naval affairs

NAC News – Edition 309 HMCS Ste. Therese (WW2 and cold war Prestonian Class frigate) J309 HMCS Sarnia (WW2 Bangor Class minesweeper)

NAC News – Edition 309 HMCS Ste. Therese (WW2 and cold war Prestonian Class frigate) J309 HMCS Sarnia (WW2 Bangor Class minesweeper)

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of June 14, 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

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NOTICES

  • Go Fund Me for Mark Norman(Editor – read past updates of the plan for the fund from Lee Hammond, and a personal thankyou from Mark Norman.  Note – for good reasons the fund raising continues.  $442,645 of $500K raised by 3,544 people over 16 months –
  • 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.
  • 2019 NAC National AGM teleconference – Wednesday 19 June at 1200 (Ottawa time). Details at the link so vote and appoint a proxy:
  • https://www.navalassoc.ca/occasions/nac-2019-agm-wednesday-19-june-2019/
  • NOABC 100thAnniversary and 2019 NAC Conference–2-6 October in Vancouver. The latest on the programme is at the NOABC website (Some details to be confirmed).
  • The Evolution of Equality and Inclusion in the Maritime Profession Symposium 2019

CANADA

USA & AMERICAS

INDO-PACIFIC

ATLANTIC & EUROPE

MIDDLE EAST

GLOBAL INTERESTS

SCUTTLEBUTT

  • Sister ships take part in evacuations
  • 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 – JUNE

(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 June 1758 – Vice Admiral Edward Boscawen of the Royal Navy arrives at Gabarus Bay, 10 km west of Louisbourg, just after midnight in dense fog from Halifax, Nova Scotia; with thirty-nine warships, supply ships and ten transports, crowded with 13,000 regular troops, Highlanders, light infantry, rangers, and colonial militia. The expedition is commanded by Maj Gan General Jeffery Amherst, with his field commander, Brig Gen James Wolfe; the British do not attempt to land troops until June 8 because of heavy surf.
  • 1 June 1758 – A British fleet, under Admiral Saunders, leaves Louisbourg for Quebec carrying James Wolfe and his army.
  • 1 June 1813 – HMS Shannon, Captain Philip Broke, captures USS Chesapeake, Captain James Lawrence, in a 15-minute fire fight off Boston harbour; tows her to Halifax; naval battle sees 48 American sailors killed, 23 British. Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1 June 1831 – Sir James Ross first discovers the position of the North Magnetic Pole on the west coast of Boothia Peninsula; takes possession of the North Magnetic Pole and adjoining territory in the name of King William IV, and erects a cairn; spends his third Arctic winter in Victoria Harbour. Boothia, Nunavut
  • 1 June 1840 – Samuel Cunard navigates his 700 ton wooden paddlewheel steamer Unicorn to Halifax; after two week trip from Liverpool with 27 passengers. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1 June 1876 – The Royal Military College of Canada opens in Kingston, Ontario, with a class of eighteen cadets.
  • 1 June 1943 – MCS Conestoga is commissioned in Galt, Ontario, as the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service training establishment.
  • 1 June 1943 – The first German mines are swept in the approaches to Halifax harbour.
  • 1 June 1968 – Canada signs Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty along with the US, Britain, USSR and 57 other countries. United Nations, New York
  • 1 June 2004 – United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti assumes responsibility for supporting transitional government and reforming national police force; Canadian police and military personnel to play a major role. Port-au-Prince, Haiti
  • 2 June 1891 – Shipping – RMS Empress of Japan is the second of the Canadian Pacific Steamships “Empress” ships to arrive at Vancouver harbour, via the Suez Canal and Hong Kong; Canadian Pacific Steamships had signed a contract for subsidized mail service between Britain and Hong Kong via Canada. Vancouver, BC
  • 3 June 1910 – The Honourable Louis P. Brodeur is appointed the first Minister of the Naval Service.
  • 3 June 1963 – Canada declares 12 Mile Limit; (19.3 km) exclusive fisheries zone off the Canadian coast; effective May, 1964. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 3 June 1991 – Letters Patents are published for an insignia denoting Mentions in Despatches.
  • 4 June 1742 – The first warship built in New France called the CANADA is launched.
  • 4 June 1812 – US Congress votes for war against Britain; the conflict will begin June 18, 1812, when President James Madison officially proclaims the United States to be at war.
  • 4 June 1976 – Canada declares it is extending its 12-nautical-mile coastal fishing zone to 370 km (200 nautical miles) offshore fisheries jurisdiction zone, effective January 1, 1977; mature northern cod were estimated at 75 million, down from 900 million in 1962; Canada to set numbers of fish harvested and quotas for foreign fleets, because fish stocks are being depleted by new technologies such as sonar and freezing facilities which let the ships stay at sea longer.
  • 5 June 1741 – Vitus Bering sails from Kamchatka Peninsula to explore North America.
  • 5 June 1792 – Spanish navigators Dionisio Galiano and Cayetano Valdés leave Nootka Sound and sail into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, reaching Puerto de Núñez Gaona (Neah Bay, Washington), where a Spanish post is being built by Salvador Fidalgo.
  • 5 June 1944 – Sixteen Royal Canadian Navy minesweepers help clear the English Channel in preparation for the D-Day landings.
  • 6 June 1943 – HMCS Prince Robert is recommissioned as an anti-aircraft cruiser.
  • 6 June 1944 – Approximately one hundred and ten Canadian warships participate in the Allied landings in Normandy.
  • June 7, 1942 – US merchant ship Coast Trader torpedoed by Japanese Navy submarine I-26 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca inside Canadian waters; the vessel had set off from Port Angeles, Washington, bound for San Francisco with a cargo of 1,250 tons of newsprint in its hold; wreck discovered in 2013 survey by the Canadian Hydrographic Service, organized by Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard, using a remote-controlled robotic submarine; the same Japanese submarine will shell the Estevan Point lighthouse a few days later.
  • 7 June 1958 – HMCS Restigouche is commissioned as the first of a class of destroyer escorts meant to replace the St. Laurent class.
  • 7 June 1965 – Department of National Defence replaces navy, army, and air force commands with six functional commands. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 8 June 1893 – Steamship Mower arrives in Victoria B.C. from Sydney, Australia; first steamer of the Canadian Australian Line.
  • 9 June 1789 – Spanish captain Estebán José Martínez captures trader John Meares’ schooner Northwest America in Nootka Sound near Vancouver Island.
  • 9 June 1941 – World War II – HMCS Saskatoon is commissioned in Esquimalt.
  • 9 June 1944 – HMCS Haida, HMCS Huron and other destroyers from the 10th Destroyer Flotilla sink the German destroyers ZH1 and Z32 in the English Channel.
  • 10 June 1803 – Warship HMS Dart carries the so-called Garrison clock (“old town clock”) to Halifax, N.S.; ordered by Prince Edward, it will be installed October 20 in a building built for it on the eastern slope of Citadel Hill.
  • 10 June 1878 – Fort Rodd Hill built to protect Esquimalt in the event of a war with Russia.
  • 10 June 1910 – Rear-Admiral Charles E. Kingsmill, RN (Retired), is appointed the Director of the Naval Service.
  • 10 June 1931 – HMCS SKEENA commissioned at Portsmouth-one of the first ships built for the RCN.
  • 10 June 1940 – The Canadian government declares war on Italy.
  • 11 June 1813 – Nova Scotia privateering vessel, Liverpool Packet, owned by Enos Collins and associates, is captured by American privateer schooner Thomas; the schooner is re-named the Portsmouth Packet, until it is regained by HMS Fantome and HMS Epervier after a 13-hour chase, in October 1813.
  • 11 June 1940 – Canadian warships come under fire for the first time when HMCS St. Laurent and HMCS Restigouche encounter German warships at St. Valery en Caux.
  • 11 June 1940 – HMCS St. Laurent and HMCS Restigouche evacuate military personnel from Le Havre, France, exchanging gunfire with German artillery batteries in the process.
  • 11 June 1999 – United Nations sets up peacekeeping mission, including 600 Canadians, in East Timor; Operation Toucan will help organize elections, support the new government and establish the rule of law; Canadian participation ends February 23, 2000.
  • 13 June 1940 – The Honourable Charles Gavan Power is appointed Minister of Department of National Defence.
  • 13 June 1941 – Newfoundland’s sea defences are brought under Canadian control with the appointment of Commodore L.W. Murray, RCN, as the commander of Newfoundland Force.
  • 14 June 1941 – Warships of the Newfoundland Escort Force begin convoy escort operations in the North Atlantic Ocean.
  • 15 June 1920 – The demobilization of the wartime Royal Canadian Navy is completed with the disbandment of the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve.
  • 15 June 1938 – HMCS OTTAWA is commissioned at Chatham, England.
  • 15 June 1940 – The Erik Boye is sunk by submarine U38 in passage off Land’s End thereby becoming the first Canadian flagged merchant ship to be sunk as a casualty of the Battle of the Atlantic.
  • 16 June 1921 – The Royal Naval College of Canada is closed.
  • 16 June 1943 – HMCS Waskesiu is commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy, becoming the first of sixty RCN frigates built in Canada.
  • 17 June 1991 – The Government of Canada announces the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea and the Gulf and Kuwait medal.
  • 19 June 1812 – The United States formally declares war against Great Britain.
  • 20 June 1923 – HMCS Brunswicker, a current day Naval Reserve Division, was raised as a Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve half-company in Saint John, NB.
  • 20 June 1942 – HMCS EDMUNDSTON (corvette) rescues 31 crewmembers from the SS Fort Camosun that had been disabled by a Japanese submarine near the Washington coast.
  • 21 June 1749 – A military expedition led by Colonel Edward Cornwallis arrives at the harbour at Chebucto, N. S. and establishes the Halifax military base.
  • 21 June 1940 – HMCS Fraser evacuates Free French troops and future Canadian Governor-General, Lieutenant-Colonel G.P. Vanier, from France.
  • 21 June 1940 – The National Resources Mobilization Act is passed provides for conscription for home defence and registration of all adult males and females.
  • 21 June 2001 – Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson unveils the National Aboriginal Monument, Ottawa, to commemorate the sacrifice of aboriginals in both world wars and Korea.
  • 22 June 1940 – The last class of Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve officers graduate from HMCS Stone Frigate.
  • 22 June 1967 – HMCS ONONDAGA (submarine) commissioned at Chatham Dockyards.
  • 23 June 1919 – The Air Board is formed in Canada to control all aspects of aviation, including military.
  • 23 June 1968 – HMCS OKANAGAN (submarine) commissioned at Chatham Dockyards.
  • 24 June 1762 – A French fleet commanded by Chevalier de Ternay captures Bay Bulls and St. John’s, Newfoundland.
  • 24 June 1943 – HMCS Sault Ste. Marie is commissioned as the first Algerine-class minesweeper produced for the Royal Canadian Navy.
  • 24 June 1944 – HMCS Haida, HMS Eskimo and a Royal Air Force patrol aircraft sink the German submarine U-971 in the English Channel.
  • 25 June 1940 – HMCS Fraser is lost after colliding with a British warship, HMS Calcutta in the Bay of Biscay.
  • 25 June 1950 – North Korean forces cross the 38th Parallel and invade South Korea.
  • 25 June 1963 – HMCS Assiniboine is recommissioned as the Royal Canadian Navy’s first helicopter-carrying destroyer.
  • 25 June 1994 – HMCS SAGUENAY is sunk off Lunenburg as a diving park.
  • 26 June 1923 –  HMCS Queen, a current day Naval Reserve Division, was raised as a Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve half-company in Regina.
  • 26 June 1959 – Canadian warships assigned to Atlantic Command participate in the opening ceremonies of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
  • 28 June 1922 – The National Defence Act is passed, incorporating the Department of the Naval Service, the Department of Militia and Defence and the Air Board as a new Department of National Defence.
  • 28 June 1977 – HMCS HURON (2nd) represents Canada at the Silver Jubilee naval review at Spithead.
  • 28 June 2001 – Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson officially dedicates the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Forces at Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa.
  • 29 June 1992 – HMCS Halifax is commissioned as the first of the new Canadian Patrol Frigates
  • 30 June 1921 – HMC Submarines CH-14 and CH-15 are paid off.
  • 30 June 1941 – HMCS Wasaga is commissioned, becoming the first Canadian-built Bangor-class minesweeper.
  • 30 June 1950 – The Canadian Parliament supports the government motion to assist the United Nations in its position on the Korean situation.