NAC News – Edition 386
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of December 4th, 2020
Edition – 386 “A commander should have a profound understanding of human nature, the knack of smoothing out troubles, the power of winning affection while communicating energy, and the capacity for ruthless determination where required by circumstances. He needs to generate an electrifying current, and to keep a cool head in applying it.” B.H. Liddell Hart: Thoughts on War 1944
Rod Hughes – Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (comments welcome to help improve this service)
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NOTICES
- A NAC Christmas Present – An Undersea Adventure – is NAC’s Naval Affairs programme second children’s book. Now for sale – why not order an early Christmas present for your family or donate a copy to your local library. $10 ($12 including shipping). NAC donates $1 for every copy sold to your local MFRC. SPECIAL OFFER – Order “An Underwater Adventure” and “Mom’s in the Navy for the low price of $18 (includes shipping!). Just send an email to the NAC Executive Director, executivedirector-nac@outlook.com for this special offer. Note: we have a French version of “Mom’s…” in inventory and expect the French version of “Undersea” very soon! Same prices and same deal as for the English version!
- Mon, 7th Dec 2020 @ 7:00 PM EST – Naval Association of Canada (NAC), Ottawa Branch Distinguished Speaker “Virtual” Presentation (via GoToMeeting). Commodore (RCN) David Patchell, CD, Director General Naval Strategic Readiness will discuss the RCN’s strategic Human Resources planning efforts. This includes the requirement to transform the RCN over the next decade to ensure that it has full-time and part-time sailors with the right skills and experience to crew the Canadian Surface Combatants. Achieving this aim will require more effective recruiting, retention, occupation management and a culture of diversity and inclusion. Register at: https://nac-o.wildapricot.org/events
- Wednesday, 9 December 2020 – RUSI Nova Scotia extends an invitation to NAC members to hear a Zoom presentation 1PM AST Time on Wednesday, 9 December 2020 by Derek Moss, CCG, titled “Canadian Coast Guard Fleet Renewal”. There is no fee to attend but registration is required. To register, email RUSINovaScotia@gmail.com by close of business Sunday, 6 December. Register with subject line: RUSI(NS) Distinguished Speaker 9 December 2020 Registration. Include your name and your organization. Instructions will be emailed to registrants by end Monday, 7 December.
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CANADA
- Beloved Naval Centenarian (Editor – Lookout article on one of ours, Peter Chance)
- ★ Sustaining Strong, Secure and Engaged Funding: What the COVID-19 Pandemic Means for Defence Funding (Editor – first-rate article by Commodore (RCN) Jamie Clarke)
- Cutting edge radar system for new frigates never used on warships, must be adapted
- Top officials weighed Canadian warship’s passage through sensitive strait near China
- Operation CARIBBE during COVID-19
- CSC celebrates first Visualization Suite opening in Ottawa and the Irving Prime Contractor CSC web page
- HMCS Fredericton receives 2020 Admiral’s Cup
- Canadian defense minister talks fighter competition and geopolitics
- ★ A “New Look” at Cold War Maritime Defense—The Royal Canadian Navy’s Seaward Defence Report and the Threat of the Missile-Firing Submarine, 1955 (Editor – intriguing article concerning a recently declassified report)
- Senior military commander to lead Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution (Editor – CAF involvement) and Military help with vaccine rollout is a blessing and a curse, experts say
- Op-Ed: Artificial intelligence and the future of command & control (Editor – food for thought from one of our members, Paul Maddison from down under)
- Canada hosts naval exercise in Island waters
- A 100 year-old celebrates a life well lived on sea and shore (Editor – Peter Chance is a long time NAC member)
- CAF Story | Honoured Honourary – Paul Hindo of the Canadian Army (Editor – a great 3:37 video. The NAC should engage and leverage the abilities of the RCN’s HCapt(N), after all they were hand-picked by the RCN for their expertise, interest, and connections)
- Ship strikes ‘significant’ cause of death for southern resident killer whales, UBC study finds
- Canada recommits to protecting oceans, sustainable marine management
- Arsenal of Democracy North: Canadian Naval Shipbuilding of the Second World War
- CO HMCS Sackville Monthly Report – November 2020
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USA & AMERICAS
- USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Nov. 30, 2020
- As Supercarrier Ford Launches Largest-Ever Flight Ops, Leaders Try Out New Ways to Fight
- Meet the Navy pilot who’s landed on six classes of US aircraft carriers (Editor – hard earned experience indeed)
- SECNAV Announces the Return of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Focus Will be on Russian Threat
- U.S. Navy Decides to Scrap Fire-Damaged Amphib USS Bonhomme Richard
- The U.S. Navy’s Loss of Command of the Seas to China and How to Regain It
- Navy, Marines Will Need Recapitalized Sealift, Logistics Capabilities to Succeed in Pacific Operations
- ★ Report to Congress on Russian Military Intelligence
- Brazilian Navy NAM Atlântico A140 is now a multipurpose aircraft carrier
- Brazilian Navy’s Newest Submarine Riachuelo Conducts Its First Independent Dive
- PROSUB Milestone: Brazilian Navy Approves Basic Design of SN-BR Submarine
- Colombian Navy new Pohang-class missile corvette Almirante Tono arrived in Cartagena
- We Need a Backup for GPS. Actually, We Need Several of Them
- Video: U.S. Navy Tests Unconventional Drone Systems (Editor – two videos of 50 sec and 1:57 min respectively)
- United States agrees the sale of MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes to Brazil
- Kaney Receives Navy SBIR Award to Develop Sonobuoy Power Amplifier
- Proceedings Podcast Episode 195 – SECNAV Talks History (Editor – 34:43 mins and keeping with the theme) The Navy is Naming its Next New Frigate USS Congress
- The Beautiful Game: The Art of Ship Handling
- Fincantieri Reveals Plans for Major New Shipyard in Yucatan, Mexico
- Atos Launches New Speed Log For Navy Vessels And Merchant Fleets
- ★ CIMSEC: Evolution of the fleet: a closer look at the Chinese fishing vessels off the Galapagos
- Stranded ship cut open, revealing 4,000 cars inside
- Conception boat fire: Captain charged over 34 deaths in California
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INDO-PACIFIC
- Naval News Monthly Recap – November 2020 (Editor – 6:37 min video)
- Taiwan Is Building Eight New Submarines—They Alone Could Destroy A Chinese Invasion Fleet
- Beijing’s Line on the S. China Sea: “Nothing to See Here”
- U.S. Accuses China of Violating North Korea Sanctions; Observed Ships Busting Sanctions 550 Times
- Japan’s Mega-Size Missile-Defense Destroyers Could Be Some Of The Toughest Warships In Asia
- Academy grads to join Navy’s carrier fighter jet force
- U.S. Blacklists China’s CNOOC After Years of South China Sea Tension -Report
- Russia deploys advanced S-300 missiles to disputed islands near Japan
- China now claims Russian territory – eyes city of Vladivostok! Russia vs China is brewing? (Editor – I don’t know how much stock to put on the 10:31 min video)
- 1,900 Containers Lost or Damaged on ONE Boxship
- New hospital ship Nanyi-13 commissioned to Chinese Navy
- French Navy Chief In Japan As Rubis-Class SSN Pays Rare Visit To Guam
- Indian Navy Conducts Basin Trials of First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant
- Hunter class schedule under pressure
- RSV Nuyina Embarks on Sea Trials
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EUROPE
- Nagorno-Karabakh conflict killed 5,000 soldiers
- Royal Navy Task Force Trains With Italian Carrier Group
- Over 50 Russian Baltic Fleet ships hold anti-saboteur defense drills
- Russian Navy commissioned its new patrol vessel Pavel Derzhavin Project 22160
- ★ The Paradox Facing Navies Western Way of War (Editor – a thought-provoking RUSI 29:12 min podcast. Note the preamble about the lack of naval warfighting discourse)
- NATO naval forces participate in Flotex Silver 20 (Editor – HMCS Toronto)
- Royal Navy’s new Type 32 frigate to serve as a mothership for unmanned robots
- Russia’s aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is set for sea-trials in 2022, says source
- Uncrewed minehunters to replace conventional vessels
- WW2 mine blown up off Scottish coast (Editor – 39 sec video)
- German Navy to Field Laser Weapon Demonstrator
- Damen cuts first steel on Royal Netherlands navy’s combat support ship
- German Navy’s MKS 180 Frigate Program Renamed F126
- France Navy Receives Anti-Submarine Target Drones (Editor – useful piece of kit)
- Norway excavates a Viking longship fit for a king
- Nelson expert exposes pro-slavery letter as fake
- UK, France Sign Deal to Stop Illegal Migration Across Channel
- Norwegian Shipowner Sentenced to Prison for Demolition Sale
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MIDDLE EAST
- Mohsen Fakhrizadeh: Iran blames Israel for killing top scientist and Iran nuclear crisis: Law aims to boost enrichment and block inspectors
- Israeli Navy welcomes new generation of German-made warships
- USS Nimitz Deploys to Gulf
- Saudi naval force conducts mine countermeasures training with U.S. Navy and Royal Navy
- USS Winston S. Churchill Completes CMF Air Defence Exercise
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
- 2020 shaping up to be among warmest years on record says WMO (Editor – compelling 1:48 min video included)
- Many seafarers could quit the industry over mishandling of COVID-19 crew change crisis and UN adopts resolution on key worker status of seafarers
- Latest attack in GoG pushes kidnapping tally to 122 seafarers and Greek tanker attacked, 4 crew including Russian kidnapped, Gulf of Guinea and Failed Gulf of Guinea attacks
- Booming Offshore Wind Market Faces Shortage of Installation Vessels
- Clarksons: 27% of the order book to run on alternative fuels
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SCUTTLEBUTT
- Coronel 1914: Britain’s First Naval Defeat in 100 years and Falklands 1914: Von Spee’s Last Stand then Remembrance Special – The Pursuit of the Light Cruisers (Editor – a trilogy with Coronel 1 Nov and the Falklands 8 Dec in these videos correspondingly of 15:50, 14:39, and 12:35 mins explain bravery, ineptitude, and destruction)
- Germany’s Secret U-Boats 1918 – 1935 (a twisting plot and intriguing details in this audio only 14:58 min summary)
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SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – DECEMBER
(If you see any omissions or errors please inform me, and more modern significant dates are also welcome. 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 website, the encyclopedic guidance of NAC member and author Fraser McKee, and anywhere else I can find credible information.)
- 1 December 1948 HMCS Shearwater, RCN Air Station, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is commissioned.
- 2 December 1946 HMCS Middlesex goes aground on Shut-in Island near Halifax and becomes a total loss.
- 2 December 1968 The Canadian submarine HMCS Rainbow is commissioned; purchased from the United States, it was originally the USS Argonaut launched in 1944.
- 3 December 1969 As the aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure is decommissioned, the aviation fuel tanks are emptied and cleaned, but on of the tanks does not vent properly; two sailors are overcome by the fumes and another two lose their lives during the rescue attempt.
- 4 December 1940 HMCS Prince Henry is commissioned as an Armed Merchant Cruiser.
- 4-6 Dec 1950 A United Nations task force under Captain J.V. Brock, RCN, in HMCS Cayuga, and consisting of HMC Ships Athabaskan and Sioux, His Majesty’s Australian Ships Warramunga and Bataan, the USS Forest Royal, covered the seaborne withdrawal of civilians and elements of the 8th Army (US) threatened by enemy advances in the Chinnampo area, Korea.
- 5 December 1950 HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Cayuga bombard the port of Chinnampo, Korea (04-05 Apr).
- 6 December 1917 Halifax Explosion. A huge explosion in Halifax harbour destroys the naval facilities and much of the city.
- 7 December 1941 Canada declares war on Romania, Hungary, Finland, and Japan.
- 7 December 1941 HMCS Windflower is lost and 23 of her crew perish after a collision with a Dutch freighter SS Zypenburg on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
- 8 December 1918 The Royal Canadian Naval Air Service is discontinued and the cadets being trained are demobilized.
- 10 December 1939 The first Canadian troop convoy of 7,400 soldiers sails for Britain escorted out of Halifax by HMC ships Ottawa, Restigouche, Fraser and St. Laurent.
- 12 December 1969 RCN retires aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure after 12 years of service; “Bonnie” never saw combat, but was scrambled during the October Missile Crisis; later sold for scrap. Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 13 December 1940 HMCS Royal Roads is commissioned as a training establishment for Probationary Sub-Lieutenants.
- 14 December 1915 Flight Sub-Lieutenant A.S. Ince, RNAS while flying as observer in a Viewpoint aircraft shot down in flames a German two-seater. The victory, the first confirmed success credited to a Canadian airman, won for Ince the DSC, the first decoration awarded a Canadian in the RNAS.
- 17 December 1944 HMCS MONTREAL (frigate) rescues survivors of U-Boat 1209 wrecked on Wolf Rock southwest of Land’s End.
- 19 December 1945 The Government of Canada approves in principle the formation of a naval air branch.
- 20 December 1941 HMCS Adversus, ex-RCMP patrol ship, while on patrol was lost at sea when caught in a blizzard and run aground on McNutts Island near Shelburne, NS. All 16 crew survive.
- 20 December 1943 HMCS Prince David is re-commissioned as a Landing Ship Infantry (Medium).
- 24 December 1944 HMCS Clayoquot is torpedoed by a U806 and sinks while taking station on convoy XB.139, in the approaches to Halifax harbour. Eight of her crew were lost.
- 26 December 1954 HMCS ships HURON and IROQUOIS leave Korea for their home base in Halifax.
- 27 December 1942 HMC Ships St. Laurent commanded by LCdr Guy S. Windeyer, RCN, with HMCS Chilliwack, commanded by LCdr Clifton P. Coughlin, RCNVR, with HMCS Battleford commanded by Lt F.A. Beck, RCNVR, and HMCS Napanee commanded by Lt L.S. Henderson, RCNVR and other escorts in a melee sank the German submarine U-356 in the mid-Atlantic.
- 27 December 1944 HMCS St. Thomas commanded by LCdr Leslie P. Denny, RCNR in company with HMCS Sea Cliff commanded by LCdr J.E. Harrington, RCNVR directed St. Thomas onto her ASDIC contact and sank the German submarine U-877 in the North Atlantic.
- 28 December 1940 HMCS Prince David is commissioned as an Armed Merchant Cruiser.
- 29 December 1837: Canadian ‘volunteers’ under Captain Andrew Drew (ex-RN) cross upper Niagara River, seize supply schooner Caroline, supporting W.L. Mackenzie’s rebellious force on American Navy Island above the Falls. 1 US citizen killed, the ship is cut loose, strands on rocks above the Falls, breaks up and goes over. Canadians row home.
- 31 December 1990 The crew of HMCS Preserver flies to the Persian Gulf to relieve HMCS Protecteur’s crew.
- 31 December 1992 New Canadian military honours are created: The Victoria Cross, Star of Military Valour, Medal of Military Valour and Mention in Dispatches.