Edition – K324 HMCS Prince Rupert (WW2 River Class, then Prestonian Class)
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of September 27th , 2019
Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (comments welcome to help improve this service)
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NOTICES
- NOABC 100th Anniversary and 2019 NAC Conference – 2-6 October in Vancouver. The programme is at the NOABC website. ★ (Editor – Time-sensitive UNTD dinner details) UNTDA National Event – October 2, 2019
- Are you available for Memory Project speaking engagements around Remembrance Day 2019?
- ★ Naval Affairs – need a Christmas gift for someone in your family or do you want to donate a book to a local school library – NAC Naval Affairs will be launching a children book soon – “Mom’s in the Navy” – more details coming soon!!!
- ★ Starshell – Fall 2019 now on-line
- ★ Vanguard Launches First-Ever Canadian Submarine Event (Editor – The next big challenge! The Deep Blue 2020 Forum, a one-day event, will take place on 29 October 2020, details to follow)
CANADA
- NATO nations hone anti-submarine warfare skills during Cutlass Fury 2019
- Annual northern sovereignty operation wraps-up
- MV Asterix – The Latest Supply Ship Of The Royal Canadian Navy (Editor – interesting 10:01 min video of her exploits)
- Ships’ commemorative paint scheme to mark 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic
- Ontario shipyard withdraws complaint alleging federal favouritism toward Davie
- Guns from Iroquois-class destroyers up for sale
- Arctic Sea Ice Shrinks to Minimum Extent for 2019 (Editor – worthwhile 2:32 min video)
- BC Ferries launching first wave of hybrid electric vessels
- Former military ombudsman claims DND vendetta drove him into retirement
- ★ Canada’s breakthrough LNG deal with China
- Government of Canada marks the coming into force of the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act
USA & AMERICAS
- USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Sept. 23, 2019
- The Arleigh Burke class Destroyer Armament Review (Educational detailed 11:37 video)
- Navy Surpasses 80% Aircraft Readiness Goal, Reaches Stretch Goal of 341 Up Fighters
- U.S. 2nd Fleet Flexes Arctic Operational Muscle
- Report to Congress on Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter
- Report to Congress on China Naval Modernization
- Navy Grappling with Effects of USS George H. W. Bush Suicides
- Report to Congress on Changes in the Arctic
- USCG Cutter Valiant Intercepts Semi-Sub with Six Tons of Cocaine
- U.S. Blacklists Four Tankers for Shipping Venezuelan Petroleum
- Mexican Navy Intercepts Cocaine on CMA CGM Boxship
- American Ethane Carriers to Build 17 Very Large Ethan Carriers
- U.S. Coast Guard Expands Eligibility for Military Sea Time
- US Military (All Branches) Warrant Officer Rank Explained – What is a Chief Warrant Officer? (Editor 4:04 min video top off the earlier edition Officer and Enlisted videos)
INDO-PACIFIC
- Asia beckons for Navy’s largest Task Group
- China launches first amphibious helicopter assault ship
- Upgraded missile ship Smerch fires Kh-35 cruise missile during trials
- Indian, Japanese and U.S. maritime forces to participate in exercise Malabar 2019
- China Is Building Supersonic Drones to Spy on Navy Aircraft Carriers
- North Korea ‘Building Massive Underground Sub Base’
- Satellite images suggest North Korea working to hide launch of missile submarine
- Japan leads development of regional ‘capability aggregation and collective deterrence’
- Chinese naval training ship Qi Jiguang kicks off friendly visit to Asia-Pacific
- Japan and New Zealand deepen defence ties in boost to region
- Singapore and the US renew Memorandum of Understanding Regarding US Use of Facilities in Singapore
- South Korea not invited to Japanese naval review amid strained ties
- South Korea and Australia move to deepen energy, defence and industry ties
- Russian Factory Ship Catches Fire, Prompting Mass Evacuation
- DST to demonstrate cavitation breakthroughs at Pacific 2019
EUROPE
- French Navy Takes Command of EUROMARFOR (Editor – 5:23 min video)
- RN chief outlines priorities
- Type 45 Daring Class Destroyer – The Largest and Most Powerful Air Defence Destroyer Ever Built Editor – min 10:42 video)
- Arrowhead Wins Cost Battle in U.K. Type-31 Frigate Competition
- Champagne smash for Sir David Attenborough polar ship
- Andrea Doria (D553) – The Power Of The Italian Navy On The Ocean In A New Age (Editor – 9:33 min video)
- The HMS Queen Elizabeth Stats are Startling (Editor – 3:13 min video)
- ★ World’s Largest LNG-powered Containership Launched (Editor – many new features including Energy Saving Devices (ESD) )
- The Latvian Navy, today and in the future (Editor – 4:24 min video)
MIDDLE EAST
- Britain, France, Germany blame Iran for Saudi attack
- US Arleigh Burke class Arrives Off Saudi Arabia Amid Plans To Bolster The Kingdom’s Air Defenses (Editor – 13:40 min video recap explaining much more than the ship)
- Russia strengthens Humaymim, Tartus bases in Syria
- Stena Impero: Seized British tanker leaves Iran’s waters
- US Sanctions COSCO Companies over Iran Trade
GLOBAL INTERESTS
- Nuclear weapons: Explained in numbers (Editor – useful 3:36 min video)
- NOAA Reports on IUU Fishing
- Airbus Unrolls Upgrades for OceanFinder Maritime Service
- FLIR Introduces M300 Series Marine Cameras
- Secrets of the deep ocean | The Economist
- Pirates Board Tanker at Anchorage off Guinea
- IPCC: Sea Level Rise and Extreme Sea Level Events are Inevitable
SCUTTLEBUTT
- Explosion of the USS John Burke after a Kamikaze attack during WWII. Absolutely massive explosion. (Editor – so where do you place ammo ships in convoy?)
- Fast Facts: What Causes Seasickness?
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – SEPTEMBER
(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 draws primarily from the Directory of History and Heritage’s comprehensive “Significant Dates in Canadian Military History”, the “Canada Channel”, and “Legion Magazine”)
- 1 September 1942 HMCS Morden sinks the German submarine U-756 in the Atlantic.
- 1 September 1944 HMCS Ships Saint John and Swansea sink U-Boat 247 off Land’s End, England.
- 3 September 1814 Lieutenant Miller Worsley and Andrew Bulger lead 77 men by canoe north from Wasaga Beach, Ontario, captures American warship USS Tigress at anchor in False Detour Channel, about 88 km northeast of Mackinac Island; then go after USS Scorpion, which they capture September 5.
- 3 September 1939 Battle of the Atlantic begins as merchant seawoman Hannah Baird of Verdun, Québec sees her ship, Donaldson liner SS Athenia torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat west of Ireland en route to Montréal, one week before Canada declared war and one week after the merchant service and military were placed on a war alert. The sinking kills 188 of those aboard, including Biards and three other Canadians, the first Canadian casualties of the Second World War.
- 3 September 1939 Britain declares war on Germany two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland; France follows 6 hours later, and then Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada on week later. On September 5, 1939, the United States will proclaim neutrality.
- 3 September 1940 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces Lend Lease Program, where 50 American destroyers will be traded to Britain, of which 7 go to Canada, in exchange for leases on naval and air bases in the British colonies, including St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Bermuda; Canada also agrees to shelter the destroyers in Canadian ports before they are handed over to British crews.
- 3 September 1942 World War II – HMCS Shawinigan and HMCS Trail together pick up 17 survivors from the Canadian merchant ship Donald Stewart that was torpedoed and sunk northeast of Cape Whittle in the Gulf of St.Lawrence in position 50°32’N, 58°46’W by German U-boat U-517.
- 3 September 2016 – Franklin Expedition – Parks Canada and the Arctic Research Foundation find the underwater wreck of Sir John Franklin’s flagship HMS Terror; it is “in pristine condition”, north of where the wreck of HMS Erebus — the expedition’s flagship — was found in 2014.
- 4 September 1990 Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announces formation of Operation Scimitar, to provide air cover for the two destroyers and the supply ship sent to the Persian Gulf in late August of 1991 as part of Operation Friction, tasked with enforcing the United Nations trade blockade against Iraq.
- 5 September 1814 Royal Navy Lt Miller Worsley, flying captured American colours in the USS Tigress, takes the USS Scorpion at anchor after fierce hand-to-hand fighting; sails both ships west to Fort Michilimackinac.
- 5 September 1918 The Royal Canadian Naval Air Service is authorized and begins operations in Nova Scotia.
- 7 September 1816 – Steamship Frontenac launched at Bath, west of Kingston; first steam powered vessel on the Great Lakes.
- 7 September 1942 HMCS RACCOON Torpedoed and sunk by U 165, while escorting convoy QS.33 in the St. Lawrence River. There were no survivors. 37 perished.
- 7 September 1943 HMS Nabob (an aircraft carrier) is commissioned into the Royal Navy with a Canadian crew and a Royal Air Force complement.
- 8 September 1939 Mackenzie King says no to conscription; stresses munitions-making, and building up RCN and RCAF.
- 7 September 1955 HMCS Sioux leaves Yokosuka for Esquimalt ending RCN involvement in Korea.
- 9 September 1919 Alexander Graham Bell sees his HD-4 hydrofoil, powered by twin aircraft engines, reach a new world water speed record of 122 kph; piloted by J.A.D. McCurdy at Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
- 9 September 1942 War Cabinet closes the St. Lawrence River to all Allied shipping except coasters; due to German U-Boat submarine dangers.
- 9 September 1944 HMCS Dunver and HMCS Hespeler sink the German submarine U-484 in Hebridean waters.
- 10 September 1814 Kingston naval dockyard launches the 112 gun HMS St. Lawrence, the largest warship ever to sail the Great Lakes; carrying more armament than Admiral Nelson’s Victory.
- 10 September 1939 Canada declares war on Germany
- 10 September 1941 HMCS Chambly and HMCS Moose Jaw sink the German submarine U-501 off the coast of Greenland. This is the first U-boat kill made by the Royal Canadian Navy.
- 11 September 1833 – Quebec-built steamship ‘Royal William’ reaches England safely; the wooden paddle wheeler is the First ship to cross the Atlantic under steam all the way, although sails are raised whenever the wind is fresh; the two steam engines are kept running, but the ship goes slowly under sail because of the drag from the paddle wheels.
- 11 September 1942 HMCS CHARLOTTETOWN Torpedoed and sunk in the St. Lawrence, near Cap Chat Quebec, by U517. She had just delivered a convoy to Rimouski and was returning to Gaspe. Ten of her ship’s company were lost.
- 12 September 1759 Admiral Saunders bombards Beauport and feigns a landing to divert attention away from Wolfe’s landing below the Plains of Abraham.
- 13 September 1942 HMCS OTTAWA sunk by U91 who hit her with two torpedoes in the North Atlanta while she was escorting convoy ON.127. 113 of her Ship’s Company were lost, plus 6 RN seaman, and 22 merchant seamen.
- 14 September 1942 500 km east of Newfoundland, German U-Boat U-91 torpedoes and sinks RCN River Class destroyer HMCS Ottawa (A/Lt.Cdr. Clark Anderson Rutherford, RCN) in the North Atlantic, while escorting convoy ON-127; hit by two torpedoes, she blows up and sinks immediately; 113 of her ship’s company are lost, plus 6 RN seaman and 22 merchant seamen; there are 69 survivors; Battle of the Atlantic growing in intensity.
- 16 September 1939 – RCN escorts the First of many ship convoys for Britain; RCN vessels guard the freighters in formation to protect against German U-Boat attacks. Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 16 September 1942 The first of sixteen RCN corvettes sails for the Mediterranean Sea to take part in the North African landings (Operation Torch).
- 17 September 1904 – Captain Joseph Bernier departs from Québec on the Canadian government steamship ‘Arctic’; given the command because of his interest in the Polar regions (he had devised a plan to reach the North Pole via the Bering Strait); will make 12 expeditions into polar seas in the next 20 years; he will spend the winter in Hudson Bay collecting Canadian customs duties from whalers and traders. Québec, Québec
- 19 September 1941 – German U-Boat U-74 torpedoes and sinks RCN Flower Class corvette HMCS Lévis 200 km off Cape Farewell, Greenland; 18 lives are lost.
- 19 September 1969 Ottawa to reorganize Canadian Armed Forces; 50% cut in NATO manpower; retirement of RCN aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure.
- 20 September 1943 German U-boat U-305, using a new acoustic torpedo, hits and sinks RCN Town Class destroyer HMCS St. Croix, while she is escorting convoy ON.202, south of Iceland; 65 members of the ship’s company perish; five officers and 76 men are rescued by HMS Itchen, however, only two days later, the Itchen is also torpedoed by an enemy submarine; only one St. Croix sailor, Stoker W. Fisher, survives the two sinkings; one of the men lost was Surgeon Lt W. L. M. King, RCNVR, Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s nephew.
- 20 September 1917 Borden government passes the Military Voters Act and Wartime Elections Act, giving the vote to soldiers and sailors under 21, and serving women; wives, widows, mothers, and sisters of servicemen also get the vote; the first women ever to be able to vote in Canadian federal elections
- 24 September 1940 HMC ships Annapolis, Columbia, Niagara, St. Clair, St. Croix and St. Francis, ex-American destroyers from the fifty given to Great Britain in exchange for bases, are commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy.
- 24 September 1941 Canada joins eight other allied governments in pledging support to the Atlantic Charter, an eight-point declaration issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
- 24 September 1955 HMCS Sioux returns to Esquimalt, the last ship of the Royal Canadian Navy to return from the Korean conflict.
- 24 September 1965 – Military RCN commissions HMCS Ojibwa, First of three 2000-ton RCN Oberon class submarines. Chatham, England
- 25 September 1940 Canadian armed merchantman Prince Robert captures German ship Weser off Mexican coast.
- 27 September 1854 Steamship Arctic sinks off Cape Race, Newfoundland with 300 people on board after colliding with the 250-ton French iron propeller ship S.S. Vesta; the 3,000-ton side-wheeler was the largest and most splendid ship of the Collins Line (United States Mail Steamship Company) in competition with Samuel Cunard’s Royal Mail Steam Packet Company; casualties include 92 of her 153 officers and men, and all the women and children on board, including the wife, the only daughter, and the youngest son of shipowner E. K. Collins; first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean liner.
- 27 September 1994 US Navy closes Argentia submarine detection base; last US military base in Canada.
- 30 September 1994 Halifax-class frigate HMCS Regina is commissioned in Saint John, New Brunswick.