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
5 April 1939 – Launch of HMS Illustrious, the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy before World War II.


HMS Illustrious was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy before World War II. Her first assignment after completion and working up was with the Mediterranean Fleet, in which her aircraft's most notable achievement was sinking one Italian battleship and badly damaging two others during the Battle of Taranto in late 1940. Two months later the carrier was crippled by German dive bombers and was repaired in the United States. After sustaining damage on the voyage home in late 1941 by a collision with her sister ship Formidable, Illustrious was sent to the Indian Ocean in early 1942 to support the invasion of Vichy French Madagascar (Operation Ironclad). After returning home in early 1943, the ship was given a lengthy refit and briefly assigned to the Home Fleet. She was transferred to Force H for the Battle of Salerno in mid-1943 and then rejoined the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean at the beginning of 1944. Her aircraft attacked several targets in the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies over the following year before Illustrious was transferred to the newly formed British Pacific Fleet (BPF). The carrier participated in the early stages of the Battle of Okinawa until mechanical defects arising from accumulated battle damage became so severe that she was ordered home early for repairs in May 1945.



The war ended while she was in the dockyard and the Admiralty decided to modify her for use as the Home Fleet's trials and training carrier. In this role she conducted the deck-landing trials for most of the British postwar naval aircraft in the early 1950s. She was occasionally used to ferry troops and aircraft to and from foreign deployments as well as participating in exercises. In 1951, she helped to transport troops to quell rioting in Cyprus after the collapse of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936. She was paid off in early 1955 and sold for scrap in late 1956.


Background and description


Office of Naval Intelligence recognition drawing of the Illustrious-class carriers

The Royal Navy's 1936 Naval Programme authorised the construction of two aircraft carriers. Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson, Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, was determined not to simply modify the previous unarmoured Ark Royal design. He believed that carriers could not be successfully defended by their own aircraft without some form of early-warning system. Lacking that, there was nothing to prevent land-based aircraft from attacking them, especially in confined waters like the North Sea and Mediterranean. This meant that the ship had to be capable of remaining in action after sustaining damage and that her fragile aircraft had to be protected entirely from damage. The only way to do this was to completely armour the hangar in which the aircraft would shelter, but putting so much weight high in the ship allowed only a single-storey hangar due to stability concerns. This halved the aircraft capacity compared with the older unarmoured carriers, exchanging offensive potential for defensive survivability.

Illustrious was 740 feet (225.6 m) in length overall and 710 feet (216.4 m) at the waterline. Her beam was 95 feet 9 inches (29.2 m) at the waterline and she had a draught of 28 feet 10 inches (8.8 m) at deep load. She displaced 23,000 long tons (23,369 t) at standard load as completed. Her complement was approximately 1,299 officers and enlisted men upon completion in 1940. By 1944, she was severely overcrowded with a total crew of 1,997. After postwar modifications to convert her into a trials carrier, her complement was reduced to 1,090 officers and enlisted men.

The ship had three Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam supplied by six Admiralty 3-drum boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 111,000 shp (83,000 kW), enough to give a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) at deep load. On 24 May 1940 Illustrious ran her sea trials and her engines reached 113,700 shp (84,800 kW). Her exact speeds were not recorded as she had her paravanes streamed, but it was estimated that she could have made about 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) under full power. She carried a maximum of 4,850 long tons (4,930 t) of fuel oil which gave her a range of 10,700 nautical miles (19,800 km; 12,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) or 10,400 nmi (19,300 km; 12,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) or 6,300 nmi (11,700 km; 7,200 mi) at 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).

The 753-foot (229.5 m) armoured flight deck had a usable length of 620 feet (189.0 m), due to prominent "round-downs" at each end designed to reduce the effects of air turbulence caused by the carrier's structure on aircraft taking-off and landing, and a maximum width of 95 feet (29.0 m). A single hydraulic aircraft catapult was fitted on the forward part of the flight deck. The ship was equipped with two unarmoured lifts on the centreline, each of which measured 45 by 22 feet (13.7 by 6.7 m). The hangar was 456 feet (139.0 m) long and had a maximum width of 62 feet (18.9 m). It had a height of 16 feet (4.9 m) which allowed storage of Lend-Lease Vought F4U Corsair fighters once their wingtips were clipped. The hangar was designed to accommodate 36 aircraft, for which 50,650 imperial gallons (230,300 l; 60,830 US gal) of aviation fuel was provided.

Armament, electronics and protection
The main armament of the Illustrious class consisted of sixteen quick-firing (QF) 4.5-inch (110 mm) dual-purpose guns in eight twin-gun turrets, four in sponsons on each side of the hull. The roofs of the gun turrets protruded above the level of the flight deck to allow them to fire across the deck at high elevations. Her light antiaircraft defences included six octuple mounts for QF 2-pounder ("pom-pom") antiaircraft guns, two each fore and aft of her island, and two in sponsons on the port side of the hull.

The completion of Illustrious was delayed two months to fit her with a Type 79Z early-warning radar; she was the first aircraft carrier in the world to be fitted with radar before completion. This version of the radar had separate transmitting and receiving antennas which required a new mainmast to be added to the aft end of the island to mount the transmitter.

The Illustrious-class ships had a flight deck protected by 3 inches (76 mm) of armour and the internal sides and ends of the hangars were 4.5 inches (114 mm) thick. The hangar deck itself was 2.5 inches (64 mm) thick and extended the full width of the ship to meet the top of the 4.5-inch waterline armour belt. The underwater defence system was a layered system of liquid- and air-filled compartments backed by a 1.5-inch (38 mm) splinter bulkhead.

Wartime modifications
While under repair in 1941, Illustrious's rear "round-down" was flattened to increase the usable length of the flight deck to 670 feet (204.2 m). This increased her aircraft complement to 41 aircraft by use of a permanent deck park. Her light AA armament was also augmented by the addition of 10 Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon in single mounts. In addition the two steel fire curtains in the hangar were replaced by asbestos ones. After her return to the UK later that year, her Type 79Z radar was replaced by a Type 281 system and a Type 285 gunnery radar was mounted on one of the main fire-control directors. The additional crewmen, maintenance personnel and facilities needed to support these aircraft, weapons and sensors increased her complement to 1,326.

During her 1943 refits, the flight deck was modified to extend its usable length to 740 feet (225.6 m), and "outriggers" were probably added at this time. These were 'U'-shaped beams that extended from the side of the flight deck into which aircraft tailwheels were placed. The aircraft were pushed back until the main wheels were near the edge of the flight deck to allow more aircraft to be stored on the deck. Twin Oerlikon mounts replaced most of the single mounts. Other twin mounts were added so that by May she had a total of eighteen twin and two single mounts. The Type 281 radar was replaced by an upgraded Type 281M, and a single-antenna Type 79M was added. Type 282 gunnery radars were added for each of the "pom-pom" directors, and the rest of the main directors were fitted with Type 285 radars. A Type 272 target-indicator radar was mounted above her bridge. These changes increased her aircraft capacity to 57 and caused her crew to grow to 1,831.

A year later, in preparation for her service against the Japanese in the Pacific, one starboard octuple "pom-pom" mount, directly abaft the island, was replaced by two 40 mm Bofors AA guns. Two more twin Oerlikon mounts were added, and her boilers were retubed. At this time her complement was 1,997 officers and enlisted men. By 1945, accumulated wear-and-tear as well as undiagnosed shock damage to Illustrious's machinery caused severe vibrations in her centre propeller shaft at high speeds. In an effort to cure the problem, the propeller was removed, and the shaft was locked in place in February; these radical measures succeeded in reducing, but not eliminating, the vibrations and reduced the ship's speed to about 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph).

Postwar modifications
Illustrious had been badly damaged underwater by a bomb in April 1945, and was ordered home for repairs the following month. She began permanent repairs in June that were scheduled to last four months. The RN planned to fit her out as a flagship, remove her aft 4.5-inch guns in exchange for increased accommodation, and replace some of her Oerlikons with single two-pounder AA guns, but the end of the war in August caused the RN to reassess its needs. In September, it decided that the Illustrious would become the trials and training carrier for the Home Fleet and her repairs were changed into a lengthy refit that lasted until June 1946. Her complement was sharply reduced by her change in role and she retained her aft 4.5-inch guns. Her light AA armament now consisted of six octuple "pom-pom" mountings, eighteen single Oerlikons, and seventeen single and two twin Bofors mounts. The flight deck was extended forward, which increased her overall length to 748 feet 6 inches (228.1 m). The high-angle director atop the island was replaced with an American SM-1 fighter-direction radar, a Type 293M target-indication system was added, and the Type 281M was replaced with a prototype Type 960 early-warning radar. The sum total of the changes since her commissioning increased her full-load displacement by 2,520 long tons (2,560 t). In 1947 she carried five 8-barrel pom-poms, 17 Bofors and 16 Oerlikons. A five-bladed propeller was installed on her centre shaft although the increasing wear on her outer shafts later partially negated the reduction in vibration. While running trials in 1948, after another refit, she reached a maximum speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) from 110,680 shp (82,530 kW). Two years later, she made 29.2 knots from 111,450 shp (83,110 kW). At some point after 1948, the ship's light AA armament was reduced to two twin and nineteen single 40 mm guns and six Oerlikons.

Construction and service


Illustrious at anchor in 1940

Illustrious, the fourth ship of her name, was ordered as part of the 1936 Naval Programme from Vickers-Armstrongs on 13 April 1937. Construction was delayed by slow deliveries of her armour plates because the industry had been crippled by a lack of orders over the last 15 years as a result of the Washington Naval Treaty. As a consequence, her flight-deck armour had to be ordered from Vítkovice Mining and Iron Corporation in Czechoslovakia. She was laid down at their Barrow-in-Furness shipyard two weeks later as yard number 732 and launched on 5 April 1939. She was christened by Lady Henderson, wife of the recently retired Third Sea Lord. Illustrious was then towed to Buccleuch Dock for fitting out and Captain Denis Boyd was appointed to command her on 29 January 1940. She was commissioned on 16 April 1940 and, excluding her armament, she cost £2,295,000 to build.

While Illustrious was being moved in preparation for her acceptance trials on 24 April, the tugboat Poolgarth capsized with the loss of three crewmen. The carrier conducted preliminary flying trials in the Firth of Clyde with six Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers that had been craned aboard earlier. In early June, she loaded the personnel from 806, 815, and 819 Squadrons at Devonport Royal Dockyard; 806 Squadron was equipped with Blackburn Skua dive bombers and Fairey Fulmar fighters, and the latter two squadrons were equipped with Swordfish. She began working up off Plymouth, but the German conquest of France made this too risky, and Illustrious sailed for Bermuda later in the month to continue working up. This was complete by 23 July, when she arrived in the Clyde and flew off her aircraft. The ship was docked in Clydeside for a minor refit the following day; she arrived in Scapa Flow on 15 August, and became the flagship of Rear Admiral Lumley Lyster. Her squadrons flew back aboard, and she sailed for the Mediterranean on 22 August with 15 Fulmars and 18 Swordfish aboard.


The Illustrious class was a class of aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that included some of the most important British warships in the Second World War. They were laid down in the late 1930s as part of the rearmament of British forces in response to the emerging threats of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan.

The Illustrious class comprised four vessels: HM Ships Illustrious, Formidable, Victorious and Indomitable. The last of these was built to a modified design with a second, half-length, hangar deck below the main hangar deck. Each of these ships played a prominent part in the battles of the Second World War. Victorious took part in the pursuit of the German battleship Bismarck, Illustrious and Formidable played prominent parts in the battles in the Mediterranean during 1940 and 1941 and all three took part in the large actions of the British Pacific Fleet in 1945.

The later two ships of the Implacable class were also built to modified designs in order that they could carry larger air wings. Implacable and Indefatigable both had two hangar levels, albeit with a limited 14-foot (4.3 m) head room.




Victorious in 1959



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Illustrious_(87)

Illustrious-class aircraft carrier - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 April 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid.
Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.


The Easter Sunday Raid (or Battle of Ceylon) was an air attack by carrier-based aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy against Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1942, during the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. This attack was part of the Indian Ocean Raid, and was followed a few days later by a similar attack on Trincomalee. The targets were British warships, harbour installations, and air bases; the object was to disrupt the war effort of British Commonwealth nations and force the British Eastern Fleet to leave Asian waters.


British heavy cruisers HMS Dorsetshire and Cornwallunder Japanese air attack and heavily damaged off the southwest of Ceylon, on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1942

Background
The British had been in occupation of the coastal areas of Ceylon since 1796, but the colony had not had a regular garrison of British troops since 1917. The Ceylon Defence Force and Ceylon Navy Volunteer Reserve were mobilized and expanded. The Royal Navy maintained naval installations in Trincomalee and the Royal Air Force (RAF) had established an aerodrome in China Bay, Trincomalee, long before the war.

With Japan's entry into the war, and especially after the fall of Singapore, Ceylon became a front-line British base. The Royal Navy's East Indies Station was moved to Colombo and then to Trincomalee. Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton was appointed commander-in-chief, Ceylon, with Air Vice Marshal John D'Albiac as air officer commanding and Admiral Sir James Somerville appointed commander of the British Eastern Fleet.

The fixed land defences consisted of four coastal batteries at Colombo and five at Trincomalee; these were established just before the war. Air defences were expanded in 1941 with the RAF occupying the civil airfield at Ratmalana near Colombo with its station headquarters set up at Kandawala. Another airbase was rapidly built at Koggala near Galle and several temporary airstrips were built across the country with the largest at Colombo Racecourse grounds. Several RAF squadrons were sent to Ceylon. In March 1942 the 65th HAA Regiment of the Royal Artillery arrived in Ceylon and were stationed in Wellawata.

The attack on Colombo
Somerville retreated with the main body of the Eastern Fleet to Addu Atoll in the Maldives. He left at Ceylon the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes (under repair at Trincomalee), heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire, and the Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Vampire.

After the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse and the fall of Singapore, British morale on the island dropped. The sinking of these two capital ships shocked much of the world; the awareness of the vulnerability of battleships to air power increased dramatically. On Ceylon, there was much anxiety that a Japanese attack appeared to be inevitable. A large sea turtle which came ashore was reported by an Australian unit as a number of Japanese amphibious vehicles. However, actual preparations for defence were lackadaisical, apart from the deployment of an RAF squadron at the Colombo Racecourse. Anti-British sentiment increased within some portions of the indigenous population and their hopes ran high for liberation by the Japanese.


Leonard Birchall spotted the Japanese Imperial Navy approaching Ceylon and radioed the strength and the position of the Japanese fleet before his PBY Catalina was shot down by Zero fighter aircraft.

The Japanese fleet comprised five aircraft carriers plus supporting ships under the command of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. On 4 April 1942, the Japanese fleet was located by a PBY Catalina aircraft flown by RCAF Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall, out of Koggala. Birchall's Catalina was shot down by six A6M2 Zero fighters from the carrier Hiryū. He managed to radio in the position of the Japanese fleet and alert Colombo about the impending attack. However, Nagumo's air strike on Colombo the next day achieved near-complete surprise (Pearl Harbor also was attacked on a weekend). The British radars were not operating, they were shut down for routine maintenance.

The Japanese high command had planned the bombing of Colombo very much like the Pearl Harbor operation (many of the same planes and pilots participated in both strikes); but most of the British Eastern Fleet was at Addu Atoll, so when the Japanese attacked at Colombo there were only three ships there. The survival of the British Eastern Fleet (which included some Royal Netherlands Navy warships) prevented the Japanese from attempting a major troop landing in Ceylon.


HMS Cornwall, burning and sinking following Japanese dive bomber attacks, in the Indian Ocean, 5 April 1942

The first attack wave of Japanese planes took off in pre-dawn darkness (30 minutes before sunrise) from the aircraft carriers Akagi, Hiryu, and Soryu, moving about 200 miles south of Sri Lanka. The first attack wave of 36 fighters, 54 dive bombers, and 90 level bombers was led by Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, the same officer who led the air attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Hawker Hurricanes of the RAF's No. 30 Squadron were on the ground at Ratmalana Airport when the Japanese aircraft passed overhead. The auxiliary cruiser HMS Hector and the old destroyer HMS Tenedos were sunk in the harbour. The RAF and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) lost at least 27 aircraft; the Japanese only five. The Japanese also bombed the mental asylum at Angoda, mistaking it for the fuel tanks at nearby Kolonnawa.

After Fuchida and his aircrews returned to the flagship Akagi, a second-wave of 53 Aichi D3A Val dive bombers led by Lieutenant Commander Egusa took off to attack the two British cruisers Dorsetshire and Cornwall, 320 km (170 nmi; 200 mi) southwest of Ceylon, and sank the two ships. British losses were 424 men killed; 1,120 survivors spent hours in the water.

The Japanese dive bombers scored hits with close to 90% of their bombs—an enviable rate of accuracy, according to Mitsuo Fuchida in Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan.


RAF Hawker Hurricanes were scrambled from the temporary airstrip at the Colombo Racecourse. The Hurricanes were involved in several dogfights with the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Zero fighters and bombers which were attacking the city

The Japanese attack began at 07:30 on Easter Sunday morning. Air defence of Colombo fort and harbour was provided by the 3rd Searchlight/Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Ceylon Garrison Artillery with two batteries based at Galle Face Green and Mutwal. Colonel R. M. White and his operations staff officer, Major J. O. Widdows, DSO commanded ground units from ground forces headquarters at Echelon Barracks.

St Luke's Church, Borella, was packed for Easter services with both locals and military personnel. According to parishioners, the vicar, Reverend Canon Ivan Corea, was preaching when the RAF Hurricanes engaged the Japanese Zero aircraft high above the church.

The Sri Lankan writer Ariyadasa Ratnasinghe recalled the Easter Sunday Japanese raid: "Japanese aircraft flew in close formation over Colombo and dropped bombs at different places. The air battle lasted for nearly half an hour. The Allied forces, warned of the danger, were able to shoot down some of the enemy aircraft which fell on land and sea."

Among those shot down, one fell near Saint Thomas' College, one closer to the Bellanwila paddy fields, one near Pita Kotte, one on the racecourse in Colombo, one near Horana and one on the Galle Face Green. A bomb fell off the target and damaged the Mulleriyawa Mental Hospital, killing some inmates. It appeared that the pilot had mistaken the buildings for the Echelon Barracks. One fell near the Maradana railway station, partly damaging it. There were many deaths and more casualties, most of them civilians. To prevent bombs falling on hospitals, it was decided to have a large red cross painted on the roofs.


Admiral Nagumo's fleet unleashed the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters and bombers on the attack on Colombo on 5 April 1942.

In the late afternoon on 5 April 1942, just before sunset, at 16:55 and again at 18:00, two RN Fairey Albacores operating from the RN aircraft carriers Formidable and Indomitable made contact with the IJN carriers. One Albacore was shot down and the other damaged before an accurate sighting report could be made, frustrating Admiral Somerville's plans for a retaliatory night strike by his ASV radar-equipped Albacore strike bombers. Somerville continued to probe for the IJN carriers on the night of 5 April 1942, but they failed to find the IJN ships, and the RN's only opportunity to launch a strike against enemy aircraft carriers faded away.

H. G. P. Jayasekera, president of the Ceylon War Veterans Association of World War II, wrote: "The April raids in Colombo were led by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, the two men who inflicted the biggest damage on the mighty American Pacific Fleet. The Ceylon R.A.F. had only 20 planes as against that of 120 planes of Mitsuo Fuchida. These 20 fighter planes got off from the Racecourse grounds and there was an air battle over Colombo on Easter Sunday morning (5 April). Ceylon Garrison Artillery and Boys of Royal Artillery managed to shoot down many of the Japanese planes."

The Ceylon Daily reported the raid on Monday, 6 April 1942: "Colombo and the suburbs were attacked yesterday at 8 o'clock in the morning by 75 enemy aircraft which came in waves from the sea. Twenty-five of the raiders were shot down, while 25 more were damaged. Dive-bombing and low-flying machine-gun attacks were made in the Harbour and Ratmalana areas. A medical establishment in the suburbs was also bombed."

The attack on Trincomalee Harbour


The light aircraft carrier HMS Hermes was sunk off Batticaloa by Japanese dive bombers on 9 April 1942

On 9 April, the Japanese attacked the harbour at Trincomalee and the British ships off Batticaloa. The light aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, the destroyer HMAS Vampire and the Flower-class corvette HMS Hollyhock were sunk, and SS Sagaing partially destroyed and set on fire below decks. The RAF lost at least eight Hurricanes and the FAA one Fairey Fulmar. The Japanese lost five bombers and six fighters, one in a suicide attack on the Trincomalee fuel tanks. Seven hundred people lost their lives in the attack on Trincomalee. According to eye witness Michael Tomlinson (author of The Most Dangerous Moment and RAF Station Intelligence Officer at Ratmalana and later at China Bay in Trincomalee), one Japanese pilot deliberately crashed his plane into one of the giant fuel tanks just north of China Bay aerodrome. Inside the aircraft were three Japanese—Shigenori Watanabe, Tokya Goto, and Sutomu Toshira. After carefully circling the area, they plunged unerringly into the tank, igniting their own funeral pyre. The resulting fire lasted seven days. Parts of the aircraft's engine and the flattened remains of the fuel storage tank have been placed in a barbed wire enclosure 1½ km from the turn off at the 4th mile post on the Trincomalee–Habarana Road.

HMS Hermes was undergoing repairs in Trincomalee harbour in April 1942. As a result of the advance warning of the impending attack by the Japanese, Hermes left Trincomalee, minus the 12 Fairey Swordfish Mk Is of 814 Naval Air Squadron that had been disembarked in Ceylon.

A Japanese reconnaissance plane from the battleship Haruna spotted Hermes at 8:55 a.m. as the ships had turned northward to return to Trincomalee. Though the Japanese sighting report had been intercepted and orders issued to try to protect Hermes, communications breakdowns delayed action. At 9:45 a.m. the Japanese carriers launched 85 bombers and 9 fighters which found Hermes, Vampire and the just joined hospital ship Vita, which had been heading south, off Batticaloa light. Japanese bombers attacked Hermes in waves beginning at 10:35 a.m. Within ten minutes Hermeshad taken forty direct hits and capsized. Vampire was next with a direct hit in the boiler room stopping the ship, after which four more hits resulted in an order to abandon ship. Vita rescued survivors of both ships. The carrier sank with the loss of 308 lives.

Churchill quote on the Battle of Ceylon
Prime Minister Winston Churchill said:

The most dangerous moment of the War, and the one which caused me the greatest alarm, was when the Japanese Fleet was heading for Ceylon and the naval base there. The capture of Ceylon, the consequent control of the Indian Ocean, and the possibility at the same time of a German conquest of Egypt would have closed the ring and the future would have been black.
— From a conversation at the British Embassy, Washington, D.C.

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

HMS Cornwall (56) - Wikipedia

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HMS Dorsetshire (40) - Wikipedia

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hermes_(95)

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 April 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid.
Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
Part II - The sunken RN ships



HMS Cornwall, pennant number 56, was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Kent sub-class built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1920s. The ship spent most of her pre-World War II career assigned to the China Station. Shortly after the war began in August 1939, she was assigned to search for German commerce raiders in the Indian Ocean. Cornwall was transferred to the South Atlantic in late 1939 where she escorted convoys before returning to the Indian Ocean in 1941. She then sank the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin in May. After the start of the Pacific War in December 1941, she began escorting convoys until she was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in March 1942. The ship was sunk on 5 April by dive bombers from three Japanese aircraft carriers during the Indian Ocean Raid.



Description
Cornwall displaced 9,850 long tons (10,010 t) at standard load and 13,520 long tons (13,740 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 630 feet (192.0 m), a beam of 68 feet 5 inches (20.9 m) and a draught of 20 feet 6 inches (6.2 m). She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines, driving four shafts, which developed a total of 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph). Steam for the turbines was provided by eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers. Cornwall carried a maximum of 3,425 long tons (3,480 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 13,300 nautical miles (24,600 km; 15,300 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The ship's complement was 784 officers and men.

The ship mounted eight 50-calibre 8-inch (203 mm) guns in four twin gun turrets. Her secondary armament consisted of four QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk V anti-aircraft (AA) guns in single mounts. Cornwall mounted four single 2-pounder (40 mm) light AA guns ("pom-poms"). The ship carried two quadruple torpedo tube above-water mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.

Cornwall was only lightly protected with little more than a single inch of plating protecting vital machinery. Her magazines were the exception and were protected by 2–4.375 inches (50.8–111.1 mm) of armour. Space and weight was reserved for one aircraft catapult and its seaplane, but they were not fitted until after she was completed.



Construction and career
Cornwall, the fifth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy, was named after the eponymous county. The ship was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 9 October 1924 and was launched on 11 March 1926. Completed on 6 December 1927, she was assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron (CS) on the China Station and spent the bulk of the interbellum period there. In 1929–30 she received a High-Angle Control System, used to direct her anti-aircraft guns, and a catapult was fitted the following year. Two quadruple Vickers .50-calibre (12.7 mm) Mark III machine guns were added in 1934.

In July 1936, Cornwall returned home to begin a major refit, which included a 4.5-inch (114 mm) Krupp cemented armour belt abreast the engine and boiler rooms as well as the dynamo room and the fire control transmitting station. This belt extended 6 feet (1.8 m) down from the lower deck. Four inches of armour were also added to protect the sides of the boiler room fan compartments. A hangar for her aircraft was added and a new, more powerful catapult was installed. The ship's director was moved to the roof of the hangar and a new power-operated director-control tower was installed in its original location. Her single four-inch AA guns were replaced with twin-gun mounts for Mark XVI guns of the same calibre. Two octuple-barrel 2-pounder mounts were added abreast the searchlight tower and the original 2-pounder guns were removed. The changes raised the ship's displacement by 107 long tons (109 t) and cost an estimated £215,000. After the refit was completed in December 1937, the ship was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron before rejoining the 5th CS in 1939.

On 5 October 1939, a month after the start of World War II, she was assigned to Force I to hunt for German commerce raiders in the Indian Ocean and spent most of the rest of the year there. Cornwall was then transferred to the South Atlantic for convoy escort duties. On 13 September 1940, the ship rendezvoused with a convoy that was carrying troops intended to capture Dakar from the Vichy French, but was detached to intercept the Vichy French light cruiser Primauguet that was escorting an oil tanker to Libreville, French Equatorial Africa, five days later and forced them to return to Casablanca in French Morocco. She then returned to the Indian Ocean and sank the German commerce raider Pinguin on 8 May 1941. Cornwall rescued 3 officers, 57 ratings and 22 prisoners after the battle.


Dorsetshire (background) and Cornwall under air attack by Japanese aircraft, 5 April 1942

After the start of the Pacific War on 7 December, the ship began escorting convoys across the Indian Ocean, examples being Convoy JS.1 from Colombo, Ceylon, to the Dutch East Indies in late January–early February 1942 and the troop Convoy MS. 5 to Australia in early March. Later that month, she was assigned to the fast Force A of the Eastern Fleet. On 2 April, Cornwall and her half sister, Dorsetshire, were detached from the fleet, Dorsetshire to resume an interrupted refit and Cornwall to escort convoy SU-4 (composed of the U.S. Army transport USAT Willard A. Holbrook and Australian transport MV Duntroon) to Australia and the aircraft carrier Hermes to Trincomalee in Ceylon for repairs. On 4 April, the Japanese fleet was spotted and the two cruisers left harbour and, after a hurried refuelling at sea, set out for Addu Atoll shortly after midnight. The following day, the two cruisers were sighted by a spotter plane from the Japanese cruiser Tone about 200 miles (370 km) south-west of Ceylon.

As part of the engagement known as the Easter Sunday Raid, a wave of Aichi D3A dive bombers took off from three Japanese carriers to attack Cornwall and Dorsetshire, 320 kilometres (170 nmi; 200 mi) south-west of Ceylon, and sank the two ships. British losses were 424 men killed; 1,122 survivors spent thirty hours in the water before being rescued by the light cruiser Enterprise and two destroyers.



HMS Dorsetshire (pennant number 40) was a heavy cruiser of the County class of the Royal Navy, named after the English county, now usually known as Dorset. The ship was a member of the Norfolk sub-class, of which Norfolk was the only other unit; the County class comprised a further eleven ships in two other sub-classes. Dorsetshire was built at the Portsmouth Dockyard; her keel was laid in September 1927, she was launched in January 1929, and was completed in September 1930. Dorsetshire was armed with a main battery of eight 8-inch (200 mm) guns, and had a top speed of 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph).



Dorsetshire served initially in the Atlantic Fleet in the early 1930s, before moving to the Africa Station in 1933, and then to the China Station in late 1935. She remained there until the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, when she was transferred to the South Atlantic. There, she reinforced the search for the German raider Admiral Graf Spee. In late May 1941, Dorsetshire took part in the final engagement with the battleship Bismarck, which ended when Dorsetshire was ordered to close and torpedo the crippled German battleship. She joined searches for the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in August and the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis in November.

In March 1942, Dorsetshire was transferred to the Eastern Fleet to support British forces in the recently opened Pacific Theatre of the war. At the end of the month, the Japanese fast carrier task force—the Kido Butai—launched the Indian Ocean raid. On 5 April, Japanese aircraft spotted Dorsetshire and her sister Cornwall while en route to Colombo; a force of dive bombers then attacked the two ships and sank them. More than 1,100 men were rescued the next day, out of a combined crew of over 1,500.


Description


Dorsetshire's twin 4-inch guns, installed in 1937
Main article: County-class cruiser

Dorsetshire was at maximum 193.67 metres (635.4 ft) long overall, and had a beam of 20.12 m (66.0 ft) and a draught of 6.37 m (20.9 ft). She displaced 9,925 to 9,975 long tons (10,084 to 10,135 t) at standard displacement, in compliance with the tonnage restriction of the Washington Naval Treaty, and up to 13,425 long tons (13,640 t) at full combat load. Dorsetshire was propelled by four Parsons steam turbines that drove four screw propellers. Steam was provided by eight oil-fired 3-drum water-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW) and produced a top speed of 32.3 kn (59.8 km/h; 37.2 mph). The ship had a capacity of 3,210 t (3,160 long tons; 3,540 short tons) of fuel oil as built, which provided a cruising radius of 12,500 nautical miles (23,200 km; 14,400 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). She had a crew of 710 officers and enlisted men.

Dorsetshire was armed with a main battery of eight BL 8-inch (20 cm) Mk VIII 50-cal. guns in four twin turrets, in two superfiring pairs forward and aft. As built, the cruiser had a secondary battery that included four 4 in (100 mm) dual-purpose guns (DP) in single mounts. She also carried four QF 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns, also in single mounts. Her armament was rounded out by eight 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes mounted in two quadruple launchers.

In 1931, Dorestshire began to carry a seaplane; a catapult was installed the following year to allow her to launch the aircraft while underway. In 1937, her secondary battery was overhauled. Eight QF 4-inch Mk V DP guns in twin turrets replaced the single mounts, and the single 2-pounders were replaced with eight twin-mounts. During World War II, her anti-aircraft battery was strengthened by the addition of nine 20 mm (0.79 in) guns.

Loss
In 1942, Dorsetshire, under the command of Augustus Agar, was assigned to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. In March, Dorsetshire was assigned to Force A, which was commanded by Admiral James Somerville, with the battleship Warspite and the carriers Indomitable and Formidable. Somerville received reports of an impending Japanese attack in the Indian Ocean—the Indian Ocean raid—and so he put his fleet to sea on 31 March. Having not encountered any hostile forces by 4 April, he withdrew to refuel. Dorsetshire and her sister ship Cornwall were sent to Colombo to replenish their fuel.

The next day, she and Cornwall were spotted by reconnaissance aircraft from the heavy cruiser Tone. The two British cruisers were attacked by a force of fifty-three Aichi D3A Val dive bombers 320 km (200 mi) southwest of Ceylon. In the span of about eight minutes, Dorsetshire was hit by ten 250 lb (110 kg) and 550 lb (250 kg) bombs and several near misses; she sank stern first at about 13:50. One of the bombs detonated an ammunition magazine and contributed to her rapid sinking. Cornwall was hit eight times and sank bow first about ten minutes later. Between the two ships, 1,122 men out of a total of 1,546 were picked up by the cruiser Enterprise and the destroyers Paladin and Panther the next day.




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

HMS Cornwall (56) - Wikipedia

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HMS Dorsetshire (40) - Wikipedia

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[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 April 1958 - The top of Ripple Rock, an underwater mountain that had two peaks (9 feet and 21 feet below the surface) in the Seymour Narrows of the Discovery Passage in British Columbia, Canada, was removed by a planned explosion
This is a National Historic Event in Canada.


Ripple Rock is an underwater mountain that had two peaks (9 feet and 21 feet below the surface) in the Seymour Narrows of the Discovery Passage in British Columbia, Canada, a part of the marine trade route from Vancouver and coastal points north. The nearest town is Campbell River. Only 2.7 metres (9 feet) underwater at low tide, it was a marine hazard in what the explorer George Vancouver described as "one of the vilest stretches of water in the world." The hazard was not only hitting the rock but also big, dangerous eddies caused by tidal currents round the rock. Ships using the strait preferred to wait until slack tide.


The moment of the explosion from a hilltop.

Its top was removed by a planned explosion on 5 April 1958. This is a National Historic Event in Canada. The Ripple Rock explosion was seen throughout Canada, live on CBC Television. It was one of the first live coast-to-coast television broadcasts of an event in Canada.

It was so named in 1862 by Captain Richards, RN, because its summits were about at sea level and made a prominent standing wave in the fast tidal current of the strait.

Demolition of Ripple Rock



Background


USS Saranac

The first known large ship to fall prey to Ripple Rock was the sidewheel steamer Saranac in 1875, as it was heading north to Alaska.[8] At least 20 large and 100 smaller vessels were badly damaged or sunk between then and 1958. At least 110 people drowned in these accidents.

Planning
In the 1860s a plan was started to link Vancouver Island to the mainland at Bute Inlet, using Ripple Rock as a mid-support for the bridge. This plan continued through the years, and caused political opposition to destroying Ripple Rock, until it was decided to destroy the rock to improve safety for mariners.

As early as 1931, a marine commission recommended removing Ripple Rock, but it was not until 1942 that the government authorized attempts to remove it and issued the first contract to do so.

The first attempts at planting explosive charges on Ripple Rock were made with floating drilling barges with the goal of blasting the rock into pieces. The first, in 1943, was secured with six 3.8 cm steel cables attached to anchors that altogether weighed 998 metric tons. This approach was abandoned when one cable broke on average every 48 hours. Another attempt in 1945, involving two large overhead steel lines was similarly abandoned after only 93 (out of 1,500 planned) controlled explosions were successful.

In 1953, the National Research Council of Canada commissioned a feasibility study on the idea of planting a large explosive charge underneath the peaks by drilling vertical and horizontal shafts from Maud Island in the sound. Based on the study, this approach was recommended. Dolmage and Mason Consulting Engineers were retained to plan the project, and three firms, Northern Construction Company, J.W. Stewart Limited and Boyles Brothers Drilling Company, were granted the contract, which cost in excess of 3 million Canadian dollars.

Although not planned as a test for nuclear weapons purposes, this large underground explosion at Ripple Rock was of interest to nuclear weapons scientists at the United Kingdom's Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, which sent a delegation to Canada and set up various monitoring instruments to record data from the explosion. Little more is known of their objectives, although there are detailed accounts in two declassified documents in the National Archives in London.


Between November 1955 and April 1958, a three-shift operation involving an average of 75 men worked to build 500 feet (150 m) of vertical shaft from Maud Island, 2,370 feet (720 m) of horizontal shaft to the base of Ripple Rock, and two main vertical shafts up into the twin peaks, from which "coyote" shafts were drilled for the explosives. The contract was awarded to two firms for $2,639,000. At the time of the contract it was estimated the tunnels and shafts would not be completed until either 1957 or 1958. 1,270 metric tons of Nitramex 2H explosive was placed in these shafts, estimated at ten times the amount needed for a similar explosion above water.

The explosion took place at 9:31:02 am on 5 April 1958. 635,000 metric tons of rock and water were displaced by the explosion, spewing debris at least 300 metres in the air which fell on land on either side of the narrows. The blast increased the clearing at low tide to about 14 metres (45 feet). After this, its two peaks were 13.7 m (45 ft) and 15.2 m (50 ft) underwater.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had cleared the area of people within 3 miles of the explosion, and the engineers and TV crew that witnessed the explosion were housed in a bunker.

The explosion was noted as one of the largest non-nuclear planned explosions on record, though Soviet authorities reported a larger explosion in the Ural Mountains to carve a new channel for the Kolonga River and in China to open a copper mine.

Cultural references
Vancouver based punk rock band the Evaporators' 2004 album was named after Ripple Rock and includes a song that details its history and destruction.

The first song recorded about the blasting of Ripple Rock was named "Ripple Rock" and was recorded by Canadian folk and country singer Stu Davis.

In 2008 Campbell River celebrated the 50th anniversary of the blast with a commemorative blast done by a Vancouver special effects company. It took place at 9:31:02 AM, on 5 April 2008.

Ripple Rock - Wikipedia

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Ripple Rock – Wikipedia

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[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 5 April


1621 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.


1692 – Launch of HMS Devonshire was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Bursledon

HMS Devonshire was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Bursledon on 5 April 1692.[1]
She was rebuilt at Woolwich Dockyard in 1704, but was destroyed in action in 1707 during the Battle at The Lizard.


Devonshire exploding

HMS Devonshire (1692) - Wikipedia

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1722 - The expedition of dutch Jacob Roggeveen arrived at Easter Island (Rapa Nui) on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1722 (whereupon he reported seeing 2,000-3,000 inhabitants)

Jacob Roggeveen (1 February 1659 – 31 January 1729) was a Dutch explorer who was sent to find Terra Australis, but instead came across Easter Island (called Easter Island because he landed there on Easter Day). Jacob Roggeveen also encountered Bora Bora and Maupiti of the Society Islands and Samoa. He planned the expedition along with his brother Jan Roggeveen, who stayed in the Netherlands.

Jacob Roggeveen - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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


1769 – Launch of Spanish San Nicolás Bari 80 (launched 5 April 1769 at Cartagena) - Captured by Britain at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797, renamed HMS San Nicholas, sold 1814

San Vicente Ferrer Class 80 guns.
San Vicente Ferrer 80 (launched 23 April 1768 at Cartagena) - Scuttled 16 February 1797
San Nicolás Bari 80 (launched 5 April 1769 at Cartagena) - Captured by Britain at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797, renamed HMS San Nicholas, sold 1814
San Rafael 80 (-) - Destroyed by fire on stocks at Havana 1769


An incident during the French Revolutionary War, 1793-1802. At the beginning of 1797, the British Admiral Sir John Jervis, with 11 sail of the line, lay in the Tagus, while a Spanish fleet of 27 sail of the line lay at Cartagena. The Spanish intended to join the French fleet at Brest, while Sir John's aim was to prevent this. He prepared to rendezvous with Rear-Admiral William Parker off Cape St Vincent. Admiral Don Jose de Cordova left Cartagena with the Spanish fleet on 1 February for Brest via Cadiz but was blown off course by the fierce Levanter wind. This pushed the Spanish out into the Atlantic until the wind swung north-west on the 13th, by which time they were close to the British fleet. At 2.30 am on the morning of the 14th Jervis learnt from a Portuguese frigate that the Spanish fleet was 35 miles to windward. When sighted, the Spanish were in two divisions, which the British passed between on the opposite tack, and then turned in succession to follow the weather division. It was then that Commodore Nelson made his famous decision. His ship, the 'Captain', 74 guns, was the third from last in the line and it was clear to him that, if he followed the line and turned in succession, he would never catch up with the enemy. He therefore turned out of line to cut off the Spanish and on a signal from Jervis was followed and supported by Captain Collingwood's 'Excellent', 74 guns, the last ship in the line. The painting shows the 'Captain', the Spanish ships 'San Nicolas', 80 guns and the 'San Josef', 112 guns, occupying the foreground, all in starboard-quarter view. To the left and nearest is the 'Captain', her fore-topmast over her starboard side and her port bow up against the 'San Nicolas's' starboard quarter. Aboard the 'San Nicolas', her pendant is shown coming down and a sailor on the poop is hauling down her ensign. Her mizzen mast is shot away and may be represented by the spar shown floating in the left foreground. Her bowsprit is caught up in the 'San Josef's' starboard main shrouds beyond and to the right. In both the left and right background are ships in action, in starboard-quarter view. The painting records the manoeuvre, which became known as 'Nelson's Patent Bridge for Boarding First-Rates'. Pocock placed considerable importance on accuracy and referred to annotated drawings and sketch plans in the production of his oil paintings. He 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 forty years of maritime history, demonstrating a meticulous understanding of shipping and rigging with close attention to detail. Pocock devoted much of his later years to illustrating Nelson's sea battles. This was the last in the series of six paintings for a two-volume 'Life of Nelson', begun shortly after Nelson's death in 1805 by Clarke and McArthur, and published in 1809. The paintings were engraved by James Fittler and reproduced in the biography with lengthy explanatory texts. The painting is signed and dated 'NP 1808'.


San Nicolas 84 Guns (PAF0603)

https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-345850;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=S

1772 HMS Resolution, Cdr. James Cook, and HMS Adventure, Lt. Tobias Furneaux, sailed on voyage of discovery.


1805 Boats of HMS Bacchante (22), Cptn. Charles Dashwood, at stormed a tower and cut out 2 schooners at Mariel, Havana.

The French corvette Bacchante was launched in 1795 as the second of the four-vessel Serpente class of corvettes. She served for almost two years as a privateer, before returning to the service of the French Navy. After HMS Endymion captured her in 1803, the Royal Navy took her in under her existing name as a 20-gun post ship. Bachante served in the West Indies, where she captured several armed Spanish and French vessels before the Navy sold her in 1809.

French corvette Bacchante (1795) - Wikipedia

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1833 – Launch of French Andromède, (launched 5 April 1833 at Lorient) – deleted 24 October 1860.

Artémise class (52-gun type, 1826 design by Jean-Baptiste Hubert):
Artémise, (launched 1828 at Lorient) – deleted 3 October 1840.
Andromède, (launched 5 April 1833 at Lorient) – deleted 24 October 1860.
Néréide, (launched 17 February 1836 at Lorient) – deleted 30 December 1887.
Gloire, (launched 1837 at Rochefort) – wrecked 10 August 1847 off Korea.
Cléopâtre, (launched 23 April 1838 at Saint-Servan) – deleted 31 December 1864.
Danaé, (launched 23 May 1838 at Saint-Servan) – fitted as steam frigate 1857 – deleted 18 January 1878.
Virginie, (launched 25 April 1842 at Rochefort) – deleted 13 May 1881.
Circé, (launched 15 October 1860 at Rochefort as a steam frigate) – deleted 22 July 1872.
Hermione, (launched 16 August 1860 at Brest as a steam frigate) – deleted 11 May 1877.
Junon, (launched 28 January 1861 at Brest as a steam frigate) – deleted 24 March 1872.
Flore, (launched 27 February 1869 at Rochefort as a steam frigate) – deleted 18 October 1886.

French frigate Artémise (1828) - Wikipedia

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1848 – Launch of HMS Plumper was an 8-gun wooden screw sloop of the Royal Navy, the fifth and last ship to bear the name.

HMS Plumper was an 8-gun wooden screw sloop of the Royal Navy, the fifth and last ship to bear the name. Launched in 1848, she served three commissions, firstly on the West Indies and North American Station, then on the West Africa Station and finally in the Pacific Station. It was during her last commission as a survey ship that she left her most enduring legacy; in charting the west coast of British Columbia she left her name and those of her ship's company scattered across the charts of the region. She paid off for the last time in 1861 and was finally sold for breaking up in 1865.


HMS Plumper (right), with HMS Termagant (left) and HMS Alert (background) at Esquimalt in the late 1850s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Plumper_(1848)


1849 The Battle of Eckernførde. Danish Ship-of-the-Line Christian VIII, the frigate Gefion and the paddle steamers Hekla and Geiser, under Cdr. S. G. Paludan, attacks the German gun batteries at Eckernførde inlet. Christian VIII takes fire and blows up, while Gefion strikes to the Germans.

The Battle of Eckernförde was a Danish naval assault on Schleswig. The Danes was defeated and two of their ships were lost with the surviving crew being detained.


battle between the navies of Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein at Eckernförde Fjord

Battle of Eckernförde - Wikipedia

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Katastrofen i Eckernførde fjorden -

Som led i den danske offensiv i maj 1849, skulle flåden foretage en afledningsmanøvre ved Eckernførde. Linieskibet Christian VIII. og fregatten Gefion skulle med deres overlegne ildkraft ødelægge de slesvig-holstenske batterier omkring fjorden, hvorefter byen skulle indtages. Men fra starten gik...

www.milhist.dk

1850 – Launch of USS Susquehanna, a sidewheel steam frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Susquehanna River,

USS Susquehanna, a sidewheel steam frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Susquehanna River, which rises in Lake Otsego in central New York and flows across Pennsylvania and the northeast corner of Maryland emptying into the Chesapeake Bay.
Her keel was laid down by the New York Navy Yard in 1847. She was launched on 5 April 1850 and was commissioned on 24 December 1850, Captain John H. Aulick in command.

USS Susquehanna (1850) - Wikipedia

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1854 - American and British naval brigades of 90 and 150 men engage Chinese Imperial troops at Shanghai after acts of aggression against American and British citizens. The American party fell under the command of Cmdr. J. Kelly, the commanding officer of USS Plymouth.


1931 – Launch of Chōkai (鳥海) was a Takao-class heavy cruiser, armed with ten 20 cm (8 in) guns, four 12 cm (5 in) guns, eight tubes for the Type 93 torpedo, and assorted anti-aircraft guns.

Chōkai (鳥海) was a Takao-class heavy cruiser, armed with ten 20 cm (8 in) guns, four 12 cm (5 in) guns, eight tubes for the Type 93 torpedo, and assorted anti-aircraft guns. Chōkai was designed with the Imperial Japanese Navy strategy of the great "Decisive Battle" in mind, and built in 1932 by Mitsubishi's shipyard in Nagasaki. She was sunk in the Battle off Samar in October 1944. Chōkai was named for Mount Chōkai.



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

Takao-class cruiser - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1933 - USS Akron (ZRS-4) crashes tail-first into the sea due to a violent storm coming off the New Jersey coast, killing Rear Adm. William A. Moffett, Medal of Honor recipient and the first Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, along with 75 others. Only three survive.


Akron over Lower Manhattan.

USS Akron - Wikipedia

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[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1707 - Death of Willem van de Velde the Younger


Willem van de Velde the Younger (bapt. 18 December 1633; died 6 April 1707) was a Dutch marine painter.



Biography
Willem van de Velde was baptised on 18 December 1633 in Leiden, Holland, Dutch Republic.

A son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, also a painter of sea-pieces, Willem van de Velde, the younger, was instructed by his father, and afterwards by Simon de Vlieger, a marine painter of repute at the time, and had achieved great celebrity by his art before he came to London. By 1673 he had moved to England, where he was engaged by Charles II, at a salary of £100, to aid his father in "taking and making draughts of sea-fights", his part of the work being to reproduce in color the drawings of the elder Van de Velde. He was also patronized by the Duke of York and by various members of the nobility.

He died on 6 April 1707 in London, England, and was buried at St James's Church, Piccadilly. A memorial to him and his father lies within the church.


A memorial to Willem van de Velde the Older and the Younger in St James's Church, Piccadilly.

His brother Adriaen van de Velde was also an artist.

Works

Dutch men-o'-war and other shipping in a calm. c. 1665




The pendants The cannon shot and The gust (c. 1680), in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Most of Van de Velde's finest works represent views off the coast of Holland, with Dutch shipping. His best productions are delicate, spirited and finished in handling, and correct in the drawing of the vessels and their rigging. The numerous figures are tellingly introduced, and the artist is successful in his renderings of sea, whether in calm or storm. The ships are portrayed with almost photographic accuracy, and are the most precise guides available to the appearance of 17th-century ships.

There are a number of van de Velde's marine paintings in the Wallace Collection, London, including "The Embarkation of King Charles II at Scheveningen, 1660".


The Battle of Texel, painted 1687


The burning of the Royal James at the Battle of Solebay


HMS St Andrew at sea in a moderate breeze, painted c. 1673








https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_van_de_Velde_the_Younger
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Velde_the_Younger;start=0

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1716 – Re-Launch of HMS Panther, a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and originally launched on 15 March 1703


HMS Panther was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 15 March 1703.





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

Panther was rebuilt according to the 1706 Establishment at Woolwich Dockyard, and relaunched on 6 April 1716. She was hulked in 1743, remaining in that role until she was sold out of the navy in 1768.

HMS Panther was re-built at Plymouth Dockyard to the dimensions specified in the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and re-launched on 24 June 1746.

Panther served until 1756, when she was broken up.




Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline with some decoration detail, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Panther (1746), a 1741 Establishment, 50-gun, Fourth Rate, two-decker. This was the 're-build' of the 1706 Establishment Panther (1716). Signed by Thomas Fellowes [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1742-1746]


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed for Panther (1743), a 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Panther_(1703)

HMS Panther (1746) - Wikipedia

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[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1776 - The Battle of Block Island was a naval skirmish which took place in the waters off Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War.
The Continental Navy Squadron, commanded by Commodore Esek Hopkins, is attacked by the British frigate HMS Glasgow and her tender while entering Long Island Sound.


The Battle of Block Island was a naval skirmish which took place in the waters off Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Navy under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins was returning from a successful raid on Nassau when it encountered HMS Glasgow, a Royal Navy dispatch boat.



Glasgow escaped from the fleet of seven ships, although it sustained significant damage, and the battle is considered a victory for the British. Several captains of the Continental fleet were criticized for their actions during the battle, and one was eventually dismissed as a result. Commodore Hopkins was criticized for other actions pertaining to the cruise, including the distribution of seized goods, and was also dismissed.



Background
HMS Glasgow was a sixth-rate 20-gun frigate of the Royal Navy. In early April 1776 under the command of Capt. Tryingham Howe, it was carrying dispatches from Newport, Rhode Island to the British fleet off Charleston, South Carolina. This fleet had been assembled to launch an assault on Charleston, which ultimately failed in the June Battle of Sullivan's Island.

The Second Continental Congress had established the Continental Navy in late 1775. By February 1776, the first ships of the fleet were ready for their maiden voyage. Commodore Esek Hopkins was to lead a fleet of eight ships on an expedition to the Bahamas, where the British were known to have military stores. In early March, the fleet landed marines on the island of New Providence and captured the town of Nassau. The fleet sailed north on March 17, now including two captured prize ships, all loaded up with cargo captured from military stores. One ship was dispatched to Philadelphia, while the rest of the fleet sailed for the Block Island channel. The fleet's cruise was marked by outbreaks of a variety of diseases, including fevers and smallpox, which significantly reduced the crew's effectiveness.

By April 4, the fleet reached the waters off Long Island and proceeded to capture HMS Hawk, which was also laden with supplies. The next day brought a second prize in the Bolton. Hopkins continued to cruise off Block Island that night, hoping to catch more easy prizes. He organized the fleet into a scouting formation of two columns. The right or eastern column was headed by USS Cabot and was followed by Hopkins' flagship USS Alfred, which had 20 guns and was the largest ship of the fleet. The left column was headed by the USS Andrew Doria and was followed by USS Columbus. Behind these came USS Providence, with USS Flyand USS Wasp trailing farther behind as escorts for the prizes. The need to provide crews for the prize ships further reduced the fighting effectiveness of the fleet.

Battle


Block Island is highlighted in this satellite image; the battle was fought to its southeast.

The battle took place on an exceptionally clear night with a nearly full moon. USS Andrew Doria and HMS Glasgow spotted each other between 1:00 and 2:00 am on April 6, about eight leagues (20 to 24 nautical miles) southeast of Block Island with the fleet headed in a generally southerly direction. Glasgow was heading west, destined for Charleston. Captain Howe came about to investigate the fleet and closed to within hailing distance over the next 30 minutes. Commodore Hopkins gave no signals during this time, so the fleet formed no battle line. This resulted in a battle that Captain Nicholas Biddle of Andrew Doria later described as "helter-skelter".

Howe first came upon USS Cabot, whose captain was Esek Hopkins' son John. Glasgow hailed Cabot for identification, to which the younger Hopkins replied, "The USS Columbus and USS Alfred, a 22-gun frigate." An overzealous seaman on his ship then tossed a grenade onto Glasgow's deck and the battle was engaged. Cabot, a lightly armed brig, fired one ineffective broadside of six-pound cannon shot. Glasgow countered with two broadsides from its heavier weaponry, killing Cabot's master, wounding Hopkins, and disabling the ship's steering. As Cabot drifted away, USS Alfred came up to engage Glasgow and the two commenced a broadside duel. A shot from Glasgow early in the action broke the lines to Alfred's tiller, causing her to lose steering and exposing her to raking fire. Her drift also made it difficult for Biddle's Andrew Doria to join the action, because the ship also had to maneuver to avoid the drifting Cabot. USS Providence held back; USS Columbus was able to join the action late, but her fire was so wild that little to no damage was done to Glasgow.

However, Glasgow was now exposed to fire from three ships, so Howe decided to break off the battle, in order to avoid being boarded, and made sail for Newport. Despite extensive damage to the sail and rigging, he pulled away from the pursuing fleet, which was fully laden with its captured goods. Hopkins called off the chase after several hours in order to avoid an encounter with the British squadron at Newport. His only prize was Glasgow's tender, which the fleet brought to anchor in New London, Connecticut on April 8.

Aftermath
HMS Glasgow suffered one killed and three wounded, a low number which some consider to be evidence of poor quality in the Continental fleet's gunnery; all of the casualties were due to musket fire. Four were killed and seven wounded aboard Cabot; USS Alfred had six killed and six wounded, and Andrew Doria's drummer was wounded.


The Columbus in a later action, painting by William Nowland Van Powell

Continental Congress President John Hancock praised Hopkins for the fleet's performance, while its failure to capture Glasgow provided opportunities for criticism to opponents of the Navy, both in and out of Congress. Nicholas Biddle wrote of the action, "A more imprudent, ill-conducted affair never happened." USS Columbus captain Abraham Whipple endured accusations of cowardice for a time, and eventually asked for a court martial to clear his name. On May 6, 1776, a panel consisting of officers who had been on the cruise cleared Whipple of cowardice but criticized him for errors in judgment. USS Providence captain John Hazard was not so fortunate; he was charged with a variety of offenses by his subordinate officers, including neglect of duty during the Glasgow action. He was convicted by court martial and forced to surrender his commission.

Commodore Hopkins came under scrutiny from Congress over matters unrelated to the Block Island action. He had violated his written orders to sail to Virginia and the Carolinas, traveling to Nassau instead. He also distributed the goods taken during the cruise in Connecticut and Rhode Island without consulting Congress. He was censured for these transgressions. A number of the fleet's ships suffered from crew shortages and became trapped at Providence, Rhode Island by the British occupation of Newport late in 1776 and, thus, failed to sail again. In January 1778, Hopkins was dismissed from the Navy.

HMS Glasgow returned to Newport, suffering from the battle and having dumped her dispatches. She was found to be in bad shape; she was made as seaworthy as possible and sent to Portsmouth for repairs. Her mission was reassigned to HMS Nautilus, another ship in the Newport squadron.


HMS Glasgow was a 20-gun sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and took part in the American Revolutionary War. She is most famous for her encounter with the maiden voyage of the Continental Navy off Block Island on 6 April 1776. In that action, Glasgow engaged a squadron of 6 ships of the Continental Navy, managing to escape intact.

She later chased two large Continental frigates in the Caribbean before she was accidentally burned in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1779.




Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half-breadth for Rose (1757) and Glasgow (1757), both 20-gun Sixth Rate Sloops.


Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the quarter deck, forecastle, upper deck, lower deck, and fore & aft platforms for Glasgow (1757), a 20-gun Sixth Rate. Signed by Edward Hunt [Master Shipwright, Sheerness Dockyard, 1767-1772]


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

HMS Glasgow (1757) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1799 – Launch of French Infatigable, a 40-gun Valeureuse-class frigate of the French Navy, at Le Havre


Infatigable was a 40-gun Valeureuse-class frigate of the French Navy, launched at Le Havre in 1799. She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1806. She was taken into the Royal Navy but never used and she was broken up in 1811.





French career
Infatigable was under the command of capitaine de vaiseau Meynne between 22 October 1801 and 26 December 1802. First she sailed from Havre to Cherbourg. Then she carried troops from Cherbourg to Cap-Français via Douvres, Dunkirk, and Flessingue. From Cap-Français she conducted a mission to Havana, from which she returned to Cap-Français before sailing back to Brest.

Around 31 July 1803 capitaine de vaisseau Troude brought the colonial prefect (governor) of "Aure" and passengers from Cap-Français back to Lorient.

A French squadron consisting of Actæon, Armide, Gloire, Infatigable, Jemmapes, Lion, Lynx and Magnanime burnt the sloop Eclipse, Lady Nelson, Matthew, Thetis, and Thomas in an attack at Saint Kitts. The same squadron burnt the Lady Jane Halliday, the Nelly, and the Themis at Nevis.

Between 11 and 20 November 1805, Infatigable, under the command of capitaine de vaisseau Joseph-Maurice Girardias, was in Île-d'Aix roads.

Capture
A four-ship squadron of the Royal Navy under Samuel Hood captured her in the Action of 25 September 1806, together with Gloire, Minerve and Armide after they had left Rochefort the evening before. Infatigable was under the command of capitaine de vaisseau "Giradiers". French casualties were heavy as the French squadron was carrying troops.

Fate
The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Immortalite but never used her. She was broken up in 1811.



Hull of HMS Revolutionnaire








Scale: 1:96. A full hull model of the ‘Révolutionnaire’ (1794), a French frigate. The model is decked. The origins of the model are obscure, but French prisoners of war may have made it. It shows the ship unrigged and on a building slip before launch, with the wooden treenails that hold it together featured prominently. ‘Révolutionnaire’ was built at Le Havre in 1793 as a 40-gun ship. Although French ships tended to be bigger than British ones at this time, it was captured by the British frigate ‘Artois’ and others on its first cruise in 1794. It was then received into the British navy as a 38-gun frigate. It took part in Bridport’s action against the French at the Ile de Groix in 1795, and Sir Richard Strachan’s action against some of the French ships that survived Trafalgar in 1805. It was broken up in 1822


The Seine class was a class of four 42-gun frigates of the French Navy, designed in 1793 by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. A fifth vessel, Furieuse, was originally ordered at Cherbourg in February 1794 to Forfait's Romaine class design, but was actually completed to the design of the Seine class.

The ship builder Charles-Henri Le Tellier produced a further two vessels, the Valeureuse-class, which were about 8 inches longer than earlier Seine-class vessels.

The vessels were originally designed to carry a main armament of 24-pounder guns, but in the event all were completed at Le Havre with 18-pounders.

Seine-class

• Seine

Builder: Le Havre
Begun: May 1793
Launched: 19 December 1793
Completed: March 1794
Fate: Captured by the Royal Navy on 30 June 1798, becoming HMS Seine.

• Révolutionnaire

Builder: Le Havre
Begun: October 1793
Launched: 28 May 1794
Completed: July 1794
Fate: Captured by the Royal Navy on 21 October 1794, becoming HMS Revolutionnaire.

• Spartiate

Builder: Le HavreBegun: May 1794Launched: late November 1794Completed: December 1794Fate: Renamed La Pensée May 1795. Converted to a breakwater in November 1804, deleted 1832.

• Indienne

Builder: Le Havre
Begun: December 1794
Launched: 2 September 1796
Completed: October 1797
Fate: Burnt to avoid capture by the Royal Navy in April 1809.

• Furieuse

Builder: Cherbourg
Begun: March 1795
Launched: 22 September 1796
Completed: May 1798
Fate: Captured by the Royal Navy on 6 July 1809, becoming HMS Furieuse.

Valeureuse-class

• Valeureuse

Builder: Le Havre
Begun: July 1797
Launched: 29 July 1798
Completed: March 1800
Fate: Sold in September 1806 at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania for breaking up following condemnation as irreperable at Philadelphia.

• Infatigable

Builder: Le Havre
Begun: July 1797
Launched: 6 April 1799
Completed: March 1800
Fate: Captured by the Royal Navy on 24 September 1806, becoming HMS Immortalité; never commissioned and sold in January 1811 at Plymouth for breaking up.


HMS Jason attacking the French frigate Seine


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Infatigable_(1799)

Seine-class frigate - Wikipedia

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https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-343052;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=R

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1800 - Boats of HMS Leviathan (74), Cptn. Carpenter, and HMS Emerald (36), Cptn. M. Waller, captured Spanish frigate Santa Florentina, frigate Nuestra Señora del Carmen and brig Los Ingleses (14)


The Action of 7 April 1800 was a minor naval engagement fought between a British squadron blockading the Spanish naval base of Cádiz and a convoy of 13 Spanish merchant vessels escorted by three frigates, bound for the Spanish colonies in the Americas. The blockade squadron consisted of the ships of the line HMS Leviathan and HMS Swiftsure and the frigate HMS Emerald, commanded by Rear-Admiral John Thomas Duckworth on Leviathan. The Spanish convoy sailed from Cádiz on 3 April 1800 and encountered Duckworth's squadron two days later. The Spanish attempted to escape; Emerald succeeded in capturing one ship early on 6 April. The British captured a brig the following morning and the British squadron divided in pursuit of the remainder.

Calm winds delayed both pursuer and quarry and it was not until the morning of 7 April that Leviathan and Emerald came up on the bulk of the Spanish convoy, which was still under escort from the Spanish frigate squadron. Swiftsure had been detached south in pursuit of the rest of the convoy. Two Spanish frigates, Nuestra Señora del Carmen and Santa Florentina mistook Duckworth's force for part of their convoy, came too close and had to surrender after a short but fierce resistance. The third frigate Santa Sabinamanaged to escape Emerald's pursuit but the rest of the convoy was left unprotected and the British seized four more ships. In all, the British captured and sent into Gibraltar 13 vessels of the 16-ship convoy.



Background
By April 1800, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Spain had been at war for three and a half years, following the Treaty of San Ildefonso that turned Spain from an enemy of the French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars to an ally. The principal Spanish fleet was based in the large Southern Spanish port of Cádiz and had become an immediate target for the Royal Navy, which stationed a blockade fleet off the port to restrict Spanish movements and trade. This fleet, initially under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis, won a significant victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in February 1797.

The port of Cádiz was the principal maritime conduit for Spanish trade and communication, particularly with regard to the extensive Spanish colonies in the Americas. Convoys carrying supplies and trade goods back and forth continued to use Cádiz and by 1800 in an effort to stop these the British Mediterranean Fleet was deploying smaller squadrons of frigates and ships of the line. In March 1800, command of the blockade was entrusted to Rear-Admiral John Thomas Duckworth sailing in the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Leviathan with Captain James Carpenter. Accompanying Leviathan was the 74-gun HMS Swiftsure under Captain Benjamin Hallowell and the 36-gun frigate HMS Emerald under Captain Thomas Moutray Waller.[4] This force, accompanied by the small fireship HMS Incendiary had captured two merchant ships sailing from Cádiz in late March, the Spanish Parifama Concepieona bound for Tenerife on 20 March and the French Le Puy du Dome for Cayenne on 23 March. These prizes were sent to the fleet bases at Lisbon and Gibraltar, the latter accompanied by Incendiary.


Map of Cádiz Bay

During March the Spanish authorities in Cádiz prepared a convoy to sail to their American colonies consisting of 13 merchant vessels bound for Lima in the Viceroyalty of Peru, Buenos Aires and Montevideo in the Viceroyalty of the River Plate and Veracruzin the Viceroyalty of New Spain.[5] Accompanying this convoy were three 34-gun frigates, Nuestra Señora del Carmen under Captain Don Fraquin Porcel, Santa Florentina under Captain Don Manuel Norates and Santa Sabina.[6] All three frigates had undergone extensive preparations for the voyage, with new copper sheathing on their hulls and full crews and stores for the long journey. They were also each carrying 500 quintals of quicksilver for use in the Peruvian silver mining industry.

Battle
The Spanish convoy sailed on 3 April, and by the afternoon of 5 April was crossing the Bay of Cádiz when it was sighted by lookouts on Leviathan.[6] The British force immediately gave chase, the Spanish scattering in an effort to escape. Calm weather delayed both forces, but by 03:00 on 6 April Waller was able to bring Emerald across the path of the small Spanish merchant ship Confiance, bound for Buenos Aires with trade goods. Confiance surrendered immediately and was taken to Gibraltar by a prize crew as the British force pressed on. The following morning calm winds prevented any movement at all, with allowed boats from Leviathan and Emerald to be launched against a Spanish merchant brig lying becalmed nearby. For 40 minutes the boats, under the command of Lieutenant Charles March Gregory, exchanged fire with the brig Los Angeles (apparently also known as Barcelona), before the Spanish vessel surrendered.

On the morning of 6 April no Spanish ships were in sight other than Los Angeles, but as the wind gradually increased sails were sighted to the east, west and south. Duckworth ordered his force to separate, Hallowell pursuing to the south while Leviathan went west and Emerald east. At 12:00 however Waller signaled that six sails were visible to the northeast and Duckworth reversed his decision, joining Emerald in pursuit of the main body of the Spanish convoy. By the time darkness fell, nine Spanish sail were visible to Leviathan's lookouts. During the day the British convoy had succeeded in overrunning two more Spanish ships, La Bastanesa and Nuestra Senora de las Delares, both carrying supplies to Buenos Aires.

Duckworth planned to sail north using a northwesterly breeze that should allow him to cut across the head of the Spanish convoy. At 12:00 on 7 April three sails were sighted and at 02:00 two were identified as Spanish frigates. Duckworth ordered his ships to follow parallel courses towards the Spaniards with the intention of bringing them to action at dawn. The Spanish captains had misidentified the new arrivals, believing them to be part of the scattered convoy, and it was not until dawn that they realised their mistake, by which time Duckworth's force was too close for them to escape. Duckworth hailed the nearest frigate, demanding its surrender in the face of overwhelming force, but the Spanish captain refused, raising all sail in an effort to escape. The second Spanish ship did likewise despite a volley of musket fire from the Royal Marines on Leviathan, and Duckworth instead attempted to smash the Spanish frigates' rigging with a broadside fired over their decks. This effort failed, but a second attack by Emerald was more successful despite ineffective counterfire from the Spanish ships. With their rigging damaged and escape impossible, the frigates Carmen and Santa Florentina surrendered rather than face another broadside from Leviathan.

Aftermath
Duckworth remained with his prizes, effecting repairs and transferring prisoners, for the next two hours.[7] Among the passengers on Carmen was Pedro Inocencio Bejarano, Bishop of Buenos Aires. Duckworth directed Waller to pursue the third frigate, now visible, but Emerald's copper-bottom was in a poor condition however and Santa Sabina easily outpaced Waller's ship, which soon broke off pursuit and concentrated on the scattering merchant shipping. During the rest of the day, Emerald was able to chase down and capture four large merchant ships. Once the frigates were secure, Leviathan joined the chase but the distance was too great and the remainder escaped after dark. When combined with another capture by Swiftsure this meant that Duckworth's force had captured nine of the 13 merchant ships and two of three frigates from the convoy. The new captures, Jesus Nazareen, El Veneato, Providence, Cartagena and Madre de Dios were all laden with trade goods for the colonies and were taken to Gibraltar for assessment and sale.

The Spanish frigates had suffered a number of casualties in what historian William James called their "honourable resistance". Carmen had lost 11 men killed and 16 wounded while Santa Florentina lost 11 killed and 12 wounded, the latter including Captain Norates. Both captured warships were sent back to Britain and purchased for service in the Royal Navy under the names HMS Carmen and HMS Florentina. None of the British ships reported any casualties.[8] Shortly after this action, Duckworth was transferred to command of the Leeward Islands station, his place taken by Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton.


HMS Florentina (or sometimes Florentia or Florentine), was the Spanish frigate Santa Florentina, built in 1786 at Cartagena, Spain. The British Royal Navy captured her on 6 April 1800 and took her into service as HMS Florentina. She served in the Mediterranean until she returned to Britain in 1802 after the Treaty of Amiens. There the Admiralty had her laid-up in ordinary. She was sold in December.


HMS Carmen (often El Carmen, or sometimes Carmine), was the Spanish frigate Nuestra Señora del Carmen, built in 1770 at Ferrol. The British Royal Navy captured her on 6 April 1800 and took her into service as HMS Carmen. She served in the Mediterranean until she returned to Britain in 1801. There the Admiralty had her laid-up in ordinary. She was sold in December.

Action of 7 April 1800 - Wikipedia

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Florentina_(1800)

HMS Carmen (1800) - Wikipedia

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1809 - HMS Amethyst (36), Cptn. Michael Seymour, captured French frigate Niemen (44), Cptn. Dupotet, in the Bay of Biscay.


The Action of 6 April 1809 was a small naval battle fought between the French frigate Niémen and several British frigates, principally HMS Amethyst, as part of the blockade of Brest, France during the Napoleonic Wars. During the Wars, a central part of British strategy was to isolate French ports from international trade in an attempt to both restrict French imports of food and military supplies and simultaneously to damage the French economy. To achieve this, British warships maintained a constant vigil off the French coastline, attacking ships that attempted to enter or leave French ports. Despite the threat that their ships faced, communication and the transfer of supplies between France and her colonies was vital to the French war effort, and the French Navy made constant attempts to evade the patrolling British squadrons. In late 1808, a significant French squadron was deployed to Isle de France (now Mauritius) to disrupt British trade in the Indian Ocean. This force required reinforcement and supply from France, and periodic attempts were made to reach the isolated convoy with new frigates, the first of which was Niémen.

Niémen was a new and fast ship, carrying 40 guns and a large quantity of much needed naval supplies. However, in order to leave her home port of Brest, it was necessary to avoid contact with the British frigates that constantly watched the entrance to the harbour in search of enemy movement. In April 1809, these ships were HMS Amethyst and Emerald, loosely supported by other patrolling ships and tasked specifically with the capture of Niémen, acting on intelligence passed on by the Admiralty. When Niémen emerged on 5 April, she was immediately spotted and chased. Amethyst retained contact throughout the night and brought the French ship to action on the morning of 6 April. The ensuing battle was fiercely contested and both ships suffered severe damage and heavy casualties.

While the outcome of the battle was still undecided, a second British frigate—HMS Arethusa—arrived. Outnumbered, the French captain saw no alternative and surrendered his ship. The late arrival of Arethusa—under Captain Robert Mends, who claimed the victory for himself—sparked a furious argument that developed into a lasting animosity between Mends and Captain Michael Seymour of Amethyst. The failure of Niémen to reach Isle de France also had serious repercussions for the French squadron there. With naval supplies severely limited, their ability to operate at sea for long periods of time was hampered and by late 1810 few of their vessels were still seaworthy.



Background
During the Napoleonic Wars, as with the French Revolutionary Wars that preceded them, the British Royal Navy enjoyed almost complete dominance at sea. By 1809, their superiority was so entrenched that few French ships even left port, because to do so meant breaking through a system of blockading warships off every major French harbour. The biggest port in France at the time was Brest in Brittany, and thus it was there that the greatest concentration of British warships off the French coast was concentrated. The main squadron was formed from large ships of the line, often dubbed the "Offshore Squadron" due to their position up to a hundred miles from the coast, to avoid the risks posed by the rocky Biscay shore. This was complemented by the "Inshore Squadron", formed primarily from frigates and brigs, which was tasked with watching the myriad entry points to Brest and other Biscay ports. These frigates often sailed independently or in small squadrons, maintaining contact with each other and with the Offshore Squadron via signals and despatch boats.

Despite their inferiority at sea, both in numbers and experience, frigates of the French Navy were still required to leave port regularly on raiding missions against British commerce and to convoy supplies and reinforcements to overseas regions of the French Empire. These colonies formed bases for French commerce raiders, and in 1808 a determined effort was made to develop a raiding squadron on the French Indian Ocean territories of Isle de France and Île Bonaparte. These ships—led by Commodore Jacques Hamelin—required regular resupply from France as they were unable to repair damage and replenish ammunition and food from the reserves on the Indian Ocean islands alone. In early 1809, therefore, it was decided to reinforce and resupply the squadron by despatching the newly built frigate Niémen from Brest under Captain Jean Dupotet.

In January 1809, John Tremayne Rodd—captain of the frigate HMS Indefatigable, then part of the Inshore Squadron—obtained information that Niémen was preparing to sail from Brest. Rodd passed this information to the Admiralty, who took immediate steps to intercept the French ship. For this purpose, they selected Captains Michael Seymour of HMS Amethyst and Frederick Lewis Maitland of HMS Emerald. These captains had extensive experience serving with the Inshore Squadron off Brest and Seymour, who had lost an arm at the Glorious First of June, was much in favour for his recent capture of the French frigate Thétis at the Action of 10 November 1808. Seymour and Maitland—during their patrols in 1808 that led to the capture of Thétis—had entered into a verbal agreement that any prize money they earned would be shared equally over both crews. This agreement continued on their new commission, which was jealously guarded from other captains: when Seymour discovered HMS Naiad hunting in the same area in March, he was furious and ordered her away.


Combat de la frégate Niemen contre les frégates Aréthusa et Amethyst, by Jean-Baptiste Henri Durand-Brager

Battle
On 3 April 1809, Niémen—laden with provisions and naval stores for Isle de France—sailed from Brest, passing through the rocky passages that sheltered the port during the night and thus avoiding discovery by the regular Inshore Squadron. Steering westwards, Dupotet made good time, travelling nearly 100 nmi (120 mi; 190 km) over the next two days with the intention of escaping the British patrols in the Bay of Biscay and reaching the open Atlantic. At 11:00 on 5 April, however, Dupotet spotted two sails to the northwest. Assuming them to be British, Dupotet turned southwards in the hope of outrunning them. The sails—which belonged to Amethyst and Emerald—immediately gave chase. Throughout the day, the three ships sailed southward, Amethyst slightly gaining on Niémen but leaving Emerald far behind, Maitland's ship disappearing from view at 19:20 as darkness fell.

Dupotet attempted to throw off Amethyst's pursuit during the night by turning westwards once more, but Seymour anticipated this manoeuvre and turned his ship westwards as well, discovering Niémen only a few miles ahead at 21:40.[8] Rapidly gaining on the French ship, Seymour began firing his bow-chasers, small guns situated in the bows of the frigate, in an attempt to damage her rigging so that he could bring his broadsides to bear. Dupotet responded with his stern-chasers, but by 01:00 on 6 April it was clear that Amethyst was going to catch the French frigate. The pursuit had been exhausting: since first sighting the British ships, Niémen had travelled over 140 nmi (160 mi; 260 km) and was just 12 nmi (14 mi; 22 km) from the Spanish coast when she was caught. At 01:15, Amethyst opened fire, Niémen immediately responding and turning to the northeast in an attempt to shake off the British ship. Seymour followed his opponent and at 01:45 was again close enough to engage, the frigates firing upon one another from close range for over an hour.

At 02:45, Amethyst was able to pull across the bows of Niémen, inflicting a devastating raking fire on the French ship which caused terrible damage. Niémen surged forward into Amethyst, but the collision caused little damage and at 03:00 Amethyst again raked her opponent, this time from the east. The frigates were so close that shot from Amethyst started fires among Niémen's hammock netting, placed along the decks to deter boarding actions. At 03:15, Niémen's mizenmast and main topmast collapsed and another fire broke out in the main top, but Amethyst was also severely damaged and at 03:30 her mainmast fell onto the deck from a combination of shot damage and stress in high winds. Niémen's mainmast also collapsed a few minutes later. Both frigates had stopped firing at 03:25, as the confusion on their decks was brought under control.

Although Niémen was very badly damaged, Amethyst was almost uncontrollable and despite Seymour's best efforts, he was unable to close with Niémen to ensure her surrender. Dupotet meanwhile was overseeing hasty repairs in the hope of getting away before Amethyst could recover. At 03:45, however, a new ship emerged from the darkness, soon revealed to be the British frigate HMS Arethusa. Arethusa was deployed as part of the force blockading the ports of Northern Spain and her commander, Captain Robert Mends, was a successful officer who had been commended just two weeks earlier for raiding the French-held port of Lekeitio. Mends immediately pulled alongside Niémen and Dupotet fired a single shot each at Amethyst and Arethusa. The shot at Amethyst missed its target, but the one at Arethusa struck the ship and threw up splinters. Mends was struck on the forehead and badly wounded, the only man to be hit. Both Amethyst and Arethusa then opened fire, Niémen surrendering immediately.

Aftermath
Aside from Captain Mends on Arethusa, casualties were severe on both sides. Amethyst had eight killed and 37 wounded from a crew of 222, while the French ship lost 47 killed and 73 wounded from a crew of 339. Recriminations among the British officers began within minutes of the French surrender: Mends took possession of Niémen and sent a note to Seymour informing him that he had seized the valuable French nautical charts and the French captain's personal stores. The note also requested that Seymour send back Arethusa's surgeon, who had gone aboard Amethyst to assist with the wounded, so that Mends could be ready to leave without notice. Seymour, who was still effecting hasty repairs and dealing with his casualties, responded angrily, forcing Mends to back down and return the stores. Seymour was also annoyed by Mends' late arrival, which meant that Arethusa was entitled to half the prize money from the captured frigate without having done any of the fighting. Repairs were completed on 7 April, and Amethyst and Niémen limped back to Plymouth, arriving on 13 April.

On arrival in Britain, Seymour was celebrated and rewarded with a baronetcy for his second victory in less than six months while all of his officers were promoted. Niémen was purchased into the Navy for the sum of £29,979-2-10d, which was split between the government, the crew and a number of other parties. The share that went to the captors came under dispute: Mends had no intention of abiding by Seymour's agreement with Maitland and refused to allow Emerald to share in the prize money. Seymour and Maitland took Mends to court and the ensuing legal battle lasted years, Mends deliberately exaggerating his role in the capture of Niémen in public (although privately admitting that the victory was entirely Seymour's). Seymour and Mends became bitter enemies and their animosity continued throughout their lives, although both remained in the Navy and had successful careers. Forty years later, the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847.

In France, the action was infamous for a despatch supposedly sent by Dupotet and subsequently printed in edited form in the newspaper Le Moniteur Universel. The report, which was later used by Mends in his dispute with Seymour, claimed that Niémen had not only been largely undamaged before Arethusa's arrival, but that Seymour had actually surrendered to the French captain before Mends arrived. This story, almost totally invented, was widely believed in France at the time. The effect on the Mauritius campaign of the defeat of Niémenwas not immediately apparent, Hamelin's squadron remaining a menace to British shipping well into 1810. However, in the aftermath of the destructive Battle of Grand Port, the French, although the victors, were unable to repair their ships due to lack of naval stores and their effectiveness declined until they were unable to resist the Invasion of Isle de France in November 1810. This inability was directly related to the failure of all but one of the French frigates sent to reinforce and resupply the island to reach it, the others either captured or driven back en route.

sistership of Niemen

Portrait of Pénélope by François-Geoffroi Roux

HMS Niemen was a Royal Navy 38-gun fifth-rate frigate. She began her career as the Niémen, a 44-gun French Navy Armide-class frigate, designed by Pierre Rolland. She was only in French service for a few months when in 1809 she encountered some British frigates. The British captured her and she continued in British service as Niemen. In British service she cruised in the Atlantic and North American waters, taking numerous small American prizes, some privateers but mostly merchantmen. She was broken up in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.

Action of 6 April 1809 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Niemen_(1809)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1814 – Launch of HMS Alpheus, a Scamander class sailing frigates were a series of ten 36-gun ships, all built by contract with private shipbuilders to an 1812 design by Sir William Rule


The Scamander class sailing frigates were a series of ten 36-gun ships, all built by contract with private shipbuilders to an 1812 design by Sir William Rule, which served in the Royal Navy during the late Napoleonic War and War of 1812.

They were all built of "fir" (actually, pine), selected as a stop-gap measure because of the urgent need to build ships quickly, with the Navy Board supplying red pine timber to the contractors from dockyard stocks for the first seven ships. The last three were built of yellow pine. While quick to build, the material was not expected to last as long as oak-built ships, and indeed all were deleted by 1819, except the Tagus which lasted to 1822.



Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Ister (1813), Eridanus (1813), Scamander (1813), Orontes (1813), Tagus (1813), Tigris (1813), Hebrus (1813), Alpheus (1814), Euphrates (1813), and Granicus (1813), all 36-gun Fifth Rate 'fir-built' Frigates. These ships were built of red pine, except for Granicus, Alpheus, and Hebrus, which were of yellow pine. Signed by William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813] and Henry Peake [Surveyor of the Navy, 1806-1822].

Ships in class
Red pine group. These seven ships were originally ordered under the names Liffey, Brilliant, Lively, Severn, Blonde, Forth and Greyhound, all being renamed on 11 December 1812 (except Liffey and Severn, which were renamed on 26 January 1813).

• HMS Eridanus (ex-Liffey)
  • Builder: Mrs Mary Ross, Rochester
  • Ordered: 4 May 1812
  • Laid down: August 1812
  • Launched: 1 May 1813
  • Completed: 13 July 1813 at Chatham Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 29 January 1818
• HMS Orontes (ex-Brilliant)
  • Builder: Josiah & Thomas Brindley, Frindsbury
  • Ordered: 4 May 1812
  • Laid down: August 1812
  • Launched: 29 June 1813
  • Completed: 13 December 1813 at Chatham Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up at Sheerness in April 1817
• HMS Scamander (ex-Lively)
  • Builder: Josiah & Thomas Brindley, Frindsbury
  • Ordered: 4 May 1812
  • Laid down: August 1812
  • Launched: 13 July 1813
  • Completed: 24 December 1813 at Chatham Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 22 July 1819
• HMS Tagus (ex-Severn)
  • Builder: Daniel List, Binstead, Isle of Wight
  • Ordered: 4 May 1812
  • Laid down: August 1812
  • Launched: 14 July 1813
  • Completed: 9 November 1813 at Portsmouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 19 April 1822
• HMS Ister (ex-Blonde)
  • Builder: William Wallis, Leamouth
  • Ordered: 4 May 1812
  • Laid down: August 1812
  • Launched: 14 July 1813
  • Completed: 11 November 1813 at Woolwich Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 8 March 1819
• HMS Tigris (ex-Forth)
  • Builder: John Pelham, Frindsbury, Kent
  • Ordered: 4 May 1812
  • Laid down: September 1812
  • Launched: 26 June 1813
  • Completed: 24 December 1813 at Chatham Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 11 June 1818
• HMS Euphrates (ex-Greyhound)
  • Builder: John King, Upnor, Kent
  • Ordered: 12 October 1812
  • Laid down: January 1813
  • Launched: 8 November 1813
  • Completed: 24 September 1814 at Chatham Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 29 January 1818

Yellow pine group.

• HMS Hebrus
  • Builder: John Barton, Limehouse
  • Ordered: 16 November 1812
  • Laid down: January 1813
  • Launched: 13 September 1813
  • Completed: 18 December 1813 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 3 April 1817
• HMS Granicus
  • Builder: John Barton, Limehouse
  • Ordered: 17 November 1812
  • Laid down: January 1813
  • Launched: 25 October 1813
  • Completed: 31 January 1814 at Deptford Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 3 April 1817
• HMS Alpheus
  • Builder: William Wallis, Leamouth
  • Ordered: 7 December 1812
  • Laid down: July 1813
  • Launched: 6 April 1814
  • Completed: 11 July 1814 at Woolwich Dockyard
  • Fate: Sold 10 September 1817

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Ister (1813), Eridanus (1813), Scamander (1813), Orontes (1813), Tagus (1813), Tigris (1813), Hebrus (1813), Alpheus (1814), Euphrates (1813), and Granicus (1813), all 36-gun Fifth Rate 'fir-built' Frigates. These ships were built of red pine, except for Granicus, Alpheus, and Hebrus, which were of yellow pine.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile for Ister (1813), Eridanus (1813), Scamander (1813), Orontes (1813), Tagus (1813), Tigris (1813), Hebrus (1813), Alpheus (1814), Euphrates (1813), and Granicus (1813), all 36-gun Fifth Rate 'fir-built' Frigates. These ships were built of red pine, except for Granicus, Alpheus, and Hebrus, which were of yellow pine.


Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the section illustrating the method of fitting the iron plate knees for attaching the upper and lower deck beams to the sides for Ister (1813), Eridanus (1813), Scamander (1813), Orontes (1813), Tagus (1813), Tigris (1813), Hebrus (1813), Alpheus (1814), Euphrates (1813), and Granicus (1813), all 36-gun Fifth Rate 'fir-built' Frigates. These ships were built of red pine, except for Granicus, Alpheus, and Hebrus, which were of yellow pine.

Scamander-class frigate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Scamander

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1827 - April 6 and 7 Monte Santiago - Brazilian fleet defeat Argentine navy under William Brown south of Buenos Aires


The naval Battle of Monte Santiago was fought on 7–8 April 1827, between the Argentine Navy and Brazilian Imperial Navy, during the Cisplatine War. It was a decisive Brazilian victory, with the allied forces losing its best ships. The battle is highlighted by Argentine historians as one of the most courageous and ferocious naval encounters in the country's history. On that day, Sgt. Mayor Francis Drummond (engaged to Admiral Brown's daughter Elisa) died on deck, firing his marooned ship's cannons instead of retreating.

Despite the balanced result of the battle, and the fact that it did not change the status quo in the River Plate, it still represented a severe setback for the smaller Argentine Navy. From that moment on, only corsair raids against commerce ships could be undertaken by the Argentine Navy; and the Naval blockade posed grave problems to the export oriented Argentine economy.



The battle
While the Brazilian Navy had high seas vessels, with more firepower but lesser speed, the Argentine Navy relied on fast maneuvering ships. Some Argentine commanders believed that the lack of maneuvering of the Imperial vessels in shallow waters and the speed of their own ships could decide some engagements in their favor.

The Argentine commander was confident that, by using the surprise element, his more maneuverable ships could inflict damage and that he could escape before the Brazilian force could counterattack. However, he was unaware of the enemy's initial three-to-one advantage in terms of ships on the first day of battle (which escalated into a four-to-one advantage by the second day). Brown also underestimated the Brazilian fleet's ability to cut off any route of escaping in time. As a result, the battle was a two-day pouring of shells onto his men.

On the second day, the Brazilian vessel Paula opened fire on the Argentinian brigantine Independencia. Independencia (which had lesser firepower) lost its masts, and to prevent the ship from sinking, twelve cannon were thrown overboard. As a consequence Francis Drummond, its captain, was wounded by a sliver that cut his ear. At 4 pm Drummond had no powder left, and had already fired his supply of three thousand rounds. Drummond managed to use anchor chains as ammunition. He ordered "abandon ship", but the crew fiercely refused his command. Then Drummond, in order to resupply ammunition, sailed in a lifeboat to the Argentinian flagship Republica. At that moment he was hit by a 24 lb (11 kg) cannonball that destroyed his pelvis and right leg and died.




Batalla de Monte Santiago (Guerra del Brasil)

Aftermath
The losses in this battle, along with the loss of the large Argentinian vessel 25 de Mayo in the battle of Punta Lara-Quilmes (June 29–30, 1826), kept the Brazilian Navy control of the River Plate. From that moment on, only raids against commerce ships could be undertaken by Argentine Navy, mostly from its Atlantic base at Carmen de Patagones, but no major operations to challenge the larger ships of the Brazilian Navy were possible. As the British military historian Brian Vale put it, "[...] Juncal had done little to push the Empire in the direction of peace. Now at Monte Santiago, two of Argentina's precious brigs-of-war had been destroyed and the cream of its Navy roundly defeated. The Brazilian Navy's overwhelming superiority at sea had been reasserted in a way which neither William Brown's audacity or Ramsay's newly purchased frigates could seriously challenge".

The war reached a standstill: the Argentine Army had greater control in the land operations, but lacked the means to expel the Brazilian Army from Colonia and Montevideo, the two largest cities of Uruguay (which would remain under the control of Brazil throughout the whole conflict), and lacked larger ships to challenge the control of the river; at the same time, the losses sustained by the Brazilians during the previous battles discouraged them from extending the naval war into the interior rivers of Argentina and the shallow waters of attempting a direct attack against Buenos Aires. This situation continued until the Preliminary Peace Convention, by which Oriental Province became the independent nation of Uruguay.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monte_Santiago
http://www.histarmar.com.ar/InfHistorica/Berisso/MonteSantiago.htm

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1833 – Launch of HMS Vestal, a 26-gun Vestal-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built to a design by Sir William Symonds and was launched in 1833.


HMS Vestal was a 26-gun Vestal-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built to a design by Sir William Symonds and was launched in 1833.



On her maiden voyage she departed for the West Indies on 19 October 1833 and arrived in Barbados on 3 December of that year. In October 1835 Vestal seized the Spanish slave ship Amalia. This was to a regular part of her Caribbean duties. During 1838 and 1839 she was in Havana protecting British interests off the coast of Mexico. During the following years she visited Canada, Jamaica, the United States, Argentina and Tasmania.

On 26 August 1852, Vestal ran aground on the Hemstead Ledge, west of The Needles, Isle of Wight whilst on a voyage from Portsmouth, Hampshire]] to the West Indies. After throwing her guns overboard, she was refloated and taken back to Portsmouth for inspection and repair. She was decommissioned in 1860; and broken up in 1862.


His Majesty's Ship the Vestal frigate, commanded by Captain William Jones. Having their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria on board, off Culver Cliffs on 24 July 1833



Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half breadth for building Vestal (cancelled 1831), a 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigate building at Chatham Dockyard. Signed Robert Seppings. (Surveyor of the Navy)


section, midship (ZAZ3576)


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing an elevation with description for the fitting of a chane around the rudder of Vestal (1836), a 28-gun Fifth Rate Frigate.


Scale: 1:48. A sectional model depicting the starboard side of the elliptical stern of the sixth rate 26 gun warship HMS Vestal (1833). The model has been made from a single piece of wood and painted in realistic colours. Its section faces have been painted buff, the hull has been painted black with a white stripe along the gun deck. The four depicted gun ports have been shown without lids and are painted green. The stern gallery details have been highlighted in bronze paint to resemble gilding. There is a semi-circular indentation set into the upper face of the model and there is also the remains of a paper label which probably identifies it as once being on display in the Cumberland Room of the Royal Naval College Museum. It is also inscribe in a white ink `1920-308'? the Science Museum acquisition number.

HMS Vestal (1833) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-357464;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=V

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1871 – Launch of Livonia was the second, unsuccessful, challenger attempting to lift the America's Cup from the New York Yacht Club.


Livonia was the second, unsuccessful, challenger attempting to lift the America's Cup from the New York Yacht Club.


Livonia, Lithograph by T.G.Dutton after A.W.Fowles

Design
Having unsuccessfully challenged for the America's Cup in Cambria in 1868, James Lloyd Ashbury again commissioned Michael Ratsey of Cowes to build a new yacht. Livonia was based on the lines of Sappho, and was launched on 6 April 1871. Ashbury took his new yacht across the Atlantic to once again challenge for the America's Cup, this time on behalf of the Royal Harwich Yacht Club.



Career
The 1871 America's Cup race was involved in controversy. There was disagreement over the format of the competition, with Ashbury seeking legal advice. Eventually it was agreed that the first yacht to win four races would be the victor. Livonia was opposed by Franklin Osgood's Columbia. Columbia won the first two races, although Ashbury claimed the second on a technicality. Livonia won the third race with the Columbia being damaged. Sappho was chosen to replace the Columbia to continue the challenge and subsequently won the next two races and thus defended the cup for the New York Club.

Ashbury refused to accept the decision, claiming to have won two races to the Americans' three and declared that he would continue racing. As no challengers appeared he claimed the final two races and demanded the cup. He returned to the United Kingdom without the trophy accusing the New York Yacht Club of engaging in "unfair and unsportsmanlike proceedings". The club responded by returning a number of trophies he had donated in the previous year.

Livonia (yacht) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1917 - SMS Geier, an unprotected cruiser of the Bussard class built for the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine), seized by US Navy in Honolulu after USA entered into the war.


SMS Geier ("His Majesty's Ship Vulture")[a] was an unprotected cruiser of the Bussard class built for the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). She was laid down in 1893 at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven, launched in October 1894, and commissioned into the fleet a year later in October 1895. Designed for service in Germany's overseas colonies, the ship required the comparatively heavy armament of eight 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/35 guns and a long cruising radius. She had a top speed of 15.5 kn (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph).



Geier spent the majority of her career on foreign stations, including tours in the Americas, East Asia, and Africa. In 1897, she was deployed to the Caribbean, and during the Spanish–American War the following year, she ferried Europeans out of the war zone to Mexico by crossing the blockade lines around Cuban ports. After being transferred to the western coast of the Americas in 1899, Geier was reassigned to China to help suppress the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. She remained in East Asian waters through 1905 before being recalled to Germany for major repairs. In 1911, the ship was assigned to the colony in German East Africa, though she served little time in the area, as the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912 and the Balkan Wars of 1912–13 required German warships in the Mediterranean to safeguard German interests. Geier returned to East Africa in early 1914, but in June that month, the new light cruiser Königsberg arrived, and Geier headed to China for second deployment there.



Geier was still en route to the German base in Tsingtao when war broke out in Europe in August 1914. Slipping out of still-neutral British Singapore days before Britain declared war on Germany, she crossed the central Pacific in an attempt to link up with Maximilian von Spee's East Asia Squadron. While at sea, she captured one British freighter, but did not sink her. In need of engine repairs and coal, Geier put into the neutral United States port at Honolulu, Hawaii, in October 1914, where she was eventually interned. After the American entrance into the war in April 1917, the US Navy seized Geier, commissioned her as USS Schurz, and placed her on convoy duty. She was ultimately sunk following a collision with a freighter off the coast of North Carolina, with one man killed and twelve injured. She rests at a depth of 115 feet (35 m) and is a popular scuba diving site.


Schurz in San Diego



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

Bussard-class cruiser - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
6 April 1919 - SMS Vulkan, a U-boat salvage tug in the Kaiserliche Marine laid down in 1907 and commissioned 1908, sunk


SMS Vulkan was a U-boat salvage tug in the Kaiserliche Marine laid down in 1907 and commissioned 1908. The ship displaced 1595 tons and had a top speed of 12 knots.



The famous U-boat ace Max Valentiner served as salvage officer on Vulkan in early 1911. On 17 January 1911, he and the crew saved all 30 men from U-3 by getting them out of the torpedo tube after it sank near Kiel harbour in Heikendorfer Bay because of an unclosed valve in the ventilation shaft. Amongst the saved crew was Otto Weddigen, the later commander of U-9 and Paul Clarrendorf, the commander of U-boot-Abnahme-Kommando in Kiel which enlisted u-boat crews.


Vulkan during construction

Vulkan is also famous for salvaging two U-boats, U-30 on 27 August 1915 and UC-45 on 17 September 1917.

Vulkan was taken out of service 11 November 1918 and surrendered to the British forces together with the bigger salvage tug, SMS Cyclop. Being pulled to Harwich it was sunk 6 April 1919 in position 54°54′N 06°18′E.


Vulkan during WWI, by R. Schmidt

SMS Vulkan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 6 April


1775 – Launch of Spanish San Ramón 68 (launched 6 April 1775 at Havana) - Aground in storm and burnt by the French 1810


1776 - Continental frigates Warren (34), Commodore John Burroughs Hopkins, and Queen of France (28), Cptn. Joseph Olney, with sloop-of-war Ranger (18), Lt. Simpson, capture British privateer schooner Hibernia (10) and the following day 7 merchant vessels

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Warren_(1776)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Queen_of_France_(1777)

USS Ranger (1777) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1797 Boats of HMS Magicienne (32), Cptn. William Henry Ricketts, and HMS Regulus (44) destroyed 11 and cut out 2 merchantmen in the harbour of Cape Roxo, St. Domingo.

HMS Regulus (1785) was a wooden fifth rate of 44 guns, launched at Northam in January 1785 and converted to a troopship in 1793. Because Regulus served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal, which the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.[1] The ship was broken up in March 1816.

Magicienne was a frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. The British captured her in 1781 and she served with the Royal Navy until her crew burned her in 1810 to prevent her capture after she grounded at Isle de France (now Mauritius). During her service with the Royal Navy she captured several privateers and participated in the Battle of San Domingo.


HMS Magicienne and HMS Acasta at the Battle of San Domingo.

French frigate Magicienne (1778) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1806 Boats of HMS Pallas (32), Cptn. Lord Cochrane, cut out Tapageuse (14) one of two French brig-corvettes lying in the river Gironde leading to Bordeaux.

HMS Pallas (1804) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1806 - While awaiting the return of her boats, Pallas drove on shore two French ship-corvettes, Garonne (20) and Gloire (20), and the brig-corvette Malicieuse (16).


1807 – Launch of USS Mercury (1807) was a revenue cutter launched 6 April 1807 and served the Revenue Cutter Service until 1820


1810 HMS Sylvia cutter (12), Lt. Augustus Vere Drury, destroyed armed piratical proa in Straits of Sundra.

HMS Sylvia was an Adonis-class schooner of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War. She was built at Bermuda using Bermudan cedar and completed in 1806. She took part in one notable single-ship action in the East Indies in 1810. The Navy sold her in 1816 and she then became a merchantman. She was wrecked in 1823 on a voyage to West Africa.

HMS Sylvia (1806) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1811 HMS Arrow (10) in action with chasse marées.

HMS Arrow (1805), a 14-gun cutter launched at Deptford Dockyard on 7 September 1805, and converted to a breakwater in May 1815. Broken up in May 1828.


1814 – Launch of HMS Tartar, an Apollo-class sailing frigates

Apollo-class frigate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1826 Boats of HMS Alacrity (10), George James Hope Johnstone, took 3 Greek pirate vessels off the island of Psara.

HMS Alacrity (1818) was a 10-gun Cherokee-class brig-sloop launched in 1818 and sold in 1835.


1862 - Naval gunfire from gunboats Tyler and Lexington protect the advanced river flank of Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army at the Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing).

Battle of Shiloh - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1886 – Launch of Unebi (畝傍) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built in France by Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde.

Unebi (畝傍) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built in France by Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde. Unebi was named after Mount Unebi in Nara prefecture, located near the ancient capital of Asuka. Per Meiji period State Shinto mythology, this mountain was home to Japan's first Emperor, Jimmu Tenno.

Japanese cruiser Unebi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1909 - Cmdr. Robert E. Peary reports reaching the North Pole, dropping a note in a glass bottle into a crevice in the ice that states: "I have this day hoisted the national ensign of the United States of America at this place, which my observations indicate to be the North Polar axis of the earth, and have formally taken possession of the entire region, and adjacent, for and in the name of the President of the United States of America."

Robert Peary - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1917 - Following the sinking of U.S. merchant vessels by German U-boats, the U.S. declares war on Germany, entering World War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_declaration_of_war_on_Germany_(1917)

American entry into World War I - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1943 - Rovereto – An Italian steamer which blew up on 6 April 1943 after being hit by B-24 bombers while sailing in a convoy with supplies to Tunisia. 106 of the 117 men aboard were killed.


1945 - The first heavy kamikaze attacks begin on ships at Okinawa.USS Bush (DD 529), USS Colhoun (DD 801), USS Emmons (DMS 22) and LST 447 are damaged beyond repair.


1945 - USS Bush – On 6 April 1945, while on picket duty off Okinawa, the US destroyer was sunk after being struck by kamikaze aircraft. After being struck by three aircraft an unusually heavy swell rocked her and the she began to cave in amidships. Other swells followed and the ship was abandoned by her 227 survivors just before she folded and sank with 87 of her crew killed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bush_(DD-529)


1945 - USS Emmons – On 6 April 1945 the US destroyer was attacked, heavily damaged and set ablaze, by kamikaze aircraft. With 60 dead and 77 wounded the remaining crew was ordered to abandon ship. Next day, 7 April, the hulk was sunk to prevent her falling into enemy hands.

USS Emmons - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1945 - USAAF B-25s attack Japanese convoy HOMO-03 and destroy a Japanese destroyer, minesweeper, a cargo ship and other ships. USS Besugo (SS 321) and USS Hardhead (SS 365) also sink Japanese ships.

1997 a fire on the Cunard Line Ldt.'s "Vistafjord" en route from Florida to Portugal was caused by a short circuit in the laundry equipment. The vessel with 991 passengers and crew aboard was diverted to Freeport in the Bahamas. 1 crew member died of smoke inhalation. A similar fire broke out in the same area of the ship the previous February.

Vistafjord - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 April 1694 - the French privateer Entreprenante, commissioned in 1693 at Brest, was captured by HMS Ruby and that the British Royal Navy named Ruby Prize (or Ruby's Prize)


Ruby Prize was the French privateer Entreprenante, commissioned in 1693 at Brest, that HMS Ruby captured in 1694 and that the British Royal Navy named Ruby Prize (or Ruby's Prize), and sold in 1698. Her new owners renamed her Ruby and she left the Downs in 1699 on a voyage to Persia for the EIC. She was lost with all hands later that year at Mayota.





Naval career
In 1693 French private parties acquired Entreprenante at Brest and commissioned her as a privateer of 44 guns.

HMS Ruby captured Entreprenante on 7 April 1694.

The Royal Navy purchased Entreprenante on 27 March 1695 and commissioned her as the fifth-rate Ruby Prize on 15 April 1695 under the command of Captain Thomas Elkins.

Ruby Prize was among the vessels that sailed with Admiral Russell on 27 February 1696 from the Downs. The next day she was with him on the coast of France. At the time she had 156 men aboard. She was next mentioned in an order of 2 March 1696 that ordered the named vessels to sail to the Nore and there to turn over their crews to man the "great ships' fitting out there.

In 1696 Ruby Prize was listed as a storeship at the Nore. In 1696 Captain Samuel Vincent replaced Elkins, and within the year Captain John Herne replaced Vincent.

The Royal Navy sold Ruby Prize on 24 May 1698 for £501. Apparently it required an Act of Parliament to authorize her to have the "Freedom of trading as an English-built ship".

Merchantman
Richard Wells, Rotherhithe, purchased Ruby Prize and dropped the "Prize" from her name.

Captain John Barber sailed Ruby from the Downs on 28 April 1699, bound for Persia on a voyage for the EIC. Ruby foundered at Mayotte in 1699, with the loss of all hands.


HMS Ruby was a 40-gun frigate of the Commonwealth of England, built by Peter Pett at Deptford and launched on 15 March 1652.

She took part in numerous actions during all three of the Anglo-Dutch Wars of 1652-54, 1665–67 and 1672-74. She later served in the West Indies, and in 1683 was sent to the Leeward Islands to protect their British settlements against Carib and pirate raids. In 1687 the notorious English pirate Joseph Bannister was captured by the crew of Ruby and brought to Port Royal for trial. He later escaped and returned to piracy, but was recaptured by HMS Drake. Fearing another escape the governor of Jamaica had him hanged without trial before he could get off the ship

Ruby was rebuilt in 1687 at Sir Henry Johnson's shipyard at Blackwall. On 7 April 1694 Ruby captured the French privateer Entreprenante, which the Royal Navy took into service as HMS Ruby Prize.

She served in the War of the Spanish Succession and, commanded by Captain George Walton, took part in the Action of August 1702 as part of a fleet under Admiral John Benbow. She was one of the only ships to support the Admiral in HMS Breda in that engagement.

HMS Ruby was rebuilt at Deptford in 1706 as a fourth rate ship of the line carrying between 46 and 54 guns. However, Marscaptured Ruby on 21 October 1707 (NS) during the Battle at The Lizard.

The French brought Ruby back to St Malo 8 January 1708[5] and commissioned her into the French Navy. She took part in a campaign to the Levant, and was decommissioned the next year to be broken up.[6]

Capt. Hon. Peregrine Bertie (2 February 1677 – 1709), 5th son of James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, commanded HMS Ruby; he died a prisoner of war in France.

HMS Ruby Prize (1694) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ruby_(1652)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 April 1757 – Launch of HMS Lizard, a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, in service from 1757 to 1828. Named after the Lizard, a peninsula in southern Cornwall,


HMS Lizard was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, in service from 1757 to 1828. Named after the Lizard, a peninsula in southern Cornwall, she was a broad-beamed and sturdy vessel designed for lengthy periods at sea. Her crewing complement was 200 and, when fully equipped, she was armed with 24 nine-pounder cannons, supported by four three-pounders and twelve 1⁄2-pounder swivel guns. Despite her sturdy build, she was plagued with maintenance problems and had to be repeatedly removed from service for repair.



Lizard saw active service between 1757 and 1793, during British involvement in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary War. She assisted in major naval operations in the Caribbean and North America, including the British capture of Quebec City and Montreal, the Siege of Havana and the Battle of St Kitts. She also secured a total of nine victories at sea over enemy vessels, principally French privateers in action in American and European waters.

Removed from active service in 1794, Lizard was eventually refitted as a hospital ship and assigned to a berth near Burntwick Island where she received merchant seamen suspected of suffering from diseases including yellow fever and bubonic plague. What had been intended as a temporary assignment continued for 28 years, with Lizard eventually becoming the last of the Coventry-class vessels still in operation. She was removed from service, 71 years after her launch, and was sold for scrap at Deptford Dockyard in September 1828.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, longitudinal half breadth for Coventry (1757), Lizard (1757),Liverpool (1757), Maidstone (1758), Acteon (1757), Shannon (1757), Levant (1757), Coberus (1757), Griffin (1757), Hussar (1757), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigates, based on the plan for Lowestoft (1756) and Tartar (1756, which were the same as Unicorn (1748) and Lyme (1748). Maidstone (1758), Cerberus (1757), Griffin (1757), Acteon (1757), Shannon (1757),Bureas (1757) and Trent (1757) had the House holes moved to the upper deck. There are construction amendments for the first built Frigates. Annoted in the top right: " Body, same as the Lestaff and Tartar, except one havng a Beakhead and the other a round bow, withou the least alteration below the surface of the water - and the Tartar and Leostaff are exactly the same Body as the Unicorn and Lime.

Construction
Design and crew
Lizard was an oak-built 28-gun sixth rate, one of 18 vessels forming part of the Coventry class of frigates. As with others in her class she was loosely modeled on the design and external dimensions of HMS Tartar, launched in 1756 and responsible for capturing five French privateers in her first twelve months at sea. The Admiralty Order to build the Coventry-class vessels was made after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, and at a time in which the Royal Dockyards were fully engaged in constructing or fitting-out the Navy's ships of the line. Consequently, despite Navy Board misgivings about reliability and cost, contracts for all but one of Coventry-class vessels were issued to private shipyards with an emphasis on rapid completion of the task.

Contracts for Lizard's construction were issued on 13 April 1756 to shipwright Henry Bird of Globe Stairs, Rotherhithe. It was stipulated that work should be completed within twelve months for a 28-gun vessel measuring approximately 590 tons burthen. Subject to satisfactory completion, Bird would receive a fee of £9.9s per ton to be paid through periodic imprests drawn against the Navy Board. Private shipyards were not subject to rigorous naval oversight, and the Admiralty therefore granted authority for "such alterations withinboard as shall be judged necessary" in order to cater for the preferences or ability of individual shipwrights, and for experimentation with internal design.

Lizard's keel was laid down on 5 May 1756, and work proceeded swiftly with the fully built vessel ready for launch by April 1757, well within the stipulated time. In final construction the vessel's hull was slightly larger than contracted, at 594 87⁄94 tons, being 118 ft 8 in (36.2 m) long with a 97 ft 3 in (29.6 m) keel, a beam of 33 ft 11 in (10.34 m), and a hold depth of 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m). These minor variations in dimensions did not affect final settlement of the contract, with Bird receiving the full amount of £5,540.14s for his shipyard's work.

The vessel was named after the Lizard, a peninsula in southern Cornwall that was a maritime landmark for vessels passing along the English Channel. In selecting her name the Board of Admiralty continued a tradition dating to 1644 of using geographic features for ship names; overall, ten of the nineteen Coventry-class vessels were named after well-known regions, rivers or towns. With few exceptions the remainder of the class were named after figures from classical antiquity, following a more modern trend initiated in 1748 by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Lizard's designated complement was 200, comprising two commissioned officers – a captain and a lieutenant – overseeing 40 warrant and petty officers, 91 naval ratings, 38 Marinesand 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.[8] Armament comprised 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.

Sailing qualities
In sailing qualities Lizard was broadly comparable with French frigates of equivalent size, but with a shorter and sturdier hull and greater weight in her broadside guns. She was also comparatively broad-beamed with ample space for provisions and the ship's mess, and incorporating a large magazine for powder and round shot. Taken together, these characteristics aimed to enable Lizard to tack and wear more reliably than her French equivalents, and to remain at sea for longer periods without resupply. She was built with broad and heavy masts which balanced the weight of her hull, improved stability in rough weather and allowed her to carry a greater quantity of sail. The disadvantages of this heavy design were an overall decline in manoeuvrability and slower speed when sailing in light winds.

The frigate was plagued with construction and maintenance difficulties throughout her seagoing career, requiring seven major repairs or refits between 1769 and 1793. Private shipyards such as Henry Bird's used thinner hull planking than did the Royal Dockyards, producing less robust vessels which further decreased in seaworthiness after every major repair. Privately-built vessels during the Seven Years' War were also hampered by the unavailability of seasoned oak, as the Royal Navy's supply was preferentially allocated to ships of the line. Smaller vessels such as Lizard were therefore routinely repaired with unseasoned timber which could warp as it dried, causing cracks in decks and gun ports and leaks along the hull

HMS Lizard (1757) - Wikipedia

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