This Day In United States Naval History

This Day In United States Naval History - December 1st

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1842 - Midshipman Philip Spence, Boatswains Mate Samuel Cromwell, and Seaman Elisha Small of the Bainbridge-class brig Somers are executed for mutiny. Spencer was the son of then-Secretary of War, John Canfield Spencer.

1914 - Rear Adm. Alfred Thayer Mahan dies. A graduate of the Naval Academy and a veteran of the Civil War, he served two tours as President of the Naval War College. He is also known for his numerous naval publications, notably The Influence of Sea Power upon History.

1921 - The first flight of an airship filled with helium, the C-7, leaves Norfolk, Va., and arrives later that day in Washington, D.C. The airship is commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Zachary Lansdowne and piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Ralph F. Wood.

1943 - USS Bonefish (SS 223) sinks Japanese transport Nichiryo Maru in the Celebes Sea while USS Pargo (SS 264) sinks the Japanese transport Shoko Maru north of Ulithi. Also on this date, USS Peto (SS 265) sinks Japanese transport Tonei Maru.

1945 - Capt. Sue S. Dauser, Navy Nurse Corps, receives the first Distinguished Service Medal awarded to a nurse for her leadership of Navy nurses during World War II.

1984 - USS Taylor (FFG 50) is commissioned. The ship is named after the late Jesse Junior Taylor, who gave his life attempting to save the life of a downed pilot during an attack on the key bridge near the North Vietnamese port of Haiphong, and consequently awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism.

2013 - Pilots and Sailors of VP-16 arrive on station at Kadena Air Base Okinawa for the first deployment of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The P-8A will eventually replace the venerable P-3 Orion.

2018 - The Navy commissioned its newest guided-missile destroyer, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), at Flynn Cruiseport in Boston, Massachusetts Saturday, Dec. 1. USS Thomas Hudner honors naval aviator and Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Thomas J. Hudner Jr.

This Day In United States Naval History - December 3rd

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1775 - The first American flag is raised on board a Continental ship when Lt. John Paul Jones hoists the Grand Union Flag during Continental ship Alfreds commissioning at Philadelphia, Penn.

1863 - The armed steamer Cambridge captures schooner J.C. Roker off the coast of North Carolina and the schooner Emma Tuttle off Cape Fear.

1943 - USS Tinosa (SS 283) sinks the Palau-bound Japanese fleet tanker Azuma Maru northwest of Sonsorol.

1956 - The first ship converted to support the Fleet Ballistic Missile program, USS Compass Island (EAG 153), is commissioned.

1983 - Two F-14s are fired upon off Lebanon. The next day, USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) and USS Independence (CV 62) launch a strike against Syrian anti-aircraft positions. During the strike, two U.S. Navy planes, A-6E and A-7E, are shot down. In the A-6E, Lt. Mark A Lange is killed while Lt. Robert O. Goodman is captured. Goodman is released Jan. 1984.

This Day In United States Naval History - December 5th

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1813 - During the War of 1812, the frigate Congress captures the British brig Atlantic in the North Atlantic. Also on this date USS President captures schooner Comet off New York.

1862 - During the Civil War, boats from the gunboat Mahaska and the converted tug General Putnam capture and destroy several fine Confederate boats, a schooner and two sloops in branches of Severn River, Md., and bring back schooners Seven Brothers and Galena.

1941 - USS Lexington (CV 2) sails with Task Force 12 to ferry Marine aircraft to Midway, leaving no carriers at Pearl Harbor. Previously, on Nov. 28, USS Enterprise (CV 6) sails from Pearl Harbor for Wake Island to ferry Marine aircraft to island.

1943 - USS Narwhal (SS 167) embarks nine evacuees at Alubijid, Mascalar Bay and then sinks Japanese cargo ship Himeno Maru off Camiguin Island.

1944 - USS Hake (SS 256) evacuates downed aviators and turns over all supplies that can be spared to Filippino guerilla forces ashore at Libertad, Panay, Philippines.

This Day In United States Naval History - December 7th

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1796 - In his Eighth Annual Message to Congress, President George Washington urges Congress to increase naval strength.

1941 - In one of the defining moments in U.S. history, the Japanese attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet and nearby military airfields and installations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and remove the U.S. Navys battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empires southward expansion. The U.S. is brought into the World War II as a full combatant.

1941 - As the Japanese attacked Midway Island, 1st Lt. George H. Cannon remains at his post until all of his wounded men are evacuated, though severely wounded himself. Because of his dedication to his men, Cannon dies due loss of blood from his wounds. For his "distinguished conduct in the line of his profession", Cannon is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

1941 - Capt. Mervyn Sharp Bennion, commanding officer of USS West Virginia (BB 48), evidenced apparent concern only in fighting and saving his ship, and strongly protested against being carried from the bridge. For devotion to duty and courage during the Pearl Harbor attack, Bennion is awarded the Medal of Honor.

1941 - Ensign Francis C. Flaherty remains in his turret, holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could see the escape, thereby sacrificing his own life. For devotion to duty and courage during the Pearl Harbor attack, Flaherty is awarded the Medal of Honor.

1941 - Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Glenn Fuqua rushes to the quarterdeck of USS Arizona, where a large bomb hits and penetrates several decks, and the explosion starts a severe fire and also stuns and knocks him down. Upon coming to, he begins to direct the firefighting and rescue efforts. A tremendous explosion forward appears to make the ship rise out of the water, shudder and settle down by the bow. Flames envelope the forward part of the ship and spread, as wounded men pour out of the ship to the quarterdeck. Despite the mayhem, Fuqua keeps calm under pressure and continues to direct the firefighting efforts so that the wounded could be taken from the ship, and in so doing inspires everyone who sees him. Realizing that the ship cannot be saved and that he was the senior surviving officer aboard, he orders the crew to abandon ship. Fuqua remains on the quarterdeck until satisfied that all personnel that could be had been saved, after which he leaves the ship with the last boatload.

1941 - Chief Boatswain Edwin Joseph Hill leads his men of the line-handling details of USS Nevada to the quays, casts off the lines and swims back to this ship. Later, while on the forecastle attempting to let go the anchors, he is blown overboard and killed by the explosion of several bombs. Chief Hill earned the Medal of Honor that day for his distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage, and disregard of his own safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor.

1941 - Ensign Herbert C. Jones organizes and leads a party in supplying ammunition to the antiaircraft battery of the USS California after the mechanical hoists were put out of action. Jones is then fatally wounded by a nearby bomb explosion and when two men attempt to take him from the area which was on fire, he refuses to let them, saying, in words to the effect, Leave me alone! I am done for. Get out of here before the magazines go off.

1941 - Rear Adm. Isaac C. Kidd immediately goes to the bridge and as the commander of battleship division one, he courageously performs his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until his flagship, USS Arizona, blows up from magazine explosions and he is killed by a direct bomb hit on the bridge.

1941 - As the mechanized ammunition hoists are put of action in USS California, Chief Radioman Thomas James Reeves, on his own initiative, in a burning passageway, assists in the maintenance of an ammunition supply by hand to the antiaircraft guns until he is overcome by smoke and fire, resulting in his death.

1941 - As his station in the forward dynamo room aboard the USS Nevada becomes almost untenable due to smoke, steam, and heat, Lt. Cmdr. Donald Kirby Ross forces his men to leave the station and performs all the duties himself until blinded and unconscious. Upon being rescued and resuscitates, he returns and secures the forward dynamo room and proceeds to the aft dynamo room where he is again rendered unconscious by exhaustion. Again recovering consciousness, he returns to his station where he remained until directed to abandon it.

1941 - Chief Aviation Ordnanceman John William Finn mans a .50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in an exposed section of the parking ramp, under heavy enemy machine-gun strafing fire. While painfully wounded, he continued to man the gun and return the enemys fire with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks. He was at last persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention after being specifically ordered to do so. After receiving first-aid, the chief returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. Chief (later Lieutenant) Finn earned the Medal of Honor that day for his extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor.

1944 - The 7th Fleet forces land the 77th Army Infantry Division on the shore of Ormoc Bay. Kamikazes attack the Task Force, damaging several U.S. Navy ships. USS Ward (APD-16) is scuttled after being hit by a kamikaze.

2017 - Rear Adm. Matthew J. Carter, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, presented the Bronze Star Medal with V device for valor to Joe Ann Taylor, the daughter of Chief Boatswain's Mate Joseph L. George. Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer had previously authorized the award for George's heroic achievement while serving aboard the repair ship USS Vestal (AR 4) Dec. 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor.

2017 - Navy Chief of Chaplains Rear Adm. Margaret Kibben presented the Silver Star Medal to descendants of Chaplain Lt. j.g. Aloysius H. Schmitt. Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer had previously authorized the award (an upgrade of an earlier medal) for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving on the battleship USS Oklahoma (BB 37) Dec. 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor.

This Day In United States Naval History - December 9th

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1864 - While operating on the Roanoke River at Rainbow Bluff, N.C., the side-wheel gunboat Otsego strikes two Confederate mines. The steam tugboat Bazely rushes to help Otsego, but she also hits a mine. Both vessels eventually sink. During this operation, the side-wheel gunboat Wyalusing provides fire cover while boats dragged for mines.

1938 - A prototype shipboard radar, XAF, designed and built by the Naval Research Laboratory, is installed on USS New York (BB-34). Installation on U.S. Navy vessels begins in 1940 and proves fruitful in detecting the enemy in World War II.

1941 - USS Swordfish (SS 193) makes initial U.S. submarine attack on Japanese ship, torpedoing a ship 150 miles west of Manila. Her claim of sinking, though, is not confirmed in enemy records.

1944 - USS Charles F. Hughes (DD 428) and USS Madison (DD 425) bombard German coast artillery positions and troop concentrations along the Franco-Italian border.

2017 - The Navy launches its latest branding campaign aimed at attracting a new generation of recruits during live national coverage of the Army-Navy football game. The launch also marks the debut of the Navy's new tagline, "Forged by the Sea."

This Day In United States Naval History - December 11th

1863 - During the Civil War, the iron-clad river gunboat Carondelet fires upon Confederate troops that are firing upon iron-clad river gunboat Indianola, which had been stuck on a bar in the Mississippi River since earlier that year and had not yet been freed. The effective counter-fire by Carondelet drives off the Confederates.

1865 - Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles writes to Secretary of State William H. Seward, complaining of the action of the British government in releasing the officers and crew of CSS Shenandoah.

1941 - The Wake Island Garrison under Cmdr. Winfield Cunningham repulses the Japanese invasion force with shore battery fire that sink Japanese destroyer Hayate while Marine F4Fs sink destroyer Kisaragi.

1941 - The United States declares war on Germany and Italy.

1943 - The U.S. Navy dispatches vessels to help the U.S. collier Suffolk, which is foundering and eventually sinks in a storm.

1944 - USS Gar (SS 206) lands 35 tons of supplies at Darigayos Inlet on the west coast of Luzon and picks up secret intelligence documents. Also on this date, USS Sea Owl (SS 405) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 76 in the East China Sea.

1954 - The first supercarrier USS Forrestal (CVA 59) is launched.