NAC News - Edition 509 - Naval Association of Canada

NAC News – Edition 509

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of April 14th, 2023

Edition: 509 Quote: “My first impression was how much greater the distances were than they appeared on the map. What looked to be an intricate, almost cozy lacework of islands and narrow channels was, in realty, an enormous area of wide seas and massive treeless plateaux. Lancaster Sound is more than 60 miles wide at its eastern end, and never less that 40n miles of water lie between the island on either side of it. Devon Island, to the north, is the largest uninhabited island on the planet, a tundra-covered land mass the size of Iowa. To the south is Baffin Island, the fifth-largest island in the world, twice the size of Great Britain.” Erebus, Pg 187, 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 Kevin Goheen 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)

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NOTICES

Call for former Naval Reservists to participate in the stand up of an all ranks Naval Reserve Association. The UNTD seeks to serve as the foundation for its creation by ‘recommissioning’ itself in this wider context, including all serving and former naval reserve members, for the collegial interaction of the entire naval reserve community to: “Connect, Collaborate, Commemorate, and Celebrate” their collective experiences of Canada’s naval reserve. All current members are eligible to either self-nominate or nominate fellow members to run for election at the May AGM by completing and submitting the e-form at https://forms.office.com/r/sNWh42ebxX by Sunday, April 16, 2023. (Note that you do not need to be in attendance for the election at the AGM in Victoria).

18-20 April 2023 MARTECH Conference: Evolution Through Technology and Talent, Vancouver BC.

3 May NAC and the RCN will mount a Battle of the Atlantic Gala Dinner. As in the past, it will be a memorable evening held at the Canadian War Museum. The evening will commemorate the contributions of the members of the RCN, RCAF, and Canada’s Merchant Navy who served in the Battle of the Atlantic, as well as naval veterans of the Korean War. This year we will also celebrate the Naval Reserve Centennial. Detailed information on the event and the menu options is available at 2023 Battle of the Atlantic Gala. Registration can be completed from that page. Should you need assistance with the registration or have further questions, please contact us at NACcoordinator@outlook.com.

NEW 17 May 2023 ABCMI Innovation Day at Vancouver, BC 09:00 – 16:30 local in the Vancouver Convention Centre West, 1055 Canada Pl. ABCMI Members – $135 plus GST, Non Members – $225 plus GST, Lunch and health breaks are incl. Innovation Day tickets. ABCMI is also hosting an evening Networking Reception on the evening of 16 May, 5:00-6:00 PM at the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel. Join them for appetizers, a no-host bar and plenty of great conversations. Tickets for reception.

NEW The Canadian Naval Review is holding its annual essay competition again in 2023. There will be a prize of $1,000 provided by the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust, for the best essay. The winning essay will be published in CNR. (Other non-winning essays will also be considered for publication, subject to editorial review.) For complete rules and guidelines, go to: https://www.navalreview.ca/submissions/#Essay-Competition If you have any questions about a particular topic, contact: cnrcoord@icloud.com Submissions to the 2023 contest must be submitted to cnrcoord@icloud.com by May 30, 2023. Brochure in both French and English is available on line.

2 November 2023 Mark your calendars, the Deep Blue Forum 2023. Venue – The Westin Ottawa, 11 Colonel By Drive.

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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

NAC Starshell Winter 2023 Edition Issue 97 (Editor – packed with useful articles, BZ to the Editorial Board and extended team)

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CANADA

Canada Deploys CP-140 Aurora Aircraft to Japan to Support Implementation of Sanctions Against North Korea and Japan Updates Canadian Participation on DPRK Patrol

Mountain Memories: Honouring outstanding women of the Canadian Naval Reserve

Seaspan Shipyards marks $2 billion in supplier contracts under national shipbuilding program

How Do We Honour Military Children

Editor – A noteworthy documentary/interview series that I was unaware of:

Navy chat with Rear-Admiral Angus Topshee, Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific | Go Bold S1 Ep1 (Editor – 29:22 min video)

Being a Firefighter with the Department of National Defence in Canada | Go Bold S1 Ep2 (Editor – 34:38 min video)

Working on a Royal Canadian Navy submarine – Part 1 | Go Bold S1 Ep3 (Editor – 35:52 min video)

Working on a Royal Canadian Navy submarine – Part 2 | Go Bold S1 Ep4 (Editor – 33:59 min video)

Fleet Diving Unit Pacific – Part 1 | Go Bold S1 Ep5 (Editor – 33:34 min video)

How local businesses are prepping for Victoria’s busiest tourist season ever (Editor – 320 ships, estimated 850,000 travellers)

Get a 1st look at the new Marine Atlantic ferry — at a shipyard in China

Vancouver’s ship killer

Lookout: Volume 68, Issue 14, April 11, 2023

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USA & AMERICAS

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: April 10, 2023

U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Mexican Navy and Royal Canadian Navy participate in North American Maritime Security Initiative

MQ-25A Stingray IOC Pushed to 2026 Following Manufacturing Delays

Sea Air Space 2023: Insitu, BAE Systems, NASSCO, Sparton, Aerovironment

U.S. Maritime Industry Needs Better Business Case to Offer More Support to DoD, Says Panel (Editor – familiar situation!) and ditto U.S. Not Ready to Quickly Produce and Ship Weapon Systems, Panel Says

First Constellation-Class Frigate Set for August Keel Laying and No Timeline Yet to Add Tomahawk, SM-6 to Constellation Frigates, Says Program Manager (Editor – just a SMALL addition!)

SAIC Expands Support for US Navy MK 48 Mod 7 Torpedo Program

US Navy aims to field manned-unmanned fleet within 10 years

Interview: MCPON Honea Talks Taking Care of Sailors, Families

CIMSEC: Why the US is losing the race for the Arctic and what to do about it

Bollinger to Complete Berthing Barge Series for U.S. Navy

Report to Congress on Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter

CIMSEC: Fighting DMO, Pt. 6: naval platform advantages and combined arms roles

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INDO-PACIFIC

Chinese military rehearses encirclement of Taiwan and China-Taiwan: Aircraft carrier ‘seals off’ island on third day of drills and Shandong aircraft carrier group hosts J-15 fighter sorties on final day of PLA drills encircling Taiwan island, forming blockade

U.S. Navy Dispatches Destroyer to S. China Sea Amidst Chinese Drills

Japan Awards $2.8B in Contracts for New Standoff Weapons

France Navy’s Floreal class frigate Prairial transits Taiwan Strait

Compromises necessary for Code of Conduct in S China Sea

China to Ban Vessels from Area Near Taiwan Over Rocket Debris

India, Canada, Japan, Korea and the US Complete Multilateral Guam-based Exercise Sea Dragon 2023

Nimitz CSG, Makin Island ARG Conclude Drills with Japan, Korea; Japanese Forces Search for Downed Helo

Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft Starts Trial Flights in Fiji

Italian Navy PPA Starts Asia Pacific Deployment

Australia’s nuclear submarines – costs and timelines

Australia Confirms Undersea Support Vessel Procurement

China’s Overseas Ports Acquisition Program

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EUROPE

Ukraine:

Ukraine’s River Fleet — The Dauntless American Sea Ark and the Gyurza Warships in Action (Editor -= 4:22 min video)

CSIS podcast: The Truth of the Matter: Russian Deaths in Ukraine (Editor – not a maritime article but pertinent to the war in a 20:04 min video)

Canada spending $59M on assault rifles, machine guns for Ukraine

Russia’s Flagship Oil Is Moving Ever Closer to $60-a-Barrel Price Cap

Russia Says Black Sea Grain Deal May Be Nearly Over

General:

Carrier USS George H.W. Bush Leaves Mediterranean Sea After 230 Days

Has the Russian submarine threat been diminished by the Ukraine war?

Norway expels 15 intelligence officers at Russian Embassy

Turkey Launches First Amphibious Assault Ship and Turkey’s New UCAV Mothership (Editor – 9:25 min video)

Europe migrant crisis: Italian state of emergency to tackle migrant boats

Sweden Believes Nord Stream Attack Was Carried Out by a Nation-State

What’s the significance of Finland joining NATO? (Editor – not naval but important in a 3:43 min video)

UK’s Hunter-killer submarine completes Mediterranean mission

Thales delivers milestone for UK’s Type 31 frigates with successful radar test

Royal Navy ‘to have more frigates and destroyers’

Albania joins NATO naval patrols

Finland Navy’s MCMV MHC Purunpaa conducts first train with NATO

Romania wants new submarines and mine countermeasure vessels amid Ukraine invasion

Dutch Navy’s Nieuwe Haven naval base to be expanded

Russia’s Accident-Prone Aircraft Carrier Has No Crew

Container Shipping Still a Top Earner for Billionaires

CMA CGM Orders 16 Large Containerships at China State Shipbuilding -Reports

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MIDDLE EAST

Navy Announces USS Florida Guided-Missile Submarine Deployment to Middle East (Editor – one of the four SSGN’s with each having 154 BGM-109 land attack tomahawk missiles aboard!)

U.S., France, UK Complete Counter-Mine Exercise in Arabian Gulf

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GLOBAL INTERESTS

Safer as She Goes

Portuguese submarine Arpão sets off for longest mission to date

25 People Die as Migrant Boat Sinks Off Sfax, Tunisia

Ongoing Incident: Pirates Board Another Tanker off Cote d’Ivoire

Search Continues for Hijacked Tanker Missing in Gulf of Guinea and New Details on Ongoing Gulf of Guinea Pirate Attack

African Maritime Forces Summit discuss strategies to tackle sea crime

EEC: Sustainable shipbreaking an untapped area ripe for disruption

Stolt Tankers Applies New Ultra-Slick Prop Coating to its Full Fleet (Editor – winner)

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SCUTTLEBUTT

USNI Proceedings Podcast: Remembering the USS Thresher (Editor – 41:26 min podcast)

The Tiny Hunter of Soviet Nuclear Submarines (Editor – amazing detail in a 10:24 min video)

How Allied Air Power Won The Battle Of The Atlantic | Air Wars | War Stories (Editor – 48:21 min video)

Marooned & Forgotten German Garrison 1945 (Editor – 9:15 min video)

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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

15 April 1814 Kingston Navy Dockyard launches two warships, the Prince Regent and the Princess Charlotte; under Commodore Sir James Yeo, they will blockade the American fleet in Sackett’s Harbour and capture Oswego, restoring Canadian control of Lake Ontario in the War of 1812 and ending the threat of US invasion. Kingston, Ontario

16 April 1945 German U-Boat U-190 torpedoes and sank the Bangor Class minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt 5 miles off Chebucto Head near the Halifax lightship; 44 of her ship’s company are lost in the last major naval loss of the War; U-190 will surrender May 11; will be sunk ceremonially on October 21, 1947 where she had destroyed the Esquimalt.

17 April 1943 The Canadian built (West Coast Shipbuilders, Vancouver) but British crewed SS Fort Rampart was on her maiden voyage, with a cargo of lumber, from Vancouver via the Panama Canal when she departed New York on 6 April 1943 in slow convoy HX-233 (58 ships, 21 escorts), eastbound for the UK. On 17 April, at 07:49 (GMT +2) about 525 nm SW of Ireland, she was damaged by a torpedo fired by U-226 and became a straggler. Four hours later, U-226 fired another torpedo into the ship, but she would not sink. On the next day, the ship was sunk by U-628 (Rolf Borchers). Six crew members were killed. The master, 40 crew members, six DEMS gunners and three passengers were picked up by the HMCS Arvida and landed at Greenock, Scotland.

20 April 1942 – The Panamanian registered SS Vineland was acquired in March 1940 by the Markland Shipping Company Limited of Liverpool, Nova Scotia. The former SS Sapinero became the SS Vineland. To avoid government requisition of the ship for the war efforts, the registration remained Panamanian. However, such tactics only delayed the enviable. In late 1941, the SS Vineland was pressed into wartime service to transport bauxite from St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to Portland, Maine. (Bauxite would then be transported by rail to aluminum smelters, including to the Alcan smelter in Arvida, Quebec.) The Vineland’s first delivery of bauxite to Portland occurred on 27 March 1942. The ship’s owner also started the process to register their vessel under the Canadian flag. On 12 April 1942, the SS Vineland departed Portland, Maine with no cargo and was in ballast. She was southbound for St Thomas. On 20 April, at about 2 pm local time, while steaming at 11 knots on a southeasterly course towards St Thomas, the unescorted Vineland was hit aft by a G7e torpedo from U-154. One minute later, a G7a surface runner torpedo missed the ship. A third torpedo then slammed into the engine room causing the stern section to break off. The forward section remained afloat and sank after being hit by a few rounds from the deck gun. The location of the sinking was about 77 nautical miles north of the Turks and Caicos Islands and 515 nautical miles northwest of St. Thomas. The master and 33 survivors abandoned ship in two lifeboats. They reached Turks Island after four days and they were towed in by a fishing boat. The lone casualty was 19 year-old engine room Oiler James Lawrence Hanson. He had joined the Merchant Marine (and the SS Vineland) on 8 April 1942, just 12 days earlier. On 22 April 1942, the SS Vineland was administratively registered under the Canadian flag.

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)