 22.5 t, with 2,500 meter, 80 mm mooring wire.

The hull consists of two pontoons with four columns each. Transit draught is about 12 metres. For lifting operations it will normally be ballasted down to 26.6 m (87 ft). This way the pontoons (with a draught of 13.6 metres) are well submerged to reduce the effect of waves and swell.

It is able to accommodate 736 people.

Lightship weight is 72,484 t

Noteworthy projects

• Installing the pylon of the Erasmus Bridge in 1995.
• Decommissioning of the Brent Spar in 1998.
• In 2000 it set a world record of 11,883 t by lifting Shell's Shearwater topsides, beaten by Saipem 7000 in 2004 with the Sabratha deck lifting of 12,150 t.
• In 2004 it installed the topsides on BP's Holstein, at the time the world's largest spar. The lift was a record for the Gulf of Mexico: 7,810 t. The current record for Gulf of Mexico is now held by the Saipem 7000 with the 9,521 t of PEMEX PB-KU-A2 deck installed in March 2007.
• In 2005 it installed the heaviest single piece foundation piles: 2.74 meters diameter x 190 meters long, weighing 818 t each for Chevron's Benguela Belize compliant tower.
• In 2009 the ship became involved in the Alpha Ventus project, the first German offshore windfarm.

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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 1 December


1745 – Launch of French Fier, 60, later 50 guns at Toulon, designed and built by Joseph Véronique-Charles Chapelle) – sold for commerce 1782.


1748 – Launch of French Protée 64 at Brest - condemned 1770 and taken to pieces in 1771.

Protée class. Designed and built by Francois-Guillaume Clairain-Deslauriers.
Protée 64 (launched 1 December 1748 at Brest) - condemned 1770 and taken to pieces in 1771.
Hercule 64 (launched 15 February 1749 at Brest) - hulked 1756 and sold 1761.


1943 - USS Bonefish (SS 223) sinks Japanese transport Nichiryo Maru in the Celebes Sea while USS Pargo (SS 264) sinks the Japanese transport Shoko Maru north of Ulithi. Also on this date, USS Peto (SS 265) sinks Japanese transport Tonei Maru.

USS Bonefish (SS-223) was a Gato-class submarine, the first United States Navy ship to be named for the bonefish.


USS Bonefish launching

She had a busy career in the Pacific against Japanese shipping after being launched and commissioned in May 1943. She was sunk in June 1945 after sinking a ship on its eighth cruise.

USS Pargo (SS-264), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pargo, a fish of the genus Lutjanus found in the West Indies.



The first Pargo (SS-264) was laid down 21 May 1942 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT; launched 24 January 1943; sponsored by Miss Belle Baruch; and commissioned 26 April 1943, Lt. Comdr. Ian C. Eddy in command.

USS Peto (SS-265), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the peto, a sharp-nosed tropical fish of the mackerel family.


USS Peto (SS-265), side launching at a 48 degree angle at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, Manitowoc, Wisconsin (USA) on 30 April 1942.

Peto was laid down on 18 June 1941 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin; launched on 30 April 1942; sponsored by Mrs. E. A. Lofquist; and commissioned on 21 November 1942, Lieutenant Commander William T. Nelson in command.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bonefish_(SS-223)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pargo_(SS-264)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Peto

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Events on 2 December


1703 - bomb vessel HMS Mortar (1693 - 12), Cptn. Beaumont Raymond, ran ashore on the Dutch coast. One of many R.N. ships lost in the Great Storm.


1785 - Launch of french Calypso, a Félicité class a type of (12-pounder-armed) 32-gun frigate

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


1799 - HMS Racoon (1795 - 16), R. Lloyd, captured French privateer lugger Vrai Decide (14) in the Channel.

HMS Racoon (or Raccoon) was a brig-sloop built and launched in 1795. She served during the French Revolutionary Wars and in the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. She had an active career under several captains, working essentially independently while capturing or destroying some 20 enemy privateers and naval vessels. Several of the captures involved engagements that resulted in casualties on Racoon as well as on her opponents. She was broken up early in 1806.


Capture of French brig Lodi by HMS Racoon, 1803 Pencil, pen and brown ink and watercolour heightened with white and with scratching out, on paper 13¾ x 18 in. (34.9 x 45.8 cm.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Racoon_(1795)


1800 - HMS Sir Thomas Paisley (14), Lt. Nevin, captured by Spanish gun-vessel off Ceuta.


1804 - Launch of french Hermione, a 40-gun Hortense-class frigate of the French Navy.

Ordered by the Italian Republic as a gift to France under the name République Italienne, she was renamed to Hermione on 26 December 1803, to be launched in December 1804.
Under Captain Jean-Michel Mahé, she took part in the capture of HMS Cyane, the Battle of Cape Finisterre, in the Battle of Trafalgar and in Lamellerie's expedition. In late 1807, she took part in a division under Rear-Admiral Baudin, ferrying troops to Martinique.
Hermione was wrecked in Iroise on 18 August 1808.[3] The wreck was discovered in 1972.



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


1840 - HMS Zebra (1815 - 18), Robert Stopford, wrecked off Mt. Carmel near Haifa.

HMS Zebra, was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was built of teak in the East India Company's Bombay Dockyard and launched in 1815 as the last of her class. She chased pirates in the Mediterranean, just missed the Battle of Navarino, sailed to East Indies, where she almost foundered, and on to Australia, chased Malay pirates, and was wrecked in 1840 during the Syrian War.


H.M.Brig Zebra Clearing Out 4th December 1840 Hand-coloured. H.M.Brig Zebra Clearing Out 4th December 1840

On 2 December 1840, a heavy gale drove Zebra ashore off Mount Carmel near Haifa and wrecked her.[22] During the evening, three crewmen jumped into a gig in an attempt to escape, but drowned when it capsized. In the morning a foreyard was placed over the gunwale that permitted the rest of the crew to reach shore safely.

The subsequent court martial on board Howe acquitted Stopford, his officers, and his crew of any negligence. Rather, the board complemented them on their seamanlike and intrepid conduct


HMS Zebra along with HMS Pique Vesuvius during the storm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Zebra_(1815)


1891 - New York (CA 2) launches. In 1911, it is renamed Saratoga and renamed again in 1917 to Rochester. Rochester serves as the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet from 1932-33 and is decommissioned in 1933.

USS New York (ACR-2/CA-2) was the second United States Navy armored cruiser so designated; the first was the ill-fated Maine, which was soon redesignated a second-class battleship. Due to the unusually protracted construction of Maine, New York was actually the first armored cruiser to enter U.S. Navy service. The fourth Navy ship to be named in honor of the state of New York, she was later renamed Saratoga and then Rochester. With six 8-inch guns, she was the most heavily armed cruiser in the US Navy when commissioned.[2][4]



She was laid down on 19 September 1890 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, launched on 2 December 1891, and sponsored by Miss Helen Clifford Page,[5] the daughter of J. Seaver Page, the secretary of the Union League Club of New York.[6] New York was commissioned 1 August 1893, Captain John Philip in command.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_New_York_(ACR-2)


1908 - Rear Adm. William S. Cowles submits the report prepared by Lt. George C. Sweet recommending to the Secretary of the Navy the purchase of aircraft suitable for operating from naval ships on scouting and observation missions.

1942 - Battle of Skerki Bank

The Battle of Skerki Bank was a World War II naval battle which took place near Skerki Bank in the Mediterranean Sea on the early hours of 2 December 1942 between British and Italian forces, as the last major naval battle in the Mediterranean during 1942.

Background
The British force consisted of the light cruisers HMS Aurora, Argonaut and Sirius with the destroyers HMS Quentin and HMAS Quiberon. The squadron was under the command of Rear Admiral C. H. J. Harcourt.


Italian destroyer Da Recco.

On the night of 2 December, they found and attacked an Italian convoy and its escort bound for Tunisia. The convoy consisted of three destroyers and two torpedo boats: the German KT-1 (850 tons), Aventino (3,794 t), Puccini (2,422 t), and Aspromonte (an armed ferry-boat, 976 tons). The ships were carrying with reinforcements for General Rommel's Africa Korps. It included 1,766 troops, 698 tons of cargo (mainly ammunition), four tanks, 32 other vehicles, and 12 artillery pieces. The escort was composed of the destroyers Nicoloso da Recco (flagship), Camicia Nera, Folgore and the torpedo boats Clio and Procione which were commanded by Captain Aldo Cocchia.

Battle
The British ships hit opened fire and destroyed, one after the other, all the cargo and troop ships. The escort ships were hit as well, with Folgore fatally damaged (nine 133 mm direct hits) by cruisers, and later sunk with 120 dead (among them, commander Ener Bettica), Nicoloso da Recco badly damaged (an explosion of the forward 120 mm ready ammunition magazines put her out of commission until June 1943, and killed or wounded half the crew) with 118 dead. Camicia Nera launched all her 6 torpedoes, which missed their targets. HMS Sirius escaped with no damage despite Camicia Nera firing on her from only 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), dodging several torpedoes and continued cooperating in the sinking of the Axis convoy.

Aftermath
At dawn, the short-range engagement saw a clear British victory, while the Axis suffered no fewer than 2,000 casualties (probably 2,037 or even 2,200, the total is uncertain)[citation needed] and lost five ships, with Puccini still afloat, but to later sink. Whilst they were withdrawing Savoias attacked Q-Force, without result but losing some aircraft. Spitfires claimed four Sparvieros with one loss, while HMS Quentin was sunk with 20 dead by a 500 kg bomb released from a Junkers Ju 88. (Possibly the hit scored was actually a torpedo.) On the other side, the human losses were 124 from Folgore, 118 from Nicoloso da Recco, 39 from Aspromonte, 3 from Procione, 200 civil/militarized crew and 1,527 troops, all in Aventino and Puccini[

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Skerki_Bank

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 December 1670 - Launch of HMS Prince (also referred to as Royal Prince), a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett the Younger - renamed into HMS Royal William and after several rebuilts broken up in 1813 - so 143 years of service



HMS Prince (also referred to as Royal Prince) was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett the Younger at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1670.

Painting from 1679

This portrait of the 'Royal Prince', 100 guns, shows this English first-rate three-decker before the wind in starboard-broadside view. In 1694, it was rebuilt and renamed the 'Royal William'. The ship was the second of the name to fight in the Dutch Wars. She was built in 1670 and was the Duke of York's flagship at the Battle of Solebay in 1672, and in the following year was Sir Edmund Spragge's flagship as Admiral of the Blue Squadron at the two Battles of Schooneveld and the Battle of Texel. At the latter, the Dutch made very determined efforts to capture her and her successful defence, despite being reduced to a shambles, is one of the classics of naval history. After the war, she was modified and is seen here with modernized stern galleries. The ship on the far right is an English ketch-rigged royal yacht used for taking important people to and from the Continent, as well as for royalty. The artist worked in England between approximately 1670 and 1720. There is another more sketchy version of this portrait in the Dutch section of the Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta (where it has also been occasionally exhibited in the Malta Maritime Museum). The Malta version was purchased from the estate of a local collector, Paul Bellanti, in the 1930s. The Greenwich painting is signed and dated 1679 by the artist.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12468.html#O6h55Ue1uobF3oF6.99


Scale 1:144. A waterline model of the ‘Prince’ (1670) a three-decker ship of the line. The model is decked and fully rigged with sails set, and is mounted in a plaster waterline sea enclosed by its original glass case. There is a brass plaque screwed to the lower base, which is inscribed ‘64 feet to the foot scale model. HMS Prince (1670) made by Charles Hampshire, M.I.Mar.E 1932.’ The longboat is being towed astern, a common practice during the 17th century as it was too large and heavy to manhandle aboard the ship. The ‘Prince’ was built at Chatham under the direction of Sir Phineas Pett and was the third 100-gun first rate to arrive in 1670. Commissioned in 1672 on the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, it was used as a flagship for a number of high-ranking officers. At the Battle of the Texel in 1673, the ‘Prince’ suffered a very prolonged attack by the enemy almost to the point of destruction but was saved by the fleet rallying round to her defence. In 1691–92 it was given a major repair that resulted in the increase in beam to 45 feet 10 inches, with the aim of improving the stability under sail. It was renamed `Royal William' and went to fight at the Battle of Barfleur in 1692 and was eventually re-built in 1719 as a completely new ship.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66334.html#4ylA2Hche2vLDFWC.99

During the Third Anglo-Dutch War she served as a flagship of the Lord High Admiral the Duke of York (later James II & VII.) During the Battle of Solebay (1672) she was in the centre of the English fleet that was attacked by the Dutch centre led by Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. Prince was heavily damaged by De Ruyter's flagship De Zeven Provinciën in a two hours' duel and Captain of the Fleet Sir John Cox was killed on board. The Duke of York was forced to shift his flag to HMS St Michael.Prince's second captain, John Narborough, however conducted himself with such conspicuous valour that he won special approbation and was knighted shortly afterwards.


(Updated, February 2016) During the summer of 1672 Charles II visited ships of the fleet that were refitting in the Thames following the Battle of Solebay in May of that year. This may record a visit that took place on 6 June (OS, though a visit of 10 September has also been suggested) when the king was on board the yacht 'Cleveland'. While the yacht in the left foreground has previously been identified as the ‘Anne’, the stern carving and window arrangements more convincingly suggest it is the ‘Katherine’ of 1661, used on this occasion by his brother James, Duke of York. She flies the red ensign and the stern carvings show the figure of a woman holding a crown in her right hand, together with putti holding a garland above her head. In port-broadside view and further away on the starboard bow is the 'Cleveland' with her mainsail hauled up and a man aloft hauling down the royal standard. This indicates that King Charles has transferred from the 'Cleveland' to hold a council-of-war on board the 'Prince', on the right, the principal ship in the painting. This is viewed in port-broadside and stern view, at anchor with a number of other craft around her. These include French boats, France being allied with England in the Third Dutch War of 1672-74. The painting is a busy scene of yachts and boats moving towards the 'Prince' in response to the signal of a royal standard in the mizzen shrouds calling a council-of-war of all flag officers. The 'Prince' also flies the royal standard at the main, the Admiralty flag at the fore and the Union flag at the mizzen, a combination for showing the presence of the monarch on board that only became regular in the reign of William III. There are tricolour 'common' pendants at each masthead below the flags and pendants at the main and main-topsail yardarms. A yacht passing under the 'Prince's' stern is thought to be the 'Kitchen'. In the centre distance is the 'London', 96 guns, with the new admiral of the blue squadron, Sir Edward Spragge, who had replaced the Earl of Sandwich, drowned while escaping from his burning flagship 'Royal James' at Solebay. In the centre foreground is a French ship's barge pulling towards the 'Prince'. The king's barge with the royal standard in the bow is shown alongside the 'Prince'. To the right a French and English boat appear to be in collision. The 'Royal Sovereign', 100 guns, is shown in the right background, flying the red flag of Sir Joseph Jordan at the fore, following his promotion to Vice-Admiral of the Red after Solebay. On the extreme right is the forepart of a Dutch bezan yacht, thought to be the one given to Charles II in 1661. The vessels in the background under sail are mainly ketches. In the background there are ships at anchor and the low land of Essex is visible in the distance. The Duke of York's flag captain, Sir John Narborough, recorded several royal visits between June and September in 1672 in his journal. The subject of this painting may have been suggested to the artist by the Duke of York soon after the van de Veldes arrived in England in 1672. Early in 1673 the Test Act forced the Roman Catholic duke to relinquish command of the fleet and so this picture represents one of the last occasions when he commanded the fleet at sea. The artist was the younger son of Willem van de Velde the Elder. Born in Leiden, he studied under Simon de Vlieger in Weesp and in 1652 moved back to Amsterdam. There he worked in his father's studio and developed the skill of carefully drawing and painting ships in tranquil settings. He changed his subject matter, however, when he came with his father to England in 1672, by working on views of royal yachts, men-of-war and on storm scenes. From 1672 the depiction of sea battles from the English side became a priority but unlike his father's they were not usually eyewitness accounts. However, from early 1674 both the van de Veldes were expressly patronized by Charles II for this purpose, the father to draw sea fights and the son - who was by far the more accomplished painter - 'for putting the said Draughts into Colours'. After his father's death in 1693 he continued to run a substantial and influential studio until his own death and with his father, especially as a painter, he is regarded as founder of the English school of marine painting. There is good reason to believe that the picture was largely painted in the 1670s but only finished (or retouched) signed and dated in 1696, before van de Velde sold it privately to a London merchant (Mr Stone) for £130: it remained with his descendants until 1892. Sir James Caird purchased it from the next owner in 1936 for presentation to the Museum.There is a related drawn version, see PAH8400.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11791.html#Qq7GVskCB4Wj6bsu.99


HMS Royal William (1705)

HMS Prince was rebuilt by Robert Lee at Chatham Dockyard in 1692, and renamed at the same time as HMS Royal William. During the War of the Grand Alliance the ship saw action at the Battle of Barfleur of 19 May 1692. Prince belonged to the red squadron and carried the flag of Rear Admiral of the Red Sir Cloudesley Shovell. She was the first ship to break the French line during the battle.


A depiction of an action that took place a century earlier, in 1692 during the War of the English Succession, between the French and Anglo-Dutch fleets. The latter was at sea in the Channel in May 1692. The Comte de Tourville was in Bertheaume Bay awaiting a large reinforcement from Toulon. His force was intended to convoy the French invasion fleet which was to put James II back on the English throne. On 17 May he left his anchorage and with 44 ships of the line went in search of Edward Russell, the British commander-in-chief. However, he was inferior to the Anglo-Dutch fleet with a force of less than half their strength, which included 99 ships of the line. He acted rashly by attacking the allied centre and rear. The Dutch were in the van and so were not engaged, and Russell ordered them to double-back. Although the French fleet fought hard they were only saved from destruction by the poor visibility, which became too thick for general fighting in the early afternoon. The Battle of Barfleur was the prelude to a French disaster. This partly stemmed from Tourville's impatience in not awaiting the arrival of d'Estrées, with his squadron from Toulon. During the evening of 19 May, the wind freshened and the pursuing allies came into partial action again. It was at this point in the battle that Richard Carter, Rear-Admiral of the Blue Squadron, was killed. Throughout 20 May, the chase to the west continued and on the following morning at 11.00 the French 'Soleil Royal', 106 guns, went aground near Cherbourg, Tourville having already disembarked. Together with the majority of his fleet, Tourville took refuge in the Bay of La Hogue. Sir Ralph Delavall's initial attempt to destroy the 'Soleil Royal' and the two large ships with her, the 'Admirable', 90 guns, and the 'Triomphant', 74 guns, was repulsed. However on 22 May, he renewed his attack with his boats and destroyed all three. The same day the rest of the fleet worked its way into the Bay of La Hogue to get within striking distance of the rest of the French fleet. The next day, Monday 23rd, the boats of the fleet were ordered in under Vice-Admiral George Rooke in the 'Neptune', 96 guns. The French ships were so close to the shore that the French cavalry rode into the water to protect them. Altogether, 12 French men-of-war were destroyed, together with several transports. With the destruction of so much of Tourville's fleet, the threat of invasion disappeared. The centre of the painting is a narrow stretch of water between the converging English and French lines of battle; the French are positioned on the left, with the 'Soleil Royal', in starboard-quarter view, the chief focal point. She is engaged to the right with the 'Britannia', 100 guns, port-quarter view, preceded by the 'London', 96 guns, and followed by the 'St Andrew', 96 guns. In the left background, the 'Royal William', 100 guns, can be seen in close action with one of the other French flagships and in the right background a Dutch Vice-Admiral is in action with a third. In the left foreground, a French two-decker is sinking, stern on, and her crew are transferring to a small vessel under her stern. In the right foreground a small English ketch has been dismasted and the wreck of another ship is depicted in the right foreground. The artist started his painting career as an assistant to a ship's painter on Sir Charles Knowles's ship, and he rose to become one of the principal painters of naval actions of the18th century.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11824.html#wo1vC1sgrTy37WK9.99

Later she was rebuilt for a second time by John Naish at Portsmouth Dockyard from 1714, relaunching on 3 September 1719. She was laid up after her re-launch and saw no service at all until she was reduced to an 84-gun Second rate ship in 1756. One year later, she was part of an unsuccessful expedition against Rochefort led by Admiral Sir Edward Hawke. Her squadron, under Vice-Admiral Charles Knowles, attacked the Île-d'Aix and forced her garrison to surrender. In 1758 she participated in Boscawen's and Wolfe's attack on the French Fortress of Louisbourg (Nova Scotia) and an indecisive skirmish with a French squadron. The following year Royal William returned to Canada under the command of Captain Hugh Pigot to join the attack on Quebec. After the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the capture of Quebec she sailed back to England with the body of General Wolfe. In 1760 Royal William was Boscawen's flagship when he took command of the fleet in Quiberon Bay. However, after a severe gale he was forced to return and shift his flag to Namur. During the expedition against Belle Île of 1761 she was detached with several other ships to cruise off Brest and prevent a French counter-attack from there.


Scale: 1:48. Perspective drawing showing the starboard outboard profile describing the decoration detail and figurehead for the 'Royal William' (1719), a 100-gun First Rate, three-decker. The drawing is unusual as it is a visual representation of an Navy Board style model of the 'Royal William', with the hull left unplanked below the mainwale to illustrate the frames. It also records the style and positions of the support pillars for the model.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/79934.html#47ifJWprt5iVhekB.99


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline with some decoration detail, sheer lines with decoration detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Royal William' (1719), a 100-gun first Rate, three-decker. The plan illustrates the ship prior to being cut down (razeed) to an 84-gun Second Rate, three-decker between 1755-57.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/79931.html#WMCkvZdFJtp3doHh.99

The Seven Years' War seems to be the last time that Royal William played an active role. She was broken up in 1813

History
Name: Prince
Ordered: June 1667
Builder: Phineas Pett the Younger, Deptford Dockyard
Launched: 3 December 1670
Commissioned: 15 January 1672
Renamed: HMS Royal William, 1692
Fate:Broken up, 1813

General characteristics as built
Class and type: 100-gun first rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1403 (bm)
Length: 131 ft (40 m) (keel)
Beam: 44 ft 10 in (13.67 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft (5.8 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament: 100 guns of various weights of shot

General characteristics after 1692 rebuild
Class and type: 100-gun first rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1463 73⁄94 (bm)
Length: 167 ft 3 in (50.98 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 47 ft 2 in (14.38 m)
Depth of hold: 18 ft (5.5 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament: 100 guns of various weights of shot

General characteristics after 1719 rebuild
Class and type: 100-gun first rate ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1918 23⁄94 (bm)
Length: 175 ft 4 in (53.44 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 50 ft (15 m) 3½ in (15.3 m)
Depth of hold: 20 ft 1 in (6.12 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament: 100 guns of various weights of shot



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Prince_(1670)

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-344927;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=R

At Threedecks
1670-1692
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=5
1692-1714
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=5933
1714-1756
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=13
1757-1813
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=282

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 December 1670 - Launch of HMS Prince (also referred to as Royal Prince)
- Part II -
The models of the HMS Royal William (1719) at the NMM



Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline with some decoration detail, sheer lines with decoration detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Royal William' (1719), a 100-gun first Rate, three-decker. The plan illustrates the ship prior to being cut down (razeed) to an 84-gun Second Rate, three-decker between 1755-57.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/79931.html#XJ30ve6WhObybrKU.99


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with sternboard decoration, inboard profile, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Royal William' (1719), a 100-gun First Rate, three-decker, as cut down (razeed) to an 84-gun Second Rate, three-decker at Portsmouth Dockyard. Signed by Edward Allin [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard 1755-1762].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/79933.html#21i4eExQ5uuQvLSo.99

Model circa 1740





Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the Royal William (1719), a 100-gun three-decker ship of the line, built in the Georgian style. The model is decked and equipped and has been made to split along the main wales, revealing the interior layout and construction. This model generally shows the ‘Royal William’ as built, although the side gangways in the waist linking the quarterdeck to the forecastle, were generally introduced in 1745. The carved and painted decoration on the model is of high quality, especially the figurehead, which represents William III in Roman dress on horseback, carrying a baton and trampling a snake-haired gorgon. On the taffrail, situated above the open stern galleries, is the bust of William III supported by a variety of figures from ancient mythology as well as a wealth of foliage and putti. William’s mongram ‘WR’ has been incorporated into balustrade on the open gallery of the grand cabin below.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66183.html#7xuztv2zuhTclUF7.99

Model circa 1719





Scale: 1:60. A Navy Board full hull model of the ‘Royal William’ (1719), a 100-gun three-decker ship of the line. The model is decked, equipped and rigged. This model, which is one of three full hull models of this vessel in the NMM collection, is probably a preliminary design as it differs from the completed vessel. It was re-rigged in 1925 in the Royal Naval Museum. The ‘Royal William’ was an early 18th-century three-decker, one of six first rates in the class of the largest warships. It was 175 feet long, with a 50 feet beam and weighed 1918 tons burden. It was launched at Portsmouth in September 1719. It had a nominal complement of 800 men. It would have carried twenty-eight 32-pound guns on its gun deck, twenty-eight 24-pounders on its middle deck, twenty-eight 12-pounders on its upper deck, along with twelve 6-pounders on its quarterdeck and four on its forecastle. The ‘Royal William’ was never fitted out for sea as a 100-gunner, however, and its active life began when it was reduced to a second rate of 84 guns in 1756. It saw service during the Seven Years War as part of Hawke’s fleet in 1757 and took part in the expedition to Quebec, and carried home the body of General James Wolfe in 1759. The ‘Royal William’ was reduced to a third rate of 80 guns in 1771. During the American Revolutionary War it was involved in the relief of Gibraltar, before becoming a receiving ship at Portsmouth in 1790 and, from 1801, a guardship at Sheerness. It was broken up in 1813. The ‘Royal William’s’ longevity is sometimes ascribed to George III’s particular fondness for it. A more likely explanation is that it was constructed from charred winter-felled oak. See also SLR0222 and SLR0409.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66369.html#fp4vSXfc272wR9GA.99

Model ca. 1719





Scale: 1:60. A Navy Board style model of the ‘Royal William’ (1719), a 100-gun, three-decker ship of the line. The model is decked and equipped. This superb model, unlike SLR0408, depicts the ship as built, and is among those that set the standard for later ship modellers. Typical of the first half of the 18th century, it shows the quality achieved by the model makers in this period. Plank on frame in construction, the ‘Royal William’ demonstrates a high standard of craftsmanship not only in its technical construction but also in the fittings and particularly the decoration. The model shows a particularly elaborate figurehead. The ‘Royal William’ was an early 18th-century three-decker, one of six first rates in the class of the largest warships. It was 175 feet long, with a 50 feet beam and weighed 1918 tons burden. It was launched at Portsmouth in September 1719. It had a nominal complement of 800 men. It would have carried twenty-eight 32-pound guns on its gun deck, twenty-eight 24-pounders on its middle deck, twenty-eight 12-pounders on its upper deck, along with twelve 6-pounders on its quarterdeck and four on its forecastle. The ‘Royal William’ was never fitted out for sea as a 100-gunner, however, and its active life began when it was reduced to a second rate of 84 guns in 1756. It saw service during the Seven Years War as part of Hawke’s fleet in 1757 and took part in the expedition to Quebec, and carried home the body of General James Wolfe in 1759. The ‘Royal William’ was reduced to a third rate of 80 guns in 1771. During the American Revolutionary War it was involved in the relief of Gibraltar, before becoming a receiving ship at Portsmouth in 1790 and, from 1801, a guardship at Sheerness. It was broken up in 1813. The ‘Royal William’s’ longevity is sometimes ascribed to George III’s particular fondness for it. A more likely explanation is that it was constructed from charred winter-felled oak. See also SLR0222 and SLR0408.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66370.html#02thPriHS4P0XJHQ.99

Model ca. 1800

Scale: 1:4. Sectional design model depicting midship gun deck of the 'Royal William' (1719). Shows corronade. Model is decked, equipped and working. Model inscribed "Royal William 2nd rate lower. deck. port.".
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/68882.html#wY5tuLj8kvc6kEOo.99



http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-344927;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=R

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 December 1684 – Launch of denish – norwegian frigate HDMS Lossen


Lossen was a frigate built for the navy of Denmark–Norway at Isegran, Fredrikstad, Norway, and launched in 1684.

Lossen was wrecked during the Christmas storm of 1717, outside the island Vesterøy in Hvaler, Norway. Nearly half of the crew of 103 perished.
The wreck was found in 1963, and explored by the Norwegian Maritime Museum in 1967, 1968, and 1974.
HDMS Lossen was also the name of a cable minelayer in the Danish Navy, decommissioned in 2004.

from: https://www.oslo-fjord.com/frontpage/2014/10/30/underwater-cultural-heritage#
The excavation of "Lossen" created awareness about Hvaler in its time. The fast battleship was a well-armed frigate in the Danish-Norwegian fleet, built by Dutch shipbuilder champion Thiessen Harmen van der Burgh in 1684 on Isegran in Fredrikstad. Denmark-Norway and Sweden had a tense relationship in the years after the ship was built, and in 1717, "Lossen" was under Tordenskjold’s command during conflicts with Sweden. But it was not what sunk "Lossen". The ship was actually wrecked a powerful storm that ravaged northern Europe on Christmas Eve in 1717. Thousands of people died from flooding in the south of France, while "Lossen" and other ships followed the wind north. "Lossen" was taken out of control and smashed against the granite cliffs of Pulpit bay. About half of the 103 crew was killed, while the rest came ashore in Papperhavn. The wreck was found by divers 250 years later, in 1967.


Carpenters box with nails and rivets recovered from the wreck of the Lossen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMS_Lossen_(1684)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 December 1775 – The USS Alfred becomes the first vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag (the precursor to the Stars and Stripes); the flag is hoisted by John Paul Jones.


Alfred was the merchant vessel Black Prince, named for Edward, the Black Prince, and launched in 1774. The Continental Navy of what would become the United States acquired her in 1775, renamed her Alfred, and commissioned her as a warship. She participated in two major actions, the battle of Nassau, and the action of 6 April 1776. The Royal Navy captured her in 1778, took her into service as HMS Alfred, and sold her in 1782. She then became the merchantman Alfred, and sailed between London and Jamaica.


Painting in oils by W. Nowland Van Powell, depicting Lieutenant John Paul Jones raising the "Grand Union" flag as Alfred was placed in commission at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 3 December 1775.
Commanded by Captain Dudley Saltonstall, Alfred was flagship of Commodore Esek Hopkins' Continental Navy flotilla during the remainder of 1775 and the first four months of 1776.
Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. Donation of the Memphis Council, U.S. Navy League, 1776


Tons burthen: 440 (bm)
Length: 140 ft (43 m)
Beam: 32 ft (9.8 m)
Draft: 15 ft (4.6 m)
Complement: 220 officers and men
Armament:

• 20 × 9-pounder guns
• 10 × 6-pounder guns

Black Prince
Black Prince was built at Philadelphia in 1774. No record of her builder seems to have survived, but it is possible that John Wharton may have constructed the ship. It was owned by Willing, Morris & Co., a merchant trading firm operated by Thomas Willing and Robert Morris.

John Barry served as the ship's only master during her career as a Philadelphia merchantman. Launched in the autumn of 1774 as relations between the American colonies and the mother country grew increasingly tense, Black Prince was fitted out quickly so that she could load and sail to Bristol on the last day of 1774. The ship did not return to Philadelphia until April 25, 1775, six days after the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

Fearing that American commerce would soon be interrupted, her owners were eager to export another cargo to England, so they again raced to load and provision her. Black Prince sailed on 7 May, this time bound for London. She did not reach that destination until June 27. The ship left the Thames on August 10 but encountered contrary winds during much of her westward voyage and finally returned to Philadelphia on October 4.

While the ship had been abroad, the Battle of Bunker Hill had been fought, the other colonies acting in Congress had pledged to support Massachusetts in its struggle for freedom, and George Washington had taken command of the American Armybesieging British-occupied Boston. Moreover, private correspondence, between shipowner Morris, and his trading partner, Richard Champion of Bristol, was brought from England on Black Prince to members of the Continental Congress. It reported that the British Government was sending to America two unarmed brigs heavily laden with gunpowder and arms.

This intelligence prompted Congress on October 13 to authorize the fitting out of two American warships, of 10 guns each, to attempt to capture these ships and divert their invaluable cargoes to the ill-equipped soldiers of Washington's army. Congress decided, on October 30, to add two more ships to the navy, one of 20 guns and the other slightly larger but not to exceed 36 guns. One of the ship's owners, Morris, was a member of the Marine Committee when that committee acquired the Alfred. A second ship, also owned by Willing Morris & Co. became the Columbus at the same time.


From a painting by Harry W. Capenter of Alfred, at Philadelphia, 3 December 1775, as she hoists the Grand Union flag for the first time
National Archives Trust Fund Board.

Alfred
The Naval Committee purchased Black Prince on November 4, 1775, renamed her Alfred four days later, and ordered her fitted out as a man-of-war. Her former master, John Barry, was placed in charge of her rerigging; Joshua Humphreys was selected to superintend changes strengthening her hull, timbers, and bulwarks as well as opening gunports; and Nathaniel Falconer was made responsible for her ordnance and provisions.

Soon four other vessels joined Alfred in the Continental Navy: Columbus, Cabot, Andrew Doria, and sloop Providence. Esek Hopkins, a veteran master of merchantmen from Rhode Island, was appointed commodore of the flotilla. Alfred was placed in commission on December 3, 1775, Capt. Dudley Saltonstall in command, and became Hopkins' flagship. Sometime in December 1775, Alfred became the first vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag (the precursor to the Stars and Stripes); the flag was hoisted by John Paul Jones. This event was documented in letters to Congress.

The new fleet dropped down the Delaware River on January 4, 1776; but a cold snap froze the river and the bay, checking its progress at Reedy Island for some six weeks. A thaw released Hopkins' warships from winter's icy grasp in mid-February, and the fleet sortied on February 18 for its first operation. The Marine Committee had ordered Hopkins to sail for Hampton Roads to attack British warships which were harassing American shipping in Virginia waters; then to render similar service at Charleston, South Carolina; and, finally, to head for Rhode Island waters. He was given the discretion of disregarding these orders if they proved impossible and planning an operation of his own.

However, by the time his ships broke free of the ice, growing British strength in the Chesapeake prompted Hopkins to head for the West Indies. Knowing that the American colonies desperately needed gunpowder, he decided to attack the island of New Providence in the Bahamas to capture a large supply of that commodity as well as a great quantity of other military supplies reportedly stored there.

A fortnight after leaving the Delaware capes, on the morning of March 3, Hopkins arrived off Nassau and captured Fort Montague in a bloodless Battle of Nassau, in which Continental Marines under Capt. Samuel Nicholas joined Hopkins' sailors in America's first amphibious operation.

That evening, Hopkins issued a proclamation which promised not to harm ". . . the persons or property of the inhabitants of New Providence . . ." if they did not resist. The following morning, Governor Montfort Browne surrendered Fort Nassau but only after he had spirited away most of the island's gunpowder from New Providence to St. Augustine, Florida.

After Hopkins stripped the forts of their guns and all remaining ordnance, Alfred led the American fleet homeward from Nassau harbor on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, the same day that British troops were evacuating Boston. On April 4, during the homeward voyage, Hopkins' ships captured the six-gun British schooner Hawk and the eight-gun brig Bolton. Shortly after midnight on April 6, Hopkins encountered the 20-gun Glasgow. That British frigate—which was carrying dispatches telling of the British withdrawal—put up a fierce and skillful fight which enabled her to escape from her substantially more powerful American opponents. At the outset of the fray, fire from her cannon cut Alfred's tiller ropes, leaving Hopkins' flagship unable to maneuver or to pursue effectively. The American ships did attempt to chase their fleeing enemy, but after dawn Glasgow disappeared over the horizon and safely reached Newport, Rhode Island.

When Alfred and her consorts put into New London, Connecticut, on April 8, the Americans were at first welcomed as heroes. still, many of the officers of the American squadron voiced dissatisfaction with Hopkins, and he was later relieved of command.

Alfred was inactive through the summer for a number of reasons, but high on the list of her problems were want of funds and a shortage of men. On August 7, Capt. John Paul Jones, who had helped to fit her out as a warship and had been her first lieutenant on the cruise to New Providence, was placed in command of the ship. She departed Providence, Rhode Island, on October 26, 1776 in company with Hampden, but that vessel struck a "sunken rock" before they could leave Narragansett Bay and returned to Newport. Her officers and men then shifted to sloop Providence accompanying Alfred to waters off Cape Breton Island which they reached by mid-November. There they took three prizes: on the 11th, the brigantine Active, bound from Liverpool to Halifax with an assorted cargo, the next day, the armed transport Mellish, laden with winter uniforms for British troops at Quebec; and, on the 16th, the scow Kitty, bound from Gaspé to Barbados with oil and fish.

Because of severe leaks, Providence sailed for home soon thereafter and Alfred continued her cruise alone. On November 22 boats from Alfred raided Canso, Nova Scotia, where their crews burned a transport bound for Canada with provisions, and a warehouse full of whale oil, besides capturing a small schooner to replace Providence. Two days later, Alfred captured three colliers off Louisburg, bound from Nova Scotia to New York with coal for the British Army and, on November 26 captured the 10-gun letter-of-marque John of Liverpool. On the homeward voyage, Alfred was pursued by HMS Milford but managed to escape after a four-hour chase. She arrived safely at Boston on December 15 and began a major refit.

Captain Elisha Hinman became Alfred's commanding officer in May 1777. She did not get underway until August 22 when she sailed for France with Raleigh to obtain military supplies. En route, they captured four small prizes. They reached L'Orient on October 6, and on December 29 sailed for America. They proceeded via the coast of Africa, where they took a small sloop, and then headed for the West Indies, hoping to add to their score before turning northward for home.

On March 9, 1778, near Barbados, they encountered British warships HMS Ariadne and HMS Ceres. When the American ships attempted to flee, Alfred fell behind her faster consort. Shortly after noon the British men-of-war caught up with Alfred and forced her to surrender after a half an hour's battle.

HMS Alfred
Her captors took Alfred to Barbados where she was condemned and sold. The Royal Navy purchased her and took her into service as HMS Alfred, a sloop of 20 guns. The Admiralty sold her in 1782.

Alfred
Lloyd's Register for 1789 shows an Alfred, of 400 tons (bm), built in Philadelphia, with master "Delamore" and owner T. Seale. Her trade is listed as London — Jamaica. Unfortunately there are no readily available interim or later issues of Lloyd's Register so her history as a merchant vessel is unclear.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Alfred_(1774)
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/86/86234.htm