This Day In United States Naval History

This Day In United States Naval History - July 13th

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1812 - The frigate, USS Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, captures the merchant brig, Lamprey, in the Atlantic.

1854 - The sloop of war, USS Cyane, bombards San Juan del Norte (Greytown), Nicaragua, in retaliation for ill-treatment of U.S. citizens. Marines and Sailors also seize weapons and powder in retribution for an attack on U.S. Consular officials for U.S. refusal to pay reparation.

1939 - Rear Adm. Richard Byrd is appointed to command the 1939-1941 U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition. Under objectives outlined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Byrd establishes an east and west base and holds a wide range of scientific observations until international tensions end the expedition in early 1941.

1942 - USS Lansdowne (DD 486) sinks the German submarine (U 153) off the Panama Canal Zone.

1943 - TBF aircraft (VC 13) based on board USS Core (ACV 13) sinks German submarine U 487, 720 miles south-southwest of Fayal, Azores.

1943 - The Japanese are intercepted from landing reinforcements in the Solomon Islands, resulting in the night Battle of Kolombangara. During the battle, the U.S. Navy loses USS Gwin (DD 433).

1991 - USS Kentucky (SSBN 737) is commissioned at Groton, Conn., the third Navy vessel to be named after the Bluegrass state. The Thoroughbred of the Fleet is an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine.

1996 - USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) is commissioned at Groton, Conn. The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine is the fourth named Wyoming and is homeported at Kings Bay, Ga.

So July 2020 has three significant events for the USN

Before the first week, the USS Ronald Reagan sailed with the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Philippine Sea. On July 4th, the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Antietam sailed the San Bernardino Strait in the Philippines in transit towards the South China Sea.

Once inn the South China Sea, the Reagan linked up with the USS Nimitz in the South China Sea.

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Then on July 12, the USS Bonhomme Richard caught fire in Naval Base San Diego, injuring 56 to 60 personnel (sailors, marines, civilian personnel)

Probably during World War II.

This Day In United States Naval History - July 16th

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1862 - Congress establishes the rank of Rear Admiral, with David G. Farragut named as the first Rear Admiral.

1863 - The screw sloop of war USS Wyoming, commanded by Capt. D. McDougal, is fired on by shore batteries and Japanese ships of the Prince of Nagoya. During this action, Wyoming became the first foreign warship to take the offensive to uphold treaty rights in Japan.

1915 - The first Navy ships, the battleships USS Ohio (BB 12), USS Missouri (BB 11), and USS Wisconsin (BB 9) transit the Panama Canal, steaming from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

1943 - TBFs (VC 13) based on board USS Core (CVE 13) sink German submarine (U 67) in the mid-Atlantic.

1945 - The first atomic bomb test, Trinity, is detonated at Alamogordo, N.M.

1957 - An F8U 1P Crusader (Bu#144608), piloted by Maj. John H. Glenn, Jr., USMC, breaks the transcontinental speed record by crossing the country from Los Alamitos, Calif., to Floyd Bennett Field, N.Y., in 3 hours and 22 min., 50.05 sec. for an average speed of 723.517 mph. This is the first upper atmosphere supersonic flight from the West Coast to the East Coast.

1987 - Republic of Korea Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Choe Sang-Hwa gives a model of the Korean Turtle "Kobuksan" to Secretary of the Navy James Webb Jr. as a symbol of the partnership between the two nations.

This Day In United States Naval History - July 18th

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1779 - In the largest prize value of the American Revolution, Commodore Abraham Whipples squadron consisting of Continental frigates Providence, Queen of France and sloop Ranger, captures 11 British prizes off the Newfoundland Banks sailing from Jamaica. The cargoes are worth more than $1 million.

1792 - Continental Navy Capt. John Paul Jones dies in Paris, France. A legend during the American Revolution, Jones argues for Congress establishing a United States Navy. When it fails to do so, the unemployed captain found work as a rear admiral in the Russian navy for a couple of years, but eventually returns to France, where he dies. More than a century later, his body is discovered, exhumed, brought back to the United States under huge fanfare and reburied in a magnificent sarcophagus at the United States Naval Academy.

1813 - During the War of 1812, the frigate, USS President, commanded by John Rodgers, sinks the British brig, HMS Daphne, off the Irish coast. In the next few weeks, she engages three more vessels. USS President captures the ship, HMS Eliza Swan July 24, burns the brig, HMS Alert, on July 29, and captures the bark Lion on Aug. 2.

1918 - During action in the Viller-Cottertes section, south of Soissons, France, Sgt. Matej Kocaks company is stopped by enemy gun fire from a hidden machine gun nest. While only covered by gun fire, he goes forward alone and rushes the enemy position with his bayonet, eventually driving off the enemy. Later on that same day, he organizes French colonial soldiers separated from their company and leads an attack disabling a second machine gun nest. For his "extraordinary heroism" on both of these occasions, he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by both the Navy and Army.

1943 - German submarine (U 134) shoots down (K 74), the first and only U.S. airship lost during WW II, in the Fla. straits. In Aug. 1943, (U 134) is sunk by British aircraft near Vigo, Spain.

1944 - USS Cobia (SS 245) sinks a Japanese gunboat and an army cargo ship west of Chichi Jima; additionally, USS Lapon (SS 260) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser off the southern end of Palawan, a survey ship and auxiliary submarine chaser northwest of Labuan, Borneo, and USS Plaice (SS 390) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks submarine chaser, Ch50, 200 miles northwest of Chichi Jima.

1966 - Gemini 10 is launched with Lt. Cmdr. John L. Young as command pilot and Michael Collins is the pilot. The mission entails 43 orbits at an altitude of 412.2 nautical miles and lasts two days, 22 hours, and 46 minutes.

1981 - USS Dallas (SSN 700) is commissioned at Groton, Conn., her first homeport. The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine is the first to be built with an all-digital fire control and sonar system.

1992 - USS Shiloh (CG 67) is commissioned at Bath, Maine. The 21st Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser is the named after the Civil War Battle of Shiloh. The cruisers original homeport is Naval Station San Diego, although currently the ship is homeported at Yokosuka, Japan.

This Day In United States Naval History - July 20th

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1846 - In the effort to negotiate a treaty with Japan, Commodore James Biddle arrives with the ship of the line, USS Columbus, and the sloop of war, USS Vincennes, at Edo (Yedo), Japan. These are the first U.S. warships to visit Japan.

1861 - During the Civil War, the wooden screw gunboat, USS Albatross, commanded by Cmdr. G.A. Prentiss, recaptures the civilian schooner, Enchantress, off Hatteras Inlet. She is previously captured by the Confederate privateer, CSS Jefferson Davis, on July 6. Also on this date, the wooden screw steamship, USS Mount Vernon, commanded by Oliver S. Glisson, seizes the sloop, Wild Pigeon, on the Rappahannock River.

1942 - Adm. William D. Leahy becomes Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and the Navy, the precursor to the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In Dec. 1944, Leahy is promoted to Fleet Admiral. Fleet Adm. Leahy also dies on this date in 1959.

1945 - USS Threadfin (SS 410) sinks the Japanese minesweeper (W 39) northwest of Mokpo, Korea.

1960 - In the first launch of the Polaris missile, USS George Washington (SSBN 598) successfully fires two operational Polaris missiles while submerged off Florida.

1969 - Former Navy pilot Neil Armstrong is the first man to set foot on the moon, saying That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong is Commander of Apollo 11, which during its 8 day mission lands on the Sea of Tranquility. Michael Collins is the Command Module Pilot and Edwin Buzz E. Aldrin Jr., is the Lunar Module Pilot.