NAC News - Edition J481 - Naval Association of Canada

NAC News – Edition J481

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of September 30th, 2022

Edition: J481 HMCS Ash Lake (varied existence of a WWII Lake Class minesweeper)

Quote: “The scattered aeronautical, resources accumulated over the previous four years were disposed of as casually as they had been acquired, except the air stations at Dartmouth and Sydney. These, together with the twelve Curtiss HS2L flying boats, remained the only tangible legacy of the short lived RCNAS and the 1918 anti-submarine patrols along Canada’s east coast” W.A.B. Douglas, The Creation of a National Air Force, The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force Volume II, University of Toronto Press in co-operation with DND… 1986, page 37.

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. (Influencer or good candidates to become a NAC member, and note the first year’s NAC & Branch membership dues are waived)

NOTICES

The 2023 Centennial of the Naval Reserves is fast approaching. You can find information on activities planned in all the NRDs on the UNTDA website along with the programme and on-line registration for a major conference and celebration organized by the UNTDA in Victoria 9-12 May 2023. You will find both at https://untd.org/

1-2 November 2022. NAC is pleased to become a supporting partner of this year’s Deep Blue Forum sponsored by Vanguard Canada. The 2022 Deep Blue Forum – The Canadian Patrol Submarine Project: 2030 Options for Canada. National Arts Centre, Ottawa, ON. Reception 1 November 17.30 – 20.00 (Ottawa time) at the National Arts Centre 1 Elgin Street. On-line agenda. Keynote speakers: Cdr RCN, VAdm Angus Topshee; President BMT Canada Ltd, Darcy Brytus; and the reception speaker is DG Naval Force Development, Cmdre Jason Armstrong. Details for attending. (there are a limited number of discounts available for NAC members, contact Nora Kennedy by email for details) The Summer 2022 Starshellfocused on submarine issues.

14-16 November 2022 Registration for Maritime Security Challenges 2022 in Victoria BC is open! Early Bird Discount until: 4 October. The past two years have seen an explosion of major events and trends that are shaking the world: a once-in-a-century-pandemic; a land war in Europe; international energy and food crises; the rise of authoritarian political movements and governments; more dramatic weather; and decades-high inflation. Many of these issues are playing out at sea, as shipping costs soar, navies modernize to protect their national maritime claims, and state rivalries flourish in the maritime domain.

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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES

Putin declares four areas of Ukraine as Russian in illegal annexation and Russia will never give up newly annexed territories in Ukraine, Putin insists at ceremony then What Russian annexation means for Ukraine’s regions

Nord Stream: Sweden finds new leak in Russian gas pipeline and Denmark says damage to Nord Stream pipeline in Baltic Sea was ‘deliberate’ and then really?! Russian Spy Chief Accuses West of Nord Stream Sabotage

Canadian navy struggling with personnel ‘crisis’: commander and Military sounding alarm over recruiting problems as Canadians steer clear and The Armed Forces is supposed to be in growth mode as it gears up to meet new demands for trained soldiers. instead, it is facing a recruiting shortfall so severe it has deemed it a ‘crisis.’

Canadian navy vessel headed to areas hit hardest by Fiona

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CANADA

Navy commander defends need for 15 new warships as Ottawa reassesses costs

Comment: Achieving a more balanced and affordable naval fleet yet Column | the Royal Canadian Navy: an evolving force [naval gazing]

A Bayonet is all PO2 James Leith needed to dismantle bombs in Afghanistan (Editor – story retold recently in LEGION magazine. The RCN has great people.)

As the East Coast picks up the pieces post-Fiona, MPs ask themselves what an army is for

CAF Story | Survivor – robbed of her Indigenous childhood (Editor – an emotional 5:10 video of Canada’s heartbreak and shame)

Royal Canadian Navy forges ties with Nunatsiavut (Editor – what a great initiative)

Pacific Clearance Divers take a plunge with the Irish navy

Judge rejects Vancouver Shipyards’ injunction request to bar picket

Military to decide whether members accused of crimes can wear uniforms in civilian courts

Naval Security Team begins operations under new mandate

Canadian Coast Guard demonstrates Arctic environmental response capacity in Iqaluit, Nunavut

Irving recruiting foreign workers to build Royal Canadian Navy’s new warship fleet

Commander RCN announces winner of coin design contest

It takes a village – FMF Cape Breton assists DCTG Galiano

The Victoria Royals and Babcock Canada partner to celebrate the Canadian Armed Forces and their families

Belleville Sea Cadets experience sail training in BC

B.C. businesses celebrate ‘record-breaking year’ for tourism as cruise season wraps up

Lookout Volume 67, Issue 38, September 26, 2022

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USA & AMERICAS

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Sept. 26, 2022

Ships, Aircraft Leaving Naval Station Mayport Ahead of Hurricane Ian Landfall

U.S. Coast Guard Spots Russian and Chinese Warships Off Aleutians

PEO Carriers: USS Gerald R. Ford ‘Fully Delivered’ Ready to Deploy

USS Georgia (SSGN 729) Returns to Kings Bay (Editor – useful concept for a few reasons)

Royal Navy Carrier Calls in New York City and Real-life ‘Iron Men’ make jet suit entrance onto HMS Queen Elizabeth

Northrop Grumman, Raytheon tapped to develop hypersonic cruise missile

Sea Serpent ASW system successfully used by US Navy

GAO: Navy’s XLUUV Undersea Minelayer $242M Over Budget, 3 Years Behind Schedule

US Navy Accepts Delivery Of 23rd Littoral Combat Ship but The Little Crappy Ships That Nobody Wants(Editor – 11:00 min video)

Navy Awards Advance Acquisition for Low-Rate Initial Production of MQ-25

Anzio, Hué City Leave the Fleet as Navy Cruiser Decommissionings Continue

HMS Medway poised to support Cayman Islands as Hurricane Ian approaches

Colombia Taps Damen for Frigate Project

Brazil Orders New Antarctic Ship

Spy Couple Plead Guilty for a Second Time in Nuclear-Sub Secrets Case

Shrinking Mississippi River Puts American Farm Trade at Risks

Port of New York and New Jersey Becomes America’s Busiest Box Port

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INDO-PACIFIC

US to operate ‘undaunted, unafraid’ in Taiwan Strait – Harris

Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Vancouver starts Operation Neon and Monitoring and surveillance activities by Canada against illicit maritime activities including ship-to-ship transfers

Who Is Xi Jinping? (Editor – not naval, but useful for perspective in a 15:23 min video)

China makes significant progress in building aircraft carrier fleet in past decade (Editor – how China views their aircraft carriers with a 1:25 min video included)

HMCS Winnipeg of Royal Canadian Navy makes first ever port call in Cambodia

ADF to embark on Indo-Pacific tour

Multinational taskforce locates WWII bombs in Tuvalu waters

US, South Korea begin naval drills after North’s missile test

Chinese Launch Assault Craft from Civilian Car Ferries in Mass Amphibious Invasion Drill, Satellite Photos Show

AUKUS and submarine proliferation

AUKUS faces triple-pronged challenge (Editor – unescapably comes down to the Statement of Operational Requirements (SOR)) then US To Speed Up Nuclear Submarine Deal With Australia

BrahMos Aerospace to Provide Indian Navy With Additional Missiles

China’s 3rd aircraft carrier starts mooring trials ahead of 10th anniversary of commissioning of the country’s first carrier: report

U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea as warning to North (Editor – 1:36 min video included)

INS Sunayna In Seychelles – Indian Navy’s Maiden Participation In Combined Maritime Forces Exercise

Taiwan to Build 10 Additional Tuo Chiang Corvettes

6 nations take part in Exercise Kakadu’s ‘gunex’ phase

China using civilian ships to enhance navy capability, reach

Satellite images reveal Chinese expansion of submarine base

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EUROPE

Ukraine:

Fiona Hill and Angela Stent on Putin’s war in Ukraine (Editor – not naval but a thought-provoking discussion with two experts on Russia in a 54:20 min podcast)

Huge Russia-based disinformation network about Ukraine war disabled (Editor – not surprised – lies upon lies upon lies) and in a similar strategy Kremlin paves way to annexing 4 regions of Ukraine as it announces referendum results

Russian Geran 2 drone would have hit headquarters of Ukrainian Navy in Odesa

Canada boosts capacity of key supply hub for weapons to Ukraine

Seven More Crop Laden Ships Leave Ukrainian Ports

On Target: Putin’s miscalculation in Ukraine: why Russia cannot win this war

General:

Video: Nord Stream 2 Gas Leak Prompts Warning to Baltic Shipping (Editor – 1 km in diameter! A 54 sec video, the timing is so suspicious?) then Nord Stream Pipeline Blast Inquiry Turns Into a Sabotage Investigation and Nord Stream Operator Says Three Offshore Gas Pipelines Damaged in One Day except Who gains most from Nord Stream sabotage?

Norway to Boost Security at Oil and Gas Installations

Russian Navy’s Readiness to be increased after the War – German Navy Chief

Two new Russian nuclear powered submarines arrive at home

Dynamic Messenger 22 – “Unmanned” Systems Meet “Manned” Assets

French nuclear submarine arrives in Scotland

First deployment since modernisation for Dutch frigate Tromp

Blaze-Hit French Nuclear Submarine Suffers New Fire: Officials

British frigate and aircraft ‘obliterate’ former US warship

Seabed Warfare demonstration by iXblue DRiX USV and ECA Group A18D AUV (Editor – 3:54 min video)

Turkish USV Marlin successfully deployed during NATO exercise in Portugal

SeaFire radar at the Shore Integration Facility (Editor – 4:44 min video)

USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) arrive in Poland

World’s first all-electric fast ferry named in Norway

Molten Salt Reactors: Maritime’s Nuclear Option

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MIDDLE EAST

FRC Seizes $85 Million in Heroin in NAVCENT Region plus U.S. Navy Warship Seizes $10 Million in Drugs in Gulf of Oman

Egyptian, French forces conclude joint naval exercise “Cleopatra 2022”

British assault ship arrives in Libya

Saudi Arabia Joins IMSC Sentinel with New Corvette

US Coast Guard retires Bahrain-based patrol boat USCGC Baranof

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GLOBAL INTERESTS

How China Targets the Global Fish Supply

Is the world’s deadliest profession also among the most violent?

IMO Moves to Amend SOLAS Requiring Reporting Containers Lost at Sea

USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) arrives in Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo

First ever visit by an Indian Navy’s warship in Gabon

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SCUTTLEBUTT

Sonar Survey Uncovers Fate of the Steamship That Tried to Warn Titanic

Protecting the secrets of a wreck – diving on HMS Coventry

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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY

1 October 1910 Captain E.H. Martin, RN (Retd.), is appointed Officer-in-Charge, Halifax.2 October 1952 A tunnel near Songjin on the main rail line carrying war supplies from Russia to North Korea was frequently shelled and under constant repair. It was the target for about two hours as HMCS Iroquois worked to keep repair crews from bringing the line back into operation. During a lull, Iroquois was hit in “B” gun turret by shore artillery batteries. LCdr John Quinn was killed, as were AB’s Elburne Baikie and Wally Burden. PO’s Emilien Fortin, Gerald Jamieson, and Edward Moslin, plus AB’s Adam Aimee, Waldo Berggrenn, Gilbert Dynna, Joseph Gaudet, Edwin Jodoin, Eugene Riley, and Walter Wrigley were seriously wounded or suffered splinter wounds. These were only battle casualties suffered by the RCN during the Korean conflict; however, it should be mentioned that five other sailors were lost at sea during the War.

4 October 1943 – On 15 September 1943, the Canadian built (West Coast Ship Builders, Vancouver) but British crewed SS Fort Fitzgerald departed Hampton Roads, Virginia in convoy UGS-18 (115 ships) bound for Port Said (and the Suez Canal) via Gibraltar. She would be delivering 5,500 tons of ammunition and military stores to ports in India and the Persian Gulf. On 4 October, she was eastbound in the Mediterranean about 325 nm East of Gibraltar and just off the coast of Cape Ténès, Algeria (36°42’N 1°17’E), when she was bombed by Luftwaffe aircraft and set ablaze. There were 41 survivors and 5 killed. The Fort Fitzgerald had to be sunk by one of the escorts.

4 October 1944 HMCS Chebogue (River Class frigate) is torpedoed by U -1227 800 miles west of the British Isles. Seven men were killed in the resulting explosion with the loss of 10 metres (33 ft) off her stern. A succession of ships towed her roughly 900 miles (1,400 km) before the towline parted in a gale and Chebogue was driven ashore in Swansea Bay, Wales where she sank. Refloated later, she was eventually declared a constructive loss.

5 October 2004 HMCS Chicoutimi a diesel-electric submarine during its maiden voyage under command of the RCN, a fire caused severe damage, resulting in the death of Naval Technical Officer Lt(N) Chris Saunders, and eight other crewmembers being injured. Chicoutimi would not sail again for almost 10 years.

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)