NAC News – Edition 595 (Somers Isles)
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of December 13th, 2024
Edition: 595 HMCS Somers Isles Quotes: “With the sixth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel launched, we are increasing the Royal Canadian Navy’s presence and reach in the Arctic – asserting our sovereignty in the region. These are modern and technologically advanced ships that are enhancing our ability to conduct surveillance and deter maritime threats in the North. As work continues on the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels, I look forward to the delivery of the future HMCS Robert Hampton Gray to the Royal Canadian Navy next year.” The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, Halifax.
9 December 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
Peter van Uhm: Why I chose a gun (Editor – brilliant explanation and an inspiring talk in a 17:10 min TED video)
Syria in maps: Who controls the country now Assad has gone? (Editor – I had an issue with the maps being blanks, but if they do show properly they are very useful.)
As Syrian Rebels Advance, Russian Navy Leaves Port of Tartus then Israeli Navy destroys Syrian Fleet in Latakia more details Israel attacks two ports in Syria harboring 15 Syrian military ships with Satellite Photos Show Russian Navy Exodus From Syria, Syrian Missile Boats Sunk at Pier
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CANADA
CDAI: Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy (Editor – 36:08 min interview podcast) then CGAI: The Three Services After ONSAF (Editor – Our North Strong And Free (ONSAF) 52:54 min podcast with LGen Eric Kenny, VAdm Angus Topshee, and LGen Michael Wright about what the future of the Air Force, Navy, and Army)
Halifax Shipyard launches Canada’s sixth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship
Lockheed Martin at Euronaval 2024: SPY-7 radar and River-class Destroyer
Launch, Naming Ceremony at Seaspan for HMCS Protecteur with RCN The Protecteur Class (Editor – 2:19 min video) and RUSI-NS: Launch of Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment
Cellula Robotics’ Solus-XR Achieves MASS Compliance in Canada
Canada Seeks Stronger US Ties in Arctic to Counter Russia, China
Military watchdog investigating after top officer claims sexual misconduct case was botched
The Coast Guard with the MOST COAST to guard… (Editor – 26:40 min video)
CANADIAN ARMED FORCES: Droning into Oblivion (Editor – Esprit de Corps 4:49 min video. Not sure Scott Taylor has the whole picture, but that’s not unusual)
Argonauta The Newsletter of The Canadian Nautical Research Society / Société Canadienne pour la recherche nautique note the article included: “British Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy Fleet Composition During the Second World War” A Wikipedia Survey and Reportage by David H. Gray, Ottawa ON (Editor – should you wish to become a member)
Trident: 9 December 2024 Volume 58, Issue 25
NAC Naval Affairs National Shipbuilding Strategy (Editor – NAC Briefing notes have been updated and preserve their relevance. 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: Dec. 9, 2024
How the World’s Largest Shipyard Is Challenging China’s Dominance | WSJ (Editor – 6:34 min video)
12.11.24 DFW: Building and Sustaining the Naval Force Structure the Nation Needs (Editor – USNI 3:55:29 hr video, and at 2:31:15 a noteworthy segment on allies)
Maintaining Undersea Superiority: Status Report (Editor – USNI 1:00:13 hr podcast with Vice Admiral Gaucher the Commander, U.S. Submarine Forces, and Submarine Force Atlantic)
‘LCS is Back’ with Firepower Upgrades Including New Missile Launchers, Says SECNAV Del Toro
US Navy to Increase Unmanned Submarine Combat Capabilities with Boeing Orca XLE-1 XLUUV
Member of Little Rock Nine christens nuclear submarine named for Arkansas
U.S Navy Accepts Delivery of USNS Robert F. Kennedy
Inside US Massive Cargo Ship Moving Billions $ Worth of Military Vehicles By Sea (Editor – 16:25 min video)
The US Navy Is Going All In on Starlink with 5 Things to Know About Starlink Satellite Internet (Editor – PCMag 7 min video explanation)
Testing US Aircraft Carrier’s Newest System to Launch Aircraft at Crazy Speed (Editor – 16:21 min video)
Dominican Republic records largest cocaine seizure
Saildrone Awarded Contract to Map Florida’s Coastal Waters (Editor – I wonder if this would work in our Arctic Archipelago?)
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INDO-PACIFIC
Taiwan Raises Alert as China Deploys 90 Ships in Likely Drills as China’s Navy Swarms the First Island Chain
Japan ‘doesn’t need to be nervous’ about PLA warships’ Miyako Strait transit: expert
Rift Deepens Between The Philippines, China Over South China Sea
South China Sea: Vietnam reef projects and runway may set scene for conflict with Beijing
U.S. Destroyer Performs South China Sea FONOP
China Develops a Near-Light-Speed Radar System to Counter Submarine Stealth (Editor – game changer or wishful thinking?)
Building India’s game-changing Naval Bases: INS Varsha and INS Kadamba
Australia Has Fired Tomahawk For The First Time
Aussie SSN ambition facing difficulties
South Korea’s New Destroyer Is Designed To Fire Ballistic Missiles
Indian Navy’s stealth capabilities set for a major upgrade with commissioning of INS Tushil
INS Arihant (S2) & Arighaat (S3) retain the same reactor & dimensions with several technological upgrades with Indigenous nuclear attack submarine (SSN) design to take 4-5 years, another five years for construction
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Russia’s ‘meat-grinder’ tactics bring battlefield success – but at horrendous cost (Editor – how can the Russian population be so brainwashed (or intimidated) that they haven’t revolted?!)
Ukraine’s Sea Baby Drone Boats Shoot Back Now
General:
NATO Secretary General calls on Allies to increase defence spending: to prevent war, NATO must spend more (Editor – 58:48 min video)
Russia and the west are entering the ‘grey zone’ of warfare – and the oceans are a key battleground
UK CDS Underlines Importance Of UK’s Nuclear Deterrent Effect On Russia while Russia’s naval nuclear forces fully modernized, says Navy Chief
Arctic Shipping Sets New Records With Hundred Transit Voyages Carrying 3m Tonnes of Cargo in 2024 and Russian and Chinese Arctic Shipping Sets New Records With Hundred Transit Voyages (Editor – a 11:11 min video)
NATO warships patrol central Mediterranean
Trieste LHD Delivered To The Italian Navy (Editor – follow on to last week’s article)
The last of the Royal Navy’s Trafalgar submarines returns home for decommissioning
The Type 26 Frigate – more than just a submarine hunter (Editor – RN variant)
HMS Defender comes out of dry dock as missile upgrade project progresses
British aircraft carrier gets new Captain and Campaign launched to ensure WWI Royal Naval Air Service aviators are remembered (Editor – includes 1:51 min video)
The Albion class are gone, let’s move on
Belgian Minehunter M940 Oostende Conducts Successful Third Sea Trial
Russian Navy develops new Project 117113 Cayman-class to modernize Ivan Gren landing ships
More delays for Project 75I: AIP Dilemma – Stuck Between Germany and Spain
Vern-sur-Seiche. Préparation militaire marine : des jeunes à l’honneur
Sécuriser les chaînes d’approvisionnement numériques au Royaume-Uni et à l’échelle de l’Alliance
Le méga-contrat indien pour les Rafale marine et trois sous-marins Scorpène en vue
Exploring Astute-class Submarine: The Most Dangerous Submarine in The World! (Editor – 9:09 min video)
Lights are turned off in Belokamenka in Arctic Russia
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
French Navy Counters UAV For The First Time Thanks To Jamming Solution
General:
End of Assad rule will reshape region’s balance of power (Editor – be careful what you wish for) with U.S. Wants to Keep ISIS From Taking Over Syria, Says Sullivan
Saudi Arabia orders three more Avante 2200 corvettes from Navantia
Iran’s Navy is Powerless to Intervene in Syria or Lebanon
Iran’s uranium enrichment ‘worrisome’ – nuclear watchdog
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seizes $4.6M Drug Cache in International Waters
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
UNCTAD’s latest Global Trade Update. (Editor – UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Report – Global trade is projected to reach a record $33 trillion in 2024, a $1 trillion increase driven by 3.3% annual growth, according )
Pakistan to receive South African-modified maritime patrol aircraft from 2026
Chinese Arctic Research Expeditions Inform Military, Economic Goals, Say Experts
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Why Canada’s Northernmost Town Exists (editor – 8:41 min video) and even further north World’s most northern settlement: Alert, Nunavut aka “The top of the world” (Editor – 14:31 min video)
Sonar 101 (Editor – USNI 4:58 min video)
How a Shipwrecked Crew Survived 10 Days Lost at Sea
SKOOKUMCHUCK NARROWS; tidal rapids eXpLAiNeD (Editor – 13:39 min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
14 December 1812 HMS Plumber, a gun brig, under command of Lieutenant Josias Bray had successfully captured three small American privateers in the Bay of Fundy. However, in a raging snowstorm, at 0400 hours on the morning of 5 December 1812, en route to Saint John from Halifax, with about 75 crew and passengers aboard, Plumper hit a ledge of rock off Dipper Harbour, since named Plumper Head, and sank. Although Bray was among the survivors, forty-two others perished. Of note, Plumper carried at least 36,000 pounds sterling (£3M+ today) in gold and silver specie to pay the British garrison. Records show that the British authorities recovered about half the money immediately after the sinking. The wreck is a protected provincial historic site.
14 December 1915 Flight Sub-Lieutenant (RNAS) A.S. Ince, DSC while flying as observer in a Viewpoint aircraft shot down in flames a German two-seater. The victory, the first confirmed success credited to a Canadian airman, won for Ince the DSC, the first decoration awarded a Canadian (Toronto born) in the RNAS.
17 December 1944 HMCS MONTREAL (frigate) rescues survivors of U-Boat 1209 wrecked on Wolf Rock southwest of Land’s End.
19 December 1945 The Government of Canada approves in principle the formation of a naval air branch.
20 December 1941 HMCS Adversus, ex-RCMP patrol ship, while on patrol was lost at sea when caught in a blizzard and run aground on McNutts Island near Shelburne, NS. All 16 crew survive.
20 December 1943 HMCS Prince David is re-commissioned as a Landing Ship Infantry (Medium).
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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