NAC News – Edition 339 HMCS Charlottetown
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of January 10th, 2020
Edition – 339 HMCS Charlottetown; and, K339 HMCS North Bay (WW2 Revised Flower Class Corvette)
Rod Hughes – Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (comments welcome to help improve this service)
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NOTICES
- North of Sixty – The Naval Museum of Halifax invites you to the official opening of their new feature exhibition North of 60. This exhibit explores the RCN’s history of operations in the arctic, with a focus on the career of HMCS Labrador. 16 Jan 2020, 1:30pm, Admiralty House, 2729 Gottingen St. RSVP 902-721-8250 (Editor – if you aren’t local and can’t make it, I recommend reading the NAC Briefing Note The RCN in the Arctic
- Vanguard ShipTech 2020 Forum Keynote Speaker: Mario Pelletier
- Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, The Westin, Ottawa, ON 25 February 2020, 7:30 – 17:00
- Robert Hampton Gray VC. DSC. RCNVR memorial fund raising
- 2020 NAC BOA Gala, conference and AGM – 30 April – 3 May 2020 in Ottawa.
- 30 Apr (Thursday) – Evening – 2020 BOA Gala Dinner at Canadian War Museum
- 1 May (Friday) – Day – NAC National Conference
- 2 May (Saturday) – Morning – NAC National 2020 AGM
- 3 May (Sunday) – 1000-1400 – National RCN BOA ceremony/parade and associated social gathering
- Vanguard Launches First-Ever Canadian Submarine Event (Editor – The next big RCN procurement challenge! The Deep Blue 2020 Forum, a one-day event, will take place on 29 October 2020, details to follow)
- Naval Captain Bill Wilson Scholarship (see What’s New) – The Naval Association of Canada – Calgary Branch is pleased to announce the Naval Captain Bill Wilson Scholarship. The scholarship is designed to encourage academic study of matters relating to maritime security and defence. It will be presented for the first time in 2020. This scholarship is appropriately named for a long time very active serving/retired officer and supporter of our Navy, NOAC/NAC, and a major driving force in Calgary for the Naval Museum of Alberta among other interests.
CANADA
- Christmas at sea in HMCS Halifax
- Changes to service medals announced
- RCN in spotlight at CAF Sports Awards
- Canadian Flag Raised On HMS Belfast To Mark WWII Contribution
- Bringing the navy up to date (Editor – an article I missed in October)
- GWYNNE DYER: Hypersonic hype
- Rising costs drain contingency fund for Canada’s new fisheries science ships (Editor – I thought this was what project contingency funds were for?)
- Bannister pleads guilty at court martial for sexual comments
- BACK WHEN: The day shrapnel fell on Clallam Bay (Editor – history, and a chuckle)
- Survey exposes discontent with veterans’ system
- The winged ship: HMCS Bras d’Or
USA & AMERICAS
- USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Jan. 6, 2020
- Just How Powerful is America’s Harpoon Missile (Editor – handy 10:18 min video)
- Fincantieri Betting on Power Generation to Land Navy Frigate Contest
- Navy Message Authorizing SWO Leather Jacket
- Standard for International Law of Naval Warfare is Set for an Update
- US Navy prepares to receive first Super Hornet Block 3 test aircraft
- Northrop Grumman trials next-gen mine hunting, deploy and retrieval payload
- The US Navy Is Having a Hell of a Time Dismantling the USS Enterprise (Editor – an expensive activity, the first 5 min of a 10:29 min video are pertinent; then just eye candy)
- U.S. Coast Guard to Commission Fast Response Cutter Future USCGC Daniel Tarr on Jan. 10
- Industry-First Wireless Helm System Approved for US-Flag ATBs
INDO-PACIFIC
- Carrier Lincoln Days Away From Longest Deployment Since Vietnam War; In Hawaii Now
- Photos: HMAS Adelaide Sets Sail Under Darkened Skies
- Amphibs Prove Their Worth in Australian Relief Effort (Editor – honking big ships to the rescue)
- Royal Navy Pilot Saves Lives from Fires in Australia
- Cruise Ships Skip Australia’s Port of Eden amid Raging Bush Fires
- ‘Right on our doorstep’: Secret sub reveals China’s chilling plan (Editor – 3:58 min video included to support article)
- ★ South Korea pursuit of nuclear submarines heats up regional competition
- China, Pakistan kick off Sea Guardians 2020 naval drill in Karachi
- The underwater threat: The Chinese are coming!
- Royal Australian Navy enters new era for test and tactics development
- Russia and China joining forces in the Arctic (Editor – strange bedfellows in this 10:35 min video)
- Japan targets global take-up of its all-electric fleet
EUROPE
- 182nd Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session – NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium
- HMS Prince of Wales Completes Sea Trial
- Moscow adopts 15-year plan for Northern Sea Route
- Cavour 550 – Small But Heavily Armed Carrier Of Italy (Editor – another F35 convert in this 10:26 min video)
- Russia unveils scale models of new SSBN, upgraded corvettes, and combat icebreakers
- Putin emphasizes need to raise share of advanced weaponry in Russia’s Navy to 70%
- German Navy tender Donau to join SNMCMG 1
- HMS Collingwood Marks 80th Anniversary
- How an Aircraft Carrier is Set Up to Minimize Risk (Editor – British 4:13 min video)
MIDDLE EAST
- ★ When The US Navy Took On The Boghammars (Editor – useful historical background)
- Trump Calls on NATO to ‘Become More Involved’ in Middle East
- VIDEO: Russian Warship Takes ‘Aggressive’ Action Against U.S. Destroyer (Editor – the included 1:45 min video is amusing)
- Canada Relocates Troops From Iraq To Kuwait Amid Safety Concerns
- Britain’s Royal Navy to Escort UK-Flagged Ships Through Strait of Hormuz
- With Tensions Rising on Strait of Hormuz, S. Korea Rethinks Patrols
- USS Bataan, Marines 26th MEU Heading to Middle East Amid Tensions with Iran
- As U.S. airstrike ramps up threat of war, about 500 Canadian Forces personnel are serving in Iraq
- U.S. denies it plans to withdraw from Iraq as NATO stands firm on training mission
- Oil price jumps on fear of Iranian retaliation over U.S. killing of top general
- Mideast Tensions Create Insurance Headache for Tanker Owners
- United States Warns Commercial Vessels of Threat from Iran
- Petrobras Ships Avoiding Strait of Hormuz
- FS COURBET Makes First Bust of 2020
- Suez Canal Revenues Rose in 2019
GLOBAL INTERESTS
- Here’s How Russia Almost Extended The Age Of The Battleship
- America’s Montana-Class “Super Battleship” Was 65,000 Tons Of Destruction
- How tiny Liberia dominates global shipping (Editor – useful explanation of commercial shipping issues in this 10:07 min video)
- ★ Where Do The World’s VLCCs Sail?
- More Companies Sign Pledge to Avoid Arctic Shipping
- Four Dead, Three Kidnapped in Nigerian Pirate Attack
- Misdeclared Lithium Battery Cargo Caused Cosco Pacific’s Fire
- I didn’t want to fly – so I took a cargo ship from Germany to Canada
SCUTTLEBUTT
- The US Secret Underwater Spy Technology – The US Navy’s SOSUS (Editor – quirky but informative 11:31 min video)
- War of 1812 – Freshwater Edition (Editor – lengthy but interesting 47:59 min video)
- Aircraft Carriers – From Kite Carriers to Conversions (1800-1928) (Editor – a 47:39 min video look at early carriers…where does he get all these historical pictures!)
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SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – JANUARY
(It’s been a year for this “month-to-month” calendar – if you see any omissions or errors please inform me, and any more modern significant dates are also 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 January 1923 – The National Defence Act, which was passed in June 1922, takes effect, creating the Department of National Defence.
- 1 January 1907 – Military – British Admiralty provisionally hands over the Halifax Dockyard to Canadian authorities.
- 1 January 1946 The Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve together become the RCN (Reserve). From this date officers of the Regular Force and Reserve wore the same sleeve lace.
- 4 January 1943 HMCS Prince Henry is re-commissioned as Landing Ship Infantry (Medium).
- 4 January 1945 German U-boats torpedo steamship “Polarland” near Halifax; Canadian merchant ship “Nipiwan Park” also sunk by submarine attack.
- 4 January 1781 Royal Navy press gang seizes Lunenburg farmers in Halifax and puts them on a British Man-of-War, in spite of a jury finding that the impressment is illegal.
- 8 January 1944 HMCS Camrose and HMS Bayntun sink the German submarine U-757 in the North Atlantic.
- 9 January 1945 HMCS Ehkoli, a former RCN patrol boat, is re-commissioned in the RCN as a survey vessel.
- 11 January 1957 HMCS Magnificent arrives in Port Said with the main body of the Canadian contribution in troops and materiel to the United Nations Emergency Force controlling the Israeli-Egyptian border.
- 13 January 13, 1943 – RCN corvette HMCS Ville de Québec sinks German submarine U-224 off Italy; RCN’s first U-boat kill.
- 14 January 1952 HMCS Uganda is renamed Quebec.
- 17 January 1957 HMCS Bonaventure is commissioned at Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is the first aircraft carrier to be owned outright by Canada and incorporates several post-war technical developments: an angled deck, mirror landing aid, and steam catapult.
- 19 January 1911 The Royal Naval College of Canada opens in Halifax.
- 19 January 1943 HMCS Port Arthur sinks the Italian Submarine Tritone in the Mediterranean Sea.
- 22 January 1942 The Canadian Naval Board is established.
- 24 January 1932 HMC Ships Skeena and Vancouver land armed parties at Acajutla, El Salvador, to protect British subjects threatened in a revolution.
- 24 January 1946 HMCS Warrior, the RCN’s first aircraft carrier, is commissioned and Nos. 803, 825, 826, and 883 Squadrons (already manned by Canadians) are transferred from the Royal Navy.
- 26 January 1955 Cabinet approves the entry of members of the Womens’ Royal Canadian Naval Reserve as members of the RCN Regular Force.
- 30 January 1991 At the Battle of Babiyan a CF-18 Hornet attacks and causes irreparable damage to an Iraqi warship. It was the only CF-18 credited with an official victory during the Gulf War.
- 31 January 1923 The Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve are established.