naval affairs

NAC News – Edition 590 (Lawrenceville)

NAC News – Edition 590 (Lawrenceville)

Victory Square 1932

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of November 8th, 2024

Edition: 590 CFAV 590 Lawrenceville Quotes: “There are 1.4 million km (870,000 miles) of telecommunication cables on the seafloor, covering every ocean on the planet.  Laid end to end, these cables would span the diameter of the Sun, and are responsible for the transfer of 99% of all digital data.  But for something so important, they are surprisingly slender – often little more than 2cm in diameter, or about the width of a hosepipe.” William Park, BBC News, 15 Oct 2024

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@navalassoc.ca if you wish someone to be added to the NAC News email distribution. (Influencer, or good candidates to become an NAC member – note the first year’s NAC/Branch membership dues are waived)

NOTICES

25 February 2025 ShipTech Forum 2025  Super Early Bird registration is open! The National Arts Centre, Ottawa ON.  Not Able to Attend in Person? All speaker sessions will be live streamed to allow for virtual attendance.

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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

Former Liberal MP warns of tough times ahead with U.S. over NATO spending target

November Speaker’s Evening – A NAC Townhall with CRCN (Editor – sign up to join the video conversation)

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CANADA

N.B. woman who lost 2 sons who served in Afghanistan named Silver Cross Mother

Veterans’ Week and Remembrance Day with Remembrance at HMCS Venture

National Indigenous Veterans Day (Editor – wonderful monument in a 2:15 min video)

‘The Irish were the first to turn up’: The sub, the fire, and the rescue effort

CDAI: Fixing Recruitment and Retention in the CAF: Leadership & Risk Tolerance (Editor – 25:59 min podcast)

NATO ships demonstrate readiness by collaborating with multiple Allied navies during Neptune Strike 24-2

B.C. ports are frozen amid a labour dispute. What does this mean for Canadians?

Large Fleet Tugs that support the Royal Canadian Navy | Go Bold S3 Ep2 (Editor – 54:01 min video)

Maritime tradition continues with Island Class keel laying ceremony

City of Windsor Welcomes HMCS Harry DeWolf

Kraken Robotics Demos New KATFISH Autonomous Launch and Recovery System to Navy Customers

NAVAL QUÉBEC and LEVIATAD consortium strengthen ties in naval defense sector (Editor – Naval Quebec)

Wargaming at HMCS Venture:  Enhancing Naval Officer Training (Editor – extract from the Journal of the Peruvian Naval War College)

Are these Canada’s Most Mysterious Islands? (Editor – perspective on the high arctic, a 8:22 min video)

Veterans with Cancer (Editor – interesting group worth knowing about)

PSHCP Bulletin 49 (Editor – dental insurance changes)

Government of Canada invests in the well-being of Veterans and their families

Le gouvernement du Canada investit dans le bien-être des vétérans et vétéranes et de leur famille

Canadian Naval Review Vol. 20 No. 2

Lookout: Volume 69, Issue 37, November 4, 2024

NAC Naval Affairs Programme Bibliographies The Navy Ashore  (Editor – Please share with anyone you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what our naval affairs programme is all about – enlightening Canadians)

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USA & AMERICA

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Nov. 4, 2024

Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Producers Cut Output Ahead of Storm

SECNAV Del Toro Announces Life Extensions for 3 Cruisers and SECNAV Announces Service Life Extensions for 12 Destroyers to “Keep More Ready Players on the Field”

USS John S. McCain Returns Home from Deployment

Navy to Commission Future USS John Basilone (Editor – John Basilone portrayed in “The Pacific” series)

Leonardo to Build AN/SPQ-9B Ship Protection Radars for US Navy

Arctic Alliance: U.S. Raises Alarms as Russia and China Flex Military Muscle Along NATO’s ‘Western Flank’

CIMSEC: The Theoretical Edge: Why Junior Officers Should Study Military Classics

US jails Fat Leonard in Navy’s biggest bribery scandal

Marine Corps Blames Pilot Error for Crash of Malfunctioning F-35 in South Carolina Forest

Panama Pulls Flag on Sanctioned LNG Carriers in Crackdown on Russia’s Shadow Fleet

Port Strike 2.0: Major Shippers Pivot to West Coast Over Contract Uncertainty

Florida Cruise Ports Smash Passenger Records as Industry Makes Comeback

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INDO-PACIFIC

Chinese J-15B deck-based Jets begin deployment with Liaoning and Shandong Aircraft Carriers and China develops new J-15T naval fighter optimized for electromagnetic catapult take-off

Indonesian, Russian navies kick off first joint military drills; many ASEAN countries refuse to take sides: experts

China coast guard vessels intrude into waters around Kinmen again

Defence continues to support sanctions against North Korea

Philippine Forces Rehearse Island Seizure in South China Sea 

Staunch Ally: INS Talwar undertakes Maritime Partnership Exercise with French Navy Ship

New submarine Rescue Vessel Ganghwado expands South Korea’s Naval Rescue Fleet

Pakistan Navy Successfully Tests Indigenous SMASH Ballistic Missile from Warship

Pakistani Navy Rescues Stranded Iranian Fishermen off Yemen

Philippine Coast Guard to Receive 40 Patrol Boats from France in $438 Million ODA Project

India boosts submarine fleet as region’s warship traffic picks up

Five out of six Collins submarines out of action in critical blow to national security

Austal Delivers 8th Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat to Australia

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EUROPE

Ukraine:

Ukraine Says Drone Strike Hits Port in First Caspian Sea Attack and then three great short videos A Ukrainian Drone Motored 700 Miles And Blasted Three Russian Warships In One Blow

Kremlin aide sees continued Western attempts to drive Russia away from Black Sea

Statement by the North Atlantic Council on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

General:

French Navy’s Carrier Strike Group about to set sail for Indo-Pacific deployment

Spain Catches 13 Tonnes of Cocaine in One Container, a National Record

Russia’s powerful new Borei-A-class submarine Knyaz Pozharskiy returns from sea trials

New frigate Admiral Golovko sets out from Severomorsk on ‘world tour’

Royal Navy Tests Out Quantum Positioning System for GPS-Denied Navigation

Warship takes on Nato mine exercise two years after hitting one in the Black Sea

French, UK naval chiefs urge dramatic changes in warship design

Euronaval 2024: France’s new aircraft carrier design with three catapults unveiled by Naval Group

Chinese Power Plant Arrives at Sanctioned Russian Arctic LNG Project After Push Through Dangerous Sea Ice

MBDA unveils submarine-launched Exocet missile to strike naval vessels

Royal Navy helicopter shoots down drone

« L’OTAN défendra les intérêts de ses membres dans l’Arctique », déclare le président du Comité militaire de l’OTAN

Navantia Begins AIP System Installation on Spanish Navy Sub

L’OTAN teste l’intégration de capacités de frappe maritimes interarmées du haut du spectre

Italian Navy’s next-gen minehunters revealed by Intermarine and Leonardo at Euronaval 2024

Euronaval 2024: Naval Group to Unveil Blacksword Barracuda New Generation Stealth Submarine

Euronaval 2024: Meet Greyshark Euroatlas Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Babcock awards milestone recycling contract in UK’s Submarine Dismantling Project

Performance boost as device gives HMS Queen Elizabeth’s propellers a clean sweep

Belgian-Dutch RMCM Toolbox Set To Start Qualification Trials

BAE to deliver Bofors 40Mk4 guns to two European navies

Belgium approves Construction of Third Naval Patrol Vessel to Enhance North Sea Security by 2027

Montenegro Strengthens Its Navy with Acquisition of Two OPV 60M Patrol Vessels from Kership

Le français Exail va fournir les systèmes de navigation des futurs patrouilleurs hauturiers de la Marine nationale

Royal Navy Disbands Autonomous Testing Team

Un sous-marin américain a été distingué pour ses résultats « exceptionnels » obtenus lors d’une mission en Europe

Hapag-Lloyd Orders 24 Dual-Fuel Containerships for $4 Billion

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MIDDLE EAST

Red Sea:

Houthis Say They Will Not End Red Sea Blockade while Red Sea Crisis: IMO Chief Calls for Urgent Action as Houthi Attacks Threaten Global Shipping AND A REALLY USEFUL VIDEO SUMMARY FOR PERSPECTIVE The Bab el-Mandeb: The World’s Most Contested Chokepoint (Editor – 24:35 min video)

Report: Houthis On Track to Earn $2B a Year by Shaking Down Shipowners

Israel Can’t Hide from Houthi Attacks by Selling Ships

Is Western Sea Power Adrift?

Dirty Fuel’s Big Comeback: HSFO Prices Spike as Ships Reroute from Red Sea Risks

Red Sea Crisis Pushes Idle Containership Fleet to Record Low as Global Demand Soars

General:

‘No End in Sight’ for Middle East Conflict, Former CENTCOM Commander McKenzie Says

U.S. to Move Destroyers, B-52s to Middle East as Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Prepares to Leave Region

Israel says Hezbollah operative captured in naval raid (Editor – one for you Arne)

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GLOBAL INTERESTS

Royal Navy ice breaker heading for a mission that will study the impact of tourism and climate change on antarctica

EU/Kenya hold joint maritime exercise

Royal Moroccan Navy Stops Migrant Attempt to Hijack Cargo Ship

Could Nations Agree on a Global Plastics Treaty This Year?

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SCUTTLEBUTT

The Fatal Flaw of the Liberty Ships (Editor – 5:43 min video)

HMCS Bonaventure – The Pride of Canada’s Fleet (Editor – 14:32 min video)

Type XXIII – Guide 412

Walter and Electro-Boots – U-Boats of the Future, Today(ish) (Editor – 58:42 min video)

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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

9 November 1910  His Majesty’s Dockyard, Esquimalt, is transferred to Canadian ownership and forms the basis for Pacific Command.

9 November 1940  HMCS Collingwood, the first corvette built in Canada for the RCN, is commissioned.

9 November 1940  The Canadian Pacific Steamships Line passenger liner Empress of Japan (26,032 GRT) was heavily damaged in the North Atlantic, when she was bombed by Luftwaffe aircraft.

11 November 1918   Armistice Day for the “War to end all Wars” came to an end after more than four years of bloody fighting.  8,826 Canadians served in the RCN and RNCVR.  24 became casualties.  Note the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR) was a naval reserve that was established in Canada in May 1914 and existed until 1923.  The Canadian contribution was no small one: 628,462 men were enrolled of whom 424,589 went overseas.  24,095 into the British Air Services.  In all 60,661 Canadians gave their lives for the Allied Cause.  For a country whose greatest military effort for over 150 years had not exceeded 10,000, and whose population had only reached eight million, this was truly a staggering effort.

12 November 2001  HMCS Vancouver departed San Diego as part of the USS John C. Stennis Carrier Battle Group joining the US-led coalition against terrorist forces in Afghanistan.  The Battle Group arrived in Hong Kong on 29 Nov 2001, and in the Arabian Gulf on 19 Dec 2001.  Vancouver returned home to Esquimalt on 28 May 2002.

13 November 1942  Captain (RN) Frederick Thornton Peters born in Charlottetown and raised in Vernon and Victoria was awarded the VC for his actions 13 Nov 1943.  Captain Peters was in the suicide charge by two cutters at Oran, Algeria.  HM Ships Walney and Hartland were two ex-American coastguard cutters which were lost in a gallant attempt to force the boom defences in the harbour of Oran during the landings on the North African coast.  Captain Peters led his force through the boom in the face of point-blank fire from shore batteries, destroyer, and a cruiser – a feat which was described as one of the great episodes of naval history.  The Walney reached the jetty disabled and ablaze, she and went down with her colours flying.  Blinded in one eye, Captain Peters was the only survivor of the seventeen men on the bridge of the Walney.  He was taken prisoner but was later released when Oran was captured.  On being liberated from captivity, he was carried through the streets where the citizens hailed him with flowers.  Captain Peters was killed in an air crash three days after his release on 13 November 1942 when returning to Britain the Sunderland flying boat crash-landed in Plymouth Sound in thick fog.   Captain Peters has no known grave and is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Hampshire, England.  The Captain is very unusual in that he earned these decorations while on active service during both WWI and WWII, earning: Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Service Cross and Bar, the British War Medal, Victory Medal, 1939-45 Star, Africa Star with Bar (North Africa 1942-43) 1939-45 Medal, and the Distinguished Service Cross (USA).

13 November 1944 HMCS Algonquin commanded by LCdr Desmond W. Piers, DSO, RCN sank German Minesweepers M-416 and M-427.

15 November 1942  While escorting a convoy, HMCS Saguenay is accidentally struck in the stern by freighter SS Azra, which sinks. Saguenay is towed to St. John’s.

15 November 1952  First Naval Reserve Air Squadron established, VC-920 at Toronto, to fly Swordfish and Avengers.

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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