naval affairs

Edition 313 HMCS Sussexvale (Prestonian Class Frigate) J313 HMCS Mulgrave (WW2 Bangor Class minesweeper)

Edition 313 HMCS Sussexvale (Prestonian Class Frigate) J313 HMCS Mulgrave (WW2 Bangor Class minesweeper)

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of July 12, 2019

Fellow Members:

Rod Hughes

Editor NAC News  rhughes@shaw.ca(comments welcome to help improve this service)

Contact David Soule executivedirector-nac@outlook.comif you wish someone (who may be a member or perhaps a good candidate to join) to be added to the NAC News email distribution.

★   Editor’s stars of the week

Keep in touch with the NAC

If you are receiving NAC News, but are not a member, please consider joining NAC         https://www.navalassoc.ca/branches/joining-membership-renewal/

Link to Starshell Magazine  https://www.navalassoc.ca/naval-affairs/starshell/

Other Interesting Web Sites  https://www.navalassoc.ca/naval-affairs/links/

Archived weekly NAC New Links  http://nac-vi.ca/news/

TWITTER     @navalassn

Should you wish to donate– NAC Endowment Fund  

Keep in touch with the RCN

TWITTER      @RCN_MRC  @Comd_MARPAC  @MARPAC   @RCN_MARLANT                           #RCNavy or #MarineRC

YouTube         Royal Canadian Navy or Marine royale canadienne

flickr               Royal Canadian Navy / Marine royale canadienne

vimeo             https://vimeo.com/thenavylamarine

NOTICES

  • NIOBE Paper #4Towards a Renewed Canadian Submarine Capability by Jeffrey F. Collins
  • Go Fund Me for Mark Norman “Good day everyone.  By now you may have seen in the news that VAdm Norman will be retiring from the Canadian Forces and has reached a settlement with the government. I will be discussing mechanisms by which the money received can be returned (or potentially donated to charity) depending on the ability of GOFUNDME to support such an approach and the wishes of the contributors.  I will get back to everyone once I have more information.  Standby for more updates.  Lee”
  • (Editor – Given the above, if you are thinking of a charity please think of the NAC Endowment Fund )
  • Lt(N) Hampton (Hammy) Gray Memorial Fund – A fund for a memorial in honour of “Hammy” Gray to grace a newly designed entrance to the BC Aviation Museum in Sidney, B.C. is underway. $25,000 is needed to make the plan a reality. NAC-VI has agreed to accept donations on behalf of the project, See the complete details in “Scuttlebutt” below.
  • NOABC 100thAnniversary and 2019 NAC Conference–2-6 October in Vancouver.  The programme is coming together very nicely at the NOABC website.
  • The Evolution of Equality and Inclusion in the Maritime Profession Symposium 2019  Thursday, 3 October 2019 Time: 8:30 to 16:30  The University of Ottawa, Desmarais Hall, Room 12102.  55 Laurier Ave E, Ottawa
  • Arctic Shipping Forum North America 29 – 31 October 2019 Hotel Omni Mont-Royal
    Montreal Details of Agenda

CANADA

USA & AMERICAS

INDO-PACIFIC

EUROPE

MIDDLE EAST

GLOBAL INTERESTS

SCUTTLEBUTT

  • Battle of Midway Tactical Overview – World War II | History(Editor – 15 min useful video summary)
  • Lt(N) Hampton (Hammy) Gray Memorial Fund  – A place for Hammy Gray (Editor – details drawn from Starshell)  A retired RCN sailor Joe Buczkowski felt strongly that we must erect a memorial to Hammy here in Victoria so that young Canadians in the future may know of Hammy Gray’s bravery and sacrifice.  The memorial cairn will be black marble with etchings of Hammy and his Corsair aircraft.  The memorial will be set in a landscaped area of quiet reflection at a newly designed entrance to the BC Aviation Museum in Sidney, B.C.  $25,000 is needed to make the plan a reality.  The Naval Association of Canada (NAC) Endowment Fund has donated $2,500. NAC-VI has agreed to accept donations on behalf of the project, and the NAC-VI Treasurer (Diana Dewar) is holding the funds donated to the Lt(N) Hampton (Hammy) Gray Memorial Fund.  Should you wish to donate, a cheque should be mailed to the: Naval Association of Canada – Vancouver Island, Box 5221, Victoria BC V8R 6N4.  The cheque should be made payable to the NAC-VI and write Lt Gray Memorial on the memo line. Please include a return address as tax receipt and thank you letter will be forwarded.

SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – July

(Month by month building a comprehensive list of significant RCN/Maritime events – if you see any glaring omissions or errors please inform me, and any more modern significant dates are welcomed.  The list currently draws from LEGION magazine, the Directory of History and Heritage’s comprehensive “Significant Dates in Canadian Military History”, and the “Canada Channel”)

  • 1 July 1923 – The Royal Canadian Navy barracks in Halifax, known as HMCS Stadacona, is commissioned.
  • 1 July 1934 – Commodore Percy W. Nelles becomes the first Canadian-born and Canadian-trained Chief of the Naval Staff.
  • 2 July 1940 – 861 German and Italian prisoners of war are rescued by HMCS St. Laurent after their transport ship was torpedoed on its way to Canada.
  • 3 July 1944 – Four Canadian motor torpedo boats sink two German merchant ships and damage other vessels in the English Channel.
  • 4 July 1943 – Canadian vessels of the 29th and 65th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotillas conduct raids on the French coast near Cherbourg.
  • 5 July 1950 – HMC Ships Athabaskan, Cayuga and Sioux sail from Esquimalt, British Columbia, to join the United Nations naval forces operating in Korean waters.
  • 6 July 1944 – HMC Ships Ottawa and Kootenay, along with HMS Statice, sink the German submarine U-678 while on patrol in the English Channel.
  • 8 July 1954 – Canada’s first icebreaking arctic patrol vessel, HMCS Labrador, is commissioned.
  • 9 July 1914 –  HMCS Rainbow begins preparations for the international seal patrol in the North Pacific Ocean.
  • 10 July 1943 –  Canadian landing craft drop soldiers of the 1st Canadian Division off on the coast of Sicily during the Allied invasion known as Operation HUSKY.
  • 15 July 1950 – HMCS ATHABASKAN, CAYUGA and SIOUX of the Pacific Command depart Esquimalt for Korea.
  • 15 July 1958 – The first review of the Royal Fleet ever held in Canadian waters takes place under the eyes of Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret off the coast of Vancouver Island at Royal Roads.
  • 17 July 1940 – HMCS Skeena rescues the crew of a torpedoed merchant ship, the SS Manipor, in the waters north of Scotland.
  • 19 July 1943 – HMCS HURON (Destroyer) is commissioned at Newcastle on the Tyne, England.
  • 20 July 1944 – HMCS MATANE (frigate) is hit by a German glider bomb off Brest and badly damaged.
  • 23 July 1951 – The Royal Canadian Navy (Reserve) begins recruiting women for service with the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (the Wrens) for the first time since the Second World War.
  • 24 July 1917 – The Military Service Act is passed allowing for conscription of single men.
  • 24 July 1942 – HMCS St. Croix sinks the German submarine U-90 while on patrol in the North Atlantic Ocean.
  • 29 July 1948 – HMCS Royal Roads is transformed into a Canadian Service College and begins training flight cadets, as well as naval cadets.
  • 29 July 1972 – HMCS Iroquois, the first of the DDH 280 class destroyers, is commissioned.
  • 31 July 1940 – HMCS Prince Robert, after conversion from a merchant vessel, is commissioned as an armed merchant cruiser.
  • 31 July 1942 – HMCS SKEENA and WETASIWIN sink U-588 in the North Atlantic.
  • 31 July 1942 – The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service is authorized.