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

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 February 1866 - Naval Battle of Abtao


The Battle of Abtao was a naval battle fought on February 7, 1866, during the Chincha Islands War, between a Spanish squadron and a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, at the island of Abtao in the Gulf of Ancud near Chiloé Archipelago in south-central Chile. It reduced to a long-range exchange of fire between the two squadrons, as the Allied ships, anchored behind the island, were protected by shallow waters impracticable for the Spanish ships, whose gunnery, nevertheless, proved more accurate and inflicted damage to the Chilean and Peruvian ships.

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Spanish screw frigates Blanca and Villa de Madridduring battle, by Federico Castellón Martínez. Naval Museum of Madrid

Background
Sent by Peruvian president Mariano Ignacio Prado, who had rallied the South Americans in defense against Spanish aggression, the allies had sailed in convoy from the town of Ancud to the island of Abtao to wait for the arrival of two new corvettes acquired by Peru.

The Spanish commander Casto Méndez Núñez, informed about the location of the Peruvian-Chilean fleet, ordered that the steam frigates Villa de Madrid (Captain Claudio Alvar González) and Reina Blanca(Commander Juan Topete), lift the blockade on Valparaiso and sail towards Abtao to intercept the enemy fleet.

On January 16, 1866, the combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, composed of the Peruvian frigates Apurímac and Amazonas and the recently captured and refurbished Chilean schooner Covadonga, had convoyed from the port of Ancud towards the shipyards on the little island of Abtao, at the head of the southern Chiloé Archipelago. On Abtao island, the Chileans had also built some military fortifications, which were strategically located at the end of a shallow and treacherous channel.

During the difficult trip, the 36-gun steam frigate Amazonas, suffering from the force of currents, collided with a submerged rock near Punta Quilque and sank. The rest of the allied ships arrived without problems, and remained in Abtao with orders to wait for the arrival of the Peruvian corvettes Unión and América in order to start the offensive against the Spanish force. These ships arrived on February 4, 1866 without being detected by the enemy ships.

Meanwhile, the Spanish force was informed by the aborigines about the presence of other ships near Abtao, and immediately set course to the island.

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Battle
The frigates Villa de Madrid and Reina Blanca appeared off the inlet of Abtao on February 7, 1866, but did not enter, for fear of the shallow waters.

Manuel Villar, Commander of the Peruvian First Naval Division and commander of the combined fleet, ordered the attack when the Spaniards began to proceed through the widest channel. The allied ships (which included Apurímac, América, Unión, and Covadonga) formed a line of battle to cover both inlets of the channel with their artillery.

The Allied fleet opened fire at 15:30 hours from 1500 meters, followed by fire of the Spanish fleet, which showed great accuracy despite the two frigates being forced to shoot alternately due to the position of the Allied fleet. The Apurímac was hit three times at the water line, forcing her to move north. The América was hit six times. The Unión, where two crewman were killed, was hit three times, and the Covadonga, one. The Spanish ships received fourteen hits, mainly by the América and the Unión, which caused only little damage and left 6 crewmen wounded.

After two hours of battle and more of 1500 shots from each side, the Spanish frigates, seeing that the Allied fleet was well protected in her position around the shoals, decided to leave the reef and waited to go out to sea. But this did not happen, and at 9:00 am of the following day, the Spanish squadron returned to their base.

In his report to the Admiral Méndez Nuñez, the Spanish Captain Claudio Alvar González wrote:

The most effective and precise shots came from the Peruvian corvettes Unión and América.

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In the ongoing conflict between Spain and the Peru-Chile alliance in the Chincha Islands War, two Spanish warships, Villa de Madrid and Blanca, sought to engage Chilean-Peruvian naval units and avenge earlier Spanish naval defeats. Attacking four enemy vessels in the narrow straits off the Chilean port of Abtao, the Spanish ships inflicted damage and casualties from a distance but could not follow up in water unsuitable for their larger vessels. (By John Osborne)

Aftermath
After the results of the battle of Abtao, the Rear Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez traveled south with the Numancia, Resolución and Reina Blanca to try to force a new confrontation with the allies. But his efforts were unsuccessful. The Allied fleet had moved to Huito, a position much more difficult to access than Abtao.

On March 25, the Peruvian corvettes Unión and América were sent to the Strait of Magellan to intercept the Spanish frigate Almansa, that according to intelligence reports, had been dispatched from Spain to reinforce the Pacific fleet. The Peruvian ships remained in the area for over a month, but were not able to locate it. The Almansa didn't arrive to the Pacific coast until the end of April. The Chilean government also sent steamer Maipú to the strait to intercept the Spanish steamers Odessa and Vascongada.

The rest of the Allied fleet remained on the defensive in southern Chile, awaiting the arrival of the ironclads Huáscar and Independencia, destined to become the factor that would change the force equilibrium. Both ships had departed from Brest on 26 February, in what was a long and difficult journey. They were accompanied by the British Steamer Thames, which transported coal and other provisions. On 30 March 1866, in front of Brazilian waters, the Peruvian ironclads caused new problems for the Spaniards by intercepting the bergantines Dorotea and Paco. The Dorotea was destroyed, while the Paco was able to avoid capture by moving quickly. On 22 August 1866 the Spanish frigate Gerona captured the Chilean schooner Pampero when it set sail from the jetty of Funchal to Chile.

Notable sailors in the battle
Sub-lieutenant Patricio Montojo y Pasarón, later to become an Admiral and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Navy in the Philippines during the Spanish–American War, participated in this battle from the frigate Almansa.

Lieutenants Arturo Prat (Chilean) and Miguel Grau (Peruvian), who were later to battle each other at the Naval Battle of Iquique, were comrades in this battle.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Abtao
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 February 1905 - The French cruiser Sully, an armored cruiser of the Gloire class, wrecked


The French cruiser Sully was an armored cruiser of the Gloire class that was built for the French Navy in the early 1900s. She was named in honor of Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, trusted minister of King Henry IV. The ship struck a rock in Hạ Long Bay, French Indochina in 1905, only eight months after she was completed, and was a total loss.

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Sister ship Gloire in 1913

Design and description

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Right elevation and plan of the Gloire-class armored cruisers

The Gloire-class ships were designed as enlarged and improved versions of the Gueydon-class armored cruisers by Emile Bertin. Her crew numbered 612 officers and men.[2] The ship measured 139.8 meters (458 ft 8 in) overall, with a beam of 20.2 meters (66 ft 3 in). Sully had a draft of 7.7 meters (25 ft 3 in) and displaced 10,014 metric tons (9,856 long tons).

Sully had three propeller shafts, each powered by one vertical triple-expansion steam engine, which were rated at a total of 20,500 indicated horsepower(15,300 kW). Twenty-four Belleville water-tube boilers provided steam for her engines. She had a designed speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph). She carried up to 1,590 long tons (1,620 t) of coal and could steam for 12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

Sully's main armament consisted of two 194 mm (7.6 in) guns mounted in single-gun turrets fore and aft. Her intermediate armament was eight 164 mm (6.5 in)guns. Four of these were in single gun turrets on the sides of the ship and the other four were in casemates. For anti-torpedo boat defense, she carried six 100 mm (3.9 in) guns in casemates and eighteen 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns. She was also armed with five 450-millimeter (18 in) torpedo tubes; two of these were submerged and the others were above water.

The waterline armored belt of the Gloire-class ships was 170 millimeters (6.7 in) thick amidships and tapered to 106 millimeters (4.2 in) towards the bow and stern. Above the main belt was another belt, 127 millimeters (5 in) thick that also tapered to 106 mm at the ends of the ship. The main gun turrets were protected by 173 millimeters (6.8 in) of armor and the intermediate turrets by 120 millimeters (4.7 in). The flat part of the lower armored deck was 45 millimeters (1.8 in), but increased to 64 millimeters (2.5 in) as it sloped down to the sides of the ship.

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Service
Sully was laid down at the Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard in La Seyne on 24 May 1899 and launched on 4 June 1901. The ship was completed in June 1904 and sent to French Indochina for her first commission. On 7 February 1905 Sully struck a rock in Hạ Long Bay; her crew was not injured. Her guns and equipment were salvaged, but the ship broke in two and was abandoned as a total loss.


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Amiral Aube at the Quebec Tercentenary, 1908

The Gloire-class cruisers were a group of five armored cruisers built for the French Navy during the first decade of the 20th century.

Ships
  • Gloire, launched 27 June 1900. Decommissioned in 1922 and subsequently broken up.
  • Marseillaise, launched 14 July 1900. Decommissioned in 1929 and subsequently broken up.
  • Sully, launched June 1901. Wrecked in Halong Bay, Tonkin, French Indochina, 30 September 1905.
  • Condé, launched 12 March 1902. Decommissioned in 1933 and used as a target.
  • Amiral Aube, launched 9 May 1902. Decommissioned in 1922 and subsequently broken up.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_cruiser_Sully
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloire-class_cruiser
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
7 February 1917 - SS California (1907) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine SM U-85

The twin screw steamer California was built by D & W Henderson Ltd, Glasgow for the Anchor Line Ltd in 1907 as a replacement for the aging ocean liner Astoria, which had been in continuous service since 1884. She worked the Glasgow to New York transatlantic route and was sunk by the German submarine SM U-85 on 7 February 1917.

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California delivering war brides to New York in 1911

Building
SS California was 8,662 GRT (6,791 under deck and 5,403 net), with a length of 470 feet (140 m), a beam of 58.3 feet (17.8 m) and a draught of 34 feet (10 m). The California had three decks: the poop deck was 70 feet (21 m) long, the bridge 213 feet (65 m) long and the forecastle 91 feet (28 m) long. She had two black funnels, two giant masts (one fore and one aft), twin screw propeller propulsion and was capable of achieving a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h). She was fitted with a triple expansion engine with 6 cylinders of 271⁄2, 46 and 75 inches each pair; it had a stroke of 54 inches and produced 827 nominal horsepower. The engine was built by the same company that built her hull. The ship was capable of carrying a total of 1214 passengers: 232 first class, 248 second class and 734 third class. She was outfitted with the latest appointments, including electric light and refrigerating machinery.

History

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SS California in New York Harbor around 1907

Launch
She was officially launched on 9 July 1907, having been christened by the Lady Ure Primrose, wife of Sir John Ure Primrose, Lord Lieutenant of the County of the City of Glasgow. Captain J Blaikie was appointed to the ship that same year. She was given the call sign "HLQJ", and the official registration number 124230. Her maiden transatlantic voyage from Glasgow to New York began on 12 October 1907.

Grounding on Tory Island
On 28 June 1914 California ran aground on Tory Island off the north-west coast of Ireland in dense fog with over 1,000 passengers on board. The ship’s bows caved in upon impact, and though she took on water through two holes in her hold she remained above water. Three British warships including the destroyer Swift, as well as the ocean liner Cassandra, aided the stricken vessel and assisted in transferring stranded passengers back to shore. The ship was towed back to Glasgow on 20 August 1914, and less than two months later was repaired and refloated. She resumed Glasgow - Liverpool - New York sailings for the Cunard - Anchor joint service on 13 October 1915.

Fire in Manhattan
Shortly after 8 pm on 13 May 1916 a fire began in her Number 1 cargo hold as she was docked at Pier 64 on the North River in Manhattan. Of great concern to the first responders and her crew was that she was in the process of being loaded up with, amongst other things, highly volatile war munitions destined for Liverpool, England. The quick action of the Superintendent of the Pier, and his subsequent sounding of the alarm, led to a quick response by a nearby fireboat that assisted the crew in fighting the blaze. The fire was successfully extinguished shortly after 1030 pm that same night. The fire was ultimately deemed accidental, and as the damage was minimal,[vague] she set sail the following Monday as scheduled. Had the fire not been noticed by the superintendent in time, or had the ship been fully loaded with munitions when the fire erupted, the ship and surrounding section of Manhattan might have sustained a catastrophe comparable to the Halifax Explosion.

Loss
California sailed on her last Glasgow to New York voyage on 12 January 1917. She began her return voyage on 29 January 1917 with 184 crew and 31 passengers on board. On 3 February 1917, as she sailed on her return trip towards Scotland, German U-boats attacked and sank the SS Housatonic, an act which led to the breaking off of diplomatic relations between the United States and the German Empire.

On the morning of 7 February 1917 when homeward-bound and approaching Ireland under full steam, she was attacked by SM U-85 in a surprise attack. The German submarine, under the command of Kapitanleutenant Willy Petz, fired two torpedoes at California; one struck the ship squarely on the port quarter near the Number 4 hatch. Five people were killed instantly in the explosion; thirty-six people drowned either as the ship went down or when one filled lifeboat was swamped in the wake of the burning vessel, which plowed ahead losing little headway as she went down. She sank in nine minutes, 38 miles (61 km) W by S of Fastnet Rock, Ireland with a loss of 41 lives. Though Captain John L Henderson stayed on the bridge through the entire incident, and subsequently went down with the ship, incredibly he made his way to the surface and was rescued.

According to the Royal Navy, on 12 March 1917 the Q-ship HMS Privet avenged the sinking of California. Posing as an unarmed merchant vessel, the crew of Privet lured U-85 to the surface after sustaining heavy damage in an unprovoked attack by the submarine. As Privet’s highly trained crew feigned abandoning ship, they uncovered the ship’s hidden guns and opened fire on the submarine at close range. U-85 was sunk by gunfire, and Kapitanleutenant Petz and his crew of 37 men were killed.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_California_(1907)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 7 February


1758 - Cptn. Samuel Hood joined HMS Vestal (1757 - 32).

HMS Vestal was one of the four 32-gun Southampton-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and was broken up in 1775.

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During the Seven Years' War, on 21 February 1759, Vestal, under the command of Captain Samuel Hood, was part of a squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral Charles Holmes bound for North America. Vestalwas in advance of the squadron when she sighted a sail ahead, and set off in pursuit. Vestal came up to the enemy ship, the 32-gun Bellone, at 2 p.m. After a fierce engagement lasting four hours, Bellone surrendered, having forty men killed, and being totally dismasted. Vestal had only her lower masts standing, and had five killed and twenty wounded. She returned to Spithead with her prize, which was bought into the Navy and renamed Repulse. The prize money for the capture of the Bellone was paid out at Portsmouth from May 1760.

In June 1759 Vestal was part of Rear-Admiral George Brydges Rodney's squadron, which bombarded Le Havre destroying flat-bottomed boats and supplies which had been collected there for a planned invasion of England.

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Scale: 1:48. A plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for an unnamed 130ft French Fifth Rate, Frigate (circa 1760), as taken off prior to fitting as a British Frigate. The 'Flora' (1761), a 32-gun Fifth Rate, ex French Frigate Vestal (1757) has similar dimensions. The French identity comes from the shape and size of the tumblehome, the position of the wheel behind the mizzen mast, only one set of bits on the Upper Deck, and the lack of an Orlop Deck. The date is uncertain, but is likely to be sometime between 1756 and 1783, as Frigates become larger by the French Revolutionary Wars.

Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command of Antelope, he drove a French ship ashore in Audierne Bay, and captured two privateers in 1757 during the Seven Years' War. He held senior command as Commander-in-Chief, North American Station and then as Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station, leading the British fleet to victory at Battle of the Mona Passage in April 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, then First Naval Lord and, after briefly returning to the Portsmouth command, became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet during the French Revolutionary Wars.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Vestal_(1757)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Hood,_1st_Viscount_Hood
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/384024.html


1793 - Cptn. Horatio Nelson joins HMS Agamemnon (1781 - 64).

HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She saw service in the Anglo-French War, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts. She is remembered as being Nelson's favourite ship, and was named after the mythical ancient Greek king Agamemnon, being the first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Raisonnable (1768), and later for Agamemnon (1781) and Belliqueux (1780), all 64-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. Signed by Thomas Slade [Surveyor of the Navy, 1755-1771], and John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784]

The future Lord Nelson served as Agamemnon's captain from January 1793 for 3 years and 3 months, during which time she saw considerable service in the Mediterranean. After Nelson's departure, she was involved in the infamous 1797 mutinies at Spithead and the Nore, and in 1801 was present at the first Battle of Copenhagen, but ran aground before being able to enter the action.

Despite Nelson's fondness for the ship, she was frequently in need of repair and refitting, and would likely have been hulked or scrapped in 1802 had war with France not recommenced. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, as part of Nelson's weather column, where she forced the surrender of the Spanish four-decker Santísima Trinidad. Agamemnon's later career was served in South American waters off Brazil.

Her worn-out and poor condition contributed to her being wrecked when in June 1809 she grounded on an uncharted shoal in the mouth of the River Plate, whilst seeking shelter with the rest of her squadron from a storm. All hands and most of the ship's stores were saved, but the condition of the ship's timbers made it impossible to free the ship; her captain was cleared of responsibility for the ship's loss thanks to documents detailing her defects. Recently, the wreck of Agamemnon has been located, and several artefacts have been recovered, including one of her cannons.

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Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, by Lemuel Francis Abbott

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Agamemnon_(1781)
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-289643;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=A
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson,_1st_Viscount_Nelson


1800 - The frigate USS Essex, commanded by Capt. Edward Preble, becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to cross the Equator.

The first USS Essex of the United States Navy was a 36-gun or 32-gun sailing frigate that participated in the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and in the War of 1812. The British captured her in 1814 and she then served as HMS Essex until sold at public auction on 6 June 1837.

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The frigate was built by Enos Briggs, Salem, Massachusetts, at a cost of $139,362 subscribed by the people of Salem and Essex County, to a design by William Hackett. Essex was armed with mostly short range carronades that could not hope to match the range of 18 and 24 pounder naval guns. She was launched on 30 September 1799. On 17 December 1799 she was presented to the United States Navy and accepted by Captain Edward Preble.

With the United States involved in naval action against France on 6 January 1800, Essex, under the command of Captain Preble, departed Newport, Rhode Island, in company with Congress to rendezvous with a convoy of merchant ships returning from Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Shortly after commencement of her journey, Essex became the first US Naval Ship to cross the Equator. Congress was dismasted only a few days out, and Essex was obliged to continue her voyage alone, making her mark as the first US man-of-war to double the Cape of Good Hope, both in March and in August 1800 prior to successfully completing her convoy mission in November.

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Essex capturing Alert.

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


1810 - HMS Achates (10), Thomas Pinto, wrecked at Guadeloupe.

HMS Achates (1808) was a 10-gun Cherokee-class brig-sloop launched in 1808 and wrecked in 1810 off Guadeloupe.


1814 - During the War of 1812, the schooner USS Enterprise and the brig USS Rattlesnake capture and burn the British merchant brig Rambler in the Caribbean Sea.


1829 HMS Nightingale (8), Lt. George Wood, wrecked on the Shingles


1920 – Death of Alexander Kolchak, Russian admiral and explorer (b. 1874)

Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak KB (Russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Колча́к; 16 November [O.S. 4 November] 1874 – 7 February 1920) was an Imperial Russian admiral, military leader and polar explorer who served in the Imperial Russian Navy, who fought in the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. During the Russian Civil War, he established an anti-communist government in Siberia—later the Provisional All-Russian Government—and was recognised as the "Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief of All Russian Land and Sea Forces" by the other leaders of the White movement from 1918 to 1920. His government was based in Omsk, in southwestern Siberia.

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For 2 years, Kolchak was Russia's internationally recognized head of state. However, his effort to unite the White Movement failed; Kolchak refused to consider autonomy for ethnic minorities and refused to cooperate with non-Bolshevik leftists, heavily relying on outside aid. This served only to boost the Reds morale, as it allowed them to label Kolchak as a "Western Puppet". As his White forces fell apart, he was betrayed and captured by the Czechoslovak Legion who handed him over to local Socialists-Revolutionaries, and he was soon after executed by the Bolsheviks.

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


1943 - USS Growler (SS-215) fights a desperate night battle with the Japanese supply ship Hayasaki, during which the boat's commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Howard W. Gilmore rams the enemy ship, badly bending Growler's bow. Wounded by machine gun fire and unable to go below, Gilmore gives the order "Take her down!," sacrificing himself so his submarine could dive to safety. For his "distinguished gallantry and valor" on this occasion and earlier in the patrol, he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted one rank.

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USS Growler (SS-215), a Gato-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy named for the growler. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 2 November 1941 and sponsored by Mrs. Lucile E. Ghormley, wife of Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, Special Naval Observer to the United Kingdom. The boat was commissioned on 20 March 1942 with Lieutenant Commander Howard W. Gilmore in command.


1945 - USS Thomason (DE 203) sinks the Japanese submarine RO 55 off Iba, Luzon. USS Bergall (SS 320) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks Coast Defense Vessel No. 53 off Cam Ranh Bay. USS Guavina (SS 362) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks merchant tanker Taigyo Maru, off Saigon, French Indochina while USS Parche (SS 384) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Okinoyama Maru in Tokara Retto.

USS Thomason (DE-203) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy in World War II. She was named in honor of Marine Raider Sergeant Clyde A. Thomason (1914–1942), the first Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II — posthumously, for heroism during the Makin Island raid.


1955 - Seventh Fleet ships began the evacuation of Chinese nationalists from Tachen Islands.
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1794 HMS Fortitude (1780 - 74), Cptn. William Young, and HMS Juno (1780 - 32) engaged tower on Mortella Point, Corsica an event which eventually led to the construction of 'Martello' towers on the south coast of England.
(some sources say 7th, some 8th February)


HMS Fortitude was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by John Randall & Co. and launched on 23 March 1780 at Rotherhithe.

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Battle of Dogger Bank

Under Captain Richard Bickerton, Fortitude served in the English Channel. In April 1781 she participated in the second relief of Gibraltar. In May 1781, during the Fourth Anglo–Dutch War, Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker'sshifted his flag from HMS Victory to Fortitude. On 5 August, Fortitude fought in the Battle of Dogger Bankas Parker's flagship. After a desperate, bloody battle in which neither combatant gained any advantage, both sides drew off.

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French Revolutionary Wars
In 1793, under Captain William Young she sailed for the Mediterranean to join Admiral Sir Samuel Hood's fleet there.

On 7 February 1794 Fortitude, under the command of Captain William Young, and Juno attacked a tower at Mortella Point, on the coast of Corsica. The tower, though manned by only 33 men and heavily damaged by the ships' guns, held out for two days before surrendering to land-based forces under Sir John Moore, having lost two men mortally wounded. In her unsuccessful bombardment, Fortitude suffered extensive damage to her hull, masts, rigging and sails, particularly from heated shot, and had three lower-deck guns disabled. In all, she lost six men killed and 56 men wounded, including eight dangerously. The design of the tower so impressed the British that they made it the model for Martello Towers that they would later construct in Great Britain and many of their colonies.

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The resistance of the Torra di Mortella to the British in 1794 inspired Martello towers

Under Captain Thomas Taylor Fortitude was involved in actions off Genoa on 13 March 1795, and Hyères on 13 July 1795. The action on 13 March resulted in Admiral William Hotham's Mediterranean Fleet chasing the French fleet and capturing the Ça-Ira and the Censeur, with the two fleets then sailing off in opposite directions. The action on 13 July was also indecisive, though the British captured a French 74-gun ship. Admiral Hotham resigned on 1 November 1795.

On 25 September 1795, Fortitude set sail for Britain with a large convoy. On 7 October 1795 the convoy sighted a large French squadron, off Cape St. Vincent, which sailed in pursuit of them. Before the French arrived, Censeur lost her fore topmast and had only a frigate's main mast left, rendering her useless. She was also lightly manned and short of powder. In the subsequent exchange the French recaptured Censeur, along with 30 ships of the convoy. The rest continued on to England.

Fate
Fortitude served as a prison ship from 1795 and as a powder hulk at Portsmouth from 1802. She was broken up there in 1820.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for building Grafton (1771), and with approved alterations dated 1778 for Fortitude (1780), both 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. Signed by Thomas Slade [Surveyor of the Navy, 1755-1771].


HMS Juno was a Royal Navy 32-gun Amazon-class fifth rate. This frigate served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

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Construction and commissioning
Juno was ordered on 21 October 1778 and laid down in December that year at the yards of the shipbuilder Robert Batson & Co, of Limehouse. She was launched on 30 September 1780 and completed by 14 December 1780 that year at Deptford Dockyard.[2] £8,500 1s 5d was paid to the builder, with a further £8,184 18s 1d being spent on fitting her out and having her coppered.

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JUNO 1780 lines & profile Date: NMM, Progress Book, volume 5, folio 245, states that 'Andromache' was begun in June 1780 at Adams & Barnard on the River Thames. She was launched 17 Nvoember and sent to Deptford Dockyard for fitting. It is likely to be her as 'Ambuscade' was launched in 1773.


Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.

They stand up to 40 feet (12 m) high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15–25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse, and hence fire over, a complete 360° circle. A few towers had moats or other batteries and works attached for extra defence.

The Martello towers were used during the first half of the 19th century, but became obsolete with the introduction of powerful rifled artillery. Many have survived to the present day, often preserved as historic monuments.

In the second half of the 19th century, there was another spate of tower and fort building, during the premiership of Lord Palmerston. The Palmerston Forts are also circular in design and resemble Martello towers.

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Diagram of the interior of a Martello tower

Origins
On 7 February 1794 as part of the siege of Saint-Florent, two British warships, HMS Fortitude (74 guns) and HMS Juno (32 guns), unsuccessfully attacked the tower at Mortella Point; the tower eventually fell to land-based forces under Sir John Moore after two days of heavy fighting. What helped the British was that the tower's two 18-pounder guns fired seaward, while only the one 6-pounder could fire land-ward.

Vice-Admiral Lord Hood reported:

...The Fortitude and Juno were ordered against it, without making the least impression by a continued cannonade of two hours and a half; and the former ship being very much damaged by red-hot shot, both hauled off. The walls of the Tower were of a prodigious thickness, and the parapet, where there were two eighteen-pounders, was lined with bass junk,[Note 1] five feet from the walls, and filled up with sand; and although it was cannonaded from the Height for two days, within 150 yards, and appeared in a very shattered state, the enemy still held out; but a few hot shot setting fire to the bass, made them call for quarter. The number of men in the Tower were 33; only two were wounded, and those mortally.[4]
Late in the previous year, the tower's French defenders had abandoned it after HMS Lowestoffe (32 guns) had fired two broadsides at it. The British removed the guns to arm a small vessel; consequently, the French were easily able to dislodge the garrison of Corsican patriots that had replaced them.[5] Still, the British were impressed by the effectiveness of the tower when properly supplied and defended, and copied the design. But, they got the name wrong, misspelling "Mortella" as "Martello" (which means "hammer" in Italian). When the British withdrew from Corsica in 1803, with great difficulty they blew up the tower, leaving it in an unusable state.

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An aerial view of a Martello tower



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Fortitude_(1780)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Juno_(1780)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martello_tower
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1805 - HMS Curieux (1804 - 18), George Edmund Byron Bettesworth, captured French privateer brig Dame Ernouf (1805 - 16) some 60 miles east of Barbados.


HMS Seaforth was the French privateer Dame Ernouf, which HMS Curieux captured in 1805. The Royal Navy took her into service, but she foundered later that year.

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

Capture
On 8 February 1805, Curieux chased the French privateer Dame Ernouf (or Madame Ernouf) for twelve hours before Curieux was able to bring her to action. After forty minutes of hard fighting the captain of Dame Ernouf, which had a crew almost twice as many crew members as Curieux, manoeuvred to attempt a boarding. Commander George Edmund Byron Bettesworth anticipated this and put his helm a-starboard, catching Dame Ernouf's jib-boom so that he could rake her. Unable to fight back, Dame Ernouff struck. The action cost Curieux five men killed and four wounded, including Bettesworth, who took a hit in his head from a musket ball. Dame Ernouf had 30 men killed and 41 wounded. She carried 16 French long 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 120. This was the same armament as Curieux carried, but in a smaller vessel. Bettesworth opined that she had fought so gallantly because her captain was also a part-owner. She was 20 days out of Guadeloupe and had taken one brig, which, however, Nimrod had recaptured.

The British took Dame Ernouf into service as HMS Seaforth, presumably naming her after Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, then Governor of Barbados. The Navy commissioned her under Lieutenant George Steel (or Steele).

Loss
On 30 September a squall off Antigua caught Seaforth and she foundered quickly. There were only two survivors, out of her crew of 86 men.


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

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Design
Curieux was a prototype, and the only vessel of her class. Construction on the subsequent Curieux-class brigs started in 1803.

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The French brig sloop ‘Curieux’ was fitted out at Martinique in order to attack British interests. As she was a threat to British West Indian commerce, the British Commodore Hood gave orders for her capture. Under the command of Lieutenant Robert Carthew Reynolds four boats with 60 seamen and 12 marines set out on a moonlit night from the British ship ‘Centaur’. This meant a 20-mile row to reach the ‘Curieux’ lying under the protection of the guns of Fort Edward. When Reynolds’s barge came in under the stern of the ‘Curieux’ he found that, providentially, a rope ladder hung down the side. He scaled it and cut a hole in the anti-boarding nets to enable his men to pour on board. Before she was taken the French lost nearly 40 killed and wounded. The British had nine wounded and Reynolds, who was one of them, subsequently died of his wounds. On the right side of the picture the ‘Curieux’ is shown just before her capture. Her anti-boarding netting is clearly visible. The sailors can be seen loosing her sails and cutting her cable, while the guns of Fort Edward are firing. A moon shines between her masts and in the left foreground another battery is in action. The painting is signed and dated ‘F. Sartoruis 1805’.

Capture
On 4 February 1804, HMS Centaur sent four boats and 72 men under Lieutenant Robert Carthew Reynolds to cut her out at Fort Royal harbour, Martinique. The British suffered nine wounded, two of whom, including Reynolds, later died. The French suffered ten dead and 30 wounded, many mortally. Cordier, wounded, fell into a boat and escaped. The British sent Curieux under a flag of truce to Fort Royal to hand the wounded over to their countrymen.

The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Curieux, a brig-sloop. Reynolds commissioned her but he had been severely wounded in the action and though he lingered for a while, died in September.

Reynold's successor was George Edmund Byron Bettesworth, who had been a lieutenant on Centaur and part of the cutting out expedition. Curieux's first lieutenant was John George Boss who had been a midshipman on Centaur and also in the cutting out expedition.

In June 1804, Curieux recaptured the English brig Albion, which was carrying a cargo of coal. Then, on 15 July, she captured the French privateer schooner Elizabeth of six guns. That same day she captured the schooner Betsey, which was sailing in ballast.

In September Curieux recaptured the English brig Princess Royal, which was carrying government stores. Then in January 1805 Curieuxrecaptured an American ship, from St. Domingo, that was carrying coffee. The American had been the prize of a French privateer.

Curieux and Dame Ernouf
Then on 8 February 1805, Curieux chased the French privateer Dame Ernouf (or Madame Ernouf) for twelve hours before she able to bring her to action.[4] After forty minutes of hard fighting Dame Ernouf, which had a crew almost double in size relative to that of Curieux, maneuvered to attempt a boarding. Bettesworth anticipated this and put his helm a-starboard, catching his opponent's jib-boom so that he could rake the French vessel. Unable to fight back, the Dame Ernouff struck. The action cost Curieux five men killed and four wounded, including Bettesworth, who took a hit in his head from a musket ball. Dame Ernouf had 30 men killed and 41 wounded. She carried 16 French long 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 120. This was the same armament as Curieux carried, but in a smaller vessel. Bettesworth opined that she had fought so gallantly because her captain was also a part-owner. She was 20 days out of Guadeloupe and had taken one brig, which, however, Nimrod had recaptured. The British took Dame Ernouf into service as Seaforth, but she capsized and foundered in a gale on 30 September 1805.[6] There were only two survivors.

On 25 February Curieux, under Bettesworth, captured a Spanish launch, name unknown, which she took into Tortola.

Lieutenant Boss was on leave at the time of the action but later took over as acting commander while Bettesworth recuperated. At Cumana Gut, Boss cut out several schooners and later took a brig from St. Eustatia. Curieux and the schooner Tobago cooperated in capturing two merchantmen lying for protection under the batteries at Barcelona, on the coast of Caraccas.

On 7 July, Curieux arrived in Plymouth with dispatches from Lord Nelson. On her way, she had spotted Admiral Villeneuve's Franco-Spanish squadron on its way back to Europe from the West Indies and alerted the Admiralty. Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Calder, with 15 ships of the line, intercepted Villeneuve on 22 July, but the subsequent Battle of Cape Finisterre was indecisive, with the British capturing only two enemy ships.

James Johnstone took command of Curieux in July 1805. After refitting she sailed for the Lisbon station. On 25 November 1805 Curieux captured the Spanish privateer Brilliano, under the command of Don Joseph Advis, some 13 leagues west of Cape Selleiro. She was a lugger of five carriage guns and a crew of 35 men. Brilliano, which had been out five days from Port Carrel and two days before Cureuxcaptured her, had taken the English brig Mary, sailing from Lynn to Lisbon with a cargo of coal. Brilliano had also taken the brig Nymphe, which had been sailing from Newfoundland with a cargo of fish for Viana. The next day Curieux apparently captured San Josef el Brilliant.

On 5 February 1806, two years after her own capture, Curieux captured the 6-gun privateer Baltidore (alias Fenix) and her crew of 47 men. The capture occurred 27 leagues west of Lisbon after a chase of four hours. Baltidore had been out of Ferrol one month, during which time she had captured Good Intent, which had been sailing from Lisbon for London. About a month earlier, on 3 January, Mercury had recaptured Good Intent, which had been part of a convoy that Mercury had been escorting from Newfoundland to Portugal.

Curieux and Revanche
In March 1806 John Sheriff took over as captain of Curieux. On 3 December 1807, off Barbados, Curieux, now armed with eight 6-pounders and ten 18-pounder carronades, engaged the 25-gun privateer Revanche, commanded by Captain Vidal. Revanche, which had been the slaver British Tar, was the more heavily armed (chiefly English 9-pounders, and one long French 18-pounder upon a traversing carriage on the forecastle) and had a crew of 200 men. Revanche nearly disabled Curieux, while killing Sheriff. Lieutenant Thomas Muir wanted to board Revanche, but too few crewmen were willing to follow him. The two vessels broke off the action and Revanche escaped. Curieux, whose shrouds and back-stays were shot away, and whose two topmasts and jib-boom had been damaged, was unable to pursue.

In addition to the loss of her captain, Curieux had suffered another seven dead and 14 wounded. Revanche, according to a paragraph in the Moniteur, lost two men killed and 13 wounded. Curieux, as soon as her crew had partially repaired her, made sail and anchored the next day in Carlisle Bay, Barbados. A subsequent court martial into why Muir had not taken or destroyed the enemy vessel mildly rebuked Muir for not having hove-to repair his vessel's damage once it became obvious that Curieux was in no condition to overtake Revanche.

Further service
In February 1808 Commander Thomas Tucker assumed command, to be succeeded by Commander Andrew Hodge. Lieutenant the Honourable Henry George Moysey, possibly acting, then took command. Under his command Curieux was engaged in the blockade of Guadaloupe, where she cut out a privateer from St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica.

On 18 February 1809, Latona captured the French frigate Felicité. Curieux shared in the prize money, together with all the other vessels that been associated in the blockade of the Saintes.

Loss
On 22 September 1809, at about 3:30am, Curieux struck a rock off Petit-Terre off the Îles des Saintes. The rock was 30 yards from the beach in 11 feet of water. At first light, Hazard came to her assistance and her guns and stores were removed. Hazard then winched Curieux off a quarter of a cable but she slipped back and ran directly onto the reef. There she bilged. All her crew was saved but the British burned her to prevent her recapture. A court martial board found Lieutenant John Felton, the officer of the watch, guilty of negligence and dismissed him from the service. Moysey died the next month of yellow fever.

Post script
On 30 August 1860, the Prince of Wales was visiting Sherbrooke, where he met John Felton, who had emigrated to Canada after being dismissed the service. The Prince of Wales exercised his royal prerogative and restored Felton to his erstwhile rank in the Navy.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Seaforth_(1805)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Curieux_(1804)
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1809 – Launch of French La Golymin, a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy (of the Duquesne sub-class).


The Golymin was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy (of the Duquesne sub-class). Built in Lorient in 1804, she was launched in 1809. Wrecked on Mengam Rock in the roads of Brest on 23 March 1814, she is the source of the Obusier de vaisseau currently on display in the Musée national de la Marine in Paris and in Brest.

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Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Golymin (1809), on display at the Musée de la Marine in Paris.

Career
She was commissioned under Captain Amand Leduc on 1 January 1812, taking part in Allemand's escape from Lorient in March.

On 23 March 1814, Golymin was despatched from Brest to assist two frigates inbound for the harbour, but a gust of wind pushed her on Mengam Rock, where she was wrecked and sank. The crew managed to abandon ship in good order and was ferried ashore by boats without loss of life.[4]Leduc was court-martialled and found innocent of the loss of the ship on 15 July 1814.

The wreck was discovered in 1977 by Michèle and Jean-Marie Retornaz, and explored by the DRASSM in 1980

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On display at the Musée national de la Marine in Brest in Paris


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Golymin_(1809)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Téméraire-class_ship_of_the_line
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1813 - Boats of HMS Belvidera (36), Cptn. Richard Byron, HMS Maidstone, HMS Junon (38), Cptn. James Sanders, and HMS Statira (38), Cptn. Hassard Stackpoole, took American letter of marque Lottery (6)


HMS Canso was the American letter of marque schooner Lottery, launched in 1811, which a British squadron captured in 1813. The Royal Navy took Lottery into service as HMS Canso and she served during the War of 1812 and briefly thereafter. The navy sold her in 1816.

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Career and capture
Lottery was copper-bottomed and fastened. She was pierced for 16 cannons, though she was armed with only six 12-pounder carronades at the time of her capture.

She sailed under a letter of marque dated 24 July 1812, was armed with six 9-pounder carronades, and had a crew of 30 men under the command of her captain John Southcomb. On her way to Pernambuco she captured one prize, the brig Preston, which however contained so little of value that Southcomb gave her up. Preston, of 10 guns and 13 men, was under the command of Captain Ditchburn. Preston had been on her way to Trinidad when Lottery captured her.

Lottery reached Pernambuco on 7 October. On her way back to Baltimore, Lottery captured the schooner Dolphin, under the command of Samuel Green, which had been sailing from New Brunswick to Jamaica. Lottery also released Dolphin.

On his return, Southcomb remained in Baltimore until 6 February. He exchanged Lottery's armament for six 12-pounder carronades, and assembled a crew of 28 men.

On 8 February 1813, nine boats and 200 men of a British naval squadron comprising Belvidera, Statira, Maidstone, and Junon captured Lottery in Lynnhaven Bay on the Chesapeake. Her crew put up a strong defense with the result that the British cutting out party suffered six men wounded, half severely or dangerously, one of whom died later; the Americans suffered 19 men wounded, including Southcomb, before they struck. Southcomb died of his wounds and his body was taken ashore. Lottery had been carrying a cargo of coffee, sugar and lumber from Baltimore to Bordeaux. The British had earlier captured the schooner Rebecca, and they sent her into Norfolk as a cartel with the American wounded.

British service
A week after her capture, Lottery convoyed several prizes to Bermuda. There the Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Canso under the command of Lieutenant Wentworth P. Croke, who assumed command on 28 February. (He would remain her commander until she was sold.) On 12 May Canso and Pictou arrived in Halifax with the mail from Bermuda and five vessels that they were convoying.

On 11 September Canso captured the ship Massachusetts. Then on 13 November Canso was among several vessels that grounded in a hurricane at Halifax. Most, including Canso, suffered no material injury and were quickly got off.

On 11 May 1814, Canso recaptured the brig Traveller, of Leith. Traveller, Bishop, master, had been sailing from North Bergen to Gibraltar when the American privateer Surprise had captured her.

In the second half of the year Canso was part of a squadron that operated in the Chesapeake. There, between 17 and 19 July vessels of the squadron captured the schooners Buzi and Margaret, with cargoes of flour, tobacco, tar, and clothing. A first-class share of the prize money was worth £13 1sd; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth 2s 8d. On 23 July they captured the schooner Unity, including 176 hogsheads of tobacco.

On 4 September the brig Charlotte arrived at Halifax. She had been sailing from Antigua to Greenock or Port Glasgow when the US privateer Mammoth captured her. Canso recaptured Charlotte, but the US privateer Grand Turk recaptured her for the Americans. Then Wasp re-captured Charlotte for the last time and sent her in to Halifax.

Between 29 November and 19 December 1814, captured the schooner Mary and the transports Lloyd and Abeona.

The squadron, under the command of Admiral George Cockburn, then sailed south to St. Marys, Georgia, where they attacked Fort Peter, a small fort protecting the town. Point Peter is located at the mouth of Point Peter Creek and the St. Marys River. The battle of Fort Peter occurred in January 1815, after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which would end the War of 1812, but before the treaty's ratification. The attack on Fort Peter occurred at the same time as the siege of Fort St. Philip in Louisiana and was part of the British occupation of St. Marys and Cumberland Island.

At Fort Peter on 13 January the British captured two American gunboats and 12 merchantmen, including the East Indiaman Countess of Harcourt, which an American privateer had captured on her way from India to London. Prize money for the Countess of Harcourt, the bark Maria Theresa, goods from the ship Carl Gustaff, and the schooner Cooler, was paid in April 1824.

On 31 January the squadron captured St. Simons, Georgia, and the schooner Reserve. Off Amelia Island on 10 and 12 February the squadron captured the ships Maria Francisca and Governor Kindeland. Lastly, two days later they captured the brig Fortuna, Jansen, master, also off Amelia Island.

Post-war and fate
In July 1815, Canso seized four vessels at Bermuda: the brig Roland (7 July), the schooner Farmer's Delight ( 17 July), and schooners Stralsund and Pheasant (27 July). Proceeds were received from the Custom House, suggesting that smuggling was involved.

The Navy offered Canso for sale on 18 April 1816 at Deptford. The Navy sold Canso on 30 May 1816.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Canso_(1813)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1904 - The Battle of Port Arthur
A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.



The Battle of Port Arthur (Japanese: 旅順口海戦 Hepburn: Ryojunkō Kaisen) of Monday 8 February – Tuesday 9 February 1904 marked the commencement of the Russo-Japanese War. It began with a surprise night attack by a squadron of Japanese destroyers on the Russian fleet anchored at Port Arthur, Manchuria, and continued with an engagement of major surface combatants the following morning; further skirmishing off Port Arthur would continue until May 1904. The battle ended inconclusively, though the war resulted in a decisive Japanese victory.

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Japanese print displaying the destruction of a Russian ship

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Background
The opening stage of the Russo-Japanese War began with pre-emptive strikes by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the Russian Pacific Fleet based at Port Arthur and at Chemulpo. Admiral Tōgō's initial plan was to swoop down upon Port Arthur with the 1st Division of the Combined Fleet, consisting of the six pre-dreadnought battleships Hatsuse, Shikishima, Asahi, Fuji, and Yashima, led by the flagship Mikasa, and the 2nd Division, consisting of the armored cruisers Iwate, Azuma, Izumo, Yakumo, and Tokiwa. These capital ships and cruisers were accompanied by some 15 destroyers and around 20 smaller torpedo boats. In reserve were the cruisers Kasagi, Chitose, Takasago, and Yoshino. With this large, well-trained and well-armed force, and surprise on his side, Admiral Tōgō hoped to deliver a crushing blow to the Russian fleet soon after the severance of diplomatic relations between the Japanese and Russian governments.

On the Russian side, Admiral Stark had the pre-dreadnought battleships Petropavlovsk, Sevastopol, Peresvet, Pobeda, Poltava, Tsesarevich, and Retvizan, supported by the armored cruiser Bayan and the protected cruisers Pallada, Diana, Askold, Novik, and Boyarin, all based within the protection of the fortified naval base of Port Arthur. However, the defenses of Port Arthur were not as strong as they could have been, as few of the shore artillery batteries were operational, funds for improving the defenses had been diverted to nearby Dalny, and most of the officer corps was celebrating at a party being hosted by Admiral Stark on the night of 9 February 1904.

As Admiral Tōgō had received false information from local spies in and around Port Arthur that the garrisons of the forts guarding the port were on full alert, he was unwilling to risk his precious capital ships to the Russian shore artillery and therefore held back his main battle fleet. Instead, the destroyer force was split into two attack squadrons, one squadron with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd flotillas to attack Port Arthur, and the other squadron, with the 4th and 5th flotillas, to attack the Russian base at Dalny.

Night attack of 8–9 February 1904

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Illustration of the destruction of Russian destroyers by Japanese destroyers at Port Arthur

At about 22:30 on Monday 8 February 1904, the Port Arthur attack squadron of 10 destroyers encountered patrolling Russian destroyers. The Russians were under orders not to initiate combat, and turned to report the contact to headquarters. However, as a result of the encounter, two Japanese destroyers collided and fell behind and the remainder became scattered. At circa 00:28 on 9 February, the first four Japanese destroyers approached the port of Port Arthur without being observed, and launched a torpedo attack against the Pallada (which was hit amidship, caught fire, and keeled over) and the Retvizan (which was holed in her bow). The other Japanese destroyers were less successful; many of the torpedoes became caught in the extended torpedo nets which effectively prevented most of the torpedoes from striking the vitals of the Russian battleships. Other destroyers had arrived too late to benefit from surprise, and made their attacks individually rather than in a group. However, they were able to disable the most powerful ship of the Russian fleet, the battleship Tsesarevich. The Japanese destroyer Oboro made the last attack, around 02:00, by which time the Russians were fully awake, and their searchlights and gunfire made accurate and close range torpedo attacks impossible.

Despite ideal conditions for a surprise attack, the results were relatively poor. Of the sixteen torpedoes fired, all but three either missed or failed to explode. But luck was against the Russians insofar as two of the three torpedoes hit their best battleships: the Retvizan and the Tsesarevich were put out of action for weeks, as was the protected cruiser Pallada.

Surface engagement of 9 February 1904

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A Japanese torpedo boat approaches a Russian torpedo boat. A Japanese sailor attacks with a saber the commander of the enemy ship and then throws him to the sea in a furious impetus (Angelo Agostini, O Malho, 1904).

Following the night attack, Admiral Tōgō sent his subordinate, Vice Admiral Dewa Shigetō, with four cruisers on a reconnaissance mission at 08:00 to look into the Port Arthur anchorage and to assess the damage. By 09:00 Admiral Dewa was close enough to make out the Russian fleet through the morning mist. He observed 12 battleships and cruisers, three or four of which seemed to be badly listing or to be aground. The smaller vessels outside the harbor entrance were in apparent disarray. Dewa approached to about 7,500 yards (6,900 m) of the harbor, but as no notice was taken of the Japanese ships, he was convinced that the night attack had successfully paralyzed the Russian fleet, and sped off to report to Admiral Tōgō.

Unaware that the Russian fleet was getting ready for battle, Dewa urged Admiral Tōgō that the moment was extremely advantageous for the main fleet to quickly attack. Although Tōgō would have preferred luring the Russian fleet away from the protection of the shore batteries, Dewa's mistakenly optimistic conclusions meant that the risk was justified. Admiral Tōgō ordered the First Division to attack the harbor, with the Third Division in reserve in the rear.

Upon approaching Port Arthur the Japanese came upon the Russian cruiser Boyarin, which was on patrol. Boyarin fired on the Mikasa at extreme range, then turned and fled. At around 12:00, at a range of about 5 miles, combat commenced between the Japanese and Russian fleets. The Japanese concentrated the fire of their 12" guns on the shore batteries while using their 8" and 6" against the Russian ships. Shooting was poor on both sides, but the Japanese severely damaged the Novik, Petropavlovsk, Poltava, Diana and Askold. However, it soon became evident that Admiral Dewa had made a critical error; the Russians had recovered from the initial destroyer attack, and their battleships had steam up. In the first five minutes of the battle Mikasa was hit by a ricocheting shell, which burst over her, wounding the chief engineer, the flag lieutenant, and five other officers and men, wrecking the aft bridge.

At 12:20, Admiral Tōgō decided to reverse course and escape the trap. It was a highly risky maneuver that exposed the fleet to the full brunt of the Russian shore batteries. Despite the heavy firing, the Japanese battleships completed the maneuver and rapidly withdrew out of range. The Shikishima, Mikasa, Fuji, and Hatsuse all took damage, receiving 7 hits amongst them. Several hits were also made on Admiral Kamimura Hikonojō's cruisers as they reached the turning point. The Russians in return had received about 5 hits, distributed amongst the battleships Petropavlovsk, Pobeda, Poltava, and the Sevastopol. During this same time, the cruiser Novik had closed to within 3,300 yards (3,000 m) of the Japanese cruisers and launched a torpedo salvo. All missed although the Novik had received a severe shell hit below the waterline.

Outcome

Although the naval Battle of Port Arthur had resulted in no major warship losses, the IJN had been driven from the battlefield by the combined fire of the Russian battleships and shore batteries, thus attributing to them a minor victory. The Russians took 150 casualties to around 90 for the Japanese. Although no ship was sunk on either side, several took damage. However, the Japanese had ship repair and drydock facilities in Sasebo with which to make repairs, whereas the Russian fleet had only very limited repair capability at Port Arthur.

It was obvious that Admiral Dewa had failed to press his reconnaissance closely enough, and that once the true situation was apparent, Admiral Tōgō's objection to engage the Russians under their shore batteries was justified.

The formal declaration of war between Japan and Russia was issued on 10 February 1904, a day after the battle. The attack, conducted against a largely unassuming and unprepared neutral power in peacetime, has been widely compared to the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Subsequent naval actions at Port Arthur, February–December 1904
On Thursday 11 February 1904, the Russian minelayer Yenisei started to mine the entrance to Port Arthur. One of the mines washed up against the ship's rudder, exploded and caused the ship to sink, with loss of 120 of the ship's complement of 200. Yenisei also sank with the only map indicating the position of the mines. The Boyarin, sent to investigate the accident, also struck a mine and was abandoned, although staying afloat. She sank two days later after hitting a second mine.

Admiral Togo set sail from Sasebo again on Sunday 14 February 1904, with all ships except for Fuji. On the morning of Wednesday 24 February 1904, an attempt was made to scuttle five old transport vessels to block the entry to Port Arthur, sealing the Russian fleet inside. The plan was foiled by Retvizan, which was still grounded outside the harbor. In the poor light, the Russians mistook the old transports for battleships, and an exultant Viceroy Yevgeni Alekseyev telegraphed the Tsar of his great naval victory. After daylight revealed the truth, a second telegram needed to be sent.

On Tuesday 8 March 1904, Russian Admiral Stepan Makarov arrived in Port Arthur to assume command from the unfortunate Admiral Stark, thus raising Russian morale. He raised his flag on the newly repaired Askold. On the morning of Thursday 10 March 1904, the Russian fleet took to the offensive, and attacked the blockading Japanese squadron, but to little effect. In the evening of 10 March 1904, the Japanese attempted a ruse by sending four destroyers close to the harbor. The Russians took the bait, and sent out six destroyers in pursuit; whereupon the Japanese mined the entrance to the harbor and moved into position to block the destroyers' return. Two of the Russian destroyers were sunk, despite efforts by Admiral Makarov to come to their rescue.

On Tuesday 22 March 1904, Fuji and Yashima were attacked by the Russian fleet under Admiral Makarov, and Fuji was forced to withdraw to Sasebo for repairs. Under Makarov, the Russian fleet was growing more confident and better trained. In response, on Sunday 27 March 1904, Tōgō again attempted to block Port Arthur, this time using four more old transports filled with stones and concrete. The attack again failed as the transports were sunk too far away from the entrance to the harbor.

On 13 April 1904, Makarov (who had now transferred his flag to Petropavlovsk) left port to go to the assistance of a destroyer squadron he had sent on reconnaissance north to Dalny. He was accompanied by the Russian cruisers Askold, Diana, and Novik, along with the battleships Poltava, Sevastopol, Pobeda, and Peresvet. The Japanese fleet was waiting, and Makarov withdrew towards the protection of the shore batteries at Port Arthur. However, the area had been recently mined by the Japanese. At 09:43, Petropavlovsk struck three mines, exploded and sank within two minutes. The disaster killed 635 officers and men, along with Admiral Makarov. At 10:15, Pobeda was also crippled by a mine. The following day, Admiral Togo ordered all flags to be flown at half mast, and that a day’s mourning be observed for his fallen adversary. Makarov was officially replaced by Admiral Nikolai Skrydlov on 1 April 1904; however, Skrydlov was unable to reach his command due to the Japanese blockade, and remained at Vladivostok overseeing command of the Vladivostok cruiser squadron until recalled to St Petersburg on 20 December.

On 3 May 1904, Admiral Togo made his third and final attempt at blocking the entrance to Port Arthur, this time with eight old transports. This attempt also failed, but Togo proclaimed it to be a success, thus clearing the way for the Japanese Second Army to land in Manchuria. Although Port Arthur was as good as blocked, due to the lack of initiative by Makarov's successors, Japanese naval losses began to mount, largely due to Russian mines. On 15 May, two Japanese battleships, the 12,320-ton Yashima and the 15,300-ton Hatsuse, sank in a Russian minefield off Port Arthur after they both struck at least two mines each, eliminating one-third of Japan's battleship force, the worst day for the Japanese Navy during the war.

Further naval operations from Port Arthur resulted in two break-out attempts by the Russians. The first was on 23 June 1904, and the second on 10 August, the latter of which resulted in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, which was tactically inconclusive. Afterwards, the Russian fleet did not make any more attempts to break out from their port, while the Japanese fleet dominated the waters for the duration of the war. But mines laid by Russian minelayers were a continuing problem for the IJN and resulted in more losses. On 18 September 1904, the 2,150-ton gunboat Heien struck a Russian mine west of Port Arthur and sank. The same fate befell the 2,440-ton cruiser Saien on 30 November in the same minefield, and on 13 December, the 4,160-ton cruiser Takasago sank in another Russian minefield a few miles south of Port Arthur while giving naval gunfire support to the Japanese armies now besieging the port



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Port_Arthur
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1916 - the French cruiser Amiral Charner was torpedoed by the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-36 in the Mediterranean Sea off Beirut and sunk in two minutes. There was only one survivor from her crew of 427.

Amiral Charner was an armored cruiser built for the French Navy in the 1890s, the name ship of her class. She spent most of her career in the Mediterranean, although she was sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900–01. The ship was assigned to the International Squadron off the island of Crete during 1897-1898 revolt there and the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 to protect French interests and citizens. Amiral Charner spent most of the first decade of the 20th century as a training ship or in reserve. The ship was recommissioned when World War I began in 1914 and escorted convoys for several months before she was assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean to blockade the Ottoman-controlled coast. During this time, she helped to rescue several thousand Armenians from Syria during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Amiral Charnerwas sunk in early 1916 by a German submarine, with only a single survivor rescued.

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Design and description

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Line drawing from Brassey's Naval Annual 1902

The Amiral Charner-class ships were designed to be smaller and cheaper than the preceding armored cruiser design, the Dupuy de Lôme. Like the older ship, they were intended to fill the commerce-raiding strategy of the Jeune École.

The ship measured 106.12 meters (348 ft 2 in) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 14.04 meters (46 ft 1 in). Amiral Charner had a forward draft of 5.55 meters (18 ft 3 in) and drew 6.06 meters (19 ft 11 in) aft. She displaced 4,748 metric tons (4,673 long tons) at normal load and 4,990 metric tons (4,910 long tons) at deep load.

The Amiral Charner class had two triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single propeller shaft. Steam for the engines was provided by 16 Belleville boilers and they were rated at a total of 8,300 metric horsepower (6,100 kW) using forced draught. Amiral Charner had a designed speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), but during sea trials on 18 July 1895 the engines produced 8,956 metric horsepower (6,587 kW), but only gave a maximum speed of 18.4 knots (34.1 km/h; 21.2 mph). The ship carried up to 535 metric tons (527 long tons; 590 short tons) of coal and could steam for 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

The ships of the Amiral Charner class had a main armament that consisted of two Canon de 194 mm Modèle 1887 guns that were mounted in single gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. Their secondary armament comprised six Canon de 138.6 mm Modèle 1887 guns, each in single gun turrets on each broadside. For anti-torpedo boat defense, they carried four 65 mm (2.6 in) guns, four 47-millimeter (1.9 in) and eight 37-millimeter (1.5 in) five-barreled revolving Hotchkiss guns. They were also armed with four 450-millimeter (17.7 in) pivoting torpedo tubes; two mounted on each broadside above water.

The side of the Amiral Charner class was generally protected by 92 millimeters (3.6 in) of steel armor, from 1.3 meters (4 ft 3 in) below the waterline to 2.5 meters (8 ft 2 in) above it. The bottom 20 centimeters (7.9 in) tapered in thickness and the armor at the ends of the ships thinned to 60 millimeters (2.4 in). The curved protective deck of mild steel had a thickness of 40 millimeters (1.6 in) along its centerline that increased to 50 millimeters (2.0 in) at its outer edges. Protecting the boiler rooms, engine rooms, and magazines below it was a thin splinter deck. A watertight internal cofferdam, filled with cellulose, ran the length of the ship from the protective deck to a height of 1.2 meters (4 ft) above the waterline. Below the protective deck the ship was divided by 13 watertight transverse bulkheads with five more above it. The ship's conning tower and turrets were protected by 92 millimeters of armor.

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Construction and career
Amiral Charner, named after Admiral Léonard Charner, was laid down at the Arsenal de Rochefort with the name of Charner on 15 June 1889. She was launched on 18 March 1893 and renamed Amiral Charner on 25 March 1895 before she was commissioned on 26 August. The ship was initially assigned to the 2nd Light Division of the Mediterranean Squadron before she was briefly detached for service in the Eastern Mediterranean.

On 6 January 1896, Amiral Charner became the flagship of the Higher Naval War College (École supérieure de guerre de la marine), commanding her sister ship Latouche-Tréville and the protected cruiser Suchet. The mission of the school was to prepare officers for command at sea and for service on staffs. Ten months later, she was reassigned back to the active fleet on 20 October. The ship was sent to Crete on 10 February 1897 as part of the French contingent of the International Squadron deployed there during the Greco-Turkish War to protect Western interests and citizens and remained with the squadron until November 1898. Amiral Charner was reassigned to the college on 1 January 1899 together with the protected cruisers Friant and Davout. She was detached to the Northern Squadron (Escadre du Nord), based at Brest, for the first half of the year before returning to Toulon in late June. Three months later, the ship returned to Brest and was temporarily placed in reserve.

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In January 1900 she was ordered to Rochefort for repairs to her steam-piping in preparation for her upcoming deployment to the Far East. Amiral Charner departed Brest on 26 June and arrived in Saigon, French Indochina, on 1 August. She supported Allied forces during the later stages of the Boxer Rebellion in mid-1901 before returning to Toulon on 8 November. After a brief refit, the ship was assigned to the 3rd Armored Division on 24 January 1902. During the annual naval maneuvers in July–August 1902, Amiral Charner simulated defending against a force breaking into the Mediterranean from the Atlantic, attacked the fortifications at Bizerte, French North Africa, and blockaded hostile ports. She was placed in reserve in Toulon on 15 January 1903 and later assigned to the gunnery school there until the middle of 1910. Amiral Charner became the guardship at Souda Bay, Crete on 13 May until relieved by her sister Bruix in July 1912 and was then refitted before being placed in reserve at Bizerta, Tunisia.

When World War I began in August 1914, she was recommissioned and assigned to escort convoys between Morocco and France together with Latouche-Tréville and Bruix. In November she was assigned to the 3rd Division of the 3rd Squadron based at Port Said, Egypt where she bombarded Ottoman positions on the Syrian coast several times. Amiral Charner ran aground under enemy fire off Dedeagatch, Bulgaria on 3 March 1915 and had to be pulled off by the small Italian cargo liner SS Bosnia. Together with the predreadnought battleship Jauréguiberry and the protected cruiser Destrées, she was assigned to blockade the coast between Tripoli, Lebanon and El Arish, Egypt in late August. On 11–12 September, the ship participated in the rescue of 3,000 Armenians north of the Orontes RiverDelta from pursuing Ottoman troops. The ship supported the occupation of the island of Kastelorizo on 28 December, along with the armored cruiser Jeanne d'Arc.

Sailing from Ruad Island, Syria to Port Said, Egypt, Amiral Charner was torpedoed by the German submarine U-21 on the morning of 8 February 1916. She sank in only two minutes with the loss of nearly the entire crew. Some 427 men were lost, with only a single survivor rescued five days later.


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Bruix in coastal waters, before 1914

The Amiral Charner class was a group of four armoured cruisers built for the French Navy during the 1890s. They were designed to be smaller and cheaper than the preceding design while also serving as commerce raiders in times of war. Three of the ships were assigned to the International Squadron off the island of Crete during the 1897-1898 uprising there and the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 to protect French interests and citizens. With several exceptions the sister ships spent most of the first decade of the 20th century serving as training ships or in reserve. Bruix aided survivors of the devastating eruption of Mount Pelée on the island of Martinique in 1902. Chanzy was transferred to French Indochina in 1906 and ran aground off the Chinese coast in mid-1907. She proved impossible to refloat and was destroyed in place.

The three survivors escorted troop convoys from French North Africa to France for several months after the beginning of World War I in August 1914. Unlike her sisters, Bruix was transferred to the Atlantic to support Allied operations against the German colony of Kamerun in September 1914 while Amiral Charner and Latouche-Tréville were assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean. where they blockaded the Ottoman-controlled coast, and supported Allied operations. Amiral Charner was sunk in early 1916 by a German submarine. Latouche-Tréville became a training ship in late 1917 and was decommissioned in 1919. Bruix was decommissioned in Greece at the beginning of 1918 and recommissioned after the end of the war in November for service in the Black Sea against the Bolsheviks. She returned home in 1919 and was sold for scrap in 1921. Latouche-Tréville followed her to the breakers five years later.

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A postcard of Bruix in drydock at Brest, before 1914

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_cruiser_Amiral_Charner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiral_Charner-class_cruiser
 
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1921 - Death of Colin Archer


Colin Archer (22 July 1832 – 8 February 1921) was a Norwegian naval architect and shipbuilder whose most famous ship, the Fram, was used on both Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen's polar expeditions

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Early life
Colin Archer was born in Larvik as the 12th of 13 children to parents who immigrated to Norway from Scotland in 1825. Before his career in naval architecture, he spent time as a farmer and administrator in Queensland, Australia with several of his brothers, including David who first arrived in Sydney in 1834. During his time as an administrator he was contracted to produce a map of the Fitzroy River.

In 1861, Archer returned to Larvik and undertook the study of practical and theoretical shipbuilding. He married Karen Sophie Wiborg in 1869 with whom he had five children.

Career
Archer designed most of his vessels in the workroom of his residence. Before he started building sailboats, he studied the work of Fredrik Henrik af Chapman and especially his displacement curve. He also studied John Scott Russell's theories. His first boats were designed with a combination of Chapman's displacement parabola curve and Scott Russell's positioning of the midship section that was well aft of amidships and with sharp bow waterlines. His first pilot-boat had the midship section positioned 58% from the bow as opposed to the traditional position of 44% that revolutionized Norwegian double ended pilot-boats.

In 1872 his first pilot-boats were 33 feet long and clinker built. With a much sharper bow and deeper draught, they soon became known for seaworthiness and speed.

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Model of RS 1 Colin Archer in the Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway

The next and biggest pilot-boat improvement came in 1882, when he introduced the ballast keel and carvel building as before used on his yachts. With the improved stability generated by the ballast keel, Archer reduced the beam to 33% as opposed to the traditional 38-40%. The 36-foot boat were outstanding in performance and resisted capsizing.

In 1886 his pilot-boats outclassed all others in a pilot race with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th place of 12 participants. After that, he was made a Knight of the Order of St. Olav.

In 1892 several of his pilot-boats rescued fishing boats in a severe gale on the southeast coast of Norway, and after a design competition, he received an order to design a rescue boat for the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue (Norsk Selskab til Skibbrudnes Redning). This 47-foot boat proved so seaworthy that 33 were built, giving Archer and his shipyard a reputation for durable and safe ships.

Archer's double-ended pilot-boats were quite different from other Norwegian boats of the time as these were of the old Cod's Head-Mackerel Tail-type, shallow, blunt and beamy with poor windward abilities. Archer's deep and heavy ballast keels and sharp bow design gave the boat remarkable seaworthiness. Archer's double-enders, therefore, became referred to as a Colin Archer or Colin Archer-type no matter who designed or built them. Boats are still (2017) being built and labelled Colin Archer-type. Archer built about 120 double-enders, but thousands have been built worldwide.

Colin Archer built about 200 boats, 120 with ballast keels. His designs were also built at other yards, totaling about 50 in his lifetime. Today, 25 of his boats are still sailing.

Archer closed his business in 1909 at the age of 78.

Naval architect
In 1872 Archer published a 29-page design lecture that included Fredrik Henrik af Chapman's and John Scott Russell's theories.

Fueled by his belief in 1873 that shipbuilding is more lucrative than building boats, in 1874, Archer and investors founded the shipyard "Laurvig Strandeværft" in Rekkevik in the Larvik fjord. At its start, Archer was a 30% owner in his shipyard. Rekkevik lies 3 km from his boatyard at Tollerodden, at the inner harbour of Larvik. One of the investors was a ship owner and ordered the first ship. in 1886 Archer became sole owner of the shipyard.

Archer built four types of ships:

  • 1875: schooner Aries, 86 feet
  • 1880: brigantine Leon, 108 feet
  • 1892: polar ship Fram, 140 feet
  • 1900: auxiliary steam yacht Ingeborg, 94 feet
Archer designed a dozen other sailing ships, mostly three masted barks, that were built at other yards such as Arendal, on the south coast. Approximately 20 ships were built at the yard. Archer's shipyard also performed repair work and especially conversion and outfitting for polar expeditions.

The plans for the 1880 brigantine Leon were reproduced by Harold A. Underhill in his book Plank-On-Frame Models and Scale Masting and Rigging, vol. I. Many Leon models exist around the world, including one at Royal Museums Greenwich. Leon was built for Herlofsen in Arendal. The Herlofsens were a sailing and ship owning family, and Leon remained in the family's ownership until 1894. Leon then changed hands several times among various Norwegian owners. In 1897 she was re-rigged as a schooner. In late autumn 1915 she developed a serious leak while on a voyage in the North Sea from Granton to Porsgrunn with coal, and was abandoned.

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Model of the Fram 1898-1902 at the Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway. Model by Colin Archer

Polar ships
The most notable single ship built by Colin Archer was the Fram, which participated in Fridtjof Nansen's expeditions to the North Pole 1893-96 and in Roald Amundsen's 1911 historic first expedition to the South Pole. Fram is now preserved in the Fram Museum on Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway.

In 1886 the 3-masted bark Pollux seal and whaling ship was built to Colin Archer's design in Arendal. In 1897 she was bought by Carsten Borchgrevink and taken to Archer's yard and fitted out for polar expeditions. Renamed Southern Cross she sailed to Antarctica 1898-1900 and was later used by Roald Amundsen for his expedition to the south pole.

In 1898 the Italian prince and explorer Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi wanted to do polar expeditions. He travelled to Norway and consulted the famous polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen. In 1899 Amedo bought Jason, renamed her Stella Polare and took her to Colin Archer's shipyard. The interior was stripped out and new beams, diagonals and knees heavily strengthened the ship. Amedo set off in June 1899 and Stella Polare had hard time but survived thanks to Archer work.

In 1899, Archer also fitted Zarya for the Russian polar expedition of 1900–02. Zarya was strengthened with internal frames and beams, and deckhouses were added. The rig was changed to barkentine (square sail on foremast only). In October 1899 the ship was certified by Norwegian authorities for a three-year expedition in the Arctic.

Rescue boats

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RS 6, identical to RS1 COLIN ARCHER

Three cutter rigged Archer pilot0boats were built; 38, 41 and 42 feet length, fitted out as rescue boats and put into service in 1893.

After a design competition in 1892, Archer got an order for one ketch and based his design on his newest pilot-boat. The lines plan was scaled to 46 feet and slightly stretched so beam ratio became 33.5%. Freeboard height was increased with about 20 cm. The keel was widened so the ballast keel became considerably heavier at 6.5 tons. The inside ballast remained the same, 6-7 tons. The boat was launched July 1893 as the RS 1 COLIN ARCHER.

The rescue boats also sailed out with fishing fleets every day. There were no weather forecasts and no distress signals, so the rescue boats had to be at the scene if a storm arrived. As the wind increased, the smallest boats were towed to safety and returned to tow larger boats. Only one rescue boat and one crew were lost at sea.

33 ketch rigged rescue boats were built from 1893 to 1924. 28 of the ketches were Archer’s design and 13 were built by Archer. From 1909 – 1924 the last 13 ketches were built in the Risør area (35 n.m. SW of Larvik).

Archer made 2 new plans for rescue boats. The Mk II was built in 1897 has more overhang in the bow profile and thus more flare in the bow sections and a slightly fuller waterline in the bow. Length over deck became 47 feet and the boat had more stability for towing. Mk. III was built in 1908 with 20 cm more beam (34.4%) and a considerably fuller bow, but a finer stern. All versions have the midship section approx. 53% from bow. Mk. III’s lines are more symmetrically shaped than Archer normally used. The Mk. III rescue boat was considered the best boat in strong winds and most towing abilities.

Framing is kept relatively light with frame spacing 60–66 cm c-c with a thin stem bent oak rib in between. Planking was 38 mm oak and the inside of the frames was also planked (ceiling) with 50 mm pine. This was caulked watertight to the watertight cabin sole (floor) and thus, and floated when the planking got a leak.

To minimize pitching, the ballast was concentrated amidships, and anchor windlass and chain placed aft of the mast.

The rig was ketch (two mast) with a relatively short mast and very small mizzen. In a strong wind, they normally sailed with main and staysail only, often reefed. With boats in tow, the mizzen was used to point higher to the wind and help to tack. The rig was basically the same for all boats, but the spars became heavier for each upgrade.

The last sailing rescue boat was built in 1924. Next generation boats, the Bjarne Aas design with an engine but also full rig was built in 1932. A dozen of Archer's design served without an engine until 1940. With engine installed, they served until 1960.

Yachts

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NANNA built 1898 by Colin Archer. The cutter rig is typical for his yachts.

Colin Archer built about 60 yachts, each to a unique drawing, half being double-enders and the other half with counter sterns. Many of both double-enders and the counter stern yachts have plum stems. All yachts have more undercut forefoot than the workboats, especially after 1897.

The beam is 22-30% of the length over the deck. (As opposed to 33-36% for the pilot-boats and the rescue boats).

All yachts, except the Asgard, and all pilot-boats, are cutter rigged (one mast). The yachts have their main boom extending the stern for several feet that with a relatively tall mast enhanced performance. (The pilot-boats' boom normally extends the sternpost by one foot. Only the rescue boats and a few fishing boats, are ketch rigged (two masts)). The sail area for the yachts is in the range 100-125% of waterline length squared.

On almost all boats, Archer spaced grown pine frames 2 feet c-c with a thin steam bent oak rib between. This, together with thin, canvassed decks, made the yachts fairly light. The yachts have large ballast keels and normally no inside ballast, except a little for trim.

Archer's Wave Form Theory

Archer spent much time calculating how an efficient hull should be designed.He started with Chapman's displacement parabola curve, but with Scott Russell's positioning of the midship section well aft of amidships and thus with sharp bow waterlines.

In 1876 he changed Chapman's parabola for the displacement curve, with Scott Russell's wave curves; the sine curve forward and the trochoid curve aft. The change gave designers more freedom in shaping the hull than Scott Russell's theory.

We know now that the theory is not correct at all, but it did away with the old Cod's Head-Mackerel Tail-type. However, unless a well undercut forefoot, the bow line became very sharp with a tendency to make the boats "pitchy" and wet. The theory did not change Colin Archer's early lines as they were already sharp in the bow. With more undercut forefoot and the displacement curve extending the designed waterline, the lines became fuller and Archer's boats became the seaworthy boats he is known for.

Legacy
Colin Archer sold several boats to Sweden in the early 1880s and Swedish designers soon adapted the Archer type for pilot-boats and yachts. Norwegian pilot- and fishing boat builders converted to the Archer type after the rescue boat had shown its seaworthiness in 1894.

Archer also had customers in Denmark, Germany, Holland and England. In 1904, he built a boat for the writer Robert Erskine Childers named the Asgard.

Outside Scandinavia, the rescue boat lines have been the most popular design. The Archer-type outside of Norway has more beam and smaller rig than Archer's actual yachts.

In 1908 the 47 feet OEGER was designed by Archer but built in Porsgrunn. The customer was the English sailor Haig that had already sailed in north Norway and wanted to have a more seaworthy boat to go to Spitsbergen. The lines were narrower version (32% beam) of the Mk. III rescue boat. The rig, however, was cutter with large sail area. The boat was sold to Ralph Stock in 1919 who undertook a cruise around the world with her. In 1921 the popular book The Cruise of the Dream Ship based on Stock's voyage was published.

In the early 1920s, a 47 feet yacht was built in China. The lines were based on Colin Archer’s 1908 Mk. III rescue boat plans. The boat was named SHANGHAI and sailed to Denmark in 1923/24 by the Danish owners and sold to an American judge F. DeWitt Wells to undertake a voyage similar to the Vikings to America.[13] In June 1923, plans for SHANGHAI were published in the American magazine MotorBoat.

In 1924 William Atkin was contacted by W.W. Nutting, editor of the American magazine MotorBoat and earlier Atkin customer. He wanted a yacht based on Colin Archer’s rescue boats. Atkin designed a 32 feet yacht with lines basically a scaled down version of Colin Archer’s Mk. III rescue boat, slightly sharper bow lines and with a cutter rig. To save money, Nutting went to Norway and bought a 40 feet second-hand double ender. Although built as yacht, the lines were basically of a fishing boat design with a great beam (by 14,5 feet – 36%) and without a ballast keel. It had high bulwarks and the large cockpit that was not self-draining to give access to the engine beneath. Nutting wanted to sail the northerly route to America, and in the boat LEIV ERIKSSON, left Norway at same time as SHANGHAI. Unfortunately, Nutting and his crew were lost without a trace off Greenland in September. SHANGHAI also had problems as their sails parted, they blew ashore on Nova Scotia, but the crew were rescued.

William Atkins plans for ERIC, published in MotorBoat arose immediate interest. Plans were modified with a new interior, ketch rig and three boats were built and launched in 1925. Atkin received more orders and more Archer-type yachts were designed. The INGRID in 1934 is 37.5 feet and a stretched version (beam 30%) with well-undercut forefoot and hollow waterlines. The lines resemble Archer’s yachts except Archer had greatest beam further aft. Archer, on his later yachts, used fuller lines, especially aft.

The Eric went on to become very influential in ocean sailing, with boats such as Vito Dumas's Lehg II and Robin Knox-Johnston's Suhaili making notable circumnavigations. The latter was the first boat to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world in 1968 Golden Globe Race. Suhaili was very under canvassed and definitely the slowest boat in the race, but as the only one of nine boats to complete the race, she took first prize for the first and fastest boat!

Another Colin Archer type boat to become very famous in the 1968 Golden Globe Race, was the French sailor and author Bernard Moitessier in his custom-built 39-foot steel ketch Joshua. She has a tall rig, but instead of passing the finishing line, Moitessier continued around the world to Tahiti, thus sailing 1.5 times around the globe, non-stop, single-handed.

In the 1970s, Atkin's ERIC design was adapted to glass-reinforced plastic by William Crealock, and became the Westsail 32 and has inspired many imitations, so that the "Archer double-ender" style of boat continues to be popular to the present day.

The Argentinian naval architect Manuel M. Campos based his designs on Archer/Atkin and built Vito Dumas's Lehg II in 1934 in Argentina. Other of Campos designs have less draught that the typical Archer-type.

The Tahiti ketch is derived from the Archer-type. The Tahiti ketch is characterized by a straight sternpost, less draught and its small rig. The straight sternpost and hull shape make it easier to build.



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

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1932 – Launch of French schooner Belle Poule


Belle Poule is a French naval schooner used as a training vessel.

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She was launched on 8 February 1932 at the Chantiers de Normandie at Fecamp. She is a replica of a type of fishing vessel that was used until 1935 off Iceland for catching cod. She has a sister ship, Étoile.

In 1940 she fled to the United Kingdom and in July was seized by the British. Both Étoile and Belle Poule then served the Free French Forces during the Second World War, Belle Poule as an annex. In recognition of their loyalty to the Free French they received the honour of the right to fly the French flag with the cross of Lorraine. In 1945 she returned to Brest. Since 13 May 1978 Belle Poule has been sponsored by the city of Pauillac.

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Étoile ("star") is a French naval schooner used as a training vessel.

She was launched on 8 February 1932. She is a replica of a type of fishing vessel which was used until 1935 off Iceland. She has a sister ship, Belle Poule.

Both Étoile and Belle Poule joined the Free French Forces during the Second World War, a deed for which they are still honoured by flying the French flag with the cross of Lorraine.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_schooner_Belle_Poule
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_schooner_Étoile
http://jln.tourbier.pagesperso-orange.fr/
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1943 - USS Snook (SS 279) attacks a Japanese convoy off the west coast of Kyushu and sinks the transport Lima Maru and survives depth charges about 30 miles southeast of Goto Retto.
The Japanese troopship sank quickly and as many as 2,765 lives were lost.



Lima Maru was a 6,989 -ton Japanese troop transport during World War II, which sank on 8 February 1944 with great loss of life.

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The Lima Maru was built in 1920 by the Mitsubishi Zosen Kaisha in Nagasaki for the Nippon Yusen shipping company.

On 8 February 1944, as part of convoy MOTA-02, she was transporting around 2,900 men of the Japanese 19th Brigade from Moji to Takao. The Lima Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the US submarine USS Snook some 30 miles south east of the Goto Archipelago at position 31°05´N, 127°37´E.

The Lima Maru exploded and sank very fast. Fewer than 150 soldiers survived.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Lima_Maru
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1943 - the Japanese troopship Tatsuta Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the USS Tarpon 42 miles east of Mikurajima. Some 1,400 Japanese soldiers aboard were killed.


Tatsuta Maru (龍田丸), was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). The ship was built in 1927–1929 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan. The vessel was named after Tatsuta Jinja an important Shinto shrine in Nara Prefecture.

Tatsuta_Maru_postcard.jpg

Background
Tatsuta Maru and her sister ships Asama Maru and Chichibu Maru were built for NYK’s premier high-speed trans-Pacific Orient-California fortnightly service, coming into operation from autumn of 1929[2] In NYK advertising these ships were characterized as "The Queen of the Sea." Principal ports-of-call included Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kobe, Yokohama, Honolulu, Los Angeles & San Francisco. The trip from Yokohama to San Francisco typically took 15 days, with fares starting from $190 in second class and from $315 in first class.

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Details
The 16,975-ton vessel had a length of 583 feet (178 m), and a beam of 71 feet (22 m). The ship had four Mitsubishi-Sulzer diesel engines, two funnels, two masts, quadruple screws and a service speed of 21 knots.[5]only one funnel was actually necessary, but a second one was added for the sake of appearance.

Tatsuta Maru provided accommodation for 222 first-class passengers and for 96 second-class passengers. There was also room for up to 504 third-class passengers. The ship and passengers were served by a crew of 330.

She was laid down on 3 December 1927 at Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Nagasaki, Japan, with yard number 451, and was launched on 12 April 1929. When almost complete, she was severely damaged by fire on 7 February 1930,[8] but the damage was repaired quickly and she soon was completed.

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View of the ship's first class dining room.

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View of the ship's first class reading and writing room.

Civilian career
Tatsuta Maru undertook her maiden voyage on 15 March 1930, sailing from Yokohama to San Francisco, and subsequently commenced regularly scheduled trans-Pacific services via Honolulu. In October 1931, she carried members of the American Major League Baseball teams, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Japan for a Japanese-American exhibition tournament. On 12 November 1936, she became the first civilian vessel to pass under the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, the longest in the world at the time.

In 1938, the transliteration of her name was official changed to Tatuta Maru in line with new Japanese regulations on the Romanization of Japanese.

In January 1940, Tatsuta Maru was scheduled to carry 512 seamen from the German transport SS Columbus, who had been interned in the United States after they scuttled their ship rather than to have it fall into the hands of the British. However, due to political pressure applied on the American government, they were not allowed to board. In June of the same year, she arrived in San Francisco with 40 Jewish refugees from Russia, Austria, Germany, and Norway who had managed to reach Japan overland via Siberia.

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In San Francisco on 20 March 1941, Tatsuta Maru disembarked Colonel Hideo Iwakuro dispatched by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo to assist Ambassador Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura in his negotiations with the United States. On 26 July, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order to seize Japanese assets in the United States in retaliation for the Japanese invasion of French Indochina. Tatsuta Maru was in San Francisco at the time, and American authorities confiscated a shipment of over nine million dollars in bonds by the Yokohama Specie Bank. On 30 July, the American government granted Tatsuta Maru a license to purchase enough fuel oil for the voyage back to Japan. This was last official oil export from the United States to Japan before the start of World War II. On the return voyage to Japan, the ship was struck with a case of food poisoning in which 125 passengers were affected, of which eight died. One of the stricken passengers was Susumu Nikaido, the post-war vice-president of the LDP. The incident was the subject of an essay by Yuriko Miyamoto.

On 30 August, Tatsuta Maru transported 349 Polish Jewish refugees who had arrived in Japan via Siberia from Kobe to Shanghai, where they were received by the Shanghai Ghetto. On 15 October, under contact to the Japanese government, she was temporarily designated a diplomatic exchange vessel, and was used in the repatriation of 608 Allied nationals to the United States. Travelling under total radio silence, she arrived at San Francisco on 30 October, and after embarking 860 Japanese nationals, returned to Yokohama via Honolulu on 14 November. This was the last civilian passenger voyage between Japan and the United States before World War II. She departed Yokohama on 2 December, ostensibly on a second repatriation voyage to bring Japanese back from Mexico; however, the voyage was a hoax, and on 6 December, the captain opened sealed orders which instructed him to reverse course. Shortly after returning to Yokohama, she is requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Military career


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Tatsuta Maru, marked with symbols of safe passage while working as a repatriation ship as seen through the periscope of the U.S. Navy submarine USS Kingfish (SS-234) in October 1942.

In early 1942, Tatsuta Maru made several voyages been Japan and the Philippines and Borneo as a troopship. In July 1942, Tatsuta Maru was again temporarily designated a diplomatic exchange vessel, and was used in the repatriation of the prewar diplomatic staffs of Japan and the Allied nations. She departed Yokohama with UK Ambassador Sir Robert Craigie and 60 other British diplomats, along members of many other foreign diplomatic delegations and civilians. On reaching Shanghai and Singapore, she took on many more repatriates, so that when she reached Lourenço Marques in Portuguese East Africa on August 27, she was carrying over 1000 civilians. These were exchanged for Japanese civilians and diplomats, and Red Cross parcels for British prisoners of war in Japanese hands. On her return to Japan, she was re-requisitioned for use as a troopship, shuttling men and supplies from Japan to various points in Southeast Asia.

On 19 January 1943, she was assigned to carry 1180 Allied prisoners of war, mostly Canadians, from Hong Kong to Nagasaki. The prisoners were so overcrowded that there was no room to lay down. This earned Tatuta Maru the epithet of "hell ship."

On 8 February 1943, Tatsuta Maru departed Yokosuka Naval District for Truk accompanied by the destroyer Yamagumo. The ships were spotted by the American submarine Tarpon 42 miles east of Mikurajima. After being hit by up to four torpedoes, Tatsuta Maru sank with a loss of 1,223 troops and passengers and 198 crewmen. As the sinking occurred at night during a gale, Yamagumo was unable to find any survivors.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatsuta_Maru
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
8 February 1944 - german SS Petrella (former Italian Capo Pino) torpedoed by the submarine HMS Sportsman, while transporting 3,173 Italian POWs from Crete to the mainland. 2,670 POWs were killed.


SS Petrella was a German merchant ship, which was torpedoed and sunk on 8 February 1944, north of Souda Bay, Crete, killing some 2,670 of the Italian POWs aboard.

Petrella_(French_Line_Archives).jpg

Service history
The ship was built under the name Pasteur as a cargo liner, one a class of nine ships ordered by the French government to replenish its merchant fleet after the losses of World War I. The ship was launched on 3 February 1923 from the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard at Graville, Le Havre. On 11 July she was sold to the Plisson et Cie company of Bayonne, entering service on 10 August 1923. The following year she was sold to the Cie des Chargeurs Français, and in 1925 was chartered to the Compagnie Navale de l'Océanie shipping line, a subsidiary of the Ballande & Fils group, for service to New Caledonia. In June 1928 the ship was bought by the Compagnie Générale d'Armement Maritime (CGAM) and renamed Aveyron. She was operated by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT) company, and was finally transferred to the ownership of CGT in 1939.

On 10 July 1941, following the French armistice the ship was transferred to the ownership of the Italian Government, and renamed Capo Pino was operated by the Cia Genovese di Navigazione à Vapore, based at Genoa.

The ship was captured by the Germans at Patras, Greece, on 8 September 1943, following the announcement of the Italian capitulation. She was renamed Petrella and operated under the ownership of the Mittelmeer-Reederei GmbH of Hamburg, a state-owned company that managed captured ships in the Mediterranean on behalf of the German Wehrmacht, with civilian crews under military jurisdiction.

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Sinking
Crete had been captured by the Germans in May/June 1941, and was occupied by a mixed German-Italian force as "Fortress Crete". The Italian 51st Infantry Division Siena consisted of some 21,700 men, which occupied the easternmost prefecture of Lasithi. Following the armistice of September 1943 the Italians in Crete were disarmed by the Germans without major problems. As elsewhere, they were given the choice to continue the war alongside Germany, or to be sent to the Reich as military internees to perform forced labour. A minority chose to continue the fight and formed the Legione Italiana Volontari Creta.

As ordered by Adolf Hitler, the Italian internees were transported back to Germany. On 8 February 1944, some 3,173 prisoners were crammed into the hull of the Petrella. The ship was detected by the British submarine HMS Sportsman and torpedoed, despite having been clearly marked as a POW transporter. Some 2670 prisoners died when the ship sank; a factor in the high death toll was that the guards did not open the holds where the POWs were and fired on those trying to get out.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Petrella
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 8 February


1666 - Launch of French Breton 56 guns (designed and built by Laurent Hubac) at Brest - renamed Courtisan in June 1671; wrecked 1 May 1674 off India


1666 – Launch of French Rouen 52 guns (designed and built by Jean Esnault for the French East India Company, purchased from them in February 1668) at Brest - wrecked 11 September 1670 off Le Havre


1803 – Launch of Prince of Wales was an East Indiaman launched in 1803

Prince of Wales was an East Indiaman launched in 1803. She was on her first voyage for the British East India Company when she foundered in 1804 on her homeward voyage. Captain John Price left the Downs on 9 May 1803, bound for Bombay and Madras. Because she was sailing in a time of war, Price took out a letter of marque, which he received on 2 July 1803. Prince of Wales left Madras on 15 April 1804.

In June Prince of Wales travelled from St Helena in convoy with the East Indiamen City of London, Ceylon, Calcutta, and Wyndham, two vessels from the South Seas, Lively and Vulture, and Rolla, which had transported convicts to New South Wales. Their escort was HMS Courageaux. On the way the convoy ran into severe weather with the result that Prince of Wales foundered with the loss of all on board. She was last seen on 8 June 1804 in distress. The EIC valued her cargo at £28,860;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Wales_(1803_EIC_ship)


1804 - HMS Hussar (38), Cptn. Philip Wilkinson, struck on the southernmost part of the Saintes, beat over the rocks, carrying away the rudder and was bilged. Burnt to prevent capture.

The seventh HMS Hussar (1799) was a 38-gun fifth rate launched in 1799 and wrecked on 8 February 1804 by grounding on a reef near the Île de Sein. Her crew burnt her and most escaped in fishing vessels they commandeered from the islanders.

Amazon class 38-gun fifth rates 1799, designed by William Rule.
HMS Amazon 1799 - broken up 1817
HMS Hussar 1799 - wrecked in the Bay of Biscay in February 1804.

HMS_Amazon_(1799)_pursuing_possible_Belle_Poule.jpg
HMS Amazon pursuing unnamed French vessel, possibly the Belle Poule, by Nicholas Pocock

Sistership https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Amazon_(1799)


1808 - Boats of HMS Meleager (36), Cptn. John Broughton, captured French felucca-rigged privateer Renard, off the port of San-Jago de Cuba.

HMS Meleager was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1806 and wrecked on 30 July 1808 off Jamaica. During her brief career she captured two armed vessels and two merchantmen on the Jamaica station. She was named after Meleager, who could have been a Macedonian officer of distinction in the service of Alexander the Great, or a Meleager a character from Greek mythology.

On 8 February 1808, Meleager was off Santiago de Cuba when she sent her boats, with 41 men, to capture the French felucca-rigged privateer Renard. She was armed with one long 6-pounder gun and many muskets, and had a crew of 47 men. The boat party took her without loss even though she was perfectly prepared and expecting to be attacked by the boats, given that Meleager had chased her. At the approach of the boats, 18 men jumped overboard. Renard had been cruising for 27 days but had not taken anything

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Meleager_(1806)


1809 - HMS Amphion (32), Cptn. William Hoste, and HMS Redwing (18), Edward Augustus Down, destroyed stores and took two prizes at Meleda, Adriatic.

HMS Amphion was a 32-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the Napoleonic Wars.
Amphion was built by Betts, of Mistleythorn, and was launched on 19 March 1798.

HMS Redwing was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy. Commissioned in 1806, she saw active service in the Napoleonic Wars, mostly in the Mediterranean, and afterwards served off the West Coast of Africa, acting to suppress the slave trade. She was lost at sea in 1827.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Amphion_(1798)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Redwing_(1806)


1859 - HMS Wizard was a 10-gun Cherokee-class brig-sloop built for the Royal Navy during the 1820s. She was wrecked in 1859.

HMS Wizard was a 10-gun Cherokee-class brig-sloop built for the Royal Navy during the 1820s. She was wrecked in 1859.
Description
Wizard had a length at the gundeck of 90 feet (27.4 m) and 72 feet 3 inches (22.0 m) at the keel. She had a beam of 24 feet 8 inches (7.5 m), a draught of about 9 feet 2 inches (2.8 m) and a depth of hold of 11 feet (3.4 m). The ship's tonnage was 231 7/94 tons burthen. The Cherokee class was armed with two 6-pounder cannon and eight 18-pounder carronades. The ships had a crew of 52 officers and ratings.
Construction and career
Wizard, the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy, was ordered on 28 October 1826, laid down in October 1828 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 24 March 1830.[2] She was completed on 15 June 1837 at Plymouth Dockyard

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Wizard_(1830)


1862 - During the Civil War, a joint amphibious expedition under the command of Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough and U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Ambrose Burnside captures Roanoke Island, N.C., securing Norfolk Navy Yard and eventually the destruction of CSS Virginia.

Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough (February 18, 1805 – February 20, 1877) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He held several sea commands during the Civil War, including that of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He was also noted for contributions to nautical scientific research.
His younger brother, John R. Goldsborough, was also a U.S. Navy officer who served during the Civil War and who later became a commodore.

Louis-Malesherbes-Goldsborough.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_M._Goldsborough
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Virginia


1890 - A detachment of USS Omaha Sailors and Marines comes ashore at the town of Hodogaya, Japan, to assist in fighting an extensive fire.

The first USS Omaha was laid down in 1867 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard as Astoria; launched 10 June 1869; she was renamed Omaha on 10 August 1869; and commissioned 12 September 1872, Captain John C. Febiger in command.

Omaha_Starboard_Profile.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Omaha_(1869)


1917 - HMS Ghurka – The destroyer was sunk by a mine on 8 February 1917 off Dungeness. Five of her 79 crew were rescued.
HMS Ghurka was a Tribal-class destroyer built in 1907 for the Royal Navy. She served as part of the Dover Patrol during the First World War, playing a part in the sinking of the German submarine U-8 in 1915, and was sunk by a German mine in 1917.

HMS_Ghurka_at_sea_(15826921482).jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ghurka_(1907)


1942 - A Japanese destroyer sinks after being torpedoed by Navy submarine S37 (SS 142)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_S-37_(SS-142)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1695 - Battle of the Oinousses Islands


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

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engraving from 1710 displaying the battle order between the Venetian and Ottoman naval forces during the twin battles of the Oinousses (9 and 19 February 1695) near Chios Island and Çeşme, after which Venetians lost this island.

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

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Opposing forces (9 February)
Venice (Zeno)

  • Stella Maris - Blew up
  • Rosa 60
  • San Lorenzo Giustinian 70/80
  • Leon Coronato - Blew up
  • Nettuno 50/60
  • Valor Coronato 54
  • San Domenico 60
  • Redentore del Mundo 70
  • Vittoria 50/60
  • San Nicolo 54
  • Sacra Lega 60
  • Drago Volante c.60 - Blew up
  • Fama Volante 50
  • Madonna della Salute 50
  • Venere Armata 52
  • Ercole Vittorioso 50/60
  • San Antonio di Padova c.50
  • Pace ed Abbondanza 50
  • San Giovanni Battista Piccolo c.50
  • San Vittorio 62 - Damaged
  • San Giovanni Battista Grande 60
  • 5 galleasses
  • 21 galleys
Ottoman Empire (Mezzo Morto)
  • 20 sailing ships
  • 24 galleys


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Oinousses_Islands
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1746 - HMS Portland (1744 - 50), Cptn. Charles Stevens, captured French Auguste (1741 - 50) off Scilly


Auguste was a 50-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Captured by HMS Portland on 9 February 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession, she was taken into Royal Navy service as HMS Portland's Prize. She was broken up at 1749.

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HMS Portland was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Limehouse according to the dimensions laid down in the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 11 October 1744.

‘Magnanime’ (1744), a French 70-gun, two-decker ship of the line was captured by the ‘Nottingham’ and ‘Portland’ in 1747 and commissioned into the Royal Navy.

Portland served until 1763, when she was sold out of the navy.

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


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Auguste_(1741)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=2212
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Portland_(1744)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=591
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Portland_(1744
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1748 – Birth of Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet, English admiral and politician, Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1817)


Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB (9 February 1748 – 31 August 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his semi-retirement. Duckworth, a vicar's son, achieved much in a naval career that began at the age of 11.

Admiral_Sir_John_Thomas_Duckworth_(1748-1817).jpg

Serving with most of the great names of the Royal Navy during the later 18th and early 19th centuries, he fought almost all of Britain's enemies on the seas at one time or another, including a Dardanelles operation that would be remembered a century later during the First World War. He was in command at the Battle of San Domingo, the last great fleet action of the Napoleonic Wars.

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read about his long and very active career in wikipedia....

Duckworth's_action_off_San_Domingo,_6_February_1806,_Nicholas_Pocock.jpg
Duckworth's Action off San Domingo, 6 February 1806 by Nicholas Pocock (1808). Duckworth's flagship, the 74-gun Superb, is shown firing at the French flagship, the 120-gun Imperial.

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The squadron under the command of Sir J T Duckworth forcing the narrow channel of the Dardanelles, February 19th 1807 (PAD5769)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_John_Duckworth,_1st_Baronet
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1758 – Launch of HMS Maidstone, a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy


HMS Maidstone was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

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


Construction
The vessel was named after Maidstone, a county town in Kent, England, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of London. In selecting her name the Board of Admiralty continued a tradition dating to 1644 of using geographic features for ship names; overall, ten of the nineteen Coventry-class vessels were named after well-known regions, rivers or towns. With few exceptions the remainder of the class were named after figures from classical antiquity, following a more modern trend initiated in 1748 by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty.

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

Her designated complement was 200, comprising two commissioned officers – a captain and a lieutenant – overseeing 40 warrant and petty officers, 91 naval ratings, 38 Marines and 29 servants and other ranks. Among these other ranks were four positions reserved for widow's men – fictitious crew members whose pay was intended to be reallocated to the families of sailors who died at sea

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Scale 1:96. Plan showing the quater deck and forecastle, upper deck, lower deck and fore and aft platforms for Coventry (1757) , a 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigate as taken off at Chatham Dockyard in 1775. Signed Israel Pownoll (Master Shipwright, Chatham 1775-1779)


The Coventry-class frigates were 28-gun sixth rate frigates of the Royal Navy, principally in service during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. They were designed in 1756 by Britain's Surveyor of the Navy, Sir Thomas Slade, and were largely modeled on HMS Tartar, which was regarded as an exemplar among small frigates due to its speed and maneuverability. The 1750s were a period of considerable experimentation in ship design, and Slade authorized individual builders to make "such alterations withinboard as may be judged necessary" in final construction.

A total of twelve Coventry-class frigates were built in oak during the Seven Years' War. Eleven of these were ordered from private shipyards and built over the relatively short period of three years; the twelfth was completed following the close of the War in a royal dockyard after its original contractor became bankrupt.

A variant was designed for building with fir hulls rather than oak; five vessels were built to this design, all in Royal Dockyards. these five vessels differed in external appearance to the oak-built frigates, as they had a square tuck stern. The use of fir instead of oak increased the speed of construction but reduced the frigate's durability over time.

More than a quarter-century after the design was produced, two further oak-built ships to this design were ordered to be built by contract in October 1782. One of these was cancelled a year later, when the builder became bankrupt.

Carysfort_cropped.jpg


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Maidstone_(1758)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry-class_frigate
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Maidstone_(1758
 
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