NAC News – Edition K518
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of June 16th, 2023
Edition: K518 HMCS Grou (WWII River Class Frigate)
Quote: “By virtue of having an American territory in Guam, it gives the United States the ability to operate on home soil, two-thirds across the reaches of the Pacific.” 25 May 2023, Bruce Jones, Bloomberg.
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-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
24 June 2023 CNMT AGM The Strategic Plan is available on the website.
Navy Bike Ride 2023 (Editor – Navy Bike Ride 2023 is open to participants of any age and ability from across the country and the world, as well as sailors deployed around the globe. Four in-person events will take place throughout the month of June, spanning from both coasts: Ottawa – Saturday, June 17; Quebec – Saturday, June 3; Halifax- Saturday, June 3; and Colwood – Saturday, June 3. A virtual event has been made available for those unable to attend in-person to include as many remote riders as possible. This year you will see the return of our exclusively virtual Admiral’s Challenge in the form of a 100km ride that must be completed in one day.)
20 June 2023 at 1200 (Ottawa time) The NAC National 2023 AGM will be held electronically using GoToMeeting. To participate email the Executive Director and indicate your intent to participate and he will “invite” you (it’s a software thing!) – no need to inform him if you are not attending. (Email executivedirector-nac@outlook.com)
NEW 17/18 October 2023 ABCMI’s Annual Business Opportunities Conference &
Trade Show – Vancouver Conference Centre ABCMI’s Annual Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show. See the website for developing Event Details including Exhibitor Spaces and Sponsorship Opportunities.
2 November 2023 Mark your calendars, the Deep Blue Forum 2023. Venue – The Westin Ottawa, 11 Colonel By Drive.
6 December 2023 7:30 am – 6:30 pm Ottawa time. Industrial Participation Association of Canada (IPAC) announced their first ever Industrial Participation Conference, titled The Changing Landscape of Industrial Participation in Canadian Federal Procurements Conference to be held at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
The high seas treaty shows a future yet for multilateralism and CIMSEC: Sea Control 435 – the high seas treaty with Gabrielle Carmine (Editor – stunning fishing focused but broader issues in a 36:56 min podcast)
Russia says relations with Canada close to ‘being severed’ as Ottawa seizes cargo plane along with Russia’s Kirkenes Consulate remains open, but for how long? and Iceland to suspend embassy operations in Moscow as of August 1
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CANADA
Cash-strapped Canadian Armed Forces ‘tenuous,’ veteran soldier says
Two Japanese ships greeted at CFB Esquimalt with naval gun salute
The RCN and RAN: Navigating Different Paths (Editor – a CNR article by CRCN. If you don’t subscribe to CNR already you may consider signing up. This article is from the latest issue of CNR that is available on the website by logging on at https://www.navalreview.ca/current-issue/. Jointly produced with the Australian Naval Review, this issue provides even more thought-provoking reading than usual.)
Canada’s largest port places 2nd last in global efficiency ranking then Port of Vancouver disappointed by poor efficiency ranking, says change is coming but one cargo that could stop B.C. border agents find 6,300 kg of meth, including largest single seizure to date
Record number of vehicles travelled on B.C. Ferries last year
Editor – hot off the press the latest NAC graphic novel Hunter and Hunted: On Board a Canadian Corvette in the Battle of the Atlantic. Written by Ann Griffiths. Illustrated by C George-Hill.
Lookout: Volume 68, Issue 23, June 12, 2023
Trident: Monday June, 12, 2023 Volume 57, Issue 12
NAC Naval Affairs Program Briefing Note #14 Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) (Editor – Prefer proper “DeWolf Class” over a project name, but please share to anyone you think may benefit from the knowledge)
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USA & AMERICAS
Pacific Fleet commander tapped as the Navy’s top officer and controversy Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin touts a man for Navy’s highest-ranking officer instead of woman who was widely thought to have been the front-runner
CMC Nominee Smith Renews Calls for 31 Amphibs, Senate Wants SECNAV to Revise Shipbuilding Plan
Department of Defense Unveils Comprehensive Recommendations to Strengthen Foreign Military Sales (Editor – interesting to see if this speeds things up, elements of these changes are already showing up.)
4,500 sailors and Marines return to San Diego following seven-month deployment
Northrop Grumman to produce AN/WSN-12 ISM new maritime navigation sensor for US Navy
Austal Begins Construction of US Navy’s Next Floating Dry Dock
Navy captain censured for deadly AAV accident no longer selected to command aircraft carrier
HASC Agrees to Navy’s Plans to Shed Littoral Combat Ships, Moves to Abolish CAPE
Northrop Grumman Delivers First Modified Navy E-6B Mercury
Coast Guard Concludes 21 Years of Maritime Security Detachments to Gitmo
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INDO-PACIFIC
US accused of using international law to provoke China after latest Taiwan Strait incident and Op-Ed: U.S., China Should Revive Cold War Rules for Encounters at Sea
Philippine Congress Set to Approve Expanded U.S. Base Deal as China Expands Claims, Ambassador Says
iPhone maker Foxconn to switch to cars as US-China tensions soar (Editor – not a maritime article but with far-reaching implications)
Russian, Chinese Bombers Make 2nd Round of Flights Near Japan, Korea and PLA deploys new-type recon aircraft as US, Japanese carriers hold drills east of Taiwan Island
HMAS Anzac enforces United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea
Indian, U.S. and Japanese Big Decks Drill in the Indo-Pacific (Editor – and HMCS Montreal!)
PODCAST: How universities are collaborating to revolutionise defence tech, with VAdm (Ret’d) Paul Maddison (Editor – 41:26 min podcast)
Russia Resumes Oil Exports to North Korea After Long Pause
HHI at MADEX 2023: KDDX, HCX-23, FFX Batch III, KDX III Batch II, CVX (Editor – 11:01 min video)
Indian Navy boosts defence industrial base and The Sky is the Limit: Navy Demonstrates Combat Prowess in Mega Multi-Aircraft Carrier Operation Involving Warships & 35 Planes plus INS Vikramaditya back in Action after 2.5 Years; Navy to get 2 more Romeo Helicopters to deploy on Board
No, that’s not a crack in a Chinese aircraft carrier
Chinese and US presence in Komodo navy exercise showed ‘support for Indonesia’, not each other
Chinese Naval Training Ship Heads For Philippines In ‘Friendly’ Tour
ASEAN to hold first joint military drills in South China Sea
China’s expanding submarine building
Australia To Get One New Build Virginia Class Submarine, Two From U.S. Navy (Editor – 4:13 min video) and Australia’s Submarine Capability: Enduring Characteristics, Emerging Features
India and Germany Partner to Build Conventional Submarines and France’s Naval Group eyes deals during PM Modi’s visit to Paris
BAE Systems secures major mine neutralizer contract with Korea Aerospace Industries
Royal Australian Navy Receives Final Ocius Bluebottle Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV)
The reinvigoration of the RNZN boarding capability
Charting the Global Economy: Weak Trade Shows China Struggling
Bangladesh ratifies Hong Kong Convention for Sustainable Ship Recycling
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Russia Says It Repelled Ukrainian Attack On Black Sea Fleet Ship
Ukraine Commissions Gyurza-M-Class Gunboat ‘Bucha’
Russia Doubles Trained Dolphins Defending Base against Ukrainian Attacks
Unravelling Ukraine’s alleged role in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage weird combination of disinformation and strange logic Medvedev sees option of Russia destroying Western communications cables on Atlantic seabed
General:
At least 79 people killed after boat sinks off the coast of southern Greece sadly Greece boat disaster: Capsized boat had 100 children in hold, BBC told
Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Enters Mediterranean Sea
Italian Forces Board Turkish Cargo Ship to ‘Liberate’ Crew more details Italian Forces Board Ro-Ro by Helicopter Apprehending 15 Stowaways
European countries join forces against undersea threats
Rolls-Royce Submarines to create jobs and expand site in Derby
Royal Navy and Royal Air Force deployed to shadow Russian warships
France – E-2C Hawkeye Sustainment Support
Unseen Threat: Russia Adds Unusual Defenses To Secretive Navy Base
Is The Royal Navy Still a ‘Blue Water Navy’? No, it is not.
Progress ‘steady’ in decommissioning old UK nuclear subs (Editor – 22 decommissioned submarines awaiting disposal)
BAE Systems awarded GBP 270 million Royal Navy radar contract
SSBN Generalissimo Suvorov Prepares for Transfer to Pacific Fleet
Options for the Royal Navy’s Future Air Dominance System and the Type 83 destroyer
Denmark Mulls Buying Submarines Again After Two Decades
Naval Group to conduct study on Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle for French MoD
Kremlin Urges Faster Action to Let Foreign Vessels Use Northern Sea Route and Two icebreakers escort gas tanker in first summer shipment on Arctic route
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MIDDLE EAST
Egypt Turns Over Command of Multinational Red Sea Task Force
Video: Salvage Team Reports Progress at Derelict FSO Safer (Editor – 1.1-million-barrel crude oil nightmare, well done to the salvage team for taking this on)
U.S., Iraq, Kuwait Conduct Third Joint Patrol in Arabian Gulf
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
JUST IN: Gilday Calls for Massive International Exercise in Arctic
How many shipwrecks are there in the world’s oceans? and IUCN: 8,500 Sunken and Abandoned Vessels Pose Imminent Risk of Spills
Ships’ scrubber discharge accounts for over 90 pct of marine contaminants, study reveals (Editor – unintended consequences)
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SCUTTLEBUTT
The Greatest, Biggest, Heaviest Ship Ever Built – and it SUNK! Historsea – Episode 6 (Editor – 16:11 min video)
The Story of The Admiral Scheer: Germany’s Mighty Pocket Battleship (Editor – 21:40 min video)
CIMSEC: Trent Hone on Admiral Chester Nimitz and mastering the art of command and Chester W. Nimitz – Fleet Admiral of the US Navy | Biography Documentary (Editor – 28:44 min video)
USS Texas in Drydock – 2023 (Editor – 40:06 min video) and the sequel USS Texas in Drydock – 2023 (Lets go inside!) (Editor – 53:55 min video)
HMS Barham: From Jutland to her Disastrous end (Editor – infamous explosion 23:59 min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
17 June 1991 The Government of Canada announces the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea and the Gulf and Kuwait medal.
18 June 1940 French cruiser Emile Bertin arrives in Halifax with $305 million in gold from the Bank of France; gold released after the war.
19 June 1812 The United States formally declares war against Great Britain.
19 June 1951 HMCS Cayuga begins the second of three tours to Korea.
20 June 1923 HMCS Brunswicker, a current day Naval Reserve Division, was raised as a RCN Volunteer Reserve half-company in Saint John, NB.
20 June 1942 Japanese submarine I-26 shelled Estevan Point BC lighthouse and radio-direction-finding station and marking the first enemy attack on Canadian soil since the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1871. I-26 fired 25–30 rounds of 5.5-inch (140 mm) shells at the lighthouse but failed to hit its target. Although the attack resulted in no damage or casualties, the subsequent decision to turn off the lights of outer stations caused difficulties for coastal shipping. Five RCN patrol vessels and a RCAF Supermarine Stranraer flying boat were dispatched to search for the submarine but failed to locate I-26 which had fled north and then returned to Japan.
20 June 1942 HMCS Edmundston (corvette) rescues 31 crewmembers from the SS Fort Camosun that had been disabled by a Japanese submarine near the Washington coast.
21 June 1749 A military expedition led by Colonel Edward Cornwallis arrives at the harbour at Chebucto, NS and establishes the Halifax military base.
21 June 1940 HMCS Fraser evacuates from France some Free French troops, and the then Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to France, who became subsequently the Canadian Ambassador to France, and even further in the future, the Canadian Governor-General, Lieutenant-Colonel G.P. Vanier.
21 June 1940 The National Resources Mobilization Act is passed provides for conscription for home defence and registration of all adult males and females.
21 June 1942 HMS P-514 left Argentia, bound for St. John’s to join a convoy. She was under the escort of three Canadian corvettes; but in a rough day with poor visibility became separated from her escort for a few fatal hours. Although its normal crew contingent was listed as 33, there were 42 on board. It was thought some may have been catching a ride to rendezvous with other vessels. In the middle of the night, with heavy fog, the Bangor class minesweeper HMCS Georgian sat just off Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, waiting to escort a convoy bound for Sydney, N.S. In a case of mistaken identity HMCS Georgian, which was also there waiting, picked up the unmistakeable sound of diesel engines from a submarine on its hydrophone. The minesweeper’s captain, Lt. Alfred George Stanley, closed in on the signal. Still, there was no reply from P-514. At 3:05 a.m., the submarine was rammed amidships on the port side, broadside on. Her navigation lights were seen to flick on. The submarine then disappeared, there were no survivors. A Board of Inquiry ruled that Gregorian’s CO had acted correctly. P-514’s story reflects many aspects of the Battle of the Atlantic – she had sailed from a newly established USN Argentia Base established as part of the lend-lease process. She was originally USS R-19 (SS-96) a WW1 era boat completed in 1918 then transferred/commissioned 9 March 1942 into the RN as P-514 to serve as an ASW training target to help training the Canadian convoy escort ships operating out of Newfoundland, still then British Colony.
21 June 2001 Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson unveils the National Aboriginal Monument, Ottawa, to commemorate the sacrifice of aboriginals in both world wars and Korea.
22 June 1940 The last class of RCN Volunteer Reserve officers graduate from HMCS Stone Frigate.
22 June 1967 HMCS Onondaga (submarine) commissioned at Chatham Dockyards.
23 June 1919 The Air Board is formed in Canada to control all aspects of aviation, including military.
23 June 1940 Destroyer HMCS Restigouche engaged in French evacuation operations off St Jean de Luz engaged in French evacuation operations.
23 June 1940 Sgt. Henry A. Larsen leaves Vancouver on the RCMP schooner St. Roch bound for Halifax via the Northwest Passage; ship will take southerly route through Arctic islands, and after two winters trapped in the ice, will reach Halifax Oct. 11, 1942; first ship to make the voyage from west to east, and in both directions, and to circumnavigate North America; St. Roch declared national historic site in 1962; berthed at Vancouver Maritime Museum.
23 June 1961 The Antarctic Treaty comes into force. The continent is declared a scientific reserve and military activity is banned.
23 June 1968 HMCS Okanagan (submarine) commissioned at Chatham Dockyards.
23 June 1995 HMCS Winnipeg Commissioned at Esquimalt BC.
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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