naval affairs

NAC News – Edition 541

NAC News – Edition 541

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of  December 1st, 2023

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Edition: 541  Quote: “In today’s complex global environment, Canada requires a military that is capable of protecting our country well into the future.  We are committed to ensuring that our current and future aviators have the most advanced equipment possible to do just that. Canada requires a multi-mission fleet to contribute to the safety and security of Canadians and protect the sovereignty of a country with the longest coastline in the world.  The Boeing P-8A Poseidon is the right aircraft to fulfil this role.”

The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence

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

NEW 11 December 2023.  NATO Industry Conference 2023, 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM EST, Canadian War Museum, 1 Vimy Place Ottawa, ON K1A 0M8 To Register.

NEW 27 February 2024.  ShipTech Forum 2024.  Advanced notification of the date and venue – the Westin, Ottawa.  Details to follow.

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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

The critical state of the Royal Canadian Navy | L’état critique de la marine royale canadienne (Editor – CDR RCN explaining the RCN’s challenges in a 5:37 min video) and then CBC picks it up Canadian navy in critical state, could fail to meet readiness commitments: commander (Editor – I look forward to the Admiral’s on-line presentation to NAC-O on Monday.  Given the attention this video has gained I’m surprised more NAC members haven’t signed up?)

Canada purchasing up to 16 P-8A Poseidon Multi Mission Aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canada Selects Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon as its Multi-Mission Aircraft with Canada to Support Export of Bombardier Multi-Mission Patrol Aircraft

Lukits: Canadian Army shouldn’t restrict access to this important book on Afghanistan then the Canadian Army makes pdf version available The Canadian Army in Afghanistan

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CANADA

South Korea Seeks Naval Shipbuilding Opportunities In North America (Editor – note 2nd from last para)

COVID-19 outbreak aboard Canadian warship forces cancellation of Great Lakes tour

Canada delays $3.6 billion Reaper buy until drones can work in Arctic

LMC Selects OSI to Design the Integrated Bridge and Navigation System for the RCN CSC (Editor – OSI Maritime Systems)

Sending Christmas Morale Mail to Military Members

Steady as She Goes: Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy Steaming Ahead

Comment: British Columbia wins when ships are built locally and Seaspan Shipyards Contributes More Than $5.7 Billion to Canada’s GDP (Editor – 1:54 min video included) with at a yard Meet Elise Fulton, Production Manager at Seaspan Victoria Shipyards

The Government of Canada Honours Commander (Ret’d) Rowland Marshall and Lieutenant-Commander (Ret’d) Sherry Richardson as Hometown Heroes

Richard Chappell receives Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Maritime Achievement (Editor – Richard Chappell this award replaces the S.S. Beaver Awards for Maritime Excellence)

Military justice officials defend handling of sexual assault cases stayed in civilian court

N.S. veteran receives critical injury benefit after trauma from alleged military sex assault

The Fall 2023 issue of the CNMT Action Stations

Lookout: Volume 68, Issue 47, November 27, 2023 (Editor – page 11, gorgeous MARPAC selects hockey sweaters!)

Trident: Volume 57, Issue 24 Monday 27 November 2023 (Editor – fun article on page 13, HMCS Harry DeWolf helps kick off 110th Grey Cup in Hamilton)

NAC Naval Affairs Programme Briefing Note #35 Addressing sexual misconduct in the CAF (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. 27, 2023

US, UK, Australia Defense Chiefs To Meet On AUKUS Subs Deal

Department of Defense 2022 Demographic Profile (Editor – highlighting pages iii-iv)

Navy’s Second Ford CVN to Join the U.S. Pacific Fleet

Op-Ed: Being an Arctic Nation is for the Good of All Americans

Report: Windows Aboard Expedition Cruise Ship Couldn’t Resist Fatal Wave (Editor – south of Cape Horn, and people are surprised by big waves!)

World’s Largest Cruise Ship Delivered to Royal Caribbean

Panama Canal Adds Extra Slots to Highest Bidders

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INDO-PACIFIC

US military aircraft with six aboard crashes off Japan island

US and UK Safety Warnings for Shipping in Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean

PLA vigilant against continuous provocations by US, Australian, Philippine forces

CNO Franchetti: Indo-Pacific Still Top U.S. Priority

USS Carl Vinson Underway with Japanese, South Korean Warships for Deterrence Patrol

Beijing rebukes Washington after warning off US warship in South China Sea

China Navy deploys 3 warships to Myanmar amid Northern unrest

Chinese Submarine Is First To Exploit New Stealth Technology

China Offers Tantalising Glimpse of New Swimmer Delivery Vehicle (SDV)

Royal Thai Navy Discloses Chinese Submarine’s Engine as Licensed German Model

Austalian warship HMAS Toowoomba sailed through sensitive Taiwan Strait close to China

Hunter class frigate passes Preliminary Design Review milestone

Chinese Aircraft Carrier Fujian Commences Catapult Testing

Indian Navy looking to buy SCALP Missile for Rafale-M Fighters, Fighters, Submarines, Carriers; Negotiations underway

India’s new aircraft carrier plan against China exposes its ‘tunnel vision’ (Editor – note the source)

Indian Coast Guard, Navy to buy 15 C-295 transport aircraft for maritime surveillance

INS Sumedha arrives in Mozambique, joint EEZ surveillance to be held

Israel delivers 2 Shaldag Mk. V fast attack craft to Philippines Navy

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EUROPE

Ukraine:

Statement by the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of Foreign Ministers

Russia’s Powerful Invisible Defenses around Sevastopol Rendered Visible

Russian blogger claims capture of intact Ukrainian Magura V5 USV

Black Sea Storm Disrupts Russian Navy’s Operations with Russia’s Novorossiisk Resumes Oil Loadings

General:

Norway, Germany to Develop Next-Gen Naval Strike Missile

NATO warships destroy 16 historical sea mines near Estonia

British naval task force to deploy to Baltic area and more details Britain to send seven Royal Navy ships to patrol areas with undersea cables

Russian Navy’s fifth Project 636.3 submarine Mozhaisk delivered a Kilo class and then a New Yasen-M submarine for Russia’s Sevmash shipyard

Turkish Navy’s First Upgraded Barbaros-Class Frigate Is Back At Sea (Editor – Turkish version of HCM/FELIX)

Spanish Navantia S-80 Plus Class Submarine eyes by several countries

Hanwha Ocean proposes KSS-III submarine as strategic partnership in Poland’s Orka Project

Babcock wins contract for Dreadnought class submarine program

France’s DGA Orders 7 New OPV For The French Navy

Portuguese Navy Signs Contract With Damen For Innovative Multi-Purpose Vessel

Greek Shipowners Avoiding Russian Oil

Russia chooses to dismantle former INS Chakra and now Nerpa Nuclear Submarine

FINLAND: ‘A Birthplace for Icebreakers’ (Editor – impressive stats)

Storms Close Bosporus and Drive Tanker Ashore in Istanbul plus Freighters Collide in Kerch Strait

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MIDDLE EAST

‘We’re taking it out of hide’: Pentagon says it has no money for Middle East buildup (Editor – heck of a way to run a railroad) Carrier USS Eisenhower Enters Persian Gulf

CENTCOM: Iranian Drone Made Unsafe Pass by USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Carney Downs Houthi Missile

U.S. Navy Destroyer, Tanker Targeted by Ballistic Missiles off Yemeni Coast but Houthi Missile Likely Did Not Target USS Mason, M/V Central Park, DoD Says

Kuwait’s $8.1bn surge and strategies reshape the military landscape

Iranian Navy Commissions the Jamaran-Class Deylaman Frigate

British Destroyer heading to the Gulf

Littoral Combat Ship, Unmanned Systems Pair Up to Advance Lethality in the Middle East

French Helicopter Carrier Arrives to Provide Medical Aid for Gaza

Chemical Tanker Seized In Gulf Of Aden then U.S. Navy Detains 5 After Failed Attempt to Capture Merchant Ship, IKE in Persian Gulf and more details Combined Multinational Effort Averts Attempted Seizure in the Gulf of Aden

Israeli-Managed Vessel Hit By Suspected Iranian Drone

How Hamas built a force to attack Israel on 7 October (Editor – not a maritime story but an interesting explanation)

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GLOBAL INTERESTS

Navy Launches Annual Sea Inspection in Rivers, Deploys 4,000 Personnel, 13 Ships, 88 Boats

Launching the Free Fall Life Boat (Editor – 6:21 min video)

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SCUTTLEBUTT

Researchers Identify Wreck of Capt. Cook’s HMB Endeavour

Golden Gate Torpedo Attack – Japanese Assault on San Francisco 1941 (Editor – 13:22 min video)

The Wreck of SMS Scharnhorst – When Armored Cruisers Fought Battlecruisers (Editor – 18:00 min video)

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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

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  While the last RCN aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure was being  decommissioned, the aviation fuel tanks were being are emptied and cleaned, but one 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.

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.

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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