NAC News – Edition 540
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of November 24th, 2023
Edition: K540 HMCS Beauharnois (WWII modified Flower-class corvette, eventually serving in the Israeli navy)
Quote: ““[Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza] could be global-system-shifting wars, something like World War I and World War II, which reflected and produced major changes in the international order. In a sense, the Hamas attack on Israel was a kind of Pearl Harbor moment. It opened a second front.” 29 October 2023, Fiona Hill, The Los Angeles Times
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)
NOTICES
6 December 2023 7:30 am – 6:30 pm Ottawa time. Industrial Participation Association of Canada (IPAC) announced their first ever Industrial Participation Conference, titled The Changing Landscape of Industrial Participation in Canadian Federal Procurements Conference to be held at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa. Registration is free for public sector!
NEW 27 February 2024. ShipTech Forum 2024. Advanced notification of the date and venue – the Westin, Ottawa. Details to follow.
________________________________________________________________THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
Friends tell friends the truth: Brian Lee Crowley’s CNAPS launch speech (Editor – “It is time for a new era in Canada-US relations,” announced Crowley at the launch of the Center for North American Prosperity and Security (CNAPS) in Washington, DC. It’s not a maritime article but one discussing items of strategic significance in a 34:09 min video.
The Liberals’ defence policy hits a fiscal wall (Editor – déjà vu)
Facing need to cut some spending, defence minister says more must be spent on ‘right things’
Top general worries about maintaining Pacific fleet on current budget ‘trajectory’
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CANADA
Petition to the Government of Canada to make Battle of the Atlantic Sunday a National Day of Observance – e-4639 (Holidays and observances) (Editor – Only 43 new signatures up to 696 this week, out of a Canadian population of 40M+. Signatures are less than the total NAC membership. If we can’t rally around this idea I’m not sure what would merit our attention. I am sadly dropping this post after this week as the trending is disheartening and it appears to have been an unsuccessfully…time will tell)
CFB Halifax to get new $188M training facility
The CSC and “Mature Design” Redux
Political concerns rise over Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft procurement process
Reflections on the 2023 Halifax Security Forum (Editor – CGAI 44:51 min podcast)
StrongBow Project – To provide tactical radio direction finding and a signals collection, analysis, fusion, and exploitation strategic capability to the Halifax-class frigates. (Editor – according to Janes installation has begun)
The FIRST Naval Experience Program applicant does his HANDGUN training!
Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces 2022-33 Departmental Results Report
Changing Armed Forces policies is slow and labour-intensive, external monitor says
‘Sense of relief’: Veteran-led lawsuit against feds could mean multi-million-dollar payout
Latest closing date in history of St. Lawrence Seaway
Port of Halifax welcomes two new mega ship-to-shore gantry cranes
Steerprop to supply bow thrusters for Canadian Coast Guard’s polar icebreaker
Canadian Navy veteran remembers Second World War battles (Editor – an entertaining and at times profound 11:57 min video interview with 98 years young Bob Watkins, a NAC Winnipeg member and former branch president, with a bronze and silver NAC medallion. Got to love the RCNVR blazer badge!)
Recognizing Indigenous veterans: Foundation tracks down lost graves
Half of military sex offence cases never transferred to civilian police, despite government order
Update on the Public Service Health Care Plan Transition
Personal info of Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP stolen in cyberattack
B.C. Ferries planning for seven new hybrid ferries to replace retiring Queens
Seaspan deploys SmartDock autodocking on the first of two ferries
Lookout: Volume 68, Issue 46, November 20, 2023
NAC Naval Affairs Programme Briefing Note #34 Cyber Security and the RCN (Editor – please share to anyone you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what our naval affairs programme is all about – educating Canadians)
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USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Nov. 20, 2023
Report to Congress on Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Program and Meet the Gerald R. Ford-class: US Navy’s $13 Billion Aircraft Carrier
Navy Awards $130M Contract to Ingalls for LHA-10 Big Deck Amphib and Life Inside Gigantic US Amphibious Assault Ship Patrolling the Seas | Documentary
Alaska senator makes new push to get Law of the Sea ratified
America’s Navy Shipyards Not Ready For New Super-Sized SSN(X) Subs
Royal Navy Patrol Ships Trade Places in the Falkland Islands
USCG Marks Milestone with Acceptance of 55th Fast Response Cutter
Research Vessel Finds Mile-High Underwater Mountain
Video: Colombian Navy Seizes 1.8 Tonnes of Cocaine From Narco-Sub
New US-Built Trawler-Processor for Alaskan Pollock Unveiled
More Surcharges Loom as Panama Canal Restrictions Tighten
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INDO-PACIFIC
North Korea Terminates Military Agreement with South Korea
The Era of Total U.S. Submarine Dominance Over China Is Ending
Indian Defence Minister urges ASEAN to develop Regional Security Initiatives
USS Ronald Reagan wraps what may be its final patrol from Japan before carrier swap
China, Pakistan hold first joint naval patrol to safeguard China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (Editor – the threat is never defined)
Navy Chief Admiral Hari Kumar projects around 165-170 ships and submarines growth by 2035
China’s Envy, India’s Pride: Russia is back in Indian Ocean after decades, docks Warships in Bangladesh, Myanmar with Russian Navy squadron visits Bangladesh for first time in 50 years
UPDATED: Navy P-8A Poseidon Overshoots Hawaiian Runway Splashes in Kaneohe Bay and 3rd Fleet: Aircraft Intact as Navy Prepares to Investigate P-8 Poseidon Mishap in Hawaii
Indian Navy needs more Submarines. Underwater challenge from Rival Navies rising
Japan cleared to purchase 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles
Philippines woos neighbours to craft code on South China Sea
Philippine Navy Strengthens Maritime Defense with New Acero-class Gunboats
Indian Navy successfully tests indigenous naval anti ship missile
Japan to supply four patrol vessels to Bangladesh Navy (Editor – includes 48 sec video)
South Korea To Upgrade KDX-III Batch-I Ships To Operate SM-3 And SM-6
Luerssen Australia launches Arafura class OPV Nuship Eyre for Australia Navy
Newly Sanctioned Tankers Supplied Russian Oil to India
China navy used sonar pulses against divers, Australia says then Experts refute Australian charge claiming PLA destroyer’s use of sonar ‘unprofessional,’ question Australian frigate’s location, purpose in incident (Editor – Chinese military article)
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Shoigu reveals Ukrainian losses, speaks of Kiev’s failure on Dnieper, Navy development (Editor – absurdly inflated{I hope}Ukrainian casualty stats in a TASS article)
Bulker Chartered by Cargill Lightly Damaged by Likely Black Sea Mine
Ukraine Tallies Russian Naval Vessels Destroyed in Black Sea During War
Russia equips landing ships with Tor-M2KM surface to air missile system
Canada’s aid for Ukraine set to surpass $800 million this year
General:
Northern Fleet eyes six Yasen submarines as Russia approves largest ever defence spending
Admiral Nakhimov Reactors to be Activated This Month
Türkiye Romania & Bulgaria want to find an agreement on mines in Black Sea
Huge drop in ‘Militarily Useful’ British vessels
Sweden orders MBDA missiles for its Visby-class fleet
Germany Buys Three More Poseidon, Increasing Question Marks On MAWS (Editor – MAWS explanation)
Nuclear-armed submarine suffered malfunction
Divers and engineers recognised after complex repair to HMS Audacious
Mojave uncrewed air system successfully flown from HMS Prince of Wales (Editor – 1:26 min video included)
In chilly return to past, Putin names new icebreaker “Stalingrad”
Up Up and Away: Airships Used to Fly Large Cargo from Ships to Remote Areas (Editor – I wonder if this would work well in the arctic?)
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MIDDLE EAST
USS Thomas Hudner Downs Multiple Drones Launched from Yemen
International Security Warning Issued for Ships in the Red Sea and then Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijack cargo ship in Red Sea more details Yemen’s Houthi rebels seize Israeli-linked ship in Red Sea, Iran denies involvement (Editor – a 3:03 min Global news video) and this must see 12:51 min video Helicopter Assault on MV Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea by Houthi/Yemeni Forces and then Two Ray Car Carriers Ships Divert After ‘Galaxy Leader’ Seizure and if your addicted to this event Galaxy Leader Arrives in Yemen | What Could The Ship Have Done | What’s Next for the Ship & Crew?
Jordan Assumes Command of Combined Maritime Forces’ Multinational Maritime Training Task Force
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
How America is pushing China out of the internet (Editor – enlightening 24:10 min video)
New Atalanta Commander in office ahead of 15th anniversary
A23a: World’s biggest iceberg on the move after 30 years
Nautical charts of the future will make shipping safer and more sustainable (Editor – wow)
Arctic litter-monitoring project launches northernmost GPS capsule in Arctic Ocean
Best practice & recommendations for the safe carriage of electric vehicles (EVs)
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Don Walsh: The man who made the deepest ever dive
The Submarine that Sank the MOST Warship Tonnage (Editor – 23:24 min video)
Canadian Corvettes in the Second World War – A General History (Editor – a great precise summary by NAC member Rich Gimblett)
The USS Recruit: A Wooden Dreadnought in Manhattan’s Union Square (Editor – extraordinary!)
Preservation of the submarine SAS Assegaai as a museum of technology – a prospectus
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
25 November 1950 HMCS Nootka leaves Halifax for the first of two tours of duty in Korea.
25 November 1953 HMCS Cayuga sails for duty off Korea for the third and final time.
28 November 1945 The first Allied convoy sailed up the Scheldt and discharged its cargo at the port of Antwerp. Given the Canadian army’s efforts of liberation, it was fitting that the first vessel in the convoy was the Canadian-built SS Fort Cataraqui.
28 November 1953 The first group of 48 RCN volunteers left Montreal by air for submarine training with the Royal Navy. In March 1962, the RCN got the go-ahead to buy three British Oberon-class submarines. These were the first newly built submarines we bought since the unconventional purchase of CC 1 and CC 2 in 1914. These new submarines formed the Halifax-based First Canadian Submarine Squadron: HMC Submarines Ojibwa, Onondaga, and Okanagan. When they arrived in the mid-1960s, the Oberons were among the quietest submarines in the world.
29 November 1957 HMCS Kenora and Kentville, two paid off minesweepers, are transferred to the Turkish navy as Bandirma and Bartin.
30 November 1829 Two schooners pass from Port Dalhousie to Port Robinson in Upper Canada symbolically opening the Welland Canal and directly linking lakes Erie and Ontario.
1 December 1940 Destroyer HMCS St Laurent (ex HMS Cygnet), a Crusader or C-class destroyer known in the RCN as a River-class destroyer, was dispatched to escort convoy HX-90 in the Western Approaches, which was under heavy attack by seven U-boats. The attacking U-boats were commanded by some of the most successful aces of the war including Kretschmer, Prien, and Schepke. Between 1-3 Dec, they sank ten ships for a total of over 69,000 tons.
1 December 1948 HMCS Shearwater, RCN Air Station, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is commissioned. Named in recognition of the Condor-class sloop named HMCS Shearwater. Shearwater is the second-oldest military aerodrome in CanadaEdition: AGSC539 HMCS Cedarwood (Survey vessel)
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
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