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

6th of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 4 September 1782 - Action of 4 September 1782 - HMS Rainbow (44) took French frigate Hebe (40) off the Ile de Bas. The Action of 4 September 1782 was a small naval engagement which was fought off the Île de Batz between a French naval...

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1781 - HMS Savage (1778 - 14), Charles Stirling, taken by American privateer Congress (1781 - 24), Cptn. Gedded, off Charleston
The Capture of HMS Savage was a naval battle of the Revolutionary War involving the American privateer Congress and the British unrated sloop-of-war HMS Savage. It occurred in September 1781 off South Carolina and is considered one of the hardest-fought single ship actions of the war.

1800 - Loss of HMS Stag (1794 - 32)
HMS Stag (1794 - 32), Cptn. Robert Winthrop, parted her cables in Vigo bay and was laid her on her beam ends by strong winds. She made sail, but hurricane force winds drove her on shore at Point Subudo where she was holed on a rock. After some of her stores had been salvaged the Rear Admiral ordered her to be burnt.
Milbrook (16), Schooner was reported to have saved a great many of the crew of the Stag.
HMS Stag (1794) was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1794 and wrecked in 1800 at Vigo Bay.

1807 – Launch of French Ville de Berlin, a 74-gun Téméraire class Ship of the Line at Antwerp
Ordered on 24 April 1804 as Thésée, Ville de Berlin was one of the ships built in the various shipyards captured by the First French Empire in Holland and Italy in a crash programme to replenish the ranks of the French Navy. She took her definitive name on 2 July 1807.
She was commissioned on 21 September June 1807 and became a part of the Escaut squadron under Vice-Admiral Missiessy. In 1814, she took part in the defence of Antwerp.
At the Bourbon Restoration, she was renamed Atlas and sailed to Brest. Renamed Ville de Berlin during the Hundred Days, she took her name of Atlas back after Napoléon's second abdication.
Struck from the Navy lists on 23 February 1819, she became a storage hulk in Brest.

1808 - HMS Recruit (1806 - 18), Chas. Napier, engaged French sloop Diligente (1801 - 18) off Antigua.
HMS Recruit was employed in patrolling near the French-held island of Martinique. At 6am on 6th September 1808, she sighted the French brig-corvette Diligente of 18 guns. The Diligente was the sole survivor of a group of three brig-corvettes which had left Lorient with cargoes of flour for the French garrison on Martinique. The group, also comprised of the 16 gun vessels Espiegle and Sylphe had run into the British 18 gun ship-sloop HMS Comet on the 11th August and had been involved in an action in which HMS Comet had taken the Sylphe.

1810 – Launch of French Rivoli, a 74 gun temeraire class ship of the line
The Rivoli was a Téméraire class ship of the line of the French Navy.
Rivoli was built in Venice, whose harbour was too shallow for a 74-gun to exit. To allow her to depart, she was fitted with seacamels.

1814 - Beginning of Battle of Plattsburgh (6 – 11 September 1814)
The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812. A British army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost and a naval squadron under Captain George Downie converged on the lakeside town of Plattsburgh, which was defended by New York and Vermont militia and detachments of regular troops of the United States Army, all under the command of Brigadier General Alexander Macomb, and ships commanded by Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough.
Downie's squadron attacked shortly after dawn on 11 September 1814, but was defeated after a hard fight in which Downie was killed. Prévost then abandoned the attack by land against Macomb's defences and retreated to Canada, stating that even if Plattsburgh was captured, any British troops there could not be supplied without control of the lake.

1842 – Launch of HMS Superb, a 80 gun Vanguard-class Ship of the Line
HMS Superb was a two-deck 80-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 September 1842 at Pembroke Dockyard.

1870 - HMS Captain capsized with the loss of nearly 500 lives because of design and construction errors that led to inadequate stability.
HMS Captain was an unsuccessful warship built for the Royal Navy due to public pressure. She was a masted turret ship, designed and built by a private contractor against the wishes of the Controller's department. The Captain was completed in April 1870 and capsized in September 1870 with the loss of nearly 500 lives because of design and construction errors that led to inadequate stability.

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

7th of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 6 September 1842 – Launch of HMS Superb, a 80 gun Vanguard-class Ship of the Line HMS Superb was a two-deck 80-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 September 1842 at Pembroke Dockyard. H.M.S Superb, (80...

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1695 – Henry Every perpetrates one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with the capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai. In response, Emperor Aurangzeb threatens to end all English trading in India.
Henry Every, also Avery or Evory (20 August 1659 – time of death uncertain, possibly 1699), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indianoceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates.

An 18th-century depiction of Henry Every, with the Fancy shown engaging its prey in the background

1753 – Launch of French Guerrier, a 74-gun Magnifique-class Ship of the LIne, at Toulon
The Guerrier was a Magnifique class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, designed by Jacques-Luc Coulomb, finished by Joseph Marie Blaise Coulomb.

Vaisseau français de 74 canons le Guerrier à la bataille de Minorque en 1756. Guerre de Sept Ans. Aquarelle. Détail.

1775 - During the American Revolution, the British supply ship Unity is taken by the Continental schooner, Hannah, paid for by Army Gen. George Washington. It is the first prize taken by a Continental vessel.
The schooner Hannah was the first armed American naval vessel of the American Revolution and is claimed to be the founding vessel of the United States Navy. She was a fishing schooner owned by John Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts and was named for his daughter, Hannah Glover. The crew was drawn largely from the town of Marblehead, with much of the ships ammunition being stored in Glover's warehouse now located at Glover's Square in Marblehead before being relocated to Beverly, Massachusetts.

Model of the USS Hannah at the U.S. Navy Museum

1776 – Ezra Lee makes the world's first submarine attack in the Turtle, attempting to attach a time bomb to the hull of HMS Eagle in New York Harbor (no British records of this attack exist).
Ezra Lee (August 1749 – October 29, 1821) was an American colonial soldier, best known for commanding the Turtle submarine.
Lee was born in Lyme, Connecticut. In August 1776 he was selected by brother-in-law Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons, also of Lyme, as one of several volunteers to learn to operate the Turtle, an early submarine invented by Saybrook, Connecticut, native David Bushnell. When General George Washington authorized an attack on British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship HMS Eagle, then lying in New York harbor, Lee was chosen to operate the "infernal machine".

A diagram of the American Turtle

1797 – Launch of USS Constellation, the second of the original six frigates
USS Constellation was a nominally rated 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted frigate of the United States Navy. She was named by George Washington to reflect a principle of the United States Constitution. She was built under the direction of David Stodder at his naval shipyard on Harris Creek in Baltimore's Fell's Point maritime community, and she was launched on 7 September 1797. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction the Naval Act of 1794 had authorized. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constellation and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. Her first duties with the newly formed US Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.

Design of the hull of USF Constellation, which it shared with USF Congress.

1804 - Loss of West Indiaman Christopher, ex Duguay Trouin and HMS Duguay Trouin at Charleston in the 1804 Antigua–Charleston hurricane.
HMS Duguay Trouin was an 18-gun French privateer sloop launched in 1779 at Le Havre. Surprise captured her in 1780 and the British Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name. It sold Duguay Trouinon 30 October 1783. She then became the West Indiaman Christopher, and later a slaver. She was lost at Charleston in September 1804.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Guay Trouin (captured 1780), a captured French privateer. The plan possibly illustrates her as fitted as an 18-gun Ship Sloop. Signed by George White [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard, 1779-1793].

1811 - HMS Barbadoes (1804 - 28) and HMS Goshawk (1806 - 16) engaged seven French brigs, each armed with 3 long 24-pounders and a mortar, near the Calvados Rocks, Baie de la Seine and drove one ashore..
HMS Barbadoes (28), Capt. Edward Rushworh, and HMS Goshawk (16), James Lilburne, engaged seven French brigs, each armed with 3 long 24-pounders and a mortar, near the Calvados Rocks, Baie de la Seine and drove one ashore..
HMS Barbadoes (1804), a fifth rate frigate, formerly the French privateer Braave

HMS Goshawk (1806) was a 16-gun brig-sloop launched in 1806 and wrecked in 1813.

1825 - The frigate USS Brandywine receives the Marquis de Lafayette on board for return to France after his year-long tour of the United States.
The name honors the battle where the Marquis was wounded while serving with the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

USS Brandywine in 1831

1838 – paddlesteamer Forfarshire wrecked, giving rise to the rescue for which Grace Darling is famed.
Forfarshire was a paddlesteamer with brigantine rigging, built in Dundee in 1834, and which struck and later foundered on one of the Farne Islands on 7 September 1838, giving rise to the rescue for which Grace Darling is famed.

1907 – Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner and briefly the world's largest passenger ship. The ship was sunk on 7 May 1915 by a German U-boat 11 mi (18 km) off the southern coast of Ireland. The sinking presaged the United States declaration of war on Germany in 1917.

1929 – Steamer Kuru capsizes and sinks on Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere in Finland. 136 lives are lost.
SS Kuru was a steam ship which sank on 7 September 1929 in the lake Näsijärvi, in Tampere, Finland.

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

8th of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 6 September 1842 – Launch of HMS Superb, a 80 gun Vanguard-class Ship of the Line HMS Superb was a two-deck 80-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 September 1842 at Pembroke Dockyard. H.M.S Superb, (80...

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1298 - Battle of Curzola (today Korčula, southern Dalmatia, now in Croatia)
was a naval battle which was fought on September 9, 1298 between the Genoese and Venetian navies; it was a disaster for Venice, a major setback among many battles fought in the 13th and 14th centuries between Pisa, Genoa and Venice in a long series of wars for the control of Mediterranean and Levantine trade.

Venetian galley at Curzola

1788 - Captain William Bligh discovered the Bounty Islands en route from Spithead to Tahiti and named them after his ship, HMS Bounty, just months before the famous mutiny.

From Proclamation Island - looking South East.

1810 – The Tonquin sets sail from New York Harbor
with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's newly created Pacific Fur Company on board. After a six-month journey around the tip of South America, the ship arrives at the mouth of the Columbia River and Astor's men establish the fur-trading town of Astoria, Oregon.

The Tonquin being attacked off the shore of Vancouver Island in 1811.

1860 – The steamship PS Lady Elgin sinks on Lake Michigan, with the loss of around 300 lives.
The PS Lady Elgin was a wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that sank in Lake Michigan off Highwood, Illinois after she was rammed in a gale by the schooner Augusta in the early hours of September 8, 1860. The passenger manifest was lost with the collision, but the sinking of the Lady Elgin resulted in the loss of about 300 lives in what was called "one of the greatest marine horrors on record." Four years after the disaster, a new rule required sailing vessels to carry running lights. The Lady Elgin disaster remains the greatest loss of life on open water in the history of the Great Lakes.

A woodcut engraving of the collision from Frank Leslie's Illustrated paper

1892 – sinking of the SS Charles W. Wetmore
The SS Charles W. Wetmore was a whaleback freighter built in 1891 by Alexander McDougall's American Steel Barge Company shipyard in Superior, Wisconsin, USA. She was named in honor of Charles W. Wetmore, a business associate of Alexander McDougall, officer of the shipyard, and associate of the Rockefeller family.[

The Wetmore, downbound through the Weitzel lock, at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, en route to London, 1891

1914 - RMS Oceanic, a transatlantic ocean liner built for the White Star Line run aground and wrecked
RMS Oceanic was a transatlantic ocean liner built for the White Star Line. She sailed on her maiden voyage on 6 September 1899 and was the largest ship in the world until 1901. At the outbreak of World War I she was converted to an armed merchant cruiser. On 8 August 1914 she was commissioned into Royal Navy service.

RMS Oceanic

1923 - At Honda Point, Calif., seven destroyers are run aground due to bad weather, strong currents, and faulty navigation. Twenty-three lives are lost during the disaster.
The Honda Point disaster was the largest peacetime loss of U.S. Navy ships. On the evening of September 8, 1923, seven destroyers, while traveling at 20 knots (37 km/h), ran aground at Honda Point, a few miles from the northern side of the Santa Barbara Channel off Point Arguello on the coast in Santa Barbara County, California. Two other ships grounded, but were able to maneuver free of the rocks. Twenty-three sailors died in the disaster.

The seven wrecked destroyers on Honda point.


1934 – Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills 137 people.
EL Morro Castle was an ocean liner of the 1930s that was built for the Ward Line for voyages between New York City and Havana, Cuba. The ship was named for the Morro Castle fortress that guards the entrance to Havana Bay. On the morning of September 8, 1934, en route from Havana to New York, the ship caught fire and burned, killing 137 passengers and crew members. The ship eventually beached herself near Asbury Park, New Jersey, and remained there for several months until she was towed off and scrapped.

1943 - Operation Zitronella (Lemon Flavour), also known as Operation Sizilien (Sicily), was an eight-hour German raid on Spitzbergen
During the Second World War, the Svalbard archipelago was the scene of a number of military operations. In August 1941, British, Canadian and Free Norwegian Forces landed on Spitzbergen during Operation Gauntlet. The operation was to destroy the coal industry together with associated equipment and stores. No attempt was made to establish a garrison and the civilian population was evacuated.

German battleship Tirpitz

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

9th of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 8 September1934 – Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills 137 people. EL Morro Castle was an ocean liner of the 1930s that was built for the Ward Line for voyages between New York City and...

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1000 – Battle of Svolder, Viking Age.
The Battle of Svolder (Svold or Swold) was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies. The backdrop of the battle was the unification of Norway into a single state, long-standing Danish efforts to gain control of the country, and the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia.
King Olaf was sailing home after an expedition to Wendland (Pomerania), when he was ambushed by an alliance of Svein Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Olof Skötkonung (also known as Olaf Eiríksson), King of Sweden, and Eirik Hákonarson, Jarl of Lade. Olaf had only 11 warships in the battle against a fleet of at least 70. His ships were captured one by one, last of all the Ormen Lange, which Jarl Eirik captured as Olaf threw himself into the sea. After the battle, Norway was ruled by the Jarls of Lade as a fief of Denmark and Sweden.

The Battle of Svolder, at which the Jomsvikings fought with Denmark against Norway, maybe with a swap of allegiance to side with Forkbeard's advantage, of his 400 ships to Tryggvason's 100.

1629 – Birth of Cornelis Tromp, Dutch general (d. 1691)
Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp (3 September 1629 – 29 May 1691) was a Dutch naval officer. He was the son of Lieutenant Admiral Maarten Tromp. He became Lieutenant Admiral General in the Dutch Navy and briefly Admiral General in the Danish Navy. He fought in the first three Anglo-Dutch Wars and in the Scanian War.


1721 – Birth of Fredrik Henrik af Chapman, Swedish admiral and shipbuilder (d. 1808)
Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (9 September 1721 in Gothenburg – 19 August 1808) was a Swedish shipbuilder, scientist and officer in the Swedish navy. He was also manager of the Karlskrona shipyard 1782-1793. Chapman is credited as the first person to apply scientific methods to shipbuilding and is considered to be the first naval architect.


1754 – Birth of William Bligh, English admiral and politician, 4th Governor of New South Wales (d. 1817)
Vice-Admiral William Bligh FRS (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The Mutiny on the Bounty occurred during his command of HMS Bounty in 1789; after being set adrift in Bounty's launch by the mutineers, Bligh and his loyal men reached Timor, a journey of 3,618 nautical miles (6,701 km; 4,164 mi).


1763 – Launch of HMS Solebay, a Mermaid-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy
which saw active service between 1766 and 1782, during the latter part of the Seven Years' War and throughout the American Revolutionary War. After a successful career in which she captured seven enemy vessels, she was wrecked ashore on the Caribbean Island of Nevis.
Solebay was one of three Royal Navy vessels designed according to a 1760 schematic drawn up by Sir Thomas Slade, a naval architect and newly appointed Surveyor of the Navy. Slade had been impressed with the sailing qualities of a captured French vessel, Abénaquise, and used this vessel as his template for Solebay with modifications to incorporate a heavier hull and better sailing qualities in poor weather. His plans for the new 28-gun sixth-rate were approved by Admiralty on 30 January 1762. At the time, the Royal Dockyards were fully engaged in maintaining and fitting-out the Navy's ships of the line. Consequently, the contracts for Solebay were issued to a private shipyard, Thomas Airey and Company of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with a requirement that the vessel be completed within 14 months at a cost of £9.3s per ton burthen.

1780 – Launch of French Sceptre, a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
In 1781 and 1782, she took part in the naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, under Admiral de Grasse. She fought at the Battle of the Chesapeake and at the Battle of the Saintes. In August, Sceptre, Astrée, and Engageante, under La Pérouse, raided several English fur trading posts during the Hudson Bay Expedition, including Fort Prince of Wales. In 1783, she was decommissioned in Brest.

1796 - The Action of 9 September 1796
was an inconclusive minor naval engagement between small French Navy and British Royal Navy squadrons off northeastern Sumatra, near Banda Aceh, during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French squadron comprised six frigates engaged on a commerce raiding operation against British trade routes passing through captured parts of the Dutch East Indies, and posed a considerable threat to the weakened British naval forces in the region. The British force consisted of two 74-gun ships of the line hastily paired to oppose the eastward advance of the French squadron.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for 'Venerable' (1784) and 'Victorious' (1785), both 74-gun Third Rate two-deckers building at blackwall by Mr John Perry & Co. Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784], and Edward Hunt

1943 – Sinking of Italian battleship Roma by airbomb
Roma named after two previous ships and the city of Rome, was the fourth Vittorio Veneto-class battleship of Italy's Regia Marina (Royal Navy). The construction of both Roma and her sister ship Impero was due to rising tensions around the world and the navy's fear that only two Vittorio Venetos, even in company with older pre-First World War battleships, would not be enough to counter the British and French Mediterranean Fleets. As Roma was laid down almost four years after the first two ships of the class, some small improvements were made to the design, including additional freeboard added to the bow.

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

10th of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 8 September1934 – Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills 137 people. EL Morro Castle was an ocean liner of the 1930s that was built for the Ward Line for voyages between New York City and...

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1746 – Launch of french Lys, 64 guns, at Brest – captured by the British off North America in June 1755 / Lys class.
Designed and built by Jacques-Luc Coulomb.

On the belief that the French were preparing to build up their military presence in America, in April 1755 an English naval squadron was despatched to America. The aim was to catch the French fleet in a net of British war ships. In charge was Admiral Boscawen who, having received his orders, got his fleet of 14 ships underway, followed soon afterwards by seven more ships under Admiral Holbourne. By the end of May, 1755, a British war fleet was cruising between the southern coast of Newfoundland and the northern coast of Cape Breton. At the same time, after a considerable delay the French fleet left Brest on 3 May, 1755. Aboard were 3,000 troops, with Admiral de la Motte in charge of the French fleet which had been dispatched with provisions for the French colonies in North America. In foggy conditions off the Newfoundland Banks, four French warships of de la Motte’s fleet became separated from their fleet and were sighted on 6 June and chased. They played hide and seek in the fog until two of them were brought to action and taken. A third that had been sighted and chased and escaped in the fog. Even though war was not officially declared, Boscawen had been ordered to attack any French squadron he met. The French ‘Alcide’ and ‘Lys’ were captured which resulted in the first shots of the Seven Years War, 1756-1763. In the foreground of this contemporary painting, the ‘Defiance’, commanded by Captain Thomas Andrews is firing into the French warship the ‘Lys’, which is not replying. Between the two ships in the background can be seen the ‘Dunkirk’ commanded by Captain the Hon. Richard Howe and the ‘Alcide’ commanded by Captain de Hocquart. On the left an English merchantman is shown coming towards the viewer.

The Capture of the 'Alcide' and 'Lys', 8 June 1755 | Royal Museums Greenwich

collections.rmg.co.uk

1759 - Battle of Pondicherry
The Battle of Pondicherry was a naval battle between a British squadron under Vice-Admiral George Pocock and French squadron under Comte d'Aché off the Carnatic coast of India near Pondicherry during the Seven Years' War. The battle took place on 10 September 1759. The outcome was indecisive.

1759 -The Battle of Frisches Haff or Battle of Stettiner Haff
was a naval battle between Sweden and Prussia that took place 10 September 1759 as part of the ongoing Seven Years' War. The battle took place in the Szczecin Lagoon (German: Stettiner Haff) between Neuwarp and Usedom, and is named after an ambiguous earlier name for the Lagoon, Frisches Haff, which later exclusively denoted the Vistula Lagoon.

Plan of the battle

1813 - The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay,
was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the British Royal Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh. It was one of the biggest naval battles of the War of 1812.

Battle of Lake Erie by William Henry Powell, painted 1865, shows Oliver Hazard Perry transferring from Lawrence to Niagara

1861 - During the Civil War, USS Lexington (1861) and USS Conestoga (1861) support an armed advance at Lucas Bend, Mo. While supporting the advance, the vessels damage the Confederate gunboat, CSS Jackson (1849), and silence a Confederate battery.

USS Lexington / USS Conestoga, photographed during the Civil War

1908 – Launch of SS Laurentic, passenger ship for White Star Line,
SS Laurentic was a British ocean liner of the White Star Line. She was converted to an armed merchant cruiser at the onset of World War I, and sank after striking two mines north of Ireland on 25 January 1917, with the loss of 354 lives. She was carrying about 43 tons of gold ingots at the time of her loss, and as of 2017, 20 bars of gold are yet to be recovered.

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

11th of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 8 September1934 – Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills 137 people. EL Morro Castle was an ocean liner of the 1930s that was built for the Ward Line for voyages between New York City and...

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1758 – Battle of Saint Cast - France repels British invasion during the Seven Years' War.
The Battle of Saint Cast was a military engagement during the Seven Years' War on the French coast between British naval and land expeditionary forces and French coastal defence forces. Fought on 11 September 1758, it was won by the French.

British attack on Saint-Cast in 1758 during the Seven Years War.

1778 - Capture of HMS Fox by french Junon

The capture of HMS Fox by the French frigate Junon

1779 – Launch of french Lutine, a 32 gun Magicienne-class frigate, later HMS Lutine
Lutine was a frigate which served in both the French Navy and the Royal Navy. She was launched by the French in 1779. The ship passed to British control in 1793 and was taken into service as HMS Lutine. She sank among the West Frisian Islands during a storm in 1799.

HMS Lutine in distress


Internal shot of Rostrum at Lloyd's and Lutine Bell

1781 - HMS Richmond (1757 – 32 – Richmond-class) and HMS Iris (1776 - 28 - ex-USS Hancock), were taken when the french fleet under the Comte de Grasse returned at the Chesabeake (6 days after the battle)
HMS Richmond (1757 – 32 – Richmond-class), Cptn. Charles Hudson, and HMS Iris (28), Cptn. George Dawson, having been ordered to enter the Chesapeake and cut away the buoys left when the French slipped their cables, were taken when the fleet under the Comte de Grasse returned as they were completing the task.

1781 - HMS Terrible (1762 - 74) was burnt as unseaworthy due to damage received at the Battle of the Chesapeake
HMS Terrible was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 4 September 1762 at Harwich, England.
In the English Channel, in 1777, under Captain Richard Bickerton, she took an American privateer brig called the Rising States, Capt Thompson.
In 1778 she fought at the First Battle of Ushant, and in 1781 Terrible (Capt. Finch) was part of Sir Thomas Graves' fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake. During the course of the battle, she took heavy damage, and was scuttled, or deliberately sunk, after the battle had ended.

1786 – Launch of HMS Royal Sovereign, a 100-gun first rate ship of the line
which served as the flagship of Admiral Collingwood at the Battle of Trafalgar. She was the third of seven Royal Navy ships to bear the name. Designed by Sir Edward Hunt, she was launched at Plymouth Dockyard on 11 September 1786, at a cost of £67,458, and was the only ship built to her draught. She was known by her crew as the "West Country Wagon" due to her poor manoeuvrability and speed.

The eighth, but last in order of events, of a series of ten drawings (PAF5871–PAF5874, PAF5876, PAF5880-PAF5881 and PAF5883–PAF5885) of mainly lesser-known incidents in Nelson's career, apparently intended for a set of engravings. This and PAF5881 are exceptions in terms of their subject. Pocock's own numbered description of it in a letter of 2 June 1810 (see below) is: '8. Storm the Day after the Battle the "Victory" under Courses Endev[ourin]g to Clear the Land. The "Royal Sovereign" in Tow by the "Euryalus"

1798 - Launch of HMS Temeraire, a 98-gun ship of the Neptune-class
HMS Temeraire was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1798, she served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, mostly on blockades or convoy escort duties. She fought only one fleet action, the Battle of Trafalgar, but became so well known for her actions and her subsequent depictions in art and literature that she has been remembered as The Fighting Temeraire.

1809 – Launch of HMS Manilla, a 44 gun Apollo-class frigate
The Apollo-class sailing frigates were a series of twenty-seven ships that the British Admiralty commissioned be built to a 1798 design by Sir William Rule. Twenty-five served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, two being launched too late.

1861 – Launch of USS Kearsarge , a Mohican-class sloop-of-war
USS Kearsarge, a Mohican-class sloop-of-war, is best known for her defeat of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama during the American Civil War. Kearsarge was the only ship of the United States Navy named for Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire. Subsequent ships were later named Kearsarge in honor of the ship.

1919 – Launch of RMS Arundel Castle, British Ocean Liner
RMS Arundel Castle was a British ocean liner and Royal Mail Ship which entered service in 1921 for the Union-Castle Line. A previous vessel of the same name was built in 1864 by Donald Currie & Co. (a predecessor to Union-Castle) and sold in 1883, whereupon it was renamed Chittagong. Originally laid down as the Amroth Castle in 1915, building was delayed by the First World War. She was eventually launched on 11 September 1919.

1943 - During the Salerno, Italy operations, USS Savannah (CL 42) is hit by a German guided bomb.
The explosion kills nearly 200 of her crew, but she remains under her own power to return to the U.S. for repairs.
USS Savannah (CL-42) was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn-class that served in World War II in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres of operation.

USS Savannah (CL-42) photographed from a blimp of squadron ZP-11, while underway off the New England coast on 30 October 1944.

USS Savannah (CL 42) Is hit by a German radio-controlled bomb, while supporting Allied forces ashore during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. The bomb hit the top of the ship's number three 6"/47 gun turret and penetrated deep into her hull before exploding. The photograph shows the explosion venting through the top of the turret and also through Savannah's hull below the waterline. A motor torpedo boat (PT) is passing by in the foreground. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Admiral H. Kent Hewett, USN. / U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph NH 95562.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

12th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 11 September 1798 - Launch of HMS Temeraire, a 98-gun ship of the Neptune-class HMS Temeraire was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1798, she served during the...

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1711 - The Battle of Rio de Janeiro (12. - 22. September 1711)
was a raid in September 1711 on the port of Rio de Janeiro in the War of Spanish Succession by a French squadron under René Duguay-Trouin. The Portuguese defenders, including the city's governor and an admiral of the fleet anchored there, were unable to put up effective resistance in spite of numerical advantages.
Four Portuguese ships of the line were lost, and the city had to pay a ransom to avoid destruction of its defences.

Entrada da esquadra francesa em porto do Rio de Janeiro

1764 – Launch of HMS Saint Albans, a 64 gun St Albans-class Ship of the Line
HMS St Albans was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 September 1764 at Blackwall Yard, London. She served in the American War of Independence from 1777 and was part of the fleet that captured St Lucia and won victories at Battle of St. Kitts and The Saintes. She was converted to a floating battery in 1803 and was broken up in 1814.

1806 – Launch of french brig Cygne, a 16-gun Abeille-class brig - Part 1 - Naval Event
Cygne was an Abeille-class 16-gun brig of the French Navy, launched in 1806.

model based on the ancre monograph of Jean Boudriot

1814 - The Battle of Baltimore (12. - 15. September 1814)
was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, and killed the commander of the invading British forces. The British and Americans first met at North Point. Though the Americans retreated, the battle was a successful delaying action that inflicted heavy casualties on the British, halting their advance consequently allowing the defenders at Baltimore to properly prepare for an attack.
The resistance of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry during bombardment by the Royal Navy inspired Francis Scott Key to compose the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", which later became the lyrics for "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States of America.

1857 – The SS Central America sinks
about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew, including Captain William Lewis Herndon. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the California Gold Rush.
SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, was a 280-foot (85 m) sidewheel steamer that operated between Central America and the eastern coast of the United States during the 1850s. She was originally named the SS George Law, after Mr. George Law of New York. The ship sank in a hurricane in September 1857, along with more than 420 passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857.

A depiction of the sinking

1869 – SS Carnatic wrecked
SS Carnatic was a British steamship built in 1862-63 by Samuda Brothers at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs, London, for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. She operated on the Suez to Bombay run in the last years before the Suez Canal was opened.

1882 – HMS Phoenix, a Doterel-class sloop wrecked
HMS Phoenix was a Doterel-class sloop launched in 1879. She was wrecked off Prince Edward Island, Canada on 12 September 1882.

1905 - japanese battleship Mikasa sinks after accidentally explosion
Mikasa (三笠) is a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s. Named after Mount Mikasa in Nara, Japan, the ship served as the flagship of Admiral Tōgō Heihachirōthroughout the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, including the Battle of Port Arthur on the second day of the war and the Battles of the Yellow Sea and Tsushima. Days after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, Mikasa's magazine accidentally exploded and sank the ship. She was salvaged and her repairs took over two years to complete. Afterwards, the ship served as a coast-defence ship during World War I and supported Japanese forces during the Siberian Intervention in the Russian Civil War.

1942 – Ocean liner RMS Laconia, carrying civilians, Allied soldiers and Italian POWs is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks with a heavy loss of life
The second RMS Laconia was a Cunard ocean liner, built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson as a successor of the 1911-1917 Laconia. The new ship was launched on 9 April 1921, and made her maiden voyage on 25 May 1922 from Southampton to New York City. At the outbreak of World War II she was converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser, and subsequently a troopship. Like her predecessor, sunk during the First World War, this Laconia was also destroyed by a German submarine. Some estimates of the death toll have suggested that over 1,649 people were killed when the Laconia sank. The U-boat commander Werner Hartenstein then staged a dramatic effort to rescue the passengers and the crew of Laconia, which involved additional German U-boats and became known as the Laconia incident.

Cunard Line postcard of the RMS Laconia circa 1921

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

13th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 11 September 1798 - Launch of HMS Temeraire, a 98-gun ship of the Neptune-class HMS Temeraire was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1798, she served during the...

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1653 – English 200-ton warship Swan / HMS Swann (1641 - 12) sunk in storm
Swan was a 200-ton warship of the English navy, launched as a Royalist vessel in 1641 but captured by the Commonwealth of England when her crew revolted in 1645. She carried twelve cannons, which were cast by John Browne.
The warship was a part of Oliver Cromwell's fleet of six vessels which attacked a Royalist stronghold at Duart Castle in Mull, UK, during the English Civil War. She sank in storm on 13 September 1653 off the west coast of Scotland.
A naval diver found the remnants of the Swan in 1979 and important items from the wreck were recovered during the 1990s in an excavation led by maritime archaeologist Colin Martin from the University of St Andrewsin Fife, Scotland. Items recovered at that time included a corroded pocket watch which appeared to look like "...little more than a lump of rock from the outside", many silver coins, iron guns and other military artifacts. The items were deposited with the National Museum of Scotland.

1742 – Launch of French Trident, 64-gun Third Rate Ship of the Line at Toulon
designed and built by Pierre-Blaise Coulomb) – captured by the British in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre in October 1747

1799 - HMS Arrow (1796 - 28) and HMS Wolverine (1798 - 16) captured Batavian Draak (24) and Gier (14), two days later Dolphin (1799 - 24)
anchored under the island of Ulie at the entrance to the Texel. Draak turned out to be a sheer hulk so Cptn. Bolton burnt her.
On 9 September Vice-Admiral Mitchell detached Arrow and Wolverine to attack a ship and a brig belonging to the Batavian Republic and anchored under the Vlie at the entrance to the Texel. Arrow had to lighten ship and the following day they crossed over the Flack abreast of Wieringen and saw the enemy in the passage leading from Vlie Island towards Harlingen. On 12 September Wolverine, commanded by William Bolton, anchored within 60 yards of the brig and only had to fire one gun before the brig hauled down her colours. She proved to be Gier, armed with fourteen 12-pounders. Next, Arrowexchanged broadsides with the ship Draak, of 24 guns (six 50-pound brass howitzers, two 32-pounder guns, and sixteen long 18-pounder guns), which surrendered when Wolverine came up. Draak turned out to be a sheer hulk, so Bolton burnt her. The British also captured two schooners, each of four 8-pounder guns, and four schuyts, each of two 8-pounder guns. The Dutch prisoners numbered 380 men. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Arrow 13 Sept 1799" and "Wolverine 13 Sept. 1799" to any survivors of the two crews that claimed them.

HMS Arrow was a sloop in the Royal Navy that the Admiralty purchased in 1796. during the French Revolutionary Wars she participated in many actions, including one that resulted in her crew qualifying for the Naval General Service Medal. On 3 February 1805 she and Acheron were escorting a convoy from Malta to England when they encountered two French frigates. Arrow and Acheron were able to save the majority of the vessels of the convoy by their resistance before they were compelled to strike. Arrow sank almost immediately after surrendering, and Acheron was so badly damaged that the French burnt her.

HMS Wolverine (or Wolverene, or Woolverene), was a Royal Navy 14-gun brig-sloop, formerly the civilian collier Rattler that the Admiralty purchased in 1798 and converted into a brig sloop, but armed experimentally. She served during the French Revolutionary Wars and participated in one action that won for her crew a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal. A French privateer captured and sank Wolverine on 21 March 1804 whilst she was on convoy duty.

1801 - HMS Lark (16), Lt. Johnstone, captured Spanish privateer schooner Esperance, within the Portillo Reefs, Cuba.
HMS Lark was a 16-gun ship sloop of the Cormorant class, launched in 1794 at Northfleet. She served primarily in the Caribbean, where she took a number of prizes, some after quite intensive action. Lark foundered off San Domingo in August 1809, with the loss of her captain and almost all her crew.

1803 - Death of John Barry (March 25, 1745 – September 13, 1803)
who was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. He came to be widely credited as "The Father of the American Navy" (and shares that moniker with John Paul Jones and John Adams) and was appointed a captain in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775. He was the first captain placed in command of a U.S. warship commissioned for service under the Continental flag.
After the war, he became the first commissioned U.S. naval officer, at the rank of commodore, receiving his commission from President George Washington in 1797.


1810 - Action of 13 September 1810 - HMS Africaine (38), Cptn. Robert Corbett (Killed in Action), taken by Astree (38) and Iphigenie (38), but re-taken by HMS Boadicea (38), Cptn. Josias Rowley - Part 1 Naval Event
The Action of 13 September 1810 was an inconclusive frigate engagement during the Napoleonic Wars between British Royal Navy and French Navy frigates during which a British frigate was defeated by two French vessels near Isle de France (now Mauritius), but British reinforcements were able to recapture the ship before the French could secure her. The British frigate was HMS Africaine, a new arrival to the Indian Ocean. She was under the command of Captain Robert Corbet, who had served there the previous year. Corbet was a notoriously unpopular officer and his death in the battle provoked a storm of controversy in Britain over claims that Corbet had either committed suicide at the shame of losing his ship, been murdered by his disaffected crew, or been abandoned by his men, who were said to have refused to load their guns while he remained in command. Whether any of these rumours were accurate has never been satisfactorily determined, but the issue has been discussed in several prominent naval histories and was the subject of at least one lawsuit.
The action came about as a direct consequence of the Battle of Grand Port three weeks earlier, in which a British squadron had been destroyed in a failed attack on Grand Port harbour on Isle de France. This gave the French forces on the island a significant regional advantage, outnumbering the British frigate on the recently captured Île Bourbon, commanded by Commodore Josias Rowley, by six to one. British reinforcements were hastily despatched to the area but the French were blockading Île Bourbon in force and the arriving reinforcements were in constant danger of attack by more powerful French units. Africaine was the first ship to reinforce Rowley's squadron, but within three days of her arrival in the region was engaged by two French ships while attempting to drive them away from Saint Denis on Île Bourbon. Corbet was severely wounded in the opening exchanges and subsequently died. Although his crew fought hard, they were overwhelmed by the French frigates and forced to surrender, only for Rowley to arrive in HMS Boadicea and drive off the French warships, recapturing Africaine.

1810 - Action of 13 September 1810 - HMS Africaine (38), Cptn. Robert Corbett (Killed in Action), taken by Astree (38) and Iphigenie (38), but re-taken by HMS Boadicea (38), Cptn. Josias Rowley - Part 2 The Ships
Africaine (1798 - 40 - Preneuse-class) was one of two 40-gun Preneuse-class frigates of the French Navy built to a design by Raymond-Antoine Haran. She carried twenty-eight 18-pounder and twelve 8-pounder guns. The British captured her in 1801, comissioned her as HMS Africaine, only to have the French recapture her in 1810. They abandoned her at sea as she had been demasted and badly damaged, with the result that the British recaptured her the next day. She was broken up in 1816.

1858 - SS Austria was a steamship of the Hamburg America Line in one of the worst transatlantic maritime disasters of the nineteenth century, claiming the lives of 449 passengers and crew..
SS Austria was a steamship of the Hamburg America Line which sank on 13 September 1858, in one of the worst transatlantic maritime disasters of the nineteenth century, claiming the lives of 449 passengers and crew. The Austria was built by Caird & Co. of Greenock, Scotland and was launched on 23 June 1857. She was 318 ft and 2,684 BRT, with three masts and single screw propeller propulsion.

Sinking of the SS Austria, at the Deutsches Historisches Museum.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

14th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 13 September 1801 - HMS Lark (16), Lt. Johnstone, captured Spanish privateer schooner Esperance, within the Portillo Reefs, Cuba. HMS Lark was a 16-gun ship sloop of the Cormorant class, launched in 1794 at Northfleet. She served...

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1779 - HMS Pearl (1762 – 32 – Niger-class) took Spanish frigate Santa Monica (32) off the Western Islands
HMS Pearl was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Niger-class in the Royal Navy.
..................... and arrived at Spithead on 22 March. She was then paid off, sheathed in copper, and refitted at Plymouth. She served for a short while in the Channel before returning to the North American Station under Captain George Montagu.

Pearl engages the Santa Monica in the Action of 14 September 1779

1782 - Destruction of floating batteries at Gibraltar
The Great Siege of Gibraltar from 24 June 1779 – 7 February 1783 (3 years, 7 months and 2 weeks) was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence.
The British garrison under George Augustus Eliott were blockaded at first by the Spanish led by Martín Álvarez de Sotomayor in June 1779. This failed however as two relief convoys entered unmolested—the first under Admiral George Rodney succeeded in 1780 and the second by Admiral George Darby in 1781 despite the presence of the Spanish fleets. The same year a major assault was planned by the Spanish but a sortieby the Gibraltar garrison in November succeeded in destroying much of the forward batteries. With the siege going nowhere and constant Spanish failures the besiegers were reinforced by French forces under the Duc de Crillon who took over operations in early 1782. With a lull in the siege in which the allied force gathered more guns, ships and troops, a huge 'Grand Assault' was delivered in September 1782. This involved huge numbers—60,000 men, 49 ships of the line and ten specially designed newly invented floating batteries against 5,000 men of the Gibraltar garrison. This was a disastrous failure which caused heavy losses for the Bourbon allies.

1825 - Launch of HMS Princess Charlotte, 104 gun Princess Charlotte-class First Rate
HMS Princess Charlotte was a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 September 1825 at Portsmouth. The occasion was notable for the fact that the gates of the dry dock into which she was to be placed burst because of the high tide and more than 40 people were drowned.

When first ordered in 1812 she was intended to be a second rate of 98 guns, but in the general reclassifications of 1817 she was reclassed as a first rate.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth as originally prepared for Princess Charlotte (1825), a 100/110-gun, First Rate, three-decker.

1848 – Launch of French Henri IV, a 100 gun Hercule class at Cherbourg
The Henri IV was a 100-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, named after Henry IV of France. She was launched in 1848. Her shipwreck in a storm off Sebastopol in 1854 marked the beginnings of French meteorology.

Henri IV at the bombardment of Salé.

1/75th-scale model of Prince Jérôme, on display at the Swiss Museum of Transport. She was transformed into a sail and steam ship of the line while on keel.

1852 – Launch of French Jean Bart, 90 gun Suffren class Ship of the Line
The Jean Bart was a 90-gun Suffren class ship of the line of the French Navy, named in honour of Jean Bart.

The Jean Bart, painting by Louis Le Breton

Straight walls of an arsenal model of Suffren

1914 – HMAS AE1, the Royal Australian Navy's first submarine, was lost at sea with all hands near East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
HMAS AE1 (originally known as just AE1) was an E-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was the first submarine to serve in the RAN, and was lost at sea with all hands near what is now East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, on 14 September 1914, after less than seven months in service. Search missions attempting to locate the wreck began in 1976. The submarine was found during the 13th search mission near the Duke of York Islands in December 2017.

HMAS AE1 underway in 1914

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

15th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 13 September 1801 - HMS Lark (16), Lt. Johnstone, captured Spanish privateer schooner Esperance, within the Portillo Reefs, Cuba. HMS Lark was a 16-gun ship sloop of the Cormorant class, launched in 1794 at Northfleet. She served...

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1806 - HMS Anson (1781 - 64) engaged French Foudroyant (1800 - 80)
The Anson remained cruising off Havana, and on 15 September sighted the French 84-gun Foudroyant. The Foudroyant, carrying the flag of Vice-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, had been dismasted in a storm and was carrying a jury-rig. Despite the superiority of his opponent and the nearness of the shore Lydiard attempted to close on the French vessel and opened fire. Anson came under fire from the fortifications at Morro Castle, while several Spanish ships, including the 74-gun San Lorenzo, came out of Havana to assist the French. After being unable to manoeuvre into a favourable position and coming under heavy fire, Lydiard hauled away and made his escape. Anson had two killed and 13 wounded during the engagement, while its sails and rigging had been badly damaged. Foudroyant meanwhile had 27 killed or wounded.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Anson' (1781), a 64-gun Third Rate, two decker, as built at Plymouth Dockyard.

1808 - French frigate Canonniere (1794 - 44), Cptn. Bourayne, captured HMS Laurel (1806 - 22), Cptn. J. C. Woolcombe, off Port Louis in Mauritius.
Minerve was a 40-gun Minerve-class frigate of the French Navy. The British captured her twice and the French recaptured her once. She therefore served under four names before being broken up in 1814:

• Minerve, 1794–1795
• HMS Minerve, 1795–1803
• Canonnière, 1803–1810
• HMS Confiance, 1810–1814

1814 - HMS Hermes (1811 - 20), Cptn. Hon. William Henry Percy, and HMS Sophie (18), Cptn. Lockyer, engaged Fort Bowyer on Mobile Point.
Consorts HMS Carron, and HMS Childers (18), J. B. Umfreville, did not engage. Whilst withdrawing, Hermes, with all her rigging shot away, was unmanageable and grounded with her stern to the fort. Boats of the squadron took off the crew and she was set on fire, subsequently exploding.
HMS Hermes was a 20-gun Hermes-class sixth-rate flush decked sloop-of-war built in Milford Dockyard to the lines of the ex-French Bonne Citoyenne[2]. She was destroyed in 1814 to prevent her falling into American hands after grounding during her unsuccessful attack on Fort Bowyer on Mobile Pointoutside Mobile, Alabama.

Destruction of La Mouche French Privateer of Boulogne.... by H.M. Ship Hermes Septr 14th 1811 off Beachy Head in a heavy Gale

1816 – HMS Whiting runs aground on the Doom Bar
HMS Whiting, built in 1811 by Thomas Kemp as a Baltimore pilot schooner, was launched as Arrow. On 8 May 1812 a British navy vessel seized her under Orders in Council, for trading with the French. The Royal Navy re-fitted her and then took her into service under the name HMS Whiting. In 1816, after four years service, Whiting was sent to patrol the Irish Sea for smugglers. She grounded on the Doom Bar. When the tide rose, she was flooded and deemed impossible to refloat.

1835 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands. The ship lands at Chatham or San Cristobal, the easternmost of the archipelago.

Longitudinal section of HMS Beagle as of 1832

1931 - The Invergordon Mutiny was an industrial action by around 1,000 sailors in the British Atlantic Fleet that took place on 15–16 September 1931. For two days, ships of the Royal Navy at Invergordon were in open mutiny, in one of the few military strikes in British history.

British Atlantic Fleet on exercise in the late 1920s

1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp is sunk by Japanese torpedoes at Guadalcanal.
USS Wasp (CV-7) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier commissioned in 1940 and lost in action in 1942. She was the eighth ship named USS Wasp, and the sole ship of a class built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed to the U.S. for aircraft carriers under the treaties of the time. As a reduced-size version of the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier hull, Wasp was more vulnerable than other United States aircraft carriers available at the opening of hostilities. Wasp was initially employed in the Atlantic campaign, where Axis naval forces were perceived as less capable of inflicting decisive damage. After supporting the occupation of Iceland in 1941, Wasp joined the British Home Fleet in April 1942 and twice ferried British fighter aircraft to Malta. Waspwas then transferred to the Pacific in June 1942 to replace losses at the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. After supporting the invasion of Guadalcanal, Wasp was sunk by the Japanese submarine I-19 on 15 September 1942.

Wasp on fire shortly after being torpedoed.

1962 – The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.

A US Navy P-2H Neptune of VP-18 flying over a Soviet cargo ship with crated Il-28s on deck during the Cuban Crisis.

1966 - German U-boot Hai sunk by accident with the loss of complete crew
German submarine Hai, the former U-2365 Type XXIII U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II, was one of the first submarines of the Bundesmarine. She was ordered on 20 September 1944, and was laid down on 6 December 1944 at Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg, as yard number 519. She was launched on 26 January 1945 and commissioned under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Fritz-Otto Korfmann on 2 March 1945. Scuttled in 1945, the boat was raised in 1956 and commissioned into the newly-founded Bundesmarine as Hai, where she served until she sank by accident in 1966.

1969 - oil tanker SS Manhattan making the first time the Northwest Passage transit
SS Manhattan was an oil tanker constructed at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts that became the first commercial ship to cross the Northwest Passage in 1969. Having been built as an ordinary tanker in 1962, she was refitted for this voyage with an icebreaker bow in 1968–69. Registered in the United States at the time, she was the largest US merchant vessel as well as the biggest icebreaker in history.

Bow of the SS Manhattan

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

16th of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 16 September 1782 - The Central Atlantic hurricane of 1782, was a hurricane that hit the fleet of British Admiral Thomas Graves as it sailed across the North Atlantic in September 1782. It is believed to have killed some 3,500 people...

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1782 - The Central Atlantic hurricane of 1782, was a hurricane that hit the fleet of British Admiral Thomas Graves as it sailed across the North Atlantic in September 1782. It is believed to have killed some 3,500 people.
On 17 September 1782, the fleet under Admiral Graves was caught in a violent storm off the banks of Newfoundland. Ardent and Caton were forced to leave the fleet and make for a safe anchorage, Ardent returning to Jamaica and Caton making for Halifax in company with Pallas. Of the rest of the warships, only Canada and Jason survived to reach England. The French prizes Ville de Paris, Glorieux and Hector foundered, as did HMS Centaur. HMS Ramillies had to be abandoned, and was burnt. A number of the merchant fleet, including Dutton, British Queen, Withywood, Rodney, Ann, Minerva and Mentor also foundered. Altogether around 3,500 lives were lost from the various ships.

The view from Lady Juliana on the morning after the hurricane, featuring Glorieux along with HMS Centaurand HMS Ville de Paris

Loss of HMS Ramillies, September 1782: before the storm breaks

French warship Ville de Paris in 1764.

1788 - Launch of HMS Royal George
HMS Royal George was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched from Chatham Dockyard on 16 September 1788. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and Queen Charlotte was the only other ship built to her draught. She was the fifth ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.

HMS Royal George on the right fitting out in the River Medway off what is now Sun Pier, with HMS Queen Charlotte under construction in the centre background. This is a view from Chatham Ness, today the southernmost point of the Medway City Estate


1814 - A squadron from the schooner USS Carolina attacks and raids the base of the pirate Jean Lafitte, at Barataria, La., capturing six schooners and other small craft while the pirates flee the attack.
Jean Lafitte (c. 1780 – c. 1823) was a French pirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his elder brother, Pierre, spelled their last name Laffite, but English-language documents of the time used "Lafitte". The latter has become the common spelling in the United States, including for places named after him.

Portrait said to be of Jean Lafitte

1823 - Samuel Southard becomes the seventh Secretary of the Navy, serving until March 3, 1829. During his tenure, he enlarges the Navy, improves administration, purchases land for the first Naval Hospitals, begins construction of the first Navy dry docks, undertakes surveying U.S. coastal waters and promotes exploration in the Pacific Ocean.


1841 – Launch of French Forte, a 60 gun Surveillante-class frigate, at Cherbourg
The Surveillante class was a type of sixty-gun frigate of the French Navy, designed in 1823 by Mathurin-François Boucher.
One of the main innovations with respect to previous design was the disappearance of the gangways, which provided a flush deck capable of harbouring a complete second battery. With the standardisation on the 30-pounder calibre for all naval ordnance that occurred in the 1820s, this design allowed for a frigate throwing a 900-pound broadside, thrice the firepower of the 40-gun Pallas class that constituted the majority of the frigate forces during the Empire, and comparable to that of a 74-gun.

Model showing characteristics and original painting scheme of Belle Poule.

1888 - HMS Lily, an Arab-class composite gunvessel wrecked on the coast of Labrador
HMS Lily was an Arab-class composite gunvessel built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1874, saw service in Chinese and North American waters, and was wrecked on the coast of Labrador on 16 September 1888.

1918 - HMS Glatton and her sister ship Gorgon were originally built as coastal defence ships for the Royal Norwegian Navy, as Bjørgvin and Nidaros respectively. She was requisitioned from Norway at the beginning of World War I, but was not completed until 1918 although she had been launched over three years earlier. On 16 September 1918, before she had even gone into action, she suffered a large fire in one of her 6-inch magazines, and had to be scuttled to prevent an explosion of her main magazines that would have devastated Dover. Her wreck was partially salvaged in 1926, and moved into a position in the northeastern end of the harbour where it would not obstruct traffic. It was subsequently buried by landfill underneath the current car ferry terminal.

Wreck of HMS Glatton in Dover harbour

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

17th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 16 September 1782 - The Central Atlantic hurricane of 1782, was a hurricane that hit the fleet of British Admiral Thomas Graves as it sailed across the North Atlantic in September 1782. It is believed to have killed some 3,500 people...

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1625 - The Recovery of Ré Island
(French: Reprise de l'Île de Ré) was accomplished by the army of Louis XIII in September 1625, against the troops of the Protestant admiral Soubise and the Huguenot forces of La Rochelle, who had been occupying the Island of Ré since February 1625 as part of the Huguenot rebellions.

Battle of Pertuis Breton in 1625, between Soubise and the Duc de Montmorency, with the explosion of the Dutch ship under Vice-Admiral Van Dorp. Pierre Ozanne.

1765 - Launch of HMS Canada, a 74 gun Canada-class Ship of the Line
HMS Canada was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 September 1765 at Woolwich Dockyard.

HMS Captain, pictured, was from the same Canada class as HMS Canada

1797 - HMS Pelican (1795 - 18), Lt. Thomas White (Act.), destroyed French privateer Trompeur (12) off St. Domingo.
HMS Pelican (1795) was an 18-gun Albatros-class sloop launched in 1795 and sold in 1806.

Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Albatross (1795); Dispatch (1795); Kite (1795); Raven (1796); Star (1795); Swallow (1795); Sylph (1795) and Pelican (1795), all 16-gun Brig Sloops. All were built of fir except Albatross and Dispatch, while Pelican was also built with oak and elm.

1803 – Launch of French Suffren, a 74 gun Short Variant (Suffren-group) of the Temeraire class
The Suffren was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
Suffren took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under Captain Amable Troude.
She operated in the Mediterranean until the end of the First Empire, and was decommissioned shortly thereafter.
Suffren was razeed in 1816, and used as a prison hulk on Toulon harbour.
She was eventually broken up in 1823.

1807 - HMS Barbara (1806 - 10), Lt. Edward D'Arcy, captured by privateer General Ernouf (1805 - 14)
HMS Barbara was an Adonis class schooner of the Royal Navy and launched in 1806. A French privateer captured her in 1807 and she became the French privateer Pératy. The Royal Navy recaptured her in 1808. She was paid off in June 1814 and sold in February 1815.

1840 - Caiffa captured by HMS Castor (1832 – 36 – Castor-class), Cptn. Edward Collier, and HMS Pique (36), Cptn. Robert Boxer.
HMS Castor was a 36-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy.
Castor was built at Chatham Dockyard and launched on 2 May 1832. She was one of a two ship class of frigates, built to an 1828 design by Sir Robert Seppings, and derived from the earlier Stag class. The Castor classhad a further 13 inches (33 cm) of beam to mount the heavier ordnance. Castor cost a total of £38,292, to be fitted for sea.

1864 - Launch of French Intrépide , a 90 gun Algesiras- class steamship of the line (sub-class of the Napoleon-class), renamed Borda
From 1883, she was a school ship of the École navale, and from 1887 she was hulked as barracks. Renamed Borda in 1890, she was used again by the École navale, and was eventually broken up in 1921.

1887 – Launch of SS Oceana, a P&O passenger liner and cargo vessel,
SS Oceana was a P&O passenger liner and cargo vessel, built in 1888 by Harland and Wolff of Belfast. Originally assigned to carry passengers and mail between London and Australia, she was later assigned to routes between London and British India. On 16 March 1912 the ship collided in the Strait of Dover with the Pisagua, a 2,850 GRT German-registered four-masted steel-hulled barque. As a result Oceana sank off Beachy Head on the East Sussex coast, with the loss of nine lives.

1894 – Battle of the Yalu River, the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War.
The Battle of the Yalu River (simplified Chinese: 黄海海战; traditional Chinese: 黃海海戰; pinyin: Huáng Hǎi Hǎizhàn; Japanese:Kōkai-kaisen (黄海海戦, "Naval Battle of the Yellow Sea")) was the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War, and took place on 17 September 1894, the day after the Japanese victory at the land Battle of Pyongyang. It involved ships from the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. The battle is also known by a variety of names: Battle of Haiyang Island, Battle of Dadonggou, Battle of the Yellow Sea and Battle of Yalu, after the geographic location of the battle, which was in the Yellow Sea off the mouth of the Yalu River and not in the river itself. There is also no agreement among contemporary sources on the exact numbers and composition of each fleet.

1895 - The battleship USS Maine is commissioned.
Her active career was spent operating along the U.S. East Coast and in the Caribbean. In January 1898, Maine was sent to Havana, Cuba, to protect U.S. interests during a time of local insurrection and civil disturbance. Three weeks later, on Feb. 15, 1898, the battleship was sunk by a massive explosion that killed a great majority of her crew.

1939 – World War II: German submarine U-29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.
HMS Courageous was the lead ship of the Courageous-class cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by First Sea Lord John Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Courageous was completed in late 1916 and spent the war patrolling the North Sea. She participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917 and was present when the German High Seas Fleet surrendered a year later.
Courageous was decommissioned after the war, then rebuilt as an aircraft carrier during the mid-1920s. She could carry 48 aircraft compared to the 36 carried by her half-sister Furious on approximately the same displacement. After recommissioning she spent most of her career operating off Great Britain and Ireland. She briefly became a training carrier, but reverted to her normal role a few months before the start of the Second World War in September 1939. Courageous was torpedoed and sunk in the opening weeks of the war, going down with more than 500 of her crew.

Courageous sinking after being torpedoed by U-29

1949 – The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives.
SS Noronic was a passenger ship that was destroyed by fire in Toronto Harbour in September 1949 with the loss of at least 118 lives

SS Noronic lying at Maple Leaf Dock in Port Colborne, Ontario 1931.

minutes after the fire began, but already half of the ship’s decks were on fire.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

18th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History Other Events on 17 September 1574 – Death of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Spanish admiral and explorer, founded St. Augustine, Florida (b. 1519) Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾo mẽˈnẽndeθ ðe aβiˈles]; 15...

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1740 - George Anson's voyage around the world begins in Spithead
While Great Britain was at war with Spain in 1740, Commodore George Anson led a squadron of eight ships on a mission to disrupt or capture Spain's Pacific possessions. Returning to Britain in 1744 by way of China and thus completing a circumnavigation, the voyage was notable for the capture of an Acapulco galleon but also horrific losses to disease with only 188 men of the original 1,854 surviving.

George Anson, 1st Baron Anson

Model of HMS Centurion, made in 1748.

1778 – Launch of French Auguste, a 80-gun Third Rate Ship of the Line ("vaisseaux de 80") at Brest
Auguste was an 80-gun ship of the line in the French Navy, designed by Léon-Michel Guignace, laid down in 1777 and in active service from 1779. She tooks part in the Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War and later in the French Revolutionary Wars, notably fighting at the Combat de Prairial. She was lost with most hands during the Croisière du Grand Hiver in January 1795.

Auguste fighting at the Battle of the Chesapeake

1781 – Re-Launch of French Couronne (later Ça Ira) , a 80-gun Third rate purpose built Ship of the Line at Brest
Couronne was built at Brest, having been started in May 1781 and launched in September that year. She probably was built from the salvaged remains of her predecessor, Couronne, which had been accidentally burnt at the dockyard in April 1781. She had a refit at Toulon in 1784.

Model of Couronne, on display at the Château de Brest.

1804 - The Battle of Vizagapatam - HMS Centurion (50) engaged French Marengo (74), Atalante (40) and Semillante (36) in Vizagapatam Road
was a minor naval engagement fought in the approaches to Vizagapatam harbour in the Coastal Andhra region of British India on the Bay of Bengal on 15 September 1804 during the Napoleonic Wars. A French squadron under Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois in the ship of the line Marengo attacked the British Royal Navy fourth rate ship HMS Centurion and two East Indiaman merchant ships anchored in the harbour roads. Linois was engaged in an extended raiding campaign, which had already involved operations in the South China Sea, in the Mozambique Channel, off Ceylon and along the Indian coast of the Bay of Bengal. The French squadron had fought one notable engagement, at the Battle of Pulo Aura on 15 February 1804, in which Linois had attacked the Honourable East India Company's (HEIC) China Fleet, a large convoy of well-armed merchant ships carrying cargo worth £8 million. Linois failed to press the attack and withdrew with the convoy at his mercy, invoking the anger of Napoleon when the news reached France.

Defence of the Centurion in Vizagapatam Road, Septr. 15th 1804, Engraving by Thomas Sutherland after a painting by James Lind

1810 - The Action of 18 September 1810
was a naval battle fought between British Royal Navy and French Navy frigates in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars. The engagement was one of several between rival frigate squadrons contesting control of the French island base of Île de France, from which French frigates had raided British trade routes during the war. The action came in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Grand Port, in which four British frigates had been lost, and just four days after a fifth British frigate had been captured and subsequently recaptured in the Action of 13 September 1810. In consequence of the heavy losses the British force had suffered, reinforcements were hastily rushed to the area and became individual targets for the larger French squadron blockading the British base at Île Bourbon.

1849 - Launch of SMS Niobe, a Diamond-class 28-gun sixth-rate sailing frigate built for the Royal Navy, but sold to Prussia.
Niobe was never commissioned into the Royal Navy, which was converting to steam power, and was sold to Prussiain 1862. She was named after Niobe, a figure from Greek mythology. She served with the Prussian Navy, the North German Federal Navy and the Imperial German Navy as a training ship until stricken and hulked in 1890. Niobe was eventually broken up in 1919.

A contemporary half block model of HMS Diamond (1848), a 28 gun sixth rate sloop.

1860 - The sloop of war, USS Levant, sails from Hawaii for Panama. She is never seen again.
In June 1861 a mast and a part of a lower yardarm believed to be from USS Levant are found near Hilo. Spikes had been driven into the mast as if to a form a raft. Some rumors had her running aground on an uncharted reef off California; others had her defecting to the Confederacy.

The sloop-of-war USS Levant under way in stormy seas. Artist and source unknown.

1876 – Launch of french ironclad Redoutable
Redoutable was a central battery and barbette ship of the French Navy. She was the first warship in the world to use steel as the principal building material. She was preceded by the Colbert-class ironclads.

Redoutable in 1889

1903 – Launch of german pre-dreadnought battleship SMS Hessen,
SMS Hessen was the third of five pre-dreadnought battleships of the Braunschweig class. She was laid down in 1902, was launched in September 1903, and was commissioned into the German Kaiserliche Marine(Imperial Navy) in September 1905. Named after the state of Hesse, the ship was armed with a battery of four 28 cm (11 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Like all other pre-dreadnoughts built at the turn of the century, Hessen was quickly made obsolete by the launching of the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought in 1906; as a result, she saw only limited service with the German fleet.

Hessen ca. 1931

1940 – World War II: The British liner SS City of Benares is sunk by German submarine U-48; 248 died, those killed include 77 child refugees.
SS City of Benares was a steam passenger ship built for Ellerman Lines by Barclay, Curle & Co of Glasgow in 1936. During the Second World War the City of Benares was used as an evacuee ship to evacuate 90 children from Britain to Canada. The ship was torpedoed in 1940 by the German submarine U-48 with heavy loss of life, including the death of 77 of the evacuated children. The sinking caused such public outrage in Britain that it led to Winston Churchill cancelling the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) plan to relocate British children abroad.

1944 - Jun'yō Maru, a Japanese cargo ship (one of the "hell ships") that was attacked and sunk in 1944 by the British submarine HMS Tradewind, resulting in the loss of over 5,600 lives.

Japanese cargo ship Jun'yō Maru.

1998 - MV Princess of the Orient, a passenger ferry owned by Sulpicio Lines, sank off Fortune Island, off Batangas province in the Philippines, 150 of the 388 passengers lost their life
MV Princess of the Orient was a passenger ferry owned by Sulpicio Lines that sank off Fortune Island, off Batangas province in the Philippines in September 1998.The ship was originally built in Japan as the Sunflower 11 before being sold to Sulpicio Lines.

Princess of the Orient as Sunflower 11.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

19th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History Other Events on 17 September 1574 – Death of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Spanish admiral and explorer, founded St. Augustine, Florida (b. 1519) Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾo mẽˈnẽndeθ ðe aβiˈles]; 15...

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1670 – Launch of Terrible and Tonnant, two french Ships of the line at Brest at the same day
-> strange fact in addition: both wrecked at the same day at the same location in 1678
from Seapower and Naval Warfare, 1650-1830 by Dr Richard Harding, Richard Harding

1758 – Launch of HMS Alarm, a 32 gun Niger-class frigate,
she was later the first ship in the Royal Navy to have a fully copper-sheathed hull
HMS Alarm was a 32-gun fifth rate Niger-class frigate of the Royal Navy, and was the first Royal Navy ship to bear this name. Copper-sheathed in 1761, she was the first ship in the Royal Navy to have a fully copper-sheathed hull

1777 - During the American Revolution, the British cutter HMS Alert captures the brig USS Lexington
HMS Alert (1777 - 10), a 10-gun cutter launched at Dover in 1777, converted to a sloop in the same year, and captured in the Channel by the Junon in 1778; foundered December 1779 off the coast of America. French records show her serving as Alerte, a cutter of fourteen 4-pounder guns and valued as a prize at Lt 32,289.

The first USS Lexington of the Thirteen Colonies was a brigantine purchased in 1776. The Lexington was an 86-foot two-mast wartime sailing ship for the fledgling Continental Navy of the Colonists during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

1779 – Launch of French Scipion, a 74 gun Scipion-class Ship of the line
The Scipion was a French warship of the 18th century, lead ship of her class.
Scipion took part in the American War of Independence, notably sailing at the rear of the French squadron at the Battle of the Chesapeake.
In the Action of 18 October 1782, under Captain Nicolas Henri de Grimouard, Scipion fought gallantly against two British ships of the line of 90 and 74 guns. Through good sailmanship, she managed to damage HMS London and escape, but was destroyed the next day after she was chased and ran aground.

Combat du Scipion contre le London, credited to Rossel de Crecy, on display at Toulon naval museum.

Modèle réduit d'un vaisseau de 74 canons du même type que le Scipion

1782 - French Ville de Paris 90-gun Ship of the Line sank in a storm
Ville de Paris was a large three-decker French ship of the line that became famous as the flagship of the Comte de Grasse during the American Revolutionary War.

1785 - Launch of French Fougueux, 74 gun Téméraire class Ship of the Line at Lorient
Fougueux was a Téméraire class 74-gun French ship of the line built at Lorient from 1784 to 1785 by engineer Segondat.

Belleisle 15 minutes past Noon. Octr 21st 1805. Fougueux. Belleisle. Indomptable. Santa Ana. Royal Sovereign (PAD5707)

1807 – Launch of HMS Sultan, a 74 gun Fame-class ship of the line
HMS Sultan was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 September 1807 at Deptford Wharf.

1813 – Launch of USS Peacock, sloop of the war
USS Peacock was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the War of 1812.
The Peacock was authorized by Act of Congress 3 March 1813, laid down 9 July 1813, by Adam and Noah Brown at the New York Navy Yard, and launched 19 September 1813. She served in the War of 1812, capturing twenty ships. Subsequently, she served in the Mediterranean Squadron, and in the "Mosquito Fleet" suppressing Caribbean piracy. She patrolled the South American coast during the colonial wars of independence. She was decommissioned in 1827 and broken up in 1828 to be rebuilt as the USS Peacock (1828), intended as an exploration ship. She sailed as part of the United States Exploring Expedition in 1838. The Peacock ran aground and broke up on the Columbia Bar without loss of life in 1841.

The US Navy sloop USS Peacock was stuck in the ice in January 1840, shortly after the first confirmed sighting of the Antarctic continent by a US Navy ship. She was lost on the Columbia river in July 1841.

1898 – Launch of Japanese armored cruiser Izumo
Izumo (出雲, sometimes transliterated Idzumo) was the lead ship of her class of armored cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late 1890s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to build such warships herself, the ship was built in Britain. She often served as a flagship and participated in most of the naval battles of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. The ship was lightly damaged during the Battle off Ulsan and the Battle of Tsushima. Izumo was ordered to protect Japanese citizens and interests in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution and was still there when World War I began in 1914.

1941 – Launch of japanese Taiyo, escort carrier of the Taiyo-class
The Japanese aircraft carrier Taiyō (大鷹, "Big Eagle") was the lead ship of her class of three escort carriers. She was originally built as Kasuga Maru (春日丸), the last of three Nitta Maru class of passenger-cargo liners built in Japan during the late 1930s. The ship was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in early 1941 and was converted into an escort carrier. Taiyō was initially used to transport aircraft to distant air bases and for training, but was later used to escort convoys of merchant ships between Japan and Singapore. The ship was torpedoed twice by American submarines with negligible to moderate damage before she was sunk in mid-1944 with heavy loss of life.

Imperial Japanese Navy's aircraft carrier, Taiyo in habor at Yokosuka, Japan

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

20th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 19 September 1785 - Launch of French Fougueux, 74 gun Téméraire class Ship of the Line at Lorient Fougueux was a Téméraire class 74-gun French ship of the line built at Lorient from 1784 to 1785 by engineer Segondat. Belleisle 15...

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1519 – Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain with about 270 men on his expedition to circumnavigate the globe.
Background: Spanish search for a westward route to Asia
Christopher Columbus's voyages to the West (1492–1503) had the goal of reaching the Indies and to establish direct commercial relations between Spain and the Asian kingdoms. The Spanish soon realized that the lands of the Americas were not a part of Asia, but a new continent. The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas reserved for Portugal the eastern routes that went around Africa, and Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese arrived in India in 1498.
Castile (Spain) urgently needed to find a new commercial route to Asia. After the Junta de Toro conference of 1505, the Spanish Crown commissioned expeditions to discover a route to the west. Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa reached the Pacific Ocean in 1513 after crossing the Isthmus of Panama, and Juan Díaz de Solís died in Río de la Plata in 1516 while exploring South America in the service of Spain

The Magellan–Elcano voyage. Victoria, one of the original five ships, circumnavigated the globe, finishing 16 months after Magellan's death.

1715 – Re-Launch of HMS Royal George
HMS Royal Charles was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed and built by Sir Anthony Deane at Portsmouth Dockyard, where she was launched and completed by his successor as Master Shipwright, Daniel Furzer, in March 1673. She was one of only three Royal Navy ships to be equipped with the Rupertinoe naval gun.

1759 – Launch of HMS Milford, a 28 gun Coventry-class frigate
HMS Milford was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built at Milford by Richard Chitty and launched in 1759. She was sold for breaking at Woolwich on 17 May 1785

1766 - Launch of HMS Magnificent, a 74-gun Ramillies-class third-rate ship of the line
HMS Magnificent was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 September 1766 at Deptford Dockyard. She was one of the Ramillies-class built to update the Navy and replace ships lost following the Seven Years' War. She served through two wars before her loss during blockade duty off the French coast.

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


1799 - HMS Rattlesnake (1799 - 16) and armed storeship HMS Camel (1782 - 26) engaged French frigate Preneuse (1794 - 46) in Algoa Bay - Action known also as Battle of Algoa Bay
In 1796 British Royal Navy dominance in the East Indies during the French Revolutionary Wars was challenged by the arrival of a squadron of six French Navy frigates, commanded by Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey. Among these ships was the new 40-gun frigate Preneuse, commanded by Captain Jean-Matthieu-Adrien Lhermitte. Preneuse had not sailed from France with Sercey, instead passing independently through the Atlantic and uniting with the squadron at Port Louis on Île de France. Sercey deployed his squadron to the Dutch East Indies, but suffered frustration at the Action of 9 September 1796 and the Bali Strait Incident of January 1797 and subsequently returned to the base at Port Louis. There the squadron began to fracture, with a succession of ships sent back to France or detached on independent missions.

Algoa Bay, 20–21 September 1799. French frigate Preneuse against HMS Camel and the privateer Surprise

1839 – Death of Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, English admiral (b. 1769)
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, 1st Baronet, GCB (5 April 1769 – 20 September 1839) was a Royal Navy officer. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797, the Battle of the Nile in August 1798 and the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801 during the French Revolutionary Wars. He served as flag captain to Admiral Lord Nelson, and commanded HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. Nelson was shot as he paced the decks with Hardy, and as he lay dying, Nelson's famous remark of "Kiss me, Hardy" was directed at him. Hardy went on to become First Naval Lord in November 1830 and in that capacity refused to become a Member of Parliament and encouraged the introduction of steam warships.


1874 – Launch of armored frigate / turret ship SMS Friedrich der Große of german Kaiserliche Marine
SMS Friedrich der Grosse  (or Große ) was an armored frigate of the German Kaiserliche Marine. She was the second of three Preussen-class ironclads, in addition to her two sister-ships Preussen and Grosser Kurfürst. Named for Frederick the Great, she was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel in 1871 and completed in 1877. Her main battery of four 26 cm (10 in) guns was mounted pair of twin gun turrets amidships.

German turret ship SMS Friedrich der Grosse, photographed in 1887 with torpedo nets and reduced rig.

1899 - Launch of Ocean liner SS Rhein, later USS Susquehanna
USS Susquehanna (ID-3016) was a transport for the United States Navy during World War I. She was the second U.S. Navy ship to be named for the Susquehanna River. Before the war she operated at SS Rhein, an ocean liner for North German Lloyd. She was the lead ship of her class of three ocean liners. After the end of World War I, the ship operated briefly in passenger service as SS Susquehanna. Laid up in 1922, Susquehanna was sold to Japanese ship breakers in 1928 and scrapped.

USS Susquehanna (ID-3016) was underway

1906 – The Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched at Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
RMS Mauretania was an ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by Wigham Richardson and Swan Hunter for the British Cunard Line, launched on the afternoon of 20 September 1906. She was the world's largest ship until the completion of RMS Olympic in 1911, as well as the fastest until Bremen's maiden voyage in 1929. Mauretania became a favourite among her passengers. She captured the Eastbound Blue Ribandon her maiden return voyage in December 1907, then claimed the Westbound Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing during her 1909 season. She held both speed records for 20 years.

Mauretania on her sea trials, passing Castle Wemyssand the Station Clock Tower on the Measured Mile, Skelmorlie, November 1907

Workmen standing below Mauretania's original three-bladed propellers in dry dock

1906 - Launch of RMS Adriatic
RMS Adriatic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line. She was the fourth of a quartet of ships measuring over 20,000 tons, dubbed The Big Four. The ship was the only one of the four which was never the world's largest ship; however, she was the fastest of the Big Four. Adriatic was the first ocean liner to have an indoor swimming pool and a Turkish bath.

1908 - Star of Bengal struck the rocks near the shore of Coronation Island and sunk, killing approximately 110 of 138 people aboard.
The Star of Bengal was an iron three-masted 1,877 GT merchant sailing vessel built in Belfast in 1874 by Harland and Wolff Industries, the shipyard that later constructed the Titanic. Although built towards the decline of the Age of Sail, the Star of Bengal was successfully operated for 24 years by the British trading company J.P. Corry & Co. The ship was mainly used on London-Calcutta trading route, but also made a few voyages to Australian and American ports.
By 1898, following the formative change in the shipping industry, J.P. Corry switched to steam vessels and sold its sailing fleet. On the other hand, merchant shipping along the United States Pacific Coast was experiencing a boom triggered by Klondike and Nome gold rushes which intensified the colonization of the Pacific Northwest, and spiked the demand for both passenger and cargo shipping in the area. As a result, the Star of Bengal was purchased by a San Francisco trading company J.J. Smith & Co. and, along with many other old European vessels, was taken around Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocean. J.J. Smith conducted an overhaul of the ship and re-rigged her from a full-rigged ship to a barque, aiming to decrease costs of her operations.

Star of Bengal (ship) Ship: Star of Bengal Rig: Three-masted bark Hull: Iron Launched: 1874 Out of service: 1908 Builder: Harland & Wolff, Belfast Dimensions: 262.8’ x 40.2’ x 23.5’ Tonnage: 1694 tons

1910 – The ocean liner SS France, later known as the "Versailles of the Atlantic", is launched.
SS France was a French ocean liner which sailed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, colloquially known as CGT or the "French Line". She was later christened Versailles of the Atlantic, a reference to her décor which reflected the famous palace outside Paris. Ordered in 1908, she was introduced into the Transatlantic route in April 1912, just a week after the sinking of RMS Titanic, and was the only French liner among the famous "four stackers". France quickly became one of the most popular ships in the Atlantic. Serving as a hospital ship during World War I, France would have a career spanning two decades. Her overall success encouraged CGT to create even larger liners in the future.

1911 – The White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with the British warship HMS Hawke.
RMS Olympic (/ʊˈlɪmpɪk/) was a British transatlantic ocean liner, the lead ship of the White Star Line's trio of Olympic-class liners. Unlike the other ships in the class, Olympic had a long career spanning 24 years from 1911 to 1935. This included service as a troopship during the First World War, which gained her the nickname "Old Reliable". Olympic returned to civilian service after the war and served successfully as an ocean liner throughout the 1920s and into the first half of the 1930s, although increased competition, and the slump in trade during the Great Depression after 1930, made her operation increasingly unprofitable.

1911 – Launch of P-liner Passat
Passat is a German four-masted steel barque and one of the Flying P-Liners, the famous sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. The name "Passat" means trade wind in German. She is one of the last surviving windjammers.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

21st of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 20 September 1911 – The White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with the British warship HMS Hawke. RMS Olympic (/ʊˈlɪmpɪk/) was a British transatlantic ocean liner, the lead ship of the White Star Line's trio of Olympic-class liners...

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1742 - HMS Tilbury (1733 - 60) burnt by accident off Hispaniola
HMS Tilbury was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the dimensions of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 2 June 1733.

1757 - French Emeraude (1744 - 28) captured by HMS Southampton (1757 - 32)
The British 32-gun frigate HMS Southampton, cruizing off Brest, having been dispatched by the admiral to reconnoitre the harbour, was chased by a large ship. As soon as the stranger was perceived, the Southampton tacked and stood towards her, upon which the stranger shortened sail and hove to. Owing to light airs and calms, it was 2h. p.m. before the Southampton could get near enough to open her fire. At that time, being within musket-shot, the stranger, which proved to be the Emeraud, French 28-gun frigate, opened her fire on the Southampton, but it was not returned until, being within twenty yards of each other, the British frigate opened her fire, and a warmly contested action ensued. In consequence of the calm, which the firing caused, the ships drifted foul of each other, when the French endeavoured to carry the Southampton by boarding, but were beaten back with great loss.
The struggles of the two crews lasted for a quarter of an hour, at the expiration of which time, the Emeraud having lost her first and second captains, most of the officers, and 60 men killed and wounded, surrendered. The Southampton had her second lieutenant and 19 men killed, and every officer, except the captain, and 28 men wounded.
In this action the two ships were as nearly as possible of equal force, and the vigour of the contest evinces great courage and skill on both sides.
The Emeraud was added to the royal navy under the English name Emerald, and continued for many years a cruizing ship.

George III in HMS Southampton reviewing the fleet off Plymouth, 18 August 1789'. The Carnatic is shown just right of the centre of the picture, heading the line of ships being reviewed.

1782 - HMS Centaur (1759 - 74) foundered in severe gale off Newfoundland banks.
Centaure was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched at Toulon in 1757. She was designed by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb and named on 25 October 1755, and built under his supervision at Toulon. In French service she carried 74 cannon, comprising: 28 x 36-pounders on the lower deck, 30 x 18-pounders on the upper deck, 10 x 8-pounders on the quarterdeck, 6 x 8-pounders on the forecastle.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sternboard decoration detail with name on the counter in a cartouche, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Centaur (captured 1759),

1785 – Launch of HMS Lapwing, a 28 gun Enterprise class frigate
HMS Lapwing was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.
Lapwing was first commissioned in October 1790 under the command of Captain Paget Bayly (or Bayley), who had commanded Scorpion off the coast of Africa and in the West Indies. Captain Henry CUrzon recommissioned her in April 1791 and sailed for the Mediterranean on 12 July. She returned to Britain in 1793 and was paid off in February 1794.

1785 – Launch of HMS Romulus, a 36 gun Flora-class frigate
HMS Romulus was a 36-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Romulus was despatched to the Mediterranean where she became part of the fleet under Lord Hood, initially blockading, and later occupying, the port of Toulon. She played an active role during the withdrawal in December, providing covering fire while HMS Robust and HMS Leviathan removed allied troops from the waterfront.

1791 – Launch of French Thémistocle, a 74-gun Téméraire-class ships of the line, at Lorient
Thémistocle was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
Built in Lorient, Thémistocle was transferred to the Mediterranean soon after her commissioning to reinforce the squadron under Admiral Truguet. Seized by the British at the surrendering of Toulon by a Royalist cabale in 1793, she was used as a prison hulk during the Siege of Toulon. At the fall of the city, Captain Sidney Smith had her scuttled by fire, along with Héros, in December 1793.

Destruction of the French fleet at Toulon

1811 - HMS Naiad (1797 - 38) with HMS Redpole (10), HMS Rinaldo (10), HMS Castilian (18) and HMS Viper (4) again attacked off Boulogne, but the enemy fled as before, leaving one praam Ville de Lyon (12) taken by Naiad.
On 19 August Echo, with Naiad in company, captured the Woodman. Under Carteret Naiad participated in an action with gunboats off Boulogne on 20 September. A large French flotilla consisting of seven praams of twelve 24-pounder guns each, ten brigs of four long 24-pounders guns each, and one sloop with two long 24-pounders. The praams' crews totalled about 120 men, and they were under the command of Rear-Admiral Baste. The praams cannonaded Naiad for about three-quarters of an hour before the other vessels came up and added desultory fire for another two hours. Eventually the French vessels gave up their attack and returned to the safety of anchorages under the protection of batteries. In all this Naiad suffered no casualties.

"Plan of the attack upon the Boulogne flotilla, by the frigate 'Naiad', 21 September 1811" (1812).

1850 - barque Jenny Lind wrecked at Kenn Reef
Kenn Reef is a submerged coral atoll off the Pacific coast of Queensland, Australia. It is about 15 by 8 km and appears as either a backward facing “L“ or a boot. The reef covers an area of approximately 40 km², with an islet in the Southeast part of the reef called Observatory Cay which is approximately 2 m above the high tide level

1905 – Launch of SS America, later USS America
USS America (ID-3006) was a troop transport for the United States Navy during World War I. She was launched in 1905 as SS Amerika by Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the Hamburg America Line of Germany. As a passenger liner, she sailed primarily between Hamburg and New York. On 14 April 1912, Amerika transmitted a wireless message about icebergs near the same area where RMS Titanic struck one and sank less than three hours later. At the outset of World War I, Amerika was docked at Boston; rather than risk seizure by the British Royal Navy, she remained in port for the next three years.

1957 - Pamir, a four-masted barque one of the famous Flying P-Liners, caught in Hurricane Carrie and sank off the Azores, with only six survivors rescued after an extensive search.
Pamir, a four-masted barque, was one of the famous Flying P-Liner sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. She was the last commercial sailing ship to round Cape Horn, in 1949. By 1957, she had been outmoded by modern bulk carriers and could not operate at a profit. Her shipping consortium's inability to finance much-needed repairs or to recruit sufficient sail-trained officers caused severe technical difficulties. On 21 September 1957, she was caught in Hurricane Carrie and sank off the Azores, with only six survivors rescued after an extensive search.

Last Sighting of Pamir?

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

22nd of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 20 September 1911 – The White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with the British warship HMS Hawke. RMS Olympic (/ʊˈlɪmpɪk/) was a British transatlantic ocean liner, the lead ship of the White Star Line's trio of Olympic-class liners...

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1655 – Launch of HMS Dartmouth, a 22 gun frigate
HMS Dartmouth was a small frigate or fifth-rate ship, one of six ordered by the Council of State on 28 December 1654 and built in 1655. At the end of July 1689 HMS Dartmouth, commanded by John Leake, managed to break through the boom on the River Foyle allowing the siege of Londonderry by forces of James II to be relieved. After a lengthy career in the Royal Navy, she was wrecked in the Sound of Mull on 9 October 1690, while on a mission to persuade the MacLeans of Duart to sign Articles of Allegiance to William III and Mary II.

The ‘Dartmouth’ viewed from the port quarter and carries, on the broadside, nine guns on the gun deck, two forward and four aft on the upper deck and two on the quarterdeck.

1692 – Launch of French Royal Louis, 110 guns, (designed and built by François Coulomb snr) at Toulon – broken up 1727
The Royal Louis was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy, designed and constructed by François Coulomb. She replaced an earlier ship of the same name. Royal Louis 1692 was the largest ship in the world, and keeps that record until the next Royal Louis launched in 1759.

Contemporary model of the Royal Louis, on display at the Musée de la Marine

1776 - John Paul Jones in Providence sails into Canso Bay, Nova Scotia, and attacks British fishing fleet - The Raid on Canso
The Raid on Canso took place on 22 September – November 22, 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved John Paul Jones attacking Canso, Nova Scotia and the surrounding fishing villages.
During the American Revolution, Canso was subject to numerous raids by American Privateers. George Washington's Marblehead Regiment raided Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on 17 November 1775 and three days later, they raided Canso Harbor.
Raid
On September 22, 1776, Canso was attacked by American privateer John Paul Jones. The privateer sailed on the USS Providence and destroyed fifteen vessels, and damaged much property on shore. There he recruited men to fill the vacancies created by manning his prizes, burned a British fishing schooner, sank a second, and captured a third besides a shallop which he used as a tender.

USS_Providence (1775)

1796 - HMS Amphion (1780 - 32), Cptn. Israel Pellew, caught fire at Plymouth and violently exploded alongside a sheer-hulk.
HMS Amphion was a Royal Navy 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Amazon (Thetis) Class built in Chatham in 1780 which blew up on 22 September 1796.

1796 – Launch of Furieuse, a 38 gun frigate of the Seine-class
Furieuse was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy. The Royal Navy captured her in 1809 and took her into service as the fifth rate HMS Furieuse. She spent most of her British career in the Mediterranean Sea, though towards the end of the War of 1812 she served briefly on the North American station. She was laid up in 1815 and sold for breaking up in 1816.

La Furieuse is shown on the left of the picture having been captured and taken in tow by the British ship Bonne Citoyenne, 20 guns; Furieuse was captured in 1809 after she had escaped from Basse-Terre in June, having taken refuge there following the defeat of the French commander Commodore Troude.

1797 - HMS Hermione (1782 - 32) handed over to the Spanish by her mutinous crew at La Guira.
HMS Hermione was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was notorious for having the bloodiest mutiny in British naval history, which saw her captain and most of the officers killed. The mutineers then handed the ship over to the Spanish, with whom she remained for two years before being cut out and returned to Royal Navy service under the names Retaliation and later Retribution.

Santa Cecilia, the former Hermione, is cut out at Puerto Cabello by boats from HMS Surprise by Nicholas Pocock

1857 – The Russian ship of the line Lefort capsizes and sinks during a storm in the Gulf of Finland, killing all 826 aboard.
Lefort was a ship of the line of the Imperatritsa Aleksandra (Empress Alexandra) class, rated at 84 guns but actually armed with 94 guns. Her keel was laid in 1833 at Saint Petersburg and she was launched 9 August [O.S. 28 July] 1835 in the presence of Nicholas I. She was named after Admiral Franz Lefort, chief of the Russian Navy from 1695-1696.

Shipwreck of the "Lefort" (painting by Ivan Aivazovsky)

1907 - Launch and Sinking of SS Principessa Jolanda
The SS Principessa Jolanda was an Italian transatlantic ocean liner built by Cantiere Navale di Riva Trigoso for the Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) shipping company. Named after Princess Iolanda Margherita di Savoia, the eldest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III, the ship was intended for the NGI's South American service. At 9,210 tons and 141 m (463 ft) in length, she was the largest passenger ship built in Italy up to that time. Constructed at a cost of 6 million lire to designs by Erasmo Piaggio, the Principessa Jolanda has also been called the first true Italian luxury liner. She was among the first transatlantic vessels fitted with Marconi Wireless telegraphy, electric lighting throughout and telephones in each cabin.

Launch of the SS Principessa Jolanda at Cantiere Navale di Riva Trigoso, near Genoa, Italy

Principessa Jolanda listing heavily shortly after launch.

1914 -The Action of 22 September 1914
was a German U-boat ambush that took place during the First World War, in which three obsolete Royal Navycruisers, manned mainly by reservists and sometimes referred to as the livebait squadron, were sunk by a German submarine while on patrol.
About 1,450 British sailors were killed and there was a public outcry in Britain at the losses. The sinkings eroded confidence in the British government and damaged the reputation of the Royal Navy at a time when many countries were still considering which side they might support in the war.

Illustration by Hans Bohrdt depicting the sinking of HMS Cressy, HMS Hogue and HMS Aboukir by U-9 on 22 September 1914 off the Dutch coast.

1914 - Bombardment of Papeete
The Bombardment of Papeete occurred in French Polynesia when German warships attacked on 22 September 1914, during World War I. The German armoured cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and Gneisenau entered the port of Papeete on the island of Tahiti and sank the French gunboat Zélée and freighter Walküre before bombarding the town's fortifications. French shore batteries and a gunboat resisted the German intrusion, but were greatly outgunned. The main German objective was to seize the coal piles stored on the island, but these were destroyed by the French at the start of the action.

The results of the bombing of Papeete on 22 September 1914 by the German cruisers. Photographs published by the weekly Le Miroir of December 6, 1914.

1943 - Operation Source (20-22. September 1943) - Battleship Tirpitz heavily damaged
was a series of attacks to neutralise the heavy German warships – Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Lützow – based in northern Norway, using X-class midget submarines.
The attacks took place in September 1943 at Kaa Fiord and succeeded in keeping Tirpitz out of action for at least six months. The concept for the attack was developed by Commander Cromwell-Varley, with support of Max Horton, Flag Officer Submarines, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The operation was directed from HMS Varbel, located in Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute. Varbel (named after Commanders Varley and Bell, designers of the X-Craft prototype) was the on-shore headquarters for the 12th Submarine Flotilla (midget submarines). It had been a luxury 88-bedroom hotel (the Kyles Hydropathic Hotel) requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as the Flotilla’s headquarters. All X-craft training, and preparation for X-craft attacks (including that on Tirpitz), was co-ordinated from Varbel.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

23rd of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 22 September 1796 – Launch of Furieuse, a 38 gun frigate of the Seine-class Furieuse was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy. The Royal Navy captured her in 1809 and took her into service as the fifth rate HMS Furieuse. She spent most...

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1338 – The Battle of Arnemuiden
was the first naval battle of the Hundred Years' War and the first naval battle using artillery, as the English ship Christopher had three cannons and one hand gun.

1568 – Spanish naval forces rout an English fleet, under the command of John Hawkins, at the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa near Veracruz.
The Battle of San Juan de Ulúa was a battle between English privateers and Spanish forces at San Juan de Ulúa (in modern Veracruz). It marked the end of the campaign carried out by an English flotilla of six ships that had systematically conducted what the Spanish considered to be illegal trade in the Caribbean Sea, including the slave trade, at times imposing it by force.

An 1887 illustration of the en:Battle of San Juan de Ulúa (1568).

1641 – The Merchant Royal, carrying a treasure of over 100,000 pounds of gold (worth over £1 billion today), is lost at sea off Land's End.
Merchant Royal also known as Royal Merchant, was a 17th-century English merchant ship lost at sea off Land's End, Cornwall in rough weather on 23 September 1641. On board were at least 100,000 pounds of gold (over 1.5 billion USD in today's money), 400 bars of Mexican silver (another 1 million) and nearly 500,000 pieces of eight and other coins, making it one of the most valuable wrecks of all times.

1778 – Launch of French Médée, Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate
Médée was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy. The British captured her in 1800 and took her into service as HMS Medee, but never commissioned her into the Royal Navy, instead using her as a prison ship.

HM Frigate Iris engaged with the French frigate Medee May 30 1793. With inscription (PAF0006)

1779 - The Battle of Flamborough Head
was a naval battle that took place on 23 September 1779 in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire between a combined Franco-American squadron, led by Continental Navy officer John Paul Jones, and two British escort vessels protecting a large merchant convoy. It became one of the most celebrated naval actions of the war, despite its relatively small size and considerable dispute over what had actually occurred.

Defence of Captn Pearson in his Majesty’s Ship Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough Arm’d Ship Captn Piercy, against Paul Jones's Squadron, 23 September 1779, by Robert Dodd

1782 - Launch of HMS Thetis, a Minerva-class frigate

1801 – Launch of HMS Aigle, a 36 gun Aigle class frigate
HMS Aigle was a 36-gun, fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Ordered on 15 September 1799 and built at Bucklers Hard shipyard, she was launched 23 September 1801. More than fifty of her crew were involved in the Easton Massacre when she visited Portland in April 1803 to press recruits. Much of her career as a frigate was spent in home waters where she fought the Battle of Basque Roads in 1809; initially providing support to the crews of the fireships, then forcing the surrender of the stranded French ships, Varsovie and Aquilon. Later that year she left The Downs to take part in the Walcheren Campaignwhere she carried out a two-day long bombardment of Flushing, leading to its capitulation on 15 August.
In October 1811, Aigle was sent to the Mediterranean where she and her crew raided the island of Elba before being asked to provide naval support during the invasion and occupation of Genoa. Refitted in January 1820, her square stern was replaced with a circular one, giving her a wider angle of fire and improved protection at the rear. Converted to a corvette in 1831, she returned to the Mediterranean under Lord Paget. From 1852, she became a coal hulk, then a receiving ship before being used as a target for torpedoes and broken up in 1870.

1809 – Launch of HMS Curacoa, a 36 gun Apollo-class frigate

Critical situation of His Majesty's Ship Curacoa off Toulon in the Winter of 1812 (PAH8402)

1858 - Launch of HMS Donegal, a 101-gun Conqueror-class
HMS Donegal was a 101-gun screw-driven first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 September 1858 at Devonport Dockyard.

1901 – Launch of submarine USS Porpoise, a Plunger class
The third USS Porpoise (SS-7) was an early Plunger-class submarine in the service of the United States Navy, later renamed as A-6.
She was laid down on 13 December 1900 in Elizabeth, New Jersey at the Crescent Shipyard under the direction of shipyard superintendent, Arthur Leopold Busch. This craft was launched on 23 September 1901, and commissioned at the Holland Torpedo Boatyard at New Suffolk, New York on 19 September 1903, with Lieutenant Charles P. Nelson in command.

USS Porpoise (right) and sister ship USS Shark at New York, 1905

1944 - USS West Virginia (BB 48) reaches Pearl Harbor and rejoins the Pacific Fleet, marking the end of the salvage and reconstruction of 18 ships damaged Dec. 7, 1941.
USS West Virginia (BB-48), a Colorado-class battleship, was the second United States Navy ship named in honor of the country's 35th state. She was laid down on 12 April 1920, at Newport , Virginia, launched on 19 November 1921, and commissioned on 1 December 1923. She was sponsored by Alice Wright Mann, daughter of noted West Virginian T. Mann, and her first captain was Thomas J. Senn. After her shakedown and crew training were finished, she was overhauled at Hampton Roads, and later ran aground in Lynnhaven Channel

USS West Virginia (BB-48) in San Francisco Bay, c.1934

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

24th of September

please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day ..... in the following you will find some of the events

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 23 September 1901 – Launch of submarine USS Porpoise, a Plunger class The third USS Porpoise (SS-7) was an early Plunger-class submarine in the service of the United States Navy, later renamed as A-6. She was laid down on 13 December...

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1695 - HMS Winchester (1693 - 60) foundered off Cape Florida
HMS Winchester was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Bursledon on 11 April 1693.
In 1695, Winchester foundered on Carysfort Reef in the Florida Keys and was lost. The remains of the wreck—now consisting of nothing more than cannonballs—were discovered in 1938 lying approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the Carysfort Reef Light.

The ships bell

1757 - HMS Tilbury (1745 - 58) wrecked and HMS Ferret (1743 - 14) foundered off Louisburg during a hurricane
HMS Tilbury was a 58-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, ordered from Portsmouth Dockyard on 17 December 1742 to be built to the dimensions laid down in the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment. She was launched on 20 July 1745.

1762 - Battle of Manila
The Battle of Manila (Filipino: Labanan sa Maynila, Spanish: Batalla de Manila) was fought during the Seven Years' War, from 24 September 1762 to 6 October 1762, between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Spain in and around Manila, the capital of the Philippines, a Spanish colony at that time. The British won, leading to a twenty-month occupation of Manila.

Map of the British Conquest of Manila in 1762.

1787 - Sir John Jervis and Adam Duncan promoted to Rear-Admiral and Samuel Hood promoted Vice-Admiral of the Blue
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC (9 January 1735 – 14 March 1823) was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Jervis served throughout the latter half of the 18th century and into the 19th, and was an active commander during the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for his victory at the 1797 Battle of Cape Saint Vincent, from which he earned his titles, and as a patron of Horatio Nelson.


1803 – Launch of french Cassard, a 74 gun Large Variant Téméraire class Ship of the Line
Cassard was an improved Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Along with her sister-ship Vétéran, she carried 24-pounder long guns on her upper deck, a featured normally reserved for the larger, three-deckers capital ships or for 80-gun ships.

The Vétéran (sister-ship of Cassard) fleeing into the shallow waters of Concarneau

1856 - sidewheel steamer Niagara kept fire and sunk on Lake Michigan close to port Washington
The Niagara was a 245-foot (75 m) long sidewheel palace steamer launched in 1846. Like the others of its kind, it carried passengers and cargo around the North American Great Lakes. It was owned by the Collingwood Line.

1895 – Launch of HMS Quail (1895), Quail class destroyer
HMS Quail was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was launched by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, on 24 September 1895.[4] She served in home waters and the West Indies for several years, her robust structure proved by surviving at least one heavy collision. She served during the Great War, and was sold off after the hostilities end, on 23 July 1919. She gave her name to the four strong group of Quail-class destroyers.

1960 – USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is launched.
USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is a decommissioned United States Navy aircraft carrier. She was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed "Big E". At 1,123 ft (342 m), she is the world's longest naval vessel ever built. Her 93,284-long-ton (94,781 tonnes) displacement ranks her as the 12th-heaviest carrier, after the 10 carriers of the Nimitz class and the USS Gerald R. Ford. Enterprise had a crew of some 4,600 service members.

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

25th of September

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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 23 September 1901 – Launch of submarine USS Porpoise, a Plunger class The third USS Porpoise (SS-7) was an early Plunger-class submarine in the service of the United States Navy, later renamed as A-6. She was laid down on 13 December...

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1732 - Re-Launch of HMS Marlborough, ex HMS St.Michael (Saint Michael)
HMS St Michael was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by John Tippetts of Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in 1669.

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines (one waterline) with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Marlborough (1732), a 1719 Establishment 90-gun Second Rate, three-decker.

1759 - Launch of HMS Niger, the leadship of the 32-gun Niger-class frigates

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Alarm (1758), Aeolus (1758), Montreal (1761), Niger (1759), Quebec (1760), Stag (1758), and Winchelsea (1764), all 32-gun Fifth Rate Frigates.

Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the ‘Winchelsea’ (circa 1764)

1779 - Bonhomme Richard sinks two days after the Battle of Flamborough Head
Bonhomme Richard, formerly Duc de Duras, was a warship in the Continental Navy. She was originally an East Indiaman, a merchant ship built in France for the French East India Company in 1765, for service between France and the Orient. She was placed at the disposal of John Paul Jones on 4 February 1779, by King Louis XVI of France as a result of a loan to the United States by French shipping magnate, Jacques-Donatien Le Ray.

Reconstruction by Jean Boudriot

Figure 1: Painting of the Bonhomme Richard by artist Geoff Hunt.

1786 - Launch of HMS Theseus, a 74 gun Culloden-class Ship of the line
One of the eight Culloden class ships designed by Thomas Slade, she was built at Perry, Blackwall Yard, London and launched on 25 September 1786

A port-broadside view of the Theseus in the foreground, connected to its ship’s boat on the right, shown with the blockading squadron at Cadiz in 1797, all anchored.

1794 – Launch of French Artémise, a 32-gun Magicienne class frigate of the French Navy in Toulon.
4 years earlier, on 26 September 1790 sistership Topaze was launched. All ships of this class were built in Toulon
The Artémise was a 32-gun Magicienne class frigate of the French Navy.
She was under construction in Toulon when the British seized the city in August 1793. They evacuated the city in December 1793, leaving her behind. The French named her Aurore on 24 July 1794, but then renamed her Artémise when they launched her on 25 September.

A painting of an action in 1795, during the French Revolutionary Wars.

lines 38 guns, Fifth Rate. NMM, Progress Book, volume 5, folio 275 states that 'Topaze' (1793) arrived at Portsmouth Dockyard in December 1794 and was docked in July 1795 where her copper was replaced. She was launched on 16 July 1795 and sailed on 17 November having been fitted.

1794 - Launch of French Romaine, lead ship of the Romaine-class frigates at Le Havre
The Romaine was the lead ship of the Romaine class frigate of the French Navy.
She took part in the Expédition d'Irlande and in the Battle of Tory Island.
She cruised to New York City in 1802, and was condemned in 1804. In 1805 she was converted to a troop ship but never sailed again, and she was eventually broken up in 1816.

French frigate Poursuivante (a sistership of Romaine), a detail of a larger canvas: Combat de la Poursuivante contre l'Hercule, 1803 ("Fight of the Poursuivante against the Hercule", 1803). Which shows the French frigate Poursuivante raking the British ship HMS Hercule, in the action of 28 June 1803.

1806 - The Action of 25 September 1806
was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French squadron comprising five frigates and two corvettes (Gloire (40), Indefatigable (44), Minerve (44), Armide (44) and Themis (36) and Lynx (18) and Sylphe (18)), sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of the line that was keeping a close blockade of the port as part of the Atlantic campaign of 1806 . The British ships, under the command of Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, spotted the French convoy early in the morning of 25 September, just a few hours after the French had left port, and immediately gave chase. Although the French ships tried to escape, they were heavily laden with troops and stores, and the strong winds favoured the larger ships of the line, which caught the French convoy after a five-hour pursuit, although they had become separated from one another during the chase.

1809 - HMS Carieux Sloop (18) wrecked off Petit Terre, Island of Marigalante, West Indies.
HMS Curieux was a French corvette launched in September 1800 at Saint-Malo to a design by François Pestel, and carrying sixteen 6-pounder guns. She was commissioned under Capitaine de frégateJoseph-Marie-Emmanuel Cordier. The British captured her in 1804 in a cutting-out action at Martinique. In her five-year British career Curieux captured several French privateers and engaged in two notable single-ship actions, also against privateers. In the first she captured Dame Ernouf; in the second, she took heavy casualties in an indecisive action with Revanche. In 1809 Curieux hit a rock; all her crew were saved but they had to set fire to her to prevent her recapture.

HMS 'Curieux' Captures 'Dame Ernouf', 8 February 1805, by Francis Sartorius Jr., National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board decoration and name across the counter, the sheer lines with inboard detail and quarter gallery [figurehead missing], and longitudinal half-breadth for Curieux (captured 1804), a captured French Brig as taken off and fitted as an 18-gun Brig Sloop.

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

1868 – The Imperial Russian steam frigate Alexander Nevsky is shipwrecked off Jutland while carrying Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia.
Alexander Nevsky (Russian: Александр Невский) was a large screw frigate of the Russian Imperial Navy. The ship was designed as part of a challenge being offered by the Russian Empire to the Royal Navy, but was lost in a shipwreck in 1868 while Grand Duke Alexei, son of Tsar Alexander II, was aboard.

Alexander Nevsky, 1868, Toulon

1880 – Gussie Telfair ex USS Gertrude wrecked
USS Gertrude (1863) was the British blockade-running steamship Gertrude captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed in service by the Navy as a gunboat and assigned to patrol the southern coast of the United States for ships attempting to run the Union blockade of Southern ports. She was later the American merchant ship Gussie Telfair until wrecked in 1880.

The Gussie Telfair as it appeared shortly before it ran aground in Coos Bay. The sleek lines and stealthy portholes of the old blockade runner
are still visible, despite the conspicuous white superstructures that had been added later for passenger comfort. (Image: Coos County Historical Museum)

1897 - Launch of SMS Fürst Bismarck (Prince Bismarck) a germany first armored cruiser, built for the Kaiserliche Marine before the turn of the 20th century.
The ship was named for the German statesman Otto von Bismarck. The design for Fürst Bismarck was an improvement over the previous Victoria Louise-class protected cruiser—Fürst Bismarck was significantly larger and better armed than her predecessors.

Fürst Bismarck in harbor

1900 – Launch of HMS Manica a British cargo steamship that became the first kite balloon ship of the Royal Naval Air Service.
HMS Manica was a British cargo steamship that became the first kite balloon ship of the Royal Naval Air Service. She saw active service in the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915 directing the fire of the supporting ships at Anzac Cove.
Ships of the similar type included HMS Canning and HMS Hector.

1909 – Launch of SMS Helgoland, a german Helgoland-class battleship
SMS Helgoland, the lead ship of her class, was a dreadnought battleship of the German Imperial Navy. Helgoland's design represented an incremental improvement over the preceding Nassau class, including an increase in the bore diameter of the main guns, from 28 cm (11 in) to 30.5 cm (12 in). Her keel was laid down on 11 November 1908 at the Howaldtswerke shipyards in Kiel. Helgoland was launched on 25 September 1909 and was commissioned on 23 August 1911.

1911 – An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the French battleship Liberté detonates the forward ammunition magazines and destroys the ship.
Liberté was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She was laid down in November 1902, launched in April 1905, and completed in March 1908, over a year after the revolutionary British battleship HMS Dreadnought made ships like Liberté obsolete. After her commissioning, Liberté was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet. She served for only three and a half years; while moored in Toulon in September 1911, an explosion of badly degraded propellant charges detonated the forward ammunition magazines. Some 250 officers and men were killed, and the ship was totally destroyed. The wreck remained in the harbor until 1925, when it was raised and broken up for scrap.

An illustration showing the extent of the damage to Liberté