NAC News – Edition 301
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of April 19, 2019
Fellow Members:
Rod Hughes
Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca(comments welcome to help improve this service)
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★ Editor’s stars of the week
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NOTICES
- GoFundMe for Admiral Norman’s Legal Defence – After 14 months 2,895 people have contributed $359, 005 towards the $500,00 goal https://ca.gofundme.com/51lc5d4(Editor – Mark Norman one of only three people DND refused to give help with legal bills in the last 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)
- The Naval Marine Archive and the Canadian Society of Marine Artists exhibition “A Retrospective of the work of Hamish Berchem, CSMA, 1932-2018”. Opening Friday 12 Apr, 3-6pm and continues to 2nd of May, held at The Victory gallery, 205 Main Street, Picton, ON http://navalmarinearchive.com/news/berchem_retrospective_2019.html
- 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
- Navy Bike Ride 2019– June 8, 2019 – Ottawa/Gatineau – Check out this fun family event (and yes for the serious racer, there is a competition as well!)
- 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 will be on sale early March 2019 so 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.
CANADA
- Canadian Navy ships join Phoenix Express drill in Africa for first time
- Global warming could bring new challenges in the Arctic region
- The sinking of HMCS Esquimalt
- Contract signed for Canadian Type 26 integrated bridge design
- CCGS Sir John Franklin Update from Seaspan (Editor – no linked article, just an extract) “Following the recent incident at Ogden Point, Seaspan Shipyards has completed repairs on the first Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV1) and the vessel is preparing to return to sea trials today. Work included the installation of a new rudder, rudder post, rudder bearings, a new propeller and tail shaft and steel repair work to the port stern quarter. That this work was completed in only 13 days is a testament to the capabilities of our company and the leadership being demonstrated across our three shipyards.”
- DND and VAC release 2018 reports on suicide mortality
- Feds back up a step in fight to keep some information from Mark Norman’s lawyers
- Naval officer’s trial could haunt Liberals in fall election campaign
- Military assessment ruling out the need for a second interim supply ship doesn’t appear to exist
- HMC Ships depart for Op Projection 2019 – The operation (Editor – dated video, but great images)
- RCN focused on quality of life for sailors
- NCdt wins silver with Team Canada
- Leadership Monday – Master Seaman Michaela Alexander https://youtu.be/LwWbIGOemNI
- BC Ferries Duo Launched in Romania
USA & AMERICAS
- Adm. Bill Moran Named Next Chief of Naval Operations
- Pacific Commander Davidson Asks Congress to Fund ‘Regain the Advantage’ Plan Aimed at China
- USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: April 15, 2019
- F-35B Allowed Essex ARG to Flex New Blue-Water Capabilities in Absence of Carrier Nearby
- Panel: Unmanned Surface Vessels Will be Significant Part of Future U.S. Fleet
- US Navy ordered 24 Hawkeye E-2D aircraft
- See This Picture? Great, So Stop Calling This Stealth Destroyer a Battleship
- 232 Unmanned Ships May Be Key To Countering China, Russia
- Adapting Command and Control for 21st century Seapower
- USS Fitzgerald Returns to the Water
- Navy, Marines Exercising How to Use Information Warfare in Future Conflicts
- The navy’s newest nemesis: hypersonic weapons
- Navy Investing in Researching Next-Generation Missiles, Enhancing Current Ones
- USN details desire for additional HELIOS funding in 2020
- U.S. Navy Invests in Simulation to Boost Watchstander Proficiency
INDO-PACIFIC
- Top Naval leaders declare to speed up building a world-class navy to deter major rivals
- Timeline: 70 years of Chinese navy
- The PLA Navy in 60 seconds: The Surface Force
- The PLA Navy in 60 seconds: The Submarine Force
- Wolves of the sea: Hunter killers and boomers in the Indo-Pacific
- Indonesia signs USD1 billion contract for three follow-on SSKs to Nagapasa class
- Indian Navy and RAN conclude maritime exercise AUSINDEX
- INS Vikramaditya to hold joint exercise with FS Charles de Gaulle
- Japan requests SM-3 missiles in FMS valued at US$ 1.15 billion
- The Admiral Gorshkov frigate entered the South China Sea
- Opinion: China Goes Unconventional in Escalating South China Sea Face-Off
- Drawing parallels: The build up for WWI and the 21st century’s carrier race
- Sub scuttlebutt: SEA 1000 in deep water, or is it?
- ★ How far can you push an Anzac? (Editor – similarities with Canada?)
- New Australian Icebreaker Receives Unique Steering System
- Seychelles president makes underwater speech calling for protection for oceans
ATLANTIC & EUROPE
- Destroyer USS Ross Enters Black Sea, Fourth U.S. Warship Since 2019
- Fincantieri Delivers FREMM Frigate to Italy
- The U.S. Navy Has Nothing Like Russia’s 200 Knot Torpedo
- The Royal Navy Wants Robotic Submarines(Here’s Why That Matters)
- Ukraine Seeks Release of Ships, Sailors with International Court Appeal
- Russian Navy tests supersonic anti-ship missile (Editor – follow up on article from last week about Russian firings in Black Sea) https://youtu.be/1GxJf8FktxU
- Russia’s Pacific Fleet naval aviation pilots practice in the Arctic
- Russia’s Baltic Sea Fleet forces tracking NATO ship group in the Baltic
- U.K. Developing its Own Extra Large UUV for Royal Navy
- 20-ship Black Sea exercise Sea Shield 2019 concludes in Romania
- HMCS Toronto arrives in Odessa, Ukraine – April 2019
- Russia: four submarines and two cruisers to be scrapped by 2021
- North Pole camp season cancelled before it even started
- Damaged Norwegian Frigate Patched and Refloated
- Russia jails Norwegian Frode Berg for spying on submarines
- 1000 Km of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Laid
- Canadian Premiere – Trapped in Typhoon Alley, the Mystery of MV Derbyshire
MIDDLE EAST
- Yemen war: Trump vetoes bill to end US support for Saudi-led coalition
- FS Charles de Gaulle and USS John C. Stennis took part in exercises in the Red Sea
GLOBAL INTERESTS
- Video: Spanish Navy Rescues Seafarers from Nigerian Pirates
- 40 Years of Nautical Piracy(Editor – interactive map)
- Nigerian Pirates Open Fire on Anchored Product Tanker
- Say goodbye, Canada. The North Pole is moving to Russia.
- All Aboard! Treasure on the High Seas for Gas Dealers
- Opinion: Overfishing Does Damage to More Than Just Fish
- Maritime Fatigue: Just another band aid?
SCUTTLEBUTT
- German U-Boats in Argentina 1945 – U-977 https://youtu.be/376q9QUezJU
- Russia: Russian frigate ‘Admiral Makarov’ conducts missile air defence drills (editor – interesting look at Russian Frigate) https://youtu.be/Z5Z7D6B7TN4
- HMCS Bras D’or (editor – a video of her in flight, and a look at her on the inside today) https://youtu.be/XVYSUWEi-WQ https://youtu.be/PuxITFJLPXE
- The Battle of Taranto: When Biplanes Crippled a Fleet (Editor – great video) https://youtu.be/dqko_tiX24E
- What do drones and GPS owe to a 1744 shipwreck? https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47161370
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – APRIL
(Trial portion of NAC News. 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 April 1733 Canada’s First lighthouse lit for the first time, using coal from nearby Morien and Spanish River; the round 200 metre tower, made with cement from limestone burned in local kilns, is the First fireproof concrete structure in North America. Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
- 1 April 1873 Wreck of luxury liner SS Atlantic, sailing from Liverpool to New York; the ship was turning into Halifax Harbour to get coal, but struck a reef in the foggy night near Mars Rock, Meagher’s Island, near Terrance Bay – 546 people drown in heavy seas, while local fishermen manage to save 300. Prospect, Nova Scotia
- 1 April 1941 RCN armed merchant cruiser Prince Henry intercepts two German ships off Peru; ships scuttled.
- 1 April 1959 New St. Lawrence Seaway opens for business; will be officially dedicated June 26 by the Queen and US President Dwight Eisenhower.
- 2 April 1887 US seizes Canadian sealing ships in North Pacific; other seizures on the 9,12, and 17th. Juneau, Alaska
- 3 April 3, 1935 Lt(N) J. P. Connolly appointed Commanding Officer, charged to raise a RCNVR unit in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
- 3 April 1996 Members of the Canadian Forces ordered to spend the entire day searching for documents that may aid the Somalia inquiry. Ottawa, Ontario
- 3 April 2007 Royal Assent given to the Veterans’ Bill of Rights; PM Harper says Ottawa will establish an ombudsman for veterans, so the government can respond quickly and fairly to any concerns of veterans. Ottawa, Ontario
- 4 April 1949 Canada signs the North Atlantic Treaty with Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the U.S.; becomes founding member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization; NATO members pledge to defend each other in event of Soviet attack. NATO is Canada’s first peacetime military alliance. Washington, DC
- 5 April 1958 Ripple Rock blown up with 1.2 tons of Nitramex, in world’s largest non-nuclear explosion to date; the reef was a shipping hazard just below the surface of Seymour Narrows near Campbell River that had sunk or damaged 119 vessels and caused the death of over 100 people. Captain George Vancouver called the narrows “one of the vilest stretches of water in the world.” Campbell River, BC
- 6 April 1954 HMCS Magnificent, Canada’s second aircraft carrier, sails from Halifax on her last voyage; she will be replaced by HMCS Bonaventure. Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 7 April 1948 RCN’s aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent commissioned to replace HMCS Warrior. Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 7 April 1991 HMCS Athabaskan, Terra Nova and Protecteur arrive home from Gulf War; ships left in early August; Huron leaves for the Gulf to help enforce the embargo against Iraq. Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 8 April 1945 cruiser HMCS Uganda joins British Pacific Fleet. Hong Kong, China
- 9 April 1929 – Canadian Ambassador Vincent Massey protests against sinking of Canadian schooner I’m Alone; crew released; case of rum-runner to go to arbitration. Washington, DC
- 10 April 1836 Hudson’s Bay Company steamship Beaver arrives at Fort Vancouver and has her boilers and paddles connected; left London August 29, 1835 under the command of Captain David Home under sail alone; rounded Cape Horn and called at Juan Fernandez and Honolulu en route; SS Beaver will be used to service trading posts between the Columbia River and Russian America (Alaska); 1862 chartered by the Royal Navy to survey and chart the coast of the Colony of British Columbia. Portland, Oregon
- 11 April 1940 Burrard shipyards begin building corvettes and minesweepers for action in the Battle of the Atlantic. Vancouver, BC
- 11 April 1962 The Government of Canada announces plans to build eight frigates and buy three submarines.
- 14 April 1828 The 18-gun sloop Acorn sinks off Halifax with the loss of 115 men.
- 14 April 1944 HMCS Swansea and HMS Pelican combine to sink the German submarine U-448 in the North Atlantic. Swansea’s second kill in less than six weeks.
- 15 April 1814 Kingston Navy Dockyard launches two warships, the Prince Regent and the Princess Charlotte; under Commodore Sir James Yeo, they will blockade the American fleet in Sackett’s Harbour and capture Oswego, restoring Canadian control of Lake Ontario in the War of 1812 and ending the threat of US invasion. Kingston, Ontario
- 16 April 1945 German U-Boat U-190 torpedoes and sinks Royal Canadian Navy Bangor Class minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt 8 km off Chebucto Head, near the entrance to Halifax harbour and the Halifax lightship; forty-four of her ship’s company are lost in the last major naval loss of the War; U-190 will surrender May 11; will be sunk ceremonially on October 21, 1947 where she had destroyed the Esquimalt.
- 23 April 1947 HMCS Malahat re-commissioned as Victoria’s Naval Reserve Division; originally commissioned as naval recruiting centre January 15, 1944. Victoria, BC
- 25 April 1945 Canada one of 50 nations attending founding United Nations Conference on International Organization, opening in San Francisco; will approve United Nations Charter on June 26. San Francisco, California.
- 25 April 1967 Commons passes Bill C-243, “The Canadian Forces Reorganization Act,” unifying the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force into one service, the Canadian Armed Forces, with common uniform and rank designations; act comes into effect February 1, 1968.
- 26 April 1945 HMCS Ontario, a cruiser, is commissioned.
- 28 April 1818 U.S. Senate ratifies the Rush-Bagot Convention, signed April 28 and 29, 1817, making it a lawful treaty of the United States; limits naval forces on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Washington, DC
- 29 April 1944 HMCS Athabaskan and Haida fight two German destroyers off Ile de Bas, France, and drives a flaming German warship aground. German torpedo boat T-24 sinks HMCS Athabaskan; 128 lose their lives and 86 are captured.
- 30 April 1884 Victoria coal baron Robert Dunsmuir starts building the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) Railway, later known as the Vancouver Island Railway, to support the coal and lumber industry, and the Royal Navy Base at Esquimalt Harbour; on August 13, 1886 John A. Macdonald will drive home the last railway spike at Cliffside near Shawnigan Lake.
- 30 April 30, 1941 German U-boat torpedoes Canadian passenger ship Nerissa off Ireland; 73 Canadian Army personnel lost. Atlantic Ocean
- 30 April 1943 The Flag Officer Atlantic Coast, Royal Canadian Navy, takes over control of all shipping movements in the western North Atlantic under the title of Commander-in-Chief Canadian North West Atlantic.