NAC News – Edition K440 – HMCS Lachute
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of December 17th, 2021
Edition K440 HMCS Lachute (WW2 increased endurance Flower Class corvette)
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.
NOTICES
Our NAC 2021 Sponsors – their sponsorship and support are an essential in enabling us to provide you, the member, with this News and other NAC media. Check out their links at the bottom of our National site main webpage. NAC thanks our sponsors, BAE Systems Canada, Irving Shipbuilding Inc, Lockheed Martin Canada, Babcock Canada, Seaspan Shipyards, and Prospectus Associates for their support.
NEW 14 January 2022 10-11 (AM Eastern Time): CSIS and USNI present an online presentation in the Maritime Security series – Dialogue: FIFTH Fleet Mission and Operations Update featuring Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander, United States Naval Forces, Central Command / Commander, FIFTH Fleet and Commander, Combined Maritime Forces. Vice Admiral Cooper and Vice Admiral Peter H. Daly, USN (Ret.), Chief Executive Officer and Publisher, U.S. Naval Institute, will discuss the priorities and operational imperatives of the FIFTH Fleet area of responsibility.
NAC Endowment Fund Campaign 2021 underway! This is your fund, and it provides some key support to several maritime activities. Donor form and information available here. And check out what your fund has done over the past many years.
Salty Dips Volume 11 – Some things pass. Some things change. Some just stay the same. by NAC-Ottawa…Christmas gift? Note you can order a print-on-demand soft/hard copy from Friesen Press and other providers. Soft and hard copy books. An e-book version in a wide-variety of formats is also available (Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, etc…)
NAC Children’s Books – 3rd in the series “Over the Horizon” now for sale $10 plus $3 for shipping. Special Holiday offer – buy all 3 for $25 (includes shipping) or 2 for $20.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Statement by the North Atlantic Council on the situation in and around Ukraine
Anand, Eyre offer official apology to victims of military sexual misconduct (Editor – MND interview in a 8:55 min video included) and Military culture must change following apology for sexual misconduct, survivors say (Editor – 6:02 min video)
Fall 2021 CNMT Action Stations magazine (Editor – if your considering CNMT membership or a donation[scroll down on the webpage])
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CANADA
Year End Message from General Eyre and CPO1 Grégoire (Editor – 11:25 min video)
Skyrocketing shipbuilding costs continue as estimate puts icebreaker price at $7.25B details in PBO report The Polar Icebreaker Project: a fiscal analysis
Three RCN ships return home in time for the holidays and Dressed up for the holidays plus Families welcome HMCS Winnipeg back from long mission in Indo-Pacific
New Royal Canadian Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel Visits Norfolk After Circumnavigating North America
A military in crisis: Here are the senior leaders embroiled in sexual misconduct cases hence Defence Team News | 16 December 2021 (Editor – a 4:23 min video interview with Danielle Carter, Team Lead of Response and Support at SMRC. She explains the expansion of services to former CAF members and National Defence public service employees who have been affected by sexual misconduct) and a new interview Changing the military’s culture to end sexual misconduct could take 5 years, senior officer says
Sailors heaped condemnation on their commander after his golf game with Vance, documents show
Minister of National Defence Mandate Letter and Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Mandate Letter
OP Navy Watch – September 2021 (Editor – the first of a new unofficial video series about RCN activities in a pretty good, if eclectic, 12:58 min video)
FMF Cape Scott’s Honorary Captain visits West Coast
Four contracts awarded for life extension work on Coast Guard motorized lifeboats
Winners of the USNI 2021 Naval & Maritime Photo Contest (Editor – congrats to LCdr Colin Dudeck, RCN)
‘Scope’ and cost of software fix to naval helicopters expected in spring 2022 (Editor – despite what the “experts” say, I know three truths: the RCAF has a first-rate flight safety programme with an excellent record, the aircrews are extraordinarily well trained, and Sikorsky, the Cyclone manufacturer, is one of the preeminent helicopter manufactures in the world…after all they built the Sea King that served Canada so well and lasted for so many years. The RCAF and Sikorsky will solve these new aircraft issues, but as with all things related to flight safety, it takes time to make sure they are resolved properly.)
Judge stays prosecution of man accused of trying to spy for China
Military members challenge vaccine requirement in Federal Court
Davie to create Montreal-based division to invest in Canadian firms and innovation
Maritime search and rescue and shipping risk: how does it work in Canada?
Cruise ships returning to Victoria after two-year absence
Editor – Two book were brought to my attention by an NAC member as they relate to the outcome of the sinking 30 April 1941 of the troopship S.S. Nerissa. The first is S.S. Nerissa, the Final Crossing: The Amazing True Story of the Loss of a Canadian Troopship in the North Atlantic that covers the sinking with the loss of 207 souls: 73 Cdn Army, 10 RCN, 81 Merchant Navy, 12 British forces, 11 American ATA pilots, 3 Royal Norwegian Air Force, and 17 civilians; the second pertains to the general impact of all the sinkings that took place off the shores of neutral Ireland during WW2: Mayo and the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-45)
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USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Dec. 13, 2021
US defense bill could open way to Taiwan joining RIMPAC naval exercise
Navy’s USS Savannah to be commissioned outside namesake city
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush Launches and Recovers F-35s for First Time
Navy Relieves Destroyer XO For ‘Failing to Abide By Lawful Order’ then Navy to Begin Processing Separation for Sailors Refusing COVID-19 Vaccination
and Pentagon Discussing Potential For COVID-19 Booster Mandate
USS Connecticut Pulls Into San Diego After Surface Transit From Guam then Damaged Attack Submarine USS Connecticut Leaves San Diego
Document: U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments and Issues
USS Iwo Jima Arrives in New Homeport at Naval Station Norfolk
Littoral combat ships in Mayport make the most of a year of restricted operations
Report to Congress on Navy SSN(X) Next-Generation Attack Submarine
Caribbean naval forces receive new boats to expand capabilities
US Navy Opens $23M Facility for Laser Weapons Testing
Navy starts building hub for surface, subsurface drones
Hearing Begins for Junior Sailor Charged in USS Bonhomme Richard Fire
USS Oakland installs Naval Strike Missile
Navy Down-Select for Compact Rapid Attack Weapon Expected in February (Editor – something new
USMMA Set to Resume at Sea Training
HMS Protector honours legendary Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton
Four More Sentenced in Coast Guard Test-Fixing Scheme
Construction Begins on Mississippi River’s Largest Oil Terminal
Vanishing Ships Underscore Supply Woe: Crisis Peak Is a Mirage are Mercedes-Benz Reroutes to Baltimore to Avoid West Coast Congestion
How was the Biggest Ship Wreck in US History Removed? (Editor – 15:10 min video)
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INDO-PACIFIC
US supply 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and 100 truck-mounted launchers Arrive in Taiwan (Editor – wide ranging video on Taiwan’s defensive posture in an 8:01 min video)
Russia stepping up its Pacific military presence (Editor – noteworthy map)
German frigate enters South China Sea on 1st Indo-Pacific deployment in two decades
South Korea’s First Nuclear Submarine Looks Closer
New sea trials for the third Chinese Type 075 LHD
What AUKUS Means to North Korea
Naval News Monthly Recap – November 2021 (Editor – 6:29 min video)
India Test Fires Supersonic Missile-Assisted Torpedo (Editor – see Russian system in European section)
Standing Committee on Defence recommends three aircraft carriers for Navy
US arms embargo symbolic shot across Cambodia’s bow
First Arafura Class offshore patrol vessel launches in Osborne
China to build its third icebreaker
U.S. Coast Guard Helps Palau Track Chinese Research Vessel in its EEZ
New U.S. Navy Sea Base Sucks Up Volcanic Stone, Clogging Engineering Systems
Defence eyes Black Hawks to replace troubled Taipans (Editor – note more Sea Hawks included) then Analysing the timing of Defence’s Taipan decision
Philippine Navy commissions former South Korean landing craft into fleet
Sinpo SSK Sub Brief (Editor – historical look at North Korea submarine ballistic missile programme in a 36:48 min video)
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EUROPE
UK Parliament’s Latest Report Calls For A Bigger Royal Navy and for report “We’re going to need a bigger Navy” – Report Summary
What did the 2021 Carrier Strike Group deployment achieve? then UK Carrier Strike Group to return in 2022
Royal Navy launches poignant Christmas film (Editor – 1:54 min video)
US State Dept. Approves $9.4 Billion in Deals to Sell Greece Littoral Combat Ships, Upgrade Frigates and France confirms the acquisition of three FDI HN or Belharra-class frigates by Greece
Russia Says Monitoring French Warship in Black Sea
Blog – Russia’s nuclear Arctic?
Russia’s Otvet anti-submarine missile successfully hits target in Sea of Japan (Editor – anyone know if CSC will have VLA ASROC? Shame if they don’t)
Putin Takes A Look At New Aircraft Carrier (Editor – 8:06 min video)
Turkish Company Unveils New SDV Project For Special Forces
MBDA’s Marte ER anti-ship missile aces final firing
French And Greek Frigates Conduct Joint Drill Off Crete Island
State-of-the-art seaborne platform in the works to carry deck-based drones
Denmark, Norway join European corvette program
Dutch minehunter returns home early after Covid outbreak on board
Royal Navy Takes Delivery of First Anglo-French Minehunting Drone Boat
This is How Cargoes Are Moved on Europe’s Narrow Canals (Editor – 10:29 min video)
Portugal Creates Europe’s Largest Marine Protected Area
Video: Bulker with Cargo Fire Arrives in Gothenburg
Drunkenness Suspected After Ship Capsizes in Baltic Sea Collision and Two Officers Accused of Drunkenness After Fatal Collision in Baltic
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MIDDLE EAST
Carrier USS Harry S. Truman Now Operating in the Mediterranean; USS Essex in Gulf of Aden in addition Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group Departs on Deployment (Editor – frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen with the Carrier Strike Group)
Israeli Prime Minister Bennett in first trip to UAE as Iran threat looms (Editor – not a maritime event but one with regional implications)
Shultz: Two FRCs Soon to Depart for Basing in Persian Gulf
US Navy Saves Five Iranians from Burning Boat and Seizes $14M in Drugs
US NAVCENT begins testing of Saildrone USV in Gulf of Aqaba
US Navy tests high-energy laser weapon in Gulf of Aden
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
Crew Reported Kidnapped in New Incident in Gulf of Guinea
Nigerian Navy commissions large number of new vessels
IMO Designates May 18th as ‘International Day for Women in Maritime’
Ballast water management: stopping the spread of invasive species by ships
The Insane Amount of Power a Ship Propeller Requires to Spin (Editor – 10:15 min video)
Study: Deep-Sea Mining Could Wipe Out Multiple Rare Species
More Arctic Shipping is Leaving Trash in Its Wake, Scientists Warn
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SCUTTLEBUTT
How a small town built 50 Aircraft Carriers in 16 months. (Editor – a wow video of Vancouver Washington’s WW2 Kaiser Shipyard in a 5:46 min video)
Steam Turbine Ship Gate-crashing the Queen 1897 | Season 1 Episode 42 (Editor – 3:02 min video)
Typhoon SSBN Sub Brief (Editor – 41:26 min video)
Scorpene SSK Sub Brief (Editor – 45:37 min video)
Han SSN Sub Brief (Editor – 37:26 min video)
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – DECEMBER
(If you see any omissions or errors please inform me, and more modern significant dates are also welcome. 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”, Roger Litwiller’s excellent website, the encyclopedic guidance of NAC member and author Fraser McKee, and anywhere else I can find credible information.
- 1 December 1948 HMCS Shearwater, RCN Air Station, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is commissioned.
- 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 As the aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure is decommissioned, the aviation fuel tanks are emptied and cleaned, but on 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 (04-05 Apr).
- 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.
- 10 December 1939 The first Canadian troop convoy of 7,400 soldiers sails for Britain escorted out of Halifax by HMC ships Ottawa, Restigouche, Fraser and St. Laurent.
- 12 December 1969 RCN retires aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure after 12 years of service; “Bonnie” never saw combat, but was scrambled during the October Missile Crisis; later sold for scrap. Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 13 December 1940 HMCS Royal Roads is commissioned as a training establishment for Probationary Sub-Lieutenants.
- 14 December 1915 Flight Sub-Lieutenant A.S. Ince, RNAS 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 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).
- 24 December 1944 HMCS Clayoquot is torpedoed by a U806 and sinks while taking station on convoy XB.139, in the approaches to Halifax harbour. Eight of her crew were lost.
- 26 December 1954 HMCS ships HURON and IROQUOIS leave Korea for their home base in Halifax.
- 27 December 1942 HMC Ships St. Laurent commanded by LCdr Guy S. Windeyer, RCN, with HMCS Chilliwack, commanded by LCdr Clifton P. Coughlin, RCNVR, with HMCS Battleford commanded by Lt F.A. Beck, RCNVR, and HMCS Napanee commanded by Lt L.S. Henderson, RCNVR and other escorts in a melee sank the German submarine U-356 in the mid-Atlantic.
- 27 December 1944 HMCS St. Thomas commanded by LCdr Leslie P. Denny, RCNR in company with HMCS Sea Cliff commanded by LCdr J.E. Harrington, RCNVR directed St. Thomas onto her ASDIC contact and sank the German submarine U-877 in the North Atlantic.
- 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.
- 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.
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