NAC News - Edition 477 - Naval Association of Canada

NAC News – Edition 477

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of September 2nd, 2022

Edition: 477 “There is something about the contact between boat and water that I find very natural and very comforting. After all, we emerged from the sea and as President Kennedy once said, ‘we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea…we are going back to whence we came’.” Erebus, Pg xii, Michael Palin, 2019.

Rod Hughes – Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (Comments welcome to help improve this service.)

Links to keep in touch with the NAC and RCN can be found at the bottom of this email. Contact David Soule executivedirector-nac@outlook.com if you wish someone to be added to the NAC News email distribution. (Influencer or good candidates to become a NAC member, and note the first year’s NAC & Branch membership dues are waived)

NOTICES

12 Sep 2022 19:00 (Ottawa time) The Naval Association of Canada – Ottawa Branch is pleased to announce the September Speaker’s Evening. “Reflections on Canada’s
‘Citizen Navy’ at 100”, HMCS Carlton’s CO, Cdr Chris Knowlton, will provide an overview of the activities being planned to honour this achievement across the country -and at HMCS Carlton, including a timely brief on the revitalization project of the National Naval Reserve Monument located at Dow’s Lake in Ottawa.

1-2 November Vanguard’s 2022 Deep Blue Forum – The Canadian Patrol Submarine Project: 2030 Options for Canada. National Arts Centre, Ottawa, ON. Reception 1 November 17.30 – 20.00 (Ottawa time) at the National Arts Centre 1 Elgin Street. Details for attending.

14-16 November 2022 Registration for Maritime Security Challenges 2022 in Victoria BC is open! The past two years have seen an explosion of major events and trends that are shaking the world: a once-in-a-century-pandemic; a land war in Europe; international energy and food crises; the rise of authoritarian political movements and governments; more dramatic weather; and decades-high inflation. Many of these issues are playing out at sea, as shipping costs soar, navies modernize to protect their national maritime claims, and state rivalries flourish in the maritime domain.

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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

NATO chief warns Canada that Russia, China have designs on the Arctic

CDR feature interview: Vice-Admiral A.I. Topshee, Commander of the RCN

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CANADA

HMCS Vancouver tests electronic warfare capabilities during RIMPAC / Le NCSM Vancouver teste ses capacités de guerre électronique pendant le RIMPAC and RCN achieves electronic warfare milestone at RIMPAC 2022

Canadian divers retrieve bomber engine during RIMPAC 22

Sonar Operator MS Jessica Silva reaches 1,000 hours of aircraft control time

Promotion onboard HMCS Margaret Brooke / Une promotion à bord du NCSM Margaret Brooke

Canada Games flag sails into Port of Charlottetown aboard HMCS Oriole

Canadian Coast Guard welcomes the CCGS Capt Jacques Cartier into service and CCG webpage

Remembering the first Canadian to die in the Second World War

Shipbuilding delays force Ottawa to spend $187M to extend lease on navy supply ship

Replacing Canada’s Victoria Class Submarines

Comparison of Royal Canadian Navy Watchstanding Schedules (Editor – an interesting research paper – I wonder what happened)

‘I kept it a secret’: Former naval officer speaks out about sexual abuse and addiction

Statement by the Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force

Canadian Coast Guard College unveils new state-of-the-art training engine

New ship, old problem: Cost of Canadian Coast Guard ship refit jumps by 500K

Grain Is Gushing Out Of The Great Lakes This Year

Dispute in B.C. reveals cracks in Canada’s shipbreaking regulations

Association delivers PSHCP deal that prioritizes pensioners’ demands

Lookout Volume 67, Issue 34, August 29, 2022

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USA & AMERICAS

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Aug. 29, 2022

HII Lays Keel of Future USS Enterprise (CVN 80) Aircraft Carrier

Fincantieri Begins Construction of First Constellation-class Frigate

Navy Names Submarine Force’s First Female ‘Chief of the Boat’

Latest Military Sexual Assault Report Shows ‘Tragic’ Rise in Cases, Pentagon Officials Say

Great Power Conversations: The Need for Training on the Russia and China Threat

Brazililian Navy commissions Riachuelo-class submarine Riachuelo

Report on Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles

Pearl Harbor tests new workflow to boost timely submarine repair

UPDATED: HII Wins $42M Award for Lyndon B. Johnson Combat System Activation

Navy addresses chain of command for surface ship fires

Interlake Steamship Christens First New US-flagged Laker in Nearly 40 Years

Photos: Battleship USS Texas Transits to Galveston for Drydocking

Chief Engineer Sentenced to Prison for Oily Waste Discharge

China Defense Firm Ships Venezuelan Oil

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INDO-PACIFIC

First steel block constructed for Hunter Class program

Taiwan: Two US warships sail through strait and the rhetoric continues to ramp up US’ old warships sailing through Taiwan Straits can’t deter PLA at all, only confirms US’ hostility toward China’s reunification plus China Criticizes U.S. Navy Taiwan Strait Transits, F-35B ‘Lightning Carrier’ USS Tripoli Now in South China Sea

USS Tripoli Arrives in Singapore as Chinese Warships Continue to Operate Near Japan

and Russia and China to hold naval drills in Sea of Japan

Tokyo’s militaristic tendency raises regional tensions and alarm as anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression approaches

Royal Canadian Navy’s warship Winnipeg returns to Malaysia

Biden administration to ask Congress to approve $1.1B arms sale to Taiwan

Indonesia getting ‘gray-zoned’ by China

China Moves To Erase Taiwan Strait Line

Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya successfully launches Barak 1 missile

Australia almost no chance to buy any submarine from current US building program, experts say

Indian Navy’s new ensign unveiled: how it looks, what it means

Will AI steal submarines’ stealth?

Policy, Guns and Money: Palmer Luckey brings tech disruption to defence (Editor – ASPI insightful and profound ideas to ponder in a 21:17 min podcast)

CVX Reportedly Left Out Of South Korea’s 2023 Defense Budget

PH Navy still harbors submarine dreams

Solomon Islands halts naval visits after US, UK ships denied entry

China, India Spar Over Controversial Ship’s Call in Sri Lanka

Indonesian tall ship celebration from 53-metre mast wows locals on first visit to Australia

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EUROPE

Ukraine:

Ukraine offensive aims at Russia’s naval vulnerabilities (Editor – from Twitter: “Reasons why Russia’s invasion hasn’t gone according to plan: 1. Ukrainians”

The World Putin Wants – How Distortions About the Past Feed Delusions About the Future

Lukoil Chairman Dies after Falling from Hospital Window, Reuters Reports (Editor – sorry, I just couldn’t resist…fell out a window?!)

Russia sanctions: Can the world cope without its oil and gas?

Russia blocks nuclear treaty agreement over Ukraine reference

Loaded with military propaganda, warship setting sail on Arctic voyage

Royal Navy Equips Ukraine With Underwater Minehunting Drones

Russian S-300 Missile System Slips through Bosporus towards War in Ukraine

Ukrainian Sailors Allowed To Leave Country To Help Crew Grain Ships and Ukraine grain deal: Where are the ships going? plus Black Sea Grain Corridor Moves 1.5M Tonnes of Food in its First Month but then Russia Shells Grain Silos at Ukraine’s Second Biggest Port plus Ship Carrying Ukrainian Corn Grounds in Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait

General:

George H.W. Bush CSG Relieves Harry S. Truman CSG in U.S. 6th Fleet

USS Truman departs Mediterranean after eventful Europe deployment

Royal Navy Commissions 5th Astute-Class Submarine “HMS Anson”

Defence Forces monitoring Russian warships acting unusually off Irish south coast

UK’s biggest warship, HMS Prince of Wales, breaks down off south coast shortly after setting sail for US more details UK Carrier HMS Prince Of Wales Hits Bottom En Route To America and HMS Prince of Wales to be dry-docked while HMS Queen Elizabeth takes on some of her tasking

NATO Conducts Historical Ordnance Disposal Operations Off French Coast (Editor – note RCN participation)

Denmark to strengthen the Royal Danish Navy

Paper charts scrapped for Royal Navy after 225 years

Bulker Grounded off Gibraltar Breaks Raising Threat of Major Oil Leak then Gibraltar Races to Remove Oil From Bulker

Construction of second Arctic floating nuclear power plant started and Russia must shift towards the East, says Minister of the Arctic

World’s First and Only 8K Footage of the Titanic Reveals New Details (Editor – 1 min video included)

Rhine Water Level Set To Fall Again At Key German Chokepoint

Turkey Refuses Entry to Decommissioned Carrier Over Asbestos Concerns

Storm Ends The Calmest North Atlantic Summer Since World War II

Clean Arctic Alliance calls for ‘rapid’ creation of Arctic green shipping corridors

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MIDDLE EAST

VIDEO: Navy Blocks Iranian Attempt to Steal U.S. Surface Drone in Persian Gulf (Editor – cheeky, a 2:19 min video included)

Grounded Tanker Blocks Suez Canal for Hours

Saudi Arabia seizes record 46 million amphetamine pills hidden in flour

U.S. Ship Seizes Illegal Narcotics in Gulf of Oman

Italian Navy ITN Thaon Di Revel PPA Joins EMASoH

Iraq, Kuwait and U.S. Conduct Joint Patrol in Arabian Gulf

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GLOBAL INTERESTS

Greenland’s Ice Sheet is “Committed” to 10 Inches of Sea Level Rise

Future Algerian Navy’s Type 056 corvette begins its sea trials

Preventing Risk of Battery Fires in Shipping

Inmarsat: Data Usage Triples as Shipping Seeks Increased Connectivity

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SCUTTLEBUTT

China’s Type 094A SSBN Sub Brief (Editor – 34:52 min video. The commentators comment at the end are interesting and speaks to many subjects these days)

HMS Victory: Total Guide to a Napoleonic Warship (Editor – great 27:53 min video)

The Mariner’s Mirror: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner I: The Reading (Editor – 38 min video) and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner II: The Lessons From The Past (Editor – 40 min video)

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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

4 September 1990 Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announces formation of Operation Scimitar, to provide air cover for the two destroyers and the supply ship sent to the Persian Gulf in late August of 1991 as part of Operation Friction, tasked with enforcing the United Nations trade blockade against Iraq.

5 September 1814 Lt (RN) Miller Worsley, flying captured American colours in the USS Tigress, takes the USS Scorpion at anchor after fierce hand-to-hand fighting; he then sails both ships west to Fort Michilimackinac.

5 September 1918 The Royal Canadian Naval Air Service (RCNAS) is authorized and begins operations in Nova Scotia. Recruiting began on 8 August 1918 for the RCNAS, before it was formally authorized on 5 September. Its strength was set at 500 officers and men; more than 600 applications were soon received. Lieutenant-Colonel J.T. Cull, a British RAF officer (formerly of the Royal Naval Air Service), was appointed director. Eighty-one recruits eventually joined, and some were sent to the US and Britain for training. The war ended before they could see active service.

5 September 1942 On 1 July 1942, the ore carrier SS Saganaga was “transferred … sublet [by UK government] … to DOSCO [Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation] for Canadian Coastal trade incl. Newfoundland”. On 29 August they arrived at Wabana (near the DOSCO iron mines on Bell Island in Conception Bay, Newfoundland), to load her second cargo of iron ore to be delivered to the DOSCO steel refinery in Sydney NS. A submerged U-boat was stalking the ships at anchor. The U-boat log records that at 16.02 (GMT+2 (11:02 local) on 5 September, the submerged U–513 (Rolf Rüggeberg) fired two torpedoes “on the innermost freighter, at anchor” (the fully loaded Saganaga). Both torpedoes failed to explode. About 10 minutes later two more torpedoes were fired which “hit forward 30 meters and aft 20 meters. Sinking heard after 3 minutes.” Twenty-seven crew members and three gunners were lost. The master, ten crew members and three gunners were rescued by a Customs launch and landed at Lance Cove, Bell Island.

5 September 1942 – Since May 1940, the ore carrier SS Lord Strathcona (Dominion Shipping Company, Montreal) had transported 48 loads of iron ore from Wabana (near the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO) iron mines on Bell Island in Conception Bay, Newfoundland), to the DOSCO steel refinery in Sydney NS. The fully loaded Lord Strathcona was the second ore carrier to be sunk by the submerged U-513 (Rolf Rüggeberg) on 5 September 1942. At 16:46 (GMT+2) (11:46 local), she was laying at anchor off Wabana (47°35’N 52°59’W) when two torpedoes were fired into the ship. The U-boat log recorded “Hit forward 40 meters, aft 30 meters. Sinking after 1-1/2 minute”. The master and crew were rescued by a customs launch and were landed at Lance Cove, Bell Island.

5 September 1944 – The freighter SS Livingston (Bowater´s Newfoundland Pulp & Paper Mills Ltd, Corner Brook) was sailing independently from Halifax to St. John’s Newfoundland with a general cargo. At 08:46 on 3 September 1944, she was torpedoed and sunk by U-541 (Kurt Petersen) about 75 nm SW of St Pierre and Miquelon. Thirteen crew members and one gunner were casualties. The master, twelve crew members and one gunner were picked up by HMCS Barrie and were landed at St. John’s.

6 September 1910 In July 1910 the Director of the Naval Service went to England to attend the trails of the two cruisers and to take them over from the Admiralty. Before they were transferred several alterations were carried out, to make them more suitable as training ships. The Niobe was commissioned in the Canadian Service at Devonport on September 6, 1910, with Cdr. W.B. Macdonald, R.N., a native of British Columbia, as her Captain, and on the occasion a silk ensign was presented to the ship on behalf of the Queen.

6 September 1940 HMS Duchess arrives in Halifax harbour, bringing the members of the Tizard Mission and a black metal box containing, amongst other things, six examples of the cavity magnetron. This would later be described as “the most important cargo to reach our (i.e. North American) shores”.

6 September 1940 The USN destroyers USS Aaron Ward (DD-132), USS Buchanan (DD-131), USS Crowninshield (DD-134), USS Hale (DD-133), USS Abel P. Upshur (DD-193), USS Welborn C. Wood (DD-195), USS Herndon (DD-198) and USS Welles (DD-257) arrive at Halifax, Nova Scotia. These are the first of the “flushdeck” destroyers to be transferred under the “Destroyers-For-Bases” deal. Contrary to popular opinion, none of the eight ships to be transferred were taken directly from reserve status and handed over to the RN. All eight ships had been recommissioned at least during 1939 and all had been engaged in operations on the neutrality patrols. Two ships were recommissioned considerably earlier and had served for extended periods with both the US Atlantic and Pacific Fleets: Crowninshield (1930) and Buchanan (1934). All eight destroyers were decommissioned from the USN on 09 Sep and commissioned into the RN on the same day. USS Crowninshield was commissioned as HMS Chelsea (I35). She reached Devonport, England, on 28 Sep 1940 and was assigned to the Sixth Escort Group, Western Approaches Command, for local escort duty. In Nov 42, Chelsea became one of eight ‘flushdeckers’ lent to the RCN. She served with Canadian forces until the Dec 43, operated with both the Mid-Ocean Escort Force and Western Escort Forces. Chelsea returned to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on 26 Dec 43 and, in early 44, was reduced to reserve status in the Tyne estuary. On 16 Jul 44, she was transferred to Russia and renamed Derskni.

6 September 1942 – The schooner SV Helen Forsey (William Forsey Ltd, Lunenburg NS) had departed Barbados on 28 August with a cargo of molasses and rum, and she was bound for St. John’s Newfoundland via Bermuda, On 6 September she was about 395 nm NSE of Bermuda, when she was sunk by U-514 (Hans-Jürgen Auffermann). Two crew members were casualties. The master and three crew members abandoned ship to a lifeboat and sailed it to Bermuda, arriving on 18 September.

6 September 1942 – On 3 September 1942, the Great Lakes freighter SS John A. Holloway (Upper Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co Ltd, Toronto) departed Guantanamo, Cuba in convoy GAT-2 (29 ships) and was southbound for Trinidad. At 22:27 on 6 September and about 310 nm NW of Trinidad (14°10’N 71°30’W), the freighter was sunk by U-164 (Otto Fechner). One crew member was a casualty. The master and twenty-two crew members sailed their lifeboats to Santa Marta, Colombia, landing on 12 September.

7 September 1816 Steamship Frontenac launched at Bath, west of Kingston; first steam powered vessel on the Great Lakes.

7 September 1942 HMCS Raccoon, an armed yacht was torpedoed and sunk by U 165, while escorting convoy QS-33 in the St. Lawrence River. 37 perished, there were no survivors.

7 September 1942 – The Great Lakes freighter SS Oakton (Gulf and Lake Navigation Co., Montreal) departed Father Point (Rimouski) on 6 September 1924 in convoy QS-33. The convoy of 8 ships, with RCN escorts (two corvettes, two Fairmile patrol boats and the armed yacht Raccoon), was bound for Sydney NS. At 23:00 (GMT+2) on 7 September, and about 15 nm NE of Cape Gaspé (48°50’N 63°46’W), the waiting U-517 (Paul Hartwig) fired a spread of three torpedoes into the convoy. The SS Oakton and two Greek ships (SS Mount Pindus and SS Mount Taygetus) were torpedoed and sunk. The Oakton master and 19 crew members abandoned ship in lifeboats, were picked up by HMCS Q-083 (a Fairmile) and landed at Gaspé. In the same action against convoy QS-33, the Greek SS Aeas and HMCS Raccoon were sunk by U-165 (Eberhard Hoffmann).

7 September 1943 HMS Nabob (an aircraft carrier) is commissioned into the Royal Navy with a Canadian crew and a Royal Air Force complement.

7 September 1955 HMCS Sioux sails home from the U.S. naval base at Yokosuka, Japan, ending the Royal Canadian Navy’s involvement in the Korean War.

8 September 1939 Mackenzie King says no to conscription; stresses munitions-making, and building up RCN and RCAF.

9 September 1919 Alexander Graham Bell sees his HD-4 hydrofoil, powered by twin aircraft engines, reach a new world water speed record of 122 kph; piloted by J.A.D. McCurdy at Baddeck, Nova Scotia.

9 September 1942 War Cabinet closes the St. Lawrence River to all Allied shipping except coasters; due to German U-Boat submarine dangers.

9 September 1944 HMCS Dunver commanded by A/LCdr William Davenport, RCNR, and HMCS Hespeler commanded by LCdr Neville S.C. Dickinson, RCNVR sank the German submarine U-484 in Hebridean waters.

9 September 2002 HMCS Montreal joins the Naval Task Group, part of the international antiterrorism campaign in the Persian Gulf.

10 September 1813 US Captain Oliver Perry defeated six British warships at the Battle of Lake Erie. During this battle Lt Frédérick Rolette was the First Lieutenant (second in command) of the British schooner Lady Prevost. When the captain was mortally wounded, he assumed command and fought the ship “with great skill and gallantry” until he himself was severely wounded, burned by an explosion and the ship was a broken unmanageable and sinking wreck. Lt Rolette served with great distinction throughout the War of 1812. Significantly, just before the outbreak of the War of 1812, Lt Rolette was posted to Amherstburg, Ont., and he was in charge of the brig General Hunter. When word of the outbreak of war reached Amherstburg on July 3, 1812, Lt Rolette acted immediately, capturing an American vessel, the Cuyahoga, before the American crew became aware that their country had declared war on Britain. This was the first action of the War of 1812 and a significant prize, because on board the Cuyahoga were American commander General William Hull’s papers and dispatches, providing the British with a great deal of intelligence on American strengths and deployment. The Harry DeWolf Class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel HMCS Frédérick Rolette is named in his honour.

10 September 1814 The Kingston Ontario naval dockyard launched the 112 gun HMS St. Lawrence, carrying more armament then Admiral Nelson’s HMS Victory. The Naval Dockyard was on the grounds of what is now the Royal Military College, with the current Stone Frigate originally being the naval stores building. At the time she was the largest warship to sail the Great Lakes and she was the only Royal Navy ship of the line ever to be launched and operated entirely in fresh water. The construction of a first-rate ship of the line, in a campaign that had been dominated by sloops and frigates, gave the British uncontested control of the lakes during the final months of the war. HMS St Lawrence never saw action, because her presence on the lake once battle-ready deterred the U.S. fleet from setting sail. The naval actions and building programmes in the Great Lakes lead to The Rush–Bagot Treaty or Rush–Bagot Disarmament treaty between the United States and Great Britain limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, following the War of 1812. Vessels would be limited to one vessel on Lake Champlain, one vessel on Lake Ontario, and two vessels on the upper lakes. None of the vessels was to exceed 100 tons and its armament was not to be more than 18-pounder gun. It was ratified by the United States 16 April 1818, and was confirmed by Canada, following Confederation in 1867.

10 September 1939 Canada declares war on Germany. It was the first time in our history that Canada had issued a formal Declaration of War in her own right. On the 11th and 12th parliament adopted a special War Appropriation Bill and other bills arising out of the Declaration of War.

10 September 1941 HMCS Chambly commanded by CDR James D. Prentice, RCN, and HMCS Moose Jaw commanded by LT Frederick E. Grubb, RCN sank the German submarine U-501 off the coast of Greenland. This is the first U-boat kill made by the Royal Canadian Navy. During the war the RCN sank, or shared in the destruction, of 31 enemy submarines. For its part, the RCN lost 14 warships to U-boat attacks and another eight ships to collisions and other accidents in the north Atlantic.

SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – 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”, The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History Vol 1-3, NAC member Roger Litwiller’s excellent web site, encyclopedic guidance from NAC member Fraser McKee, the Uboat.net site, and anywhere else I can find credible information. For the merchant ship history, a special thanks to NAC member Bill Dziadyk for his able assistance and detailed work. The RCN lost 1,965 men and 24 ships during the War, most of them in the Atlantic. A comprehensive list of the staggering merchant losses – sunk, damaged, or lost – Canadian Merchant Ship Losses of the Second World War, 1939-1945 by Rob Fisher {Revised June 2001}, and for the loss of individual personnel RCN Ship Histories, Convoy Escort Movements, Casualty Lists 1939-1947)