Author: Robert Luster

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This Day in Navy History – February 17, 2023

Housatonic was launched on 20 November 1861, by the Boston Navy Yard at Charlestown, Massachusetts,

On This Day

1864
While at anchor off Charleston, S.C., the Steam Sloop of War USS Housatonic is attacked by the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley using a spar torpedo. USS Housatonic is recorded as the first warship to be sunk by a submarine.

1942
The first Construction Battalion (Seabees) arrives in the Pacific during World War II at Bora Bora, Society Islands.

1944
USS Nicholas (DD 449) sinks the Japanese submarine I-11 in the Marshall Islands.

1944
During Operation Hailstone, aircraft from the nine aircraft carriers of Task Force 58 attack the Japanese fleet at Truk. During the 2-day strike, 33 Japanese vessels are destroyed and nine more damaged.

1945
While wounded and gravely weakened, Medal of Honor Recipient Lt Rufus G. Herring takes the helm of the Landing Craft Infantry Gunboat (LCI(G)-449), which was heavily hit by Japanese counter-fire, rallies his men, and keeps the ship in action protecting UDT swimmers.

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US Naval Academy Renames Maury Hall to Carter Hall in Honor of Former President Jimmy Carter

The US Naval Academy’s Maury Hall has been renamed Carter Hall in honor of former President Jimmy Carter, who served in the Navy before entering politics. The decision was made as part of the Naming Commission’s recommendation to rename military assets with Confederate ties. During a renaming ceremony, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said the new names should inspire generations of service members to defend democracy and the Constitution. Carter is the only Naval Academy graduate to have served as president of the US. Maury Hall, named after Confederate Navy officer Matthew Fontaine Maury, was built in the early 1900s.

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“China Blindness” says Commander of Office of Naval Intelligence says News Reports

Rear Adm. Mike Studeman, the commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence, has criticized the “China blindness” of most Americans in understanding the threat posed by China. Speaking at the West 2023 conference in San Diego according published accounts from Justin Katz, BreakingDeadefense.com. Reports also quoting Studeman “blamed the problem on a “knowledge crisis,” but also accused the Pentagon of overclassifying information”. The admiral also addressed the issue of the US policy on Taiwan, saying that the country should maintain its policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding the possibility of military intervention in the event of a Chinese invasion. The comments came in the wake of the Chinese government deploying a high-altitude balloon over US airspace.

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This Day in Navy History – February 14, 2023

The frigate, USS Essex, was built at Enos Briggsm Salem, MA and commisioned on Dec 17, 1799

1813 – The frigate Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, becomes the first U.S. Navy warship to round Cape Horn and enter the Pacific Ocean.

1778
Continental ship, Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones, receives the first official salute to a U.S. Stars and Stripes flag by a foreign government (the French fleet) at Quiberon, France.

1814
The frigate Constitution, commanded by Capt. Charles Stewart, captures the British Lovely Ann off Guiana, the first of four during a five-day period.

1945
USS Gato (SS 212) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.9 in the Yellow Sea and USS Hawkbill (SS 366) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 4 and Cha 114 in the Java Sea.

1945
Water Tender Second Class Elmer C. Bigelow heroically fights a blaze after USS Fletcher (DD 445) is hit by enemy shelling. Bigelow dies the next day from his injuries. He is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity.” USS Bigelow (DD 942) is named in his honor in 1957.

1998
Guided Missile Destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) is commissioned

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This Day in Navy History – February 13, 2023

Radiophone Transmitter courtesy of Naval History Museum

1913 – The Naval Radio Station, Arlington Va., begins operations. The station is a pioneer in communications, most notably with the Eiffel Tower in France.

1917
Marine Capt. Francis T. Evans performs the first loop with a seaplane in an N-9 float plane at 3,000 feet, then forces it into a spin and successfully recovers. For this contribution to the science of aviation, he is later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

1943
Women Marines were reestablished as the Marine Corps Womens Reserve. Col. Ruth Cheney Streeter, the first Director of the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, serves until Dec. 7, 1945.

1945
USS Sennet (SS 408) is damaged by gunfire of Japanese gunboat (No.8 Kotoshiro Maru or No.3 Showa Maru), east of Tanega Shima, but then Sennett sinks No.8 Kotoshiro Maru after it had been shelled by USS Lagarto (SS 371) and USS Haddock (SS 231). Haddock then sinks No.3 Showa Maru, which had already been shelled by Lagarto and Sennett .

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This Day in Navy History – February 10, 2023

USRC Louis McLane, formerly USS Delaware

1862

A flotilla under Cmdr. Stephen C. Rowan aboard USS Delaware engages the gunboats and batteries at Elizabeth City, N.C, capturing CSS Ellis and sinking CSS Seabird.

1900

Commodore Seaton Schroder is appointed the first naval governor of Guam.

1943

USS Pickerel (SS 177) sinks Japanese freighter Amari Maru off Sanriku.

1944

USS Pogy (SS 266) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks destroyer Minekaze and freighter Malta Maru 85 miles north-northeast of Formosa.

1945

U.S. Navy submarine USS Batfish (SS 310) sinks three enemy submarines from Feb. 10-13.

1991

During Operation Desert Storm, A-6 Intruders attack two unidentified patrol boats in the northern Arabian Gulf, destroying both.

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This Day in Navy History – February 9, 2023

USS CONSTELLATION, Captain Truxtun, overtook the French ship INSURGENTE.

1799 – During the Quasi-War with France, USS Constellation, commanded by Capt. Thomas Truxtun, captures French frigate lInsurgente off Saint Kitts and Nevis Island.
On This Day

1942
While undergoing conversion at New York City pier 88, USS Lafayette (AP 53) catches fire resulting in the total loss of the ship.

1943
Organized Japanese resistance on Guadalcanal ends, bringing to a close the battle that started in August 1942.

1945
PV-1 Ventura patrol plane sinks small Japanese cargo vessel No.177 Nanshin Maru in Flores Sea west of Maumere.

1960
USS Sargo (SSN 583) becomes the third submarine to surface through the ice at the North Pole.

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This Day in Naval History – February 8, 2023

1862 – A joint amphibious expedition captures Roanoke Island, N.C., securing Norfolk Navy Yard and the eventual destruction of CSS Virginia.
on This Day

1862
During the Civil War, a joint amphibious expedition under the command of Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough and U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Ambrose Burnside captures Roanoke Island, N.C., securing Norfolk Navy Yard and eventually the destruction of CSS Virginia.

1890
A detachment of USS Omaha Sailors and Marines comes ashore at the town of Hodogaya, Japan, to assist in fighting an extensive fire.

1942
A Japanese destroyer sinks after being torpedoed by Navy submarine S37 (SS 142) the day before off Makassar.

1943
USS Snook (SS 279) attacks a Japanese convoy off the west coast of Kyushu and sinks the transport Lima Maru and survives depth charges about 30 miles southeast of Goto Retto.

1953
USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD 729) conducts counter-battery fire on a gun shelling Korean sampans in the Kojo area, silencing the enemy guns.

1991
As part of Operation Desert Storm, USS Wisconsin (BB 64) attacks a dozen Iraqi artillery emplacements with 36 rounds of its 16-inch guns in support of a Marine reconnaissance probe into occupied Kuwait.

Continue reading “This Day in Naval History – February 8, 2023”
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US Navy Visits ROK Shipbuilders

Rear Adm. Anderson of the U.S. Navy visited shipbuilders in the Republic of Korea and praised their work. He will lead an international shipbuilding panel at the upcoming Sea-Air-Space Navy League Maritime Exposition on April 3, 2023. The panel includes representatives from shipbuilding organizations in Denmark, the UK, and the US. PEO Ships, one of the Defense Department’s largest acquisition organizations, is responsible for procuring all types of ships for the U.S. Navy.

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This Week in Navy History – February 7, 2023

1800
USS Essex becomes first U.S. Navy vessel to cross the Equator.

1832
The frigate Potomac, commanded by Capt. John Downes, shells a pirate stronghold at Qualla Battoo, Sumatra, destroying a fort. The day before a Potomac landing party destroys four forts, killing 150 pirates and the pirate leader, Rajah Po Mohamet. The Malays agree not to make further attacks on American ships

1943
USS Growler (SS 215) fights a desperate night battle with the Japanese supply ship Hayasaki, during which the boat’s commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Howard W. Gilmore, rams the enemy ship, badly bending Growler’s bow. Wounded by machine gun fire and unable to go below, Gilmore gives the order “Take her down!” sacrificing himself so his submarine could dive to safety. For his “distinguished gallantry and valor” on this occasion and earlier in the patrol, he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted one rank.

1945
USS Thomason (DE 203) sinks the Japanese submarine RO 55 off Iba, Luzon. USS Bergall (SS 320) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks Coast Defense Vessel No. 53 off Cam Ranh Bay. USS Guavina (SS 362) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks merchant tanker Taigyo Maru, off Saigon, French Indochina while USS Parche (SS 384) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Okinoyama Maru in Tokara Retto.

1955
Seventh Fleet ships begin evacuation of Chinese nationalists from Tachen Islands

1965
In response to a Viet Cong attack on barracks area at Pleiku, South Vietnam, aircraft from carriers, USS Coral Sea, USS Hancock, and USS Ranger attack North Vietnamese area near Donghoi.

1984
Naval Aviator/Astronaut Bruce McCandless II makes the first untethered spacewalk as he flies some 300 feet from the Space Shuttle Challenger in the first test of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).