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
20 April 1810 - Boats of HMS Firm (12), Lt. John Little, HMS Surly (10), Lt. Richard Welch, and HMS Sharpshooter (14), Lt. John Goldie, cut out privateer Alcide (4) from the mouth of the Piron where she had run ashore.


On 20 April 1810 the boats of Firm, Surly, and Sharpshooter, under the command of Lieutenant Hodgkins of Firm, and Mr Lagaw, 2nd Master of Sharpshooter, cut out the French privateer cutter Alcide from the mouth of the Pirou River, where she had taken refuge after the British vessels had chased her. Alcide was moored under the protection of 400 troops on shore, who kept up an incessant fire while the boarding party carried her. Alcide had thrown her four 4-pounder guns overboard during the chase to lighten her. One man was killed and another wounded, both from Firm. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with the clasps "Firm 24 April 1810" and "Surly 24 April 1810", to all survivors of the action.


HMS Firm was a 12-gun Archer-class gun-brig of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 July 1804. She served in the Channel, where she engaged in one action that would eventually result in her crew qualifying for the Naval General Service Medal. She grounded in 1811 and her crew had to destroy her before abandoning her.




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

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1814 - HMS Orpheus (36), Cptn. Hugh Pigot, and HMS Shelburne (12), Lt. David Hope, captured USS sloop Frolic (22), Joseph Bainbridge, off Matanzas Point, Cuba


USS Frolic was a sloop-of-war that served in the United States Navy in 1814. The British captured her later that year and she served in the Royal Navy in the Channel and the North Sea until she was broken up in 1819.



Construction
Frolic was one of a class of three heavy flush-decked sloops of war, designed by William Doughty and constructed late in the War of 1812. Her sister ships were USS Peacock and USS Wasp. Frolic was launched on 11 September 1813 by Josiah Barker at Charlestown, Massachusetts.

United States service
Frolic first put to sea on 18 February 1814 with Commander Joseph Bainbridge (younger brother of Commodore William Bainbridge) in command, standing out of President Roads in Boston Harbor at Boston, Massachusetts, for a cruise in the West Indies.

On 29 March 1814 she destroyed a British merchant ship, and later on the same day she sank an unnamed Spanish-American privateer, sailing from Cartagena in present-day Colombia. Frolic prevailed in a brief action in which nearly 100 of the privateer's crew drowned. (Privateers from several countries seeking independence from Spain were preying on ships of all nations in the Caribbean.)

Frolic sank another British merchant ship on 3 April 1814. (This may have been Little Fox.)

While in the Florida Strait on 20 April 1814, Frolic encountered the British 36-gun frigate HMS Orpheus and 12-gun schooner HMS Shelburne. Frolic beat away to southward, making for the coast of Cuba as the two British ships gave chase. Frolic's men labored to lighten their ship, cutting away the starboard anchor, and casting overboard the guns mounted on her port (lee) side and small arms. Overtaken after six hours, Frolic was forced to surrender to the superior British force when about 15 miles off Matanzas, Cuba.

British service
After her capture, the Admiralty purchased Frolic for £8,211 1s 7d and took her into service as the post ship HMS Florida. She was commissioned in June at Halifax under Captain Nathaniel Mitchell. She arrived at Woolwich on 30 August 1815. She was recommissioned in September under Captain William Elliot and fitted for Channel service on 22 December.

In April 1816 she sailed for the North Sea under Captain Charles S. J. Hawtayne, where she was employed in searching for and catching smugglers. In February 1818 she was re-rated as a 22-gun sloop.

On 11 May she captured St Thomas, a galley out of Calais with a crew of 12 men. In making the capture, Florida's master's mate, Mr. Kieth Stewart shot and killed one of the smugglers in self-defense.

Fate
She was broken up at Chatham in May 1819.


HMS Orpheus was a 36-gun Apollo-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy launched in 1809 from Deptford Dockyard. She was broken up in 1819.



Construction
Ordered on 27 February 1807 and laid down in August 1808 at Deptford Dockyard. Launched on 12 August 1809 and completed on 21 September 1809.

Service
Orpheus also saw service in the War of 1812. While in Long Island Sound, she chased the American privateer Holkar and ran her aground, before destroying Holkar by cannon fire.

Orpheus was part of the British patrolling squadron in Long Island Sound. When the British fleet encountered an American fleet, commanded by Stephen Decatur it chased them to New London where the American fleet escaped. The British squadron there formed a blockade, confining the American fleet until the end of the war.

On 27 April Orpheus chased the American ship Whampoa on shore near Newport, Rhode Island. Whampoa had been sailing from Lorient. The British took possession of Whampoa but then abandoned her due to fire from the shore.

Fate
She was broken up at Chatham Dockyard in August 1819.


HMS Shelburne was the American letter of marque schooner Racer, built in Baltimore in 1811 and captured by the British in 1813. She served on the American coast, capturing the American brig Frolic. She also captured some merchantmen and was sold in Britain in 1817.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Frolic_(1813)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Shelburne_(1813)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Orpheus_(1809)

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1829 – Launch of HMS President, a large frigate in the British Royal Navy (RN).


HMS President was a large frigate in the British Royal Navy (RN). She was built to replace the previous HMS President, redesignated from the heavy frigate USS President built in 1800 as the last of the original six frigates of the United States Navy under the Naval Act of 1794 and which had been the active flagship of the U.S. Navy until captured while trying to escape the Royal Navy blockade around New York in 1815 at the end of the War of 1812, and which served in the RN until broken up in 1818. The new British President was built using her American predecessor's exact lines for reference, as a reminder to the United States of the capture of their flagship – a fact driven home by President being assigned as the flagship of the North America and West Indies Station in the western Atlantic Ocean under the command of Admiral Sir George Cockburn (1772–1853), who had directed raids throughout the Chesapeake Bay in 1813–1814, culminating in the burning of the American capital Washington, D.C. in 1814.


HMS President in South West India Dock, London, ca. 1880

The second President was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard in June 1824 and launched on 20 April 1829; she was completed in 1830 but not commissioned into the Royal Navy until February 1832. USS President of 1800 was originally armed as a spar-decked frigate, however, at the time of her capture and for some years previously she was armed as a conventional frigate. The design of HMS President reflected the 'as captured' armament of the American ship and was completed as a 52-gun frigate with an unarmed spar deck. She was later re-armed with thirty-two 32-pounder guns on the upper deck, and twenty 32-pounder carronades on the quarterdeck and forecastle.



Service
After her first two years' commission on the North America and West Indies Station, she was refitted between February and May 1834. The years 1835–1838 were spent on the South American station. Thereafter she was at Portsmouth for several years before being fitted out as a flagship in 1845 and sent to the Cape of Good Hope for the next two-year commission.

Operations in support of the suppression of the slave trade led to President sending her boats in 1847 to attack an Arab stockade at Anjoxa, Mozambique Channel in East Africa. The fighting, however, was not major.

Returning from South Africa in 1847 to Chatham, she was refitted there in 1853 and sent to the Pacific Station. There she served as flagship until 1857.

Between 11 May and 7 September 1854, when news was received of the declaration of war at the start of the Crimean War in the Black Sea, the British force on the China and Japan station consisted of President, Captain Richard Burridge, HMS Pique, Captain Sir Frederick William Erskine Nicolson, Bart., HMS Amphitrite, Captain Charles Frederick, HMS Trincomalee, Captain Wallace Houstoun, and HMS Virago, Commander Edward Marshall, all under Rear-Admiral David Price on President. The French Navy force, under Rear-Admiral Auguste Febvrier-Despointes, consisted of Forte, Eurydice, Artemise, and Obligado. President participated in the Siege of Petropavlovsk and in a number of operations, none of which were carried through to a satisfactory conclusion. During the exchange of fire with the Russian batteries, Price retired to his cabin and shot himself. After suffering heavy casualties in a ground attack, the Allies withdrew, although President and Virago managed to capture and burn the Russian transport Sitka, of 10 guns, and take the small schooner Avatska, laden with stores. The British and French then left the area on 7 September.

Fate
After serving in the Pacific President was laid up in reserve at Chatham for three years before being converted at Woolwich to an RNR Drill Ship for Service at West India Docks in 1862. President then spent the rest of her life in the London Docks. On 25 March 1903 she was renamed Old President before being finally sold for breaking up on 7 July 1903.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with alterations to the stern, and longitudinal half-breadth for President (1829), a 52-gun Fourth Rate, large Frigate


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile illustrating the riders for President (1829), a 52-gun Fourth Rate, large Frigate

HMS President (1829) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-340375;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=P

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1861 - Union forces burn several ships and Gosport Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., to prevent Yard facilities and ships from falling into Confederate hands during the Civil War.


The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most multifaceted. Located on the Elizabeth River, the yard is just a short distance upriver from its mouth at Hampton Roads.

It was established as Gosport Shipyard in 1767. Destroyed during the American Revolutionary War, it was rebuilt and became home to the first operational drydock in the United States in the 1820s. Changing hands during the American Civil War, it served the Confederate States Navy until it was again destroyed in 1862, when it was given its current name. The shipyard was again rebuilt, and has continued operation through the present day.


American Civil War

Ruins of the shipyard after the Civil War, 1864; photo by James Gardner. From the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration.

In 1861, Virginia joined the Confederate States of America. Fearing that the Confederacy would take control of the facility, the shipyard commander Charles Stewart McCauley ordered the burning of the shipyard. The Confederate forces did in fact take over the shipyard, and did so without armed conflict through an elaborate ruse orchestrated by civilian railroad builder William Mahone (then President of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad and soon to become a famous Confederate officer). He bluffed the Federal troops into abandoning the shipyard in Portsmouth by running a single passenger train into Norfolk with great noise and whistle-blowing, then much more quietly, sending it back west, and then returning the same train again, creating the illusion of large numbers of arriving troops to the Federals listening in Portsmouth across the Elizabeth River (and just barely out of sight). The capture of the shipyard allowed a tremendous amount of war material to fall into Confederate hands. 1,195 heavy guns were taken for the defense of the Confederacy, and employed in many areas from Hampton Roadsall the way to Fort Donelson Tennessee, Port Hudson, and Fort de Russy, Louisiana. The Union forces withdrew to Fort Monroe across Hampton Roads, which was the only land in the area which remained under Union control.

In early 1862, the Confederate ironclad warship CSS Virginia was rebuilt using the burned-out hulk of USS Merrimack. In the haste to abandon the shipyard, Merrimack had only been destroyed above the waterline, and an innovative armored superstructure was built upon the remaining portion. Virginia, which was still called Merrimack by Union forces and in many historical accounts, sank USS Cumberland, USS Congress, and engaged the Union ironclad USS Monitor in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads during the Union blockade of Hampton Roads. The Confederates burned the shipyard again when they left in May 1862.

Following its recapture of Norfolk and Portsmouth (and the shipyard) by the Union forces, the name of the shipyard was changed to Norfolk after the county in which it was located, outside the city limits of Portsmouth at the time. This choice of name was probably to minimize any confusion with the pre-existing Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine near Portsmouth, New Hampshire.


USS Plymouth was a sloop-of-war constructed and commissioned just prior to the Mexican–American War, Scuttled to prevent capture
USS United States was a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy and the first of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794, Abandoned

USS Merrimack, also improperly Merrimac, was a steam frigate, best known as the hull upon which the ironclad warship CSS Virginia was constructed during the American Civil War. The CSS Virginia then took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads (also known as "the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack") in the first engagement between ironclad warships.


USS Merrimack; Engraving by L.H. Bradford & Co., after a drawing by G.G. Pook

Merrimack was the first of six screw frigates (steam frigates powered by screw propellers) begun in 1854. Like others of her class (Wabash, Roanoke, Niagara, Minnesota and Colorado), she was named after a river. The Merrimack originates in New Hampshire and flows through the town of Merrimac, Massachusetts, often considered an older spelling which has sometimes caused confusion of the name.

History

USS Merrimack sectional view

Merrimack was launched by the Boston Navy Yard 15 June 1855; sponsored by Miss Mary E. Simmons; and commissioned 20 February 1856, Captain Garrett J. Pendergrast in command. She was the second ship of the Navy to be named for the Merrimack River.

Shakedown cruises took the new screw frigate to the Caribbean and to Western Europe. Merrimack visited Southampton, Brest, Lisbon, and Toulonbefore returning to Boston and decommissioning 22 April 1857 for repairs. Recommissioning 1 September 1857, Merrimack got underway from Boston Harbor 17 October as flagship for the Pacific Squadron. She rounded Cape Horn and cruised the Pacific coast of South and Central America until heading for home 14 November 1859. Upon returning to Norfolk, she decommissioned 16 February 1860.

Merrimack was still in ordinary during the crisis preceding Lincoln's inauguration. Soon after becoming Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles took action to prepare the frigate for sea, planning to move her to Philadelphia. The day before the firing on Fort Sumter, Welles directed that "great vigilance be exercised in guarding and protecting" Norfolk Navy Yard and her ships. On the afternoon of 17 April 1861, the day Virginia seceded, Engineer in Chief B. F. Isherwood managed to get the frigate's engines lit off; but the previous night secessionists had sunk light boats in the channel between Craney Islandand Sewell's Point, blocking Merrimack. On the 20 April, before evacuating the Navy Yard, the U.S. Navy burned Merrimack to the waterline and sank her to preclude capture.


USS Merrimack aflame during the burning of the Norfolk Navy Yard, 20 April 1861

The Confederacy, in desperate need of ships, raised Merrimack and rebuilt her as an ironclad ram, according to a design prepared by Lt. John Mercer Brooke, CSN. Commissioned as CSS Virginia 17 February 1862, the ironclad was the hope of the Confederacy to destroy the wooden ships in Hampton Roads, and to end the Union blockade which had already seriously impeded the Confederate war effort.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_United_States_(1797)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Plymouth_(1844)

USS Merrimack (1855) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Norfolk Naval Shipyard - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1893 – Launch of His Majesty's Yacht Britannia, a racing yacht built in 1893 for RYS Commodore Albert Edward, Prince of Wales.
She served both himself and his son King George V, with a long racing career.


His Majesty's Yacht Britannia was a racing yacht built in 1893 for RYS Commodore Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. She served both himself and his son King George V, with a long racing career.


Britannia in the 1890s

Design
Britannia was ordered in 1892 by the Prince of Wales and designed by George Lennox Watson. She was a near sister ship to the Watson-designed Valkyrie II which challenged for the 1893 America's Cup. Details of the commission were arranged on the Prince’s behalf by William Jamieson who represented him and liaised closely with Watson. The build cost was £8,300 and like Valkyrie II, Britannia was built at the D&W Henderson shipyard in Patrick on the River Clyde. With two such highly important commissions underway in the same yard, Watson delegated his protégé James Rennie Barnettto oversee both yachts.



Racing career
Britannia was launched on 20 April 1893, a week ahead of Valkyrie II and joined a fleet of first class cutters that was growing fast as others followed the royal lead. In a highly competitive fleet, Britannia soon set about achieving the race results which would eventually establish her as one of the most successful racing yachts in history.

By the end of her first year's racing, Britannia had scored thirty-three wins from forty-three starts. In her second season, she won all seven races for the first class yachts on the French Riviera, and then beat the 1893 America's Cup defender Vigilant in home waters. In the Mount's Bay Regatta of 28 July 1894 the Vigilant owned by George Jay Gould I, was piloted by Benjamin Nicholls, and the Britannia was piloted by Ben's brother Philip Nicholls. Both brothers were Trinity House pilots of Penzance. People came by train from all over the south west to watch Britannia win by just over seven minutes.

Despite a lull in big yacht racing when the new linear rating rule came into effect in 1897, Britannia served as a trial horse for Sir Thomas Lipton's first America's Cup challenger Shamrock, and later passed on to several owners in a cruising trim with raised bulwarks. In 1920, King George V triggered the revival of the "Big class" by announcing that he would refit Britannia for racing. Although Britannia was the oldest yacht in the circuit, regular updates to her rig kept her a most successful racer throughout the 1920s. In 1931, she was converted to the J class with a bermuda rig, but despite the modifications, her performance to windward declined dramatically. Her last race was at Cowes in 1935. During her racing career she had won 231 races and took another 129 flags.

King George V's dying wish was for his beloved yacht to follow him to the grave. On 10 July 1936, after Britannia had been stripped of her spars and fittings, her hull was towed out to St Catherine's Deep near the Isle of Wight, and she was sunk by HMS Winchester, commanded by Captain W.N.T. Beckett RN. This fate marked the end of big yacht racing in Europe, with the smaller and more affordable International Rule 12 Metre class gaining popularity.

Four known examples of Britannia's racing flags are preserved, one presented by Philip Hunloke to the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, in whose Regattas Britannia was often a competitor between 1894 and 1935, the second at the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club at Rhu and the third at the Royal St. George Yacht Club, which held two regattas in Kingstown for the first season of the RYA linear rating rule in 1896. Britannia's skipper William G. Jameson had lost both races to the new Meteor II and Ailsa. The fourth known flag is held in the vexillology collection in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.

Britannia's 51-foot (16 m) long gaff, the king’s chair, tiller, some mast hoops, blocks and rigging, anchor chain and clock are preserved in the Sir Max Aitken Museum in Cowes High Street and the remains of her spinnaker boom are at Carisbrooke Castle, also on the Isle of Wight. The spinnaker boom was given for use as a flag pole on the keep (where it twice suffered lightning damage), and the present flagpole is a fibreglass replica. In an episode of Antiques Roadshow from Pembroke Castle, broadcast in April 2017, a relative of a crew member brought photographs, and a damask tablecloth and some cutlery from the yacht, to be appraised.



Replica
K1 Britannia is a project to create a replica of the original vessel where K1 designates the Britannia's sail number when she was converted to a J-class yacht in 1931. In 1993 a syndicate headed by Norwegian Sigurd Coates purchased a stake in the Solombala shipyard in Arkhangelsk in order to create a replica of the Britannia in pinewood and laminated oak. Between 2002 and 2006 the shipyard changed hands several times whilst joinery was nearing completion. In 2006 she was rechristened Царь Пётр (Tsar Pyotr; "Peter the Great") and held back for NOK25,000,000 until 2009, when a Russian court ordered the hull to be launched and delivered by the shipyard to her original owner Sigurd Coates. The story behind this 16-year saga was captured on film by director and producer Ann Coates and released in a documentary called The Dream of Britannia.

Having finally taken possession of the Britannia replica, Sigurd Coates berthed the hull in Son for outfitting. As this period coincided with the economic recession, work was stalled and Coates decided to sell the boat to the K1 Britannia Trust in the UK. This charity was established with the goal of completing Britannia and using her as a flagship for charitable causes around the world.



Move to the UK
Britannia was towed to the South Boats yard in East Cowes in 2012. The Trust invested in the scaffolding, cradle, tools and workmen required and work began on the final stages of the Britannia build. This came to a halt in 2014 when the Southboats yard was declared bankrupt. While deciding how to proceed, the K1 Britannia Trust has gone forward with its maritime-related charity work. This includes the Personal Development & Maritime Skills Training Programme in the UK and the work of sister charities the K1 Britannia Foundation and K1 Britannia America in providing disaster relief to the inhabitants of St. Maarten and Dominica in the wake of the Irma and Maria hurricanes. A permanent Disaster Relief & Crisis Team called K1 DIRECT has now been set up with cruise lines and coastguards in the Caribbean region.



New replica announcement
In September 2018 the K1 Britannia Trust announced that it is to build an entirely new replica. This decision followed surveys of the existing replica and a full scope of the work still to be undertaken. The conclusion was reached that in the interests of sustainability, the new replica would have an all-aluminium hull and keel, a keel-stepped carbon mast, box boom and bowsprit, carbon continuous rigging, and a hybrid propulsion package.

The new replica will follow the lines of the original designer and also leverage on his vision to create the most modern boats possible at the time, as expressed during a lecture at the Glasgow Exhibition of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in the 1880s:

"We have not exhausted the possibilities of form yet, and when we do arrive at perfection of shape we can set-to then and look out for better material. The frames and beams, then, of my ideal ship shall be of aluminium.” (George Lennox Watson, February 1881)

The current plan goal is to start building in early 2019 and unveil the new Britannia at the Americas Cup in New Zealand in 2021

Predecessors and opponents
Previously Prince Albert Edward had acquired the 205-ton schooner Hildegarde in 1876, which he had replaced with the 103-ton cutter Formosa (Michael E. Ratsey, 1878) in 1879, and the 216-ton schooner Aline (Benjamin Nicholson, 1860) in 1881.

Britannia faced many opponents in her 43-year career. The most notable were:

• Meteor, Valkyrie II and Valkyrie III (America's Cup challengers by George Lennox Watson, 1887, 1893 and 1895)
• Navahoe and Vigilant (Seawanhaka 85' yankee sloops by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, 1893)
• Satanita ("Length And Sail Area Rule" First Class cutter by Joseph Manston Soper, 1893)
• Calluna and Ailsa ("Length And Sail Area Rule" First Class cutters by William Fife III, 1893 and 1894)
• Meteor II ("Linear Rule" First Class cutter by George Lennox Watson, 1896)
• Shamrock I (America's Cup Seawanhaka 90' challenger by William Fife III, 1899)
• Merrymaid ("Big Class" handicap cruising cutter, Charles Ernest Nicholson, 1904, still sailing)
• Zinita ("Big Class" Second Linear Rule 65' cutter by William Fife III, 1904)
• Nyria ("Big Class" bermuda cutter by Charles Ernest Nicholson, 1905)
• Brynhild II ("International Rule" 23mR cutter by Charles Ernest Nicholson, 1907)
• White Heather II and Shamrock ("International Rule" 23mR cutters by William Fife III, 1907 and 1908)
• Westward (A-Class schooner by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, 1910)
• Lulworth ("Big Class" cutter by Herbert William White, 1920, still sailing)
• Moonbeam IV ("Big Class" handicap cruising cutter by William Fife III, 1920, still sailing)
• Astra and Candida ("Second International Rule" 23mR bermuda cutters by Charles Ernest Nicholson, 1928 and 1929, both still sailing)
• Cambria ("Second International Rule" 23mR bermuda cutter by William Fife III, 1928, still sailing)
• Shamrock V, Velsheda and Endeavour I ("Universal Rule" J-Class cutters by Charles Ernest Nicholson, 1930, 1933 and 1934, all still sailing)
• Yankee ("Universal Rule" J-Class sloop by Frank Cabot Paine, 1930)

Full title reads: "Falmouth. Yacht racing in perfect sailing weather! The King's 'Britannia' and Sir T Lipton's 'Shamrock' competed."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMY_Britannia_(Royal_Cutter_Yacht)
https://www.britishpathe.com/workspaces/3779d4cf9b30bd1bb60007db2ab90e97/umOzC2dB

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1909 – Launch of French Condorcet, one of the six Danton-class semi-dreadnought battleships built for the French Navy in the early 1900s


Condorcet was one of the six Danton-class semi-dreadnought battleships built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. When World War I began in August 1914, she unsuccessfully searched for the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau in the Western and Central Mediterranean. Later that month, the ship participated in the Battle of Antivari in the Adriatic Sea and helped to sink an Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser. Condorcet spent most of the rest of the war blockading the Straits of Otranto and the Dardanelles to keep German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish warships bottled up.

After the war, she was modernized in 1923–25 and subsequently became a training ship. In 1931, the ship was converted into an accommodation hulk. Condorcet was captured intact when the Germans occupied Vichy France in November 1942 and was used by them to house sailors of their navy (Kriegsmarine). She was badly damaged by Allied bombing in 1944, but was later raised and scrapped by 1949.



Design and description
Although the Danton-class battleships were a significant improvement from the preceding Liberté class, they were outclassed by the advent of the dreadnought well before they were completed. This, combined with other poor traits, including the great weight in coal they had to carry, made them unsuccessful ships overall, though their numerous rapid-firing guns were of some use in the Mediterranean.

Condorcet was 146.6 meters (481 ft 0 in) long overall and had a beam of 25.8 m (84 ft 8 in) and a full-load draft of 9.2 m (30 ft 2 in). She displaced 19,736 metric tons (19,424 long tons) at deep load and had a crew of 681 officers and enlisted men. The ship was powered by four Parsons steam turbines using steam generated by twenty-six Niclausse boilers. The turbines were rated at 22,500 shaft horsepower (16,800 kW) and provided a top speed of around 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Condorcet reached a top speed of 19.7 knots (36.5 km/h; 22.7 mph) on her sea trials. She carried a maximum of 2,027 tonnes (1,995 long tons) of coal which allowed her to steam for 3,370 miles (2,930 nmi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

Condorcet's main battery consisted of four 305mm/45 Modèle 1906 guns mounted in two twin gun turrets, one forward and one aft. The secondary battery consisted of twelve 240mm/50 Modèle 1902 guns in twin turrets, three on each side of the ship. A number of smaller guns were carried for defense against torpedo boats. These included sixteen 75 mm (3.0 in) L/65 guns and ten 47-millimetre (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns. The ship was also armed with two submerged 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. The ship's main belt was 270 mm (10.6 in) thick and the main battery was protected by up to 300 mm (11.8 in) of armor. The conning tower also had 300 mm thick sides.

Wartime modifications
During the war 75 mm anti-aircraft guns were installed on the roofs of the ship's two forward 240 mm gun turrets.[3] During 1918, the mainmast was shortened to allow the ship to fly a captive kite balloon and the elevation of the 240 mm guns was increased which extended their range to 18,000 meters (20,000 yd).[1]

Career
Construction of Condorcet was begun on 26 December 1906 by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire in Saint-Nazaire and the ship was laid down on 23 August 1907. She was launched on 20 April 1909 and was completed on 25 July 1911. Condorcet was initially assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Squadron (escadre) of the Mediterranean Fleet when she was commissioned. The ship participated in combined fleet maneuvers between Provence and Tunisia in May–June 1913 and the subsequent naval review conducted by the President of France, Raymond Poincaré on 7 June 1913. Afterwards, Condorcet joined her squadron in its tour of the Eastern Mediterranean in October–December 1913 and participated in the grand fleet exercise in the Mediterranean in May 1914.

World War I
At the beginning of the war, the ship, together with her sister Vergniaud and the dreadnought Courbet, unsuccessfully searched for the German battlecruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau in the Balearic Islands. On 9 August, Condorcet cruised the Strait of Sicily in an attempt to prevent the German ships from breaking out to the West. On 16 August 1914 the combined Anglo-French Fleet under Admiral Auguste Boué de Lapeyrère, including Condorcet, made a sweep of the Adriatic Sea. The Allied ships encountered the Austro-Hungarian cruiser SMS Zenta, escorted by the destroyer SMS Ulan, blockading the coast of Montenegro. There were too many ships for Zenta to escape, so she remained behind to allow Ulan to get away and was sunk by gunfire during the Battle of Antivari off the coast of Bar, Montenegro. Condorcet subsequently participated in a number of raids into the Adriatic later in the year and patrolled the Ionian Islands. From December 1914 to 1916, the ship participated in the distant blockade of the Straits of Otranto while based in Corfu. On 1 December 1916, Condorcet was in Athens and contributed troops to the Allied attempt to ensure Greek acquiescence to Allied operations in Macedonia. Shortly afterwards, she was transferred to Mudros to prevent Goeben from breaking out into the Mediterranean and remained there until September 1917. The ship was transferred to the 2nd Division of the 1st Squadron in May 1918 and returned to Mudros where she remained for the rest of the war.

Postwar career
From 6 December 1918 to 2 March 1919, Condorcet represented France in the Allied squadron in Fiume that supervised the settlement of the Yugoslav question. Afterwards, the ship was assigned to the Channel Division of the French Navy. She was modernized in 1923–24 to improve her underwater protection and her four aft 75 mm guns were removed. Together with her sisters Diderot and Voltaire, she was assigned to the Training Division at Toulon. Condorcet housed the torpedo and electrical schools and had a torpedo tube fitted on the port side of her quarterdeck. She was partially disarmed in 1931 and converted into an accommodation hulk; by 1939 her propellers had been removed. The famous underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau began diving while stationed aboard the ship in 1936.

In April 1941, the ship was towed to sea to evaluate the propellant used by the battleship Richelieu during the Battle of Dakar on 24 September 1940. One 38-centimetre (15 in) gun had an explosion in the breech and the propellant for the shell was thought to be the cause. A number of shots were successfully fired from Condorcet's aft turret by remote control that exonerated the propellant. The following July, the ship was modified to house the signal, radio and electrician's schools. Berthing areas were installed in the bases of four funnels, which had been removed previously, and the latest radio equipment was installed for the students to train on. Later that year, Condorcet was accidentally rammed by the submarine Le Glorieux as she was leaving drydock. The impact punctured the ship's hull and flooded one compartment which required Condorcet to be drydocked for repairs. The ship was captured intact by the Germans when they occupied Vichy France on 27 November 1942. Unlike the bulk of the French Fleet in Toulon, Condorcet was not scuttled because she had trainees aboard. Used by the Germans as a barracks ship, she was badly damaged by Allied aircraft in August 1944 and scuttled that same month by the Germans.

Some of her 240 mm guns were used by the Germans in a coastal battery on the north bank of the Gironde estuary on the Bay of Biscay in 1944.

The ship was salvaged in September 1945 and listed for sale on 14 December. Condorcet's breaking up was completed about 1949.


The Danton-class battleship was a class of six pre-dreadnought battleships built for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) before World War I. The ships were assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet after commissioning in 1911. After the beginning of World War I in early August 1914, five of the sister shipsparticipated in the Battle of Antivari. They spent most of the rest of the war blockading the Straits of Otranto and the Dardanelles to prevent warships of the Central Powers from breaking out into the Mediterranean. One ship was sunk by a German submarine in 1917.



The remaining five ships were obsolescent by the end of the war and most were assigned to secondary roles. Two of the sisters were sent to the Black Sea to support the Whites during the Russian Civil War. One ship ran aground and the crew of the other mutinied after one of its members was killed during a protest against intervention in support of the Whites. Both ships were quickly condemned and later sold for scrap. The remaining three sisters received partial modernizations in the mid-1920s and became training ships until they were condemned in the mid-1930s and later scrapped. The only survivor still afloat at the beginning of World War II in August 1939 had been hulked in 1931 and was serving as part of the navy's torpedo school. She was captured by the Germans when they occupied Vichy France in 1942 and scuttled by them after the Allied invasion of southern France in 1944.


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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1913 – Launch of Provence, one of three Bretagne-class battleships built for the French Navy in the 1910s, named in honor of the French region of Provence; she had two sister ships, Bretagne and Lorraine.


Provence was one of three Bretagne-class battleships built for the French Navy in the 1910s, named in honor of the French region of Provence; she had two sister ships, Bretagne and Lorraine. Provence entered service in March 1916, after the outbreak of World War I. She was armed with a main battery of ten 340 mm (13.4 in) guns and had a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).



Provence spent the bulk of her career in the French Mediterranean Squadron, where she served as the fleet flagship. During World War I, she was stationed at Corfu to prevent the Austro-Hungarian fleet from leaving the Adriatic Sea, but she saw no action. She was modernized significantly in the 1920s and 1930s, and conducted normal peacetime cruises and training maneuvers in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean. She participated in non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War.

In the early days of World War II, Provence conducted patrols and sweeps into the Atlantic to search for German surface raiders. She was stationed in Mers-el-Kébir when France surrendered on 22 June 1940. Fearful that the Germans would seize the French Navy, the British Royal Navy attacked the ships at Mers-el-Kébir. Provence was damaged and sank in the harbor, though she was refloated and moved to Toulon, where she became the flagship of the training fleet there. In late November 1942, the Germans occupied Toulon and, to prevent them from seizing the fleet, the French scuttled their ships, including Provence. She was raised in July 1943, and some of her guns were used for coastal defense in the area; the Germans scuttled her a second time in Toulon as a blockship in 1944. Provence was ultimately raised in April 1949 and sold to ship breakers.

Background and description


Bretagne-class design as depicted by Brassey's Naval Annual 1915
Main article: Bretagne-class battleship

The Bretagne class was designed as an improved version of the preceding Courbet class with a more powerful armament, but the limited size of French drydocks forced the turrets to be closer to the ends of the ships, adversely affecting their seakeeping abilities. The ships were 166 meters (544 ft 7 in) long overall, had a beam of 27 m (88 ft 7 in) and a mean draft of 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in). They displaced 23,936 metric tons (23,558 long tons) at normal load and 26,600 metric tons (26,200 long tons) at deep load. Their crew numbered 34 officers and 1,159 men as a private ship and increased to 42 officers and 1,208 crewmen when serving as a flagship. The ships were powered by two license-built Parsons steam turbine sets, each driving two propeller shafts. Each of the Bretagne-class ships had a different type of boiler providing steam to the turbines; Provence herself had 18 Guyot-Du Temple boilers. The turbines were rated at a total of 28,000 metric horsepower (20,594 kW; 27,617 shp) and were designed for a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph), but none of the ships exceeded 20.6 knots (38.2 km/h; 23.7 mph) during their sea trials. They carried enough coal and fuel oil to give them a range of 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km; 5,400 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

The Bretagne class's main battery consisted of ten Canon de 34 cm (13.4 in) modèle 1912 guns mounted in five twin-gun turrets, numbered one to five from front to rear. Two were in a superfiring pair forward, one amidships, and the last two in a superfiring pair aft. The secondary armament consisted of twenty-two Canon de 138 mm (5.4 in) modèle 1910 guns in casemates along the length of the hull. She also carried a pair of Canon de 47 mm (1.9 in) modèle 1902 guns mounted in the forward superstructure. Five older 47 mm weapons were placed on each turret roof for sub-caliber training before they entered service. The Bretagnes were also armed with four submerged 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes and could stow 20–28 mines below decks. Their waterline belt ranged in thickness from 140 to 250 mm (5.5 to 9.8 in) and was thickest amidships. The gun turrets were protected by 300 mm (11.8 in) of armor and 160 mm (6.3 in) plates protected the casemates. The curved armored deck was 40 mm (1.6 in) thick on the flat and 70 mm (2.8 in) on the outer slopes. The conning tower had 266 mm (10.5 in) thick face and sides.





The Bretagne-class battleships were the first "super-dreadnoughts" built for the French Navy during the First World War. The class comprised three vessels: Bretagne, the lead ship, Provence, and Lorraine. They were an improvement of the previous Courbet class, and mounted ten 340 mm (13.4 in) guns instead of twelve 305 mm (12 in) guns as on the Courbets. A fourth was ordered by the Greek Navy, though work was suspended due to the outbreak of the war. The three completed ships were named after French provinces.

The three ships saw limited service during World War I, and were primarily occupied with containing the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic Sea. After the war, they conducted training cruises in the Mediterranean and participated in non-intervention patrols off Spain during the Spanish Civil War. After the outbreak of World War II, the ships were tasked with convoy duties and anti-commerce raider patrols until the fall of France in June 1940. Bretagne and Provence were sunk by the British Royal Navy during the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir the following month; Provence was later raised and towed to Toulon, where she was again scuttled in November 1942. Lorraine was disarmed by the British in Alexandria and recommissioned in 1942 to serve with the Free French Naval Forces. She provided gunfire support during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France, and shelled German fortresses in northern France. She survived as a gunnery training ship and a floating barracks until the early 1950s, before being broken up for scrap in 1954. Bretagneand Provence were scrapped in 1952 and 1949, respectively.




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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1916 – Launch of HMS Glorious, the second of the three Courageous-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War.


HMS Glorious was the second of the three Courageous-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, they were relatively lightly armed and armoured. Glorious 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.



Glorious was paid off after the war, but was rebuilt as an aircraft carrier during the late 1920s. She could carry 30 per cent more aircraft than her half-sister Furious which had a similar tonnage. After re-commissioning in 1930, she spent most of her career operating in the Mediterranean Sea. After the start of the Second World War, Glorious spent the rest of 1939 unsuccessfully hunting for the commerce-raiding German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee in the Indian Ocean before returning to the Mediterranean. She was recalled home in April 1940 to support operations in Norway. While evacuating British aircraft from Norway in June, the ship was sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the North Sea with the loss of over 1,200 lives.


Design and description


Three-view drawing as completed in 1917

During the First World War, Admiral Fisher was prevented from ordering an improved version of the preceding Renown-class battlecruisers by a wartime restriction that banned construction of ships larger than light cruisers. To obtain ships suitable for traditional battlecruiser roles, such as scouting for fleets and hunting enemy raiders, he settled on a design with the minimal armour of a light cruiser and the armament of a battlecruiser. He justified their existence by claiming he needed fast, shallow-draught ships for his Baltic Project, a plan to invade Germany via its Baltic coast.



Glorious had an overall length of 786 feet 9 inches (239.8 m), a beam of 81 feet (24.7 m), and a draught of 25 feet 10 inches (7.9 m) at deep load. She displaced 19,180 long tons (19,490 t) at load and 22,560 long tons (22,922 t) at deep load. Glorious and her sisters were the first large warships in the Royal Navy to have geared steam turbines. The Parsons turbines were powered by eighteen Yarrow boilers. During the ship's abbreviated sea trials, she reached 31.42 knots (58.19 km/h; 36.16 mph). The ship was designed to normally carry 750 long tons (760 t) of fuel oil, but could carry a maximum of 3,160 long tons (3,210 t). At full capacity, she could steam for an estimated 6,000 nautical miles (11,110 km; 6,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

Glorious carried four BL 15-inch (381 mm) Mark I guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore ('A') and aft ('Y'). Her secondary armament was 18 BL 4-inch (102 mm) Mark IX guns mounted in six triple mounts. These mounts had the three breeches too close together and the 23 loaders tended to interfere with one another. This negated the mount's intended high rate of fire against torpedo boats and other smaller craft. A pair of QF 3-inch (76 mm) 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns were fitted abreast of the mainmast on Glorious. She mounted two submerged tubes for 21-inch torpedoes and 10 torpedoes were carried.


Conversion

Glorious at anchor, 1935; the doors to the lower hangar deck are open

The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limited the amount of capital ship tonnage and the Royal Navy was forced to scrap many of its older battleships and battlecruisers. However up to 66,000 long tons (67,059 t) of existing ships could be converted into aircraft carriers, for which the Courageous-class ships' large hulls and high speeds made them ideal candidates. Glorious began her conversion at Rosyth in 1924, and was towed to Devonport where she was completed on 24 February 1930. During the ship's post-conversion sea trials, she reached 29.47 knots (54.58 km/h; 33.91 mph). Her 15-inch turrets were placed into storage and later reused during the Second World War for Vanguard, the world's last battleship to be built.

Her new design improved on her half-sister Furious which lacked an island and a conventional funnel. All superstructure, guns, torpedo tubes, and fittings down to the main deck were removed. A two-storey hangar, each level 16 feet (4.9 m) high and 550 feet (167.6 m) long, was built on top of the remaining hull; the upper hangar level opened on to a short flight deck, below and forward of the main flight deck. The lower flying-off deck improved launch and recovery cycle flexibility until heavier fighters requiring longer takeoff rolls made the lower deck obsolete in the 1930s. Two 46-by-48-foot (14.0 m × 14.6 m) lifts were installed fore and aft in the flight deck. An island with the bridge, flying-control station, and funnel was added on the starboard side as islands had been found not to contribute significantly to turbulence. By 1939 the ship could carry 34,500 imperial gallons (157,000 l; 41,400 US gal) of petrol for her aircraft.


Aerial view of Glorious under way, 1936

Glorious received a dual-purpose armament of sixteen QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark VIII guns in single mounts. One mount was on each side of the lower flight deck and a pair was on the quarterdeck. The remaining twelve mounts were distributed along the sides of the ship. During her 1935 refit, the ship received three octuple QF two-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom mounts, one on each side of the flying-off deck, forward of the 4.7-inch guns, and one behind the island on the flight deck. She also received a single quadruple mount for water-cooled Vickers 0.5 in (12.7 mm) AA machineguns.

Glorious recommissioned on 24 February 1930 for service with the Mediterranean Fleet, but was attached to the Home Fleet from March to June 1930. She relieved Courageous in the Mediterranean Fleet in June 1930 and remained there until October 1939. In a fog on 1 April 1931 Glorious rammed the French ocean liner Florida amidships while steaming at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The impact crumpled 60 feet (18.3 m) of the flying-off deck and killed 1 seaman aboard Glorious and 24 passengers and crew aboard Florida. Glorious was forced to put into Gibraltar to temporary repairs. She had to sail to Malta for permanent repairs which lasted until September 1931. Sometime in the early 1930s, traverse arresting gear was installed. She was refitted at Devonport from July 1934 to July 1935 where she received two hydraulic accelerators (catapults) on her upper flight deck, which was also extended to the rear, her quarterdeck was raised one deck and she received her multiple pom-pom mounts. Gloriousparticipated in the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead on 20 May 1937 for King George VI before returning to the Mediterranean.


Glorious photographed in May 1940 from the deck of Ark Royal; the destroyer with her is Diana

The sinking
The commanding officer of Glorious, Captain Guy D'Oyly-Hughes, was a former submariner who had been executive officer of Courageous for 10 months. He was granted permission to proceed independently to Scapa Flow in the early hours of 8 June to hold a court-martial of his Commander (Air), J. B. Heath, who had refused an order to carry out an attack on shore targets on the grounds that the targets were at best ill-defined and his aircraft were unsuited to the task, and who had been left behind in Scapa to await trial. On the way through the Norwegian Sea the funnel smoke from Glorious and her two escorting destroyers, Acasta and Ardent, was spotted by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau (part of Operation Juno) at about 15:46 pm. The British spotted the German ships shortly after 16:00 and Ardent was dispatched to investigate. Glorious did not alter course or increase speed. Five Swordfish were ordered to the flight deck and Action Stations were ordered 16:20. No combat air patrol was being flown, no aircraft were ready on the deck for quick take-off and there was no lookout in Glorious's crow's nest. Scharnhorst opened fire on Ardent at 16:27 at a range of 16,000 yards (15,000 m), causing the destroyer to withdraw, firing torpedoes and making a smoke screen. Ardent scored one hit with her 4.7-inch guns on Scharnhorst but was hit several times by the German ships' secondary armament and sank at 17:25.

Scharnhorst switched her fire to Glorious at 16:32 and scored her first hit six minutes later on her third salvo, at a range of 26,000 yards (24,000 m), when one 28.3-centimetre (11.1 in) hit the forward flight deck and burst in the upper hangar, starting a large fire. This hit destroyed two Swordfish being prepared for flight and the hole in the flight deck prevented any other aircraft from taking off. Splinters penetrated a boiler casing and caused a temporary drop in steam pressure. At 16:58 a second shell hit the homing beacon above the bridge and killed or wounded the captain and most of the personnel stationed there. Ardent's smokescreen became effective enough to impair the visibility of the Germans from about 16:58 to 17:20 so they ceased fire on Glorious.

Glorious was hit again in the centre engine room at 17:20 and this caused her to lose speed and commence a slow circle to port. She also developed a list to starboard. The German ships closed to within 16,000 yards and continued to fire at her until 17:40. Glorious sank at 18:10, approximately at 68°38′N 03°50′ECoordinates:

68°38′N 03°50′E, with 43 survivors.

As the German ships approached Glorious, Acasta, which had been trying to maintain the smokescreen, broke through her own smoke and fired two volleys of torpedoes at Scharnhorst. One of these hit the battleship at 17:34 abreast her rear turret and badly damaged her. Acasta also managed one hit from her 4.7-inch guns on Scharnhorst, but was riddled by German gunfire and sank at around 18:20.

Survivors estimated that about 900 men abandoned Glorious. The German ships had suffered extensive damage themselves, and unaware that Allied ships weren't in contact with Glorious beat a hasty retreat, and did not try to pick up survivors. The Royal Navy meanwhile, knew nothing of the sinking until it was announced on German radio. The Norwegian ship Borgund, on passage to the Faroe Islands, arrived late on 10 June and picked up survivors, eventually delivering 37 alive to Thorshavn of whom two later died. Another Norwegian ship, Svalbard II, also making for the Faeroes, picked up five survivors but was sighted by a German aircraft and forced to return to Norway, where the four still alive became prisoners of war for the next five years. It is also believed that one more survivor from Glorious was rescued by a German seaplane. Therefore, the total of survivors was 40, including one each from Acasta and Ardent. The total killed or missing was 1,207 from Glorious, 160 from Acastaand 152 from Ardent, a total of 1,519.


The gravestone in Tromsø of Leading Airman Donald Conrad Morton, who died in the sinking of Glorious

The sinkings and the failure to mount an effective rescue were embarrassing for the Royal Navy. All ships encountering enemies had been ordered to broadcast a sighting report, and the lack of such a report from Glorious was questioned in the House of Commons. It emerged that the heavy cruiser Devonshire had passed within 30–50 miles (48–80 km) of the battle, flying the flag of Vice-Admiral John Cunningham, who was carrying out orders to evacuate the Norwegian Royal Family to the UK and maintain radio silence. Some survivors from Glorious and Devonshire testified that a sighting report had been correctly sent, and received by Devonshire, but that it had been suppressed by Cunningham, who departed at high speed in accordance with his orders. It was also alleged that there was confusion over the use of wireless telegraphy frequencies on board Glorious which could have contributed to the failure of any other ship or shore-station to receive a sighting report. The absence of normal airborne patrols over Gloriousand its destroyers, in conditions of maximum visibility, were named as contributors to the sinkings.

The circumstances of the sinking were the subject of a debate in the House of Commons on 28 January 1999.



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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1917 - The Second Battle of Dover Strait was a naval battle of the First World War, fought in the Dover Strait in April 1917 and should not be confused with the major Battle of Dover Strait in 1916.
Two Royal Navy destroyers defeated a superior force of German Kaiserliche Marine torpedo boats
Two German torpedo boats were sunk; the British suffered damage to both destroyers.


The Second Battle of Dover Strait was a naval battle of the First World War, fought in the Dover Strait in April 1917 and should not be confused with the major Battle of Dover Strait in 1916. Two Royal Navy destroyers defeated a superior force of German Kaiserliche Marine torpedo boats[1] (Two German torpedo boats were sunk; the British suffered damage to both destroyers.)


Showing the destroyer HMS Broke ramming a German destroyer in the English Channel on 20 April 1917.



Background
On 20 April 1917, two groups of torpedo boats of the German Navy raided the Dover Strait to bombard Allied positions on shore and to engage warships patrolling the Dover Barrage— the field of floating mines that prevented German ships from getting into the English Channel. Six torpedo boats bombarded Calais and another six bombarded Dover just before midnight.

Battle
Two flotilla leaders of the Royal Navy — HMS Broke and Swift — were on patrol near Dover and engaged six of the German ships early on 21 April near the Goodwin Sands. In a confusing action, Swift torpedoed SMS G85. Broke rammed SMS G42, and the two ships became locked together. For a while, there was close-quarters fighting between the crews, as the German sailors tried to board the British ship, before Broke got free and G42 sank.


View of damaged HMS Broke in dry dock on Tyneside

Aftermath
HMS Swift was slightly damaged, but Broke was heavily damaged and had to be towed back to port. The other 10 German torpedo boats made it back to port without loss



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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1940 – Launch of The SS Ohio, an oil tanker built for the Texas Oil Company (now Texaco)


The SS Ohio was an oil tanker built for the Texas Oil Company (now Texaco). The ship was launched on 20 April 1940 at the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania. She was requisitioned by the Allied forces to re-supply the island fortress of Malta during the Second World War.

The tanker played a fundamental role in Operation Pedestal, which was one of the fiercest and most heavily contested of the Malta convoys, in August 1942. Although Ohio reached Malta successfully, she was so badly damaged that she had to be effectively scuttled in order to offload her cargo, and never sailed again. The tanker is fondly remembered in Malta, where to this day she is considered to be the savior of the beleaguered island.


SS Ohio entering Grand Harbour in Malta lashed between two destroyers and a tugboat

Malta, "Pedestal" planning and Ohio
In 1942, Britain was waging war in the Mediterranean against the German Afrika Korps and Italian forces in North Africa. Crucial to this theatre of operations was the island of Malta, sitting in the middle of Axis supply lines and, if supplied with sufficient munitions, aircraft and fuel, capable of causing severe shortages to the German and Italian armies in North Africa. Munitions and aircraft were available—during a brief lull in the Axis attacks, for example, the island's defenses were reinforced by thirty eight Spitfire Mk V aircraft flown in from HMS Furious—but these, along with food and fuel, remained in critically short supply. Successive attempts at resupplying the island had mostly failed; the convoys "Harpoon" (from Gibraltar) and "Vigorous" (from Alexandria, Egypt) saw most of their merchantmen sunk and escort ships damaged by aerial and surface attacks. One of the ships lost during "Harpoon" was Ohio's sister ship SS Kentucky, crippled by a German air attack and then abandoned. The tanker was eventually finished off by the Italian cruisers Raimondo Montecuccoli and Eugenio di Savoia and two destroyers.

On 18 June, following the failures of "Harpoon" and "Vigorous", the Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet cabled the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to express his doubts about attempting another convoy. Three days later, Ohio steamed into the mouth of the Clyde, under the command of Sverre Petersen, a former Master in Sail from Oslo, in Norway. In early May 1942, a radio message had reached Captain Petersen which diverted the ship to Galveston in Texas, and then ordered the tanker to proceed to Britain. Before leaving, Ohio was fitted with one 5-inch (130 mm) gun on her stern, and a 3-inch (76 mm) AA gun in the bows. She then moved to Sinclair Terminal, Houston in Texas, where the ship loaded a full cargo of 103,576 barrels (16,467.3 m3) of petrol (gasoline), finally sailing on 25 May. Ohio discharged her cargo at Bowling-on-the-Clyde, then steamed out into the tideway and anchored, awaiting orders.

Here, the captain received a letter from Lord Leathers, the head of the British Ministry of War Transport, bidding the master a personal welcome and "...your safe arrival in the Clyde with the first cargo of oil carried in a United States tanker." However, the euphoria that such a message brought to the crew soon turned into resentment and anger. A telegram was received the same day by the head office of Texaco, from the War Shipping Administration, announcing simply that Ohio was being requisitioned "pursuant to the law". The immediate reaction was a cabled message from Mr. T. E. Buchanan, General Manager of Texaco's Marine Department to the firm's London agent, that on no account was Ohio to leave her discharging port of Bowling-on-the-Clyde. A period of indecision, meetings and debates between the highest American authorities and their British counterparts soon ensued. The master was told that further orders would arrive soon afterwards. The decision was finally taken two weeks later, when a launch sped out to the ship anchored in the Clyde and Texaco's London agent, accompanied by an official of the British Ministry of War Shipping came over the side. They met the Captain, who was informed that the ship was to be confiscated and handed over to a British crew. The American crew and the captain were exasperated by the seemingly outrageous order, but had no other option but to give in, and started to pack their kit whilst British seamen began to take the ship over.

On 10 July, Captain Petersen handed over the ship. There was no formal ceremony, and little goodwill. The American flag was taken down, and Ohio henceforward sailed under the "Red Duster". Overnight, she was transferred from American to British registry. For convenience in management, the tanker was handed over on 25 July to the Eagle Oil and Shipping Company, which was warned of the importance of the impending convoy and that "...much might depend on the quality and courage of the crew."

As the British crew started to assemble, it became clear that a large convoy was being planned. Command of the ship passed to Captain Dudley W. Mason, who at thirty nine had already held other commands, while James Wyld was to be Chief Engineer. Forty eight hours after Ohio had been transferred to British registry, her crew was completed. The ship's company numbered seventy seven, including no fewer than twenty four naval ratings and soldiers to serve the guns. The ship was then moved to King George V Dock in Glasgow, for the fitting of Oerlikon and Bofors anti-aircraft guns.

Ohio and "Pedestal"
Main article: Operation Pedestal
Departure
After the disastrous failure of the mid-June convoys, it was wondered if Malta could hold out on the meagre supplies rescued from "Harpoon" and "Vigorous" and individual deliveries carried out by submarine and by the fast minelayer HMS Welshman until another convoy could be organised. Escorting merchant ships in the brilliance of a Mediterranean moonlit period was courting inevitable disaster. This situation limited operations in the immediate future to the moonless period in July or August between the 10th and 16th of those months. July passed as the Ohio could not be fitted-out in time. Once the due planning had been carried out it was decided to begin the operation in August. Ohio steamed down to Dunglass on the Clyde and loaded 11,500 tons of kerosene and diesel fuel oils. She was the only ship carrying these supplies which were so vital to Malta's survival. Before she sailed special strengthening was given to the tanker to protect her against the shock of bombs exploding near her. In the previous convoy, the tanker Kentucky had been sunk with only a few hours' repair work needed on a steam pipe, which had been broken by the force of such explosions. The Ministry was determined that this should not happen again, and so Ohio's engines were mounted on rubber bearings, to reduce shock, and all steam pipes were supported with steel springs and baulks of timber. While the merchant ships were gathering in the Clyde Estuary, the naval forces had already reached Scapa Flow. Admiral Syfret joined HMS Nelson there on 27 July and held a convoy conference on 2 August; the same day, all leave had been stopped. At eight o'clock that evening, two hours before dusk, the convoy sailed. The fourteen ships, led by HMS Nigeria formed up; it was dark by the time they reached the open sea.

Axis attacks and damage
The convoy left Gibraltar in heavy fog on 9 August. A day later, four torpedoes from the German submarine U-73 sank the aircraft-carrier HMS Eagle, killing 260 men, and losing all but four planes. On this day, German bombers attacked the convoy. On 12 August twenty Junkers 88s attacked the convoy, while a further combined strike by 100 German and Italian Regia Aeronautica planes attacked the merchantmen. It was during the ensuing mayhem that the tanker was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Axum and caught fire. The Ohio was hit amidships, where a huge pillar of flame leapt high into the air. Ohio seemed to be out of control. Captain Mason ordered the engines to be shut down, with all deckhands available fighting the fire with the deck waterlines. Lighted kerosene bubbled up from the fractured tanks, while little gouts of flame spattered the deck to a distance of thirty yards from the blaze. The flames were put out and the tanker managed thirteen knots after being repaired. The blast destroyed the ship's gyrocompass and knocked the magnetic compass off its bearings, while the steering gear was put out of action, forcing the crew to steer with the emergency gear from aft.


A torpedo from Axum, an Italian submarine, strikes the tanker on her port side.

A hole, 24 feet by 27 feet, had been torn in the port side of the midships pump-room. The explosion had also blown another hole in the starboard side, flooding the compartment. There were jagged tears in the bulkheads and kerosene was spurting up from adjoining tanks, seeping in a film up through the holes in the hull. The deck had been broken open, so that one could look down into the ship. From beam to beam the deck was buckled, but the ship held together. Another sixty Junkers 87 Stuka dive bombers attacked the convoy, focusing on Ohio. A series of near misses ensued as the tanker approached the island of Pantelleria. Bombs threw spray over the decks of the tanker, while aircraft used their machine guns. One near-miss buckled the ship's plates and the forward tank filled with water. The 3-inch (76 mm) gun at the bows was twisted in its mountings and put out of action. A formation of five Junkers 88s was broken up by the tanker's anti aircraft guns, with the bombs falling harmlessly into the sea. Another plane, this time a Junkers 87, was shot down by an Ohio gunner; however, the aircraft crashed into Ohio's starboard side, forward of the upper bridge, and exploded. Half a wing hit the upper work of the bridge and a rain of debris showered the tanker from stem to stern. The plane's bomb failed to detonate. Captain Mason was telephoned from aft by the chief officer, who told Mason that the Junkers 87 had crashed into the sea and then bounced onto the ship. Mason 'rather curtly' replied: "Oh that's nothing. We've had a Junkers 88 on the foredeck for nearly half an hour."


Ohio nursed by a flotilla of destroyers and minesweepers.

As the ship turned slowly to comb torpedoes, two sticks of bombs fell on either side of the tanker. The vessel lifted, and went on lifting until she was clean out of the water. Cascades of spray and bomb splinters lashed the deck, she fell back with a crash. Ohio had differential gearing which slowed the propeller automatically; on other ships, the same effect would have shaken the engines out of their rooms. Continuously bombed, the tanker kept on steaming until another explosion to starboard sent her reeling to port. The engine-room lights went out, plunging her into darkness. The master switches had been thrown off by the force of the explosion, but they were quickly switched on again by an electrician. This time, the ship had not escaped damage. The boiler fires were blown out, and it was a race against time to restore them before the steam pressure dropped too low to work the fuel pumps. The engineers lit the fire starter torches to restart the furnaces.

The complicated routine of restarting went forward smoothly and within twenty minutes Ohio was steaming at sixteen knots again. Then another salvo of bombs hit the ship, shaking every plate, and once more the engines slowed and stopped. The electric fuel pumps had been broken by the concussion. While the crew desperately tried to reconnect the electrical wires and restart the engines via the auxiliary steam system, the engine-room was filled with black smoke until the engines were properly re-lit. The ship was making alternate black and white smoke and, with oil in the water pipes and a loss of vacuum in the condenser, Ohio started to lose way slowly, coming to a stop at 10.50 am. The crew abandoned ship, boarding HMS Penn that had come to Ohio's aid alongside another destroyer, HMS Ledbury. The latter ship was soon to leave the stricken tanker after being ordered to go in search of the cruiser HMS Manchester, which had been crippled by Italian motor torpedo boats.

Under tow
Penn 's commanding officer, Commander J.H. Swain RN, offered Captain Mason a tow with a heavy 10-inch manila hemp rope. With the tow line in place, Penn moved ahead, straining its engines to the limit; Ohio continued to list to port. The two ships were not making any progress, even drifting backwards due to the easterly wind. Now both ships were sitting ducks, and as another serious attack developed, the destroyer went to full speed to part the tow. A German bomber dove on the tanker and was shot down by Ohio 's gunners, but just before its demise, the aircraft's crew released its cargo. A bomb hit the tanker just where the initial torpedo had hit her, effectively breaking her back, just as night was setting in. The ship was abandoned for the night. The day after, Penn was joined by the minesweeper HMS Rye. The two ships towed the tanker and succeeded in making up to five knots, overcoming the tendency to swing to port. Another attack blasted the group of ships, snapping the tow lines and immobilising Ohio's rudder. Another bomb hit the fore end of the front deck, forcing the engineers out of the engine room. Once more, Mason gave the order to abandon ship, as two more air attacks narrowly missed the tanker. A superficial examination showed that the rent that had developed in the amidships section had widened and that the ship had indeed almost certainly broken her back.


The damaged tanker, supported by Royal Navy destroyers HMS Penn (left) and Ledbury (right).

The two ships around the tanker were joined by HMS Bramham and by Ledbury (the latter returning from her search for Manchester). Meanwhile, Rye had again begun to tow Ohio with the newly arrived Ledbury acting as a stern tug. With less pull from Ledbury, a fair speed was maintained, but steering proved impossible. A stabilising factor was needed, thus Commander Swain edged Penn to the starboard side of Ohio. Rye, joined by Bramham, slowly got under way once more, with Ledbury acting as a rudder. Another Axis air attack began just as the group of ships was moving at six knots. At 10.45 AM the first wave of dive-bombers came low over the water. Only one oil bomb landed close to Ohio's bow, showering her with burning liquid. Then came three more echelons of German planes. This time, close air support from Malta was available. Sixteen Spitfires, of 249 and 229 Squadrons from Malta, had sighted the enemy. The first enemy formation wavered and broke. The second formation also broke, but one section of Junkers 88s succeeded in breaking free, making for the tanker. These were swiftly followed by the Spitfires. Three of the German planes were shot down or manoeuvred to evade the Spitfires; nonetheless one bomber held its course, and a 1,000-pound bomb landed in the tanker's wake. Ohio was flung forward, parting Ryes tow, buckling the stern plates of the tanker and forming a great hole.

Arrival
Ohio was sinking not much more than 45 miles west of Malta. Under the protection of the Spitfires, the danger of enemy attacks receded. After the tow line was parted, Ledbury was still secured to Ohio by a heavy wire which had been pulled round by the heavily yawing tanker, and had ended up alongside Penn, facing the wrong way. After a quick analysis of the possibilities, it was decided to tow the tanker with a destroyer on either side of the tanker. Bramham was immediately ordered to make for port, while Penn remained coupled to the starboard side. The speed was increased but kept to five knots, Ohio's deck was awash amidships. Now under the protection of the coastal batteries of Malta, the group of ships were slowly moving around the island, approaching Grand Harbour. The coastal batteries fired on a creeping U-Boat's conning tower, and scared off a group of E-Boats. Slowly, the group approached the tricky harbour entrance, near Zonqor Point. Here the group dispersed before a British-laid minefield. At 6.00am, with Ohio still hovering on the edge of the minefield, the situation was eased by the arrival of the Malta tugs. With destroyers still linked on either side of the tanker, these sturdy ships made fast ahead and astern and the tanker was soon proceeding up the channel to the Grand Harbour entrance. There, a fabulous welcome awaited them. On the ramparts above the wreck strewn harbour, on the Barracca, St Angelo and Senglea, great crowds of Maltese men and women waved and cheered and a brass band on the end of the mole was giving a spirited rendition of Rule Britannia. Captain Mason, however, standing at the salute on the battered bridge of Ohio, could spare not a moment's thought for the pride of bringing the ship to harbour, since the creaking plates showed that Ohio might still go to the bottom of the Grand Harbour.


Ohio discharges her cargo in the Grand Harbour.

Pipes were now hauled aboard and emergency salvage pumps began to discharge the kerosene. At the same time, a fleet auxiliary, RFA Boxol, began to pump the 10,000 tons of fuel oil into her own tanks. As the oil flowed out, Ohio sank lower and lower in the water. The last drops of oil left her and simultaneously her keel settled on the bottom. Her captain, Dudley William Mason, was subsequently awarded the George Cross.

Aftermath
After Ohio reached Malta, the ship broke in two from the damage she had sustained. There were insufficient shipyard facilities to repair the tanker, so the two halves were used for storage, and later barracks facilities for Yugoslavian troops.


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

Operation Pedestal - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1944 - Paul Hamilton – was a Liberty ship serving as a troopship.
On the evening of 20 April 1944 German bombers attacked her off Cape Bengut near Algiers.
One aerial torpedo struck her and detonated her cargo of high explosives and bombs; the ship and all aboard disappeared within 30 seconds.
The crew and passengers, who included 154 officers and men of the 831st Bombardment Squadron, were all lost. Of the 580 men aboard only one body was recovered.


The SS Paul Hamilton (Hull Number 227) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Paul Hamilton, the third United States Secretary of the Navy.



On her fifth voyage the SS Paul Hamilton left Hampton Roads, Virginia on 2 April 1944 as part of convoy UGS 38, carrying supplies and the ground personnel of the 485th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces to Italy. On the evening of 20 April it was attacked 30 miles (48 km) off the coast of Cape Bengut near Algiers in the Mediterranean Sea by 23 German Ju 88 bombers of III./Kampfgeschwader 26, I. and III./Kampfgeschwader 77. One aerial torpedo struck the Paul Hamilton and detonated the cargo of high explosives and bombs, and the ship and crew disappeared within 30 seconds. The crew and passengers, who included 154 officers and men of the 831st Bombardment Squadron and 317 officers and men of the 32nd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, were all lost. Of the 580 men aboard only one body was recovered.


The explosion of SS Paul Hamilton on 20 April 1944


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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
20 April 1944 - Dutch steam trawler Voorbode, loaded with 124,000 kg of explosives, exploded at the quay in the center of Bergen. 160 people were killed and 5,000 wounded, mostly civilians


The Dutch steam trawler Voorbode was a fishing vessel, until it was confiscated by the Germans during World War II and used for military transport. In April 1944, it was on its way from Oslo to Kirkenes when it faced mechanical problems, forcing it to seek repair in Bergen, Norway. Due to lack of control, the ship was allowed entrance to Bergen harbour loaded with 124,000 kg (273,000 lb) of explosives, even though the ship did not satisfy security regulations and should not have been allowed into major cities with this cargo.





Resulting damage
On April 20 at 8:39, the ship exploded at the quay in the center of Bergen. The force of the explosion caused a water column that was hundreds of metres high, spreading heavy debris. Several ships were thrown on land and Voorbode's anchor was later found on the 417-metre-high (1,368 ft) mountain Sandviksfjellet at 60.41756°N 5.34043°E. The air pressure from the explosion and the tsunami that followed flattened whole neighbourhoods near the harbour; then fires broke out and further destroyed the wooden houses, leaving 5,000 people homeless; 160 people were killed and 5,000 wounded, mostly civilians. The Nykirken was among the buildings which were severely damaged.



Reporting
The Germans initially tried to conceal the extent of the catastrophe, probably because it exposed their failure to maintain security regulations. Because the explosion occurred on Adolf Hitler's birthday, there was some suspicion of sabotage, but investigations revealed that the explosion was an accident caused by self-ignition. Rescue efforts after the event were extensive and have been well documented.


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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 20 April


1534 – Jacques Cartier begins his first voyage to what is today the east coast of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Jacques Cartier (December 31, 1491 – September 1, 1557) was a Breton explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and at Hochelaga (Montreal Island).

Jacques Cartier - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.

The Siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War.[5] New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular city of Boston, Massachusetts Bay. Both sides had to deal with resource supply and personnel issues over the course of the siege. British resupply and reinforcement activities were limited to sea access. After eleven months of the siege, the British abandoned Boston by sailing to Nova Scotia.


Engraving depicting the British evacuation of Boston

The siege began on April 19 after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, when the militia from surrounding Massachusetts communities blocked land access to Boston. The Continental Congress formed the Continental Army from the militia, with George Washington as its Commander in Chief. In June 1775, the British seized Bunker and Breed's Hills, from which the Continentals were preparing to bombard the city, but their casualties were heavy and their gains were insufficient to break the Continental Army's hold on land access to Boston. The Americans laid siege to the British-occupied city. Military actions during the remainder of the siege were limited to occasional raids, minor skirmishes, and sniper fire.

In November 1775, Washington sent the 25-year-old bookseller-turned-soldier Henry Knox to bring to Boston the heavy artillery that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga. In a technically complex and demanding operation, Knox brought many cannons to the Boston area by January 1776. In March 1776, these artillery fortified Dorchester Heights (which overlooked Boston and its harbor), thereby threatening the British supply lifeline. The British commander William Howe saw the British position as indefensible and withdrew the British forces in Boston to the British stronghold at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on March 17.

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


1780 – Launch of HMS Assurance, a Roebuck-class ship was a class of twenty 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy.

The Roebuck-class ship was a class of twenty 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy. The class carried two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 9-pounders. This battery enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 285 pounds. Most were constructed for service during the American Revolutionary War but continued to serve thereafter. By 1793 five were still on the active list. Ten were hospital ships, troopships or storeships. As troopships or storeships they had the guns on their lower deck removed. Many of the vessels in the class survived to take part in the Napoleonic Wars. In all, maritime incidents claimed five ships in the class and war claimed three.


Argo as flagship at Gibraltar in 1799

Roebuck-class ship - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1796 US Congress authorizes completion of 3 frigates.


1797 - The Battle of Jean-Rabel consisted of two connected minor naval engagements of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Haitian Revolution.

The Battle of Jean-Rabel consisted of two connected minor naval engagements of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Haitian Revolution. The first engagement saw an overwhelming British Royal Navy force consisting of two ships of the line attack and destroy a French Navy frigate in Moustique Inlet near the town of Jean-Rabel on the Northern coast of the French colony of Saint-Domingue (which later gained independence as Haiti). The second engagement took place four days later when a force of boats launched from a British frigate squadron attacked the town of Jean-Rabel itself, capturing a large number of merchant ships in the harbour that had been seized by French privateers.

The engagements came during a campaign for supremacy in the Caribbean Sea as warships and privateers launched from French colonies sought to disrupt the lucrative trade between Britain and the British colonies in the West Indies. In the spring of 1797, most British forces in the region were deployed in the Leeward Islands against the colonies of Spain, which had recently entered the war on the French side. As a result, the waters of the Northern Caribbean were lightly defended, resulting in an increase in the activity of French privateers.

The destruction of Harmonie and the elimination of the privateer base at Jean-Rabel contributed towards a reduction in privateer activity in the region and cemented British control of the Northern Caribbean sea lanes, although British forces were unable to make an impact on French control of Saint-Domingue itself, and withdrew from the island later in the year.

Battle of Jean-Rabel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1813 - the British frigates Pyramus and Belle Poule captured Zebra off the west coast of France as Zebra was sailing from Bordeaux to New York.

HMS Pictou was the American letter of marque schooner Zebra that the Royal Navy captured in 1813. The Admiralty purchased her in 1814 and she served on the North America station during the War of 1812 before the navy sold her in 1818.

HMS Pictou (1814) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1909 – Launch of Rio Grande do Sul was a Bahia-class cruiser built for the Brazilian Navy in 1909–10.

Rio Grande do Sul was a Bahia-class cruiser built for the Brazilian Navy in 1909–10


Rio Grande do Sul sometime after its mid-1920s modernization, as indicated by the third funnel.

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

Bahia-class cruiser - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1914 - The first call-to-action of naval aviators is given, creating an aviation detachment of three pilots, 12 enlisted men, and three aircraft to join the Atlantic Fleet forces operating off Tampico during the Mexican crisis.


1928 – Launch of French Colbert was a French heavy cruiser of the Suffren class, that saw service in World War II.

Colbert was a French heavy cruiser of the Suffren class, that saw service in World War II. She was named for Jean-Baptiste Colbert.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_cruiser_Colbert_(1928)


1931 – Launch of Spanish Baleares was a Canarias-class heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy.

Baleares was a Canarias-class heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy. The two ships of the class were built upon a British design and were a modified version of the Royal Navy′s County class. Baleares was constructed in Spain by the Vickers-Armstrongs subsidiary Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval, and saw service during the Spanish Civil War, when she was torpedoed and sunk by destroyers of the Spanish Republican Navy during the Battle of Cape Palos



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_cruiser_Baleares
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canarias-class_cruiser


1941 - Empire Endurance – On 20 April 1941, while bound for Cape Town, South Africa and Alexandria, Egypt, the British cargo liner Empire Endurance was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-73 south-east of Rockall in the North Atlantic. Of the passengers and crew 66 of the 95 people aboard were killed.

Empire Endurance was a 8,514 GRT cargo liner that was built in 1928 as Alster by Deschimag Werk Vulkan, Hamburg, Germany for the shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd. In the years leading up to the Second World War Alster carried cargo and passengers between Germany and Australia. After the outbreak of war she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine for use as a supply ship.

Alster was captured off Norway on 10 April 1940 by the British destroyer HMS Icarus. Initially serving under the original name as a repair, supply and cargo ship in Norway, she was later passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Endurance. She served until 20 April 1941 when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-73 south-east of the islet of Rockall in the North Atlantic Ocean.

SS Empire Endurance - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1942 - USS Wasp (CV 7) launches 47 British aircraft to reinforce Malta, repeating the exercise May 9.

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.

Wasp was 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 hit by three torpedoes from Japanese submarine I-19 on 15 September 1942. The resulting damage set off several explosions, destroyed her water-mains and knocked out the ship's power. As a result, her damage-control teams were unable to contain the ensuing fires that blazed out of control. She was abandoned and scuttled by USS Lansdowne later that evening. Her wreck was found in early 2019.

USS Wasp (CV-7) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1944 - USS Seahorse (SS 304) torpedoes and sinks Japanese submarine RO 45 off the Mariana Islands.

USS Seahorse (SS-304) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1944 - USS Lansdale – On 20 April 1944, while escorting a convoy to Tunisia, the US destroyer broke in two and sank after being hit by aerial torpedoes from German aircraft. Of the crew aboard 234 survived and 49 were killed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lansdale_(DD-426)


1947 - Navy Capt. L.O. Fox, backed by 80 Marines, accepts surrender of Japanese Lt. Ei Yamaguchi and 26 Japanese soldiers and sailors, two and one half years after the occupation of Peleliu and nearly 20 months after the surrender of Japan.

Lieutenant Ei Yamaguchi and his 33 soldiers emerged on Peleliu in late March 1947, attacking the U.S. Marine Corps detachment stationed on the island believing the war was still being fought. Reinforcements were sent in, along with a Japanese admiral who was able to convince them the war was over. They finally surrendered in April 1947

http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/profiles/yamaguchi.html

True Believers: 10 Japanese Holdouts Who Did Not Surrender After WWII Ended - History Collection

When World War II ended with Japan's surrender in August of 1945, millions of Japanese military personnel were spread across vast swathes of Japanese-held territory in East Asia and the Pacific. While the majority overcame the shock of defeat and duly obeyed the orders to surrender, broadcast by...

historycollection.co

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
21 April 1631 – Launch of HMS Vanguard, a 40-gun ship of the English Royal Navy, at Woolwich


HMS Vanguard was a 40-gun ship of the English Royal Navy, launched in 1631 at Woolwich, and was the second vessel to bear the name. Officially she was rebuilt from the first Vanguard, but likely only shared some of the timber and fittings from the previous ship. By 1660, her armament had been increased to 56 guns.



She took part in both the First and Second Dutch Wars. The ship served as the flagship for General at Sea George Monck at the Battle of Portland in 1653, and of Vice-Admiral Joseph Jordan at the Battle of the Gabbard and the Battle of Scheveningen later the same year. She also took part in several actions of the Second Dutch War, including the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665 and the Four Days Battle and St James's Day Fight in 1666. In 1667 Vanguard was scuttled to form a barrier in the River Medway to prevent the Dutch fleet from capturing or burning the British ships there. She was subsequently sold.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Vanguard_(1631)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
21 April 1761 – Launch of HMS Ocean, a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Chatham


HMS Ocean was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1761 at Chatham.



Ocean was commissioned for service in April 1761 under Captain William Langdon. She was initially assigned to the British fleet under the overall command of Admiral Edward Hawke. In March 1763 Ocean was found to be surplus to Hawke's requirements and she was returned to Plymouth Dockyard to be paid off and placed in ordinary. She remained out of service for the following seven years, undergoing minor repairs in 1769 but not being returned to sea. She was finally recommissioned in October 1770 under Captain James Cranston, and set sail to bolster the Royal Navy presence during the Falklands Crisis with Spain and France.

The crisis concluding without battle, Ocean was returned to Plymouth where she was designated as a guard ship for the port, under the command of Captain Joseph Knight. She was the flagship for Port Admiral Richard Spry from 1772, taking part in home waters patrols and in the Spithead review of June 1773. Captain Knight vacated the vessel in 1774, with command passing briefly to Captain John Reynolds and then to Captain John Laforey. In March 1776 Laforey was replaced by Captain Edward Le Cras, but resumed his post in December of the same year.

She was sold out of the service in 1793.


The moonlight Battle off Cape St Vincent, 16 January 1780 by Francis Holman, painted 1780 shows the Santo Domingo exploding, with Rodney's flagship Sandwich in the foreground.


Scale 1:48. A plan showing sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for 'Ocean' (1761), a 90-gun Second Rate, three decker


Scale 1:48. A plan showing the body plan for 'Ocean' (1761), a 90-gun Second Rate, three-decker


The Sandwich class ships of the line were a class of three 90-gun second rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade.



Ships

• HMS Sandwich

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 22 November 1755
Launched: 14 April 1759
Fate: Broken up, 1810

• HMS Ocean

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 22 April 1758
Launched: 21 April 1761
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1793

• HMS Blenheim

Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 12 November 1755
Launched: 5 July 1761
Fate: Wrecked, 1807


Scale: 1:64. A contemporary full hull model of a 90-gun, three-decker ship of the line (circa 1760), built in the Georgian style. The model is decked. This vessel measured 176 feet in length (gun deck) by 49 feet in the beam, displacing approximately 1830 tons burden. It was armed with twenty-eight 32-pounders on the gun deck, thirty 18-pounders on the middle deck, thirty 12-pounders on the upper deck and two 9-pounders on the quarterdeck. The slightly unfinished appearance of this model – neither the figurehead nor the quarter figures have been carved – suggests that it was a design for the first of the second rates to carry 28 to 30 guns on each of the three complete decks and only two guns on the quarterdeck. The gun deck arrangements and overall measurements suggest that the model depicts the ‘Sandwich’ (1759), ‘Ocean’ (1761) or ‘Blenheim’ (1761). The ‘Sandwich’ was Rodney’s flagship in his action with de Guichen in 1780. De Grasse was taken prisoner on the same ship after the Battle of The Saintes. The ‘Blenheim’ fought at Cape St. Vincent in 1797 and was lost with all hands in a hurricane in 1807 with Sir Thomas Troubridge aboard. The ‘Ocean’ was with Kempenfelt when he captured part of de Guichen’s convoy in 1781. The model was previously in the Mercury Collection and became part of the Caird Collection in 1929


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ocean_(1761)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwich-class_ship_of_the_line
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Ocean_(1761

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
21 April 1765 – Launch of HMS Europa, a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Lepe, Hampshire.


HMS Europa was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1765 at Lepe, Hampshire. She was renamed HMS Europe in 1778, and spent the rest of her career under this name.



Completed too late to see service in the Seven Years' War, most of Europe's service took place during the American War of Independence, supporting fleet movements and serving as the flagship for a number of admirals, including John Montagu, Molyneux Shuldham and Mariot Arbuthnot. During her time in North American waters she took part in the attack on Saint Pierre and Miquelon in 1778, and the battles of Cape Henry on 16 March and the Chesapeake in 1781.

Her last notable commanders as the war drew to a close were John Duckworth and Arthur Phillip, the latter taking her to the East Indies before returning after the conclusion of the war. Europe was then reduced to ordinary in the draw down of the navy following the end of hostilities, and was not reactivated on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. She only returned to service in 1796, recommissioning as a prison ship based at Plymouth, in which role she served out the remainder of the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars, finally being broken up in 1814


Plan showing the body plan with stern decoration, sheer lines with stern quarter decoration, and longitudinal half-breadth for Prudent (1768), Europa [also spelt Europe] (1765), and Trident (1768). From Tyne & Wear Archives Service.

Construction and commissioning
She was ordered from Henry Adams, of Lepe on 16 December 1761, laid down at his yards in February 1762, and launched there on 21 April 1765. By this time the Seven Years' War was over and she was ordered to be fitted for ordinary rather than entering active service immediately, a process completed by 5 May 1765. She had received the name Europa on 18 April 1763, while under construction. The outbreak of the American War of Independence led to a need for more ships, and an Admiralty order was issued on 19 September 1777 for her to be refitted and then prepared for sea. She was taken in hand at Portsmouth Dockyard, which had already been working on a small repair since October 1776, and she was commissioned in September 1777 under her first captain, Timothy Edwards. She was renamed HMS Europe on 9 January 1778, and completed her fitting out in March that year.

Service
Edwards was succeeded by Captain Francis Parry in April 1778, and Europe became the flagship of Vice-Admiral John Montagu, under whom she sailed for Newfoundland in May 1779. She was part of the attack on Saint Pierre and Miquelon on 14 September 1778, and later that month Parry was succeeded by Captain Thomas Davey, serving with Molyneux Shuldham’s squadron. In April 1779 she came under the command of Captain William Swiney, by now serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot, and after some time in home waters she sailed again for North America in May 1779.

Captain Smith Child took over command of Europe in August 1780, and she participated in the battles of Cape Henry on 16 March and the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781. During the Battle of the Chesapeake she formed the leading part of the centre division, along with the 74-gun HMS Montagu, and was heavily involved in the fighting. These two ships suffered heavy damage, with Europe in a leaking condition, with her rigging badly cut, and a number of guns dismounted. Nine members of her crew were killed, and a further 18 wounded. The British fleet eventually withdrew from the action. She was then paid off in March 1782, undergoing a refit at Plymouth between May and September that year, during which time she was coppered.

Europe was recommissioned in August 1782 under the command of Captain John Duckworth, with command passing the following year to Captain Arthur Phillip. He sailed to the East Indies in January 1783, returning the following year and paying Europe off in May 1784. She was fitted for ordinary at Plymouth in July 1784, and spent the rest of the years of peace in this condition.

French Revolutionary Wars
Europa was recommissioned during the French Revolutionary Wars, in July 1796. She was used as a prison ship at Plymouth under Lieutenant John Gardiner, until being paid off again in September 1800. Recommissioned again in September 1801 under Lieutenant Thomas Darracot, she again served as a prison ship until being paid off in March 1802.

Napoleonic Wars
She was again in service, still as a prison ship, between November 1804 and December 1809, under Lieutenant William Styles, and was briefly commissioned in 1814 under Lieutenant John Mills Mudge. Europe was finally broken up at Plymouth in July 1814.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for Adamant (1780) to be built by contract, and probably for Assistance (1781). The plan was used for Europa (1783), and Bristol (1775), all 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-deckers. The Portland (1770) and Renown (1774) are listed on the reverse, but would have been completed before this plan was created. Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784]


The Exeter-class ships of the line were a class of four 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by William Bateley.



Design
The draught for Exeter was based upon the Richmond-class frigates of 1757.

Ships

• HMS Exeter

Builder: Henniker, Chatham
Ordered: 13 January 1760
Launched: 26 July 1764
Fate: Burned, 1785

• HMS Europa

Builder: Adams, Lepe, Hampshire
Ordered: 16 December 1761
Launched: 21 April 1765
Fate: Broken up, 1814

• HMS Trident

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 4 December 1762
Launched: 20 April 1768
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1816

• HMS Prudent

Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 7 January 1762
Launched: 28 September 1768
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1814


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Hannibal (1779), Jupiter (1778), Leander (1780), Adamant (1780), and Europa (1783), all 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-deckers


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Europa_(1765)

Exeter-class ship of the line - Wikipedia

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https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-311213;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=E

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
21 April 1798 - The Battle of the Raz de Sein was a naval engagement of the blockade of Brest during the French Revolutionary Wars between a French and Royal Navy ships of the line
French Hercule, a Téméraire class ship of the line of the French Navy, was captured on her maiden voyage by HMS Mars (74), Cptn. Alexander Hood


The Battle of the Raz de Sein was a naval engagement of the blockade of Brest during the French Revolutionary Wars between a French and Royal Navy ships of the line on 21 April 1798. The British blockade fleet under Admiral Lord Bridport had sailed from St Helens on 12 April and on the morning of 21 April was crossing the Iroise Passage when sails were spotted to the east. Three ships were detached in pursuit, led by the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Mars under Captain Alexander Hood. As the British ships approached their quarry a third sail was sighted to the southeast close to the coastline and moving north towards Brest.


The furious action between H.M.S. Mars and the French '74 Hercule off Brest on 21st April 1798, John Christian Schetky

This ship was the 74-gun Hercule under Captain Louis L'Héritier, newly commissioned at Lorient and sailing to Brest to join the main French fleet and the British squadron immediately changed direction to intercept the new target. Facing overwhelming odds L'Héritier attempted to escape through the narrow Raz de Sein passage, but found the tide against him and so anchored at the mouth of the passage to await the British attack. At 21:15 Mars reached Hercule, coming under heavy fire as Hood manoeuvred into position, bringing his ship crashing alongside the French vessel. For more than an hour the ships fired directly into one another, so close that their guns could not be run out but had to be fired from inside the ships. Damage and casualties were severe on both sides, the latter including Hood who was mortally wounded at the height of the engagement.

Ultimately Hercule was forced to surrender after attempts to board Mars failed. Both ships were battered and burnt, with the French suffering at least 290 casualties and the British 90. Hercule was conveyed to Britain in the aftermath and later repaired and served in the Royal Navy until 1810. Both L'Héritier and the deceased Hood were highly praised for their conduct during the battle, which is noted as being a very rare example during this period of an action between two ships of approximately equal strength without any external influence.



Background
During the French Revolutionary Wars the Royal Navy had exerted dominance at sea over its continental rivals, most immediately the French Navy with its principal fleet based at Brest on the Breton coast of the Bay of Biscay. To contain this fleet the British practiced a close blockade strategy; maintaining a fleet off Brest whenever weather conditions permitted to prevent the French fleet from breaking out into the Atlantic Ocean. This blockade force also limited French trade and maritime communications, attacking merchant ships and individual warships seeking to resupply or reinforce the main French fleet. This made French maritime journeys extremely hazardous even in inshore waters: in June 1795 the main French fleet had suffered a defeat at the hands of the blockade force at the Battle of Groix in the approaches to the port of Lorient, while at the Action of 13 January 1797 the independently sailing 74-gun ship of the line Droits de l'Homme was driven ashore and destroyed in the approaches to Brest by two frigates of the blockade squadron.

On 12 April 1798 the British blockade fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Bridport sailed from its winter anchorage at St Helens on the Isle of Wight for the Breton coast. Bridport mustered ten ships of the line to maintain the watch on Brest, although detachments of the fleet had been cruising in the region since 25 January and with notice he could call on 28 ships of the line. The French fleet had suffered a series of setbacks in the early years of the war: in addition to the losses at Groix, seven ships had been lost at the Glorious First of June in 1795 and more were wrecked during the failed Croisière du Grand Hiver operation of 1795 and the Expédition d'Irlande in 1796. To replenish these losses, the French Navy was building new ships at its major fleet bases and in April 1798 a ship had been commissioned at Lorient: the Hercule, a 74-gun ship of 1,876 tons burthen launched in July 1797 and commanded by the experienced Captain Louis L'Héritier, veteran of the Glorious First of June, and with a crew of 680, 20 short of a full complement.

Pursuit
On 20 April L'Héritier was ordered to take Hercule on her maiden voyage, the short journey northwest along the coast to join the main fleet under Vice-Admiral Morard de Galles at Brest, where the crew would be augmented to reach the full complement. On board were surplus naval supplies, including a full set of rigging for a ship of the line, from the destroyed ship Quatorze Juillet which had caught fire at Lorient earlier in the month. L'Héritier's crew were inexperienced and the captain did not intend to seek action, remaining close to the coastline during the first day of the journey. As his ship crossed Audierne Bay between Point Penmarc'h and the Pointe du Raz however sails were sighted to the northwest.

These sails belonged to three ships of Bridport's fleet. At 11:00 on 21 April the British fleet had been cruising in the Iroise Passage when two sails were sighted approximately 12 nautical miles (22 km) to the east. Bridport ordered his three most easterly ships to detach and investigate the sails: the 74-gun ships of the line HMS Mars under Captain Alexander Hood, HMS Ramillies under Captain Henry Inman and the 38-gun frigate HMS Jason under Captain Charles Stirling. The strong winds favoured the large ships of the line as they pursued the strange sails, which were identified as French, until at 14:00 they were pulling abreast of them when a third sail was sighted about 15 nautical miles (28 km) to the southeast, sailing close to the shore.

This new sail was much larger than the others sighted earlier in the day, and the detached squadron abandoned their former pursuit and turned towards the new arrival, Hercule. By 17:45, L'Héritier was in full flight with the British force strung out behind him, the rest of Bridport's fleet far to the west. Jason had the lead with Mars shortly behind, although Inman on Ramillies had lost his fore topmast and had dropped back. Hood, an experienced officer and a nephew of both Bridport and the veteran Admiral Lord Hood, pressed his ship forwards and gradually gained on both Jason and Hercule. L'Héritier knew that in open water he would be caught and overwhelmed, and sought instead to escape through the narrow and dangerous channel of the Raz de Sein, a rocky passage between the Île de Sein and the Pointe du Raz: during the Expédition d'Irlande the French ship of the line Séduisant had been wrecked in the Raz de Sein with 680 lives.

As Hercule approached the channel, Hood put Mars on the starboard tack, overtaking Jason and bearing down on the French ship. At 20:30, L'Héritier recognised that the current was too strong for Hercule to successfully navigate the Raz de Sein and instead anchored at the mouth of the channel with a spring on his cable, a system of attaching the bow anchor that increased stability and allowed L'Héritier to swing his broadside to face the enemy while stationary, roughly 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) southwest of Pointe de Raz and about 21 nautical miles (39 km) from his destination at Brest.

Battle

The Action between the HMS Mars and Hercule on the Night of the 21st. April 1798. To the Memory of The Intrepid Captn. Alexr. Hood, Nicholas Pocock

At 20:45, with Jason far behind in the darkness, Mars hauled up and Hood attempted to manoeuvre into an effective position from which to attack the waiting Hercule. The vagaries of the current in the Raz de Sein passage prevented Hood from handling his ship effectively however and instead he resolved on bringing Mars directly alongside and fighting broadside to broadside. At 21:15 Mars was in range and L'Héritier opened fire, Hood replying immediately. For ten minutes, the masts and rigging of Mars came under fire, with damage to the bowsprit and foremast, as Hood continued to attempt to hold his firing position against the current before pulling slightly ahead of Hercule at 21:25 and dropping anchor. The port bow anchor became entangled with the starboard anchor on Hercule and the British ship was swung violently into the French ship, the force of the collision unhinging four of the gunports on Mars.

Thus locked together, both captains ordered their ships to pour fire into the other. So closely aligned were they that many cannon on both ships could not be run out, and instead had to be fired from inside the ships. The heat from this sustained bombardment was so intense that the wood began to blacken and burn as heavy roundshot smashed gaping holes in the sides of each ship: during the combat the ragged holes torn in the side of Hercule were so extensive that the planking between the gunports was torn away, leaving wide scars along the ship's sides. Casualties were heavy on both sides: 20 minutes after the action began a musketball struck Hood in the thigh, severing his femoral artery. Fatally wounded and bleeding profusely, Hood was carried below and command passed to Lieutenant William Butterfield. The French casualties were significantly higher than the British, a result of the much higher rate of fire achieved by Hood's well-trained crew.

Aware that his ship was suffering the worst of the casualties, L'Héritier ordered his men to attempt to board the British ship of the line, but first one and then another attempt to do so was driven back with heavy casualties. The lighting of Hercule had gone out at the beginning of the engagement, leaving her crew confused, and as a result, only around 40 men answered when L'Héritier ordered the boarding; he was himself injured twice, to the head by a sabre and to the thigh by a pike, while leading the assault. At 10:30, after an hour of continual bombardment L'Héritier surrendered: Hercule's hull had been torn open, five guns were dismounted with others damaged and more than two fifths of the crew killed or wounded. Jason was approaching fast and the rest of Bridport's fleet was close enough to see the muzzle flashes from the battle.

Aftermath

Death of Captain Alexander Hood, 1798, Henry Singleton

L'Héritier submitted his sword to Butterfield in surrender and it was presented to the dying Hood, who accepted it before expiring. At 22:50 Jason arrived and Stirling took charge of removing prisoners from Hercule and began the long process of extricating the two battered ships of the line from the dangerous Raz de Seinchannel. Losses on the French ship were not accurately recorded in the aftermath of the action, but some accounts suggested they were as high as 400 although a more realistic estimate of 290 casualties was made by the surviving French officers. British losses amounted to three officers and 19 men killed, eight men missing (believed to have drowned after falling overboard resisting L'Héritier's boarding attempts) and another 60 wounded. The weather was fortunately calm, as neither Mars nor Hercule were in a condition to survive a storm, and with great care Hercule was brought into Plymouth on 27 April and repairs were begun with the intention of restoring the ship to active service condition. The cost of these repairs totaled £12,500 (the equivalent of £1,292,500 as of 2019),[20][7] but HMS Herculewas ultimately commissioned into the Royal Navy and served until 1810.

Historian Robert Gardiner has noted that this "classic fight" was unusual in being fought between two single ships of the line of equal force and size without an external influence, and Edward Pelham Brenton wrote in 1823 that "The meeting of two ships of the line is a circumstance of rare occurrence, and its decision in our favour a brilliant ornament to our naval history": he could only identify three other such incidents in British naval history. Examination of the relative size and strength of the combatants shows that they were well-matched: the respective broadside weights were 984 lbs on Mars to 985 lbs on Hercule; Hercules at 1,876 tons burthen measured only 34 tons more than Mars, and Hercule's understrength crew of 680 was still 46 more than on board Mars and the British crew had also been active during the Spithead Mutiny in 1797, during which Hood had been temporarily deposed as captain. Both were relatively new ships, Hercule only 24 hours at sea while Mars was the nameship of the 1794 Mars class built at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars. In summary, historian William James indicates that the greater experience of Hood's crew and the nearby presence of other British ships gave Mars a slight advantage, but that "the action of the Mars and Hercule was one that, in the conduct of it throughout, reflected about an equal share of credit upon both the contending parties."

Although some British histories reported that L'Héritier died of his wounds in the aftermath of the action, this was not the case; on his return to France following exchange, L'Héritier faced a court martial for the loss of his ship and was honorably acquitted and received a letter of praising his resistance from Minister of Marine Rear-Admiral Étienne Eustache Bruix. In Britain, Butterfield was promoted to commander, and Hood was posthumously commended, Bridport writing in his official dispatch that "No Praise of mine can add one Ray of Brilliancy to the distinguished Valour of Captain Alexander Hood". His body was returned to England and buried near his home in Butleigh, Somerset under a monument provided by his family.


HMS Hercule was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was previously Hercule, a Téméraire class ship of the line of the French Navy, but was captured on her maiden voyage in 1798, and spent the rest of her career as a British ship. She was broken up in 1810


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

Battle of the Raz de Sein - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Mars_(1794)

HMS Hercule (1798) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
21 April 1806 – Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa.
HMS Tremendous (74) and HMS Hindostan (50) engaged Canonniere (50)


The Action of 21 April 1806 was a minor engagement between a French frigate and British forces off South Africa during the Napoleonic Wars. The Île Bonaparte and Île de France constituted French outposts in the Indian Ocean, from which privateers and frigate squadrons could engage in commerce raiding and disrupt British shipping. After encountering a strongly escorted British convoy, the 40-gun Cannonière attempted to flee, but was rejoined by the 74-gun HMS Tremendous. In the ensuing battle, Captain Bourayne displayed superior sailmanship and managed to fend off his much stronger opponent by a combination of manoeuvers that rendered the batteries of Tremendous ineffective, and threatened her with sustaining raking fire. The French frigate thus managed to evade and escape.


In the foreground, HMS Tremendous aborts her attempt at raking Cannonière under the threat of being outmanoeuvred and raked herself by her more agile opponent. In the background, the Indiaman Charlton fires her parting broadside at Cannonière.
The Action of 21 April 1806 as depicted by Pierre-Julien Gilbert. The two events were in fact separated by several hours.



Background
In 1806, a French squadron under admiral Linois operated the Indian Ocean. In addition to the usual frigates and corvettes, in this case the Belle Poule, Sémillante, Berceau and Aventurier, the flaghip of the squadron was a 74-gun ship of the line, the Marengo.

On 14 November 1805, the 40-gun Canonnière sailed from Cherbourg under Captain César-Joseph Bourayne in order to reinforce and resupply Linois's squadron. She arrived at Ile de France in April, but failed to find Linois's forces; unbeknownst to Bourayne, the squadron had been destroyed in the Action of 13 March 1806. Hoping to join Linois, Canonnière sailed to patrol the Indian Ocean.

Battle
On 20 April, as she cruised off Natal, Canonnière spotted an 11-Indiamen convoy, escorted by the 74-gun HMS Tremendous, under Captain John Osborn, and the 50-gun HMS Hindostan, under Captain Alexander Fraser. Tremendous gave chase, and Canonnière attempted to flee the much stronger opponent. The light wind favoured the frigate, which would have escaped had she not been forced to adjust her course to avoid the land. The wind then strengthened, favouring Tremendous.

At 15:30, Canonnière and Tremendous began exchanging fire from their chase guns. After a 7-hour chase, Tremendous had closed in enough to make the battle inevitable, and Canonnière turned hard to starboard and opened fire, Tremendous responding in kind. However, Canonnière had the initiative and had prepared her rigging before the manoeuver, while Tremendous had had to imitate the frigate in haste and was still sailing full sail, including her studding sails. This induced a pronounced listing on Tremendous, hindering the efficiency of her artillery. The British had to adjust their sails in haste, which gave an advantage to Canonnière.

At 17:15, the rigging of Tremendous had suffered from the fire of the frigate, and she was in danger of losing her mizen. Osborn then attempted the rake Canonnière, but the frigate outmanoeuvred the 74-gun and took the position which would put the bow of Tremendous in her broadside at the end of her evolution, which Osborn thus cancelled.

At 17:35, the two ships were sailing on almost parallel courses, but increasing distance. The Indiaman Charlton fired a broadside at Canonnière in passing, from a long distance, but her fire was ineffective and she did not press her attack.[2] The frigate and the British eventually broke contact.

Aftermath
In spite of the overwhelming superiority of her opponents, Canonnière had managed to escape with light damage, and Captain Bourayne wounded, but not seriously. The British historian William Jamespraised Bourayne for his sober and accurate account of the engagement: "No rodomontade; all is plainly, yet minutely told, and, in every material point, agrees with the entry in the British ship's log"; he furthermore cites the action as a textbook example of defence against a stronger opponent:

“

The action of the Tremendous and Canonnière affords a lesson to officers, who find themselves suddenly assailed by a decidedly superior force. It teaches them that, by a judicious and protracted defence, their ship may escape, even when, in a manner, close under the guns of an opponent, whose single broadside, well directed (the chief point wherein the Tremendousappears to have failed), must either sink or disable her.

”

Canonnière was very nearly captured on 29 April, however, when she sailed into the harbour of Simon's Town, ignorant of the fact that the Dutch colony had been captured by the British. A boat of the frigate was sent ashore with ensign Larouvraye, and as soon as it reach the ground, the Dutch flags on the buildings were replaced by the Union Jack, and the forts opened fire on Canonnière, which narrowly escaped without being seriously hit.

Bourayne then return to Reunion, and from there cruised to the Philippines. He would continue to operate in the Indian Ocean and harass the British, notably costing them the 30-gun HMS Laurel.


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

HMS Hindostan (variously Hindustan or Hindoostan) was a 50-gun two-decker fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally a teak-built East Indiaman named Admiral Rainier launched at Calcutta in 1799 that the Royal Navy brought into service in May 1804. Before the Royal Navy purchased her, Admiral Rainier made two trips to England for the British British East India Company (EIC), as an "extra ship", i.e., under charter. Perhaps her best known voyage was her trip to Australia in 1809 when she and Dromedary brought Governor Lachlan Macquarie to replace Governor William Bligh after the Rum Rebellion. In later years she became a store ship, and in 1819 was renamed Dolphin. She was hulked in 1824 to serve as a prison ship, and renamed Justitia in 1831. She was finally sold in 1855.

HMS Tremendous was a 74-gun Ganges-class third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 30 October 1784 at Deptford.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_21_April_1806
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Minerve_(1794)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Tremendous_(1784)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hindostan_(1804)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
21 April 1810 – Launch of HMS America, a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, at Blackwall Yard.


HMS America was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1810 at Blackwall Yard.



In 1812 she was part of a British squadron consisting of the frigate Curacoa, and Swallow when they intercepted a French convoy that had left Genoa on 11 June, heading for Toulon. The convoy consisted of 14 merchant vessels, several gunboats, and most importantly, the brig-corvette Renard, of 16 guns, under the command of Lieutenant de vaisseau Charles Baudin, and the schooner Goéland, of 12 guns, under the command of Enseigne de vaisseauBelin. The British on 15 June drove the French to take shelter at the Île Sainte-Marguerite. The next day Swallow came close to reconnoitre, the other two British ships having to hold off because of shallow water. Although the French escorts came out when they saw Swallow becalmed, they then turned back when the winds picked up and took their convoy to Fréjus. There the French escort vessels took on board some reinforcements and then turned to engage Swallow.

A sanguine but inconclusive action ensued. Eventually, Swallow hauled off to rejoin the two larger British ships, which were coming up, while Renard and Goéland rejoined their convoy, now in the Bay of Grimaud. The action cost Swallow six men killed and 17 wounded, out of 109 men on board. Renard had a crew of 94, which had been doubled by the troops taken on at Fréjus. In all she lost 14 men killed and 28 wounded, including her captain, Lieutenant Baudin. Goéland had a crew of 113 men but her casualties are not known. She did not engage deeply in the battle, though she did exchange some fire with Swallow.

In 1827 America was cut down into a fourth rate.

During the rising tensions with the United States over the Oregon boundary dispute, HMS America was dispatched to the Pacific Northwest in 1845. Leaving the Straits of Juan de Fuca on 1 October, the vessel sailed for the Kingdom of Hawaii and later the Pacific Station at Valparaíso, in Chile. While at the Pacific Station, Captain John Gordon ordered the valuable cargo of HMS Daphne be moved to his ship and departed to deliver it to the United Kingdom. For removing the second most powerful British vessel on the Pacific coast of the Americas during the Oregon crisis, Gordon was court-martialed and reprimanded.

America was broken up in 1867


Scale: 1:48. Contemporary copy of a plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Conquestadore' (1810), 'Armada' (1810), 'Vigo' (1810), 'Cressey' (1810), 'La Hogue' (1811), 'Vindictive' (1813), 'Poictiers' (1809), 'Vengeur' (1810), 'Edinburgh' (1811), 'Dublin' (1812), 'Duncan' (1811), 'Indus' (1812), 'Rodney' (1809), 'Cornwall' (1812), 'Redoutable' (1815), 'Anson' (1812), 'Agincourt' (1817), 'Ajax' (1809), 'America' (1810), 'Barham' (1811), 'Benbow' (1813), 'Berwick' (1809), 'Blenheim' (1813), 'Clarence' (1812), 'Defence' (1815), 'Devonshire' (1812), 'Egmont' (1810), 'Hercules' (1815), 'Medway' (1812), 'Pembroke' (1812), 'Pitt' (1816), 'Russell' (1822), 'Scarborough' (1812), 'Stirling Castle' (1811), 'Wellington' (1816), 'Mulgrave' (1812), 'Gloucester' (1812), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The plan includes alterations for a rounded bow and circular stern



Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the mizzen, main and foremast channel elevations, sections, and plan views for America (1810), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, as fitted to the plan of Captain James Couch [seniority: 24 January 1824]. Signed by Thomas F Hawkes [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1837-1843]


Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the section and plan of part of the magazine and ballast for Barham (1811), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, which had been cut down to a 50-gun Fourth Rate Frigate in 1826 at Woolwich. She was then fitted for sea at Woolwich in 1831 for the Mediterranean. The plan seems to have also been used for America (1810) another 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker, while she was being cut down to a 50-gun Fourth Rate at Plymouth Dockyard between 1827 and 1835. Signed by Oliver Lang [Master Shipwright, Woolwich Dockyard, DATES]



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_America_(1810)

Vengeur-class ship of the line - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81499.html

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
21 April 1837 – Launch of HMS Hazard, an 18-gun Favorite-class sloop of the Royal Navy.


HMS Hazard was an 18-gun Favorite-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was one of four Favorite-class ship sloops, which were a ship-rigged and lengthened version of the 1796 Cruizer-class brig-sloop. All four ships of the class were ordered on 10 June 1823. She was launched in 1837 from Portsmouth Dockyard.




Lines (ZAZ4577)

Service off West Africa and in the Mediterranean
In July 1837 Hazard sailed for the coast of Senegal to protect British shipping and to patrol the coast of West Africa. In October 1837 she was in the Mediterranean. She took part in the Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841), also known as the Second Syrian War, when the British Mediterranean Fleetunder Admiral Sir Robert Stopford, supported the Ottoman Empire and took action to compel the Egyptians to withdraw from Beirut. During the Oriental Crisis of 1840 Hazard was involved in the bombardment of St. Jean d’Acre on 3 November 1840.

First Anglo-Chinese War
In September 1841, she returned to Portsmouth then sailed to Hong Kong to serve in the East Indies and China Station. During the period 1841–42 she served with Sir William Parker's ships in the First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–42),[2] known popularly as the First Opium War.

Service in the First Māori War in New Zealand

Memorial to George Phillpotts in St James' Church, Sydney erected by his brother officers of the Hazard and North Star


Memorial at "Christ Church" in Russell, for Royal Navy personnel killed during the fighting in 1845.

Hazard, under Acting-Commander Robertson, operated in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand during the Flagstaff War in 1845. Hazard was in the Bay of Islands on 11 March 1845 when a force of about 600 Māori armed with muskets, double-barrelled guns and tomahawks attacked Kororareka (as Russell was then known). Royal Marines and sailors from Hazard took part in the fighting ashore aiding a detachment of the 96th Regt. during the Battle of Kororāreka. The Hazard lost 6 men killed and 8 wounded.[3] Lieutenant George Philpotts ordered the bombardment of Kororāreka. The next morning, all surviving inhabitants of Kororareka sailed for Auckland in the Hazard, the 21-gun United States corvette USS St. Louis, the Government brigantine Victoria and the schooner Dolphin.

On 30 June 1845 a small naval brigade from both HMS Hazard and HMS North Star supported the 58th Regt. and other colonial forces at the Battle of Ohaeawai. The colonial forces were repulsed by Māori warriors with serious losses including Lieutenant George Phillpotts.

Further service in the East Indies and China Station
In November 1845 HMS Hazard sails from the Bay of Islands, for Hong Kong. In April 1846 she was part of a squadron supporting Sir James Brooke (Raja Brooke of the Kingdom of Sarawak) in suppressing insurgency in the Sultanate of Brunei.

She was reduced to 14 guns in 1848, and was eventually broken up at the yards of J. Samuel White, Cowes by 12 February 1866.


Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the midship section for Childers (1827), Cruizer (1828), Favorite (1829), Hyacinth (1829), Racehorse (1830) and Hazard (1837), all 18-gun flush-decked Ship Sloops as originally designed. Favorite (1829), Hyacinth (1829), Racehorse (1830) and Hazard (1837) were subsequently lengthened by 9 ft 6 inches. The plan also has alterations from 1826 and 1831

HMS Hazard (1837) - Wikipedia

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