Naval/Maritime History 27th of August - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1804 - Gun-brig HMS Cerbere, Lt. Joseph Patey, wrecked on rocks near Berry Head, Torbey


HMS Cerbere was the French naval brig Cerbère, ex-Chalier, which the British captured in 1800. She was wrecked in 1804.



Design
Chalier (Cerbère) was the name vessel of a five-vessel class of brick-cannonnieres (gun-brigs). All were built at Cherbourg to a design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. She had no keel and drew only six feet of water.

French service
Between 5 February 1794 and 13 December, Chalier was under the command of enseigne de vaisseau non entretenu Fabien. She was stationed in the bay of Granville. From there she cruised of the coasts of Jersey.

In 1795 Cerbère, by then renamed from Chalier, but still under Fabien's command, escorted convoys between Granville and Cancale.

In 1800 she came under the command of enseigne de vaisseau Menagé.

sistership 'Le Crache Feu' (1794) taken by the British by Strachan's off the french Coast 1795

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard details, and longitudinal half-breadth for Crache Feu (1795), a captured French 'brick-canonniere' probably as taken off, prior to being fitted as a 3-gun (18 pounder) Gunbrig. Signed by Edward Tippet [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard, 1793-1799].

Capture
In September 1799, Lieutenant Jeremiah Coghlan (acting) assumed command HMS Viper. On 1 November Viper recaptured the Diamond.

In July 1800,Coghlan, who had been watching Port-Louis, Morbihan, proposed to Sir Edward Pellew that he, Coghlan, take some boats into the harbour to cut out one of the French vessels there. Pellew acceded to the proposal and gave Coghlan a cutter from Impetueux, Midshipman Silas H. Paddon, and 12 men. Coghlan added in six men from Viper, a boat from Viper, and one from Amethyst. On 29 July the boats went into the port after dark, targeting a brig. During the run-up to the attack the boats from Viper and Amethyst fell behind, but Coghlan in the cutter persisted.

Coghlan's initial attempt at boarding failed and he himself received a pike wound in the thigh. The French repelled a second attempt too. Finally, the British succeeded in boarding, killing and wounding a large number of the French brig's crew, and taking control. The two laggard boats came up and the British then brought the brig out of the harbour and back to the fleet.

The brig was the Cerbère, of three 24-pounder and four 6-pounder guns, with a crew of 87 men, 16 of them soldiers, still under Menagé's command. The attack cost the British one man killed (a seaman from Viper), and eight men wounded, including Coghlan and Paddon. The French lost five men killed and 21 wounded, including all their officers; one of the wounded men died shortly thereafter.

The Royal Navy took Cerbère into service under her existing name. Pellew's fleet waived their right to any prize money as a gesture of admiration for the feat. Pellew also recommended Coglan's promotion to Lieutenant, which followed, though Coghlan had not served the requisite time in grade. Earl St. Vincent personally gave Coghlan a sword worth 100 guineas, in order to "prevent the city, or any body of merchants, from making him a present of the same sort". In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval general Service Medal with clasp, "29 July Boat Service 1800" to the four surviving claimants from the action.

British service and fate
The British brought Cerbere to Plymouth, where she underwent fitting-out from 7 September 1800 to 30 September 1802. At some point she may briefly have been named St Vincent. Still, as Cerbere, she was commissioned in August 1802 under Lieutenant Joseph Patey .

Cerbere was sailing from Guernsey to Plymouth when bad weather forced her to anchor at Torbay. Patey tried to sail again on 14 February but was forced to anchor again. Patey hired a local boat to help warp her out, which took until 20 February when Patey again attempted to sail. As she finally sailed from Brixham Quay a strong wave lifted Cerbere onto rocks at Berry Head that pierced her hull. Spectators on shore saved the crew, all of whom arrived safely on shore.

Cerbere was later raised, but apparently was not taken back into service.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile, and deck plan for the Crache Feu (captured 1795), a captured French 'brick canonneire', as taken off afloat in June 1795 prior to being fitted as a 3-gun (18 pounders) Gunbrig. Signed by Robert John Nelson [Assistant [?] to Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard].



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Cerbere_(1800)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=16571
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=3532
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-305113;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=C
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_class&id=420

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1825 – Launch of HMS Volage, a Sixth-rate Sailing frigate


HMS Volage was a Sixth-rate Sailing frigate launched in 1825 for the Royal Navy.




HMS Volage depicted on a stamp commemorating the Aden Expedition


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half breadth as proposed and approved for Volage (1825), a 28-gun, Sixth Rate Sloop.

Service
Volage served as the lead ship in the Aden Expedition due to her being the largest and best armed of the ships assembled.

In 1831, Volage was docked in Rio de Janeiro (at the time capital of the Empire of Brazil) alongside HMS Warspite. Volage was the vessel that took Dom Pedro I, who had just abdicated the Brazilian throne, to Portugal, in order to face his brother Dom Miguel in the context of the ongoing Portuguese Civil War of 1828-1834.


HMS Volage and HMS Hyacinth engage Chinese Junks in the Battle of Chuenpee.

Volage fought in the Battle of Chuenpi during the First Opium War under the command of Captain Henry Smith. In 1847 she was converted into a survey ship. Volage was deployed to the Baltic during the Crimean War. At one point geologist Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt served aboard her.

Fate
The Navy scrapped Volage in 1864.


The Aden Expedition was a naval operation that the British Royal Navy carried out in January 1839. Following Britain's decision to acquire the port of Aden as a coaling station for the steamers sailing the new Suez-Bombay route, the sultan of Lahej, who owned Aden, resisted, which led to a series of skirmishes between the two sides. In response to the incidents, a small force of warships and soldiers of the East India Company were sent to Arabia. The expedition succeeded in defeating the Arab defenders, who held the fortress on Sira Island, and occupied the nearby port of Aden.



Order of battle
Royal Navy:

• HMS Volage, frigate, 28 guns, flagship
• HCS Coote, Sloop-of-war, 18 guns
• HMS Cruizer brig, 18 guns
• HCS Mahi, schooner, 5 guns

Contemporary painting showing British warships engaging Sira fortress batteries


Cannon made in 1531 for the Ottoman invasion of India, these were captured at Sira by the Royal Navy in 1839 and are now displayed in the Tower of London.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Volage_(1825)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden_Expedition
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-358285;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=V

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1829 – Launch of HMS Eurotas, a Seringapatam-class frigate


The Seringapatam-class frigates, were a class of British Royal Navy 46-gun sailing frigates. The first vessel of the class was HMS Seringapatam. Seringapatam's design was based on the French frigate Président, which the British had captured in 1806. Seringapatam was originally ordered as a 38-gun frigate, but the re-classification of British warships which took effect in February 1817 raised this rating to 46-gun.



The Admiralty ordered six further ships to this design – including three ships which had originally been ordered as Leda-class frigates, but the Seringapatam design was subsequently altered to produce a Modified version which was labelled the Druid sub-class, and three of the ships formerly ordered to the Seringapatam original design (Madagascar, Nemesis and Jason) were re-ordered to this modified design. Subsequently a further modification of the design was produced, which was labelled the Andromeda sub-class, and the remaining three of the ships formerly ordered to the Seringapatam original design (Manilla, Tigris and Statira) were re-ordered to this modified design. Further vessels were ordered to both modified designs, but the majority of these were subsequently cancelled. Both modified types are listed below.




Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for Nemesis (1826) and Druid (1825), and later with alterations dated January 1828 to the depth of the hold and decks for Stag (1830), Forth (1833), Seahorse (1830), and Severn (cancelled 1831), all 46-gun Fifth Rate Frigates building at Pembroke Dockyard. Signed by Henry Peake [Surveyor of the Navy 1806-1822], Joseph Tucker [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1831], and Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].

Seringapatam class 46-gun fifth rates, 1819–40

• HMS Seringapatam 1819
• HMS Madagascar 1822
• HMS Druid 1825
• HMS Nemesis 1826
• HMS Africaine 1827
• HMS Leda 1828
• HMS Hotspur 1828
• HMS Eurotas 1829
• HMS Andromeda 1829
• HMS Seahorse 1830
• HMS Stag 1830
• HMS Forth 1833
• HMS Maeander 1840
• HMS Euphrates - cancelled 1831.
• HMS Orpheus - cancelled 1831.
• HMS Severn - cancelled 1831.
• HMS Tiber - cancelled 1831.
• HMS Manilla - cancelled 1831.
• HMS Spartan - cancelled 1831.
• HMS Theban - cancelled 1831.
• HMS Jason - cancelled 1831.
• HMS Statira - cancelled 1832.
• HMS Tigris - cancelled 1832.
• HMS Inconstant - cancelled 1832.
• HMS Pique - cancelled 1832.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Madagascar (1822) and Manilla (cancelled 1831), both 46-gun Fifth Rate Frigates building at Bombay. The plan was later used for Africaine (1827), Statira (cancelled 1832), Druid (1825), and Euphrates (cancelled 1831). Signed by Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832].



Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the midship section with later alterations, for the 46-gun Fifth Rate Frigates building in the Royal Yards. Copies were specifically sent to Plymouth and Bombay in 1821 for the Druid (1825), Madagascar (1822), Nemesis (1826), Leda (1828), Hotspur (1828), and later in 1822 to Plymouth for Statira (cancelled 1832).


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the plans and elevations of the starboard quarter illustrating the circular stern for Hotspur (1828)/ Druid (1825), Leda (1828), Nemesis (1826), Eurotas (1829), Africaine (1827), and Madagascar (1827), all 46-gun Fifth Rate, Frigates.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seringapatam-class_frigate
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-308184;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=D

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1860 - transatlantic steamship of the Canadian Allan Line SS Hungarian was wrecked at Cape Sable Island, off Nova Scotia, with the loss of all aboard.



SS Hungarian was a transatlantic steamship of the Canadian Allan Line that was launched in 1858, completed in 1859 and sank in 1860.

William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton, Scotland launched her on September 25, 1858. She was powered by a 400 nhp direct-acting steam engine that drove a single screw. She was completed in 1859. Hungarian's maiden voyage began on May 18, 1859 when she left Liverpool for Quebec. She was wrecked in 1860 at Cape Sable Island, off Nova Scotia, with the loss of all aboard.


Vectorized picture of steamer Hungarian

Rescue of the John Martin
At 8:00 on November 9, 1859, Hungarian sighted a vessel in distress in a strong northerly gale and high seas off the edge of the Newfoundland Banks. A crew of 7 men, including Chief Officer Hardie and Third OfficerPorter were lowered into a lifeboat and headed to the vessel. Upon arriving within hailing range, they were told the ship was the British schooner John Martin, which also carried the rescued crew of another schooner wrecked off Labrador. The sinking John Martin was abandoned by its complement of 43, including 23 women and children. Chief Officer Hardie was knocked overboard while helping passengers into Hungarian. He could not swim, but hauled himself aboard by a rope and survived the ordeal.

Hungarian headed for St. John's and arrived on the morning of the November 10. Each member of Hungarian's crew who had helped in the lifeboat was given a party by the passengers of the trip, and also received a silver cup for their heroism.



Sinking
On February 8, 1860 Hungarian left Liverpool, England for Portland, Maine, under the command of Captain Thomas Jones. She called at Queenstown, Ireland, and departed from there on February 9, 1860. On the night of February 19, she wrecked on Cape Ledge, the west side of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, with total loss of life. The wrecked ship, and survivors who clung to her, were visible from shore, but unreachable due to high seas and gale-force winds that did not relent until six days later.

paper articles were published for months after the incident. Most messages about the disaster were sent out from Barrington Telegraph and relayed to major cities. of the wreck following soon after that of her sister ship Indian "threw a sense of gloom over the whole of British America". 205 people were killed.


Over the next couple weeks, local townspeople took to the shoreline every morning to collect and sort through the large amount of debris that began washing to the sandy edge. There were wooden steamer trunks, leather shoes, men’s felt hats and silk parasols. A few bodies needed to be buried. Many textiles began surfacing, too. They were part of the ship’s cargo. All of the fabrics that were brightly colored where now muted, their dyes pulled away by the greater abundant blue.

Someone found a woman’s diary and carefully opened it. Comments of a spirited life filled the ink smeared, undulated pages. The last entry was simply, Lizzie dies tonight.

“There's health upon my cheek once more,
And in my eye new light
'Twill all be quench in Ocean's gloom,
For Lizzie dies tonight.”

From “Lizzie Dies Tonight” (1862) words by Mary Byron Reese. Music by Stephen Foster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Hungarian
http://sandmancincinnati.com/7-ss-hungarian

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1886 – Launch of Spanish Isabel II, a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy


Isabel II was a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy, named after Queen Isabella II. The ship fought at San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the Spanish–American War.

Technical characteristics
Isabel II was built at the naval shipyard at Ferrol. Her keel was laid in 1883 and the ship was launched on 19 February 1886. Isabel II was completed in 1888 or 1889. She had one rather tall funnel. She had an iron hull and was rigged as a barque.


An unidentified Velasco-class (here called "Infanta Isabel-class") cruiser in U.S. waters during the 1880s or 1890s, showing the appearance of Isabel II

Operational history
When the Spanish–American War began in April 1898, Isabel II was at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The U.S. Navy established a permanent blockade of San Juan on 18 June 1898.

On 22 June 1898, Isabel II, gunboat General Concha, and destroyer Terror came out of port to test the blockade, resulting in the Second Battle of San Juan. The auxiliary cruiser USS St. Paul moved in, resulting in a short, running gun battle, from which the Spanish quickly broke away. Isabel II and General Concha could go no faster than 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph); Terror made a torpedo run on St. Paul to cover their retreat, and was badly damaged by gunfire from St. Paul, but all three Spanish ships made it back into port at San Juan. Two men had been killed aboard Terror, the only casualties either side suffered during the battle.

On 28 June 1898, Isabel II, General Concha, and gunboat Ponce de Leon sortied to assist a Spanish blockade runner, the merchant steamer Antonio Lopez, make it into San Juan's harbor. The three Spanish warships exchanged long-range gunfire with St. Paul, Yosemite, and cruiser USS New Orleans, with neither side scoring any hits. When it became clear that Antonio Lopez would not be able to get past the Americans, the Spanish warships returned to port, where they spent the rest of the war. Antonio López ran aground, but most of her cargo was successfully unloaded by the Spanish.

Isabel II returned to Spain after the end of the war. She was stricken in 1907.


The Velasco class of unprotected cruisers was a series of eight cruisers built during the 1880s for service with the Spanish Navy. They were named for famous Spaniards of the past.

Description
The Velasco class consisted of two slightly different subclasses. The first two ships, Velasco and Gravina, built by the Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd. at Leamouth, London in the United Kingdom, had fewer but heavier guns and were slightly faster than the next six, which were built at various yards in Spain. The class took a long time to complete, with the two British-build ships being laid down in 1881 and the last Spanish built one not being completed until 1889. The ships had one rather tall funnel, an iron hull, and barque rigging. They were unarmored.

History
The Velasco-class cruisers generally were assigned to colonial service. They were an ill-fated class, with two lost at sea and three more sunk during the Spanish–American War. The three survivors lasted into the early 20th century, with the last one stricken in 1927.

Ships in class
Velasco
Completed in 1881, Velasco was in the Philippines at the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898 and was sunk in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898.

Gravina
Completed in 1881, Gravina was sent to the Philippines, where she sank in a typhoon in 1884.

Infanta Isabel
Completed in 1885, Infanta Isabel was the longest lived of the class, undergoing a reconstruction in 1911 and not being stricken until 1927.

Isabel II
Completed in 1887, Isabel II saw action during the Spanish–American War in the Second and Third Battles of San Juan, and was stricken in 1907.

Cristobal Colon
Completed in 1889, Cristobal Colon was lost off Cuba in October 1895.

Don Juan de Austria
Completed in 1887, Don Juan de Austria was in the Philippines at the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898 and was sunk in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898. Salvaged, repaired and in 1900 commissioned into American Navy.

Don Antonio de Ulloa
Completed in 1886, Don Antonio de Ulloa was in the Philippines at the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898 and was sunk in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898.

Conde del Venadito
Completed in 1888, Conde del Venadito was stricken around 1905



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_cruiser_Isabel_II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velasco-class_cruiser

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1901 – Launch of HMS Russell, a Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy


HMS Russell was a Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy commissioned in 1903. Built to counter a group of fast Russian battleships, Russell and her sister ships were capable of steaming at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), making them the fastest battleships in the world. The Duncan-class battleships were armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and they were broadly similar to the London-class battleships, though of a slightly reduced displacement and thinner armour layout. As such, they reflected a development of the lighter second-class ships of the Canopus-class battleship. Russell was built between her keel laying in March 1899 and her completion in February 1903.



Russell served with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1904, at which time she was transferred to the Home Fleet; in 1905 the Home Fleet became the Channel Fleet. She moved to the Atlantic Fleet in early 1907 before returning to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1909. In another fleet reorganisation in 1912, the Mediterranean Fleet became part of the Home Fleet and it was later transferred to British waters. Russell served as the flagshipof the 6th Battle Squadron from late 1913 until the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914.

After the start of the war, Russell was assigned to the Grand Fleet and worked with the fleet's cruisers on the Northern Patrol, and in November, she bombarded German-occupied Zeebrugge. In November 1915 she was sent to the Mediterranean to support the Dardanelles Campaign, though she did not see extensive use there. On 27 April 1916 she was sailing off Malta when she struck two mines laid by a German U-boat. Most of her crew survived the sinking, though 125 men were killed.

sistership

Launch of Cornwallis, 17 July 1901

Design
Main article: Duncan-class battleship


Right elevation and deck plan as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1915

The six ships of the Duncan class were ordered in response to the Russian Peresvet-class battleships that had been launched in 1898. The Russian ships were fast second-class battleships, so William Henry White, the British Director of Naval Construction, designed the Duncan class to match the purported top speed of the Russian vessels. To achieve the higher speed while keeping displacement from growing, White was forced to reduce the ships' armour protection significantly, effectively making the ships enlarged and improved versions of the Canopus-class battleships of 1896, rather than derivatives of the more powerful Majestic, Formidable, and London series of first-class battleships. The Duncans proved to be disappointments in service, owing to their reduced defensive characteristics, though they were still markedly superior to the Peresvets they had been built to counter.

Russell was 432 feet (132 m) long overall, with a beam of 75 ft 6 in (23.01 m) and a draft of 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m). The Duncan-class battleships displaced 13,270 to 13,745 long tons (13,483 to 13,966 t) normally and up to 14,900 to 15,200 long tons (15,100 to 15,400 t) fully loaded. Her crew numbered 720 officers and ratings. The Duncan-class ships were powered by a pair of 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines that drove two screws, with steam provided by twenty-four Belleville boilers. The boilers were trunked into two funnelslocated amidships. The Duncan-class ships had a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) from 18,000 indicated horsepower (13,000 kW). This made Russell and her sisters the fastest battleships in the world for several years. At a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), the ship could steam for 6,070 nautical miles (11,240 km; 6,990 mi).

Russell had four 12-inch (305 mm) 40-calibre guns mounted in twin-gun turrets fore and aft. The ships also mounted twelve 6-inch (152 mm) 45-calibre guns mounted in casemates, in addition to ten 12-pounder 3 in (76 mm) guns and six 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) guns. As was customary for battleships of the period, she was also equipped with four 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes submerged in the hull.

Russell had an armoured belt that was 7 in (178 mm) thick; the transverse bulkhead on the aft end of the belt was 7 to 11 in (178 to 279 mm) thick. Her main battery turrets' sides were 8 to 10 in (203 to 254 mm) thick, atop 11 in (279 mm) barbettes, and the casemate battery was protected with 6 in of Krupp steel. Her conning tower had 12-inch-thick sides. She was fitted with two armoured decks, 1 and 2 in (25 and 51 mm) thick, respectively





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Russell_(1901)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan-class_battleship

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1915 – World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.


The Naval Operations in the Dardanelles Campaign (17 February 1915 – 9 January 1916) took place against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Ships of the Royal Navy, French Marine nationale, Imperial Russian Navy (Российский императорский флот) and the Royal Australian Navy, attempted to force the defences of the Dardanelles Straits. The straits are a narrow waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea, via the Aegean, Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a naval operation but the success of the Ottoman defence led to the Gallipoli Campaign, an attempt to occupy the Gallipoli peninsula with land forces supported by the navies, to open the sea route to Constantinople. The Allies also tried to pass submarines through the Dardanelles to attack Ottoman shipping in the Sea of Marmara.





The Dardanelles defences in February and March 1915, showing minefields, anti-submarine nets and main gun batteries.

Naval operations
Forcing the straits
On 3 November 1914, Churchill ordered an attack on the Dardanelles following the opening of hostilities between Ottoman and Russian empires. The battlecruisers of the Mediterranean Squadron, HMS Indomitable and Indefatigable and the obsolete French battleships Suffren and Vérité, attacked before a formal declaration of war had been made by Britain against the Ottoman Empire. The attack was to test the Ottoman defences and in a twenty-minute bombardment, a shell struck the magazine of the fort at Sedd el Bahr, dismounting ten guns and killing 86 Ottoman soldiers. Total casualties during the attack were 150, of which forty were German. The effect of the bombardment alerted the Ottomans to the importance of strengthening their defences and they began laying more mines.

The outer defences lay at the entrance to the straits, vulnerable to bombardment and raiding but the inner defences covered the Narrows near Çanakkale. Beyond the inner defences, the straits were virtually undefended but the defence of the straits depended on ten minefields, with 370 mines laid near the Narrows. On 19 February 1915, two destroyers were sent in to probe the straits and the first shot was fired from Kumkale by the 240 mm (9.4 in) Krupp guns of the Orhaniye Tepe battery at 07:58. The battleships HMS Cornwallis and Vengeance moved in to engage the forts and Cornwallis opened fire at 09:51. The effect of the long-range bombardment was considered disappointing and that it would take direct hits on guns to knock them out. With limited ammunition, indirect fire was insufficient and direct fire would need the ships to be anchored to make stable gun platforms. Ottoman casualties were reported as several men killed on the European shore and three men at Orkanie.


HMS Canopus fires a salvo from her 12 in (300 mm) guns against Ottoman forts in the Dardanelles.

On 25 February the Allied attacked again, the Ottomans evacuated the outer defences and the fleet entered the straits to engage the intermediate defences. Demolition parties of Royal Marines raided the Sedd el Bahr and Kum Kale forts, meeting little opposition. On 1 March, four battleships bombarded the intermediate defences but little progress was made clearing the minefields. The minesweepers, commanded by the chief of staff, Roger Keyes, were un-armoured trawlers manned by their civilian crews, who were unwilling to work while under fire. The strong current in the straits further hampered minesweeping and strengthened Ottoman resolve which had wavered at the start of the offensive; on 4 March, twenty-three marines were killed raiding the outer defences.

Queen Elizabeth was called on to engage the inner defences, at first from the Aegean coast near Gaba Tepe, firing across the peninsula and later in the straits. On the night of 13 March, the cruiser HMS Amethyst led six minesweepers in an attempt to clear the mines. Four of the trawlers were hit and Amethyst was badly damaged with nineteen stokers killed from one hit. On 15 March, the Admiralty accepted a plan by Carden for another attack by daylight, with the minesweepers protected by the fleet. Carden was taken ill the same day and was replaced by Rear Admiral John de Robeck. A gunnery officer noted in his diary that de Robeck had already expressed misgivings about silencing the Ottoman guns by naval bombardment and that this view was widely held on board the ship





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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1929 - TSS Kanowna, an Australian steamer built during 1902, ran aground and sank


TSS Kanowna, was an Australian steamer built during 1902. The 6,993-ton, 126-metre (413 ft)[citation needed] long Kanowna was constructed by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton, Scotland, and had a twin screw design



Operational history
Kanowna was operated by the Australian United Steam Navigation Company (AUSNC), and it served the Sydney to Fremantle route.


A 1914 photograph of Kanowna in Cairns

During August and September 1914, Kanowna was requisitioned by the Australian military to transport 1,000 soldiers to German New Guinea as part of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force. Sailing late from Townsville on 8 August, the ship was forced to anchor off Thursday Island until 16 August, and did not arrive off Port Moresby until 6 September. The expeditionary force sailed the next day for Rabaul, but Kanowna fell behind the rest of the convoy, with the ship's master signalling to HMAS Sydney that his crew had mutinied: the boiler stokers and firemen had stopped work. In Arthur Jose's Royal Australian Navy-focused volume of the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, he claims that the mutiny was because these men refused to leave Australian waters, but Tom Frame and Kevin Baker state in Mutiny! that this is incorrect; the troopship was on short rations of food and water because of the delays sailing north and only minimal resupply in Port Moresby, but the stokers and firemen were requesting more water to remain hydrated in the hot boilerrooms and to wash off coal grime, and refused to work until this demand was met. The workers were taken into the custody of a party of soldiers, and the force's commander ordered Kanowna to return to Townsville, with soldiers volunteering to keep the ship running. The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board conducted an inquiry into the mutiny, even though as a civilian vessel, Kanowna technically wasn't under their jurisdiction. The state of the supplies was seen as a major contributing factor to the sailors' actions. Kanowna was returned to her owners on 21 September.


Kanowna in hospital ship livery

On 1 June 1915, the vessel was requisitioned again for military service.[6] Kanwona transported soldiers and supplies to Egypt, then made for England, where she was modified for use as a hospital ship.[6] After completion, Kanowna could carry 452 wounded in cots, along with a medical staff of 88 in addition to her regular crew. Sailing in September, Kanowna was used to transport Royal Army Medical Corps personnel to locations throughout the Mediterranean, then collected wounded Australian personnel and transported them home. This was the ship's role for the next four years, although some runs were made to England with British wounded. In May 1917, the unrestricted submarine warfare campaign forced the ship to sail around Africa instead of through the Mediterranean: the nurses and medical staff were transported overland from Durban to London, and used to supplement hospital personnel until Kanowna arrived in July. In October 1918, after the war's end, the hospital ship was sent to collect 900 British and Commonwealth prisoners-of-war that had been interred in Turkey. Kanowna was returned to the AUSNC on 29 July 1920, and she resumed passenger and cargo service.

Fate

Twelve nurses aboard Kanowna, to service the hospital ship

On 18 February 1929, Kanowna ran into rocks near Cleft Island while on a voyage between Sydney and Melbourne. Passengers were transferred to SS Mackarra. Although it was initially thought that Kanowna could be saved by beaching, the ship's boilers had gone out. The crew were taken aboard SS Dumosa, and Kanowna sank the following morning. A court of inquiry found the ship's master at fault for the loss, as he did not slow his ship or exercise due caution in the foggy conditions. The wreck of Kanwona is one of Victoria's largest shipwrecks.

The exact location of the shipwreck was unknown until 2005. On 23 April, four divers found a shipwreck 50 kilometres (31 mi) into Bass Strait and submerged in approximately 80 metres (260 ft) of water, which was believed to be the former merchant ship. A more detailed inspection of the wreck site on 8 May allowed the divers to match the wreck with drawings of Kanowna.




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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1942 - The Japanese attack Darwin, Australia in the largest attack by a foreign power on that country.
USS Peary (DD 226), as well as an Army transport and freighter sink in the raid, as well as a number of Australian and British vessels.


The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in Darwin's harbour and the town's two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasion of Timor and Java during World War II.

Darwin was lightly defended relative to the size of the attack, and the Japanese inflicted heavy losses upon Allied forces at little cost to themselves. The urban areas of Darwin also suffered some damage from the raids and there were a number of civilian casualties. More than half of Darwin's civilian population left the area permanently, before or immediately after the attack.

The two Japanese air raids were the first, and largest, of more than 100 air raids against Australia during 1942–43.




The explosion of a ship, filled with TNT and ammunition, hit during the first Japanese air raid on Australia's mainland, at Darwin on 19 February 1942. In the foreground is HMAS Deloraine, which escaped damage.

Air raids
First raid
The four Japanese aircraft carriers launched 188 aircraft on the morning of 19 February. The main objective of their crews was attacking ships and port facilities in Darwin Harbour. Their aircraft comprised 81 Nakajima B5N ("Kate") light bombers, 71 Aichi D3A ("Val") dive bombers, and an escort of 36 Mitsubishi A6M ("Zero") fighters. While the B5N was a purpose-built torpedo bomber, it could instead carry up to 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) of bombs and there is no evidence of torpedoes being used on this occasion; the D3A could carry up to 514 kilograms (1,133 lb) of bombs. All of these aircraft were launched by 8.45 am. This wave was led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who had also commanded the first wave of attackers during the raid on Pearl Harbor.

On their way to Darwin, Zeros shot down a US Navy PBY Catalina and strafed a USAAF C-47 Skytrain on the ground, near Melville Island.

At 9.35 am Father McGrath of the Sacred Heart mission on Bathurst Island, who was also an Australian coastwatcher, sent a message using a pedal radio to the Amalgamated Wireless Postal Radio Station at Darwin that a large number of aircraft were flying overhead and proceeding southward. The message was then relayed to the Royal Australian Air Force Operations at 9.37 am. No general alarm was given until about 10 am as the RAAF officers there wrongly judged that the aircraft which had been sighted were the ten USAAF P-40s, which were returning to Darwin at the time after reports of bad weather forced them to abort a flight to Java via Kupang, West Timor. As a result, the air raid sirens at Darwin were not sounded before the raid.

The Japanese raiders began to arrive over Darwin at 9:58 am. HMAS Gunbar was the first ship to be attacked, being strafed by several Zero fighters. At about this time, the town's air raid sirens were belatedly sounded. The Japanese bombers then conducted dive bombing and level bombing attacks on the ships in Darwin Harbour. These attacks lasted for 30 minutes, and resulted in the sinking of three warships and six merchant vessels, and damage to another ten ships. The ships sunk were the USS Peary, HMAS Mavie, USAT Meigs, MV Neptuna (which exploded while docked at Darwin's main wharf), Zealandia, SS Mauna Loa, MV British Motorist. The oil tanker Karalee and the coal storage hulk Kelat sank later. At least 21 labourers working on the wharf were killed when it was bombed.


An aerial photograph of vessels burning in Darwin Harbour taken by a Japanese airman during the first raid.


A downed USAAF P-40E


MV Neptuna explodes at Stokes Hill Wharf. In front of the explosion is HMAS Vigilant which is undertaking rescue work. In the centre background is the floating dry dock holding the corvette HMAS Katoomba. In the foreground is the damaged SS Zealandia.


USS Peary sinking.


A sunken ship (MV Neptuna) and burnt-out wharf in Darwin Harbour following the attack (AWM 027334)

All but one of the P-40s was shot down or destroyed on the ground at RAAF Darwin. Japanese aircraft bombed and strafed the base and civil airfield, as well as the town's army barracks and oil store. All of these facilities were seriously damaged.

The bombers began to leave the Darwin area at about 10:10. On their way back to the carriers, their crews noted two Philippine-registered freighters lying just outside the port:Florence D. and Don Isidro. This information contributed to planning for the second raid that afternoon (which sank both vessels).

Japanese losses may have been as few as five aircraft and three crew. However, another 34 Japanese aircraft landed safely with battle damage. Warrant Officer Katsuyoshi Tsuru and First Petty Officer (1st class) Takezo Uchikado were killed when their Aichi dive bomber (bu. no. 3304; tail no. AII-254) crashed near RAAF Darwin. Sergeant Hajime Toyoshima (a.k.a. Tadao Minami) was taken prisoner after crash-landing his damaged Zero (bu. no. b. n.5349; tail no. BII-124) on Melville Island. Those who ditched near the Japanese fleet and were rescued included Flyer 1st class Yoshio Egawa and the Aichi crew of Flyer 1st class Takeshi Yamada and Flyer 1st class Kinji Funazaki. In 2013, a reference was discovered in Japanese records to a Nakajima torpedo bomber suffering wheel damage from a "gunshot" and both crew (names unknown) being rescued after ditching (by the destroyer Tanikaze).

Allied ground fire was relatively intense and may have claimed all but two of the Japanese aircraft lost. Only one of the USAAF P-40 pilots remained airborne throughout the first attack, 1st Lieutenant Robert Oestreicher, who has also been credited by US and Japanese sources with one Aichi shot down and one damaged. Toyoshima's Zero is considered to have been brought down by small arms fire from Sappers Tom Lamb and Len O'Shea of the 19th Battalion. Most aviation historians consider that Tsuru and Uchikado's Aichi was brought down by ground fire, possibly from a major Australian Army camp at Winnellie. Egawa reported that the damage to his Zero came from by hitting a tree at Darwin.

Second raid
The second wave, making up of 54 land-based aircraft (27 Mitsubishi G3M medium bombers and 27 Mitsubishi G4M medium bombers) arrived over Darwin just before midday. The town's air raid sirens were sounded at 11:58 am when the bombers were sighted. The Japanese force separated into two groups flying at 18,000 feet (5,500 m). One of these formations attacked RAAF Base Darwin from the south-west while the other approached from the north-east. The two formations arrived over the base at the same time, and dropped their bombs simultaneously. The Japanese bombers then turned, and made a second attack on the base. Due to defective fuses, the Australian heavy anti-aircraft flak gunners were unable to shoot down or damage any of the high-flying Japanese aircraft. The bombers left the Darwin area at about 12:20 pm.

This raid inflicted extensive damage on the RAAF base, though casualties were light. Of the RAAF aircraft at the base, six Hudson light bombers were destroyed and another Hudson and a Wirraway were badly damaged. Two American P-40s and a B-24 Liberator bomber were also destroyed. Six RAAF personnel were killed. Lewis and Ingman list 30 aircraft destroyed.

The Japanese carrier force launched a small number of D3A dive bombers during the afternoon of 19 February to attack the Florence D. and Don Isidro. Don Isidro was the first of these two ships to be attacked, and was rapidly sunk 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Melville Island. Eleven of her 84-strong crew were killed. The dive bombers also attacked Florence D. and sank her off Bathurst Island with the loss of four crewmen. All of the survivors from Don Isidro were rescued by the corvette HMAS Warrnambool on 20 February. Some of Florence D.'s survivors landed on Bathurst and Melville Islands while the remainder were rescued by Warrnambool on 23 February. Among the survivors of Florence D. were the rescued crew of a U.S. Navy PBY piloted by then Lt Thomas H. Moorer (later to become Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff).

Admiral Halstead, strafed and with plates damaged by near misses, was brought to the pier where U.S. Army volunteers along with survivors of the U.S. and Philippine vessels helped unload her 14,000 drums of aviation gasoline.

Aftermath
Consequences
Of major military consequence was the loss of most of the cargo shipping available to support efforts in Java and the Philippines with Java being effectively sealed off from further surface shipments from Australia.

The air raids caused chaos in Darwin, with most essential services including water and electricity being badly damaged or destroyed. Fears of an imminent invasion spread and there was a wave of refugees, as some of the town's civilian population fled inland. There were reports of looting, with Provost Marshals being among the accused. According to official figures, 278 personnel belonging to RAAF North-Western Area Command (NWA) were considered to have deserted as a result of the raids, although it has been argued that the "desertions" were mostly the result of ambiguous orders given to RAAF ground staff after the attacks. In the words of journalist Douglas Lockwood, after the second Japanese air raid, the commander of RAAF Darwin, Wing Commander Stuart Griffith

summoned his senior administrative officer, Squadron Leader Swan, and gave a verbal order that all airmen were to move half a mile down the main road and then half a mile inland. At this vague rendezvous point ... arrangements would be made to feed them. The order led to utter chaos. In being passed by word of mouth from one section to another, sometimes with officers present and sometimes not, it became garbled to the extent it was unrecognisable against the original. In its ultimate form it was interpreted, especially by those desiring such an interpretation, of an impending order for immediate and general evacuation of the area. Highly exaggerated rumours of an impending Japanese invasion had already reached the base from the town and spread quickly among those wanting to believe them. In the absence of restraint, men gathered their belongings and abandoned their stations.​

While the NWA staff could see what was happening and issued countermanding orders "the damage was done and hundreds of men were already beyond recall".

The Australian Army also faced difficulty controlling some of its own troops from looting private property, including "furniture, refrigerators, stoves, pianos, clothes[,] [and] even children's toys" due to the breakdown of law and order after the bombing and the ensuing chaos. Many civilian refugees never returned, or did not return for many years, and in the post-war years some claimed that land they owned in Darwin had been expropriated by government bodies in their absence.

The bombing of Darwin resulted in the destruction of 7 of the 11 above ground storage tanks, located on Stokes Hill, in raids on the 19 February, 16 March and 16 June 1942. This led to the construction of underground oil storage tunnels in Darwin in 1943.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Darwin
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/...ref=front-page-slider-darwin-regional-landing

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1942 – French Surcouf, the largest French cruiser submarine, disappeared


Surcouf was the largest French cruiser submarine. She served in both the French Navy and the Free French Naval Forces during the Second World War. She was lost during the night of 18/19 February 1942 in the Caribbean Sea, possibly after colliding with an American freighter. Surcouf was named after the French privateer Robert Surcouf. She was the largest submarine built until surpassed by the first Japanese I-400-class submarine in 1943.



Design
The Washington Naval Treaty had placed strict limits on naval construction by the major naval powers in regards to displacements and artillery calibers of battleships and cruisers. However, no accords was filed in motion for light ships such as frigates or destroyers or submarines. In addition, to ensure the country's protection and that of the empire, France mounted the construction of an important submarine fleet (79 units in 1939). Surcouf was intended to be the first of a class of submarine cruiser; however, she was the only one completed.

The missions were revolved around the following:

• Ensure contact with the French colonies;
• In collaboration with French naval squadrons, search and destroy enemy fleets;
• Pursuit of enemy convoys.

Surcouf had a twin-gun turret with 203 mm (8-inch) guns, the same calibre as that of a heavy cruiser (the main reason of Sourcouf being designated as croiseur sous-marin – "cruiser submarine") provisioned with 600 rounds.

Surcouf was designed as an "underwater heavy cruiser", intended to seek and engage in surface combat. For reconnaissance purposes, the boat carried a Besson MB.411 observation floatplane in a hangar built abaft of the conning tower. However, the floatplane was also mainly used for gun calibration purposes.

The boat was equipped with a 12 torpedo tube launch mechanisms, eight 550 mm (22 in) and four 400 mm (16 in) torpedo tubes, in addition to 12 torpedoes in reserve. The 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 guns were in a pressure-tight turret forward of the conning tower. The guns had a 60-round magazine capacity and was controlled by a director with a 5 m (16 ft) rangefinder, mounted high enough to view an 11 km (5.9 nmi; 6.8 mi) horizon, and able to fire within three minutes after surfacing. Using the boat's periscopes to direct the fire of the main guns, Surcouf could increase this range to 16 km (8.6 nmi; 9.9 mi); originally an elevating platform was supposed to lift lookouts 15 m (49 ft) high, but this design was abandoned quickly due to the effect of roll. The Besson observation plane could be used to direct fire out to the guns' 26 mi (23 nmi; 42 km) maximum range. Anti-aircraft cannon and machine guns were mounted on the top of the hangar.



Surcouf also carried a 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) motorboat, and contained a cargo compartment with fittings to restrain 40 prisoners or lodge 40 passengers. The submarine's fuel tanks were very large; enough fuel for a 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) range and supplies for 90-day patrols could be carried.

The maximum safe diving depth was 80 meters, however, the boat was capable of diving to 110 meters without notable deformations to its thick hull, with a normal operating depth of 178 m (584 ft). Crush depth was calculated at 491 m (1,611 ft).

The first commanding officer was Frigate Captain (Capitaine de Frégate, a rank equivalent to Commander), Raymond de Belot.

The boat encountered several technical challenges, owing to the 203mm guns.

• Because of the low height of the rangefinder above the water surface, the practical range of fire was 12,000 m (13,000 yd) with the rangefinder (16,000 m (17,000 yd) with sighting aided by periscope), well below the normal maximum of 26,000 m (28,000 yd).
• The duration between the surface order and the first firing round was 3 minutes and 35 seconds. This duration could have been longer in case the boat was going to fire broadside, which meant surfacing and training the turret in the desired direction.
• Firing had to occur at a precise moment of pitch and roll when the ship was level.
• Training the turret to either side was limited to when the ship rolled 8° or less.
• Surcouf was not equipped to fire at night, due to inability to observe the fall of shot in the dark
• The mounts were designed to fire 14 rounds from each gun before their magazines were reloaded.

To replace the hydroplane whose functioning was initially constrained and limited in use, trials were conducted with an autogyro in 1938.

Appearance of Surcouf
Surcouf was never painted in olive green as shown on numerous models and drawings. From the beginning of the boat's career until 1932, the boat was painted of the same grey colour as surface warships, then in Prussian dark blue, a colour which was conserved until the end of 1940 where the boat was repainted with two tones of grey, serving as camouflage on the hull and conning tower.

Surcouf is often depicted in the boat's 1932 state, harboring the flag of the Free French Naval Forces which was not created until 1940.

Successive configurations of Surcouf

• 
  Original configuration, 1932
  
• 
  1934 configuration, with Prussian blue paintwork
• 
  1938 configuration: radio mast removed and different conning tower
• 
  1940 configuration, with two-tone gray paint and 17P identification number on the conning tower

Career
Early career
Soon after Surcouf was launched, the London Naval Treaty finally placed restrictions on submarine designs. Among other things, each signatory (France included) was permitted to possess no more than three large submarines, each not exceeding 2,800 long tons (2,800 t) standard displacement, with guns not exceeding 6.1 in (150 mm) in caliber. Surcouf, which would have exceeded these limits, was specially exempt from the rules at the insistence of Navy Minister Georges Leygues, but other 'big-gun' submarines of this boat's class could no longer be built.

In 1940, Surcouf was based in Cherbourg, but in May, when the Germans invaded, she was being refitted in Brest following a mission in the Antilles and Gulf of Guinea. Under command of Frigate Captain Martin, unable to dive and with only one engine functioning and a jammed rudder, she limped across the English Channel and sought refuge in Plymouth.

On 3 July, the British, concerned that the French Fleet would be taken over by the German Kriegsmarine at the French armistice, executed Operation Catapult. The Royal Navy blockaded the harbours where French warships were anchored, and delivered an ultimatum: rejoin the fight against Germany, be put out of reach of the Germans, or scuttle. Few accepted willingly; the North African fleet at Mers-el-Kebir and the ships based at Dakar (West Africa) refused. The French battleships in North Africa were eventually attacked and all but one sunk at their moorings by the Mediterranean Fleet.

French ships lying at ports in Britain and Canada were also boarded by armed marines, sailors and soldiers, but the only serious incident took place at Plymouth aboard Surcouf on 3 July, when two Royal Navy submarine officers, Cdr Denis 'Lofty' Sprague, captain of HMS Thames and Lt Griffiths of HMS Rorqual, and French warrant officer mechanic Yves Daniel were fatally wounded, and a British seaman, L. S. Webb, was shot dead by the submarine's doctor.



Free French naval forces
By August 1940, the British completed Surcouf's refit and turned her over to the Free French Navy (Forces Navales Françaises Libres, FNFL) for convoy patrol. The only officer not repatriated from the original crew, Frigate Captain Georges Louis Blaison, became the new commanding officer. Because of Anglo-French tensions with regard to the submarine, accusations were made by each side that the other was spying for Vichy France; the British also claimed Surcouf was attacking British ships. Later, a British officer and two sailors were put aboard for "liaison" purposes. One real drawback was she required a crew of 110–130 men, which represented three crews of more conventional submarines. This led to Royal Navy reluctance to recommission her.

Surcouf then went to the Canadian base at Halifax, Nova Scotia and escorted trans-Atlantic convoys. In April 1941, she was damaged by a German plane at Devonport.

On 28 July, Surcouf went to the United States Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire for a three-month refit.

After leaving the shipyard, Surcouf went to New London, Connecticut, perhaps to receive additional training for her crew. Surcouf left New London on 27 November to return to Halifax.



Liberation of St. Pierre and Miquelon
In December 1941, Surcouf carried the Free French Admiral Émile Muselier to Canada, putting into Quebec City. While the Admiral was in Ottawa, conferring with the Canadian government, Surcouf's captain was approached by The New York Times reporter Ira Wolfert and questioned about the rumours the submarine would liberate Saint-Pierre and Miquelon for Free France. Wolfert accompanied the submarine to Halifax, where, on 20 December, they joined Free French "Escorteurs" corvettes Mimosa, Aconit, and Alysse, and on 24 December, took control of the islands for Free France without resistance.

United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull had just concluded an agreement with the Vichy government guaranteeing the neutrality of French possessions in the Western hemisphere, and he threatened to resign unless President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt demanded a restoration of the status quo. Roosevelt did so, but when Charles de Gaulle refused, Roosevelt dropped the matter. Ira Wolfert's stories – very favourable to the Free French (and bearing no sign of kidnapping or other duress) – helped swing American popular opinion away from Vichy. The Axis Powers' declaration of war on the United States in December 1941 negated the agreement, but the U.S. did not sever diplomatic ties with the Vichy Government until November 1942.

Later operations
In January 1942, the Free French decided to send Surcouf to the Pacific theatre of war, after she re-supplied at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda. Her movement south triggered rumours that she was going to liberate Martinique for the Free French from Vichy.

After the outbreak of war with Japan, Surcouf was ordered to Sydney, Australia, via Tahiti. She departed Halifax on 2 February for Bermuda, which she left on 12 February, bound for the Panama Canal.

Fate
Surcouf vanished on the night of 18/19 February 1942, about 80 mi (70 nmi; 130 km) north of Cristóbal, Colón, while en route for Tahiti, via the Panama Canal. An American report concluded the disappearance was due to an accidental collision with the American freighter Thompson Lykes, steaming alone from Guantanamo Bay, on what was a very dark night; the freighter reported hitting and running down a partially submerged object which scraped along her side and keel. Her lookouts heard people in the water but the freighter did not stop, thinking she had hit a U-boat, though cries for help were heard in English. A signal was sent to Panama describing the incident.

The loss resulted in 130 deaths (including 4 Royal Navy personnel), under the command of Frigate Captain Georges Louis Nicolas Blaison. The loss of Surcouf was announced by the Free French Headquarters in London on 18 April 1942, and was reported in The New York Times the next day. It was not reported Surcouf was sunk as the result of a collision with the Thompson Lykes until January 1945.

The investigation of the French commission concluded the disappearance was the consequence of misunderstanding. A Consolidated PBY, patrolling the same waters on the night of February 18/19, could have attacked Surcouf believing her to be German or Japanese. This theory could have been backed by several elements:

• The witness testimonies of cargo ship SS Thomson Lykes, which accidentally collided with a submarine, described a submarine smaller than Surcouf
• The damage to the Thomson Lykes was too light for a collision with Surcouf
• The position of Surcouf did not correspond to any position of German submarines at that moment
• The Germans did not register any submarine loss in that sector during the war.

Inquiries into the incident were haphazard and late, while a later French inquiry supported the idea that the sinking had been due to "friendly fire"; this conclusion was supported by Rear Admiral Auphan in his book The French Navy in World War II in which he states: "for reasons which appear to have been primarily political, she was rammed at night in the Caribbean by an American freighter." Charles de Gaulle stated in his memoirs that Surcouf "had sunk with all hands".

As no one has officially dived or verified the wreck of Surcouf, its location is unknown. If one assumes the Thompson Lykes incident was indeed the event of Surcouf's sinking, then the wreck would lie 3,000 m (9,800 ft) deep at 10°40′N 79°32′WCoordinates:

10°40′N 79°32′W.

Theories on the loss of Surcouf

Model of Surcouf in Paris

As there is no conclusive confirmation that Thompson Lykes collided with Surcouf, and her wreck has yet to be discovered, there are alternative stories of her fate.

Disregarding the predictable story about her being swallowed by the Bermuda Triangle (a fantastical zone that would not be conceptualised until two decades after the submarine's disappearance), one of the most popular is that she was caught in Long Island Sound refuelling a German U-boat, and both submarines were sunk, either by the American submarines USS Mackerel and Marlin, or a United States Coast Guard blimp. (On 14 April 1942, Mackerel had torpedoes fired at her by a German U-boat while en route from New London to Norfolk. The torpedoes missed Mackerel which returned fire without result. It is possible some assumed this attack was made by Surcouf, fuelling rumors she was really serving the Germans.)

In response to the above theory, Captain Julius Grigore, Jr., USNR (Retired), who has extensively researched and written about Surcouf, offered a one million dollar prize to anyone who can prove Surcouf engaged in activities detrimental to the Allied cause. As of 2011, the prize has not been claimed.

James Rusbridger examined some of the theories in his book Who Sank Surcouf?, finding them all easily dismissed except one: the records of the 6th Heavy Bomber Group operating out of Panama show them sinking a large submarine the morning of 19 February. Since no German submarine was lost in the area on that date, it could have been Surcouf. He suggested the collision had damaged Surcouf's radio and the stricken boat limped towards Panama hoping for the best.




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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1942 - The overnight Battle of Badung Strait begins when the allied naval force (ABDA) commanded by Dutch Rear Adm. W.F.M. Doorman engaged the Japanese in an attempt to stop the invasion force in Bali. USS Stewart (DE 238) is damaged.


The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19/20 February 1942 in Badung Strait (not to be confused with the West Java city of Bandung) between the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA) and the Imperial Japanese Navy. In the engagement, the four Japanese destroyers defeated an Allied force that outnumbered and outgunned them, escorting two transports to safety and sinking the Dutch destroyer Piet Hein. The battle demonstrated the Japanese Navy's considerable superiority over the Allies in night fighting which lasted until the Battle of Cape St. George.



Background
A battalion of the 48th Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army landed on Bali on 18 February 1942. Dutch Admiral Karel Doorman's naval forces were scattered around Indonesia, but the invasion of Bali could not be ignored — it would give the Japanese an airbase within range of the ABDA naval base at Surabaya — so he sent in all available ships. The short notice gave no time to concentrate his ships; accordingly, several Allied forces were to attack the Japanese.


HNLMS De Ruyter off Java in 1942

Battle
The first Allied vessels to engage were the submarines USS Seawolf and HMS Truant. Both attacked the Japanese convoy on 18 February, but did no damage and were driven off by depth charges from Japanese destroyers. Later that day, 20 planes of the United States Army Air Forces attacked the convoy but succeeded only in damaging the transport Sagami Maru.

The Japanese were aware that their invasion convoy was likely to be attacked again, so they retreated north as soon as possible. The cruiser Nagara and the destroyers Wakaba, Hatsushimo and Nenohi were well away and took no part in the action. The last ships to leave were the two modes of transport, each escorted by two destroyers. Sasago Maru was escorted by Asashio and Ōshio; the heavily damaged Sagami Maru was escorted by Michishio and Arashio.

The first Allied group—consisting of the cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter and Java and the destroyers USS John D. Ford, Pope, and HNLMS Piet Hein—sighted the Japanese in Badung Strait at about 22:00 and opened fire at 22:25 on 19 February. No damage was done in this exchange of fire, and the two Dutch cruisers continued through the strait to the northeast, to give the destroyers a free hand to engage with torpedoes. Then Piet Hein, Pope and John D. Ford came into range. At 22:40, a Long Lance torpedo from Asashio hit Piet Hein, sinking the Dutch destroyer immediately. Asashio and Oshio then exchanged gunfire with Pope and John D. Ford, forcing the two American destroyers to retire to the southeast instead of following the cruisers to the northeast.

In the darkness, Asashio and Oshio mistook each other for enemy ships and fired on each other for several minutes, without any damage.

About three hours later, the second group of ABDA ships—the cruiser HNLMS Tromp and the destroyers USS John D. Edwards, Parrott, bury, and Stewart—reached Badung Strait. At 01:36, Stewart, bury and Parrott launched torpedoes but did no damage. Then Oshio and Asashio sortied again and there was another exchange of gunfire. Tromp was hit by eleven 5 in (12.7 cm) shells from Asashio, severely damaging her and hit both Japanese destroyers, killing four men on Asashio and seven on Oshio. Tromp later had to return to Australia for repairs.

Arashio and Michishio had been ordered by Admiral Kubo to turn back, and at about 02:20 they joined the battle. Michishio was hit by shells from bury, John D. Edwards and Tromp, killing 13 of her crew and wounding 83. She lost speed and had to be towed after the battle. Both groups of ships turned away, and the engagement was over.

Aftermath

HNLMS Tromp in Sydney after undergoing repairs for damage sustained during the battle

The third ABDA group—seven torpedo boats—arrived in Badung Strait at about 06:00 but did not encounter any Japanese ships. The battle was a significant victory for the Japanese. Lieutenant Commander Gorō Yoshii of Asashio and Commander Kiyoshi Kikkawa of Oshio had shown great bravery and skill. They had driven off a much larger Allied force, sunk the destroyer Piet Hein and severely damaged the cruiser Tromp, had sustained little damage themselves, and had protected their transport ships.

Bali's garrison of 600 Indonesian militia offered no resistance to the Japanese, and its airfield was captured intact. The Japanese continued their conquest of the Dutch East Indies with the capture of Timor from 20–23 February. The ABDA forces engaged at Badung Strait were decisively defeated in the Battle of the Java Sea on 1 March 1942, in which the Dutch cruisers Java and De Ruyter were sunk and Admiral Doorman was killed. Tromp evaded this fate, for she was withdrawn to Australia to repair damage suffered at Badung Strait. The destroyer Stewart was repaired in Soerabaia, where she was next captured by the Japanese and put to their service as the patrol vessel P-102.



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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
19 February 1944 - in Operation Hailstone, the Japanese cruiser Katori sank after being shelled by the battleship USS Iowa.
After being under attack for 13 minutes, Katori sank stern first with a port side list at about 40 nautical miles (74 km) northwest of Truk. A large group of survivors was seen in the water after she sank but the Americans did not recover any.


Katori (香取) was the lead ship of the Katori class of three light cruisers which served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The ship was named after the noted Shinto Katori Shrine in Chiba prefecture, Japan.



Background
Katori-class cruisers were originally ordered to serve as training ships in the 1937 and 1939 Supplementary Naval budget. With the Pacific War, they were used as administrative flagships for various fleets, such as submarine command and control, and to command escort squadrons. The ships were upgraded as the war progressed with additional anti-aircraft guns and depth charges.

Service career
Early career
Katori was completed at the Mitsubishi Yokohama shipyards on 20 April 1940 and was based at nearby Yokosuka.

On 28 July 1940, Katori and her sister ship, Kashima participated in the last pre-war midshipman cruise visiting Etajima, Ominato, Aomori, Dairen, Port Arthur and Shanghai.

Early stages of the Pacific War
On 11 November 1941 Vice Admiral Mitsumi Shimizu, CINC, Sixth Fleet (Submarines) convened a briefing of his commanders aboard the Sixth Fleet's flagship, Katori on the planned attack on Pearl Harbor. Katori departed for Truk on 24 November 1941. At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, Katori was at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands.

On 10 December 1941, the submarine I-6 reported sighting the aircraft carrier USS Lexington and two cruisers heading northeast, and Vice Admiral Shimizu ordered his submarines to pursue and sink the carrier, but it escaped.

Katori returned to Truk by the end of 1941, and on 3 January 1942 Vice Admiral Shimizu held a briefing to discuss the details of the invasion plans for "Operation R" (the invasions of Rabaul and Kavieng), which took place from 23–24 January 1942.

On 1 February 1942, Katori came under attack at Kwajalein by Douglas SBD Dauntlesses of VB-6 and VS-6 and Douglas TBD Devastators from the carrier USS Enterprise. Vice Admiral Shimizu was wounded in the raid, and Katori sustained enough damage to warrant a return to Yokosuka for repairs. The ship returned to Kwajalein in May, where on 24 May 1942 the new admiral, of the Sixth Fleet (Submarines) Vice Admiral Marquis Teruhisa Komatsu, ordered Captain Sasaki Hankyu detachment of midget submarines to stage the Attack on Sydney Harbour.

Katori returned briefly to Yokosuka in August 1942 for upgrading with two twin Type 96 25 mm AA guns, which were fitted in the forward part of the bridge. It then returned to Truk, where it continued to be based (with occasional returns to Yokosuka).

On 21 June 1943 Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi assumed command of the Sixth Fleet (Submarines), but after the fall of Kwajalein Katori was reassigned on 15 February 1944 to the General Escort Command.

Attack on Truk


Katori burning off Truk, 17 February 1944

In the American attack on Truk of 17–18 February 1944, the American Task Force 58 with nine aircraft carriers, supported by six battleships, ten cruisers and 28 destroyers, launched a massive attack on Truk. Katorihad departed Truk shortly before the attack, escorting the armed merchant cruiser Akagi Maru, destroyers Maikaze and Nowaki, and minesweeping trawler Shonan Maru No. 15 towards Yokosuka, but came under attack by Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters and Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo-bombers from the carriers Yorktown, Intrepid, Essex, Bunker Hill and Cowpens. Akagi Maru was sunk, and Katori was hit by a torpedo which did minor damage. However, several hours later, Task Group 50.9's battleships New Jersey and Iowa, along with cruisers Minneapolis and New Orleans and destroyers Bradford and Burns, spotted the Katori group and opened fire. The screening destroyers fired six salvos of torpedoes at Katori (which was already listing slightly to port and on fire amidships), but all torpedoes missed. Katori responded with a salvo of torpedoes which were equally ineffective.

At mean range of 14,500yds, Iowa closed with Katori and fired 46 16-inch (406 mm) high capacity (non-armor-piercing) rounds and 124 5-inch (127 mm), straddling the cruiser with eight salvos. CAG 17/A16-3 reports Iowa hits Katori with her second salvo. Just after Iowa's fourth salvo, Katori quickly listed to port exposing seven large shell holes about 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter in her starboard side, one under the bridge about five feet below the waterline another amidships about at the waterline, plus about nine small holes. The damage on the port side was much worse. After being under attack by Iowa for about 5 minutes, Katori sank stern first, with a port side list at 07°45′N 151°20′E about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Truk. A large group of survivors were seen in the water after she sank, but the Americans did not recover any.

Katori was officially stricken from the Navy list on 31 March 1944.




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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 19 February


1695 – The second battle of The Battle of the Oinousses Islands

The Battle of the Oinousses Islands (Italian: Battaglia di Spalmadori) comprised two separate actions, on 9 and 19 February 1695 near the Oinousses (Turkish: Koyun Adaları), a small island group off Cape Karaburun in western Anatolia, between a Venetian fleet under Antonio Zeno and the Ottoman fleet under Mezzo Morto Hüseyin. The result of the first battle was a Venetian defeat, and although the second engagement ended in a draw, the Venetian position in Chios became untenable, forcing Zeno to abandon the island.

In the first engagement, Venetian casualties were 142 killed and 300 wounded on the sailing ships, excluding the three ships lost, and 323 killed and 303 wounded on the galleys. All together, less than 2500 casualties. In the second engagement, the Venetians were at a numerical disadvantage, due to the loss of three ships and the absence of the damaged San Vittorio. Venetian deaths were 132, and Fama Volante was damaged, along with 2 Ottoman sailing ships.

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


1781 Whilst proceeding to the Chesapeake HMS Romulus (44), Cptn. George Gayton, was captured by a French squadron from Des Touches's squadron under the orders of Cptn Le Gardeur de Tilly, composed of the Eveille (64), Gentille (32), Surveillante (32) and the cutter Guepe


Prise du Romulus dans la Baye de Chesapeak. Par Mr. Le Cardeur de Tilly (PAD5365)

HMS Romulus (1777) was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1777 and captured by the French in 1781.

https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-344321;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=R


1804 - Boats of HMS Drake (14), Samuel W. King, cut out a schooner from the harbour of Trinite in the north part of Martinique.

HMS Drake (1798) was a 14-gun brig-sloop, formerly the French privateer Tigre. She was captured in 1798 by HMS Melpomene and wrecked in 1804.



https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=23079


1807 - Fireship HMS Ignition (1804 – 4), Phillip Griffin, wrecked off Dieppe during a storm, only 4 survivors



https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=4839


1814 - USS Constitution (44), Cptn. Charles Stewart, captures British merchant brig Catherine

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


1848 – Launch of french steam frigate Mogador, 8, at Rochefort


1945 - Following pre-invasion naval gunfire and aerial bombardment, U.S. Marines land on Iwo Jima, securing the island on March 16. Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz describes the invasion, from which 27 Medals of Honor are given, as one where uncommon valor was a common virtue.

The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the goal of capturing the entire island, including the three Japanese-controlled airfields (including the South Field and the Central Field), to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. This five-week battle comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific War of World War II.

After the heavy losses incurred in the battle, the strategic value of the island became controversial. It was useless to the U.S. Army as a staging base and useless to the U.S. Navy as a fleet base. However, Navy Seabees rebuilt the landing strips, which were used as emergency landing strips for USAAF B-29s.

The IJA positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of underground tunnels. The American ground forces were supported by extensive naval artillery, and had complete air supremacy provided by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators throughout the entire battle.


The battleship USS New York firing its 14 in (360 mm) main guns on the island, 16 February 1945 (D minus 3)

Japanese combat deaths numbered three times the number of American deaths although, uniquely among Pacific War Marine battles, American total casualties (dead and wounded) exceeded those of the Japanese. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner, some of whom were captured because they had been knocked unconscious or otherwise disabled. The majority of the remainder were killed in action, although it has been estimated that as many as 3,000 continued to resist within the various cave systems for many days afterwards, eventually succumbing to their injuries or surrendering weeks later.

Despite the bloody fighting and severe casualties on both sides, the American victory was assured from the start. Overwhelming American superiority in numbers and arms as well as complete air supremacy—coupled with the impossibility of Japanese retreat or reinforcement, along with sparse food and supplies—permitted no plausible circumstance in which the Americans could have lost the battle.

Joe Rosenthal's Associated Press photograph of the raising of the U.S. flag on top of the 169 m (554 ft) Mount Suribachi by six U.S. Marines became an iconic image of the battle and the American war effort in the Pacific.


LVTs approach Iwo Jima

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


1996 - the overloaded ferry Gretchen I capsized and sank off Cadiz with the loss of 71 lives. There were at least 141 survivors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maritime_disasters_in_the_20th_century


2011 – The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.

The Belitung shipwreck (also called the Tang shipwreck or Batu Hitam shipwreck) is the wreck of an Arabian dhow which sailed en route from Africa to China around 830 CE. The ship completed the outward journey, but sank on the return journey, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) off the coast of Belitung Island, Indonesia. It is unclear why the ship was so far from its expected route back from China. Belitung is to the south-east of the Singapore Strait by 380 miles (610 km), and this secondary route is more normal for ships travelling from the Java Sea, which is south of Belitung Island.

The wreck has given archaeologists two major discoveries: the biggest single collection of Tang dynasty artefacts found in one location, the so-called "Tang Treasure"; and the Arabian dhow, which gives a new insight into the trade routes between China and the Middle East during that period. The treasure has been kept as one collection and, during the excavation, the efforts to preserve the integrity of the site and its cargo have resulted in detailed archaeological evidence. This evidence has given new insight into the construction methods used in shipbuilding, and the items and style of artefacts has revealed previously unknown facts about the trade between the two areas.



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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 February 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas.


The French colonization of Texas began with the establishment of a fort in present-day southeastern Texas. It was established in 1685 near Arenosa Creek and Matagorda Bay by explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle. He intended to found the colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River, but inaccurate maps and navigational errors caused his ships to anchor instead 400 miles (640 km) to the west, off the coast of Texas. The colony survived until 1688. The present-day town of Inez is near the fort's site.


La Salle's Expedition to Louisiana in 1684, painted in 1844 by Theodore Gudin. La Belle is on the left, Le Joly is in the middle, and L'Aimable is grounded in the distance, right.

The colony faced numerous difficulties during its brief existence, including Native American raids, epidemics, and harsh conditions. From that base, La Salle led several expeditions to find the Mississippi River. These did not succeed, but La Salle did explore much of the Rio Grande and parts of east Texas. During one of his absences in 1686, the colony's last ship was wrecked, leaving the colonists unable to obtain resources from the French colonies of the Caribbean. As conditions deteriorated, La Salle realized the colony could survive only with help from the French settlements in Illinois Country to the north, along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. His last expedition ended along the Brazos River in early 1687, when La Salle and five of his men were murdered during a mutiny.

Although a handful of men reached Illinois Country, help never made it to the fort. Most of the remaining members of the colony were killed during a Karankawa raid in late 1688, four children survived after being adopted as captives. Although the colony lasted only three years, it established France's claim to possession of the region that is now Texas. The United States later claimed, unsuccessfully, this region as part of the Louisiana Purchase because of the early French colony.

Spain learned of La Salle's mission in 1686. Concerned that the French colony could threaten Spain's control over the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the unsettled southeastern region of North America, the Crown funded multiple expeditions to locate and eliminate the settlement. The unsuccessful expeditions helped Spain to better understand the geography of the Gulf Coast region. When the Spanish finally discovered the remains of the French colony at the fort in 1689, they buried the cannons and burned the buildings. Years later, Spanish authorities built a presidio at the same location. When the presidio was abandoned, the site of the French settlement was lost to history.

The fort was rediscovered by historians and excavated in 1996, and the area is now an archaeological site. In 1995, researchers located the ship La Belle in Matagorda Bay, with several sections of the hull remaining virtually intact. They constructed a cofferdam, the first to be used in North America to excavate the ship as if in dry conditions. In 2000, excavations revealed three of the original structures of the fort, as well as three graves of Frenchmen.


First settlement
On July 24, 1684, La Salle departed France and returned to America with a large expedition designed to establish a French colony on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the Mississippi River. They had four ships and 300 colonists. The expedition was plagued by pirates, hostile Indians, and poor navigation. One ship was lost to pirates in the West Indies, a second sank in the inlets of Matagorda Bay.


The Royal Standard of France was commonly used as the State flag of France prior to the French Revolution.

On February 20, the colonists set foot on land for the first time in three months since leaving Saint-Domingue. They set up a temporary camp near the site of the present-day Matagorda Island Lighthouse. The chronicler of the expedition, Henri Joutel, described his first view of Texas: "The country did not seem very favorable to me. It was flat and sandy but did nevertheless produce grass. There were several salt pools. We hardly saw any wild fowl except some cranes and Canadian (sic) geese which were not expecting us."

Against Beaujeu's advice, La Salle ordered La Belle and the Aimable "to negotiate the narrow and shallow pass" to bring the supplies closer to the campsite. To lighten L'Aimable's load, its eight cannons and a small portion of its cargo were removed. After La Belle successfully negotiated the pass, La Salle sent her pilot to L'Aimable to assist with the navigation, but L'Aimable's captain refused the help. As the Aimable set sail, a band of Karankawa approached and carried off some of the settlers. La Salle led a small group of soldiers to rescue them, leaving no one to direct the Aimable. When he returned, he found the Aimable grounded on a sandbar. Upon hearing that the captain had ordered the ship to sail forward after it had struck a sandbar, La Salle became convinced that the captain had deliberately grounded the ship.

For several days the men attempted to salvage the tools and provisions that had been loaded on the Aimable, but a bad storm prevented them from recovering more than food, cannons, powder, and a small amount of the merchandise. The ship sank on March 7. The French watched the Karankawa loot the wreckage. As French soldiers approached the Native American village to retrieve their supplies, the villagers hid. On discovering the deserted village, the soldiers not only reclaimed the looted merchandise but also took animal pelts and two canoes. The angry Karankawa attacked, killing two Frenchmen and injuring others.

Beaujeu, having fulfilled his mission in escorting the colonists across the ocean, returned to France aboard the Joly in mid-March 1685. Many of the colonists chose to return to France with him, leaving approximately 180. Although Beaujeu delivered a message from La Salle requesting additional supplies, French authorities, having made peace with Spain, never responded. The remaining colonists suffered from dysenteryand venereal diseases, and people died daily. Those who were fit helped build crude dwellings and a temporary fort on Matagorda Island.

Fort
On March 24, La Salle took 52 men in five canoes to find a less exposed settlement site. They found Garcitas Creek that had fresh water and fish, with good soil along its banks. They named it Rivière aux Boeufs for the nearby buffalo herds. The fort was constructed on a bluff overlooking the creek, 1.5 leagues from its mouth. Two men died, one of a rattlesnake bite and another from drowning while trying to fish. At night, the Karankawa would sometimes surround the camp and howl, but the soldiers could scare them away with a few gun shots. The fort has sometimes been referred to as "Fort St. Louis" but that name was not used during the life of the settlement and appears to be a later invention.


Map of the French fort drawn by a member of the Spanish expedition that discovered the French colony in 1689. It marks the river, the colony's structures, and location of cannons.

In early June, La Salle summoned the rest of the colonists from the temporary campsite to the new settlement site. Seventy people began the 50-mile (80 km) overland trek on June 12. All of the supplies had to be hauled from the Belle, a physically draining task that was finally completed by the middle of July. The last load was accompanied by the 30 men who had remained behind to guard the ship. Although trees grew near the site, they were not suitable for building, and timber had to be transported to the building site from several miles inland. Some timbers were salvaged from the Aimable. By the end of July, over half of the settlers had died, most from a combination of scant rations and overwork.

The remaining settlers built a large two-story structure at the center of the settlement. The ground floor was divided into three rooms: one for La Salle, one for the priests, and one for the officers of the expedition. The upper story consisted of a single room used to store supplies. Surrounding the fort were several smaller structures to provide shelter for the other members of the expedition. The eight cannons, each weighing 700 to 1,200 pounds (320 to 540 kg), had been salvaged from L'Aimable and were positioned around the colony for protection.

Difficulties
For several months after the permanent camp was built, the colonists took short trips to explore their surroundings. At the end of October 1685, La Salle decided to undertake a longer expedition and reloaded the Belle with many of the remaining supplies. He took 50 men, plus the Belle's crew of 27 sailors, leaving behind 34 men, women, and children. Most of the men traveled with La Salle in canoes, while the Belle followed further off the coast. After three days of travel, they learned of hostile Native Americans in the area. Twenty of the Frenchmen attacked the Native American village, where they found Spanish artifacts. Several of the men died on this expedition from eating prickly pear. The Karankawa killed a small group of the men who had camped on shore, including the captain of the Belle.

From January until March 1686, La Salle and most of his men searched overland for the Mississippi River, traveling towards the Rio Grande, possibly as far west as modern-day Langtry, Texas. The men questioned the local Native American tribes, asking for information on the locations of the Spaniards and the Spanish mines, offering gifts, and telling stories that portrayed the Spanish as cruel and the French as benevolent. When the group returned, they were unable to find the Belle where they had left her and were forced to walk back to the fort.

The following month they traveled east, hoping to locate the Mississippi and return to Canada. During their travels, the group encountered the Caddo, who gave the Frenchmen a map depicting their territory, that of their neighbors, and the location of the Mississippi River. The Caddo often made friendship pacts with neighboring peoples and extended their policy of peaceful negotiation to the French. While visiting the Caddo, the French met Jumano traders, who reported on the activities of the Spanish in New Mexico. These traders later informed Spanish officials of the Frenchmen they had seen.


René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was killed in Texas while trying to reach New France.

Four of the men deserted when they reached the Neches River. La Salle and one of his nephews became very ill, forcing the group to halt for two months. While the men recovered, the group ran low on food and gunpowder. In August, the eight surviving members of the expedition returned to Fort Saint Louis, having never left East Texas.

While La Salle was gone, six of those who had remained on the Belle finally arrived at Fort Saint Louis. According to them, the new captain of the Belle was always drunk. Many of the sailors did not know how to sail, and they grounded the boat on Matagorda Peninsula. The survivors took a canoe to the fort, leaving the ship behind. The destruction of their last ship left the settlers stranded on the Texas coast, with no hope of gaining assistance from the French colonies in the Caribbean Sea.

By early January 1687, fewer than 45 of the original 180 people remained in the colony, which was beset by internal strife. La Salle believed that their only hope of survival lay in trekking overland to request assistance from New France, and some time that month he led a final expedition to try to reach the Illinois Country. Fewer than 20 people remained at Fort Saint Louis, primarily women, children, and those deemed unfit, as well as seven soldiers and three missionaries with whom La Salle was unhappy. Seventeen men were included on the expedition, including La Salle, his brother, and two of his nephews. While camping near present-day Navasota on March 18, several of the men quarreled over the division of buffalo meat. That night, an expedition member killed one of La Salle's nephews and two other men in their sleep. The following day La Salle was killed while approaching the camp to investigate his nephew's disappearance. Infighting led to the deaths of two other expedition members within a short time. Two of the surviving members, including Jean L'Archeveque, joined the Caddo. The remaining six men, led by Henri Joutel, made their way to Illinois Country. During their journey through Illinois to Canada, the men did not tell anyone that La Salle was dead. They reached France in the summer of 1688 and informed King Louis of La Salle's death and the horrible conditions in the colony. Louis did not send aid.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_colonization_of_Texas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/René-Robert_Cavelier,_Sieur_de_La_Salle
https://texasbeyondhistory.net/stlouis/index.html

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 February 1745 - HMS Chester (1743 - 50), Cptn. Francis Geary, and HMS Sutherland (1741 - 50) captured privateer Elephant (1740 – 16).


HMS Chester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford to the dimensions laid down in the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 18 February 1743.



Chester was sold out of the navy in 1767.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for rebuilding Falkland (1744), a 1741 Establishment 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker. The plan was later used for Portland (1744), and Harwich (1743), Colchester (1744), Chester (1744), Winchester (1744),Gloucester (1745), Maidstone (1744), Advice (1746), Norwich (1745), Ruby (1745), Salisbury (1746). The body plan and longitudinal half-breadth was later altered for Litchfield (1746) and Colchester (1746).


HMS Sutherland was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Rotherhithe according to the dimensions laid out in the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 15 October 1741.


HMS Sutherland sailed by John Rous during the Siege of Louisbourg (1758)



Sutherland was sold out of the navy in 1770.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Hampshire' (1741), 'Sutherland' (1741), 'Leopard' (1741), and 'Nonsuch' (1741), all 1733 Establishment 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-deckers.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Chester_(1743)
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Chester_(1743
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sutherland_(1741)
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Sutherland_(1741
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=15784

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 February 1815 - USS Constitution (44), Cptn. Charles Stewart, captures HMS Cyane (22), Cptn. Gordon Falcon, and sloop-of-war HMS Levant (20), Hon. George Douglas, east of Madeira.


The capture of HMS Cyane and HMS Levant was an action which took place at the end of the Anglo-American War of 1812. The British warships HMS Cyane and HMS Levant fought USS Constitution on 20 February 1815 about 100 miles east of Madeira. Following exchanges of broadsides and musket fire, both Cyane and Levant surrendered. The war had actually finished a few days before the action with the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent by both sides, but the combatants were not aware of this.


USS Constitution captures HMS Cyane and HMS Levant

Constitution and the two prizes anchored in Porto Praya in the Cape Verde islands. Levant failed to escape when a British squadron appeared, and was recaptured



Prelude
The American frigate Constitution, commanded by Captain Charles Stewart, had broken out of Boston late in 1814 in a westerly gale which blew the British blockading squadron under Captain Sir George Collier off station. Stewart then embarked on a commerce-raiding cruise which took Constitution to Bermuda, Madeira, the coast of Portugal and finally back towards Madeira.

At 1:00 pm on 20 February 1815, two ships were sighted to the south, and Stewart set all sail in chase, in an easterly wind. The two ships were the sixth-rate Banterer-class post ship HMS Cyane (sometimes referred to as a "corvette"), commanded by Captain Gordon Thomas Falcon, and the Cyrus class ship-sloop (also a sixth-rate) HMS Levant, commanded by Captain the Honourable George Douglass. Cyane was armed with 22 32-pounder carronades, 10 18-pounder carronades, and two 12-pounder long guns, the slightly lighter Levant had 18 32-pounder carronades, 2 6-pounder long guns, and a shifting 12-pounder. The crews of the two British vessels totaled 310.

Constitution carried a main battery of 30 24-pounder long guns, and 20 or 22 32-pounder carronades and two long bow-chasers[6]Having earlier detached 20 men to a prize, she had a crew of 410 officers and seamen and 41 Marines.

Comparison of force (English measurement methods used for the three ships)


Action
The two British ships were at first widely separated. Cyane increased sail to close on the Levant and by 5:30 pm, the two British ships were within hail of each other. The two captains resolved to fight rather than split up and try to escape. They at first tried to delay battle until after nightfall, but Constitution was approaching too rapidly and they formed on the starboard tack in line ahead, with Levant a cable's length ahead of Cyane. The combined broadsides of the two British ships were slightly heavier than Constitution's, but were fired almost exclusively from short-range carronades, and at the range at which the action commenced, 250 yards (230 m), the effect of Constitution's main deck battery of 24-pounder long guns was decisive against the lighter structure and short range armament of the British vessels.

At 6:10 pm, the action began, with Constitution to windward, Levant on her port bow and Cyane on her port quarter. After broadsides had been exchanged for quarter of an hour, the cloud of smoke from the firing which gathered under Constitution's lee hid the British ships from view. Stewart ordered his crew to cease fire, and the smoke cleared in time to allow the Americans to see Cyane attempting to cross their stern and rake Constitution. Stewart ordered the sails to be thrown aback, and Constitution instead raked Cyane. As Levant tried to cross Constitution's bows, Stewart ordered the sails to be filled again, and raked Levant from astern.[9] As Levant drifted downwind with battered rigging, Constitution turned again to engage Cyane. At 6:50, Cyane struck her colours.

Lieutenant Hoffman, the second lieutenant of Constitution, took command of Cyane. At 8:00 pm, Stewart set off to pursue Levant, and at 8:50 discovered the British vessel beating back upwind to re-enter the fight, unaware that Cyane had surrendered. The two vessels exchanged broadsides on opposite tacks. Captain Douglass then attempted to escape upwind but at 9:30, Levant was overtaken and also forced to surrender.

Although it was acknowledged that the crews of both British ships had fought determinedly and skilfully, Stewart's ship-handling had been faultless.

Casualties
The Americans lost 6 men killed and 9 wounded. Aboard Cyane, 12 men were killed and 26 wounded, some of whom later died of their injuries. Aboard Levant, 7 men were killed and 16 wounded.

It was stated by the British officers, at the court-martial, that the crews of the two ships [Cyane and Levant, which had been captured at the same time] were , for three weeks kept constantly in the Constitution's hold, with both hands and legs in irons, and there allowed but three pints of water during twenty-four hours. This too in a tropical climate! It was further proved that, after the expiration of three weeks, upon the application of Captain Douglas, one third of the men were allowed to be on deck, four hours out of twenty-four, but had not the means of walking, being still in leg irons; that on mustering the crews when they landed at Maranham, five of the Levant's boys were missing; that, upon application and search for them, two were found locked up in the American Captain of marine's cabin

Recapture of Levant
Constitution and the two prizes made for Porto Praya in the Cape Verde islands, which were neutral Portuguese territory. They reached there on 10 March. While repairs were being made to all three ships and Stewart was preparing to send off the prisoners in a neutral cartel, a large ship was sighted making for the anchorage. Stewart was preparing to engage when two more heavy ships were sighted, clearly too powerful a force for Constitution to face. Stewart believed that the Portuguese would be unable to enforce their neutrality and his three ships hastily left the harbour.

The approaching ships were Collier's squadron, which had recrossed the Atlantic once Collier had discovered that Constitution had escaped from Boston. They were Collier's own ship HMS Leander (50 guns), HMS Newcastle (50 guns), and HMS Acasta (40 guns). (Leander and Newcastle had been constructed in 1813 with 24-pounder main deck broadsides specifically to match the large American frigates.)

As the British pursued, Constitution was forced to cut away the boats which the frigate had been towing. Cyane dropped back and Stewart ordered her to tack. She did so, and escaped, being ignored by Collier's frigates. Levant, commanded by Lieutenant Ballard, first lieutenant of Constitution, also fell back, and turned back for Porto Praya. All three British frigates pursued her into the harbour and opened fire, while the British prisoners from Cyane and Levant seized a Portuguese shore battery and also opened fire on Levant. Although the cannonade was ineffectual, the odds were overwhelming and Ballard surrendered.

After calling at a Brazilian port, where Stewart released his remaining prisoners, Constitution reached Puerto Rico where Stewart learned that the war had ended some days before he had fought. Cyane reached New York without incident. The Portuguese later paid compensation to the United States for their failure to enforce their neutrality which allowed the recapture of Levant. Sir George Collier was accused of cowardice or incompetence for his failure to engage Constitution at Porto Praya, and took his own life in 1824.


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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 February 1815 - USS Constitution (44), Cptn. Charles Stewart, captures HMS Cyane (22), Cptn. Gordon Falcon, and sloop-of-war HMS Levant (20), Hon. George Douglas, east of Madeira.

The captured ships - HMS Cyane and HMS Levant


HMS Levant was a 20-gun Cyrus-class sixth rate of the Royal Navy built by William Courtney, of Chester. She was one of five British warships that USS Constitution captured or destroyed during the War of 1812. She was soon recaptured, and after 1817 was reclassified as a sloop of war. She was broken up in 1820.



Career
Levant was one of 16 ships of the Cyrus class that had the underwater lines of the French prize Bonne Citoyenne (though slightly reduced). Levant was launched in December 1813. Her first commander was Captain Alexander Jones who was replaced by George Douglas on 28 April 1814. Under Douglas, Levant travelled from England to Quebec and then to Gibraltar.

While escorting two British convoys together with HMS Cyane, a Banterer-class sixth rate vessel, the two warships were attacked by USS Constitution under Captain Charles Stewart on 20 February 1815. Although peace had already been declared Constitution had not received official information about the Treaty of Ghent. Cyane and Levant were able to fire heavier broadsides than Constitution but were still outgunned by range and gun power by the American vessel. With excellent seamanship Constitution outmanoeuvred both ships and forced Cyane to surrender first. After placing a prize crew on board Cyane, Stewart chased Levant down. The sloop surrendered after two broadsides fired by the American vessel and was also taken a prize. With the help of the British prisoners all three ships set course for the Cape Verde Islands.

A British squadron under Commodore George Collier eventually sighted Constitution in heavy weather off Porto Praya on 11 March 1815. She was proceeding with her two prizes. Due to the weather and some confusion, Constitution eluded the British.

Fire from HMS Leander led Levant's crew to run her ashore, where HMS Acasta then captured her. Collier eventually left Acasta and HMS Newcastle windward of Barbados while he searched for Constitution. However, she had returned to port, thus avoiding an engagement.

Because Portugal was unable to maintain its neutrality on its (former) soil the Portuguese government compensated the United States for the loss of Levant.

Captain John Sheridan commanded Levant from June 1815 until she was laid up in Chatham in November that year.

Fate
Levant was intended to be repaired and returned to service in August 1820, but this was not carried out and she was broken up by 9 October 1820. Her captured ensign was on display at Mahan Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy, but was removed on 27 February 2018 for preservation.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Levant (1813), Cyrus (1813), Medina (1813), Carron (1813), Cyrene (1814), Falmouth (1814), Hind (1814), Slaney (1813), Lee (1814), Spey (1814), Esk (1813), Leven (1813), Erne (1813), Larne (1814), Tay (1813), and Bann (1814), all 20-gun Sixth Rates, later re-classed as Sloops. The plan includes a note relating to alterations to the rudder for Medina and Carron, dated April 1814. A later annotation dated 1818 refers to fitting Leven with a quarterdeck and forecastle.

The Cyrus-class sixth rates of the Royal Navy were a series of sixteen-flush decked sloops of war built to an 1812 design by Sir William Rule, the Surveyor of the Navy. The first nine ships of the class were launched in 1813 and the remaining seven in 1814. The vessels of the class served at the end of the Napoleonic War. They were built on the lines of HMS Hermes, which was based in turn on the French ship Bonne Citoyenne.

The Cyrus class was intended to be the counter to the new Frolic class ship-rigged sloops that were under construction for the United States Navy. No encounter took place between any vessel of the Frolic class and one of the Cyrus class, but HMS Levant was captured by the older American frigate USS Constitution.

With the re-organisation of the rating system which took place in the Royal Navy effective from 1 January 1817, the Cyrus class flush-decked ships were re-classified as 20-gun sloops.

Cyrus class flush-decked 20-gun sixth rates 1813-14; the design was based on the HMS Myrmidon of the Hermes class above, so can be considered a development of that class. Since none of the class possessed a quarterdeck or forecastle, they were actually not post ships.

• HMS Cyrus 1813 - sold 1823.
• HMS Medina 1813 - sold 1832.
• HMS Levant 1813 - captured by USS Constitution 1815, but was recaptured shortly afterwards; broken up 1820
• HMS Esk 1813 - sold 1827.
• HMS Carron 1813 - wrecked near Puri, India 1820.
• HMS Tay 1813 - wrecked in the Gulf of Mexico 1816.
• HMS Slaney 1813 - 1830 hulked, broken up 1838.
• HMS Erne 1813 - lost 1819 lost.
• HMS Leven 1813 - hulked 1833, broken up 1848.
• HMS Falmouth 1814 - sold 1825.
• HMS Cyrene 1814 - sold 1828.
• HMS Bann 1814 - sold 1829.
• HMS Spey 1814 - sold 1822.
• HMS Lee 1814 - broken up 1822.
• HMS Hind 1814 - sold 1829.
• HMS Larne 1814 - sold 1820.

HMS Cyane was a Royal Navy Banterer-class sixth-rate post ship of nominally 22 guns, built in 1806 at Topsham, near Exeter, England. She was ordered in January 1805 as HMS Columbine but renamed Cyane on 6 December of that year. Cyane had a distinguished career in British service that included the award in 1847 of a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal to any still surviving crew members of either of two actions. On 20 February 1815, she and HMS Levant engaged the USS Constitution; outgunned, both had to surrender. She then served as USS Cyane, including a stint on anti-slavery duties, until she was broken up in 1836.



Commissioning and early service
Cyane was originally named Columbine, but was renamed on 6 December 1805. She initially mounted 22 long 9-pounders on her main deck and also eight 24-pounder carronades and two long 6-pounders on her quarter-deck and forecastle. Captain Thomas Staines commissioned her in March 1807. At his request the Navy Board exchanged her 9-pounders for 32-pounder carronades. The Board also increased her complement by twenty to 175 officers, men and boys. Staines also added two brass howitzers to her armament.

read about her long career in wikipedia......



The Banterer-class sailing sixth rates were a series of six 22-gun post ships built to an 1805 design by Sir William Rule, which served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War. The first four were launched in 1806 and the remaining two in 1807. One ship – the Banterer – was lost in 1808 and another – the Cyane – captured by the United States Navy in 1815; the remaining four were all deleted during 1816.

Banterer class 22 guns 1806-07; designed by William Rule.

• HMS Banterer 1807 - wrecked in the Saint Laurence Stream 1808
• HMS Crocodile 1806 - broken up 1816.
• HMS Daphne 1806 - sold 1816; became merchantman and last listed in 1824
• HMS Cossack 1806 - Broken up 1816.
• HMS Cyane 1806 - taken by USS Constitution 1815.
• HMS Porcupine 1807 - sold 1816; became mercantile Windsor Castle and was broken up at Mauritius in 1826

Constitution vs. Cyane



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Levant_(1813)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus-class_ship-sloop
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-325855;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=L
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Cyane_(1806)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banterer-class_post_ship

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 February 1844 – Birth of Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)


Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844 – on or shortly after November 14, 1909) was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian-born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he wrote a book about his journey; Sailing Alone Around the World, which became an international best-seller. He disappeared in November 1909 while aboard his boat, the Spray.



The Spray: First solo circumnavigation of the earth


The Spray - In Fairhaven, Massachusetts, he rebuilt the 36 ft 9 in (11.20 m) gaff rigged sloop oyster boat named Spray.



On April 24, 1895, he set sail from Boston, Massachusetts. In his famous book, Sailing Alone Around the World,[16] now considered a classic of travel literature, he described his departure in the following manner:

"I had resolved on a voyage around the world, and as the wind on the morning of April 24, 1895 was fair, at noon I weighed anchor, set sail, and filled away from Boston, where the Spray had been moored snugly all winter. The twelve o'clock whistles were blowing just as the sloop shot ahead under full sail. A short board was made up the harbor on the port tack, then coming about she stood to seaward, with her boom well off to port, and swung past the ferries with lively heels. A photographer on the outer pier of East Boston got a picture of her as she swept by, her flag at the peak throwing her folds clear. A thrilling pulse beat high in me. My step was light on deck in the crisp air. I felt there could be no turning back, and that I was engaging in an adventure the meaning of which I thoroughly understood."
After an extended visit to his boyhood home at Brier Island and visiting old haunts on the coast of Nova Scotia, Slocum departed North America at Sambro Island Lighthouse near Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 3, 1895.



Slocum intended to sail eastward around the world, using the Suez Canal, but when he got to Gibraltar he realized that sailing through the southern Mediterranean would be too dangerous for a lone sailor because of the piracy that still went on there at that time. So he decided to sail westward, in the southern hemisphere. He headed to Brazil, and then the Straits of Magellan. At that point he was unable to start across the Pacific for forty days because of a storm. Eventually he made his way to Australia, sailed north along the east coast, crossed the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and then headed back to North America.

Slocum navigated without a chronometer, instead relying on the traditional method of dead reckoning for longitude, which required only a cheap tin clock for approximate time, and noon-sun sights for latitude. On one long passage in the Pacific, Slocum also famously shot a lunar distance observation, decades after these observations had ceased to be commonly employed, which allowed him to check his longitude independently. However, Slocum's primary method for finding longitude was still dead reckoning; he recorded only one lunar observation during the entire circumnavigation.

Slocum normally sailed the Spray without touching the helm. Due to the length of the sail plan relative to the hull, and the long keel, the Spray was capable of self-steering (unlike faster modern craft), and he balanced it stably on any course relative to the wind by adjusting or reefing the sails and by lashing the helm fast. He sailed 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west across the Pacific without once touching the helm.

More than three years later, on June 27, 1898, he returned to Newport, Rhode Island, having circumnavigated the world, a distance of more than 46,000 miles (74,000 km). Slocum's return went almost unnoticed. The Spanish–American War, which had begun two months earlier, dominated the headlines. After the end of major hostilities, many American newspapers published articles describing Slocum's amazing adventure.

Sailing Alone Around the World

Original cover 1900.


Spray being hauled up the Erie Canal to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo 1901.

In 1899 he published his account of the epic voyage in Sailing Alone Around the World, first serialized in The Century Magazine and then in several book-length editions. Reviewers received the slightly anachronistic age-of-sail adventure story enthusiastically. Arthur Ransome went so far as to declare, "Boys who do not like this book ought to be drowned at once." In his review, Sir Edwin Arnold wrote, "I do not hesitate to call it the most extraordinary book ever published."

Slocum's book deal was an integral part of his journey: his publisher had provided Slocum with an extensive on-board library, and Slocum wrote several letters to his editor from distant points around the globe.

Slocum's Sailing Alone won him widespread fame in the English-speaking world. He was one of eight invited speakers at a dinner in honor of Mark Twain in December 1900. Slocum hauled the Spray up the Erie Canal to Buffalo, New York for the Pan-American Exposition in the summer of 1901, and he was well compensated for participating in the fair.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Slocum
http://www.slocumspraysociety.asn.au/

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 February 1857 - Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) (North German Lloyd), a German shipping company, was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen.
It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) (North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was instrumental in the economic development of Bremen and Bremerhaven. On 1 September 1970, the company merged with Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) to form Hapag-Lloyd AG.



Establishment of the NDL


1857 NDL prospectus announcing formation of the company and offering stock for sale

The German shipping company North German Lloyd (NDL) was founded by the Bremen merchants Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann on 20 February 1857, after the dissolution of the Ocean Steam Navigation Company, a joint German-American enterprise. The new shipping company had no association with the British maritime classification society Lloyd's Register; in the mid-19th century, "Lloyd" was used as a term for a shipping company (an earlier user of the term in the same context was the Trieste-based Österreichischer Lloyd).

H.H. Meier became NDL's first Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and Crüsemann became the first director of the company (German Aktiengesellschaft - AG). Crüsemann was in charge of both cargo services and passenger transport, which, as a result of emigration, was growing significantly. The company was also active in other areas, including tugboats, bathing, insurance, and ship repair (the last of which it still provides). The first office of the shipping company was located at number 13 Martinistraße in Bremen.

The company started with a route to England prior to starting a transatlantic service. In 1857, the first ship, the Adler (Eagle), began regular passenger service between the Weser region (where Bremen is located) and England. On 28 October 1857, it made its maiden voyage from Nordenham to London.

Just one year later, regular, scheduled services were started between the new port in Bremerhaven and New York using two 2,674 GRTsteamships, the Bremen and the New York. International economic crises made the start of the NDL extremely difficult, and the company took losses until 1859. However, during the succeeding years, passenger connections to Baltimore and New Orleans were added to the schedule, and the company first rented and then in 1869 bought facilities on the waterfront in Hoboken, New Jersey.

In 1867-1868, NDL began a partnership with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which initiated the Baltimore Line; until 1978, this had its own ships. In 1869, Crüsemann died at only 43 years old. From 1877 to 1892, the Director of NDL was Johann Georg Lohmann. He established a new policy for the company, emphasizing fast liners. Eventually, however, H.H. Meier and Lohmann fell out over the direction of the company. In 1892, a 5,481 GRT twin-screw steamer, the company's first, was christened the H.H. Meier after the founder;[9] this helped to heal the breach between them.

Foundation of the German Empire


Headquarters of North German Lloyd in Bremerhaven in 1870

During the Gründerzeit at the beginning of the German Empire, the NDL expanded greatly. Thirteen new ships of the "Strassburg class" were ordered. A route to the West Indies offered from 1871 to 1874 proved unprofitable, but was followed by a permanent line to the east coast of South America. On the transatlantic route, the HAPAG, the Holland-America Line, and the Red Star Line were now all fierce rivals. Beginning in 1881 with the Elbe, eleven fast steamships of from 4500 to 6,900 GRT of the so-called "Rivers class" (all named for German rivers), were introduced to serve the North Atlantic trade.

In 1885, the NDL won the commission to provide postal service between the German Empire and Australia and the Far East. The associated subsidy underwrote further expansion, beginning with the first large-scale order placed with a German shipyard, for three postal steamers for the major routes and three smaller steamers for branch service from AG Vulcan Stettin. It was in fact a requirement of the commission that the ships be built in Germany.

By 1890, with 66 ships of a total 251,602 GRT, NDL was the second largest shipping company in the world, after the British Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, with 48 ships of a total 251,603 GRT, and dominated shipping to Germany, with 31.6% of the traffic. NDL was also the carrying more transatlantic passengers to New York than any other company, due to its dominance in steerage, which consisted mostly of immigrants. In cabin class, it carried only slightly more passengers than the British Cunard Line and White Star Line. 42% of NDL's passenger traffic was to New York, and 15% to other US ports, but only 16.2% eastward-bound from New York. Its westbound South Atlantic service represented 17.3% of its passengers; eastbound from South America, only 1.7%.

In 1887, the NDL withdrew from the route to England in favor of Argo Reederei. However, it continued to provide tug services through participation beginning in 1899 in the Schleppschifffahrtsgesellschaft Unterweser (Unterweser Tug Association, now Unterweser Reederei).


Flagships of North German Lloyd in 1930 - Bremen and Europa, the biggest German liners


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norddeutscher_Lloyd
http://www.schiffe-maxim.de/NDL.htm

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 February 1897 – Launch of HMS Niobe, a ship of the Diadem class of protected cruisers in the Royal Navy
,

HMS Niobe was a ship of the Diadem class of protected cruisers in the Royal Navy. She served in the Boer War and was then given to Canada as the second ship of the newly created Naval Service of Canada as HMCS Niobe. The Naval Service of Canada became the Royal Canadian Navy in August 1911. The ship was nearly lost when she went aground off Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia overnight 30–31 July 1911. Repairs were completed at the end of 1912 and the ship returned to service in late 1914. During the First World War, Niobe patrolled the approaches to the St. Lawrence River and then joined the Royal Navy's 4th Cruiser Squadron to patrol off New York City. The cruiser returned to Halifax, Nova Scotia on 17 July 1915 and never put to sea again. Niobe was paid off in September and served as a depot ship in Halifax. Damaged in the 1917 Halifax , she was sold for scrap and broken up in the 1920s.



Design and description
The Diadem-class cruisers were reduced versions of the preceding Powerful class. The first four ships of the class, of which Niobewas one, displaced 11,000 long tons (11,000 t) and were 435 feet (133 m) long between perpendiculars and 462 feet 6 inches (140.97 m) overall. They had a beam of 69 feet (21 m) and a draught of 25 feet 6 inches (7.77 m). The first four cruisers of the class were propelled by two shafts powered by steam from 30 Belleville boilers driving a four-cylinder triple expansion engine that created 16,500 indicated horsepower (12,300 kW). This gave the ships a maximum speed 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph). The cruisers carried 1,900 long tons (1,900 t) of coal as fuel.

The Diadem-class were equipped with sixteen QF 6-inch (152 mm) guns. Four single-mounted guns with gun shields were placed on the forecastle and quarterdeck, while the remaining twelve were placed in casemates on either side of the ship. The foremost and aftermost guns on each side were mounted in two-story casemates, with the other eight in single-story casemates amidships.[2]The class was criticized for the lack of heavier armament. The cruisers were given fourteen single-mounted QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval guns and three single-mounted QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns.[a] The cruisers also mounted three 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes, one positioned above water in the stern and two submerged broadside.

The cruisers were given a 4–2 1⁄2-inch (102–64 mm) armoured deck and 2-inch (51 mm) armour for the ammunition hoists. The casemates and the 6-inch gun shields were given 4 1⁄2–2 inches (114–51 mm) armour and the conning tower, 12 inches (300 mm). The vessels had a complement of 677 in Royal Navy service.


Contemporary deck plan and port elevation of Diadem – class cruiser

Career
Niobe was ordered as part of the 1895/96 Estimates and was laid down by Vickers Limited at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on 16 December 1895.[1] The cruiser was launched on 20 February 1897, and commissioned on 6 December 1898.

She was part of the Channel Squadron at the outbreak of the Boer War (1899–1900), and was sent to Gibraltar to escort troop transports ferrying reinforcements to the Cape. On 4 December 1899, Niobe and HMS Doris rescued troops from SS Ismore, which had run aground. Niobe saw further action in the Boer War, escorting troops to Cape Town, and the Queen's South Africa Medalwas subsequently awarded to the crew. She returned to the English Channel, but later escorted vessels as far as Colombo in Ceylon.

In March 1901 Niobe was one of two cruisers to escort HMS Ophir, commissioned as royal yacht for the world tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King Georgeand Queen Mary), from Spithead to Gibraltar, and in September the same year she again escorted the royal yacht from St. Vincent to Halifax, Nova Scotia. She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII,[6] and the following month visited Souda Bay, Crete for combined monoeuvres with other ships of the Channel and Mediterranean stations. After a brief visit to Gibraltar in early October, she returned to Portsmouth to pay off at Devonport. From 1905 to 1909, Niobe was the flagshipof the Rear-Admiral Reserve Squadron and was refitted in 1908. In April 1909, the cruiser was recommissioned into the 4th Division of the Home Fleet at Devonport and was paid off in September 1910.

Royal Canadian Navy
After a series of negotiations between Canada and the Admiralty over the composition of the newly formed Canadian Navy, the Canadians traded their desire for destroyers, of which none were available, for Niobe, which was to form the nucleus of the east coast fleet. The purchase was arranged in January 1910, and to make room for the cost of Niobe, £215,000, a flotilla leader was dropped from the list of requests. Niobe and HMS Rainbow were provided to the Dominion of Canada to seed the new Canadian navy. Payment for Niobe was deferred until after the vote on the naval service in the Canadian House of Commons. The Naval Services Act was opposed by the Conservative Party of Canada, then in the role of Official Opposition, pushing instead for Canada to make direct payments to support the Royal Navy. The governing Liberal Party of Canada held the majority of the seats in the Parliament however, and pushed ahead with the initiative to create a Canadian navy. Once terms of purchase were settled, the newly renamed HMCS (His Majesty's Canadian Ship) Niobe was transferred to Canada on 6 September 1910, commissioning at Devonport Dockyard. Before departing Great Britain, Niobe and Rainbow were altered in order to meet the requirement as training vessels for the nascent Canadian navy. This required the installation of new heating systems, an up-to-date galley and the latest in Marconi wireless.


Niobe in drydock at Halifax

Niobe reached Halifax, Nova Scotia on 21 October that year, her entry into the harbour timed to coincide with Trafalgar Day. Formal transfer of the ship only took place on 12 November 1910, once she had been paid for. After commissioning, the status of the new Canadian vessels and their ability to operate independently of the Royal Navy arose and prevented the ships from leaving coastal waters until the matter was settled. This initially limited Niobe to training duties in Halifax and prevented her from making a tour of the Caribbean Sea.

After departing on a training cruise, Niobe ran aground in fog off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, on the night of 30–31 July 1911. Damage control saved the ship. The repairs took six months, completing in January 1912, and she had a permanently reduced maximum speed as a result. The resulting court martial found that the navigating officer, Charles White, who had not been on the bridge, should have been present during the navigation of the area due to its difficulty, and also found that captain, W.B. MacDonald, negligent for not ensuring his officers were performing their duties properly.

Having been laid up after repair pending the arrival of the new government, Niobe's condition gradually deteriorated. She was effectively rotting at her berth in 1913. However, with the outbreak of the First World War, she was ordered to be brought up to an acceptable state of readiness for combat purposes.[20] This was difficult as her crew had been sent west when she was laid up. In order to fill out its crew, the sloops Shearwater and Algerine, which had passed into Canadian control, were paid off at Esquimalt, British Columbia and their crews sent east. In September 1914, to complete her complement, Niobe travelled to the Dominion of Newfoundland to pick up a contingent of 107 sailors from the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve.

After returning to operational status, Niobe was sent with HMS Lancaster to patrol the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Following that from 11–13 September 1914, she escorted The Royal Canadian Regiment, aboard the transport Canada, to Bermuda, where they took up garrison duties. On her return journey the cruiser developed defects and required a week to repair. Those defects prevented the ship from escorting the large troop convoy carrying Canadian soldiers in October.

On 6 October 1914, Niobe joined the Royal Navy's 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station. She was engaged in intercepting German ships along the American coast until July 1915. During this period she chased the German raider SS Prinz Eitel Friedrich into Newport , Virginia. After refueling, the raider's captain opted for his vessel to be interned by the Americans instead of fighting the Niobe. As the patrol work continued Niobe began to wear out. Her final patrol was 4–17 July 1915, after which the cruiser returned to Halifax. Her funnels were found to be rapidly deteriorating, her boilers were worn and her bulkheads were in poor shape. As a result of being worn out, Niobe was paid off on 6 September 1915 to become a depot ship in Halifax.


The mascot of HMCS Niobe

While Niobe's operational life was coming to an end, Vice-Admiral Kingsmill attempted to swap her back to the Royal Navy for a newer cruiser. However, the British only offered HMS Sutlej, a cruiser in a similar state of repair, and therefore nothing came of the exchange.

On 6 December 1917, the ammunition ship SS Mont-Blanc was rammed by another vessel. The ramming caused Mont-Blanc to catch fire. Laden with tons of explosives, the ship was abandoned by her crew and left to drift through the harbour. Niobe was laid up in harbour at the time and the alarm was raised aboard the ship once the danger was known. Warrant Officer Albert Mattison and six men sailed to Mont-Blanc in Niobe's pinnace and boarded the ammunition ship in an effort to scuttle her. However, while the group was boarding, Mont-Blanc exploded, killing the seven men instantly. The explosion caused serious damage to Niobe's upper works, and the deaths of several of her crew. It also caused her to be dragged from her moorings, despite the use of a concrete embedded anchor. Once re-secured, additional anchors were put in place. She remained in use as a depot ship until disposed of in 1920, and sold for scrap. She was broken up in 1922 in Philadelphia.

Legacy
As the first large ship in the Royal Canadian Navy, Niobe's name has considerable symbolic importance in the Canadian navy, being used among other things as the title of a series of scholarly papers. Models and collections of artifacts of Niobe can be found at several Canadian museums including the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and the Naval Museum of Halifax in Halifax. The latter devotes a room to Niobe which includes her original ship's bell. There is also a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps located in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia that carries her name as RCSCC 62 NIOBE.

On 14 October 2014, an anchor believed to have belonged to Niobe was unearthed at HMC Dockyard in Halifax. The particular anchor, and the location it was discovered, is consistent with being from Niobe. The anchor is believed to be one of her three bow anchors used to secure her in her new position following the Halifax .

On 17 October 2014, Canada announced that 21 October will be recognized annually as "Niobe Day" to commemorate the ship's arrival in Halifax in 1910.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Niobe_(1897)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diadem-class_cruiser