Joulu merellä

[Lauri Vuorinen]

Hyvää Joulua koko foorumin porukalle
Alla vähän siitä mitä 24.12. on ollut merenkululle ja merenkulkijoille pitkin historiaa, toivottavasti ei rauhan aate unohdu!

1524 - Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, who had discovered a sea route around Africa to India, died in Cochin, India
1584 - Basque whaler Joanes de Echaniz dictates his last will and testament at Carol's Cove, near Red Bay; possibly the oldest surviving will in Canadian history
1777 - Captain James Cook discovered, and appropriately named, Christmas Island
1811 - The British ships-of-the-line St George & Defence of the British fleet in Danish waters commanded by Vice Admiral Sir James Saumarez, ran aground off Torsminde at the west coast of Jutland and where lost. Around
1,400 men are lost
1814 - Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812
1864 - Naval Forces under Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter with Army forces under Major General Benjamin F. Butler begin unsuccessful two-day attack against Fort Fisher, NC
1871 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera ''Aida'' had its world premiere in Cairo, Egypt, to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal
1888 - Ferry service begins between Seattle and West Seattle
1917 - Submarine USS R-17 launched
1918 - Minesweeper USS Seagull launched
1919 - Submarine USS R-14 commissioned
1922 - Submarine HNLMS O-11 laid down
1923 - Submarine HNLMS O-10 laid down
1932 - Battlecruiser FS Dunkerque laid down
1934 - Destroyer FS Volta laid down
1940 - At 1641 hrs, the British Premier, a straggler from convoy SL-60, was torpedoed and sunk by U-65 200 miles southwest of Freetown. The master, 30 crewmembers and one gunner were lost. Nine crewmembers were picked up on 3 Jan 1941, by the cruiser HMS Hawkins & landed at Freetown. Four survivors were rescued on 3 February off the West Coast of Africa after 41 days in an open boat (25 days without food) by the destroyer leader HMS Faulknor &
landed at Freetown
1940 - Minesweeping trawler HMS Pelton torpedoed & sunk by the German MTB S-28 off Great Yarmouth
1940 - Former fishing vessel HMCS BC Lady commissioned & employed by RCAF
1940 - Corvettes HMCS Chambly & Cobalt arrived Halifax from builders Quebec City PQ & Port Arthur ON respectively
1940 - U-178 laid down
1941 - U-648, U-672 laid down
1941 - U-610 launched
1941 - Corvette HMCS Orillia arrived Halifax NS for refit
1941 - Destroyer USS Cony laid down
1941 - AA cruiser USS Atlanta commissioned
1941 - Submarine HMS H-31 sunk by mine in Bay of Biscay
1941 - U-460 commissioned
1941 - Corvette HMS Salvia sunk by U-568
1942 - Destroyer HMS Thracian bombed & sunk at Hong Kong
1942 - Destroyer escorts USS Fleming & Sederstrom laid down
1942 - ASW trawler HMS Herring launched
1942 - Corvette HMS Smilax launched
1942 - Minesweeper HMCS Blairmore arrived Halifax, from builder, Port Arthur ON
1942 - Submarines USS Cabrilla & Cisco launched
1942 - U-489, U-490 launched
1942 - U-805 laid down
1942 - Bonnier de la Chappelle shoots French Admiral Darlan in his office. This assassination is political in nature with Chappelle following the Free French Royalist side against Darlan. The nature and background of this act will be debated over the years. General Giraud became acting French ruler of the African colonies
1943 - U-645 sunk in the North Atlantic northeast of the Azores, in position 45.20N, 21.40W, by depth charges from the US destroyer USS Schenck. 55 dead (all hands lost)
1943 - As part of the escort for USS Card, destroyer USS Leary was hit by 3 torpedoes, fired by U-275. 97 of her crew of 149 were lost
1943 - German merchantman Nicoline Maersk was intercepted by destroyer FS Le Fantasque in the Western Mediterranean & was run aground by her crew
near Tortosa, Spain
1943 - Destroyer USS Zellars laid down
1943 - Destroyer HMS Hurricane sunk by U-415
1943 - Minesweepers USS Mirth & Nimble launched
1943 - Destroyer escort USS Cockrill commissioned
1943 - A US naval Task Force bombards Japanese positions on Buka Island and Buin. Their primary purpose is a diversion from the upcoming landings on New Britain
1943 - A series of Allied announcements begins today. These will publicize the various appointments of Allied commanders for the projected invasion of Northwest Europe. Among these are General Eisenhower, Tedder, Ramsey, Mallory, and others. These announcements will spread over the next 5 days
1943 - Frigate HMS Rupert commissioned
1943 - At 2030 hrs, the HMS Dumana (Master Archibald Richard George Drummond), escorted by the British armed trawlers HMS Arran & Southern Pride, was torpedoed and sunk by U-515 west of Sassandra, Ivory Coast. The vessel sank in a short time, dragging some of the lifeboats down with her before they could be released. Three officers, seven crewmembers, 20
lascars, two gunners and seven RAF personnel were lost. The master, 107 crew members, seven gunners and 15 RAF personnel were picked up by the escorts and landed at Takoradi on 25 December
1943 - President Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces as part of Operation Overlord
1944 - Minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot sunk at 1337 hrs by U-806 off the approaches to Halifax, three miles from the Sambro Light vessel, 44-30N 63-20W, by Gnat, Clayoquot was just joining convoy XB-139. Eight
crewmembers killed and 76 rescued. U-806 a IX/40 type U-boat, built by Deutsche Schiff und Machinbau AG Seebreck Yard Bremen, commissioned 29 Apr 44, in service 13 months, with a record of sinking one ship, she was equipped with both Schnorkel & at the time, the most modern radar Hohentwiel (seetaki), on her first & only war patrol she torpedoed & sank Clayoquot. Clayoquot was escorting convoy XB.139. U-806 was scuttled at Lisahally, Northern Ireland in Operation Deadlight. Klaus Hornbostel was born in 1916, at Cuxhaven. He joined the navy in 1934. His first
operational duty was from Sep 39 to Feb 43 as the Gunnery Technical Officer & Watch Officer in the armored ship Admiral Scheer. He was promoted to Kptlt. On 01 Sep 41. He transferred to the U-boat force in Mar 43 & after conversion training, was immediately selected for command & underwent his U-boat Commander's Course from Dec 43 to Feb 44. Kptlt. Hornbostel was appointed to command U-806 on 29 Apr 44, at the age of 27. He remained with her until the capitulation & was detained as a POW until Mar 47
1944 - Minesweeper HMCS Transcona attacked by U-806 at 44-30N 63-20W, Gnat fired at freighter exploded in "Cat gear"
1944 - U-486 torpedoed the SS Leopoldville in the English Channel just 5 miles from the port of Cherbourg, France at 1754. The troopship was transporting 2235 American soldiers from regiments of the 66th Infantry
Division. The ship finally sank 2 1/2 hours later. Everything that could went wrong; calls for help were mishandled, rescue craft were slow to the scene and the weather was unfavorable. 763 American soldiers died that night, making this the worst loss an American Infantry Division suffered from a U-boat attack during the war. The location of the sinking The Allied authorities were embarrassed by the incident and decided to bury the case. Many loved ones were told the men were missing in action although they were already dead by then, later to be classified as killed in action. It was
not until 1996 that the files were opened to the public.  U-486 had not said her last word as she sank the British frigates HMS Affleck and Capel only two days later in the same area before returning on 15 Jan 1945 to Bergen,
Norway. Clive Cussler with the help of his shipwreck-hunting organization NUMA (National Underwater & Marine Agency) discovered the wreck of the SS
Leopoldville. His book The Sea Hunters contains a chapter on the sinking which describes the incident from eyewitness accounts, and includes the story of the discovery of the wreck
1944 - At 0928, U-637 fired a spread of three FAT torpedoes at an unknown Soviet convoy of Cape Pakri in the Baltic Sea and heard a detonation after 3 minutes 44 seconds followed by sinking noises. At 0949, a Gnat missed its target and at 1009 another Gnat was followed by a detonation after 3 minutes and then sinking noises. According to Soviet sources only BMO-594
Baltiec was lost
1944 - SS Robert J Walker (US-flagged Liberty ship) sunk by U-862 160 miles off Australia 36.45S, 150.43E - Grid VD 8222. Two crewmembers killed. She was the only ship sunk in the Pacific Ocean by a German U-boat
1950 - Under cover of naval gunfire support, Task Force 90 completes a 14-day evacuation of 100,000 troops and equipment and 91,000 refugees from Hungnam, North Korea
1955 - Being the first rescue unit to reach the flood disaster scene in northern California, a US Coast Guard Helicopter hoisted 138 persons to safety within 12 hours. The first 58 were made possible because of a light
of a small handheld searchlight from positions of peril among chimneys, television antennas, and trees. In all, the Coast Guard assisted Federal, state, and local agencies in saving over 500 persons by helicopters and boats
1989 - Ousted Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega, who had succeeded in eluding US forces, took refuge at the Vatican's diplomatic mission in Panama City