This Day in Naval History - Feb. 20
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
From the Navy News Service
1815 - USS Constitution, under Capt. Charles Stewart, captures HMS Cyane and sloop-of-war Levant.
1962 - Marine Corps Lt. Col. John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth. His flight in Friendship 7 (Mercury 6) consisted of three orbits in 88 minutes at a velocity of 17,544 mph, with a high altitude of 162.2 statute miles. Recovery was by USS Noa (DD 841).
1962 - USS Dixie (AD 14) rescues the lone crewman aboard a sailing yawl adrift for four days.
1974 - The S-3A Viking anti-submarine warfare aircraft was introduced officially and given to Sea Control Squadron 41.