Naval/Maritime History 22nd of March - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 26 December


1620 - Plymouth founded by Pilgrims of the Mayflower


1711 HMS Seahorse (14) wrecked off Dartmouth.

HMS Seahorse (1709) was a 14-gun sixth rate launched in 1709 and wrecked in 1711


1719 – Spanish San Juan Bautista 60 at Pasaje) - Wrecked


1751 – launch of Spanish Septentrion 64 at Cartagena - Wrecked 1783


1777 – Launch of French Fortunée, (one-off 32-gun design by Pierre Forfait, with 26 x 12-pounder and 6 x 6-pounder guns) at Brest – captured by British Navy 1779.

1808 - HMS Bustler Gun-brig of the Confounder Class (1805 - 12), Lt. Richard Welch, stranded on shore and taken by the French at Cape Grisnez, France.
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=3454
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=23386
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gun-brigs_of_the_Royal_Navy


1811 Cherokee Class sloop HMS Ephira (1808 - 10) wrecked on Cochinos Rocks, in passage between Cadiz and Tarifa.

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=4116


1943 - Operation Backhander begins. Task Force 76 lands 1st Marine Division at Cape Cloucester, New Britain. During retaliatory Japanese air attacks, destroyer USS Brownson (DD 518) sinks while destroyers USS Lamson (DD 367), USS Shaw (DD 373) and USS Mugford (DD 389), along with USS LST 66 and coastal transport APC 15 are damaged.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Gloucester
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1601 - The naval Battle of Bantam


The naval Battle of Bantam took place on 27 December 1601 in Bantam Bay, Indonesia, when an exploration fleet of 5 Dutch under the leadership of Walter Harmensz. and a fleet under Andrea Furtado de Mendoça, sent from Goa to the Portuguese authority to restore, met in the Indonesian archipelago. The Portuguese were forced to retreat. Netherlands made three ships booty on a large Portuguese force majeure of eight galleons and miscellaneous smaller vessels.

Ships involved
  • Netherlands
    • Gelderland
    • Zeelandia (Jan Cornelisz)
    • Utrecht
    • Wachter (yacht)
    • Duyfken (yacht)
  • Portugal (André Furtado de Mendonça), 30 vessels total
    • 8 galleons
    • several fustas (similar to galleys) - 3 set alight and captured by Dutch


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bantam
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1756 - Court-martial of Admiral Byng began on HMS St. George in Portsmouth Harbour.


Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757)[1] was a Royal Navy officer who was notoriously court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to vice-admiral in 1747. He also served as Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland Colony in 1742, Commander-in-Chief, Leith, 1745 to 1746 and was a member of parliament from 1751 until his death.

John_Byng.jpg

Byng is best known for failing to relieve a besieged British garrison during the Battle of Minorca at the beginning of the Seven Years' War. Byng had sailed for Minorca at the head of a hastily assembled fleet of vessels, some of which were in poor condition. He fought an inconclusive engagement with a French fleet off the Minorca coast, and then elected to return to Gibraltar to repair his ships. Upon return to Britain, Byng was court-martialled and found guilty of failing to "do his utmost" to prevent Minorca falling to the French. He was sentenced to death and, after pleas for clemency were denied, was shot dead by a firing squad on 14 March 1757.

Origins
John Byng was born at Southill Park in the parish of Southhill in Bedfordshire, England, the fifth son of Rear-Admiral George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington (later Admiral of the Fleet). His father George Byng had supported King William III in his successful bid to be crowned King of England in 1689 and had seen his own stature and fortune grow. He was a highly skilled naval commander, had won distinction in a series of battles, and was held in esteem by the monarchs whom he served. In 1721, he was rewarded by King George I with a viscountcy, being created Viscount Torrington.

Career
He entered the Royal Navy in March 1718, aged 13, when his father was a well-established admiral at the peak of a uniformly successful career. Early in his career John Byng was assigned to a series of Mediterranean postings. In 1723, aged 19, he was promoted lieutenant, and at 23, rose to become captain of HMS Gibraltar. His Mediterranean service continued until 1739 and was without much action. In 1742 he was appointed Commodore-Governor of the British colony of Newfoundland. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1745, and appointed Commander-in-Chief, Leith a post he held till 1746. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1747. He served as a Member of Parliament for Rochester from 1751 until his death.

Battle of Minorca

Admiral_bold.jpg
We have lately been told
Of two admirals bold,
Who engag'd in a terrible Fight:
They met after Noon,
Which I think was too soon,
As they both ran away before Night.


The island of Minorca had been a British possession since 1708, when it was captured during the War of the Spanish Succession. On the approach of the Seven Years' War, it was threatened by a French naval attack from Toulon, and was invaded in 1756.

Byng was serving in the Channel at the time and was ordered to the Mediterranean to relieve the British garrison of Fort St Philip, at Port Mahon. Despite his protests, he was not given enough money or time to prepare the expedition properly. His fleet was delayed in Portsmouth for five days while additional crew were found. By 6 April, the ships had sufficient crew to put to sea, arriving at Gibraltar on 2 May. Byng's Royal Marines were landed to make room for the soldiers who were to reinforce the garrison, and he feared that, if he met a French squadron, he would be dangerously undermanned. His correspondence shows that he left prepared for failure, that he did not believe that the garrison could hold out against the French force, and that he was already resolved to come back from Minorca if he found that the task presented any great difficulty. He wrote home to that effect to the Admiralty from Gibraltar, whose governor refused to provide soldiers to increase the relief force. Byng sailed on 8 May 1756. Before he arrived, the French landed 15,000 troops on the western shore of Minorca, spreading out to occupy the island. On 19 May, Byng was off the east coast of Minorca and endeavoured to open communications with the fort. The French squadron appeared before he could land any soldiers.

The Battle of Minorca was fought on the following day. Byng had gained the weather gage and bore down on the French fleet at an angle, so that his leading ships went into action while the rest were still out of effective firing range, including Byng's flagship. The French badly damaged the leading ships and slipped away. Byng's flag captain pointed out to him that, by standing out of his line, he could bring the centre of the enemy to closer action, but he declined because Thomas Mathews had been dismissed for so doing. Neither side lost a ship in the engagement, and casualties were roughly even, with 43 British sailors killed and 168 wounded, against French losses of 38 killed and 175 wounded.

Byng remained near Minorca for four days without establishing communication with the fort or sighting the French. On 24 May, he called a council of his captains at which he suggested that Minorca was effectively lost and that the best course would be to return to Gibraltar to repair the fleet. The council concurred, and the fleet set sail for Gibraltar, arriving on 19 June, where they were reinforced with four more ships of the line and a 50-gun frigate. Repairs were effected to the damaged vessels and additional water and provisions were loaded aboard.

Before his fleet could return to sea, another ship arrived from England with further instructions, relieving Byng of his command and ordering him to return home. On arrival in England he was placed in custody. Byng had been promoted to full admiral on 1 June, following the action off Minorca but before the Admiralty received Byng's dispatch giving news of the battle. The garrison resisted the Siege of Fort St Philip until 29 June, when it was forced to capitulate. Under negotiated terms, the garrison was allowed passage back to England, and the fort and island came under French control.

Court-martial
Byng's perceived failure to relieve the garrison at Minorca caused public outrage among fellow officers and the country at large. Byng was brought home to be tried by court-martial for breach of the Articles of War, which had recently been revised to mandate capital punishment for officers who did not do their utmost against the enemy, either in battle or pursuit. The revision followed an event in 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, when a young lieutenant named Baker Phillips was court-martialled and shot after his ship was captured by the French. His captain had done nothing to prepare the vessel for action and was killed almost immediately by a broadside. Taking command, the inexperienced junior officer was forced to surrender the ship when she could no longer be defended. The negligent behaviour of Phillips's captain was noted by the subsequent court martial and a recommendation for mercy was entered, but Phillips' sentence was approved by the Lords Justices of Appeal. This sentence angered some of parliament, who felt that an officer of higher rank would likely have been spared or else given a light punishment, and that Phillips had been executed because he was a powerless junior officer and thus a useful scapegoat. The Articles of War were amended to become one law for all: the death penalty for any officer of any rank who did not do his utmost against the enemy in battle or pursuit.

Byng's court martial was convened on 28 December 1756 aboard the elderly 96-gun vessel HMS St George, which was anchored in Portsmouth Harbour. The presiding officer was Admiral Thomas Smith, supported by rear admirals Francis Holburne, Harry Norris and Thomas Broderick, and a panel of nine captains. The verdict was delivered four weeks later on 27 January 1757, in the form of a series of resolutions describing the course of Byng's expedition to Minorca and an interpretation of his actions. The court acquitted Byng of personal cowardice. However its principal findings were that Byng had failed to keep his fleet together while engaging the French; that his flagship had opened fire at too great a distance to have any effect; and that he should have proceeded to the immediate relief of Minorca rather than returning to Gibraltar. As a consequence of these actions, the court held that Byng had "not done his utmost" to engage or destroy the enemy, thereby breaching the 12th Article of War.

Once the court determined that Byng had "failed to do his utmost", it had no discretion over punishment under the Articles of War. In accordance with those Articles the court condemned Byng to death, but unanimously recommended that the Lords of the Admiralty ask King George II to exercise his royal prerogative of mercy.

Clemency denied and execution

1280px-The_Shooting_of_Admiral_Byng'_(John_Byng)_from_NPG.jpg
The Shooting of Admiral Byng, artist unknown

First Lord of the Admiralty Richard Grenville-Temple was granted an audience with the King to request clemency, but this was refused in an angry exchange. Four members of the board of the court martial petitioned Parliament, seeking to be relieved from their oath of secrecy to speak on Byng's behalf. The Commons passed a measure allowing this, but the Lords rejected the proposal.

Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder was aware that the Admiralty was at least partly to blame for the loss at Minorca due to the poor manning and repair of the fleet. The Duke of Newcastle, the politician responsible, had by now joined the Prime Minister in an uneasy political coalition and this made it difficult for Pitt to contest the court martial verdict as strongly as he would have liked. He did, however, petition the King to commute the death sentence. The appeal was refused; Pitt and King George II were political opponents, with Pitt having pressed for George to relinquish his hereditary position of Elector of Hanover as being a conflict of interest with the government's policies in Europe.

The severity of the penalty, combined with suspicion that the Admiralty had sought to protect themselves from public anger over the defeat by throwing all the blame on the admiral, led to a reaction in favour of Byng in both the Navy and the country, which had previously demanded retribution. Pitt, then Leader of the House of Commons, told the King: "the House of Commons, Sir, is inclined to mercy", to which George responded: "You have taught me to look for the sense of my people elsewhere than in the House of Commons."

The King did not exercise his prerogative to grant clemency. Following the court martial and pronouncement of sentence, Admiral Byng had been detained aboard HMS Monarch in the Solent and, on 14 March 1757, he was taken to the quarterdeck for execution in the presence of all hands and men from other ships of the fleet in boats surrounding Monarch. The admiral knelt on a cushion and signified his readiness by dropping his handkerchief, whereupon a squad of Royal Marines shot him dead.


HMS Charles was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, then completed by Jonas Shish after being launched in the same month. Her name was formally Charles the Second, but she was known simply as Charles, particularly after 1673 when the contemporary Royal Charles was launched.

The Charles was renamed HMS St George in 1687 and reclassified as a second rate in 1691. In 1699-1701 she was rebuilt at Portsmouth Dockyard as a 90-gun second rate. In 1707, she belonged to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet. Under the command of Captain James Lord Dursley, she saw action during the unsuccessful Battle of Toulon and was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships (Association, Firebrand, Romney and Eagle) were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. St George also struck rocks off Scilly, but got off.

The St George was taken to pieces at Portsmouth in 1726 to be rebuilt again. On 4 September 1733, St George was ordered to be rebuilt to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment. She was relaunched on 3 April 1740.

She was eventually broken up in September 1774.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Byng
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Charles_(1668)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1796 - HMS Hussar (28), Cptn. James Colnett, wrecked in a gale of wind to the westward of the Island of Bass, France.


HMS Hussar was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Hussar was first commissioned in May 1790 under the command of Captain Eliab Harvey.

Capture_of_La_Prevoyante_and_La_Raison.jpg
Capture of La Prevoyante and La Raison by Thetis and Hussar

Class and type: 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen: 596 79⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 120 ft 6 in (36.7 m) (overall)
  • 99 ft 0 in (30.2 m) (keel)
Beam: 33 ft 8 in (10.3 m)
Depth of hold: 11 ft 0 in (3.4 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement: 200 officers and men
Armament:
  • Upper deck: 24 × 9-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 x 6-pounder guns + 4 x 18-pounder carronades
  • Fc: 2 x 18-pounder carronades
  • 12 × swivel guns

large.jpg
Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half breadth for Pomona (1778), then Pegasus (1779), then Mercury (1779), and wih pencil alterations for Hussar (1784), Rose (1783), Dido (1784), Thisbe (1783), Alligator (1787), Circe (1783), Lapwing (1785), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigates. Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 171765-1784]. The top ship is not 'Laurel' as listed in the annotation on the right, as this plan predates her ordering by over one year.


Career
On 2 May 1795 Rear Admiral George Murray sent Captain Alexander Cochrane in Thetis, together with Hussar, to intercept three French supply ships reported at Hampton Roads. At daybreak on 17 May the British came upon five ships 20 leagues West by South from Cape Henry. The French made a line of battle to receive the British frigates. An action commenced, with three of the French vessels eventually striking their colours. Thetis took possession of the largest, which turned out to be Prévoyante, pierced for 36 guns but only mounting 24. Hussar captured a second, Raison, pierced for 24 guns but only mounting 18. One of the vessels that had struck nonetheless sailed off. Two of the five had broken off the fight and sailed off earlier. (The three that escaped were Normand, Trajan, and Hernoux.) An hour after she had struck, Prévoyante's main and foremasts fell over the side. In the battle, Thetis had lost eight men killed and 9 wounded; Hussar had only two men wounded.

Four of the French ships had escaped from Guadeloupe on 25 April. They had sailed to American ports to gather provisions and naval stores to bring back to France.

Cochrane had intended to leave the prizes in charge of the cutter Prince Edward after repairing the damage to his vessel during the night. However, a breeze picked up and by morning the escaping French vessels were out of sight. The British sailed with their prizes to Halifax. The British took Prévoyante into the Royal Navy as HMS Prevoyante.

On 20 July, Hussar was in company with Thetis and HMS Esperance when they intercepted the American vessel Cincinnatus, of Wilmington, sailing from Ireland to Wilmington. They pressed many men on board, narrowly exempting the Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone, who was going to Philadelphia


large (1).jpg
Scale 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile plan for the Enterprize Class 1770: Enterprize (1774), Siren (1773), Fox (1773), Surprize (1774), Acteon (1775), Medea (1778), Serpine (1777), Andromeda (1777), Aurora (1777), Sibyl (1779), Brilliant (1779), Pomona (1778), Crescent (1779), Nemesis (1780), Resource (1778), Mercury (1779), Cyclops (1779), Vestal (1779), Laurel (1779), Pegasus (1779), and with modifications, written in green ink, for Hussar (1784), Rose (1783), Dido (1784), Thisbe (1783), Alligator (1787), Circe (1783), Lapwing (1785), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigates building at various Royal and private yards. The reverse of the plan shows a section through the deck for the after Bitts as they appear face on, from upper deck to keel.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hussar_(1784)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise-class_frigate
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Hussar_1784
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1784 – Launch of HMS Stately, a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 27 December 1784 at Northam.


HMS Stately was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 27 December 1784 at Northam.

Class and type: Ardent-classship of the line
Tons burthen: 1388 (bm)
Length: 160 ft (49 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 44 ft 4 in (13.5 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft (5.8 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament:
  • Lower deck: 26 × 24-pounder guns
  • Upper deck: 26 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 10 × 4-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns
large (2).jpg Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Stately' (1784), and in August 1780 for 'Indefatigable' (1784), both 64-gun Third Rate, two-deckers, based on the lines for 'Raisonable' (1768). Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1769-1784], and Edward Hunt [Surveyor of the Navy, 1778-1784].

French Revolutionary Wars
Sir Richard King took command of Stately at Portsmouth on 24 July 1793, which was reported in The Times newspaper.

In 1798 Stately was at the Cape of Good Hope where she was the venue for the court-martial of Mr. Reid, second mate of the East Indiaman King George. While they were both on shore, Reid had struck Captain Richard Colnett, captain of King George The court-martial sentenced Reid to two years in the Marshalsea prison. Because Colnett had a letter of marque, King George was a "private man-of-war", and the Navy's Articles of War applied at sea. Had Reid struck Colnett aboard King George, the charge would have been mutiny, for which the penalty would have been death.

The Admiralty had Stately converted for use a troopship in 1799. Because Stately served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

Napoleonic Wars
The Navy reverted her to a fully armed warship once war resumed after the end of the Treaty of Amiens.

Battle of Zealand Point
Main article: Battle of Zealand Point
On 22 March 1808, Stately and Nassau destroyed the last Danish ship of the line, Prins Christian Frederik, commanded by Captain C.W.Jessen, in a battle at Zealand Point.

In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Stately 22 March 1808" and "Nassau 22 March 1808" to any still surviving crew members of those vessels that chose to claim them.

Fate
Stately was broken up in 1814.

large (3).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the imboard profile for 'Ardent' (1764), 'Raisonable' (1768) 'Belliqueux' (1780, 'Agamemnon' (1781), 'Indefatigable' (1784), 'Stately' (1784), and 'Nassau' (1785), all 64-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The plan includes later (undated) alterations for converting a ship of this class to a troopship. The only ship to be converted was 'Nassau' (1785) in 1799.

The Ardent-class ships of the line were a class of seven 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade.

Ardent_class_silhouette.png

Design
Slade based the design of the Ardent class on the captured French ship Fougueux.

Ships
Builder: Blades, Hull
Ordered: 16 December 1761
Launched: 13 August 1764
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1784
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 11 January 1763
Launched: 10 December 1768
Fate: Broken up, 1815
Builder: Adams, Bucklers Hard
Ordered: 8 April 1777
Launched: 10 April 1781
Fate: Wrecked, 1809
Builder: Perry, Blackwall Yard
Ordered: 19 February 1778
Launched: 5 June 1780
Fate: Broken up, 1816
Builder: Raymond, Northam
Ordered: 10 December 1778
Launched: 27 December 1784
Fate: Broken up, 1814
Builder: Adams, Bucklers Hard
Ordered: 3 August 1780
Launched: July 1784
Fate: Broken up, 1816
Builder: Hilhouse, Bristol
Ordered: 14 November 1782
Launched: 28 September 1785
Fate: Wrecked, 1799

Vaisseau-Droits-de-lHomme.jpg
Fight of the Indefatigable (left) and Droits de l'Homme, as depicted by Léopold le Guen (1853)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Stately_(1784)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardent-class_ship_of_the_line
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Stately_1784
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1807 – Launch of Italian Corona, a 40-gun Pallas-class frigate of the Italian Navy, in Venice


Corona was a 40-gun Pallas-class frigate of the Italian Navy. The French built her in Venice in 1807 for the Venetian Navy. The British captured Corona at the Battle of Lissa and took her into the Royal Navy as HMS Daedalus. She grounded and sank off Ceylon in 1813 while escorting a convoy.

1280px-Flore-IMG_2242.jpg
Hortense, sister-ship of Corona

Class and type: Pallas-class frigate
Tons burthen: 1093 81⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 152 ft 6 in (46.48 m) (overall);
  • 126 ft 11 1⁄4 in (38.691 m) (keel)
Beam: 40 ft 3 in (12.27 m)
Draught: 5.9 m (19 ft)
Depth of hold: 120 ft 0 1⁄2 in (36.589 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Ship
Complement: British service: 274, later 315
Armament:
  • Italian service
  • UD:28 × 18-pounder long guns
  • Spardeck: 12 × 8-pounder long guns
  • British service
  • UD: 28 × 24-pounder Gover short-barrelled guns
  • QD: 14 × 24-pounder carronades
  • Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns + 2 × 24-pounder carronades

Italian Navy
Corona was initially built in Venice for the Venetian Navy of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, using French plans. She was at Venice in 1809.

Under Captain Nicolò Pasqualigo she served as part of the Franco-Italian squadron operating in the Adriatic in 1811 under Commodore Bernard Dubourdieu. On 22 October she entered the port of Lissa and there captured several vessels.

Corona was one of the ships that Dubourdieu lost at Lissa on 13 March 1811 during the battle that resulted in his death. Corona's captain was also wounded and taken prisoner in the battle: in all she lost some 200 men killed and wounded. Following her capture by Active, a fire destroyed much of Corona's upper works and killed members of her crew and five members of the British prize crew before they could extinguish it. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Lissa" to the still living survivors of the battle.

Royal Navy
Her captors took her to Malta and then to Britain where they renamed her Daedalus, Daedalus having just been broken up, and took her into the Royal Navy. She was laid up for a year while her battle damage was repaired. The British considered her weakly built and considered giving her 32-pounder carronades in her battery to reduce the weight of her armament. Instead, they gave her 24-pounder Gover short-barreled guns. In October 1812 she was finally readied for sea under Captain Murray Maxwell, fresh from his own victory in the Adriatic.

Daedalus sailed for the East Indies on 29 January 1813. On 1 July 1813 Daedalus was escorting a number of East Indiamen off Ceylon near Pointe de Galle. Maxwell set a course for Madras that was supposed to take her clear of all shoals. When he believed he was some eight miles off shore he changed course. At 8am on 2 July she grounded on a shoal. Although she hit gently, she had irreparably damaged her bottom. Maxwell and his crew attempted numerous remedies but could not save Daedalus and the Indiamen took off her crew. Within five minutes of Maxwell's departure Daedalus sank. The subsequent court martial ruled that the master, Arthur Webster, had failed to exercise due diligence in that he had failed to take constant depth soundings; the court ordered that he be severely reprimanded.


large (4).jpg
A scene from the Battle of Lissa, part of the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle for possession of the strategically important island of Lissa (also known as Vis), from which the British squadron had been disrupting French shipping in the Adriatic, took place on 13 March 1811. It was fought between a British frigate squadron and a substantially larger squadron of French and Venetian frigates and smaller ships. The French needed to control the Adriatic to supply a growing army in the Illyrian Provinces. Whitcombe based his composition on a sketch by J L Few, who was on board the 'Amphion', and this is the third plate in a series depicting the battle. It is inscribed: "To the Right Honorable Charles Yorke, First Lord of the Admiralty, &c. &c. / Plate 3rd Representing the Favorite of 44 Guns, Commodore Dubordieu [or Dubourdieu] on Shore and on Fire - Active and Cerberus taking possession of / the Corona of 44 Guns, and a Boat from the Amphion boarding the Bellona of 32 Guns - the Flora of 44 Guns escaping / after having struck her Colours owing to the crippled state of the British Squadron - / Is by permission respectfully Dedicated by his most obt humble servt George Andrews." On each side of the inscription are details of the "English Force", on the left, and the "French Force", on the right. The action took place on 13 March, 1811. The 'Amphion' is at the centre of the composition. Crew on a boat from the 'Amphion' can be seen attempting to board the 'Bellona', shown captured and flying a white ensign above the flag of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy stern on at extreme left. Published by George Andrews, Marine Print Warehouse, London 1812. Hand-coloured aquatint. PAI6160 and PAJ3932 are duplicates.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Corona_(1807)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/155712.html
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1814 – War of 1812: The American schooner USS Carolina is destroyed.
It was the last of Commodore Daniel Patterson's makeshift fleet that fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans.


USS Carolina, a schooner, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the British colony that became the states of North Carolina and South Carolina. Her keel was laid down at Charleston, South Carolina. She was purchased by the Navy while still on the stocks, launched on 10 November 1812, and commissioned on 4 June 1813 with Lieutenant J. D. Henley in command.

Displacement: 230 tons
Length: 89 ft 6 in (27.28 m)
Beam: 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m)
Complement: 100 officers and men
Armament:
  • originally
  • 3 × long nine-pounders guns
  • 12 × 12-pounder carronades


Carolina set sail for New Orleans, Louisiana, and while making her passage, captured the British schooner Shark. Arriving at New Orleans 23 August 1814, she began an active career of patrol directed against possible British action as well as the pirates that infested the Caribbean Sea. On 16 September 1814, Carolina attacked and destroyed the stronghold of the notorious Jean Lafitte on the island of Barataria.

Carolina, with the others of the small naval force in the area, carried out the series of operations which gave General Andrew Jackson time to prepare the defense of New Orleans when the British threatened the city in December 1814. On 23 December, she dropped down the river to the British bivouac which she bombarded with so telling an effect as to make a material contribution to the eventual victory. As the British stiffened their efforts to destroy the naval force and to take the city, Carolina came under heavy fire from enemy artillery on 27 December. The heated shot set her afire, and her crew was forced to abandon her. Shortly after, she exploded.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Carolina_(1812)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1831 – Charles Darwin embarks from Plymouth on his journey aboard HMS Beagle, during which he will begin to formulate his theory of evolution.


HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803 (£572,000 in today's currency), was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom, and for that occasion is said to have been the first ship to sail completely under the old London Bridge. There was no immediate need for Beagleso she "lay in ordinary", moored afloat but without masts or rigging. She was then adapted as a survey barque and took part in three survey expeditions.

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HMS Beagle in the Straits of Magellan

Class and type: Cherokee-class brig-sloop
Tons burthen: 235 bm; 242 for second voyage
Length: 90.3 ft (27.5 m)
Beam: 24.5 ft (7.5 m)
Draught: 12.5 ft (3.8 m)
Sail plan: Brig (barque from 1825)
Complement: 120 as a ship-of-war, 65 plus 9 supernumeraries on second voyage
Armament: 10 guns, reduced to 6 guns for first survey voyage, changed to 7 guns during second survey voyage


The second voyage of HMS Beagle is notable for carrying the recently graduated naturalist Charles Darwin around the world. While the survey work was carried out, Darwin travelled and researched geology, natural history and ethnology onshore. He gained fame by publishing his diary journal, best known as The Voyage of the Beagle, and his findings played a pivotal role in the formation of his scientific theories on evolution and natural selection.

Design and construction
The Cherokee class of 10-gun brig-sloops was designed by Sir Henry Peake in 1807, and eventually over 100 were constructed. The working drawings for HMS Beagle and HMS Barracouta were issued to the Woolwich Dockyard on 16 February 1817, and amended in coloured ink on 16 July 1817 with modifications to increase the height of the bulwarks (the sides of the ship extended above the upper deck) by an amount varying from 6 inches (150 mm) at the stem to 4 inches (100 mm) at the stern. Beagle's keel was laid in June 1818, construction cost £7,803, and the ship was launched on 11 May 1820. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review on the River Thames, celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom.


The second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after the previous captain committed suicide. FitzRoy had already thought of the advantages of having an expert in geology on board, and sought a gentleman naturalist to accompany them as a supernumerary. The young graduate Charles Darwin had hoped to see the tropics before becoming a parson, and accepted the opportunity. He was greatly influenced by reading Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology during the voyage. By the end of the expedition, Darwin had already made his name as a geologist and fossil collector, and the publication of his journal which became known as The Voyage of the Beagle gave him wide renown as a writer.

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The voyage of Beagle

Beagle sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, and then carried out detailed hydrographic surveys around the coasts of the southern part of South America, returning via Tahiti and Australia after having circumnavigated the Earth. While the expedition was originally planned to last two years, it lasted almost five.

Darwin spent most of this time exploring on land: three years and three months on land, 18 months at sea. Early in the voyage he decided that he could write a book about geology, and he showed a gift for theorising. At Punta Alta he made a major find of gigantic fossils of extinct mammals, then known from only a very few specimens. He ably collected and made detailed observations of plants and animals, with results that shook his belief that species were fixed and provided the basis for ideas which came to him when back in England, and led to his theory of evolution by natural selection.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_voyage_of_HMS_Beagle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1862 - During the Civil War, the ironclad river gunboat USS Baron De Kalb returns after a five-day Yazoo River mission, where the gunboat burns trapped steamers, captures and destroys large quantities of enemy equipment while also taking several prisoners. For "distinguished actions during this mission," five men receive the Navy Medal of Honor.


USS Baron DeKalb (1861) was a City-class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War.

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USS Baron DeKalb

USS Baron DeKalb, named after General Baron DeKalb of Hüttendorf near Erlangen, in present-day Bavaria, was originally named Saint Louis, and was one of seven City-class ironclads built at Carondelet, Missouri and Mound City, Illinois, for the Western Gunboat Flotilla.

These ironclads were shallow draft with a center driven paddle wheel. They were partially armored and slow and very hard to steer in the currents of rivers. This ironclad was also vulnerable to plunging fire and also by hits in their un-armored areas. Called "Pook Turtles" for the designer, they did yeoman service through four years of war and were present at almost every battle on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

Civil War service
Assigned to Union Army operations

During 1862 St. Louis, under the command of Lieutenant L. Paulding USN, was attached to Rear Admiral Andrew Hull Foote's squadron and participated in the Battle of Lucas Bendand the capture of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River (February 6, 1862). She served as flagship for the squadron when it assisted the Union Army at the capture of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River (February 14–16, 1862). Between April and June 1862, she operated against Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

St. Louis was renamed Baron De Kalb September 8, 1862. This change was apparently in anticipation of the vessel's transfer from the War Department to the Navy Department, there already being a St. Louis in commission with the Navy.

Reassigned to the Union Navy
On October 1, 1862 Baron De Kalb was transferred to the Navy Department. During December 21–28 she took part in the Yazoo Expedition and participated in the action at Drumgould's Bluff (December 28). Four of Baron De Kalb's sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the expedition: Ordinary Seaman Peter Cotton, Captain of the Forecastle Pierre Leon, Boatswain's Mate John McDonald, and Boatswain's Mate Charles Robinson.

During 1863 Baron De Kalb took part in the capture of Arkansas Post (January 10–11); expedition up the White River (January 12–14); Yazoo Pass Expedition (February 20 – April 5); action at Fort Pemberton (March 11–13); action at Haines' Bluff (April 29–2 May, May 18); action at Yazoo City, Mississippi (20–23 May); and the Yazoo River Expedition (24–31 May).

Sunk by mine
On July 13, 1863 Baron De Kalb was sunk by a mine (then called a "torpedo") in the Yazoo River, one mile below Yazoo City, Mississippi.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Baron_DeKalb_(1861)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1883 – Launch of The second USS Mohican, a steam sloop of war in the United States Navy.


The second USS Mohican was a steam sloop of war in the United States Navy. She was named for the Mohican tribe.

Construction
Mohican was laid down by Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 4 September 1872, funded with the repair money allocated for the first Mohican; launched 27 December 1883; sponsored by Miss Eleanor W. Much; and commissioned 25 May 1885, Commander Benjamin F. Day in command.

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United States Navy screw sloop-of-war USS Mohican off Mare Island Naval Base in November of 1894.

Service history
First Cruise[edit]

Assigned to the Pacific Squadron, Mohican departed San Francisco, California 27 June 1885 to patrol the coast of Mexico and South America. Steaming as far south as Callao, Peru, the sloop of war spent the winter at that port and then departed 6 March 1886 for the South Pacific. For the remainder of the year, the warship cruised in tropical waters, visiting the Marquesas, Tahiti, and the Tuamotu Archipelago, and patrolling Samoan waters to protect American interests from German political interference. In July she paid an official call in Auckland, New Zealand. She surveyed Easter Island in December for the Smithsonian Institution, and then sailed on the 31st for South America, arriving Valparaiso, Chile, 14 January 1887.

Mohican operated off the South American coast until sailing from Callao for Honolulu 10 September, and then following protocol activities and patrol in the islands through January 1888 cruised in the South Pacific until returning to Mare Island via Honolulu 1 August. The warship underwent an 11-month overhaul and then returned to Polynesian waters to patrol, in addition visiting Sydney, Australia, and Auckland. After a year-and-a-half cruise, she returned to San Francisco 9 April 1891.

Second Cruise

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Sailors on USS Mohican in 1888.

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Mohican visiting Vancouver, British Columbia.

Two months later, 19 June, Mohican stood out to assist the short lived Bering Sea Squadron in anti-poaching operations by protecting the sealing plants and fisheries from trouble Mohican remained in northern waters until 19 October 1892. While returning to San Francisco, Mohican twice ran aground and required repair of her keel and boilers. A court of inquiry, which included Captains Benjamin F. Day and Alfred Thayer Mahan, was conducted in December to try its captain, Commander H. L. Johnson for the matter. Commander Johnson was acquitted.

Third Cruise
After completion of repairs in January 1893, Mohican was outfitted as flagship for Rear Admiral Joseph S. Skerrett, commander of the Pacific Squadron. Following the overthrow of Hawaii 's last reigning monarch, Queen Liliuokalani, on 17 January 1893, Skerrett and his new flagship, Mohican were ordered to depart for Honolulu on 29 January 1893. With a new Hawaiian provisional government established, Mohican returned to San Francisco in May 1893. She subsequently sailed in June for Alaska to continue her Bering Sea patrols, ending a 22-month cruise at San Francisco 8 October 1894. The ship remained on the Pacific coast, visiting ports in the Northwest and patrolling. On 13 August 1895, during his around the world tour, Samuel Clemens and his family dined aboard at the invitation of Mohican's Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Albion Wadhams, described as an old acquaintance of Clemens.[7] Mohican was decommissioned at Mare Island 16 September 1895.

Fourth Cruise
Mohican was recommissioned 8 February 1898 because of imminent danger of war with Spain. She then made two voyages to Hawaii to protect American interests, March to May and June to September. Following the end of the Spanish–American War, she was assigned duty as a school ship for landsmen at Mare Island. The venerable sloop cruised the Pacific coast into 1902 and then in January 1903 sailed across the Pacific, steaming via Honolulu, Christmas Island, Samoa, and Guam to Yokohama, Japan, on a goodwill visit. She returned to Mare Island in August following stops at Honolulu and Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, and then resumed cruising the Californian and Mexican coasts. On 8 April 1904, the ship was assigned as station ship at the Naval Station, Olongapo, Subic Bay, Luzon, Philippines, and 1 month later sailed via Honolulu, Guam, and Cavite for her new station, arriving 4 February 1905.

As tender
Mohican served as station ship into 1910, being ordered to additional service as tender for submarine divisions, Asiatic Fleet, 30 December 1909. The veteran warship steamed to Cavite 30 March 1910 for duty as submarine tender there and three years later 17 March 1913 was designated receiving ship at Cavite and stationary tender, 1st Submarine Group, Torpedo Flotilla, Asiatic Fleet. Though relieved of this duty by monitor Monadnock 27 June 1914, she continued her tending duties through the end of 1915.

Decommissioned
Mohican decommissioned at Cavite 21 October 1921 and was sold 4 March 1922 to A. E. Haley of Manila.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Mohican_(1883)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1916 – french Gaulois was a Charlemagne-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the French Navy sunk


Gaulois was a Charlemagne-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the French Navy in the mid-1890s. She spent most of her career assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron (Escadre de la Méditerranée). The ship accidentally rammed two other French warships early in her career, although neither was seriously damaged, nor was the ship herself.

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When World War I began, she escorted troop convoys from French North Africa to France for a month and a half. Gaulois was ordered to the Dardanelles in November 1914 to guard against a sortie into the Mediterranean by the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben. In 1915, she joined British ships in bombarding Turkish fortifications. She was badly damaged during one such bombardment in March and had to beach herself to avoid sinking. She was refloated and sent to Toulon for permanent repairs. Gaulois returned to the Dardanelles and covered the Allied evacuation in January 1916. On 27 December 1916, she was en route for the Dardanelles after a refit in France when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UB-47.

Design and description
Gaulois was 117.7 metres (386 ft 2 in) long overall and had a beam of 20.26 metres (66 ft 6 in). At deep load, she had a draught of 7.4 metres (24 ft 3 in) forward and 8.4 metres (28 ft) aft. She displaced 10,361 metric tons (10,197 long tons) normally, and 11,325 metric tons (11,150 long tons) at deep load.

The ship used three 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines, one engine per shaft. They produced 14,420 ihp (10,750 kW) during the ship's sea trials using steam generated by 20 Belleville water-tube boilers. Gaulois reached a top speed of 18.024 knots (33.380 km/h; 20.742 mph) on her trials. She carried a maximum of 1,101 tonnes (1,084 long tons) of coal which allowed her to steam for 3,776 nautical miles (6,993 km; 4,345 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

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Gaulois carried her main armament of four 40-calibre Canon de 305 mm Modèle 1893 guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft. The ship's secondary armament consisted of ten 45-calibre Canon de 138 mm Modèle 1893 guns, eight of which were mounted in individual casemates and the remaining pair in shielded mounts on the forecastle deck amidships. She also carried eight 45-calibre Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1893 guns in shielded mounts on the superstructure. The ship's anti-torpedo boat defences consisted of twenty 40-calibre Canon de 47 mm Modèle 1885 Hotchkiss guns, fitted in platforms on both masts, on the superstructure, and in casemates in the hull. Gaulois mounted four 450-millimetre (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, two on each broadside. Two of these were submerged, angled 20° from the ship's axis, and the other two were above the waterline. They were provided with twelve Modèle 1892 torpedoes. As was common with ships of her generation, she was built with a plough-shaped ram.

The Charlemagne-class ships carried a total of 820.7 tonnes (807.7 long tons) of Harvey armour. They had a complete waterline armour belt that was 3.26 metres (10 ft 8 in) high. It tapered from its maximum thickness of 400 mm (15.7 in) to a thickness of 110 mm (4.3 in) at its lower edge. The armoured deck was 55 mm (2.2 in) thick on the flat and was reinforced with an additional 35 mm (1.4 in) plate where it angled downwards to meet the armoured belt. The main turrets were protected by 320 mm (12.6 in) of armour and their roofs were 50 mm (2.0 in) thick. Their barbettes were 270 mm (10.6 in) thick. The outer walls of the casemates for the 138.6-millimetre (5.46 in) guns were 55 mm thick and they were protected by transverse bulkheads 150 mm (5.9 in) thick. The conning tower walls were 326 mm (12.8 in) thick and its roof consisted of 50 mm armour plates. Its communications tube was protected by armour plates 200 mm (7.9 in) thick.

Construction and career
Gaulois, named after the tribes that inhabited France during Roman times, was ordered on 22 January 1895 from the Arsenal de Brest. Her sister ship Charlemagne was being built in the slipway intended for Gaulois so the latter ship's construction was delayed until the former was launched. Gaulois was laid down on 6 January 1896 and launched on 6 October of the same year. She was commissioned on 23 October 1899 after completing her sea trials.

Together with Charlemagne, the ship was assigned to the 1st Battleship Division of the Mediterranean Squadron and they arrived at Toulon in January 1900. Stormy weather during this voyage caused her captain to complain about her forward turret and casemates being flooded out in a head sea. The following month, while exercising in the harbour at Hyères, Gaulois accidentally rammed the destroyer Hallebarde, gouging a 4-by-1.5-metre (13.1 by 4.9 ft) hole in the smaller ship. Hallebarde reached Toulon where she was repaired while the battleship was barely damaged. On 18 July, after combined manoeuvres with the Northern Squadron (Escadre du Nord), the ship participated in a naval review conducted by the President of France, Émile Loubet, at Cherbourg. The following year, Gaulois and the Mediterranean Squadron participated in an international naval review by President Loubet in Toulon with ships from Spain, Italy and Russia.

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Gaulois at anchor in 1912. Note the large tarpaulin rigged over the quarterdeck to provide shade

In October 1901, the 1st Battleship Division, under the command of Rear Admiral (contre-amiral) Leonce Caillard, was ordered to proceed to the port of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, then owned by the Ottoman Empire. After landing two companies of marines that occupied the major ports of the island on 7 November, Sultan Abdul Hamid II agreed to enforce contracts made with French companies and to repay loans made by French banks. The 1st Division departed Lesbos in early December and returned to Toulon. In May 1902, the ship became the flagship of Vice Admiral (vice-amiral) François Fournier who led a small delegation to celebrate the unveiling of the statue of Comte de Rochambeau in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. President Theodore Roosevelt was received aboard on 23 May and the ship made port visits to New York City and Boston before heading back to France. She made another port visit to Lisbon before arriving back at Toulon on 14 June.

During exercises off Golfe-Juan, Gaulois accidentally rammed the battleship Bouvet on 31 January 1903. Neither ship was seriously damaged in the accident. In April 1904, she was one of the ships that escorted President Loubet during his state visit to Italy. Later that year, the ship made port visits in Thessaloniki and Athens with the rest of the Mediterranean Squadron. A wireless telegraph was installed aboard Gaulois in December 1905. Together with the battleships Iéna and Bouvet, the ship aided survivors of the April 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Naples. For the rest of the decade, she participated in various exercises with the Mediterranean Squadron and made a number of port visits in France and its dependencies. Gaulois was briefly transferred to the Northern Squadron in August 1910 and she participated in a large naval review by President Armand Fallières off Cap Brun on 4 September 1911. The ship was reassigned to the Mediterranean Squadron in October 1912 and she participated in a naval review by President Raymond Poincaré on 10 June 1913. In June 1914, the Navy planned to assign Gaulois to the Training Division of the Squadron as of October, but this was cancelled upon the outbreak of war in August.

World War I

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Turkish defenses of the Dardanelles, February–March 1915

Together with the older French pre-dreadnoughts, the ship's first mission in the war was to escort troop convoys from North Africa to France. Later in September, her main turrets required repairs in Bizerte as the forward turret was having difficulty traversing. Following these repairs, Gaulois was ordered to Tenedos Island, not far from the Gallipoli Peninsula of Turkey, in November to guard against a sortie by the German battlecruiser Goeben. She relieved the battleship Suffren which needed a refit in Toulon. She became flagship of Rear Admiral Émile Guépratte upon her arrival on 15 November. He transferred his flag back to Suffren when she returned on 10 January 1915.

During the bombardment of 19 February, Gaulois supported Suffren as the latter ship bombarded Turkish forts covering the mouth of the Dardanelles. Late in the day, she bombarded the fort at Orhaniye Tepe on the Asiatic side of the strait. During the subsequent bombardment on 25 February, the ship anchored some 6,000 metres (6,600 yd) from the Asiatic shore and engaged the forts at Kum Kale and Cape Helles. Their return fire was heavy enough to force Gaulois to up anchor before she could suppress their guns. Later in the day, she closed to within 3,000 metres (3,300 yd) of the forts and engaged them with her secondary armament. During the day's action, the ship was hit twice, but these did little damage.

On 2 March, the French squadron bombarded targets in the Gulf of Saros, at the base of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Five days later, the French squadron attempted to suppress the Turkish guns while British battleships bombarded the fortifications. Gaulois was hit by a 15-centimetre (5.9 in) shell during this attack that caused little damage as it failed to detonate. Admiral Guépratte and his squadron returned to the Gulf of Saros on 11 March where they again bombarded Turkish fortifications.

They returned to assist in the major attack on the fortifications planned for 18 March. British ships made the initial entry into the Dardanelles, but the French ships passed through them to engage the forts at closer range. Gaulois was hit twice during this bombardment; the first shell struck the quarterdeck, but caused little damage other than deforming the deck. The second shell hit just above the waterline on the starboard bow and did little obvious damage. In reality, however, it pushed in the armour plates below the waterline and opened up a hole 7 metres (23 ft 0 in) by 22 centimetres (8.7 in) through which water flooded in. Little could be done to staunch the inflow and Captain Briard decided to head for the Rabbit Islands, north of Tenedos, where he could beach his ship for temporary repairs. He ordered the non-essential crewmen off the ship in case she foundered en route, but managed to reach the islands, escorted by Charlemagne.

Gaulois was refloated on 22 March and departed for Toulon via Malta three days later, escorted by Suffren. They encountered a storm on 27 March off Cape Matapan and the ship began taking on water as the repairs began to leak under the pressure of the storm. She radioed for assistance later that night and the armoured cruiser Jules Ferry and three torpedo boats arrived several hours later. The ship arrived in the Bay of Navarin the following morning and more repairs were made. Gaulois arrived without further incident at Toulon on 16 April and entered drydock the following day. The Navy took the opportunity to increase her stability by lightening her masts, removing some armour from the superstructure and conning tower as well as dismounting two 100 mm (3.9 in) and six 47 mm (1.9 in) guns. In addition, the ship was fitted with an anti-torpedo bulge that stretched between her bridge and aft superstructure to increase her beam and thus her stability.

Her repairs were completed by early June and Gaulois departed for the Dardanelles on 8 June. She reached Lemnos on 17 June and relieved her sister St Louis on 27 July. The ship anchored 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) off the shore on 11 August to bombarded a Turkish artillery battery at Achi Baba. Splinters from return fire detonated a 100 mm shell and started a small fire, but it was put out without much trouble. On her voyage home, Gaulois ran aground at the harbour entrance and had to unload most of her ammunition before she could be refloated on 21 August. Together with the pre-dreadnought République, the ship covered the Allied evacuation from Gallipoli in January 1916. Badly in need of a refit, she sailed for Brest on 20 August where her captain argued that the range of her main armament needed to be increased by 4,000 metres (4,400 yd) if she was to be considered fit for the battleline. Some thought was given to disarming her and converting her into a barracks ship, but nothing was done before the ship was ordered back to the Eastern Mediterranean on 25 November.

Fate
By 27 December 1916, Gaulois had reached the Aegean Sea and was off the southern coast of Greece when she was torpedoed by the submarine UB-47 despite her escort of one destroyer and two armed trawlers. The explosion of the single torpedo hit slightly abaft the mainmast. It killed two crewmen and another pair drowned as they attempted to abandon ship. The ship capsized 22 minutes after being hit and sank 14 minutes later off Cape Maleas at 36°15′N 23°42′ECoordinates:
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36°15′N 23°42′E.

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Profile view of Saint Louis

The Charlemagne class was a class of three pre-dreadnought battleships built for the French Navy in the 1890s. The ships spent most of their careers assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron (Escadre de la Méditerranée). They had oddly eventful peacetime careers as they were involved in four accidental collisions between them, one of which sank a French submarine with all hands. Saint Louis was usually a fleet flagship during her career and Charlemagne twice participated in the occupation of the port of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos—then owned by the Ottoman Empire—once as part of a French expedition and another as part of an international squadron.

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During World War I, they were initially used to escort Allied troop convoys in the Mediterranean. All three ships were ordered to the Dardanelles in November 1914 to guard against a sortie into the Mediterranean by the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben. Charlemagne and Gaulois joined British ships in bombarding Turkish fortifications in early 1915 while Saint Louis was briefly assigned to bombard Turkish positions in Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula. Gaulois was badly damaged by a Turkish shell during one of these bombardments and had to beach herself to avoid sinking. She later returned to the Dardanelles and rejoined her sisters, providing fire support during the Gallipoli Campaign until the Allies evacuated their troops. Saint Louis and Charlemagne were transferred to the squadron assigned to prevent any interference by the Greeks with Allied operations on the Salonica front in 1916 and Gaulois was en route to join them when she was sunk by a German submarine later that year.

The two surviving ships were placed in reserve during 1917. Charlemagne was decommissioned later in 1917 and sold for scrap in 1923. Saint Louis briefly became a training ship in 1919–20 and was then converted to serve as an accommodation hulk in 1920. She was not sold until 1933, although she was listed for disposal in 1931.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_battleship_Gaulois
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne-class_battleship
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
27 December 1922 – Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō becomes the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.


Hōshō (鳳翔, literally "phoenix flying") was the world's first commissioned ship that was designed and built as an aircraft carrier, and the first aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Commissioned in 1922, the ship was used for testing carrier aircraft operations equipment, techniques, such as take-offs and landings, and carrier aircraft operational methods and tactics. The ship provided valuable lessons and experience for the IJN in early carrier air operations. Hōshō's superstructure and other obstructions to the flight deck were removed in 1924 on the advice of experienced aircrews.

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Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō in Tokyo Bay

Hōshō and her aircraft group participated in the Shanghai Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the Sino-Japanese War in late 1937. During those two conflicts, the carrier's aircraft supported Imperial Japanese Army ground operations and engaged in aerial combat with aircraft of the Nationalist Chinese Air Force. The small size of the ship and her assigned airgroups (usually around 15 aircraft) limited the effectiveness of her contributions to combat operations. As a result, the carrier was placed in reserve after her return to Japan from China and she became a training carrier in 1939.

During World War II, Hōshō participated in the Battle of Midway in June 1942 in a secondary role. After the battle, the carrier resumed her training role in Japanese home waters for the duration of the conflict and survived the war with only minor damage from air attacks. She was used as a repatriation transport after the war, making nine trips to bring some 40,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians to Japan from overseas locations. Hōshō was scrapped in Japan beginning in 1946.

Design and description

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Hōshō in Tsurumi-ku after being launched, December 20, 1921.

Construction of a seaplane carrier was authorized by the Japanese government in its "eight-six" fleet program of 1918. A planned sister ship, named Shokaku, was cancelled in 1922 before any construction started. Hōshō was the second warship, after the British HMS Hermes, to be designed from the keel up as an aircraft carrier, but was launched and completed earlier than Hermes.

Hōshō was planned as a seaplane carrier like the British HMS Campania with a forward flying-off deck, 32 aircraft, four low-angle 14-centimeter (5.5 in) guns, and four anti-aircraft (AA) guns. The plan was revised after reports were received from Japanese observers with the Royal Navy in Europe about the desirability to be able to land aircraft on the ship. The new requirements were modeled on HMS Furious after she received her rear flight deck in 1918. The ship was to be capable of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and fitted with a forward flight deck, superstructure and funnels amidships, and a large hangar aft. Shortly thereafter based on observations of landing trials on Furious and HMS Argus, the world's first flush-decked aircraft carrier, Hōshō's flight deck design was revised in April 1919. The superstructure was removed and the funnels were moved to one side to create an unobstructed, full-length flight deck, and the ship was reclassified as an aircraft carrier. The ship's hull was based on that of a large cruiser and she was given a small island. Her three funnels were mounted on the starboard side and swiveled to lie horizontal during flight operations. Hōshō's designed speed was reduced to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), based on British experiences during World War I.

General characteristics

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Hōshō conducts full power trials near Tateyama, Japan on 4 December 1922.

Hōshō was completed with an overall length of 168.25 meters (552 ft 0 in). She had a beam of 17.98 meters (59 ft 0 in) and a mean draft of 6.17 meters (20 ft 3 in). The ship displaced 7,470 long tons (7,590 t) at standard load, and 9,494 long tons (9,646 t) at normal load. Her crew totaled 512 officers and men. The ship was almost completely unarmored.

Propulsion
Hōshō had two Parsons geared turbine sets with a total of 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW) driving two propeller shafts. Eight Kampon Type B water-tube boilers with a working pressure of 18.3 kg/cm2 (1,790 kPa; 260 psi) and a temperature of 138 °C (280 °F) provided steam to the turbines, although only four were oil-fired. The other four used a mix of oil and coal. The ship's designed speed was 25 knots, but she made 26.66 knots (49.37 km/h; 30.68 mph) from 31,117 shaft horsepower (23,204 kW) on her sea trials on 30 November 1922. She carried 2,700 long tons (2,700 t) of fuel oil and 940 long tons (960 t) of coal, an extraordinary total for such a small ship, to give her a range of 8,680 nautical miles (16,080 km; 9,990 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

To reduce rolling and increase stability for aircraft operations, a gyrostabilizer produced by the American Sperry Gyroscope Company was installed. The installation initially proved unreliable as the Japanese technicians were badly trained by Sperry, but eventually the system proved its worth as the technicians gained experience.

Flight deck arrangements

1024px-Hosho_forecastle.jpg
A view of the underside of Hōshō'snarrow flight deck looking from the forecastle forward. Photographed in October 1945.

Hōshō's flight deck was 168.25 meters (552 ft 0 in) long and 22.62 meters (74 ft 3 in) wide. The forward end sloped down at an angle of −5° to help aircraft accelerate during takeoff. A small island was mounted well forward on the starboard side and contained the ship's bridge and air operations control center. The island was fitted with a small tripod mast intended to mount the ship's fire-control system. Fifteen different types of landing equipment were evaluated before the British longitudinal wire system was adopted. Low landing speeds of the time meant that aircraft had little difficulty in stopping, but their light weight made them vulnerable to wind gusts that could blow them over the side of the carrier, and the longitudinal wires helped to prevent that. Forward of the island was a collapsible crane for loading aircraft into the forward hangar.

The flight deck, unlike those on Royal Navy carriers, was superimposed on the ship's hull rather than constructed as a strength deck supporting the carrier's hull structure.[6] A system of lights and mirrors along the flight deck assisted pilots in landing on the carrier.

Hōshō was the only Japanese aircraft carrier with two hangars. The forward hangar was 67.2 by 9.5 meters (220 ft 6 in by 31 ft 2 in) and only one deck in height as it was intended to house nine small aircraft, such as fighters. The two-story rear hangar measured 16.5 by 14 meters (54 ft 2 in by 45 ft 11 in) at the forward end and 29.4 by 12 meters (96 ft 5 in by 39 ft 4 in) at the rear end. It was designed to house six large aircraft, such as torpedo bombers, as well as six reserve aircraft. Each hangar was served by an aircraft elevator. The forward elevator was 10.35 by 7.86 meters (34.0 by 25.8 ft) and the aft elevator measured 13.71 by 6.34 meters (45 ft 0 in by 20 ft 10 in).

Air group

800px-Aircraft_carrier_silhouettes_(Warships_To-day,_1936).jpg
Hōshō (middle) compared with other aircraft carriers constructed during the same time period

Hōshō had a normal capacity of fifteen aircraft, subject to the limitations of her hangars. She was first commissioned with an air group of nine Mitsubishi 1MF (Type 10) fighters and three to six Mitsubishi B1M3 (Type 13) torpedo bombers. In 1928, the fighters were replaced by the A1N1 (Type 3). Three years later the air group consisted of Nakajima A2N (Type 90) fighters and Mitsubishi B2M (Type 89) torpedo bombers. In 1938 Nakajima A4N (Type 95) fighters and Yokosuka B3Y (Type 92) bombers flew from the ship. In 1940 the air group was modernized with Mitsubishi A5M(Type 96) "Claude" fighters and Yokosuka B4Y1 (Type 96) "Jean" bombers.

Armament
Hōshō was armed with four 50-caliber 14 cm/50 3rd Year Type guns, two on each side. The two forward guns had a firing arc of 150°, including straight ahead, while the rear guns could fire 120° on either side. They fired 38-kilogram (84 lb) projectiles at a rate of six to ten rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of about 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s); at 35°, they had a maximum range of 19,750 m (21,600 yd). A heavy gun armament was provided for Hōshō; as carrier doctrine was just evolving at this time, the impracticability of carriers engaging in gun duels had not yet been realized. Her large flight deck and lack of armor made her a vulnerable target in surface battles.

A pair of 40-caliber 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type guns on disappearing mounts provided Hōshō's only anti-aircraft defense. They were positioned on the flight deck, just forward of the rear elevator. These guns fired 5.67–5.99-kilogram (12.5–13.2 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of about 680 m/s (2,231 ft/s); at 45°, this provided a maximum range of 10,800 meters (11,800 yd), and they had a maximum ceiling of 7,200 meters (23,600 ft) at 75° elevation. Their effective rate of fire was 13 to 20 rounds per minute.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Hōshō
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 27 December


1795 – ex-french Perle, a Minerve class was a type of 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, taken by british and taken in as HMS Amethyst in 1793, wrecked

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerve-class_frigate


1797 - HMS Hunter Sloop (18), Cptn. Tudor Tucker, wrecked on Hog Island, off Virginia.

HMS Hunter (1796) was a 16-gun sloop purchased on the stocks in 1796 and wrecked in 1797.


1990 - Lt. Cmdr. Darlene Iskra, the first female commanding officer of a U.S. Navy warship, reports for duty on board USS Opportune (ARS 41), then at Naples, Italy, serving until 1993.

USS Opportune (ARS-41) was a Bolster-class rescue and salvage ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her task was to come to the aid of stricken vessels.
Opportune was laid down 13 September 1944 by Basalt Rock Company in Napa, California; launched 31 March 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Kenneth Sanger; and commissioned at Mare Island, California, 5 October 1945, Lt. Comdr. Charles L. Knopp in command.

1024px-Opportune_(ARS-41).jpg

First US Navy ship commanded by a woman
LCDR Darlene Iskra became the first woman commanding officer of a US Navy ship when she assumed command of Opportune at Naples, Italy on 27 December 1990. She served as the commanding officer until 1993

Darlene M. Iskra is a retired United States Navy officer. Upon assuming command of the rescue and salvage ship USS Opportune (ARS-41) on December 27, 1990, she became the first woman to command a U.S. Navy vessel.

LCDR_Darlene_Iskra.jpg

After earning her BA at San Francisco State University, she earned an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and an MA and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Maryland.

That same year, Marsha J. Evans took command of Naval Station Treasure Island, making her the first woman to command a U.S. Naval Station

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlene_Iskra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Opportune_(ARS-41)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 December 1630 - Birth of Ludolf Bakhuizen , a German-born Dutch painter


Ludolf Bakhuizen (28 December 1630 – 17 November 1708) was a German-born Dutch painter, draughtsman, calligrapher and printmaker. He was the leading Dutch painter of maritime subjects after Willem van de Velde the Elder and Younger left for England in 1672. He also painted portraits of his family and c
circle of friends.

SA_7286-Zelfportret.jpg
Self-portrait

Life
He was born in Emden, East Frisia, and came to Amsterdam in about 1650, working as a merchant's clerk and a calligrapher. He discovered so strong a genius for painting that he relinquished the business and devoted himself to art from the late 1650s, initially in pen drawings. He studied first under Allart van Everdingen and then under Hendrik Dubbels, two eminent masters of the time, and soon became celebrated for his sea-pieces, which often had rough seas.

He was an ardent student of nature, and frequently exposed himself on the sea in an open boat in order to study the effects of storms. His compositions, which are numerous, are nearly all variations of one subject, the sea, and in a style peculiarly his own, marked by intense realism or faithful imitation of nature. In his later years Bakhuizen employed his skills in etching; he also painted a few examples each of several other genres of painting, such as portraits, landscapes and genre paintings.

During his life Bakhuizen was visited by Cosimo III de' Medici, Peter the Great and also worked for various German princes. In 1699 he opened a gallery on the top floor of the famous Amsterdam townhall. After a visit to England he died in Amsterdam on 17 November 1708.

Bakhuizen painted portraits of his large circle of friends. These are of lesser artistic value but provide an insight into his good relations with contemporary scholars and literary figures.

large.jpg
A merchant ship in full sail is shown in the centre of the painting, with the motif of a swan painted on her stern. She flies the Dutch flag from the stern and top-mast, and tows two small craft. Behind her a ship is visible in broadside view and at anchor. On either side of the painting land is shown with church towers and the buildings of towns. There are other coastal craft including a hoeker or small Dutch coasting vessel on the right, with leeboard visible and several men occupied on the deck. A menacing cloud rises up behind the merchant vessel, with the sun's rays shining through the clouds on the right. Born in Hoorn, the artist was first a pupil of Abraham Liedts before moving to Amsterdam, where he became both the pupil and close imitator of Ludolf Bakhuizen. He probably moved back to Hoorn in about 1687.

large (2).jpg
A Dutch whaler is shown in the centre of the painting flying the Dutch flag from the stern and mast. It is leaving the wharf of the East India Company depicted on the right. The rigging of the whaler and other detailing has been closely observed and there are a number of figures working on the deck. A yacht to the right is shown sailing towards the wharf. In the foreground to the right a man seated in a small boat is rowed by three sailors towards the shore. He points towards the wharf with his left hand in a gesture signifying the importance of the subject of trade to the painting. There is more shipping shown on the left and on the horizon, and the artist has included a number of windmills on the skyline to the right. Born in Hoorn, the artist was a pupil of Abraham Liedts before moving to Amsterdam. There he became both the pupil and close imitator of Ludolf Bakhuizen, and he probably moved back to Hoorn in about 1687. The painting is indistinctly signed.


1024px-Ludolf_Bakhuizen_-_Dutch_Merchant_-_Ships_in_a_Storm_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Ships in a Storm, 1670s - 1690s

1024px-Bakhuizen,_Battle_of_Vigo_Bay.jpg
Battle of Vigo Bay 1702

Ludolf_Backhuysen_-_Dutchman_Embarking_onto_a_Yacht_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Dutchman Embarking onto a Yacht, 1670-1679

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludolf_Bakhuizen
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ludolf_Bakhuizen
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 December 1757 – Launch of HMS Norfolk, a 74-gun Dublin class third-rate ship of the line


HMS Norfolk was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and the second ship to bear the name. She was launched on 8 December 1757 at Deptford Dockyard.

large (3).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plans showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Dublin' (1757), 'Norfolk' (1757), 'Shrewsbury' (1758), 'Warspite' (1758), 'Resolution' (1758), 'Lenox' (1758), and 'Mars' (1759) all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers.

Class and type: Dublin class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 155617⁄94 (bm)
Length: 165 ft 6 in (50.44 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 46 ft 6 in (14.17 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:
  • 74 guns:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs

Her first commander was Captain Robert Hughes and she flew the broad pennant of Commodore Sir Peircy Brett. Norfolk emulated her predecessor (HMS Norfolk of 1693) by reinforcing the West Indies, where she escorted a fleet that was transporting vital stores and six infantry regiments to that region.

She became flagship of the Commander-In-Chief East Indies Station, Rear-Admiral Charles Steevens and his successor Vice-Admiral Samuel Cornish. Norfolk was decommissioned in 1764, after her return to Portsmouth was broken up in 1774

large (4).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile with alterations, proposed (and approved) for 'Dublin' (1757), 'Norfolk' (1757), 'Shrewsbury' (1758), 'Warspite' (1758), 'Resolution' (1758), 'Lenox' (1758), and 'Mars' (1759) all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers.

large (5).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the orlop deck proposed (and approved) for 'Dublin' (1757), 'Norfolk' (1757), 'Shrewsbury' (1758), and 'Warspite' (1758), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers.


The Dublin-class ships of the line were a class of seven 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade.

Design
The Dublin-class ships were the first 74-gun ships to be designed for the Royal Navy, and marked the beginning of a more dynamic era of naval design than that in the ultra-conservative Establishment era preceding it.

Slade's draught was approved on 26 August 1755 when the first two orders were transmitted to Deptford Dockyard. The design was some 4½ feet longer than the preceding 70-gun ships of the 1745 Establishment, with the extra length making provision for an additional (14th) pair of 32-pounder guns on the lower deck compared with the 13 pairs of the 70-gun ships. They were nominally ordered as 70-gun ships (although always designed to carry 74), but redesignated as 74-gun during construction.

1024px-Bataille-Cardinaux.jpg
HMS Resolution (on her starboard side in the foreground)

Ships
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 26 August 1755
Laid down: 18 November 1755
Launched: 6 May 1757
Completed: 1 July 1757
Fate: Broken up, May 1784
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 26 August 1755
Laid down: 18 November 1755
Launched: 28 December 1757
Completed: 23 February 1758
Fate: Broken up, December 1774
Builder: Wells & Company, Deptford
Ordered: 28 October 1755
Laid down: 14 January 1756
Launched: 23 February 1758
Completed: 2 May 1758 at Deptford Dockyard
Fate: Condemned and scuttled at Jamaica 12 June 1783
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 28 October 1755
Laid down: 8 April 1756
Launched: 25 February 1758
Completed: 26 May 1758
Fate: Sunk as breakwater, 1784; later raised and broken up May 1789
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 28 October 1755
Laid down: 1 May 1756
Launched: 15 March 1759
Completed: 12 April 1759
Fate: Sold to be broken up, August 1784
Builder: Thomas West, Deptford
Ordered: 14 November 1755
Laid down: November 1755
Launched: 8 April 1758
Completed: 27 July 1758 at Deptford Dockyard
Fate: Broken up, November 1801
Builder: Henry Bird, Northam, Southampton
Ordered: 24 November 1755
Laid down: December 1755
Launched: 14 December 1758
Completed: 23 March 1759 at Portsmouth Dockyard
Fate: Wrecked, 20 November 1759 during Battle of Quiberon


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Norfolk_(1757)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin-class_ship_of_the_line
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 December 1810 – Death of Admiral Sir Henry Harvey, KB (July 1743 – 28 December 1810)


Admiral Sir Henry Harvey, KB (July 1743 – 28 December 1810) was a long-serving officer of the British Royal Navy during the second half of the eighteenth century. Harvey participated in numerous naval operations and actions and especially distinguished himself at the Glorious First of June in command of HMS Ramillies. His career took him all over the world, particularly on the North American station and in the West Indies where he commanded numerous ships and, later in his career, squadrons during the course of three different wars. Harvey was a member of a distinguished naval family, his brother was killed in action in 1794, three of his sons entered the navy and one of them was later raised to admiral himself.

Henry_Harvey.jpg

Years of service 1751 to 1801
Rank Royal Navy admiral

Commands held
HMS Magdalen
HMS Swift
HMS Martin
HMS Squirrel
HMS Convert
HMS Pegasus
HMS Rose
HMS Alfred
HMS Colossus
HMS Ramillies
HMS Prince of Wales
Leeward Islands Station

Battles/wars
Seven Years' War
American War of Independence

Battle of the Saintes
French Revolutionary Wars
Glorious First of June
Battle of Groix
Capture of Trinidad
Siege of San Juan

Awards
Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath


Early career
Henry Harvey was born in Eastry, Kent in 1743, the second son of Richard and Elizabeth Harvey. With his elder brother John Harvey, Henry was educated in France during the 1740s and in 1751 joined the Royal Navy, a service his brother also joined three years later. Harvey was encouraged into service by the distantly related Sir Peircy Brett, whose patronage supported Harvey throughout his career. Harvey's first ship, aged only eight, was the sixth-rate HMS Centaur aged eleven in 1754, Harvey was transferred to HMS Nightingale. It is not clear how much time Harvey actually spent aboard these ships, as it was common practice at the time for the children of naval families to be entered on a ship's books to gain experience pending their actual entry into the service, an illegal practice known as "false muster".

By 1757, and aged 15, Harvey was certainly at sea, making junior lieutenant aboard the fourth-rate HMS Hampshire in the English Channel, the West Indies and along the North American coast during the Seven Years' War. A capable and well supported officer, Harvey was soon promoted to first lieutenant aboard the frigate HMS Hussar, which was wrecked at Cape François, Cuba in 1762, resulting in Harvey spending the next year as a prisoner of war. During the voyage home on parole aboard HMS Dragon, Harvey made close friends with Lieutenant Constantine Phipps, who later became a Lord of the Admiralty.

Polar exploration
The end of the war that same year gave Harvey the opportunity to return to the sea as first lieutenant of the frigate HMS Mermaid off North America. In 1764 he was given his first independent command with the schooner HMS Magdalen, employed in anti-smuggling operations at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. His success in the role was such that in 1768 Harvey was given the revenue cutter HMS Swift on similar duties in the English Channel, a role he continued in until 1771 when he was placed in reserve on half-pay. In 1773 an opportunity for adventurous service arrived with the offer of a position on Phipps's ship HMS Racehorse in which Harvey's friend was planning to explore the North Pole. The expedition also included a young Horatio Nelson. Although the journey did not reach the Pole, it did explore the seas north of Svalbard and scientifically discover the polar bear amongst other achievements.

American Revolutionary War
With a promotion resulting from the expedition enabling further advancement, Harvey commanded the sloop HMS Martin at the Siege of Quebec in the American Revolutionary War of 1776. His knowledge of the St. Lawrence river and Canadian coastline gave him an advantage in this work and as a result he was raised in 1777 to command the frigate HMS Squirrelon convoy duty. December 1778 saw a transfer to the 32-gun frigate HMS Convert and in the following year Harvey was engaged in the relief of besieged Jersey and later unsuccessful efforts to intercept the raiding squadron of John Paul Jones. During 1779, Convert was employed escorting a convoy to Quebec and in December was attached to Sir George Rodney's fleet in the West Indies. Through 1780 and 1781, Convert served as a fleet scout and was present during the Battle of the Saintes in 1782, although the ship was too small to serve in the battleline. Shortly after the battle, Harvey was detached from the fleet for convoy duties back to England.

After a period of unemployment, Harvey was given command of the frigate HMS Pegasus for service on the North America station in 1786, but was disappointed to discover that his first lieutenant was Prince William Henry and that Harvey was expected to turn over the captaincy to his subordinate as soon as the ship was at sea. Controlling his disappointment, Harvey conducted the affair with "such discretion as secured to him the lasting friendship of His Royal Highness". Within weeks, Harvey had been transferred to HMS Rose and, aboard her, joined Pegasus in peacetime manoeuvres off the North American station until the ship was paid-off in 1789. In 1788, Harvey eldest son, also named Henry, had drowned in a shipboard accident whilst serving as a midshipman in Rose. Following the ship's paying-off, Harvey returned to half-pay. He was not on the beach for long however, because of the Spanish armament during the Nootka Crisis of 1790. Along with many ships officers and crews he was brought back into service. As an experienced and well-connected officer, Harvey was given a ship of the line, first HMS Alfred, then HMS Colossus and by 1794, after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, he was given command of HMS Ramillies.

French revolutionary wars

Glorious_First_of_June.jpg
Plate commemorating the Glorious First of June with miniature portraits of all of the commanders

Ramillies was present with Admiral Lord Howe's fleet at the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794 and in her Harvey distinguished himself by rescuing the stricken HMS Brunswick commanded by his brother John. Brunswick had become entangled with the French Vengeur du Peuple and both ships were in danger of sinking when Ramillies arrived, raking Venguer twice and driving her off her opponent and into clear water, in which she first surrendered and later sank. John Harvey died of wounds received in the action a month later and days after his death his brother was promoted to flag rank as a rear-admiral. Harvey first commanded a squadron in the North Sea, but in June 1795 with his flag in HMS Prince of Wales, Harvey participated in the minor victory of the Battle of Groix, where three French ships were taken. Over the winter of 1795/96, Harvey remained in the area as floating support for Sir John Borlase Warren's invasion at Quiberon Bay. Following the expedition's failure early in 1796, Harvey helped evacuate the British and French Royalist force before it was destroyed by the Republican Army.

In April 1796, Harvey was made commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands Station and in 1797 captured Trinidad from the Spanish, taking several warships as prizes and landing Sir Ralph Abercromy's army to take the whole island. A similar attempt on Puerto Rico later in the year failed in the face of well-prepared Spanish defences. By 1799 Harvey was contemplating retirement and passed the station to Lord Hugh Seymour, returning to England and raising his flag in HMS Royal Sovereign as second-in-command of the Channel Fleet until the Peace of Amiens in 1801. Harvey retired from the Navy a vice-admiral appointed Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath. He settled with his wife Elizabeth (née Boys) in Walmer, Kent and in 1804 was promoted as a full admiral in retirement. He died peacefully in 1810, survived by his wife and three of his five children, including his sons Richard and Thomas. Thomas Harvey later became an admiral in his own right.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Harvey
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 December 1818 – Launch of HMS Malabar, a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Bombay Dockyard


HMS Malabar was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 December 1818 at Bombay Dockyard.

large (6).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Sceptre' (1802), 'Repulse' (1803) and 'Eagle' (1804), and with modifications for 'Belleisle' (1819), 'Malabar' (1818) and 'Talavera' (1818), all 74-gun, Third Rate, two-deckers. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793 to 1813].

Class and type: Repulse-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1715 bm
Length: 174 ft (53 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 47 ft 4 in (14.43 m)
Depth of hold: 20 ft (6.1 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:
  • 74 guns:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs

Sir W. Montagu was appointed Captain on 25 July 1834, fitting for the Mediterranean, where, and off Lisbon, he continued until ordered home at the close of 1837 for the purpose of being paid off.

large (8).jpg
This coloured lithograph depicts an event that took place off Gibraltar on August 26th 1843, as witnessed by the crew of HMS ‘Malabar’, a 74-gun warship of the Royal Navy. The scene is set at night, off the rock of Gibraltar, lit up by the explosion of the USS Missouri, as US Navy steam frigate, which is shown in the centre of the painting, lighting up the rest of the scene and the water with a fiery glow. The ‘Malabar’, though shown in the left foreground from her aft section, is however much more visible and detailed in this painting. She is depicted as being at anchor, with her sails furled and her crew clearly visible on the rigging and deck, their attention fixed on the exploding ‘Missouri’. As this is a night time scene, the windows of her stern ‘great cabin’ are shown as being lit up. On her port side, a long boat has been lowered and is about to cast off, presumably to pick up survivors from the ‘Missouri’. The ‘Missouri’, seen centre-place, is shown as being engulfed in the explosion, with a pillar of yellow-orange fire and smoke rising from her mid-section near the funnel and paddle-wheel and climbing high into the sky. She is shown as sinking fast by the bow, listing heavily to starboard. Longboats can be seen clustered around the sinking vessel and heading towards her, clearly to pick up survivors. To the left of the ‘Missouri’ another paddle-steamer can be seen in the distance, smoke rising from her funnel. The masts of other ships in port can be seen in the distance behind the Missouri, all of them closely clustered together. The Rock of Gibraltar is shown as a background element in the right of the painting, along with the buildings and sea wall of Gibraltar port. Other parts of the Gibraltarian-Spanish coastline, including hills and headland, are present throughout the background. The surface of the water is shown as being calm, almost undisturbed – though lit up along with the sky by the fires of the explosion. In the right foreground, a single buoy floats idly. The sky is also shown as being clear, disturbed only by the smoke of the fire on-board the ‘Missouri’. The overall impression is of a sudden, horrific disaster entering and ravaging a tranquil scene in the harbour of Gibraltar.


In 1843, the Malabar under the command of Sir George Sartorius assisted in rescuing survivors of the USS Missouri fire while in Gibraltar.

She was hulked in October 1848, eventually becoming a coal hulk, and renamed Myrtle in October 1883. The hulk was sold out of the navy in July 1905

large (7).jpg
Scale 1:48 and 1:24. Plan showing the inboard profile illustrating diagonal frame alterations for 'Malabar' (1818), a 74-gun, Third Rate, two-decker. A copy was sent to Pembroke for 'Bellisle' (1819), a 74-gun Third Rate, with alterations in green.


The Repulse-class ships of the line were a class of eleven 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir William Rule. The first three ships to this design were ordered in 1800, with a second batch of five following in 1805. The final three ships of the class were ordered towards the end of the Napoleonic War to a modified version of Rule's draught, using the new constructional system created by Sir Robert Seppings; all three were completed after the war's end.

Ships
Builder: Dudman, Deptford Wharf
Ordered: 4 February 1800
Laid down: December 1800
Launched: 11 December 1802
Fate: Broken up, 1821
Builder: Barnard, Deptford Wharf
Ordered: 4 February 1800
Laid down: September 1800
Launched: 22 July 1803
Fate: Broken up, 1820
Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
Ordered: 4 February 1800
Laid down: August 1800
Launched: 27 February 1804
Fate: Burnt, 1926
1024px-HMS_Magnificent_in_a_Gale.jpg
HMS Magnificent

Builder: Perry, Wells & Green, Blackwall Yard
Ordered: 31 January 1805
Laid down: April 1805
Launched: 30 August 1806
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1843
Builder: Perry, Wells & Green, Blackwall
Ordered: 24 January 1805
Laid down: April 1805
Launched: 24 January 1807
Fate: Broken up, 1823
Builder: Wells, Blackwall
Ordered: 24 January 1805
Laid down: August 1805
Launched: 23 May 1807
Fate: Broken up, 1820
Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
Ordered: 24 January 1805
Laid down: August 1805
Launched: 19 August 1807
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1870
Builder: Pitcher, Northfleet
Ordered: 24 January 1805
Laid down: December 1805
Launched: 12 April 1808
Fate: Broken up, 1838
Builder: Woolwich Dockyard
Ordered: 15 February 1814
Laid down: July 1814
Launched: 15 October 1818
Fate: Burnt, 1840
Builder: Bombay Dockyard
Ordered: 7 March 1815
Laid down: April 1817
Launched: 28 December 1818
Fate: Sold out of the service, 1905
Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Ordered: 17 November 1812
Laid down: February 1816
Launched: 26 April 1819
Fate: Broken up, 1872


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Malabar_(1818)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repulse-class_ship_of_the_line
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...9;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=B;start=0
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 December 1875 – Launch of german SMS Kaiser Max, an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy


SMS Kaiser Max was an ironclad warship built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s, the lead ship of the Kaiser Max class. The ship was purportedly the same vessel that had been laid down in 1861, and had simply been reconstructed. This was a fiction, however; the head of the Austro-Hungarian Navy could not secure funding for new ships, but reconstruction projects were uncontroversial, so he "rebuilt" the three earlier Kaiser Max-class ironclads. Only the engines and parts of the armor plate were reused in the new Kaiser Max, which was laid down in February 1874, launched in December 1875, and commissioned in October 1876. The ship's career was fairly limited, in part due to slender naval budgets that prevented much active use. She made foreign visits and took part in limited training exercises in the 1880s and 1890s. Long since obsolete, Kaiser Max was removed from service in 1904 and converted into a barracks ship. After World War I, the ship was transferred to the Royal Yugoslav Navy as a war prize and renamed Tivat. Her fate thereafter is uncertain, either being sold for scrap in 1924 or retained through 1941.

SMS_Kaiser_Max.jpg
Austrian ironclad SMS Kaiser Max, c. 1880–89

Design
Main article: Kaiser Max-class ironclad (1875)
Kaiser Max was 75.87 meters (248.9 ft) long overall and 73.23 m (240.3 ft) long at the waterline; she had a beam of 15.25 m (50.0 ft) and an average draft of 6.15 m (20.2 ft). She displaced 3,548 metric tons (3,492 long tons; 3,911 short tons). She had a crew of 400 officers and enlisted men. Her propulsion system consisted of one single-expansion steam engine that drove a single screw propeller. The number and type of her coal-fired boilers have not survived. Her engine produced a top speed of 13.28 knots (24.59 km/h; 15.28 mph) from 2,755 indicated horsepower (2,054 kW).

Kaiser Max was a casemate ship, and she was armed with a main battery of eight 21-centimeter (8.3 in) 20-caliber (cal.) guns manufactured by Krupp mounted in a central casemate, four on each broadside. She also carried four 9 cm (3.5 in) 24-cal. guns, two 7 cm (2.8 in) 15-cal. landing guns, six 47 mm (1.9 in) 35-cal. quick-firing guns, three 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon, and two 25 mm (0.98 in) guns. Kaiser Max also had four 35 cm (14 in) torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on each broadside.

The ship's armor protection consisted of an armored belt that was 203 mm (8 in) thick and was capped with 115 mm (4.5 in) thick transverse bulkheads on either end of the citadel. The casemate battery was protected with 125 mm (4.9 in) thick plates.

Service history

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Kaiser Max sometime after 1892

Kaiser Max was laid down at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard on 14 February 1874. The ship was ostensibly the same vessel that had been laid down in 1861, as the Austro-Hungarian parliament had approved a so-called reconstruction program of that Kaiser Max. The head of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Vice Admiral Friedrich von Pöck, had resorted to subterfuge to circumvent parliamentary hostility to new ironclad construction; he requested funds to modernize the earlier vessel, but in fact, he had that vessel broken up, with only the machinery, parts of the armor plate, and other miscellaneous equipment being incorporated into the new ship. She was launched on 28 December 1875 and completed by 26 October 1876, when she was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian fleet.[1][2] The ship began her sea trials on 8 May 1877.

The government placed a low priority on naval activities, particularly in the 1870s; as a result, the shortage of funds precluded an active fleet policy. The ironclad fleet, including Kaiser Max, was kept out of service in Pola, laid up in reserve; the only vessels to see significant service in the 1870s were several screw frigates sent abroad. In 1880, Kaiser Max had her sailing rig reduced. Kaiser Max and an Austro-Hungarian squadron that included the ironclads Custoza, Tegetthoff, Don Juan d'Austria, and Prinz Eugen and the torpedo cruisers Panther and Leopard travelled to Barcelona, Spain, to take part in the opening ceremonies for the Barcelona Universal Exposition. This was the largest squadron of the Austro-Hungarian Navy that had operated outside the Adriatic.[6] In June and July 1889, Kaiser Max participated in fleet training exercises, which also included the ironclads Custoza, Erzherzog Albrecht, Tegetthoff, Prinz Eugen, and Don Juan d'Austria.

During the 1893 fleet maneuvers, Kaiser Max was mobilized to train alongside the ironclads Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf, Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, Prinz Eugen, and Don Juan d'Austria, among other vessels. A new construction program in the late 1890s and early 1900s required the Austro-Hungarian Navy to discard old, obsolete vessels to reduce annual budgets. These ships were largely reused in secondary roles. Kaiser Max was stricken from the naval register on 30 December 1904 and withdrawn from service. She was converted into a barracks ship and in 1909, assigned to Cattaro Bay to serve the Arsenal Teodo, where she remained through World War I. In 1920, having lost the war, the now-defunct Austro-Hungarian Empire ceded the ship to the newly formed Royal Yugoslav Navy. The ship's fate after entering Yugoslav service is unclear. She was renamed Tivat, according to Conway's All the World's Fighting Shipslater became Neretva, serving through 1941; her ultimate fate after the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 is unknown. According to the naval historian Milan Vego, however, the Yugoslav Navy sold the ship for scrap in 1924.


The Kaiser Max class of ironclad warships was a group of three casemate ships built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the 1870s: Kaiser Max, Don Juan d'Austria, and Prinz Eugen. The three ships were ostensibly the same vessels as the earlier Kaiser Max class, though they were in fact entire new vessels. Only parts of the earlier ships' machinery, armor plating, and other equipment were reused in the new ironclads. The ships were all laid down in 1874; the first two were launched in 1875 and completed in 1876, while work on Prinz Eugenproceeded much more slowly. She was launched in 1877 and completed in 1878. The three ships were armed with a battery of eight 21-centimeter (8.3 in) guns mounted in a central, armored casemate, and were capable of a top speed of 13.28 knots (24.59 km/h; 15.28 mph).

Unbenannt.JPG

The ships had fairly uneventful careers, owing in part to the restricted naval budgets of the 1870s and 1880s, which precluded an active fleet policy. The three ships made one major overseas cruise to Spain in 1888 to take part in the Barcelona Universal Exposition. They were withdrawn from service in the early 1900s and converted for secondary roles; Kaiser Max and Don Juan d'Austria became barracks ships and Prinz Eugen became a repair ship and was renamed Vulkan. After World War I, Don Juan d'Austria sank under unclear circumstances while the other two ships were seized by Italy. Kaiser Max was transferred to the Royal Yugoslav Navy in the postwar peace negotiations and renamed Tivat. Italy refused to turn Vulkan over to Yugoslavia, however. The ultimate fate of both vessels is unclear.

SMS_Don_Juan_d'Austria_NH_73123.jpg
The Austro-Hungarian ironclad SMS Don Juan d'Austria in her original configuration, probably in the late 1870s to 1880 at the latest

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The Austro-Hungarian ironclad SMS Prinz Eugen in her original configuration

SMS_Prinz_Eugen_NH_87046.jpg
Prinz Eugen underway c. 1887


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Kaiser_Max_(1875)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Max-class_ironclad_(1875)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 December 1881 – Launch of Chinese Dingyuan, an ironclad battleship and the flagship of the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. Her sister ship was Zhenyuan.


Dingyuan (simplified Chinese: 定远; traditional Chinese: 定遠; pinyin: Dìngyǔan; Wade–Giles: Ting Yuen or Ting Yuan) was an ironclad battleship and the flagship of the ChineseBeiyang Fleet. Her sister ship was Zhenyuan.

ChineseTing-yuen.jpg
Dingyuan/Ting Yuen photographed in 1884 in Germany, waiting for delivery

Background
As part of his drive to create a modern navy, Viceroy Li Hongzhang turned to shipbuilders in Great Britain and Germany for the latest technology. After extensive negotiations, a contract valued at 1.7 million taels of silver (6.2 million German Goldmark) was signed with the German Vulcan shipyards in Stettin to build an enlarged version of their Sachsen-classarmoured frigates, which in terms of displacement, armour and armament would raise the Beiyang Fleet to an equal status with the fleets of the European powers stationed in the Far East.

The keel was laid on 31 March 1881, and the ship launched on 28 December 1881, under the supervision of the Qing Envoy to Germany, Xu Jingcheng. Sea trials began on 2 May 1883.

Design
Dingyuan was an "armoured turret ship" design, with a length of 94.5 metres (310 ft), width of 18.4 metres (60 ft) and draught of 5.94 metres (19.5 ft). She was protected by an armoured belt 30 centimetres (12 in) thick, which was considered[who?] to be able to resist any naval artillery available at the time.

Dingyuan was powered by a coal-fired reciprocating steam engine, with four cylindrical boilers, and with a rating of 6,000 hp (4,500 kW), which gave a speed of 14.5 nautical miles (27 km) per hour, and a range of around 4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h).

Her main armament was four 305 mm (12.0 in) Krupp guns paired in two barbettes. These barbettes were mounted asymmetrically, or en echelon, forward of amidships – the starboard barbette was mounted further forward than the port barbette.[a] The en echelon arrangement was intended to allow all four main guns to fire dead ahead, dead astern, or together on a limited broadside arc, although in practice there were potential risks of blast damage to decks & superstructure when firing the main battery in this manner. The main guns had a range of 7.8 kilometres (4.2 nmi), firing with a muzzle velocity of 500 metres per second.

Another two 150 mm (5.9 in) Krupp guns were installed in turrets at the extreme bow and stern. These guns had a range of 11.0 kilometres (5.9 nmi). The armament also included six 37 mm guns and three above the waterline torpedo tubes. Two torpedo boats were also carried on board, enlarging Dingyuan's striking distance and battle effectiveness.

The complement was around 363 officers and ratings. To meet the demands on ship, 20 desalinators were installed which could serve 300 people fresh water daily.

Service record

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Dingyuan side view

The delivery of Dingyuan, sailed by a German crew, scheduled for 1884, but was stopped following a request from the French who were in the middle of a conflict with China which culminated with the Sino-French War (1884–1885). Dingyuan was a very powerful ship and would have drastically altered the balance of power in China’s favor had it and her sister ship been available at the time of the conflict.

After peace was concluded on 3 July 1885, and Dingyuan, Zhenyuan and the cruiser Jiyuan finally received permission to transit the Suez Canal under a German merchant flag and arrived in Tianjin in China on 29 October 1885.

Dingyuan was based in Lüshunkou, the chief naval station of the Beiyang Fleet. In 1886, she participated in show of force, touring Hong Kong, the Japanese port of Nagasaki, Korean ports of Busan and Wonsan, and the Russian naval base of Vladivostok together with Zhenyuan and four cruisers. While in Nagasaki on 13 August 1886, a number of drunken sailors from Zhenyuanbecame involved in a brawl in a local brothel, during which a Japanese police officer was fatally stabbed. Attributing the issue to lax discipline, Qing Admiral Ding Ruchang suspended shore leavefor a day, but allowed 450 sailors to go ashore on 15 August. Contrary to an agreement with local authorities, many were armed. Anticipating trouble due to increasing anti-Chinese sentiment by the local population, the Japanese police deployed additional men, but were unable to prevent a riot from erupting between stone-throwing locals and the men from Zhenyuan. In what came to be called the Nagasaki Incident, 6 sailors were killed and 45 wounded, along with five Japanese policemen killed and 16 wounded. In handling the diplomatic incident, the British military advisor to the Qing military, Captain William M. Lang took a hard line against Japanese authorities, refusing to make any apologies or reparations, and reminding the Japanese of the overwhelming firepower of his fleet and threatening war. However, the incident was resolved through diplomatic efforts.

Dingyuan served as Admiral Ding Ruchang's flagship from the start of the First Sino-Japanese War. At the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894, refused orders from Admiral Ding which would have exposed the ship to fire from the Japanese squadron, and opened fire from an extreme range. Due to a design defect, Dingyuan was unable to fire its main battery directly forward without destroying its flying bridge – a fact that the captain was well aware of. Admiral Ding and most of his staff were incapacitated by this incident. Japanese fire also damaged Dingyuan’s ability to signal other ships in the fleet. Although Dingyuan was more powerful than any ship in the Japanese fleet at the time, ammunition for her main guns was in short supply, of the wrong size, or defective due to years of internal corruption, lack of funding, and incompetence. At the end of the battle, Dingyuan was able to escape to Lüshunkou. She was then ordered to Weihaiwei when Lüshunkou was threatened during the Battle of Lushunkou.

In early 1895, the remnants of the Beiyang Fleet was based at Liugong Island within Weihaiwei. During the Battle of Weihaiwei, the Imperial Japanese Army seized the landward fortifications of the naval base, the Japanese navy attacked from seaward. On 5 February 1895, Dingyuan was seriously damaged after being hit by a Japanese torpedo and later cannon fire. Captain Liu Buchan ordered the ship scuttled, before committing suicide on the surrender of the Beiyang Fleet by Admiral Ding Ruchang.

Reconstruction

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The replica of battleship Dingyuanas a museum ship.

To commemorate this period of history, the Weihai Port Bureau and local Weigao Group invested 50 million yuan (approximately US$6 million) to construct a replica Dingyuan. The replica's construction began on a scale of 1:1 on 20 December 2003. The duplicate Dingyuan is now a floating museum. Aboard her are records of Dingyuan, the Beiyang Fleet, the First Sino-Japanese War, and life-at-sea exhibits.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_ironclad_Dingyuan
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
28 December 1893 - SS Alert was a steamship that sank off Cape Schanck, Victoria, Australia on 28 December 1893.


SS Alert was a steamship that sank off Cape Schanck, Victoria, Australia on 28 December 1893. The ship was built for the gentle waters of Scottish lochs and was almost 51 m (167 ft) long and weighed 247 tonnes.

After Alert sank the ship laid for 113 years on the ocean floor until being rediscovered in June 2007 by a team from Southern Ocean Exploration.

SS_Alert_1882.jpg
SS Alert: built in 1877 by Robert Duncan & Co of Port Glasgow, Scotland for Huddart Parker and wrecked off Jubilee Point, Victoria, Australia in 1893

History
Alert was built at Port Glasgow in 1877 and later sailed to Australia as a three-masted schooner with her funnel and propeller stowed in the hold. After a few years on the MelbourneGeelong route she temporarily replaced the SS Despatch on the Gippsland–Melbourne run in 1893 whilst Despatch was being refitted.

During a gale, the ship set out from Lakes Entrance bound for Melbourne via Port Albert. She encountered hurricane-force southerly winds and mountainous seas and sank about four miles off Cape Schanck. Of the 16 people on board, the only survivor was Robert Ponting, the ship's cook, who was washed ashore at Sorrento"back" (ocean) beach after clinging to a portion of cabin door. He was found and revived by locals using brandy and the body heat of a St. Bernard dog. Two bodies were also washed ashore at Sorrento back beach.

An inquiry was held and attached no blame to the lighthouse keeper or the captain but, after years of litigation, compensation was awarded to Ponting and the wife of one of the deceased



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