NAC News – Edition K485

Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of October 28th, 2022
Edition: K485 HMCS Mimico (WWII Flower Class Corvette) and HMCS MTB 485 (WWII BPB 72 feet-type)
Quote: “It’s ironic that Elon Musk, the man who has been talking about getting us to Mars should be Putin’s messenger for the war in Ukraine, when we’re having a really hard time getting our act together on this planet.” 17 October 2022, Fiona Hill, Politico
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 http://www.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 Starshell focused on submarine issues.
2 November 2022 7:00-9:00 PM Halifax time. The RUSI Nova Scotia extends the invitation to join the Zoom presentation by Adam MacDonald of Dalhousie University, titled “The Maritime Domain of the Russian-Ukrainian War: Implications, Considerations and Lessons for Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy.” To register, email RUSINovaScotia@gmail.com by close-of-business Sunday, 30 October. Instructions will be emailed to registrants by end Monday, 31 October.
8-9 November 2022 Starts 8 Nov @9:00am finishes 9 Nov @4:00pm. Association of British Columbia Marine Industry’s (ABCMI) Business Opportunities Conference and Trade Show 2022 Impressive panellists in a packed programme. To register.
Update 14-16 November 2022 Registration for Maritime Security Challenges 2022 in Victoria BC Apaart from all the other great sessions, Maritime Security Challenges announced the addition of a new panel to the 2022 conference! MSC will host a special session with the deputy heads of navy of the 5 Eyes intelligence alliance (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States) on November 16th, where they will share their perspectives on security issues in the Indo-Pacific and what their navies are doing to meet the maritime security challenges of today and tomorrow.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Canadian minister in Washington: We need to decouple from China
Estimated cost of warship fleet rises to $84B thanks to delays, inflation: PBO and Canadian Surface Combatant ship to see design review within weeks: Lockheed Martin
Military recruiting issues may be ‘more serious’ than senior ranks letting on: Hillier (Editor – wide ranging 10:03 min video included)
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CANADA
Editor – happened today! The Royal Canadian Navy commissions HMCS Margaret Brooke
A Huge Nuclear Powered American Aircraft Carrier Is Arriving In Halifax Harbour This Friday and USS Normandy Deploys with the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group [Image 6 of 20] (Editor – nice pic of HMCS Fredericton)
The Canadian Coast Guard: Enhancing Offshore Patrol Capability in a More Contested Commons
Is China recruiting Canadian fighter jet pilots? Defence department probing reports (Editor – two related subjects, one text the other in a 2:08 min video too)
Ceremony In Honour Of A Local Sailor Who Died In HMCS Kootenay Explosion To Be Held This Weekend and more pics Pictou County brook dedicated to late seaman who died in historical explosion and out west HMCS Kootenay explosion remembered on 53rd anniversary (Editor – 2:07 min video)
From operational flights to deck evolutions: a look at HMCS Winnipeg’s Guardian
Anand names external monitor to oversee military’s efforts to address sexual misconduct
Veterans Class Action Lawsuit Certified By Federal Court
Canada Post announces 2022 Free Delivery to Deployed CAF Personnel
Canadian Armed Forces Purchases New Military Gear
Shipyards pitched to build new marine-based nuclear power plant (Editor – the future?)
Canada’s New Oil Spill Response Barges Launched (Editor – wow)
Canada’s Shrinking St. Lawrence Seaway Latest Threat to Shipping Routes
Sailor reflects on a lifetime in uniform
Defence calls for acquittal in sexual assault trial for former military head of vaccine campaign
Naval Reservists compete at Cross-Country World Championship
CAF Story |RMC Cadet Races in high profile Olympic Trials! (Editor – NCdt Hanna Mountfort)
Royal Canadian Legion – Leave the Streets Behind: Homeless Veterans Assistance and Operational Stress Injury Special Section
Irving Halifax Shipyard – Community and Suppliers Small Business Week 2022: Jastram
Editor – With Remembrance Day approaching National Veterans’ Week Speakers Program – all ages (Editor – 4:52 min video) and for kids National Veterans’ Week Speakers Program – Kindergarten to grade 2 (Editor – 7:54 min video) and other useful programmes The Memory Project and No Stone Left Alone
CDR October 2022 Volume 28 Issue 5 (Editor – Pg 36 & 37 of particular interest)
Lookout: Volume 67, Issue 42, October 24, 2022
Sage Federal Retirees Magazine
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USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Oct. 24, 2022
Nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missile Has ‘Zero Value,’ Latest Nuclear Posture Review Finds
Report on Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles
USS Milwaukee Deploys to Support Regional Cooperation and Security
Aerojet Rocketdyne to support production of US Navy’s CRAW torpedo
CIMSEC: Get real, Get better: Revamping Surface Warfare Officer qualification
How INCOMPETENCE Destroyed an American Assault Ship (Editor – 12:26 min video)
Navy Needs to Fill About 9,000 At-Sea Billets in More than a Dozen Ratings, Says Personnel Command(Editor – calm yourself navigators, it’s only a sextant!)
Navy COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal Separations Nears 2,000
LCS Jackson wraps up first deployment, with decommissioning on horizon
NASSCO Lays Keel for Future Expeditionary Sea Base USS Robert E. Simanek
Video: Boston’s Largest Ship Ever Docks After Port Upgrades
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INDO-PACIFIC
North Korea perseveres despite sanctions and South, North Korea say they’ve exchanged warning shots near disputed sea boundary
US software gives China its hypersonic edge and China can now deploy hypersonic nukes on its carriers
Russia’s Pacific Fleet To Field Six Project 636.3 Submarines By 2024
Should Taiwan Worry About Subsea Cable Security?
Japan, US to stage joint drills for remote island defense
Japan starts operations with SeaGuardian drone, receives two Hawkeyes
PM Modi announces 4th ‘Positive Indigenisation List’ of 101 defence items
Indian Navy on Course to Commission Attack Boats INS Vagir in 2023 and INS Vagsheer in 2024
UK Royal Navy Demonstrates Future Minehunting Concept in Korea
Inaugural Submarine Command Course (Editor – 4:09 min video)
SPOTLIGHT: Next-gen mine countermeasure capability, with Gavin Henry and Peter Newnham from Thales, and Neil Hodges from BlueZone Group (Editor – 23:40 min podcast)
France Offers Philippines Two Submarines in Unusual Exchange
Philippines Proposes Maritime Encroachment Law Aimed At China (Editor – it will be interesting to watch enforcement)
Strategic Fleet Taskforce launched
China’s Access to the Indian Ocean Via Myanmar is Almost Complete
Two Exploration Cruise Ships Delivered by Chinese Shipbuilder
Costa Cruises Reorganizes in Asia as China Continues Covid Lockdowns
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ claim lights the nuclear fuse yet Russia may prefer sabotage of critical infrastructure over nuclear weapons then Russia doubles down on ‘dirty bomb’ accusation against Ukraine
Flying just outside Ukraine, NATO’s sentinel planes warn of Russia’s battlefield moves
Russian Sea-Based Kalibr Cruise Missiles Part of New Round of Strikes in Ukraine
Russian Navy Moving Back Into Cold War Fortress In Crimea
Ukraine Says Russia Deliberately Delaying Passage of 150 Grain Ships
Possible Mine Sighting Stops Ukrainian Grain Exports for a Day
General:
Russian Aggression in Ukraine Boosts Arctic Security Concerns and The Arctic ice between Russia and the US is melting. What’s at stake at the top of the world?
NATO frigates shadowed outside Russia’s Arctic submarine bases
Could the Nord Stream Pipelines be Repaired? (Editor – 5:09 min video included) and the reality of Pipeline Blasts Leave Nord Stream in Insurance Limbo
Spain, US to Discuss More Destroyers on Base: Foreign Minister
King takes on Royal Marines role once held by Harry
First batch of new electric torpedoes ET-1E delivered to Russian Navy
Mission CALLIOPE: First Seabed Control Operation
UK Spearhead plans accelerated capability insertion for Sonar 2087
Two US Destroyers Participate in Mare Aperto 22-2
HMS Enterprise completes Arctic research mission
FGS Hessen Joins Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group
Damen Shipyard Launches Netherlands’ Future Combat Support Ship
Fincantieri Delivers Second PPA to Italian Navy
Euronaval 2022 – Day 3: EMALS, Seaguardian, S-300, TKMS and Seaexplorer
HHI at Euronaval 2022: New OPVs and Corvettes for the Philippine Navy (1:44 min video)
Euronaval 2022 – Day 4: French Navy programs (Editor – 12:26 min video)
German Frigate Sachsen Engages Drones with Laser Weapon
Dutch frigate conducts missile firings off Scottish coast
First Exocet MM40 Block 3c Missiles Set For December Delivery
France joins Belgian-Dutch designs for naval demining tech
Airbus Showcases ‘Cargo Copter’ Prototype in Portugal
DGA Selects Kongsberg’s Hugin AUV for the French Navy
Sweden Finds 17th Century Warship, Sister to the Famed Vasa
World’s largest LNG-fuelled cruise ship delivered
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MIDDLE EAST
Top US general in Middle East on rare visit to nuclear-armed sub
Tanker Avoids Two “Drone-Driven Explosions” at Port in Yemen
With Israeli-Lebanese Accord Complete, Karish Produces First Gas
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
Grain Giant Warns Globalization Is Over (Editor – gloomy prediction)
Survey Finds “Unacceptable” Discrimination Against Female Seafarers
South Africa May Provide a Safe Haven for $500M Sanctioned Megayacht
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Admiral Jackie Fisher – A Most Incomparable Individual (The Man) (Editor – 1:04:54 hr video)
HMS Calypso – Guide 306 (Editor – amazing technical changes in a 6:11 min video)
HMS Victory – An Audio Tour Part 1: The Hold (Editor – 29 min podcast)
HMS Victory – An Audio Tour Part 2: The Gundecks (Editor – 37 min podcast)
HMS Victory – An Audio Tour Part 3: The Weather Deck and Visitor Book (Editor – 34 min podcast)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
29 October 1942 – On 10 June 1940, Canada declared war on Italy. Later that same day, the minesweeper HMCS Bras d’Or seized the Italian freighter Capo Noli in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The war prize became the SS Bic Island (Merchant Marine Ltd, Ottawa). On 20 October 1942, she departed Halifax in convoy HX-212 (54 ships) bound for Liverpool. The Bic Island was one of the five ships sunk in the mid-Atlantic. At 00:15 (GMT+2) on 29 October, she was torpedoed by U-224 and sank (55°05’N 23°27’W) about 460 nm West of Ireland. The master, 35 crew members, eight DEMS gunners and 121 rescued survivors (from the torpedoed SS Gurney E. Newlin and SS Sourabaya) were casualties.
29 October 1952 HMCS Athabaskan leaves Esquimalt, B.C., on its third tour of duty in Korea.
30 October 1918 HMCS Galiano was lost, with all her crew of 39 and one female passenger, in Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island. HMCS Galiano and her crew of Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reservists was the only Canadian Naval vessel lost during WWI – only 12 days before the armistice to end the “war to end all wars”.
30 October 1942 A RCAF Hudson of No. 145(BR) Squadron destroyed U658 with a salvo of depth charges 320 miles out of St. John’s Newfoundland. Later that same day, a Digby of No. 10(BR) RCAF Squadron sent U520 to the bottom far out in the Atlantic.
NOVEMBER
1 November 1914 Battle at Coronel. A brass plaque at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Esquimalt, BC, is dedicated to the four ex-cadets of the Royal Naval College of Canada and men of Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Good Hope who were killed in action in 1914. Four cadets of the first class of the Royal Navy College of Canada, were the first Canadian Navy casualties in WWI. Midshipmen Malcolm Cann, John V.W. Hatheway, William Archibald Palmer, and Arthur Wiltshire Silver, died when the British warship HMS Good Hope went down with no survivors, sunk by the German navy. These casualties were avenged 8 December at the Battle of the Falkland Islands.
1 November 1920 Three British ships, Aurora, Patriot, and Patrician are officially commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy at Portsmouth.
1 November 1941 Reserve Divisions are commissioned as HMCS, local names chosen for each.
2 November 1942 Since December 1940, the ore carrier SS Rose Castle (Rose Castle SS Co Ltd., Sydney) had transported 46 loads of iron ore from Wabana (near the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO) iron mines on Bell Island in Conception Bay, Newfoundland), to the DOSCO steel refinery in Sydney NS. On 1 November 1942, she returned from Sydney and anchored (47°36’N 52°57’3”W) about 650 meters east of the already anchored ore carrier SS P.L.M. 27, just off shore from the DOSCO loading pier. At about 02:00 GMT+2, 2 Nov (19:00 local, 1 Nov), the surfaced U-518 entered Conception Bay. At 04:00 the U-boat log records “On both sides ashore many lights (driving automobiles). Searchlights over [the sea from] the [Bell] island.” The U-518 at about 06:19, slowly proceeded up the channel along the south-east coastline of Bell Island. At 06:53 a scanning searchlight almost but did not illuminate the surfaced U-boat, however three anchored merchant ships were clearly illuminated for targeting. At 07:02, two of the three torpedoes, which were fired at the Rose Castle, exploded into the ship. “The steamer settles aft, lays over on its port side and is shrouded in a cloud of smoke.” Twenty-two crew members and one gunner were killed. The master, 17 crew members and two gunners were rescued by an RCN Fairmile motor launch.
2 November 1942 After France capitulated to Germany in June 1940, ships of the puppet Vichy France regime were subject to ‘requisition’ by the allied nations. On 17 July, the French ore carrier SS P.L.M. 27 (Paris Lyon Marseille 27) was seized at Glasgow. On 25 June 1942. She was “transferred … sublet [by UK government]… to DOSCO for Canadian Coastal trade incl. Newfoundland”. The P.L.M. 27 transported nine loads of iron ore from DOSCO iron mines on Bell Island in Conception Bay, Newfoundland, to the DOSCO steel refinery in Sydney NS. On 1 November, the P.L.M. 27 arrived from Sydney to receive another load. She anchored (47°36’N 52°58’W) less than a half nautical mile offshore from the DOSCO loading pier in Wabana. Two minutes after U-518 sank the SS Rose Castle, the U-boat fired a torpedo into and sank (07:04 GMT+2) the SS P.L.M. 27. The U-boat log recorded “This one settles aft immediately, forward slowly deeper.” Seven crew members from P.L.M. 27 were killed. Thirty-five crew and six gunners were able to swim to shore.
3 November 1942 On 2 November 1942, the SS Christian J. Kampmann (Merchant Marine Ltd, Ottawa) with a cargo of sugar and rum from Demerara, British Guiana, departed Port of Spain, Trinidad, in convoy TAG-18 (37 ships) northbound for Guantanamo, Cuba. At 00:00 (GMT+2, 3 Nov) (17:00 local, 2 Nov), the U-160 sighted the convoy. The surfaced U-boat maneuvered ahead of the convoy and at 02:02 fired two torpedoes (Firing solutions of both were set to “target speed = 8 knots, target angle = 81°, range = 2000 meters, depth 4 meters”) into the Christian J. Kampmann. The U-160 log records that 90 seconds later “Heavy detonation, high flare up of the cargo, sank quickly over the after stern” (12°09’N 62°33’W) about 45 nm West of Grenada. The master and seven crew members were picked up by the destroyer USS Lea. Seventeen crew members and two DEMS gunners were casualties. Later on the 3rd, the U-160 sank three more ships in the convoy: SS Leda (Panama), SS Melton (US) and SS Thornshaver (Norway).
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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