NAC News – Edition 295
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of March 8, 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/
Should you wish to donate – NAC Endowment Fund https://www.navalassoc.ca/national/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
GoFundMe for Admiral Norman’s Legal Defence – After 13 months2,373 people have contributed $311,197 towards the $500,000 goal https://ca.gofundme.com/51lc5d4 (Editor – Mark Norman one of only three people DND refused to give help with legal bills in past two years https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/mark-norman-one-of-only-three-people-dnd-refused-to-give-help-with-legal-bills-in-past-two-years?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1551614581)
CADSI Navy Outlook 2019– at the Shaw Convention Centre – Ottawa Tuesday 2 April 2019.
MARITECH Full Speed Ahead: Firing on all cylinders (Call for papers opportunity) Conference and Exhibition, Ottawa ON April 23-25 2019 http://mari-techconference.ca
2019 Maritime Gala Ball– Saturday, June 15, 2019 Hilton Lac Leamy Gatineau QC – This event, supported by the Commander of the RCN and the Commissioner of the CCG, will celebrate the many successes of our Canadian Maritime community. This event will commemorate the past, celebrate the present, and confirm their commitment to the future. Tickets sales open 23 March 2019so mark your calendars.
NOABC 100th Anniversary Celebration 2-6 Oct 2019 Vancouver BC Conference Venue: BCIT Marine Campus – 265 West Esplanade, North Vancouver. UNTD Dinner in the planning stage. Conference Hotel: The Pinnacle Hotel, North Vancouver – a block booking with room rates ranging from $170 to $190 per night. Details to be confirmed and posted to the NOABC web page shortly.
Starshell Winter 2019 – Editor’s Note – there were a couple of editorial errors for this issue which have been corrected. Of special note is a correction to the postal code for those who wish to donate to the fund for the memorial of Lt Hampton “Hammy” Gray RCNVR. https://www.navalassoc.ca/naval-affairs/starshell
CANADA
- ★ Emerging Lessons from the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy
- Feds to again underspend on new military kit, threatening NATO target
- Cdn Sailor named International Military Athlete of the Year
- Can we still build submarines in the Netherlands? Yes.
- Damaged Cyclone helicopter now repaired, test flights underway
- DND promotions and appointments Colonel/Captain(N)
- War fighter: Lt(N) Anne Day
- ★ Mark Norman one of only three people DND refused to give help with legal bills in past two years(Editor – when will this absurdity end)
- Vice-Admiral Mark Norman’s lawyer threatens to call Butts, Wernick to stand
- Civil servant charged with leaking cabinet secrets pleads not guilty
- Nearly 40,000 veterans waiting for disability benefits as backlog keeps growing
- Is the Canadian Coast Guard Underfunded?
- Special forces looks at recruiting off the street amid shifting demands
- B.C. Ferries to spend $1.1 billion to “future-proof” terminals
USA & AMERICAS
- Littoral Combat Ship USS Charleston Commissions in South Carolina
- USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: March 4, 2019
- Chinese hackers fish for naval secrets https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47468443
- Navy Issues Draft RFP for FFG(X) Next-Generation Frigate
- Look beyond the Fleet: finding the capability for distributed maritime operations
- Report to Congress on U.S. Navy Ship Names
- Video: Argentine Forces Fire Warning Shots at Chinese Fishing Vessel
- Why Does the US Not Have Supersonic ASMs?(Anti-Ship Missiles) (Editor – video that explains the basics of the issue)
- Report to Congress on Changes in the Arctic
- Do You Have Any Weapons Onboard?
- US to Overtake Saudi in Oil Exports
- The Numbers Are In: U.S. Maritime Workforce Grows to 650,000, Contributing $154 Billion Annually
- President Trump Signs Order to Help Veterans Transition Into U.S. Merchant Marine
- The Origins of the Search and Rescue Helicopter
- Costa Rica Opens New Container Port on Caribbean Coast
INDO-PACIFIC
- China arrests its chief of submarine research because he ‘obtained Canadian nationality’
- India’s submarine rivalry with China in the second nuclear age
- Report: India, Russia Sign $3 Billion Nuclear Attack Submarine Deal
- Japan commissions second Asahi-class destroyer JS Shiranui
- China to hold naval parade on April 23 in Qingdao
- Pacific Partnership 2019 Puts Expeditionary Fast Transports in the Role of Command Ships
- USNI News Video: Expeditionary Minehunting Units Growing in Size, Capabilities
- Momentum continues to build for the $50 billion SEA 1000 Attack Class submarine program following the announcement of another successful contract signing.
- Legal storm clouds gather over Diego Garcia
- Australian Navy gets more out of the Seahawk helicopter than originally planned
- RAN to receive submarine rescue capability
- Does Australia need a merchant shipping fleet?
- ★ Chinese ship sinks Vietnamese fishing boat off Paracel Islands
- Philippines wary of US dragging it into ‘shooting war’
- Versatile airlifters to boost PLA’s capabilities
- Australia Searching for Lost WWII Destroyer
- Grounded Bulk Carrier Leaking Heavy Fuel Oil Near UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Yang Ming: Another Two 14,000 TEU Containerships Launched in Japan
ATLANTIC & EUROPE
- Izvestia: What awaits foreign military vessels on Northern Sea Route
- Russia’s New Maritime Doctrine And Issues With The Surface Fleet (Editor – an informative 26 minute video) https://youtu.be/9LB9Oq630ww
- Royal Navy destroyer keeps eye on Russian naval task group off UK coast
- British Warship Shadows Russian Naval Task Force in English Channel
- Russia to build 2 nuclear destroyers for its Navy
- Salvors Begin Assessment of Wrecked Norwegian Frigate(Editor – eerie video)
- Russian missile frigate returns to Sevastopol after Mediterranean mission
- NATO steps up naval presence on the Black Sea
- HMS Prince of Wales crew undergo training ahead of sea trials
- Russia’s Kirov Class Battle Cruiser | MEGA SHIP (Editor – non-processional video but useful, and the access for pics is surprising) https://youtu.be/0K8BZoGH9-s
- Russian military officials arrive in Oslo as Norway puts GPS jamming facts on the table
- UK to get new passive offboard decoy system
- New BK-16 boats for Russian guards in Crimea
- Poland Plans to Build Baltic Sea Canal to Bypass Russia
- Russian Pacific Fleet to receive 2 Project 23040 diving boats
- CEFAS scientists create first UK map of shipping ‘noise’
- Russian Official Confirms Plans for Behemoth Icebreaker
- Nuclear Container Ship Sets Sail to Arctic LNG2
- Batteries selected for record-breaking coastal ships
MIDDLE EAST
- Netanyahu: Israeli Navy Could “Block” Iranian Oil Shipping
- UK Destroyer Seizes Two Tonnes of Hashish
- Saudi Arabia signs warship construction deal with France’s Naval Group
- ExxonMobil Discovers Large Gas Field Off Cyprus
- Oman: Gas Production to Surpass Oil by 2023
GLOBAL INTERESTS
SCUTTLEBUTT
- Watch Step Aboard the USS Zumwalt – the Most Advanced Warship the US Navy Has Ever Built https://youtu.be/PO00yx1ACOQ
- Royal Canadian Navy F2H-3 Banshee operations aboard HMCS Bonaventure (Editor – soundless video) https://youtu.be/S3Xq2HFqlhE
- HMCS Bonaventure – Canada’s Last Aircraft Carrier https://youtu.be/qMCFLyu-eAM
- Chasing U-744
(Editor – In case you missed this last week)
UNTiDy TALES – 2013 70th Anniversary Edition available as a Free digital download. Author Bob Williamson has graciously offered to put the .pdf version of this iconic 424p book into the public domain. It is available from the UNTDA Website but can be viewed/downloaded directly from the link below:
http://untd.org/wp-content/uploads/2013_05_UNTiDy_Tales_Williamson_424p.pdf
It was first issued in 1993 as a 133p book titled “Spindrift” and was expanded and re-issued a number of times, and ultimately renamed, culminating in the current 2013 Edition. One of Bob’s motivations for doing this is to stimulate the submission of more stories. The original book was largely oriented to the 8,000 member pre-Unification UNTD Program, which ended 50 years ago. The premise is that within the post-Unification cadre; ROUTP, NROC, UNTDv2, RESO etc, that have been training NavRes Officer Cadets for the last 50 years, that there would or should be a wealth of similar humorous, instructive and inspiring stories. If sufficient new stories result, the UNTDA will look to issue another Free updated Edition.
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – March
(Trial portion of NAC News. Month by month building a comprehensive list of significant RCN events – if you see any glaring omissions or errors please inform me, and more modern significant dates are welcomed. The list draws from LEGION magazine, the Directory of History and Heritage’s comprehensive “Significant Dates in Canadian Military History”, and the “Canada Channel”)
- 1 March 1928 HMC Ships Champlain and Vancouver are commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy, replacing HMC Ships Patriot and Patrician.
- 3 March 1921 HMC Submarines CH-14 and CH-15 are commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy.
- 4 March 1943 HMC Ships Shediac and St. Croix sink the German submarineU-87 in the North Atlantic.
- 6 March 1944 HMC Ships St. Catharines, Chilliwack, Gatineau, Fennel, and Chaudiere assist Royal Naval warships in the sinking of the German submarine U-744 in the North Atlantic.
- 7 March 1945 HMC Ships La Hulloise, Strathadam, and Thetford Mines sink the German submarine U-1302 in St. George’s Channel.
- 9 March 1945 HMCS Uganda arrives in Sydney, Australia, to join the British Pacific Fleet.
- 10 March 1944 HMC Ships St. Laurent, Owen Sound and Swansea assist Royal Navy warships sink the German submarine U-845 in the North Atlantic.
- 17 March1945 HMCS Guysborough is torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat off Ushant.
- 20 March 1943 – UK destroyer commissioned into RCN as HMCS Griffin; 3 weeks later, renamed HMCS Ottawa; second of name.
- 20 March 1945 HMCS New Glasgow sinks the German submarine U-1003 off Lough Foyle, Northern Ireland.
- 21 March 1945 HMCS New Glasgow (frigate) rammed and fatally damages U-Boat 1003 off Lough Foyle.
- 24 March 1941 The Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817, which restricted the number of naval vessels allowed on the Great Lakes, is modified to allow both American and Canadian naval vessels to operate on the Great Lakes in greater numbers.
- 26 March 1941 RCN armed yacht HMCS Otter destroyed by an accidental explosion and fire, off Halifax; two Officers and 17 men are lost.
- 29 March 1945 HMCS TEME (frigate) is torpedoed by U Boat 246 in the English Channel off Falmouth and declared a total loss.
- 31 March 1945 HMCS Conestoga, the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service training establishment, is paid off.
- 31 March 1991 The Gulf War between Iraq and the United Nations coalition ends.