This Day in Naval History - Aug. 12

From the Navy News Service

1812 - USS Constitution captures and destroys brig Adeona.

1918 - Secretary of the Navy approves acceptance of women as yeoman in U.S. Navy.

1942 - USS Cleveland (CL 55) demonstrates effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfully destroying three drones with proximity bursts fired by her five-inch guns.

1944 - Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., USNR, the older brother of John F. Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot in a mid-air explosion after taking off from England in a PB-4Y from Special Attack Unit One (SAU-1). Following manual takeoff, they were supposed to parachute out over the English Channel while the radio-controlled explosive filled drone proceeded to attack a German V-2 missile-launching site. Possible causes include faulty wiring or FM signals from a nearby transmitter.

1957 - In first test of Automatic Carrier Landing System, Lt. Cmdr. Don Walker is landed on USS Antietam (CV 36).

1958 - USS Nautilus (SSN 571) arrives at Portland, England, completing first submerged under ice cruise from Pacific to Atlantic oceans.

For more information about naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at www.history.navy.mil.