NAC News – Edition 365
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of July 10th 2020
Edition – 365 “ Today air power is the dominant factor in war. It may not win the war by itself alone, but without it no major war can be won.” Admiral Arthur Radford (Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff)
Rod Hughes – Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (comments welcome to help improve this service)
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NOTICES
- ★ The upcoming Tom Hanks movie “Greyhound” is based on a major novel (“The Good Shepherd” 1955) and deals with the Battle of the Atlantic. What may come as a surprise to some is that our HMCS Sackville was scanned in the naval dockyards in 2016 so that the movie could include Corvettes on escort duty. HMCS Montreal and HMCS Haida also were utilized in the making of the film. The film was to be released this past spring but COVID-19 issues understandably shutdown movie releases. The “Greyhound” movie is to be released JULY 10 on Apple TV. Here is the site and the trailer for the film. Keep your eyes open for those Corvettes! Take care and continue to be safe. Doug Struthers https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/greyhound/umc.cmc.o5z5ztufuu3uv8lx7m0jcega
- Navy Bike Ride 2020 – Battle of the Atlantic Challenge: This is a virtual event and you can register thru the summer. The event runs 13 June to 30 August 2020. Check it out! While the original one-day ride event was cancelled, this virtual bike ride event is a great opportunity to support your Navy, support their charities of choice and keep fit. Over 2200 folks registered and over $36K raised to date for charities of the RCN’s choice – RCN Benevolent Fund and Support Our Troops. Your NAC will be a sponsor – an Orca class sponsor! And it’s free! (but do feel free to step up and buy the tee and while you are at it – donate to their charities of choice!)
- 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)
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CANADA
- Canadian Forces Health Services Group welcomes new Commander and Surgeon General (Editor – Rear-Admiral Rebecca Patterson)
- Canadian Navy prepares for RIMPAC exercises
- Video: Seaspan Shipyards Launches CCGS John Cabot (Editor – 4:53 min video)
- HMCS Labrador explores the Arctic
- Patrolling the straits and narrows: how HMCS Nanaimo is ready to help
- Canada’s Deficit Is 1,000% Higher Than Projected At Start Of 2020 (Editor – Not naval specific, but important as I don’t see how this can’t mean lean days ahead)
- How Canada’s Armed Forces is trying to recruit more women (Editor – lots of RCN in this CAF 5:02 min video)
- COVID-19 Colonel Roger Scott returns to front-line duty. (Editor – 3:19 min video)
- National Defence’s supply chain for the Canadian Armed Forces delivers late 50% of the time
- Training at the RIFLE RANGE! – NTOG – Episode 1 (Editor – 2:41 RCN video)
- Saving a WOUNDED OPERATOR! – NTOG – Episode 2 (Editor – 2:05 RCN video)
- FMF under the gun for RIMPAC readiness
- Non-Operational Clothing and Footwear contract
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USA & AMERICAS
- USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: July 6, 2020
- ★ The Threat Posed by the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party to the Economic and National Security of the United States (Editor – 55:15 min video of the actual presentation)
- US Ship Patrolling Off China Reportedly Fails to Reload Missile Months After Hyping Its Capabilities
- U.S. Navy to Commission Newest Amphibious Assault Ship Future USS Tripoli Next Week
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard welcomes USS Harry S. Truman for Extended Carrier Incremental Availability
- Vigor Wins $133 Mln US Navy Repair Job
- Navy To Add Laser Weapons To At Least Seven More Ships In The Next Three Years
- Third Lockheed Martin-Built GPS III Satellite Now Climbing To Orbit On Its Own Power
- CIMSEC: Winning the war on distraction: military leaders need quiet minds in the digital age
- Saturation Diving- You’re in a different world (Editor – not for the faint of heart, a 3:17 min video)
- ★ US Approves LNG Exports from Oregon (Editor – more background Jordan Cove LNG in spotlight in Southern Oregon public comment sessions )
- Cocaine and Two Stevedores Discovered in Container on Maersk Boxship
- Report to Congress on Capabilities of Russian Armed Forces
- Wave of North American Oil and Gas Bankruptcies to Continue at $40 Oil
- Guam: Why America’s Most Isolated Territory Exists (Editor – Location, location, location – I don’t know much about Guam, but I stumbled on this useful 11:10 min video)
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INDO-PACIFIC
- US, China inch closer towards a conflict at sea
- Tensions heat up in South China Sea as US makes significant show of force
- Trump’s risky nose-to-nose challenge to China in the South China Sea (Editor – worthwhile 3:41 min video included)
- Major Airfield Expansion On Wake Island Seen By Satellite As U.S. Preps For Pacific Fight
- Could The Indian Navy Strangle China’s Lifeline In The Malacca Strait?
- Steel contract marks next step in Hunter Class Frigate Program
- Aircraft Carrier Armed with Stealth F-35s: South Korea Has Big Navy Dreams
- Chinese J-15 Fighter Jets Begins Take-off and Landing On New Aircraft Carrier CNS Shandong
- US Navy Carriers Conduct South China Sea Drills
- Attack-Class Submarine Program Moving Forward
- US Sends 108 Abrams Tanks and 250 Stinger Surface-to-air Missiles to Taiwan in Tension With China (Editor – not a naval story but a clear signal sent)
- USAF B-52 Conducts Maritime Integration Exercise with 2 US Navy CSG in the South China Sea
- First long-range weapon since 2010
- Political Commissars on Chinese Warships Play Crucial Role in Interactions With Foreign Vessels
- BAE, AIDN exchange blows over Hunter Class content (Editor – it will be interesting to see what arrangements Canada makes)
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EUROPE
- Russian Navy to receive about 40 warships in 2020
- Russian Black Sea Sub Deployments to Mediterranean Could Violate Treaty (Editor – all sorts of implications)
- Royal Navy Shadows Russian Warships Through English Channel
- ★ Norway’s celebration of Svalbard Treaty was followed by ardent and coordinated response from Moscow media
- French push ahead with future aircraft carrier development and acquisition
- State Department Approves E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Sale to France
- Navy Mine Countermeasures Contract Awarded
- Latest frigate to enter service with Russian Navy in July
- Icelandic ship Thor joins British frigates in Atlantic sub hunt
- Turkey successfully conducts test launch of local-made ATMACA anti-ship cruise missile
- Losharik Spy Submarine Accident Is Still A Problem For Russian Navy
- First Russian corvette armed with seaborne Pantsyr-M air defense system enters state trials
- Frigate HMS Lancaster ‘ready for operations’ after years out of action
- Russian Zvezda shipyard begins construction Leader-class nuclear icebreaker
- Massive section of Dreadnought nuclear submarine moved
- Germany suspends Kiel Canal traffic dues to boost waterway’s competitiveness
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MIDDLE EAST
- Iran blasts: What is behind mysterious ‘attacks’ at key sites?
- Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) The 2020 Maritime Security Conference is being hosted on Jul 14 2020.
- More foreign merchant vessels seek escort from PLA Navy
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
- Nautical Institute’s New President Outlines Top Goals (Editor – not Canadian connection)
- Stolen Cars Seized in Shipping Containers at U.S., Canada, Italy Ports
- Urgent Reforms Needed to Address Shipment of Dangerous Goods
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SCUTTLEBUTT
- Naval Legends: USS Batfish. Special Episode for Independence Day! (Editor – 25:51 min video)
- Naval Guns (1650 to 1820) – Stop blowing holes in my ship! (Editor – historic 52:51 min video – “ Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery! All else is twaddle”, Admiral “Jackie” Fisher)
- The Canadian Naval Technical History Association (CNTHA) is a volunteer organization, many of whom are retired Naval Engineers, working in support of the Directorate of History and Heritage (DHH) in Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND). DHH has an ongoing project to capture and preserve our country’s naval technical history.
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – JULY
(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 now defunct “Canada Channel”, “Legion Magazine”, Roger Litwiller’s excellent web site, the encyclopedic guidance from Fraser McKee, and anywhere else I can find credible information.)
- 1 July 1923 The RCN barracks in Halifax, known as HMCS Stadacona, is commissioned.
- 1 July 1934 Commodore Percy W. Nelles becomes the first Canadian-born and Canadian-trained Chief of the Naval Staff.
- 2 July 1944 Canadian MTB 460 (Canadian Motor Torpedo Boat) struck a mine in the English Channel. The commanding officer and 9 men were lost.
- 2 July 1940 861 German and Italian prisoners of war are rescued by HMCS St. Laurent after their transport ship was torpedoed on its way to Canada.
- 3 July 1944 Four Canadian motor torpedo boats sink two German merchant ships and damage other vessels in the English Channel.
- 4 July 1943 Canadian vessels of the 29th and 65th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotillas conduct raids on the French coast near Cherbourg.
- 5 July 1940 First Canadian registered merchant ship sunk in Battle of the Atlantic, CSL’s S.S. Magog, by U-99 (KL Otto Kretschmer) SW of Ireland. No casualties.
- 5 July 1950 HMC Ships Athabaskan, Cayuga, and Sioux sail from Esquimalt, BC, to join the United Nations naval forces operating in Korean waters.
- 6 July 1944 HMC Ships Ottawa commanded by Cdr James D. Prentice, DSO, RCN with HMCS Kootenay commanded by A/LCDR William H. Wilson, RCN, along with HMS Statice, sank the German submarine U-678 while on patrol in the English Channel.
- 8 July 1944 Canadian MTB 463 was lost to a mine in the English Channel. No crew was lost, although 5 men were wounded.
- 8 July 1954 Canada’s first icebreaking arctic patrol vessel, HMCS Labrador, is commissioned.
- 9 July 1914 HMCS Rainbow begins preparations for the international seal patrol in the North Pacific Ocean.
- 10 July 1943 Canadian landing craft drop soldiers of the 1st Canadian Division off on the coast of Sicily during the Allied invasion known as Operation HUSKY.
- 15 July 1920 RNCVR is disbanded. All troops released.
- 15 July 1958 The first review of the Royal Fleet ever held in Canadian waters takes place under the eyes of Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret off the coast of Vancouver Island at Royal Roads.
- 16 July 1914 First RNCVR seaman taken to sea in HMCS Rainbow to augment the RCN crew for a Bering Sea Fur Patrol; but diverted to assist her participation in the ‘Kamagata Maru Incident’ at Vancouver.
- 17 July 1940 HMCS Skeena rescues the crew of a torpedoed merchant ship, the SS Manipor, in the waters north of Scotland.
- 19 July 1943 HMCS HURON (Destroyer) is commissioned at Newcastle on the Tyne, England.
- 20 July 1944 HMCS MATANE (frigate) is hit by a German glider bomb off Brest and badly damaged.
- 23 July 1951 The RCN (Reserve) begins recruiting women for service with the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (the Wrens) for the first time since the Second World War.
- 24 July 1917 The Military Service Act is passed allowing for conscription of single men.
- 24 July 1942 HMCS St. Croix commanded by LCdr A. Hedley Dobson, DSC, RCNR sank the German submarine U-90 while on patrol in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- 29 July 1948 HMCS Royal Roads is transformed into a Canadian Service College and begins training flight cadets, as well as naval cadets.
- 29 July 1972 HMCS Iroquois, the first of the DDH 280 class destroyers, is commissioned.
- 31 July 1940 HMCS Prince Robert, after conversion from a merchant vessel, is commissioned as an armed merchant cruiser.
- 31 July 1942 HMCS Skeena commanded by A/LCdr Kenneth L. Dyer, RCN with HMCS Wetaskiwin commanded by LCdrf Guy S. Windeyer, RCN sank U-588 in the North Atlantic.
- 31 July 1942 The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS) is authorized.