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

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 January 1870 - screw sloop of war USS Oneida sunk after a collision with british steamer Bombay


The second USS Oneida was a screw sloop-of-war in the United States Navy. During the Civil War, she destroyed the CSS Governor Moore and served in blockade operations. She was attached to the Asiatic Squadron from 1867–1870. She sank in 1870 outside Yokohama, Japan after collision with the British steamer Bombay. The Court of Inquiry found the officers of Oneida were responsible for the collision. Bombay's captain was blamed for not staying at the scene to render assistance - a decision that caused some controversy. Japanese fishing boats saved 61 sailors but 125 men lost their lives. The American government made no attempt to raise the wreck and sold it to a Japanese wrecking company. The company recovered many bones from the wreck and interred them at their own expense. The Japanese erected a memorial tablet on the grounds of Ikegami Temple in Tokyo and held a Buddhist ceremony in the sailor's memory in May 1889.


The sinking of USS Oneida off Yokohama, Japan, 24 January 1870.
A sketch for "Frank Leslie's Illustrated paper", 19 March 1870, by a survivor of the sinking of USS Oneida off the port of Yokohama, Japan, Sunday, 23 January 1870.

Construction
Oneida was authorized by Act of Congress, February 1861, and built at the New York Navy Yard; launched 20 November 1861; and commissioned 28 February 1862, Captain Samuel Phillips Lee in command.



Service history
Civil War, 1862–1865
Shortly after commissioning Oneida sailed from New York and joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron commanded by Flag officer David Farragut. On 24 April 1862 she participated in the attacks on Forts Jackson and St. Philip below New Orleans, Louisiana, and drove off the Confederate ram which sank the steam gunboat USS Varuna. Oneida destroyed the gunboat CSS Governor Moore in a following engagement on the same date.

On 27 April 1862 Oneida destroyed obstructions in the Mississippi River above Carrollton, Mississippi, helping prepare the way for the Vicksburg campaign. In both passages of the Confederate works at Vicksburg, Mississippi – on 28 June 1862 and 15 July 1862 – by the Union fleet under Rear Admiral Farragut, Oneida was second in line.

On 7 August 1862, under the command of Commander George H. Preble, Oneida collided with the steamer Whiteman or Lewis Whitman (sources differ) loaded with dead and wounded troops from the Battle of Baton Rouge, including the body of Brigadier General Thomas Williams, on the Mississippi River near Donaldsonville, Louisiana; the steamer sank with the loss of all hands. Early in September 1862, Oneida failed in an attempt to stop the passage of the Confederate States Navy sloop-of-war CSS Florida into Mobile, Alabama.



From 15 October 1863 to 23 August 1864, under the command of Captain C. V. Gridley, Oneida served in blockade operations off Mobile, where on 5 August she participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent capture of CSS Tennessee. At a later date she witnessed the surrender of Fort Morgan at Mobile. Oneida decommissioned pn 11 August 1865 at New York City.

Seven sailors and one Marine from Oneida were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

In late June 1865, shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War, the sternwheel paddle steamer Echo No. 2 struck Oneida′s prow and sank in the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois, while carrying 300 soldiers of the 13th and 41st Ohio Veteran Volunteer Regiments. The regiments lost rations and a combined 10 horses and 13 mules in the sinking. The soldiers blamed the pilot guiding Echo No. 2 for the accident and beat him.

Asiatic Squadron, 1867–1870


Gravestone to the dead of the U.S.S. Oneida on the grounds of Ikegami Temple in Tokyo. There was once metal lettering on the stone, but they were apparently pried off and melted for the war effort during World War II.

Recommissioned in May 1867, she was attached to the Asiatic Squadron and continued in that capacity until January 1870.

Oneida departed from Yokohama, Japan on 24 January 1870, on passage back to the United States. Some 12 miles into this voyage, she was struck by the British Peninsula & Oriental steamer Bombay, at 6:30 pm near Saratoga Spit. The Court of Inquiry unanimously held that the officers of Oneida were entirely to blame for the collision. The Oneida was under the command of an inexperienced junior officer whilst the senior officers were at dinner. On seeing a light ahead, this young officer had sought the advice of a navigating officer who briefly came on deck and then returned to dinner. Confusing helm orders were given on Oneida, with the result that Bombay's efforts to avoid collision were in vain and she struck Oneida at an angle of 45 degrees, abaft the mizzen chains. The starboard quarter was cut off Oneida and she sank at 6:45 pm in 20 fathoms (37 m) of water with the loss of 125 men, 61 sailors being saved in two Japanese fishing boats.

There is controversy over the subsequent actions of Captain Eyre of the Bombay. He was accused of steaming on without rendering assistance. He had his certificate suspended for 6 months by the Court of Inquiry and the ship itself was libeled, meaning that steamer and other ships of the P.& O. Line kept away from American ports. The findings of the Inquiry were debated in the House of Commons, with speakers making clear that Bombay remained at the position of the collision for, by varying reports, between 5 or 6 minutes and 10 or 12 minutes, whilst Oneida carried on under full sail and steam, with a full tide under her. No indication of distress from Oneida were seen or heard on Bombay (Oneida's crew admitted they did not show any blue lights), it would have been time-consuming to turn the ship in a narrow channel, making the provision of any useful help impossible, and the position of Oneida was not clear as she was not showing any lights. Furthermore, there was damage to Bombay, with 9 feet of water in the forward compartment, the ship was 18 years old and carrying a number of passengers.

The wreck of the Oneida was sold at public auction at Yokohama 9 October 1872, to Mr. Tatchobonaiya. Inside the wreckage were found many of the bones of the dead sailors, which were interred, at the expense of the salvagers, on the grounds of Ikegami Temple in Tokyo. In Jinrikisha Days in Japan (1891), Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore tells the story, writing:

...[the American] government made no effort to raise the wreck or search it, and finally sold it to a Japanese wrecking company for fifteen hundred dollars. The wreckers found many bones of the lost men among the ship's timbers, and when the work was entirely completed, with their voluntary contributions they erected a tablet in the Ikegami grounds to the memory of the dead, and celebrated there the impressive Buddhist segaki (feast of hungry souls), in May 1889. The great temple was in ceremonial array; seventy-five priests in their richest robes assisted at the mass, and among the congregation were the American admiral and his officers, one hundred men from the fleet, and one survivor of the solitary boat's crew that escaped from the Oneida.The Scriptures were read, a service was chanted, the Sutra repeated, incense burned, the symbolic lotus-leaves cast before the altar, and after an address in English by Mr. Amenomori explaining the segaki, the procession of priests walked to the tablet in the grounds to chant prayers and burn incense again.


A sketch of the sinking of USS Oneida off the port of Yokohama, Japan, Sunday, 23 January 1870.

Current status
According to records regarding the Oneida, she was leaving port carrying payment for sales of ammunition and gunpowder to the Japanese government. Around 1955, Takeshita Hisao led an effort to salvage the loaded payment, as well as other artifacts from the Oneida wreck. Artifacts including coins, ammunition shells, rifles, and further bones from deceased sailors and passengers were found. The recovered steam gauge was later donated to the United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka. In 2010, a special aired 9 November on Fuji Television made a further effort at salvage with the help of Takeshita's family and one of the divers from the 1955 effort. The show's salvage team located a shipwreck that matched descriptions of the Oneida, and efforts continue to discover more about the wreckage and remaining contents.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oneida_(1861)
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/86/86115.htm

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 January 1915 – World War I: Battle of Dogger Bank
British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers


The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval engagement on 24 January 1915, near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet.

The British had intercepted and decoded German wireless transmissions, gaining advance knowledge that a German raiding squadron was heading for Dogger Bank and ships of the Grand Fleet sailed to intercept the raiders. The British surprised the smaller and slower German squadron, which fled for home. During a stern chase lasting several hours, the British caught up with the Germans and engaged them with long-range gunfire. The British disabled Blücher, the rearmost German ship, and the Germans put the British flagship HMS Lion out of action. Due to inadequate signalling, the remaining British ships stopped the pursuit to sink Blücher; by the time the ship had been sunk, the rest of the German squadron had escaped. The German squadron returned to harbour, with some ships in need of extensive repairs.

Lion made it back to port but was out of action for several months. The British had lost no ships and suffered few casualties; the Germans had lost Blücher and most of its crew, so the action was considered a British victory. Both navies replaced commanders who were thought to have shown poor judgement and made changes to equipment and procedures, to remedy failings observed during the battle.


Prelude
German plan
Hipper suspected that the British had received advanced warning about earlier operations of the HSF from spy ships mingling with British and Dutch fishing boats, operating near the German Bight and the Dogger Bank, to observe German fleet movements. Hipper considered that with the Dogger Bank mid-way on the short route to the English coast, a signal from a trawler could reach the British in time for the British battlecruisers to intercept a German sortie, certainly on the return journey. Hipper ordered German ships vigorously to enforce search and seizure rules, bringing fishing boats into Cuxhaven to be searched. Buoyed by the success of the raid on the English coast, Admiral Hipper planned an attack for next month on the British fishing fleet on the Dogger Bank. The German fleet had increased in size since the outbreak of war, with the arrival in service of the König-class dreadnought battleships SMS König, Grosser Kurfürst, Markgraf and Kronprinz of the 3rd Battle Squadron and the Derfflinger-class battlecruiser Derfflinger.

Hipper intended to clear the bank of British fishing vessels and dubious neutrals and to attack any small British warships in the area, with the HSF covering the withdrawal of the battlecruisers. The limited nature of the operation conformed to the ban by the Kaiser on operations by the High Seas Fleet, that had been reiterated on 10 January. A slightly more aggressive strategy was permitted, within the policy of keeping the HSF in being, in which the fleet could sortie to attempt to isolate and destroy advanced British forces or to attack the Grand Fleet if in greater strength. On 19 January, Beatty had reconnoitred the area west of the German Bight and been seen by a German aircraft. The reconnaissance and British activity at the Dogger Bank led Ingenohl to order Hipper and the I Scouting Group to survey the area and surprise and destroy any light forces found there. The I Scouting Group contained the battlecruisers Seydlitz (flagship), Moltke, Derfflingerand Blucher, four light cruisers and eighteen destroyers.

British plan
Transmissions from German ships in the Jade River on 23 January 1915, intercepted and decoded by Room 40, alerted the British to a German sortie in force as far as the Dogger Bank. At the Admiralty, Wilson, Oliver and Churchill arranged a plan to confront the Germans with a superior opponent. A rendezvous was set for 24 January at 07:00 am, 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) north of the Dogger Bank and about 180 nmi (330 km; 210 mi) west of Heligoland. The battlecruisers were organised in the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron (Beatty) with the Lion (flagship), Tiger and Princess Royal. The new 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron (Rear-Admiral Sir Archibald Moore, deputy to Beatty) had the New Zealand as flagship and Indomitable. Harwich Force (Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt) sailed from Harwich with three light cruisers and 35 destroyers, to rendezvous with the battlecruisers at 07:00 on 24 January. To cover the East Coast and act as distant support, the 3rd Cruiser Squadron and the seven pre-dreadnoughts of the 3rd Battle Squadron (Admiral Edward Eden Bradford) sailed from Rosyth for an area in the North Sea, from which they could cut off the German force if it moved north. The Grand Fleet left Scapa at 21:00 on 23 January, to sweep the southern North Sea but could not be expected to arrive on the scene until the afternoon of 24 January. Soon after the German force sailed, the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron (Commodore William Goodenough) and the battlecruisers departed Rosyth, heading south; at 07:05 on 24 January, a clear day with good visibility, they encountered German screening vessels at the Dogger Bank.

Orders of battle
Main article: Order of battle at Dogger Bank (1915)
Royal Navy

• 1st Battlecruiser Squadron: HMS Lion, Tiger and Princess Royal
• 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron: HMS New Zealand and Indomitable
• 1st Light Cruiser Squadron: HMS Southampton, Birmingham, Lowestoft and Nottingham
• Harwich Force: three light cruisers (HMS Aurora, Arethusa, Undaunted) and 35 destroyers

Imperial German Navy

• 1st Scouting Group: SMS Seydlitz, Moltke, Derfflinger and Blücher
• 2nd Scouting Group: SMS Kolberg, Stralsund, Rostock, and Graudenz
• Two flotillas of 18 torpedo boats combined

Battle
24 January


Positions in the battle

Sighting the smoke from a large approaching force, Hipper headed south-east by 07:35 to escape but the battlecruisers were faster than the German squadron, which was held back by the slower armoured cruiser Blücher and the coal-fuelled torpedo boats. By 08:00, the German battlecruisers had been sighted from Lion but the older battlecruisers of the British 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron were lagging behind the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. Chasing the Germans from a position astern and to starboard, the British ships gradually caught up—some reaching a speed of 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)—and closed to gun range. Beatty chose to approach from this direction so that the prevailing wind blew the British ships' smoke clear, allowing them a good view of the German ships, while German gunners were partially blinded by their funnel and gun smoke blowing towards the British ships. Lion opened fire at 08:52, at a range of 20,000 yd (11 mi; 18 km) and the other British ships commenced firing as they came within range, while the Germans were unable to reply until 09:11, because of the shorter range of their guns. No warships had engaged at such long ranges or at such high speeds before and accurate gunnery for both sides was an unprecedented challenge but after a few salvos, British shells straddled Blücher.

The British fire was concentrated on the battlecruiser Seydlitz, at the head of the line and Blücher at the rear. With five British ships against four German, Beatty intended that his two rear ships, New Zealand and Indomitable, should engage Blücher, while his leading three engaged their opposite numbers. Captain H. B. Pelly of the newly commissioned battlecruiser Tiger assumed that two ships should concentrate on the leading German ship and engaged Seydlitz, leaving Moltke free to fire at Lion. Tiger's fire was ineffective, as she mistook the shell splashes from Lion for her own, when the fall of shot was 3,000 yd (1.7 mi; 2.7 km) beyond Seydlitz. At 09:43, Seydlitz was hit by a 13.5 in (340 mm) shell from Lion, which penetrated her after turret barbette and caused an ammunition fire in the working chamber. This fire spread rapidly through other compartments, igniting ready propellant charges all the way to the magazines and knocked out both rear turrets with the loss of 165 men. Only the prompt action of the executive officer in flooding the magazines saved Seydlitz from a magazine explosion that would have destroyed the ship.


German battlecruisers (L–R) Derfflinger, Moltke and Seydlitz en route to Dogger Bank.

The British ships were relatively unscathed until 10:18, when Derfflinger hit Lion with several 30.5 cm (12.0 in) shells, damaging her engines and causing flooding; Lion lost speed and began to fall behind. At 10:41, Lion narrowly escaped a disaster similar to that on Seydlitz, when a German shell hit the forward turret and ignited a small ammunition fire but it was extinguished before causing a magazine explosion. A few minutes later, taking on water and listing to port, Lion had to stop her port engine and reduce speed to 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) and was soon out of action, having been hit 14 times. At 10:30, Blücher was hit by a shell from Princess Royal, which caused an ammunition fire and boiler room damage. Blücher had to reduce speed to 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) and fell further and further behind the rest of the German force. Beatty ordered Indomitable—his slowest ship—to intercept Blücher.


Painting of SMS V5 engaging HMS Lion

Hipper, with his ships running short on ammunition, chose to steam for home, leaving the disabled Blücher behind, to save his remaining ships. The annihilation of the German squadron appeared likely to the British until 10:54, when Beatty—believing he saw a submarine periscope on Lion′s starboard bow—ordered a 90° turn to port, to avoid a submarine ambush (The "periscope" may have been a surfacing, run-out torpedo which had been launched 15 minutes earlier by the German destroyer V5). At 11:02, realising that so sharp a turn would open the range too much, Beatty ordered "Course NE" to limit the turn to 45° and then added "Engage the enemy's rear", to clarify his intent that the other ships, which had now left Lion far behind, should pursue the main German force. With Lion′s electric generators out of action, Beatty could only signal using flag hoists and both signals were flown at the same time.

The combination of the signal "Course NE"—which happened to be the direction of Blücher—and the signal to engage the rear was misunderstood by Beatty's second-in-command, Rear-Admiral Gordon Moore on New Zealand, as an order for all the battlecruisers to finish off Blücher. The British battlecruisers broke off the pursuit of the German squadron and attacked Blücher, with most of the British light cruisers and destroyers joining in. Beatty tried to correct this obvious misunderstanding by using the order from Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar "Engage the enemy more closely" but this order was not in the signal book and Beatty chose "Keep nearer to the enemy" as the closest equivalent. By the time this signal was hoisted, Moore's ships were too far away to read Beatty's flags and the correction was not received.


The sinking SMS Blücher rolls over onto her side

Despite the overwhelming odds, Blücher put the British destroyer HMS Meteor out of action and scored two hits on the British battlecruisers with its 21 cm (8.3 in) guns. Blücher was hit by about 70 shellsand wrecked. When struck by two torpedoes from the light cruiser Arethusa, Blücher capsized at 54 25' N. Lat., 5 25' E. Long and sank at 13:13, with the loss of 792 crew. British ships began to rescue survivors but were interrupted by the arrival of the Zeppelin L-5 (LZ-28) and by a German seaplane, which attacked with small bombs. No damage was done but the British ships put on speed and withdrew to avoid further aerial attack, leaving some of the survivors behind. By this time, the rest of the German ships were too far away for the British to catch up.

Lion made 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) at the beginning of the 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) return voyage, escorted by Indomitable. Beatty contemplated leaving a flotilla of destroyers to guard Lion and sending the rest to the German Bight, to make a night attack on the German ships but the damage to Lion caused more problems. As it crept home, the ship suffered further engine-trouble from salt water contamination in the boiler-feed-water system and its speed dropped to 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). Lion was taken in tow by Indomitable, an operation which took two hours, in which the battlecruisers were exceedingly vulnerable to submarine attacks. At 17:00, the voyage resumed, the ships eventually managing 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) and when the Grand Fleet arrived, Jellicoe increased the screen to thirteen light cruisers and 67 destroyers. A message from the Admiralty arrived that the Germans were planning a night destroyer attack but that the destroyers with the two scouting groups were low on fuel and those with the HSF were too far away.

25 January
Lion and Indomitable slowed to 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) overnight when Lion had more engine-trouble and at dawn were still 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) short of the Firth of Forth. The destroyers reformed into an anti-submarine screen and the ships reached the firth at midnight; the destroyer Meteor was towed into the Humber Estuary. Lion was out of action for four months, Fisher having decreed that the damage be repaired at Armstrong's on the Tyne, without her going into dry dock, making for an extremely difficult and time-consuming job. The surviving German ships reached port; Derfflinger was repaired by 17 February but Seydlitz needed a drydock and was not ready for sea until 1 April.

Aftermath
Analysis


1916 advertisement for a viewing of panoramic footage of the Blücher sinking. Proceeds from the event went to orphans of artists and writers lost to the war.

At first the Germans thought that Tiger had been sunk, because of a large fire that had been seen on her decks, but it was soon clear that the battle was a serious German reverse. Kaiser Wilhelm II issued an order that all risks to surface vessels were to be avoided. Ingenohl was sacked and replaced by Admiral Hugo von Pohl. The damage to Seydlitz revealed flaws in the protection of its magazines and dangerous ammunition-handling procedures and some of these failings were remedied in the HSF before the Battle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916). The Germans thought that the appearance of the British squadron at dawn was too remarkable to be coincidence and concluded that a spy near their base in Jade Bay was responsible, not that the British were reading their encrypted wireless communications. (In 1920, Scheer wrote that the number of British ships present suggested that they had known about the operation in advance, but that this was put down to circumstances, although "other reasons" could not be excluded.)

Beatty had lost control of the battle and he judged that the opportunity of an overwhelming victory had been lost and the Admiralty—erroneously believing that Derfflinger had been badly damaged—later reached the same conclusion. Jutland later showed that the British battlecruisers were still vulnerable to ammunition fires and magazine explosions, if hit by plunging fire. Had Moore's three fast battlecruisers pursued Hipper's remaining three (leaving the slower Indomitable behind as Beatty intended), the British might have been at a disadvantage and been defeated. Blücher demonstrated the ability of the German ships to absorb great punishment; all of Hipper's remaining ships were larger, faster, newer, more heavily armed, and far better armoured than Blücher; only Seydlitz had suffered serious damage. Apart from the sinking of Blücher, the Germans out-hit the British by over three to one, with 22 heavy-calibre hits—16 on Lion and six on Tiger—against seven British hits.

The battle, although inconclusive, boosted British morale. The Germans learned lessons and the British did not. Rear-Admiral Moore was quietly replaced and sent to the Canary Islands and Captain Henry Pelly of the Tiger was blamed for not taking over when Lion was damaged. Beatty's flag lieutenant Ralph Seymour—responsible for hoisting Beatty's two commands on one flag hoist, allowing them to be read as one—remained. The use of wireless allowed centralised control of ships from the Admiralty, which cramped the initiative of the men on the spot. Signals between ships continued to be by flag but there was no revision of the signal book or the assumptions of its authors. Signalling on board Lion was again poor in the first hours of Jutland, with serious consequences for the British. The battlecruisers failed to improve fire distribution and similar targeting errors were made at Jutland.

Casualties


Royal Scots Territorials firing a salute over the grave of Captain Erdmann, Commander of SMS Blücher

In 1929, Julian Corbett, the naval official historian, recorded 792 men killed and 45 wounded out of the 1,026 crew on Blücher, 189 of the men being rescued by the British. Seydlitz lost 159 men killed and 33 wounded and Kolberg lost three men killed and two wounded. In 1965, Marder wrote that over 1,000 German sailors had been killed or captured, for British casualties of fewer than 50 menkilled or wounded. In 2003, Massie wrote that German casualties were an estimated 951 men killed and 78 wounded, most in Blücher; 153 men were killed and 33 were wounded in the fire in the two after turrets of Seydlitz. The British rescued 189 unwounded prisoners and 45 wounded from Blücher. British casualties were 15 killed and 80 men wounded. On Lion, two men had been killed and eleven wounded, most by a shell hit in the A turret lobby. Ten men were killed on Tiger with nine men wounded and on Meteor, four men were killed and two were wounded.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dogger_Bank_(1915)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 January 1915 – World War I: Battle of Dogger Bank - german armored cruiser SMS Blücher sunk


SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser built by the German Empire. She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British Invincible-class battlecruisers. Blücher was larger than preceding armored cruisers and carried more heavy guns, but was unable to match the size and armament of the battlecruisers which replaced armored cruisers in the British Royal Navy and German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, the commander of Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.


SMS Blücher in 1912

Blücher was built at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Kiel between 1907 and 1909, and commissioned on 1 October 1909. The ship served in the I Scouting Group for most of her career, including the early portion of World War I. She took part in the operation to bombard Yarmouth and the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in 1914.

At the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, Blücher was slowed significantly after being hit by gunfire from the British battlecruiser squadron under the command of Vice Admiral David Beatty. Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper, the commander of the German squadron, decided to abandon Blücher to the pursuing enemy ships in order to save his more valuable battlecruisers. Under heavy fire from the British ships, she was sunk, and British destroyers began recovering the survivors. However, the destroyers withdrew when a German zeppelin began bombing them, mistaking the sinking Blücher for a British battlecruiser. The number of casualties is unknown, with figures ranging from 747 to around 1,000. Blücher was the only warship lost during the battle.





Design
German armored cruisers—referred to as Große Kreuzer (large cruisers)—were designed for several tasks. The ships were designed to engage the reconnaissance forces of rival navies, as well as fight in the line of battle. The earliest armored cruiser—Fürst Bismarck—was rushed through production specifically to be deployed to China to assist in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Subsequent armored cruisers—with the exception of the two Scharnhorst-class ships—served with the fleet in the reconnaissance force.

On 26 May 1906, the Reichstag authorized funds for Blücher, along with the first two Nassau-class battleships. Though the ship would be much larger and more powerful than previous armored cruisers, Blücher retained that designation in an attempt to conceal its more powerful nature. The ship was ordered under the provisional name "E". Her design was influenced by the need to match the armored cruisers which Britain was known to be building at the time. The Germans expected these new British ships to be armed with six or eight 9.2 in (23 cm) guns. In response, the German navy approved a design with twelve 21 cm (8.3 in) guns in six twin turrets. This was significantly more firepower than that of the previous Scharnhorst-class of German armored cruisers, which only carried eight 21 cm guns.



One week after the final decision was made to authorize construction of Blücher, the German naval attache obtained the actual details of the new British ships, called the Invincible class. In fact, HMS Invincible carried eight 30.5 cm (12.0 in) guns of the same type mounted on battleships. It was soon recognized that these ships were a new type of warship, which eventually came to be classified as the battlecruiser. When the details of the Invincible class came to light, it was too late to redesign Blücher, and there were no funds for a redesign, so work proceeded as scheduled. Blücher was therefore arguably obsolete even before her construction started, and was rapidly surpassed by the German Navy's battlecruisers, of which the first (Von der Tann) was ordered in 1907. Despite this, Blücher was typically deployed with the German battlecruiser squadron. The ship ultimately cost the German government 28,532,000 Goldmarks.



General characteristics
Blücher was 161.1 m (528 ft 7 in) long at the waterline and 161.8 m (530 ft 10 in) long overall. The ship had a beam of 24.5 m (80 ft 5 in), and with the anti-torpedo nets mounted along the sides of the ship, the beam increased to 25.62 m (84 ft 1 in). Blücher had a draft of 8.84 m (29.0 ft) forward, but slightly less aft, at 8.56 m (28 ft 1 in). The ship displaced 15,842 t (15,592 long tons) at her designed weight, and up to 17,500 t (17,200 long tons) at maximum displacement. Her hull was constructed with both transverse and longitudinal steel frames, and she had 13 watertight compartments and a double bottom that ran for approximately 65% of the length of the hull.

Documents from the German naval archives generally indicate satisfaction with Blücher's minor pitch and gentle motion at sea. However, she suffered from severe roll, and with the rudder hard over, she heeled over up to 10° from the vertical and lost up to 55% of her speed. Blücher's metacentric height was 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in). The ship had a standard crew of 41 officers and 812 enlisted men, with an additional 14 officers and 62 sailors when she served as a squadron flagship. She carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, three barges, two launches, two yawls, and one dinghy.


Battle of Dogger Bank
Main article: Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)


Blücher underway

In early January 1915 the German naval command found out that British ships were conducting reconnaissance in the Dogger Bank area. Admiral Ingenohl was initially reluctant to attempt to destroy these forces, because the I Scouting Group was temporarily weakened while Von der Tann was in drydock for periodic maintenance. Konteradmiral (counter admiral) Richard Eckermann—the Chief of Staff of the High Seas Fleet—insisted on the operation, and so Ingenohl relented and ordered Hipper to take his battlecruisers to the Dogger Bank.

On 23 January, Hipper sortied, with Seydlitz in the lead, followed by Moltke, Derfflinger, and Blücher, along with the light cruisers Graudenz, Rostock, Stralsund, and Kolberg and 19 torpedo boats from V Flotilla and II and XVIII Half-Flotillas. Graudenz and Stralsund were assigned to the forward screen, while Kolberg and Rostock were assigned to the starboard and port, respectively. Each light cruiser had a half-flotilla of torpedo boats attached.

Again, interception and decryption of German wireless signals played an important role. Although they were unaware of the exact plans, the cryptographers of Room 40 were able to deduce that Hipper would be conducting an operation in the Dogger Bank area. To counter it, Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, Rear Admiral Gordon Moore's 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron and Commodore William Goodenough's 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron were to rendezvous with Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt's Harwich Force at 08:00 on 24 January, approximately 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) north of the Dogger Bank.

At 08:14, Kolberg spotted the light cruiser Aurora and several destroyers from the Harwich Force. Aurora challenged Kolberg with a searchlight, at which point Kolberg attacked Aurora and scored two hits. Aurora returned fire and scored two hits on Kolberg in retaliation. Hipper immediately turned his battlecruisers towards the gunfire, when, almost simultaneously, Stralsund spotted a large amount of smoke to the northwest of her position. This was identified as a number of large British warships steaming toward Hipper's ships. Hipper later remarked:

The presence of such a large force indicated the proximity of further sections of the British Fleet, especially as wireless intercepts revealed the approach of 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron ... They were also reported by Blücher at the rear of the German line, which had opened fire on a light cruiser and several destroyers coming up from astern ... The battlecruisers under my command found themselves, in view of the prevailing [East-North-East] wind, in the windward position and so in an unfavourable situation from the outset ...​

Hipper turned south to flee, but was limited to 23 kn (43 km/h; 26 mph), which was Blücher's maximum speed at the time. The pursuing British battlecruisers were steaming at 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph), and quickly caught up to the German ships. At 09:52, Lion opened fire on Blücher from a range of approximately 20,000 yards (18,000 m); shortly after, Princess Royal and Tiger began firing as well. At 10:09, the British guns made their first hit on Blücher. Two minutes later, the German ships began returning fire, primarily concentrating on Lion, from a range of 18,000 yd (16,000 m). At 10:28, Lion was struck on the waterline, which tore a hole in the side of the ship and flooded a coal bunker. At around this time, Blücher scored a hit with a 21 cm shell on Lion's forward turret. The shell failed to penetrate the armor, but had concussion effect and temporarily disabled the left gun. At 10:30, New Zealand—the fourth ship in Beatty's line—came within range of Blücher and opened fire. By 10:35, the range had closed to 17,500 yd (16,000 m), at which point the entire German line was within the effective range of the British ships. Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to engage their German counterparts.

By 11:00, Blücher had been severely damaged after having been pounded by numerous heavy shells from the British battlecruisers. However, the three leading German battlecruisers, Seydlitz, Derfflinger, and Moltke, had concentrated their fire on Lion and scored several hits; two of her three dynamos were disabled and the port side engine room had been flooded. At 11:48, Indomitable arrived on the scene, and was directed by Beatty to destroy the battered Blücher, which was already on fire and listing heavily to port. One of the ship's survivors recounted the destruction that was being wrought:


A painting of Blücher afire and listing badly

The shells ... bore their way even to the stokehold. The coal in the bunkers was set on fire. Since the bunkers were half empty, the fire burned merrily. In the engine room a shell licked up the oil and sprayed it around in flames of blue and green ... The terrific air pressure resulting from [an] explosion in a confined space ... roar[ed] through every opening and [tore] its way through every weak spot ... Men were picked up by that terrific air pressure and tossed to a horrible death among the machinery.​

The British attack was interrupted due to reports of U-boats ahead of the British ships. Beatty quickly ordered evasive maneuvers, which allowed the German ships to increase the distance from their pursuers. At this time, Lion's last operational dynamo failed, which reduced her speed to 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph). Beatty, in the stricken Lion, ordered the remaining battlecruisers to "Engage the enemy's rear", but signal confusion caused the ships to target Blücher alone. She continued to resist stubbornly; Blücher repulsed attacks by the four cruisers of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron and four destroyers. However, the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron flagship, Aurora, hit Blücher twice with torpedoes. By this time, every main battery gun turret except the rear mount had been silenced. A volley of seven more torpedoes was launched at point-blank range; these hits caused the ship to capsize at 13:13. In the course of the engagement, Blücher had been hit by 70–100 large-caliber shells and several torpedoes.

As the ship was sinking, British destroyers steamed towards her in an attempt to rescue survivors from the water. However, the German zeppelin L5 mistook the sinking Blücher for a British battlecruiser, and tried to bomb the destroyers, which withdrew. Figures vary on the number of casualties; Paul Schmalenbach reported 6 officers of a total of 29 and 275 enlisted men of a complement of 999 were pulled from the water, for a total of 747 men killed. The official German sources examined by Erich Gröner stated that 792 men died when Blücher sank, while James Goldrick referred to British documents, which reported only 234 men survived from a crew of at least 1,200. Among those who had been rescued was Kapitan zur See (captain at sea) Erdmann, the commanding officer of Blücher. He later died of pneumonia while in British captivity. A further twenty men would also die as prisoners of war.


The sinking Blücher rolls over on her side


Remembrance stele SMS Bluecher, Nordfriedhof, Kiel, Germany

The concentration on Blücher allowed Moltke, Seydlitz, and Derfflinger to escape. Admiral Hipper had originally intended to use his three battlecruisers to turn about and flank the British ships, in order to relieve the battered Blücher, but when he learned of the severe damage to his flagship, he decided to abandon the armored cruiser. Hipper later recounted his decision:

In order to help the Blücher it was decided to try for a flanking move ... But as I was informed that in my flagship turrets C and D were out of action, we were full of water aft, and that she had only 200 rounds of heavy shell left, I dismissed any further thought of supporting the Blücher. Any such course, now that no intervention from our Main Fleet was to be counted on, was likely to lead to further heavy losses. The support of the Blücher by the flanking move would have brought my formation between the British battlecruisers and the battle squadrons which were probably behind.​

By the time Beatty regained control over his ships, after having boarded HMS Princess Royal, the German ships had too great a lead for the British to catch them; at 13:50, he broke off the chase. Kaiser Wilhelm II was enraged by the destruction of Blücher and the near sinking of Seydlitz, and ordered the High Seas Fleet to remain in harbor. Rear Admiral Eckermann was removed from his post and Admiral Ingenohl was forced to resign. He was replaced by Admiral Hugo von Pohl.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Blücher
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dogger_Bank_(1915)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 January 1935 - passenger cargo steam turbine-powered ship Mohawk sank after collision with Norwegian freighter Talisman


Mohawk was a passenger cargo steam turbine-powered ship built in 1925-1926 by Newport Ship Building & Drydock Co. of Newport for Clyde Steamship Company with intention of operating between New York and southern ports of the United States.



Design and Construction
Early in January 1925 following a fire and complete destruction of their largest passenger ship Mohawk, Clyde Steamship Co. decided to build another vessel to replace their lost liner similar in size and design to two vessels being constructed at the time, SS Seminole and SS Cherokee. The contract for the new vessel was awarded to the Newport Ship Building & Drydock Co. on January 22, 1925 and the ship, also to be named Mohawk, soon was laid down at the shipbuilder's yard in Newport (yard number 287) and launched on 21 October 1925, with Miss Margaret Denison of Rye, New York, daughter of J. B. Denison, First Vice-President of the Clyde Steamship Company, serving as the sponsor. The ship was primarily designed for passenger transportation and in addition to two decks, also had a hurricane or sun deck constructed on top. The vessel provided accommodations in single cabins or suites for 446 passengers, and had all the staterooms and saloons located throughout all three decks. In addition, a veranda cafe and a spacious dining hall able to sit 180 people at once, a musical lounge, a library, a large dancing deck, and smoking rooms were also constructed to provide entertainment for the would be passengers. Mohawk had electric lights in cabins and along the decks, hot and cold water in all her suites, and was also equipped with wireless of De Forest type. The steamer also had evaporating and distilling plants installed to provide passengers with fresh water throughout their voyage. Mohawk had freight decks separated into lighted, ventilated watertight compartments, some of them chilled with refrigerating machinery, supplied with large number of side ports for quick loading and unloading of the cargo. Ample space was also specially designed and reserved for transportation of automobiles to ensure passengers could bring their autos with them. The steamer was also equipped with automatic fire detection system, as well as steam, salt water and "Foamite" fire extinguishing systems.

The sea trials were held on January 23, 1926 off the Virginia Capes during which the steamer performed satisfactorily and was able to exceed her contract speed. Following an inspection, the steamer was transferred to her owners and departed for New York on February 6.

As built, the ship was 387 feet 5 inches (118.08 m) long (between perpendiculars) and 54 feet 3 inches (16.54 m) abeam, a depth of 20 feet 0 inches (6.10 m). Mohawk was assessed at 5,896 GRT and 3,514 NRT and had loaded displacement of 8,140 long tons (8,271 t). The vessel had a steel hull with double bottom, and two oil-burning steam turbines, producing 981 nhp, single reduction geared to one screw propeller, that moved the ship at up to 15.0 knots (17.3 mph; 27.8 km/h).


The unlucky ship aground near Sea Bright, May 19-21, 1928. She was deliberately beached after a collision with the SS Jefferson in dense fog. The damage was extensive, but on the starboard side, not visible here.

Sinking
Mohawk left New York City for Havana on the afternoon of 24 January 1935 with 110 crew, 53 passengers and a general cargo of car parts and china on board. She sailed under the command of Captain Joseph Edward Wood. Passengers included Mary bury Lord (survived); her sister Katherine bury McKee (survived); New York architect Julian Livingston Peabody (died); his wife, socialite Celestine Hitchcock Peabody (daughter of Thomas Hitchcock Sr.) (died); Prof. Herdman Fitzgerald Cleland of Williams College (died); Rev. Dr. Francis L. Frost of the St. Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church, Staten Island (died); John Telfer, designated Vice Consul in Orizaba, Mexico (died); his wife, Catherine Butler Telfer (died); Gertrude Oakes, sister of Harry Oakes, 1st Baronet of Nassau (died).

Four hours after having left New York Harbor at about 9 PM, the Mohawk spotted the Norwegian freighter Talisman at a distance of 0.125 nautical miles (0.232 km). At this point the ship was several miles south of Sea Girt Light and about six miles offshore, when suddenly the Mohawk suffered a failure of her automatic steering gear which made her crew revert to the manual steering system. But due to confusion between orders from the bridge to the engine room and further problems steering the ship, Mohawk accidentally made a hard turn to port which made her veer off course and steam at full speed into the path of Talisman. Both ships tried to avoid a collision, but it was already too late.

Talisman struck the Mohawk on her port side and left a deep gash in her bow. After the collision the Mohawk came to a complete standstill and began to take on water. Nearly every passenger and crew member felt the force of the collision and made their way to deck. It was very cold on deck as the temperature reached two degrees below zero and the lifeboats were covered in snow. The lifeboats were quickly undone from there snow coats and were being lowered by both passengers and crew as the ship was beginning to list. About an hour after the collision, the Mohawk rolled onto her starboard side and finally disappeared beneath the waves. Most of her lifeboats managed to be launched, yet 16 passengers and 31 crew went down with the ship, including all but one of the ship's officers. None of the bridge officers survived the accident and Captain Joseph Wood, after verifying that all other persons had safely evacuated the ship, went back to his cabin and shut the door.

In the hours following the sinking SS Limon and Mohawk's sister ship SS Algonquin picked up a total of six life boats with just over 100 survivors. The survivors were taken back to shore where some were met by journalists and cameraman all asking questions about the disaster. The search for survivors continued through the night and the next day as Coast Guard boats and planes scanned the surface, but ultimately the search operation was looking for the remains of the perished rather than anymore survivors.

Blame
As was always done with a disaster which resulted in the loss of human life, an inquiry researched who was to blame for the incident. It was concluded that Mohawk caused the initial collision by veering off course. Although this alone would not explain why the Talisman ended up hitting the Mohawk, thereby some speculate that the Mohawk's navigation lights also failed. The blame for the collision rests mostly with mechanical malfunction or human error on the Mohawk's part.

It was also noted that the damage inflicted by the collision, should not have been enough to sink the Mohawk. But it appears that during The great depression the Mohawk's owner modified the ship in order to carry bulk cargoes like lumber so it could squeeze some extra revenue out of the vessel. These modifications involved opening up the ship's watertight bulkheads for easier cargo handling. Because of this, the Mohawk had no defense against the frigid waters that were making their way through her gaping wound which ended in her demise.

Wreck
Mohawk sank to a depth of 24.38 metres (80 ft 0 in) and broke open on the sea floor where she lay on her starboard side until she was righted by storms. But the wreck's tallest parts which included the bridge and smokestack were a hazard in the busy New Jersey shipping lane. So in July 1935 the Army Corps of Engineers went to the wreck and removed her fuel oil. After that, over 8 tons of dynamite was used to demolish the wreck. The first blast alone used almost a ton and blew out the center of the damaged port side of the hull which made the superstructure collapse onto the main deck. After that two tugboats were dispatched to wire-drag the wreck to the required 15.24 metres (50 ft 0 in) depth clearance. During the moving, a heavy steel cable was forced back and forth through the superstructure which snapped the deck plates apart and ripped the bridge from the hull, scattering debris into the currents.

A few years later during World War II, the Coast Guard bombed the Mohawk with depth charges as German U-boats had been hiding alongside wrecks in these waters as to dodge sonar waves. Apparentally the ship was depth charged a second time during the war when a US Navy blimp mistook the wreck for a German U-boat.

Ultimately one anchor and the propellor were salvaged as the other anchor is buried beneath the bow. At present day, the wreck rests eight miles east of Manasquan Inlet at (40°01′N 73°55′W) and covers several acres. Her last cargo of a number of trucks or automobiles, large rubber tires, axles, and other parts are tangled up with the rest of the wreckage. All the structure supplies a home for all kinds of aquatic life such as mussels, red anemones, lobsters and all types of fishes.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Mohawk_(1925)
https://njscuba.net/sites/site_mohawk.php

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
24 January 1942 - During the Battle of Makassar Strait (Balikpapan),
destroyers John D. Ford, Parrott, Pope, and Paul Jones attack the anchored Japanese invasion force in the harbor of Balikpapan, Borneo, sinking four of 12 transport ships.


The First Battle of Balikpapan took place on 23–24 January 1942, off the major oil producing town and port of Balikpapan, on Borneo, in the Netherlands East Indies. After capturing the destroyed oilfield at Tarakan from the Allies in the Battle of Tarakan, the Japanese force—the Sakaguchi Detachment (named for its commander, Major General Shizuo Sakaguchi)[2]-moved on to Balikpapan with the hope that the oilfields there had not been destroyed.

In the ensuing conflict, the Japanese successfully landed and seized the oil facilities. A short time later an American destroyer task force ambushed the Japanese invasion convoy and sank



Background
The Dutch army in Balikpapan numbered approximately 1,100 troops, under the command of KNIL Lieutenant Colonel Cornelis van den Hoogenband. The city itself was protected by coast, anti-aircraft, and field batteries. The entrance of the harbor was protected by a minefield laid by the minelayer Soemenep under the command of Lt. T. Jellema.

On 18 January, the Dutch commander ordered the destruction of oil installations in Balikpapan and started to evacuate his staff to Samarinda. However, the destruction was not complete; the only serious damage was to tanks, pipes and special quays in the harbor area.

Battle
Land engagement
On 22 January, the Japanese fleet was sighted moving south by an American PBY flying boat, and on 23 January formations of Dutch bombers attacked the convoy. Despite this, the Japanese unit successfully landed approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Balikpapan airfield on the evening of 24 January. The assault unit landed without meeting enemy resistance and, by dawn, had occupied the airfield. The southward advance moved slowly as the bridges had been destroyed, and the unit reached the northern outskirts of Balikpapan City on the night of 25 January. The Dutch garrison troops had been withdrawn and the Japanese entered the city without a fight.

A portion of the Sakaguchi Detachment called the Surprise Attack Unit proceeded up the river in camouflaged landing craft, evaded detection, and landed just south of the reservoir at 04:30 on the 25th. It proceeded to the village of Banoeabaroe, arriving there at 14:40, thus cutting off the Dutch line of retreat. While the unit was advancing along the road to Balikpapan City, it ran into a Dutch military column, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel C. van den Hoogenband, attempting to escape from Balikpapan. After defeating this Dutch column, the Surprise Attack Unit proceeded to Balikpapan City.

After Balikpapan was occupied, a new detachment was formed led by Lt. Col. Kume. He was ordered to secure and protect the oil fields. The main force moved forward along the Balikpapan City-Samboaja-Sangasanga-Samarinda-Road, mopping up the remaining Dutch troops in the vicinity of Samarinda.

Naval Engagement


Martin B-10 during exercises over Oahu, Hawaii, 1941

In the afternoon of 23 January, nine Dutch Martin B-10 bombers, escorted by 20 Brewster Buffaloes from 2-VLG-V and 3-VLG-V, attacked the Japanese convoy. The transport ship Tatsugami Maru was damaged and Nana Maru sunk. Near Balikpapan, the Dutch submarine HNLMS K XVIII, under Lieutenant Commander van Well Groeneveld, attacked and sank the transport Tsuruga Maru and reportedly damaged the patrol boat P-37 by midnight, but was later heavily damaged itself by depth charges and forced to withdraw to Surabaya.


Brewster F2A-3 in flight

While the Japanese invasion force was landing at Balikpapan, on the early morning of 24 January, at around 02:45, the 59th U.S. Navy Destroyer Division under Rear Admiral William A. Glassford and Commander Paul H. Talbot, acting on orders from Admiral Hart, attacked the Japanese navy escort led by Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimura for about four hours. The U.S. Destroyer Division composed of USS Paul Jones, Parrott, Pope and John D. Ford attacked the twelve transport ships and the three patrol boats (World War I-era destroyers) escorting them. The Japanese destroyer escorts were undertaking a search for the Dutch submarine which had been sighted earlier. At least four transport ships—Kuretake Maru, Nana Maru, Sumanoura Maru and Tatsukami Maru—and patrol boat P-37were sunk in torpedo attacks. Two other transports were damaged by gunfire or torpedoes. Gunfire from one of the armed transports damaged the John D. Ford. The Ford returned fire, inflicting 50 casualties on the transport. At 04:00 the Ford withdrew.

Aftermath
The attack on Banjarmasin was done by concentrating the land force under Colonel Kyohei Yamamoto with a sea borne force under Captain Yoshibumi Okamoto from the 146th Infantry Regiment. The land force started to move on 30 January while the sea force had sailed on 27 January. Although the land force had to cross the dense jungle and faced tropical heat and rain, they quickly occupied the small towns of Moera Oeja, Bongkang, Tandjoeng, Amoentai, Barabai, Kandangan and Rantau. The sea force moved only at night and launched a surprise attack at Kotabaru on Laut island. After occupying Martapura airfield, on 10 February, Banjarmasin was captured without a fight. The Dutch unit under the command of Lt. Col. Henry Halkema had retreated to defend Kotawaringin airfield in central Borneo.

Analyses
The battle was the first surface engagement in southeast Asia that the U.S. Navy had participated in since the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. The American destroyers expended all of their torpedoes with only a few hits, mostly because the as yet unrealized problems with the Mark 15 torpedo running too deep. Because the landing had taken place around 21:30, the raid was too late to stop the capture of Balikpapan.

While the various attacks on the Japanese transports did little to prevent the fall of Balikpapan, it proved that Admiral Hart's conservative strategy could be effectively used against Japanese forces until Allied forces in the Southeast Asia area could be bolstered. It was under his orders that the destroyers conducted the raid and sank the four transports. Crucial to the success of the destroyer raid was also the fact that it had been conducted by an all American force, operating under the same doctrine and protocol, whereas other ABDACOM engagements of combined forces (the Battle of the Java Sea, notably) suffered from much confusion. Hart was later relieved of command and replaced with the much bolder Conrad Helfrich.

Balikpapan remained under Japanese control until July 1945, when the Japanese force was defeated by an Australian-led force in the 1945 Battle of Balikpapan.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Balikpapan_(1942)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 24 January


1600 - The dutch Sebald or Sebalt de Weert charted a small group off the northwest coast of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and are in fact part of the Falklands.
De Weert then named these islands the “Sebald de Weert Islands” and the Falklands as a whole were known as the Sebald Islands until well into the 18th century.

Sebald or Sebalt de Weert (May 2, 1567 – May 30 or June 1603) was a Dutch captain and vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (known in Dutch as Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC). He is most widely remembered for accurately plotting the Falkland Islands in 1600.


Arrival of Sebald de Weert in Matecalo/Batticaloa

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


1792 – Launch of French Le Trajan, a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

The Trajan was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
In 1793, Trajan was commissioned in Lorient, under captain Villaret de Joyeuse.
At the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2, along with Éole, she engaged and dismasted HMS Bellerophon.
In 1797, she took part in the Expédition d'Irlande, an ill-fated attempt to invade Ireland. On 17 December 1797, she was renamed Gaulois.
She was eventually broken up in 1805.




Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Trajan (1792), on display at the Musée de la Marine in Paris.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Trajan_(1792)


1803 – Launch of french Brutus, a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy

Brutus was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Launched on 24 January 1803, she was renamed Impétueux on 5 February 1803.
She served in the Caribbean under Willaumez during the Atlantic campaign of 1806.
On 19 August 1806, she was dismasted in a tempest and drifted until 10 September. On the 14th, she was chased by Strachan's squadron comprising Belleisle, Bellona and Melampus; unable to fight, she beached herself in Chesapeake Bay. The wreck was set ablaze by the British and the crew was taken prisoner.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Brutus_(1803)


1808 - Amazon-class frigate HMS Iris (1783 - 36) Cptn. John Tower, captured the French privateer lugger Le Marsouin (14) off the Lizard

HMS Iris (1783) was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1783. The Navy lent her to Trinity House in 1803, but reclaimed and refitted her in 1805. She was renamed HMS Solebay in 1809 and was broken up in 1833.


Lines & Profile (ZAZ2905)



https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=6774
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19472
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-291285;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=A


1945 - Submarine USS Blackfin (SS 322) sinks the Japanese destroyer Shigure in the Gulf of Siam.

USS Blackfin (SS-322), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the blackfin, a food fish of the Great Lakes.
Blackfin (SS-322) was launched 12 March 1944 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn., sponsored by Mrs. Phyllis Irwin Lockwood, wife of Rear Admiral Charles A. Lockwood; and commissioned 4 July 1944, Lieutenant Commander George Hays Laird, Jr., in command.


Blackfin in 1944

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Blackfin_(SS-322)


1956 - USS Jallao (SS 368) becomes the first U.S. Navy submarine to transit the Suez Canal traveling from the Mediterranean to Massawa, Eritrea, Ethiopia.

USS Jallao (SS-368), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the jallao, a pearl-white haemulonid food fish of the Gulf of Mexico.
Jallao (SS-368) was launched by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wisconsin, 12 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Oliver G. Kirk; and commissioned 8 July 1944, Lieutenant Commander Joseph B. Icenhower in command.
After spending most of July in training operations, Jallao departed Manitowoc 26 July for Chicago, where she was loaded into a floating dry dock for the long trip down the Mississippi to New Orleans. She subsequently departed New Orleans 6 August 1944, and steamed through the Panama Canal to the Pacific and arrived Pearl Harbor 22 September 1944.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Jallao_(SS-368)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1782 - The Battle of St Kitts (aka The Battle of Frigate Bay)
The British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood out manouvered and was attacked by a larger French fleet under the Comte de Grasse off Basse Terre, St. Kitts. Hood repulsed repeated attacks but could not prevent the loss of the Island.


The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle that took place on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet under the Comte de Grasse.


Battle of Frigate Bay, 1782, Hood's anchored fleet (left) repels the French fleet under de Grasse. From a painting by Nicholas Pocock

Background
When Hood returned to the West Indies in late 1781 after the Battle of the Chesapeake, he was for a time in independent command owing to Rodney's absence in England. The French Admiral, the Comte de Grasse, attacked the British islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, with 7000 troops and 50 warships, including the 110 gun Ville de Paris. He started by besieging the British fortress on Brimstone Hill on 11 Jan. 1782. Hood hoping to salvage, the situation made for St Kitts, departing Antigua on 22 Jan. with 22 ships of the line compared to De Grasse's 36.



Action
The British fleet on 24 January consisted of twenty-two sail of the line, and was close off the south-east end of Nevis. They ran into and captured the French 16-gun cutter Espion which carried a large amount of ammunition for the besieging French forces at Brimstone Hill.

At daybreak on 25 January, the French fleet was discovered having stood to the southward of Basseterre, consisting of one 110 gun ship, twenty-eight two-decked ships, and two frigates. Hood stood towards the French fleet with the apparent intention of bringing on action, and effectively drew the French fleet off the land. No sooner had Hood effected this maneuver he was aided by a favourable change in wind and was able to guide his fleet within the anchorage of Basseterre, which the French admiral had just quit. Hood ordered his fleet in an L formation and then ordered his fleet to lay anchor. Comte de Grasse, in frustration made three distinct and vigorous attacks upon the British fleet on 26 January but was repulsed with great damage to his ships.

The Pluton, commanded by D'Albert de Rions, lead the French line, "receiving the crashing broadside of ship after ship until the splintered planking flew from her off side and her rigging hung in a tangled mass." Chauvent goes on to describe the battle as "...a sulphurous hell, with cannon vomiting forth flame and death." The entire battle lasted from 7 AM to 6:30 PM, with the major action in the afternoon.


Repulse of the French in Frigate Bay, St Kitts, 26 January 1782, oil on canvas by Thomas Maynard

Aftermath
Further information: Siege of Brimstone Hill
Damages on both sides were heavy, though the French suffered higher casualties. However, Hood was unable to stop the French and could only observe the land action. After the successful French siege of Brimstone Hill fortress, St. Kitts and Nevis surrendered on 12 February.

Hood left on the 14th and joined forces with the recently arrived Admiral George Rodney.

Order of battle







The French invasion of Saint Kitts also known as the Siege of Brimstone Hill (19 January – 13 February 1782) was a siege of the American Revolutionary War. After landing on Saint Kitts, the French troops of the Marquis de Bouillé stormed and besieged Brimstone Hill, and after a month of siege the heavily outnumbered and cut-off British garrison surrendered. The Comte de Grasse, who delivered de Bouillé's troops and supported the siege, was outmanoeuvred and deprived of his anchorage by Admiral Hood. Even though Hood's force was inferior by one-third, de Grasse was beaten off when he attempted to dislodge Hood. Hood's attempts to relieve the ongoing siege were unsuccessful, and the garrison capitulated after one month. About a year later, the Treaty of Paris restored Saint Kitts and adjacent Nevis to British rule.


The Prince of Wales Bastion at the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, St Kitts, Leeward Islands

French capture
De Grasse set sail from Martinique, reaching Saint Kitts by 11 January. The British had already retired into their stronghold under Brigadier General Fraser, so the French landing forces disembarked without opposition and began to besiege them on January 19. In concert with the Governor of the French West Indies, François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé, an attack by De Grasse upon Barbados was previously planned, but adverse winds forced them to return to Martinique, and then onwards to Saint Kitts.



On 24 January, 22 British warships under Admiral Hood were sighted near Nevis intending to reinforce Saint Kitts. De Grasse went out to intercept then, but by dawn the next day Hood had veered towards Montserrat, and contrary east-southeast winds impeded the French from reaching the British before they had circled north around Nevis and dropped anchor off Basseterre. De Grasse attacked the anchored British fleet on both the morning and afternoon of 26 January, but was beaten off, disembarkation proceeding apace. During these naval engagements, the French suffered 107 killed and 207 wounded, compared to 72 dead and 244 injured for the British. On 28 January, the 1,200-man British vanguard advanced against the town of Basseterre under General Prescott, while its French occupiers fought a delaying action under Colonel de Fléchin with 274 men of the regiments of Agénois and Touraine until the Marquis de Bouillé could hasten reinforcements across the island.

Prescott's drive was eventually repelled, but otherwise French efforts continued to be hampered by the loss of their field artillery in a wreck while approaching Saint Kitts and the capture of an ammunition ship by one of Hood’s frigates. The governor sent artillery and ammunition to Fraser which were intercepted by the inhabitants, and by them deliberately made over to the French. Defending the fort at Brimstone Hill were the 1st Battalion of the 1st Foot (approximately 700), flank companies of the 15th Foot (approximately 120), Royal Artillery detachment, and many militia. By 12 February, Fraser's little garrison, having lost over 150 killed and wounded, besides many men out of action through sickness, was exhausted. Additionally, there were breaches in the walls, and many of the militia petitioned to surrender. Fraser had no alternative but to negotiate a surrender, which included marching out with the honors or war. The next day, de Grasse ventured to Nevis to meet an arriving convoy of French victuallers, while Hood availed himself of the opportunity to escape in the opposite direction on the morning of 14 February.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_St._Kitts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Brimstone_Hill

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1782 - HMS Solebay (1763 - 28) wrecked off Nevis


HMS Solebay was a Mermaid-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy which saw active service between 1766 and 1782, during the latter part of the Seven Years' War and throughout the American Revolutionary War. After a successful career in which she captured seven enemy vessels, she was wrecked ashore on the Caribbean Island of Nevis.



Construction

Sir Thomas Slade, naval architect for Solebayin 1760

Solebay was one of three Royal Navy vessels designed according to a 1760 schematic drawn up by Sir Thomas Slade, a naval architect and newly appointed Surveyor of the Navy. Slade had been impressed with the sailing qualities of a captured French vessel, Abénaquise, and used this vessel as his template for Solebay with modifications to incorporate a heavier hull and better sailing qualities in poor weather. His plans for the new 28-gun sixth-rate were approved by Admiralty on 30 January 1762. At the time, the Royal Dockyards were fully engaged in maintaining and fitting-out the Navy's ships of the line. Consequently, the contracts for Solebay were issued to a private shipyard, Thomas Airey and Company of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with a requirement that the vessel be completed within 14 months at a cost of £9.3s per ton burthen.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the sheer lines, including one water line, for Hussar (1763) and later for Soleby (1763), both 28-gun, Fifth Rate Frigates. Annotation on the reverse: "A Copy of this Draft with the Body the same of the Mermaid was given to Mr Robt Inwood for Building a 28 Gun Ship agreeable there to 20th Marech 1762-Named the Hussar. Another of these Dat was given to Mr Thos Airey & Co for Building a 28 Gun Ship at Newcastle upon Tyne 10th April 1762~ Named the Solebay."

Solebay's keel was laid down on 10 May 1762 and work proceeded swiftly with the vessel ready to be launched by 9 September 1763, just outside Admiralty's stipulated construction time. As built, Solebay was 124 ft 0 in (37.8 m) long with a 102 ft 8.5 in (31.3 m) keel, a narrow beam of 33 ft 8 in (10.26 m), and a hold depth of 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m). She measured 619 4⁄94 tons burthen. Construction and fit-out cost £9,979.7s, including provision of 24 nine-pounder cannons located along her gun deck, supported by four three-pounder cannons on the quarterdeck and twelve 1⁄2-pounder swivel guns ranged along her sides.

She was named on 30 April 1763 after Sole Bay in Southwold in Suffolk. In selecting her name the Board of Admiralty continued a tradition dating to 1644, of using prominent geographic features; Sole Bay having been the site of a naval engagement between the English and the Dutch in 1672. 17. Her designated complement was 200, comprising two commissioned officers – a captain and a lieutenant – overseeing 40 warrant and petty officers, 91 naval ratings, 38 Marines and 29 servants and other ranks. Among these other ranks were four positions reserved for widow's men – fictitious crew members whose pay was intended to be reallocated to the families of sailors who died at sea.

Career
Solebay commissioned in August 1763 under Captain William Hay. In 1777-78 the vessel was used as a floating prison for John McKinly, the first President of Delaware, who was captured by the British Army after the Battle of Brandywine.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half breadth as proposed and approved for Mermaid (1761), a 28-gun, Fifth Rate Frigate, for building at Hull by Mr Blaydes, and later for Hussar (1763) and Soleby (1763), also 28-gun, Fifth Rate Frigates, similar to the French Aurora (Abienakise 1757). The sheer was altered for these two ships. Annotation on the reverse: "A copy of this Draught was given to Messers Hugh & Beris Blaydes for building a ship agreeable there to May 1760 Named the Mermaid. Another Copy of this Body & Lines with the sheer part agreeable to another Draught a little alter'd there to 20th March 1762 - Nam'd the Hussar. Another of the same as above was given to Mr Thos Airey & Co for Building the ship agreeable there to at Newcastle upon Tyne 10th April 1762 - Named the - Solebay."


Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the upper deck, lower deck, and fore & aft platforms for Solebay (1763), a 28-gun Sixth Rate Frigate, as taken off at Portsmouth Dockyard. Signed by Thomas Bucknall [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard, 1762-1772].


The Mermaid-class frigates were a group of six 28-gun sailing frigates of the sixth rate designed in 1760 by Sir Thomas Slade, based on the scaled-down lines of HMS Aurora (originally a French prize, L'Abénaquise, which had been captured in 1757).

The contract for the prototype was agreed on 12 May 1760, for a ship to be launched within twelve months, and her name was assigned as Mermaid on 28 October 1760. The contract for the second ship was agreed on 10 March 1762, for a ship to be launched within thirteen months, and the contract for the third ship was agreed on 2 April 1762, for a ship to be launched within fourteen months; both names were assigned on 30 April 1763.

Some ten years after the design was first produced, it was re-used for a second batch of three ships which were ordered on Christmas Day, 1770. While the design differences from the first batch were minor (the keel was a few inches longer), the second batch were normally designated the Modified Mermaid class.



Ships in class
First batch

• Mermaid
  • Ordered: 24 April 1760
  • Built by: Hugh Blaydes, Hull.
  • Keel laid: 27 May 1760
  • Launched: 6 May 1761
  • Completed: September 1761 at the builder's yard.
  • Fate: Run ashore to avoid capture by the French 8 July 1778.
• Hussar
  • Ordered: 30 January 1762
  • Built by: Thomas Inwood, Rotherhithe.
  • Keel laid: 1 April 1762
  • Launched: 26 August 1763
  • Completed: 7 November 1763 at Deptford Dockyard.
  • Fate: Wrecked in Hell's Gate passage, New York, on 24 November 1779.
• Solebay
  • Ordered 30 January 1762
  • Built by: Thomas Airey & Company, Newcastle.
  • Keel laid: 10 May 1762
  • Launched: 9 September 1763
  • Completed: December 1763 at the builder's yard, then 2 January to 15 March 1764 at Sheerness Dockyard.
  • Fate: Wrecked off Nevis Island and burnt to avoid capture 25 January 1782.

Second batch

• Greyhound
  • Ordered: 25 December 1770
  • Built by: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard.
  • Keel laid: February 1771
  • Launched: 20 July 1773
  • Completed: October 1775 to 9 January 1776 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
  • Fate: Wrecked off Deal 16 August 1781.
• Triton
  • Ordered: 25 December 1770
  • Built by: Henry Adams, Bucklers Hard.
  • Keel laid: February 1771
  • Launched: 1 October 1773
  • Completed: 15 October 1773 to 4 November 1775 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
  • Fate: Taken to pieces at Deptford Dockyard in January 1796.
• Boreas
  • Ordered: 25 December 1770
  • Built by: Hugh Blaydes & Hodgson, Hull.
  • Keel laid: May 1771
  • Launched: 23 August 1774
  • Completed: 13 September 1774 to 23 October 1775 at Chatham Dockyard.
  • Fate: Sold at Sheerness Dockyard May 1802.

Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half breadth as proposed and approved for Triton (1773), Greyhound (1773), Boreas (1774), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigates, with later modifications to the bowspirit. Alterations shown to the bow and stern for Triton (1773), Greyhound (1773), Boreas (1774) as fitted.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline with decoration detail and name on the stern counter, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half breadth for Triton (1773), a 28-gun Sixth Rate Frigate, as built by MBs Adams at Bucklers Hard. NMM, Progress Book, volume 5, folio 307, states that 'Triton' arrived at Portsmouth Dockyard from Bucklers Hard on 15 October 1773, and was docked on 7 September 1775. She was undocked on 23 September 1775 and sailed on 4 November 1775 fitted for sea.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for bow, stern quater and midship areas, proposed and approved for Triton (1773), Greyhound (1773), Boreas (1774), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigates.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Solebay_(1763)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid-class_frigate
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-349188;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=S
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-355422;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=T

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1797 - Action of 25 January 1797


The Action of 25 January 1797 was a minor naval battle of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought in the Gulf of Cádiz. The Spanish third-rate ship of the line San Francisco de Asís was attacked and pursued for several hours by a British squadron of three fifth-rates frigates and a sixth-rate corvetteunder George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway. After an intermittent but fierce exchange of fire, the British warships, badly damaged, were eventually forced to withdraw. The San Francisco de Asís, which suffered only minor damage, was able to return to Cádiz without difficulties. The commander of the ship, Captain Alonso de Torres y Guerra, was promoted for his success.


Battle between San Francisco de Asís and three British frigates and a corvette. Oil on canvas. Naval Museum of Madrid.

Background
The winter of 1796–1797 was one of the stormiests of the 18th century. The British Royal Navy lost the ships of line HMS Courageux, wrecked off Gibraltar, and HMS Bombay Castle, foundered in the shoals of the Tagus river's mouth, as well as two frigates. A French expedition sent to Ireland to assist the rebel United Irishmen against the British government failed due to the storms. The Spanish navy also suffered the effects of the winter. The third-rate ship of the line San Francisco de Asís, commanded by Captain Don Alonso de Torres y Guerra, which was anchored in the Bay of Cádiz during a mission to protect the arrival of Spanish commercial shipping from America, was hit by the storms, and having lost her anchor, she was forced to go out to open sea.



Spain and Britain, which had been allies against the Revolutionary France until the Peace of Basel and had cooperated in the Siege of Toulon (1793), became enemies when Spain aligned itself with France by Second Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1796. The British navy, on the outbreak of the war, withdrew from the Mediterranean Sea and was stationed in the Iberian Atlantic coast, from Cape Finisterre to Gibraltar. Sir John Jervis, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, took its base at Lisbon, having been ordered by the Admiralty to focus on "taking every opportunity of annoying the enemy", asides of protecting the British trade and cutting Spain from its colonies. Among the British ships based in Lisbon, there was a division under the Earl of Galloway which comprised the frigates Lively, Niger and Meleager, and the sloops Fortune and Raven. According to Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, Second Secretary to the Admiralty for 40 years, Galloway, later known as Lord Garlies, was "an excellent man, but of a warm and sanguine temperament"

Battle


George Stewart as a post-captain. Watercolour on ivory by Anne Mee.

At dawn on 25 January, the three frigates and one sloop of Galloway's division were sighted from the San Francisco de Asíssailing north-eastwards at a distance of 11 leagues from the port of Cádiz, parallel to the city. The lack of response to the signals of recognition made from the Spanish ship put on alert its crew. The British ships began to come close to the San Francisco de Asís relying on their lightness and their advantage, both in number and in artillery, as the division's ships mounted 40 pieces each of the two heaviest frigates, 34 the lesser one, and 28 the sloop. Minerve and Meleager were armed, moreover, with 24-pounder carronades.

At 1 pm the British division had approached enough to open fire on the San Francisco, who had hoisted its flag, ready to engage Galloway's ships, which also hoisted their British flags. The San Francisco then opened fire, and a running battle ensued without intermission until 4 pm. In the process, the San Francisco received the fire of two British frigates which successively shot him with grapeshot. The Spanish ship could only return the fire with the stern chasers of its batteries, although she luffed occasionally to shoot broadsides on the British frigates, inflicting serious damage. The British gunners, noted for their skill through the war, were not particularly accurate during the action, and San Francisco, already hit by the storm, didn't suffer serious damage.

The British frigates left the battle at 4 pm, and although after consulting among themselves the British commanders resolved return to fight at 4:30 pm, they finally withdrew half an hour later. The imminence of the nightfall and the possibility of running aground on the coast between Huelva and Ayamonte convinced Alonso de Torres y Guerra to turn back to Cádiz instead of chasing Galloway's division, but trying before to sail between the retreating British ships to shoot upon them two complete broadsides. The British vessels, however, managed to avoid the action by taking advantage of its fasteness and the darkness of the dusk.

Aftermath

Rescue of the Santísima Trinidad at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, by Antonio de Brugada Vila (1804-1863).

The San Francisco de Asís had 2 men killed and 12 wounded in the action. She received a shot at the mainyard, another one awash, and minor damage to the rigging and the hull. The ship had been repaired when, on 14 February, it took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent. The British fleet, commanded by John Jervis, was victorious over the Spanish fleet under José de Córdoba y Ramos. The San Francisco played a role in the battle, helping at the end of the action to relieve the three-decker Santísima Trinidad, which had been put out of action and was about to be taken by the British fleet. The damage and casualties aboard the British division remain unknown, and the action is not mentioned in English sources, though the Spanish naval historian Cesáreo Fernández Duro states that one of Galloway's frigates lost its foretopmast.

A success by ship of line fighting alone against a squadron of well armed frigates was not common during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.[8] For example, in the Action of 8 March 1795, the 74-gun HMS Berwick was captured in just 15 minutes by the French frigate Alceste, supported by the frigates Minerveand Vestale. As a reward for his victory, Captain Alonso de Torres y Guerra was given the encomienda of Corral de Caracuel in the Order of Alcántara, which included, asides of the title of knight, an income of 15.800 reales. On the other hand, Galloway's career wasn't damaged by the result of the action, and he was chosen by Admiral Jervis to carry back to England news of the victory of St Vincent.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_25_January_1797

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1800 - HMS Brazen (1798 - 18), Cptn. J. Hanson, driven by a gale on to the Ave Rocks near Newhaven and wrecked.


HMS Brazen was the French privateer Invincible General Bonaparte (or Invincible Bonaparte or Invincible Buonaparte), which the British captured in 1798. She is best known for her wrecking in January 1800 in which all but one of her crew drowned.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, stern board outline, and longitudinal half-breadth for Brazen (captured 1798), a captured French privateer prior to being fitted as a 16-gun Ship Sloop. The plans shows the ship with her original French name of 'Invincible General Bonaparte'. Note the pronounced 'V' shaped hull, indicating that she was built for speed. Signed by Edward Tippett [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard, 1793-1799].

Capture
Invincible General Bonaparte was a French privateer of 20 guns and 170 men under the command of Jean Pierre Lamothe and under the ownership of Salanche, Bordeaux. The frigate Boadicea captured her on 9 December 1798. She was sixteen days out of Bordeaux and reportedly had not made any captures.

However, a privateer by the same name had taken and burned Friendship, Smith, master, which had been sailing from St Ube's to Falmouth. Boadiceasent Invincible Buonaparte, of "18 guns and 175 men" into Portsmouth.

The prize arrived at Spithead on 18 December and in time the Admiralty decided to purchase her. The Admiralty renamed her Brazen and established her as an 18-gun sloop of war.



Service
Brazen was fitted for service in the Channel and Captain James Hanson, who had sailed with Captain George Vancouver (1791-4), commissioned her on 19 October 1799. Two weeks later, Captain Andrew Sproule, Commander of the Brighton Sea Fencibles wrote to Captain Henry Cromwell drawing attention to the presence of French privateers off the coast. A week later Admiral Milbanke told the Admiralty in London that "the Brazen Sloop sailed this morning under orders to cruise till further notice for the protection of the Trade and annoyance of the enemy between Beachy Head and Dunmose."

She sailed from Morwellham, a small inland Devon port, and on 25 January 1800, she captured a French vessel off the Isle of Wight that Hanson sent into Portsmouth with a 12-man prize crew. This left Brazen a little short-handed.

Wreck
Unfortunately, early in the morning on the next day, 26 January, Brazen was wrecked under high cliffs west of Newhaven. Captain Sproule and 20 Sea Fencibles rushed to the site but arrived too late to rescue any of the crew, all but one of whom died.

The sole survivor was Jeremiah Hill, a seaman from HMS Carysfort who had joined the crew of Brazen ten days before the wreck. Hill had been asleep below decks when the ship struck the cliffs on the night of 25 January. On waking he rushed to assist his crew mates, who were engaged in cutting away the main and mizzen masts to lighten the ship and avoid her beating against the rocks. Although they succeeded in cutting away the masts the force of the waves against the hull was too great and Brazen immediately heeled over onto her side. Hill, who could not swim, fell or jumped overboard and managed to grab a part of the main mast that was floating beside the hull. This kept him afloat until he was able to reach some broken timbers from one of Brazen's gun carriages. He clutched these and slowly floated to shore.

On the following morning, Brazen's hull was visible about half a mile from shore. The tide was low and observers could see large numbers of her crew still clinging to the upturned hull. As the hours passed the ship's remains gradually disappeared, until by high tide the waves were "breaking nearly fifty feet up the cliff face" and it was evident there could be no further survivors.

Sproule and his Sea Fencibles rescued what they could from Brazen, including the sternpost, two of her guns, and some timbers from the hull. As the bodies of the crew washed ashore the local citizens buried them in the churchyard of St Michael's in Newhaven. In all, they recovered some 95 bodies, out of a crew of about 105. Hanson's body, however, was never retrieved.

Postscript
Friends of Captain Hanson erected a monument in the form of an obelisk in the churchyard. The text commemorates Hanson, his officers (who are named), and the crew. In 1878 his widow, Louisa, restored the monument. She lived to the age of 103 and is believed to have been the longest recipient of a naval pension on record.

The wrecking so shocked the people of Newhaven that they formed a committee to investigate how a similar disaster could be avoided. In May 1803, using funds partly raised locally and partly from Lloyd's of London, they acquired a rescue lifeboat of Henry Greathead's "Original" design. This was some twenty years before the formation of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the lower deck with fore & aft platforms for Brazen (captured 1798), a captured French privateer prior to being fitted as a 16-gun Ship Sloop. The plans shows the ship with her original French name of 'Invincible General Bonaparte'.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the upper deck for Brazen (captured 1798), a captured French privateer prior to being fitted as a 16-gun Ship Sloop. The plans shows the ship with her original French name of 'Invincible General Bonaparte'.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Brazen_(1798)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-297591;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=B

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1824 - HMS Columbine Sloop (1806 - 18), Hon. Chas. Abbot, wrecked in the harbour of Port Longue, Island of Sapienza


HMS Columbine was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop launched in 1806. She served on the North America station, in the Mediterranean, off the Portuguese coast, and in the West Indies during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1823 she served briefly off Greece before wrecking off the Peloponnese in 1824.



Career
Commander James Bradshaw commissioned Columbine in August 1806. He then sailed for Halifax on 6 April 1807. In early July Columbine brought to Halifax dispatches concerning the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair, which had transpired on 22 June.

Lieutenant George Hills received promotion to Commander and command of Columbine on 20 April 1808, replacing Bradshaw.

A mutiny occurred on board Columbine, on 1 August 1809, off St. Andrews. Twenty-two seamen deserted and 23 men were court martialed. Two of the crew gave evidence against the rest. A court martial found boatswain, three seamen, and two marines guilty. They were executed on 18 September and afterwards were hung in chains on Meagher's (or Mauger's) Beach, Halifax. The carpenter's mate and six other seamen were condemned to transportation to New South Wales. Hill sailed Columbine back to Britain where she was paid off in March 1810.

In July Commander James Collins recommissioned Columbine. He then sailed her for the Mediterranean on 18 September. On 21 October 1810 he received promotion to post captain. His replacement, on 11 November, was Commander William Shepheard.

On 4 June 1811, near Saint Lucar, Columbine's boats captured a French naval settee, armed with two howitzers and six swivel guns, carrying a crew of 42 men. The settee was Guadalquiver.

Lieutenant George Westphall took temporary command of Columbine in June 1811 after Admiral Sir Keats appointed Shepheard captain pro temp of the 74-gun Alfred. Columbine was still under Westphal's command on 30 September, when her boats were again active, capturing two French privateers sheltering under the guns of shore batteries at Chipiona, which is about five kilometers SW of Saint Lucar and about 10 kilometers NW of Rota. After about three months Shepheard returned to Columbine.

Admiral Legge, the commander of the British fleet at Cadiz, in mid-October ordered Stately, Tuscan, and Columbine to transport troops to Tarifa. The troops were reinforcements for General Francisco Ballesteros, whose Spanish force was under pressure from the French forces at San Roque. The British squadron transported eight companies each of the 47th and 87th regiments of foot, a detachment of 70 men from the 95th Regiment, and four light artillery pieces. The troops landed on 18 October and the next day the French advanced along the coast. Fire from Tuscan, Stately's boats, and Gunboat 14 sent them into retreat.

In November 1811, Commander Richard H. Muddle replaced Shepheard. Under Muddle, Columbine spent 1812 and 1813 on the Portuguese coast.

On 11 August 1812, Columbine detained the American ship Louisa, which was condemned as a "droit of the Crown".

On 14 April 1813, Columbine recaptured Active, and shared the capture with Magicienne.

In 1814 Columbine, was on the West Indies station. At some point she and the frigate Ister captured the slaver Atrivedo, Catellanos, master. Atrivedo had sailed from Barbados to Guadeloupe. The seizure resulted in the rescue of 90 male slaves, 71 women, and 111 children.

On 16 March Columbine was in the Demerara River when Muddle awarded W. Hill, master of the ship Liverpool a letter of approbation and a pendant to fly from her mast. Liverpool had repulsed an attack by the notorious, and usually more successful, American privateer Snap Dragon in a five-hour action. The pendant was a signal to all British warships to respect Liverpool's crew, i.e., not to press them.






Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the lower deck for the 18-gun Brig Sloops (described as brigantines). The plan includes alterations to the shot locker near the main hatchway, dated 1823, and also to the magazine (in pencil), dated 1821.

Post-war and loss
Between November 1818 and January 1820, Columbine underwent repairs at Plymouth. Then between April and September 1823 she underwent fitting there for sea duty. Commander the Honourable Charles Abbot commissioned her in September, and later sailed her for the Mediterranean, where she operated off the west coast of Greece.

Columbine destroyed a pirate vessel, after removing her 25-man crew, on 26 November 1823. At some point Columbine captured another pirate vessel that was sold at Carigo. In November 1827 bounty money for the captured men and prize money for the vessel was due for payment.

On 25 January 1824 Columbine wrecked on Sapientza Island, which is off the southern coast of the Peloponnese, near the city of Methóni. She had sailed from Corfu on 15 January and had arrived at the island on 19 January. Abbott initially went on shore to conduct a survey of the harbour and anchored her off Port Longue. On the night of the 24th, the weather worsened and her single anchor did not hold her securely, with the result that she drove onto a reef and foundered. All her crew survived, having clambered onto the rocks. The subsequent court martial reprimanded Abbott and the master, James Atkinson, for having used only one anchor and for not having prepared for the eventuality of bad weather.

Another account reports that two crew members were lost. The Turkish garrison at Modon, though itself ill-provisioned, sent supplies that permitted the crew to subsist until Alacrity could retrieve them.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Columbine_(1806)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruizer-class_brig-sloop

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1852 – Death of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian admiral, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1778)


Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen (Russian: Фадде́й Фадде́евич Беллинсга́узен, tr. Faddéy Faddéevich Bellinsgáuzen; 20 September [O.S. 9 September] 1778 – 25 January [O.S. 13 January] 1852), a Baltic German naval officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, cartographer and explorer, ultimately rose to the rank of admiral. He participated in the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe and subsequently became a leader of another circumnavigation expedition that discovered the continent of Antarctica.


Admiral Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. Lithograph by U. Schzeibach (У. Шзейбах), circa 1835.

Bellingshausen started his service in the Baltic Fleet, and after distinguishing himself joined the First Russian circumnavigation of the Earth in 1803-1806, serving on the merchant ship Nadezhda under the captaincy of Adam Johann von Krusenstern. After the journey he published a collection of maps of the newly explored areas and islands of the Pacific Ocean. Subsequently, he commanded several ships of the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets.



As a prominent cartographer, Bellingshausen was appointed to command the Russian circumnavigation of the globe in 1819-1821, intended to explore the Southern Ocean and to find land in the proximity of the South Pole. Mikhail Lazarev prepared the expedition and was made Bellingshausen's second-in-command and the captain of the sloop Mirny, while Bellingshausen himself commanded the sloop Vostok. During this expedition Bellingshausen and Lazarev became the first explorers to see the land of Antarctica on 27 January 1820 (New Style). They circumnavigated the continent twice and never lost each other from view. Thus they disproved Captain Cook's assertion that it was impossible to find land in the southern ice-fields. The expedition discovered and named Peter I Island, Zavodovski, Leskov and Visokoi Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula and Alexander Island (Alexander Coast), and made other discoveries in the tropical waters of the Pacific.


Nadezdha, on which Bellingshausen served under captain Krusenstern during the first Russian circumnavigation.

Made counter admiral on his return, Bellingshausen participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829. Promoted to vice-admiral, he again served in the Baltic Fleet in 1830s, and from 1839 he was the military governor of Kronstadt, where he died. In 1831 he published the book on his Antarctic travels, called Double Investigation of the Southern Polar Ocean and the Voyage Around the World (Двукратные изыскания в южнополярном океане и плавание вокруг света). Russians remember him as one of their greatest admirals and explorers. Multiple geographical features and locations in the Antarctic, named in honor of Bellingshausen, commemorate his role in the exploration of the southern polar region.



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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1860 – Launch of HMS Prince of Wales, a 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate three-decker Ship of the Line


HMS Prince of Wales was one of six 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate three-decker line-of-battle ships of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 25 January 1860.
In 1869 she was renamed HMS Britannia and under that name served at Dartmouth as a cadet training ship until 1905.


HMS Britannia, painting by Henry J. Morgan



History
The Prince of Wales was originally a 3,186 ton 120 gun design by John Edye and Isaac Watts for a modified Queen-class sailing line-of-battle ship. She was laid down at Portsmouth on 10 June 1848, though she was not formally ordered until 29 June, and the design was approved on 28 July 1848.

In 1849, the Royal Navy started ordering screw line-of-battle ships starting with the Agamemnon. It is possible that construction of Prince of Wales was suspended, as screw line-of-battle ships laid down after her, were completed before her. Prince of Wales was reordered to complete as a 121 gun screw line-of-battle ship on 9 April 1856, conversion work started on 27 October 1856. Her half-sisters Duke of Wellington and Royal Sovereign were lengthened with an extra 23 ft amidships and 8 ft in the run, and originally it was intended that Marlborough and Prince of Wales would be converted to the same plans, but they were further lengthened during construction.

Her engines were 800 nhp Penn two-cylinder (82 inch diameter, 4 ft stroke) horizontal single expansion trunk engines.

She was launched on 25 January 1860, and did her trials at sea in Stokes Bay on 31 October 1860 unrigged. She made an average of 12.569 knots (23.293 km/h ).

Prince of Wales was completed towards the end of the unarmoured phase of a naval arms race between Britain and France. In 1860 the Royal Navy had more wooden steam line-of-battle ships than it needed to man in peacetime. The Royal Navy's first armoured line-of-battle ship, Warriorwas commissioned in 1861. Unarmoured screw line-of-battle ships were still of value in the early to mid-1860s, and several new screw line-of-battle ships were commissioned in the 1860s.

In 1867, the Prince of Wales's engines were removed so they could be installed in the ironclad Repulse. In 1869 she was renamed Britannia and began service as a cadet training ship at Dartmouth, replacing the previous Britannia in that role. As Britannia, she was a hulk, and only had her foremast. Among those starting their naval careers on her were, in 1877, the future Admiral and First Sea Lord Rosslyn Wemyss, Prince Albert Victor, and his younger brother, the future King George V.

A shore-based college at Dartmouth was opened in September 1905 and this was named Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. The Britannia training establishment was closed at the same time.

A new King Edward VII-class battleship called Britannia was launched in December 1904. The former Prince of Wales was officially hulked in September 1909, sold to Garnham on 23 September 1914, then resold to Hughes Bolckow arriving at Blyth in July 1916 for breaking up. In 1917 her "wreck" was etched by Frank Brangwyn, a print of which can be seen in Bruges' Groeningemuseum today.


Sisterships

HMS Duke of Wellington in drydock at Keyham, Devonport Dockyard, in England on 5 March 1854.

HMS Duke of Wellington (PAD6198)

List of ships-of-the-line of the Royal Navy (1830–47)
Captain Sir William Symonds served as Surveyor of the Navy from 1832 to 1847. Captain Symonds was a naval officer and yacht designer, "who had risen to prominence by his success in competitive sailing trials between small warships. His selection implied a criticism of the dockyard-trained architects of the preceding 200 years".[26] Symonds attempted a revolution in warship design. His ships were designed to be faster under sail, and have more room for the gunners to work the guns (improving ergonomics). To achieve this, his ships were larger, and used a different hull form to provide stability without needing large amounts of ballast. Unfortunately the Surveyor's department was understaffed for the amount of work they were undertaking, and mistakes were made. Symonds' designs had more stability than was desirable, with the result that they rolled excessively and therefore were poor gun platforms. Another problem with Symonds' ships was that they were very sensitive to the distribution of weights on board ship, such as the stores carried and consumed on a voyage.

Symonds worked very closely with John Edye, an experienced and well-educated shipwright officer. Edye was responsible for the details of structure and construction. The ships that Symonds and Edye designed had far more iron in their structure than the previous generation of ships designed by Seppings.

First rates of 120 guns (three-deckers)
Ships converted to steam ships-of-the-line

• Duke of Wellington class 3-deckers, 131 guns
  • Duke of Wellington 131 (1852) – ex-Windsor Castle, laid down 1849, converted to screw 1852, receiving ship Portsmouth 1863, sold 1902 for broken up
  • Marlborough 131 (1855) – laid down 1850, converted to screw 1853-5, receiving ship Portsmouth 1878, renamed Vernon II 1904, sold 1824, capsized off Brighton while on tow to the breakers Oct 1924
  • Royal Sovereign 121 (1857) – laid down 1849, converted to screw 1855–57, converted to turret ship 1864, sold for breaking 1885
  • Prince of Wales 121 (1860) – laid down 1848, converted to screw 1856–60, renamed Britannia to replace original ship of that name as training ship for boys in the river Dart 1869, hulked 1909, sold for breaking 1914
• Royal Albert class (Lang) 3-decker, 121 guns
  • Royal Albert 121 (1854) – laid down 1844, converted to screw 1852-4, sold 1883 for broken up

Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the 131-gun single-screw ship HMS ‘Marlborough’ (1855), complete with stump masts, figurehead, a full set of anchors and single funnel. It is mounted on its original wooden baseboard and two sections of the deck lift away to reveal the interior layout and internal construction of the hull and decks. Laid down as a sailing ship, the ‘Marlborough’ was lengthened and adapted for auxiliary screw propulsion during the course of its construction. It was launched at Portsmouth dockyard on 31 July 1855 and completed three months later measuring 245 feet along the gun deck by 61 feet in the beam. Although not the largest wooden ship of the line ever designed, it was the largest to serve in the Royal Navy as an effective man-of-war, and may be regarded as representing the peak of the development of its type. From 1858–64 the ‘Marlborough’ served in the Mediterranean, but was later removed from service becoming an engineering school in 1877. In 1904, as ‘Vernon II’, it became part of the torpedo school centred on HMS 'Vernon’. In 1923 when 'Vernon' became a shore establishment, the ‘Marlborough’ was sold but was not to suffer the indignity of being broken up. Whilst under tow in the Channel in the late evening of 28 November 1924, it capsized and sank.


Cross section of the Duke of Wellington


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Prince_of_Wales_(1860)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...1;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=D;start=0
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...5;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=M;start=0

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1890 - Irex was a sailing vessel wrecked at Scratchell's Bay on the Isle of Wight by The Needles while on her maiden voyage.


Irex was a sailing vessel wrecked at Scratchell's Bay on the Isle of Wight by The Needles on 25 January 1890, while on her maiden voyage.



Ship history
Irex was built by J. Reid & Co. of Port Glasgow, and launched on 10 October 1889. The 2,348 gross register tons (GRT) steel-hulled three-masted ship was 302 ft 2 in (92.10 m) long, and 43 ft (13 m) in the beam.

On 24 December 1889 Irex sailed from Greenock, bound for Rio de Janeiro, under the command of Captain Hutton, carrying a cargo of 3,600 tons of iron sewerage pipes.



However, storms meant that she was obliged to shelter in Belfast Lough until 1 January 1890. She sailed again, but the winds reached hurricane strength, and she attempted to take shelter in Falmouth on the 24th, but was unable to get a pilot boat to guide her in, so continued up the English Channel towards Portland. As Irex approached the Needles, Hutton mistook the Needles Lighthouse for a light from a pilot boat, and drove his ship up onto the shore at about 10 p.m.

Large waves broke over the ship, and the Captain, First Mate, Boatswain and a crewman were killed. At 9 a.m. Irex was seen by soldiers stationed at The Needles Batteries who alerted the Totland lifeboat. The steam collier Hampshire also come to the aid of Irex, but neither ship were able to approach Irex before noon. After nearly being smashed into Hampshire, the lifeboat abandoned the attempt to rescue the crew, and was towed back to port by Hampshire.

At 1.15 p.m. the Coastguard launched a rocket from the battery, taking a line, which caught in the rigging. As the crew attempted to reach the line, one man fell and was killed. It took them two hours to secure a hawser, which enabled the 29 survivors from the crew of 36 to be winched by breeches buoy from the ship to the cliff-top.






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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1917 - SS Laurentic, a British ocean liner of the White Star Line, struck two mines and sank


SS Laurentic was a British ocean liner of the White Star Line. She was converted to an armed merchant cruiser at the onset of World War I, and sank after striking two mines north of Ireland on 25 January 1917, with the loss of 354 lives. She was carrying about 43 tons of gold ingots at the time of her loss, and as of 2017, 20 bars of gold are yet to be recovered.



Background

The construction of the Alberta

The Dominion Line steamship company operated a successful passenger service on their Liverpool-Canada route in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their ships had become outdated, so in 1907 two new liners were ordered from Harland and Wolff, and constructed at their yard in Belfast. During their construction they were purchased by the White Star Line, and became its first ships in the Canadian passenger trade.

The ships were originally named SS Alberta and SS Albany, and after the transfer of ownership Alberta was renamed Laurentic and her sister Albany became Megantic.



Design
At the time, the two were the largest ships yet built for Canadian service and they were used as a form of full-scale experiment to decide on the machinery for the White Star Line's future Olympic-class ocean liners. Megantic was built as a conventional twin-screw ship with conventional quadruple expansion engines, while Laurentic, with the same hull and boiler power, was given an experimental configuration known as 'combination machinery', consisting of three screws: The two wing propellers were driven by 4-cylinder triple expansion engines, while the third centre propeller was driven by a low pressure steam turbine, utilising the exhaust steam from the first two engines. Later comparisons of the performance of the two ships revealed that Laurentic produced 20% more power than her sister for the same steam consumption, and for the same power output, Laurentic's coal consumption was twelve to fifteen percent lower than that of Megantic. As the experiment was considered a success, the same arrangement was chosen for use in the three Olympic-class liners.

Career
Laurentic was launched in 1908 and departed on her maiden voyage 29 April 1909, from Liverpool to Quebec City, with 1,057 passengers on board.[6] She normally served on the Liverpool-Canada route, and also stopped in New York during the winter months. While crossing the Atlantic to New York on 22 January 1910, she was caught in a powerful storm; waves destroyed the windows of the upper deck and flooded the navigation bridge and the officers' quarters, disabling the service command transmitters. The ship survived, and arrived safely to port.[3] Laurentic gained notoriety later in 1910 during the capture of murderer Hawley Harvey Crippen, in which Chief Inspector Walter Dew of the Metropolitan Police used Laurentic's speed to arrive in Canada before the fleeing suspect on SS Montrose.


Laurentic during her war service

During her regular service from Liverpool, Laurentic passed near where Titanic had sunk a few days earlier. On 21 April 1912 Captain John Mathias reported "he had kept a careful lookout while passing over the Grand Banks, and had seen neither bodies nor wreckage."

In early August 1914, before Britain declared war on Germany in what was to become World War I, Laurentic sailed from Liverpool to Canada with her accommodations full of fleeing Europeans.[6] On 13 September, while at Montréal, she was commissioned as a troop transport for the Canadian Expeditionary Force, painted grey, and reclassified as HMS Laurentic. Still captained by John Mathias, she joined a convoy of 32 ships that transported 35,000 Canadian soldiers to Europe in October 1914.[3][6] She was then converted to an auxiliary cruiser and fitted with seven cannon.

In December 1914 she left Liverpool for Sierra Leone to assist in the Kamerun Campaign, and was involved mostly with the African theatre until the following summer. In August 1915 she left for Singapore and spent the ensuing months on patrol around Singapore, Rangoon, and Hong Kong. In June 1916 she left Asia en route to Halifax, Nova Scotia by way of Cape Town, and spent the following months patrolling near Halifax. Her patrol eventually moved southward to Bermuda, and then returned directly to Halifax in October. In late November she departed for Liverpool, carrying Royal Canadian Navy officers, rated seamen, and Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserves. During the voyage, Captain Mathias was accidentally struck by a steel beam while attempting to extinguish a coal fire, and died on 4 December of a fractured skull, two days before reaching Liverpool.

Sinking
On 23 January 1917, Laurentic departed Liverpool en route to Halifax, under the command of Captain Reginald Norton. She carried some 479 passengers, mostly naval officers, ratings, and Naval Volunteer Reserves, as well as a secret cargo of gold which was to be used for the purchase of war munitions from Canada and the United States. On 25 January the ship made an unscheduled stop at the naval base in Buncrana, Ireland, to allow four passengers with yellow fever symptoms to disembark. The ship lifted anchor around sunset, moving toward Fanad Head, where she was to meet with a destroyer escort. The weather was bitterly cold and a blizzard affected visibility, but Captain Norton gave the order to proceed without the escort, despite reports that a German U-boat had been spotted in the area earlier. Less than an hour after leaving Buncrana, the ship struck two mines laid by the German mine-laying submarine U-80 off Lough Swilly. One of the mines exploded near the engine room, which left the ship without power and caused it to list 20 degrees; the combination of the darkness and list made it difficult to lower the lifeboats, and made it impossible for the ship to issue a distress call. Without power the main pumps were inoperable and the ship sank within an hour.

Those who made it onto lifeboats faced extreme cold as low as −13 °C (9 °F). Survivors rowed towards Fanad Lighthouse, and some were rescued by local fishing trawlers. In the morning, many were found frozen to death in their lifeboats, with their hands still gripping the oars. The official count lists 475 passengers on board at the time of sinking, meaning that only 121 survived, and 354 were lost in the disaster.

On 1 February, The New York Times reported that the last person to leave the ship was Captain Norton, who survived. He was quoted as saying: "To the best of my knowledge, all the men got safely into the boats. The best of order prevailed after the explosion. The officers and men lived up to the best traditions of the navy...The deaths were all due to exposure, owing to the coldness of the night. My own boat was almost full of water when we were picked up by a trawler the next morning, but all the men in the boat survived. Another boat, picked up at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, contained five survivors and fifteen frozen bodies. They had been exposed to the bitter cold for over twenty hours." Bodies of the dead continued to wash up on shore for several weeks.

Salvage
In addition to her passengers and crew, the ship was carrying 3,211 gold ingots (about 43 tons) stowed in its second class baggage room. At the time the gold was valued at £5 million (approximately £390 million in 2016) and was intended to pay for war munitions. Royal Navy salvage divers led by Captain Guybon Chesney Castell Damant made over 5,000 dives to the wreck in 1917 and 1919 to 1924, recovering all but 25 of the ingots. In 1934, three more ingots were recovered by a private salvage company and two more by the time that salvage company went bankrupt. Further attempts in the 1950s and 1980s recovered nothing. As of 2016, 20 bars of gold remain unaccounted for. The last of the gold recovered by the Royal Navy was some 10 metres (33.8 feet) under the sea bed, thus the remaining gold may be difficult to reach.

The wreck lies about 40 metres (130 ft) beneath the surface, and its salvage rights are privately owned It is considered an official war grave under international law.

In 2007, one of the deck guns was recovered and put on permanent display at Downings pier.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Laurentic_(1908)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
25 January 1941 - The keel to USS Wisconsin (BB 64) is laid. Commissioned in April 1944, she serves during the later stages of World War II in the Pacific. She is now a museum battleship stationed in Norfolk, Va.


USS Wisconsin (BB-64) is an Iowa-class battleship, the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched on 7 December 1943 (the second anniversary of the Pearl Harbor raid), sponsored by the wife of Governor Walter Goodland of Wisconsin.


USS Wisconsin at sea, c. 1990

During her career, Wisconsin served in the Pacific Theater of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications and screened United States aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned. She was reactivated on 1 August 1986; after a modernization program, she participated in Operation Desert Storm in January and February 1991.

Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991 after a total of 14 years of active service in the fleet, and having earned a total of six battle stars for service in World War II and Korea, as well as a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the January/February 1991 Gulf War. She currently functions as a museum ship operated by Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Wisconsin was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) 17 March 2006, and was donated for permanent use as a museum ship. On 15 April 2010, the City of Norfolk officially took over ownership of the ship.


Construction
Main articles: Iowa-class battleship and Armament of the Iowa class battleship
Wisconsin was one of the "fast battleship" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair. She was the third of four completed ships of the Iowa class of battleships. Her keel was laid down on 25 January 1941, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was launched on 7 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Goodland, wife of Walter S. Goodland, the Governor of Wisconsin, and commissioned on 16 April 1944, with Captain Earl E. Stone in command.

Wisconsin's main battery consisted of nine 16 in (406 mm)/50 cal Mark 7 guns, which could hurl 2,700 lb (1,200 kg) armor-piercing shells some 20 mi (32 km). The secondary battery consisted of 20 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal guns in ten twin turrets, which could fire at targets up to 10 mi (16 km) away. With the advent of air power and the need to gain and maintain air superiority came a need to protect the growing fleet of allied aircraft carriers; to this end, Wisconsin was fitted with an array of Oerlikon 20 mm and Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns to defend allied carriers from enemy airstrikes. When reactivated in 1986, Wisconsin had her 20 mm and 40 mm AA guns removed, and was outfitted with Phalanx CIWS mounts for protection against enemy missiles and aircraft, and Armored Box Launchers and Quad Cell Launchers designed to fire Tomahawk missilesand Harpoon missiles, respectively. Wisconsin and her sister ship Missouri were fitted with thicker traverse bulkhead armor, 14.5 inches (368 mm), compared to 11.3 inches (287 mm) in the first two ships of her class, the Iowa and New Jersey.

Wisconsin is numerically the highest numbered US battleship built. Although her keel was laid after the USS Missouri's, she was commissioned before the Missouri's commissioning date. Thus, Wisconsin's construction began after Missouri's, and finished earlier. Iowa and Wisconsin were finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 March 2006, making them the last battleships on a navy list in the world.


Museum ship (1992–present)


Crewmembers man the rails aboard Wisconsin during her decommissioning ceremony

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the absence of a perceived threat to the United States came drastic cuts in the defense budget. The high cost of maintaining and operating battleships as part of the United States Navy's active fleet became uneconomical; as a result, Wisconsin was decommissioned on 30 September 1991 after 14 total years of active service, and joined the Reserve Fleet at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) on 12 January 1995, then on 15 October 1996, she was moved to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and on 12 February 1998, she was restored to the Naval Vessel Register. On 7 December 2000, the battleship was towed from Portsmouth, Virginia and berthed adjacent to Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk. On 16 April 2001 the battleship's weather decks were opened to the public by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, a U.S. Navy museum charged with Wisconsin's interpretation and public visitation. The ship was still owned by the Navy and was considered part of the mothball fleet.


USS Wisconsin docked in Norfolk, Virginia

Wisconsin was named (along with Iowa) as one of two US Navy battleships to be maintained in the United States Navy reserve fleets in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 as shore bombardment vessels. However, Wisconsin was then over 60 years old and would have required extensive modernization to return to the fleet since most of her technology dated back to World War II, and the missile and electronic warfare equipment added to the battleship during her 1988–89 modernization were considered obsolete. Furthermore, during the 1991 Gulf War, she was said to be hindered by Iraqi naval mines, and reports on the Internet suggest that the majority of the shore bombardments were successfully carried out by US Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates and their 3 in (76 mm) guns. In addition, the cost of modernizing the battleships was estimated to be around $500 million for reactivation and $1.5 billion for a full modernization program.


USS Wisconsin at her berth in Norfolk in 2007

On 17 March 2006, the Secretary of the Navy exercised his authority to strike Iowa and Wisconsin from the NVR, which cleared the way for both ships to be donated for use as museums; however, the United States Congress remained "deeply concerned" over the loss of naval surface gunfire support that the battleships provided, and noted that "...navy efforts to improve upon, much less replace, this capability have been highly problematic." Partially as a consequence, Congress passed Pub.L. 109–163, the National Defense Authorization Act 2006, requiring that the battleships be kept and maintained in a state of readiness should they ever be needed again. Congress had ordered that the following measures be implemented to ensure that Wisconsin could be returned to active duty if needed:

1. She must not be altered in any way that would impair her military utility;
2. The battleship must be preserved in her present condition through the continued use of cathodic protection, dehumidification systems, and any other preservation methods as needed;
3. Spare parts and unique equipment such as the 16 in (406 mm) gun barrels and projectiles be preserved in adequate numbers to support Wisconsin, if reactivated;
4. The Navy must prepare plans for the rapid reactivation of Wisconsin should she be returned to the Navy in the event of a national emergency.

These four conditions closely mirror the original three conditions that the Nation Defense Authorization Act of 1996 laid out for the maintenance of Wisconsin while she was in the Mothball Fleet. It was unlikely that these conditions would impede a plan to turn Wisconsin into a permanent museum ship at her berth in Norfolk.

On 14 December 2009 the US Navy officially transferred Wisconsin to the city of Norfolk, ending the requirement for the ship to be preserved for possible recall to active duty. The US Navy had paid the city of Norfolk $2.8 million between 2000 and 2009 to maintain the ship. A formal ceremony transferring the ship to the city of Norfolk took place on 16 April 2010. Wisconsin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 28 March 2012.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wisconsin_(BB-64)
https://web.archive.org/web/20071017104824/http://navsource.org/archives/01/64d.htm
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/hrnm.html

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 25 January


1794 - Sunda Strait campaign of January 1794

HEICS Houghton, Cptn. Hudson, and HEICS Nonsuch, Cptn. John Canning, engaged Cybele off Saint-Nicholas point, Java

Battle of the Sunda Strait
On the morning of 24 January, most of Mitchell's squadron lay at anchor off the island of Pulau Panjang in Bantam Bay on the northwestern tip of Java, with Nonsuch and the new prizes remaining in the Zuften Islands about 15 miles (24 km) distant. At 06:00, sails were sighted in the northern part of the Sunda Strait passing the small island of Dwars in de Weg that were rapidly identified as three frigates and a brig. These were in fact the French naval squadron from Île de France, consisting of the frigates Prudente and Cybèle, the brig Vulcain and the captured Princess Royal, now renamed Duguay-Trouin, under the overall command of Captain Jean-Marie Renaud. Canning attempted to communicate with the strange vessels, but by 13:00 it was obvious from their lack of response that these were enemy ships, and the greatly outnumbered Canning made all sail northeast with his prizes to avoid destruction.

During the evening heavy rain squalls reduced visibility and prevented any decisive movement by either side, but on 25 January the French squadron had rounded St. Nicholas Point at the northwestern tip of Java and was in full pursuit of Canning's ships, which had been joined by Houghton. Resolu in particular was struggling to escape the advancing enemy, but Mitchell had realised the danger and was sailing to intercept the French. At 06:30 Houghton, Nonsuch and Vengeur joined with the remainder of Mitchell's force and two hours later Renaud's ships met the British line, Resolu just managing to reach safety in the shelter of the large East Indiamen despite being hit repeatedly in the latter stages of the chase. For an hour the two squadrons continued a general exchange of fire at long-range, before Mitchell turned William Pitt, Houghton and Nonsuch towards the French at 09:30, the latter two both managing to hit Cybèle with destructive broadsides. Firing continued for another 18 minutes as Renaud withdrew, eventually anchoring off the island of Pulau Baby. Neither commander was keen to continue the action, Mitchell fearing that his undermanned ships would not be able to properly engage the better armed French vessels. Casualties among the French squadron are not known, but the only loss on the British ships was on Nonsuch, which had a man killed in combat with Cybèle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunda_Strait_campaign_of_January_1794


1841 – Birth of John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, English admiral (d. 1920)

John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher,[2] GCB, OM, GCVO (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British admiral known for his efforts at naval reform. He had a huge influence on the Royal Navy in a career spanning more than 60 years, starting in a navy of wooden sailing ships armed with muzzle-loading cannon and ending in one of steel-hulled battlecruisers, submarines and the first aircraft carriers. The argumentative, energetic, reform-minded Fisher is often considered the second most important figure in British naval history, after Lord Nelson.



Fisher is primarily celebrated as an innovator, strategist and developer of the navy rather than a seagoing admiral involved in major battles, although in his career he experienced all these things. When appointed First Sea Lord in 1904, he removed 150 ships then on active service which were no longer useful and set about constructing modern replacements, creating a modern fleet prepared to meet Germany during the First World War.

Fisher saw the need to improve the range, accuracy and rate of fire of naval gunnery, and was an early proponent of the use of the torpedo, which he believed would supersede big guns for use against ships. As Controller, he introduced torpedo boat destroyers as a class of ship intended for defence against attack from torpedo boats or submarines. As First Sea Lord, he was responsible for the construction of HMS Dreadnought, the first all-big-gun battleship, but he also believed that submarines would become increasingly important and urged their development. He was involved with the introduction of turbine engines to replace reciprocating engines, and the introduction of oil fuelling to replace coal. He introduced daily baked bread on board ships, whereas when he entered the service it was customary to eat hard biscuits, frequently infested by biscuit weevils.

He first officially retired from the Admiralty in 1911 on his 70th birthday, but became First Sea Lord again in November 1914. He resigned seven months later in frustration over Churchill's Gallipoli campaign, and then served as chairman of the Government's Board of Invention and Research until the end of the war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fisher,_1st_Baron_Fisher


1890 – Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.

Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name, Nellie Bly, was an American journalist who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days, in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. She was a pioneer in her field, and launched a new kind of investigative journalism. Bly was also a writer, industrialist, inventor, and a charity worker.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Bly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_Seventy-Two_Days


1943 - USS Shad (SS 235) encounters German blockade runners transporting ore in the Bay of Biscay. Shad fires on Nordfels, but the torpedo fails to explode, and Nordfels returns to Bilbao, Spain.

USS Shad (SS-235), a Gato-class submarine, was the first submarine and second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the shad, a fish of the herring family, common along coasts of the United States.
The second Shad was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard (in Kittery, Maine) on 24 October 1941. She was launched on 15 April 1942 (sponsored by Miss Priscilla Alden Dudley), and commissioned on 12 June 1942, with Lieutenant Commander Edgar J. MacGregor III (Class of 1930) in command.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shad_(SS-235)


1945 - USS McLanahan (DD 615) shells the German command post on the Italian Rivera and silences the shore battery.

USS McLanahan (DD-615) was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second Navy ship named for Tenant McLanahan.
McLanahan was laid down 29 May 1941 by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Shipbuilding Division, San Pedro, California; launched 2 September 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy W. Howard; and commissioned 19 December 1942, Lieutenant Commander H. R. Hummer, in command.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_McLanahan_(DD-615)


1945 - USS Silversides (SS 236), despite the presence of auxiliary submarine chasers, sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Malay Maru off Kuro Jima.

USS Silversides (SS/AGSS-236) is a Gato-class submarine, the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the silversides.
Silversides was one of the most successful submarines in the Pacific Theater of World War II, with 23 confirmed sinkings, totalling more than 90,000 long tons (91,444 t) of shipping. She received a Presidential Unit Citation for cumulative action over four patrols, and twelve battle stars.[8] She presently serves as a museum ship in Muskegon, Michigan, and is a National Historic Landmark.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Silversides_(SS-236)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 January 1781 - Butterworth , launched in 1778 in France as the highly successful 32-gun privateer Américaine, was captured by HMS Prudente


Butterworth was launched in 1778 in France as the highly successful 32-gun privateer Américaine, of Granville. The British Royal Navy captured her early in 1781. She first appeared in a commercial role in 1784 as America, and was renamed in 1785 as Butterworth. She served primarily as a whaler in the Greenland whale fisheries. New owners purchased her in 1789. She underwent a great repair in 1791 that increased her size by almost 20%. She is most famous for her role in the "Butterworth Squadron", which took her and two ship's tenders on an exploration, sealing, otter fur, and whaling voyage to Alaska and the Pacific Coast of North America. She and her consorts are widely credited with being the first European vessels to enter, in 1794, what is now Honolulu harbour. After her return to England in 1795, Butterworth went on three more whaling voyages to the South Pacific, then Africa, and then the South Pacific again. In 1802 she was outward bound on her fourth of these voyage, this to the South Pacific, when she was lost.



French privateer
Many accounts of the Butterworth Squadron refer to Butterworth as a former French 30-gun frigate. The term "frigate" was often used loosely. Butterworth's previous name was American, and there was no French warship of that name that fit her description. However, there was a French privateer frigate Américaine, of Granville, that carried 32 guns and that was active between 1779 and 1780.

Between 1778 and 1779 Américaine was under the command of Captain Paul Eudes de la Cocardière. Under his command she captured at least four prizes: Hunter, Sorel, Edgipezeriere, and Good Intent. He paid Américaine off on 20 May 1779.

Captain François Jourdan de la Monnerie was her next captain, in 1780. Under his command she captured the prizes Machora, Betsy, Sil Lah, Race Horse, Elisabeth Quenley, Notre Dame du Rosaire, and Hanto of Black. He paid her off on 3 July 1780.

Américaine then made a third cruise. On 17 January 1781 Américaine recaptured the Dutch ship Hendrick Frederick, Captain Raba, master. Hendrick Fredrick had been sailing from Oporto to Nantz with 400 chests of fruit when on 13 December at 45°20′N 11°32′W Little Ben, Hayes, master, had captured her.

HMS Prudente captured the "private man of war" Américaine on 26 January 1781. She was armed with 32 guns and carried a crew of 245. Prudente and HMS Ambuscade brought "the American French Privateer" into Portsmouth. Ambuscade shared in the proceeds of the capture.

British career
America first appears in supplementary pages to Lloyd's Register for 1784. She is described as a ship of French origin and 330 tons (bm), launched in 1778. Her master is Boudinot, her owner J. Atkinson, and her trade New York-London.

In 1785 America was sold and her new owner, Butterworth, renamed her Butterworth. He then employed her as a Greenland whaler under Captain M. Pile, changing in 1786 to J. Cockburn. Ellison succeeded Cockburn. Lloyd's List reported in July 1787 that Butterworth, Ellison, master, was at Davis Strait, having taken six fish (whales). On 17 June 1788 Butterworth was again at Davis Strait, having taken three fish.

Then in 1789, T. Pritzler (or Pritzlea) replaced Butterworth as owner, and William Brown became her master.[Note 3] Her trade became London-Davis Strait.

At some point around 1791 Brown approached interested parties with a proposal to explore Baffin Bay or approach the North Pole.

In 1791 four individuals signed a testimonial to the gun-maker Charles Moore, of East Smithfield, certifying that Moore's harpoon gun was particularly suited to whale fishing as it kept the priming dry. The four were: Theophilus Pritzler (as master of Lyon), Sinclair Halcrow (as master of Lyon), William Stavers (as master of Leviathan), and William Brown (as master of Butterworth).

In 1791 Butterworth's trade became London-Greenland, changing to London-Nootka. In 1792 Butterworth's burthen changed to 390 tons after a "great repair" in 1791.

Butterworth squadron
Main article: Butterworth Squadron
Alderman William Curtis, Theophilus Pritzler, and probably John Perry, a Blackwall shipbuilder, financed an expedition consisting of three vessels, Butterworth, and two smaller tenders: Jackall, Alexander Stewart (or Steward), master, and Prince Lee Boo, E. Sharp, master. Captain William Brown, master of Butterworth, commanded the expedition.

The expedition is notable for a violent conflict with the Tla-o-qui-aht People of Vancouver Island and another reported conflict in Formosa.[20][21] Butterworth, Jackal and Prince Lee Boo are often credited with being the first European vessels to enter Honolulu Harbor.

France declared war on Britain on 1 February 1793. Brown received a letter of marque on 26 June 1793, i.e., in absentia. All three vessels of the Butterworth squadron were well at Nootka in October 1793. In late 1793 Brown transferred to Jackall, Sharp transferred to Butterworth, and Robert Gordon took command of Prince Lee Boo.

On 14 March 1794 Butterworth and Prince Lee Boo were well at "Mout Lerry", Nootka. HMS Discovery and HMS Chatham had wintered there and then sailed for the Sandwich Islands.

Butterworth then sailed to the California coast, and from there to the Galapagos.

Jackall and Prince Lee Boo were at Hawai'i by 1 January 1795. There Brown and Gordon were killed defending their vessels from an attack by the locals. The Hawaiians captured both vessels but their crews recaptured them. George Lampert and William Bonallack replaced Brown and Gordon as captains of the two vessels.

Butterworth returned to England from the Galapagos on 3 February 1795. She was under the command of Sharpe, and carried 85 tuns of whale oil and 17500 seal skins.She arrived back at London 24 April 1808.

Whaling
In 1795, Butterworth, Sinclair Halcrow, master, may have sailed on a whaling voyage. There is no further information on this voyage. Lloyd's Register for 1796 shows her master changing from W. Brown to S. Halcrow and her trade from London-Nootka to London-South Seas.

Halcrow received a letter of marque on 21 March 1796. He then sailed her on a whaling voyage, this one to Delagoa Bay. Lloyd's List, dated 9 December 1796, reported that a French privateer had attacked Butterworth in Delagoa Bay, but that Butterworth had repelled the attack. Butterworth put into Rio de Janeiro in March 1797, for water, refreshment, and calefaction; she also had sick aboard. She returned to Britain on 1 June.

On 16 September 1797, Captain Lawrence Frazier received a letter of marque for Butterworth. He sailed from Britain on 4 October 1797 for the Pacific Ocean. By this time Mather & Co. had purchased Butterworth. She was reported to have been at the Galapagos islands in August–September 1798. She was in the Marquesas Islands in January 1799. There she gave passage to England to the missionary William Pascoe Crook. She arrived in Britain on 19 May 1799.

Butterworth and New Euphrates received permission on 7 March 1800 from the British East India Company to sail east of the Cape of Good Hope to the Southern Whale Fishery. Butterworth left London on 18 March 1800, Henry Glasspoole (or Glaspool), master. She sailed on 27 April with a fleet of 150 sail under convoy. On 15 May she and Leviathan received the fleet commodore's permission to leave the fleet. Butterworth and Leviathan parted company on 24 May. In June Butterworth stopped at Rio de Janeiro for water, food, refreshment, and calefation. She was well on the coast of Chile in April 1801, and had gathered 700 barrels of sperm oil. She returned to Britain on 23 March 1802, having gathered more than 920 barrels of whale oil while whaling off Chile.

Loss
Lloyd's List reported that Butterworth, Folger, master, had been lost on 13 July 1802 off St. Jago, while outbound to the Southern Fisheries. One man was drowned, but the rest of the crew were saved and returned to Portsmouth


Prudente (1778), a 32-gun ship, captured by HMS Aeolus in 1779 and taken into service as HMS Prudente. She was sold in 1803.



Iphigénie class, (32-gun design by Léon-Michel Guignace, with 26 x 12-pounder and 6 x 6-pounder guns; Up to 6 x 36-pounder obusiers were later added).

The Iphigénie class was a group of nine 32-gun/12-pounder frigates of the French Navy, built during the late 1770s at Lorient (2 ships) and Saint Malo (7 ships). They were designed by Léon Guignace. The seven built at Saint Malo were initially numbered Nos. 1 – 7 respectively, and not given names until October 1777 (for Nos 1 – 4) and the start of 1778 (Nos. 5 – 7); all seven were captured by the British Navy between 1779 and the end of 1800. Of the two built at Lorient, the Spanish captured one, and a storm wrecked the other.

• Iphigénie, (launched 16 October 1777 at Lorient) – captured by Spanish Navy 1795.
• Surveillante, (launched 26 March 1778 at Lorient) – wrecked 1797.
• Résolue, (launched 16 March 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1798.
• Gentille, (launched 18 June 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1795.
• Amazone, (launched 11 May 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1782 but retaken next day; wrecked 1797.
• Prudente, (launched late March 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1779.
• Gloire, (launched 9 July 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1795.
• Bellone, (launched 2 August 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British Navy 1798.
• Médée, (launched 23 September 1778 at St Malo) – captured by British East Indiamen 1800.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterworth_(1785_ship)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterworth_Squadron
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19545

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 January 1784 - Sévère, a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, wrecked in Table Bay at Cape of Good Hope


Sévère was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.



Career
Built as an Indiaman by Roth on the lines of a previous ship, Superbe, that had been sold to the Austrian East India Company, Sévère was purchased by the Crown in November 1778 and commissioned for the American Revolutionary War.

She was incorporated into Suffren's squadron. She took part in the Battle of Negapatam in 1782, under Captain Villeneuve-Cilart; during the battle, Villeneuve panicked and attempted to strike, but was prevented from doing so by officers Dieu and Kerlero de Rosbo. Sévère ended up causing damage to HMS Sultan.

Sévère was later armed en flûte, and was wrecked on 26 January 1784 at the Cape of Good Hope.


64-gun ships ("vaisseaux de 64") of the Louis XVI era:

Sévère class, built by François Caro for commercial operators, to the design of Antoine Groignard's Indien Class. Purchased in 1778-79 by the French Navy. A third sister-ship - the Superbe (launched 11 March 1774) was sold in 1779 to Austria.

Sévère 64 (launched 17 January 1775 at Lorient-Caudan, and purchased for the French Navy in November 1778) - Wrecked 26 January 1784 in Table Bay, South Africa.
Ajax 64 (launched 14 January 1774 at Lorient-Caudan under the name Maréchal de Broglie, and purchased for the French Navy in April 1779, being renamed Ajax on 13 August 1779) - Struck in 1786, but reinstated as a floating battery at Verdon in June 1795; taken to pieces after March 1801.


Table Bay (Afrikaans Tafelbaai) is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.


Table Bay, the harbour and the City Bowl from the summit of Table Mountain.


Cape Town from space, looking south over False Bay with Hangklip Point(top left), Cape Point(top right) and Table Bay south and east of the clearly visible, circular Robben Island, February 1995.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Sévère_(1778)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_Bay

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
26 January 1787 – Launch of HMS Captain, a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy,


HMS Captain was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 November 1787 at Limehouse. She served during the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars before being placed in harbour service in 1799. An accident caused her to burn and founder in 1813. Later that year she was raised and broken up.


The 'Captain' capturing the 'San Nicolas' and the 'San José' at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797

French Revolutionary Wars
At the start of the French Revolutionary War, she was part of the Mediterranean fleet which occupied Toulon at the invitation of the Royalists in 1793 before being driven out by Revolutionary troops in an action where Napoleon Bonaparte made his name. During this operation Captain was deployed in the Raid on Genoa. In June 1796, Admiral Sir John Jervis transferred Captain Horatio Nelson from HMS Agamemnon into Captain. Jervis appointed Nelson commodore of a squadron that was first deployed off Livorno during Napoleon's march through northern Italy.

In September 1796, Gilbert Elliot, the British viceroy of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom, decided that it was necessary to clear out Capraja, which belonged to the Genoese and which served as a base for privateers. He sent Nelson, in Captain, together with the transport Gorgon, Vanneau, the cutter Rose, and troops of the 51st Regiment of Foot to accomplish this task in September. On their way, Minerva joined them. The troops landed on 18 September and the island surrendered immediately. Later that month Nelson oversaw the British withdrawal from Corsica.

In February 1797, Nelson had rejoined Jervis's fleet 25 miles west of Cape St. Vincent at the southwest tip of Portugal, just before it intercepted a Spanish fleet on 14 February. The Battle of Cape St Vincent made both Jervis's and Nelson's names. Jervis was made Earl St Vincent and Nelson was knighted for his initiative and daring.



Nelson had realised that the leading Spanish ships were escaping and wore Captain to break out of the line of battle to attack the much larger Spanish ships. Captain exchanged fire with the Spanish flagship, Santísima Trinidad, which mounted 136 guns on four decks. Later Captain closely engaged the 80-gun San Nicolas, when the Spanish ship was disabled by a broadside from Excellent and ran into another ship, the San Josef of 112-guns. With Captainhardly manoeuvrable, Nelson ran his ship alongside San Nicolas, which he boarded. Nelson was preparing to order his men to board San Josef next when she signalled her intent to surrender. The boarding of San Nicolas, which resulted in the taking of the two larger ships was later immortalised as 'Nelson's Patent Bridge for Boarding First Rates.'

Captain was the most severely damaged of the British ships as she was in the thick of the action for longer than any other ship. She returned to service following repairs and on 6 May 1799 sailed for the Mediterranean, where she joined Captain John Markham's squadron.

After the Battle of Alexandria, the squadron under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée, consisting of the 40-gun Junon, 36-gun Alceste, 32-gun Courageuse, 18-gun Salamine and the brig Alerte escaped to Genoa.

On 17 June 1799 the French squadron, still under Perrée, was en route from Jaffa for Toulon when it encountered the British squadron under Markham in Centaur. In the ensuing Action of 18 June 1799, the British captured the entire French squadron, with Captain capturing Alerte. Markham described Alerteas a brig of 14 guns and 120 men, under the command of Lieutenant Dumay.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for Majestic (1785), Orion (1787), and Captain (1787), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The design for these three ships was taken from the draught of the Canada (1765).


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile for building Majestic (1785), Orion (1787), and Captain (1787), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker. Copies of this with the plans were sent to the respective Merchant Yards in July 1783 and June 1784.

Napoleonic Wars
In 1807 it had been one of the escorts for the expedition leaving Falmouth that would eventually attack Buenos Aires. Turned back north once the expedition reached the Cape Verde Islands.

Captain shared with Amaranthe, Pompee, and Morne Fortunee in the prize money pool of £772 3s 3d for the capture of Frederick on 30 December 1808. This money was paid in June 1829.

Captain took part in the capture of Martinique in 1809. In April 1809, a strong French squadron arrived at the Îles des Saintes, south of Guadeloupe. There they were blockaded until 14 April, when a British force under Major-General Frederick Maitland invaded and captured the islands. Captain was among the naval vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture of the islands.

Fate
Later that year, Captain was put into harbour service. On 22 March 1813, she was accidentally burned in the Hamoaze, off Plymouth, Devon. At the time, she was undergoing conversion to a sheer hulk. When it was clear that the fire, which had begun in the forecastle, had taken hold, her securing lines were cut and she was towed a safe distance away from the other vessels so that she could burn herself out. Even so, orders were given that she be sunk. Ships' launches with carronades then commenced a one-hour bombardment. She finally foundered after having burned down to the waterline. Two men died in the accident. The wreck was raised in July and broken up at Plymouth.


A composite picture showing five of the ships in which Nelson served as a captain and flag officer from the start of the French Wars in 1793 to his death in 1805. The artist has depicted them drying sails in a calm at Spithead, Portsmouth, and despite the traditional title, two of them were not strictly flagships. The ship on the left in bow view is the 'Agamemnon', 64 guns. It was Nelson's favourite ship, which he commanded as a captain from 1793. Broadside on is the 'Vanguard', 74 guns, his flagship at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 flying a white ensign and his blue flag as Rear-Admiral of the Blue at the mizzen. Stern on is the 'Elephant', 74 guns, his temporary flagship at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. She is flying the blue ensign from the stern and Nelson's flag as Vice-Admiral of the Blue at her foremast. In the centre distance is the 'Captain', 74 guns, in which Nelson flew a commodore's broad pendant at the Battle of St Vincent, 1797. Dominating the right foreground is the 'Victory', 100 guns, shown in her original state, with open stern galleries, and not as she was at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. She is shown at anchor flying the flag of Vice-Admiral of the White, Nelson's Trafalgar rank, and firing a salute to starboard as an admiral's barge is rowed alongside, amidst other small craft. The painting is one of a series of six paintings created for a two-volume 'Life of Nelson', begun shortly after Nelson's death in 1805 by Clarke and McArthur and published in 1809. They were engraved by James Fittler and reproduced in the biography with lengthy explanatory texts. The artist placed considerable importance on accuracy, referring to his annotated drawings and sketch plans in the production of his oil paintings. Pocock was born and brought up in Bristol, went to sea at the age of 17 and rose to command several merchant ships. Although he only took up painting as a profession in his early forties, he became extremely successful, receiving commissions from naval commanders anxious to have accurate portrayals of actions and ships. By the age of 80, Pocock had recorded nearly 40 years of maritime history, demonstrating a meticulous understanding of shipping and rigging with close attention to detail.


The Canada class ships of the line were a series of four 74-gun third rates designed for the Royal Navy by William Bateley. The name ship of the class was launched in 1765.

Design
During this period in British naval architecture, the 74-gun third rates were divided into two distinct groupings: the 'large' and 'common' classes. The Canadaclass ships belonged to the latter grouping, carrying 18-pounder guns on their upper gun decks, as opposed to the 24-pounders of the large class.

Service
HMS Captain, made famous for Nelson's actions at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, belonged to this class of ships.


The Tonnant at the Battle of the Nile, by Louis Lebreton. HMS Majestic is seen in the background.

Ships

• HMS Canada

Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 1 December 1759
Launched: 17 September 1765
Fate: Broken up, 1834

• HMS Majestic

Builder: Adams & Barnard, Deptford
Ordered: 23 August 1781
Launched: 11 December 1785
Fate: Broken up, 1816

• HMS Orion

Builder: Barnard, Deptford
Ordered: 2 October 1782
Launched: 1 June 1787
Fate: Broken up, 1814

• HMS Captain

Builder: Batson, Limehouse
Ordered: 14 November 1782
Launched: 26 January 1787
Fate: Burned and broken up, 1813


Model of HMS Orion at the Vancouver Maritime Museum


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Captain_(1787)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada-class_ship_of_the_line
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-300142;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=C