This Day In Naval History - March 1

Posted by Eric Haun March 1, 2016

USS Harvest Moon (Wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1903, depicting the ship underway during the Civil War. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.)

1865 - Side-wheel steamship Harvest Moon, while underway near Georgetown, S.C., with Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren on board, hits a Confederate mine (or "torpedo" in contemporary terms) and sinks with the loss of one of her crew.

1942 - Naval Reserve pilot Ensign William Tepuni, flying a Lockheed Hudson reconnaissance, light bombing and transport aircraft (PBO) from VP-82 Squadron based at Naval Air Station Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada, attacks and sinks German submarine U 656 southwest of NewfoundlandXthe first U-boat sunk by U.S. forces in World War II.

1953 - During the Korean War, USS Valley Forge (CVA 45) aircraft raid the No.1 power plant at Chosen, Korea and heavily damage the strongly defended industrial site.

1991 - Following USS Missouri's (BB 63) bombardment of Faylaka Island during Operation Desert Storm, hundreds of Iraqi soldiers wave white flags and surrender to the battleships Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) flying overhead.

(Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division)