NAC News – Edition 597
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of December 27th, 2024
Edition: 597 Happy New Year Quotes: “Can Canada still make a difference? “Totally, it’s just whether we’re prepared to do it or not. There’s room, there’s always going to be room… I’ve never heard anybody say, no, we don’t want to hear from Canada. What they don’t want is to only hear something and then not see that being followed up by concrete specific action. We have the greatest strength as a country by virtue not of what we say, but by virtue of what we do and where we’ve done things effectively, we play a strong role. There’s no question…in many respects, Canada goes into this new era with much better potential than we had in the late 40s and early 50s, because we’ve become such an international country on our own. And so we need to take that internationalism and really put it to work effectively in the in the wider hemisphere…We can play our fair share, pay our fair share and play our important role. We should get over the delusion that we can lead all the time.” Bob Rae, reflects on four plus years as Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations. CGAI Global Exchange Podcast, 26 November 202
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.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Monster Pacific Storm Unleashes Massive 65-Foot Waves
Shanghai Becomes First Port to Handle Over 50 Million TEUs
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CANADA
Joyeuses Fêtes des dirigeants de l’Équipe de la Défense! & Happy Holidays from Defence Team leadership! (Editor – 2:15 min video)
Message de l’honorable Bill Blair à l’occasion des Fêtes & Holiday message from the Honourable Bill Blair (Editor – 54 sec video)
Message de fin d’année de la chef d’état-major de la Défense et de l’adjudant-chef des FAC & End-of-Year Message from the Chief of the Defence Staff and the CAF Chief Warrant Officer
The CD turns 75 and shows a new face!
Charting the future: Introducing our new vessels (Editor – CCG 1:51 min video)
CDAI: Delivering on the National Shipbuilding Strategy (Editor – David Perry speaks to Bruce MacGregor of Irving Shipbuilding in a 34:11 min podcast)
Troops say quality of life is dropping, according to new DND report double whammy DND warns availability of Canadian military equipment is dropping
Le NCSM Ottawa rend hommage à un héros de guerre canadien à Onagawa, au Japon & HMCS Ottawa Honours Canadian War Hero in Onagawa, Japan
Recherche et développement pour l’Arctique & Arctic research and development (Editor – 2:37 min video)
La Classe Protecteur (Éditeur – 2:27 min vidéo)
New Sonar Capabilities for Canada’s Surface Fleet
Lightweight Torpedo Upgrade & Modernisation des torpilles légères (Editor – 425 conversion kits for Canada)
Canadian Armed Forces – Boatswain (Sailor) – English (2024) (Editor – 3:09 min video)
Pod Posting training – Canadian submarines (Editor – 6:48 min video)
Mess Deck connections du Carré décembre 2024
NAC Naval Affairs Naval Shipbuilding in Canada (Editor – NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more. 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. 23, 2024
Lockheed Lands $11.8B US Military Deal for 145 F-35 Fighter Jets (Editor – first F35’s for Canada are part of FMS portion.)
USS Iowa Virginia-class submarine joins the US Navy with superior stealth and strike capabilities
This is What a Nuclear Strike Would Feel Like | NYT Opinion (Editor – a recent New York Times Opinion piece in a 4:47 min video. Not much New Year cheer here.)
Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group Back Home After Pacific, Middle East Deployment
Coast Guard Begins Construction of First Heavy Polar Icebreaker in Five Decades
Risks of Military Confrontation in Arctic Increasing, Say U.S. and Russian Officials
Report to Congress on Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles
Report to Congress on Navy Shipboard Lasers
Huntington Ingalls Industries christens latest Virginia Class sub, USS Arkansas
Los Angeles-Class Submarine Dilemma for the US Navy (Editor – 3:09 min video)
Trump threatens to try to regain control of Panama Canal
Carnival Reports Record $25B Revenue as Cruise Recovery Continues
Hanwha Completes $100M Acquisition of Philly Shipyard, Marking First Korean Shipbuilder in U.S.
The $270 Billion Race to Replace the Panama Canal (Editor – 13:14 min video)
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INDO-PACIFIC
The Illicit Shipping Trade Hiding in Plain Sight (Editor – depressing 14:40 min video)
Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group Now Operating in South China Sea
Pentagon’s annual China-power report notes nuclear, influence threats—but also corruption
China’s Naval Milestone: Type 076 Amphibious Assault Ship with Electromagnetic Catapults
PLA Navy’s Type 075 amphibious assault ship makes 1st foreign stop in Indonesia
India’s third Aircraft Carrier an absolute necessity’ Navy Chief
Navy: I am a Submariner (Editor – Australian 45 sec recruiting video)
Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark visits Sri Lanka
Austal To Build Two Evolved Cape-Class For Australian Border Force
Klavesin-1RE Autonomous Vehicle: Russia’s Star Exhibit in Vietnam
Myanmar Navy commissions UMS King Thalun as largest domestically built frigate
Tour of HD HHI Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea (Editor – impressive 17:52 min video)
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Russia is executing more and more Ukrainian prisoners of war
The Ukrainian Naval War (2024) – Armed drones, exports & the battle for the Black Sea (Editor – great summary in 1:03:00 hr video)
Vessel In Kerch Strait Sends Distress Signal (Editor – the strain is showing)
Western nations decide to make things harder for Russian ‘shadow’ fleet
General:
Massive Chinese Ship Just Made Europe Lose Its Mind with a Single Move (Editor – a summary in a 9:50 min video) then Chinese Ship Linked To Baltic Sea Cable Breach Resumes Voyage with China Says Its Cooperating in Probe of Cut Baltic Sea Cables
Finland seizes tanker carrying Russian oil suspected of knocking out internet, power cables (Editor – again…so why, and what’s the end game?) the response NATO to increase presence in Baltic Sea following suspected cable sabotage | DW News (Editor – 17:52 min video)
Maritime Law in Focus as Protecting Subsea Infrastructure Comes to the Fore
Russian ship under US sanctions sinks after engine room blast (Editor – start of another enigma? Sabotage?) Russian Weapons Runner Ship Ursa Major Sinks In Mediterranean – Why It Is Important (Editor – 7:22 min video) and then ‘Act of terrorism’ sank Russian cargo ship – owner
Project 885M latest nuclear-powered submarine Arkhangelsk joins Russian Navy
Saab to Upgrade Sweden’s Coastal Defense with Advanced RBS15 Mk3 Anti-Ship Missiles
PLF 2025 : livraisons et commandes prévues pour la marine française
OCCAR U212 NFS programme reaches milestone with successful final test of Lithium-ion Battery System
INS Tushil makes first port call in to London on maiden deployment
Royal Navy moves a step closer to deploying autonomous mine-hunting tech on front-line ops
At least eight migrants drown after boat collision off Greece’s coast
Russia’s LNG Shadow Fleet Resumes Operations After Months-Long Hiatus
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
US warplane shot down in Red Sea ‘friendly fire’ incident with US Super Hornet shot down by friendly warship over Red Sea; pressure from Houthis likely leads to decreased combat efficiency: expert then Another US Navy Jet Narrowly Missed ‘Friendly Fire’ Over Red Sea: Official
Netanyahu Says Israel Will Continue To Act Against The Houthis
General:
New Syrian authorities do not intend to annul agreements on Russian military bases (Editor – optimistic TASS article) while Russia Struggles to Salvage its Mediterranean Investment
Israeli Missile Boat Commander Details Attack on Syria’s Navy
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
At least 69 dead after boat sinks in Morocco waters
Heron UAV to patrol Mediterranean skies as part of extended ADAS-IAI partnership with Frontex
Biden Pushes Historic High Seas Treaty to Senate
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SCUTTLEBUTT
The World Sailing Speed Record is 65.45 Knots. Will this Boat Beat it at 80 kts? Meet the SP80 Team! (Editor – 6:55 min video)
Naval Gunnery – Why do battleships miss after they get their first hit? (Editor – one for Rich in a 22:19 min video. “Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery! All else is twaddle”, Admiral Lord “Jackie” Fisher)
HMS Jervis Bay TAKES ON Admiral Scheer in EPIC Showdown (Editor – 10:39 min video)
Hunt the Kaiser’s Cruisers! (2/2) – The Last Ship afloat | Documentary series about the German Navy (Editor – 51:30 min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
28 December 1940 HMCS Prince David is commissioned as an Armed Merchant Cruiser.
29 December 1837 Canadian ‘volunteers’ under Captain Andrew Drew (ex-RN) cross upper Niagara River, seize supply schooner Caroline, supporting W.L. Mackenzie’s rebellious force on American Navy Island above the Falls. 1 US citizen killed, the ship is cut loose, strands on rocks above the Falls, breaks up and goes over. Canadians row home.
30 December 1941 HMCS Sackville was commissioned at Saint John Shipbuilding. A Flower Class corvette vessel, HMCS Sackville now serves as Canada’s Naval Memorial and a National Historic Site in Halifax.
30 December 1944 A Wellington from RCAF Squadron 407 sank U-722 in the English Channel. By the end of the war, RCAF planes were credited with sinking 19 German U-boats. Coastal Command, which included many RCAF crews flying British planes, accounted for more than 200 U-boat kills.
31 December 1990 The crew of HMCS Preserver flies to the Persian Gulf to relieve HMCS Protecteur’s crew.
31 December 1992 New Canadian military honours are created: The Victoria Cross, Star of Military Valour, Medal of Military Valour and Mention in Dispatches.
1 January 1923 The National Defence Act, which was passed in June 1922, takes effect, creating the Department of National Defence.
1 January 1907 British Admiralty provisionally hands over the Halifax Dockyard to Canadian authorities.
1 January 1946 The Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve together become the RCN (Reserve). From this date officers of the Regular Force and Reserve wore the same straight sleeve lace.
3 January 1941 Canada and the U.S. acquire air bases at Gander, Newfoundland, and Goose Bay, Labrador, on a 99-year lease.
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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