NAC News – Edition J482
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of October 7th, 2022
Edition: J482 HMCS Beech Lake (Editor – WWII Lake Class minesweeper – and useful link that shows the scale of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) 1939–1945, Minesweepers (Algerine, Bangor, Fundy, Lake and Llewellyn Class)
Quote: “Eastern Air Command’s effort was only part of the RCAF contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic. Under the BCATP agreement, six RCAF squadrons formed in Coastal Command, and sank, or shared in the destruction of, nine U-boats in the eastern Atlantic.” 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 467.
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
11 October 2022 19:00-20:30 (Ottawa time) NAC-O is hosting Cdr Corey Gleason who will speak about his experiences in bringing HMCS Harry DeWolf into commissioned service. To register for this online meeting.
11 October 2022 7:00 PM (Ottawa time) USNI Webinar Live Steamed “A conversation with Vice Admiral Brad Cooper”, USN is Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command/Commander, Fifth Fleet and Commander, Combined Maritime Forces.
HMCS Sackville will return to HMC Dockyard on Tues 11 Oct 22 after a great navy summer! BZ to the crew for another great season.
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
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a press briefing at NATO headquarters | DW News (Editor – 24:55 min press conference video ref Russian annexation shame)
Facing foreign conflicts, domestic disasters, Canada’s top soldier worries about readiness
The military can’t be the first line of defence in domestic disasters, MPs told
Canadian Armed Forces chief orders halt to non-essential activities amid personnel crisis
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CANADA
HMCS Margaret Brooke checks on storm-ravaged towns on Newfoundland’s south coast then Ships arrive home from Op Nanook / Les navires reviennent de l’opération Nanook
Canada agrees to help buy land near Juno Beach, ending condo dispute
Nearly 4,500 Canadian Armed Forces members, families waiting for military housing
HMCS Kingston executive officer under investigation over sexual misconduct allegations
Defence minister stands by military’s vaccine mandate amid months-long review
Collaboration key to facilitating trade at Canada’s largest port
LNG-Birth of a new industry in Canada
More problems emerge with new Canadian military machine-guns
CDA Institute: Demographic Changes Are shaping CAF Recruitment & Future Crises (Editor – useful 22:50 min podcast)
Defence Team News | 6 October 2022 (Editor – 4:10 min CAF video about the CAF Retention Strategy
Prince Rupert mayor requests action on port tax cap as port booms while city stagnates
National Association of Federal Retirees Mega Recruitment Drive
Meet the Director of the Naval Museum of Alberta
Help us revitalize Canada’s monument to Naval Reservists (Editor – NAC Recently we presented an Endowment Fund grant to the National Naval Reserve Monument Association to help revitalize this national monument and the surrounding grounds in celebration of the centenary of Nava Reserve in 2023.
Lookout Volume 67, Issue 39, October 3, 2022
Trident Monday October 3, 2022 Volume 56, Issue 20
Fall Edition Volume 4, Number 15 The Newsletter of the Association UNTD of Canada
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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
Ominous sign China is quietly preparing to invade Taiwan
Carrier USS Ronald Reagan Headed Back to Korean Peninsula After North Korean Missile Launch
US and Canada, Exercise in South China Sea to Support Japan Deployment (Editor – HMC Ships Winnipeg and Vancouver)
Canadian frigate to dock in Chon Buri
India–Australia defence ties grow in the face of rising strategic challenges
China flexes new nuke sub ahead of Party Congress
Taiwan urges Canada to keep sending warships through waters off China
Taiwan Commissions ROC Navy’s Largest Vessel: LPD ‘Yu Shan’
China’s 3rd Type 075 LHD Anhui 安徽 Commissioned With PLAN
China Struggling to find Enough Trained Pilots for its Three Carriers: Report
JMSDF Submarine Toryu Heading to Pearl Harbor for ASW Training
Naval News Monthly Recap – September 2022 (Editor – 3:46 min video)
Inaugural Australian submarine command course launches
US, Japan and South Korea sharpen submarine hunting skills
South Korea sends two ships Hansando and Daecheong to visit India
“Spy Ship” Port Call Symbolizes Sino-Indian Maritime Competition
Twelve Crewmembers Aboard Chinese Bulker Die of Food Poisoning
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Space, the unseen frontier in the war in Ukraine
Russia has completed the repair of a Serna-class landing craft allegedly destroyed by the Ukrainians
Romanian Navy Needs Minehunters to Keep Black Sea Safe for Ships, Navy Chief Says
IMF: War in Ukraine is Contributing to a Global Food Price Shock
Finland Blocks Helsinki Shipyard from Delivering Icebreaker to Russian Mining Company
General:
Editor – apparently the pipelines are now full of seawater and (OMG) likely ruined. I wonder if this story should be lumped into the Ukraine Section. Time will tell.
Nord Stream Rupture May Be Biggest Single Methane Release Ever Recorded – UN so Who’s To Blame For The Nord-Stream Gas Pipeline Leak? while Britain To Acquire Two Specialist Ships To Protect Underwater Infrastructure then Italian Navy Sails To Defend Mediterranean Gas Pipelines and Europe Bolsters Maritime Security After Pipeline Explosion finally Sweden Finds Evidence of “Gross Sabotage” at Nord Stream Sitesthen German Police See State Actor Role in Nord Stream Blasts as Probable – Spiegel
U.K. Frigate Joins Norwegian Navy Ships Guarding North Sea Pipelines
Norway limits access for Russian fishing trawlers in security push
New Images Reveal Russia’s ‘Missing’ Submarine Belgorod In Arctic
Exercise Joint Warrior: The largest military exercise in Europe explained
US Navy’s George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group visits Greece
Drone spotted in Royal Navy colours on HMS Queen Elizabeth
Russia’s North Pole platform starts ice drift towards Greenland Sea
Royal Navy Pays Tribute to 80th Anniversary of WWII Arctic Convoy PQ18
Nuclear Boiler Aboard French Navy’s 2nd Barracuda Type SSN Started For The 1st Time
Turkish Shipyard Launches Ukraine’s 1st MILGEM Corvette
Seven Royal Navy warships to lead huge military drill around UK
ADF Builds Closer Ties with NATO in the Mediterranean
Italian SMEREX 2022: Search and Rescue exercise concluded in the waters of the Gulf of Taranto
Naval Electronic Warfare: Briefing by French Navy (Editor – 21:21 min video)
UK and Poland sign Statement of Intent for the three Arrowhead-140 frigates
French FREMM frigate Normandie tracks Russian submarine Novorossiysk
Kraken Demonstrates KATFISH to Royal Navy
Protecting seabed infrastructure – UK Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship to be in service by 2023
US aircraft carrier trains with Spanish largest warship in Ionian Sea
Hellenic Navy Commissions Its 7th and Final Roussen-Class FACM
Netherlands’ Submarine Replacement Program Reaches Milestone (Editor – I wonder what their Statement of Operational Requirements (SOR) states. Anything close to Canada’s?)
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MIDDLE EAST
CMF Hosts Maritime Security Conference in Bahrain
USCG, U.S. Navy Intercept $100M Worth of Drugs in Gulf of Oman
Indian Navy’s First Training Squadron in Kuwait
Israel Shipyards floats out OPV S-45
Israel Upbeat on Draft Lebanese Demarcation Deal, Sees Gas Profit Sharing
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
The Outlaw Ocean Episode 2: The World’s Largest Illegal Fishing Fleet (Editor – shocking 54:56 min CBC podcast included)
Maersk books six more methanol-fuelled boxships at HHI (Editor – decisive management)
INS Tarkash completes Gulf of Guinea anti-piracy deployment
Onboard carbon capture makes most business sense for large tankers & newbuilds
How corruption cripples business at Africa’s seaports
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SCUTTLEBUTT
The Spanish flu ravaged Canada and its soldiers
Why Did It Collapse? (Editor – 8:23 min video)
When the Soviet Navy Lost 16 Admirals in a Single Accident: The Tu-104 Crash at Pushkin (Editor – 24:28 min video)
Maritime Disasters: SS Waratah – The Ship That Disappeared (Editor – 30 min podcast)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
8 October 1880 – The Governor General of Canada request that the Admiralty supply a vessel for training of the Naval Reserve. The Admiralty offers HMS Charybdis, a steam frigate. The Canadian High Commissioner reports her suitable for training, her worn boilers will not allow for a winter voyage across the Atlantic. When she finally arrives, she will require further extensive repair at Canadian Government expense.
8 October 1944 HMCS Mulgrave strikes a mine off Le Havre, is beached, and becomes a total loss.
8 October 1992 The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries unveil the Peacekeeping Monument in Ottawa.
8 October 2001 Minister of Defence Art Eggleton announces the details of Canada’s contribution to the campaign against terrorism. Canada’s initial commitment involved 2000 personnel from the Canadian Forces and included the deployment of ships, aircraft, and a small contingent of soldiers. It is the biggest mobilization of the armed forces since the Korean War.
9 October 1942 – The freighter SS Carolus (Merchant Marine Ltd, Ottawa), with a cargo of empty barrels, was one of six merchant ships in convoy NL-9 (from Goose Bay, Labrador to Quebec City). U-69 (Ulrich Gräf) was stalking the convoy. The 9 October 02:40 (GMT+2) entry in the U-boat log recorded first sighting “Several shadows bearing 220°. Convoy, 7 vessels, maneuvered ahead. Enemy course 245°, 7 knots …”. About three hours later, “05:53 – 2 columns each of 3 freighters. On the flank of each column 1 destroyer escort [corvettes HMC Ships Arrowhead and Hepatica] on forward bearing. Ran towards the 1st column, must however shoot at long range because the flank escort of the 2nd column is bow right 10°, 800 meters. Two fan from tubes I and IV, speed 9 knots, bow right 90°, range = 2000 meters on three overlapping freighters. Turned hard to starboard. Shot tube V, bow right 90°, range = 2000 meters. Ran off at LF, course 50°. After 4 minutes detonation heard. After one further minute hit on 4000 GRT freighter, high dark explosion column with high coils of fire, enemy scatters. Enemy breaks apart.” The SS Carolus was sunk (48°47’N 68°10’W) in the Gulf of St Lawrence, about 25 nm down river from Rimouski. Eleven crew members were killed. The master, 16 crew members and two gunners were picked up by Arrowhead and Hepatica and were landed at Quebec.
9 October 1943 German sub U-220 lays 66 magnetic mines 24 kilometres off St. John’s Harbour.
10 October 1942 – In December 1939, the SS Duchess of Atholl (Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd. Montreal – home port London, UK) was pressed into service as troopship. Her first duties were transporting troops in the Mediterranean. Later in June 1940, she departed Halifax in convoy TC-5 (4 troopships) and she delivered 1173 Canadian troops to the UK. About 28 months later, on 3 October 1942, the Duchess departed Cape Town, South Africa with 291 crew and 534 passengers (236 Army, 196 RN, 97 RAF, 5 nurses and 291 civilians). She was steaming independently (no escorts) to Liverpool via Freetown, Sierra Leone. On 10 October at 7:56 GMT+2, the northbound zig-zagging troopship was sighted by U-178. At 8:29, the U-boat fired a fan of 2 torpedoes of which one exploded into the troopship. Four more torpedoes were fired before she capsized at 11:26 and sank (7°39’S 11°09’W), about 980 nm SSE of Freetown. Four crew members (engineering department) were killed. The 821 survivors were picked up from their lifeboats by HMS Corinthian on 11 October and were landed at Freetown on 15 October.
11 October 1942 – The SS Waterton (Bowater´s Newfoundland Pulp & Paper Mills Ltd), with a cargo of wood sulphate and newsprint, departed Corner Brook on 10 October 1942 in small convoy BSC-31 bound for Sydney. She would then continue westward through the Great Lakes to Cleveland. Ohio. At 15:47 on 11 Oct 1942, while transiting the Cabot Strait, the Waterton was struck by two torpedoes from U-106 (Hermann Rasch). She sank (47°07’N 59°54’W) about 60 nm north of Sydney. The master, 24 crew members and two gunners were picked up by the 181-foot armed yacht HMCS Vison and were landed at Sydney.
12 October 1940 – After France capitulated to Germany in June 1940, ships of the puppet Vichy France regime were subject to “requisition’ by the allied nations. The French Saint-Malô was seized by the Canadian government on 30 July 1940. The SS St Malo (Merchant Marine Ltd, Ottawa) with a cargo of steel and grain departed Halifax on 30 September in convoy HX-77 (37 ships) bound for Liverpool. She became a straggler and continued eastward without escort. On 12 October at 23:25 (GMT+2), the ship was struck amidships by a torpedo fired from U-101. The St Malo sank (57°58’N 16°32’W) about 380 nm WNW from the North Channel access to Liverpool. The Canadian and Free-French crew members abandoned ship in one lifeboat and some rafts. On 21 October, the survivors from the St Malo joined with survivors from the 11 October sinking of the SS Port Gisborne. Resources were shared and the survivors were balanced across the lifeboats. The next day, on 22 October they were rescued by the tug HMS Salvonia. 16 of those rescued were from the St Malo and 28 of their crew mates were casualties.
13 October 1710 The defenders of Port Royal surrender to a British naval expedition.
13 October 1910 Her Majesty’s Dockyard, Halifax, is transferred to Canadian ownership by a British Order in Council.
14 October 1942 The passenger ship SS Caribou (Newfoundland Railway, Government of Newfoundland), provided three (sometimes four) round-trip sailings a week between Sydney, NS and Port aux Basques, Nfld. For needed repairs in St. John’s, she had been out of service for 3 months and returned to service on 4 October 1942. There was a pent-up demand for passenger services. On the evening of the 13th, the Caribou departed Sydney for an overnight sailing to Port aux Basques (the 4th sailing since repairs). A surfaced U-boat was waiting. The 05:34 (GMT+2) (20:34 local, 13 Oct) entry in the U-69 log recorded “Shadow in sight bearing 300°T, behind it a second smaller shadow. Enemy course 40°, speed 10.5 knots. Heavily smoking freight passenger steamer …. Astern to starboard a 2 smokestack destroyer as escort. Maneuvered ahead.” About 3 hours later, “08:21 [01:21 local] – [the surfaced U-69 had maneuvered into a firing position and] Shot from tube V, bow right 90°, speed 12 knots, range = 650 meters. Hit forward 10 meters. High dark explosion column, shortly thereafter 2 explosions (boiler). Steamer settled immediately almost up to the railing and takes a list to port.” The SS Caribou sank in the Cabot Strait about 72 nm south of Port aux Basques and about 35 nm from Sydney harbour. The master, 30 crew members, 57 service personnel and 48 passengers were lost. 15 crew members, 61 service personnel and 25 passengers were rescued at dawn by the minesweeper HMCS Grandmere and landed at Sydney. It was worst loss of life in Canadian waters during the Second World War. Nursing Sister LCdr Margaret Brooke, fought for her own life hanging onto ropes on a capsized lifeboat while still doing everything she could to save the life of her colleague and friend Agnes Wilkie. Despite her heroic efforts her friend succumbed to the frigid waters. HMCS Margaret Brooke is named in her honour. The Royalist newspaper in St. John’s declared the attack “a useless crime…it will have no effect upon the course of the war except to steel our resolve that the Nazi blot on humanity must be eliminated from our world.”
14 October 1944 HMCS Magog (frigate) is torpedoed and badly damaged by U-Boat 1223 in the St. Lawrence River off Pointe des Montes.
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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