Naval/Maritime History 17th of April - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1794 - Capture of british East Indiaman Pigot


Pigot was an East Indiaman that made five voyages to India, China, and the East Indies for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1780 and 1794. Oh her fifth voyage, which occurred early in the French Revolutionary Wars, the French captured her during the Sunda Strait campaign of 1794.



Career
Voyage #1 (1780-1782)
Captain Robert Morgan left Portsmouth on 3 June 1780, bound for China and Benkulen. Pigot reached Whampoa on 2 February 1781. For her return voyage she crossed the Second Bar, about 20 miles before Whampoa, on 8 April, and was at Macao on 23 April. She reached Benkulen, where the EIC had a factory, on 1 August and Padang on 19 August, and returned to Benkulen on 25 September. She then reached St Helena on 17 December, and Plymouth on 10 March 1782. She arrived at the Downs on 31 March.

Voyage #2 (1783-85)
Morgan left Portsmouth on 11 March 1783, bound for Madras and Bengal. Pigot reached São Tiago on 31 March and Johanna on 17 July.

On 24 August Duke of Kingston caught fire off Ceylon and was destroyed. Duke of Kingston was in company with Pigot, Earl of Oxford, and Vansittart, all of which were safe. Some 65 passengers, crew, troops, and their dependents died.

Pigot reached Madras on 26 August. She arrived at Kedgeree on 10 October. Homeward bound, she passed Saugor on 15 February 1784 and reached Vizagapatam on 14 March. She stopped in again at Madras on 3 April, went to Coringa on 5 June, returned to Madras on 2 October, reached Coringa again on 25 November, was at Masulipatam on 5 January 1785, and was again at Madras on 10 January.

On 2 May she was at the Kromme River, where Morgan took the latitude and longitude as 34°09′S 26°03′E, with the longitude being 7° 38' east of Cape Town.[6] The correct figures for the river's mouth are 34°09′S 24°51′E, indicating the ongoing difficulty of calculating longitude.

Pigot reached False Bay on 8 June and St Helena on 19 July. She arrived at the Downs on 9 October.

Voyage #3 (1786-87)
George Ballantyne (or Ballantine), was Pigot's captain for this and the next two voyages. He left the Downs on 26 March 1786, bound for China. Pigot reached Whampoa on 11 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 5 January 1787, reached North Island - the northmost of three islands in the bay that formed the principle anchorage of Enggano Island - on 2 March, and St Helena on 2 June. She arrived back at the Downs on 12 August.

Voyage #4 (1789-1790)
Ballantyne left the Downs on 6 March 1789, bound for Madras and Bengal. Pigot reached Madras on 28 June and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 8 July. Homeward bound, she passed Saugor on 23 December, reached Madras on 2 February 1790, and St Helena on 29 August. She arrived back at the Downs on 29 June.[1]

Voyage #5 (1793 and loss)
Ballantyne left Portsmouth on 22 May 1793, bound for Bengal and Benkulen. War with France had broken out almost four months earlier, so as became the common practice for EIC vessels, he received a letter of marque on 17 April. This authorized him to engage in offensive action against the French, not just defensive. Pigot was part of a convoy that included the East Indiamen Prince William, Lord Thurlow, William Pitt, Glatton, Barwell, Earl of Oxford, Ostereley, Fort William, London, Houghton, Marquis of Landsdown, Hillsborough, Ceres, and Earl of Abergavenny, amongst numerous other vessels, merchant and military, most of the non-Indiamen travelling to the Mediterranean.

On 24 June, Pigot captured the French brig La France, which was sailing from "the Mauritius" to France.[8] The account in the London Gazette refers to the brig as Le Franc.[9] From the number of vessels named in separate accounts as sharing in the prize money, it is clear that the fleet shared the capture. Ceres took possession.

Pigot reached Diamond Harbour on 14 September.

Capture
The withdrawal of the Royal Navy squadron from Indian waters had left the EIC's trade vulnerable to privateers from Île de France (Mauritius). The EIC therefore decided to equip a squadron of its merchantmen as cruisers to protect its trade.

The squadron consisted of the East Indiamen William Pitt, Houghton, Nonsuch, and the Bombay Marine (EIC) 14-gun brig Nautilus, all under the overall command of Commodore Charles Mitchell of William Pitt. Contemporary accounts of the composition of squadron vary widely. One account lists the vessels as Britannia, Pigot, Houghton, Nonsuch, and the cruiser Viper. It states their task would be to cruise the Malacca and Sunda Straits, and the Bay of Bengal, when not actually convoying the trade. Lloyd's List lists the squadron as consisting of William Pitt, Oxford, Houghton, Nonsuch, Britannia, and the "Nancy Grab". They were armed and believed to be cruising the Straits. Pigot was to accompany them to Benkulen.

Pigot passed Saugor on 27 November, and reached Penang on 21 December. She left Penang three days later with a large supply of military stores for Bencoolen. She arrived at Benkulen on 12 January 1794.

In the meantime, the EIC squadron under Commodore Charles Mitchell passed Singapore on 2 January 1794, sailing eastwards in search of French raiders. As the British squadron travelled along the northern coast of Sumatra, two French privateers attacked Bencoolen on the southern coast. The privateers were the 30-gun Vengeur and the 26-gun Résolu. On 17 January they approached the mouth of Rat Island Basin close to Bencoolen where Pigot lay at anchor, completely unprepared for action. At 08:15 Vengeur opened fire at 150 yards (137 m), maintaining the battle for an hour and 45 minutes before hauling off so that Résolu could continue the combat. Ballantyne defended his vessel intelligently, positioning Pigot so that the French could only approach one at a time through the narrow mouth of the bay. This allowed him to drive off each ship in turn, the privateers falling back together at 10:20 with damaged rigging. Pigot too had suffered, with one man mortally wounded and sufficient damage to the rigging to require several weeks of repairs. After immediate repairs had been completed, next day Corosin abandoned Bencoolen and retreated to the Sunda Strait in search of weaker targets. The governor at Bencoolen sent over reinforcements to Pigot in the form of a lieutenant, 40 sepoys, and two 18-pounder guns. They arrived too late to assist, and Ballantayne sent them to Rat Island to establish a battery as he could not use the guns.

Early on 22 January, Mitchell's squadron stopped a merchant ship for inspection and as the ship was searched two new sails appeared to the southwest near Shown Rock in the Zuften Islands. Suspicious of the identity of the new arrivals, Mitchell sent Britannia and Nonsuch in pursuit and the ships turned away. As the East Indiamen closed with the fleeing ships, they were identified as Vengeur and Résolu. The British vessels soon outran the French and the French opened fire to which the larger British vessels responded. Captain Thomas Cheap of Britannia engaged Vengeur while Captain John Canning of Nonsuch attacked Résolu at 10:45 and were soon supported by William Pitt and Houghton. The overwhelming numbers and size of the British squadron soon convinced Corosin and Jallineaux that further resistance was pointless and 45 minutes after the first shots were fired both surrendered.

On 25 January in the Sunda strait, Mitchell engaged a French naval squadron under the overall command of Captain Jean-Marie Renaud. The squadron had sailed from the Île de France and consisted of the frigates Prudente and Cybèle, the brig Vulcain, and the captured Princess Royal, now renamed Duguay-Trouin. The combat was inconclusive and both sides withdrew, Mitchell to Batavia.

The French squadron under Renaud withdrew into the Indian Ocean via Bencoolen, which they reached on 6 February. Pigot was still there, undergoing repairs in the Rat Island basin. The attack did not take place until the next day. Although Ballantyne resisted for half-an-hour, he was so outnumbered and outgunned that at 4pm he was forced to strike. As the French maneuvered Pigot out of the bay, Renaud demanded that the small Fort Marlborough nearby surrender. Actually, Renaud demanded 300,000 dollars as a ransom in lieu of surrender. Captain Thomas Brown, commander of the garrison of 20 Europeans and 300 sepoys, declined. He, his two officers, and the garrison showed such energy in preparing the defenses, heating shot, etc., that Renaud withdrew. The French then returned to Île de France.

Lloyd's List reported, "The Pigot (Ballantine), of London; the Sacramento, a Portuguese Ship; and the Ceres, ---- -----, the latter from Manilla to Bengal, have been taken by the French and carried into the Mauritius." The EIC reported that there was no cargo aboard.

Post-script
On 1 June a snow from Mauritius arrived at the Danish exclave of Tranquebar. She brought the news that Pigot had arrived at Mauritius on 14 March. Ballantayne, his first officer, two midshipmen, and four crew were aboard her. Her captors had divided up the rest of the crew over the vessels of their squadron. The French permitted Ballantyne to return to England on his own parole. Ballantyne left in an American ship for New York.

The rest of the officers and crew, who reported that the French had treated them well, were waiting for a cartel that would take them to Madras. At the end of March, the Danish ship Minerva, Coulthard, master, was to take 50 British prisoners at the end of March. The Times reported that "the remainder of the crew of the Pigot with some Dutchmen taken in a packet from Batavia were in a cartel Ship bound to Madras but which was prevented from sailing by the people on shore who suspecting the Captain was an Aristocrat unhung her rudder and carried him on shore for trial." As it was, the prisoners were freed at Bombay in August.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigot_(1780_Indiaman)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1799 - USS Constellation, (1797 - 38) Cptn. Thomas Truxtun, captures French l'Insurgente (36), Captain Barreaut, off the island of Nevis.


USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente, or the Action of 9 February 1799, was a single-ship action fought between frigates of the French Navy and the United States Navy during the Quasi-War, an undeclared war that lasted from 1798 to 1800. The battle resulted in USS Constellation's capture of L'Insurgente.


The frigate USS Constellation unleashes a broadside upon the French frigate L'Insurgente in the open sea

French privateering attacks against American vessels, begun a year prior, caused the conflict between the United States and France. An American squadron under Commodore Thomas Truxtun had been sent to patrol the Caribbean waters between Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts with orders to engage any French forces they found in the area. While Truxtun was sailing independently of his squadron in Constellation, his flagship, he met and engaged L'Insurgente. After chasing the French ship through a storm, Constellation forced L'Insurgente into an engagement that lasted an hour and fourteen minutes before the French frigate surrendered. The French sustained heavy casualties in the action, while the numbers of American dead and wounded were low.

After the action, L'Insurgente was taken to Saint Kitts and commissioned into the United States Navy as USS Insurgent. With this and later victories, American morale soared, and Truxtun returned home to honor and praise from the American government and the public at large.



Background
In 1798, an undeclared war between the United States and France began due to French privateering attacks against American vessels. These attacks were sanctioned due to the failure of the United States to repay its considerable debts to France, incurred during the American War of Independence. In response to the attacks, the United States government decided to go on the offensive by sending four naval squadrons to the Caribbean with orders to seize armed French vessels and prevent privateers from attacking American ships. One of the squadrons, under the command of Commodore Thomas Truxtun, was dispatched to cruise between Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts. Truxtun's squadron consisted of his flagship, the frigate USS Constellation, the 20-gun Baltimore, the brigs Richmond and Norfolk, and the revenue cutter Virginia. Opposing Truxtun were several French vessels based in Guadeloupe, among them a number of privateers as well as two French naval frigates and a smaller, 20-gun corvette. One of the French frigates, L'Insurgente, sortied from Guadeloupe on 8 February, commanded by Michel-Pierre Barreaut.

Though the 1,265-ton Constellation was officially classified by the United States Navy as a 36-gun frigate, during the Quasi-War she carried a heavier armament of 38 guns. This consisted of twenty-eight 24-pounders on her main deck and ten 12-pounders on her spar deck, Constellation's main armament had a combined throwing weight of 396 pounds (180 kg). In contrast, L'Insurgente, rated a 32-gun Sémillante-class frigate, was armed with 40 cannons. The armament of Barreaut's 950-ton ship consisted of twenty-four 12-pounders, two 18-pounders, eight 6-pounders, four 32-pounder carronades, and two 24-pounder carronades, totalling a combined throwing weight of only 282 pounds (128 kg). Thus, although Barreaut's vessel carried two more guns in total, Truxtun's frigate had a more powerful armament due to shot weight. In a boarding action, the French frigate's crew of 409 men would have had an advantage over the American ship's 309, but in a gunnery duel the Americans were superior.

Battle


A diagram of Constellation'sengagement with L'Insurgente

At noon on 9 February, while cruising independently, Truxtun's men sighted a frigate off the coast of Nevis. Upon approach it was evident that the vessel was flying American colors, and Constellation attempted to move closer to investigate. Unknown to Truxtun, the frigate was the French L'Insurgente under Michel-Pierre Barreaut. Nearing the still-unidentified L'Insurgente, Truxtun attempted to signal her to discern her nationality by displaying first British signals and then American signals. Unable to send the correct reply, L'Insurgente replaced the American colors with French and fired a gun. Upon sighting Constellation at 12:30 pm, Barreaut mistook the ship for a British corvette and began to flee toward the Dutch islands of Saba and Sint Eustatius to evade his assailant. Truxtun gave chase, but was hampered at 1:30 p.m. when the two vessels ran into a gale. As a result of the storm, L'Insurgente lost her main topmast and was severely damaged, while Constellation managed to avoid significant damage and was able to close in on Barreaut.

Though Truxtun's ship initially held an advantageous position in the wind known as the weather gauge, she was over-armed, and as a result her leeward side heeled so much that the gunports on that side of the vessel could not be opened. Truxtun decided to cede the weather gauge to the French by sailing around L'Insurgente's leeward side and bringing Constellation near the French frigate's port side. In such a position Constellation was disadvantaged by the wind, but was able to avoid some of the heeling effect on her guns. With Constellation approaching his frigate fast, Barreaut tried to communicate with the Americans in order to avoid a fight. The American frigate ignored the French attempt at hailing her and closed to within fifty yards of L'Insurgente before opening up on her with a broadside. The double-shotted American salvo severely damaged the French frigate's quarterdeck. Barreaut's vessel replied with her own broadsides that damaged Constellation's fore topmast. Midshipman David Porter, stationed in the rigging of Constellation's damaged mast, managed to relieve pressure from it and prevented its collapse. L'Insurgente attempted to close on the American frigate to board her. With less damage to her rigging, Constellation was easily able to avoid Barreaut's attempts at boarding.

Constellation crossed L'Insurgente's bow and raked her with a broadside. Truxtun then maneuvered Constellation to L'Insurgente's starboard side and fired further broadsides into the French frigate, but received damage to her rigging in return. Constellation slipped ahead of L'Insurgente, again crossing her bow and raking her. Once more Constellation slipped next to L'Insurgente's leeward side and fired into her, disabling the French vessel's 18-pounder guns. Constellation crossed the frigate's bow a third time, but the French ship had by then sustained massive damage. Attempts by Barreaut's crew to repair L'Insurgente's rigging were fruitless and the French captain struck his colors to surrender the vessel. The engagement had lasted 74 minutes.

Aftermath




John Rogers


David Porter

The end of the action signaled the first victory over an enemy warship for the newly formed United States Navy. After Barreaut had struck his colors, Truxtun sent a boat over to board, identify, and take possession of the French vessel. It was only upon boarding L'Insurgente that the Americans learned the identity of their opponents. The storm and the battle had caused immense damage to the French frigate. In comparison, Constellation had suffered moderate damage to her rigging, but was otherwise still intact. French casualties included 29 killed and 41 wounded, while the Americans suffered two dead and two wounded. One American died shortly after the action ended, of wounds received from French fire; another was executed for cowardice by Constellation's Lieutenant Andrew Sterett after the man deserted his gun at the start of the action.

Constellation began taking on prisoners of war from L'Insurgente, but by nightfall the two ships had become separated in a storm. Left aboard L'Insurgente were Constellation's First Lieutenant John Rodgers, Midshipman David Porter, and 11 enlisted men, along with 170 French prisoners. The Americans were forced to sail the vessel short-handed while guarding the French prisoners. As the prisoners outnumbered their captors and no gear to secure them could be found aboard, the Frenchmen were driven into L'Insurgente's lower holds. Finally, after three nights, L'Insurgente was brought in to Saint Kitts where Constellation was waiting for her While at the American naval depot at Saint Kitts, Constellation's troublesome 24-pounder guns were removed and replaced with 18-pounder cannons. At the American prize court in Norfolk, Virginia, L'Insurgente was condemned to be sold as a war prize, with the proceeds distributed to the crew of Constellation. Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert managed to negotiate the prize award down from $120,000 to $84,000 before purchasing L'Insurgente and commissioning her in the United States Navy as USS Insurgent.


Naval encounter during the Quasi-War between USS Constellation and French ship Insurgente (right) on 9 February 1799.

For his victory over L'Insurgente, Truxtun received honors both at home and abroad. When accounts of the action reached London, Truxtun was fêted by the merchants there who sent him a piece of silver plate to commemorate his victory. In the United States, morale soared upon hearing of the first American victory over the French. Truxtun was cited by Stoddert for his excellent conduct during the action, and songs and poems such as Brave Yankee Boys were later written about the event. In contrast, when Barreaut returned to France he was accused of failing to put up sufficient resistance in the engagement and was given a court-martial. Despite the accusations, he had been praised by Truxtun after the action for his bravery and was acquitted during the court-martial. The French were infuriated upon hearing the results of the action because the two countries were not officially at war; Governor Edme Étienne Borne Desfourneaux of Guadeloupe demanded that Insurgent be returned to French control. Upon learning of the American refusal to repatriate Insurgent, Desfourneaux was outraged and ordered all American vessels and property to be seized, while also declaring that a state of war existed between the United States and Guadeloupe.[29] After continuing their cruise for a few weeks, both Insurgent and Constellation were forced to return to Norfolk by the end of March due to the expiration of the terms of enlistment of their crews. On her next cruise Constellation prevailed in another action against La Vengeance, although her own casualties were heavy this time, and that French frigate escaped L'Insurgente's fate.


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






The Insurgente was a 40-gun Sémillante-class frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1793. USS Constellation, Captain Thomas Truxtun in command, captured her off the island of Nevis during the Quasi-War. After her capture she served in the US Navy, patrolling the waters in the West Indies. In September 1800 she was caught up in a severe storm and was presumed lost at sea.




An incident from the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars, 1793-1815. The British ship ‘Venus’ commanded by Captain Jonathan Faulkner, sighted a strange sail at 03:00 when 120 miles south-west of Cape Finisterre. About 07:00 the ship put out blue colours and the ‘Venus’ answered by signalling a private code to which the other ship made no reply. The first shots were fired about 07:30 and then a close action from 08:00 to about 10:00. By this time the French frigate ‘Semillante’ was almost silenced, her captain and first lieutenant were killed and she had five feet of water in her hold. The ‘Venus’ was trying to close her to take possession when she bore away towards another ship that had appeared and which proved to be another French frigate. The sails, rigging and spars of the British frigate had taken the brunt of the enemy fire and were extremely cut up so that a further engagement was inadvisable. Indeed she was lucky to escape an encounter with a fresh opponent. In the right centre foreground, both frigates are shown starboard quarter view, with the ‘Semillante’ on the right. Most of her port lids have fallen shut, her main topgallant mast seems about to fall, and her colours are being struck. The ‘Venus’ is shown still firing although she is shot through and there are gaping holes in her main topsail. A seaman on the gunwhale of the quarter-deck can be seen putting out a small fire. In the left background of the painting is another French frigate, highlighting the precarious plight of the ‘Venus’. The painting is signed ‘T Elliott Pinxt’.

The Sémillante class was a type of 12-pounder 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, designed by Pierre-Joseph Pénétreau.

• Sémillante

Builder: Lorient
Ordered: 23 April 1790 (named)
Laid down: December 1790
Launched: 25 November 1791
Completed: May 1792
Fate: Given to Robert Surcouf at Mauritius in September 1808 and armed by him as a privateer, renamed Charles. Captured by the Royal Navy in December 1809 and broken up.

• Insurgente

Builder: Lorient
Ordered: 3 September 1790
Laid down: 5 November 1791
Launched: 27 April 1793
Completed: June 1793
Fate: Captured by the US Navy off Nevis on 8 February 1799, recommissioned as USS Insurgent, but lost at sea in a hurricane in September 180



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constellation_vs_L'Insurgente
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constellation_(1797)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Insurgent

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1799 - HMS Daedalus (32), Cptn. Henry Lidgbird Ball, captured Prudente (38) near the Cape of Good Hope.


The Prudente was a 32-gun Capricieuse-class frigate of the French Navy.


Cybèle and Prudente fighting HMS Centurion and HMS Diomede.

Career
In 1791, under lieutenant Villaret de Joyeuse, she was tasked with ferrying troops to Cap-Français and with police duty in Santo Domingo. In 1793, she returned to France, escorting a convoy from Terre-Neuve, under Villaret de Joyeuse, by then promoted to Captain.

In 1794, she was the flagship of a frigate division under Captain Renaud, also comprising Cybèle, under Pierre Julien Tréhouart. She took part in the Sunda Strait campaign of January 1794 and in the Action of 22 October 1794 off Ile de France. During the Sunda Strait campaign the squadron captured the East Indiaman Pigot.

In 1796, Prudente was attached to the squadron under Sercey, that had come from France.

She served for a time at Mauritius, taking part in the Action of 8 September 1796, before being sold and becoming a privateer.



Capture
Daedalus captured Prudente on 9 February 1799 near Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope. At daybreak Daedalus spotted two sails and gave chase to the larger vessel, catching up with her at about 12:30. The quarry struck after an action of almost an hour. She proved to be the Prudente, which Captain H.L. Ball referred to as a French National frigate, rather than a privateer. She was pierced for 42 guns but was armed with twenty-six 12-pounder long guns on her main-deck and two long 6-pounders and two brass howitzers on her quarterdeck. She had a crew of 297 men. In the fight, Daedalus lost two men killed and 12 wounded. Prudente lost 27 men killed and 22 wounded. The ship in her company, which escaped, was an American vessel that she had taken as a prize.


HMS Daedalus was a 32-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1780 from the yards of John Fisher, of Liverpool. She went on to serve in the American War of Independence, as well as the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.



American War of Independence
Daedalus entered service in 1780 under the command of Captain Thomas Pringle. He escorted a convoy to North America in May 1781, accompanied by Captain Horatio Nelson in the 28-gun Sixth rate HMS Albemarle. Pringle went on to serve in the English Channel the following year, capturing the French privateer Moustic on 20 January 1782, and the privateer Légère on 11 December 1782. Pringle escorted a convoy to Newfoundland during the year, and in 1783 was engaged in patrolling the Shetland fisheries. The Daedalus was paid off in July 1784, and in 1790 underwent a Great Repair at Rotherhithe, that lasted until 1793.


'Daedalus' is represented lying moored in Port Royal harbour, Jamaica (after having been dismated in a hurrican off Porto Rico), with sheers erected for taking in a foremast. Inscribed: "H.M.S. Daedalus"

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Captain Charles Henry Knowles recommissioned the Daedalus in March 1793, and sailed her to the Halifax station. Knowles was replaced by Captain Thomas Williams in September 1794, during which time Daedalus was part of Admiral Adam Duncan's fleet. In September 1795, Captain George Countess took over, and Daedalus sailed to the West African coast and then on to Jamaica. In January 1797, Daedalus was deployed against the French Expédition d'Irlande and on 8 January she was involved in the capture of the troopship Suffren and burnt her to avoid weakening the crew by dispersing them in the prize.

Command passed to Henry Lidgbird Ball in March 1797, who at the Action of 9 February 1799 captured the 36-gun Prudente off the Cape of Good Hope. He sailed on to the East Indies, operating successfully in the Dutch East Indies at Batavia Roads. Command then passed temporarily to Lieutenant Charles James Johnson and then Captain William Waller before Daedalus returned to Britain and was placed in reserve in 1803. She was fitted out for service with Trinity House that year, followed by repair works from December 1805 to December 1806 to fit her out as a floating battery on the Thames at Woolwich. She recommissioned under Captain Frederick Warren in December 1806 and in March 1807 sailed for Jamaica. She was in action on 11 November 1808 when she helped in the capture of the town of Samana in San Domingo, also taking the 5-gun privateers Guerrière and Exchange.

Command passed to Captain Samuel Inglefield, who transferred from HMS Bacchante in 1808. In November Daedalus was one of the vessels in the squadron under Sir Charles Dashwood. On 17 November the Franchise, Daedalus, Aurora, Reindeer and Pert, blockaded the city of Santo Domingo by taking possession of the town of Samaná, where the French were erecting batteries for their permanent establishment.

Fate
Daedalus continued on the Jamaica station until a hurricane badly damaged her. A survey found her to be rotten throughout; she was paid off in October 1810 and broken up at Sheerness in July 1811.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Prudente_(1790)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Daedalus_(1780)
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/colle...el-306013;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=D

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1806 – Launch of HMS Frolic, an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy


HMS Frolic was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was built by Boole, of Bridport and was launched on 9 February 1806. Although she took part in the capture of Martinique, Guadaloupe, and Saint Martin, she appears to have had an uneventful career until 8 October 1812, when the American sloop-of-war USS Wasp captured her after a fierce fight. Later that day the British recaptured Frolic and captured Wasp. Frolic was broken up in 1813.



Career
On 26 October 1807, Tsar Alexander I of Russia declared war on Great Britain. The official news did not arrive there until 2 December, at which time the British declared an embargo on all Russian vessels in British ports. Frolic was one of some 70 vessels that shared in the seizure of the 44-gun Russian frigate Speshnoy (Speshnyy), then in Portsmouth harbour. The British seized the Russian storeship Wilhelmina (Vilghemina) at the same time. The Russian vessels were carrying the payroll for Vice-Admiral Dmitry Senyavin’s squadron in the Mediterranean.

Frolic, under Commander Thomas Whinyates, sailed for the West Indies on 21 February 1808. There she participated in the Invasion of Martinique in February 1809, and then in the invasion of Guadeloupe.[Note 2] In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Martinique" and "Guadaloupe".

On 17 February 1810 Frolic, Surinam, and Superieure joined Captain William Charles Fahie of Abercrombie and his force at the surrender of Saint Martin.

On 14 June 1810, Frolic and Freya (or Freija) arrived at Sombrero Island in the West Indies. The Admiralty had sent them there to assess separately and independently the survival prospects for someone landed at this place without food and water. Captain Warwick Lake of Recruit had marooned an impressed seaman, Robert Jeffrey, there on 13 December 1807, and was now the subject of an Admiralty investigation. They reported back that survival prospects were poor. As it turned out, Jeffrey was alive, a passing American vessel having rescued him. Still, a court-martial dismissed Lake from the Royal Navy.


USS Wasp boarding HMS Frolic, attributed to Thomas Birch, c. 1815

Frolic vs. Wasp
Main article: Capture of HMS Frolic
In October 1812 the Frolic was serving on the North American station, protecting a convoy of six merchantmen off Virginia. On a passage from the Bay of Honduras, a gale dispersed the convoy and carried away Frolic's main top yard and sprung her main top mast.

On 18 October, while the convoy was reassembling and Frolic was working on the damage, a strange sail was spotted. Frolic sent the convoy on its way and hoisted a Spanish ensign as a ruse to buy time.

The strange sail turned out to be USS Wasp, of 18 guns, commanded by Jacob Jones. The ships closed. Initially Frolic fired more rapidly but less accurately, but the gale damage had rendered her unmanageable. Within 40 minutes Wasp had repeatedly raked Frolic, killing 15 and wounding 43 out of the 120 seamen and boys aboard, including Whinyates. The Americans boarded Frolic and all resistance stopped. The Americans had 5 killed and 5 wounded.

Frolic was only temporarily in American hands. Later that day the British 74-gun Poictiers captured both ships. Captain John Poo Beresford of Poictiers restored Whinyates to command of Frolic. The subsequent court martial for the loss of the ship honorably acquitted Whinyates, his officers and his men.


Print. A small single-ship action of the American War of 1812-14 fought in the Atlantic on 18 October 1812 between the sloop-of-war USS 'Wasp', commanded by Master Commandant Jacob Jones, and the British 'Cruizer'-class brig-sloop 'Frolic', under Commander Thomas Whinyates. The Americans captured the British vessel but both were badly damaged and captured shortly after by HM ship 'Poictiers' (John Beresford) which appeared on the scene and took them both and the convoy 'Frolic' had been escorting into Bermuda until further onward escort could be found. 'Frolic' was so badly damaged that she was broken up in November 1813. 'Wasp' briefly served in the Royal Navy as HM ship 'Peacock' until wrecked in 1814. Though the artist, Corne, was born in Elba, he went to Massachusetts at the time of the French Revolution and remained there as a marine painter for the rest of his life, so this is perhaps an American wood engraving rather than a British one. [PvdM 11/13]

Fate
Frolic was recommissioned later in October under Lieutenant Andrew Mitchell (acting). His commission as commander was confirmed on 24 August 1813. Earlier, on 20 July 1813, Frolic was one of four British vessels sharing in the capture of the American ship Fame.

Frolic continued in service until being broken up at Portsmouth in November 1813. Her captured ensign was on display at Mahan Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy, but was removed on 27 February 2018 for preservation.



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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1808 - HMS Decouverte (8), Lt. Colin Campbell, captured French armed schooner Dorade (3), Cptn. Netley, off St. Domingo.


HMS Decouverte was the French schooner Eclipse, launched in 1804, that was captured in 1806. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Decouverte. She served in the Caribbean, where she captured two privateers, one French and one American. She was sold in 1816.



French service
Eclipse was built as a schooner and launched in 1804. She was captured in 1807. The Royal Navy already had an Eclipse, and had just laid up a Decouverte, so the captured vessel became HMS Decouverte. She was registered on 3 January 1806.

British service
Between 1806 and 1807, Decouverte was under the command of Lieutenant the Honourable A. de Courcy. (It is not clear whether it was he who first commissioned her.)

In March 1807 Decouverte detained Trist, Rinker, master, as Trist was sailing from Bordeaux to New Orleans.

In February 1808 Decouverte was under the command of Lieutenant Colin Campbell. In that month she captured one French privateer and destroyed another, as well as the privateer's prize.

On 7 February Campbell was cruising between Altavella and the Main, when he discovered three vessels, two French schooner privateers and an English ship, their prize. One schooner escaped after a running battle. Decouverte succeeded in driving the other schooner and the ship on shore. Next morning, when Campbell sailed in to take possession of the two vessels, he found the enemy still in possession, covered by small arms fire from the shore. The British were able by cannon fire to drive the French from the ship. Campbell sent a request to the schooner under a flag of truce that she surrender the ship, together with whatever prisoners might be on board the schooner. The schooner's captain refused. Campbell then deployed a boarding party that set fire to the ship. The water was too shallow for the British to be able to get closer to the schooner, but Campbell was confident that she was wrecked on the rocks. The ship was Matilda, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, which had been sailing to Jamaica.

In the morning of 9 February, Cambell discovered an enemy schooner in Bottomless Cove. Decouverte gave chase and caught up with her by 3p.m. After a 45-minute exchange of fire, the enemy schooner struck. She turned out to be Dorade, from San Domingo. Dorade was armed with one long 18-pounder gun and two 9-pounder guns, and had a crew of 72 men under the command of Monsieur Netly. During the engagement three guns on Decouverte on the side in action were dismounted, which reduced her broadside. French casualties were heavy; the British had to bury at sea seven of Dorade's crew and Campbell estimated that they had lost and thrown overboard seven more during the fight. There were also three wounded. The British did not go unscathed; Decouverte had six men wounded, of whom one was mortally wounded and three were dangerously wounded.

On 21 January 1809 Decouverte arrived at Jamaica from Maraycabu.

Decouverte came under the command in, in 1809, of Lieutenant Richard W. Graves.

Next, in 1809-10 Decouverte was under the command of Lieutenant James Oliver until a severe eye injury forced Oliver to return to England. In 1812 there was a diplomatic correspondence about three seamen on Decouverte, all of whom claimed to be Americans, and one of whom claimed that Oliver had destroyed his protection (certificate of citizenship).

In April 1811 Lieutenant Richard Williams assumed command of Decouverte. Under his command she patrolled the Bahamas and the Gulfs of Mexico and Florida.

In June Decouverte brought into Nassau the slave ship Joanna. The number of slaves freed was 120. Decouverte also detained a schooner flying the Swedish flag, but carrying French property.

On her way to Jamaica Decouverte chased the French privateer Comet, of five guns and 80 men, for two hours. Williams had to give up the chase after a squall sent overboard Decouverte's fore-top-gallant mast and sprung her two lower masts, the fore mast badly. When Decouverte reached Port Royal she was ordered to undergo a thorough refit, something that would take nine months.

While Decouverte underwent repairs the merchants of Jamaica lent the schooner Confiance to the Royal Navy. During this time Williams commanded Confiance.

After Williams and Decouverte returned to sea, on 12 July 1812 she captured the American privateer Non-Pareil. Nonpareil, H. Martin, master, was armed with one gun and had a crew of 30 men. She was out of Savannah, Georgia, and had captured one schooner. Martin also had intended to attack the defenseless town of Harbour Island, Bahamas.

Between 28 July and 23 October 1812, British warships sent into Nassau 39 American and Spanish ships with American cargoes. Decouverte sent in Olympus (captured 29 July), sailing from Oporto to Havanah, and Augusta (captured 29 August), Haskell, master, sailing from Greenock to Charleston. These were carrying flour and logwood.

Decouverte also drove two privateers from the coast, but was unable to capture them. While she was in Murray's anchorage, Bermuda, a heavy gale came up. Her crew was forced to cut away her masts to save her as she was only two cable-lengths (580 yards) from the shore.

While escorting a convoy from New Providence on its way to Jamaica and Cape Haitian through the Caicos Passage, Decouverte prevented the American privateer brig Saratoga, of 16 guns and 140 men, from capturing a schooner. In 1814 Williams was transferred to the brig Edwards, a brigantine of 360 tons, 12 guns, and 74 men, possibly a transport, but his period of command was short-lived as an officer sent from England replaced him. Before Williams left the Jamaica station in 1815, he received a letter of thanks from the mayor and merchants of Kingston for his services to the trade.

Fate
The Navy sold Decouverte in 1816


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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1827 - Battle of Juncal


The naval Battle of Juncal took place between a squadron of the newly independent United Provinces of the River Plate under command of William Brown and a squadron belonging to the Brazilian Empire, commanded by Sena Pereira. It spanned two days, from 8 to 9 February 1827, in the waters of the Rio de la Plata.



The two squadrons were initially of roughly equal strength, but because of superior command and control, and gunnery training, the Argentines scored a decisive victory: out of 17 Brazilian vessels, 12—including the flagship with its admiral—were captured and 3 were burnt. Not a single Argentine vessel was lost.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Third Division, the arm of the Brazilian fleet tasked with controlling the Uruguay River and thus disrupting communications with the Argentine army then operating in the Banda Oriental, was completely destroyed. The result was the biggest naval victory for Argentina in the Cisplatine War


Batalla de Juncal (Guerra del Brasil)


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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1856 – Launch of HMS Sparrowhawk, a Vigilant-class second-class despatch/gunvessel


HMS Sparrowhawk was a Vigilant-class second-class despatch/gunvessel launched on 9 February 1856 at Limehouse, England and served at various stations in the Far East. By the spring of 1865, her rig was a converted to that of a three-masted barque. She was sold in 1872 and was eventually lost in a typhoon.


Sparrowhawk's sister-ship, Surprise

Design
Her class were designed as second-class despatch and gunvessels. They were intended to operate close inshore during the Crimean War and were essentially enlarged versions of the Arrow-class gunvessel, which has been designed by the Surveyor’s Department in 1854.



Propulsion
A two-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine by Humphrys, Tennant and Dykes provided 726 indicated horsepower (541 kW) through a single screw,[2] and gave a top speed of about 11 knots.

Sail plan
All Vigilant-class gunvessels were barque-rigged.

Armament
Although designed with a pair of 68-pounder Lancaster muzzle-loading rifles, the Vigilant class were finished with one 7-inch (180 mm)/110-pound (50 kg) Armstrong breech-loading gun, one 68-pound (31 kg) Lancaster muzzle-loading rifled gun and two 20-pounder breech loaders.

Service history
Porcher Island, near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, is named after Edwin Augustus Porcher (1821–1878), who served as captain of HMS Sparrowhawkat Esquimalt Naval Base, Vancouver Island, from the spring of 1865 until he returned to England in autumn 1868. While serving with the North Pacific Squadron, Commander Porcher made four summertime voyages to the North Coast of British Columbia; in 1866, 1867 and twice in 1868.


The Vigilant-class gunvessel of the Royal Navy was an enlarged version of the Arrow-class gunvessel of 1854. Both classes were designed for shallow-water operations in the Baltic and Black Seas during the Crimean War. Fourteen of the class were completed, but were ready too late to take part in that conflict. Cormorant was sunk in action at the Taku Forts, Osprey was wrecked on the coast of Africa in 1867 and the rest were all sold during the 1860s, with Sparrowhawk lasting until 1872.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sparrowhawk_(1856)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigilant-class_gunvessel

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1864 – Launch of The seventh HMS Enterprise of the Royal Navy, an armoured sloop launched at Deptford Dockyard.


The seventh HMS Enterprise of the Royal Navy was an armoured sloop launched in 1864 at Deptford Dockyard. Originally laid down as a wooden screwsloop of the Camelion class, she was redesigned by Edward Reed and completed as a central battery ironclad. The ship spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before returning to England in 1871 where she was paid off. Enterprise was sold for scrap in 1885.


Moonlit scene depicting the gunboat 'Comet' in the left foreground and 'Enterprise', an iron clad screw sloop, in the middle ground to the right. The scene is calm and serene, perhaps reflecting a period of peace for the Channel fleet.


Design and description
The ship had a length between perpendiculars of 180 feet (54.9 m), a beam of 36 feet (11.0 m), and a draught of 15 feet 10 inches (4.83 m) at deep load. She displaced 1,350 long tons (1,370 t). Her crew consisted of 130 officers and men.

Enterprise's wooden hull was remodeled shortly after she was laid down; she was given a plough-shaped ram bow and a semi-circular stern. The ship had only two decks: the main deck, very close to the ship's waterline, and the upper deck which carried her armament, about 6.5 feet (2.0 m) above the waterline. She was the first ship of composite construction in the Royal Navy, with iron upperworks.



Propulsion
Enterprise had a Ravenhill, Salkeld & Co. direct-acting horizontal single-expansion 2-cylinder direct acting steam engine driving a single propeller. Steam was provided by a pair of tubular boilers. The engine produced 690 indicated horsepower (510 kW) which gave the ship a maximum speed around 9.9 knots (18.3 km/h; 11.4 mph). Enterprise carried 95 long tons (97 t) of coal. As built, her funnel was mounted in the middle of the battery for protection, which impaired the working of her guns until it was relocated forward of the battery in November 1864. She was barque-rigged with three masts and had a sail area of 18,250 square feet (1,695 m2). Her best speed under sail and steam was 9.8 knots (18.1 km/h; 11.3 mph).


Scale: 1:48. A contemporary half block model of HMS Enterprise (1864), a 4 gun ironclad steam sloop (screw). Plaque inscribed "HMS Enterprise 4 guns 993 tons Built at Deptford 1864". Number "(15)" on backboard.

Armament
Enterprise was armed with two 100-pounder smoothbore, muzzle-loading Somerset cannon and two rifled 110-pounder breech-loading guns. The breech-loading guns were of a new design from Armstrong and much was hoped for them. Firing tests carried out in September 1861 against an armoured target, however, proved that the 110-pounder was inferior to the 68-pounder smoothbore gun in armour penetration, and repeated incidents of breech explosions during the Battles for Shimonoseki and the Bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863–64 caused the navy to withdraw the guns from service shortly afterwards.

In an attempt to provide axial fire the sides of the hull at the upper deck level were cut away in front and behind the battery and covered by a 12-foot (3.7 m) bulwark. The bulwark hinged inwards and covered a gun port though which a gun could traverse and fire. While providing better coverage than the traditional broadside layout this still left a 120° arc forward and another aft on which no gun could bear.

The 9.2-inch (234 mm) solid shot of the Somerset gun weighed approximately 113 pounds (51 kg) while the gun itself weighed 13,514 pounds (6,130 kg). The gun had a velocity of 1,462 ft/s (446 m/s) at 563 feet (171.6 m) and had a range of 5,253 yards (4,803 m).[7] The 7-inch (178 mm) shell of the 110-pounder Armstrong breech-loader weighed 107–110 pounds (48.5–49.9 kg). It had a muzzle velocity of 1,150 ft/s (350 m/s) and, at an elevation of 11.25°, a maximum range of 4,000 yards (3,700 m). The 110-pounder gun weighed 9,520 pounds (4,320 kg). All of the guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells. Both guns were mounted on wooden gun carriages with slides "which were difficult to traverse even on an even keel; in a seaway few captains would have run the risk of casting them loose."

Enterprise was rearmed during her 1868 refit with four 7-inch (180 mm) rifled muzzle-loading guns. The 16-calibre 7-inch gun weighed 6.5 long tons (6.6 t) and fired a 112-pound (50.8 kg) shell. It was credited with the ability to penetrate 7.7-inch (196 mm) armour.

Armour
Enterprise had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that was 4.5 inches (114 mm) thick. It protected only the main deck and was shallow, reaching just 3 feet 6 inches (1.1 m) below the waterline. The guns were protected by a section of 4.5-inch armour, 34 feet (10.4 m) long, and by 4.5-inch transverse bulkheads. The armour was backed by 19.5 inches (500 mm) of teak wood. The total weight of her armour was 195 long tons (198 t).

Service
The ship was laid down on 5 May 1862 at the Royal Dockyard in Deptford, England, as the 17-gun sloop Circassian. She was renamed Enterprise in July 1862 and reclassified as an armoured corvette. Construction had barely begun before she was redesigned with an iron upper hull as well as armoured sides and battery. The ship was launched on 9 February 1864, commissioned on 5 May 1864 and completed on 3 June 1864. She cost £62,474 to build. Enterprise initially served with the Channel Fleet, but was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet where she remained until 1871 when she returned to England. She was refitted and rearmed at Malta in 1868. Upon her return the ship was paid off into 4th Class Reserve in August 1871 at Sheerness. Enterprise was sold for scrap in 1885 for £2,072.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Enterprise_(1864)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1903 - Launch of Nisshin (日進), also transliterated as Nissin, a Kasuga-class armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy,


Nisshin (日進), also transliterated as Nissin, was a Kasuga-class armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, built in the first decade of the 20th century by Gio. Ansaldo & C., Sestri Ponente, Italy, where the type was known as the Giuseppe Garibaldi class. The ship was originally ordered by the Argentine Navy during the Argentine–Chilean naval arms race, but the lessening of tensions with Chile and financial pressures caused the Argentinians to sell her before delivery. At this time tensions between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire were rising, and the ship was offered to both sides before she was purchased by the Japanese.



During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, Nisshin participated in the Battle of the Yellow Sea and was damaged in the subsequent Battle of Tsushima. In addition she frequently bombarded the defenses of Port Arthur. The ship played a limited role in World War I and was used to escort Allied convoys and search for German commerce raiders in the Indian Ocean and Australasia. In 1918, Nisshin was deployed to the Mediterranean and then escorted the surrendered German submarines allocated to Japan from Britain to Japan after the war. She became a training ship in 1927 and was sunk as a target ship in 1936. Her wreck was later refloated and used as a target again in 1942.



Background
Nisshin was the last of the 10 Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruisers to be built. The first ship had been completed in 1895 and the class had enjoyed considerable export success, with the base design being gradually improved over the years. The last two ships of the class were ordered on 23 December 1901 by the Argentine Navy in response to the order by Chile for two second-class battleships. The possibility of war between Argentina and Chile, however, abated before the vessel was completed, and a combination of financial problems and British pressure forced Argentina to dispose of Mariano Moreno and her sister ship Bernardino Rivadavia. The Argentine government attempted to sell the ships to Russia, but negotiations failed over the price demanded by the Argentinians. The Japanese government quickly stepped in and purchased them due to increasing tensions with Russia despite the high price of ¥14,937,390 (£1,530,000) for the two sisters. Already planning to attack Russia, the government delayed their surprise attack on Port Arthur that began the Russo-Japanese War until the ships had left Singapore and could not be delayed or interned by any foreign power.

Design and description


Right elevation and deck plan of the Kasuga-class cruisers from Brassey's Naval Annual 1906

Nisshin had an overall length of 111.73 meters (366 ft 7 in), a beam of 18.71 meters (61 ft 5 in), a molded depth of 12.1 meters (39 ft 8 in) and a deep draft (ship) of 7.35 meters (24 ft 1 in). She displaced 7,700 metric tons (7,600 long tons) at normal load. The ship was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam from 8 coal-fired Scotch marine boilers. Designed for a maximum output of 13,500 indicated horsepower (10,100 kW) and a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), Nisshin barely exceeded this, reaching a speed of 20.15 knots (37.32 km/h; 23.19 mph) during her sea trials on 6 November 1903 despite 14,896 ihp (11,108 kW) produced by her engines. She had a cruising range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3] Her complement consisted of 560 officers and enlisted men.

Her main armament consisted of four 8-inch/45 Type 41 guns, in twin-gun turrets fore and aft of the superstructure. Ten of the quick-firing (QF) 6-inch/40 Type 41 guns that comprised her secondary armament were arranged in casemates amidships on the main deck; the remaining four guns were mounted on the upper deck. Nisshin also had ten QF 3-inch/40 Type 41 guns and six QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns to defend herself against torpedo boats. She was fitted with four submerged 457 mm (18.0 in) torpedo tubes, two on each side.

The ship's waterline armor belt had a maximum thickness of 150 millimeters (5.9 in) amidships and tapered to 70 millimeters (2.8 in) towards the ends of the ship. Between the main gun barbettes it covered the entire side of the ship up to the level of the upper deck. The ends of the central armored citadel were enclosed by transverse bulkheads 120 millimeters (4.7 in) thick. The forward barbette, the conning tower, and gun turrets were also protected by 150-millimeter armor while the aft barbette only had 100 millimeters (3.9 in) of armor. Her deck armor ranged from 20 to 40 millimeters (0.8 to 1.6 in) thick and the six-inch guns on the upper deck were protected by gun shields.

Construction and career
The ship's keel was laid down on 29 March 1902 with the temporary name of San Roca and she was launched on 9 February 1902 and renamed Mariano Moreno by the Argentinians. The vessel was sold to Japan on 30 December 1903 and renamed Nisshin on 1 January 1904. Nisshin and her newly renamed sister Kasuga were formally turned over to Japan and commissioned on 7 January. The sisters departed Genoa on 9 January under the command of British captains and manned by British seamen and Italian stokers. When they arrived at Port Said, Egypt, five days later, they encountered the Russian protected cruiser Aurora and reached Suez on the 16th, accompanied by the British armored cruiser King Alfred. The Japanese ships reached Singapore on 2 February where they were slightly delayed by a coolie strike.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cruiser_Nisshin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Garibaldi-class_cruiser

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1904 - Battle of Chemulpo Bay


The Battle of Chemulpo Bay was a naval battle in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), which took place on 9 February 1904, off the coast of present-day Incheon, Korea.


Varyag and Korietz go into battle.



Background


The Russian cruiser Varyag.

The opening stage of the Russo-Japanese War began with a pre-emptive strike[2] by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the Russian Pacific Fleet spread among Port Arthur, Vladivostok, and Chemulpo Bay (now part of Incheon, Korea). Command of the Chemulpo operation was given to Rear Admiral Uryū Sotokichi, with six cruisers, three to eight torpedo boats (depending on sources), the aviso (dispatch boat) Chihaya, three transports and 2,500 ground troops. Chemulpo also had strategic significance, as it was the main port for the Korean capital of Seoul, and was also the main invasion route used previously by Japanese forces in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894. However, Chemulpo, with its wide tidal bore, extensive mudflats, and narrow, winding channels, posed a number of tactical challenges for both attackers and defenders.

The Japanese protected cruiser Chiyoda had been based at Chemulpo for the past 10 months, and had been keeping watch on the Russian protected cruiser Varyag and the aging gunboat Korietz, also based at Chemulpo to look after Russian interests.

After the Russian transport Sungari arrived at Chemulpo on 7 February 1904, reporting the sighting of a large Japanese force approaching, the gunboat Korietz was ordered to Port Arthur to report and request instructions. In the early morning of 8 February, Korietz spotted Chiyoda outside the Chemulpo roadstead, and mistaking it for a fellow Russian ship, loaded its guns for a salute. On closing in, the crew of Korietz realized their mistake and in the ensuing confusion the guns were discharged. Chiyoda responded by launching a torpedo. Both sides missed, but this was the first actual exchange of fire in the Russo-Japanese War, and it is highly unclear which side actually opened fire first. Korietz retreated back to Chemulpo harbor.

Later in the morning of 8 February 1904, Chiyoda rendezvoused with Uryū's squadron outside the entrance to Chemulpo, and reported that several warships from neutral countries were present in the anchorage, including: HMS Talbot (Great Britain), Pascal (France), and Elba (Italy). An American warship—the gunboat USS Vicksburg—was also present, but she was further up the harbor. Uryū reasoned that if the Russians remained anchored in the midst of the neutral ships, they could not attack his transports, whereas if the Russians came out to do battle, he had ample force to deal with them. On the other hand, it was against international law to attack the Russians while they were anchored in a neutral port. Uryū sent a message requesting that the captains of HMS Talbot, Pascal and Elba to shift their anchorage, promising that no attack should be delivered before 16:00.

Battle


Postcard displaying the Battle of Chemulpo Bay

Uryū ordered the cruisers Chiyoda, Takachiho, Asama and his torpedo boats to proceed up the channel with the troopships to commence the debarkation at once, while the cruisers Naniwa, Niitaka and Akashi were held in reserve. Three torpedo-boats took refuge near Niitakafar board.

At 18:00 on 8 February, Japanese troopships anchored at Chemulpo, mooring next to the Russians, and disembarked four battalions of soldiers of the IJA 12th Division in an operation that continued into the night. To the amazement of the tense Japanese, the Russians aboard Varyag and Korietz took no action, but continued to air out bunting as if on parade. The troop disembarkation was complete by 03:00 on 9 February, and all Japanese warships and transports withdrew from the harbor except for the Chiyoda.

The latter delivered a letter to Varyag and neutral vessels, including the British cruiser Talbot, the French cruiser Pascal, the Italian cruiser Elba, and the U.S. gunboat Vicksburg and collier Pompey.

HIS IMPERIAL JAPANESE MAJESTY'S SHIP NANIWA​

Chemulpo Roadstead, February 8. 1904.​

Sir: I have the honor to notify you that as hostilities exist between the Empire of Japan and the Empire of Russia at present I shall attack the men-of-war of the Government of Russia, stationed at present in the port of Chemulpo, with the force under my command, in case of the refusal of the Russian senior naval officer present at Chemulpo to my demand to leave the port of Chemulpo before the noon of the 9th of February, 1904, and I respectfully request you to keep away from the scene of action in the port so that no danger from the action would come to the ship under your command. The above-mentioned attack will not take place before 4 o'clock p. m. of the 9th of February, 1904, to give time to put into practice the above-mentioned request.​

If there are any transports or merchant vessels of your nationality in the port of Chemulpo at present, I request you to communicate to them the above notification.​

I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,​

S. URIU​

A conference was quickly convened on Talbot by Captain Vsevolod Rudnev and the captains of neutral warships (except Vicksburg), and it was decided that the Russians would fight their way out.

At noon, Captain Denis Bagly of Talbot came to Naniwa with a letter signed by all of the neutral captains except for the captain of Vicksburg, W.A. Marshall, declining the request to change anchorage, on the grounds that Chemulpo was a neutral port.

Outgunned and outnumbered, and refusing advice from the neutral captains to surrender, at 11:00 on 9 February, Captain Vsevolod Rudnev of Varyag attempted to make a break for the open sea.


Varyag crippled and burning in Chemulpo harbour


The gunboat Korietz burns after having been scuttled


Korietz exploding at Chemulpo


Japanese marines landing on the Bay

From the Varyag logbook:

• 11:10 All hands on deck on Varyag.
• 11:20 Cruiser goes to open sea, Korietz in 1 cable length (200 meters) behind. English and Italian crews cheer Russians; on the Italian cruiser Elba the Russian anthem is played.
• 11:25 Battle alarm on Varyag. Japanese cruisers Asama, Naniwa, Takachiho, Chiyoda, Akashi and Niitaka in bearing line from Richy island to Northern passage. Japanese torpedo-boats behind cruisers.
• 11:45 Varyag opens fire with port guns.
• 11:47 Asama opens fire with 8-inch gun; all Japanese squadron then open fire.
• One of the first Japanese shells that hit cruiser, destroyed the port wing of front bridge, set fire in chart house and broke the fore shrouds. Junior navigating officer midshipman Count Alexey Nirod was killed, all personnel on range finding station #1 were killed or wounded.
• Damaged 10.2" gun #3, all personnel killed or wounded, battery commander midshipman Gubonin was wounded, but refused to go away until he fall. Fire on bow and quarterdeck (was put out by midshipman Chernilovsky-Sokol). With the same shell, that caused fire was damaged guns: 10.2" #8 and #9, 75mm #21 47mm #27 and #28. With other hits was nearly destroyed main battle top, destroyed range finding station #2, damaged guns #31 and #32, fire in lockers on accommodation deck (was put out lively).
• 12:05 After passing traverse of "Yo-dol-mi" island trunk with rudder drive was damaged. At the same time, Captain Rudnev was shell-shocked in head by fragments of another shell, hitting foremast. Staff-bugler and drummer, who stay astride him was deadly killed, helmsman petty officer Snegirev was badly wounded in back, and orderly of captain quartermaster Chibisov was lightly wounded too. Ship from now was steered from steering compartment, but orders were stiffed, so course permanently was corrected with engines. At strong current cruiser steered badly.
• 12:15 Willing to go out of fire range to repair as possible steering drive and put out fires in different places begin to turn with machines, as cruiser steered badly. Near Yo-dol-mi island engines on full back.
• Cruiser was put in disadvantage position relatively to island when steering drive was broken with rudder at 15–20° on port side.
• Distance to enemy shortens to 28–30 cable length, fire strengthens, hits increase.
• Near the same time large caliber shell hit port side under water, water gushed into huge hole, stokehold #3 begins to full with water, which level raised up to furnaces. Chief Officer and chief boatswain placed patch under the hole, water was pumped all time, its level decreased continuously, but cruiser continue to listing at port side.
• With shell passing through officer cabins, which were wrecked, deck was pierced and meal in provision berth was inflamed. Then cot netting at waist under the sick quarters was pierced, wherein fragments get into sick quarters, cots in netting catch fire, which was put out lively. Serious damage forced us to get out of fire range for a more long time, that is why we come to roadstead at full speed, firing with port and bow guns.
• Throughout the battle with one shot of 10.2" gun #XII bow bridge of Asama cruiser was destroyed and put afire, Asama stop fire for some time. bow turret on her was apparently damaged, as it not fired up to the end of battle.
• 12:40 With cruiser approached the berth and Japanese fire become dangerous for neutral ships on roadstead, two cruiser pursuing us stop the fire and return to the rest of squadron out of Yo-dol-miisland.
• 12:45 Distance to the Japanese so increased, that our fire become ineffective, so we stop it.

An early film, depicting a re-enactment of the Battle of Chemulpo Bay (Film produced in 1904 by Edison Studios)

Unable to break past the Japanese squadron by mid-afternoon, Korietz and the badly battered Varyag returned to Chemulpo harbor at 13:15, where both took refuge near the neutral warships. At 16:00, Korietz was scuttled by her crew by blowing up two powder-rooms. Fragments of the blown-up ship landed dangerously close to neutral vessels. Fearing a greater explosion with potential casualties, the captains of the neutral warships present urged Rudnev not to blow up Varyag in a similar manner. At 18:10, scuttled by her crew, Varyag rolled over on her port side and sank. Crewmen from Varyag　were dispatched to the Russian transport Sungari, which had remained behind in the harbor during the battle, and set her on fire to prevent her from falling into Japanese hands.

Outcome
The Battle of Chemulpo was a military victory for the Japanese. Russian casualties on the Varyag were heavy. All of Varyag's twelve 6 in (150 mm) guns, all of her 12-pounders, and all of her 3-pounders were out of action, she took 5 serious hits at or below the waterline. Her upper works and ventilators were riddled, and her crew had put out at least five serious fires. Of her crew with a nominal strength of 580, 33 were killed and 97 wounded. Most serious cases among the Russian wounded were treated at the Red Cross hospital at Chemulpo. The Russian crews—except for the badly wounded—returned to Russia on neutral warships and were treated as heroes. Although severely damaged, Varyag—not blown up—was later raised by the Japanese and incorporated into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the training ship Soya.


Varyag (also spelled Variag; see Varangian for the meaning of the name) (Russian: кре́йсер «Варя́г») was a Russian protected cruiser. Varyag became famous for her crew's stoicism at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay.


Varyag damaged after the Battle of Chemulpo Bay, just before being scuttled.


Korietz (Russian: Кореец, Koreyets; literally meaning "Korean person") was a gunboat in Russian Imperial Navy. She was the lead vessel in a class of nine ships in her class (including the Mandzhur and Khivinets served on the Baltic, Donets, Zaporozhets, Kubanets, Terets, Uralets and Chernomorets on the Black Sea.) The etymology of the names of this class of ships was: Korietz is a Russian word for "Korean man", Mandzhur - "Manchuria man", Khivinets - "Khiva man", Donets - "Don Cossack" (literally "Cossack from Don"), Kubanets - "Kuban Cossack" ("Kuban man"), Terets - "Terek Cossack" ("Terek man"), Uralets - "Ural Cossack" ("Ural man"), Chernomorets - "Black Sea man" and Zaporozhets - "Zaporozhian Cossack".







https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chemulpo_Bay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_cruiser_Varyag_(1899)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_gunboat_Korietz

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1916 - The Hedwig von Wissmann, a German steamboat on Lake Tanganyika, sunk


The Hedwig von Wissmann was a German steamboat on Lake Tanganyika, which became a feature in the story behind the film The African Queen. She was sister vessel to the larger Hermann von Wissmann on Lake Nyasa, and like that vessel originally used as a gunboat against slavers. Hedwig von Wissmann was the wife of the German explorer and colonial administrator Hermann von Wissmann who had raised funds for both boats.



On 12 August 1914 she was drafted for guard service on Lake Tanganyika. She was sunk by an Anglo-Belgian flotilla of small boats under Geoffrey Spicer-Simson in on 9 February 1916 at 11h50 in the Battle for Lake Tanganyika including HMS Fifi and HMS Mimi.



German casualties were engineer and two native stokers killed in the engine room; a warrant officer and some natives killed and a European stoker and native seaman slightly wounded when two of the ships boats were hit by shells. Twelve Europeans, including the captain Job Odebrecht, and eight natives were captured by the British.


The Battle for Lake Tanganyika was a series of naval engagements that took place between elements of the Royal Navy, Force Publique and the Kaiserliche Marine between December 1915 and July 1916, during the First World War. The intention was to secure control of the strategically important Lake Tanganyika, which had been dominated by German naval units since the beginning of the war. The British forces — consisting of two motor boats named HMS Mimi and Toutou — were under the command of the eccentric Lieutenant-Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson. The boats were transported to South Africa and from there by railway, by river, and by being dragged through the African jungle, to the lake.

In two short engagements, the small motor boats attacked and defeated two of their German opponents. In the first action, on 26 December 1915 Kingani was damaged and captured, becoming HMS Fifi. In the second, the small flotilla overwhelmed and sank Hedwig von Wissmann. The Germans maintained a third large and heavily armed craft on the lake, Graf von Götzen; this craft was attacked indecisively by Belgian aircraft and was subsequently scuttled. Developments in the land-based conflict caused the Germans to withdraw from the lake, and control of the surface of Lake Tanganyika passed to the British and Belgians


Graf von Götzen

The African Queen (1951) Full Film HD - Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedwig_von_Wissmann_(steamship)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Lake_Tanganyika

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1942 - While undergoing conversion at New York City pier 88, USS Lafayette (AP 53), ex SS Normandie, catches fire resulting in the total loss of the ship.


The SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she remains the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.


SS Normandie at sea in the 1930s

Her novel design and lavish interiors led many to consider her the greatest of ocean liners. Despite this, she was not a commercial success and relied partly on government subsidy to operate. During service as the flagship of the CGT, she made 139 westbound transatlantic crossings from her home port of Le Havre to New York. Normandie held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during her service career, during which the RMS Queen Mary was her main rival.

During World War II, Normandie was seized by U.S. authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. In 1942, the liner caught fire while being converted to a troopship, capsized onto her port side and came to rest on the mud of the Hudson River at Pier 88, the site of the current New York Passenger Ship Terminal. Although salvaged at great expense, restoration was deemed too costly and she was scrapped in October 1946.


Origin
The beginnings of Normandie can be traced to the Roaring Twenties when shipping companies began looking to replace veterans such as RMS Mauretania (1906) and RMS Olympic (1911). Those earlier ships had been designed around the huge numbers of steerage-class immigrants from Europe to the United States. When the U.S. closed the door on most immigration in the early 1920s, steamship companies ordered vessels built to serve upper-class tourists instead, particularly Americans who traveled to Europe to escape the Prohibition of alcohol. Companies like Cunard and the White Star Line planned to build their own superliners to rival newer ships of the day; such vessels included the record-breaking Bremen and Europa, both German. The French Line began to plan its own superliner.


Adolphe Cassandre's famed 1935 depiction of the SS Normandie.

The French Line's flagship was the Ile de France, which had modern Art Deco interiors but a conservative hull design. The designers intended their new superliner to be similar to earlier French Line ships. Then they were approached by Vladimir Yourkevitch, a former ship architect for the Imperial Russian Navy, who had emigrated to France after the revolution. His ideas included a slanting clipper-like bow and a bulbous forefoot beneath the waterline, in combination with a slim hydrodynamic hull. Yourkevitch's concepts worked wonderfully in scale models, confirming his design's performance advantages. The French engineers were impressed and asked Yourkevitch to join their project. He also approached Cunard with his ideas, but was rejected because the bow was deemed too radical.

The French Line commissioned artists to create posters and publicity for the liner. One of the most famous posters was by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre, who was also a Russian emigrant to France. Another poster by Albert Sébille, showed the interior layout in a cutaway diagram 15 feet long. This poster is displayed in the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.

Construction and launch


Vladimir Yourkevitch working on design of SS Normandie


Normandie under construction, 1932

Work by the Société Anonyme des Chantiers de Penhoët began on the unnamed flagship on 26 January 1931 at Saint-Nazaire, soon after the stock market crash of 1929. While the French continued construction, the competing White Star Line ship (intended as Oceanic, and started before the crash) was cancelled and Cunard's Queen Mary was put on hold. French builders also ran into difficulty and had to ask for government money; this subsidy was questioned in the press. Still, building was followed by newspapers and national interest was deep, as she was designed to represent France in the nation-state contest of the great liners and was built in a French shipyard using French parts.

The growing hull in Saint-Nazaire had no formal designation except "T-6" ("T" for "Transat", an alternate name for the French Line, and "6" for "6th"), the contract name. Many names were suggested including Doumer, after Paul Doumer, the recently assassinated President of France; and originally, La Belle France. Finally Normandie was chosen. In France, ship prefixes properly depend on the ship name's gender, but non-sailors mostly use the masculine form, inherited from the French terms for ship, which can be "paquebot", "navire", "bateau", or "bâtiment", but English speakers refer to ships as feminine ("she's a beauty"), and the French Line carried many rich American customers. French Line wrote that their ship was to be called simply "Normandie," preceded by neither "le" nor "la" (French masculine/feminine for "the") to avoid any confusion.


The Normandie drydock in St. Nazaire which was built specifically for the new ship.

On 29 October 1932 – three years to the day after the stock market crash – Normandie was launched in front of 200,000 spectators. The 27,567-ton hull that slid into the Loire River was the largest launched and the wave crashed into a few hundred people, but with no injury. The ship was christened by Madame Marguerite Lebrun, wife of Albert Lebrun, the President of France. Normandie was outfitted until early 1935, her interiors, funnels, engines, and other fittings put in to make her into a working vessel. Finally, in May 1935, Normandie was ready for trials, which were watched by reporters. The superiority of Yourkevitch's hull was visible: hardly a wave was created off the bulbous bow. The ship reached a top speed of 32.125 knots (59.496 km/h) and performed an emergency stop from that speed in 1,700 m (5,577 ft).

In addition to a novel hull which let her attain speed at far less power than other big liners, Normandie was filled with technical feats. She had turbo-electric transmission, with turbo-generators and electric propulsion motors built by Alsthom of Belfort. CGT chose turbo-electric transmission for the ability to use full power in reverse, and because, according to CGT officials, it was quieter and more easily controlled and maintained. The engine installation was heavier than conventional turbines and slightly less efficient at high speed but allowed all propellers to operate even if one engine was not running. This system also made it possible to eliminate astern turbines. An early form of radar was installed to prevent collisions.

The rudder frame, including the 125-ton cast steel connecting rod, was produced by Škoda Works in Czechoslovakia.


Normandie's triumphant arrival in New York harbor in June 1935 on her maiden voyage.


Lafayette conversion


Normandie docked in New York harbor at Pier 88, site of attempted troopship conversion.

On 20 December 1941, the Auxiliary Vessels Board officially recorded President Franklin D. Roosevelt's approval of Normandie's transfer to the U.S. Navy. Plans called for the vessel to be turned into a troopship ("convoy unit loaded transport"). The Navy renamed her USS Lafayette, in honor both of Marquis de la Fayette, the French general who fought on the Colonies' behalf in the American Revolution, and the alliance with France that made American independence possible. The name was a suggestion of J.P. "Jim" Warburg, advisory assistant to Colonel William J. Donovan, Coordinator of Information, which was passed through multiple channels including the Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, Admiral Harold R. Stark, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), and Rear Adm. Randall Jacobs, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation; the name La Fayette (later universally and unofficially contracted to Lafayette) was officially approved by the Secretary of the Navy on 31 December 1941, with the vessel classified as a transport, AP-53.

Earlier proposals included turning the vessel into an aircraft carrier, but this was dropped in favor of immediate troop transport. The ship remained moored at Manhattan's Pier 88 for the conversion. A contract for her conversion to a troop transport was awarded to Robins Dry Dock and Repair Co., a subsidiary of Todd Shipyards, on 27 December 1941. On that date, Capt. Clayton M. Simmers, the 3rd Naval District Materiel Officer, reported to the Bureau of Ships (BuShips) his estimate that the conversion work could be completed by 31 January 1942, and planning for the work proceeded on that basis.

Capt. Robert G. Coman reported as Lafayette's prospective commanding officer on 31 January 1942, overseeing a skeleton engineering force numbering 458 men. The complicated nature and enormous size of the conversion effort prevented Coman's crew from adhering to the original schedule; crew familiarization with the vessel was an issue, and additional crew members were arriving to assist the effort. On 6 February 1942, a request for a two-week delay for the first sailing of Lafayette, originally scheduled for 14 February, was submitted to the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations. On that day, a schedule extension was granted due to a design plan change: elements of the superstructure were to be removed to improve stability, in work that was expected to take another 60 to 90 days. However, on 7 February, orders came from Washington that the reduction of the top-hamper had been abandoned and Lafayette was to sail on 14 February as planned. This abrupt reversal necessitated a frantic resumption of conversion work, and Capts Coman and Simmers scheduled 9 February meetings in New York and Washington to lobby for further clarification of conversion plans; ultimately, these meetings would never take place.

Fire and capsizing


Lafayette (AP-53) afire at New York harbor on 9 February 1942

At 14:30 on 9 February 1942, sparks from a welding torch used by Clement Derrick ignited a stack of life vests filled with flammable kapok that had been stored in the first-class lounge.The woodwork had not yet been removed, and the fire spread rapidly. The ship had a very efficient fire protection system, but it had been disconnected during the conversion and its internal pumping system was deactivated. The New York City fire department's hoses, unfortunately, did not fit the ship's French inlets. Before the fire department arrived, approximately 15 minutes after fire broke out, all onboard crew were using manual means in a vain attempt to stop the blaze. A strong northwesterly wind blowing over Lafayette's port quarter swept the blaze forward, eventually involving the three upper decks of the ship within an hour of the start of the conflagration. Capt. Coman, along with Capt. Simmers, arrived about 15:25 to see his huge prospective command in flames.


USS Lafayette capsized in New York harbor.

As firefighters on shore and in fire boats poured water on the blaze, the ship developed a dangerous list to port due to water pumped into the seaward side by fireboats. The ship's designer Vladimir Yourkevitch arrived at the scene to offer expertise, but he was barred by harbor police. His suggestion was to enter the vessel and open the sea-cocks. This would flood the lower decks and make her settle the few feet to the bottom. With the ship stabilised, water could be pumped into burning areas without the risk of capsize. The suggestion was rejected by the commander of the 3rd Naval District, Rear Admiral Adolphus Andrews.

Between 17:45 and 18:00 on 9 February 1942, authorities considered the fire under control, and began winding down operations until 20:00. Water entering the ship through submerged openings and flowing to the lower decks negated efforts to counter-flood, and Lafayette's list gradually increased to port. Shortly after midnight, Rear Adm. Andrews ordered Lafayette abandoned, and the ship continued to list, a process hastened by the 6,000 tons of water that had been played on her. New York fire officials were concerned that the fire could spread to the nearby city buildings. Lafayette eventually capsized during the mid watch (02:45) on 10 February, nearly crushing a fire boat, and came to rest on her port side at an angle of approximately 80 degrees. Recognising that his incompetence had caused the disaster, Admiral Andrews ordered all pressmen barred from viewing the moment of capsize in an effort to lower the level of publicity.


Normandie, renamed USS Lafayette, lies capsized in the frozen mud of her New York Pier the winter of 1942

One man died in the tragedy — Frank "Trent" Trentacosta, 36, of Brooklyn, a Robins' employee and a member of the fire watch. Some 94 USCG and USN sailors, including some from Lafayette's pre-commissioning crew and men assigned to the receiving ship Seattle, 38 fire fighters, and 153 civilians were treated for various injuries, burns, smoke inhalation, and exposure.

Saboteur (film)
The ruined Lafayette after the fire can be seen briefly in the film Saboteur (1942). The ship is not identified in the film, but the antagonist smiles when he sees it, suggesting that he was responsible. Alfred Hitchcock, the director, later said that "the Navy raised hell" about the implication that their security was so poor.

Saboteur Official Trailer #1 - Clem Bevans Movie (1942)

Investigation and salvage


U.S. Coast Guard Grumman Widgeon flies over wreck of Lafayettein New York 1943

Enemy sabotage was widely suspected, but a congressional investigation in the wake of the sinking, chaired by Representative Patrick Henry Drewry (D-Virginia), concluded that the fire was completely accidental. The investigation found evidence of carelessness, rule violations, lack of coordination between the various parties on board, lack of clear command structure during the fire, and a hasty, poorly-planned conversion effort.

Members of organized crime have retrospectively claimed that it was they who sabotaged the vessel. The alleged arson would have been organized by mobster Anthony Anastasio, who was a power in the local longshoremen's union, for the purpose of providing a pretext for the release from prison of mob boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Luciano's end of the bargain would be that he would ensure that there would be no further "enemy" sabotage in the ports where the mob had strong influence with the unions.

In one of the largest and most expensive salvage operations of its kind in history the ship was stripped of superstructure and righted on 7 August 1943. She was renamed Lafayette and reclassified as an aircraft and transport ferry, APV-4, on 15 September 1943 and placed in drydock the following month. Extensive damage to her hull, however, deterioration of her machinery, and the necessity for employing manpower on other more critical war projects prevented resumption of the conversion program, with the cost of restoring her determined to be too great, and her hulk remained in the Navy's custody through the cessation of hostilities with the Axis powers.

Lafayette was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 October 1945 without having ever sailed under the US flag. President Harry Truman authorized her disposal in an Executive Order on 8 September 1946, and she was sold as scrap on 3 October 1946 to Lipsett, Inc., an American salvage company based in New York City, for US$161,680 (approx. $1,997,000 in 2017 value). After neither the U.S. Navy nor French Line offered a plan to salvage her, Yourkevitch, the ship's original designer, proposed to cut the ship down and restore her as a mid-sized liner. This plan also failed to draw backing. She was cut up for scrap beginning in October 1946 at Port Newark, New Jersey, and completely scrapped by 31 December 1948.

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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1945 – World War II: Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje, Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat and the only incident of its kind where one submarine has sunk another submarine in combat while both were at periscope depth



During the action of 9 February 1945, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Venturer attacked and sank German U-boat U-864 in the North Sea off the Norwegian island of Fedje.


HMS Venturer in August 1943

This sinking is the only incident of its kind where one submarine has sunk another submarine in combat while both were at periscope depth.


Background
U-864 was a Type IX U-boat on a covert mission, Operation Caesar to the Empire of Japan. and Riclef Schomerus. On 6 February 1945, U-864 passed through the Fedje area (off the coast of Norway) without being detected. During this transit, a normally quiet engine[clarification needed] began making an abnormally loud and rhythmic noise that could be easily detected by any anti-submarine (A/S) detection gear in the area. There were many Allied (primarily British) ships, submarines and aircraft in the area on anti-submarine patrol. U-864's commander, Ralf-Reimar Wolfram, decided to return to the pens at Bergen to repair the engine.

By this stage of the war the German machine cypher, Enigma, had been broken by the British and was being decrypted, and the Royal Navy were concerned the secret cargo might enable the Japanese to extend the duration of the war in the Pacific.[citation needed] They dispatched Venturer to intercept and destroy U-864.

Venturer, under the command of Lieutenant Jimmy Launders, received a brief message from Royal Navy Submarine Command as to the estimated whereabouts of U-864, along with instructions to destroy her. Launders set about the task, making one risky decision: he decided to switch off Venturer's ASDIC (active sonar) and rely solely on hydrophone, to try to detect U-864 without being detected.

Wolfram's decision to return for repairs at the U-boat pens at Bergen to fix the abnormal engine noise problem brought U-864 back past Fedje and the area where Venturer was located.



The Action
As Venturer continued her patrol of the waters around Fedje, her hydrophone operator noticed a strange sound which he could not identify. He thought that the noise sounded as though some local fisherman had started up a boat's diesel engine. Launders decided to track the strange noise. Then the officer of the watch on Venturer's periscope noticed what they thought was another periscope above the surface of the water. It is highly likely he had, in fact, spotted the U-boat's snorkel. The snorkel was still a new device at that time and probably unknown to Launders and his crew.

The snorkel limited the U-boat's speed and depth. For Launders' hydrophone operator to hear diesel noises from a submerged U-boat, the snorkel would have had to be in operation. In addition, the noise of the diesel engines made the U-boat's own hydrophones much less effective and it is doubtful U-864 would have heard Venturer running slowly on her electric motors.

Combined with the hydrophone reports of the strange noise, which he determined to be coming from a submerged vessel, Launders surmised they had found U-864.[2] He tracked the U-boat by hydrophone, hoping she would surface and allow a clear shot. U-864 remained at snorkel depth, and as the hydrophone plot emerged, she was seen to be zigzagging. This made the German submarine quite safe according to the assumptions of the time.

It is very likely Launders tracked the U-boat's snorkel by periscope as well, which would greatly improve the accuracy of his fire control solution.

Launders tracked the U-boat for several hours, and it became obvious she was not going to surface, but he needed to attack her anyway – his batteries had only a limited life. It was theoretically possible to compute a firing solution in all four dimensions – time, distance, bearing and target depth – but this had never been attempted in practice because it was assumed that performing the complex calculations would be impossible, plus there were unknown factors that had to be approximated.

In most torpedo attacks, the target would have been visually acquired; the target's angle relative to the attacker and its bearing would be observed, then a rangefinder in the periscope used to establish the distance to the target; from this speed could be derived, and a basic mechanical computer would offset the aiming point for the torpedo. In addition, any torpedo depth had to be set based on target identification. Too deep and the torpedo would pass under the target, too shallow (in this instance) it would miss above. Launders could only estimate the depth of his target. In terms of a challenge, this was far outside what they had trained for, as they tried to manoeuvre into a firing position without giving their own position away by creating excessive noise, or exhausting their own batteries.

Nevertheless, Launders made the necessary calculations, made assumptions about U-864's defensive manoeuvres, and ordered the firing of all four of his bow torpedo tubes. The torpedoes were fired with a 17.5 second delay between each pair, and at variable depths. U-864 attempted to evade once it heard the torpedoes coming, but was not agile when diving or turning; additionally, time would have been needed to retract the snorkel, disengage the diesel, and start the electric motors. The fourth torpedo hit. Her pressure hull punctured, U-864 instantaneously imploded with the loss of all hands.

Aftermath

Location of U-864

U-864 sank 31 nautical miles (57 km) from the relative safety of the U-boat pens in Bergen. Launders was awarded a bar to his DSO for this action, while several members of Venturer's crew were decorated by the Royal Navy. Launders' career in the Navy continued well after the war. The action was the first and so far only battle ever to have been fought entirely under water.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_9_February_1945
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Venturer_(P68)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-864

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 1945 – World War II: Black Friday (1945)
A force of Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attacked a German destroyer in Førdefjorden, Norway.


On 9 February 1945, a force of Allied Bristol Beaufighter aircraft suffered many losses, during an attack on the German destroyer Z33 and its escorting vessels; the operation was called "'Black Friday'" by the Allied survivors. The German ships were sheltering in a strong defensive position in Førde Fjord, Norway, forcing the Allied aircraft to attack through massed anti-aircraft fire.


Two ships close to the shore of a body of water near steep snow-covered hills. Much of the body of water is covered by sheets of ice.

The Beaufighters and their escort of Mustang Mk III fighters from 65 Squadron RAF, were intercepted by twelve Focke-Wulf Fw 190s of Jagdgeschwader 5 (Fighter Wing 5) of the Luftwaffe. The Allies damaged at least two of the German ships for the loss of seven Beaufighters shot down by flak guns. Two Beaufighters and a Mustang were shot down by the Fw 190s and four or five of the FWs were shot down by the Allied aircraft, including that of the German ace Rudi Linz.

The decision to attack Z33 and her escorts, rather than a nearby group of merchant ships, followed instructions from the British Admiralty to RAF Coastal Command. The losses led to merchant ships being made the priority over destroyers and small warships. Another squadron of P-51 Mustangs was assigned to protect Allied aircraft operating near Norway from German fighters.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(1945)

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 February 2001 - submarine USS Greeneville (SSN-772) collided with the Japanese-fishery high-school training ship Ehime Maru
In a demonstration for some VIP civilian visitors, Greeneville performed an emergency ballast-blow surfacing maneuver. As the submarine shot to the surface, she struck Ehime Maru. Within 10 minutes of the collision, Ehime Maru sank.


On 9 February 2001, about 9 nautical miles (17 km) south of Oahu, Hawaii, the United States Navy (USN) Los Angeles-class submarine USS Greeneville (SSN-772) collided with the Japanese-fishery high-school training ship Ehime Maru (えひめ丸) from Ehime Prefecture. In a demonstration for some VIP civilian visitors, Greeneville performed an emergency ballast-blow surfacing maneuver. As the submarine shot to the surface, she struck Ehime Maru. Within 10 minutes of the collision, Ehime Maru sank. Nine of the people on board were killed: four high-school students, two teachers, and three crewmembers.



Many Japanese, including government officials, were concerned over news that civilians were present in Greeneville's control room at the time of the accident. Some expressed anger because of a perception that the submarine did not try to assist Ehime Maru's survivors and that the submarine's captain, Commander Scott Waddle, did not apologize immediately afterwards. The Navy conducted a public court of inquiry, placed blame on Waddle and other members of Greeneville's crew, and dealt non-judicial punishment or administrative disciplinary action to the captain and some crew members. After Commander Waddle had faced the Naval Board of Inquiry, it was decided that a full court-martial would be unnecessary, and he was forced to retire and given an honorable discharge.


USS Pittsburgh demonstrates an emergency main ballast blow.

In response to requests from the families of Ehime Maru's victims and the government of Japan, the USN raised Ehime Maru from the ocean floor in October 2001 and moved her to shallow water near Oahu. Once there, Navy and Japanese divers located and retrieved the remains of eight of the nine victims from the wreck. Ehime Maru was then moved back out to sea and scuttled in deep water. The Navy compensated the government of Ehime Prefecture, Ehime Maru's survivors, and victims' family members for the accident. Waddle traveled to Japan in December 2002 to apologize to the ship's survivors and victims' families.

The accident renewed calls by many in Japan for the United States to make more effort in reducing crimes and accidents involving U.S. military personnel who injure or kill Japanese citizens. In response to the accident, the Navy changed its policies regarding civilian visits to its ships.

Divers inspect the wreckage of Ehime Maru off Oahu, 5 November 2001


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

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 9 February


1588 – Death of Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (b. 1526)

Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquess of Santa Cruz de Mudela, GE, KOS (12 December 1526 – 9 February 1588), was a Spanish admiral. According to Spanish sources, he was never defeated, a remarkable achievement in a fifty-year long career. His personal galley, La Loba (The She-Wolf), thus called by her golden figurehead, was feared by Spanish enemies and regarded with hope amongst Spanish sailors and allies.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Álvaro_de_Bazán,_1st_Marquess_of_Santa_Cruz


1647 – Launch of French Reine 56 guns (designed and built by Rodolphe Gédéon) at Toulon – classed as 2nd Rank in 1669, then reduced to 50 guns in 1670 and reclassed as 3rd Rank in 1671; renamed Brave in June 1671 but hulked in 1673 and taken to pieces in 1674.


1653 – Danish Jaarsveld 44 guns (1648, 130 ft) - Wrecked

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


1692 - HMS Crown Prize (26) lost outside the entrance to Dartmouth Harbour.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Crown_(1654)
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=6906
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=13510
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=3749


1707 HMS Hastings (32), Cptn. Francis Vaughan, capsized off Yarmouth

HMS Hastings (1698) was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1698. She capsized in 1707


1711 – Birth of 1711 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (d. 1762)

Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla (February 9, 1711 - July 31, 1762) was a Spanish officer and commander in the Royal Spanish Navy. He is known for his valiant defense against the British expedition of Cuba in 1762, during which action he was killed.



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


1943 - Organized Japanese resistance on Guadalcanal ends, bringing to a close the battle that started in August 1942.


1945 - PV-1 Ventura patrol plane sinks small Japanese cargo vessel No.177 Nanshin Maru in Flores Sea west of Maumere.

 

[Pathfinder65]

Uwe,

Thank you for the ongoing history lessons.

 

[Uwek]

Uwe,

Thank you for the ongoing history lessons.

Many thanks for your comment and your likes - The likes and number of views on this topic are giving me the feeling, that it is interesting for some members and guests - we have in average between 300 up to 1.000 views per day.
It is a lot of work (between 3 to 5 hours a day), but I am also learning a lot and I have fun in searching for these historical events - and in appr. 4 months I finalized already the complete year.
I will miss it afterwards - I guess

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 February 1703 – Launch of HMS Swallow, a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy,


HMS Swallow was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 10 February 1703.



Swallow was rebuilt according to the 1706 Establishment at Chatham Dockyard, and was relaunched on 25 March 1719. Captain Chaloner Ogle commanded Swallow off the West African coast from 1721 and the following year engaged and defeated several pirate ships. Their commander Bartholomew Roberts was killed, and Ogle received a knighthood for his actions. Swallow continued to serve until 1728, when she was broken up






Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of a 50-gun small two-decker (circa 1703) built plank on frame in the Navy Board style. The model is decked and equipped and mounted on an original baseboard. The monogram ‘AR’ for Queen Anne is carved into the lower stern gallery decoration. Above the open galleries is a shield inscribed ‘IL 170[?]’ which may refer to John Lock, a Master Shipwright at the Royal Dockyard, Plymouth during the early years of the 18th century. This model is unique as it is fitted with both a steering wheel and the remains of a whipstaff. If the wheel is original, it is the earliest evidence known for this fitting on an English ship. It also highly decorated with painted friezes along the bulwarks with carvings on the bow, stern galleries and wreaths around the gunports. The fourth-rate two-deckers were among the smallest warships to serve in the ‘line’ and this model represents a preliminary design for the Establishment of 1706. Measurements taken from the model would give a ship with a gun deck length of 129 feet by 34 feet in the beam and an approximate tonnage of 670 burden.


The 1706 Establishment was the first formal set of dimensions for ships of the Royal Navy. Two previous sets of dimensions had existed before, though these were only for specific shipbuilding programs running for only a given amount of time. In contrast, the 1706 Establishment was intended to be permanent.

Origins
Dimensions for ships had been established for the "Thirty Ships" building program of 1677, and while these dimensions saw use until 1695, this was merely because of the success of the 1677 ships and the lack of perceived need to change them. Dimensions were then laid down for the 1691 "Twenty-seven Ships" program to build seventeen eighty-gun and ten sixty-gun double-decked ships of the line, though the dimensions were abandoned before the program was complete, with the final four eighty-gun ships being constructed with three gun-decks.

The origins of the formalized 1706 Establishment can be traced to February 1705, when Prince George of Denmark, the Lord High Admiral at the time, ordered the Navy Board to determine a set of dimensions for second-rate ships. Though the second-rate ships appear to have been the central focus of the Establishment, the Board was also directed to consider dimensions for ships of the third- (80 and 70 guns), fourth- (60 and 50 guns), and fifth-rate ships (40 and 30 guns). Because of their rarity and power, first rates were not addressed by the Establishment and were given individual designs, whilst smaller vessels had a low enough cost to allow experimentation. The Navy Board used existing ships considered to be the best in their respective classes as the bases for these dimensions.

Implementation
The Navy Board produced sets of dimensions for ships from forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, and ninety guns (they decided against doing so for thirty-gun ships). After a last-minute adjustment created by Admiral George Churchill, the dimensions were sent out to the dockyards together with an order that they were to be strictly adhered to, and that they should apply to rebuilds as well as new ships. The implementation of the Establishment - the first of many - began an era of notorious conservatism in naval administration. Though there would be no significant technological changes until the following century, the naval architecture of the 1706 Establishment slowly became more antiquated for the early eighteenth century.

Individual ship types
50-gun fourth-rates
Eleven new 50-gun ships were built to the 1706 Establishment (all as replacements for fourth-rates lost during the war years from 1703 onwards) - the Salisbury launched in 1707, the Falmouth, Ruby, Chester and Romney in 1708, the Pembroke in 1710, the Bristol, Gloucester and Ormonde in 1711, the Advice in 1712 and the Strafford in 1715. Another existing eight ships were rebuilt to the same specification - the Dragon in 1707, the Warwick and Bonaventure in 1711, the Assistance in 1713, the Worcester in 1714, and the Rochester, Panther and Dartmouth in 1716.

These vessels were initially armed as 54-gun ships to the 1703 Establishment of Guns (see table to right). Under the 1716 Establishment of Guns, they were re-classed as 50-gun ships with the following armament:

• Lower deck: 22 18-lb
• Upper deck: 22 9-lb
• Quarter deck: 4 6-lb
• Forecastle: 2 6-lb

Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of a 50-gun small two-decker (circa 1715), built entirely in frame. It has been built to show the old style of construction against the new, especially around the area of the bow and stern. The wales are solid or ‘closed’ on starboard side and ‘open’ in two strips on port side. Although the framing configuration differs markedly on port and starboard sides, it has the dimensions as laid down for the 50 gun ships of the 1706 Establishment, but the closed or solid wales would suggest a later date of 1717. An important feature of this model is that it shows the hull framed up as built as opposed to the more stylized Navy Board hull framing.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Swallow_(1703)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1706_Establishment
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66179.html

 

[Uwek]

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 February 1744 – Birth of William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (d. 1819)


Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, GCB (10 February 1744 – 5 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a number of decisive battles including the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758 and the Battle of the Saintes but is best known as a friend of Lord Nelson and as the commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. He is depicted in the Horatio Hornblower novel, Hornblower and the Hotspur.



His affectionate contemporary nickname from the ranks was Billy Blue and a sea shanty was written during his period of service, reflecting the admiration his men had for him.






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