NAC News - Edition K448 HMCS Orkney - Naval Association of Canada

NAC News – Edition K448 HMCS Orkney

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of February 11th, 2022

Edition K448 HMCS Orkney (WWII River Class Frigate that served in three nations navies)

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 David Soule executivedirector-nac@outlook.com if you wish someone to be added to the NAC News email distribution. (Perhaps an influencer or a good candidate to become an NAC member)

NOTICES

24-25 February 2022 Vanguard Ship Tech Forum 2022 – A virtual Defence Event. 0800-1700 Ottawa time. Keynote Speakers: Deputy Commissioner Andy Smith, for Shipbuilding and Materiel of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG); and RAdm (RCN) C.P. Donovan, CD – Director General Future Ship Capability. To register.

NEW 9-11 March 2022 CDAI 90th Ottawa Conference Security and Defence. The Ottawa Conference is an annual gathering of Canada’s defence and security community. CDAI is an umbrella group for organizations who represent 400,000 active and retired members of the CAF, the event brings in foreign guests, Canadian government leaders, academia, and the business community to reflect on how to make Canada and the world safer. To Register. (Note – free to students)

28 April 2022 – BOA Gala Dinner – Subject to COVID restrictions, the Dinner will be held on the evening of 28 April 2022, the Thursday before Battle of the Atlantic Sunday. The NAC will honour Canada’s Naval Veterans with a special evening at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Mark your calendars and details to unfold.

14-16 November 2022 – Due to onging COVID restrictions the organizers of MSC22 have postponed the planned March event to November. This now in-person event will take place in Victoria, BC. The draft program for this November’s MSC22 is now posted on the MSC website and is available on the MSC social media channels.

THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

Ukraine crisis: Macron says Putin pledges no new Ukraine escalation yet Amidst Ukraine Tensions, Russian Amphibs Reach Eastern Med Naval Base and Russia Sends Slava-Class Cruiser Ustinov In The Mediterranean then 6 Russian Warships and Submarine Now Entering Black Sea towards Ukraine (Crimea?)then 3 More Russian Navy Amphibs Enter the Black Sea but Ukraine tensions: Russia sees room for diplomacy and the stakes go up Biden: Nord Stream 2 Will Be Halted if Russia Invades Ukraine

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CANADA

Defence Team News | 9 February 2022 (Editor – ship deployments in 3:01 min video)

Boeing answers to Canada’s RFI with P-8A Poseidon aircraft

Are we disarming?

Defence Department failed to spend $1.2B in funding last year, most due to delays (Editor – this often happens, but it can be an opportunity for smaller projects to be funded if procurement staffs and requirements staff can be nimble)

Outgoing CO reflects on 7 years with HMCS Harry DeWolf

Port inspection divers train to maintain proficiency

Navy Commander announces several Navy Command key senior appointments

Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund announces more resources for programs

Canadian Forces to investigate RCAF member who used social media to voice support of protesters and Special forces soldier faces scrutiny for alleged support of convoy protesters

New supports for Veterans who experienced sexual misconduct during service

Canada’s military moves toward inclusivity by adding feminine versions of ranks in French

North Van naval cadets revive Second World War ‘ditty bag’ tradition

Ex-sailor got PTSD compensation for fire DND doubts happened. Some vets want case reopened

B.C. marine company records massive rogue wave off coast

Barge stranded on Vancouver’s Sunset Beach to be dismantled and removed

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USA & AMERICAS

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Feb. 7, 2022

Colombian Navy Catches Narco Submarine Carrying 4 Tons Of Cocaïne and a 50 sec video Capturing a semi-submersible loaded with cocaine

CNP Nowell: Navy Short More Than 5,000 Sailors for At-Sea Billets alongside Navy Speeding Up Rate of Separations Over COVID-19 Vaccinations and Marine COVID-19 Vaccination Separations Pass 500

Record Aircraft Carrier Work Underway at Newport News Shipbuilding

U.S. Navy Commissions 28th Littoral Combat Ship – USS Savannah

US Navy Looks Again At VDS Options For New Frigate

Textron Systems Unveils Surface Effect Cargo Amphibious Transport (SECAT) for Expeditionary Warfare Logistics

Navy Investigating Leaked Footage of F-35C Lightning II Ramp Strike

Photos: Navy’s New Fleet Oiler USNS John Lewis At Sea for Builder’s Trials

Despite Force Redesign, The Marine Corps Says It Still Needs Its Big Amphibious Warships. In Fact, It Needs Over 30. plus Navy, Marines Want the Light Amphibious Warship to Haul 75 Marines for $150M or Less and US Navy’s New Landing Craft Completes Tests With USS Carter Hall

USCG Receives 2nd HC-130J Long-Range Surveillance Aircraft

US Navy completes second AARGM-ER live fire event

U.S. Needs More Icebreakers for Arctic

Meet the civilian nurse trying to become the first pre-service amputee to join the Navy

Report to Congress on U.S. Navy Destroyer Programs

Infant killed after coast guard opens fire on boat carrying Venezuelan migrants

TRANSCOM Commander: American Shipyards Need Revitalization to Help Modernize Military Sealift Command Editor – Perhaps an oversimplification, but there is a dynamic and symbiotic relationship between military sealift and a viable merchant fleet and its support facilities) and Addressing Threats to the National Security Supply Chain

Why Is The US Merchant Marine So Rusted And Broken? (Editor – insightful explanation in a 38:09 min video. For those NAC members that listened to NAC-O’s first-rate Heddle Shipyard virtual presentation on Monday (pdf of presentation), threasons for the waning of the US commercial fleet/shipyards may cause you to draw comparisons with Canada) plus US Great Lakes Fleet Invests $83 Million in Maintenance

Navy Formally Stands Up Naval Safety Command

Glut of U.S. LNG Cargoes Headed to Europe Sends Freight Rates Below Zero

Crystal Cruises’ Two Ships Arrested in the Bahamas

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INDO-PACIFIC

Luria: U.S. Needs to Provide ‘Strategic Clarity’ on Defense of Taiwan

U.S. Carrier Group, Two Amphibious Ready Groups Drill in Philippine Sea with Japan

China’s civilian fleet

Mauritius sends ship to press claim to Chagos Islands, calls UK ‘illegal colonial occupier’ (Editor – whatever the outcome, hopefully an arrangement can be made for the continued military use of Diego Garcia)

BAE Systems completes Hunter Class engineering review

New pictures released of a mysterious class of Chinese submarines

Chinese made large amphibious aircraft AG600-1003 completes engine test run

Chinese military sends two naval vessels bearing 2nd batch of aid to tsunami-hit Tonga, demonstrates responsibility, capacity

Japan to Divert LNG to Europe Amid Russia-Ukraine Tensions

Opinion: Boost Maritime Law Enforcement in the S. China Sea

South Asian Shipbreakers Continue to Dominate Scrap Trade

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EUROPE

NATO troop movements in Europe: Will it matter for Ukraine? | DW News (Editor – 7:36 min news video)

Russian Navy Restricts Black Sea Shipping With Live-Fire Drill Areas and Russia’s Black Sea maneuvers comply with international law, Kremlin assures then Russia informs Ukraine that Black Sea, Azov Sea restrictions lifted

4 East Coast Destroyers Deploy to Europe Joining U.S. Naval Buildup

Ukraine Approves Framework Agreement with the UK

Sweden sends troops to Baltic island as Russian navy steps up presence | DW News Editor – plain talk in an interview with Swedish Defence Minister)

Possibility of conflict looms in Bosnia as Serb leaders threaten secession

Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier visits Croatia

All six Royal Navy destroyers in port amid tensions with Russia

NATO Concludes Vigilance Activity Neptune Strike 2022

Tanker Owner Settles With Norway Over Collision With Frigate

HMS Prince of Wales remains on high alert on Portsmouth return

UK’s first Type 31 frigate to hit the water next year

French Navy FREMM Frigates win the US Navy Hook’em Award for ASW Excellence (Editor – 9:12 min video)

JFD successfully completes NSRS Golden Arrow exercise 2021

Turkey’s own Atmaca missile to replace Harpoons on its Navy ships

E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Set For First Ever Test With The French Navy

Russian Navy captain warned RN frigate to back off in stand-off at sea

Royal Navy Moving Forward with ‘Project Vampire’ Drones for Carriers

Cyberattack Disrupting Northern European Oil Hubs in Major Ports

Zvezda starts 7th Arctic LNG 2 carrier construction

Iceland whaling: Fisheries minister signals end from 2024

Photos of Spilled Catch Shock European Fisheries Regulators

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MIDDLE EAST

CENTCOM Nominee Kurilla: Iran Largest ‘Destabilizing Factor’ in Middle East

The Houthis have won in Yemen: What next? (Editor – not a maritime story, but Yemen does have commanding geography on a major shipping route)

US Navy Destroyer USS Jason Dunham Partners with Egyptian Navy for IMX/CE 2022 Exercises

Communist China Rotates Gulf of Aden Naval Forces

US, Israel and Bahrain leaders discuss maritime security cooperation

Allies and robots: Navy joins 60 nations in International Maritime Exercise

Iran’s Oil Exports On the Rise

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GLOBAL INTERESTS

An illegal Chinese fishing boat sinks in Antarctica (Editor 1:24 min video)

Photos: USCGC Polar Star Arrives in Antarctica

Combat drones: We are in a new era of warfare – here’s why (Editor – all forms of warfare are being impacted)

Aotearoa heads for Antarctica

Safely Navigating Polar Regions

Study: A Fraction of the World’s Coastal Regions Are in Good Shape

Ships Discharge 10,000 Cubic Meters of Plastic a Year From Sewage

Three ‘Trinity Spirit’ Crew Members Found Alive and Exploded Nigerian FPSO was ‘old, badly maintained’ – Sources

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SCUTTLEBUTT

How The Russian Navy Disposed Of 100 Nuclear Submarines | The End Of Red October | Timeline (Editor – starts slow but builds to OMG moments in a 43:51 min video)

HMCS Bras D’Or; The world’s fastest warship and the pinnacle of hydrofoil development in Canada (Editor – great pics to tell the amazing story in a 21:58 min video)

The Mariner’s Mirror podcast, Great Sea Fights 8: The Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942 (Editor – quirky, amusing, and brutal details in a 43:00 Min podcast)

Type XXI Elektroboot – The Electric U-Boat (Editor – 11:01 min video)

The Sinking of the SS Athenia | WW2 Hell Under the Sea (Editor – 5:16 min video)

THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

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, and Roger Litwiller’s excellent web site, encyclopedic guidance from Fraser McKee, the Uboat.net site, and anywhere else I can find credible information. For a comprehensive list of the staggering merchant losses – sunk, damaged, or lost – here is an excellent web page: 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)

14 February 1945 Five Motor Torpedo Boats (459, 461, 462, 465, 466) of the Canadian 29th Flotilla accidently burned in Ostende harbour, three boats were saved. 26 RCN and 35 RN crew were killed. This disaster was a stunning blow to the men of the small craft everywhere; and only the 65^th Canadian Flotilla now remained to carry on to the end of the war with what was perhaps the most colourful, the most closely knit and the most thoroughly “allied” of all forces in which men of British, Canadian, French and many other nationalities worked together.
15 February 1965 The Maple Leaf becomes Canada’s official flag.
16 February 1945 HMCS Saint John commanded by Cdr (RN) AFC Layard (Temporarily in Command while A/LCdr William R. Stacey, DSC, RCNR was absent) sank the German submarine U-309 off the northeast coast of Scotland near Moray Firth.
18 February 1944 Sixteen Canadian minesweepers, in four divisions of four ships, begin to leave St. John’s for British waters to take part in the invasion of Normandy.
19 February 1944 Motor Torpedo boats of the 29th and 65th (Canadian) Flotillas began to be commissioned (continues until 31 March).