THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

AUGUST

 

1675    10^th      Royal Observatory, Greenwich, founded.

 

1740    21^st      Admiral Vernon, ‘Old Grog’ orders sailors rum mixed with water.

 

1831    24^th      Long Service and Good Conduct medal introduced.

 

1846    6^th        Battle of Horokiri. Landing party from HMS Calliope.

 

1864    5^th        White Ensign allocared to Royal Navy. Merchant ships use Red and Royal Naval Reserve and government vessels use Blue.

 

1896    27^th      Shortest war – bombardment of Zanzibar.

 

1914    4^th        War declared against Germany – World War I.

 

1914    11^TH     German ship Hobart seized off Melbourne. German HVB Code captured and used by Room 40 until changed in March, 1916.

 

1914    28^th      Battle of Heligoland Bight, HMS New Zealand part of Grand Fleet.

 

1914    30^th      Occupation of German Samoa. HMS Philomel part of escort force.

 

1915    8^th        British armed boarding steamer Ramsay off Moray Firth challenged German disguised minelayer Meteor. Meteor fired a torpedo and Ramsay sank. C-in-C later ordered that in future Masters of ships bring papers to the boarding steamer in his own boat for examination.

 

1915    12^th      First enemy ship to be sunk be airborne torpedo attacked by Short 184 off Dardanelles. It had already been damaged by E14. The first drop happened only 14 days before.

 

1916    29^th      14,500 ton armoured cruiser USS Memphis lost to tidal wave off Santo Dominica. Many lives lost.

 

1917    2^nd        First aircraft deck landing on HMS Furious by Cdr E.M. Dunning.

 

1919    2-5^th     Captain Frank Worsley earned a DSO and Russian Order of St Stanislaus for leading a trapped British unit to safety in Russia.

 

1940    23^rd      HMS Ladybird attacked Bardia harbour.

 

1940    20^th      S.S. Turakina sunk by German raider Orion 300 miles of C. Egmont.1940       

 

1940    23^rd      HMS Ladybird stormed heavily defended port of Bardia in Libya for 25 minutes. HMAS Waterhen assisted her escape.

 

1940    30^th      HMNZS Monowai, armed merchant cruiser commissioned.

 

1942    9^th        Battle of Savo Island. Japanese victory over Allied force with loss of HMAS Canberra, USS Astoria, USS Quincy and USS Vincennes and 1,000 men.

 

1942    12^th      Operation Pedestal (relief of Malta convoy). HMS Cairo sunk by Italian s/m, Axum. HMS Foresight torpedoed by Italian aircraft. Taken in tow by HMS Tartar, whose captain, exasperated at the effect of the tow on his anti-aircraft abilities, cast her off and she was sunk the next day. The Tartar CO was court-martialled for abandoning the Foresight. Italian submarines Cabalto and Dagabur were sunk by RN Ships.

 

1942    15^th      Tanker Ohio carried into Malta.

 

1943    8^th        PT109 captained by Lieutenant J F Kennedy, USN, sunk.

 

1943    11^th      Flying Officer Lloyd Trigg, RNZAF, awarded VC for sinking of U-486.

 

1943    19^th      HMNZS Tui     with US aircraft of VS57 sink Japanese submarine I-17.

 

1944    27^th      British minesweepers HMS Hussar, Britomart, Salamanda and Colsay attacked by RAF rocket firing Typhoon aircraft off Cap de Antifer, near le Havre. Hussar and Britomart sunk. Salamanda a write-off. Over 140 men died.

 

1945    9^th        HMNZS Gambia bombards Kamaishi Steel Works, Japan.

 

1945    15^th      VJ Day. Japan surrenders. End of World War II.

 

1945    30^th      Two platoons of seamen and Royal Marines from HMNZS Gambia landed at Yokosuka.

 

1956    15^th      HMNZS Endeavour, ex AN-76, ex-HMS Pretext, ex-John Biscoe commissioned as Antarctic Support ship.

 

1958    3^rd        First underwater crossing of North Pole by USS Nautilas.

 

1994    1^st        HMNZ Dockyard leased to Babcock-Slellerup.

 

 

 

Shortest War Ever

 

Britain was the protecting power of Zanzibar. When the Sultan died on 25August the locals elected a new Sultan that Britain was not in favour of.

It began at 0902 on 27^th August 1896. A British force, under Vice Admiral Sir Henry Rawson, arrived off Zanzibar and ordered the Sultan to surrender by 0900, 27th.

The warships were HMS St George (2 x 9.2”, 10 x 6”), HMS Racoon (6 x 6”), HMS Philomel (8 x 4.7”), and HMS Thrush and Sparrow (6 x 4”).

Sparrow later became NZ Ship Amokura.

The new Sultan, Seyid Khalid bin Bargash refused to surrender.

At 0800 the captain of the Sultan’s gunboat “Glasgow” rowed through the British force to his ship and prepared to fight.

The British sank the gunboat, which went down fighting, and bombarded the Sultan’s palace.

The Sultan surrendered at 0937.

The Sultan then fled to the German embassy. The British favoured Sultan was then installed.

While no medal was struck for this incident Service Documents were noted “Was present at the bombardment of the Sultan’s Palace at Zanzibar”.

 

 

Captain Frank Worsley DSO*

 

Frank Worsley was born in Akaroa and trained as a merchant navy officer.

This was Frank’s second DSO. He had already distinguished himself as Shackelton’s captain and the daring rescue of the crew when the Endurance was crushed in ice. He had also previously been ‘noted’ for stealing the German flag from the Consulate’s office in Apia in 1899.

 

His first DSO came following the sinking of UC33 on 26 September 1917. The U-boat had torpedoed the tanker San Zeferino. Frank, in command of the 600 ton Q Ship, PQ61, turned away and reduced speed pretending to be leaving the area. When the submarine surfaced, Frank charged at 24 knots and rammed the 1,000 ton U-boat aft. As it rolled under him there was an explosion, probably from an onboard mine, and the U-boat sank. Only the Commander survived.

 

Frank then set about towing the crippled 7,000 ton tanker back to harbour.

 

His second DSO was awarded while working with the British army in Russia as an adviser on cold climates. While on patrol with a British unit, they become surrounded. Frank, took charge and led the unit to safety through three days of fighting.

 

Operation Pedestal

 

In August 1942 Malta was on its knees. A last desperate convoy departed from Gibraltar on 12 August. It consisted of 14 merchant ships escorted by 2 battleships, 4 carriers, 7 cruisers, 33 destroyers plus 17 smaller vessels. More ships than the RN has today. SS Ohio was supplied by President Roosevelt as the British had no fast tankers. Of the 14 only 5 arrived at Malta and the navy lost 1 carrier, 2 cruisers and a destroyer. CO HMS Tartar was later court-martialed for abandoning Tartar under an air attack.

Ohio was dragged by HMS Penn and Rye without success. Then HMS Ledbury joined in.

Commanded by Lt Cdr Roger Hill, DSC. He later said that he had abandoned PQ17 and would not do that again. Hill was awarded a DSO and the Ohio Master a George Cross.

Hill later applied for salvage money and after waiting two years was awarded 30 shillings. I met him in 1970 in Nelson. He was a broken man.

 

HMS Richmond

 

Fleet Support (UK) has docked HMS Richmond at Portsmouth for an 18 month refit – the first in Portsmouth for 15 years. The type 23 frigate will get a new gun (4.5” Mk 8 Mod 1), an upgraded type 2087 towed array and flight deck to carry the new Merlin helicopter plus improved eating and accommodation). The Portsmouth harbour control has been improved with four radars and data links.