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Continental Navy News

20 May 2021

National Maritime Day

Ā© Lefteris Papaulakis/AdobeStock

ā€œI hold no branch in higher esteem, than the Merchant Marineā€¦ā€That is a quote from General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander of the Pacific in WWII. That one sentence sums up National Maritime Day. Inasmuch if it were not for our glorious Merchant Marine and maritime industry, we may not even have been a nation at all.National Maritime Day is the day we honor our American Merchant Mariners for protecting our freedom and for their dedication to promoting American commerce together with the accomplishments of the U.S. maritime industry.

08 Oct 2020

US Navy's New Frigates Named the Constellation Class

Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite aboard the museum ship Constellation in Baltimore to announce the name of the first ship in the new Guided Missile Frigate class of ships. (Photo: Levingston Lewis / U.S. Navy)

The name of the first ship in the U.S. Navy's new guided missile frigate (FFG(X)) class will be USS Constellation (FFG 62), Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite announced Wednesday while aboard the museum ship Constellation in Baltimore.The warship will be the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name Constellation. Braithwaite said the name was selected in honor of the first U.S. Navy ships authorized by Congress in 1794: six heavy frigates named United States, Constellation, Constitution, Chesapeake, Congress and President.

13 Sep 2016

This Day In Naval History: September 13

Christening Ceremony of the Cheyenne (SSN-773) (Photo by Jim Hemeon, courtesy of General Dynamics Electric Boat)

1803 - Commodore John Barry dies at Philadelphia, Pa., having served in numerous commands and over vessels in the Continental Navy during the American Revolution and in the newly formed U.S. Navy. 1814 - During the War of 1812, the British bomb Fort McHenry at Baltimore Harbor for 25 hours. The sight of Fort McHenrys flag and the British withdrawing from Baltimore the next morning inspires Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner. 1847 - During the Mexican-American War, Chapultepec - the gateway to Mexico City - is successfully stormed by Marines.

06 Jul 2016

This Day In Naval History: July 06

1747 - John Paul Jones is born in Arbigland, Scotland. Originally appointed to the Continental Navy in 1775, he is known for his quote, Ive not yet begun to fight! during the battle between Continental frigate, Bonhomme Richard, and HMS Serapis on Sept. 23, 1779. 1898 - During the Spanish-American War, the auxiliary-cruiser USS Dixie captures the Spanish vessels, Three Bells, Pilgrim, and Greeman Castle, off Cape Cruz, Cuba. 1943 - Following the Allied landing on New Georgia, the Japanese attempt to land reinforcements with 10 destroyers, resulting in the Battle of Kula Gulf. In the battle, USS Helena (CL 50) is hit by three torpedoes, breaks apart, and sinks, with nearly 170 of her crew lost.

14 Jun 2016

This Day In Naval History: June 14

1777 - John Paul Jones takes command of the Continental Navy sloop USS Ranger. While commanding Ranger, the ship receives the first official salute to the Stars and Stripes flag by the French fleet at Quiberon Bay. 1777 - The Continental Congress adopts the design of present U.S. flag of 13 stripes and 13 stars. 1847 - Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry conducts the second expedition against Tabasco, Mexico, also known as the Battle of Villahermosa. 1945 - USS Sea Devil (SS 400) sinks the Japanese transport Wakamiyasan Maru in the Yellow Sea. 1945 - PB4Y aircraft bomb Japanese shipping off Banjarmasin, Borneo and sink Japanese (No. 470) shuttle vessel. 1985 - Steelworker Second Class Robert D.

03 Jun 2016

This Day In Naval History: June 3

1785 - The order is given to sell the last ship remaining in the Continental Navy, the frigate Alliance. No other Navy ships are authorized until 1794. 1898 - During the Spanish-American War, the 8-man volunteer crew from USS Merrimac are taken as prisoners of war by the Spanish following a courageous attempt to sink the collier to obstruct navigation. For their extraordinary heroism during this operation, the men are awarded the Medal of Honor. 1942 - The Japanese start a two-day attack at Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, in an attempt to distract America from the Midway Island invasion. During the two-day invasion, 43 Americans die. 1949 - Midshipman Wesley A. Brown becomes the first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy. 1966 - Gemini 9 is launched.

12 May 2016

This Day In Naval History: May 12

USS Enterprise (CV-6) (Photo: US Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum)

1780 - The city of Charleston, S.C., falls to the British when Continental Gen. Benjamin Lincoln surrenders during the American Revolution. Three Continental Navy frigates (Boston, Providence, and Ranger) are captured; and one American frigate (Queen of France) is sunk to prevent capture. 1938 - USS Enterprise (CV 6) is commissioned. Notable service during WWII include the Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal Campaign, Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Battle of the Philippine Seaā€¦

09 Nov 2015

SSN 798 Submarine Named USS Massachusetts

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that SSN 798, a Virginia-class attack submarine, will bear the name USS Massachusetts during a taped video message at Gillette Stadium. The submarine will be named to honor the history its namesake state has with the Navy. This history extends to 1775, before the official founding of the United States, to the time when George Washington founded the Continental Navy in an effort to protect the 13 colonies from British attack. By 1800, six years after the establishment of the Department of the Navy, one of its first 14 ship yards was incorporated in Boston. And in 1836, The Boston Naval Hospital, one of the first of three hospitals dedicated solely to the care of naval personnel, opened.

13 Oct 2014

Today in U.S. Naval History: October 13

Today in U.S. Naval History - October 13 1775 - Birthday of U.S. Navy. The Continental Congress establishes Continental Navy, later the U.S. Navy. 1954 - USS Saipan begins relief and humanitarian aid to Haitians who were victims of Hurricane Hazel. The operation ended October 19. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.

23 Sep 2014

Today in U.S. Naval History: September 23

USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort (U.S. Navy photo)

Today in U.S. 1779 - Capt. John Paul Jones in Continental Navy frigate Bonhomme Richard captures HMS Serapis. 1931 - Lt. Alfred Pride pilots Navy's first rotary wing aircraft, XOP-1 autogiro, in landings and takeoffs on board USS Langley while underway. 1944 - USS West Virginia (BB-48) reaches Pearl Harbor and rejoins the Pacific Fleet, marking the end of the salvage and reconstruction of 18 ships damaged at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.

26 Aug 2014

Today in U.S. Naval History: August 26

Today in U.S. Naval History - August 26 1775 - Rhode Island Resolve: Rhode Island delegates to Continental Congress press for creation of Continental Navy to protect the colonies 1839 - Brig Washington seizes Spanish slaver, Amistad near Montauk Point, N.Y. 1861 - Union amphibious force lands near Hatteras, N.C. 1865 - Civil War ends with Naval strength over 58,500 men and 600 ships For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

03 Jul 2014

Today in U.S. Naval History: June 3

USS Merrimac at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia in 1891 (Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives)

Today in U.S. 1785 - Order to sell last ship remaining in Continental Navy, frigate Alliance . No other Navy were ships authorized until 1794. 1898 - Collier Merrimac sunk in channel leading to Santiago, Cuba in unsuccessful attempt to trap Spanish fleet. The crew was captured and later received the Medal of Honor. 1949 - Wesley A. Brown becomes the first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy. 1966 - Launch of Gemini 9, piloted by L.Cdr. Eugene A. Cernan, USN. The mission included 45 orbits over three days. Recovery was by USS Wasp (CVS-18).

12 May 2014

Today in U.S. Naval History: May 12

USS David R. Ray (U.S. Navy photo by Kurt Draper)

Today in U.S. Naval History - May 12 1780 - Fall of Charleston, SC; three Continental Navy frigates (Boston, Providence, and Ranger) captured; and one American frigate (Queen of France) sunk to prevent capture 1846 - U.S. declares war against Mexico 1975 - SS Mayaguez seized by Khmer Rouge and escorted to Koh Tang Island. 1986 - Destroyer USS David R. Ray deters an Iranian Navy attempt to board a U.S. merchant ship. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

07 May 2014

Today in U.S. Naval History: May 7

Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho is torpedoed, during attacks by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft in the late morning of 7 May 1942. Photographed from a USS Lexington (CV-2) plane. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives

Today in U.S. Naval History - May 7 1779 - Continental Navy sloop Providence captures British brig Diligent off Cape Charles 1934 - USS Constitution completes tour of principal U.S. ports 1940 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders Pacific Fleet to remain in Hawaiian waters indefinitely 1942 - Carrier aircraft sink Japanese carrier Shoho during Battle of Coral Sea For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

24 Apr 2014

Today in U.S. Naval History: April 24

A U.S. Navy RH-53D sweeping the Suez Canal in 1974 (U.S. Navy photo)

Today in U.S. 1884 - USS Bear left the New York Naval Shipyard as part of the Greely Relief Expedition. USS Thetis would join the mission a week later, with USS Alert also joining on this mission. The Greely Expedition was marooned in the Arctic. Greely and six other survivors were found at Cape Sabine, 23 June 1884. 1959 - Organization of American States asks U.S. 1981 - RCA delivers to the Navy, NOVA I, the 1st production unit of the improved navigational satellite. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

04 Apr 2014

Today in U.S. Naval History: April 4

Today in U.S. Naval History - April 4 1776 - Continental Navy frigate Columbus captures HM Tender Hawke, first American capture of British armed vessel 1854 - Sailors and Marines from sailing sloop, Plymouth, protect U.S. citizens at Shanghai 1898 - Appointment of first Civil Engineering Corps officer, Mordecai Endicott, as Chief, Bureau of Yards and Docks 1949 - Establishment of NATO For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

05 Nov 2013

Today in U.S. Naval History: November 5

USS Wake Island (CVE-65). Courtesy Aryeh Wetherhorn, U.S. Navy photo.

Today in U.S. 1775 - Commodore Esek Hopkins appointed to Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy. 1915 - In AB-2 flying boat, L.Cdr. Henry C. Mustin makes first underway catapult launch from a ship, USS North Carolina, at Pensacola Bay, Fla. 1917 - German submarine torpedoes USS Alcedo off French coast. 1923 - Tests designed to prove the feasibility of launching a small seaplane from a submarine occur at Hampton Roads Naval Base. A Martin MS-1, stored disassembled in a tank on board USS S-1, was removed and assembled.

23 Sep 2013

Today in U.S. Naval History: September 23

Captain John Paul Jones (photo: Naval History and Heritage Command)

Today in U.S. 1779 - Captain John Paul Jones in Continental Navy frigate Bonhomme Richard captures HMS Serapis. 1931 - Lt. Alfred Pride pilots Navy's first rotary wing aircraft, XOP-1 autogiro, in landings and takeoffs on board USS Langley while underway. 1944 - USS West Virginia (BB-48) reaches Pearl Harbor and rejoins the Pacific Fleet, marking the end of the salvage and reconstruction of 18 ships damaged at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

26 Aug 2013

Today in U.S. Naval History: August 26

USS Washington Intercepts La Amistad off the Coast of Long Island, N.Y. in 1839. Photo: New Haven Colony Historical Society

Today in U.S. Naval History - August 26 1775 - Rhode Island Resolve: Rhode Island delegates to Continental Congress press for creation of Continental Navy to protect the colonies 1839 - Brig Washington seizes Spanish slaver, Amistad near Montauk Point, N.Y. 1861 - Union amphibious force lands near Hatteras, N.C. 1865 - Civil War ends with Naval strength over 58,500 men and 600 ships For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

07 May 2013

Today in U.S. Naval History: May 7

Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho is torpedoed, during attacks by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft in the late morning of 7 May 1942. Photographed from a USS Lexington (CV-2) plane. (Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives.)

1942 - Carrier aircraft sink Japanese carrier Shoho during Battle of Coral Sea. The first day of the carrier battle of Coral Sea, May 7 1942, saw the Americans searching for carriers they knew were present and the Japanese looking for ones they feared might be in the area. The opposing commanders, U.S. Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher and Japanese Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi and Rear Admiral Tadaichi Hara, endeavored to "get in the first blow", a presumed prerequisite to victory (and to survival) in a battle between heavily-armed and lightly-protected aircraft carriers.

17 Oct 2012

Navy to Christen Amphibious Assault Ship America

The Navy will christen the amphibious assault ship, America (LHA 6), on Oct. 20, during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony in Pascagoula, Miss. The Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Mrs. Lynne Pace, wife of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, will serve as the ship's sponsor. From the American Revolution through the first Gulf War, three warships have sailed with the name America. The first America was a 74-gun ship-of-the-line built for use by the Continental Navy and then presented to the king of France as a gift to show appreciation for his country's service to the new nation. The second America transported troops during World War I.

07 Mar 2012

This Day in Naval History

1778 - Continental Navy frigate Randolph (32 guns) engages HMS Yarmouth (64). Randolph explodes and sinks with the loss of all but four men. 1958 - Commissioning of USS Grayback (SS 574), first submarine built from keel up with guided-missile capability, to fire Regulus II missile. 1960 - USS Kearsarge (CVS 33) rescues four Russian soldiers from their landing craft 1,000 miles from Midway Island.The Soldiers were drifting several weeks after their engine failed off Kamchatka Peninsula. 1966 - The Department of the Navy is reorganized into its present structure under the Chief of Naval Operations. 1967 - River Patrol Boats assist Operation Overload II in Rung Sat Zone, Vietnam. 1968 - Operation Coronado XII begins in Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

04 Nov 2011

This Day in Navy History - November 3-6

1853 - USS Constitution seizes suspected slaver H. N. Gambrill. 1931 - Dirigible USS Los Angeles makes 10 hour flight out of NAS Lakehurst, NJ, carrying 207 persons, establishing a new record for the number of passengers carried into the air by a single craft. 1943 - Battleship Oklahoma, sunk at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, is refloated. 1956 - USS Cambria (APA-36) removes 24 members of United Nations Truce Commission team from the Gaza Strip. 1956 - USS Chilton (APA-38), USS Thuban (AKA-19), and USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30) evacuate more than 1,500 U.S. and foreign nationals from Egypt and Israel because of the fighting. 1961 - After Hurricane Hattieā€¦

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