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Giuseppe Cesare Abba as a minesweeper. The photo is dated 1 July 1953, but she already bears the pennant number M5330, given to her in 1954.
History
Kingdom of Italy
Name	Giuseppe Cesare Abba
Namesake	Giuseppe Cesare Abba (1838–1910), Italian patriot
Builder	Cantieri navali Odero, Sestri Ponente, Kingdom of Italy
Laid down	19 August 1913
Launched	25 May 1915
Commissioned	6 July 1915
Reclassified	Torpedo boat 1 October 1929
Identification	Pennant number AB
Fate	To Italian Republic 1946
Italian Republic
Reclassified	Minesweeper 1954
Stricken	1 September 1958
Identification	Pennant number AB (1946–1954) Pennant number M 5330 (1954–1958)
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type	Rosolino Pilo-class destroyer
Displacement	912 tons (max) 770 tons (standard)
Length	73 m (240 ft)
Beam	7.3 m (24 ft)
Draught	2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Installed power	16,000 brake horsepower (11,931 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Tosi steam turbines 4 × Thornycroft boilers
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	69-79
Armament	1915–1918: 4 × 1 Cannon 76/40 Model 1916 2 × 1 76mm/30 AA 4 × 1 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes 10 mines 1919–1921: 5 × 1 102 mm (4.0 in)/35 guns 2 × 1 - 40 mm/39 AA 2 x 1 65-millimetre (2.6 in) machine guns 4 × 1 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

Giuseppe Cesare Abba was an Italian Rosolino Pilo-class destroyers. Commissioned into service in the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in 1915, she served in World War I, playing an active role in the Adriatic campaign. Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1929, she participated in the Mediterranean and Adriatic campaigns of World War II. In 1943, she switched to the Allied side, operating as part of the Italian Co-belligerent Navy for the remainder of the war. She served in the postwar Italian Navy (Marina Miltare) and was reclassified as a minesweeper in 1954. She was stricken in 1958.

Construction and commissioning

Giuseppe Cesare Abba was laid down at the Cantieri navali Odero (English: Odero Shipyard) in Sestri Ponente, Italy, on 19 August 1913. She was launched on 25 May 1915 and commissioned on 6 July 1915.

Service history

World War I

1915

World War I broke out in 1914, and the Kingdom of Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies with its declaration of war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915. Giuseppe Cesare Abba was commissioned just over seven weeks after Italy declared war. On the night of 12–13 August 1915, Giuseppe Cesare Abba, serving as flagship of her squadron, got underway with her sister ship Antonio Mosto and the French Navy destroyer Bisson to search for the Austro-Hungarian Navy submarine U-3, which had made an unsuccessful attack on the Italian auxiliary cruiser Città di Catania in the Adriatic Sea east of Brindisi, Italy. Arranged in a radial pattern, the three destroyers first followed the route between the point of the attack and the Austro-Hungarian Navy base at Cattaro, then zigzagged in a northerly direction, and then headed south. At 04:52 on 13 August, Bisson sighted U-3 — which had suffered a mechanical breakdown – on the surface and sank her with gunfire. Giuseppe Cesare Abba rushed to the scene upon receiving the report of the sighting, arriving in time to see U-3 sink.

At approximately 09:00 on 29 December 1915 Giuseppe Cesare Abba and other destroyers departed Brindisi with the protected cruiser Nino Bixio and the British Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Weymouth to join other formations of Allied warships in pursuing an Austro-Hungarian force composed of the scout cruiser Helgoland and the destroyers {SMS|Balaton||2}}, Csepel, Lika, Tátra, and Triglav, which had bombarded the harbor at Durrës (known to the Italians as Durazzo) on the coast of the Principality of Albania, sinking the Greek steamer Mikael and two sailing ships while losing Lika, which struck a mine. Giuseppe Cesare Abba did not play a significant role in the subsequent clash, known as the First Battle of Durazzo, in which Helgoland and British and French cruisers suffered minor damage and French destroyers sank Triglav.

1916

On the night of 25–26 June 1916, while the protected cruiser Marsala and the destroyers Italian destroyer Audace, Impavido, Insidioso, and Irrequieto operated in distant support, Giuseppe Cesare Abba and the destroyers Antonio Mosto, Pilade Bronzetti, and Rosolino Pilo escorted the coastal torpedo boats 34 PN and 36 PN as 34 PN and 36 PN towed the motor torpedo boats MAS 5 and MAS 7 to a point 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) off Durrës. MAS 5 and MAS 7 then dropped their tow cables at 00:15 on 26 June and raided the harbor at Durrës, launching torpedoes at 01:45 and rejoining Giuseppe Cesare Abba′s formation at 02:40. The attack resulted in serious damage to the 1,111-gross register ton steamship Sarajevo, and all the Italian ships returned to base safely.

On 3 August 1916 Giuseppe Cesare Abba, under the command of Capitano di fregata (Frigate Captain) Petrelluzzi, got underway with the destroyer Ardente to support an attack by nine aircraft against Durrës, but during the voyage the two ships were diverted to Molfetta, Italy, which had come under bombardment by the Austro-Hungarian light cruiser Aspern, supported by the destroyers Warasdiner and Wildfang and the torpedo boats TB 80 and TB 85. Ardente suffered a mechanical breakdown and had to fall back to join a French destroyer squadron led by the destroyer Commandant Bory, which was on its way to reinforce the Italian ships. Meanwhile Giuseppe Cesare Abba continued alone even after sighting the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-20 at 08:20. She sighted the Austro-Hungarian ships at 09:00 and tried to close with them to open fire, but the much larger and better-armed Aspern thwarted Giuseppe Cesare Abba by placing herself between the Italian ship and the Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats. The French destroyer squadron arrived on the scene and joined the pursuit, but the Allied ships gave up the chase when the Austro-Hungarian ships reached a point only 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi) from Cattaro.

During the night of 3–4 November 1916 Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Rosolino Pilo, and the destroyer Ippolito Nievo escorted 34 PN and the coastal torpedo boats 35 PN and 37 PN as they towed the motor torpedo boats MAS 6 and MAS 7 for another attack on Durrës, which failed because of the presence of torpedo nets in the harbor.

At 23:00 on 22 December 1916 Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Ippolito Nievo, and Rosolino Pilo got underway from Brindisi and headed for Cape Rodoni to intercept the Austro-Hungarian destroyers Dinara, Reka, Scharfschutze, and Velebit, which had attacked the Otranto Barrage in the Strait of Otranto and were returning to Cattaro after a clash with the French Navy destroyers Boutefeu, Casque, Commandant Bory, Commandant Rivière, Dehorter, and Protet. The Italian destroyers did not find the Austro-Hungarian ships, but did encounter the French destroyers. The two groups of Allied ships were unable to coordinate their maneuvers and confusion ensued. At 01:40 on 23 December Giuseppe Cesare Abba sighted smoke on her port bow and turned north to investigate, accelerating to full speed. After recognizing Dehorter and Protet, she sighted Casque approachng her, but too late to avoid a collision, although neither Giuseppe Cesare Abba or Casque suffered serious damage. Giuseppe Cesare Abba backed away from Casque after the collision and was maneuvering in reverse when Boutefeu, which had narrowly avoided collisions with Ippolito Nievo and Rosolino Pilo, rammed Giuseppe Cesare Abba, killing a man who went missing. Again the damage was not serious, and all three damaged destroyers returned to port.

1917

On 11 May 1917 Giuseppe Cesare Abbagot underway from Venice with Ardente, the destroyers Animoso and Ardito, and a new destroyer Audace to intercept an Austro-Hungarian Navy force consisting of the destroyer Csikos and the torpedo boats 78 T, 93 T, and 96 T. They sighted the Austro-Hungarian ships at 15:30 at a range of about 10,000 meters (10,900 yd) but were unable to engage the Austro-Hungarian ships before they escaped behind the protection of a minefield near the major Austro-Hungarian Navy base at Pola, and after approaching Pola the Italian ships gave up the chase and returned to Venice.

On the night of 13–14 August 1917 Giuseppe Cesare Abba left Venice with Animoso, Ardente, Audace, and the destroyers Carabiniere, Francesco Stocco, Giovanni Acerbi, Giuseppe Sirtori, Pontiere, and Vincenzo Giordano Orsini to intercept an Austro-Hungarian force made up of the destroyers Dinara, Reka, Sharfschutze, Streiter, and Velebit and six torpedo boats which had supported an air raid against the fortress of Venice. Only Vincenzo Giordano Orsini managed to make brief and fleeting contact with the Austro-Hungarian ships before they escaped.

On 29 September 1917 Giuseppe Cesare Abba put to sea with Francesco Stocco, Giovanni Acerbi, , Vincenzo Giordano Orsini, and the scout cruiser Sparviero and a second formation made up of Ardente, Ardito and Audace to support a bombing raid by 10 Italian airplanes against Pola. The Italian ships then had a brief evening clash with an Austro-Hungarian force composed of Streiter, Velebit, the destroyers Huszar and Turul, and four torpedo boats without achieving significant results.

On 16 November 1917 Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Animoso, Ardente, Audace, Francesco Stocco, Giovanni Acerbi, and Vincenzo Giordano Orsini got underway to respond to a bombardment carried out by the Austro-Hungarian coastal defense ships Wien and Budapest against Italian artillery batteries and other coastal defenses at Cortellazzo, near the mouth of the Piave River. The destroyers supported an attack by the Italian motor torpedo boats MAS 13 and MAS 15 which, together with attacks by Italian aircraft and the Italian submarines F11 and F13, disrupted the bombardment and forced the two Austro-Hungarian ships to withdraw.

1918

On 10 February 1918, Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Animoso, and Audace departed Venice to participate in a raid on Bakar (known to the Italians as Buccari) on the coast of Austria-Hungary. While Ardente, Aquila, Ardito, Francesco Stocco, Giovanni Acerbi, and Giuseppe Sirtori stood by at Porto Levante in case they needed to support the operation, Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Animoso, and Audace towed the motor torpedo boats MAS 94, MAS 95, and MAS 96 to the pre-established "Point O," 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) east of Sansego, where they passed their tow cables to the coastal torpedo boats 12 PN, 13 PN, and 18 PN, then cruised 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) off Ancona while the coastal torpedo boats towed the MAS boats closer to the coast and the MAS boats carried out the raid. The results of the raid — damage to one steamer — were militarily insignificant, but the raid was of great propaganda value in Italy, where it was celebrated widely as the "Bakar mockery" (Beffa di Buccari), aspects of which the Italian nationalist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, who took part in the raid, orchestrated.

By late October 1918, Austria-Hungary had effectively disintegrated, and the Armistice of Villa Giusti, signed on 3 November 1918, went into effect on 4 November 1918 and brought hostilities between Austria-Hungary and the Allies to an end. At 18:10 on 3 November Giuseppe Cesare Abba, under the command of an officer named Portaluppi, and the coastal torpedo boats 65 PN and 66 PN arrived at of Poreč (known to the Italians as Parenzo), where the local, mostly Italian population welcomed their crews enthusiastically. After occupying the city and disarming its former Austro-Hungarian fortifications, the three ships departed on 4 November.. On 5 November 1918, Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Rosolino Pilo, the battleship Ammiraglio di Saint Bon, and the destroyers Giuseppe La Masa and Giuseppe Missori entered the port at Pola, the site of an important Austro-Hungarian Navy base, after which units embarked on the ships occupied the city over the following days. World War I ended with the armistice between the Allies and the German Empire on 11 November 1918.

Interwar period

After the end of World War I, Rosolino Pilo′s armament was revised, giving her five 102 mm (4 in)/35-caliber guns, two 40 mm (1.6 in)/35-caliber guns, and four 450-millimetre (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1929, she saw wide use during the 1920s and 1930s. and, according to some sources, two 65-millimetre (2.6 in) machine guns. Her full-load displacement rose to 900 tonnes (886 long tons). Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1929, she saw wide use during the 1920s and 1930s..

World War II

1940–1942

World War II broke out in September 1939 with Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Italy joined the war on the side of the Axis powers with its invasion of France on 10 June 1940. At the time, Rosolino Pilo was part of the 6th Torpedo Boat Squadron, along with Giuseppe Missori, Giuseppe Sirtori, and the torpedo boat Francesco Stocco. During the war, she mainly served as an escort.

On 27–28 June 1940, Rosolino Pilo and Giuseppe Missori transported supplies and 52 soldiers from Taranto, Italy, to Tripoli, Libya. In July 1940,Rosolino Pilo took part in Operation TCM, the escort of the first large convoy from Italy to Libya, consisting of the troopships Calitea, with 619 soldiers aboard, and Esperia, carrying 1,571 troops, and the modern cargo ships Francesco Barbaro, Marco Foscarini, and Vettor Pisani, whose combined cargo consisted of 232 vehicles, 5,720 tonnes (5,630 long tons; 6,305 short tons) of fuels and lubricants, and 10,445 tonnes (10,280 long tons; 11,514 short tons) of other materials. After the rest of the convoy got underway from Naples at 19:45 on 6 July, Rosolino Pilo and her sister ship Giuseppe Cesare Abba left Catania on 7 July escorting Francesco Barbaro. After rendezvousing with the rest of the convoy, Rosolio Pilo and Giuseppe Cesare Abba became part of the direct escort along with the 14th Torpedo Boat Squadron, consisting of the torpedo boats Orione, Orsa, Pegaso, and Procione. With the light cruisers Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and Bartolomeo Colleoni and the destroyers Grecale, Libeccio, Maestrale, and Scirocco in distant support, the convoy arrived safely at Benghazi, Libya, on 8 July.

On 25 February 1941 Rosolino Pilo escorted from Palermo, Sicily, to Tripoli a convoy initially composed of the steam cargo ships Honor and Santa Paola, with the tanker Caucaso joining the convoy after leaving Bizerte in French Tunisia. On 22 May 1942, Rosolino Pilo and the destroyer Francesco Crispi were escorting a convoy composed of the steamers Balcan and Chisone when the Italians sighted an incoming torpedo. After avoiding the torpedo, Rosolino Pilo, presuming the convoy to be under attack by an unidentified submarine, fired a torpedo in return, which exploded. The Italians believed that her torpedo had struck a submerged submarine, but a subsequent investigation revealed that Rosolino Pilo′s torpedo had exploded against the wreck of the auxiliary cruiser Attilio Deffenu.

References

Bibliography

• Favre, Franco. La Marina nella Grande Guerra. Le operazioni navali, aeree, subacquee e terrestri in Adriatico (in Italian).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Fraccaroli, Aldo (1985). "Italy". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 252–290. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
• Ruberti, Testo. "Intrepido Fino In Fondo" (PDF). Storie di Guerra e de Relitti (in Italian).{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

[[Category:Rosolino Pilo-class destroyers| [[Category:1915 ships [[Category:Ships built in Naples [[Category:World War I destroyers of Italy [[Category:World War II torpedo boats of Italy [[Category:Naval ships of Italy captured by Germany during World War II [[Category:World War II torpedo boats of Germany

Construction and commissioning

Ardito was laid down at the Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando shipyard in Livorno, Kingdom of Italy, in 1912. She was launched on 20 October 1912 and and completed and commissioned in 1913.

Service history

World War I broke out in 1914, and the Kingdom of Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies with its declaration of war on Austria-Hungary on 24 May 1915. At the time, Ardito and the destroyers Animoso, Ardente, Audace, and Fracesco Nullo made up the 1st Destroyer Squadron, based at Brindisi, with the squadron under the command of Capitano di corvetta (Corvette Captain) Caccia. On the day Italy entered the war, Ardito, Animoso, and Audace carried out an anti-submarine patrol in the Gulf of Drin off the coast of the Principality of Albania and subsequently off Cattaro, a major base of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

On 9 June 1915, Ardito, Animoso, Ardente, Audace, the destroyers Indomito, Intrepido, Impetuoso, Irrequieto, and Insidioso and the protected cruiser Quarto escorted the armored cruisers Giuseppe Garibaldi and Vettor Pisani as they participated in the bombardment of the lighthouses at the Cape of Rodon and Shëngjin (known to the Italians as San Giovanni di Medua) on the coast of Albania.

On 11 July 1915 Ardito, Animoso, Ardente, and Audace escorted Quarto to the Palagruža (known to the Italians as Pelagosa) archipelago, where they landed the vanguard of an occupation force. The auxiliary cruiser Città di Palermo, the protected cruiser Marsala, the destroyer Strale, and the torpedo boats Airone, Arpia, Astore, Calliope, Cassiopea, and Clio also took part in the operation, which went smoothly: Two Austro-Hungarian signalmen, who first hid from and then surrendered to the Italians, made up the archipelago's entire garrison.

At 04:00 on 17 July 1915 Ardito, together with Giuseppe Garibaldi, Vettor Pisani, Ardente, Strale, Airone, Arpia, Astore, Calliope, Clio, the armored cruiser Varese, and the torpedo boats Alcione, Centauro, and Cigno, took part in the bombardment of the Ragusa–Cattaro railway. The Italian force broke off the bombardment when Vettor Pisani sighted an Austro-Hungarian submarine at 04:25. The Italians had begun their return voyage to Brindisi when the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-4 attacked the formation at 04:40 and torpedoed Giuseppe Garibaldi, which sank within minutes.

A few hours after an Austro-Hungarian Navy force subjected Palagruža to a heavy bombardment during the night of 16–17 August 1915, Ardito, Quarto, Animoso, Intrepido, and the destroyer Impavido, which were on a cruise in the Adriatic Sea north of the line Brindisi–Cattaro, interrupted their operations to respond. They reached Palagruža at around 10:00 on 17 August 1915.

During the night of 11–12 December 1915 Ardito and the destroyer Simone Schiaffino escorted the steamships Epiro and Molfetta from Brindisi to Durrës (known to the Italians as Durazzo) in Albania, where the two steamers delivered supplies for the Serbian Army. After monitoring the unloading of the supplies, the destroyers escorted the steamers back to Brindisi.

On 23 February 1916, Ardito, Indomito, Impetuoso, and the protected cruisers Libia and Puglia positioned themselves in the harbor at Durrës to protect the withdrawal of the "Savona" Brigade. Starting on 24 February 1916, the four ships, together with the destroyers Irrequieto and Bersagliere and the auxiliary cruisers Città di Siracusa and Città di Catania, began to bombard advancing Austro-Hungarian troops who were about to occupy Durrës. In the following days they also bombarded Austro-Hungarian artillery positions on the mountain Sasso Bianco in the Dolomites near Durrës.

While Ardito and Città di Siracusa were inspecting the Otranto Barrage in the Strait of Otranto on 31 May 1916, the Austro-Hungarian destroyers Balaton and Orjen attacked the barrage and sank Beneficent, a naval drifter (an armed fishing boat) that was one of the vessels responsible for laying and supervising the anti-submarine nets that formed the barrage. Centauro and the destroyer Aquilone got underway from Brindisi to reinforce Ardito and Città di Siracusa, and the four ships intervened and forced the Austro-Hungarian destroyers to retreat.

On 2 August 1916, Ardito and the French Navy destroyers Italian destroyer Bisson, Italian destroyer Bory, and Italian destroyer Riviére, supported an incursion carried out by the motor torpedo boat MAS 6, supported by the torpedo boats 33 PN and 37 PN, into the harbor at Durrës. MAS 6 penetrated the harbor and launched a torpedo. Her crew believed they torpedoed a steamer, but Austro-Hungarian sources reported no ships sunk or damaged.

On 11 May 1917 Ardito, under the command of Commander Gottardi, got underway from Venice together with Animoso, Ardente, Audace, and the destroyer Abba to intercept an Austro-Hungarian Navy force consisting of the destroyer Csikos and the torpedo boats 78 T, 93 T, and 96 T sighted at 15:30 about 10 kilometres (5.4 nmi; 6.2 mi) away. However, the Italians were unable to engage the Austro-Hungarian ships before they reached the vicinity of the major Austro-Hungarian Navy base at Pola, and after approaching Pola the Italian ships gave up the chase and returned to Venice.

On 29 September 1917 Ardito, now under the command of Capitano di corvetta (Corvette Captain) Inigo Campioni, a future ammiraglio di squadra (squadron admiral) and commander of the Italian battlefleet during World War II, put to sea with Ardente and Audace and a second formation made up of Abba, the scout cruiser Sparviero, and the destroyers Acerbi, Orsini, and Stocco to support a bombing raid by 10 Italian airplanes against Pola. The Italian ships then had a brief evening clash with an Austro-Hungarian force composed of the destroyers Huszar, Streiter, Turul, and Velebit and four torpedo boats without achieving significant results.

After the end of the war, the ship had her armament revised to five 102 mm (4.0 in) 35-cal. guns, a single 40 mm (1.6 in) 35-cal. gun, and a pair of 6.5 mm (0.26 in) machine guns. The work was completed by 1920. The ship was reclassified as a torpedo boat on 1 October 1929, though she did not remain on active service for long afterward. On 2 October 1931, Ardito was struck from the naval register and subsequently discarded.

Moyuru ōzora (The Burning Sky)
Japanese movie poster for The Burning Sky.
Directed by	Yutaka Abe
Screenplay by	Yasutarō Yagi
Based on	a story by Komatsu Kiyamura
Produced by	Yutaka Abe
Starring	Den Obinata, Ichiro Tsukita, Katsuhiko Haida
Cinematography	Yoshio Miyajima
Edited by	Toshio Goto
Music by	Fumio Hayasaka
Production company	Toho
Release date	September 25, 1940 (1940-09-25)
Running time	137 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

The Burning Sky (燃ゆる大空, Moyuru ōzora) is a 1940 black-and-white Japanese war film produced and directed by Yutaka Abe, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film depicts the growth and fighting style of Imperial Japanese Army Air Service officers as they undergo training, and later their interactions with their former instructor as they fight together in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War after he takes command of their squadron. Considered a work of high quality, The Burning Sky is ranked eighth in the Kinema Junpo list of Ten Best Japanese Films.[3] Special cinematographer Eiichi (or Eiji) Tsuburaya won the Japan Photographers Association Award for his work on the film.[3]

The theme song, also called "The Burning Sky," was composed by Kosaku Yamada and sung by Ichiro Fujiyama.

Synopsis

Captain Yamamoto, an instructor at the Imperial Japanese Army's Kumagaya Army Flight School at Kumagawa, Japan, gives his energetic students rigorous training every day, and one after another, they go on to become full-fledged pilots in the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. Two years later, in February 1938, Yamamoto himself goes to the front in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War as the commanding officer of a fighter squadron in North China and is reunited joyfully with his former students, who have become successful military aviators. Although one of Yamamoto's former students, Tanaka, already has been killed in action, the others remain active, Yukimoto and Yamamura flying in Yamamoto's fighter squadron and Sato in a bomber squadron commanded by Captain Nara. Almost as soon as Yamamoto takes command, Yamamura crash-lands in enemy-held territory, and Yukimoto makes a forced landing and rescues him. As the war intensifies, the aviators fight hard and continue to achieve great success, but the number of those who do not return home increases.

Cast

• Captain Yamamoto...Den Obinata
• Yukimoto...Ichiro Tsukita
• Yamamura...Heihachiro "Henry" Okawa as Yamamura
• Sato...Katsuhiko Haida
• Weekly shift officer...Soji Kiyokawa
• Jinrei unit commander...Minoru Takada
• Surgeon general...Kazuo Hasegawa
• Captain Noto...Ichiro Ryuzaki
• Lieutenant Yokota...Toshio Miki
• Ensign Inaba...Jun Maki
• Instructor...Taizo Fukami
• Adjutant...Seishiro Hara
• Combat Team...Akira Nakamura, Eiichi Sha, Masanosuke Sawamura, Haruo Numata, Souji Shima, Sanpei Tani
• Captain Nara...Susumu Fujita
• Bomber squadron...Ryo Sayama, Ryutaro Nagai, Tokiichiro Osaki, Tetsuichiro, Susumu Osugi, Akira Kinoshita
• Mechanized soldiers...Hiroshi Yanagiya, Ryutaro Nagai, Tokiichiro Osaki, Tetsuichiro, Susumu Osugi, Akira Kinoshita, Satoshi Komori, Tomishiro Takeshita, Katsutaro Kimura
• Guard...Mitsuo Tsuda
• Students...Hideo Saito, Takenobu Kusumoto
• Also appearing: Yoji Misaki, Haruo Fujisawa, Hiroshi Yamakawa, Heikuro Imanari, Sen Yamabe, Isao Onizawa, Kinshiro Okubo, Hiroshi Tsukiji, Junichi Sugimoto, Ichiya Akai, Osamu Shindo

Crew

• Special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.
• Art Director: Takeo Kita
• Lighting: Tsuruzo Nishikawa
• Sound: Isamu Suzuki

Equipment appearing in the film

• Mitsubishi Ki-1 Army Type 93 Heavy Bomber
• Tachikawa Ki-9 Army Type 95-1 Medium Grade Trainer (Allied name "Spruce")
• Kawasaki Ki-10 Army Type 95 Fighter (Allied name "Perry")
• Mitsubishi Ki-21 Type 97 Heavy Bomber (Allied names "Gwen" and "Sally")
• Nakajima Ki-27 Type 97 Fighter (Allied names "Nate" and "Abdul")
• Mitsubishi Ki-30 Type 97 Light Bomber (Allied name "Ann")
• Nakajima Ki-34 Army Type 97 Transport (Allied name "Thora")
• Nakajima Army Type 91 Fighter
• Toyota AA passenger sedan

Production

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service Kawasaki Ki-10 fighters in Republic of China Air Force markings for the filming of The Burning Sky. They depicted Chinese Polikarpov I-15 fighters in the film.

Made to commemorate the 2,600th anniversary of the Imperial era in Japan in 1940, The Burning Sky took three years to film. The Japanese Army Ministry and the Army Aviation Headquarters fully cooperated in the making of the film, and 947 real Imperial Japanese Army Air Service military aircraft in use during the Second Sino-Japanese War, as well as active air personnel, participated in the filming. In addition to a large number of what then were state-of-the-art Nakajima K-27 fighters and Misyubishi Ki-21 heavy bombers, older Kawasaki Ki-10 fighters also appear in Chinese markings as Polikarpov I-15 fighters of Republic of China Air Force.

Director Yutaka Abe was skeptical of special effects, so he focused on real scenes, but some scenes lacked the impact he desired, so special effects scenes were added. However, most of the flight scenes were shot with actual aircraft actually flying for the movie, rather than using special effects or reusing existing film such as that of newsreels. In addition, a camera was installed in the cockpit of a Ki-27 fighter during training scenes depicting the strafing of targets at sea during flight school and during the dogfight scenes between Ki-27 and Ki-10 fighters, giving a sense of realism from the perspective of a fighter pilot. As a result, The Burning Sky ranks among Japanse films of the era in terms of realism in the same category as the 1942 film Wings of Triumph and the 1944 movie Kato hayabusa sento-tai ("Kato Hayabusa Combat Team").

For the crash-landing scene, a model airplane made of pasted-together construction paper was launched from a cliff with a slingshot while three cameras filmed the action from the bottom of the cliff, but the model airplane blew away in the wind. It was not seen again.

The early part of The Burning Sky depicts the training and life of young airmen at the Kumagaya Army Flight School in a realistic and sometimes humorous manner, and serves as an advertisement for military enlistment. The movie was unique even at the time in that no women appear in the film. Kazuo Hasegawa appears in the role of a military doctor attached to the Army Air Service in order to attract a female audience.

Theme song

The movie's theme song also was entitled "The Burning Sky." Sonosuke Sato wrote the lyrics, Kosaku Yamada composed the melody, andTokio Niki arranged the song.Noboru Kirishima and Ichiro Fujiyama provided the vocals. Nippon Columbia relesed the song in May 1940. It was included in the 64th volume of the as NHK radio program Kokumin Kayo ("National Song").

Sato's bright and lively lyrics and Yamada's sophisticated melody reminiscent of a German march gained popularity. As a movie theme song, it became a hit as a military song in wartime song alongside "Sora no Shinhei" ("Sky God Soldier"), which sings about the Imperial Japanese Army's paratroopers, and many recordings of "The Burning Sky" were produced after World War II. On the record, a mixed chorus is added, and in the third verse, Fujiyama's singing voice is mixed with humming for added effect. On the other hand, a male chorus version is used in the beginning and end of the movie.

Later, Tatsunoko Production's 1971 television series Animation: Keizai, used an instrumental version of "The Burning Sky" as background music. Baseball player Toru Nimura, who played for the Chunichi Dragons from 1984 to 1995, used the opening line of the song as his walk-up music.

External audio
"The Burning Sky"
"The Burning Sky", sung by Ichiro Fujiyama. YouTube art track provided by Nippon Columbia.

The copyright for the lyrics expired at the end of 1992, and the copyright for the song expired at the end of 2015, leaving both in the public domain. The lyrics are as follows:

The burning sky is a current of air.
The clouds are rising, they are flying.
The wings are shining like a swift wind, sounding true and maintaining their altitude.
Competing with the light, Aviation Japan, we conquer the skies.

The plane's wings are in turmoil, it's a storm, it's raining,
The sparkling propellers are the first to dedicate themselves to the empire,
Our brave and invincible wings.
We are the elite, our fighting spirit is inexhaustible.

Far above the ground, both in the south and in the north,
We attack and defend, fighting and bombing in every direction.
Say hello to the devil's wings on the front lines.
We conquer the skies of East Asia with the help of radio waves.

Open up the skies, hope, road, Seven Seas,
Conquer the continent, and advance through culture,
Let's say the wings of the Golden Goose in high spirits,
We, young people, will surpass the world and bear the prestige of our nation.

External links

• 燃ゆる大空 at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
• Scene from the film on YouTube

Category:1940s war films Category:Japanese war films Category:Toho films Category:Japanese black-and-white films Category:1940 films Category:Films directed by Yutaka Abe Category:Films scored by Fumio Hayasaka

History
Italy
Name	Sebastiano Caboto
Namesake	Sebastian Cabot (c. 1474–1557), Italian explorer
Ordered	1910
Builder	Cantieri Navali Riuniti, Genoa or Palermo, Italy (see text)
Laid down	March 1911
Launched	20 July 1913
Completed	November 1913
Commissioned	23 November 1913
Reclassified	Submarine tender 1938
Fate	Possibly scuttled 9 September 1943 (see text) Captured 12 September 1943
Nazi Germany
Name	Sebastiano Caboto
Namesake	Previous name retained
Acquired	12 September 1943
Commissioned	never
Fate	Sunk September–October 1943 (see text)
General characteristics
Type	River gunboat
Displacement	778 t (766 long tons) standard 877 t (863 long tons) normal load 1,049 t (1,032 long tons) full load
Length	63.4 m (208 ft) overall 60 m (200 ft) lbp
Beam	9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)
Draught	2.7 or 2.97 m (8 ft 10 in or 9 ft 9 in) (medium) 3.02 or 3.4 m (9 ft 11 in or 11 ft 2 in) (maximum)
Installed power	1,100 hp (810 kW)
Propulsion	2 × cylindrical coal-fired boilers 2 × triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines, 1,000 hp (746 kW) 2 × shafts
Speed	13.2 kn (24.4 km/h; 15.2 mph)
Range	3,600 nmi (6,670 km; 4,140 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement	either 6 officers and 117 enlisted men or 107 officers and enlisted men(see text)
Armament	6 × 76/40 mm Armstrong/Vickers guns 4 x 6.5/80 mm Maxim machine guns

Sebastiano Caboto was a vessel of the the Italian Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") in commission from 1913 to 1943. She operated as a river gunboat — some sources describe her as an "oceanic gunboat" or "colonial-service gunboat" — from 1913 to 1938, then as a submarine tender. She was named in honor of the Italian explorer Sebastian Cabot.

Design and construction

By the early 1900s, Italian traders and entrepreneurs were managing commercial activities in China, especially along the Yangtze. Italians had built textile factories in China and were managing other commercial interests; for example, the importation of coral, which was processed in Italy mainly by artisan companies in Naples and then exported again to East Asia, had become an important activity. For economic reasons, the Italian Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") could no longer afford to station warships in East Asia, and in any event the Regia Marina′s ships were too large to operate without difficulty upstream of Woosung (now Wusong) or Hankow (now Hankou) on the Yangtze. For years, France had assumed the responsibility for the protection of Italian communities in China. After the ambassador of the Kingdom of Italy in Peking (now Beijing) contacted him about a need for Italian protection of Italian communities along Chinese rivers, and in particular those on the upper Yangtze and the Peiho, the Italian minister of foreign affairs requested that the Regia Marina take steps to address the issue. The Regia Marina decided to build two river gunboats for service in China.

The Regia Marina ordered the first gunboat, Sebastiano Caboto, in 1910. Colonnello del Genio Navale ("Colonel of the Naval Engineers") Ettore Berghinz designed her, and she was laid down in March 1911. Sources agree that Cantieri Navali Riuniti ("United Shipyards") of Genoa built the ship, but disagree on whether construction took place at the company's shipyard at Genoa or Palermo. launched on 20 July 1913, she was completed in November 1913.

At 1,000 displacement tons, Sebastiano Caboto was large for a river gunboat, making her capable of crossing the open ocean, but a precise distribution of weight gave her a very shallow draft which, combined with her good maneuverability, allowed her to navigate rivers easily. According to some sources, Berghinz designed Sebastiano Caboto to operate on rivers in South America, in particular the Amazon River, to protect Italian colonists there. As built, she was equipped with a circular saw that could be mounted on her bow almost at the waterline, allowing her to extricate herself from the roots of mangroves along rivers such as the Amazon, as well as to break through barriers of logs carried by the current. With the situation calm in South America, Sebastiano Caboto instead was allocated to duty in China, and the saw was landed.

Sebastiano Caboto′s armament consisted of six 76/40 mm Armstrong/Vickers guns and four 6.5/80 mm Maxim machine guns One of the 76 mm guns was located on the bow, a second on the stern, two on the port side, and two on the starboard side. Two of the machine guns were located on the bow and two on the stern. According to one source, the crew consisted of six officers (the commanding officer, two ship's officers, an engineer, a commissary, and a doctor) and 117 petty officers and sailors, although another source places her total crew at 107.

Sebastiano Caboto′s propulsion system consisted of two triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines powered by two [[coal]-buring low-pressure cylindrical boilers operating at 12.6 kilograms per square centimeter (179.21 [[Pounds per square inch|psi). The engines produced a combined 1,000 horsepower (746 kW), allowing a maximum speed of 13.2 knots (24.4 km/h; 15.2 mph). At an economical cruising speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) and the maximum amount of a supply of coal she could bring aboard (100 or 190 tons, according to different sources) the ship could travel 3,600 nautical miles (6,670 km; 4,140 mi), enough to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She also had a substantial sailing rig: Her mainmast had two yards and could carry a square sail, a mainsail, and a counter mainsail, while her mizzenmast, with only one yard, could carry a mainsail and a counter mainsail.

In her operations, Sebastiano Caboto revealed excellent nautical qualities, proving to be manoeuvrable, easy to handle, sufficiently powerful, and capable of economical autonomous operations: On 100 tons of coal she could steam 1,356 nautical miles (2,511 km; 1,560 mi). One flaw was her tendency to roll, so her crew often used her sails to better stabilize her as well as slightly increase her speed.

Operational history

1913–1915

After entering service on 23 November 1913, Sebastiano Caboto moved from Palermo to Naples for her fitting out. After its completion, she departed Naples on 11 December 1913 bound for Shanghai. She made the approximately 10,000-nautical-mile (18,500 km; 11,500 mi) voyage in 110 days, 51 of which were spent at sea and 59 in port. After leaving Naples she called at Port Said, Massawa, Rakmat, Aden, Karachi, Bombay, Colombo, Singapore, and Saigon before arriving in March 1914 in Hong Kong, where she met the armored cruiser Marco Polo, which was about to return to Italy. Departing Hong Kong on 29 March 1914, Sebastiano Caboto made stops at Canton (now Guangzhou) and Macau before arriving at Shanghai on 2 April 1914.

As soon as a reorganization, which lasted for almost a month after her arrival, was complete, Sebastiano Caboto began operations, departing Shanghai on 28 April 1914 and steaming up the rivers to the limit of their navigability, in particular up the Yangtze. Although her draft prevented her from operating on the upper Yangtze between Yichang and Suifu (now Yibin), she could navigate the middle and lower Yangtze from is mouth to Yichang. She steamed up the Yangtze to Chungking (now Chongqing), negotiating a very torturous stretch of the river: In the stretch between Yichang and Chungking there were, in addition to numerous whirlpools and countercurrents, about 70 rapids, the level of which could vary, and numerous canyons, the length of which varied from 5 to 25 miles (8 to 40 km) and the width from 50 to 150 metres (55 to 164 yd), surrounded by hills and mountains whose altitude varied from 100 to 1,000 metres (330 to 3,300 ft), and with a difference in altitude of 100 metres (328 ft) in 86 miles (138 km). In May 1914 Sebastiano Caboto was in Hankow (now Hankou), went up the Yangtze to Cheling, crossed Lake Tung-Ting (now Dongting Lake), and then went up the Xiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze, reaching Changsha in Hunan Province, 950 miles (1,529 km) from the sea. Religious missions, who now found themselves protected from attacks by pirates, stragglers, and the armed forces of Chinese warlords and continuously warring Chinese factions, greeted her with great enthusiasm. Despite the many difficulties and dangers she encountered, she never needed to use her weapons, as her mere presence acted as a deterrent without her having to open fire. During the voyage from Italy to China, she had consumed all of the warranted fire hours for her boilers and operating hours for her steam engines, so after operating on the Chinese rivers for a month, she entered dry dock for end-of-warranty work.

After completion of her drydock work, Sebastiano Caboto resumed operations on Chinese rivers. In July 1914 she was in Nanking (now Nanjing) and later in Tientsin (now Tianjin). During this period, she sometimes became involved in armed conflict and had to use her weapons. At the beginning of August 1914, as World War I broke out in Europe, she went to Tsingtao (now Qingdao).

World War I

After Italy entered World War I on the side of the Allies in May 1915, the Republic of China remained neutral and Sebastiano Caboto risked internment by Chinese authorities, but she avoided this by ignoring Chinese demands that she submit to internment, cutting her moorings, and quickly departing for Nagasaki, Japan, where she remained for 18 months. When China also entered the war on the side of the Allies in December 1917, Sebastiano Caboto returned to her patrol duties on Chinese rivers. In 1918, a group of prisoners of war of Italian ethnicity captured by Russian forces while serving in the Austro-Hungarian Army and sent from the Russian Empire to Tientsin, where Italian authorities had promised them repatriation to Italy, grew tired of waiting for repatriation and rebelled. They were arrested, and on 10 June 1918 Sebastiano Caboto embarked about a hundred of them. After spending a night on the ship, the former prisoners of war were taken to the Si-Juan concentration camp in Peking.

1919–1934

World War I ended in November 1918. In 1921 a second Regia Marina gunboat, the smaller Ermanno Carlotto, whose construction had been interrupted by World War I, joined Sebastiano Caboto in China. Between January and March 1923, Sebastiano Caboto was in Hong Kong. On 6 April 1924, Lieutenant Commander Angelo Iachino, a future admiral, assumed command of Sebastiano Caboto and, noting the worsening of internal conflicts in China, expressed hope for the sending of an expeditionary force that could carry out international police duties: As a result, the Naval Division was established in East Asia. During the summer of 1924, Sebastiano Caboto conducted a cruise in the waters of Siberia, stopping at Vladivostok and a number of smaller ports.

During these years, Sebastiano Caboto and Ermanno Carloto had the task of protecting Italian missions in China, which, as had occurred prior to World War I, often came under threat of looting by river pirates and the forces of Chinese warlords. The two gunboats also policed shipping on Chinese rivers. Italian standards for the ownership and crewing of Italian-flagged vessels required that shipping companies that owned them have corporate capital that was majority Italian and that the ships themselves have an Italian captain and a crew that was at least two-thirds Italian, even if the crew's composition otherwise was in compliance with regulations in China. Many of the Italian-flagged ships Italian-Chinese shipping companies owned had come under the control of Chinese captains who used them to smuggle weapons. Although Italian agreements with China prohibited Chinese authorities from stopping and inspecting Italian-flagged ships — something viewed as intolerable for the credibility and prestige of the Italian shipping companies and, by extension, of Italy itself — Chinese authorities made several attempts to inspect Italian-flagged ships for illegal activities. Sebastiano Caboto and Ermanno Carloto therefore monitored Italian-flagged ships belonging to Italian-Chinese shipping companies for compliance with Italian requirements and to detect any illegal activities, and they reported ships which did not comply with legal and regulatory requirements to Italian consulate authorities, who could withdraw authorization to use of the Italian flag.

During the first half of the 1920s, Sebastiano Caboto and Ermanno Carloto, reinforced, at different times by the protected cruiser Libia, the torpedo boat Calabria, and the armored cruiser San Giorgio, found the task of protecting Italian communities and interests in China complicated by Chinese civil conflicts. Sebastiano Caboto often visited Chinese "treaty ports" and steamed up the Yangtze to Hankow, remaining mainly in the lower reaches of the river because of her draft.

During the second half of the 1920s and the early 1930s, the [[destroyer] Muggia alternated on duties in China, joining Sebastiano Caboto, Ermanno Carloto, and Libia in forming the Italian naval squadron there. The transport Volta, the heavy cruiser Trento. and the destroyer Espero also made deployments to China. In March 1925 the Far East Naval Command included Libia, Sebastiano Caboto, Ermanno Carlotto, and the armored cruiser San Giorgio. In 1926 Sebastiano Caboto deployed to Shanghai to protect Italian interests in the city, but in the following years, except for regular visits to Shanghai and Hankow, she was mainly based at Tientsin. In 1932, following the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria and problems that resulted from it, the Far Eastern Naval Division was reconstituted under the command by Admiral Domenico Cavagnari and consisted of Trento (Cavagnari's flagship), Libia, Espero, Sebastiano Caboto, and Ermanno Carlotto. Later the protected cruiser Quarto replaced Trento, Libia, and Espero in East Asia.

In 1934, after 20 years of service on Chinese rivers, Sebatiano Caboto was worn out and losing operational efficiency: Her hull had become worn and her propulsion system no longer could develop sufficient speed to counteract river currents. The modern minelayer Lepanto arrived in China to replace her, and on 7 August 1934 Sebastiano Caboto left the mouth of the Yangtze to return to Italy. During her five-and-a-half-month voyage, she stopped at almost all the same ports she had visited during her voyage to China 20 years earlier.

1935–1938

During her voyage to Italy, Sebastiano Caboto received orders to place herself under the command of the Italian East Africa Naval Command at Massawa; sources disagree on whether she received the orders on 19 January 1935 while in port at Aden or after she already had reached Massawa. She subsequently returned to the Mediterranean and deployed to Rhodes for duty under the Aegean Naval Command In 1938 she was reclassified as a submarine tender.

World War II

With its invasion of France on 10 June 1940, Italy entered World War II on the side of the Axis powers. at the time, Sebastiano Caboto was part of the Auxiliary Ships Group of the Aegean Sea Naval Command , based at Rhodes. During the war, she continued to operate as a submarine tender, always based at Rhodes. She often participated with her shipboard armament in the [[anti-aircraft] defense of the island from frequent, but usually unsuccessful, British air attacks. The crew often took the opportunity to enrich their meals with fish, particularly mullet, killed by explosions during the air raids.

On 25 May 1941, during the preparation of a convoy that would land an Italian expeditionary force in Crete, to take part in the German invasion of the island, Aldo Cocchia, the commander of the convoy, requested that Sebastiano Caboto take part in the operation, but higher command rejected the request on the grounds that Sebastiano Caboto, although small and old, was registered in the naval register as a cruiser and it was undesirable to give the Allies an opportunity to announce the sinking of a cruiser if she were lost during the operation.

The Kingdom of Italy proclaimed an armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, and Nazi Germany immediately began the Dodecanese campaign to seize control of the Italian islands in the Aegean, including Rhodes. Sebastiano Caboto was still at Rhodes, under the orders of Lieutenant Commander Corradini. The ship was in no coniditon to either participate in the Battle of Rhodes nor flee the island, so Corradini disembarked weapons and supplies to reinforce the Italian defenses ashore. According to one source, the ship was scuttled in shallow water at Rhodes on 9 September 1943 to prevent her capture intact by the Germans. According to other sources, Sebastiano Caboto was moored in port with her engines stopped and only a small crew aboard — most of her crew having disembarked without Corradini's consent so as to avoid having to fight the Germans — when armed German soldiers boarded the ship on 11 September 1943. Sources agree that German forces captured her on 12 September 1943 when Corradini and the remaining crew, after destroying documents and archives, disembarked, bringing with them the ship's battle flag, after receiving the salute from German |sentries. However, the ship's Italian flag was not lowered until 17 September 1943.

After capturing Sebastiano Caboto, the Germans refloated and repaired her. Her time under Kriegsmarine control was short, and sources differ on her subsequent fate. Some sources claim she was sunk in an Allied air attack in September 1943, perhaps on 15 September 1943 while repairs were underway, sinking in the same place where she had scuttled herself. According to some sources, however, she suffered damage at Rhodes in an Allied air raid on 19 September 1943, hit near the forecastle. Some sources claim she was sunk in an Allied air raid in October 1943.

Commemorative Medal of the March on Rome
Medaglia commemorativa della Marcia su Roma
The obverse (left) and reverse of the medal.
Type	Commemorative medal
Awarded for	Participation in the March on Rome
Presented by	Kingdom of Italy
Eligibility	Military personnel
Status	obsolete
Established	31 December 1923
Ribbon of the medal

The Commemorative Medal of the March on Rome (Italian: Medaglia commemorativa della Marcia su Roma) was a decoration granted by the Kingdom of Italy to recognize the October 1922 March on Rome, which pressured the Italian government into appointing Benito Mussolini prime minister of Italy and began Fascist rule and what the National Fascist Party deemed the "Era Fascista" ("Fascist Era").

Background

In October 1922, Benito Mussolini decided on a "March on Rome" by members of the Italian National Fascist Party (Italian: Partito Nazionale Fascista or PNF) to pressure King Victor Emmanuel III (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele III) into forcing Prime Minister of Italy Luigi Facta to resign and appointing Mussolini to replace him. on 25 October 1922, he appointed the "Quadrumvirs" — the Italian fascist leaders Michele Bianchi, Emilio De Bono, Cesare Maria De Vecchi, and Italo Balbo — to organize the march while he remained in the PNF's stronghold in Milan. By 27 October 1922, about 30,000 supporters of the PNF had converged on Rome in 19 columns, and they entered the city on 28 October and began the first of three days of PNF marches and demonstrations in the city. Facta drafted an order declaring a state of siege in Rome and martial law, but Victor Emmanuel, fearing bloodshed, refused to sign it. Facta resigned on 29 October, and on 30 October Victor Emmanuel summoned Mussolini to Rome. On 31 October 1922, the king appointed Mussolini as the next prime minister, an event which began Fascist rule in Italy and which Italian fascists regarded as the beginning of the "Era Fascista" ("Fascist Era").

History

The Commemorative Medal of the March on Rome was created on 31 December 1923 by an order of the Voluntary Militia for National Security (Italian: Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale or MVSN), commonly called the "Blackshirts." With royal decrees of 31 January 1926 1 November 1928, and 15 July 1938 the Kingdom of Italy greatly expanded eligibility for the medal.

Eligibility

The medal was issued in three grades, gold, silver, and bronze. The 31 December 1923 MVSN order authorized the medal by grade as follows:

• The gold medal for Benito Mussolini, the Quadrumvirs, and the administrative secretary of the National Fascist Party, Giovanni Marinelli.
• The silver medal for the 19 commanders of the columns organized to converge on Rome in the march.
• The bronze medal for all other members of the National Fascist Party who participated in the march between 27 October and 1 November 1922.

By order of the National Fascist Party on 7 December 1931, the silver medal awarded to Achille Starace, a column leader during the march, was changed to a gold medal on the occasion of his appointment as secretary of the party.

After the initial creation of the medal in 1923, the Kingdom of Italy expanded eligibility for it as follows:

• The royal decree of 31 January  1926 extended eligibility to all members of the Voluntary Militia for National Security (Italian: Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, or MVSN), commonly called the "Blackshirts."
• The royal decree of 1 November 1928 extended eligibility to personnel who were members of the Italian armed forces on 28 October 1922 but did not engage in opposition to the march that day.
• The royal decree of 15 July 1938 made all members of the Italian Armed Forces eligible.

Appearance

Medal

The medal is a gold, silver, or bronze disc with a diameter of 34 millimetres (1.3 in) and an hook attachment. The obverse depicts a winged victory holding an oak crown in his right hand and supporting a fasces in his left hand. Behind him are legionary insignia, fasces, and Roman daggers. The reverse is centered around a blank quadrilateral delimited by four fasces, within which a recipient could have his name engraved. The identity of the manufacturer of the medal — Lorioli & Castelli of Milan, Italy — is incused below the quadrilateral with the phrase "M Lorioli & Castelli Milano et EB Mod. Rip. Ris". The reverse is inscribed along its edge with the phrase "MARCIA SV ROMA" ("MARCH ON ROME") around the upper half and the phrase "27 OTTOBRE–1 NOVEMBRE 1922" ("27 OCTOBER–1 NOVEMBER 1922") around the lower half, with two small stars, one each on the left and right edges, separating the phrases.

Ribbon

The ribbon is divided equally into two vertical bands representing the colors of the comune ("commune" or "municipality") of Rome, with yellow on the left and amaranth on the right.

References

Bibliography

• Morittu, Giuseppe (1982). Guerre e decorazioni 1848–1945 (in Italian). Padua, Italy: Bolzonella s.n.c.
• Morittu, Giuseppe (1982). Guerre e decorazioni 1848–1945 (in Italian). Padua, Italy: Bolzonella s.n.c.

The lieutenancy of the kingdom is a royal institution entrusted to a high-level figure in a monarchy who either is designated to assume royal powers up to and including the regency of the Kingdom in the event of the absence of the monarch, or is designated to exercise monarchical powers in a particular territory of the kingdom under the overall authority of the monarch. Typically, the person exercising the authority of a lieutenancy takes the title of "lieutenant general."

In France

In the Kingdom of France, the Count of Artois, brother of the King of France, preceded the return of King Louis XVIII to Paris after the fall of Napoleon in 1814 and took the title of lieutenant general of the kingdom. From 2 to 9 August 1830, Duke Louis Philippe of Orleans assumed the title of lieutenant general of the kingdom.

In Italy

King's lieutenant

In the Kingdom of Italy, the institution of the lieutenancy general of the king (Italian: luogotenenza generale del re) under the House of Savoy was not codified in law, but became over time a true constitutional custom, finding application in the unification of Italy (Italian: Risorgimento) between 1859 and 1870 and during World War I, in which Italy participated from May 1915 to November 1918.

In the Kingdom of Sardinia, which the House of Savoy ruled prior to the unification of Italy, and later in the Kingdom of Italy, it was customary to appoint a lieutenant general of the kingdom (Italian: luogotenente generale del regno), chosen from among members of the Savoy royal family to carry out some of the king's duties as viceroy while the king was away from his office to follow the army on the battlefield during war. In 1848, when during the First Italian War of Independence (1848–1849) King of Sardinia Charles Albert (Italian: Carlo Alberto) reached the battlefield in Lombardy, Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano (Italian: Eugenio Emanuele di Savoia-Carignano) was appointed "lieutenant general of the kingdom", a position he also held in 1849, when, after Charles Albert's defeat in the Battle of Novara, it fell to him to make the announcement that the defeated king had abdicated and the crown of Sardinia had passed to his son Victor Emmanuel II (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele II). Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano held the same role in 1859 and 1866 when Victor Emmanuel II took part in the Italian Second and Third Wars of Independence.

Lieutenancies in the unification of Italy

Immediately after the new Kingdom of Italy issued decrees annexing pre-unification Italian states, it delegated the function of governing the territories of the former states in the name of the king to a decentralized constitutional body that served as the provisional government in each state. A "lieutenant of the king" served as the leader of each provisional government and oversaw the administration of the territory of each former state while awaiting its administrative unification with the kingdom. The title of "lieutenant of the king" fell to various figures in the annexed territories, such as that of the dictator or the royal commissioner that preceded the annexation.

A lieutenancy was established on the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano was appointed lieutenant of the king when the Kingdom of Italy annexed the grand duchy in 22 March 1860. He held the position until February 1861.

In the former territories of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in Sicily, King Victor Emmanuel II appointed Senator Massimo Cordero di Montezemolo as "Lieutenant General of the King in the Sicilian Provinces" in December 1860 at the end of Giuseppe Garibaldi's dictatorship in Sicily. Montezemolo led a Council of Lieutenancy in Sicily which held he powers of the central government of the Kingdom of Italy except for those of Foreign Affairs, War, and the Navy. Montezemolo was followed by Alessandro Della Rovere and then Ignazio De Genova di Pettinengo before the lieutenancy ceased in January 1862.

In the Neapolitan provinces of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which included most of Southern Italy (Italian: Mezzogiorno), Victor Emmanuel II appointed Luigi Carlo Farini as lieutenant general of the king on 6 November 1860. Eugene Emmanuel of Savoy-Carignano succeeded him on 3 January 1861 and remained in Naples until the end of May 1861. Thereafter, General Enrico Cialdini served as lieutenant general in Naples from 15 July to 15 October 1861.

After the Kingdom of Italy captured Rome from the Papal States in September 1870, it established the "General Lieutenancy of the King for Rome and the Roman Provinces" with Royal Decree Number 5906 of 9 October 1870. It was headed by Alfonso La Marmora. It was abolished on 1 February 1871.

World War I

When Italy entered World War I on the side of the Allies in May 1915, King Victor Emmanuel III (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele III) decided to leave for the front and entrusted some of his governmental functions to his uncle, Prince Tommaso of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, by a special decree of 25 May 1915.

As lieutenant general, Prince Tommasso carried out only formal and protocol functions in Rome without any role in substantive governance. However, during the war years royal decrees were called "lieutenant decrees" and bore the signature of Prince Tommasso rather than than of Victor Emmanuel III. The war ended on 11 November 1918, but Prince Tommasso's lieutenancy extended well beyond that: It was not until 7 July 1919, when, in accordance with Decree Number 1082 of 6 July 1919, that Prince Tommasso returned to private life and the king to the full extent of his functions.

Italian protectorate of Albania

Italy conquered the Albanian Kingdom in April 1939, establishing the Italian protectorate of Albania with Victor Emmanuel III as its king. In 1940, the Kingdom of Italy considered appointing Prince Adalberto, Duke of Bergamo, to act as king's lieutenant general in Albania, but no such appointment took place.

Lieutenant General of the Kingdom

During World War II, Italy surrendered to the Allies on 8 September 1943 and switched to the Allied side. The Kingdom of Italy's support for Italian fascism before the surrender and its choices thereafter had made the House of Savoy unpopular in Italy by the spring of 1944, leading to growing sentiment for King Victor Emmanuel III's abdication and even for the replacement of the monarchy with a republic; in fact, the leaders of anti-fascist Italian political parties desired the abdication of Victor Emmanuel, the renunciation of the throne by his son Crown Prince Umberto, former Prince of Piedmont, and the immediate appointment of a civil regent. In the spring of 1944, Victor Emmanuel reached an compromise agreement — supported by former president of the Chamber of Deputies and future president of the Italian Republic Enrico De Nicola — with the National Liberation Committee (Italian: Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale), to "freeze" the institutional question about the future government of Italy until the end of World War II and the concurrent Italian Civil War between the Kingdom of Italy and the Italian Social Republic. Under this agreement, Victor Emmanuel III retired to private life on 5 June 1944, remaining king but appointing his son Umberto, former Prince of Piedmont and heir to the throne, to serve as regent, exercising the prerogatives of the sovereign without holding the title of king.

Although Victor Emmanuel's signed appointment decree contained the traditional wording "Appointment of HRH [His Royal Highness] Umberto of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, as Lieutenant General of the King," Umberto assumed the title of "Lieutenant General of the Kingdom" (Italian: Luogotenente generale del Regno) instead of "King's Lieutenant," as always used in the past. This choice was made to underline both Umberto's greater powers as lieutenant — unlike previous lieutenants, he was not subordinate to the king — and that the maintenance of the monarchy or the transition to a republican regime would be implemented freely, without the need to consult with or remove the king. The title of "Lieutenant General of the Kingdom," rather than of the king, also rooted Umberto's role more with the Italian state than with the monarchy.

After his appointment, Umberto split his role between lieutenant and crown prince: As lieutenant general he ruled Italy like a provisional head of state, while as crown prince he served as pretender to a throne now removed from automatic dynastic succession, pending resolution of the question of the institutional form of the future Italian state. In 1944 he signed Lieutenant Decree-Law Number 151/1944, which established that "after the liberation of the national territory" of Italy from the Axis powers and the Italian Social Republic "the institutional forms" of government would be "chosen by the Italian people, who for this purpose" would elect "by universal, direct, and secret suffrage, a Constituent Assembly to decide on the new Constitution of the State," extending the vote to women for the first time. As lieutenant, Umberto soon earned the trust of the Allies thanks to his choice of orienting the policies of the Italian monarchy toward pro-Western positions.

Umberto's lieutenancy lasted until 9 May 1946, when the result of post-World War II elections led Vittorio Emanuele III′s advisors to induce him to abdicate in advance of the referendum on the future governance of the Italian state scheduled for 2 and 3 June 1946. The advisors hoped that his abdication would further distance the House of Savoy from Victor Emmanuel, who had favored the advent of the fascist Mussolini government, and increase the chance that the referendum would result in the preservation of the monarchy. Umberto took the throne as King Umberto II, but the results of the June 1946 referendum favored the abolition of the monarchy and establishment of the Italian Republic, and Umberto II reigned only until 18 June 1946 before going into exile.

Kingdom of Sicily

The Swabians

As early as the 13th century, lieutenancy existed in the Kingdom of Sicily, then ruled by the Swabians, when Manfred ruled Sicily as regent on behalf of his brother Conard II (often called Conradin) with the title of "lieutenant."

The Aragonese

After the Angevin period, the Aragonese took on the commitment to keep the Kingdom of Sicily distinct from the Kingdom of Aragon, and the King of Aragon appointed a lieutenant who reigned in Sicily in his absence. As a result of this policy, when Peter III was recalled to Spain he left the lieutenancy in Sicily to Alfonso III of Aragon. After that, James II of Aragon was invested with the role of lieutenant.

Over the centuries, princes not of royal blood who performed functions in Sicily on behalf of the King of Aragon were given the title of "lieutenant of the king."

The Bourbons

The Bourbon King of Naples Ferdinand IV, who also was King of Sicily as Ferdinand III aolished the office of Viceroy of Sicily in 1803 and established the position of "Lieutenant General of Sicily." Alessandro Filangieri, Prince of Cutò, served as lieutenant general from 1803 to 1806. When Napoleon invaded the Kingdom of Naples in 1806, Ferdinand fled to Palermo in Sicily resumed direct rule of the Kingdom of Sicily.

In 1812, Ferdinand refused to grant a constitution to the Sicilian parliament and, in 1813, he practically abdicated his throne, fleeing to Ficuzza and appointing his son Francesco (Francis, Duke of Calabria) to served as lieutenant general. In this role, Francis served as regent in Sicily.

After the fall of Napoleon, Ferdinand was able to return to Naples as ruler of the Kingdom of Naples in May 1815. Ferdinand kept Francis in Sicily as lieutenant. Francis retained his lieutenancy in Sicily until 1820, even after the establishment in 1816 of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which Ferdinand ruled as Ferdinand I.

Bibliography

• Vignoli, Giulio (2006). Il sovrano sconosciuto: Tomislavo II re di Croazia. Milan, Italy: Mursia. ISBN 88-425-3583-4.

Medal of Merit for the Avezzano Earthquake of 1915
Type	Meritorious service medal
Awarded for	Relief work related to the 1915 Avezzano earthquake
Presented by	Kingdom of Italy
Eligibility	Military and civilian personnel
Established	8 August 1915
Ribbon the medal

The Medal of Merit for the Avezzano Earthquake of 1915 (Italian: Medaglia di benemerenza per il terremoto di Avezzano del 1915) was established by the Kingdom of Italy with Lieutenant Legislative Decree no. 1339 of 1915 to reward the organizations and people who, from the day of the earthquake (13 January 1915) to the end of June 1915, had acquired a title of public merit by providing relief work to the survivors or contributing with substantial donations in their favor: both providing rescue, health or administrative services, as well as the material or moral needs of the injured. The new legislation did not modify the provisions of the Royal Decree of 30 April 1851, n. 1168, with which King of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel II established the medals for civil valor, a decree which remain in effect after the unification of Italy in 1861, when he became King of Italy.

The recognition consisted of a diploma of merit and the related gold, silver or bronze medal; with the Lieutenant Decree n. 574 of 1916 a certificate of honorable mention was also added if the degree of merit was not such as to be rewarded with a medal.

Eligibility criteria

The work performed by candidates for the medal was ascertained by certification. Certification authorities were as follows:

• The local heads of the various government administrations and of the heads of the various military corps for persons belonging to such administrations or corps;
• The Central Committee of the Italian Red Cross Association for people who had been part of the teams or committees employed by the association itself;
• The mayor, with the approval of the prefect (Italian: prefetto) of the province, for people who were members of rescue teams or committees or who provided relief work in isolation.

These certifications originally had to be presented to the competent offices by 30 October 1915, although Lieutenant Decree no. 1649 of 1915[4] later extended this deadline to 31 December 1915.

King Victor Emmanuel III awarded the medal or honorable mention with the relevant diploma, upon proposal of the Minister of the Interior, following the opinion of a commission composed of:

• A commission president, who was a state councilor designated by the Minister of the Interior; • the general director of the Civil Administration; • the director general of public health; • the director general of public security; • the general director of special services at the Ministry of Public Works; • a general officer designated by the Minister of War; • the commander of the Rome police force; • an official from the Ministry of the Interior responsible for the secretarial office of the commission.

The Lieutenant General of the King could also award the medal upon a simple proposal from the Minister of the Interior in the case provided for by Royal Decree no. 2706 of 1884, i.e., when the generous act was sufficiently ascertained due to the circumstances of time and place in which it was carried out and the integrity of the people who witnessed it.

The medals, minted at the expense of the State, were delivered together with the diploma to the organizations and decorated persons. The names of those decorated were published in the Official Gazette of the Kingdom.

Appearance

Medal

The medal is gold, silver, or bronze depending on the degree of merit, and has a diameter of 35 millimetres (1.4 in). The obverse bears an effigy of the King Victor Emmanuel III encircled by the inscription "VITTORIO EMANUELE III" ("VICTOR EMMANUEL III"). The signature of the engraver, "Motti", appears under the king's neck. The reverse bears the inscription "TERREMOTO 13 GENNAIO 1915" ("EARTHQUAKE 13 JANUARY 1915") surrounded by two oak branches tied at the bottom with a ribbon. A crowned "Z", the mark of the Royal Mint, is inscribed at the bottom of the reverse.

Other versions of the medal exist that differ in the engraver, bust, and inscriptions, some produced by private companies such as Stefano Johnson based in Baranzate.

Ribbon

The medal was worn hanging on the left side of the chest with a silk ribbon with an overall width of 36 millimetres (1.4 in), scarlet red in color with black edges of 6 millimetres (0.24 in) each.

Bibliography

• Brambilla, Alessandro (1997). Le medaglie italiane negli ultimi 200 anni (two volumes) (in Italian). Milan, italy.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Ercoli, Ercole (1976). Le Medaglie al Valore, al Merito e Commemorative - Militari e Civili nei Regni di Sardegna, d'Italia e nella Repubblica Italiana - 1793-1976 (in Italian). Milan, Italy: I.D.L.
• Manno, Roberto (1995). Duecento anni di medaglie. I segni del valore e della partecipazione ad eventi storici dal 1793 al 1993 (in Italian). Hobby & Work Publishing. ISBN 88-7133-191-5.
• Morittu, Giuseppe (1982). Guerre e decorazioni 1848 - 1945 (in Italian). Padua, Italy: Bolzonella s.n.c.
• Scarpa, Costantino; Sézanne, Paolo (1982–1985). Le decorazioni del Regno di Sardegna e del Regno d'Italia (two volumes) (in Italian). Uffici storici Esercito - Marina - Aeronautica.

The Cross for Length of Military Service (Italian: Croce per anzianità di servizio militare) is a military medal created by the Kingdom of Italy which then passed to the Italian Republic. Created in 1900 and updated or reformed in 1953, 1966, 1972, and 2010, it is a seniority award which recognizes lengthy honorable service in the Italian armed forces.

Kingdom of Italy

Cross for Length of Military Service
Type	Medal for long service
Awarded for	16, 25, or 40 years of service
Presented by	Kingdom of Italy (1900–1946) Italian Republic (1946–1953)
Eligibility	Military personnel
Status	Replaced 1953
Established	8 November 1900

History

King Victor Emmanuel III created the Cross for Length of Military Service by royal decree on 8 November 1900 to decorate military personnel of all ranks of the Regio Esercito ("Royal Army") and Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") for long and meritorous service. When created in 1900, it replaced the by-then-obsolete Piedmontese-style chevrons of the uniforms of the era of King Umberto I, standardizing the decoration on a larger scale in step with the evolution of Italian military uniforms.

Eligibility

The Cross for Length of Military Service was a seniority medal, awarded strictly for length of honorable service. When created in 1900, it was divided into three classes, but a fourth class was added by royal decree on 15 June 1912. The four classes were:

• Silver cross for enlisted soldiers who had served for 16 years;
• Silver cross surmounted by the royal crown of Italy for enlisted soldiers who had served for 25 years (added in 1912);
• Gold cross for officers who had served for 25 years;
• Gold cross surmounted by the royal crown of Italy for officers who had served for 40 years.

Appearance

Medal

The medal consists of a Maltese cross in gold or silver, depending on the class, with a disc in the center bearing the crowned monogram of Vittorio Emanuele III ("VE") on the obverse and the years of service in Roman numerals on the reverse ("XVI", "XXV", or "XL"). The crowned crosses are surmounted by the royal crown of Italy in silver or gold, also depending on the class.

Ribbon

The medal was hung on the chest with a green silk ribbon, divided down the middle by a white stripe. A gold (for the gold cross) or silver (for the silver cross) crown on the ribbon with a diameter of 6 millimetres (0.24 in) distinguishes the crosses with crowns from those without when only the ribbon is worn. The founding royal decree of 1900 did not allow wearing of the ribbon without the medal, but a royal decree of 1906 modified this, giving the bearer the right to wear only the ribbon.

Ribbons
Silver Cross for non-commissioned officers and troops (16 years)	Silver Cross with Royal Crown for non-commissioned officers and troops (25 years)	Gold Cross for officers (25 years)	Gold Cross with Royal Crown for officers (40 years)

Italian Republic

Cross for Length of Military Service
The reverse of the Silver Cross for troops for 25 years of service (left) and the reverse of the Gold Cross for officers and non-commissioned officers for 40 years of service.
Type	Medal for long service
Awarded for	16, 25, or 40 years of service
Presented by	Italian Republic
Eligibility	Military personnel
Status	Reformed 15 March 2010
Established	10 February 1953

History

The Kingdom of Italy’s legislation governing the Cross for Length of Military Service remained in force even after the fall of the monarchy and birth of the Italian Republic. The Italian Republic first defined its version of the medal only in 1953. A 1966 reform established that the cross was awarded to officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men of the Italian Army (Italian: ’’Esercito Italiano’’), Italian Navy (Italian: ’’Marina Militare’’), and Italian Air Force (Italian: ’’Aeronautica Militare’’) and had the following classes:

• Silver Cross for officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted personnel who had served for 16 years;
• Silver Cross with star for enlisted personnel who had served for 25 years;
• Gold Cross for officers and non-commissioned officers who had served for 25 years;
• Gold Cross with star for officers and non-commissioned officers who had served for 40 years.

Appearance

Medal

The Italian Republic’s 1953 legislation altered the appearance of the medal from that awarded by the Kingdom of Italy. The republic continued the practice of awarding a Maltese cross in gold and silver, depending on the class, but eliminated the crowns above the crosses and replaced the royal monogram "VE" on the obverse of the kingdom’s medal with the abbreviation "RI" (for Italian: ”’’Repubblica italiana’’” — "Italian Republic") in a disc in the center of the cross. On the reverse, the republic continued the practice of indicating the number of years of service in Roman numerals ("XVI", "XXV", or "XL"). The Maltese cross is 32 millimetres (1.3 in) wide.

Ribbon

The ribbon is 37 millimetres (1.5 in) wide and identical to the kingdom’s ribbon in that it is green with a white stripe in the middle. However, in the 1953 legislation, the republic eliminated the crown from the ribbon and replaced it with a 6-millimetre-wide (0.24 in) star when required by the class of the medal, in either gold or silver, depending on the class of the medal.

In 1972 a gold turreted crown was introduced, 4 millimetres (0.16 in) high and 6 millimetres (0.24 in) wide at the top, tapering to 4 millimetres (0.16 in) wide at the base, to be affixed to the ribbon of the Gold Cross for officers and non-commissioned officers with 25 years of service.

Ribbons
Silver Cross for officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted personnel (16 years)	Silver Cross with star for enlisted personnel (25 years)	Gold Cross for officers and non-commissioned officers (25 years) (1953-1972)	Gold Cross with crown for officers and non-commissioned officers (25 years) (1972-present)	Gold Cross with Star for officers and non-commissioned officers (40 years)

2010 reform

Cross for Length of Military Service
Type	Medal for long service
Awarded for	16, 25, or 40 years of service
Presented by	Italian Republic
Eligibility	Military personnel
Status	Current
Established	15 March 2010

Legislative Decree Number 66 of 2010 repealed all existing legislation regarding the Cross for Length of Military Service under Article 2268 and absorbed it under Article 1464 into Articles 857 and 858 of the Regulations without substantial changes. It continued the authorization for personnel to wear the ribbons without the respective medals unless the medal is expressly required.

The 2010 reform also made a distinction between ‘’graduati’’ (literally “graduates,” an Italian military term roughly corresponding to “junior non-commissioned officers”) and non-commissioned officers of a higher rank, corresponding to what other countries might consider a “senior non-commissioned officers.” It redefined eligibility as follows:

• Silver Cross for officers, non-commissioned officers, ‘’graduati’’, and enlisted personnel with 16 years of service.
• Silver cross with star for ‘’graduati’’ and enlisted personnel with 25 years of service;
• Gold Cross for officers and non-commissioned officers with 25 years of service;
• Gold Cross with star for officers and non-commissioned officers with 40 years of service.

Ribbons
Silver Cross for officers, non-commissioned officers, ‘’graqduati’’, and enlisted personnel (16 years)	Silver Cross with star for ’’graduati’’ and enlisted personnel (25 years)	Gold Cross with crown for officers and non-commissioned officers (25 years)	Gold Cross with Star for officers and non-commissioned officers (40 years)

References

[[:Category:1900 establishments in Italy [[:Category:1953 establishments in Italy [[:Category:Awards established in 1900 [[:Category:Awards established in 1953 [[:Category:Military awards and decorations of Italy

Italian Expeditionary Corps in China
Corpo di spedizione italiano in Cina
Italian mounted infantry in China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. A unit of Italian Marine Fusiliers in colonial uniform marching to Tientsin (now Tianjin).
Active	5 July 1900–August 1905
Country	Kingdom of Italy
Branch	Regio Esercito ("Royal Army") Regia Marina ("Royal Navy")
Type	Expeditionary force
Size	Regiment
Part of	Eight-Nation Alliance
Engagements	Boxer Rebellion
Decorations	Commemorative Medal of the Campaign in China
Commanders
Alliance commander	Field Marshal Alfred von Waldersee
Italian commander	Vice Admiral Camillo Candiani
Italian ground commander	Colonel Vincenzo Garioni

The Italian Expeditionary Corps in China (Italian: Corpo di spedizione italiano in Cina) was an expeditionary force the Kingdom of Italy sent to China in the summer of 1900 to assist in the efforts of the Eight-Nation Alliance to put down the Boxer Rebellion. It began to return to Italy in 1901, but some of its elements operated in China until 1905. The Italian participation in the campaign against the Boxers allowed Italy to obtain the Italian concession of Tientsin in 1901.

Background

The Boxer Rebellion was an anti-colonialist and anti-Christian movement of the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Yìhéquán), known in English as the "Boxers," which took place in China between November 1899 and 7 September 1901. The uprising was a reaction to Western and Japanese imperialist expansion in China that included European opium merchants, political invasion, economic manipulation, and missionary evangelization. In 1898, local organizations in Shantung (now Shandong) rebelled in response to both imperialist expansion and internal Chinese problems such as the Qing dynasty's fiscal crisis and natural disasters. Initially the Qing dynasty repressed the rebellion, but the dynasty later attempted to take advantage of the rebellion to free China from foreign influence. With the slogan "Support the Qing, destroy the foreigners" ("扶清灭洋"), the Boxers attacked missionary settlements throughout northern China. Many thousands of Chinese Christians were killed because the Boxers considered them responsible for foreign domination in China.

After the first violence in Peking (now Beijing) against Westerners and Japanese, eight countries – Austria-Hungary, the British Empire, France, the German Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the Japanese Empire, the Russian Empire, and the United States – formed the Eight-Nation Alliance to intervene in the Boxer Rebellion, protect their citizens and interests in China, and suppress the Boxers. Naval vessels of the eight countries arrived at Tientsin (now Tianjin) on the northeastern coast of China by the end of May 1900, and on 1 June 1900 the first contingent of 436 armed sailors (75 British, 75 French, 75 Russian, 60 American, 50 German, 41 Italian, 30 Japanese, and 30 Austro-Hungarian) disembarked from the ships and went by train to Peking to protect Westerners and Japanese who had taken refuge from the Boxers in the Peking Legation Quarter. The Boxers soon began a siege of the International Legations in Peking, and by 15 June 1900, some Italian and French military personnel were separated from the rest of the contingent, defending the Beitang Church, a Catholic cathedral in Peking,[1] which the Boxers also besieged.

A second force of the eight nations arrived in China, and the Seymour Expedition, consisting of 914 British, 540 German, 312 Russian, 158 French, 112 American, 54 Japanese, 41 Italian – including Italian marines disembarked from the protected cruiser Calabria under the command of ‘’Tenente di vascello” (“Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant”) Sirianni – and 25 Austro-Hungarian personnel set out from Tientsin on 10 Junr 1900 to march on Peking while Allied landing forces (including an Italian one under the command of ‘’Tenente di vascello” Giambattista Tanca) attacked the Taku Forts on the Chinese coast. In the Battle of the Taku Forts, European and Japanese forces captured the forts from Qing Dynasty forces on 16-17 June 1900 in an action which prompted the open intervention of Chin's ruling Qing Empire in the conflict on the side of the Boxers. Meanwhile, the Chinese repelled the Seymour Expedition with losses and forced it to return to its starting point at Tientsin on 26 June 1900. A group of 20 Italian sailors commanded by ‘’Sottotenente di vascello’’ (“Ship-of-the-Line Sublieutenant”) Ermanno Carlotto distinguished themselves in the defense of Tientsin: In clashes with the Boxers, 10 Italian sailors died, including Carlotto himself on 27 June 1900. The expedition came to an end on 28 June 1900.

History

On 5 July 1900, the Italian Parliament decided on a more massive military intervention in China by sending an expeditionary force, the Italian Expeditionary Corps in China, of more than 2,000 men under the command of Colonnello ("Colonel") Vincenzo Garioni of the Bersaglieri. The Expeditionary Corps was recruited mostly on a voluntary basis with an additional salary per day of 8 lire for commissioned officers, 2 lire for non-commissioned officers, and 40 centesimi for troops.

While the Expeditionary Corps was being recruited and prepared, the Italian Regia Marina (“Royal Navy”) sent an advance force, the Oceanic Naval Force, to Chinese waters under the command of Vice ammiraglio ("Vice Admiral") Camillo Candiani, who also was designated as the overall commander of Italian forces participating in the Eight-Nation Alliance's intervention in China. The naval force consisted of Candiani's flagship, the protected cruiser Ettore Fieramosca, as well as the armored cruiser Vettor Pisani and the protected cruiser Vesuvio. The three cruisers carried four companies of marine infantry.

Between 16 and 19 July 1900, the Expeditionary Corps completed its embarkation operations aboard the Italian Navigation Company steamers Minghetti, Giava, and Singapore at Naples. On the morning of 19 July 1900, King Umberto I and Minister of War Coriolano Ponza di San Martino reviewed the force. Escorted by the protected cruiser Stromboli, the three steamers left Naples on the evening of 19 July 1900 and proceeded to China, stopping at Port Said on 23 July, Aden on 29 July, and Singapore from 12 to 14 August 1900 before beginning the final leg of its voyage.

While the Expeditionary Corps was at sea, the Eight-Nation Alliance mounted the Gaselee Expedition, a second attempt to reach Peking composed of 10,000 Japanese, 4,000 Russian, 3,000 British, 2,000 American, 800 French, 200 German, 100 Austro-Hungarian, and 100 Italian personnel. Under the command of British Lieutenant General Alfred Gaselee, the expedition began from Tientsin on 4 August 1900. It defeated the Boxers in the Battle of Peking in mid-August succeeded in conquering Peking by 28 August 1900, when the forces of the eight nations paraded through the Forbidden City.[2]

The Italian Expeditionary Corps in China arrived at Tientsin on 29 August 1900. Once disembarked, it traveled the 150 kilometres (93 miles) by train Tientsin to Peking, where it participated in the Allied occupation of the city. The international contingent appointed Imperial German Army ‘’Generalfeldmarschall’’ (“Field Marshal”) Alfred von Waldersee as its overall commander on 26 September 1900 despite strong resistance to his selection from France and the United Kingdom and lesser opposition from Italy.

In Peking, the Italian military contingent was assigned to garrison a neighborhood near the Huang Tsun barracks. It also took part in the alliance’s actions to counter the last resistance within China, which involved 50,000 men, of whom 2,500 were Italians. On 2 September 1900, 470 men of the Italian Expeditionary Corps in China organized in three companies, two of ‘’Bersaglieri’’ (“sharpshooters”) and one of marines, captured the Chan-hai-tuan forts. On another occasion, the French military contingent moved to occupy the village of Paoting-fu in conflict with von Waldersee's orders which provided for a mixed German and Italian contingent to occupy the village. Garioni anticipated the French move and at the helm of 330 men, instead occupied the town of Cunansien, which the alliance originally had entrusted to the French.

The Expeditionary Corps's return to Italy began in August 1901, and the Boxer Protocol of 7 September 1901 brought the Boxer War to an end. Two companies of Bersaglieri returned to Italy in 1902, and the remaining companies, united in a mixed battalion, remained in China until 1905 and returned aboard the Florio Rubattino Company steamer Perseo in August 1905. Some Carabinieri, together with specialist troops, subsequently remained in the Italian concession of Tientsin even after the Expeditonary Corps's return to Italy.

Losses

Italian forces suffered 18 deaths in China during the Boxer Rebellion:

• During the Seymour Expedition, two columns of Boxers suddenly attacked a small group of Regia Marina personnel on the outskirts of Seymour's column at Langfang on 14 June&nbsp1900. A chief petty officer from the protected cruiser Calabria, three gunners, and a trumpeter were killed and, with the exception of one of the gunners, were awarded a posthumous Gold Medal of Military Valor.
• In fighting at Tientsin on 19 June 1900, a sottotenente (ensign) from the Elba was killed and awarded a posthumous Gold Medal of Military Valor.
• In the defense of the International Legations in Peking, si men were killed: A sailor and a gunner on 24 June&nbssp;1900, the latter receiving a posthumous Gold Medal of Military Valor; a sailor on 1 July 1900; a gunner on 2 July 1900 who was awarded a posthumous Gold Medal of Military Valor; a gunner on 3 July 1900; and another gunner sometime in July 1900 who received a posthumous Gold Medal of Military Valor.
• In the defense of Beitang Cathedral six men — four gunners and two sailors — were killed, all on 12 August 1900), and two of the gunners and one sailor were awarded a posthumous Gold Medal of Military Valor.

Italian Concession of Tientsin

An Italian naval unit marches behind a British Indian unit in Tientsin (now Tianjin), where both the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Italy had concessions, sometime between 1910 and 1915.

With the Boxer Protocol of 7 September 1901, Italy obtained control of the Italian concession of Tientsin, an area of 45 hectares (111 acres) consisting of a village, land along the river rich in salt marshes, and a large marshy area used as a cemetery. After a period of Italian disinterest in the concession, a cleanup began. The Italian presence lasted until 10 September 1943, when during World War II Italy surrendered to the Allies and switched sides in the war on 9 September 1943, prompting Japanese troops to occupy the concession the next day and take Italian civilians and military personnel prisoner.

Journalistic coverage

Embarked with the expeditionary corps when it departed Italy in July 1900 were numerous journalists, and others, such as Luigi Barzini, joined the Italian contingent in China in 1901. Journalists reported fewer clashes with the Chinese and less looting and repression in the Italian-occupied area of Peking than in other neighborhoods. Two official photographers — medical Lieutenant Giuseppe Messerotti Benvenuti from Modena, who used a Kodak camera, and Lieutenant Luigi Paolo Piovano from Chieri with a Goertz camera — captured an extensive photographic record of the Expeditionary Corps's stay in China. Both also photograph the horrors of repression, namely the shootings, beheadings, looting, and rubble.

Composition

The Expeditionary Force consisted of 83 officers, 1,882 non-commissioned officers and troops, and 178 animals. It was composed of:

• A command element consisting of:
  • The commanding officer, Collonnello ("Colonel") Vincenzo Garioni
  • One squad of Royal Carabinieri, consisting of one maresciallo ("marshal"), one vicebrigadier ("vice-brigadier"), and six carabinieri)
  • One officer, Lieutenant Pietro Verri, in charge of military intelligence
• One infantry battalion, commanded by Tenente colonnello ("Lieutenant Colonel") Tommaso Salsa of the Alpini, made up
  • One company of the 10th Battalion of the 8th Infantry Regiment "Cuneo"
  • One company of the 10th Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment "Modena"
  • One company of the 6th Battalion of the 43rd Infantry Regiment "Forlì"
  • One company of the 12th Battalion of the 69th Infantry Regiment "Ancona"
• Two groups of marine riflemen embarked on the protected cruiser Calabria under the command of Lieutenant Ermanno Carlotto and Lieutenant Sirianni
• One battalion of "Far East" Bersaglieri, 840 men commanded by Maggiore ("Major") Luigi Agliardi of the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment of Rome, composed of:
  • One company made up of troops of the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment (stationed in Rome) and 9th Bersaglieri Regiment (stationed in Leghorn), on which the General Staff of the Corps was based;
  • One company made up of troops of the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment (stationed in Naples) and 1st Bersaglieri Regiment (stationed in Palermo);
  • One company made up of troops of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment (stationed in Bologna) and 11th Bersaglieri Regiment (stationed in Ancona);
  • One company made up of troops of the 2nd Bersaglieri Regiment (stationed in Milan) and 6th Bersaglieri Regiment (stationed in Verona);
• One machine gun battery, with four Gardner guns and artillery personnel, commanded by Captain Alcide Vallauri;
• One mixed detachment of the engineers from the 1st Engineer Regiment and 3rd Engineer Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Vito Modugno and composed of:
  • One sapper group
  • One bridging group
  • One optical telegrapher group
• One field hospital with five beds
• One field kitchen squad with four mobile iron ovens

In addition to the marines under the command of Carlotto and Sirianni, other contingents of riflemen commanded by Vice ammiraglio ("Vice Admiral") Candiani landed shortly thereafter.

Clothing, equipment, and subsistence

The Expeditionary Corps wore a canvas uniform, colonial cork helmet, standard boots, plus various types of furs and winter clothing suitable for the harsh climate of North China, where temperatures can drop to as low as −20 °C (−4 °F). To ensure the troops had enough winter clothing, Minister of War Coriolano Ponza di San Martino ordered the Italian royal consul in Shanghai to purchase 2,000 furs locally for the troops. He reported, "Our soldiers left with their complete equipment, which also consisted of new objects: those who had old objects had left them and others had been distributed to them; therefore a Bersagliere cape, colonial helmet, and then a coat and a greatcoat for everyone, including the Bersaglieri, who do not normally wear it; everyone had a woolen hood like those worn in the Alps, Val d'Aosta-style woolen leggings, woolen socks, flannel gloves, and then a supply of all the equipment materials, cloth jackets and trousers, knitted doublets and so on. […] Admiral Candiani then telegraphed from Peking on 7 November [1900]: 'Provide us with sufficient furs' and Colonel Garioni in his report of 4 December [1900] literally wrote as follows: 'The furs ordered for the military troops in Shanghai correspond very well to the purpose because they can be worn comfortably under the coat.' Each soldier is given a fur coat which serves as a bed covering. Finally, from the reports it appears that after the expedition of Calgan [a Chinese city in the Hopeh [now Hebei] region where the Great Wall meets, the theater of joint Allied operations, in which the Italian Bersaglieri also participated. It was a commercial center of great importance, a depot of tea shipped to Siberia with the use of half a million camels, as well as a production center for 'Kalgan' type furs produced with Tibetan and Mongolian wool. – Ed.] other furs have been requisitioned, so that now the soldiers have all of them and two. By then adapting strips of fur to the fez, a very appropriate headdress was obtained because it also allows you to keep the hood on. This is a sui generis coverage; I don't know if it's beautiful but they tell me it's very comfortable. [...] Colonel Garioni always replied that he was provided for the whole winter and only asked for coats, cloaks, and shoes in case he had to go beyond the spring [...] and the supplies were sent to him."

For logistical support, the Expedtionary Corps relied on 178 animals, mostly mules , because Chinese roads were impassable for other means of transport. The daily food ration for Expeditionary Corps troops included 750 grams (26 oz) of bread, 375 grams (13.2 oz) of meat, 125 grams (4.4 oz) of rice or pasta, 15 grams (0.5 oz) of coffee, 20 grams (0.7 oz) of sugar, 20 grams (0.7 oz) of salt, 0.5 grams (0.02 oz) of pepper, and 15 grams (0.5 oz) of lard.

References

Bibliography

• Arturi, F. (January 1971). "Una vecchia imperatrice guidò i boxers in rivolta". Historia (in Italian). No. 158. {{cite magazine}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |magazine= (help)
• L. E. Bodin, The Boxer Rebellion, Osprey, London, 1979.
• G. Cucchi, "Una bandiera italiana in Cina," in Rivista Militare, No. 6, 1986 (in Italian).
• L.de Courten - G.Sargeri, Le Regie truppe in Estremo Oriente, 1900-1901, Rome, 2005 (in Italian).
• G. Fattori, "La guerra dei boxers", in Storia illustrata, No. 154, 1970 (in Italian).
• L. Ferrando, L'opera della R. Marina in Cina, Florence, Italy, 1935 (in Italian).
• P. Fleming, La rivolta dei boxers, Milan, 1965 (in Italian).
• V. Purcell, La rivolta dei boxers, Milan, 1972 (in Italian).
• L. Tesi, La rivolta dei boxer, Florence, Italy, 1995 (in Italian).
• M. Valli, Gli avvenimenti in Cina nel 1900 e l'azione della R Marina Italiana, Milan, 1905 (in Italian).
• C. Paoletti, La Marina Italiana in Estremo Oriente, Rome, 2000 (in Italian).
• C. Paoletti, "Un incubo logistico: imbarco, viaggio e sbarco delle Regie Truppe italiane in Estremo Oriente," in Quaderni della Società di storia militare - anno 1998, ]]Naples]], 2001 (in Italian).
• Stefano Ales, Il Corpo di spedizione italiano in Cina, CISM, Rome, 2012 (in Italian).
• R. Barba, Il Tenente Modugno: Quando Gli Italiani Invasero La Cina, Rome, 2016. (in Italian).
• F. Del Monte, "La rivolta dei Boxer a Montecitorio: l'Italia politica ed il Corpo di spedizione in Cina," in L'Italia Coloniale, 29 April&nbsp2020 (in Italian).
• "The Italian Squadron in China and Japan" (in Italian), in The Directory and Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Siam, Netherlands India, Borneo, the Philippines, &c. for the Year 1903 Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Daily Press, 1903, p. 757 (in Italian).

Ministry of Aeronautics

Ministero dell'aeronautica
The Palazzo dell'Aeronautica in Rome, once the headquarters of the Ministry of Aeronautics, on 21 September 2007.
Agency overview
Formed	30 August 1925 (1925-08-30)
Preceding	General Commissariat for Aeronautics
Dissolved	4 February 1947 (1947-02-04)
Superseding agency	Ministry of Defence
Jurisdiction	Government of Italy

The Ministry of Aeronautics (Italian: Ministero dell'aeronautica) was a department of the Kingdom of Italy, and subsequently of the Italian Republic, with jurisdiction over both military and civil aviation. Established in 1925, it was abolished in 1947 when it merged with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of the Navy to form the Ministry of Defence.

Origins

In 1912, after the Italo-Turkish War ended, the Italian Ministry of War (Italian: Ministero della guerra) established an Aeronautical Inspectorate (Italian: Ispettorato aeronautico). It later became the Directorate of Aviation Services (Italian: Direzione dei servizi aeronautici).

During World War I, the Orlando government established the General Commissariat for Aeronautics (Italian: Commissariato generale per l'aeronautica) at the Ministry of Arms and Munitions (Italian: ministero delle Armi e munizioni),and on 1 November 1917 Eugenio Chiesa, a member of the Chamber of Deputies, was appointed commissioner.In December 1917, the Ministry of Arms and Munitions established the General Directorate of Aviation (Italian: Direzione generale di aviazione) under Colonel Giulio Douhet, but Douhet soon had a falling out with Chiesa and left the directorate in April 1918.

On 24 November 1918, the commissariat moved from the Ministry of Arms and Munitions to the Ministry of War. On June 30, 1919, the general management of aeronautics was transferred to the Ministry of Maritime and Railway Transport (Italian: Ministero dei trasporti marittimi e ferroviari).

In his first cabinet, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini established a General Commissariat for Aeronautics, overseeing both military and civil aviation, on 24 January 1923 with the Mussolini himself as commissioner. Aldo Finzi served as and deputy commissionerand prepared the legislative provisions necessary for the establishment of the Ministry of Aeronautics and of an independent air force. He established two general directorates – one for the air force and one for civil aviation – and appointed Giulio Douhet, who became a major general, as general director for the air force and Lieutenant Colonel Arturo Mercanti general director for civil aviation. Royal Decree Number 645 of 28 March 1923 n. 645 established a new armed force, the ‘’Regia Aeronautica’’ (literally “Royal Aeronautics” but usually translated as “Royal Air Force”) and resubordinated all military air forces in the Kingdom of Italy and its colonies, both those previously under the control of the ‘’Regio Esercito’’ (“Royal Army”) and those previously under the ‘’Regia Marina’’ (“Royal Navy”), to the new air force.

On 14 May 1925, the position of deputy commissioner for aeronautics was abolished and that of undersecretary of state for aeronautics was created, to which General Alberto Bonzani was appointed.

Creation

Royal Legislative Decree Number 1513 established the Ministry of Aeronautics on 30 August 1925, transforming the commissariat into a ministry. The new ministry oversaw both the ‘’Regia Aeronautica’’ and civil aviation and brought together all the aeronautical services previously under the Ministry of War. Initially, the Ministry of Aeronautics had three general directorates, for military personnel and aeronautical schools, for civil aeronautical personnel, and for the aeronautical engineering corps.

History

Prime Minister Mussolini himself served as minister of aeronautics from 1925 to 1929, with a senior ‘’Regia Aeronautica’’ officer appointed to serve as secretary of state, to whom Mussolini delegated everyday management of the ministry.

Italo Balbo became undersecretary in 1926 and succeeded Mussolini as minister in 1929. Balbo gave a notable impetus to the establishment of aviation in Italy. Under Balbo, the Fascist politician Raffaello Riccardi served as undersecretary.

Balbo’s tenure as minister ended in 1933 when Prime Minister Mussolini again became minister, and Mussolini remained minister until his fascist regime ended on 25 July 1943. Riccardi also departed in 1933, and Mussolini resumed the previous practice of appointing a senior ‘’Regia Aeronautica’’ officer to serve as secretary of state and handle the ministry’s daily management.

Abolition

With Decree Number 17 of the provisional head of state of 4 February 1947, the Third De Gasperi government ordered the dissolution of the Ministry of Aeronautics, Ministry of the Navy, and Ministry of War and their merger to form the new Ministry of Defence (Italian: Ministero della difesa). The Ministry of Defence retained control of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Air Traffic (Italian: Direzione generale dell'Aviazione civile e del traffico aereo) until the Italian Republic transferred the responsibilities for civil aviation to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (Italian: Ministero dei trasporti e dell'aviazione civile) in 1963.[5]

Organization

In 1942, the ministry was organized as follows:[6]

• Office of the Minister
• General Directorate of Military Personnel
• General Directorate of Civilian Personnel and General Affairs
• General Directorate of Material snd Airport Services
• General Directorate of Construction snd Supplies
• Superior Directorate of Studies and Experiments
• General Directorate of Civil Aviation and Air Traffic
• General Directorate of Weapons and Ammunition
• General Directorate of State Property
• General Directorate of the Military Commissariat
• Telecommunications snd Flight Assistance Inspectorate
• Health Inspectorate
• Inspectorate of Aeronautical Engineering and Aeronautical Production

List of ministers

Main article: List of ministers of the Ministry of Aeronautics

Building

The ministry building is in Rome near the Sapienza University of Rome and the Roma Termini railway station. It consists of the historic Palazzo dell'Aeronautica , designed in 1929 by engineer Roberto Marino and opened in 1931. It was completed by the construction of the former Air War School, the Air Force Officers' Club building, and the Operational Technical Services Building (E.S.T.O.) built in the 1980s.

References

[[:Category:Military of Italy [[:Category:Civil aviation in Italy [[:Category:1925 establishments in Italy [[:Category:1947 disestablishments in Italy [[:Category:Ministries established in 1925 [[:Category:Ministries disestablished in 1947

Ministry of the Navy

Ministry of the Navy

Ministero della marina (1861–1946) Ministero della marina militare (1946–1947)
The Palazzo Marina ("Navy Palace") in Rome on 13 May 2016
Agency overview
Formed	1861 (1861)
Preceding	Ministry of the Navy (Kingdom of Sardinia)
Dissolved	14 February 1947 (1947-02-14)
Superseding agency	Ministry of Defence
Jurisdiction	Government of Italy

The Ministry of the Navy (Italian: Ministero della marina) was a ministry of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946 and of the Italian Republic from 1946 to 1947. Under the Kingdom of Italy, it oversaw the Regia Marina ("Royal Navy"), while under the Italian Republic, when its name became Ministero della marina militare (literally "Ministry of the Military Navy"), it oversaw the Marina Militare (literally "Military Navy"), usually translated as "Italian Navy." The ministry was abolished in 1947, when it merged with the Ministry of the Air Force and the Ministry of War to form the Ministry of Defence.

History

The Italian Ministry of the Navy had its origins in the Kingdom of Sardinia, which on 11 October 1850 divided its Ministry of War and the Navy, creating a separate Ministry of War and moving oversight of the Royal Sardinian Navy to the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. By a royal decree of 23 October 1853, the Kingdom of Sardinia established a separate Ministry of the Navy..

When Italy unified in 1861 to form the Kingdom of Italy, the last King of Sardinia became the King of Italy as Victor Emmanuel II, and in that year Italy's Fourth Cavour government created an Italian Ministry of the Navy to oversee the new Italian Regia Marina ("Royal Navy"). The ministry also had oversight responsibility for the Italian merchant marine, with control of the Division of the Merchant Marine and Maritime Health (Italian: Divisione della marina mercantile e della sanità marittima), which in 1874 was renamed the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine (Italian: Direzione generale della marina mercantile). The ministry retained its merchant marine responsibilities until 1916, when oversight of the merchant marine was transferred to the Ministry of Maritime and Railway Transport (Italian: Ministero dei Trasporti Marittimi e Ferroviari).

Under the fascist government of Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, the Regia Aeronautica ("Royal Air Force") was created in 1923 and took over aviation responsibilities from the Regia Marina and Italian Royal Army. On 30 August 1925, a new Ministry of the Air Force took control of the oversight of aviation activites which previously had fallen under the Ministry of the Navy or the Ministry of War.

Mussolini himself served as the Minister of the Navy from 8 May 1925 to 12 September 1929 and from 6 November 1933 to 25 July 1943. Italy entered World War II on the side of the Axis powers in June 1940. In August 1943, the ministry regained oversight of the Italian merchant marine when the Commissariat for Merchant Marine Services was transferred from the Ministry of Communiations to the Ministry of the Navy.

In September 1943, Italy surrendered to the Allies and switched sides, becoming a co-belligerent with the Allies. Between September 1943 and the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945, with the Kingdom of Italy in control of southern Italy, the ministry oversaw the Regia Marina′s forces as they fought as the Italian Co-belligerent Navy alongside Allied forces in the Italian campaign and simultaneously in the Italian Civil War against the Italian Social Republic, which the Germans established as a puppet state in northern Italy under Mussolini and which continued to fight on the Axis side.

In 1946, the Italian Republic replaced the Kingdom of Italy. Under the Republic, the Ministry of the Navy, renamed Ministero della marina militare (literally "Ministry of the Military Navy"), had oversight of what was now called the Marina maritime, literally "Military Navy" but usually translated as "Italian Navy." Upon the establishment of the Republic, the Ministry of the Navy again lost its responsibility for the merchant marine, oversight of which was transferred to a new Ministry of the Merchant Marine (Italian: Ministero della marina mercantile) on 13 July 1946.

Under the Third De Gasperi government, by Decree Number 17 of the provisional head of state on 4 February 1947, the Ministry of the Navy, Ministry of War, and Ministry of the Air Force were abolished as of 14 February 1947, and their responsibilities were transferred to a new, unified Ministry of Defence..

Organization

1876

The organization of the Ministry of the Navy established by Royal Decree Number 3624 of 31 December 1876 was as follows:

• Office of the Minister, including the General Secretariat, the Division of Personnel, and the Division of Military Service
• General Directorate of Materiel
• General Directorate of the Merchant Marine
• Central Maritime Military Health Office

1914

Royal Decree Number 860 of 28 June 1914 established the following organization:

• Office of the Minister
• General Secretariat of the Ministry
• General Directorate for officers and Military and Scientific Service
• General Directorate for the Crew Corps
• General Directorate for Naval Construction
• General Directorate for Artillery and Armaments
• General Directorate for Administrative Services
• General Directorate for the Merchant Marine;
• Inspectorate for the Operation and Economy of Machinery
• Inspectorate for Maritime Military Health Care
• Inspectorate for the Maritime Military Commissariat
• Inspectorate for Military Engineering for Naval Works, Lighthouses, and Maritime Signaling
• Inspectorate for Maritime Services
• Inspectorate for Port Authorities
• Inspectorate for Civilian Personnel and General Affairs

1923

Royal Decree Number 2052 of 10 September 1923 established the following organization:

• Office of the Minister, with the Office of Law and Decrees attached
• Office for Nautical Education
• General Directorate for Military Personnel and Services
• General Directorate for Civilian Personnel and General Affairs
• General Directorate for Artillery and Armaments
• General Directorate for Naval Construction
• Central Directorate for the Operation and Economy of Machinery
• Central Directorate for Maritime Military Health
• Central Directorate for the Maritime Military Commissariat
• Central Directorate for Military Engineering for Naval Work

1936

Royal Decree Number 773 of 16 April 1936 established the following organization:

• Office of the Minister
• Private Secretariat of the Undersecretary of State
• Office of Law and Decrees, reporting to the minister
• General Directorate for Military Personnel and Services
• General Directorate for Naval and Mechanical Construction
• General Directorate for Naval Weapons and Armaments
• General Directorate for Civilian Personnel and General Affairs
• General Directorate for Maritime Military Health Care
• General Directorate for the Maritime Military Commissariat
• General Directorate for Military Engineers and Naval Works
• General Directorate for Administrative Services

1944

Legislative Decree Number 342 of 28 September 1944 established the following organization:

• Office of the Minister
• General Secretariat of the Ministry
• General Directorate for Military and Scientific Officers and Services
• General Directorate for the Maritime Crew Corps
• General Directorate for Naval and Mechanical Construction
• General Directorate for Naval Weapons and Armaments
• General Directorate for Civilian Personnel and General Affairs
• General Directorate for Maritime Military Health Care
• General Directorate for the Maritime Military Commissariat
• General Directorate for Military Ingenuity in Naval Work
• General Directorate for Administrative Services

List of ministers

See Minister of the Navy (Italy).

External links

• Olympedia: Ministero della Guerra

[[:Category:Former government ministries of Italy|War [[:Category:Military of Italy [[:Category:1861 establishments in Italy [[:Category:1947 disestablishments in Italy

Antiques Roadshow table

Season	Host	Taping Year	Broadcast Year
1	Chris Jussel	1996	1997
Locations: Albuquerque, New Mexico: Chiago, Illinois::College Park, Maryland;Concord, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Durham, North Carolina; Greenwich, Connecticut; Kansas City, Missouri; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Southfield, Michigan
Notes: The 13 taping locations are the most in a single season in the show's history.
1	Chris Jussel	1996	1997
Locations: Albuquerque, New Mexico: Chiago, Illinois::College Park, Maryland;Concord, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Durham, North Carolina; Greenwich, Connecticut; Kansas City, Missouri; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Southfield, Michigan
Notes: The 13 taping locations are the most in a single season in the show's history.

Japanese destroyer Izazuchi

For other ships with the same name, see Japanese destroyer Shirakumo.

Shirakumo upon commissioning in England in 1902.
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Shirakumo
Namesake	白雲 ("White Cloud")
Ordered	1900
Builder	John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick, England
Yard number	Destroyer No. 15
Laid down	1 February 1901
Launched	1 October 1901
Completed	13 February 1902
Commissioned	13 February 1902
Reclassified	Third-class destroyer 28 August 1912 Special-duty vessel (second-class minesweeper) 1 April 1922 Utility vessel (accommodation ship) 1 April 1923
Stricken	1 April 1923
Fate	Sunk as target 21 July 1925
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	322 tons normal, 432 tons full load
Length	215 ft 9 in (65.76 m) waterline 216 ft 9 in (66.07 m) overall
Beam	20 ft 9 in (6.32 m)
Draught	8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)
Depth	13 ft 9 in (4.19 m)
Propulsion	2-shaft reciprocating engines, 4 boilers, engine output 7,000 hp (5,200 kW)
Speed	31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Complement	62
Armament	1 x QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun 5 × QF 6 pounder (57 mm) guns 2 × 450 mm (18 in) torpedoes
Service record
Operations:	Russo-Japanese War Battle of Port Arthur Battle of the Yellow Sea Battle of Tsushima World War I Battle of Tsingtao

Shirakumo (白雲, "White Cloud") was the lead ship of two Shirakumo-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the early 1900s. During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), she took part in the Battle of Port Arthur in February 1904, the Battle of the Yellow Sea in August 1904, and the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905. During World War I (1914–1918), she participated in the Battle of Tsingtao in 1914.

Construction and commissioning

Line drawing of Shirakumo.

Authorized under the 1900 naval program, Shirakumo was laid down on 1 February 1901 as Destroyer No. 15 by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Chiswick, England. Launched on 1 October 1901 and named Shirakumo, she was completed on 13 February 1902 and commissioned the same day.

Service history

Shirakumo departed England on 27 February 1902 to make her delivery voyage to Japan. She completed it with her arrival at Kure on 30 May 1902.

When the Russo-Japanese War broke out on 8 February 1904, Shirakumo was part of the 1st Destroyer Division of the 1st Fleet. The war began that evening with the Battle of Port Arthur, a Japanese surprise attack on Imperial Russian Navy warships anchored in the outer roadstead of the Russian naval base at Port Arthur, China. Ten Japanese destroyers of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Destroyer Divisions made a torpedo attack in three waves, with the four destroyers of the 1st Destroyer Division (Akatsuki, Asashio, Kasumi, and Shirakumo) and Ikazuchi of the 2nd Destroyer Division constituting the first wave. They closed to about 650 yards (590 m) from the Russian ships and fired nine torpedoes. One of Kasumi′s torpedoes hit the Russian protected cruiser Pallada.

As the Russo-Japanese War continued, Shirakumo took part in the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August 1904. After transferring to the 4th Destroyer Division in the 2nd Fleet, she participated in the Battle of Tsushima on 27–28 May 1905. Responding to a signal from the unprotected cruiser Chihaya on the afternoon of 27 May, the 4th Destroyer Division (Asagiri, Asashio, Murasame, and Shirakumo) mounted a torpedo attack against the damaged Russian battleship Knyaz Suvorov. Although Asagiri, Asashio, and Murasame launched their torpedoes at ranges of from 800 metres (870 yd) down to 300 metres (330 yd) and Murasame scored an apparent hit that caused Knyaz Suvorov to heel 10 degrees, Shirakumo did not fire, finding that Knyaz Suvorov had lost all steaming power and come to a stop before she could achieve a firing position. Knyaz Suvorov later sank.

Shirakumo was reclassified as a third-class destroyer on 28 August 1912.

After Japan entered World War I in August 1914, Shirakumo took part in the Battle of Tsingtao in 1914.

On 1 April 1922, Shirakumo was reclassified as a "special-duty vessel" for use as a second-class minesweeper. On 1 April 1923, she was stricken from the naval register and reclassified as a utility vessel for use as an accommodation ship.

Shirakumo was sunk as a target in the Bungo Channel off Himeshima on 21 July 1925.

Commanding officers

SOURCE:

• Lieutenant Commander Kota Hazama 26 June 1901 – 22 October 1901 (pre-commissioning)
• Lieutenant Commander Kota Hazama 22 October 1901 – unknown
• Lieutenant Commander Masayuki Kamada 12 December 1905 – 14 March 1906
• Lieutenant Kanzo Tsunoda 14 March 1906 – 1 April 1906
• Lieutenant Commander Yoshihiro Morimoto 1 April 1906 – 13 September 1906
• Lieutenant Yahei Nakahara 13 September 1906 -– 12 November 1906
• Lieutenant Hanjiro Sonoda 12 November 1906 – 17 May 1907
• Lieutenant Teruichi Akiyoshi 17 May 1907 – 20 April 1908
• Lieutenant Yasuhiro Yamamoto 20 April 1908 – 25 September 1908
• Lieutenant Shoichi Akiyoshi 25 September 1908 – 20 February 1909
• Lieutenant Yoshio Yamanaka 20 February 1909 – 1 April 1910
• Lieutenant Nobuyuki Kabayama 1 April 1910 – 1 December 1910
• Lieutenant Commander Tomomasa Ohashi 1 December 1910 – 20 December 1910
• Lieutenant Commander 20 December 1910 – 28 April 1911
• Lieutenant Goto Akira 28 April 1911 – 24 May 1913
• Lieutenant Meijiro Tate 24 May 1913 - 1 December 1913
• Lieutenant Commander Tadashi Takeuchi 1 December 1913 – unknown
• Lieutenant Koro Ogawa Unknown – 1 December 1916
• Lieutenant Nomura Jinzo (Naokuni) 1 December 1916 – 1 December 1917
• Lieutenant Ei Kashiwagi 1 December 1917 – 21 February 1920
• Lieutenant Fukashi Yamashita 21 February 1920 – 20 January 1921
• Lieutenant Tetsu Sano 20 January 1921 – 1 December 1921
• Lieutenant Miyazaki Taira 1 December 1921 – unknown

References

Bibliography

• 写真日本海軍全艦艇史 Fukui Shizuo Collection』資料編、KKベストセラーズ、1994年 ("Photographic history of all ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Fukui Shizuo Collection" material edition, KK Bestsellers, 1994) (in Japanese).
• 海軍歴史保存会『日本海軍史』第7巻、第9巻、第10巻、第一法規出版、1995年 (Naval History Preservation Society "Japanese Naval History" Vol. 7, Vol. 9, Vol. 10, Daiichi Hoki Publishing, 1995) (in Japanese).
• 片桐大自『聯合艦隊軍艦銘銘伝』普及版、光人社、2003年 (Daiji Katagiri "Rengo Kantai Gunkan Meiden" popular version, Kojinsha, 2003) (in Japanese).

• Cocker, Maurice (1983). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.
• Corbett, Julian S. (1994). Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905, Volume I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
• Corbett, Julian S. (1994). Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905, Volume II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
• Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
• Halpern, Paul G (1994). A Naval History of World War I. Routledge. ISBN 1-85728-498-4.
• Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11402-8.
• Jane, Fred T. (1904). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co. ASIN: B00085LCZ4.
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
• Lyon, David (1981). The Thornycroft List. Greenwich: National Maritime Museum.
• Lyon, David (2006). The First Destroyers. Mercury Books. ISBN 1-84560-010-X.
• Stille, Mark (2016). The Imperial Japanese Navy of the Russo-Japanese War. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1119-6.
• Watts, Anthony John (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-356-03045-8.

External links

[[:Category:Shirakumo-class destroyers [[:Category:Ships built in Chiswick [[:Category:1901 ships [[:Category:Russo-Japanese War naval ships of Japan [[:Category:World War I destroyers of Japan [[:Category:Maritime incidents in 1925 [[:Category:Ships sunk as targets [[:Category:Shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea [[:Category:Shipwrecks of Japan

2007–08 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season

2007–08 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 14, 2008 through March 15, 2008
Number of teams	16
TV partner(s)	ESPN
Regular Season
Champion	Georgetown (15–3)
Runners-up	Louisville, Notre Dame (14–4)
Season MVP	Luke Harangody – Notre Dame
Tournament
Champions	Pittsburgh
Finals MVP	Sam Young – Pittsburgh

2007–08 Big East men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 8 Georgetown	15	–	3		.833			28	–	6		.824
No. 13 Louisville	14	–	4		.778			27	–	9		.750
No. 15 Notre Dame	14	–	4		.778			25	–	8		.758
No. 16 Connecticut	13	–	5		.722			24	–	9		.727
West Virginia	11	–	7		.611			26	–	11		.703
No. 25 Marquette	11	–	7		.611			25	–	10		.714
No. 17 Pittsburgh†	10	–	8		.556			27	–	10		.730
Villanova	9	–	9		.500			22	–	13		.629
Syracuse	9	–	9		.500			21	–	14		.600
Cincinnati	8	–	10		.444			13	–	19		.406
Seton Hall	7	–	11		.389			17	–	15		.531
Providence	6	–	12		.333			15	–	16		.484
*DePaul	6	–	12		.333			11	–	19		.367
*St. John's	5	–	13		.278			11	–	19		.367
*South Florida	3	–	15		.167			12	–	19		.387
*Rutgers	3	–	15		.167			11	–	20		.355
† 2008 Big East tournament winner As of April 7, 2008 Rankings from AP Poll *Did not qualify for 2008 Big East tournament.

The 2007–08 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 29th in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools.

Georgetown won the regular-season championship with a 15-3 record. Pittsburgh was the champion of the Big East tournament.

Regular season

Season summary & highlights

• The Big East expanded its conference schedule from 16 to 18 games, allowing every team to play every other team during the season.
• Georgetown won the regular-season championship.
• Pittsburgh won the Big East Tournament.
• The Big East went 2–2 in the second year of the annual SEC–Big East Invitational, later known as the SEC–Big East Challenge.
• Syracuse missed the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row for the first time since 1982.
• Notre Dame posted the most conference wins in a season in school history (14), extended its home winning streak to 37 games dating back to 2006, the second-longest active home winning streak in the United States, and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003.

Rankings

The Big East set a record when it placed seven teams in the preseason Associated Press poll. It set another record by placing eight teams in the December 1st ranking, and broke that record when the ninth team entered the AP Top 25 on January 5. Connecticut and North Carolina were the only two teams that did not vacate the top 5 in the AP poll all season.

2007–08 Big East Conference Weekly Rankings
Key: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV = Received Votes

AP Poll	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19
Cincinnati												RV
Connecticut	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV					RV	RV		RV	19	17	13	15	13	16
DePaul
Georgetown	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	8	7	7	5	9	6	6	8	12	11	11	8
Louisville	6	6	6	12	14	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	18	13	12	13
Marquette	11	10	11	13	11	10	10	12	10	15	13	21	17	16	RV	25	21	21	25
Notre Dame	RV	RV							RV	RV			RV	22	20	21	17	19	15
Pittsburgh	22	19	17	14	12	11	11	6	13	20	15	13	18	21	22	RV	RV	RV	17
Providence	RV	RV	RV
Rutgers
St. John's
Seton Hall				RV	RV
South Florida
Syracuse	RV	RV	21	RV			RV
Villanova	RV	24	20	RV	25	23	20	18	17	19	25	18	RV
West Virginia	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV						RV

Statistical leaders

Scoring
Name	School	PPG
Luke Harangody	ND	20.4
Sam Young	Pitt	18.6
Brian Laing	SHU	18.1
Donté Greene	Syr	17.7
Draelon Burns	DPU	17.6

Rebounding
Name	School	RPG
Kentrell Gransberry	SFU	10.8
Luke Harangody	ND	10.6
Jeff Adrien	Conn	9.2
DeJuan Blair	Pitt	9.1
Mac Koshwal	DPU	8.4

Assists
Name	School	APG
Tory Jackson	ND	5.8
A. J. Price	Conn	5.8
Jonny Flynn	Syr	5.3
Eugene Harvey	SHU	4.9
Geoff McDermott	PC	4.9

Steals
Name	School	SPG
Jeff Xavier	PC	2.3
Jerel McNeal	Marq	2.2
Eugene Harvey	SHU	1.9
Corey Chandler	RU	1.8
Dominic James	Marq	1.8
Tory Jackson	ND	1.8

Blocks
Name	School	BPG
Hasheem Thabeet	Conn	4.5
Hamady N'Diaye	RU	3.0
Roy Hibbert	GU	2.2
Earl Clark	LU	1.7
Donté Greene	Syr	1.6
John Garcia	SHU	1.6
Wellington Smith	WVU	1.6

Field Goals
Name	School	FG%
Arinze Onuaku	Syr	.628
Roy Hibbert	GU	.609
Kentrell Gransberry	SFU	.518
Sam Young	Pitt	.503
Jeff Adrien	Conn	.501

3-Pt Field Goals
Name	School	3FG%
Kyle McAlarney	ND	.441
Alex Ruoff	WVU	.410
Deonta Vaughn	Cin	.398
Donté Greene	Syr	.345

Free Throws
Name	School	FT%
Rob Kurz	ND	.853
Joe Alexander	WVU	.814
Draelon Burns	DPU	.810
Brian Laing	SHU	.803
Wesley Matthews	Marq	.790

Postseason

Big East tournament

Main article: 2008 Big East men's basketball tournament

Only the top 12 finishers in the regular-season standings qualified for the Big East Tournament, and under these criteria DePaul, Rutgers, St. John's, and South Florida did not compete in the tournament. The teams finishing fifth through 12th in the regular season standings played first round games, while the top four teams during the regular season received a bye to the quarterfinals. The four-round tournament spanned four consecutive days, from Wednesday, March 12, 2008, through Saturday, March 15, 2008.

1–4 Seeding:
(1) Georgetown, (2) Louisville, (3) Notre Dame, (4) Connecticut
5–12 Seeding and First Round Matchups:
(5) West Virginia, (6) Marquette, (7) Pittsburgh, (8) Villanova, (9) Syracuse, (10) Cincinnati, (11) Seton Hall, (12) Providence
(5) West Virginia def. (12) Providence
(6) Marquette def. (11) Seton Hall
(7) Pittsburgh def. (10) Cincinnati
(8) Villanova def. (9) Syracuse

Quarterfinals Matchups:
(1) Georgetown def. (8) Villanova
(7) Pittsburgh def. (2) Louisville (OT)
(6) Marquette def. (3) Notre Dame
(5) West Virginia def. (4) Connecticut

Semifinals Matchups:
(1) Georgetown def. (5) West Virginia
(7) Pittsburgh def. (6) Marquette

Championship Game:
(7) Pittsburgh def. (1) Georgetown, 74–65

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2008 NCAA men's basketball tournament

The Big East sent eight teams to the NCAA tournament, tying the record of eight it set in 2006. Regular-season champion Georgetown had the highest seed at No. 2 in the Midwest Regional. Seven teams advanced to the second round and three to the regional semifinals. Louisville went deepest in the tournament, reaching the East Regional final. The conference finished with a combined record of 11–8.

School	Region	Seed	Round 1	Round 2	Sweet 16	Elite Eight	Final Four
Louisville	East	3	7 Boise State, W 79–61	6 Oklahoma, W 78–48	2 Tennessee, W 79–60	1 North Carolina, L 83–73
West Virginia	West	7	14 American, W 80–67	6 UCLA, W 89–69	2 Duke, W 77–54	1 Pittsburgh, W 78–76	1 UNC, L 83–69
Louisville	Midwest	1	16 Morehead St., W 74–54	9 Siena, W 79–72	12 Arizona, W 103–64	2 Michigan St., L 64–52
Pittsburgh	East	1	16 E. Tenn. St., W 72–62	8 Oklahoma St., W 84–76	4 Xavier, W 60–55	3 Villanova, L 78–76
Syracuse	South	3	14 S.F. Austin, W 59–44	6 Arizona St., W 78–67	2 Oklahoma, L 84–71
Marquette	West	6	11 Utah St., W 58–57	3 Missouri, L 83–79
West Virginia	Midwest	6	11 Dayton, L 68–60

National Invitation Tournament

Main article: 2009 National Invitation Tournament

In the 72nd annual National Invitation Tournament, there were three Big East teams among the field of 32: Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Providence.

• Notre Dame received a 2-seed in its region. They won their first round game against 7-seed UAB, 70–64. They beat 3-seed New Mexico in the second round, 70–68. They beat Kentucky in the quarterfinals, 77–67, and lost to 2-seed Penn State in the semifinals, 67–59.
• Providence received a 5-seed in a different region. They lost their first round game to 4-seed Miami (FL), 78–66.
• Georgetown received a 6-seed in a third region. They lost their first round game to 3-seed Baylor, 74–72.

College Basketball Invitational

Main article: 2009 College Basketball Invitational

In the 16-team College Basketball Invitational, the lone Big East representative was St. John's. The team earned a 4-seed in the East region, and lost their opening round game to top-seeded Richmond 75–69.

Awards and honors

The following players were honored with postseason awards after having been voted for by Big East Conference coaches.

Co-Players of the Year:

• Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr.
• DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, C, So.

Defensive Player of the Year:

• Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr.

Rookie of the Year:

• Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, Fr.

Most Improved Player:

• Dante Cunningham, Villanova, F, Sr.

Sixth Man Award:

• Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, So.

Sportsmanship Award:

• Alex Ruoff, West Virginia, G, Sr.

Scholar-Athlete of the Year:

• Alex Ruoff, West Virginia, G, Sr.

Coach of the Year:

• Jay Wright, Villanova (8th season)

All-Big East First Team:

• Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr., 7–3, 263, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Terrence Williams, Louisville, F, Sr., 6–6, 210, Seattle, Wash.
• Jerel McNeal, Marquette, G, Sr., 6–3, 200 Chicago, Ill.
• Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Jr., 6–8, 251, Schererville, Ind.
• DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, C, So., 6–7, 265, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Sam Young, Pittsburgh, F, Sr., 6–6, 215, Clinton, Md.

All-Big East Second Team:

• A.J. Price, Connecticut, G, Sr., 6–2, 181, Amityville, N.Y.
• Wesley Matthews, Marquette, G, Sr., 6–5, 215, Madison, Wis.
• Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, G, So., 6–0, 185, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
• Dante Cunningham, Villanova, F, Sr., 6–8, 230, Silver Spring, Md.
• Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Jr., 6–7, 225, Newark, N.J.

All-Big East Third Team:

• Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, G, Jr., 6–1, 195, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, F, Sr., 6–7, 243, Brookline, Mass.
• Earl Clark, Louisville, G/F, Jr., 6–8, 220, Rahway, N.J.
• Levance Fields, Pittsburgh, G, Sr., 5–10, 190, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, So., 6–5, 185, Bronx, N.Y.

Big East Honorable Mention:

• Weyinmi Efejuku, Providence, G, Sr., 6–5, 210, Fresh Meadows, N.Y.
• Dominique Jones, USF, G, So., 6–4, 205, Lake Wales, Fla.
• Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Jr., 6–2, 195, Herndon, Va.
• Alex Ruoff, West Virginia, G, Sr., 6–6, 220, Spring Hill, Fla.

Big East All-Rookie Team:

• Yancy Gates, Cincinnati, F, Fr., 6–9, 255, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, Fr., 6–0, 175, Bronx, N.Y.
• Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, Fr., 6–10, 240, Gretna, La.
• Samardo Samuels, Louisville, F, Fr., 6–8, 240, Trelawny Parish, Jamaica
• Mike Rosario, Rutgers, G, Fr., 6–3, 180, Jersey City, N.J.
• Devin Ebanks, West Virginia, F, Fr., 6–9, 205, Long Island City, N.Y.

The following players were selected to the 2009 Associated Press All-America teams.

Main article: 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

First Team All-America:

• DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 15.6 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 59.9 FG%, 1.5 steals (49 1st place votes, 294 points)

Second Team All-America:

• Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, Key Stats: 13.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 4.6 blocks, 64.3 FG% (19, 238)
• Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, Key Stats: 23.2 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 2.1 apg (6, 135)
• Jerel McNeal, Marquette, Key Stats: 19.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 40.6 3-pt FG% (7, 114)

Third Team All-America:

• Terrence Williams, Louisville, Key Stats: 12.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 2.5 steals (4, 103)
• Sam Young, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 18.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg (1, 79)

See also

• 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
• 2007–08 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team
• 2007–08 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
• 2007–08 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
• 2007–08 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team
• 2007–08 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team
• 2007–08 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team
• 2007–08 Providence Friars men's basketball team
• 2007–08 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team
• 2007–08 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
• 2007–08 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team

References

For other ships with the same name, see Japanese destroyer Shirakumo.

Shirakumo upon commissioning in England in 1902.
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Shirakumo
Namesake	白雲 ("White Cloud")
Ordered	1900
Builder	John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick, England
Yard number	Destroyer No. 15
Laid down	1 February 1901
Launched	1 October 1901
Completed	13 February 1902
Commissioned	13 February 1902
Reclassified	Third-class destroyer 28 August 1912 Special-duty vessel (second-class minesweeper) 1 April 1922 Utility vessel (accommodation ship) 1 April 1923
Stricken	1 April 1923
Fate	Sunk as target 21 July 1925
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	322 tons normal, 432 tons full load
Length	215 ft 9 in (65.76 m) waterline 216 ft 9 in (66.07 m) overall
Beam	20 ft 9 in (6.32 m)
Draught	8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)
Depth	13 ft 9 in (4.19 m)
Propulsion	2-shaft reciprocating engines, 4 boilers, engine output 7,000 hp (5,200 kW)
Speed	31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Complement	62
Armament	1 x QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun 5 × QF 6 pounder (57 mm) guns 2 × 450 mm (18 in) torpedoes
Service record
Operations:	Russo-Japanese War Battle of Port Arthur Battle of the Yellow Sea Battle of Tsushima World War I Battle of Tsingtao

Shirakumo (白雲, "White Cloud") was the lead ship of two Shirakumo-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the early 1900s. During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), she took part in the Battle of Port Arthur in February 1904, the Battle of the Yellow Sea in August 1904, and the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905. During World War I (1914–1918), she participated in the Battle of Tsingtao in 1914.

Construction and commissioning

Line drawing of Shirakumo.

Authorized under the 1900 naval program, Shirakumo was laid down on 1 February 1901 as Destroyer No. 15 by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Chiswick, England. Launched on 1 October 1901 and named Shirakumo, she was completed on 13 February 1902 and commissioned the same day.

Service history

Shirakumo departed England on 27 February 1902 to make her delivery voyage to Japan. She completed it with her arrival at Kure on 30 May 1902.

When the Russo-Japanese War broke out on 8 February 1904, Shirakumo was part of the 1st Destroyer Division of the 1st Fleet. The war began that evening with the Battle of Port Arthur, a Japanese surprise attack on Imperial Russian Navy warships anchored in the outer roadstead of the Russian naval base at Port Arthur, China. Ten Japanese destroyers of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Destroyer Divisions made a torpedo attack in three waves, with the four destroyers of the 1st Destroyer Division (Akatsuki, Asashio, Kasumi, and Shirakumo) and Ikazuchi of the 2nd Destroyer Division constituting the first wave. They closed to about 650 yards (590 m) from the Russian ships and fired nine torpedoes. One of Kasumi′s torpedoes hit the Russian protected cruiser Pallada.

As the Russo-Japanese War continued, Shirakumo took part in the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August 1904. After transferring to the 4th Destroyer Division in the 2nd Fleet, she participated in the Battle of Tsushima on 27–28 May 1905. Responding to a signal from the unprotected cruiser Chihaya on the afternoon of 27 May, the 4th Destroyer Division (Asagiri, Asashio, Murasame, and Shirakumo) mounted a torpedo attack against the damaged Russian battleship Knyaz Suvorov. Although Asagiri, Asashio, and Murasame launched their torpedoes at ranges of from 800 metres (870 yd) down to 300 metres (330 yd) and Murasame scored an apparent hit that caused Knyaz Suvorov to heel 10 degrees, Shirakumo did not fire, finding that Knyaz Suvorov had lost all steaming power and come to a stop before she could achieve a firing position. Knyaz Suvorov later sank.

Shirakumo was reclassified as a third-class destroyer on 28 August 1912.

After Japan entered World War I in August 1914, Shirakumo took part in the Battle of Tsingtao in 1914.

On 1 April 1922, Shirakumo was reclassified as a "special-duty vessel" for use as a second-class minesweeper. On 1 April 1923, she was stricken from the naval register and reclassified as a utility vessel for use as an accommodation ship.

Shirakumo was sunk as a target in the Bungo Channel off Himeshima on 21 July 1925.

Commanding officers

SOURCE:

• Lieutenant Commander Kota Hazama 26 June 1901 – 22 October 1901 (pre-commissioning)
• Lieutenant Commander Kota Hazama 22 October 1901 – unknown
• Lieutenant Commander Masayuki Kamada 12 December 1905 – 14 March 1906
• Lieutenant Kanzo Tsunoda 14 March 1906 – 1 April 1906
• Lieutenant Commander Yoshihiro Morimoto 1 April 1906 – 13 September 1906
• Lieutenant Yahei Nakahara 13 September 1906 -– 12 November 1906
• Lieutenant Hanjiro Sonoda 12 November 1906 – 17 May 1907
• Lieutenant Teruichi Akiyoshi 17 May 1907 – 20 April 1908
• Lieutenant Yasuhiro Yamamoto 20 April 1908 – 25 September 1908
• Lieutenant Shoichi Akiyoshi 25 September 1908 – 20 February 1909
• Lieutenant Yoshio Yamanaka 20 February 1909 – 1 April 1910
• Lieutenant Nobuyuki Kabayama 1 April 1910 – 1 December 1910
• Lieutenant Commander Tomomasa Ohashi 1 December 1910 – 20 December 1910
• Lieutenant Commander 20 December 1910 – 28 April 1911
• Lieutenant Goto Akira 28 April 1911 – 24 May 1913
• Lieutenant Meijiro Tate 24 May 1913 - 1 December 1913
• Lieutenant Commander Tadashi Takeuchi 1 December 1913 – unknown
• Lieutenant Koro Ogawa Unknown – 1 December 1916
• Lieutenant Nomura Jinzo (Naokuni) 1 December 1916 – 1 December 1917
• Lieutenant Ei Kashiwagi 1 December 1917 – 21 February 1920
• Lieutenant Fukashi Yamashita 21 February 1920 – 20 January 1921
• Lieutenant Tetsu Sano 20 January 1921 – 1 December 1921
• Lieutenant Miyazaki Taira 1 December 1921 – unknown

References

Bibliography

• 写真日本海軍全艦艇史 Fukui Shizuo Collection』資料編、KKベストセラーズ、1994年 ("Photographic history of all ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Fukui Shizuo Collection" material edition, KK Bestsellers, 1994) (in Japanese).
• 海軍歴史保存会『日本海軍史』第7巻、第9巻、第10巻、第一法規出版、1995年 (Naval History Preservation Society "Japanese Naval History" Vol. 7, Vol. 9, Vol. 10, Daiichi Hoki Publishing, 1995) (in Japanese).
• 片桐大自『聯合艦隊軍艦銘銘伝』普及版、光人社、2003年 (Daiji Katagiri "Rengo Kantai Gunkan Meiden" popular version, Kojinsha, 2003) (in Japanese).

• Cocker, Maurice (1983). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.
• Corbett, Julian S. (1994). Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905, Volume I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
• Corbett, Julian S. (1994). Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905, Volume II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
• Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
• Halpern, Paul G (1994). A Naval History of World War I. Routledge. ISBN 1-85728-498-4.
• Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11402-8.
• Jane, Fred T. (1904). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co. ASIN: B00085LCZ4.
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
• Lyon, David (1981). The Thornycroft List. Greenwich: National Maritime Museum.
• Lyon, David (2006). The First Destroyers. Mercury Books. ISBN 1-84560-010-X.
• Stille, Mark (2016). The Imperial Japanese Navy of the Russo-Japanese War. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1119-6.
• Watts, Anthony John (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-356-03045-8.

External links

[[:Category:Shirakumo-class destroyers [[:Category:Ships built in Chiswick [[:Category:1901 ships [[:Category:Russo-Japanese War naval ships of Japan [[:Category:World War I destroyers of Japan [[:Category:Maritime incidents in 1925 [[:Category:Ships sunk as targets [[:Category:Shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea [[:Category:Shipwrecks of Japan

For other ships with the same name, see Russian destroyer Steregushchiy and Russian corvette Steregushchiy.

History
Russian Empire
Name	Steregushchiy
Namesake	The Russian destroyer Steregushchiy (English "Guardian") of 1903
Builder	Lange & Sohn, Riga, Russia
Laid down	20 August [O.S. 7 August] 1904
Launched	4 July [O.S. 21 June] 1904
Commissioned	17 May [O.S. 4 May] 1906
Reclassified	From "mine cruiser" to destroyer 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1907
Fate	To Russian Republic March [O.S. February] 1917
Russian Republic
Acquired	March [O.S. February] 1917
Fate	To Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic 7 November [O.S. 25 October] 1917
Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic
Acquired	7 November [O.S. 25 October] 1917
Fate	Scrapped 1922 or 1924 (see text)
Stricken	21 November 1925
General characteristics
Type	Ukrayna-class destroyer
Displacement	500 long tons (510 t) (standard) 630 long tons (640 t) (full load)
Length	63.2 m (207 ft 4 in)
Beam	7.24 m (23 ft 9 in)
Height	3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
Draught	2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	2 x vertical triple expansion steam engines, 4 x Normand boilers, 6,325 hp (4,717 kW)
Speed	25.9 knots (48.0 km/h; 29.8 mph)
Range	1,105 nautical miles (2,046 km; 1,272 mi)
Complement	90
Armament	As built: 1 × 75 mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892 guns 4 × 57 mm guns 4 × Maxim machine guns 3 x 456 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes 16 x mines From 1910: 2 x 102 mm 60 caliber Pattern 1911 guns 1 x 37 mm gun 2 x 456 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes 16 x mines From 1916: 2 x 102 mm 60 caliber Pattern 1911 guns 1 x 40 mm antiaircraft gun 2 x machine guns 2 x 456 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes 16 x mines
Service record
Operations:	World War I Battle of the Gulf of Riga Battle of Moon Sound Russian Civil War Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet

Steregushchiy (Стерегущий, English "Guardian") was a Ukrayna-class destroyer built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the early 20th century. She served in the Baltic Sea, seeing action in World War I between 1914 and 1917 in the Imperial Russian Navy and its successor, the navy of the Russian Republic. She then joined the naval forces of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic — which later became the Soviet Navy upon the foundation of the Soviet Union — serving in them during the Russian Civil War (1917–1921).

Steregushchiy was named for the previous Russian destroyer Steregushchiy, which was sunk in 1904 in a heroic action in the Yellow Sea during the Russo-Japanese War.

Construction and commissioning

Steregushchiy was laid down on 20 August [O.S. 7 August] 1904 in Riga, Latvia — then a part of the Russian Empire — at the shipyard of Lange i syn (Ланге и сын, English "Lange & Sohn"), and her name was entered on the rolls of the Baltic Fleet on 3 April [O.S. 21 March] 1905. She was launched on 4 July [O.S. 21 June] 1905. She completed her official acceptance trials on 17 May [O.S. 4 May] 1906 and was commissioned that day.

Service history

From 1905 to 1908, Steregushchiy operated as part of a detachment that practiced the defense of the Russian Empire′s Baltic Sea coast. She was classified as a "mine cruiser" until 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1907, when she was reclassified as a destroyer. In 1909 she was assigned to the 1st Mine Division, and she underwent an overhaul at the shipyard of the joint-stock company Creighton & Company in 1909–1910 in which her gun and torpedo tube armament was modified, the hot-water pipes in her boilers were replaced, her mainmast was moved to her after bridge, and the bulky ventilation cowls leading to her boiler rooms were replaced with mushroom-shaped ones.

The Russian Empire entered World War I in August 1914, and during the war Steregushchiy served in the 6th Division of the Mine Division. She took part in raids against German communications and patrols in the Baltic Sea, the defense of the coast of Courland and the Gulf of Riga, minelaying operations in the southeastern and central parts of the Baltic Sea, and escorting and carrying out the anti-submarine defense of the main forces of the Baltic Fleet. From 8 to 21 August [O.S. 26 July to 8 August] 1915 she participated in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. In 1916 she underwent modernization at the Creighton & Company shipyard in which her gun armament again was altered and her boiler tubes were replaced.

Steregushchiy took part in the February Revolution of 8 to 16 March [O.S. 23 February to 3 March] 1917, in which Emperor Nicholas II was overthrown and the Russian Provisional Government took control of the country and established the Russian Republic. Her World war I service continued, and from 12 to 19 October [O.S. 29 September to 6 October] 1917 she participated in the operations related to the Battle of Moon Sound.

On 7 November [O.S. 25 October] 1917 the Russian Provisional Government was overthrown in the October Revolution, beginning the Russian Civil War. That day, Steregushchiy joined the Red Baltic Fleet — would eventually become part of the Soviet Navy and was subordinate to what in 1918 would become the new Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

On 3 March 1918, the RSFSR signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers and Russia exited World War I. That day, Steregushchiy was at Helsingfors. She took part in the Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet, moving to Kronshtadt by April 1918. She was laid up at Kronhstadt.

Again assigned to the Baltic Fleet on 21 April 1921, Steregushchiy later moved to the Baltic Shipyard in Petrograd. She was scrapped in 1922 or 1924, according to different sources. She was stricken from the naval register on 21 November 1925.

References

Bibliography

[[:Category:Ukrayna-class destroyers [[:Category:Ships built in Russia [[:Category:1905 ships [[:Category:Destroyers of the Imperial Russian Navy [[:Category:World War I destroyers of Russia

For other ships with the same name, see Japanese destroyer Kagerō.

History
Empire of Japan
Name	Kagerō
Namesake	陽炎 ("Mirage")
Ordered	1897
Builder	John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick, England
Yard number	Torpedo Boat Destroyer No. 9
Laid down	1 August 1898
Launched	23 August 1899
Completed	31 October 1899
Commissioned	31 October 1899
Reclassified	From torpedo boat destroyer to destroyer) 22 June 1900 Third-class destroyer 28 August 1912 Utility vessel (tug and transport) 1 April 1922
Decommissioned	8 October 1924
Stricken	8 October 1924
Fate	Hulked
General characteristics
Type	Murakumo-class destroyer
Displacement	275 long tons (279 t) normal 360.5 long tons (366.3 t) full load
Length	208 ft (63 m) waterline, 210 ft (64 m) overall
Beam	19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Draught	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Depth	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsion	Reciprocating engine, 3 boilers, 5,800 ihp (4,300 kW), 2 shafts
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement	50
Armament	1 × QF 12-pounder gun 5 × QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss guns 2 × 450 mm (18 in) torpedoes
Service record
Operations:	Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War Battle of Port Arthur Battle of the Yellow Sea Battle of Tsushima Invasion of Sakhalin World War I Siege of Tsingtao

Kagerō (陽炎, "Mirage") was the lead ship of six Murakumo-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late 1890s. Murakumo took part in the Japanese response to the Boxer Rebellion (1900), saw action in several major engagements during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), and served during World War I (1914–1918).

Construction and commissioning

Authorized under the 1896 naval program, Murakumo was laid down on 1 October 1897 by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Chiswick, England, as Torpedo Boat Destroyer No. 4. On 16 March 1898, she was named Murakumo. When the Imperial Japanese Navy established its Naval Warship and Torpedo Boat Classification Standards on 21 March 1898, she was classified as a torpedo boat destroyer. Launched on 16 November 1898, she was completed on 29 December 1898 and commissioned the same day.

Service history

Murakumo completed her delivery voyage from England to Japan on 23 April 1899 with her arrival at Yokosuka. On 30 April 1900 she participated in a large naval review held off Kobe, Japan, where she was placed in the fourth row. On 22 June 1900, the Imperial Japanese Navy established its Naval Vessel Classification Standard, abolishing the classification of "torpedo boat destroyer" and establishing the classification of "destroyer" as a type of warship, and under the new classification scheme Murakumo was classified as a destroyer. Also as of 22 June 1900, she was assigned to the Sasebo Naval District and incorporated into the Standing Fleet. During 1900, she took part in the Japanese intervention in the Boxer Rebellion in China. On 10 April 1903, she participated in a large naval review held off Kobe and was placed in the third row.

When the Russo-Japanese War broke out in February 1904, Murakumo was part of the 5th Destroyer Division of the 2nd Fleet. During the war, she took part in the Battle of Port Arthur in February 1904, the Battle of the Yellow Sea in August 1904, the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905. During the Battle Tsushima, Murakumo could not get into position for a torpedo attack against the Russian fleet during the night of 27–28 May 1905, but while steaming to a rendezvous on the morning of 28 May she came across the Japanese protected cruisers Niitaka and Otowa as they pursued the damaged Imperial Russian Navy protected cruiser Svetlana, which was attempting to escape northward under escort by the destroyer Buistri after the fleet action of the previous day. Keeping ahead of the Japanese cruisers, Murakumo kept Buistri from interfering with them until Svetlana ceased fire and went dead in the water after suffering additional damage. While Otowa finished off Svetlana, Buistri fled with Murakumo and Niitaka in hot pursuit. The chase culminated late in the morning in Buistri′s crew running her aground on the coast of the Korean Peninsula, partially blowing her up, and then surrendering to local authorities. Murakumo also took part in the Japanese invasion of Sakhalin in July 1905. After the war, she participated in a triumphant naval review held off Yokohama, Japan, on 23 October 1905 and was placed in the fourth row.

On 18 November 1908, Murakumo participated as a ship in the sixth row of a large-scale naval review off Kobe. On 28 August 1912, the Imperial Japanese Navy revised its ship classification standards. It established three categories of destroyers, with those of 1,000 displacement tons or more defined as first-class destroyers, those of 600 to 999 displacement tons as second-class destroyers, and those of 599 or fewer displacement tons as third-class destroyers. Under this classification scheme, Murakumo became a third-class destroyer.

After Japan entered World War I in August 1914, Murakumo operated in support of the Siege of Tsingtao. Later that year, she took part in the Japanese seizure of the German Empire′s colonial possessions in the Caroline, Mariana, and Marshall Islands.

Murakumo was stricken from the navy list on 1 April 1919, designated as a "miscellaneous vessel" for use as a submarine tender and minesweeper, and renamed Murakumo Maru. On 1 July 1920, she was reclassified as a "special duty vessel" for use as a second-class minesweeper and renamed Murakumo. On 1 April 1922, she was reclassified as a "utility vessel" for use as a target ship. An inspection conducted on 30 January 1925 revealed that her hull and other parts of the ship had deteriorated. On 4 June 1925, she was sunk as a live-fire target in the Pacific Ocean off the Sunosaki Lighthouse in Chiba Prefecture.

Commanding officers

SOURCE:

• Lieutenant Commander Danjiro Iwamura 14 February 1899 – unknown (pre-commissioning)
• Lieutenant Yoshimaru Sakurai 22 June 1900 – 25 September 1900
• Lieutenant Commander Gonsaburo Horiuchi 25 September 1900 – 10 September 1901
• Lieutenant Commander Kishiro Takebe 10 September 1901 – 30 April 1903
• Lieutenant Atsuyuki Ide 30 April 1903 – unknown
• Lieutenant Abira Yoshikawa 27 March 1905 – 12 December 1905
• Lieutenant Koichi Masuda 17 December 1905 – 30 August 1906
• Lieutenant Commander Kotaro Inoyama: 30 August 1906 – 27 April 1907
• Lieutenant Yokojiji 27 April 1907 – 26 August 1907
• Lieutenant Eijiro Tanabe 26 August 1907 – 28 May 1908
• Lieutenant Naonobu Hirata 28 May 1908 – 20 November 1908
• Lieutenant Kennosuke Matsumoto 20 November 1908 – 1 March 1910
• Lieutenant Fujita Kotaro 1 March 1910 – 1 December 1910
• Lieutenant Masanao Saruwatari 1 December 1910 – 22 May 1911
• Lieutenant Shoichi Yamashita 22 May 1911 – 9 October 1911
• Lieutenant Tomonobu Nakayama 9 October 1911 – 1 February 1912
• Lieutenant Sueo Yonehara 1 February 1912 – 1 December 1912
• Lieutenant Maruyama Hanzaburo 1 December 1912 – 1 December 1913
• Lieutenant Commander Eijiro Tanabe 1 December 1913 – 7 August 1914
• Lieutenant Shoichi Ishida 7 August 1914 – 1 May 1915 [6]
• Lieutenant Aritoshi Nakamura 1 May 1915 [6] – 1 June 1916
• Lieutenant Chuzo Kawahara 1 June 1916 – 1 December 1916
• Lieutenant Yoshihiro Imaizumi 1 December 1916 – 23 August 1917
• Lieutenant Shinjuro Takahashi 23 August 1917 – 6 February 1919 [7]
• Lieutenant Hayami Nishimura 6 February 1919 [7] – 18 October 1919 [8]
• Lieutenant Kiyoshi Suzuki 18 October 1919 – 27 December 1919 [9]
• Lieutenant Commander Shozo Wada 2 December 1919 – 1 June 1920
• Lieutenant Commander Aragasu 1 June 1920 – 1 December 1920
• Lieutenant Shichiro Ikeda 1 December 1920 [10] – 20 November 1921 [11]
• Lieutenant Yoshimasa Horie 20 November 1921 [11] – 1 December 1921 [12]
• Lieutenant Miyazaki Taira 1 December 1921 [12] – unknown

References

Bibliography

• Cocker, Maurice (1983). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.
• Corbett, Julian S. (1994). Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905, Volume II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
• Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
• Gilbert, Martin (1995). First World War. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780006376668. OCLC 1244719073.
• Halpern, Paul G (1994). A Naval History of World War I. Routledge. ISBN 1-85728-498-4.
• Howarth, Stephen (1983). The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11402-8.
• Jane, Fred T. (1904). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Thacker, Spink & Co. ASIN: B00085LCZ4.
• Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-893-X.
• Lyon, David (1981). The Thornycroft List. Greenwich: National Maritime Museum.
• Nelson, Andrew N. (1967). Japanese–English Character Dictionary. Tuttle. ISBN 0-8048-0408-7.
• Stille, Mark (2016). The Imperial Japanese Navy of the Russo-Japanese War. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1119-6.
• Watts, Anthony John (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-356-03045-8.

[[:Category:Murakumo-class destroyers [[:Category:Ships built in Chiswick [[:Category:1899 ships [[:Category:Russo-Japanese War naval ships of Japan [[:Category:World War I destroyers of Japan

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Aréthuse.

History
France
Name	Aréthuse
Namesake	Arethusa, a nymph in Greek mythology
Ordered	14 April 1927
Builder	Chantiers Schneider et Cie, Chalon-sur-Saône, France
Laid down	6 January 1928
Launched	8 August 1929
Commissioned	14 July 1933
Decommissioned	1944
Fate	Condemned 25 March 1946
General characteristics
Type	Submarine
Displacement	630 tonnes (620 long tons) surfaced 798 tonnes (785 long tons) submerged
Length	63.4 m (208 ft)
Beam	6.4 m (21 ft)
Draught	4.24 m (13.9 ft)
Propulsion	2 × Schneider-Carel diesel engines, 1,300 bhp (969 kW) 2 × electric motors, 1,000 shp (746 kW) 2 shafts
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) submerged
Range	4,000 nmi (7,400 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 82 nmi (152 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	41
Armament	6 × 550 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes 2 × 400 mm (16 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 75 mm (3 in) deck gun 1 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun

Aréthuse (NN7) was an Argonaute-class submarine in commission in the French Navy from 1934 to 1944. She saw service in World War II, first on the side of the Allies from September 1939 to June 1940, then in the forces of Vichy France until November 1942, when she became part of the Free French Naval Forces.

Construction and commissioning

Aréthuse was auhtorized in the 1926 naval program and ordered on 14 April 1927. Laid down by Chantiers Schneider et Cie at Chalon-sur-Saône, France, on 6 January 1928 with the pennant number NN7, she was launched on 8 August 1929. She was commissioned on 14 July 1933.

Service history

French Navy

When World War II began with Nazi Germany′s invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, Aréthuse was undergoing refit at Toulon, France, while stationed at Bizerte in Tunisia as part of the 17th Submarine Division in the 6th Squadron, a component of the 4th Flotilla in Maritime Prefecture IV. Also in the division were her sister ships Atalante, La Sultane, and La Vestale. France entered the war on 3 September 1939.

The Battle of France began when German ground forces advanced into France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940, and Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and joined the invasion. Aréthuse was among nine submarines scheduled to depart Toulon, France, on 18 June 1940 bound for French North Africa, but the departure never took place and all nine submarines remained at Toulon.

The Battle of France ended in France's defeat and armistice with Germany and Italy, which went into effect on 25 June 1940. On that day, Aréthuse was at Toulon.

Vichy France

After the June 1940 armistice, Aréthuse served in the naval forces of Vichy France. On 9 December 1940, the 17th Submarine Division, now reduced to Aréthuse, La Sultane, and La Vestale, departed Toulon for Dakar in Senegal.

While Aréthuse was operating from Dakar, her main electric motor broke down in January 1941, requiring armature repairs that could not be made at Dakar. On 10 February 1941, she departed Dakar bound for Casablanca in French Morocco, where she underwent repairs. On 18 April 1941 she carried out post-repair trials, including a test dive to a depth of 60 metres (197 ft). She and the submarine French submarine Thétis Q134 (2) then toured ports in French Morocco, visiting Safi from 25 to 27 April, Agadir on 28 April, Mogador on 29 and 30 April, and Safi again on the 1 May before returning to Casablanca on 2 May 1941. From 18 to 23 May, Aréthuse again called at Agadir, and she visited Port Lyautey from 3 to 5 June 1941.

After Atalante was reactivated, she proceeded to French North Africa. She called at Casablanca in French Morocco from 20 to 27 January 1941, when she got back underway bound for French West Africa. She arrived at Dakar in Senegal on 1 February 1941 and became part of the 17th Submarine Division there.

While operating from Dakar, Atalante and La Vestale both sustained diesel engine damage that could not be repaired in French West Africa. The two submarines departed Dakar on 22 August 1941 bound for southern French Morocco, where Atalante called at Agadir from 23 to 29 August 1941 before rendezvousing with La Vestale at Safi on 30 August. The two submarines arrived at Casablanca on 31 August 1941.

As part of the 17th Submarine Division, Atalante subsequently conducted patrols in the Atlantic Ocean. She is recorded as having been at sea in the Atlantic on 1 November 1942 during a voyage from Casablanca to Dakar in company with Aréthuse, La Sultane, and La Vestale.

On 8 November 1942, Allied forces landed in French North Africa in Operation Torch. Fighting between Allied and Vichy French forces ended on 11 November 1942.

Free France

After the cessation of hostilities between Allied and French forces in French North Africa, French forces in Africa, including Atalante, joined the forces of Free France. By mid-November 1942, Atalante was part of the Free French Naval Forces and was at the submarine base at Oran in Algeria with the submarine Orphée. She subsequently supported activities at the sound schools in French Morocco, at Dakar, and at Freetown in Sierra Leone. By November 1943, Atalante and the submarines Amphitrite, Le Glorieux, and Marsouin made up the Moroccan Submarine Group at Casablanca.

Atalante was decommissioned at Oran in May 1944. By August 1945, she was at La Pallice, France. She was stricken from the navy list on 23 March 1946 and condemned on 26 March 1946.

See also

• List of submarines of France
• French submarines of World War II

References

Bibliography

• Jean-Jacques Antier (1984). L'Aventure héroïque des sous-marins français 1939-1945 (PDF). Éditions maritimes et d'outre mer. ISBN 2-7070-0068-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |ean= ignored (help), p. 297.
• Bagnasco, Erminio (2000). Submarines of World War Two. London: Cassell & Co. p. 38. ISBN 1-85409-532-3.
• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London, UK: Conway Maritime Press. p. 274. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Moulin, Jean (2006). Les sous-marins français en images (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. pp. 30–31. ISBN 2-915379-40-8.

External links

• "Argonaute - Sous-marin". AUX MARINS. Mémorial national des marins morts pour la France (in French). Retrieved 23 February 2020..
• Christian Lecalard (20 September 2014). "Sous marin "ARETHUSE"". Amicale RUBIS (in French). Retrieved 23 February 2020..
• "13-Sous-marins (16) sous-marins classe Argonaute (2)". CLAUSUCHRONIA Une uchronie un peu folle (in French). 31 August 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2020..

Category:Argonaute-class submarines Category:Ships built in France Category:1929 ships Category:World War II submarines of France

HMS Nymphe

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Nymphe.

History
United Kingdom
Name	Nymphe
Namesake	Nymph, a female nature deity in Ancient Greek folklore
Builder	R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn
Laid down	8 December 1909
Launched	31 January 1911
Completed	May 1911
Fate	Sold to be broken up 9 May 1921
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Acorn-class destroyer
Displacement	730 long tons (740 t) (normal) 855 long tons (869 t) (full load)
Length	246 ft (75 m) (o.a.) 240 ft (73 m) (p.p.)
Beam	25 ft 5 in (7.7 m)
Draught	8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)
Installed power	4 White-Forster boilers 13,500 shp (10,100 kW)
Propulsion	Parsons steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed	27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range	1,540 nmi (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	72
Armament	2 × single BL 4 in (102 mm) guns 2 × single QF 12 pdr 3 in (76 mm) gun 2 × single 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

HMS Nymphe was one of 20 Acorn-class (later H-class) destroyers built for the Royal Navy that served in the First World War. The Acorn class were smaller than the preceding Beagle class but oil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1911, the ship served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla, joining the Grand Fleet at the start of the war in 1914, and was transferred to Portsmouth in early 1916. She joined the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean in 1918. She was placed in was placed in reserve in 1919 and was sold in 1921 to be broken up.

Design and description

Main article: Acorn-class destroyer

After the preceding coal-burning Beagle class, the Acorn-class destroyer saw a return to oil-firing. Pioneered by the Tribal class of 1905 and HMS Swift of 1907, using oil enabled a more efficient design, leading to a smaller vessel which also had increased deck space available for weaponry. Unlike previous destroyer designs, where the individual yards had been given discretion within the parameters set by the Admiralty, the Acorn class were a set, with the propulsion machinery the only major variation between the different ships. This enabled costs to be reduced. The class was later renamed H class.

Nymphe had a length of 240 feet (73 m) between perpendiculars and 246 ft (75 m) overall, with a beam of 25 ft 5 in (7.7 m) and a deep draught of 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m). Displacement was 730 long tons (820 short tons; 740 tonnes) normal and 855 long tons (869 t) full load. Power was provided by Parsons steam turbines fed by four White-Forster boilers and driving three shafts. Three funnels were fitted, the foremost tall and thin, the central short and thick and the aft narrow. The engines were rated at 13,500 shaft horsepower (10,100 kW) which gave a design speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). On trial, Nymphe achieved 28.7 knots (53.2 km/h; 33.0 mph). The vessel carried 170 long tons (170 t) of fuel oil which gave a range of 1,540 nautical miles (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).

Armament consisted of two single BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk VIII guns, one carried on the forecastle and another aft. Two single QF 12-pounder 3 in (76 mm) guns were mounted between the first two funnels. Two rotating 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were mounted aft of the funnels, with two reloads carried, and a searchlight fitted between the tubes. The destroyer was later modified to carry a single Vickers QF 3-pounder 2 in (47 mm) anti-aircraft gun and depth charges for anti-submarine warfare. The ship's complement was 72 officers and ratings.

Construction

The 20 destroyers of the Acorn class were ordered by the Admiralty under the 1909–1910 Naval Programme. One of three in the class sourced from R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Nymphe was laid down at the company's Hebburn shipyard on 8 December 1909 with yard number 1315 and launched on 31 January 1911. The ship was completed in May 1911, the seventh ship in Royal Navy service to be named for the nymph, and the sixth to use the variant spelling "nymphe."

Service history

1911–1914

On commissioning in 1911, Nymphe joined the rest of the Acorn-class destroyers in the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, an element of the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet. Nymphe and her sister ships Acorn, Alarm, Larne, Lyra, Nemesis, and Rifleman conducted high-speed trials in the Atlantic Ocean off Berehaven, Ireland, on 1 July 1911 and all achieved 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) despite rough weather. All suffered damage, however, and by the time they reached Portmsouth, England, on 4 July 1911, they all were leaking and had water in their fuel oil bunkers, requiring repair by divers. Nymphe suffered the greatest damage, with flooding in her magazines as well, ruining her ammunition. On 16 October 1911, a 6-pounder gun aboard Nymphe burst during night-firing exercises off Weymouth, England, slightly injuring one officer.

The 2nd Destroyer Flotilla was transferred to the First Fleet in 1912. In late April 1914, Nymphe and two other destroyers patrolled in Dundrum Bay, County Down, on the coast of Ireland to interdict the smuggling of weapons into Ireland. In July 1914, Nymphe was one of 20 destroyers in the First Fleet′s Second Flotilla.

World War I

World War I began on 28 July 1914, and the United Kingdom entered the war on the side of the Allies on 4 August 1914. With the outbreak of war, the First Fleet became the Grand Fleet.

At 10:30 on 15 October 1914, the Imperial German Navy submarine U-9 torpedoed and sank the protected cruiser HMS Hawke in the North Sea off Aberdeen, Scotland. Nymphe and the destroyers Alarm, Lyra, and Nemesis put to sea that day to patrol in the eastern approaches to Scapa Flow. At about 13.30 Nymphe sighted U-9′s periscope, alerted the other destroyers, and steered to ram U-9. Nymphe′s ramming attempt failed. U-9 fired a torpedo which missed Nymphe′s bow by a only a few feet before passing down her starboard side, then passed in front of Nemesis and forced Alarm to take evasive action by making a hard turn to port.

Nymphe accompanied the Grand Fleet when it put to sea for exercises on 15 March 1915. Operating in heavy seas, she soon collided with Nemesis, and the fleet′s destroyers received orders to return to port because of the bad weather.

In February 1916, Nymphe was the last Acorn-class destroyer operatying with the Grand Fleet, and by March 1916 she had left the fleet and was based at Portsmouth. In May 1916 she was serving as a temporary tender to the shore establishment HMS Vernon, the Royal Navy Torpedo School at Portsmouth. From July to November 1916 she was part of the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla, also known as the Port Defence Flotilla. During the night of 7-8 December 1916, she came to the assistance of the merchant ship {{SS|Conch]], which had been carrying a cargo of benzene when the German submarine UB-23 torpedoed her off St Alban's Head. Nymphe found Conch engulfed by a massive fire and rescued her chief engineer and some other members of her crew.

Nymphe served with the Paravane Department at Portsmouth from January 1917 to February 1918, developing the paravane as a weapon for use against submarines and naval mines. She was listed as part of the Portsmouth Escort Flotilla in January 1917 and the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla in June 1917 while performing her paravane work.

On 17 May 1917, Nymphe came to the defence of British steamer Florence Louise. The German submarine UB-40 had stopped Florence Louise in the English Channel and ordered her crew to abandon ship so that she could sink Florence Louise. Florence Louise′s crew had already taken to the lifeboats when Nymphe arrived and forced UB-40 to submerge. Florence Louise′s crew returned to their ship and resumed their voyage unescorted. A few hours later, UB-40 again stopped her, ordered her crew to abandon ship again, and sank her with explosive charges.

Nymphe suffered an internal explosion while operating in the English Channel on 9 July 1917. The explosion killed four members of her crew and injured a fifth man who later died of his injuries.

Nymphe served another tour as tender for HMS Vernon in March and April 1918.She then was assigned to service in the Mediterranean, where she rejoined the rest of the Acorn class when she joined the 5th Destroyer Flotilla in May 1918.

On the evening of 18 June 1918, she became the vicitim of a friendly fire incident while on patrol with the destroyer HMS Defender in the Strait of Otranto. Also in the area was a unit of three United States Navy submarine chasers — USS SC-94, USS SC-151, and USS SC-227 — on an antisubmarine patrol. At 21:00, the submarine chasers′ hydrophones detected sounds which their crews assumed were coming from a submarine. The submarine chasers folowed the sounds until 22:40, when they grew louder and the submarine chaser crews interpreted them as coming from a submarine on the surface. All three submarine chasers headed toward the source of the sound at Flank speed and soon sighted Nymohe and Defender, perceiving them merelty as two low-lying objects in the water which the submarune chaser crews believed were Central Powers submarines. The submarine chasers challenged the British destroyers with recognition signal flashed several times by blinker light. Nymphe and Defender did not respond, so the submarien chasers opened fire, with SC-94 firing two rounds and SC-151 firing one one. One of SC-94′s shots hit Nymphe, severing s steam line and putting one of her steam engines out of commission. Nymphe and Defender immediately flashed lights at the submarine chasers, which ceased fire, went alongside the destroyers, and discovered their identities. . When the submarine chaser crews askedwhy the destroyers had not answered the recognition signals, the crews of Nymphe and Defender replied that they had orders not to use recognition signals, a restriction unknown to the submarine chaser crews because of a lack of a unified Allied command in the area. Defender took Nymphe in tow, and the submarine chasers resumed their antisubmarine patrol. Discussing the incident in a letter to the British Admiralty, the commander of United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, Vice Admiral William Sims, wrote: "While it appears that, under attendant circumstances, the commanding officers of the submarine chasers were justified in opening fire on the destroyers, I nevertheless wish to express regret that the incident occurred, and that H.M.S. Nymphe should have sustained damage."

By July 1918 the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, based at Brindisi, Italy. On 2 October 1918, Nymphe supported the Allied bombardment of Austro-Hungarian forces at Durazzo, Albania, protecting the southern flank of the main bombardment force and supporting a force of U.S. Navy submarine chasers. In November 1918, she was one of 14 H-class destroyers in the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, which by then was based at Mudros. World War I ended with the armistice with Germany of 11 November 1918.

Later service and disposal

In December 1918, Nymphe was part of the Aegean Squadron, as were all other surviving ships f her class except Lyra. In February 1919, she was listed as part of the destroyer flotilla at Malta. In November 1919, she did was not listed as an active ship. She was sold on 9 May 1921 to be broken up.

References

Bibliography

• Brassey, Thomas (1912). The Navy Annual 1912. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.
• Brown, David K. (2010). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-085-7.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: a complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-85367-566-9.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
• Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.

[[:Category:1911 ships [[:Category:Acorn-class destroyers|Nymphe (1911) [[:Category:Ships built on the River Tyne [[:Category:Maritime incidents in 1911 [[:Category:Maritime incidents in 1915 [[:Category:Maritime incidents in 1917 [[:Category:Maritime incidents in 1918 [[:Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War I [[:Category:International maritime incidents

Early life

Peck was born in Ansted, West Virginia, on August 10, 1889, the son of Lon and Alice Peck of Lewisburg, West Virginia. His father was a railroad agent. Peck spent most of his childhood in Hinton, West Virginia. As a child, he became interested in machinery and automobiles, and enjoyed tinkering with automotive engines.

In addition to Hinton, Peck lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Charleston, West Virginia. As a young man, he worked in Washington, D.C. as a chauffeur for Isaac T. Mann, a millionaire from West Virginia.

Aviation career

On August 12, 1911, Peck began flying lessons. He learned to fly in seven days and received the 57th pilot's license issued by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, becoming the first aircraft pilot from West Virginia. Within two weeks he set a world flight record. He apparently landed a plane in Raleigh County, West Virginia, in 1911, probably becoming the first person to fly a airplane over West Virginia.

In 1911, Peck became an instructor at the United States Army Signal Corps flight school at College Park Airport in College Park, Maryland, the oldest continuously operating airport in the world. He also flew in the first United States Post Office′s first air mail flights.

Peck was the first person to fly an airplane over the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., setting an aviation speed record in the process by covering 24 miles (39 km) in 25 minutes. During a flight over Boston, Massachusetts, he set a flight endurance record of four hours 23 minutes 15 seconds. He also set a record for landing accuracy.

Peck also set altitude records and flew planes designed by Rex Smith. He also designed and built his own airplane, the Peck Columbian, a pusher biplane with a Gyro Motor Company 50-horsepower (37 kW) engine driving a single propeller at 1,200 to 1,500 revolutions per minute. Controlled by a steering wheel, the Columbian could achieve a speed of 70 miles per hour (113 km/h).

Death

On September 11, 1912, while preparing for the

Personal life

In 1911, Peck married a young woman from Washington, D.C., Ruth. The couple settled in Washington. Ruth Peck died in the birth of a son at the age of 19 in 1912. When Peck was killed five months later, their son was left in the care of grandparents. The child died of complications of influenza at the age of seven in 1918 during the Spanish influenza pandemic.

Commemoration

In 1979, Peck's last living descendants presented a plaque in his memory to Greenbrier Valley Airport outside Lewisburg, West Virginia. As of 2003, it was on display in the airport's terminal.

External links

• Cicero Flying Field Archived 2006-02-01 at the Wayback Machine by Carroll Gray
• portrait of Paul Peck and his fellow aviators (Carroll Gray collection)
• Paul Peck at controls of one of Rex Smith's planes, circa College Park, Md (archived)

Category:1889 births Category:1912 deaths Category:Aviators from West Virginia Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1912

Antiques Roadshow

Season	Year recorded	Year telecast	Host
1	1996	1997	Chris Jussel
LOCATIONS: Albuquerque, New Mexico • Chicago, Illinois • College Park, Maryland • Concord, Massachusetts • Denver, Colorado • Durham, North Carolina • [[Greenwich, Connecticut[Greenwich]], Connecticut • Kansas City, Missouri • Minneapolis,Minnesota • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • San Antonio, Texas • Seattle • Southfield, Michigan NOTES: The 13 tour stops are the most in a single season in the show's history.
2	1997	1998	Chris Jussel
LOCATIONS: Atlanta, Georgia • Cincinnati, Ohio • Dallas, Texas • Nashville, Tennessee • Phoenix, Arizona • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • San Francisco, California • Secaucus, New Jersey

|}

John J. Brice

Mdnavman/sandbox
John J. Brice during his United States Navy service.
United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries
In office 1896–1898
President	Grover Cleveland (1896–1897) William McKinley (1897–1898)
Preceded by	Marshall McDonald
Succeeded by	George M. Bowers
Personal details
Born	(1883-09-21)September 21, 1883 Joplin, Missouri
Died	October 6, 1970(1970-10-06) (aged 87) Ephrata, Washington
Nationality	United States of America
Profession	Naval officer
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1861–1895
Rank	Lieutenant commander
Commands	USS Don USS Adams
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Aquia Creek

John J. Brice (1842–1912) led the United States Fish Commission fourth United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. He served in the position from 1896 to 1898. Prior to his Fish Commission service, he was a United States Navy officer who saw action during the American Civil War (1861–1865).

Early life

Brice was born in Ohio in 1842.

Naval career

American Civil War

When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Brice joined the United States Navy as a volunteer officer. He reported aboard the armed sidewheel gunboat USS Thomas Freeborn in the Potomac Flotilla in August 1861. He took part in the Battle of Aquia Creek of 29 May–1 June 1861, engagements with Confederate States Army artillery batteries at Potomac Creek, Virginia, on 23 August 1861, at Freestone Point, Virginia, on 25 September 1861, and at Cockpit Point, Virginia, on 3 January 1862. He also took part in a cutting-out expedition up the Rappahannock River in Virginia in April 1862 and an engagement with Confederate States Army artillery and infantry at Gloucester Courthouse, Virginia. At Gloucester Courthouse, he landed a force of men in small boats behind Confederate lines and captured a Confederate colonel, whom he brought back aboard his ship, and he received a promotion for this achievement.

During a cutting-out expedition in Mattox Creek in Virginia that took place from 16 to 18 March 1865, Brice — by then promoted to acting ensign — led a 40-man search party that found itself in combat with a force of about 50 Confederate cavalrymen. While he was deploying his men to receive their attack, eight or ten cavalrymen fell upon on his left flank, but he drove them off, prompting the rest of the Confederate force to retreat. For this action he was recommended for an award for gallantry and received a promotion to acting master. He also participated in combat against Confederate ironclads on the James River as they attempted to pass Aiken's Landing, Virginia; in the attack on Jones's Bluff, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River; and in the capture of Fredericksburg, Virginia. When the Civil War ended in April 1865, was the commanding officer of the armed steamer USS Don.

Post-Civil War

In March 1868, Brice was accepted into service in the regular U.S. Navy with the rank of ensign. He served aboard the screw sloop-of-war USS Quinnebaug in the South Atlantic Squadron from 1868 to 1869. Promoted to lieutenant on 21 March 1870, he had duty at the United States Hydrographic Office that year, then served aboard the gunboat USS Saco in the European Squadron from 1870 to 1872.

After torpedo service during 1873, Brice returned to sea with an assignment to the screw sloop-of-war USS Saranac on the Pacific Station from 1873 to 1875, when Saranac was wrecked on the coast of British Columbia in Canada. He had duty at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., in 1876 and at Mare Island Navy Yard in California from 1877 to 1878. He returned to the Pacific Station, by then renamed the Pacific Squadron, in 1878, serving aboard the screw sloop-of-war USS Lackawanna from 1878 to 1881.

Promoted to lieutenant commander on 15 April 1882, Brice returned to the Mare Island Navy Yard for duty from 1882 to 1885, then was aboard the screw sloop-of-war USS Iroquois in the Pacific Squadron from 1885 to 1888. He then performed duty at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

Brice was assigned to the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries (widely referred to the United States Fish Commission) from 1889 to 1890. He began duty as a lighthouse inspector in December 1892, then assumed command of the screw gunboat USS Adams in March 1894. Adams subsequently cruised in the waters of Alaska. Suffering from rheumatism, he went on sick leave in October 1894 and retired from the Navy in February 1895.

Death

Brice died in 1912.

References

Bibliography

• Hamersly. Lewis Randolph. The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. New York: L. R. Hamersly Company, 1902.

[[:Category:1842 births [[:Category:1912 deaths [[:Category:Military personnel from Ohio [[:Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War [[:Category:Union Navy officers [[:Category:United States Fish Commission personnel

Mdnavman/sandbox

History
France
Name	Orphée
Namesake	Orpheus, a Thracian bard, musician, poet and prophet in ancient Greek religion
Operator	French Navy
Ordered	1928
Builder	Augustin Normand, Le Havre, France
Laid down	22 August 1929
Launched	10 November 1931
Commissioned	8 June 1933
Fate	Condemned 26 March 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	Diane-class submarine
Displacement	562 long tons (571 t) (surfaced) 796 long tons (809 t) (submerged)
Length	64.4 m (211 ft 3 in)
Beam	6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
Draft	4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	2 x 650 hp (485 kW) Normand-Vickers diesel engines 2 x 500 hp (373 kW) electric motors
Speed	13.7 or 14 kn (25.4 or 25.9 km/h; 15.8 or 16.1 mph) (surfaced) (sources disagree) 9 or 9.2 kn (16.7 or 17.0 km/h; 10.4 or 10.6 mph) (submerged) (sources disagree)
Range	4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surface) 82 or 85 nmi (152 or 157 km; 94 or 98 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) (submerged) (sources disagree)
Test depth	80 metres (262 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 38 men
Armament	3 × 550 mm (21.7 in) bow torpedo tubes 3 × 550 mm (21.7 in) torpedo tubes in forward external rotating turret 1 × 550 mm (21.7 in) and 2 x 400 mm (15.7 in) torpedo tubes in after external rotating turret 1 × 76.2 mm (3 in) deck gun 1 × 13.2 mm (0.5 in) machine gun 2 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns

Orphée (Q163) was a French Navy Diane-class submarine commissioned in 1933. During World War II, she operated on the Allied side until 1940, when she became part of the naval forces of Vichy France. In 1942 she joined the Free French Naval Forces. She was condemned in 1946.

Construction and commissioning

Orphée was ordered in 1928 as part of Naval Program 115. Her construction began on 18 December 1928, and her keel was laid down at Augustin Normand in Le Havre, France, on 22 August 1929. She was launched on 10 November 1931. After fitting out, she was commissioned for trials on 1 February 1932. Her official trials began on 16 April 1932, and her final equipping and armament took place at Cherbourg, France, from 31 December 1932 to 15 March 1933. She was placed in full commission on 8 June 1933.

Service history

Pre-World War II

On 23 May 1933, Orphée lost a crewman.

On 28 November 1934, the submarine Eurydice got underway from Cherbourg to conduct exercises with Orphée and Orphée′s sister ship Oréade.

World War II

French Navy

When World War II began on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, Orphée was part of the 16th Submarine Division — a part of the 1st Maritime Prefecture at the Submarine Center — at Cherbourg along with her sister ships Amazone, Antiope, and Sibylle. France entered the war on the side of the Allies on 3 September 1939. On 21 April 1940, Orphée fired two torpedoes at the German submarine U-51 in the North Sea at 57°N 005°E, but both missed.

German ground forces advanced into France on 10 May 1940, beginning the Battle of France, and Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and joined the invasion. The Battle of France ended in France's defeat and an armistice with Germany and Italy on 22 June 1940. When the armistice when into effect on 25 June 1940, Orphée was based at Casablanca in French Morocco.

Vichy France

After France′s surrender, Oréade served in the naval forces of Vichy France. In the succeeding months she spent time at Bizerte in Tunisia in August 1940; Toulon, France, in October 1940; Casablanca in French Morocco in December 1940; and Dakar in Senegal in February 1941. During July 1941, she visited first Agadir and then Casablanca in French Morocco.

In January 1942 Oréade conducted defensive patrols off ports in French Morocco, and during the month she spent 7 to 19 January at Safi, French Morocco, with La Psyché. The two submarines visited Port Lyautey, French Morocco, from 13 to 17 February 1942.

Oréade was disarmed at Casablanca in March 1942 in accordance with the terms of the 1940 armistice. She returned to active service in September 1942. Still part of the 18th Submarine Division, she got underway from Oran on 30 October 1942 bound for Casablanca.

Loss

When Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa, began on the morning of 8 November 1942, Oréade was moored at Casablanca. The Naval Battle of Casablanca began that morning, and bomb-armed United States Navy TBF Avenger torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) and the escort carrier USS Suwannee (CVE-27) attacked the harbor at 07:10. After taking bomb damage, Oréade capsized and sank, suffering four dead and six wounded. Her commanding officer was among the wounded, and he died of his wounds later in the day, raising Oréade's death toll to five.

Oréade was refloated on 10 June 1943 and placed in "special reserve" on 29 September 1943 at Casablanca. She was condemned on 26 March 1946.

References

Bibliography

• Moulin, Jean (2006). Les sous-marins français en images (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. pp. 28–29. ISBN 2-915379-40-8..
• Kévorkia, Georges (17 January 2006). Accidents des sous-marins français: 1945-1983 (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. ISBN 978-2-915379-37-2..
• "Un sous-marin français à l'honneur à Cherbourg". L'Ouest-Éclair (in French). 7 May 1940. p. 1..
• "L'exploit de l'Orphée". L'Ouest-Éclair (in French). 8 May 1940. p. 2..
• "Le retour victorieux du sous-marin Orphée". L'Illustration (in French). No. 5072. 18 May 1940..
• "1940: l'Orphée" (PDF). Cols bleus (in French). No. 61. 26 April 1946. p. 3..

External links

• Ivan Gogin (2008–15). "FRENCH NAVY (FRANCE) - SUBMARINES - DIANE submarines (1932-1934)". NAVYPEDIA. Retrieved 3 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link).
• "Sous marin de 2ème classe ou 630 tonnes Classe Diane 2" (PDF). AGASM (in French). 27 May 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2020..
• Fanch 56 (23 January 2010). "ORPHÉE (SM)". Anciens Cols Bleus et Pompons Rouges. Forum de discussions pour les anciens de la Marine Nationale (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link).
• "L'Exploit du sous-marin Orphée (1940)". Wikimanche (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2020..
• Pierre Larue. "COLLISION DU SOUS-MARIN ORPHÉE AVEC LE CHALUTIER JOSE CARMEN AU LARGE DE MAZAGAN". MAZAGAN - AAMR (Amicale des Anciens de Mazagan et sa Région) (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2020..
• "13-Sous-marins (17) sous-marins classe Argonaute (3)". CLAUSUCHRONIA Une uchronie un peu folle (in French). 1 September 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2020..

[[:Category:Diane-class submarine (1930) [[:Category:1931 ships [[:Category:Ships built in France [[:Category:World War II submarines of France [[:Category:Maritime incidents in October 1945 [[:Category:Maritime incidents in 1946

Furstner

Lieutenant Admiral Johan Furstner
Johan Furstner sometime between 1941 and 1945
Minister of State
In office 4 September 1945 – 1 January 1963
Monarch	Queen Wilhelmina
Minister of the Navy
In office 27 July 1941 – 23 February 1945
Monarch	Queen Wilhelmina
Prime Minister	Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy
Preceded by	Johan Lambooij
Succeeded by	Jim de Booy
Minister of the Colonies (acting)
In office 8 December 1915 – 17 January 1916
Monarch	Queen Wilhelmina
Prime Minister	Cort van der Linden
Preceded by	Thomas Bastiaan Pleyte
Succeeded by	Thomas Bastiaan Pleyte
Minister of War (acting)
In office 15 May 1917 – 15 June 1917
Monarch	Queen Wilhelmina
Prime Minister	Cort van der Linden
Preceded by	Nicolaas Bosboom
Succeeded by	Bonifacius Cornelis de Jonge
Personal details
Born	(1887-01-16)16 January 1887 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	15 September 1970(1970-09-15) (aged 83) The Hague, Netherlands
Political party	Independent Liberal Conservative
Alma mater	Royal Naval Institute, Willemsoord
Profession	Naval officer
Military service
Allegiance	Netherlands
Branch/service	Royal Netherlands Navy
Years of service	1906–1945
Rank	Lieutenant admiral
Commands	Hogere Marine Krijgsschool (director) HNLMS Hertog Hendrik Chief of the Naval Staff Commander of the Naval Forces
Battles/wars	World War II

Johan Theodorus Furstner (18 January 1887, Amsterdam – 15 September 1970, The Hague) was a Dutch naval officer and politician. Reaching the rank of lieutenant admiral (Dutch: Luitenant-admiraal), he served as Minister of the Navy during World War II in the Second Gerbrandy cabinet.

Furstner was a naval theorist. He was educated at the Hogere Krijgsschool and the French École supérieure de guerre ("Superior School of Warfare"). He had little interest in the pre-World War II Dutch [political party]] system and was co-founder of the Alliance for National Reconstruction. When Nazi Germany overran the Netherlands in May 1940, he was very upset and indignant about the departure of the Dutch cabinet from the country when it fled to London. He combined the Ministry of the Navy with the position of commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy. After World War II he was a member of the Council of State for more than 17 years.

Youth and education

Furstner was born on 18 January 1887 in Amsterdam, where he also attended Hogere Burgerschool (Higher Civic School). He also received secondary education at the Institute "Wullings" Voorschoten. From 1902 to 1906 he attended officer training at the Royal Naval Institute at Willemsoord in Den Helder.

Career

Pre-World War II

Furstner served as a naval officer in the Netherlands East Indies from 16 September 1908 until 1918. He then taught for some time in 1918 at the Hogere Krijgsschool (Higher Military School), which in 1920 became the Hogere Marine Krijgsschool (Higher Naval War School), in The Hague.

From 1925 to 1927, Furstner served as an gunnery officer on the light cruiser HNLMS Java in the Netherlands East Indies. From 1927 to 1928. he pursued advanced naval theoretical studies at the École supérieure de guerre in [[Paris], from which he received a brevet d' officers d'etat major (Staff Officer's Certificate). In 1929 he assumed duties as executive officer of the coastal defense ship HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck. In 1930 he became director of the Hogere Marine Krijgsschool

In 1932, Furstner co-founded the Alliance for National Reconstruction (Dutch: Verbond voor Nationaal Herstel, or VNH), a conservative-nationalist political party. However, during the 1930s he had little interest in the Dutch political) party system, and he probably distanced himself from the VNH when he no longer approved of the party's positions on issues.

From 1935, Furstner was commanding officer of the coastal defense ship HNLMS Hertog Hendrik. From 1 January 1936 to September 1939 he was Chief of the Naval Staff (with promotion to rear admiral), and from 1939 he served in the newly established position of Commander of the Naval Forces.

World War II

Furstner (seated second from right) in the Second Gerbrandy cabinet in 1944.

During the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, Furstner fled with his staff from Scheveningen with his staff to England, but he was very upset and indignant about the Dutch cabinet's decision to leave the Netherlands for London. He was promoted to lieutenant admiral in 1941. On 27 July 1941 he became Minister of the Navy in the Second Gerbrandy cabinet. Under his leadership, important work was done to replenish personnel and equipment for the Royal Netherlands Navy and to prepare for the reconstruction of the Dutch naval force after World War II. Towards the end of the war, he resigned his ministerial position on 23 February 1945.

In his book In ballingschap. De Nederlandse kolonie in Engeland [1940-1945] (English: In Exile: The Dutch Colony in England 1940–1945), journalist Henri van der Zee paints a negative portrait of Furstner during his time in England. Van der Zee claims that Queen Wilhelmina soon regretted her appointment of him as Minister of the Navy upon the departure of Minister of Defense Major General Adriaan Dijxhoorn. According to van der Zee, Furstner behaved in an arrogant, authoritarian, and tactless manner. He displayed no interest in his subordinates, to Wilhelmina′s displeasure; he never visited his men, unlike British Royal Navy officers, and did not care about Wilhelmina's criticism of him for it. "What caused a lot of bad blood in the navy was Furstner's lack of interest in his people," van der Zee wrote. When Dutch resistance members Peter Tazelaar and Gerard Dogger — who worked with Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema and Chris Krediet in Contact Holland, an effort directed Queen Wilhelmina and the British secret service to transport agents from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands and extract people for the return journey — visited Furstner, van der Zee recounts that he was gruff and dismissive of them and, when Tazelaar noted that Contact Holland's operations were by order of Queen Wilhelmina, responded that "The Queen signs the documents; we rule." Van der Zee also writes that Furstner spent lavishly in England, charging it all to the Royal Netherlands Navy budget; at a time when Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Eelco van Kleffens subsisted on an salary of 45 British pounds a month plus an allowance for expenses, Furstner rented a country home near London for 3,000 pounds a year and assigned five servicemen to act as his servants at a cost of 2,5o0 pounds per year. As early as 1942, he was reprimanded by the Extraordinary Court of Audit, which deemed financial expenditures he and his officers incurred in England "contrary to the necessary austerity and the impoverishment in which the Dutch people found themselves" themselves during the German occupation of the Netherlands.

Post-World War II

After World War II, Furstner was a board member of the Nationaal Comité Handhaving Rijkseenheid English: National Committee for the Maintenance of Unity of the Kingdom, an extra-parliamentary action group in the Netherlands opposed to the independence of Indonesia.

On 4 September 1945, Furstner received a lifetime appointment to the Council of State, which conveyed the title of Minister of State. During his tenure of more than 17 years, he was a of the Council of State′s General Affairs, Defense (War), Shipping, Finance, Social Affairs, Navy, Transport, and Foreign Affairs departments. He resigned from the Council of State on 1 January 1963.

Death

Furstner died on 15 September 1970 in The Hague.

Publications

Furstner published articles in the Marineblad and the organ of the Association for Martial Sciences.

Honors and awards

Dutch

• Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
• Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau
• Mobilization Cross 1914-1918
• Officer's Cross for 30 Years of Faithful Service

Foreign

• Member of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
• Officer of the Order of the Sword (Sweden)

References

Bibliography

• Bosscher, Dr.Ph.M. Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland, vol.2 (in Dutch)
• Bosscher, Dr.Ph.M. De Koninklijke Marine in de Tweede Wereldoorlog, alle delen, T.Wever, Franeker (in Dutch)
• Eekhout, Luc (1992) Het admiralenboek. De vlagofficieren van de Nederlandse marine, 1382-1991, Amsterdam (in Dutch)
• Kersten, Albert (1981) Buitenlandse Zaken in ballingschap, A. W. Sijthoff, Alphen aan de Rijn (in Dutch)
• Neuman, H.J. (1990) Impasse te Londen, Veen Uitgevers, Utrecht/Antwerp (in Dutch)
• Persoonlijkheden in het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in woord en beeld (1938) (in Dutch)
• Raven G.J.A. samenst.(1990), Inventaris van het persoonlijk archief van luitenant-admiraal J.Th. Furstner, 1932-1968 (in Dutch)
• Vos van Steenwijk, Mr.A.N. Baron de, vice-admiraal b.d. (1986) Het marinebeleid in de Tweede Wereldoorlog, de Bataafse Leeuw, Amsterdam/Dieren (in Dutch)
• Van der Zee, Henri. In ballingschap. De Nederlandse kolonie in Engeland [1940-1945] (in Dutch). Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2005. ISBN 9789023417392 (in Dutch).

Le Glorieux

Mdnavman/sandbox

Le Glorieux's sister ship Ajax in 1930
History
France
Name	Le Glorieux
Operator	French Navy
Builder	Arsenal de Cherbourg, Cherbourg, France
Laid down	10 February 1930
Launched	29 November 1932
Commissioned	1 June 1934
Decommissioned	27 October 1952
General characteristics
Class and type	Redoutable-class submarine
Displacement	1,572 tonnes (1,547 long tons) (surfaced) 2,092 tonnes (2,059 long tons) (submerged)
Length	92.3 m (302 ft 10 in)
Beam	8.1 m (26 ft 7 in)
Draft	4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) (surfaced)
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines, 6,000 hp (4,474 kW) 2 × electric motors, 2,250 hp (1,678 kW)
Speed	17.5 kn (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) (surfaced) 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) (submerged)
Range	14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) (surfaced) 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surfaced) 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) (surfaced) 90 nmi (170 km; 100 mi) at 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) (submerged)
Test depth	80 m (262 ft)
Complement	5 officers (6 in operations) 66 men
Armament	11 torpedo tubes 1 × 100 mm (3.9 in) gun 1 × 13.2 mm (0.5 in) machine gun

Le Glorieux was a French Navy Redoutable-class submarine of the M6 ​​series commissioned in 1934. She participated in World War II on the side of the Allies from 1939 until June 1940, then in the naval forces of Vichy France before joining the Free French Naval Forces in 1942.

Characteristics

Profile of Casabianca, sister ship of Le Glorieux.

Le Glorieux was part of a fairly homogeneous series of 31 deep-sea patrol submarines also called "1,500-tonners" because of their displacement. All entered service between 1931 and 1939.

The Redoutable-class submarines were 92.3 metres (302 ft 10 in) long and 8.1 metres (26 ft 7 in) in beam and had a draft of 4.4 metres (14 ft 5 in). They could dive to a depth of 80 metres (262 ft). They displaced 1,572 tonnes (1,547 long tons) on the surface and 2,082 tonnes (2,049 long tons) underwater. Propelled on the surface by two diesel engines producing a combined 6,000 horsepower (4,474 kW), they had a maximum speed of 18.6 knots (34.4 km/h; 21.4 mph). When submerged, their two electric motors produced a combined 2,250 horsepower (1,678 kW) and allowed them to reach 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Also called "deep-cruising submarines", their range on the surface was 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Underwater, they could travel 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).

Le Glorieux, Casabianca, and Sfax were the only Redoutable-class submarines equipped with a radio direction finder.

Construction and commissioning

Laid down at Arsenal de Cherbourg in Cherbourg, France, on 10 February 1930 with the hull number Q168, Le Glorieux was launched on 29 November 1932. She was commissioned on 1 June 1934.

Service history

World War II

French Navy

At the start of World War II on 1 September 1939, Le Glorieux was assigned to the 1st Submarine Division based at Toulon, France. Her sister ships Le Conquérant, Le Héros, and Le Tonnant made up the rest of the division. From 12 October to 3 November 1939, she patrolled with her sister ship Redoutable along the coast of Madeira, where part of the German merchant fleet — which the Allies suspected of serving as supply ships for German U-boats — had taken refuge when the war broke out.

On 7 February 1940, the 1st Submarine Division was assigned to the base at Dakar in Senegal. On 17 February 1940, Le Glorieux and Le Tonnant received orders to escort a damaged British cargo ship to Freetown in Sierra Leone, but the two submarines did not find the ship due to bad information, and they returned to Dakar. In April 1940, the division was transferred to Bizerte in Tunisia, but Le Glorieux and Le Héros remained at Dakar.

German ground forces advanced into France during the Battle of France in May–June 1940, and Italy declared war on France on 10 June 1940 and joined the invasion. The Battle of France ended in France's defeat and armistice with Germany and Italy on 25 June 1940.

Vichy France

After the attack on Mers-el-Kébir — in which a British Royal Navy squadron attacked a French Navy squadron moored at the naval base at Mers El Kébir in Oran on the coast of Algeria on 3 July 1940 — Le Glorieux and Le Héros took up a defensive position off Dakar to defend the port against a British fleet approaching to attack Dakar as well as part of Operation Catapult. Both submarines tried to attack the British ships but could not get close enough, and the British departed the area after Fleet Air Arm Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes attacked and seriously damaged the French battleship Richelieu at Dakar on 8 July 1940.

Le Héros and Le Glorieux later proceeded to Toulon, where they were placed under guard and maintained in a disarmed and unfueled status under the terms of the 1940 armistice. They returned to full service in June 1941 to deploy to Dakar again. Before their departure from Toulon, Le Glorieux collided with the accommodation hulk Condorcet, suffering damage to her stern which required ten days of repair work.

In October 1941, the British boarded a convoy of four Vichy French cargo ships en route to Dakar. To retaliate, the French sent Le Glorieux and Le Héros to attack British trade routes along the coast of South Africa. On 15 November 1941, Le Glorieux made an unsuccessful attack on a cargo ship off Port Elizabeth, South Africa. After concluding the operation, Le Glorieux and Le Héros proceeded to Diego-Suarez in Madagascar.

At the end of December 1941, Le Glorieux escorted an aviso on a supply mission from Madagascar to Djibouti in French Somaliland, which the Allies were blockading. She carried out several patrols from Djibouti with her sister ship Vengeur in January 1942. She returned to Diego-Suarez in March 1942, then moved to Nosy Be and later Majunga for repairs.

Fearing a Japanese attack on Madagascar, which would compromise India's security and supplies, the British invaded Madagascar, beginning with an attack on Diego-Suarez on 5 May 1942. Le Glorieux immediately got underway for a patrol area off Cap d'Ambre at the northern tip of Madagascar and approached the British aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable, but was unable to attack her. On 9 May 1942, after the British had sunk three of her sister ships — Bévéziers, Le Héros and Monge — she withdrew to Androka on the southern coast of Madagascar, then returned to Toulon, where she arrived on 1 August 1942. In accordance with the terms of the 1940 armistice, she was maintained in a disarmed and unfueled status and placed under guard at Toulon.

Allied forces landed in French North Africa in Operation Torch on 8 November 1942, and on 9 November the Germans authorized Le Glorieux and her sister ships Casabianca, Henri Poincaré, Pascal, and Redoutable to rearm. Germany and Italy occupied the Free Zone (French: Zone libre) of Vichy France on 27 November 1942, and German forces entered the naval base at Toulon that day, prompting the scuttling of the French fleet there. Among the Redoutable-class submarines at Toulon, only Le Glorieux and Casabianca had embarked new batteries and provisions and fully refueled when the Germans arrived. At the sound of the first gunshots, they cast off and along with the submarines Iris and Vénus made a run for the open sea under fire by German forces. Le Glorieux made for Spain, arriving first off Barcelona and then Valencia, where she remained for a few hours. Meeting a curt reception by Fascist authorities in Spain — who seized the Iris after her arrival in Barcelona — ​​Le Glorieux′s commanding officer decided to proceed to Oran, where Le Glorieux arrived on 30 November 1942.

Free French Naval Forces

After brief hostilities between Allied and Vichy French forces in French North Africa during the Torch landings, the surviving French fleet based in North Africa joined the Free French Naval Forces, as did Le Glorieux after her arrival at Oran. She was based first at Algiers, then at Oran, and then at Casablanca in French Morocco. In September 1943, she was sent to a United States Navy sound school at Bermuda, where she served as a submerged target for ships engaged in antisubmarine warfare training. She then became one of the French submarines sent to the United States for overhaul and modernization. She proceeded to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where work on her began at the Philadelphia Navy Yard at League Island. The lack of a detailed plan of the Redoutable class and their parts hampered the shipyard′s work, and American engineers expressed frustration at the lack of standardization among the four Redoutable-class submarines at Philadelphia; For example, two had Schneider diesel engines and two had Sulzer diesels. However, they also noted that the Redoutable-class remained quite modern despite their 20-year-old design.

At Philadelphia, Le Glorieux′s diesel engines underwent a full overhaul, her batteries were replaced, her hull was thickened and her diving planes reinforced to increase her test depth, and some of her ballast tanks were transformed into fuel tanks to increase her range. A significant effort went into improving her soundproofing, and radars, more efficient listening gear, a sonar, a new pitometer log, a new bathythermograph, air conditioning, and a refrigerator were installed aboard her. Her conning tower was modified, with the removal of a significant part of the navigation shelter and its replacement by a new gun mount for an Oerlikon 20mm anti-aircraft gun.

After the completion of the work. Le Glorieux returned to North Africa at the end of May 1944. The Allied invasion of Southern France, Operation Dragoon, which took place on 15 August 1944 and brought the war in the Mediterranean to an end before she could see further combat. She operated as a submerged target for sound schools while awaiting a transfer with her sister ship Archimède to the Pacific Ocean to participate in the war with Japan. Originally planned for the end of November 1944, the transfer was delayed, and ultimately never took place because the surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945 brought World War II to an end before they could deploy to the Pacific.

Post-World War II

Le Glorieux and Archimède began a major refit at Cherbourg in January 1946. They emerged from the shipyard in November 1946 with a test depth of 120 metres (394 ft), an increase of 40 metres (131 ft) over their original design, thanks to modifications made both at Philadelphia in 1943–1944 and at Cherbourg in 1946. Le Glorieux was awarded the Resistance Medal on 29 November 1946.

After completing post-refit sea trials at the beginning of 1947, Le Glorieux and Archimède were based at Brest, France, in January 1947. They made a four-month cruise in African waters in company with U-2518, a German Type XXI submarine transferred to the French Navy after World War II to allow France to assess the Type XXI's revolutionary capabilities.

From 1947 to 1949, Le Glorieux and Archimède carried out extensive training, first at Brest and then at Toulon. In 1949, Le Glorieux was used in filming the movie Casabianca, portraying her sister ship Casabianca. She was placed in "Special Reserve" B on 16 October 1950. The last Redoutable-class submarine in service, she was decommissioned on 27 October 1952.

The Glorieux was used in 1949 for the filming of the film Casabianca in which it played the role of the latter, then it was placed in special reserve B on October 16, 195026. The last 1,500 tons was decommissioned on October 27, 1952. From 1937, the folding radio masts are removed on all submarines, they receive instead a hoisting periscopic antenna. - For the direction finder only the Casabianca, the Sfax and the Glorieux are equipped with it. - September 01, 1939, Le Glorieux is part of the 2nd Squadron of the 1st Flotilla, of the 3rd Squadron (1st D.S.M.) in Toulon with Le Héros, Le Conquérant and Le Tonnant. - In October and November 1939, Le Glorieux and Le Redoutable carried out two surveillance missions. Only one incident is worth mentioning: the English freighter "Ebga" refuses to let itself be checked despite the warning shots. - In March 1940, Le Glorieux took part with Tonnant in the search for a British freighter, the S.S. "Hartismere" with machinery damage. - On June 25, 1940, Le Glorieux is still part of the 1st D.S.M. based in Toulon, with Le Héros, Le Tonnant and Le Conquérant. - This same day, day of the entry into force of the armistice, Le Glorieux (Lieutenant of Vaisseau CHAMPEL) and the Hero (Captain of Corvette Courson) are present in Dakar and they are the only ones. © Blue Collars No. 1177 © Blue Collars No. 1177

- On July 4, 1940 at 4:30 a.m., Le Glorieux sailed from Dakar in the company of the Hero and an E-41 seaplane (Latécoère-302) to attack the British cruiser H.M.S. "Dorsetshire" which patrols the South of Dakar. They find it but cannot approach closer than 6000 meters. At 4:00 p.m. they were ordered back to base and were shelled while in transit by a seaplane from the cruiser. Two bombs narrowly miss Le Glorieux. - On July 7, 1940, a British naval force arrives in front of Dakar and at 6:00 p.m. transmits an ultimatum. No response is sent to them. The Glorious and the Hero receive the order to sail, but many sailors refuse to fight against the English. The Captain of the Hero managed to convince them and cast off to anchor at 9:30 p.m. in the south-east of the island of Gorée. - On July 8, 1940, Le Glorieux and Le Héros, cannonaded by mistake by a French sloop, head towards the English to try to attack them, but without success. They then return to Dakar, the English having left for Freetown. 1) According to another source: On July 8, 1940, the Hero was moored at Pier No. 1 in Dakar and set sail at dawn. The Glorious did not set sail until a few hours later. Indeed, at daybreak, the latter is taken for a British submarine infiltrated on the harbor. It was strongly cannonaded by three buildings and bombarded by a seaplane, suffering some light damage. The two submarines returned to Dakar at night, having been unable to join the English squadron which had headed for Freetown. - On July 9, Le Glorieux was beached in the basin for repairs to her damage. - On August 8, 1940, Le Glorieux and the Hero are in Casablanca. - On June 01, 1941, Le Glorieux had just rearmed in Toulon, began her training with a view to being sent to the Indian Ocean. - On September 10, 1941, Le Glorieux damaged its stern when approaching the 'Condorcet' pontoon during a maneuver and only left Toulon on the 28th to move towards Madagascar. - He arrived in Dakar on October 12, 1941, after stops in Oran (from 01 to 03) and Casablanca (from 05 to 07). - The Glorious and the Hero go to the basin to clean the hull from October 15th to 19th. - The 1st D.S.M. sets sail on the 27th for Madagascar with a convoy. - On November 14, the two submarines are off Capetown. - On November 15, 1941 (the 16th according to another source), Le Glorieux launched two torpedoes without success on the 4000-ton freighter "Capo Olmo" south of the Cape at the position: 35°40'S 19°20'E. - On the 17th, Le Glorieux was off Durban. - On November 23 the 1st D.S.M. gathers in front of Fort-Dauphin, in the south of Madagascar and then joins Diégo-Suarez. - The 1st D.S.M. arrived in Diégo-Suarez on November 27, 1941, after a journey of 7000 nautical miles. Both submarines are in poor condition. - The Glorieux and the Vengeur carried out together on December 31, January 6, 13 and 16, 1942 protection sorties for barge convoys between Djibouti and Obock. From the 16th to the 20th, the two submarines and the aviso d'Iberville carried out a patrol in the Gulf of Aden. The Glorieux continued its patrol in isolation from 20 to 23 then returned to Djibouti where it remained until February 19, 1942. - During this time the Vengeur and the aviso take the direction of Diégo-Suarez where they arrive on January 27, 1942. - On February 19, Le Glorieux set sail from Djibouti with Bougainville and both reached Diego-Suarez without incident. - After resting, Le Glorieux is sent on alert to Nossi-Bé. He set sail on April 14 and spent two weeks at anchor in Hell-Ville, from April 15 to 26, with a short training trip on April 23. - On the 26th, he was detached to Majunga to put his diesel workers there at the disposal of a cement plant whose activity had been halted by mechanical damage. - On August 8, 1940, Le Glorieux and the Hero are in Casablanca. - On June 01, 1941, Le Glorieux had just rearmed in Toulon, began her training with a view to being sent to the Indian Ocean. - On September 10, 1941, Le Glorieux damaged its stern when approaching the 'Condorcet' pontoon during a maneuver and only left Toulon on the 28th to move towards Madagascar. - He arrived in Dakar on October 12, 1941, after stops in Oran (from 01 to 03) and Casablanca (from 05 to 07). - The Glorious and the Hero go to the basin to clean the hull from October 15th to 19th. - The 1st D.S.M. sets sail on the 27th for Madagascar with a convoy. - On November 14, the two submarines are off Capetown. - On November 15, 1941 (the 16th according to another source), Le Glorieux launched two torpedoes without success on the 4000-ton freighter "Capo Olmo" south of the Cape at the position: 35°40'S 19°20'E. - On the 17th, Le Glorieux was off Durban. - On November 23 the 1st D.S.M. gathers in front of Fort-Dauphin, in the south of Madagascar and then joins Diégo-Suarez. - The 1st D.S.M. arrived in Diégo-Suarez on November 27, 1941, after a journey of 7000 nautical miles. Both submarines are in poor condition. - The Glorieux and the Vengeur carried out together on December 31, January 6, 13 and 16, 1942 protection sorties for barge convoys between Djibouti and Obock. From the 16th to the 20th, the two submarines and the aviso d'Iberville carried out a patrol in the Gulf of Aden. The Glorieux continued its patrol in isolation from 20 to 23 then returned to Djibouti where it remained until February 19, 1942. - During this time the Vengeur and the aviso take the direction of Diégo-Suarez where they arrive on January 27, 1942. - On February 19, Le Glorieux set sail from Djibouti with Bougainville and both reached Diego-Suarez without incident. - After resting, Le Glorieux is sent on alert to Nossi-Bé. He set sail on April 14 and spent two weeks at anchor in Hell-Ville, from April 15 to 26, with a short training trip on April 23. - On the 26th, he was detached to Majunga to put his diesel workers there at the disposal of a cement plant whose activity had been halted by mechanical damage. - From April 27, 1942, Le Glorieux is in Majunga. - On May 5, 1942 at dawn, British forces landed in Courrier Bay to take Diégo-Suarez with the official aim of avoiding an investment by Japanese forces. The aircraft carrier group, H.M.S. "Illustrious" and the H.M.S. "Indomitable", they are positioned 30 nautical miles to the west of Cap d'Ambre. - At 03:44, six "Swordfish" armed with torpedoes, six "Swordfish" armed with depth charges, six "Swordfish" armed with bombs and eight "Martlet" to escort them took off from H.M.S. "Indomitable" to attack the submarines they think are in Diégo-Suarez. - At 05:00, an ultimatum "Unconditional surrender" is issued by one of the aircraft. Not finding the submarines the "Swordfish" launched torpedoes on the "Bougainville" and bombs on the d'Entrecasteaux. - Le Glorieux is then in Majunga, a Malagasy port on the west coast located 350 nautical miles south-west of Diégo-Suarez. - On May 5 at 10:35 a.m., Le Glorieux, under the orders of Lieutenant de Vaisseau BAZOCHE, sets sail from Majunga after having picked up the rest of its crew and sets sail for Courrier Bay. - The next day at 10:00 a.m., he managed to get within 10-12,000 meters of the aircraft carrier sailing west of Cap d'Ambre without being able to position himself for a torpedo(s) fire. At 3:38 p.m., a destroyer passed over him without grenades. - On the 7th, after the end of the fighting (the Béveziers was sunk on the 5th, the Hero on the 7th), the Glorieux received the order to rally the d'Iberville to the south-west of the island at Androka. - On the morning of the 8th, the Monge was sunk. - From May 17 to 21 completes its diesel (160 tonnes) at Androka. - On the 21st, he sailed with the d'Iberville for Dakar where they arrived on June 16, 1942. - On August 1, 1942 (July 12 according to another source), Le Glorieux arrived in Toulon. Since leaving France in October 1940, he has traveled 26,665 nautical miles. - On November 1, 1942, Le Glorieux was guarded in Toulon with the 1st 1st sub-group composed of Le Glorieux, l'Espoir, l'Achéron and le Vengeur. - On November 9, 1942, the Armistice Commissions authorize the rearmament of eight submarines: Casabianca, Iris, Naïade, Redoutable, Vénus, Diamant, Glorieux and Thétis. - On November 27, 1942, the Redoutable, the Marsouin, the Glorious, the Casabianca (90 minutes away), the Iris, the Venus and the Diamond are moored at Mourillon. From 05h00 to 05h15, the submarines Vénus, Casabianca, Iris, Marsouin and Glorieux set sail. Poincaré (Corvette Captain Jouan de Kervenoel at post 9), Le Redoutable (at post 10), Pascal (Corvette Captain Begué at post 11) and Diamant (Lieutenant de Vaisseau Sassy at post 7) ​​scuttled each other. - The four submarines (Vénus, Casabianca, Iris, Marsouin and Glorieux) stay all day south of Toulon. - Surfacing at night, the commanders make their decision on what to do next. Two decide to go to Spain and the other two to Algiers. - Le Glorieux does not enter Barcelona, ​​"because, wrote its commander, of the proximity of the coasts occupied by the enemy and the difficulty of leaving this port". After turning underwater all day in front of Barcelona, ​​Le Glorieux surfaces at night, sets sail for Valencia, where it enters on the 29th at 07:00 and moors at the Nautical Sports quay. - Reproduction of a message from C.C. Meynier to the VICE-ADMIRAL Commanding the NAVY at ORAN (it should be noted that I have reproduced all the typing errors). - Another hypothesis - The Glorious arrives off Barcelona on the 28th at 4:00 p.m., the Iris enters there at 12:42 p.m. and moors at 1:30 p.m. - After Darlan's call to reach Algiers, the Glorieux sets sail at 11:45 a.m. and arrives in Oran at 8:00 a.m. the next day. - In 1943, he was in Morocco then in Bermuda, U.S.A. for overhaul - On July 27, 1944, General De Gaulle ordered the preparation of a convoy of two submarines Le Glorieux and Archimède for the Far East, departure scheduled for November 15, 1944. But Admiral Lemonnier specified that these two boats, very old, cannot render long services... - In December 1944, the Sultane, the Archimède and the Glorieux are used to supply electricity to Toulon, their crews are then on leave. - When Japan surrendered (September 2, 1945), the Glorieux was in Oran under the command of Corvette Captain Roy. - Two anecdotes by René Triscos aboard Le Glorieux: Anecdote n°1 and Anecdote n°2. - He was sentenced on October 27, 1952.

Notes: 1) According to another source: On July 8, 1940, the Hero was moored at Pier No. 1 in Dakar and set sail at dawn. Le Glorieux did not set sail until a few hours later. Indeed, at daybreak, the latter is taken for a British submarine infiltrated on the harbor. It was strongly cannonaded by three buildings and bombarded by a seaplane, suffering some light damage. The two submarines returned to Dakar at night, having been unable to join the English squadron which had headed for Freetown.

References

Bibliography

• Fontenoy, Paul E. (2007). Submarines: An Illustrated History of Their Impact (Weapons and Warfare). Santa Barbara, California. ISBN 978-1-85367-623-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Huan, Claude (2004). Les Sous-marins français 1918–1945 (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. ISBN 9782915379075.
• Picard, Claude (2006). Les Sous-marins de 1 500 tonnes (in French). Rennes: Marines Éditions. ISBN 2-915379-55-6.

[[:Category:Redoutable-class submarines (1928) [[:Category:1932 ships [[:Category:Ships built in France [[:Category:World War II submarines of France [[:Category:Submarines of the Free French Naval Forces

Heeia Fishpond

Heʻeia Fishpond
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Heʻeia Fishpond, looking south-southeast from Heʻeia State Park, on January 1, 2010
Location	Heʻeia, Hawaii
Nearest city	Kaneohe, Hawaii
Coordinates	21°25′50.8″N 157°48′23.7″W
Area	88 acres (36 ha)
Architectural style	Walled coastal pond (loko iʻa kuapā)
Restored	Restoration began 1988
Restored by	Mary Brooks Paepae o Heʻeia
Website	paepaeoheeia.org
NRHP reference No.	73000671
Added to NRHP	January 17, 1973

Heʻeia Fishpond (Hawaiian Loko Iʻa O Heʻeia) is an ancient Hawaiian fishpond located at Heʻeia on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. A walled coastal pond (Hawaiian loko iʻa kuapā), it is the only pond fully encircled by a wall (kuapā). Constructed sometime between the early 1200s and early 1400s, it was badly damaged by a 1965 flood and fell into disrepair. A protected area, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973. An effort begun in 1988 is underway to restore the fishpond as a fishery, cultural, scientific, and educational resource.

Physical characteristics

Heʻeia Fishpond is a "kuapā-style" fishpond, or walled coastal pond (Hawaiian loko iʻa kuapā), enclosing an area of 88 acres (36 ha) in southern Kaneohe Bay on the coast of Oahu at Heʻeia. It is the second-largest of at least 20 fishponds which once lay along the shore of Kaneohe Bay. About a quarter of its circumference is bounded on its southwestern side by private homes constructed on a bluff overlooking the bay. Another quarter lies along Heʻeia Stream, which demarcates the fishpond′s boundary with Heʻeia State Park to the northwest. Kaneohe Bay itself lies along the rest of the fishpond′s boundary.

Uniquely among Hawaiian fishponds, Heʻeia Fishpond has a wall (kuapā) which completely encircles it on both its seaward and landward sides; other Hawaiian fishponds have a wall — either semicircular or built in a straight line — which extends only from one point on the shoreline to another. On its seaward side, the wall is built on Malaukaʻa, a fringing reef. The wall may be the longest found in any Hawaiian fishpond, extending for an estimated 1.3 miles (2.1 km), or 7,000 feet (2,100 m).

The wall varies in width from 12 to 15 feet (3.7 to 4.6 m) and is 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. It is a compact structure which consists of two separate rock walls built of volcanic basalt rock (pohaku pele), with the gap between the two walls filled with coral (loʻa) or, in a few parts of the wall, dirt. The wall was constructed using the Hawaiian dry-stack wall building (Uhau Humu Pohaku ) technique, which uses no mortar.

The fishpond's design allows it to create a brackish water environment by mixing fresh water from shore with salt water from Kaneohe Bay. The drainage basin which feeds Heʻeia Stream extends from Kaneohe Bay inland about 3.2 miles (5.1 km) to the summit of the Koolau Range at an altitude of about 2,820 feet (860 m) and covers 3.6 square miles (9.324 km).². The ancient Hawaiians planted taro (kalo) in the drainage basin, and their practice of flooding the taro patches (lōʻiīkalo) with stream water as a means of irrigation maintained water quality by reducing the amount of sediment in water reaching Heʻeia Fishpond via Heʻeia Stream. Before it empties into Kaneohe Bay, the stream passes along the northwestern perimeter of the fishpond. The wall has seven functioning sluice gates (mākāhā), with those along Heʻeia Stream regulating the flow of fresh water into the pond and those along the seaward side of the wall regulating the tidal flow of salt water between the fishpond and Kaneohe Bay. The wall′s design also slows the flow of water so that the pond maintains a base water level even during the lowest tides, and forces more water through the sluice gates.

Although sources agree that Heʻeia Fishpond has seven functioning sluice gates, they disagree on details about the gates. According to one source, the wall has three working sluice gates along Heʻeia Stream and four along the seaward side of the wall facing Kaneohe Bay. Another states that the fishpond has eight sluice gates, three along Heʻeia Stream and five facing Kaneohe Bay, but that one of the gates along the stream is in disrepair and no longer contributes to the flow of fresh water into the fishpond.

Plant and animal life

The brackish water environment maintained in Heʻeia Fishpond is ideal for the growth of a wide variety of edible seaweed and marine algae known collectively to the Hawaiians as limu. By cultivating limu, the fishpond's caretaker or guardian (kiaʻi) can raise herbivorous fish in the pond without having to feed them, similar to the way in which a rancher on land can feed livestock by allowing it to graze on grass. Fish species found in the pond include flathead grey mullet (ʻamaʻama), milkfish (awa), ringtail surgeonfish (pualu), eyestripe surgeonfish (palani), flagtail (āholehole), Pacific threadfin (moi), porcupinefish or burrfish (kōkala), barracuda (kākū), and small barred jack and island jack (pāpio). The pond also is home to various species of crab (pāpaʻi), shrimp (ʻōpae), and eel (puhi).

History

Heʻeia Fishpond apparently was constructed sometime between the early 1200s and early 1400s. The fishpond took an estimated two to three years to build and probably required the labor of hundreds, if not thousands, of workers. Archaeologists believe that the fishpond played as important a role in meeting the nutritional needs of the local population as the taro (kalo) fields in the area and estimate that after its completion, the fishpond supported a community of several thousand people in the Heʻeia area. According to at least one account, King Kamehameha I himself may have at one time contributed to the maintenance of Heʻeia Fishpond.

The concept of land ownership in the Western sense was unknown to the Hawaiian people until the Great Māhele of March 7, 1848, in which King Kamehameha III sought to redistribute land in the Kingdom of Hawaii so as to create a Western-style system of private land ownership. The Great Māhele assigned most of the land in the Heʻeia area, including the fishpond, to High Chief Abner Kuhoʻoheiheipahu Pākī, making him the first recorded owner of Heʻeia Fishpond. Upon his death in 1855, his daughter Bernice Pauahi Bishop inherited the land from him, and when she died in 1884 her will directed that her lands be used to create what became known as the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate and fund what became the Kamehameha Schools. The Kamehameha Schools still own the fishpond today.

From around the 1860s, the conversion of taro (kalo) fields first into rice paddies, then into cattle pastures and sugar cane and pineapple fields increased erosion and increasingly threatened Heʻeia Fishpond with sedimentation, as these new uses of the land in the Heʻeia drainage basin lacked the effectiveness of taro patches (lōʻiīkalo) in removing sediment. The oldest photographs of Heʻeia Fishpond show that between 1880 and 1910 it still had a well-maintained wall, and that the surrounding area included several smaller ponds and fields of banana, taro, pineapple, rice, and sugar cane. Invasive mangrove was introduced to the Heʻeia area around 1922, and development encroached on the fishpond between the 1930s and the 1960s, but the fishpond remained a prominent landmark on the coast of Oahu. It was still in use when on May 2, 1965, the destructive Keapuka Flood struck the area and damaged over 1,000 feet (305 m) of the fishpond′s wall, destroying over 200 feet (61 m) of it. The fishpond fell into disuse and disrepair for over 20 years after the flood, allowing the mangrove trees to invade it and sediment to build up within it.

By the time of the 1965 flood, land developers had begun to eye the fishpond as a site for potential construction, and they succeeded in having portions of the fishpond rezoned from "agricultural" to "urban," which permitted builders to fill in and develop the rezoned area. The local community countered by getting the fishpond placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 17, 1973, and in 1974 the fishpond was rezoned as conservation land.

Mary Brooks, a aquaculturalist, leased Heʻeia Fishpond in 1989. She and volunteers already had begun temporary repairs to the damaged wall in 1988. The most serious breach the 1965 flood made in the wall was an 80-foot (24 m) gap which had once included a sluice gate (mākāhā). In this gap, ocean currents subsequently scoured the seabed up to 6 feet (1.8 m) below grade where the wall had stood in 1965. In 1992, Brooks and her volunteers completed a temporary 253-foot (77 m) angular wall made up of 70 cubic yards (54 m³) of concrete in waters to landward of the gap where scouring had lowered the seabed level by only 3 feet (0.9 m).

Brooks experimented with aquaculture at the fishpond and had success in raising flathead grey mullet (ʻamaʻama), Pacific threadfin (moi), tilapia, and the edible red seaweed Gracilaria (known as ogonori or "ogo"). During the 1990s, Brooks developed a curriculum for instruction in fishpond management concepts and techniques. In 2000 she joined the University of Hawaiʻi and the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies in developing and offering the first fishpond management (Mālama Loko Iʻa) class at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa , and her students began to participate in restoration work at the fishpond. The class in turn led to the founding in 2001 of Paepae o Heʻeia ("Threshold of Heʻeia"), a private non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and managing Heʻeia Fishpond. Paepae o Heʻeia became the fishpond's official steward in 2003, with a goal of providing both nutritional and cultural sustenance to the local population, as well as a scientific and educational resource for studies of both the coastal environment and the culture of the Native Hawaiians.

In September 2006, Paepae o Heʻeia offered for sale the first harvest of Pacific threadfin (moi) from Heʻeia Fishpond since restoration work began. In early 2007, Paepae o Heʻeia estimated that the fishpond, once restored, had the potential to support a population of 1,500 people.

Restoration

Paepae o Heʻeia's restoration work at Heʻeia Fishpond consists of various programs. By the spring of 2007, Paepae o Heʻeia was hosting community workdays twice a month, during each of which 40 to 100 volunteers performed restoration activities under Paepae o Heʻeia oversight.

Mangrove removal

The invasive mangroves introduced to the Heʻeia area sometime around 1922 — primarily red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) — grew unchecked throughout Heʻeia Fishpond after the 1965 flood, damaging the fishpond's wall and causing an accelerated build-up of silt. Brooks started to remove the mangroves in the late 1990s, and their removal began in earnest under the stewardship of Paepae o Heʻeia. By early 2007, 3,000 volunteers had participated in mangrove removal over the previous three years, removing 30,000 square feet (2,800 m²) of invasive mangroves. As of 2018, mangroves had been cleared from 4,800 feet (1,463 m) of the 7,000-foot (2,134 m) wall. When possible, the mangrove wood harvested during the removal is used as firewood or as an insect-resistant building material.

Wall repair and rehabilitation

The damage to the Heʻeia Fishpond wall resulting from the 1965 flood, the growth of mangrove roots, and the activities of eels varied from a few stones missing from its top in some places to portions where the wall had broken down all the way to its foundation (niho) stones. Repair and restoration of the wall requires the removal of invasive plant species — mangroves, pluchea, pickleweed, and other weeds — from it, followed by repair or reconstruction of the outer basalt portions of the wall and filling the gap between them with coral. Between early 2004 and early 2007, when wall repairs cost about US$1,500 per 100 feet (30 m), volunteers repaired about 600 feet (180 m) of the wall and by early 2007 six of the wall′s sluice gates (mākāhā) were functioning. By 2008, the temporary 1992 concrete wall was failing, and required replacement by a permanent wall repair. In December 2015, the largest hole in the wall was closed. A 164-foot (50 m) section of the wall destroyed in 1965 was not rebuilt to the same height as the original wall, and as a result water can flow between the fishpond and Kaneohe Bay over this portion of the wall during high tide.

Invasive seaweed removal

Removal of invasive seaweed — primarily Kappaphycus, Acanthophora spicifera, and Gracilaria salicornia — from Heʻeia Fishpond began in 2004, and by 2018 Paepae o He‘eia had removed over 50 short tons (45 long tons; 45 tonnes) of it. The seaweed is rich in potassium, and when possible is provided to farmers for use as a fertilizer. in 2019, Paepae o He‘eia began partnering with the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) and The Nature Conservancy to enhance invasive seaweed removal efforts.

Other work

In 2020, the University of Hawaiʻi began a project that included the installation of bioretention basins on storm drain outlets which capture storm water from over 50 homes and street surfaces and empty into Heʻeia Fishpond. The bioretention basins are intended to improve water quality in the fishpond by removing as many pollutants as possible before water from storm drains enters the fishpond.

References

[[:Category:Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii [[:Category:Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii [[:Category:Protected areas of Oahu [[:Category:Fish ponds [[:Category:Ponds of the United States [[:Category:Bodies of water of Oahu [[:Category:Bodies of water of Hawaii

External links

• Paepae o He`eia Web site

Wrap-up

Playing in his only season of college basketball, Aminu Mohammed was the only player to appear in all 31 games. He started all of them and led the Hoyas with 13.7 points per game on 37.9 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from three-point range, also averaging a team-high 8.2 rebounds. Mohammed had a team-leading 11 double doubles during the season. Team captain Donald Carey started all 28 games he played in and shot 42.4 percent from the field and 38.8 percent in three-pointers, finishing with 13.5 points ad 4.4 rebounds per game. Dante Harris, who started all 29 games he played in, scored 11.9 points per game, making 37.5 percent of his field goal attempts. Playing his only season as a Hoya, Kaiden Rice made 92 three-point shots during the 2021–2022 season, a new Georgetown record, including 10 in a single game, also a school record. He finished the year with 11 points per game on 36.5 percent shooting, including 36.8 percent from beyond the arc. Collin Holloway started 20 games and came off the bench in eight others, averaged 9.2 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting, 35.6 percent from three-point range. Sharing duties at center, Timothy Ighoefe played in 24 games, starting 20, and averaged 2.8 ppoints per game, while Malcolm Wilson started 10 of the 25 games he played in, averaging 2.5 points. Ryan Mutombo played in 27 games, starting one of them, and averaged 5.1 points. Backing up Harris at point guard, Tyler Beard started two agmes and played off the bench in 28 more, averaging 3 points per game. Jordan Riley had 3.2 points per game in nine appearances before his season-ending shoulder injury, while Jalin Billingsley played in 30 games and averaged 2.1 points and Kobe Clark, who appeared in 11 games, finished the season with 0.2 points per game.

Preseason hopes that Georgetown could capitalize on its 2021 Big East Tournament and highly ranked recruiting class to move the men's basketball program forward despite being picked preseason to finish 10th in the Big East, the 2021–2022 Hoyas had one of the worst seasons in school history, setting a number of Georgetown and Big East records for poor results. A debate over Patrick Ewing's future as head coach had begun during the season and continued in the wake of its final game, with some sportswriters and fans arguing that Ewing had to either resign or be fired for the program to improve and others that he should stay on because of his legacy as a great Georgetown player and his commitment to the university and the team. For his part, Ewing told the press after the ig East Tournament loss, ""I'm proud of them. I'm proud of the fight. We could have easily let go of the rope but we never did that...I know we will be better next year." Speculation over Ewing's future began to die down on March 12, when Georgetown announced the firing of assistant coaches Robert Kirby and Akbar Waheed, suggesting to observers that Ewing would stay on with new assistants. On March 24, Georgetown hired an assistant from LSU, Kevin Nickelberry, as assistant coach, in a move expected to improve the school's ability to draw talented recruits.

After the dismal season, a major roster turnover began. Kaiden Rice, the only Georgetown player to complete his college eligibility, concluded a five-season collegiate career — four at The Citadel before his arrival at Georgetown — in which he scored 1,563 points on 39.3 percent field-goal shooting, 35.1 percent from three-point range. On March 30, Georgetown announced that Timothy Ighoefe, Jalin Billingsley, and Tyler Beard had entered the transfer portal. Ighoefe, who led the Hoyas in games played among active players with 60, 21 starts, left after th

Donald Carey — who received the Big East Sportsmanship Award for the season, the third Georgetown player all-time and second of Ewing's tenure to win it —

Unanimously named to the Big East All-Freshman Team for 2021–2022, Aminu Mohammed opted to forego his remaining three seasons of college eligibility and enter the [2022 NBA draft]].

Sweepstakes

Italian destroyer Rosolino Pilo
Genre	Anthology]]
Starring	Edd Byrnes
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	9
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	January 26 (1979-01-26) – March 30, 1979 (1979-03-30)

Sweepstakes, stylized as $weepstake$, is an American anthology television series that aired in the United States on NBC during 1978-79 television season. It depicted the lives of people after they win a large amount of money in a sweepstake.

Synopsis

$weepstake$ was an anthology series that depicted the lives of people who buy tickets for a state-owned lottery hosted by a master of ceremonies, "the Sweepstakes M.C." Each episode depicted a week in which 12 people became finalists in that week's lottery, and the first half the episode introduces the three finalists who are destined to win either the $1 million jackpot or one of the two $1,000 consolation prizes, the issues in their lives, and their plans to use the $1 million jackpot if they win it.< At the midpoint of each episode, the M.C. hosts the lottery drawing and announces the winner of the jackpot and that the other two finalists the episode focuses on have won the consolation prizes. The second half of the episode then tells the story of the effect of the lottery on the three winners — how the jackpot winner spends his or her money and how the two consolation prize winners fare after their loss.

The only regular in the series is the M.C., portrayed by Edd Byrnes; each episode otherwise has a cast consisting entirely of guest stars and has storylines unrelated to those of other episodes. Some of the stories told in $weepstake$ are comedic in nature and others are dramatic. Sometimes the most deserving finalist wins the jackpot, and sometimes he or she does not.

Cast

• Edd Byrnes...The Sweepstakes M.C.

Production notes

$weepstake$ represented an update of the successful 1950s CBS anthology series The Millionaire, in each episode of which an anonymous benefactor gave someone $1 million and the story of the effect of sudden wealth on their lives followed. $weepstake$ differed from The Millionaire in that rather than depicting merely the impact of wealth on someone′s life, ′episodes were constructed to allow viewers to pick their favorite finalist during the first half, see whether or not that finalist won the jackpot, and then see the result of either winning or losing on their lives.

Critical reception

An article published in the January 26, 1979, edition of the The Record of Hackensack, New Jersey, described $weepstake$ as an "unsophisticated anthology series" and added that on Friday evenings NBC's "string of intelligent shows is broken at 10 to 11" when the network broadcast $weepstake$.

Broadcast schedule

$weepstake$ premiered on NBC on January 26, 1979. Its ninth and final episode was broadcast on March 30, 1979. It aired at 10:00 PM Eastern Time on Friday throughout its run.

Episodes

SOURCES

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Lynn and Grover and Joey"	Unknown	Unknown	January 26, 1979 (1979-01-26)
The three finalists are a woman whose marriage is failing, an ex-convict, and a dog named Grover whose owner's relatives demand a share of the winnings. Guest stars: Katherine Helmond, Abe Vigoda, Adam Arkin, Bill Dailey, Elaine Joyce, and Kim Richards.
2	"Dewey and Harold and Sarah and Maggie"	Unknown	Unknown	February 2, 1979 (1979-02-02)
The three finalists are an off-beat artist who wants to buy his condemned apartment building before it can be demolished because he is in danger of losing his paintings, which are painted on the walls of the building; a blind girl who needs expensive eye surgery; and a lonely young woman who is looking for her long-lost father. Guest stars: Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Bill Dana, Kathryn Holcomb, Dinah Manoff, Diana Muldaur, Richard Mulligan, Lloyd Nolan, Ron Palillo, and Tom Poston.
3	"Vince, Pete and Patsy, Jessica and Rodney"	Unknown	Unknown	February 9, 1979 (1979-02-09)
Three couples — two circus performers wanting to become parents, an unhappy couple bored with their marriage about to get a divorce, and a pickpocket and his victim — are the week's finalists. Guest stars: Mark Shera, Arlene Golonka, James Coco, Howard Duff, Joan Hackett, Patrick McNee, Rue McClanahan, and Alan Hale, Jr..
4	"Billy, Wally and Ludmilla, and Theodore"	Unknown	Unknown	February 16, 1979 (1979-02-16)
The three finalists are a has-been tennis pro who sees a potential fortune in a wealthy and attractive female player, a country boy dissatisfied with his life who aspires to be a mechanic and is trying to prove his skill through United States Army service, and a philanthropist who has gone broke and has nothing left but his butler after giving too much of his money to the poor and whose wealthy uncle has disowned him for doing it. Guest stars: David Ogden Stiers, Penny Peyser, Jon Walmsley, Roddy McDowall, Robert Coote, Jack Elam, and Vic Tayback.
5	TBA	Unknown	Unknown	February 23, 1979 (1979-02-23)
The pilot for the series, and its only 90-minute episode. The three finalists are a destitute bookie just out of jail and on probation who is desperate to find money to pay his debts to other criminals, needs a legitimate job, and finds a lottery ticket when he recovers an elderly woman's purse from a thief; Bonnie Jones, a young unemployed cocktail waitress who is separated from her husband — who now has a girlfriend — and cannot "find herself" and who is romantically pursued by Norman Townes, a trustee of her inheritance who buys a lottery ticket with a dollar from her trust in the hope of saving her dream home from foreclosure; and a young lawyer asked to run for public office who needs campaign funds and whose campaign manager gives him a lottery ticket to prove he is a winner. The bookie wins only a consolation prize and is last seen fleeing the theater with two criminals in pursuit; the other two finalists have happy endings. Guest stars: Herschel Bernardi, Adrienne Barbeau, Bernie Koppel, and Frederic Forrest.
6	"Roscoe, Elizabeth, and the M.C."	Unknown	Unknown	March 2, 1979 (1979-03-02)
The three finalists are Roscoe Fuller, a carpet salesman and school bus driver who wants to go into business for himself; 12-year-old Elizabeth, who wants to use the money to help her father get his fast-food franchise rolling and make her parents' dreams come true; and Beverly, the girlfriend of the $weepstake$ M.C., whose winnings could help him get his screenplay filmed and fulfill his aspirations of becoming an actor. Guest stars: Gary Burghoff, Ron Carey, Jack Carter, Nancy Dussault, Phil Foster, Tania Johnson, Meadowlark Lemon, Roxie Roker, Nipsey Russell, and Susan Strasberg.
7	TBA	Unknown	Unknown	March 9, 1979 (1979-03-09)
The three finalists are a homeless, unappreciated 80 year-old woman forced to live with her son's family, a prison inmate who regularly breaks out of jail, and a movie stuntman. Guest stars: Hermione Baddeley, Henry Gibson, and Dick Gautier .
Unknown	Unknown	March 23, 1979 (1979-03-23)
9	"Cowboy, Linda and Angie, Mark"	Unknown	Unknown	March 30, 1979 (1979-03-30)
A baseball player who has been fired because of his practical jokes plans to regain his former glory by using his winnings to start his own team; a parking attendant needs the money to repay a loan he used to try to impress a beautiful rich woman; and two women share a sweepstakes ticket but have a falling out about how to spend the money if they win.

References

Bibliography

• Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3.
• McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, ISBN 0 14 02 4916 8, p. 404.

External links

• Mdnavman/sandbox at IMDb
• $weepstake$ episode opening credits on February 2, 1979, on YouTube
• $weepstake$ episode preview and opening credits on March 2, 1979, on YouTube

[[:Category:1979 American television series debuts [[:Category:1979 American television series endings [[:Category:1970s American anthology television series [[:Category:NBC original programming [[:Category:English-language television shows

Technical characteristics

Tjisalak was a passenger-cargo ship of 5,787 gross register tons. She was outfitted and certified to carry 11 first-class, 24 second-class, 52 third-class, and 1,380 steerage passengers, with the steerage passengers accommodated on deck. By 1944, she had a maximum speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).

Tjisalak was armed for World War II service. In 1944, her armament consisted of one 4-inch (102 mm) gun, a multiple rokcet launcher, and four Oerlikon 20-millimeter autocannon.

Service history

Tjisalak was built in Amsterdam in the Netherlands in 1917 for the Royal Interocean Lines. With Batavia in the Netherlands East Indies as her port of registry, she operated exclusively and very profitably in the waters of East Asia until after the Pacific campaign of World War II began in December 1941. As Japanese forces conquered much of East Asia, she fled Surabaya, Java, early in 1942 and came under the operational control of the British Ministry of War Transport. For the next 18 months, she operated in the Atlantic Ocean, steaming between North America and the United Kingdom during the Battle of the Atlantic without suffering damage. Late in 1943, she returned to East Asian waters.

Tjisalak departed Melbourne, Australia, on 7 March 1944 for an 18-day passage to Colombo, Ceylon, with a cargo of 6,640 tons of bagged flour. She had five first-class passengers aboard — an American Red Cross nurse who was the only woman aboard, a British Army lieutenant, and three Australian commandos headed to the fighting in the Burma campaign — and 22 lascars, headed for India after the loss of their ship, in steerage. Her crew consisted of 11 Dutch and three British officers and 51 Hong Kong Chinese sailors, and also aboard were 10 British gunners responsible for manning her armament. By the time she passed Cape Otway, she was battling a gale, and as the storm continued had fallen 24 hours behind schedule by the time she passed Cape Leeuwn on 14 March, with 12 days to go before arriving at Colombo, she was running low on reserve fuel and reduced speed to 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) to conserve fuel.

I-177

I-176, lead submarine of the class that included I-177
History
Empire of Japan
Name	Submarine No. 155
Builder	Kawasaki, Kobe, Japan
Laid down	10 March 1941
Renamed	I-77 on 17 December 1941
Launched	20 December 1941
Renamed	I-177 on 20 May 1942
Commissioned	28 December 1942
Fate	Sunk 3 October 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Kaidai type, KD7-class
Displacement	1,630 long tons (1,656 t) surfaced 2,602 long tons (2,644 t) submerged
Length	105.5 m (346 ft)
Beam	8.25 m (27.1 ft)
Draft	4.6 m (15 ft)
Propulsion	2 × Kampon Mk.1B Model 8 diesels, 2 shafts; 8,000 bhp Electric motors: 1,800 shp
Speed	23.1 knots (42.8 km/h; 26.6 mph) surfaced 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range	8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth	80 m (262 ft)
Complement	86
Armament	6 × 533 mm forward torpedo tubes 12 × Type 95 torpedoes 1 × 120 mm (4.7 in) 11th Year Type Naval gun 2 × Type 96 25mm AA guns

I-177 was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-type cruiser submarine of the KD7 subclass commissioned in 1942. She served during World War II, patrolling off Australia, taking part in the New Guinea campaign, operating in the North Pacific, and participating in the Palau campaign before she was sunk by the destroyer escort USS Samuel S. Miles (DE-183) in 1944, with no survivors.

Construction and commissioning

Built by the Kawasaki at Kobe, Japan, the submarine was laid down as Submarine No. 155 on 10 March 1941. She was both renumbered I=77 and attached provisionally to the Sasebo Naval District on 17 December 1941. Launched on 20 December 1941, she was renumbered I-177 on 20 May 1942. She was completed and commissioned on 28 December 1942.

Service history

December 1942–April 1943

Upon commissioning, I-177 was assigned to the Kure Submarine Squadron in the Kure Naval District. On 25 February 1943, she was reassigned to Submarine Division 22, which in turn was assigned directly to the 6th Fleet, an element of the Combined Fleet. Submarine Division 22 was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 3 in the 6th Fleet on 15 March 1943. On 30 March 1843, I-177 departed Kure, Japan, in company with her sister ship I-178 bound for Truk Atoll, which she reached on 7 April 1943.

First war patrol: War crime

I-177 got underway from Truk on 10 April 1943, assigned a patrol area off the east coast of Australia together with I-178 and the submarine I-180. She was near Brisbane, 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) southeast of Cape Byron on 26 April 1943 when she attacked an Allies of World War II\Allied convoy and sank the British cargo ship Limerick at 28°54′S 153°54′E. The convoy′s escorts counterattacked, dropping two depth charges, but I-177 escaped damage.

During the predawn hours of 14 May 1943, I-177, operating on the surface 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) east of Brisbane, sighted the 3,222-ton Australian hospital ship AHS Centaur 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) east-northeast of North Stradbroke Island. Centaur had departed Sydney, Australia, on 12 May 1943 bound for Port Moresby, New Guinea, via Cairns, Australia, to evacuate sick and wounded personnel during fighting in the New Guinea campaign, and was steaming northward in darkness displaying the lights and markings required of a hospital ship in wartime under the Hague Convention, I-177 nonetheless submerged to periscope depth and fired a torpedo at Centaur at 04:10 which struck her at 04:15.Dennis & Grey 2009, p. 124</ref> The torpedo ignited a fuel tank, setting the ship ablaze. Centaur rolled to port and sank within three minutes in 550 meters (1,804 ft) of water at 27°17′S 154°05′E. I-177 surfaced nearby, then departed the area. Centaur′s survivors drifted until 15 May 1943, hearing I-177′s diesel engines as she passed through the area of the sinking again on the surface in the early-morning darkness of 15 May, before a Royal Australian Air Force Avro Anson patrol aircraft sighted them clinging to debris. The United States Navy destroyer USS Mugford (DD-389) departed Brisbane to come to their assistance, arriving on the scene at 14:00 on 15 May and pulling them from the water. Of the 332 or 333 (according to different sources) crew, patients, medical staff, and passengers on board Centaur, only 64 survived. I-177 concluded her patrol with her return to Truk on 23 May 1943.

Following the end of the Pacific War in August 1945, Australian war crimes investigators investigated whether I-177 and her commanding officer, Commander Hajime Nakagawa, were responsible for sinking Centaur. but they were unable to establish this beyond reasonable doubt. Several of the investigators suspected that Nakagawa and I-177 were most likely responsible. .Nakagawa survived the war and refused to speak on the subject of the sinking of Centaur, even to defend himself. However, Nakagawa was charged with ordering the machine-gunning of survivors from torpedoed ships on three different dates in February 1944 while in command of the submarine I-37. He was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment at Sugamo Prison as a Class B war criminal. He died in 1991.

Second war patrol

I-177 departed Truk on 14 June 1943 to begin her second war patrol, again in an area off the east coast of Australia. Almost immediately after arriving off Australia, she received orders on 30 June 1943 to move to the Solomon Islands between Santa Isabel Island and the New Georgia Islands — where U.S. landings began the New Georgia campaign that day — to attack U.S. landing forces off Rendova Island. She arrived in this new patrol area on 6 July 1943, but her patrol was uneventful. On 20 July1943, she was reassigned to the Southeast Area Fleet, and she concluded her patrol with her arrival at Rabaul on New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago on 24 July 1943.

New Guinea campaign

Lae supply runs

Upon arriving at Rabaul,I-177 was assigned to the support of Japanese forces fighting on New Guinea in the New Guinea campaign. She departed Rabaul on 7 August 1943 to make her first supply run to New Guinea. She arrived at Lae, New Guinea, on 9 August, unloaded her cargo there, and headed back to Rabaul, which she reached on 11 August 1943. Her next supply run began with her departure from Rabaul on 22 August 1943; she unloaded at Lae on 24 August and returned to Rabaul on 26 August 1943. On 30 August 1943, Nakagawa left I-177 to take command of the submarine I-37, and Lieutenant Commander Zenji Orita became I-177′s new commandingofficer.

I-177 began her third supply run on 1 September 1943, she departed Rabaul in company with the submarine Ro-106 for another trip to Lae. where she arrived on 3 September and unloaded her cargo. She made port at Rabaul on 5 September 1943. She put to sea from Rabaul on both 6 and 8 September 1943, returning the same evening on both occasions.

I-177 got underway from Rabaul on 10 September 1943 for her fourth supply run to Lae, which was threatened by a nearby landing on the Huon Peninsula by the Australian Army′s 9th Division that had taken place on 4 September 1943 as the Salamaua–Lae campaign neared its end. On 13 September, she received orders to divert to attack Allied landing forces at Finschhafen, New Guinea, but she found no targets there and resumed her voyage to Lae. By the time she reached Lae on 14 September 1943, it was under attack by Allied forces. She unloaded her cargo and put back to sea, where during the evening of 14 September she detected the propeller noises of what her crew assessed as several U.S. Navy destroyers at a range of a few thousand yards while she was on the surface. Assuming that the destroyers had detected her on radar, she submerged to her test depth of 100 meters (328 ft) to await a depth-charge attack, but none came. Orita concluded that the destroyers had failed to gain sonar contact on I-177 because of her depth and the negative effect of thermoclines on sonar performance. While I-177 was at sea, Submarine Division 22 was disbanded on 15 September 1943, and she was reassigned directly to the 6th Fleet. She returned to Rabaul on 17 September 1943, completing the imperial Japanese Navy′s last supply run to Lae.

Finschhafen

On 19 September 1943, I-177 departed Rabaul′s Simpson Harbour to conduct deep-diving tests, then returned to the harbor later in the day. On 21 September, she hot underway from Rabaul for a supply run to Finschhafen. While at sea, she received orders on 22 September to attack Allied landing forces in the Finschhafen area, so her crew dumped her deck cargo overboard and she headed for the landing area, which she reconnoitered on 23 September. She did not attack any ships there, and proceeded to Finschhafen, where she unloaded the rest of her cargo on 24 September during lulls in Allied air attacks. She again reconnoitered the landing area on 25 September 1943 and detected several Allied ships, but made no attacks. She returned to Rabaul on 26 September 1943.

Sio supply runs

On 2 October 1943,I-177 set out from Rabaul on her first supply run to Sio, New Guinea. She arrived there on 4 October, unloaded her cargo, and returned to Rabaul, which she reached on 6 October. On her second run, she departed Rabaul on 8 October, unloaded at Sio on 10 October, and returned to Rabaul on 12 October 1943. That day, the United States Army Air Forces Fifth Air Force attacked Rabaul in what at the time was the largest air raid of the Pacific war, with 349 aircraft striking Rabaul's airfields and Simpson Harbour off Rabaul. Moored in deep water, I-177 submerged and avoided damage during the raid.

In October and November 1943, I-177 continued to make supply runs to Sio, departing Rabaul on 19 October, visiting Sio on 21 October, and returning to Rabaul on 23 October; getting underway from Rabaul on 26 October, discharging cargo at Sio on 28 October, and arriving at Rabaul on 30 October 1943; putting to sea from Rabaul on 2 November, delivering her cargo at Sio on 4 November, and making port at Rabaul on 6 November 1943; and leaving Rabaul on 9 November, calling at Sio on 11 November, and returning to Rabaul on 13 November 1943. On 20 November 1943, she departed Rabaul in company with the submarine Ro-108 for her seventh supply run to Sio, where she unloaded her cargo on 22 November. She returned to Rabaul on 24 November 1943.

In the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Cape St. George, fought on the night of 24–25 November 1943 in the waters between Buka Island and Cape St. George on New Ireland, I-177 got underway from Rabaul on 25 November to search for survivors of the sunken destroyer Yugiri; she rescued 279 men and the submarine I-181 rescued 11. As I-177 returned to Rabaul, a U.S. Navy Lockheed PV-1 Ventura patrol bomber of Patrol Squadron 138 (VP-138) attacked her off Cape St. George on 26 November 1943, but she avoided damage. She returned to Rabaul later that day, loaded provisions, and put back to sea the same day, then again returned to Rabaul on 29 November 1943.

I-177 loaded supplies for New Guinea at Rabaul on 30 November 1943, and returned to her routine of supply runs: She departed Rabaul on 3 December 1943, called at Sio on 5 December, and returned to Rabaul on 7 December, then got back underway on 12 December 1943, visited Sio on 14 December, and returned to Rabaul on 15 December. Once again bound for Sio, she departed Rabaul on 16 December 1943 and discharged her cargo at Sio on 17 December, then conducted a brief patrol south of Marcus Bay on the coast of New Britain from 18 to 20 December before returning to Rabaul on 21 December 1943.

After leaving Rabaul on 23 December 1943 and discharging her cargo at Sio on 25 December 1943, I-177 sighted several Allied amphibious landing ships, but did not attack them. She returned to Rabaul on 27 December 1943, then put back to sea on 28 December to make her first and only supply to Garove Island, where she arrived on 30 December 1943. She again made port at Rabaul on 1 January 1944.

On 3 January 1944, I-177 departed Rabaul to begin her 12th Sio supply run. While at sea, she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 1 on 5 January 1944. She arrived off Sio at sunset on 8 January 1944 and made contact with Japanese troops ashore. A daihatsu barge came alongside and began loading cargo from I-177, and a boat set out from shore carrying the commander of the 18th Army, General Hatazō Adachi, the commander of the 7th Base Unit, Rear Admiral Kyuhachi Kudo, and ten of their staff officers. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy PT boat PT-146 detected I-177 on radar at a range of 5,000 yards (4,600 m) and headed toward I-177 in company with PT-143. One of I-177′s lookouts spotted the approaching PT boats, prompting I-177 to submerge and Adachi′s boat, which had made it about halfway to I-177, to return to shore. The two PT boats continue to search the area, later making a radar contact at a range of 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) and sighting I-177′s periscope at a range of 200 yards (180 m). Each of them dropped two depth charges, but I-177 escaped damage.

I-177' returned to Sio on the evening of 9 January 1944, but again found U.S.PT boats in the area, so she signaled that she would return on the evening of 10 January and requested support from forces on New Guinea in driving off the PT boats. When she surfaced off Sio on 10 January, the PT boats PT-320 and PT-323 approached, but I-177, armed daihatsu barges, and sokoteis (armored barged armed with tank gun turrets) engaged the two PT boats and drove them off, an I-177 suffered no damage. After taking Adachi and Kudo and their staffs aboard, she left Sio for the last time and proceeded to Madang, New Guinea, where her passengers disembarked at around 12:00 on 11 January 1944. She returned to Rabaul on 15 January 1944.

January–March 1944

I-177 arrival at Rabaul occurred a few days after the Japanese had decided to abandon it as a submarine base. After only a brief stop, she got underway again on 15 January 1944, leaving Rabaul for the last time, calling at Truk from 18 to 20 January, and then heading for Sasebo, which she reached on 27 January 1944. She underwent repairs at Sasebo.

North Pacific

On 25 February 1944, I-177 was assigned to the Northeast Area Fleet for operations in the North Pacific. After completion of her repairs, she departed Sasebo on 22 March 1944 and headed north, arriving at Ōminato, Japan, on 25 March 1944. She departed Ōminato on 11 April 1944 to operate in the waters off the Aleutian Islands, then returned to Ōminato on 27 May 1944. She again put to sea from Ōminato on 8 June 1944 to conduct a war patrol in the North Pacific east of the Kuril Islands. It was uneventful, and after making an overnight stop at Ōminato from 22 to 23 June 1944, she headed for Yokosuka, where she arrived on 25 June 1944 and began repairs. When Submarine Division 22 was disbanded on 10 August 1944, she was reassigned to Submarine Division 34.

Palau Islands campaign

The Battle of Peleliu and Battle of Angaur began in the Palau Islands on 15 September 1944 when United States Marine Corps forces landed on Peleliu and United States Army forces on Angaur. On 19 September 1944, I-177 departed Kure, Japan, to conduct a war patrol off the Palaus, off Halmahera in the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies, and off Mindanao in the Philippine Islands. When she arrived inher patrol area off the Palaus on 24 September 1944, she received orders to reconnoiter Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands.

Loss

I-177 had completed her reconnaissance of Ulithi and was on the surface returning to her patrol area off the Palaus when a U.S. Navy PBM Mariner flying boat PAtrol Bomber Squadron 16 (VPB-16) detected her on radar on the evening of 1 October 1944.

References

Bibliography

• Edwards, Bernard (1997). Blood and Bushido: Japanese Atrocities at Sea 1941–1945. New York: Brick Tower P0ress. ISBN 1-883283-18-3.

Further reading

• Combinedfleet.com HIJMS Submarine I-177: Tabular Record of Movement
• Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey (2009). The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-551784-2.
• Jenkins, David (1992). Battle Surface! Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942–44. Milsons Point, NSW: Random House Australia. ISBN 0-09-182638-1. OCLC 0091826381.

[[:Category:Type KD7 submarines [[:Category:Kaidai-class submarines [[:Category:Ships built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries [[:Category:1941 ships [[:Category:World War II submarines of Japan [[:Category:Japanese submarines lost during World War II [[:Category:Submarines sunk by United States warships [[:Category:Ships lost with all hands [[:Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean [[:Category:Maritime incidents in May 1943 [[:Category:Maritime incidents in October 1944 [[:Category:Japanese war crimes

I-37

History
Imperial Japan
Name	Submarine No. 150
Ordered	1939
Builder	Kure Naval Arsenal, Kure, Japan
Laid down	7 December 1940
Launched	22 October 1941
Renamed	I-49, 22 October 1941 I-37, 1 November 1941
Completed	10 March 1943
Commissioned	10 March 1943
Fate	Sunk 19 November 1944
Stricken	10 March 1945
General characteristics
Class and type	Type B1 submarine
Type	Cruiser submarine
Length	108.7 m (356 ft 8 in)
Beam	9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Draft	5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric: 1 × diesel engine, 12,400 bhp (9,247 kW) 1 × electric motor, 2,000 hp (1,491 kW)
Speed	23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph) surfaced 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range	14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced 96 nmi (178 km); 110 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged
Test depth	100 m (328 ft)
Crew	94
Armament	6 × bow 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 14 cm (5.5 in) deck gun 2 × single 25 mm (0.98 in) Type 96 anti-aircraft guns

I-37 was a Japanese Type B1 submarine in service with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Commissioned in 1943, she made three war patrols, all in the Indian Ocean, during one of which her commanding officers ordered her crew to commit war crimes. Subsequently converted into a kaiten manned suicide attack torpedo carrier, she was sunk during her first kaiten mission in 1944.

Design

I-37 was 108.7 meters (356 feet 8 inches) long and had a beam of 9.3 meters (30 feet 6 inches) and a draft of 5.1 meters (16 feet 9 inches). She could dive to 100 meters (328 feet) She was armed with six internal bow 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes and carried a total of 17 torpedoes. I-37 was also armed with a single 140 mm (5.5 in)/40 deck gun and two single mounts for Type 96 anti-aircraft guns.

Construction and commissioning

I-37 was laid down at the Kure Naval Arsenal in Kure, Japan, as Submarine No. 150 on 7 December 1940. She was both launched and renumbered I-49 on 22 October 1941, then again renumbered I-37 on 1 November 1941. She was completed and commissioned on 10 March 1943.

Service history

March–June 1943

Upon commissioning, I-37 was attached to the Kure Naval District and assigned to the Kure Submarine Squadron. She passed through the Iyo Nada in the Seto Inland Sea on 13 March 1943, and on 22 March underwent inspection by the staff of the Kure Submarine Squadron. She participated in torpedo practice with the submarines I-38, Ro-104, and Ro-105 on 26 March. On 1 April 1943, she was reassigned to Submarine Division 11 for work-ups and on 2 April she arrived at Kure for repairs to her attack periscope and retractable short-wave radio antenna. After the completion of her repairs, she took part during May 1943 in testing in the Seto Inland Sea of the Unkato cargo container, a 135-foot (41.1 m) submersible container that could carry up to 377 tons of supplies, designed for a one-way trip in which the cargo′s recipients released, recovered, and unloaded it. Workers installed a Type 22 radar aboard her in May 1943.

With her workups and testing completed, I-37 was reassigned to Submarine Division 14 in Submarine Squadron 8 in the 6th Fleet on 23 May 1943. She got underway from Kure on 25 May bound for Penang Japanese-occupied British Malaya, which she reached on 4 June 1943.

First war patrol

I-37 departed Penang on 8 June 1943 to begin her first war patrol, assigned a patrol area in the Indian Ocean between the Chagos Archipelago and the Persian Gulf. She had her first success on 16 June 1943, when she torpedoed the 8,078-gross register ton British armed motor tanker MV San Ernesto — which was on a voyage in ballast from Sydney, Australia, to Abadan, Iran — southeast of the Chagos Archipelago. After San Ernesto′s crew abandoned ship at 09°18′S 080°20′E, I-37 briefly opened gunfire on San Ernesto before departing the area with her still afloat. Atogether, two members of San Ernesto′s crew and two of her gunners lost their lives; an American Liberty ship, SS Alcoa Pointer, rescued San Ernesto′s master and 22 others, while 12 other members of her crew came ashore in another lifeboat on Fanhandu Island in the Maldives on 14 July 1943 after 28 days at sea. The derelict San Ernesto herself remained afloat, drifting 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) across the Indian Ocean before eventually running aground on the west side of Nias Island off Sumatra in the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies at 01°15′N 097°15′E.

On 19 June 1943, I-37 hit the 7,176-ton American Liberty ship SS Henry Knox — bound from Fremantle, Australia, to Bandar Shapur with an 8,200-ton Lend-Lease cargo of fighter aircraft, tanks, and explosives destined for the Soviet Union — with one torpedo in her port side at 01°00′N 071°15′E. The torpedo detonated the explosives in her No.3 hold, and the explosion showered burning debris over Henry Knox, bringing her to a stop and setting her deck cargo and catwalk on fire. At 19:07, her crew abandoned ship, with 25 crewmen and United states Navy Armed Guard personnel losing their lives in the explosion, the fire, and shark attacks, and after several explosions, Henry Knox sank by the bow at around 22:00. Meanwhile, I-37 surfaced, hove to, and ordered the chief mate's lifeboat alongside. Her navigator interrogated the survivors in the boat about their cargo, route, and destination, and about any Allied vessels they had encountered in the area, after which the Japanese ordered the men in the lifeboat to pass various items to I-37 via a handline. The Japanese confiscated the lifeboat's sails, [[chart]s, some of its rations, and a flashlight, but returned personal items, matches, and liquor to the lifeboat before departing the area. The survivors then made for the Maldives in several groups. Before the last of them reached land on 30 June 1943, 13 of Henry Knox′s 42 merchant mariners and 13 of her 25 Navy Armed Guards personnel had died. The survivors from of the boat that had gone alongside I-37 reported that she had a hangar and a degaussing coil, that her diesel engines started without hesitation — indicating that the engines were in excellent condition and were using high-quality diesel fuel — and that a stereoscopic camera equipped with a filtering mechanism was mounted on her conning tower.

By 1 July 1943, I-37 was part of the Advance Force, as was the rest of Submarine Squadron 8 (the submarines I-8, I-10, I-27, and I-29). On 9 July, she conducted a reconnaissance of the coast of the Persian Gulf. She returned to Penang on 17 August 1943.

August–September 1943

I-37 departed Penang on 22 August 1943 and moved to Singapore. She set out from Singapore on 5 September 1943 for the return voyage to Penang. On 12 September 1943, she was reassigned to the Southwest Area Fleet.

Second war patrol

I-37 got underway from Penang in mid-September 1943 to begin her second war patrol, again in the Indian Ocean, with an embarked Yokosuka E14Y1 (Allied reporting name "Glen") floatplane,but soon thereafter one of her crewmen came down with appendicites, and she returned to Penang to seek medical attention for him. She then set out again on 20 September 1943 to begin the patrol, assigned a patrol area in the Mozambique Channel and the vicinity of Mombasa, British East Africa. On 28 September, the British Admiralty sent a message based on Ultra information to Allied forces in the area warning them of the possibility that Japanese submarine-based seaplanes would conduct reconnaissance flights in the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and an area west of 54 degrees East between 1 degree 30 minutes North and 1 degree South. On 11 October 1943, I-37′s floatplane reconnoitered the harbor at Diego Suarez, Madagascar, its crew reporting the anchorage to be heavily guarded.

Northwest of Madagascar, I-37 torpedoed and sank the 3,404-gross register ton merchant ship SS Faneromeni on 23 October 1943. She reported that she attacked two Allied merchants ships in the Mozambique Channel southeast of Pemba Island, one on 4 November 1943 which probably was the 2,850-gross register ton Norwegian steamer SS Hallbyørg, and a different ship during the afternoon of 5 November, and that each time she fired one torpedo, which missed the target. Some historians since have suggested that I-37 actually attacked Hallbyørg twice and fired three torpedoes on each occasion. On 17 November 1943, I-37′s floatplane flew a reconnaissance mission over Kilindini Harbour at Mombasa.

Just after sunset on 27 November 1943, at 12:40 Zulu Time, I-37 torpedoed the Norwegian 9,972-gross register ton Norwegian armed tanker SS Scotia, which had separated from Convoy PB-64 to proceed independently during a voyage from Bahrein to Melbourne, Australia, with a cargo of diesel oil. A torpedo hit Scotia′s starboard quarter, disabling her steering and bringing her to a stop, and she took on a 15-degree starboard list. Her crew abandoned ship while her first engineer and radio operator remained aboard to transmit an SSS signal, a variant of the SOS signal indicating distress due to submarine attack. I-37 fired another torpedo at Scotia which hit her in her starboard engine room at around 12:55 Zulu Time and broke her in two. Her stern section immediately sank at 03°00′S 069°08′E, but the bow section remained afloat. I-37 surfaced and opened gunfire on it, sinking it as well. I-37 took Scotia′s master aboard as a prisoner-of-war. One survivor later testified that I-37′s crew fired at his lifeboat with a submachine gun, killing eight men. On 29–30 November 1943, the patrol vessel HMS Okapi rescued 31 survivors. I-37 returned to Penang on 5 December 1943.

December 1943–January 1944

On 12 December 1943, I-37 departed Penang bound for Singapore, which she reached on 13 December. On 15 December, she went into drydock at the naval base at Seletar in Singapore for an overhaul; the same day, Submarine Division 14 was abolished and she was attached directly to the 8th Fleet. She undocked on 18 December 1943 and embarked provisions, and on 27 December 1943 received a new commanding officer, Commander Hajime Nakagawa. She departed Singapore on 12 January 1944 and set course for Penang, where she arrived on 15 January 1944. In early February 1944, most of her officers left her for new assignments, and new officers replaced them. A former crewmember of I-37 later testified that Nakagawa received authorization from the Commander of Submarine Squadron 8 to carry out reprisals against the crews of Allied armed merchant ships in retaliation for the alleged slaughter of Japanese merchant ship crews by Allied submarines.

Third war patrol

With a Yokosuka E14Y1 (Allied reporting name "Glen") floatplane embarked, I-37 got underway from Penang on 10 February 1944 to begin her third war patrol, heading for a patrol area in the Indian Ocean in the Madagascar area. At 00:30 on 14 February, she sighted an Allied merchant ship south of Ceylon and pursued it on the surface for 24+1⁄2 hours. The ship was making at least 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and, unable to overtake it, I-37 finally discontinued the chase at 01:00 on 15 February.

On 22 February 1944, I-37 attacked the British 7,118-gross register ton armed tanker SS British Chivalry — steaming in ballast from Melbourne to Abadan — in the Indian Ocean south of Addu Atoll in the Maldives, hitting her in the starboard side with two torpedoes. The torpedo hits knocked out British Chivalry′s engines and killed six members of her crew. Her survivors abandoned ship. I-37 surfaced 660 yards (600 m) away from British Chivalry and fired 17 140-millimeter (5.5 in) rounds at her, sinking her at 00°50′S 068°00′E. I-37 then ordered two lifeboats to come alongside, and I-37′s medical officer interrogated the men in the lifeboats. British Chivalry′s master was taken aboard as a prisoner-of-war, surrendering his briefcase, which contained about fifty diamonds and sapphires. Nakagawa then ordered the crew of I-37′s floatplane and two members of I-37′s crew to open fire on the survivors, killing 13 of them and wounding five, before I-37 departed the area. After 37 days adrift, the surviving 29 crewmen and nine gunners were rescued by the British merchant ship SS Delane.

While I-37 was on the surface in the Arabian Sea 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) west of Diego Garcia at 20:30 on 26 February 1944, her lookouts sighted the British 5,189-gross register ton armed motor vessel MV Sutleg, which had detached from a convoy to proceed independently during a voyage from Kosseir, Egypt, to Fremantle, Australia, with a cargo of 9,700 tons of rock phosphates and mail. Soon after dark, I-37 fired two torpedoes at Sutlej while submerged from a range of 2,190 yards (2,000 m). One torpedo hit Sutlej in her port side, and she sank four minutes later at 08°S 070°E. Her survivors abandoned ship in a lifeboat and several life rafts. I-37 surfaced and used a searchlight to illuminate the area, discovering a teenage Indian boy clinging to her rudder. After I-37 took him aboard, her medical officer interrogated the other survivors in an attempt to identify Sutlej′s master, who apparently had died in the torpedo explosion, and to gather information about Sutlej′s cargo and destination. Nakagawa then ordered I-37′s crew to open fire on the survivors. In the sinking and subsequent gunfire, 41 crew members and nine gunners from Sutlej perished. The Royal Navy whaler HMS Solvra rescued ten crewmen and a gunner after they spent 42 days on a life raft, and the Royal Navy sloop-of-war HMS Flamingo rescued 11 crewmen and a gunner after they had drfited at sea for 46 days.

At 11:30 on 29 February 1944, I-37 fired two torpedoes while submerged at the British 7,005-gross register ton armed cargo steamer SS Ascot — which was making a voyage from Calcutta in British India to to Port Louis, Mauritius, with 9,000 tons of general cargo — in the Indian Ocean 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi) northwest of Diego Suarez. Madagascar. One hit Ascot in her engine room, killing four crewmen and bringing her to a stop at 05°S 063°E. Ascot′s 52 survivors abandoned ship in a lifeboat and a life raft. I-37 surfaced to starboard of Ascot and her medical officer interrogated the survivors in an attempt to identify Ascot′s master and chief officer. The survivors claimed that the torpedo hit had killed all of Ascot′s senior officers, but I-37′s crew do not believe them and fired several warning shots. Hoping to avoid any further casualties among his crew, Ascot′s master identified himself, and he and his chief officer went aboard I-37 for a brief interrogation, after which they were dismissed. I-37 then opened gunfire, sinking first Ascot and then the lifeboat with all its occupants still aboard it. On 3 March 1944, the Dutch steamer SS Straat Soenda rescued four crewmen and three gunners; they were Ascot′s only survivors.

On 3 March 1944, I-37 launched her floatplane for an armed reconnaissance flight over the Chagos Archipelago, carrying two 60-kilogram (132 lb) bombs. Its crew sighted no ships during the flight and jettisoned the bombs into the sea before returning to I-37. I-37 then set course for Diego Suarez. Along the way, at 23:00 on 9 March she stopped an Indian junk making a voyage from Colombo, Ceylon, to Cape Town, South Africa, allowing it to proceed after discovering about 100 women and children were aboard. She was 150 nautical miles (278 km; 173 mi) northeast of Diego Suraez after 17:00 on 14 March when she detected the sounds of destroyer propellers, but Nakagawa decided against attempting an attack in order to carry out a reconnaissance flight over Diego Suarez scheduled for the next day. After sunset on 15 March, her floatplane made the flight, its crew reporting an aircraft carrier, two heavy cruisers, and three destroyers in the harbor.

I-37 next made for Mombasa to conduct another reconnaissance flight. While she was en route, she sighted three unescorted Allied merchant ships — one each on 18 March, 22 March, and 1 April 1944 — but each time Nakagawa decided against an attack. She arrived in her launch area south of Mombasa and 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) northeast of Pemba Island on the afternoon of 5 April, but found a heavy swell in the area that prevented the launch of the floatplane. When weather conditions deteriorated further after midnight, the flight was postponed. Although bad weather persisted on 7 April, her plane made its flight that night, its crew reporting more than 60 merchant ships in the harbor at Mombasa. After recovering her plane, I-37 set course for Penang, passing 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) south of Ceylon on 10 April and arriving at Penang at 04:30 on 20 April 1944.

April–October 1944

Escorted by her floatplane, I-37 departed Penang at 05:00 on 27 April 1944 bound for Singapore. Around 08:00, when she was about 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) south of Penang, an explosion occurred about 110 yards (101 m) off her port bow, apparently the premature detonation of a naval mine laid either by a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber of the 7th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Force′s Tenth Air Force or by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Taurus. The explosion rocked I-37, knocking out her lights and short-circuiting an electric switchboard. I-37 settled on the seabed in shallow water, then returned to Penang by the morning of 28 April. An inspection at Penang revealed damage to the valves of two ballast tanks on I-37′s port side. She again departed Penang for Singapore on 3 May 1944, this time arriving safely at Singapore on 5 May and undergoing repairs at Seletar. On 10 May, I-37 received a new commanding officer, Nakagawa moving to a new assignment. In January 1947, he pleaded guilty before the International Military Tribunal in Tokyo for the war crimes he committed while in command of I-37 and was sentenced to eight years at hard labor; he served six years before he was released on probation.

After completion of her repairs, I-37 served as an antisubmarine warfare target in the anchorage at Lingga Island off Sumatra for shiops of the 2nd Fleet between 09:00 and 13:30 Japan Standard Time on 21 July 1944. On 9 September 1944, she arrived at Kure, Japan, for a refit and modifications involving the removal of her hangar, aircraft catapult, and deck gun and the installation of fittings for her to carry four kaiten manned suicide torpedoes.

First kaiten mission

On 7 November 1944, the commander of the 6th Fleet, Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Miwa, advised crews at the kaiten base at Otsu Island in Tokuyama Bay on the coast of Japan of the plan for Operation Kikusui ("Floating Chrysnathemum"), in which I-37 and the submarines I-36 and I-47 to launch a kaiten attack on the Allied naval anchorages at Ulithi Atoll and at Kossol Roads at Palau. Assigned to the Palau attack, I-37 embarked four kaitens and their pilots for the operation, and all three submarines departed the Otsu Island base on 8 November 1944. The plan called for I-37 to launch her kaitens off Kossol Roads on the evening of 19 November 1944.

Loss

At 08:58 on 19 November 1944, the U.S. Navy netlayer USS Winterberry (AN-56) was laying a torpedo net across the western entrance to Kossol Roads when she sighted I-37 off the entrance. I-37 submerged, but 20 seconds surfaced at a steep angle before submerging for a second time. Winterberry alerted the port director of Kossol Passage and the minesweeper USS YMS-33 of the sighting. YMS-33 commenced a search forI-37 but failed to detect her. At 0915, the destroyer escorts USS Conklin (DE-439) and USS McCoy Reynolds (DE-440) received orders to find and sink I-37, and U.S. Navy planes took off from nearby Peleliu to assist. The two destroyer escorts began a sonar search.

At about 15:04 both Conklin and McCoy Reynolds obtained a sound contact, and at 15:39 McCoy Reynolds began her first attack, firing two patterns of Hedgehog antisubmarine projectiles. I-37 descended to a depth of 350 feet (107 m) and began evasive maneuvers. McCoy Reynolds launched two more Hedgehog barrages before losing contact, by which time I-37 was at a depth of at least 400 feet (122 m).

Conklin gained contact on I-37 at 16:03 and began her first Hedgehog attack at 16:15. Twenty-five seconds after she fired her Hedgehog barrage, her crew heard a single underwater explosion. Ten minutes later, Conklin fired a second Hedgehog pattern, and her crew heard another explosion 28 seconds later. Although each explosion indicated a hit, I-37 continued to maneuver, spoiling Conklin′s third Hegdehog attack by turning inside it, resulting in no hits.

At 16:45, McCoy Reynolds dropped a pattern of 12 depth charges set to explode at a depth of 450 feet (137 m). Her crew saw an air bubble about 25 feet (7.6 m) in diameter rise to at least 5 feet (1.5 m) above the surface, then heard a heavy underwater explosion. McCoy Reynolds lost contact with I-37 and had just regained it when at 17:00 a massive underwater explosion rocked her, temporarily disabling her sound gear. At 17:01, a huge air bubble reached the surface on her starboard bow at 08°07′N 134°16′E. Several smaller explosions followed, neither destroyer escort gained any further contact on I-37. Debris and oil reached the surface in sudden gushes over a large area around both ships. By sunset, a whaleboat from McCoy Reynolds had retrieved wood stenciled with Japanese characters, polished pieces of instrument cases, deck planking, and a piece of human flesh with bits of steel embedded in it from the water, and by the time darkness fell an oil slick extended over several square miles as additional debris came to the surface, marking the demise ofI-37.

On 6 December 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy declared I-37 to be presumed lost off Palau with all 113 hands. the japanese removed her from the Navy list on 10 March 1945.

Bibliography

• Milanovich, Kathrin (2021). "The IJN Submarines of the I 15 Class". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2021. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 29–43. ISBN 978-1-4728-4779-9.

[[:Category:Type B1 submarines [[:Category:Ships built by Kure Naval Arsenal [[:Category:1941 ships [[:Category:World War II submarines of Japan [[:Category:Japanese war crimes [[:Category:Japanese submarines lost during World War II [[:Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea [[:Category:Maritime incidents in November 1944 [[:Category:Ships lost with all hands [[:Category:Submarines sunk by United States warships

Chitose

On 26 December 1941, Chitose was transferred to the 2nd Air Force, a component of the Netherlands Indies Force in the Eastern Occupation Forces, to operate in support of Japanese forces during the Dutch East Indies campaign. She departed Davao on 2 January 1942. Chitose was anchored in Malalag Bay in Davao Gulf on the coast of Mindanao on 4 January 1942 when U.S. Army Air Forces B-17D Flying Fortresses flying from Java attacked the anchorage, and five of her floatplanes suffered damage from splinters from a bomb hit on the nearby heavy cruiser Myōkō.

As part of the 11th Seaplane Tender Division with Mizuho, Chitose proceeded to the waters of the Netherlands East Indies to support the Japanese invasion of those islands as part of the 2nd Fleet, Southern Force, Netherlands East Indies Force. She rendezvoused with Mizuho and the two vessels anchored west of the Sangihe Islands at 09:00 on 10 January 1942. From their anchorage, the two ships launched floatplanes to escort an invasion convoy heading for Manado in northern Celebes, make reconnaissancefights, and a conduct a harrassing bombing raid on an Allied radiotelephone station. After sunset on 10 January, the two seaplance carriers got back underway and headed toward Manado.

The Battle of Manado began on 11 January 1942 as Japanese Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) personnel landed at Kema and Manado in northern Celebes, and Chitose and Mizuho arrived at an anchorage at Bangka Island off the northeastern tip of Celebes at 05:40 that day. Sources are unclear on the aircraft the two seaplane carriers operated, one asserting that they carried a combined 49 Aichi E13A (Allied reporting name "Jake") floatplanes and another that Chitose operated Mitsubishi F1Ms (Allied reporting name "Pete"). The two seaplane tenders conducted air operations from 06:30 to 19:00 in support of the landings. During the day, Chitose and Mizuho floatplanes reported engaging nine Allied flying boats and four Allied bombers, claiming two flying boats shot down; in one action, seven Netherlands Naval Aviation Service and United States Asiatic Fleet PBY Catalina flying boats attacked Japanese forces landing at Manado, and floatplane from Chitose — described by one source as an F1M — shot down one of the Dutch Catalinas. In a friendly fire incident, one E13A from Mizuho shot down an Imperial Japanese Navy Yokosuka L3Y (Allied reporting name "Tina") carrying SNLF pataroopers when it flew low over the anchorage without responding to recognition signals. Between them, the two ships lost three floatplanes — all identified by one source as E13As — during the day, one which crashed and two which were wrecked in emergency landings. he operation to seize Manado concluded in a Japanese victory on 12 January 1942.

Allied opposition to the advance of Japanese forces at Manado was slight, and although Chitose and Mizuho continued to support Japanese forces ashore there and 12 and 13 January 1942, their aircraft did not need to fly any ground-support missions. From 14 to 19 January, they both searched unsuccessfully for Allied submarines in the Celebes Sea, based on what turned out to be erroneous information. They were released from supporting the Manado landings on 19 January 1942.

Chitose and Mizuho departed Bangka Island on 21 January 1942 and proceeded to the waters off Kendari on the southeastern coast of Celebes, patrolling the waters ahead of an invasion convoy carrying SNLF fotrces bound for Kendari, their aircraft conducting combat air and antisubmarine patrols over and around the convoy. The Battle of Kendari began with Japanese landings on 23 January 1942. The two seaplane carriers provided distant support to the Japanese operation, which concluded on 24 January 1942 with the Japanese seizure of the Kendari area. Chitose and Mizuho arrived at Sarabanka Bay (or Salabangka Bay) on the coast of Celebes on the morning of 24 January, from which they conducted air operations in support of Japanese forces at Kendari. On 26 January,Chitose separated from Mizuho, departing Sarabangka Bay bound for the Bangka Island anchorage.

Assigned to support the Japanese invasion of Ambon Island in the Molucca Islands, Chitose got back underway on 29 January 1942. She rendezvoused with Mizuho south of Mangole Island at 10:00 on 30 January 1942, and the two seaplane carriers spent the day in the Manipa Strait, providing cover for Japanese invasion forces approaching Ambon and conducting harassing bombing raids against Namlea on Buru that doubled as reconnaissance flights. They departed the strait in the evening and made for an anchorage in Keelang Bay on the southwestern tip of Ceram Island, where they arrived at 05:50 on 31 January 1942 to provide air cover for the invasion of Ambon, although bad weather made flight operations impossible that day. The weather subsequently improved, and on 1 and 2 February 1942 floatplanes from both ships provided air and antisubmarine defense to the Japanese invasion convoy, devoted about 70 sorties each day to heavy attacks against Allied ground forces on Ambon, and patrolled over the Banda Sea.

After that operation concluded in another Japanese success on 3 February 1942, Chitose and Mizuho supported the Japanese landings at Makassar on the southwest coast of Celebes on 9 February 1942. Chitose was in Makassar Strait south of Celebes on 10 February 1942 when three U.S. Army Air Forces LB-30 Liberator bombers of the Far East Air Force's 19th Bomb Group damaged her in a bombing attack. The damage was not enough to prevent her from supporting Japanese operations against Surabaya on Java on 14 February 1942.

Chitose was at Balikpapan, Borneo, by 22 February 1942, but she got back underway on 24 February 1942 to support the Japanese invasion of Java, which began on 28 February 1942. She covered the Japanese landings at Batavia, Merak, Banten Bay, and Eretenwetan. At 12:30 on 1 March 1942, a Mitsubishi F1M (Allied reporting name "Pete") floatplane from Chitose sighted the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Pope (DD-225) off Java, prompting Chitose to launch an airstrike of ten F1Ms which attacked Pope at 13:00, inflicting damage that caused flooding and disabling one of her propeller shafts. Later, a strike by six Nakajima B5N (Allied reporting name "Kate") torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Ryūjō attacked Pope, and the heavy cruisers Ashigara and Myōkō intercepted and sank her.

Chitose arrived at Makassar on 14 March 1942 and on 15 March was reassigned to the N Occupation (or Expeditionary) Force for operations in Netherlands New Guinea. The N Force assembled at Ambon Island on 29 March 1942. Chitose arrived at Boela on Ceram Island on 31 March and thereafter provided cover for a series of Japanese landings along the coast of Netherlands New Guinea, at Fakfak on 1 April, Babo on 2 April, and Sorong on 4 April 1942. She then provided cover for landings at Ternate in the Molucca Islands on 7 April, at Djailolo on Halmahera on 8 April, at Manokwari on the coast of Netherlands New Guinea on 12 April, and at Moemi and Seroei on Japen Island off the north coast of New Guinea on 15 April 1942. At Nabire on the north coast of Netherlands New Guinea on 17 April 1942, she transferred 63 troops to the auxiliary gunboat Taiko Maru which Taiko Maru put ashore on the east side of Japen Island on 18 April. Chitose then returned to providing cover for Japanese landings in Netherlands New Guinea, at Sarmi and on Wakde on 19 April and at Hollandia on 20 April 1942.

Construction and commissioning

Chitose was laid down on 26 November 1934 by the Kure Naval Arsenal at Kure, Japan. Launched on 29 November 1936, she was completed as a seaplane carrier and commissioned on 25 July 1938.

Service history

Seaplane carrier

Second Sino-Japanese War

When Chitose entered service, the Second Sino-Japanese War had been raging for a year. She supported Operation Z, the surprise unopposed landing of the Imperial Japanese Army′s 21st Army at Bias Bay on the coast of China 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Hong Kong, on 12 October 1938. The 21st Army advanced against little opposition toward its main objective, Canton, which fell to the Japanese on 29 October 1938.

1939–1941

On 15 November 1939, the Imperial Japanese Navy established the 4th Fleet at Truk Atoll under the command of Vice Admiral Eikichi Katagiri, with Chitose as Katagiri′s flagship. In December 1939, Chitose, the seaplane tender Kinugasa Maru, and 24 Kawanishi H6K (Allied reporting name "Mavis") flying boats were stationed at Truk. From December 1939 into 1940, Chitose and Kinugasa Maru were involved in transporting construction crews and technicians to build seaplane and flying boat ramps at Dublon in Truk Atoll, Malakal Island in the Palau Islands, Ebeye Island and Roi at Kwajalein Atoll, and Saipan in the Mariana Islands, and also made several voyages to and from Japan to transport construction materials to these locations.

On 11 October 1940, Chitose was one of 98 Imperial Japanese Navy ships that gathered at Yokohama Bay for an Imperial Naval Review in honor of the 2,600th anniversary of the enthronement of the Emperor Jimmu, Japan's legendary first emperor. The occasion was the first time that Chitose and many other new Japanese naval vessels — including the seaplane carriers Chiyoda and Mizuho and the heavy cruisers Tone and Chikuma — were displayed to the public. She arrived at Sasebo, Japan,on 15 October 1940 to undergo repairs and an overhaul.

By November 1941, Chitose and Mizuho made up Seaplane Tender Division 11. On 2 December 1941, Chitose was deployed at Palau as the Japanese armed forces mobilized to enter World War II with an offensive against Allied forces.

World War II

Philippines campaign

On 8 December 1941 Japan time — 7 December 1941 on the other side of the International Date Line in Hawaii — Japan entered World War II with its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. On 8 December, Chitose and Mizuho were attached to the 2nd Fleet to operate as part of the Fourth Surprise Attack Force, tasked with providing air cover for amphibious landings at Legaspi in southeastern Luzon in the Philippine Islands. Chitose got underway from Palau on 8 December and supported the landings on 11–12 December.

After the Legaspi landings, Chitose continued to operate in support of Japanese operations in the Philippines campaign. On 14 December 1941, one of her Mitsubishi F1M (Allied reporting name "Pete") floatplanes unsuccessfully attacked a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber of the United States Army Air Forces Far East Air Force as the B-17 flew over Catanduanes Island off Legaspi on an anti-shipping strike. On 19 December, she was 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) east of Davao on Mindanao when she launched seaplanes on reconnoiter Davao. From 20 to 25 December 1941 she was attached to the forces supporting the Japanese landings at Davao and at Jolo on Jolo Island in the Sulu Archipelago.

Netherlands East Indies campaign

On 26 December 1941, Chitose was transferred to the 2nd Air Force, a component of the Netherlands Indies Force in the Eastern Occupation Forces, to operate in support of Japanese forces during the Dutch East Indies campaign. She departed Davao on 2 January 1942. Chitose was anchored in Malalag Bay in Davao Gulf on the coast of Mindanao on 4 January 1942 when U.S. Army Air Forces B-17D Flying Fortresses flying from Java attacked the anchorage, and five of her floatplanes suffered damage from splinters from a bomb hit on the nearby heavy cruiser Myōkō.

As part of the 11th Seaplane Tender Division with Mizuho, Chitose proceeded to the waters of the Netherlands East Indies to support the Japanese invasion of those islands as part of the 2nd Fleet, Southern Force, Netherlands East Indies Force. The Battle of Manado began on 11 January 1942 as Japanese Special Naval Landing Force personnel landed at Kema and Manado in northern Celebes, and Chitose arrived in the anchorage at Bangka Island off the northeastern tip of Celebes that day. During the day, seven Netherlands Naval Aviation Service and United States Asiatic Fleet PBY Catalina flying boats attacked Japanese forces landing at Manado, and Mitsubishi F1M (Allied reporting name "Pete") floatplanes from Chitose shot down one of the Dutch Catalinas. The operation to sieze Manado concluded in a Japanese victory on 12 January 1942.

Chitose and Mizuho departed Bangka Island on 21 January 1942 and proceeded to the waters off Kendari on the southeastern coast of Celebes, where the Battle of Kendari began with Japanese landings on 23 January 1942. The two seaplane carriers provided distant support to the Japanese operation, which concluded on 24 January 1942 with the Japanese seizure of the Kendari area. Chitose arrived at Sarabanka Bay on the coast of Celebes on 24 January.

Chitose got back underway on 29 January 1942 bound for Ceram Island, where she and Mizuho arrived on 31 January 1942 to provide air cover for the Japanese invasion of Ambon in the Molucca Islands. After that operation concluded in another Japanese success on 3 February 1942, Chitose and Mizuho supported the Japanese landings on Makassar on 9 February 1942. Chitose was in Makassar Strait south of Celebes on 10 February 1942 when three U.S. Army Air Forces LB-30 Liberator bombers of the Far East Air Force's 19th Bomb Group damaged her in a bombing attack. The damage was not enough to prevent her from supporting Japanese operations against Surabaya on Java on 14 February 1942.

Chitose was at Balikpapan, Borneo, by 22 February 1942, but she got back underway on 24 February 1942 to support the Japanese invasion of Java, which began on 28 February 1942. She covered the Japanese landings at Batavia, Merak, Banten Bay, and Eretenwetan. At 12:30 on 1 March 1942, a Mitsubishi F1M (Allied reporting name "Pete") floatplane from Chitose sighted the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Pope (DD-225) off Java, prompting Chitose to launch an airstrike of ten F1Ms which attacked Pope at 13:00, inflicting damage that caused flooding and disabling one of her propeller shafts. Later, a strike by six Nakajima B5N (Allied reporting name "Kate") torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Ryūjō attacked Pope, and the heavy cruisers Ashigara and Myōkō intercepted and sank her.

Chitose arrived at Makassar on 14 March 1942 and on 15 March was reassigned to the N Occupation (or Expeditionary) Force for operations in Netherlands New Guinea. The N Force assembled at Ambon Island on 29 March 1942. Chitose arrived at Boela on Ceram Island on 31 March and thereafter provided cover for a series of Japanese landings along the coast of Netherlands New Guinea, at Fakfak on 1 April, Babo on 2 April, and Sorong on 4 April 1942. She then provided cover for landings at Ternate in the Molucca Islands on 7 April, at Djailolo on Halmahera on 8 April, at Manokwari on the coast of Netherlands New Guinea on 12 April, and at Moemi and Seroei on Japen Island off the north coast of New Guinea on 15 April 1942. At Nabire on the north coast of Netherlands New Guinea on 17 April 1942, she transferred 63 troops to the auxiliary gunboat Taiko Mar which Taiko Maru put ashore on the east side of Japen Island on 18 April. Chitose then returned to providing cover for Japanese landings in Netherlands New Guinea, at Sarmi and on Wakde on 19 April and at Hollandia on 20 April 1942.

April–May 1942

Chitose departed Ambon Island bound for Sasebo, Japan, on 21 April 1942, and with the New Guinea campaign completed, she was reassigned to the Advance Force on 23 April 1942. She made an overnight stop at Davao on 25–26 April and arrived at Sasebo on 1 May 1942. She was in drydock at Sasebo from 9 to 16 May 1942 for a refit, then departed Sasebo on 16 May bound for Kure. During May 1942, she became the flagship of the 11th Seaplane Tender Division. She departed Kure bound for Saipan on 21 May 1942.

Battle of Midway

The 11th Seaplane Tender Division, now consisting of Chitose and the Kamikawa Maru was assigned to participate in Operation MI — the planned Japanese invasion of Midway Atoll — and on 28 May 1942 Chitose and Kamikawa Maru got underway from Saipan headed for Midway as part of the Midway Invasion Force under the command of Vie Admiral Nobutake Kondo. Chitose embarked 16 floatplane fighters and four reconnaissance floatplanes for the operation, and she and Kamikawa Maru made the voyage to Midway as part of a convoy that also included 12 transports and an oiler, escorted by the light cruiser Jintsu, and nine destroyers. As the convoy approached Midway, nine U.S. Army Air Forces B-17 Flying Fortresses bombed it and U.S. Navy PBY Catalina amphibious aircraft attacked it with torpedoes on 3 June 1942, but Chitose escaped damage. On 4 June 1942, a PBY of U.S. Navy Patrol Squadron 44 (VP-44) found the convoy, and Chitose launched three Mitsubishi F1M (Allied reporting name "Pete") floatplanes to intercept it; they shot the PBY down from an altitude of 500 feet (152 m) with the loss of its entire crew of 11.

The Japanese suffered a decisive defeat on 4 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway and cancelled the invasion of Midway. She was detached from the Midway Invasion Force on 7 June 1942 and proceeded to Wake Island in company with the heavy cruisers Haguro and Myōkō and three destroyers. She then returned to Japan.

Season recap

Since Georgetown's run to the 2021 Big East Tournament championship and appearance in the 2021 NCAA Tourament, the team had lost six players. Senior guard Jahvon Blair, the team's leading scorer, and four-year starting guard/forward Jamorko Pickett had both graduated and graduate student Chudier Bile, a forward who after a slow start had played a large role in Georgetown's late-season resurgence in 2020–2021, also had departed, all three foregoing their covid-19 pandemic-related fifth year of collegiate eligibility to enter the 2020 NBA draft. Sophomore starting center Qudus Wahab, who Ewing had said could be Georgetown's next dominating "big man," had surprised sports pundits and fans by transferring to Maryland. Two freshman who had seen only limited action — forward Jamari Sibley, who had been Georgetown's only four-star recruit for 2020–2021, and guard T.J. Berger — had transferred in search of greater playing time, Sibley leaving for UTEP and Berger departing for San Diego.

Returning players included senior guard Donald Carey, Georgetown's top three-point shooter the previous year; sophomore starting point guard Dante Harris, the 2021 Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player; junior centers Timothy Ighoefe — the presumptive starter after Wahab's departure — and Malcolm Wilson; sophomore forwards Kobe Clark and Collin Holloway; and two junior walk-ons, guard Chuma Azinge and forward Victor Muresan, the son of National Basketball Association great Gheorghe Muresan. Two transfers arrived at Georgetown, senior Tre King from Eastern Kentucky and graduate student Kaiden Rice from The Citadel; the program hoped that King could fill a gap at power forward as well as pose a three-point shooting threat, . Also joining the team were five freshmen who made up what 247Sports.com ranked as the 16th-best recruiting class in the United States. It including five-star guard Aminu Mohammed, four-star center Ryan Mutombo (the son of Georgetown and NBA great Dikembe Mutombo), combo guard Tyler Beard (who a year earlier had opted to delay his enrollment at Georgetown to spend an additional year at Hargrave Military Academy), power forward Jalin Billingsley, and shooting guard Jordan Riley.

Confusion over Georgetown's 2021–2022 schedule arose early in the offseason, . On April 15, 2021, media reports indicated that Georgetown would play in the Orlando Invitational at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida, on November 25, 26, and 28. On April 23, however, media reports indicated that the Hoyas would replace TCU in the 2021 Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, California, on 25–26 November. On July 14, press reports identified San Diego State as Georgetown′s semifinal opponent. Meanwhile, when the matchups for the Gavitt Tipoff Games against Big Ten Conference opponents were announced on June 24, Georgetown was among the three Big East teams not selected to participate, marking the first time the Hoyas did not compete in the annual competition between the two conferences since 2017.

Georgetown released its 2020-2021 roster later than usual, leading to speculation that roster turmoil might already have struck the team. When the roster was released on October 15, Tre King was missing from it. The school released a statement that day explaining that King "did not meet the conduct expectations of the University. He is not enrolled in classes and will not be on the Men’s Basketball team." King re-entered the transfer portal on October 22.

In their annual preseason poll in October, the Big East's coaches picked the Hoyas to finish in 10th place in the 11-team conference, a slight improvement over their 11th-place selection a year earlier.

Georgetown will visit South Carolina on December 5 in the first year of a two-year home-and-home series against the Gamecocks. Georgetown will host TCU on December 18 in the annual Big East–Big 12 Battle. It will be the first meeting of the teams.

John R. Manning

Characteristics

A contract for her construction was awarded to a company in Tacoma, Washington, on 27 June 1949.

During construction, her brine wells were increased to four from the originally planned two.

Of wooden construction, she was an 86-foot-6-inch (26.37 m) long motor vessel with a beam of 22 feet 6 inches (6.86 m) in beam, and a draft of 12 feet 8 inches (3.86 m). Her diesel engine gave her cruising speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph). She had a range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi), a longer range than commercial fishing boats of her size made necessary by the vast size - 13,000,000 square miles (34,000,000 km2) - of the ocean area in which she was to operate and the limited refueling options in the area. She had two diesel generators for auxiliary power, etc.

She was constructed along the line of a typical United States West Coast commercial purse-seiner, but with a number of significant differences, including a longer range and the inclusion of live bait tanks and a large number for gurdies – mechanical cranks used to haul in fishing lines – to allow her to experiment with new purse-seining techniques, as well as with longlining and deep trolling. She had a brine [refrigeration]] system capable of preserving 30 tons of tuna for later laboratory analysis ashore.

1950

John R. Manning departed Seattle bound for San Pedro, [[California], on 20 February 1950. After calling at San Pedro, she proceeded to Honolulu, arriving there on 26 March 1950, eleven days after departing San Pedro. Initially assigned to experiment with purse-seining in the waters of the [Tropics|tropical]] and subtropical waters of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Palau Islands, she was the third of the three vessels assigned to POFI to begin FWS service.

John R. Manning began her first cruise on 5 April 1950. It was a shakedown cruise in the waters of the Hawaiian Islands, during which she tested her purse-seining and trolling gear, live bait tank, and bathythermograph and familiarized her crew with their operation. bound for the Line Islands, where she was to experiment with purse-seining techniques to determine their efficacy in as a means of tuna fishing in the central Pacific and determine any modifications to the gear or to fishing techniques to improve the effectiveness of purse-seining, as well as gather information on the hydrography of the area and the biology of tunas there. She fished off Kingman Reef, Palmyra Island, Washington Island, Fanning Island, and Christmas Island, and Jarvis Island;. Although weather interfered with her ability to set her nets, she found better fishing conditions in the lee of the islands. She made two purse-seine nets on yellowfin tuna, one off Fanning Island on 8 May and one off Christmas Island on 13 May; although neither was productive, her crew found fish remaining in the net longer in the second set than in the first. During 308 hours of trolling over 43 days, she caught 881 yellowfin totaling 29,590 pounds (13,420 kg), 14 oceanic skipjack tuna totaling 130 pounds (59 kg), a black skipjack weighing 24 pounds (11 kg), 181 wahoo totaling 5,838 pounds (2,648 kg), three barracuda totaling 26 pounds (12 kg), 48 rainbow runners totaling 120 pounds (54 kg), and numerous sharks. Her personnel noted that John R. Manning did not have the trolling gear for the size of fish encountered or the amount of trolling required, and that a properly outfitted trolling boat familiar with the area probably could have at least doubled her catch. She collected tuna stomachs, gonads, and size frequency data to support tuna life history studies and made bathythermograph casts both during the outbound and return trips between Oahu and Kingman Reef as well as periodically on the fishing grounds. She used night lights to search for bait fish in the lagoons at Kingman Reef and Palmyra Island, finding none, and noted mullet along the beaches sat Palmyra but reported that a lack of passages in the lagoon for small boats would make it difficult to transport them to a fishing vessel for use as live bait. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 14 June 1950.

CFR Nov Supplement 1950 p. 34 puts John R. Manning’s trolling catch at 285+1⁄2 hours and her trolling catch at 882 yellowfin totaling 29,319 pounds (13,299 kg) and averaging 33.9 pounds (15.4 kg), 178 wahoo totaling an estimated 5,888 pounds (2,671 kg). In addition to the other species.

John R. Manning got back underway on 15 July 1950 for another exploratory fishing cruise to the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands. She fished in the Phoenix Islands from 24 July to 28 August, but found weather and fishing conditions so unfavorable that she was unable to fulfill her fishing goals; she encountered no fish suitable for capture by purse-seining, and a planned combined effort to purse-seine for tuna while US FWS Henry O’Malley held them with bait was cancelled when conditions during Henry O’Malley’s short stay in the Phoenix Island made it impossible. John R. Manning’s personnel sighted no tuna near Hull Island or Gardner Island and only saw occasional schools of small, 1 to 2 pounds (0.45 to 0.91 kg) skipjack off Canton Island, although prospective trolling off McKean Island, Birnie Island, and Phoenix Island suggested that the area had excellent surface-trolling possibilities for commercial fishing vessels. On 29 August, she departed the Phoenix Islands, left Enderbury island and made for Jarvis Island in the Line Islands.

The weather improved as she proceeded northward, and during her transit to Jarvis Island John R. Manning diverted to a 1,200-foot (366 m) deep ocean bank at 02°55′N 164°25′W; she drifted over the bank overnight, noting abundant bait fish under night lights but no tuna. After she arrived off Jarvis, shw fished the waters south and west of the island carefully, but her fishing activities were hampered by intermittent rain showers and winds of up to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). Moving on to Christmas Island, she sighted six schools of yellowfin off the island’s southwest tip on 9 September 1950 and set her purse-seine net, but caught none of them, although she did haul in wahoo and sharks. She made three more sets over succeeding days, again catching wahoo - 500 pounds (230 kg) of them in one set - and sharks each time but no tuna, although she did haul in 40 pounds (18 kg) of yellowfin on jig lines She also timed various parts of the seining operation, including how long it took for a lead line to reach a certain depth after her seine cleared the table. She then visited Palmyra, where she caught three yellowfin while trolling over three days but saw no other signs of tuna despite the presence of large numbers of 2-inch (51 mm) squid upon which tuna were known to feed. She trolled intensively at Kingman Reef, catching an average of 150 pounds (68 kg) of tuna per day, which compared unfavorably with her daily average of 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of tuna during her April-May 1950 visit to Kingman. Her personnel also collected stomachs, gonads, ovaries, and length measurements from 50 tuna; made 386 bathythermograph casts to gather data on the locations and boundaries of ocean currents in the area; and made night-light collections of bait fish and invertebrates in the lee of each island she visited and twice in the open sea. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 2 October 1950..

John R. Manning began her fourth cruise on 26 October 1950, again headed for the Line Islands to experiment with purse-seining and the use of live bait, as well as to gather meteorological, hydrographic, and biological data.

Charles H. Gilbert

US FWS Charles H. Gilbert

US FWS Charles H. Gilbert in the mid-1950s.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Name	US FWS Charles H. Gilbert
Namesake	Charles Henry Gilbert (1859–1928), pioneer American ichthyologist and fishery biologist
Completed	1952
Acquired	April 1952
Commissioned	30 April 1952
Decommissioned	February 1973
Homeport	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (1952–1958) Honolulu, Hawaii (1958–1973)
Fate	Sold August 1973
Status	Extant 1976
General characteristics (in 1965)
Type	Fisheries research ship
Tonnage	196.5 gross register tons
Length	119 ft 9 in (36.5 m) overall
Speed	10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) (maximum) 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) (cruising)
Range	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi)
Endurance	80 days
Crew	12, plus 4 embarked scientists
Notes	Information from Progress in 1962–63, Circular 206, U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Hawaii Area Biological Laboratory, Honolulu. Hawaii. February 1965

US FWS Charles H. Gilbert (FWS 1003) was an American fisheries science research vessel in commission from 1952 to 1970 in the fleet of the United States Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service and from 1970 to 1973 in the fleet of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. She was among the first U.S. fisheries science vessels to explore the central Pacific Ocean in search of commercially valuable populations of fish.

Originally designed for exploratory fishing using longline and live-bait techniques to determine the distribution of tuna in the central Pacific, her role evolved over the years as she underwent modifications to better support the research of fisheries scientists and marine biologists as their understanding of tuna biology increased, and by 1960 she had become a marine research station capable of longlining, trawling, transporting live bait, and gathering oceanographic data. In 1959, she became the only tuna-fishing vessel in the world outfitted with observation chambers incorporating underwater viewports, which gave embarked scientists an unprecedented ability to observe directly the behavior of tuna and bait fish in the water (rather than infer their behavior through statistical analysis ashore) and record the behavior for future study through the use of still photography and film. She also gathered meteorological data and even made gravimetric observations in support of geophysical analysis of the Earth.

During a long and active career, Charles H. Gilbert ranged widely through the central, northern, and eastern Pacific to study the Pacific tuna fishery, transport live bait from other locales to Hawaii so that it could be introduced in Hawaiian waters, and make her oceanographic, meteorological, and geophysical observations. From her home port at Honolulu, Hawaii, her 130 cruises took her southeast to the Marquesas Islands, south to Tahiti, southwest to New Caledonia, well to the northwest and north in the North Pacific, northeast as far as Oregon, and east to the coast of Mexico. In a 1973 summary of her contribution to fisheries science, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wrote that virtually everything known about the distribution and behavior or tuna at that time was thanks to her operations.

Construction

In August 1947, the United States Congress authorized a new Pacific Ocean Fishery Program calling for the "investigation, exploration, and development of the high seas fisheries of the Territories and Island Possessions [of the United States] and intervening areas in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean." The United States Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (which in 1956 would become the United States Fish and Wildlife Service) was responsible for carrying out the program, which was to be overseen by a new office, Pacific Ocean Fishery Investigations (POFI), under the direction of Oscar Elton Sette. In addition to the construction of the Pacific Ocean Fisheries Laboratory at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, and the development of a Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) docking and warehouse site at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the Congress funded the conversion or construction of three ocean-going vessels to support POFI's work. During 1949 and 1950, these three vessels joined the Fish and Wildlife Service fleet as US FWS Henry O'Malley, US FWS Hugh M. Smith, and US FWS John R. Manning. However, the FWS retired Henry O'Malley in early 1951 due to a need for cost-prohibitive repairs, reducing POFI's fleet to two vessels.

Constructed for use by POFI, Charles H. Gilbert was a 90-or-92-foot (27 or 28 m) (sources give both lengths) steel-hulled research and experimental fishing vessel especially designed for use in investigating tuna fisheries in the mid-Pacific Ocean. She was outfitted for longline fishing, a method Japanese fishermen had used for tuna fishing for centuries and which the FWS hoped to adapt to Western mechanical fishing techniques, in contrast to the Japanese method of longlining by hand. The FWS accepted her at Tacoma, Washington, on 30 April 1952, returning POFI to its authorized strength of three research vessels, and assigned her the hull number FWS 1003.

Service history

1950s

1952

Upon acceptance by the FWS, Charles H. Gilbert proceeded immediately to San Diego, California. She departed San Diego on 20 May 1952 for her first FWS cruise, an experimental fishing cruise across the equator between 120 degrees and 130 degrees West longitude to test a hypothesis POFI scientists had developed from the study of oceanographic data that significant tuna stocks existed eastward from the Hawaiian Islands all the way to the coast of Central America. She first proceeded south along 120 degrees West longitude, longlining every 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) from a point 670 nautical miles (1,240 km; 770 mi) north of the equator to a point 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) south of it. She then moved to 130 degrees West longitude and fished northward, following the same procedure. She found good fishing north of the equator, catching tuna at twice the rate that commercial fisherman did when longlining around Hawaii, with yellowfin tuna predominating in the southern two-thirds of the zone and bigeye tuna in the northern third, and the FWS assessed that no vessel had ever caught yellowfin and bigeye tuna so far from shore before. Charles H. Gilbert′s exploration resulted in the discovery of a new Eastern Pacific tuna fishery, supporting the POFI hypothesis by demonstrating an abundance of tuna as far as 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) east of Hawaii and indicating a need for further investigation of areas to the east and west of where she fished. She concluded her cruise with her arrival for the first time at her home port at the POFI docking facility at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 19 June 1952, having made a maiden voyage of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) during the cruise.

During her third cruise, which she completed with her return to Pearl Harbor on 14 November 1952, Charles H. Gilbert operated in conjunction with a United States Navy flying boat to study the effectiveness of using aircraft to assist ships in scouting for tuna in the central Hawaiian area. She successfully captured and held bait fish, and electronarcosis tests she conducted on small bonefish, barracudas, puffers, and halfbeaks indicated wide variations between species, fish of different sizes, and individual fish. She battled winds of fresh gale force, and this unfavorable weather combined with an apparent seasonal scarcity of fish and limitations of her design prevented her from carrying out many of her cruise objectives. but what she did accomplish suggested that aerial scouting might prove feasible under better weather conditions.

Charles H. Gilbert quickly put back to sea for her fourth cruise, and on 19 November 1952 she collected seawater samples off Waianae, Oahu, Hawaii, from depths of 50 meters (160 ft), 300 meters (980 ft), and 500 meters (1,600 ft), both to test a method of freezing seawater to preserve phosphates for later study ashore and to determine the rate of change of phosphate content over a few hours after collection of a sample. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 30 November 1952.

Charles H. Gilbert again experimented with methods of scouting for tuna around the Hawaiian Islands during her sixth cruise, which lasted from 9 to 19 December 1952. She proceeded due south from Pearl Harbor, then headed due east to the island of Hawaii, and after operating there for five days proceeded along the northern side of the Hawaiian Islands to Kauai and Niihau. She found schools of small skipjack tuna south of Oahu, around the island of Hawaii, off Maui and Molokai, and near Niihau, and she caught fish south of Oahu and off Niihau. She again cooperated with aircraft, which operated from Naval Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu and made scouting flights on 12 and 19 December along Charles H. Gilbert′s course and north to 23 degrees 40 minutes North. Charles H. Gilbert and the aircraft had equal success in sighting schools of tuna in the same area. Difficulty in capturing bait fish interfered with her fishing efforts, but she did catch 134 skipjack and saved some of them for further study of their diets, breeding population, and growth patterns, and she made morphometric analyses of some of them. She also harpooned a porpoise and collected its carcass for study. In addition, she made seabird observations, noting a relative absence of shearwaters and the presence of jaegers and other skuas – never recorded in the mid-Pacific prior to 1952 – which suggested irregular meteorological and hydrographic patterns. She made 83 bathythermograph casts, operated her fish finder continuously to detect deep-swimming creatures, and noted a temperature inversion in Hilo Bay which FWS scientists thought could explain a lack of vitality in the nehu bait fish population over the preceding month.

1953

Charles H. Gilbert again scouted the Hawaiian Islands area for tuna during her seventh cruise. which she completed on 14 February 1953 after 19 days at sea. It was her third such cruise, conducted as part of an FWS effort to investigate the seasonal distribution of tuna off Hawaii and where they migrated to during the winter in the hope of gathering information that would allow the expansion of the Hawaii commercial tuna industry into unfished areas. She found what the FWS described as a "surprising" number of yellowfin and skipjack west of the islands of Hawaii and Lanai out to 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) offshore, suggesting a systematic northeasterly movement of tuna into the waters south of the islands. She also carried out preliminary experiments with chemical fish attractants (derived from fish extracts and mixed with fluorescein) in place of live bait; the FWS hoped that the use of such attractants would have wide application off Hawaii and the United States West Coast, although Charles H. Gilbert′s crew noted no reaction by the fish. In addition, she brought back some live, small yellowfin for fish-attractant experiments at the University of Hawaii research station at Coconut Island off Oahu and collected a number of unusual or rare biological specimens, including of the snake mackerel made famous by the 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition. She experimented with the use of a hydrophone and recording equipment to detect tuna, although a hydrophone failure prevented her from trying it in the one area she found skipjack in abundance. An experiment with aeration in live bait tanks using compressed air was more successful, allowing her to keep bait alive in her tanks while hove-to.

Charles H. Gilbert again tested artificial fish attractants during her eighth cruise, attracting skipjack by chumming, then switching to liquid tuna extracts, finding that few fish were attracted to the extracts and the few that were lost interest within 60 seconds. She made two attempts (off Waianae, Oahu, and Port Allen, Kauai, for a combined 210 minutes) to use an underwater camera to test its utility in studying the deep scattering layer, but obtained no important photographs, and an attempt to use a U.S. Navy noise-measuring set to detect sounds made by tuna yielded no detections of tuna-specific sounds. She caught only eight fish in 56 hours 20 minutes of surface trolling, indicating that trolling was not useful for surveying surface schools of tuna, but she did have great success in using an echosounder to detect such schools. She attempted to bring live fish back for study at Coconut Island, but three yellowfin died in her well and the only survivor was a single kawakawa. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 3 March 1953 after seven days at sea.

During her 10th cruise — a four-day voyage that concluded with her return to Pearl Harbor on 26 March 1953 — Charles H. Gilbert tested the difference in handling steel-wire and cotton longline fishing gear off the Kona Coast of the island of Hawaii and southwest of Lanai. finding that coating the cotton gear with Stockholm tar as a preservative made it hard to handle until the tar washed off, suggesting a need for further testing of tar on longlines. She also tested two experimental plastic depth gauges at various depths, finding consistent readings by each gauge when lowered repeatedly to the same depth but wide differences in corrections and calibration between gauges.

With her 11th cruise, Charles H. Gilbert′s began a series of three cruises to scout for skipjack in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands focused on studying changes in the temperature and chemistry of seawater around the islands just prior to and during the beginning of the skipjack fishing season in Hawaiian waters. She conducted a systematic search along a 360-nautical-mile (670 km; 410 mi) track north of Oahu and a 720-nautical-mile (1,330 km; 830 mi) track south of Oahu; cooperated with an airplane based at Naval Air Station Barbers Point in scouting for skipjack and found many skipjack of up to 20 pounds (9.1 kg) in weight both north and south of Oahu, with the greatest concentration of fish 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) west of the island of Hawaii; and began a hydrographic survey of the Kaiwi Channel between Oahu and Molokai before returning to Pearl Harbor on 30 April 1953 after a 34-day cruise.

Charles H. Gilbert′s second cruise in the series — her 12th FWS cruise — lasted 25 days. She tested chemical tuna attractants — preserved yellowfin tuna flesh extract, preserved skipjack gut extract, and frozen skipjack flesh extract — but reported only inconclusive or negative results. She continued her work in Kaiwi Channel, taking three two-day hydrographic sections there which strongly suggested that warming of Hawaiian waters resulted in a greater abundance of skipjack and fishing farther to the south during the winter would be necessary for the Hawaii skipjack fishing industry to increase its annual take of skipjack. She also tested the Banner plankton trap, improved tagging equipment, and the use of radar to observe bird flocks associated with schools of tuna, achieving good results in all the tests. She returned to Pearl Harbor with 30 live and apparently viable skipjack she had captured, but all died within a day of being placed in a tank at the Coconut Island research station.

During her 13th cruise, which lasted 38 days, Charles H. Gilbert again scouted for skipjack around Hawaii in the third of the three-cruise series. Although she found few skipjack south of Molokai and Lanai, she encountered large concentrations of them in three areas — none of them fished by the Hawaii commercial fishing fleet — namely east and west of a point 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) northeast of Oahu and in two widely separated areas 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) and 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) south of Oahu. She also tested the effect of chemical and visual attractants (including cellophane strips, tinfoil squares, tin strips, and calcium carbide pellets) on skipjack, finding that skipjack ignored tuna extract, were only momentarily attracted to tinfoil squares and tin strips (presumably because of their shiny resemblance to live bait), and exhibited no interest in the calcium carbide pellets, which effervesced as they sank. The fish did feed on dead bait (nehu), following it as it sank, but preferred live bait when presented with a choice. Charles H. Gilbert also executed three weekly hydrographic sections in Kaiwi Channel, continuing the hydrographic survey of the area she had begun in her 11th and 12th cruises. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 12 July 1953 after 38 days at sea.

Charles H. Gilbert departed Pearl Harbor on 16 July 1953 for her 14th cruise, which took her to the waters between Hawaii and the United States West Coast, where she scouted for tuna. She caught little while trolling at an average speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph), considerably higher that the optimum trolling speed of 6 to 6.5 knots (11.1 to 12.0 km/h; 6.9 to 7.5 mph), and she made few sightings of schools of tuna thanks to rough seas and frequent overcast which hampered her scouting efforts. She ran her recording thermograph continuously and detected four to six weather fronts passing her during her voyage. She arrived at San Francisco, California, on 26 July 1953, and spent the remainder of 1953 and the early weeks of 1954 undergoing alterations at a California shipyard while US FWS Hugh M. Smith took up her skipjack-scouting duties off Hawaii. Charles H. Gilbert′s alterations included lengthening her by 28 feet (8.5 m) to accommodate greater laboratory space, giving her a length of 118 or 120 feet (36 or 37 m) (sources differ).

1954

With her shipyard work complete, Charles H. Gilbert departed San Francisco in mid-February 1954 for her 15th cruise, a surveying and exploratory fishing voyage. She fished for yellowfin southward, first off Mexico along 120 degrees West longitude and then about 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) off Central America along 110 degrees West longitude. She made her best catch at 03°44′N 110°00′W – which POFI scientists viewed as proof of the hypothesis that yellowfin occurred continuously along the equator from East Asia to the Americas – and noted the existence of a strong subsurface current near the equator that seemed to be associated with larger amounts of crustacean zooplankton than found farther west, suggesting a need for further investigation of the tuna fishery in those waters. She proceeded to the Marquesas Islands, where she found an abundance of Marquesan sardinella bait fish, then moved on to the Tuamotu Archipelago, where she searched unsuccessfully for live bait at the four largest atolls. After stopping at Tahiti, she longlined northward for yellowfin in equatorial waters along 155 degrees West longitude, finding the fishing poor there but making a good catch of yellowfin and sighting numerous schools of skipjack off Christmas Island at about 157 degrees West longitude. She stopped at Christmas Island to inspect and collect data from an oceanographic and weather station established there in November 1953. During her cruise, she also collected and preserved six specimens of a previously unknown species of pelagic stingray for further study ashore and made careful observations of the difference between five distinct types of spearfishes in the hope of reducing confusion in the naming of marlin species. She returned to her home port at Pearl Harbor – her first visit there since July 1953 – on 26 April 1954, concluding a 67-day, 8,500-nautical-mile (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) cruise.

Charles H. Gilbert departed Pearl Harbor for her 16th cruise on 25 July 1954. She operated in Hawaiian waters, spending 25 days of the cruise scouting for skipjack as part of the FWS’s effort to understand the reasons for seasonal abundance of skipjack, especially in areas beyond the range of the existing Hawaii commercial fishing fleet. She identified at least 45 schools of skipjack, finding large numbers of them south of Maui and Oahu and as far as 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) west of Niihau, as well as about 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) north of Kalaupapa, Molokai, and her crew determined that skipjack generally were plentiful to the south of the Hawaiian Islands but found no schools of them beyond about 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) north of the islands. She tagged 156 skipjack, using electrodes to stun the more violently active fish for tagging. She also collected hydrographic information, finding that an eddy west of the island of Hawaii had reversed direction and was flowing clockwise – the opposite of the direction of flow normally encountered in the area – and detecting a counterclockwise eddy southwest of Oahu, with schools of skipjack between the two eddies; she found no eddies west of Kauai. She also experimented to determine the cause of “honeycombing,” a commercially undesirable condition in which cooked tuna meat takes on a honeycomb appearance, finding that freezing and icing of fish both were effective at reducing it, while most meat from fish stored in seawater exhibited honeycombing, demonstrating that honeycombing was a result of improper refrigeration. She returned to port on 26 August 1954.

During her 17th cruise, Charles H. Gilbert surveyed North Pacific waters and searched them for albacore. Although rough weather forced her crew to scrap plans to visit 25 of her planned hydrographic stations, she did visit 40 stations, where she collected information on the physical and chemical characteristics of the water in the subtropical convergence north and west of the Hawaiian Islands and conducted zooplankton hauls. She caught 48 albacore by surface trolling while crossing the area of temperature discontinuity, 25 of them in a single hour in the vicinity of 42°N 172°E. Her plans to gather bottom profiles were foiled when her depth recorder broke down after only 10 days of operation. She made synoptic weather observations, but radio conditions prevented her from transmitting some of the observations. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 7 November 1954 after 50 days at sea.

Charles H. Gilbert made her 18th cruise in conjunction with US FWS John R. Manning, the two vessels making a joint exploration and survey of the North Pacific to gather information on the distribution of albacore and its relation to the temperature and chemical properties of seawater in the North Pacific. While John R. Manning focused on surveying for albacore by longlining and trolling, Charles H. Gilbert trolled and gathered hydrographic data and information on plankton and nutrient chemicals. The vessels operated in waters along and to the east of 160 degrees west longitude, as far as 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) north of Oahu, Kauai, and Nihoa. The two vessels combined caught six bigeye tuna but no albacore south of 33 degrees North, but they hauled in 21 albacore along and east of 160 degrees West between 34 degrees and 37 degrees North, the albacore ranging in size from 50 to 80 pounds (23 to 36 kg). They also caught a striped marlin, a thresher shark, 31 blue sharks, and 29 lancetfish. Both vessels frequently measured temperatures down to a depth of 900 feet (270 m), and a University of Hawaii scientist aboard Charles H. Gilbert studied the productivity of microscopic plants among the plankton. Charles H. Gilbert noted a virtual absence of albacore near the surface – where smaller albacore had been observed in abundance during a survey of the region in September 1954 – probably due to the onset of winter conditions in the North Pacific. The two vessels had to scrap plans to explore waters any farther than slightly to the east of 160 degrees West due to rough weather, and they returned to Pearl Harbor on 21 December 1954 after a three-week cruise.

1955

Charles H. Gilbert got underway for her 19th cruise on 20 January 1955 bound for the Line Islands, where she searched for skipjack off most of the atolls. She scouted for skipjack for two days south of Oahu, on four days during her voyage south to Johnston Atoll, on five days while en route to Palmyra Atoll, for parts of 10 days off the Line Islands, and then for six days while returning to Pearl Harbor. During a combined 233 hours 12 minutes of scouting, she sighted only 39 schools of fish, of which she identified only nine as of skipjack and five as of yellowfin, and she did not find tuna in commercially exploitable quantities anywhere; POFI deemed skipjack “unusually scarce” in the area she scouted. She experimented with an artificial bait made of tuna extract mixed with agar and glitter, but the fish she encountered showed no interest in it. She caught too few fish to carry out planned tagging experiments, but she did preserve the stomachs of troll-caught skipjack and yellowfin for later behavior studies ashore. She also collected live and frozen specimens of snapper and grouper to support a study of the poisonous properties of food fish and sport fish under consideration for introduction into Hawaiian waters. She conducted a bait reconnaissance at Palmyra Atoll and at Fanning Island, but found only small quantities of mullet. Shore parties from Charles H. Gilbert also serviced and collected data from a weather station on Christmas Island and inspected a weather station on Fanning Island. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 19 February 1955.

Charles H. Gilbert began her 20th cruise on 5 March 1955. The cruise was devoted to a study of the distribution and abundance of deep-swimming and surface yellowfin in various parts of the Central Pacific, the relationship between those at depth and those at the surface, and the hypothesis that migration caused seasonal changes in the abundance of yellowfin. Although few of the bait fish she brought from Hawaii survived the voyage to Palmyra Atoll, she scouted for yellowfin for 146 hours, trolled between 100 yards (91 m) and 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) off the coasts of the atolls she visited — finding the best trolling off Palmyra Atoll and the worst off Christmas Island — and occupied 13 longline stations off the Line Islands. Although her rate of longline catches was low, it compared favorably with her trolling results. On six days in which US FWS John R. Manning and Charles H. Gilbert longlined within a few miles of one another, the two vessels had almost identical catch rates, demonstrating that a few miles of separation made little difference in fishing success in the same general area. Charles H. Gilbert tagged 406 of 438 troll-caught yellowfin and 53 out of the 238 she caught while longlining, many of the yellowfin she caught by longline being too badly injured to be tagged and released; she also tagged 11 skipjack and a little tunny. In addition to her yellowfin work, she made bathythermograph casts and took continuous surface water temperature readings, used sounding tubes to determine the depth of longline hooks, occupied night-light stations at Christmas Island and Kingman Reef, serviced the weather station at Christmas Island, prepared yellowfin and bigeye tuna loins for treatment by the Pauley process, preserved tuna stomachs for further study, gathered morphometric data on marlins and uncommon sharks, and brought back live and frozen reef fishes (mostly snappers and groupers) from Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll for study. Charles H. Gilbert returned to Pearl Harbor on 21 April 1955 after seven weeks at sea.

From 18 May to 9 or 10 June 1955 (source provides both dates), Charles H. Gilbert conducted her 21st cruise. She tagged 580 skipjack northwest of Hawaii and released 78 of them southwest of Kauai, 27 southwest of Pearl Harbor, 251 off the west coast of Oahu, 17 southwest of Oahu, and 207 off the west coast of Lanai; a commercial fishing boat caught two of the fish — tagged on 1 June and 8 June — off Lanai on 12 July, suggesting little significant movement by the fish at that time of year. Another skipjack she tagged on 25 May 1955 a few miles off Barbers Point, Oahu, from a school averaging 7 pounds (3.2 kg) in weight weighed 14 pounds (6.4 kg) when a commercial fishing bat caught it on 1 February 1956 off Makapuu Point, Oahu, 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) from where Charles H, Gilbert released it and 252 days after she tagged it, at the time the longest period between release and recapture for any skipjack. Charles H. Gilbert tested electronarcosis on four schools of skipjack as a means of quieting them to avoid injuring them during tagging, but achieved erratic results that suggested the technique lacked efficacy. She collected 80 skipjack in the 5-to-9-pound (2.3 to 4.1 kg) range and 90 in the 25-to-30-pound (11 to 14 kg) range for honeycombing experiments, and brought back two small yellowfin alive for experiments at Coconut Island. She ran her recording thermograph continuously, made bathythermograph casts wherever she caught fish and at other intervals, and broadcast radio reports of fish sightings to the local commercial fishing fleet. She experienced a huge mortality among the nehu in her live bait tanks, puzzling scientists on board, who ruled out oxygen levels as a cause of death and noted that nehu caught in Pearl Harbor were less hardy that those from Maalaea Bay off the south coast of Maui.

Charles H. Gilbert departed on her 22nd cruise on 11 July 1955, during which she spent six weeks tagging skipjack in Hawaiian waters. Her main focus was on skipjack 12 pounds (5.4 kg) or greater in weight because of their seasonal abundance in Hawaiian waters, but they were scarce, and she tagged only 57 of them. She also tagged 764 skipjack in the 3-to-10-pound (1.4 to 4.5 kg) range. On 17 August, she captured 80 skipjacks between 3.5 and 4 pounds (1.6 and 1.8 kg) in weight and processed them for honeycombing experiments. She also tested artificial baits, which were unsuccessful; gathered surface and subsurface water temperature data; and made twice-daily radio reports of fish sightings to the local commercial fishing fleet. Commercial fishing boats captured two of the tagged skipjack, one off Waiale'e near Kahuku, Oahu, on 26 July and one near Lanai on 30 July. A 5-pound (2.3 kg) skipjack she tagged on 22 August was found in the stomach of a 189-pound (86 kg) yellowfin caught on 24 August by a commercial fishing boat off Hilo, Hawaii.

Charles H. Gilbert returned to the North Pacific for her 23rd cruise, a seven-week voyage that began on 15 September 1955. The cruise was part of a series of voyages the FWS planned over the next several years to study the life cycle of the albacore and its relationship to currents and water temperatures with an ultimate goal of determining whether a viable commercial albacore industry could establish itself in the North Pacific. She sighted only one school of albacore (at 45°N 145°W) during the cruise and rough weather limited the time she could spend longlining and gillnetting, but using all three techniques (longling at eight stations and setting gillnets five times) she caught albacore over a broad area approximately 1,200 miles (1,900 km) north of the Hawaiian Islands, a sharp contrast to a spring 1955 survey of the area that had shown an almost complete absence of the fish, suggesting that they had since migrated into the area. Longlining caught the largest albacore (averaging 60 pounds (27 kg) in weight), while troll-caught albacore averaged 12 pounds (5.4 kg) and gillnetted ones averaged 7 pounds (3.2 kg). She caught 64 albacore while trolling but only one — a 58-pound (26 kg) fish at 41°04′N 164°29′W — while longlining and 11 (eight of them at 43°22′N 164°40′W) while gillnetting. In addition, she caught five skipjack and three mahi-mahi while trolling; five bigeye tunas, a skipjack, 18 lancetfish, 54 blue sharks, eight mahi-mahi, and a mako shark, while longlining; and 23 blue sharks, two pomfrets, a cuttlefish, and a fur seal by gillnetting. She tagged and released 52 albacore. She also ran her recording thermograph throughout the cruise and made bathythermograph casts that revealed a sharp thermocline at a depth of 100 meters (328 ft) throughout the survey area. She concluded her cruise by reaching Pearl Harbor on 2 November 1955.

During her 24th cruise — from 14 to 30 November 1955 — Charles H. Gilbert again looked for skipjack off Hawaii, and during two days each of scouting in three areas — west and north of Oahu, between Oahu and Lanai, and north of Molokai — she found none. She also occupied 48 stations around Oahu at which she made plankton hails to a depth of 200 metres (656 ft) at even-numbered stations and to just above the thermocline (usually a depth of 200 to 300 feet (61 to 91 m)) at odd-numbered ones.

1956

Charles H. Gilbert′s 25th cruise was devoted to testing the "Sea Scanar," a radar-like long-range sonic fish finder designed to detect schools of fish as far as 2,400 feet (732 m) from the vessel operating it. She got underway on 16 January 1956 and successfully detected a number of small schools of skipjack at ranges of up to 1,200 feet (366 m) before the Sea Scanar broke down on 21 January. She also longlined for yellowfin at 10 stations in the equatorial zone and caught only 23 yellowfin — six of them just south of Jarvis Island — demonstrating a conspicuous lack of yellowfin in the area; she also caught a bigeye tuna, five skipjack, 38 sharks, three black marlin, three wahoo, three lancetfish, and a barracuda while longlining. She only conducted intensive trolling near Jarvis Island, where in 5+1⁄2 hours of trolling she caught 42 yellowfin, six wahoo, 34 jacks, two rainbow runners, a snapper, and two sharks, almost all of them alongside the reef just offshore. She tagged and released eight longline-caught and 25 troll-caught yellowfin. She also ran her recording thermograph and made bathythermograph casts during the cruise. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 13 February 1956, but put back to sea on 23 February for her 26th cruise and further testing of the Sea Scanar. With the starboard transducer defective, she operated only the port transducer, and found that the Sea Scanar could detect a school of skipjack 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi) off Māili, Oahu, at 600-foot (183 m) scale but not at 2,400-foot (732 m) scale and that the device returned strong echoes while operating along a longline deployed by another vessel. She also tagged and released 95 skipjack, and she returned to Pearl Harbor on 27 February 1956 after four days at sea.

Charles H. Gilbert departed Pearl Harbor for her 27th cruise on 17 March 1956, bound for the North Pacific and another check on springtime albacore abundance and related water conditions there, part of the ongoing several-year effort to establish the seasonal distribution patterns of the fish. She battled rough weather during most of the cruise, including riding out a storm with 70-mile-per-hour (113 km/h) winds. Nonetheless, she carried out experimental fishing with longlines, gillnets, and trolljng lines in an area roughly north of Midway Atoll between 165 degrees and 180 degrees West longitude as far north as 42 degrees North. She fished at five longline stations along 180 degrees West between 28 degrees North and 36 degrees North and at two stations along 163 degrees West longitude between 32 degrees North and 34 degrees 30 minutes North; occupied 11 gillnet stations; and conducted 1,598 line-hours of surface trolling. Although she caught albacore via all three fishing methods, they were scarce; she brought in only one by longlining — a 57-pound (26 kg) fish at 36°08′N 179°55′W — and only nine by gillnetting (six of them at 33°45′N 176°57′W) and seven while trolling. She tagged and released six albacore. She also caught 35 blue sharks, a mako shark, nine lancetfish, two swordfish, and two mahi-mahi by longline; two amberjacks, a swordfish, six pomfrets, a flying fish, a pilot fish, 36 blue sharks, two mackerel sharks, four salmon, and 92 cuttlefish by gillnet; and two skipjacks and nine mahi-mahi while trolling. She made plankton hauls throughout the survey area, finding it more plentiful in the western part of the area she fished, where she also captured large squid of 2 to 3 pounds (0.91 to 1.36 kg) in weight. She also occupied 13 night-light stations and observed saury at each of them, but not in great abundance. Four pink salmon she caught, gillnetted in the vicinity of 41°30′N 156°00′W in April 1956, came as a surprise to POFI scientists, and Charles H. Gilbert brought them back for study; the location she caught them in expanded several hundred miles to the south the boundary of the offshore feeding grounds of Pacific salmon in the eastern North Pacific Ocean from what fisheries scientists previously had assumed. She concluded her cruise at Pearl Harbor on 4 May 1956.

Charles H. Gilbert′s 28th cruise was in Hawaiian waters, and she again experimented with use of the "Sea Scanar' sonic fish finder. She detected five schools and 10 suspected schools of skipjack with it at ranges up to 1,200 feet (370 m), raising hopes at POFI that as operators gained greater experience with it it would prove valuable in studying the movements and behavior of tuna. She also spent 10 days scouting for skipjack, finding 21 schools and observing their movements and feeding behaviors to determine if the "biting quality" of a skipjack school was related to the nature and quantity of natural food in the stomachs of the fish in the school, resulting in some schools being fished more easily than others. After two weeks at sea, she reached Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1956.

On 11 July 1956, Charles H. Gilbert set out on her 29th cruise. Off Oahu and Molokai on 11 and 12 July, she tested the use of tilapia as bait and its relative utility compared to nehu, finding that tuna fed on sinking tilapia. She then began more experimentation with the "Sea Scanar." After testing the device off Waianae, Oahu, on 13 July, she operated from 15 to 20 July in calm waters off the Kona Coast of the island of Hawaii to determine its maximum detection range against various targets suspended underwater, achieving detections of a stainless steel triplane of three 24-inch (61 cm) circular planes at 2,180 feet (664 m), an aluminum triplane of three 12-inch (30 cm) square planes at 2,080 feet (634 m), a brass triplane of three 3-inch (7.6 cm) square planes at 1,800 feet (549 m), a frozen 20-pound (9.1 kg) skipjack at 1,020 feet (311 m), and a dead 18-centimeter (7.1 in) herring at 1,100 feet (335 m). She also tested the "Sea Scanar" to determine its performance in various sea conditions and to gather information relevant to establishing effective sound search procedures, achieving detections of schools of skipjack and mahi-mahi and herds of porpoise and pilot whales. During her return trip to Pearl Harbor, she scouted for tuna for 66 hours between 20 and 22 July, sighting nine schools of skipjack and one of yellowfin. She reached Pearl Harbor on 22 July 1956. The September 1956 issue Commercial Fisheries Review said that her "Sea Scanar" results meant that the "whereabouts and movements of skipjack and large tuna (aku [skipjack] and ahi [yellowfin and bigeye tuna]) may soon be an open book to fishery scientists of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."

In her next cruise — her 30th — Charles H. Gilbert along with US FWS Hugh M. Smith took part in EQUAPAC, a multiple-vessel international survey of the equatorial Pacific between 135 degrees West longitude and the Philippines. She focused on an exploration of the tuna fishery of the Marquesas Islands, which the FWS saw as important due to the island group's relative proximity to the home ports of the California commercial fishing fleet. Getting underway from Pearl Harbor on 6 August 1956, she spent 16 days longlining in the open sea east of the Marquesas and four longlining inshore, achieving low catch rates: Her best daily catch was 20 yellowfin, 14 albacore, and seven bigeye tuna, although the bigeyes (all caught between 5 degrees South and 11 degrees South) were unusually large, weighing from 300 to 370 pounds (136 to 168 kg). She called at Taihohe on Nuku Hiva and at Taipi Valley, where she collected bait — mostly Marquesan sardinellas —from seven bays for use as live bait, then scouted for tuna and simulated the fishing methods California commercial fishing boats would use in the area, trolling for tuna near the surface with live Marquesan sardinellas as bait. She sighted 16 schools near the surface. Tuna appeared to be scarce in the area, suggesting their seasonal absence during the Southern Hemisphere′s winter: She caught only one yellowfin while trolling, although she also caught four 40-to-60-pound (18 to 27 kg) dogtooth tuna and took 344 skipjack averaging 5 pounds (2.3 kg) in weight from one school. Overall, she found yellowfin most abundant around the equator at 132 degrees West longitude and albacore in the greatest numbers in Marquesan coastal waters and south of 12 degrees South. Having fished around all 11 islands of the Marquesas, she headed back to Pearl Harbor, which she reached on 26 September 1956. She brought about 2,500 live Marquesan sardinellas back to Hawaii, and they were released in Oahu's Hanauma Bay in the hope of establishing them in Hawaiian waters, where a critical lack of live bait interfered with the performance of the Hawaii skipjack industry.

Charles H. Gilbert′s final cruise of 1956 was her 31st for the FWS, and she made it in conjunction with US FWS John R. Manning to gather information on the seasonal distribution of albacore in the waters between Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast, with Charles H. Gilbert focusing particularly on the waters between 35 degrees North, 141 degrees North, 126 degrees West, and 145 degrees West. John R. Manning departed Pearl Harbor on 17 October 1956, and Charles H. Gilbert followed on 22 October. She occupied 11 gillnet stations, catching only a single, 7-pound (3.2 kg) albacore by this means (at 38°30′N 134°54′W), along with 127 blue sharks, two mako sharks, 181 pomfrets, 33 squid, and part of the head of a spearfish. In 4,356 hours of trolling, she caught 154 albacore (along with two bigeye tuna and 11 mahi-mahi), her best daily catch being 31 albacore in the vicinity of 37°00′N 123°30′W. She also attempted to use tilapia as bait to catch albacore with pole and line, but had no success, although she did find that the mortality rate among tilapia in her bait tank was quite low. She tagged 114 albacore and one bigeye tuna, using an experimental dart on three of the fish, took morphometric measurements of 26 albacore, and collected and preserved albacore stomachs and gonads for study. She operated the "Sea Scanar" in the hope of finding and tracking deep-swimming albacore, but identified only one school by this means, at 37°18′N 127°45′W. She also conducted surface plankton hauls at 10 of her gillnet stations and 24 30-minute oblique plankton hauls down to a depth of 140 meters (459 ft). Charles H. Gilbert and John R. Manning both returned to Pearl Harbor on 11 December 1956. Based on their findings, FWS scientists determined that the seasonal distribution of albacore was determined by an isotherm, a meandering and unstable line where the water temperature was 57 °F (14 °C); a thermocline between colder, deeper water and warmer surface water, which could lie only a few feet below the surface or at depths greater than 200 feet (61 m); and a "food boundary" between the presence and absence of zooplankton, with albacore limited to waters warmer than 57 °F (14 °C) and where zooplankton was present in sufficient amounts. A number of fish Charles H. Gilbert tagged during the cruise were caught later, giving scientists insight into albacore movements: An albacore she tagged on 17 November 1956 at 36°44′N 127°37′W was caught by a Japanese longliner exactly a year later on 17 November 1957 at 38°08′N 174°53′W, the fish having gained 15 pounds (6.8 kg) in the interim, and another albacore she tagged on 14 November 1956 at 38°00′N 128°25′W was caught by an American commercial fishing boat on 23 August 1958 at 32°15′N 122°30′W and had grown at a calculated rate of 11 pounds (5.0 kg) per year. Another albacore tagged on 21 November 1956 at 35°21′N 123°57′W was caught by an American fishing boat on 21 July 1958 at 34°00′N 122°10′W. and a fourth albacore she tagged on 16 November 1956 at 36°48′N 127°33′W was caught 640 days later on 23 August 1958 345 nautical miles (639 km; 397 mi) away at 32°38′N 123°0′W after 640 days. On 13 March 1960, a Japanese longliner caught an albacore 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) southeast of Tokyo Bay near Marcus Island, three years and four months after Charles H. Gilbert tagged the fish on 16 November 1956 — a record for the time between the tagging and recapture of an albacore.

While Charles H. Gilbert was at sea on her 31st cruise, the FWS underwent a sweeping reorganization that took effect on 6 November 1956 in which it was renamed the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and was divided into two major new bureaus, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (BCF). Seagoing vessels such as Charles H. Gilbert came under the control of the BCF.

1957

Early in 1957, Charles H. Gilbert was further involved in USFWS studies of the potential for both bait fishing and tuna fishing in the vicinity of the Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotu Archipelago via a “task force” approach involving all three POFI vessels. While US FWS John R. Manning longlined for deep-swimming tuna and US FWS Hugh M. Smith conducted an oceanographic cruise to gather data on water conditions in the area, Charles H. Gilbert departed Pearl Harbor to begin her 32nd cruise on 11 January 1957 to conduct a bait reconnaissance of French Oceania and experiment with live-bait fishing in the region. Arriving in the Marquesas on 24 January 1957, she scouted 13 bays there for bait fish and found that the number of bait fish varied greatly from bay to bay, but were abundant overall, in contrast to their previously noted scarcity during the Southern Hemisphere winter. She collected Marquesan sardinellas and goatfish of the genus Mulloidichthys for use as live bait. She made two tuna surveys of the Marquesas (from 25 to 31 January and from 23 February to 1 March). and spent three days in the Tuamotu Archipelago around Ahe, Manihi, and Rangiroa, finding skipjack in abundance but fewer yellowfin. She sighted 263 surface schools of tuna, of which she confirmed 30 as yellowfin and 128 as skipjack. Finding that Marquesan sardinellas schooled near the vessel and made good live bait while the goatfish tended to scatter and dive too quickly to attract tuna, she caught 53 yellowfin and 4,838 skipjack, of which she tagged 10 yellowfin and 797 skipjack with the new POFI plastic dart tag and released them in the hope of unraveling the still-mysterious patterns of tuna migration. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 22 March 1957 after 70 days at sea. That day, POFI scientists released about 12,000 live Marquesan sardinellas she had brought back into Pokai Bay on Oahu in the hope of establishing the species in Hawaii to increase the chronically short supply of bait fish there.

After her return to Hawaii, Charles H. Gilbert experimented with a POFI-designed steel and plastic observation “bucket,” a platform which she could suspend about 8 feet (2.4 m) below her hull near her stern, allowing a scuba-equipped scientist to observe directly the underwater behaviors of fish in her vicinity for the first time. Her experiments determined that a scientist could sit in safety in the bucket while the vessel made up to 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) and could see as far as 180 feet (55 m) in clear water. POFI hoped that this new technique would allow scientists to use their time more efficiently by directly observing the behavior of tuna with regard to bait and artificial lures rather than inferring their behavior indirectly through the use of statistics.

Charles H. Gilbert made her 34th cruise – another skipjack-scouting trip in Hawaiian waters – between 21 June and 21 August 1957 and made a major discovery: A “skipjack hole” or “skipjack concourse” – a place where skipjack occur year-round rather than only seasonally – off Cape Kaea, Lanai. Her discovery prompted POFI to begin an intensive study of the “skipjack concourse” in July 1957. She collected physical, chemical, and biological data about the “concourse,” finding a temperature discontinuity of 1 to 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.56 to 0.83 degrees C) over about 0.25 nautical miles (0.46 km; 0.29 mi) in the area and more plankton in the discontinuity than on either side of it. She tagged and released 2,416 skipjack – 1,624 of them between 3 and 13 July alone while fishing in the “skipjack concourse” – in the hope that their movements would shed light on the still-mysterious migration of skipjack into Hawaiian waters each summer, and 212 of the fish she tagged were caught by commercial fishing boats by November 1957. She deployed her subsurface observation platform, from which scientists reported visibility as great as 180 feet (55 m), observed the behaviors of bait fish– nehu (Encrasicholina purpurea), Hawaiian silverside (Atherinomorus insularum), and Mozambique tilapia – around the vessel both when she was fishing and when she was not, and at one point estimated 1,000 skipjack and little tunnies around the vessel. She also operated her Sea Scanar against a school of yellowfin, a number of skipjack schools, and several herds of porpoises, sometimes maintaining contact for several hours, but also learning of the device’s operational limitations. She occupied an International Geophysical Year oceanographic station at 21°10′18″N 158°18′48″W on 21 June, 21 July, and 20 August, and carried out a monthly 20-station environmental survey off Oahu in June, July, and August, where she made plankton hauls and bathythermograph casts and collected seawater samples for later analysis of their salinity and inorganic phosphate content. She also made weather reports four times daily, noted sightings of fish, and broadcast information on fish sightings to commercial fishing boats.

Charles H. Gilbert′s final cruise of 1957 was her 35th FWS cruise. Departing Pearl Harbor on 2 October 1957 bound for the Marquesas Islands, she made bathythermograph casts, zooplankton and larvae hauls, and Secchi disk and Forel observations and collected salinity and phosphate samples during the voyage from Hawaii to the Marquesas and in the waters of the Marquesas, and she used an echo sounder to study variations in the depth of the deep scattering layer. She made three standard tuna surveys around the Marquesas, finding fewer than half as many surface tuna schools as during a survey made in January–March 1957. During each survey, she retained the first 25 fish she caught to determine size frequency and sex and collected and preserved the stomachs and gonads of five females; during the latter half of the cruise she collected the stomachs of five males. She tagged and released the rest of the tuna she caught during each survey, a total of 1,350 fish, and she took blood samples from skipjacks, yellowfin, little tunnies, and dogtooth tunas for serological tests. She also conducted a live bait reconnaissance, scouting six bays in the Marquesas for Marquesan sardinellas, finding them in two of the bays, and recording the size frequency, sex, and gonad development of 25 of them from each bay. She spent four days scouting and fishing for tuna in the waters of the Tuamotu Archipelago, finding them somewhat more abundant there than in the Marquesas. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 14 December 1957. On the day of her return, she released 31,000 Marquesan sardinellas off Ewa, Oahu; the fourth and largest release since the FWS program began its program of releasing them in January 1955 in the hope of establishing them as bait fish in Hawaiian waters, it brought to 53,000 the number of Marquesan sardinellas released in Hawaii.

1958

Charles H. Gilbert′s next major cruise was her 38th, which began in February 1958. After carrying out an environmental survey at 12 stations off Oahu involving bathythermograph casts and the collection of seawater salinity samples, she headed south and explored the waters of the Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotu Archipelgao and other tropical Pacific areas as far south as Tahiti as the USFWS continued to gather data on the seasonal distribution of tuna in those waters in the hope of establishing a U.S. West Coast-based tuna fishery there. She conducted two standard inshore surveys in the Marquesas, between 27 February and 8 March and between 11 and 19 April, and a 12-day offshore survey from 26 March to 8 April. She also made a two-day scouting and fishing visit to the Tuamotus. Longlining at seven stations along 150 degrees West between 5 degrees North and 1 degree South yielded poor results; she tagged and released a bigeye tuna and seven yellowfin she caught during this phase of the cruise. Sighting 76 schools of skipjack, yellowfin, or both, during the cruise, she found skipjack to be plentiful overall in the areas she scouted, generally around 5 pounds (2.3 kg) in weight around the Marquesas but between 15 and 20 pounds (6.8 and 9.1 kg) farther south in the Tuamotus and Tahitian waters. Until 10 April, she found that Marquesan sardinellas were scarce in many areas FWS scientists had found them previously, but after that date she again found them in significant quantities, and embarked scientists recorded size frequency, weight, and gonad development from 25 of them at each locality in which Charles H. Gilbert caught them. They made good live bait for skipjack, and she brought enough of the sardinellas back to Hawaii to bring to 55,000 the number of Marquesan sardinellas released in Hawaiian waters by the FWS in the hope of establishing them as a bait fishery there. In addition to 83 plankton and larval fish tows — including two 140-meter (460 ft) tows to gather information on the diurnal distribution of zooplankton — she made 336 bathythermograph casts and 14 Secchi disk and Forel observations, and took 233 surface salinity samples, 204 phosphate samples, and blood samples from bigeye tuna and skipjack for serological tests. The 85-day cruise concluded on 2 May 1958.

On 30 May 1958, Charles H. Gilbert put back to sea for her 39th cruise. Experience with her submersible observation platform had demonstrated the utility of observing tuna and bait behavior underwater but also indicated a need for underwater photography and motion pictures, so she embarked on the cruise with a new observation "bucket" outfitted with portholes and designed to be lowered over the side to allow an operator to capture underwater photographs and movies while remaining dry himself. She experimented with filming a 48-by-8-by-0.5-inch (121.9 by 20.3 by 1.3 cm) plyboard divided into 8-by-8-inch (20 by 20 cm) panels colored white, gray, black, blue, and red at distances of 10 to 100 feet (3.0 to 30.5 m) using various types of film and various exposures. Water bubbles created by water turbulence caused the greatest difficulty, and experiments showed that filming worked best when Charles H. Gilbert remained stationary while fishing. She also tested the effects of dead bait, tilapia, water sprays, different rates of chumming, and the sound of metal hammers beating on the hull on skipjack feeding behavior in the "skipjack concourse" off Lanai, finding that skipjack tended to go deeper when presented with dead bait or tilapia, came closer to the surface when water sprays were on, and were unaffected by the sound of the hammers, and that increased chumming caused small schools to fall back but larger schools to become more active. Faulty fitting of both transducers prevented her from employing her Sea Scanar effectively during the cruise. Of the skipjack she caught, she retained 10 percent for samples of length, weight, stomach contents, and gonad development, and she tagged and released 479 skipjack in the "skipjack concourse" off Cape Kaea, Lanai, and another 120 north of Kahului, Maui. She occupied two International Geophysical Year oceanographic stations on 30 May and 21–22 June and various environmental monitoring survey stations off Oahu from 30 May to 1 June and from 20 to 21 June, making bathythermograph casts and collecting salinity samples, and she carried out the same activities as well as plankton tows at various stations off Lanai. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 3 July 1958.

Charles H. Gilbert focused on determining the northern boundary between North Pacific water and the water of the California Current during her 40th cruise, which she conducted around and northwest of the island of Hawaii and northwest of Maui from 14 to 21 July 1958. She found sharp salinity gradients at the boundary and four large schools of skipjack in the lower-salinity water at the boundary. She also found and gathered data on a small temperature discontinuity 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) south of the southern tip of the island of Hawaii and determined that the semipersistent eddy in the lee of the island appeared to be centered about 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) west of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

In early August 1958, Charles H. Gilbert departed Pearl Harbor for her 41st cruise, again in Hawaiian waters. She spent her cruise studying skipjack behavior, and found the fish scarce in the "skipjack concourse" off Lanai, allowing her embarked scientists to contrast conditions in the "concourse" with those found when skipjack were more plentiful there. Her embarked biologists were able to capture the reaction of skipjack to blood, red dye, and tuna extracts on film using her new submersible observation "bucket," and tests of threadfin shad as a new bait for skipjack were very successful. She also occupied oceanographic stations off Barbers Point, Oahu, in support of the International Geophysical Year once each in August and September. She completed her 52-day cruise on 27 September 1958, arriving at a new home port; while she was at sea, POFI officially opened a new docking facility at Kewalo Basin, a commercial fishing harbor in Honolulu, which replaced its facilities at Pearl Harbor. The Kewalo Basin facility became the new base for both Charles H. Gilbert and US FWS Hugh M. Smith.

Charles H. Gilbert left Kewalo Basin on 8 or 9 October 1958 (source gives both dates) to begin her 42nd cruise, intending to make further observations of skipjack feeding behavior in Hawaiian waters. She spent the first half of her cruise in Hawaiian waters, but skipjack were so scarce that she could accomplish nothing, so she moved south to the Line Islands. As POFI scientists expected, she found skipjack there, sighting 39 confirmed schools of skipjack or yellowfin. Scientists used her submersible platform to observe the reaction of skipjack and yellowfin to lamp black dye, chumming with tilapia and mullet, and water sprays. For the first time, scientists were able to observe directly the behavior of yellowfin and compare it to that of skipjack, and they discovered that yellowfin behaved much like skipjack except that they tended to swim below the skipjack at a depth of about 10 feet (3 m) and dash upward to feed on tilapia or mullet chum. She also spent one day each fishing for bait at Fanning Island and Palmyra Island, finding mostly mullet in the 3-to-8-inch (7.6 to 20 cm) range. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 17 November 1958. The turbulence created by the submersible observation platform greatly interfered with its ability to support effective underwater photography and film-making, and it was removed from Charles H. Gilbert after her return to port. The USFWS began to consider alternatives — such as installing underwater television and a porthole in the vessel’s hull below the waterline — and their relative costs.

1959

Charles H. Gilbert′s 43rd cruise completed the USFWS’s 2+1⁄2-year oceanographic and fishery research program (devoted primarily to tuna resources) in the Marquesas Islands and Tuamotu Archipelago. Departing Kewalo Basin in early January 1959, she joined the San Diego-based chartered fishing vessel Cape Falcon in the Marquesas, where Cape Falcon conducted exploratory fishing using 24,000 pounds (11,000 kg) of live bait loaded at Almejas Bay, Mexico and Charles H. Gilbert focused on determining the abundance of skipjack and yellowfin along previously explored survey lines. Cape Falcon′s catch was disappointingly small, and Charles H. Gilbert sighted only half the number of schools found during the 1957 and 1958 seasons, with fish averaging only 6 pounds (2.7 kg) and difficult to chum to the vessel. She brought about 1,000 live Marquesan sardinellas back to Hawaii and released them in Maunalua Bay off the south coast of Oahu, the USFWS’s eighth release of the fish in Hawaiian waters in the hope of increasing Hawaii’s supply of live bait. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 26 March 1959 after 79 days at sea.

Charles H. Gilbert began her 44th cruise in late April 1959. It was the third in a series devoted to developing an understanding of how variations in the presence of water from an extension of the California Current affected the abundance of skipjack in Hawaiian waters. Using temperature and salinity readings, her embarked scientists concluded that California Current water had spread over a large area in the vicinity of Hawaii in May 1959, intermingled with water arriving from the north and west via the Kuroshio Current. She sighted skipjack schools only within 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) of the Hawaiian Islands, with the most commercially promising schools observed 40 to 60 nautical miles (74 to 111 km; 46 to 69 mi) west and northwest of Kauai in mid-May, and longlined and made plankton tows to determine the variety and abundance of marine life in various water conditions. She concluded her 34-day cruise with her arrival at Kewalo Basin on 1 June 1959. Later that month, the USFWS retired US FWS Hugh M. Smith, leaving Charles H. Gilbert as the USFWS's only Hawaii-based research vessel.

File:Skipjack US FWS Charles H Gilbert 13 July 1959

Skipjack tuna photographed from US FWS Charles H. Gilbert′s underwater observation chamber 10 to 12 nautical miles (19 to 22 km; 12 to 14 mi) off Barber's Point, Oahu, Hawaii, on 13 July 1959. The fish ranged from 19 to 27 inches (48.3 to 68.6 cm) in length and 5 to 15 pounds (2.3 to 6.8 kg) in weight.

In late June 1959, the USFWS completed the installation of a new observation chamber aboard Charles H. Gilbert, located within her hull in a special blister aft, below the fishing racks and 7 feet (2.1 m) below the waterline Testing showed that the new chamber was free of the problem of cavitation and the resulting bubbles that had hampered photography from the overside dry chamber she had used earlier, and it had ample room for a photographer to employ still and motion-picture cameras to record fish behaviors. The change made Charles H. Gilbert the world’s only tuna-fishing vessel at the time with underwater observation windows, a distinction she held until similar windows were installed amidships aboard the California Department of Fish and Game research vessel Alaska in 1961. With her new observation chamber ready, she departed Kewalo Basin in early July 1959 to make use of it in studying skipjack behavior in Hawaiian waters during her 45th FWS cruise. She experimented with the use of various baits and various amounts of bait, with the use of glittering tinsel and water sprays in conjunction with bait, and with the effect of colored dyes and sounds on feeding skipjack. She filmed skipjack from her observation chamber, finding it to be an “outstanding success;” it was comfortable for an operator to use for several hours at a time, and was free of the bubbles that had plagued the earlier overside platform. She also tested the chamber’s performance against that of two types of closed-circuit television. Neither television system showed any advantage over the use of the observation chamber; although the television cameras often could see farther underwater than the cameras used in the chamber, the television systems proved too delicate to adjust and operate under tuna-fishing conditions. She placed 73 skipjack in her live wells — 37 of which later were placed in tanks at the USFWS Honolulu laboratory at Kewalo Basin — and conducted a seal and marine turtle census at the French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. She completed her cruise on 3 September 1959 after 60 days at sea. The film she brought back made the USFWS Honolulu laboratory the first fisheries research center to record successfully on film the behavior of skipjack underwater, and it allowed scientists to gain a better understanding of tuna behaviors.

On 15 September 1959, Charles H. Gilbert got underway for another cruise — her 46th FWS cruise — to collect oceanographic data and survey Hawaiian waters for skipjack, as fisheries scientists continued to gather information to enhance their understanding of the relation of water conditions to the local abundance of skipjack. Surveying the extension of the California Current into the Hawaii area, she discovered that higher-salinity water from the North Pacific dominated the waters of Hawaii, with North Pacific water on the northern side of the northwestern main Hawaiian Islands and surrounding the southeastern islands. This was a contrast to the summer of 1959, when the lower-salinity water of the California Current surrounded the islands. Aa a result of the higher salinity, skipjack were scarce near the islands, strengthening the scientists’ hypothesis that water conditions greatly affected the annual success of the commercial skipjack industry in Hawaii. Charles H. Gilbert did have some success baiting skipjack with tilapia; only one school responded to chumming, but she caught 142 skipjack from it, of which she tagged and released 54. She filmed the behavior of skipjack from her observation chamber; investigated a temperature discontinuity she encountered south of Molokai; and longlined and made plankton net tows to survey the types and abundance of marine life in various water conditions. Her longlining catch consisted of a skipjack, a yellowfin, two bigeye tuna, a striped marlin, two sailfish, four oceanic whitetip sharks, four blue sharks, four mahi-mahi, and a lancetfish. She also brought skipjack meat and blood samples back for further analysis. She completed her cruise on 18 October 1959.

On 12 November 1959, Charles H. Gilbert departed Honolulu bound for a shipyard at Portland, Oregon, to undergo major alterations. These included the installation of a new main engine, new living quarters for her crew and embarked scientists, new laboratory space, a new pilothouse, a trawling winch with provisions for handling large trawls over her side, and a new bulbous bow designed to reduce drag and increase her speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability. The new bow incorporated underwater viewing ports and a second observation chamber, giving her an underwater photography and movie capability both forward and aft. By February 1960, the USFWS was making plans to install an aquarium system aboard Charles H. Gilbert that would allow embarked scientists to fertilize tuna eggs and raise tuna larvae and juvenile tuna while at sea. She emerged from the shipyard with a gross register tonnage of 200.

1960s

1960

After the shipyard completed Charles H. Gilbert′s alterations in early 1960, she made a shakedown cruise from Portland, Oregon, to San Pedro, California. She departed San Pedro on 1 April 1960 to begin her 47th cruise, a trip to the eastern tropical Pacific to conduct an oceanographic, biological, and fishing survey off Mexico, operating off the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Cabo San Lucas, the Islas Marías, and the Revillagigedo Islands. Primarily using her aft observation chamber, embarked scientists observed and recorded the reaction of tuna to water sprays, tinsel glitter, live bait, dead bait, and different rates of chumming. The water sprays and glitter had no effect on the tuna. Slower chumming rates reduced tuna feeding activity, as did dead bait when compared to live bait. Scientists also noted the varying behavior of different bait species — Californian anchovies, other anchovies, and Pacific thread herring — in the presence of tuna. Overall fishing was poor, totaling 545 skipjack, 678 yellowfin, and 30 little tunnies, but she tagged and released 46 skipjack off Roca Partida; recaptures of the tagged skipjack over the next two months suggested that they were part of a local population that did not range widely in the ocean. Embarked scientists used her new bow observation chamber to observe the behavior of dolphins as they rode her bow wave, and were surprised to find that the dolphins rigidly arched their bodies with their heads and tails depressed, which differed from the scientists' expectation that the dolphins would raise their tails to ride the wave. Her oceanographic activities included the use of bathythermograph casts, surface temperature readings, and salinity samples to determine the location of the California Current between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii and an effort to determine the temperature structure of water over seamounts and ocean banks, although she discontinued the latter work after two bathythermograph casts around the Revillagigedo Islands due to equipment failure. She brought aboard personnel of the Hawaii State Division of Fish and Game in Mexico for transportation to Hawaii and carried 3,800 snappers of the genus Lutjanus — of which 89 percent survived the voyage — from Manzanillo, Mexico, to Hawaii. She reached Kewalo Basin on 23 May 1960 after an absence of 27+1⁄2 weeks.

Charles H. Gilbert set out on her 47th cruise on 20 June 1960 to survey a broad area of the Pacific west of Hawaii for albacore spawning grounds, coordinated with a similar survey farther west by the Japanese research vessel Shunyo Maru of the Nankai Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory at Kōchi, Japan. USFWS scientists did not expect her to encounter commercially exploitable numbers of albacore, but rather to gather data on the sexual maturity and fecundity of albacore in the area and on the presence of larval albacore. She occupied 38 longline fishing stations, finding overall fishing poor, although she netted a large number of larval tuna; she made her best catches of juvenile and adult tuna between 10 degrees and 20 degrees North in the waters between Hawaii and Kwajalein, but caught only one female and five male adult albacore. Otherwise, her total longline catch was six yellowfin, 28 bigeye tuna, 15 skipjack, 44 spearfish, 87 sharks, and 34 other fish. She made 15 midwater trawls before her trawling winch failed; the trawls resulted in poor catches, although she caught more organisms at night — mainly shrimp and lanternfish — than during daylight hours. She also conducted a bait reconnaissance at various locations, finding Marshallese sardines (Harengula kunsei) and Old World silversides at Kwajalein, oama (Mullidae) and flagtails at Wake Island, iao (Pranesus insularum) and piha (Spratelloides delicatulus) at Midway Atoll, and flagtails at Laysan Island. She returned to Honolulu on 28 August 1960 after 70 days at sea.

U.S. West Coast-based tuna-fishing vessels had enjoyed increased catches and reduced operating costs by using puretic power blocks — which required fewer crew members for net-handling — to deploy nylon gillnets, which USFWS biologists hypothesized were effective because they reached down through the entire surface layer of warm water in which the tuna lived, with colder, deeper water blocking them from escaping the net by diving. In Hawaiian waters, the warm layer extended much deeper than it did off the U.S. West Coast, so Charles H. Gilbert conducted her 49th cruise off the west coast of Oahu from 12 to 19 September 1960 to experiment with four sets of a makeshift 300-foot (91 m) deep nylon gillnet handled with a power block, using the purse-seining technique to see how skipjack would react to the net in various typical Hawaiian oceanographic conditions as Charles H. Gilbert attempted to use the to catch them. Biologists observed the skipjack from the vessel’s observation chambers as well as by diving with the fish, and Charles H. Gilbert used a hydrophone, sonobuoy, and tape recorder to record ship sounds and sounds produced by gillnetting operations. The net caught only 10 skipjack, but USFWS scientists deemed it a useful first step in adopting the latest fishing technologies to Hawaiian conditions in the hope of increasing the productivity of the Hawaii commercial fishing fleet, and developed suggestions for improving the purse-seining technique. She returned to Kewalo Basin having voyaged 173,000 nautical miles (320,000 km; 199,000 mi) in the eight years since her delivery to the USFWS in April 1952.

Charles H. Gilbert got underway on 12 October 1960 for her 50th cruise with an embarked team of scientists led by a geneticist, headed for the equatorial South Pacific to investigate skipjack and yellowfin biology. The seasonal variation in skipjack abundance around Hawaii suggested that the species was migratory, but it remained unclear whether the Pacific contained only a few large, well-traveled populations of skipjack or a larger number of smaller, local populations, and USFWS scientists wished to gather data to determine which of these possibilities reflected reality so as to determine the best way to go about determining how to enable greater commercial exploitation of the Pacific skipjack population. The scientists’ main objective was to take blood samples from skipjacks taken at various South Pacific localities to determine their relationship to populations at other localities. During the cruise, Charles H. Gilbert visited Fanning and Christmas Islands in the Line Islands, then Tahiti, then Rangiroa Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelgo, and finally most of the major islands of the Marquesas. Preliminary scientific findings of the cruise showed little relationship between Hawaiian skipjack and those in the South Pacific or between the skipjack of the Marquesas and those of the Tuamotus. During the cruise, Charles H. Gilbert also searched for shrimp, catching them in 130 of her 168 tows, sexing, weighing, and measuring 50 shrimp from each sample, and measuring bottom temperatures at each location she caught shrimp. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 10 December 1960.

1961

At beginning of 1961, Charles H. Gilbert began a large-scale study of ocean currents around the Hawaiian Islands. Departing for her 51st cruise on 16 January 1961, she set 2,000 drift bottles adrift both east and west of the main Hawaiian Islands, covering an area of 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km²), traveling as far to the northwest as the French Frigate Shoals — where she also conducted a census of Hawaiian monk seals and marine turtles—and as far south as Johnston Atoll. She also gathered data on water temperatures, salinity, and currents to help determine their relationship to the abundance of tuna schools and planktonic organisms. She searched the French Frigate Shoals and Johnston Atoll for live bait but found it very scarce, and she also encountered few tuna, finding a concentration of small schools only in an area 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) south of Honolulu. She concluded her cruise on 28 February 1961.

In late March 1961, prior to the onset of Hawaiian summer skipjack-fishing season, Charles H. Gilbert departed Kewalo Basin for a cruise well to the south and west of Hawaii — and outside the waters of the Hawaiian commercial live-bait fishery — to study skipjack distribution as USFWS scientists continued to gather data to unravel the ongoing mystery of skipjack migratory behavior. Her goals included tagging and releasing skipjack; collecting blood samples from them for serological studies in support of the USFWS effort to determine whether skipjack populations were large and traveled long distances or were smaller and more locally distinct; investigating the distribution of water temperatures and salinity levels; releasing drift bottles in support of ocean current studies; and experimenting with the use of gillnets to catch skipjack in surface schools. She found skipjack more abundant near Johnston Atoll and in an area about 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) south of Oahu than they were to the west between Kauai and the French Frigate Shoals. Operating in generally rough seas in waters west of the main Hawaiian Islands between the French Frigate Shoals and Johnston Atoll, she hoped to test five kinds of bait — threadfin shad, mosquito fish, tilapia, iao, and nehu — against skipjack schools, but she encountered only wild and fast schools of small skipjack, and this prevented her from testing the threadfin shad. She caught 435 skipjack; tagged 242 of them (all near Johnston Atoll); took blood samples from 100 caught near the French Frigate Shoals and 42 from the waters off Kailua, Oahu; and retained five live skipjack for research use in tanks at Kewalo Basin. Her surface reading and bathythermograph casts found that the higher-salinity North Pacific water remained north of the Hawaiian islands, a typical summer pattern. She released 700 drift bottles in waters south of the Hawaiian Islands (between Oahu and the island of Hawaii) and in the channels between the islands, and another 200 in waters within 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) of Oahu’s coast. From 13 to 16 May 1961, she conducted four experiments off Lanai and off Waianae, Oahu, with an improvised gillnet of a new type made of the same kind of material used in monofilament fishing lines. including three comparative tests of it against a more conventional gillnet made of green-dyed nylon twine. Each net was 600 feet (180 m) long and 24 feet (7.3 m) deep. In the first experiment, the monofilament net was deployed for three hours in an area where skipjack were breaking the surface; it caught none of them. In the second, she set both the monofilament net and the nylon net during live-bait chumming; observers in her underwater observation chambers reported that the nylon net — which caught no skipjack, the observers noting that the fish avoided it — was clearly visible at a distance of 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 m), while the monofilament net — which caught 34 skipjack — was nearly invisible. A third experiment in which skipjack were chummed to Charles H. Gilbert′s stern while the nets were drawn around them in a purse-seining technique had to be aborted when the net became entangled in the vessel’s propeller, but the monofilament net nonetheless caught 60 skipjack and the nylon net only three. In a final experiment involving pole-and-line fishing in combination with chumming and setting the gillnets, the monofilament net caught 255 skipjack and the nylon one only two. The nets caught a combined 326 skipjack, but all but five were caught in the monofilament net, although observers in the underwater observation chambers noted that skipjack seemed to be able to detect the monofilament net if not in a frenzied state of excitement due to chumming with live bait. Charles H. Gilbert′s crew was able to bring in the net in about 20 minutes using the power block, and found that skipjack in the 3-to-5-pound (1.4 to 2.3 kg) range passed through the power block along with the net without suffering serious injury. USFWS scientists viewed the monofilament net test results as promising and planned further experimentation with a larger monofilament net in the hope of finding a new way for the Hawaii commercial skipjack industry to become more competitive with better-equipped fishermen elsewhere.Charles H. Gilbert returned to port on 17 May 1961 after 52 days at sea.

Charles H. Gilbert set out on her 53rd cruise on 20 June 1961 to make a detailed oceanographic survey of the waters among and surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 30 July 1961 after almost six weeks at sea. During the Pacific Tuna Biology Conference held in Honolulu from 14 to 19 August 1961, Charles H. Gilbert was in port and open for visits along with two other fishery research vessels, the Hawaii State Department of Fish and Game vessel Makua and the Japanese vessel Shoyo Maru.

Charles H. Gilbert′s 54th cruise took her back to the central equatorial Pacific to study tuna behavior under various conditions and collect tuna blood samples. Departing Kewalo Basin on 29 September 1961, she made for the Marquesas Islands, then moved on to the Tuamotu Archipelago to operate off Rangiroa and Makemo; to Tahiti, Scilly Island, and Bora Bora in the Society Islands; and to Christmas Island in the Line Islands before returning to port on 4 December 1961. She collected blood samples from 760 or 780 skipjack (sources disagree) as well as a smaller number of yellowfin — her blood collection work intended to improve USFWS scientists’ understanding of the relationships between different skipjack populations — and she collected water temperature and salinity data to test a hypothesis that environmental factors played a role in the population differences detected through blood analysis. She used high-speed cameras to film the fin and mouth movements of tuna during rapid feeding behavior to allow slow-motion analysis for clues to unraveling the still-unpredictable reactions of tuna to bait and lures. For the first time, embarked scientists tested the effectiveness of plastic skipjack decoys when towed in the water near skipjack schools, finding preliminary evidence that the fish showed some interest in the decoys. In the Marquesas, she also gathered synchronous data on skipjack behavior, stomach contents, and catch rates, and she preserved the digestive tracts of 203 skipjack, 15 yellowfin, and four mahi-mahi for further analysis. She found skipjack moderately abundant throughout her operating area, albeit mostly consisting of schools of smaller fish, and while searching the Marquesas for live bait, she found a moderately good supply of Marquesan sardinellas in some areas, although in smaller schools than encountered in previous visits. During the cruise, she collected reef fishes from 20 localities, collected blood serum from Marquesan freshwater eels; transported 2,000 live pearl oysters from Scilly Island to Bora Bora at the request of authorities in French Polynesia; and in cooperation with the Hawaii Division of Fish and Game brought 7,000 live groupers and snappers from Moorea to Hawaii, where she introduced them into the waters off Oahu to increase the local stock of food fish.

In five cruises during 1961, Charles H. Gilbert released 8,000 drift bottles, of which about 5 percent had been recovered by April 1962, mostly in the Hawaiian Islands.

In December 1961, the USFWS noted that Charles H. Gilbert′s size imposed limitations on the size of the ocean area that scientists at the BCF's Honolulu Laboratory could study, as well as on the types of observations and studies they could carried out at sea. Since mid-1959, she had been the only vessel operated by the laboratory, giving these limitations a more significant impact on the laboratory's research efforts.

1962

Charles H. Gilbert began 1962 with a lengthy cruise to the South Pacific to study tuna in the area bounded by 5 degrees South, 25 degrees South, 160 degrees West, and 167 degrees East — the waters of New Caledonia, Fiji, the Ellice Islands, Tonga, and the Samoan Islands — as well as the area adjacent Christmas Island in the Line Islands. Departing Kewalo Basin on 15 January 1962 bound for Noumea, New Caledonia, she longlined and made plankton and midwater trawling hauls during the passage. She arrived at Noumea on 4 February 1962, where her embarked scientists consulted with colleagues from the Institut français d'Océanie ("French Institute of Oceania") on a cooperative investigation by the research vessel Orsom III. Departing Noumea on 9 February, she proceeded southeast to 172 degrees 30 minutes East, then headed northeast to Suva, Fiji, where she arrived on 16 February. She loaded additional bait and got back underway on 20 February heading northeast to 10°43′S 178°46′E, which she reached on 25 February, then turned southeast for Nukuʻalofa on Tongatapu in Tonga. After calling there from 3 to 9 March, she resumed her cruise, making for Pago Pago , American Samoa. She visited Pago Pago from 15 to 19 March to refuel and load more bait, making a bait survey of Tutuila on 16 and 18 March during her stay, then on 19 March headed from Pago Pago to the vicinity of Christmas Island, which she reached on 28 March. She longlined at two stations off Christmas Island on 28 and 29 March and then headed back to Honolulu, concluding her cruise at Kewalo Basin on 3 April 1962. During the cruise, she occupied 22 longlining stations off New Caledonia, Fiji. Tonga, and the Samoan Islands and caught 49 albacore, 36 yellowfin, 14 bigeye tuna, three skipjack, 17 spearfishes, 46 sharks, and 51 other fishes. One objective of the cruise was to define the spawning of albacore in the South Pacific, and embarked scientists found evidence from the captured albacore that they already had spawned. For serological studies, Charles H. Gilbert collected blood and blood serum samples from albacore, yellowfin, skipjack, bigeye tuna, blue marlin, sailfish, shortbill spearfish, mahi-mahi, barracuda, and wahoo, and blood serum samples from blue sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, and silky sharks. In 127 plankton hauls, two midwater trawls, and 26 night-light collections, she found few larval tuna and no juvenile tuna, although her testing of a new plastic cylinder for catching small fish such as young tuna suggested it could catch them and keep them alive for transfer to the vessel’s on-board aquarium. She also made unsuccessful attempts at artificial fertilization and shipboard rearing of scombrids, but experimented with raising other species, finding that more pelagic species like marlin and mahi-mahi would not eat the food offered them, while Holocentridae and goatfishes fared better in the aquarium. A scarcity of albacore prevented her from tagging and releasing any, but she collected tuna and shark specimens; released a combined 1,680 drift bottles between 5 degrees South and Hawaii during her outbound and homeward voyages, collected yellowfin sperm samples for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; trolled during daylight hours; recorded sightings of schools of fish; made 245 bathythermograph casts and collected a salinity sample during each cast; transmitted 218 weather observations; ran her thermograph and barograph continuously; and established an albacore sampling program at the fish cannery at American Samoa in conjunction with the Government of American Samoa and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Charles H. Gilbert conducted her 56th cruise from 24 April to 12 May 1962 to collect tuna and other apex predators from the vicinity of Christmas Island for the University of Washington’s Laboratory of Radiation Biology. She occupied five longlining stations off the island and caught 154 yellowfin, nine bigeye tuna, a wahoo, a sailfish, a black marlin, a lancetfish, and 15 sharks. She collected eye, liver, and muscle samples from 51 yellowfin, six bigeye tuna, and two spearfish livers from three sharks, and blood samples from 131 yellowfin, nine bigeye tuna, a black marlin, and a sailfish. She also made plankton and nekton tows, as well as midwater trawls to a depth of 70 meters (230 ft); collected water samples from the surface to a depth of 1,200 meters (3,937 ft); made a combined 82 bathythermograph casts and collections of salinity samples at intervals of about every 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) during her outbound and homeward voyages and four bathythermograph casts and salinity sample collections in the vicinity of Christmas Island; occupied two night-light stations; ran her thermograph continuously; and recorded sightings of tuna schools. During her outbound voyage from Honolulu, she released one case (20 bottles) of drift bottles every hour for the first six hours after departure and then one case every three hours after that until she reached 15 degrees North; on her return trip, she dropped one case at 15 degrees North and another three hours later.

Her 57th cruise, which she conducted from 4 to 25 June 1962, was a similar apex predator collection trip for the University of Washington. Again occupying five longline stations in the vicinity of Christmas Island, Charles H. Gilbert caught 128 yellow, 12 skipjack, three bigeye tuna, a wahoo, a striped marlin, a lancetfish, and 21 sharks. She took eye samples from eight yellowfin and two skipjack, liver and muscle samples from 27 yellowfin, 12 skipjack, three bigeye tuna, a wahoo, and a striped marlin, and blood samples from yellowfin, skipjack, bigeye tuna, a wahoo, and a striped marlin. She also made plankton and nekton tows to a depth of 100 meters (328 ft) and collected water samples to a depth of 300 meters (984 ft).

Charles H. Gilbert′s 58th cruise was an exploratory fishing trip in Hawaiian waters between Oahu and the French Frigate Shoals which began on 10 July 1962. She caught 39 skipjack, all 40 to 60 nautical miles (74 to 111 km; 46 to 69 mi) west of Niihau, and others while trolling, and she collected blood samples from 16 of them. She collected plankton and supplemented the live bait she brought from Oahu with iao she captured at the French Frigate Shoals. She also released drift bottles in groups of about 100 at four locations (Mānana, Kailua Bay, Laie Point, and Mokoliʻi) off the east coast of Oahu. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 19 July 1962.

Charles H. Gilbert departed Kewalo Basin for her 59th cruise — another trip to collect information on apex predators for the University of Washington — on 23 July 1962. She first made for Christmas Island, making bathythermograph casts and taking surface salinity samples every 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi); releasing a group of 20 drift cards once every hour for the first six hours after departure and then once every three hours until she reached 15 degrees North; and making surface plankton tows en route. Arriving at Christmas Island on 29 July, she got back underway the same day, proceeded to west-southwest as far as the equator, and then retraced her route back to Christmas Island, longlining, collecting serological samples, and making plankton tows to a depth of 50 meters (164 ft) and Nansen bottle casts to a depth of 300 meters (984 ft) along both legs of the voyage segment. She arrived at Christmas Island again on 6 August 1962, then spent 8–10 August fishing northwestward through the Line Islands, off Christmas Island, Washington Island, Fanning Island, and finally Palmyra Atoll. She departed Palmyra on 11 August to return home, again making bathythermograph casts and taking surface salinity samples every 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi); releasing a group of 20 drift cards each hour during the last four hours of the voyage; and making surface plankton tows en route. She arrived at Kewalo Basin on 15 August 1962. During the cruise, she occupied five longline stations, making bathythermograph casts and collecting surface salinity samples at each and catching 23 yellowfin, nine bigeye tuna, four skipjack, an albacore, a sailfish, four marlin, a wahoo, and five sharks; collected muscle and liver tissue samples from all of these fish and eye tissue samples from seven of the yellowfin; collected eye, muscle and liver samples and vertebrae from four other yellowfin caught while live-bait fishing or trolling; collected blood samples from a total of 54 yellowfin, nine bigeye tuna, five skipjack, an albacore, a sailfish, a wahoo, and four marlin; and preserved the stomach contents of 25 tuna and marlins and three bigeye tuna skeletons.

Noting that any sizable drifting object tends to attract sea life and can create good fishing conditions, especially for mahi-mahi in Hawaiian waters and for tuna in various parts of the Pacific, the Honolulu Laboratory decided to study this phenomenon. It constructed Nenue, a 12-by-12-foot (3.7 by 3.7 m) raft equipped with an underwater viewing chamber and designed to serve as a floating laboratory for a team of scientists while they studied the association of fish and flotsam, how fish aggregated around a floating object react, and how commercial fishermen could put that reaction to practical use. For her 60th cruise, Charles H. Gilbert was assigned to serve as the support vessel for the first expedition employing Nenue, dubbed the "Koalana I" expedition. She departed Kewalo Basin with Nenue aboard on 26 September 1962 and launched the raft with four scientists aboard in Kealakekua Bay 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) off Napoopoo on the Kona Coast of the island of Hawaii on 27 September. Nenue then drifted between 19 degrees and 20 degrees North within 10 to 11 nautical miles (19 to 20 km; 12 to 13 mi) of shore. Charles H. Gilbert remained within sight and walkie-talkie range of Nenue at all times. Nenue drifted north at an unexpectedly fast 4 miles per hour (3.5 kn; 6.4 km/h), and on four occasions Charles H. Gilbert had to take Nenue under tow to prevent the raft from drifting ashore or into dangerously rough water, personnel involved in the expedition finding that Nenue could never be left to drift for more than 50 hours without requiring towing assistance. While Nenue drifted, scientists and observers aboard both Charles H. Gilbert and Nenue recorded the behaviors of fish, marine mammals, and seabirds around the raft. Charles H. Gilbert also supplemented 106 hours of underwater observation by the scientists aboard Nenue with 10 hours of observation from her own underwater observation chambers; scouted for fish around the raft and took environmental samples within 1 to 2 nautical miles (1.9 to 3.7 km; 1.2 to 2.3 mi) of Nenue; and made plankton hauls, weather observations, and bathythermograph casts and tooksalinity reasons in the area. The expedition also released 289 drift cards, 10 at a time at each bathythermograph cast. After bringing Nenue back aboard, Charles H. Gilbert returned to Kewalo Basin on 12 October 1962.

Charles H. Gilbert devoted her 62nd cruise, which began on 26 November 1962, to capturing live skipjack for use in studying their behavior, senses, and learning abilities in shoreside study tanks. Using delicate fish-handling techniques developed by the Honolulu Laboratory, she spent the entire cruise within 65 nautical miles (120 km; 75 mi) of Oahu, shuttling back and forth between the fishing grounds and Kewalo Basin and bringing back 105 live fish (13 skipjack, 18 yellowfin, 61 little tunny, and 13 frigate tuna). Embarked scientists also used her underwater observation chambers to observe and film skipjack as they fed on tilapia accompanied by water sprays and on nehu; collected blood samples from 98 skipjack which did not survive capture to support research into the size and number of distinct Pacific skipjack populations; preserved the first right gill arch of 56 skipjack, 13 little tunny, and six frigate tuna; and on 28 November 1962 embarked for a day a writer from the United States Naval Photographic Center in Washington, D.C., who was working on a script on oceanographic research in the United States. She concluded the cruise on 18 December 1962.

1963

To begin 1963, Charles H. Gilbert conducted the “Boundary I” cruise, beginning a new effort to investigate the waters about 450 nautical miles (830 km; 520 mi) east of the Hawaiian Islands, where USFWS scientists hypothesized that skipjack migrated during the winter, when they became scarce in Hawaiian waters. “Boundary” in the cruise’s name referred to the boundary between the waters of the California Current and the central North Pacific, where previous cruises had showed skipjack appeared in abundance during the summer, and the cruise was designed to detect the location of the boundary, determine whether skipjack remained abundant along it during the winter, when it lay to the south and east of Hawaii, and take blood samples to establish whether the skipjack there were the same population that appeared off Hawaii each summer or belonged to a separate population. Fisheries scientists believed that the Pacific yellowfin fishery was reaching its natural limit and that skipjack offered the greatest commercial fishery production potential of any tuna species, both factors emphasizing a need to understand the seasonal distribution of skipjack. Unable to carry enough live bait for a two-month cruise, Charles H. Gilbert also was tasked to test a new fishing method for skipjack, using longlines of the types normally used for larger tuna and marlin and a smaller kind of longline usually used for salmon fishing in the northwestern Pacific. She set out from Kewalo Basin on 10 January 1963 and, although she found the water boundary and ran salinity and isotherm sections across it, she did not encounter a single school of tuna during her cruise; she occupied longline stations both north and south of the boundary, but caught only nine skipjack. She measured them and collected blood samples from each of them and preserved gonads and stomachs from many of them. She found mahi-mahi and pompano dolphinfish quite common at all stations, and she made meristic counts of 90 mahi-mahi for comparison with 60 pompano that she preserved. She also conducted plankton tows, occupied 10 night-light stations, released drift bottles and drift cards, and gathered temperature data with her recording thermograph. She completed her cruise on 2 March 1963.

Charles H. Gilbert′s 64th and 65th cruises each took place in two parts. She departed to begin her 64th cruise on 9 April 1963 with oceanographers embarked to study large oceanic eddies — 20 to 50 nautical miles (37 to 93 km; 23 to 58 mi) across and rotating once every ten days — which USFWS scientists hypothesized existed southwest of Oahu between the Hawaiian Islands and the North Equatorial Current. When about 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) southwest of Honolulu on 10 April, they detected an upward bulge of colder water that would be expected in the center of an eddy, so they deployed nine drogues, one suspended at a depth of 2,000 feet (610 m) and the rest at 60 feet (18 m). She monitored the drogues for three days. The result was what the August 1963 issue of Commercial Fisheries Review described as "an unprecedentedly fine set of measurements in the open sea" showing that the eddy was moving west at 5 to 8 nautical miles (9.3 to 14.8 km; 5.8 to 9.2 mi) per day and rotating at a speed of 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) per day near its outer edge and 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) per day nearer its center. Charles H. Gilbert then began the first phase of her 65th cruise, which took place from 17 to 23 April 1963. During her 65th cruise, she operated south and west of Oahu and never more than 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi) off the coast, collecting live fish for use in behavior research in the Honolulu Laboratory’s tanks. Completing this phase, she resumed the activities of her 64th cruise, making a second visit to the eddy after an absence of 10 days. She wrapped up the 64th cruise on 28 April 1963 after oceanographers discovered that the eddy had broken up into four or five smaller eddies with a circulation pattern too complex to study with drogues, although fisheries scientists hoped that the data gathered on the 64th cruise would improve their understanding of the relationship between eddies and the abundance of fish. Charles H. Gilbert then conducted the second phase of her 65th cruise from 6 to 20 May 1963, resuming the collection of live fish within 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi) of the south and west coasts of Oahu. Experimenting with the use of her stern bait tank to transport live tuna and achieving a 93 percent survival rate among captured fish, she brought back 55 live skipjack, seven live yellowfin, and seven live little tunny during the two phases of her 65th cruise. Embarked scientists also took blood samples from 221 skipjack; used her underwater observation chambers to observe and film skipjack as they fed on live tilapia with water sprays and on live nehu; and preserved and froze the gill arches of three mahi-mahi in support of behavior studies.

During her 66th cruise, another oceanographic cruise which she made from 7 to 23 June 1963, Charles H. Gilbert discovered a new subsurface current feature of the North Pacific Ocean. Operating along longitude 153 degrees 30 minutes West between 22 degrees and 15 degrees 22 minutes North and using bathythermograph casts to a depth of 300 meters (984 ft) at nine stations to make a hydrographic section and find thermoclines and isotherms, her embarked oceanographers sought to investigate the physical nature of the subsurface boundary between the waters of the North Pacific and the equatorial Pacific, determine the structure of currents at the boundary, make current crosses to characterize the shear within the mixed surface currents and deflection of the surface currents by the prevailing winds, and obtain simultaneous carbon-14 measurements. Using drogues set at a depth of 350 feet (107 m), they found the new subsurface current moving northeast within the generally westward-flowing North Equatorial Current at an average rate of 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) a day. Oceanographers associated this current with water density gradients noted in the vicinity of 16°00′N 153°30′W. Charles H. Gilbert also released 260 drift cards, ran her recording thermograph and barograph continuously, reported weather observations every four hours, made bathythermograph casts and took salinity samples every three hours, reported indications of schools of tuna, and trolled, and from 11 to 17 June she made hourly air temperature and barometric pressure readings.

Charles H. Gilbert′s 67th cruise, dubbed “Boundary II,” continued the “Boundary” cruise series — an effort to improve understanding of the relationship of tuna abundance to the location of the boundary between the waters of the California Current Extension and North Pacific waters, believed to influence the abundance of skipjack in Hawaiian waters — begun in 1962. Departing Kewalo Basin on 1 July 1963, she tested her modified longline gear off the Kona Coast of the island of Hawaii, then made for a study area 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) southeast of Hawaii, where she longlined at 12 stations along longitude 150 degrees West between 14 degrees and 22 degrees North, using surface salinity observations that this route included stations south of, within, and north of the boundary. She caught more fish in general, as well as more tuna specifically, in California Current water to the south of the boundary than in North Pacific water to its north; her longline tuna catch consisted of an albacore and a skipjack north of the boundary, eight bigeye tuna and two skipjack in the boundary zone, and 14 bigeye tuna south of the boundary. Her catch of mahi-mahi and large blue shark also increased as she moved southward, but her catch of lancetfish decreased. Her embarked scientists measured and preserved the stomachs of all fish caught by longline. She also caught 57 mahi-mahi while line-and-pole fishing using live tilapia as bait, sampled 20 of them for length, weight, and sex, and examined their stomach contents. During her cruise, she made 12 surface plankton tows; occupied five night-light stations; collected blood samples from 12 bigeye tuna, two skipjack, and a blue marlin; released a combined total of 1,000 drift cards in the study area and in the lee of Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and the island of Hawaii; tested two small-mesh gillnets, both 12 feet (3.7 m) long and 50 feet (15 m) deep, for the Albacore Ecology Program, catching no fish; ran her recording thermograph and barograph continuously while at sea; and brought two live mahi-mahi back to Kewalo Basin for research. She returned to port on 4 August 1963.

For her 68th cruise, Charles H. Gilbert gathered oceanographic data on a large eddy located south of the Hawaiian Islands, operating in area bounded by 19 degrees 30 minutes North, 20 degrees North 30 minutes North, 156 degrees 30 minutes West, and 158 degrees West. In Phase I of the cruise (21–25 August 1963) — during which shipboard and scientific activities were photographed for a television program — she located a thermal dome associated with the eddy in the vicinity of 20°25′N 157°26′W , launched drogues about 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) from it, and tracked them over the next three days. During Phase II (26–29 August 1963), she continued to track the drogues, to within 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) of their starting point, finding the drogues moved at an average speed of 1.5 knots (2.8 km/h; 1.7 mph). She released 60 drift cards and 80 drift bottles during the cruise, and also ran her thermograph and barograph continuously; caught nine mahi-mahi while trolling; and kept a watch for schools of fish, finding no clear association between them and the eddy.

On 7 October 1963, Charles H. Gilbert departed Kewalo Basin for a long cruise— her 69th, designated Ahipalapa II, a name derived from the Hawaiian word for albacore — to continue the study begun in the spring of 1962 of the albacore spawning season and spawning grounds in the South Pacific. Her itinerary took her to Marakei in the Gilbert Islands; Suva in the Fiji Islands; Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands; Nouméa, New Caledonia; and Pago Pago, American Samoa. She focused her albacore investigation in the waters around the New Hebrides, Fiji, New Caledonia, and American Samoa, where she longlined at 19 stations over 19 days and caught 204 albacore along with 21 yellowfin, 17 bigeye tuna, four skipjack, and six other tuna too badly damaged to identify, along with 10 spearfishes, 20 sharks, and 51 other fish. Embarked scientists reported that the albacore were not quite ready to spawn when caught. They collected blood samples from albacore, yellowfin, skipjack, bigeye tuna, blue marlin, oceanic white-tip sharks, and blue sharks, which they air-shipped to Honolulu during a port call at Suva. Charles H. Gilbert made 152 plankton hauls as well as three trawls, eight night-light and four small-mesh gillnet collections to capture larval and juvenile tuna — her embarked scientists making a preliminary assessment that a "fair number" of larval tuna were present — and collected the stomachs of large fish that prey on small tunas, all to provide additional cross-checks on spawning assessments. During her stop at Marakei, she collected marine algae and reef fishes for an ichthyotoxicity study at the University of Hawaii. At Espiritu Santo, where a Japanese tuna fishery was based, her personnel consulted with industry and government personnel; at Nouméa, they held discussions on cooperative tuna investigation with representatives of the Institut Francais d’Oceanie ("French Institute of Oceania"), and at Pago Pago they consulted with personnel of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries field laboratory there. A participant South Korean scientist of the Agency for International Development boarded Charles H. Gilbert at Honolulu and completed the first phase of his training aboard her before disembarking at Pago Pago to spend several months of additional training aboard commercial fishing boats based there. Charles H. Gilbert also tagged and released seven albacore; made 172 bathythermograph casts and took simultaneous salinity samples; made 34 drift card releases coincident with the first 35 bathythermograph casts; made 197 weather observations; collected all remoras foud attached to captured fish and other objects for return alive to Honolulu; preserved all flying fish which landed on deck; and ran her thermograph and barograph continuously. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 13 December 1963, concluding a 9+1⁄2-week cruise.

1964

Charles H. Gilbert kicked off 1964 with her 70th cruise, which took place in Hawaiian waters from 3 to 22 January to capture live tuna. She brought 23 live skipjack and 38 live little tunnies back to Kewalo Basin for placement in shore ponds.

Charles H. Gilbert conducted her next cruise — her 71st — in two parts. During the first part, she fished for small skipjack and small yellowfin to bring back live specimens for laboratory experiments studying the visual acuity of skipjack and the sound perception of yellowfin. Putting to sea on 3 February 1964, she fished for three days in an area 3 to 5 nautical miles (5.6 to 9.3 km; 3.5 to 5.8 mi) off Makapuʻu, Oahu, and returned to Kewalo Basin on 6 February with 86 live skipjack, 82 live yellowfin, and 28 live frigate tuna, all of the fish ranging in weight from 1.5 to 2 pounds (0.7 to 0.9 kg). She got back underway on 14 February 1964 for part two of the cruise, during which she focused on gathering information on a community of marine organism gathered around a raft. She launched the raft on 22 February 1964 in an upwelling near 00°09′N 149°35′W and allowed it to drift for 193 hours 31 minutes before recovering it on 1 March 1964 at 00°10′N 159°12′W, over which time it moved 576 nautical miles (1,067 km; 663 mi) due west at an average speed of 2.5 knots (4.6 km/h; 2.9 mph). Scrapping their original plans to duplicate the first drift in a second drift, Charles H. Gilbert′s personnel instead sought to launch the raft again at 4 degrees North in an area where tuna had been sighted earlier in the vicinity of the boundary between the South Equatorial Current and the Equatorial Counter Current, but rough weather prevented it. Instead, they launched the raft south of the Cromwell Current at 02°33′S 148°43′W and allowed it to drift for 215 hours 30 minutes, during which it traveled 395 nautical miles (732 km; 455 mi) at an average speed of 1.8 knots (3.3 km/h; 2.1 mph); Charles H. Gilbert recovered the raft at 03°26′S 155°18′W on 20 March 1964. Scientists used her underwater observation chambers to observe marine life around the raft for 90 hours 31 minutes during the first drift and 100 hours 30 minutes during the second, and during the two drifts combined took 1,900 feet (580 m) of color and black-and-white movie film and 548 still photographs. During the second drift, Charles H. Gilbert used sonar to track fish beyond visual range for 15 minutes out of every hour, although her attempts to track individual fish by sonar were unsuccessful. Species observed around the raft included skipjack, yellowfin, mahi-mahi, pompano dolphinfish, mackerel scad, rainbow runner, pilot fish, rudderfish (Psenes cyanophrys), man-of-war fish, common remora, pufferfish of the genus Arothron, blue shark, oceanic whitetip shark, whale shark, and manta ray, as well as single examples of an unidentified shark, a free-swimming remora, a carangid fish, a marine turtle, and a porpoise. She also attempted to sample tuna schools with longlining and live-bait fishing and tag captured tuna, but she caught only oceanic whitetip sharks while occupying five longline stations, and she caught only two tuna, both skipjacks captured while trolling. She encountered no tuna while occupying 16 night-light fishing stations. She also made bathythermograph casts and took surface salinity samples every three hours on cruise tracks and every six hours while drifting; made hourly bathythermograph castsand surface temperature and salinity readings over a 24-hour period on 24–25 February in an area where USFWS scientists thought internal waves might be important, starting at 00°09′N 152°27′W and ending at 00°10′N 153°38′W. She released a total of 920 drift cards during the cruise, releasing them with each bathythermograph cast north of 12 degrees North both during her outbound and homeward voyages as well as at the beginning and end of each drift. She also made daily Secchi disk and Forel color readings while drifting; preserved flying fish which landed on her deck for stomach analysis; and recorded sightings of tuna schools. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 27 March 1964.

Charles H. Gilbert conducted her 72nd cruise — which was devoted to the study of oceanic eddies southwest of the Hawaiian Island — in two phases. During the first phase (14–21 April 1964), she located an eddy with a radius of 70 nautical miles (130 km; 81 mi) due west of the island of Hawaii and due south of Oahu and began a study of its position and thermal structure, although engine trouble forced her to cut her voyage short before she could complete the work or release any drift cards. In the second phase (16–23 May 1964), she could not locate the eddy, although she did find a thermal dome about 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) southwest of Oahu and began a study of the area where the eddy might have moved since the first phase of the cruise, but hourly bathythermograph casts and salinity samples showed no resemblance to the thermal topography she had encountered when studying the eddy during April. She released 420 drift cards and 157 drift bottles during the second phase of the cruise.

During her 73rd cruise, Charles H. Gilbert made measurements of the Earth's gravity in collaboration with the University of Hawaii's Institute of Geophysics. Departing Kewalo Basin on 29 May 1964, she rendezvoused with the University of Hawaii research vessel Neptune I, after which the two vessels proceeded independently. Despite some questions as to whether a gravimeter could function successfully at sea on a vessel as small asCharles H. Gilbert, good weather allowed her to use a sea gravimeter to measure the Earth's gravitation for some 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) of her 1,150 nautical miles (2,130 km; 1,320 mi). She returned to port on 4 June 1964.

Charles H. Gilbert got underway for her 73rd cruise, in which she returned to studying tuna biology and making related oceanographic observations, on 16 June 1964. She operated between the island of Hawaii and the French Frigate Shoals in an area bounded by 18 degrees 30 minutes North, 23 degrees 30 minutes North, 154 degrees 30 minutes West, and 166 degrees 20 minutes West. She had success in fishing for skipjack between Kauai and Kaʻula, at Penguin Bank, around the island of Hawaii off the Kona Coast and Hilo, and in the banks region near Nihoa. She took blood samples from 1,681 skipjack and brought 155 live skipjack, 17 live yellowfin, and four live mackerel tuna back to Kewalo Basin for research ashore. She devoted part of her cruise to fishing in the [[Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament]] at Kailua-Kona as a demonstration, catching 189 skipjack and taking 100 blood samples. Her other activities included bathythermograph casts and taking salinity samples every three hours and whenever fishing a school of tuna; releasing drift cards every three hours; and putting a landing parties ashore on Nihoa, Necker Island, and portions of the French Frigate Shoals to search for drift cards, finding none. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 23 August 1964.

During her 75th cruise, from 14 to 18 September 1964, Charles H. Gilbert fished for scombrids, seeking to bring live ones back to Kewalo Basin for behavioral research and up to 10 specimens of each species (other than skipjack) which died during fishing operations for density determinations. She caught 146 scombrids — 146 skipjack, three little tunnies, two yellowfin, and a mahi-mahi — of which she brought 66 back alive to Kewalo Basin. The mahi-mahi, which died, was brought in for density determination, and embarked scientists took red and white muscle samples from four skipjack for the Pacific Biomedical Research Center at the University of Hawaii.

Charles H. Gilbert put back to sea on 22 September 1964 to search for skipjack and make oceanographic observationsduring her 76th cruise, as USFWS scientists continued to seek information on the whereabouts of skipjack during the autumn and winter, when they virtually disappeared from Hawaiian waters. Her operating area was among the Line Islands and an area east of the islands about 700 nautical miles (1,300 km; 810 mi) south of Oahu from 06°30′N 162°30′W to about 0°00′N 157°30′W and along the area of converging currents bounded by 8 degrees 30 minutes North, 13 degrees 30 minutes North, 158 degrees West, and 150 degrees West. USFWS scientists had determined that skipjack in the Pacific were divided into reproductively isolated subpopulations, two of which made up the summer fishery in Hawaii, and hoped that Charles H. Gilbert would find fish of those two subpopulations during her cruise using blood an blood serum samples, but skipjack fishing was very poor and she caught few examples. However, she did have success in catching yellowfin, and blood sample analysis of them indicated that yellowfin she encountered in and around the Line Islands were from a different subpopulation than yellowfin caught earlier in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands off Kaʻula. She concluded the cruise with her return to Kewalo Basin on 28 October 1964.

Charles H. Gilbert continued her search for skipjack during her 77th cruise, her final cruise of 1964, which she conducted from 10 to 15 November in Hawaiian waters between Lanai on the east and Niihau and Ka'ula on the west. Her embarked scientists took blood samples from 109 skipjack, all caught from a single school off Niihau, and volume blood samples from 87 of them, and collected and preserved 12 snouts and 12 kidneys from skipjack for study ashore. Charles H. Gilbert simultaneously made bathythermograph casts to a depth of 270 meters (890 ft) and took salinity samples every three hours and as possible after each successful fishing event, and released drift cards at the same time as each bathythermograph cast as well as at hourly intervals off the windward coasts of Oahu and Niihau.

1965

Charles H. Gilbert conducted her first cruise of 1965 — her 78th overall — in two parts to test expendable bathythermograph equipment, fish for scombrids, and study currents in the Kaiwi Channel between Oahu and Molokai. During the first phase (4–7 January 1965), she operated along 157 degrees West between 19 degrees North and 17 degrees 30 minutes North, making expendable bathythermograph casts at three stations in conjunction with the research vessel US FWS Townsend Cromwell; while Townsend Cromwell performed oceanographic casts, Charles H. Gilbert made expendable bathythermograph drops within 197 to 531 feet (60 to 162 m) of Townsend Cromwell. The drops were successful. During the second phase of the cruise (8–23 January 1965), Charles H. Gilbert operated within 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) of Oahu, catching fish on two of six days of fishing, bringing in 19 skipjack, five yellowfin, four little tunnies, and a frigate mackerel; embarked scientists preserved five snouts and six tongues from skipjack for later study ashore. She also experimented with studying currents through the use of 21 optical targets made of polyurethane sheets and paper released at 1-nautical-mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) intervals in the Kaiwi Channel between Laau Point, Molokai, and Koko Head, Oahu; she then took station at mid-channel while an aircraft made a photographic survey of the target release area from an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,048 m).

File:US FWS Charles H. Gilbert CFR June 1965.PMG

US FWS Charles H. Gilbert, from Commercial Fisheries Review, June 1965. The viewing ports of her bow underwater observation chamber are visible at the bottom of the bow end.

From 10 February to 10 March 1965, Charles H. Gilbert carried out her 79th cruise. She operated in two areas — one southeast of the main Hawaiian Islands bounded by 10 degrees North, 12 degrees North, 149 degrees West, and 158 degrees West, and the other to their northwest bounded by 20 degrees North, 24 degrees North, 158 degrees West, and 170 degrees West — to collect biological data on skipjack tuna. The cruise was the first of several intended to gather data to determine which subpopulations of skipjack inhabited Hawaiian waters and at which times of year. Her visit to the area southeast of the islands was to study tuna in the California Current extension, which USFWS scientists suspected played a major role in bringing skipjack to the waters off Hawaii, while the waters she explored to the northwest were known to have numerous schools of skipjack at various times of year. Her lone successful fishing attempt occurred during five hours of continuous trolling in the northwestern study area 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) northwest of Kaʻula, where she hauled in 70 skipjack and five yellowfin, which her embarked scientists sex and measured and from which they collected whole blood and blood serum samples; they also took large-volume whole blood samples from 22 skipjack and five yellowfin for use as standards in future reagent studies by USFWS scientists in Honolulu. She made 270-metre (886 ft) bathythermograph casts and took surface temperature readings and salinity samples every three hours during the cruise and after the successful fishing attempt; released drift cards every three hours while 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) or more from land and every hour while within 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) of land; occupied seven oceanographic stations at each of which she made a single cast of eight Nansen bottles set at various depths down to 300 meters (984 ft); made standard weather observations; and brought five live yellowfin and two live little tunnies back to Kewalo Basin for behavioral studies. The blood samples she collected indicated that the skipjack she caught off Ka’ula belonged to a subpopulation with lived in Hawaiian waters year-round.

Charles H. Gilbert made her 80th cruise from 5 to 12 April 1965, seeking to capture live tuna and [[mackerel]-like species for behavior studies ashore. Operating south of Oahu between Penguin Bank and Kaena Point and never more than 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) from shore, she returned to Kewalo Basin with 64 live skipjack, three live yellowfin, and a live little tunny. She put back to sea for her 81st cruise on 19 April 1965, this time to collect blood samples from tuna as part of a new series of cruises seeking biological data on skipjack populations around Hawaii. By May 1965, skipjack were appearing in Hawaiian waters in unprecedented numbers – far greater than found two months earlier - and, operating in fishing grounds around the eight main Hawaiian Islands as well as over banks near Nihoa, Necker Island, and the French Frigate Shoals, she sampled 1,926 skipjack for blood and blood serum, also measuring and sexing them, and collected a record 2,195 whole blood and 387 blood serum samples from skipjack and 78 whole blood samples from yellowfin. Her personnel also preserved for study tuna-like fish from the stomachs of yellowfin caught off Lanai and bait fish captured off the French Frigate Shoals and Hanalei Bay, Kauai, and brought back 19 live yellowfin and 22 live little tunnies for behavior studies. She made bathythermograph casts and surface water temperature readings and released 620 drift cards. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 13 May 1965. She made a third cruise in the series – her 82nd overall -- from 24 to 30 May 1965, fishing within 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) of Oahu between Kewalo Basin and Brown’s Camp to capture more live mackerel-like species for behavior studies, collect tuna specimens for density determinations, and determine the amount of weight lost from large, medium, and small skipjack after the removal of their heads and viscera. This time she brought 189 live fish – 184 skipjack, three little tunnies, and two yellowfin – back to Kewalo Basin.

Charles H. Gilbert operated off the leeward coast of Oahu from 7 to 24 June 1965 for her 83rd cruise, testing plankton and neuston nets in hauls at 68 stations to determine their effectiveness in collecting larval and juvenile tuna. Bright moonlight throughout the cruise diminished the larval tuna catch significantly. Plankton net catches were satisfactory, but she had poor results with the neuston net. She collected eye lenses from 24 skipjack, 17 yellowfin, and 14 fish identified as “albacore” and also made bathythermograph casts and released drift cards.

On 23 July 1965, Charles H. Gilbert set out on her 85th cruise, bound for the west coast of Mexico to gather data that would help USFWS scientists determine whether and to what extent the skipjack found in the California fishery and that of Hawaii represented a common stock or two different subpopulations. She operated off the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Gulf of California, and around the Revillagigedo Islands to measure, sex, and collect blood samples from skipjack; collect, preserve, and take color photographs of unusual examples; and collect samples for electrophoretic analysis. She hauled in 406 skipjack and 178 yellowfin during the cruise, allowing her to accomplish all of her objectives. She also caught and measured three large marine turtles and observed 76 flocks of seabirds associated with schools of fish. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 7 September 1965. Her 86th cruise followed from 19 to 26 October 1965 and was devoted to catching live scombrids for behavioral studies ashore. Operating with 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) of Oahu’s coast between Moku Manu and Brown’s Camp, she collected tuna samples for density determinations; determined the weight lost from small skipjack after removal of their heads, viscera, and red muscle; collected skipjack brains and eye lenses; caught two mahi-mahi while trolling; sampled the oxygen content of water in her transfer tanks; and returned to Kewalo Basin with 161 live skipjack and nine live little tunnies. During her 87th cruise (9-16 November 1965), she focused on collecting surface-caught yellowfin for density determinations and photographs, collecting scombrid blood samples, and bringing live scombrids back for behavior studies. Operating within 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) of Oahu and Kauai, she made oceanographic and meteorological observations and ran her thermograph continuously , and she brought back 22 live yellowfin and 57 live wavyback skipjack. She also caught 25 wahoo.

1966

Charles H. Gilbert’s 88th cruise – her first of 1966 – last from 6 to 13 January 1966. As during her final cruise of 1965, she remained within 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) of Oahu and Kauai. Her objectives were to capture live yellowfin, skipjack, little tunny, and frigate tuna; catch live scombrids for behavioral studies; collect yellowfin, skipjack, little tunny, and frigate tuna for red muscle size determination; bring back live bait for use in behavior tank facilities; and collect scombrid eye lenses for amino acid assays. In 36 hours of trolling, she caught 14 yellowfin, 19 little tunny, and two wahoo.

On 20 January 1966, Charles H. Gilbert departed Kewalo Basin for her 89th cruise, bound for the equatorial Pacific to collect blood samples from skipjack ranging in age from a few weeks to a few months old in the waters off the Line Islands and the Samoan Islands. Her trawling and net haul attempts were largely unsuccessful; although she caught many larval tuna, they were too small to provide useful blood samples, and she caught only six young skipjack – along with seven fish of other tuna species - large enough to draw blood from. She took blood samples from four of the young skipjack, demonstrating that blood could be collected from small skipjack, but this fell far short of the hundreds of samples USFWS scientists had hoped she would gather to support their effort to identify different, reproductively distinct skipjack subpopulations. She caught a large number of deep sea fish and shrimp while trawling and quick-froze them for a study of deep-sea parasites at the University of California, Santa Barbara, collected 900 pounds (408 kg) of groupers and snappers during a stop at Palmyra Atoll for study at the University of Hawaii, and brought back 140 live fish, mostly large mullet from Palmyra, for study ashore. She returned to port on 3 March 1966. For her 90th cruise, Charles H. Gilbert operated in Hawaiian waters from 31 March to 6 April 1966 – again with 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) of Oahu and Kauai – to collect live yellowfin, skipjack, kawakawa, and frigate tuna for density and red muscle size determination ashore at Kewalo Basin; capture live scombrids for behavioral and sensory threshold experiments at Kewalo Basin; return yellowfin chilled in ice to a fish-packing company to see if blood streaks in cooked fish could be avoided; collect blood samples to support continued study of tuna subpopulations; collect fish eye lenses and brains for enzyme studies; and familiarize Sea Scouts with seamanship and scientific data collection at sea. she was unable to bring back any live fish suitable for the red muscle studies, but she did return to Kewalo Basin with two live yellowfin and a live skipjack back for density determinations, eight live kawakawa for behavioral studies, and 10 yellowfin – five chilled in ice and five drained of blood and chilled – for the packing company. She also collected 75 skipjack blood samples and eye lenses and brains of two mahi-mahi and five kawakawa. While trolling between fishing stations for a total of 40 hours 50 minutes, she caught two skipjack, 11 kawakawa, 18 yellowfin, three mahi-mahi, and a wahoo. She also collected weather data at ten stations, made bathythermograph casts at ten stations, and ran her thermograph and barograph continuously.

During Charles H. Gilbert′s 92nd cruise, from 12 to 17 June 1966, she operated within 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) of Oahu with the same scientific objectives she had during her 90th. Hydrostatic equilibrium studies. Embarked scientists determined the densities and swim bladder volumes of five yellowfin during the cruise, and she returned to Kewalo Basin with 216 live skipjack and 34 live kawakawa for behavioral studies, but she again caught no scombrids suitable for red muscle size determination, and she also was unable to return yellowfin chilled and bled in various ways to the packing company or collect suitable eye lens and brain samples. In 25 hours of trolling, she caught 10 skipjack, 17 kawakawa, and five yellowfin. She also ran her thermograph and barograph continuously and kept a watch for signs of schools of fish and marine mammals.

The October 1966 issue of Commercial Fisheries Review reported that scientists aboard US FWS Townsend Cromwell spotted rarely seen small, young bigeye tuna playing around flotsam while operating off the Hawaiian Islands and hurriedly summoned Charles H. Gilbert – which was better equipped than Townsend Cromwell to transport live fish – to capture them. After Charles H. Gilbert arrived on the scene, she used pole-andline fishing techniques to land the young bigeye tuna, and returned to Kewalo Basin with 89 live ones, all about 20 inches (510 mm) long and around a year old. USFWS scientists hoped that the young fish could expand their understanding of tuna sight, hearing, sense of smell, and locomotion.

1967

The April 1967 issue of Commercial Fisheries Review reported that Chares H. Gilbert caught a 17-inch (430 mm) female black skipjack 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) west of Hawaii, 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) from its previously recorded range and the first time it was found anywhere other than in the coastal waters of Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and the Galápagos Islands. Scientific personnel aboard the vessel offered three possibilities for the catch, saying that the black skipjack’s range could be broader than previously thought, or that the fish was merely a stray, or that the black skipjack’s range was increasing.

On 28 April 1967, Charles H. Gilbert reached a career milestone, completing her 100th cruise, during which she collected live tuna for behavior studies, returning to Kewalo Basin with 55 live kawakawa and a live yellowfin. She also spent two days testing a sea sled manned by two scuba divers off Waikiki and Waianae, Oahu, designed to allow one diver to serve as its pilot while the other filmed and photographed the interaction of tuna and bait fish. The tests showed that she could tow the sled at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) on the surface and 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) at a depth of 45 feet (14 m), and the divers took movies and made visual observations of two species of bait fish – nehu and mosquito fish – from the sled, although no tuna were encountered during the sled tests. In her 100 cruises over 16 years of service, Charles H, Gilbert had traveled 325,000 nautical miles (602,000 km; 374,000 mi), averaging 200 days a year at sea, and made eight cruises to the Marquesas Islands and Tahiti, two to the west coast of Mexico, two to San Francisco, California, two to New Caledonia, six to the Line islands, and three to the Northwesten Hawaiian islands. The BCF’s acting area director in Hawaii, said that "A whole generation of oceanographers and fishery biologists received their practical training in research aboard Charles H. Gilbert," adding that "She has made some real contributions to science. For example, just about everything we know about the behavior of tunas in the sea comes from observations made aboard her."

In July 1967, Commercial Fisheries Review reported that Charles H. Gilbert had experimented with nighttime longline fishing for swordfish in Hawaiian waters in the hope of revitalizing Hawaii’s flagging longlining industry. Fishermen in Japan and New England had reported success in longlining for swordfish at night, but in 22 fishing attempts off Waianae, Oahu, and Hilo on the island of Hawaii, Charles H. Gilbert caught only 10 swordfish, the largest of them 10 feet (3.0 m) long and weighing 448 pounds (203 kg). Although the catch rate was somewhat better than Hawaiian commercial fishing boats reported for daytime longlining, it was not enough to form the basis of a nighttime swordfish longlining fishery in Hawaiian waters.

From 2 to 7 July 1967, BCF scientists were present daily at the Ninth Annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament and on 4 July 1967, Charles H. Gilbert conducted a demonstration cruise for members of the press and tournament officials in conjunction with the tournament.

Charles H. Gilbert conducted her 106th cruise from 30 October to 28 November 1967. A major objective of the cruise was to compare the effectiveness of live-bait pole-and-line fishing for skipjack with nehu (Stolephorus pupureus) and with threadfin shad, as well as by chumming with threadfin shad. Fishing 8 to 28 nautical miles (15 to 52 km; 9.2 to 32.2 mi) west and northwest of Niihau, her personnel observed that nehu dived more steeply and swam more quickly than threadfin shad, leaving the shad closer to the fishing hooks and resulting in higher catch rates when using threadfin shad as bait. She caught 694 skipjack, ranging in length from 49.1 to 67.1 centimeters (19.3 to 26.4 in) and in weight from 6.5 to 18 pounds (2.9 to 8.2 kg). She also spent two weeks (from 15 to 28 November 1967) making 101 bathythermograph lowerings to determine the thermocline structure around the Hawaiian Islands, discovering two major eddies, both 100 nautical miles (185 km; 115 mi) in diameter, rotating at 1 to 2 knots (1.9 to 3.7 km/h; 1.2 to 2.3 mph), and lying southwest of Hawaii. One was centered near 20°N 158°W, rotating counterclockwise and displacing the thermocline about 70 meters (230 ft) above its equilibrium level, and the other near 18°30′N 156°30′W, rotating clockwise and depressing the thermocline about 70 meters (230 ft). They both appeared to be drifting west, although the two-week study period was too short to confim this. Otherwise, she found the thermocline flat and featureless.

1968

Charles H. Gilberts first cruise of 1968, made from 9 January to 24 February 1968, was her 107th. It was an oceanographic cruise that took her to Johnston Atoll. She spent four days in Hawaiian waters south of Maui, Kahoolawe, and Lanai and west of the island of Hawaii, making 37 bathythermograph casts to determine the thmerocline topography of the area. She also deployed longline fishing gear at 34 stations to make observations of near-surface currents west of Hawaii and in the vicinity of Johnson Atoll and changes in the currents over time by watching how the gear drifted, also using the gear to fish at each station for tuna and billfish, tagging and releasing all of those brought up alive and in good condition to determine changes in catch rates over time. Her first 24 longline stations, off Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii, demonstrated the presence of a current flowing east-southeast toward toward the southern portion of the Kona Coast, as well as of a counterclockwise eddy in the northern part of the study area. The data she gathered suggested the possibility of a 20-day periodicity in the speed and direction of flow south of the eddy, providing evidence of periodic vortex shedding off Ka Lae (South Point), the southernmost tip of the island of Hawaii.

Among other activities, Charles H. Gilbert during her 108th cruise (20 March–18 April 1968) again tested the relatiive effectiveness of nehu and threadfin shad as live bait while fishing for skipjack using pole-and-line methods. She caught skipjack at four stations and skipjack, yellowfin, and kawakawa at one, bringing in 737 fish with threadfin shad and 740 with nehu, and experienced an average catch rate of 7.7 fish per minute with threadfin shad and 9.8 per minute with nehu. She used a 20-channel event recorder and automatic time-lapse photography equipment successfully to record catch data and skipjack abundance. Her 109th cruise (16 May–3 August 1968) was similar, and yielded similar results, embarked researchers reporting that there was no meaningful statistical difference in skipjack caught per minute between the use of nehu and that of threadfin shad. Using threadfin shad, she caught 1,286 tuna at a rate of 8.1 per minute with a total weight of 6,726 pounds (3,051 kg), the fish averaging 5.2 pounds (2.4 kg) in weight, while with nehu she caught 1,250 tuna at a rate of 9.8 per minute with a total weight of 9,236 pounds (4,189 kg), the fish averaging 7.4 pounds (3.4 kg) in weight. Observing the behavior of the bait fish, embarked scientists again noted that nehu descended at a steeper angle than threadfin shad, also seeing that threadfin shad did not dodge feeding tuna as vigorously as nehu and were more visible to the human eye than nehu from the vantage point of Charles H. Gilbert′s stern observation chamber. During the cruise, Charles H. Gilbert′s personnel also tested various techniques transporting, handling an acclimatization techniques for bait fish to improve the survival and use of bait, and collected specimens for researchers at the BCF's Honolulu laboratory, elsewhere in the United States, and in the United Kingdom.

Charles H. Gilbert got underway on 21 August 1968 for her 110th cruise, again to test live bait. She again compared threadfin shad with nehu during pole-and-line fishing, achieving a success factor of 28.6 percent with threadfin shad and 44.4 percent with nehu. She also tested live big-scaled redfin as live bait, chumming them from fresh water and from brackish water madeof amix of 50 percent fresh water and 50 percent sea water without tuna present, her scientists determining that larger redfin dived more quickly and swam faster than smaller ones, but that there was no behavior difference between those chummed from fresh water and those chummed from brackish water and that in either case did the redfim school. Anotehr experiment involved phsyiologically altering the behavior of other bait fish — Mozambique tilapia and mosquito fish of the genera Gambusia, Limia, and Mollienesia — by dipping them for one second in hot water, cold water, a five-percent solution of acetic acid, or a five-percent solution of ammonium hydroxide. Researchers noted that only the acetic acid and ammonium hydroxide affected tilapia and mosqutio fish behavior; with no tuna present, both chemicals disrupted tilapia schooling completely and made the mosquito fish swim somewhat faster, while with tuna present, the tilapia and mosquito fish were eaten almost immediately and before observers could note any change in the bait fishes' behavior, except that mosquito fish treated with ammonium hydroxide also seemed to swim faster when tuna were present. Skipjack behavior remained unchanged regardless of whether the tilapia or mosquito fish were treated or untreated. Charles H. Gilbert returned to Kewalo Basin on 19 September 1968.

1969

Charles H. Gilbert made her 116th cruise from 1 or 2 October (source gives both dates) to 7 November 1969. She operated in the equatorial waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean about 1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km; 2,000 mi) south of San Diego to collect skipjack and yellowfin for subpopulations analysis. Very few surface tuna schools had been reported in the area before her cruise, and USFWS scientists considered in noteworthy that she sighted 109 tuna schools – skipjack schools and mixed schools of yellowfin and bigeye tuna – far at sea in an area roughly 700 nautical miles (1,300 km; 810 mi) southwest of Clipperton Island, most of them accompanied by flocks of seabirds, largely shearwaters and terns. Using pole-and-line fishing methods with threadfin shad as live bait throughout the cruise, she had no luck in the fishing area from her arrival on 13 October until 21 October 1969, when she finally had her first success in fishing a school, catching skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna with an average weight of 3 pounds (1.4 kg) at 4°S 119°W. Fishing improved as she moved northward along 119 degrees West to 2 degrees North, and on 24 October 1969 she caught 213 skipjack averaging 17 pounds (7.7 kg) in weight, of which she tagged and released 46. On 26 October she fished two schools at 4°N 119°W and brought in 519 skipjack averaging 5 pounds (2.3 kg), of which she tagged and released 419, as well as 28 yellowfin averaging 4 pounds (1.8 kg), 13 bigeye tuna averaging 5 pounds (2.3 kg), six mahi-mahi averaging 16 pounds (7.3 kg) and a 13-pound (5.9 kg) rainbow runner from the first school, and in only a few minutes of fishing the second school she caught 97 bigeye tuna weighing 10 to 25 pounds (4.5 to 11.3 kg), finding from their stomach contents that they had been feeding on anchovies. On 27 October 1969, she fished two schools of skipjack near , catching 49 fish averaging 10 pounds (4.5 kg) from the first school and 110 averaging 8 pounds (3.6 kg) from the second. Having exhausted her supply of live bait, she then headed home. She also trolled during daylight throughout her cruise, catching 67 skipjack, nine yellowfin, nine bigeye tuna, 22 mahi-mahi, and one wahoo in about 400 hours of trolling, and her embarked scientists assessed based on trolling results that the area between 6°N 122°W and 9°N 125°W would yield a large catch if fished using pole-and-line methods. She returned to Honolulu with 259 skipjack and 42 yellowfin for the subpopulation study, her personnel reporting the best fishing in clear, blue water with a temperature of 25 to 28 °C (77 to 82 °F), a thermocline at a depth of 40 to 100 meters (131 to 328 ft), and currents setting easterly.

1970

On 30 January 1970, Charles H. Gilbert set out on her 117th cruise, bound for the waters of the Samoan Islands, where she was tasked with conducting inshore and offshore tuna surveys in the area. She carried with her a load of threadfin shad of use as live bait; although over 75 percent of them died during the 10-day voyage from Honolulu to Samoa, the survivors proved useful as bait. She recorded water temperatures from the surface to a depth of 300 meters (984 ft) using expendable and mechanical bathythermographs, finding a thermocline off Samoa at a depth of 28 to 70 meters (92 to 230 ft) and usually between 30 to 60 meters (98 to 197 ft). During her offshore survey, she used pole-and-line methods to catch 1,075 skipjack ranging in weight from 4 to 17 pounds (1.8 to 7.7 kg), 160 yellowfin ranging from 2.5 to 60 pounds (1.1 to 27.2 kg), and a few other fish; she tagged an released some of her catch. While trolling, she caught 46 skipjack, 30 yellowfin, 31 kawakawa, two mahimahi, and a shortbill spearfish. During her inshore survey, she focused on bait fish in American Samoa and Western Samoa. In American Samoa, she found bait fishing conditions at Tafuna Bay, Alofau Bay, and Fagasā bay poor and bait fish scarce.so she caught bait only in Pago Pago Harbor, where over eight days she found Indian mackerel most abundant – although difficult to keep alive in her bait tanks due to oxygen deficiency – followed by the sardine Sardinella melanura and bigeye scad. In Western Samoa, her bait survey was confined to Apia Harbor, where she caught silverside and sardines, the former dying quickly in her bait well but the latter surviving and useful as live bait. She returned to Kewalo Basin on 14 April 1970.

1972

Prior to August 1972, Charles H. Gilbert used electronic “beeper” tags to track four blue marlin for up to 5+1⁄2 hours.

One unusual feature of Charles H. Gilbert was her underwater viewing ports, which allowed scientists to observe and photograph the behaviors of fish, and their visual and photographic observations of skipjack tuna were widely reported. She made 130 cruises and traveled over 350,000 nautical miles (650,000 km; 400,000 mi) during her career. She was decommissioned in February 1973 and sold in August 1973.

See also

• NOAA ships and aircraft

References

Bibliography

• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 10, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1948)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 13, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1951)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 14, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1952)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 15, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1953)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 16, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1954)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 17, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1955)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 18, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1956)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 19, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1957)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 20, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1958)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 21, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1959)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 22, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1960)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 23, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through July 1961)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 23, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of August through December 1961)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 24, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1962)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 25, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1963)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 26, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1964)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 27, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through June 1965)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 27, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of July through December 1965)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 28, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1966)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 29, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1967)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 30, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1968)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 31, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1969)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 32, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1970)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 33, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1971)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 34, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1972)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 35, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1973)
• Commercial Fisheries Review Volume 36, Fish and Wildlife Service (issues of January through December 1974)

Category:Ships of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Category:Ships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Category:Research vessels of the United States Category:Ships built in Tacoma, Washington Category:1952 ships

External links

• Photo of longlining aboard US FWS Charles H. Gilbert in 1954

Category:Ships of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Category:Research vessels of the United States Category:Ships built in Tacoma Category:1952 ships

USS Scandinavia

Not to be confused with MS Scandinavia or SS Scandinavian.

USC&GS Scandinavia operating in Southeast Alaska in 1927 during her United States Coast and Geodetic Survey service.
History
United States Navy
Name	USS Scandinavia (SP-3363)
Namesake	Scandinavia, a region of northern Europe (previous name retained)
Builder	G. T. Taylor Marine Railway, Norfolk, Virginia
Completed	1916
Acquired	3 or 5 October 1918
Commissioned	5 October 1918
Decommissioned	21 May 1919
Stricken	21 May 1919
Fate	Transferred to United States Coast and Geodetic Survey 21 May 1919
Notes	In use as civilian motorboat Scandinavia 1916–1918
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
Name	USC&GS Scandinavia
Namesake	Previous name retained
Acquired	21 May 1919
General characteristics (as U.S. Navy vessel)
Type	Patrol vessel
Displacement	26 tons
Length	61 ft (19 m)
Beam	13 ft 2 in (4.01 m)
Draft	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Propulsion	2 x 4-cylinder, 45 hp (34 kW) Sterling gasoline engines, 2 x shafts
Speed	8.6 or 10 knots (sources disagree)
Complement	8
General characteristics (as U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey vessel)
Type	Survey launch
Capacity	Berthing for 3 people

USS Scandinavia (SP-3363) was a patrol vessel in commission in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919, seeing service in World War I. After her U.S. Navy service, she was in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as the survey launch USC&GS Scandinavia from 1919.

Construction

Scandinavia was built as a civilian motorboat of the same name by the G. T. Taylor Marine Railway at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1916.

United States Navy service

The U.S. Navy acquired Scandinavia from Bie and Schiott of Baltimore, Maryland, on either 3 or 5 October 1918 (sources disagree) for World War I service in the section patrol. The Navy commissioned her on 5 October 1918 as USS Scandinavia (SP-3363).

The Navy assigned Scandinavia to duty with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service district supervisor at Baltimore for service as a dispatch boat and pilot boat. She carried out these duties during the final five-and-a-half weeks of World War I and for a few months in its immediate aftermath. On 21 May 1919, she was at Norfolk, Virginia, when she was decommissioned, stricken from the Navy list, and transferred to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey service

USC&GS Scandinavia participating in hydrographic survey work during her United States Coast and Geodetic Survey service, performing wire-drag operations in the Territory of Alaska in 1920.

The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey commissioned the vessel as USC&GS Scandinavia and placed her in service as a survey launch. At Norfolk, the crew of the Coast and Geodetic Survey survey ship USC&GS Onward conducted work on Scandinavia and on the launches USC&GS Lydia III, USC&GS Mikawe, and USC&GS Wildcat to prepare them for service. On 1 August 1919, Scandinava was towed to Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, where she was loaded aboard a U.S. Navy transport and shipped to Puget Sound in the State of Washington. After her arrival there, she conducted wire-drag operations and other work as part of a hydrographic survey of Lake Union and Lake Washington off Seattle between July 1919 and March 1920, at one point striking a dangerous snag — a submerged tree that rose to 4 feet (1.2 m) beneath the surface — west of Mercer Island, but at too low a speed to suffer significant damage.

Scandinavia departed Seattle on 16 April 1920 in company with the survey ship USC&GS Explorer, the survey launch USC&GS Helianthus, and a 30-foot (9.1 m) tender bound for Juneau in the Territory of Alaska, making stops at Ketchikan — where Scandinavia underwent repairs — and Petersburg. Based at Juneau, the the four vessels began hydrography, triangulation, and topography in Stephens Passage in Southeast Alaska on 6 June 1920 under the overall direction of Explorer′s commanding officer, Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps officer Nicholas H. Heck, with Explorer serving as mother ship. They later expanded their work into Gastineau Channel and Lynn Canal. Triangulation was largely complete by mid-August 1920, and the rest of the field work concluded on 7 October 1920, after which the vessels proceeded from Juneau to Seattle, where they arrived on 18 October 1921.

On 24 March 1921, the vessels departed Seattle to resume their work,

The vessels set out from Seattle on 14 March 1922 for the next field season conducting wire-drag operations and triangulation and studying topography, geomagnetism, and inshore hydrography in Stephens Passage and Lynn Canal until October 1921.

Photographs of Scandinavia during her Coast and Geodetic Survey career show her performing wire-drag operations in support of hydrographic survey work in the Territory of Alaska in 1920 and operating in Southeast Alaska in 1927.

1910s

On 28 January 1910, the United States Asiatic Fleet was reestablished.

1920s

In January 1920, two Asiatic Fleet ships, the armored cruiser USS South Dakota (Armored Cruiser No. 9) and the protected cruiser USS Albany (Cruiser No. 23), helped to preserve order in Vladivostok in Russia when the civil authorities there were overthrown during the ongoing Russian Civil War, and South Dakota and Albany covered the withdrawal of the American Expeditionary Force, Siberia, from Russian territory via Vladivostok, which was completed on 1 April 1920. In March 1920, meanwhile, riots broke out in Kiukiang, China, and the gunboats USS Elcano (Gunboat No. 38) and USS Samar (Gunboat No. 41) played a significant role in restoring order there. During the spring of 1920, two Asiatic Fleet gunboats were stationed near Chungking during unrest in that area. Also that spring, the gunboats USS Palos (Gunboat No. 16) and USS Monocacy (Gunboat No. 20) were actively involved in the successful suppression of piracy on the Yangtze, where river pirates and other criminals had been firing on passing vessels and stopping and looting steamers and junk.

In May 1920, Destroyer Division 13, consisting of the destroyers USS Tarbell (DD-142), USS Yarnall (DD-143), USS Upshur (DD-144), USS Greer (DD-145), USS Elliot (DD-146), and USS Lea (DD-118) joined the Asiatic Fleet, as did a mine detachment consisting of the light minelayers USS Hart (DM-8) and USS Rizal (DM-14). The arrival of these ships allowed the Asiatic Fleet to establish radio communications along the Yangtze, with Upshur, Elliot, and Rizal providing radio relay services on the river during 1920. As of 1 December 1920, the Asiatic Fleet included 26 ships, including Huron (as South Dakota had been renamed in July 1920, simulateously being redesignated CA-9), Albany (reclassified as a gunboat and redesignated PG-38 in July 1920), the protected cruiser USS New Orleans (CL-22), the six destroyers and two minelayers, and various gunboats and auxiliaries.

In December 1922 the U.S. Navy was restructured, with the U.S. Pacific Fleet and United States Atlantic Fleet combining to form a unified United States Fleet. However, the Asiatic Fleet remained a separate entity and was charged with defending the Philippines and Guam and with upholding the Open Door Policy in China.

In 1923, the Asiatic Fleet reported a considerable amount of piracy and banditry on the upper Yangtze, but also that it lacked vessels suitable for patrolling there, its ships being either too deep in draft or too great in length to navigate the shallow and restricted waters of the upper river or lacking the power necessary to negotiate the upper Yangtze′s rapids. It also reported that its gunboat fleet on the river was worn out and no longer economical to maintain. That year, Asiatic Fleet vessels intervened to protect the steamer Alice Dollar from an attack by several hundred Chinese bandits. In December 1923, when Generalissimo Sun Yat-sen of the Chinese military government in Guangzhou announced that his government would seize control of customs in Canton, which were under international control, the Asiatic Fleet sent six destroyers to Canton, which cooperated successfully with the navies of other countries to deter Sun from following through on his threat.

In the Philippines in January 1924, a group of religious fanatics calling themselves the "Colorum" rebelled against the authority of Governor-General of the Philippines Leonard Wood. After Wood accepted an offer of assistance by Asiatic Fleet commander-in-chief Admiral Thomas Washington, the gunboat USS Sacramento (PG-19) landed a force of United States Marines and Philippine Constabulary armed with machine guns at the Colorum stronghold of Socorro. They drove Colorum members out of the town and restored order.

Virtually the entire Asiatic Fleet deployed to the coastal waters of China and the Yangtze during fiscal year 1925 (1 July 1924–30 June 1925), as combat between rival Chinese armies increasingly threatened American lives and property. In September and October 1924, Chinese armies posed a threat to Americans and their property in Shanghai and along the lower Yangtze, and Asiatic Fleet vessels joined U.S. Marines deployed from Guam and vessels of other countries to prevent fighting in Shanghai and ensure that navigation along the river was not interrupted. As internal conflict continued to roil China, destroyers of the Asiatic Fleet joined the gunboats of the Yangtze Patrol in protecting live and property along the Yangzte during fiscal year 1926 (1 July 1925–30 June 1926).

During fiscal year 1927 (1 July 1926–30 June 1927), the Asiatic Fleet was reinforced temporarily by three cruisers of Light Cruiser Division 3, two transports, and a 4,400-strong brigade of U.S. Marines as Asiatic Fleet forces spent considerable effort on evacuating Americans from threatened areas along the Yangtze, either to central locations where they could be better protected until conditions calmed down or out of China entirely. The largest conflict took place in the Nanking Incident of 1927 on 24 March 1927, when the Chinese National Revolutionary Army entered Nanking and its soldiers joined Chinese civilians in rioting against foreign interests in the city and murdering foreigners. The Asiatic Fleet destroyers USS Noa (DD-343), USS William B. Preston (DD-344), USS John D. Ford (DD-228), USS Pillsbury (DD-227), and USS Simpson (DD-221), arrived along with a number of warships of the British Royal Navy at Nanking, and Noa and William B. Preston joined British ships in bombarding the city, after which the officers of the two navies demanded the safe evacuation of all foreigners in Naking, which the Chinese agreed to. By the late spring and early summer of 1927, virtually the entire Asiatic Fleet, including its reinforcements, was operating in Chinese waters.

The conflict in China eased considerably during fiscal year 1928 (1 July 1927–30 June 1928), with little fighting along the Yangtze, allowing American businessmen to return to their dwellings and properties along the river and navigation of the river by American merchant ships to resume. The situation in Shanghai, where 1,000 U.S. Marines were stationed, stabilized. After receiving word of a threat to American missions in Yueng Kong, an expedition of sailors from the gunboat USS Asheville (PG-21) armed as naval infantrymen ascended the Makyoung River to defend the missions on 17 November 1927, but upon arriving found that no threat existed, a Chinese parade having been mistaken for an uprising. In Canton, a force of armed sailors from the gunboat Sacramento landed with a 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun on 12 December 1927 to defend the American consulate there during a communist uprising, but the situation in the city calmed enough for them to return to the ship the next day. When fears for the safety of Americans in Tientsin and Peking grew as Nationalist Chinese forces advanced on them, the Asiatic Fleet deployed a cruiser, two light cruisers, 17 destroyers, 11 submarines, and 10 other ships to northern Chinese waters — particularly in the waters around the Taku Bar — to support the 3,000 U.S. Marines deployed to protect Americans in the two cities. Forces of the warlord Chang Tso Lin evacuated the cities and fighting was minimal, however, and the United States began to reduce the Marine presence in July 1928. The number of Marines ashore in China dropped from 4,003 on 1 July 1928 to 1,700 in late January 1929, when the last Marines pulled out of Tientsin, leaving 500 Marines in Peking and 1,200 in Shanghai.

On the Yangtze, Asiatic Fleet forces responded in January 1929 to block an attempt by Chinese military authorities to detain and search American merchant ships at the Woosung forts. In February and March 1929, Asiatic Fleet ships gathered a Yantai (known to the Western world at the time as "Chefoo"), to protect Americans who had gathered there to seek shelter during unrest on the Shandong Peninsula. In March 1929, Asiatic Fleet vessels on the Yangtze took measures to protect Americans at Nanking during unrest there. In May 1929, the three light cruisers of Light Cruiser Division 3 were detached from the Asiatic Fleet and withdrew. On 1 June 1929, the fleet's commander-in-chief, Admiral Mark L. Bristol, was among the dignitaries who attended the funeral of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China.

During fiscal year 1930 (1 July 1929–30 June 1930), Asiatic Fleet ships found time to make port visits in China, Japan, and the Philippines, but as Chinese Nationalist forces redeployed to fight various actions in the Chinese Civil War, they left many areas unguarded, and bandits and communist forces took advantage of their absence to launch raids in those area, including against major ports on the Yangtze and coastal cities in China. Attacks on Asiatic Fleet and American merchant vessels became frequent enough to prompt the fleet to institute a convoy system for American merchant ships and to place U.S. Navy personnel aboard the merchant ships to provide an armed guard. The fleet also deployed a division of destroyers to Chinese waters to reinforce the standing Yangtze and South China patrols, employing them to respond to emergencies as they arose along the Chinese coast and on the lower Yangtze.

1930s

Banditry in China continued to be a major problem in fiscal year 1931 (1 July 1930–30 June 1931), and the Asiatic Fleet continued to use destroyers to reinforce the gunboats patrolling the Yangzte and the Siang River. Asiatic Fleet and American merchant vessels repeatedly came under fire on those rivers, and the Asiatic Fleet continued to convoy American merchant ships on the rivers and supply them with a naval armed guard.

During fiscal year 1932 (1 July 1931–30 June 1932), the Asiatic Fleet reported one of its "busiest years on record." A significant turnover in Asiatic Fleet forces took place during the year. On 7 December 1931, the six-ship divisions of Destroyer Squadron 5 were reorganized into four-ship divisions, and a new Destroyer Division 17 — consisting of USS MacLeish (DD-220), USS McCormick (DD-223), USS Tracy (DD-214), USS Truxton (DD-229), USS Borie (DD-215), and USS Simpson — was created, detached from the fleet, and ordered to return to the United States. The fleet's aircraft depot ship, USS Jason (AC-12), followed on 2 April 1932, and on 2 May 1932, the six submarines of Submarine Squadron — USS S-30 (SS-135), USS S-31 (SS-136), USS S-32 (SS-137), USS S-33 (SS-138), USS S-34 (SS-139), and USS S-35 (SS-140) — and their submarine tender, USS Beaver (AS-5), also returned to the United States, while the gunboat Helena was decommissioned at Manila on 27 May 1932 pending sale. The fleet was reinforced by the arrival of the gunboat Asheville in March 1932 and the armored cruiser USS Rochester (CA-2) and gunboat Sacramento in April 1932.

Meanwhile, a disastrous flood struck the Yangtze Valley in the summer of 1931, inundating 34,000 square miles (88,000 km²), drowning an estimated 150,000 people, and inflicting an estimated US$500,000,000 in damage, and the Asiatic Fleet's flagship, the heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30), and destroyers of the fleet worked with the Yangtze Patrol's gunboats to assist American consular authorities at Hankow and Nanking in evacuating American citizens and rendering assistance. With China's internal political and military situation as tumultuous as at any time since the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, the fleet also had to extend its resources to protect American lives and property against banditry and unrest across a wide swath of China. Asiatic Fleet destroyers, usually three at a time, reinforced the gunboats patrolling the Yangtze. Because of disturbances in northern China, an Asiatic Fleet gunboat — first USS Tulsa (PG-22), later relieved by Asheville — kept watch on the Tientsin-Taku-Yantai region throughout the fiscal year, and in the south, heightened tensions between Chinese factions in Canton raised concern for American safety, especially after the retirement of Helena left only the river gunboat USS Mindanao (PR-8) in the Canton area. Asiatic Fleet destroyers as well asTulsa and Sacramento kept watch on the ports of Foochow, Amoy, and Swatow as unrest grew there during the fiscal year, and Communist attacks in the Amoy area reached such levels in April, May, and June 1932 that Tulsa, Sacramento, the submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9), and other Asiatic Fleet vessels were ordered to Amoy to protect Americans at the international settlement at Kulangsu and evacuate them if necessary, with Sacramento remaining at Amoy through the end of the fiscal year.

The Asiatic Fleet reported that banditry remained a widespread problem in China during fiscal year 1933 (1 July 1932–30 June 1933), and in the face of attacks along the upper and middle Yangtze, it continued to convoy American merchant ships in that area and provide them with naval armed guard detachments. In addition, anti-Japanese protests in China in the wake of Japan's conquest of Manchuria in the Mukden Incident of 1931–1932 threatened American lives and property and necessitated the deployment of Asiatic Fleet vessels to disturbed areas throughout the fiscal year. On 4 November 1933, Houston departed for the United States and was relieved as fleet flagship by the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31). On 14 March 1934, the gunboat USS Fulton (PG-49) was almost destroyed by a fire at sea off Hong Kong; there was no loss of life and she survived, but she was towed to Hong Kong and decommissioned, and never returned to service. During fiscal year 1934 (1 July 1933–30 June 1934), the Asiatic Fleet maintained the usual defense of American lives and property on the Yangtze, and Asiatic Fleet ships also made frequent calls at ports in southern China, where their presence had a "steadying" effect in the face of Communist attacks. On 5 June 1934, the fleet's commander-in-chief, Admiral Frank P. Upham, represented the U.S. Navy at the funeral of Japanese Admiral Heihachiro Togo in Japan.

In late July 1937, the Asiatic Fleet's commander-in-chief, Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, took his flagship, the heavy cruiser Augusta, to the Soviet Union's main naval base in the Pacific, Vladivostok, along with four of the fleet's destroyers. The visit, urged by the Soviet government, was an attempt to display solidarity between the Soviet Union and the United States in the face of increasingly aggressive Japanese behavior in China and along the border between the Soviet Union and the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria. The visit was unsuccessful in deterring further Japanese military operations in either area.

Sortie of 23 June 1904

Sortie of 23 June 1904
Part of the Russo-Japanese War
Location of the operation.
Date 23 June 1904 Location Yellow Sea, off Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula, China (37°57.83′N 122°15.49′E) Result Tactically inconclusive Strategic Japanese victory
Belligerents
Empire of Japan	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Tōgō Heihachirō Dewa Shigetō	Wilgelm Vitgeft Pavel Ukhtomsky
Strength
5 battleships 4 armoured cruisers 8 protected cruisers 18 destroyers 30 torpedo boats	6 battleships 4 protected cruisers 14 destroyers
Casualties and losses
killed & wounded 4 destroyers damaged	killed & wounded 1 cruiser damaged

The sortie of 23 June 1904 was a major naval operation of the Russo-Japanese War. The Imperial Russian Navy's First Pacific Squadron blockaded at Port Arthur attempted to break out, defeat what it hoped would be an inferior Imperial Japanese Navy force, and form up with counterparts from Vladivostok. The Japanese succeeded in bringing stronger forces to bear than the Russians anticipated and outmaneuvered the Russians, who opted to return to Port Arthur without achieving any of their objectives, fighting off torpedo attacks by Japanese destroyers during their return voyage.

Background

The Russo-Japanese War had begun on 8 February 1904 with a surprise torpedo attack by Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers on the Imperial Russian Navy's First Pacific Squadron at Port Arthur on the Liaodong Peninsula. The attack had knocked three Russian battleships out of action. An abortive attempt by undamaged ships of the squadron to sortie on 13 April 1904 had ended in disaster when the squadron's flagship, the battleship Petropavlovsk struck a mine and sank, killing most of the men on board including the squadron's commander, Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov. Makarov's successor in command, Vice Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft, was less aggressive than Makarov and preferred that the squadron bide its time in port. The Russian squadron thus remained trapped in port while Japanese warships blockaded Port Arthur. On 5 May 1904, the Imperial Japanese Army's Second Army landed on the Liadong Peninsula and began an advance on Port Arthur.

Throughout late July and early August 1904, as the Imperial Japanese Army laid siege to Port Arthur, relations between Admiral Vitgeft and Russian Viceroy Yevgeni Alekseyev increasingly soured. Viceroy Alekseyev, a former admiral, favored an aggressive sortie so as to enable the First Pacific Squadron to link up with the Vladivostok Squadron and thereby create a naval force powerful enough to challenge the Japanese fleet. Admiral Vitgeft believed in a fleet in being, which simply stayed at anchor to tie down blockading Japanese naval forces while at the same time contributing some of his weaponry to the land battle, as the safest course to follow. Although passive, Vitgeft's preference was actually more in keeping with the Imperial Russian Navy's doctrine, which called for building up Russian naval strength (by waiting for the arrival of the Baltic Fleet, also known as the 2nd Pacific Squadron), and then engaging the Japanese navy in decisive battle.

Alekseyev appealed to St. Petersburg, and Tsar Nicholas II replied that he fully shared the Viceroy's opinion that Vitgeft should take aggressive action. Faced with an Imperial writ and threat of legal action, Vitgeft received orders to proceed to Vladivostok immediately. By 06:15 hours on 23 June 1904, Vitgeft, flying his flag in the battleship Tsesarevich, began leading his squadron from the harbor. In addition to Tsesarevich, it consisted of the battleships Retvizan, Pobeda, Peresvet, Sevastopol, and Poltava, the protected cruisers Askold, Diana, Novik, and Pallada, and 14 destroyers.

Midship view of the Russian flagship, Tsesarevich

Battle

At 09:55, the Russian Pacific Squadri=on had cleared the harbor's entrance, and as it completed its exit, Vitgeft made a feint to the southwest to conceal his actual intent, whereby he succeeded in delaying Japanese Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō's concentration of his forces. Although Vitgeft's move bought him time, Tōgō previously had issued orders for his warships to assemble near Encounter Rock in the event Vitgeft left port and took that route. By 11:00 hours, it was clear to the Japanese that Vitgeft's fleet was headed for the open sea.

Japanese Admiral Tōgō's flagship, Mikasa

At about 12:25 the battleship fleets sighted each other near Encounter Rock at a range of about 11 miles (18 km). Vitgeft's battlefleet was headed southeast at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph), while Tōgō, on an intercepting course, came from the northeast at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). Tōgō′s fleet consisted of Japan's four surviving first-class battleships (Mikasa, Asahi, Fuji, and Shikishima), the second-class battleship Chin Yen, and the armoured cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga, as well as eight protected cruisers, 18 destroyers, and 30 torpedo boats. During this time, Admiral Dewa's four cruisers (Chitose, Takasago, Yakumo or Kasagi, and Yoshino) came into view, fast approaching from the south at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), and Tōgō attempted to squeeze Vitgeft's fleet between the two advancing columns.

Just after 13:00, Tōgō attempted to cross Vitgeft's T and commenced firing his main batteries from the extreme range of more than 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi). Vitgeft, with the battleship Retvizan, returned fire, but the range was excessive for both sides and neither scored hits. Tōgō had miscalculated his speed when trying to cross Vitgeft's T, and Vitgeft simply made a quick turn to port, maintained his speed, and increased the range from Tōgō's fleet. Within minutes, Vitgeft's squadron again was headed for the open sea, and Tōgō's pincer move had failed, as Dewa's cruisers had to turn quickly to avoid a collision with Tōgō's battleline, and thus broke contact without having fired a shot. As Tōgō observed Vitgeft's battleline swiftly move past his own in the opposite direction, he quickly ordered each Japanese warship to turn about individually, which put his cruisers into the lead and now parallel with Vitgeft's battleline.

At about 13:25, and again at a range of over 8 miles (13 km), Tōgō's battleships opened fire on Vitgeft's flagship and Retvizan, hitting the latter 12 times. By about 13:30 the Russian flagship had returned fire, knocking out Tōgō's wireless communications with two 305 mm (12 in) shell direct hits at this extreme range. For nearly half an hour the two battleship fleets pounded each other, slowly closing their range, until by 14:05 they reached about 3.5 miles (5.6 km), at which time both fleets let loose with their secondary 155 mm (6 in) guns. As the fleets continued to pound each other with all available guns, Tōgō's flagship was beginning to feel its wounds, and he tried to turn his vessel a bit, due to the hits she was taking (she ended up being hit 20 times), and urgently tried to have his cruisers engage the Russian battleline. But with his radio shot out, he had to rely on flag signals and radio relays from accompanying warships.

The Japanese cruisers had re-established contact with the Russian battleline, but were quickly driven off by their 305 mm gunfire. Both battlefleets were maintaining about 14 knots, but again, Vitgeft had managed to get past Tōgō, and the Japanese were forced to commence a stern chase. By 14:45 the Japanese flagship had closed to within about 7 miles (11 km) of the trailing battleship Poltava, which had been unable to maintain its fleet's 14 knots due to engine trouble. Mikasa and Asahi soon began to pound Poltava, scoring several hits. However, Admiral Ukhtomsky in the battleship Peresvet observed the plight of Poltava and ordered his division to fall back and help Poltava, and they began concentrating their gunfire onto Mikasa and Asahi. With Admiral Ukhtomsky's division firing, coupled with Poltava's rejoining of the fight, Mikasa and Asahi began taking too many hits, and upon the urging of his chief of staff, Tōgō used his superior speed to break contact, race ahead of Vitgeft's fleet, and try to re-establish contact again under more favorable conditions. By 15:20 the range was opened and the firing ceased.

As the battleships had broken contact, Admiral Dewa with his cruisers attempted to get into action, when suddenly the Russian battleships opened up on him. At about 15:40 one 305 mm shell hit Dewa's cruiser, Yakumo from a range of over 8 miles, which was well out of range of his 203 mm (8 in) guns. Admiral Dewa decided that his four Japanese cruisers had no business tangling with any Russian battleships.

By this time, only Tōgō's 6 warships (4 battleships and 2 armored cruisers) were chasing Vitgeft's 10 warships (6 battleships and 4 cruisers). With darkness only 3 hours away, Admiral Vitgeft believed that he had outranged Admiral Tōgō, and would lose him totally when darkness came. Tōgō knew this too, and ordered a 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) speed to catch up to the tail end of Vitgeft's fleet. By 17:35 hours Tōgō's warships had closed to within 3.5 miles of the again lagging battleship Poltava, and opened fire upon her. Admiral Dewa also showed up with his cruisers, and Tōgō ordered all battleships and cruisers to shell Poltava, hoping to at least sink one Russian battleship. However, the Russian commander, Captain Ivan P. Uspenskiy of Poltava would not go down meekly, and his crewmen scored several hits on Admiral Tōgō's flagship. At this time, the Shimose shells loaded inside the 305 mm guns began detonating prematurely inside the hot gun barrels; knocking out of action one 305 mm on Shikishima at 17:45, and two 305 mm barrels on Asahi at 18:10 hours. By 18:30, Tōgō had only 11 of his original 16 305 mm guns still in action.

Although the range had dropped to about 3 miles, the secondary batteries of 155 and 203 mm guns were still ineffective, and Poltava and Peresvet, although heavily damaged, were still with the Russian battleline. By 18:30, Tōgō was still having trouble controlling his battleship's gunfire; Shikishima and Asahi were blasting away at the crippled Poltava, Fuji was shooting at Pobeda and Peresvet, while the flagship Mikasa was duelling with the Russian flagship Tsesarevich. No IJN warships were shooting at the Russian battleships Retvizan and Sevastopol, which allowed them to freely blast away at Mikasa. With darkness only 30 minutes away, the Japanese flagship Mikasa almost no longer combat effective, and Russian gunfire seemingly becoming more accurate and effective with each cannon shot; the flagship signaled to Asahi to take over (known as a battle handoff) the shooting upon the lead Russian battleship. Within 10 minutes of being relieved by Asahi, Admiral Tōgō got his lucky break: at 18:40 Asahi fired a 305 mm salvo into the Russian flagship Tsesarevich, instantly killing Admiral Vitgeft and his immediate staff, and jamming the flagship's steering wheel. The explosion had wedged the wheel into a port turn, sharp enough so that Tsesarevich heeled over 12 degrees. Retvizan, which was unaware of the situation on the flagship, followed in her wake. By the time Pobeda arrived at the turning point, Tsesarevich had swung around 180 degrees and was heading back into her own line. With no signal to indicate what had happened, the other ships were unaware that Tsesarevich was not only out of control and without its admiral, but was actually without anyone at all in command.

Russian battleship Retvizan, whose captain received severe wounds in the ship's brave solo charge against the Japanese fleet

Prince Pavel Ukhtomsky of the battleship Peresvet soon realized that the flagship was out of action, and attempted to gain control of the Russian squadron. But a Japanese shell, falling wide, cut the foremast of Peresvet, preventing the signal flags from being hoisted as usual; they had to be hoisted along the bridge instead. Being thus almost hidden from view, the signal apparently was only seen on Sevastopol; no other Russian capital ships followed Ukhtomsky's lead.

At the same time Captain Eduard Schensnovich commanding Retvizan, immediately turned his battleship towards Tōgō's battleline, charging directly into it with all weapons firing, despite being down by the bow from battle damage. Tōgō's battleline shifted their fire onto Retvizan as the range dropped to less than three miles. There were so many shell splashes surrounding the charging battleship, that Japanese gunners were unable to adjust their fire. However, as Tōgō's battleships were running low on 305 mm shells, and many of his main guns were out of action, he decided to play it safe, and with the Russian squadron scattered, he turned the fight over to his cruisers and destroyers.

As Tōgō's ships began their turn, they fired a final salvo, hitting the enemy battleship with several shells, one of which seriously wounded Captain Schensnovich in the stomach. Retvizan laid smoke and also began to turn away, but the battleship had effectively ended the duel between the opposing pre-dreadnoughts, and had saved the flagship from destruction. There was little choice but to give up the attempt to reach Vladivostok and to return to Port Arthur. Even this proved impossible to coordinate, and many ships wandered off on their own.

Two hours later, the bulk of the Russian fleet returned to the relative safety of Port Arthur. Five battleships, a cruiser and nine destroyers made it back. The damaged Tsesarevich and three escorting destroyers sailed to Kiaochou, where they were interned by German authorities. The cruiser Askold and another destroyer sailed to Shanghai and were likewise interned by Chinese authorities. The cruiser Diana escaped to Saigon, where it was interned by the French. Only the small cruiser Novik sailed east around the Japanese home islands to try to reach Vladivostok. However, on 20 August 1904 pursuing Japanese cruisers forced the ship aground at Sakhalin, where it was destroyed by the crew after engaging the Japanese at the Battle of Korsakov.

Battle damage and casualties

The nearly seven hours of naval combat coupled with the estimated 7,382 fired shells had produced a hit rate of 1.7%.

Captain Eduard Schensnovich, who had bravely charged his battleship into Admiral Tōgō's battleline, thus ending the battleship fleet duel and saving the Russian flagship from destruction, later died from his wounds received in April 1910, at the age of 58.

Damage and casualties included the following:

Battleship	Primary Armament	Water line Armor	Year Launched	Builder	Damage sustained	Casualties
Tsesarevich, (Flagship)	4 12-inch, 12 6-inch guns	9 3/4 inches	1901	Toulon, France	13 305 mm gun hits and two 203 mm hits	12 crewmen killed and 47 crewmen wounded. First Pacific Squadron Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft killed.
Pobeda	4 10-inch guns, 11 6-inch guns	9 inches	1900	St. Petersburg, Russia	11 large caliber hits	4 crewmen killed and 29 crewmen wounded
Peresvet	4 10-inch guns, 11 6-inch guns	9 inches	1898	St. Petersburg, Russia	39 hits
Poltava	4 12-inch guns, 12 6-inch guns	14 1/2 inches	1894	St. Petersburg, Russia	12 to 14 hits, 203 to 305 mm guns	12 crewmen killed and 43 crewmen wounded
Retvizan	4 12-inch guns, 12 6-inch guns	9 inches	1900	Philadelphia, United States	18 hits from 203 and 305 mm guns	6 crewmen killed and 42 crewmen wounded
Sevastopol	4 12-inch guns, 12 6-inch guns	14 1/2 inches	1895	St. Petersburg, Russia	Struck by several shells	1 crewman killed and 62 crewmen wounded
Mikasa (Flagship)	4 12-inch guns, 14 6-inch guns	9 inches	1900	Barrow, Great Britain	Hit 20 times and aft 305 mm turret knocked out of action	125 casualties
Asahi	4 12-inch guns, 14 6-inch guns	9 inches	1899	Clydebank, Great Britain	1 305 mm hit near the waterline and both aft 305 mm gun barrels burst	2 crewmen wounded
Shikishima	4 12-inch guns, 14 6-inch guns	9 inches	1898	Thames Iron Works, Great Britain	1 forward 305 mm gun barrel burst
Yakumo Armoured Cruiser	4 8-inch guns, 12 6-inch guns	7 inches	1899	Stettin, Germany	1 305 mm hit

Result

The Russians wanted to break out and sail to Vladivostok (relocating the fleet to there would have left the Japanese needing to mount a new campaign if it wanted to besiege the Russian fleet again and such a campaign would have overtaxed the resources of Field Marshal Ōyama). The Japanese had an underlying objective to destroy the Russian fleet while minimising their own losses. Once the Russian fleet left Port Arthur the Japanese initially sought to prevent it returning there. When the Japanese realised the Russians were not returning to Port Arthur they also sought to prevent the Russians reaching an alternative port. The Japanese prevented the Russians from reaching Vladivostok but failed to stop most of the fleet returning to Port Arthur. Neither side achieved its tactical goals. The Japanese, however, were successful to prevent the breakout, and returning Russian ships were later eliminated in the course of the Siege of Port Arthur.

References

• Corbett, Sir Julian. Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 (1994) Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-129-7
• Forczyk, Robert (2009). Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship, Yellow Sea 1904–05. London, UK: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84603-330-8.
• Friedman, Norman. (2013) Naval Firepower: Battleship Guns and Gunnery in the Dreadnaught Era. Seaforth Publishing; ISBN 978-1-84832-185-4
• Kowner, Rotem (2006). Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War. Scarecrow. ISBN 0-8108-4927-5.
• Lardas, Mark (2018). Tsushima 1905: Death of a Russian Fleet. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-4728-2683-1.
• Nish, Ian (1985). The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War. Longman. ISBN 0-582-49114-2
• Sedwick, F. R. (1909). The Russo-Japanese War. The Macmillan Company
• Semenov, Vladimir, Capt. The Battle of Tsushima (1912). New York, E. P. Dutton.
• Semenoff, Vladimir, Capt. The Battle of Tsushima (1907). London, John Murray, Albemarle Street, W.
• Steer, A. P., Lieutenant; Imperial Russian Navy. (1913) The "Novik" and the Part she Played in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904. Translated by L.A.B., translator and editor of "Rasplata". New York, E.P. Dutton.
• Naval War College (1906). International law topics and discussions, 1905. Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 162.

External links

• Russo-Japanese War Research Society
• Russian Navy history of war: Паровой броненосный и миноносный флот
• article in Russian Language: Энциклопедия кораблей/Сражения/Русско-японская война/Желтое море

Category:Conflicts in 1904 Category:1904 in Japan Category:Naval battles of the Russo-Japanese War Category:Yellow Sea Category:Battles involving Japan Category:Battles involving Russia Category:August 1904 events

Evgeny Aleksandrovich Radkevich

General of the Infantry Evgeny Aleksandrovich Radkevich
Radkevitch in 1914
Born	(1851-09-16)16 September 1851 Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	1930 (aged 78–79) Soviet Union
Allegiance	Imperial Russian Army (1872–1917) Russian Army (1917) Red Army (1918-1923)
Years of service	1872–1912, 1914–1918, 1918–1923
Rank	General of the infantry
Commands held	6th Battery, 3rd Regiment 3rd Regiment 6th Mortar Artillery Regiment 10th Artillery Brigade 72nd Infantry Division 10th Infantry Division Lodz Garrison 3rd Siberian Army Corps Irkutsk Military District 10th Army Petrograd Military District
Battles/wars	Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Russo-Japanese War Battle of Shaho Battle of Sandepu Battle of Mukden World War I East Prussian Campaign Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes Battle of Vilna Lake Naroch Offensive Baranovichi Offensive
Awards	Order of Saint Stanislaus Order of Saint Vladimir Order of Saint Anna Order of the White Eagle Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky

Evgeny Aleksandrovich Radkevich (Ukrainian: Rodkevich) (16 September 1851 - 1930) was an Imperial Russian Army general of the infantry and a member of the Russian Empire's Military Council. He saw combat during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the Russo-Japanese War and served as a commander of Russian field armies during World War I.

Biography

Early life

Descended from hereditary nobles of the Vitebsk Governorate, Radkevich was born there on 16 September 1851. He studied in the Polotsk cadet corps. On 15 August 1869 he entered the 2nd Konstantinovsk Military School. He transferred to the Nikolaev Engineering School, from which he graduated first in his class on 22 June 1872.

Early military service

After graduation, Radkevich was commissioned as an ensign on 22 June 1872 — with a date of seniority of 11 August 1871 — into the 19th Artillery Brigade at Stavropol in the Caucasus Military District. He was promoted to second lieutenant on 6 November 1872 and to lieutenant on 29 December 1873. In 1874 he was sent to Saint Petersburg for admission to the Nikolaev Engineering Academy, but he could not pass the examinations returned for service in the same brigade. Promoted to staff captain with a date of seniority of 12 September 1876, Radkevich participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. For serving with distinctions during the war, he was awarded two orders and promoted to captain on 6 November 1878, with a date of rank of 6 September 1877.

From 12 September to 1 November 1885, Radkevich served in the Caucasian Military District. In 1886 he graduated from the Artillery Officer School.

On 30 July 1889, Radkevich was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and on the same day he became the commander of the 6th Battery of the 3rd Regiment of the 31st Artillery Brigade at Belgorod in the Kiev Military District. He was promoted to colonel on 30 August 1894. On 1 January 1898 he took command of the 3rd Regiment itself. On 29 December 1899 he became the commander of the 6th Mortar Artillery Regiment at Kherson in the Odessa Military District. On 2 October 1902, he was promoted for distinction to major general, with a date of seniority of 3 October 1902. On 3 December 1902 he took command of the 10th Artillery Brigade in the V Army Corps at Lodz in the Warsaw Military District.

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War began on 8 February 1904, and on 18 June 1904 the Imperial Russian Army began the formation of the 6th Siberian Army Corps, consisting of the 55th and 72nd Infantry Divisions. On 27 July 1904, Radkevich's 10th Artillery Brigade became part of the new corps. The corps completed its formation in July 1904, and in September 1904 it became part of the 1st Manchurian Army. He saw action with the 10th Artillery Brigade in the Battle of Shaho in October 1904. On 11 December 1904, he became chief of artillery of the 6th Siberian Army Corps, and in that position participated in the Battle of Sandepu in January 1905. On 4 February 1905 he became provisional commander of the 72nd Infantry Division, leading it in the Battle of Mukden in February–March 1905. Official approval of his command of the division was promulgated on 27 May 1905. For his Russo-Japanese War service he was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus First Class with Swords and the Order of Saint Anna First Class with Swords and Golden Weapons.

Between the wars

After the Russo-Japanese War ended in August 1905, Radkevich remained in command of the 72nd Infantry Division. From 3 February 1906 to 14 June 1908 he commanded the 10th Infantry Division, simultaneously he serving as interim Governor-General of Petrokov Province from 30 July 1906 to 5 September 1907 an as commander of the Lodz Garrison from 22 January 1908.

From 14 June 1908 to 1 September 1912, Radkevich was commander of the 3rd Siberian Army Corps, simultaneously serving as temporary commander of the Irkutsk Military District from 11 December 1909 to 6 February 1910 and again from 20 December 1910 to 20 February 1911. He retired on 1 September 1912, and on 9 September 1912 received a promotion in retirement to general of the infantry on 9 September 1912, with a date of rank of 8 May 1912.

World War I

The Russian Empire entered World War I on 1 August 1914. On 7 August 1914, Radkevich returned to active duty and was re-appointed commander of the 3rd Siberian Army Corps, which became part of the new 10th Army. During the Russian invasion of East Prussia, the 10th Army began fighting the Imperial German Army's 8th Army in the Augustów Forest on 15 September 1914. Although the 10th Army's 2nd Caucasian Army Corps and the 22nd Army Corps failed to achieve their objectives, Radkevich's 3rd Siberian Army Corps succeeded in occupying Augustów and cutting off German communications. On 16 and 17 September 1914, the 10th Army turned the front to the left, and Radkevich's fought stubborn battles near Augustów while other army corps also went over to the offensive and cleared the Augustów Forest of German forces. The 10th Army took about 3,000 prisoners and captured 20 guns. For his performance in these operations, Radkevich was awarded the Order of Saint George Fourth Class.

In October and November 1914, the 10th Army fought local battles without any connection with the main operations on the Eastern Front. In early December 1914, the 10th Army launched a new offensive, but could not break through the fortified front of the German 8th Army and suffered heavy losses. In early January 1915, the 10th Army conducted the Lasdenden operation, which did not bring the success the Imperial Russian Army expected of it.

In February 1915, the 3rd Siberian Army Corps participated in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes. On 7 February 1915, the German 8th Army attacked the left flank of the Russian 10th Army. The next day, the German 10th Army launched an offensive in the rear of the Russian 10th Army, inflicting a major blow on the right flank of the 3rd Siberian Army Corps, driving the 26th Army Corps out of its positions and forcing it to retreat. The retreat exposed the left flank of the 20th Army Corps, which the Germans subsequently surrounded and defeated in the vicinity of ​​the Augustów Forest. On the left flank of the 10th Army in the Elk–Raigorod sector. Radkevich's 3rd Siberian Corps alone confronted the German 8th and 10th Armies (totaling about three corps) and held off three German attacks, saving the 10th Army from complete destruction. Even the German General Erich Ludendorff expressed admiration for Radkevich's actions.

After the German defeat of the 10th Army in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, Radkevich relieved Thadeus von Sivers as commander of the 10th Army on 25 April 1915. According to the Russian military historian A. A. Kersnovsky in History of the Russian Army, “An excellent corps commander, General Radkevich felt insecure at the head of the army and needed a mentor.” Radkevich commanded the 10th Army during the Battle of Vilna in August–September 1915, the Lake Naroch Offensive in March 1916, and the Baranavichi Offensive in July 1916. On 4 October 1916, Radkevich was appointed a member of the Military Council of the Russian Empire.

Revolution and Russian Civil War

In the wake of the February Revolution of 1917, Radkevich remained in the Russian Army of the Russian Republic under the Russian Provisional Government. On 25 April 1917 be became the assistant to the commander of the Petrograd Military District, Lavr Kornilov, and on 29 April 1917 he relieved Kornilov as commander of the district. On 6 May 1917 he again became a member of the Military Council.

In the October Revolution in 1917, the Bolseviks toppled the Russian Provisional Government and the Russian Civil War began. On 21 March 1918, Radkevich was dismissed from the service, and he officially retired again in November 1918.

In 1918 he was mobilized in the Red Army. In the early 1920s he taught topography at the Odessa Artillery School. G. D. Plaskov , then a cadet, recalled in 1969 in Under the Roar of the Cannonade:

A 72-year-old Radkevich, a former tsarist general, left a fond memories. A cheerful, humorous old man, he often often came [to class] by bicycle with a bag full of groceries. He was well provided for financially; on the orders of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic [i.e., the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic], he received a special ration. Before starting classes, Radkevich opened his bag and laid out tiny sandwiches on a snow-white napkin. "Sir Junker, do not offend the old mother" — so he called his wife — "she prepared it for you, eat, we still have left, do not be shy!" It was impossible to refuse: the eyes of this wise and kind man shone very kindly.

He cared for us as sons. In the evenings he came to our room [and] sat down at the table. He wiped his sweating face and said in a voice that allowed no objections: "Come on, gentlemen, show your calendars. How did you prepare for tomorrow?" [We would] carefully check our notes [and] drawings, correct errors, explain them. Somehow he brought a beautiful folder, pulled out from it photographs of his sons, officers, just like him, who had switched over to serve the people. He joyfully, excitedly talked about his meeting with Lenin.

I agreed with him about everything, we understood each other perfectly. And I immediately obeyed him, and the three of us joined the Red Army. The "old mother" was against it, but we persuaded her ...

He talked a lot about the Russo-Japanese [War] and World War I. "And you know, in 1915, I presented to His Majesty the Emperor of Russia documents on the subject of the assignment of the rank of Colonel Nikolai Iosifovich Bettikher; in those years he commanded a heavy artillery division for me..." And it became clear to us why the commandant of the school was pulled at the sight of this teacher.

Radkevich was always busy. The cleanly decorated topography room was filled by cadets during free hours. Maps, schemes of various scales hung on the walls, educational exhibits were neatly arranged. On the tables lay massive multi-colored pencils, erasers, workbeds, sheets of Whatman paper, tracing paper - the general brought most of these scarce things from home. Radkevich bypassed the cadets, advised, showed. We studied here not only topography - the old teacher willingly gave advice on other disciplines.

At ceremonial meetings, when choosing a presidium, dozens of votes called his name. Shy, he climbed onto the stage and sat modestly in the second row. "The commissioner or the head of the school approached him and sat next to him."

In 1923, Radkevich retired due to age. He died in 1930.

References

Category:1851 deaths Category:1930 deaths

Battle of Amiens

FRENCH WIKIPEDIA

The Prussian 1st Army, which continued its march through the Oise and the Somme, between Compiègne and Saint-Quentin. This force of 43,000 men and 180 muzzleloaders was led by General von Manteuffel, who had been given the task of occupying Amiens and then marching towards Rouen in order to strengthen the defenses along the northen flank of the German forces besieging Paris.

The Prussian staff believed that all the French troops in northern France were under the command of General Charles-Denis Bourbaki, who was the general-in-chief of the northern region, and formed a single, unified army covering the railroad which connected Rouen, Amiens, and Lille, in particular the section from Rouen to Amiens, with its right at Rouen, its center at Amiens, and its left at Lille.

On 22 November 1870, Manteuffel sent a reconnaissance force toward the French forces which pushed as far as the Gentelles Wood near Amiens and reported that Bourbaki was present at Amiens. Bourbaki had, in fact, spent the previous day there before heading for Rouen. The Prussians had learned from the newspapers that Bourbaki had been relieved of his command, but apparently believed that he would remain in command at least until the arrival of his successor, and they supposed that, in his journey from Lille to Amiens and from Amiens to Rouen, he had no other goal than to bring the left and right wings of his army back together to concentrate around Amiens at the center of his supposed line.

Without waiting for his army to concentrate its forces fully along the line of the Oise, Manteuffel decided to attack this supposed concentration of the Army of the North with a portion of his army.

Farre's Army of the North was still forming and by late November consisted of only the 22nd Corps with three brigades, but to prevent the Prussians from occupying Amiens without a fight, Farre decided to place his army in front of the Prussians. On the evening of 26 November 1870, Farre completed the concentration of his troops along a line of approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Pont-de-Metz, southwest of Amiens, to Villers-Bretonneux and Corbie in the east, on the left bank of the Somme. On the French left wing, Colonel Joseph Arthur Dufaure du Bessol's 3rd Brigade held the bulk of its forces at Villers-Bretonneux, with detachments at Gentelles and Cachy. In the center, Colonel Joseph Derroja's 2nd Brigade extended from the Montdidier road to Saint-Fuscien, passing through Boves. Farre originally intended to deploy General Alphonse Lecointe’s 1st Brigade to defend the entrenchments south of Amiens, but instead deployed it in position to support of Bessol's 3rd Brigade.

In addition to the 17,000 regular troops, the Army of the North had under its command 8,000 men from the Amiens garrison, commanded by General Paulze d'Ivoy, and charged with the defense of the city.

Fight in a village (Paul Grolleron). Manteuffel deployed a force of around 40,000 men from the 1st Army. He planned an attack for the morning of 27 November 1870. His plan called for his I Corps was to advance beyond the Luce, a tributary of the Avre and a subtributary of the Somme, screened by the 3rd Cavalry Division, while his VIII Corps was to protect the Prussian left flank.

Boves, Cachy and Gentelles fights The Prussians appeared around 1000 in three columns between Boves and Gentelles, which they cleared of French troops along with Cachy. General Lecointe then regrouped part of his brigade for a counterattack, which took first Cachy and then Gentelles and chased the Prussians back to the woods at Domart-sur-la-Luce, where he stopped.

Battle of Dury On November 27, the 1st German Corps defeated the three brigades of the 22nd French Corps in Amiens. One of the engagements took place in Dury, south of Amiens, with disparate troops. According to Lieutenant-Colonel Rousset:

“On the right, near Pont-de-Metz, were three battalions of Gard mobiles; between this village and the main road, a battalion of the 43rd Regiment, the 19th Chasseur Battalion and two companies of riflemen; finally, from the road to the far left, four Gard mobile battalions were deployed (Somme, Marne and North). Behind, the National Guard from Amiens formed a reserve. A 12-gun artillery battery, arriving from Arras and having barely disembarked, occupied the shoulder which cut the road north of Dury; it was soon reinforced by a battery of four guns from the National Guard. "

Around 0830, the French 2nd Chasseur Battalion conducted a reconnaissance in front of Dury, but they were pushed back by the Prussians to the entrenchments around Dury city. Dury and Saint-Fuscien were occupied afterwards without a blow by the Prussians, which turned the flank of the French center at Boves. To escape, Colonel François Pittié led a counterattack along the Avre and at Saint-Fuscien, but was pushed back on Boves, where he resisted Prussian assaults before falling back on Longueau; a final charge led by a Major Zelé decisively stopped the Prussian attack there.

Battle of Villers-Bretonneux The bulk of the action then focused on Villers-Bretonneux, where Prussian forces attacked the entrenched French positions. Since late morning the fighting had intensified between Villers-Bretonneux and Cachy, when around 1430 p.m. two Prussian columns emerging from Marcelcave broke into the far left of the French line and captured the French entrenchments there. The Colonel du Bessol reacted by carrying out a counter-attack which made it possible to retake the entrenchments. The Germans attacked again and broke the French line again. Du Bessol's launched yet another counterattack, which this time failed to retake the French defensive positions outside Villers-Bretonneux. Du Bessol was wounded during this action.

At 1630, General Farre decided to retire: indeed the French troops, although valiant, had lost ground on almost all points of the battle line, and the ammunition was almost exhausted. He ordered the artillery batteries to fall back to Corbie in order to protect the army's line of retreat to the north.

Given the weakness of his army, General Farre ordered the French soldiers to leave Amiens and head for Arras. The Germans took possession of Amiens and strengthened their position by controlling this first-rate road and rail junction.

On November 28, 1870, the Prussians entered Amiens. Commandant Jean-François Vogel, holding the citadel of Amiens with 450 Garde mobiles, 50 of whom deserted, had only 22 pieces of artillery. On the 29th, he was fatally injured. Commandant Woirhaye took command of the citadel and began negotiations with General von Goeben commanding the VIII Prussian Army Corps, with a view to its surrender. On December 1, 1870, the citadel of Amiens capitulated. The Prussians returned military honors to Commander Vogel's remains.

Assessment and consequences A month after the capitulation of Metz, the French are forced to evacuate Amiens, but the French retreat deprived the Prussians of a decisive victory. The French managed to barricade themselves in Arras which, besieged in turn, left another possibility of withdrawal. About 1,383 French soldiers were killed or injured, and a thousand were missing. For their part, the Prussians lost 1,216 soldiers and 76 officers. The day of Villers-Bretonneux decided the fate of Amiens and La Fère. Now the Prussians had two points of support in the North; they sought, thereafter, to make themselves completely masters of the line of the Somme by directing against the place of Péronne their attacks. General de Manteuffel left the observation corps of General von Goeben to Amiens, which consisted of six battalions, eight squadrons and three batteries; then he went down towards Rouen to meet General Briand. The Prussian forces, gathered on December 3 on the Epte line, from Forges-les-Eaux to Gisors, then formed a total of 47 battalions, 48 ​​squadrons and 30 batteries. After the capture of Amiens, Moltke gives the order to the first army to push until Rouen, in order to dissipate the gatherings of French troops which occupied Normandy. After taking Rouen on December 5, the Germans plan to march on Le Havre. But Faidherbe, who arrived in Arras in early December, hastened the reorganization of the army, obtained its separation into two bodies, and had 43,000 men. Its objective was to hinder German progress on Le Havre and to take over Amiens. On the 9th, after a successful helping hand with Ham, he went towards this city which he reoccupied for a short time.

On December 23, the German command therefore decided to attack the French positions northeast of Amiens, at Pont-Noyelles. The battle, also called battle of the Hallue, is tactically indecisive, but Faidherbe, "recognizing the material impossibility of remaining in position in [an] freezing temperature, without bread, without clothing and without fire, and learning that important reinforcements arrived at his adversary, "preferred to give the order of retreat to the north, leaving a thousand killed and wounded, a thousand missing and a few hundred prisoners. Amiens was definitely lost and the Germans could start investing in Péronne.

GERMAN WIKIPEDIA The Battle of Amiens, French Bataille de Villers-Bretonneux, on November 27, 1870 was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War. It took place between the armed forces of the French Northern Army and the German 1st Army. The defeated French retreated to Arras, and on November 29 the Germans succeeded in occupying the Amiens Citadel.

prehistory The German 1st Army (VIII Corps and parts of the I Corps) under General von Manteuffel, which was released after the fall of Metz, was moved to the area north of Paris to secure the Siege of Paris against the French Army of the North. The Prussian 4th Brigade (Generalmajor Karl von Zglinitzki) was assigned to observe the La Fère Fortress and began the actual siege on 25 November 1870. The Prussian 3rd Brigade went with the VIIIth Army Corps to the Somme. From 24 November 1870, the first battles between German and French forces took place north of Paris on the Somme. After several smaller clashes between reconnaissance units, the main battle began on 27 November east of Amiens.

The French Army of the North under Jean Joseph Farre had 17,500 regular French Army soldiers with 50 guns and approximately 8,000 Gardes Mobile troops with 12 guns under General Antoine Paulze d`Ivoy de la Poype. The French moved south of the Somme into a good defensive position along the line Corbie–Villers-Bretonneux–Hangard Wood with a front facing southeast. The German combat troops advancing on Amiens were superior in numbers, with about 30,000 men, as well as in their equipment and military training and experience.

In the center of the front in the vicinity of Thennes, General von Manteuffel and his staff established their headquarters.

During the subsequent battle, the swampy valley of the Avre precluded mutual support between the Prussian left wing, facing the French center and right at Boves and Dury, and the Prussian right wing, facing the French left at Villers-Bretonneux.

The battle

On 27 November 1870 at 0900 parts of the Prussian 2nd Division of the 1st Army Corps, under General Georg Ferdinand von Bentheim, began to advance on toward Amiens from the line Le Quesnel–Bouchoir on the Prussian right wing southeast of Villers-Bretonneux. Blocking their way were significant forces the French had deployed in the area of Domart-sur-la-Luce and the Hangard Wood. Needing to push north of the Luce, a tributary of the Avre, the Prussian advance guard, formed by the 3rd Brigade under Generalmajor Albert von Memerty, occupied the crossings of the Luce at Démuin, Hangard, and Domart-sur-la-Luce. The Prussians quickly cleared the Domart Wood of French troops, and the Prussian infantry then turned against Gentelles, southwest of Villers-Bretonneux. To wait for his artillery to come up to support a further advance, General von Bentheim ordered his troops to stop, and the French withdrew from the developing firefight at Gentelles. In the meantime, the Prussian 44th Infantry Regiment penetrated the eastern part of the Hangard Wood and attacked the French position between Villers-Bretonneux and Marcelcave. Unnoticed by the French, Prussian dragoons secured the road to Domart-sur-la-Luce.

At around 1300, the French prepared a counterattack against the Prussian 3rd Brigade, which pushed the Prussian 4th Infantry Regiment out of the Hangard Wood and back against the heights of Démuin. Running out of ammunition, the Prussians also had to pull out of Gentelles and and fall back to Domart-sur-la-Luce. The commander of the Prussian 30th Brigade, General Otto von Strubberg, intervened by driving four battalions of his 28th and 68th Infantry Regiments to the Luce, bringing the temporary Prussian crisis at Gentelles to an end. Thirteen batteries of Prussian artillery silenced the French artillery near Villers-Bretonneux, and the town fell into Prussian hands at 1600.

The battle on the Prussian left wing developed through the action of the German VIII Corps under General von Goeben between the Celle and the Noye. The main body of the Prussian 15th Division under General Ferdinand von Kummer advanced its advance guard directly from a line from west of Ailly-sur-Noye to Dommartin to the line Fouencamps–Sains-en-Amiénois on the left bank of the Noye.

Meanwhile, the Prussian 16th Division under General Albert von Barnekow reached the Rumigny–Plachy-Buyon line and was able to throw the French back, driving them from Hebecourt and the forest north of it and toward Dury. On the south wing, Prussian troops left the road between Montdidier and Roye unprotected.

The 15th Division had its 29th Brigade (under General Bock) in front of Moreuil. The 16th Division was with the 31st Brigade under Neidhardt von Gneisenau near Ailly-sur-Noye, with its left wing deployed near Essertaux. In the meantime, the 30th Brigade on the right bank of the Avre in St. Nicolas and on the left bank at Boves continued to advance to Longueau and, in cooperation with the 29th Brigade that followed it, was able to drive the French from the Ruinenberg there.

The Germans gave the French almost the whole line to give way, only at Cachy did the French resist until late evening to protect the retreat. The Germans did not achieve a decisive victory because the French, with the exception of the fortress garrison, were able to escape from Amiens. The withdrawing French managed to withdraw into the protection of the Arras fortress, and the Germans did not pursue them further.

The French casualties were 1,383 killed and wounded, and around 800 were captured. The Prussia lost 1,216 soldiers and 76 officers. At midday on November 28, General von Goeben entered Amiens, the city's fortress only surrendered without a fight on November 29 with another 400 soldiers and 30 guns. General Louis Faidherbe arrived in Lille on December 5 and took command of the French Northern Army, which had been assigned to him two days earlier.

Battle of Saarbrücken

Battle of Saarbrücken
Part of the Franco-Prussian War
Date 2 August 1870 Location Saarbrücken, Prussia Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon III Charles Auguste Frossard François Achille Bazaine Henri Jules Bataille	Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz Eduard von Pestel
Strength
50,000	800 infantry 250 cavalry 2 guns
Casualties and losses
11 killed 77 other casualties	77–83 casualties

The Battle of Saarbrücken was fought on 2 August 1870. It was the opening battle of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). With an overwhelming superiority in numbers, French forces attacked a relatively small Prussian garrison at Saarbrücken in the Kingdom of Prussia′s Rhine Province, forcing the Prussians to retreat and allow the French to capture the town.

Background

After the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War on 19 July 1870, the Prussian Army and the armies of its allies — the other states of the North German Confederation and the independent states in southern Germany began to concentrate forces along the border between France and the neighboring German states — Prussia, the Grand Duchy of Baden, and the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Opening moves

Among the German forces freed up by the capitulation of Metz was the Prussian First Army, under the command of Generalleutnant Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel. In early November 1870, Manteuffel received orders from Prussian Army chief of staff Generalfeldmarschall Helmuth von Moltke the Elder to move northwestward into northern France and defeat the Army of the North with a force consisting of the Prussian I Corps, the Prussian VIII Corps, a cavalry division, and 180 artillery pieces. Manteuffel′s army halted at Rheims on 9 November, but resumed its advance on 17 November, reaching Soissons on 19 November and Compiègne on 21 November. After that, the French lost track of Manteuffel′s army until 24 November, when a large French force made up mostly of members of the Garde Mobile defeated a detachment forming Manteuffel′s advance guard in a sharp skirmish in the Santerre region in the eastern Somme. The same day, French forces reported Prussian scouts in the vicinity of Amiens. The skirmish and the arrival of Prussian scouts made it clear to Farre that Manteuffel was advancing on Amiens.

Farre did not hesitate to interpose the Army of the North between Manteuffel and Amiens. The French had constructed entrenchments just outside Amiens, but Farre deemed them too weak and too close to the city. He chose to make his stand east, southeast, an south of Amiens along a line running southwest from Villers-Bretonneux — about 12 miles (19 km) east of Amiens — to Boves, southeast of Amiens, and from there west to Hébécourt, south of Amiens. Along this line, the Army of the North constructed strong earthworks and artillery emplacements. The army was divided into three corps, and Farre placed one of them on his left for the defense of Villers-Bretonneux, which commanded the road southeast to Tergnier; one in the center for the defense of Boves, which commanded the road south to Paris; and the third on his right for the defense of the village of Dury, which lay south of Amiens and west of Boves and between Amiens and Hébécourt and commanded the road south to Breteuil.

The battle

The battle began on the morning of 27 November 1870 when the Prussian VIII Corps under the command of August Karl von Goeben arrived and began an artillery bombardment of the French positions. Fighting quickly spread along the entire line.

In the center at Boves, the Prussian 9th Hussar Regiment charged a French artillery battery manned by marine volunteers. The Hussars cut the French defenders to pieces but themselves suffered heavy losses, including the death of Prince Hatzfeld. Later in the day, the Prussian 33rd Regiment moved into a ravine between Boves and Saint-Nicolas and launched a assault from it against the French artillery positions and Boves itself, supported by a battery of Prussian artillery firing at a range of 2,000 yards (1,829 m) from a position about 0.25 miles (0.4 km) in front of the farm at Cambos. Although the French put up a determined defense, the Prussian artillery was stronger than that of the French and the 33rd Regiment captured both the artillery positions and Boves after about a half an hour of fighting, taking about 300 prisoners.

On the French right, the Prussian 16th Division pushed northward along the road through Hébécourt and Dury to Amiens. After driving the French out of first Hébécourt and then Dury, the Prussians encountered the French earthworks about 0.75 miles (1 km) north of Dury, including four pieces of heavy artillery placed on the road itself. About 300 yards (274 m) to the left of the road, two companies of the Prussian 70th Regiment pushed into a small cemetery surrounded by a hedge right under the French artillery battery and a string of French rifle pits on either side of it. The Prussians found little cover in the cemetery — only headstones provided any, and most of the graves were marked with iron crosses rather than headstones — but held out under heavy French fire for over two hours. Meanwhile, Prussian artillery supporting the attack moved up to Dury and unlimbered at a range of only 1,200 yards (1,097 m) from the French defenses. Despite losing five officers and half their horses killed, the Prussian artillerymen held their position rather than pull back to a safer range of 2,000 yards (1,829 m), and it was the Prussian artillery fire than ultimately forced the French to abandon their earthworks and fall back on the weak entrenchments around Amiens. Prussian infantry including the 33rd Regiment pursued the retreating French troops and began attacks on the entrenchments outside Amiens.

The main action of the day took place on the French left at Villers-Bretonneux. The Prussians advanced through a wood that stretched from Villers-Bretonneux to Boves. Emerging from it at noon, they opened fire on French forces massed on the plateau at Villers-Bretonneux with 18 artillery pieces. At first the French seemed to waver, but then French reinforcements — mostly artillery — arrived from Amiens and stiffened the defense. With renewed vigor, the French pushed the Prussians back some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) by 16:30. With no Prussians in sight, the French assumed they had won the day and began to congratulate themselves and focus on establishing their positions rather than on continuing the battle at hand. At 16:30 the Prussians renewed their attack, opening fire on the French from an unexpected direction and taking them completely by surprise. The French troops fled immediately, and had fallen back several miles by nightfall. In a determined advance, the Prussians pushed straight into Villers-Bretonneux, where their arrival caused a panic among the civilian population; tragically, a number of women and children were killed in the crossfire when they ran in between Prussian and French troops, and other women and children drowned in the surrounding marshes while trying to flee the town. With Vllers-Bretonneux lost, Farre ordered a general retreat along his entire line, instructing his troops to fall back on Amiens.

After arriving at Amiens, Farre held a council of war with his subordinates which came to the conclusion that a further defense of Amiens was impractical after the loss of Villers-Bretonneux, Boves, and Dury. Farre ordered the Army of the North to abandon Amiens and continue the retreat, withdrawing toward Arras, Doullens, and Rouen. Ultimately, the Army of the North fell back on the fortresses of Arras and Lille and sheltered there. Amid concerns that Farre′s surviving forces might outnumber his own, Manteuffel made no attempt to pursue the retreating French into Amiens, and when night fell on 27 November, the Prussians believed the French still held the city.

Aftermath

Early on the morning of 28 November 1870, the Prussians noted that the French positions were strangely silent and lacked sentries. Prussian patrols went forward and found the French earthworks empty except for abandoned cannons and the bodies of men killed the day before. Goeben came forward and ordered his forces to advance into Amiens from the south via the road from Hébécourt and Dury. In Amiens, three battalions of the Prussian 40th Regiment and two batteries of artillery paraded past Goeben in review.

The garrison of the citadel of Amiens — 12 officers and 400 men of the city under the command of a retired French Army officer, Capitaine Fogel, and armed with rifles and thirty pieces of artillery — refused to surrender to the Prussians. The mayor of Amiens approached Goeben and implored him to persuade Fogel to surrender to avoid damage to the city and deaths among the citadel′s garrison, but the citadel replied to the Prussian offer of surrender by opening fire. Two companies of the Prussian 40th Regiment took control of houses near the citadel and returned fire. The shooting continued into the evening of 29 November, when the Prussians decided to bombard the citadel with artillery. At 0300 on 30 November, eight batteries of artillery marched out to take up positions from which to begin the bombardment at daybreak, but Fogel was killed during the night of 29–30 November, and when the sun rose on the morning of 30 November the Prussians saw a surrender flag flying from the citadel. The garrison capitulated having lost four killed and 13 wounded. Prussian troops who entered the citadel freed one officer and 12 men of the Prussian 4th Regiment, who had been captured during the fighting on 27 November and imprisoned there.

NOAAS Researcher

1970

From 17 to 22 November 1970, Researcher studied the morphology of the Great Abaco Canyon, a submarine canyon northeast of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, including the depositional and erosional processes at work in the canyon, to support studies of its origin and geologic history. Her operations included gathering data on the bathymetry, magnetics, and sub-bottom profile of a 4,500-square-mile (11,655 km²) area northeast of Great Abaco Island and extensive development of the canyon′s mouth, including taking core samples of the seafloor and dredging for sea bottom samples. On 3 and 4 December 1970, Researcher ran approximately 370 nautical miles (690 km; 430 mi) on various headings in the vicinity of Cape Charles, Virginia, to evaluate and calibrate her newly installed sea gravimeter. During 1970, she also conducted geophysical mapping of the continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia as far east as 73 degrees West, taking readings of bathymetry, gravity, magnetism, soluble reactive phosphorus, water temperature, and salinity.

1971

During 1971, Researcher conducted geophysical surveys of the continental shelf of North America off North Carolina and Virginia and conducted studies in the Caribbean to investigate the relationship between the development of the arc of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies and plate tectonics and seafloor spreading. She conducted a classified geophysical survey in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean for an undisclosed U.S. Government agency from 3 March to 28 May 1971. In July and August 1971, she joined other NOAA ships, including the oceanographic research ship NOAAS Discoverer, and vessels from the United States Coast Guard, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela in studying ocean currents in the western Caribbean Sea, Yucatan Channel, and southeastern Gulf of Mexico as part of the Cooperative Investigation of the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CICAR), getting underway from Norfolk, Virginia, for the Caribbean on 7 July. Operating from Barbados and Guadeloupe over a 10-week period from September through November 1971, she conducted a geophysical study — the Caribbean-Atlantic Geotraverse, also a part of CICAR — of a 1,000-mile (869 nmi; 1,609 km) long, 200-mile (174 nmi; 322 km) region connecting the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean to add to the scientific understanding of the area′s geological history, and discovered a 248-mile (216 nmi; 399 km) long, 43-mile (37 nmi; 69 km) wide undersea mountain range in the central North Atlantic Ocean 558 miles (485 nmi; 898 km) northeast of Barbados. In 1974, the United States Board on Geographic Names formally adopted the name Researcher Ridge for the mountain range in honor of Researcher.

1972

On 25 January 1972, Researcher got underway from Miami to take part in testing of the deep-sea scientific research submersible Johnson Sea Link in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution. She rendezvoused with the sea dive group off Fort Pierce, Florida, to begin the tests, and shifted the testing operations in February to waters near Key West, Florida. The only United States Government oceanographic research ship fitted with an anti-pendulating crane for handling deep-sea research vehicles at sea, she became the first NOAA ship ever to launch and recover a submersible. Operating from Researcher, Johnson Sea Link made numerous dives, reaching depths of 1,000 feet (305 m) while studying the effects of water pressure on shallow-water fish and the deep-water distribution of sea urchins. Researcher completed the three weeks of tests on 14 February 1972 and returned to Miami. She then got underway from Miami bound for Washington, D.C., pausing during the voyage to investigate a cold-water eddy about 120 to 130 nautical miles (220 to 240 km; 140 to 150 mi) east of Cape Kennedy, Florida, that NOAA had tracked from March 1971 to February 1972, the longest continuous measurement of an eddy in history at the time and the only one ever undertaken in the western Sargasso Sea. She confirmed that the eddy had continued its southwestward drift toward the Gulf Stream since February 1972, finding its center about 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) from the mean axis of the Gulf Stream in the vicinity of 28°50′N 077°55′W, and she determined its shape and measured its size as 50 by 80 nautical miles (93 by 148 km; 58 by 92 mi). Along with the NOAA survey ships NOAAS Rude and NOAAS Heck and the NOAA launch Launch 1257, she then visited Washington, D.C., from 11 to 15 April 1972, where the four vessels hosted tours for attendees at the National Ocean Survey-sponsored Interagency Technical Exchange Conference of 12–13 April and held an open house for the general public on 15 April attended by about 10,000 people. She then deployed to Lake Ontario to conduct hydrographic surveys as part of the International Field Year for the Great Lakes, a joint project between the United States and Canada to study Lake Ontario. Between 1 May and 30 November 1972, she made 31 weekly cruises on Lake Ontario to collect information on water quality and water quantity, studying heat budget, water chemistry, the spring bloom, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and internal waves, taking core samples, and conducting magnetic-gravity surveys.

1973

From 5 March to 15 July 1973, Researcher conducted activities related to the Mid-Ocean Dynamics Experiment (MODE), operating in the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Bermuda in the vicinity of 27°30′N 068°30′W to measure temperature, salinity, currents, and bathymetry, and gather weather data, and calling at Hamilton, Bermuda. On 1 August 1973, Researcher rendezvoused with the Soviet research ships Akademik Sergey Korolyov and Ernst Krenkel and the Mexican research ship Cadete Virgilio Uribe in the Sargasso Sea 185 nautical miles (343 km; 213 mi) northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, at 20°N 060°W. The ships operated together until 10 August to conduct the GATE International Sea Trials, a rehearsal for the Global Atmospheric Research Program′s Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE), a complex multinational project scheduled for the summer of 1974. The Soviet Union′s Dr. Yuri Tarbeev was embarked aboard Researcher as International Coordinator for the rehearsal, as was NOAA′s Dr. James Sparkman as U.S. coordinator, and during their ten days together the four ships compared meteorological and oceanographic measurements made by U.S., Soviet, and Mexican equipment in order to standardize instrumentation, trained personnel, and checked operational and data management procedures planned for use in 1974 during GATE. Aboard Researcher, personnel compared U.S. and Soviet reversing thermometers, salinity-temperature-depth-measuring instruments, and mechanical bathythermographs. Researcher then spent three months from August to November 1973 on a project that continued the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse into its fourth season, conducting a study of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the Atlantic Ocean. She gathered data on the geophysical and geological environment, solar radiation, and atmospheric and ocean conditions in the zone. The first, third, and fourth legs of her voyage focused on geophysical work, with emphases on sediment transport processes along the eastern continental margin of North America with reference to the problem of ocean dumping and on mineral-forming processes along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The second leg involved atmospheric work and served as a shakedown cruise for the upcoming GATE project.

1974

From mid-February to mid-May 1974, Researcher studied sediment transport processes along the Mid-Atlantic continental margin of North America and the effects of submarine canyons in those processes along the outer continental margin in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. During the summer of 1974, Researcher was one of 40 ships from various countries to take part in GATE, an approximately 100-day-long project lasting from June to September sponsored by the United Nations′s World Meteorological Organization and the International Council of Scientific Unions to study oceanic and atmospheric processes in and over tropical waters from Mexico east to the Persian Gulf that drive much of the world′s weather. Gathering data from the upper atmosphere to oceanic depths of 1,000 meters (3,281 ft), it was the most ambitious such study in human history at the time. Operating from Dakar, Senegal, and stationed in the tropical eastern Atlantic Ocean, Researcher used tethered balloons to measure air temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, and wind direction at altitudes up to 5,000 feet (1,524 m); a bow-mounted boom bearing instruments that measured near-surface thermal radiation, temperature, and humidity, surface wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, and rainfall; C-band weather radar capable of detecting rainfall up to 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) away; instruments to record water temperature and salinity at depths of up to 5,000 feet (1,524 m) and expendable bathythermographs to capture temperature vs. depth profiles; and small tethered buoys that recorded wave characteristics as they changed in response to fluctuating surface wind conditions.

A crisis occurred while Researcher was on GATE duty 600 nautical miles (1,100 km; 690 mi) off the coast of Africa when one of her crew members, NOAA Corps Ensign Dennis J. Sigrist, became seriously ill with malaria on 7 August 1974. Researcher made for Dakar, where Sigrist could receive better treatment than was available aboard ship, but Sigrist′s condition had deteriorated so much by 8 August that the Senegalese Navy dispatched a patrol vessel, St. Louis, with an American physician on board to rendezvous with Researcher at sea and take Sigrist aboard. The same day, NOAA dispatched its Lockheed WC-130 weather reconnaissance aircraft from Dakar′s Dakar-Yoff International Airport to drop antibiotics, glucose solution, and other medications to Researcher. After a flight of about an hour, the WC-130 found Researcher 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) off Senegal and dropped its box of medical supplies from an altitude of 100 feet (30 m) only 200 feet (61 m) from Researcher. Researcher brought the box on board and began to treat Sigrist with the new medical supplies. Early on 9 August, with Sigrist′s condition beginning to improve, Researcher rendezvoused with St. Louis and transferred Sigrist to St. Louis in a lifeboat. While St. Louis returned to Dakar, where Sigrist was hospitalized and made a full recovery, Researcher resumed to her GATE duties.

During 1974, Researcher also operated in the New York Bight support of the Marine Ecosystems Analysis (MESA) project, which had a goal of understanding how natural processes redistribute material from marine waste disposal sites and the impact of that redistribution upon marine life.

In 1975, Researcher received the Karo Award for her scientific work during the GATE project in 1974.

1975

From 21 February to 4 March 1975, Researcher made another cruise in the New York Bight in support of the MESA project. During the cruise, she operated across the Hudson Canyon axis employing satellite navigation and collected bathymetry, salinity-temperature-depth, and sea surface temperature readings, employed tide gauges, and engaged in chemical analysis of water samples. From 11 March to 16 April 1975, she collected data along the United States East Coast between Delaware and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, for the Rational Use of the Sea Floor (RUSEF) project, a study of sedimentary processes along the continental margin requiring an understanding of how natural processes transport sediments along the continental shelf and down the continental slope to the abyssal plain. She collected core samples, grab samples, water samples, bottom photography, data on ocean currents, soluble reactive phosphorus readings, gravity and magnetic data, surface temperature information, bathymetry, and X-ray radiographs. During May and June she conducted two Bureau of Land Management–Cooperative Investigations of the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (BLM–CICAR) cruises in the western Caribbean Sea and eastern Gulf of Mexico to survey the distribution of nutrients, true metals, salinity, and oxygen in those waters and correlate it with circulation patterns, as well as gather data suitable for modeling the two bodies of water. In June and July she made another Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse voyage, proceeding eastward from Miami to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, then further eastward to Cape Blanc, Spanish Sahara, and then westward to Norfolk, Virginia, where she ended her cruise after gathering information on the geophysical signature and structure control of seafloor hydrothermal activity and tectonic process involved in the development of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, including soluble reactive phosphorus, gravity, magnetic, and narrow-beam echo sounder data and core and aerosol samples.

Researcher made another cruise in the New York Bight in support of the MESA project from 8 to 27 September 1975, during which she collected physical, chemical and biological data from the water column, used neuston net tows to gather information on organisms at the ocean′s surface, and retrieved two current meters. In early October 1975, Researcher visited Washington, D.C., where she held an open house attended by thousands of people as part of the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the creation of NOAA. During October and November 1975, she again operated in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea to continue the CICAR effort to understand circulation patterns there, deploying eight drift buoys and collecting bathymetric and salinity-temperature-depth data.

1976

Researcher made two cruises in 1976 — from 9 to 31 March and from 12 April to 2 May — in support of the Polymode Subtropical Front Studies, a project concerned with determining the relationship between oceanic surface features and those at depth, comparing measurements taken at sea with infrared satellite imagery taken at the same time to assess the utiity of infrared imagery in investigating oceanic mesoscale eddies, and how the atmosphere and oceanic mesoscale eddies affect sea surface temperatures. During the cruises, she operated in a one-degree square in the Sargasso Sea in the vicinity of 29°00′N 070°00′W, gathering extensive bathymetric data, sea surface temperature and salinity readings, tracking the movement of temperature gradients, and deploying two satellite tracking buoys.

From 24 May to 2 June 1976, Researcher operated in the Gulf of Mexico at two priority sites just west of the Mississippi River′s Southwest Pass (28°51′38″N 089°27′18″W and 28°53′42″N 089°29′00″W) in support of the Mississippi Delta Sediment Stability Project, an effort to understand bottom and subbottom sedimentary processes. She took core samples and bathymetric readings, recorded 37 hours of piezometer readings, recorded 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) of seismic reflection profiles, and ran a geophysical grid in the area.

In support of the RUSEF program, scientists made two cruises aboard Researcher from 14 June to 2 July and from 7 to 23 July 1976, employing reflection seismology techniques using submerged air guns and hydrophones to collect information on the sedimentary framework of the continental margin of North America between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and West Palm Beach, Florida. The cruise included the deployment of current meters for the study of bottom currents, seafloor slumping, and the creep of sediments, from the continental shelf into the depths of the ocean, gathering profiles that allowed the embarked scientists to determine variations in sedimentation along the continental margin — including the Outer Continental Shelf, continental slope, and continental rise — of North America during the period from 70 million to 10 million years ago as the Atlantic Ocean opened in the wake of the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea. From 10 to 31 August 1976, Researcher made a cruise to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to study metallogenesis at dynamic plate boundaries, making geological observations in the vicinity of 26°N 045°W and collecting core and water samples, taking bottom photographs, and running 4,444 nautical miles (8,230 km; 5,114 mi) each of bathymetry and gravimetric surveys and 4,441 nautical miles (8,225 km; 5,111 mi) of magnetic surveys.

In early October 1976, Researcher visited the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., to serve as the focal point of NOAA′s celebration of both its sixth birthday and the United States Bicentennial. She made another MESA voyage in the New York Bight in September 1976, and returned to the Sargasso Sea in October and November 1976 for a cruise in support of MODE. She received a NOAA unit citation award in 1976.

1977

Researcher made a MODE cruise to the Sargasso Sea in March 1977. In April 1977 she operated in the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean Sea to conduct chemical transport and thermal structure studies. She visited the Bahamas in May 1977 to investigate internal waves. At the request of Eliot Richardson, Ambassador-at-Large and Special Representative of President Jimmy Carter for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and head of the U.S. delegation to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, Researcher took aboard 100 U.N. Law of the Sea delegates and provided them with a one-day demonstration cruise in June 1977 in which her crew demonstrated modern techniques for monitoring the effects of ocean dumping. During June, she also visited the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to study tectonic plate boundaries and associated resources. She returned to the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean in July for further chemical transport and thermal structure work, and in August she cruised in the Mid-Atlantic Bight to study sediment transport. She resumed her chemical and thermal studies in the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean in a cruise in September and October, and she rounded out 1977 with another New York Bight cruise to study sediment transport in October and November.

1978

From February until early April 1978, as part of a study of the migration of sea water from the Sargasso Sea to the Caribbean Sea, Florida Strait, and Gulf of Mexico, Researcher took water samples at a depth of 250 meters (820 ft), discovering elevated levels of an oily substance resembling crude oil in the Sargasso Sea water that suggested the existence of an undersea petroleum seep and making port calls at Barbados and at La Guiara, Venezuela, during the cruise. On 11 April 1978, she departed Miami bound for Washington, D.C., where she held an open house that month in which visitors could board her to see her $750,000 computer system, photographs of sea life taken near the bottom of the continental shelf, and equipment her crew used to study ocean currents, the structure of the seafloor, and undersea animal life. She then got underway from Norfolk, Virginia, for a cruise in April and May in which she surveyed the continental margin of North America to determine the location of the foot of the continental slope, information important for a U.S. claim to extended jurisdiction under Article 76 of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) over maritime resources beyond the 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) otherwise set by UNCLOS. She made a RUSEF voyage off the U.S. East Coast in May, and from late May into June conducted a metallogenesis cruise to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, making a port call at Barbados during the cruise. From the middle of June until the beginning of September, she was deployed to the tropical Atlantic Ocean for operations in support of the Energy Research and Development Administration related to the First Global Atmospheric Research Program Global Experiment–Tropical Atlantic, operating from Recife, Brazil. During September 1978, she made another RUSEF voyage, focusing on marine geotechnics. In 1978, Researcher received a NOAA Unit Citation Award "for substantive contributions to the programs or objectives for which NOAA was established."

1979

Researcher operated in the tropical Atlantic Ocean in January and February 1979 to study ocean thermal energy conversion as part of the Global Weather Experiment, Equatorial Atlantic, calling at Recife, Brazil, and Naval Station Rota, Spain, during her cruise. At the end of February 1979, she began her first Indian Ocean deployment, a cruise to study metallogenesis at the Carlsberg Ridge, a part of the Central Indian Ridge in the western Indian Ocean, through early April, and then to support the Indian Ocean Monsoon Experiment in the Somali Current in the western Indian Ocean from mid-April through early June, calling at Djibouti and at Victoria, Seychelles, during the metallogenesis work and at Mombasa, Kenya, during the monsoon experiment. She then returned to the tropical Atlantic Ocean for more work on ocean thermal energy conversion in support of the Global Weather Experiment, Equatorial Atlantic, from June to August 1979. During the latter of August and early September 1979, she visited the Gulf of Mexico to study ocean chemistry for the Role of Organics in the Maritime Environment (ROME) project, which studied the role of organic compounds in sea water on the toxicity and availability of trace metals to lower trophic organisms in the marine environment.

In the wake of the 3 June 1979 Ixtoc I oil spill off Mexico, Researcher diverted from other projects to conduct a systematic study of the oil slick from the well site in the Bay of Campeche to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas to gather data on the amount of submerged oil and how the oil changed as it drifted northward toward the United States. Researcher′s engine cooling system prevented her from entering heavily oiled water, so a private research vessel, R/V Pierce, was contracted from Tracor Marine to join her on the cruise so that Researcher could operate along the margins of the oil plume while Pierce worked within the oil plume itself. After Pierce rendezvoused with Researcher at Miami and a helicopter platform had been installed aboard Researcher to accommodate a four-seat helicopter, the two ships departed Miami on 11 September 1979. Researcher served as primary vessel for the cruise, and her laboratory space allowed for sophisticated underway experiments, with small boats and the helicopter transferring samples between Pierce and her. Researcher′s helicopter proved very useful, providing the ships with an ability to monitor oil coverage over a large area and giving the ships regular updates on the position of the oil discharge plume and their positions relative to it. Original plans for the cruise called for the ships to work their way along the coast of Mexico and Texas 300 to 450 kilometres (162 to 243 nmi; 186 to 280 mi) offshore, but when Researcher′s helicopter made its first reconnaissance flight as the ships approached the area on 13 September, it discovered that circulation patterns in the Gulf of Mexico and changed, and the cruise efforts focused more heavily on the area around the well site as a result. Tropical Storm Henri formed off the Yucatan Peninsula on 14 September 1979 and moved erratically through the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, prompting the evacuation of oil platforms in the area, but Researcher and Pierce continued their work with little interruption despite encountering seas of up to 15 feet (4.6 m) before Henri moved away from their operating area on 17 September. After setting up a control station at 21°41′N 090°24′W on 14 September and another at the northeast extremity of the plume at 19°48′N 091°22′W on 15 September, the two ships collected samples off Veracruz from 16 to 21 September. In addition to their other work, Pierce made plankton tows under the oil slick during the cruise, while Researcher made neuston tows. On 23 September, Pierce departed the area and made for Galveston, Texas, while Researcher continued scientific operations, sampling off Tampico, Mexico, on 23 September, on a transect south of the United States-Mexico border on 24 September, off Brownsville, Texas, on 25 September, and off Corpus Christi, Texas, on 26 September. She joined Pierce on 27 September at Galveston, bringing the cruise to an end.

Researcher completed her 1979 work with a another RUSEF voyage to study marine geotechnics.

1980

Researcher began 1980 by deploying in January to the equatorial Atlantic Ocean for an energy and climate study, visiting Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Tenerife in the Canary Islands and Bridgetown, Barbados, during the voyage. She completed that work in mid-March. In mid-April, she began a ROME cruise in the Gulf of Mexico that lasted until mid-May, calling at Veracruz, Mexico, during the cruise. From late May to late June, she visited the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to study metallogenesis at dynamic plate boundaries, calling at San Juan , Puerto Rico, and Bridgetown. She operated in the Caribbean Sea from late June to late July to study subtropical underwater ocean currents and again visiting Bridgetown. In August she began her first cruise to the Pacific Ocean, passing through the Panama Canal, visiting Manzanillo, Mexico, and studying the equatorial climate for the Equatorial Pacific Ocean Climate Study (EPOCS), — a project to improve understanding of the relationship between atmospheric and oceanic variability in the tropical Pacific, including sea surface temperature. She made two cruises in the Pacific, using the Pegasus current profiler to develop and understanding of currents and taking temperature and pressure readings in equatorial waters west and west-northwest of the Galapagos Islands in the vicinity of 95 degrees West, 102 degrees West, and 110 degrees West between 3 August and 12 September. Unfortunately, improper calibration of the Pegasus instrument reduced the value of the data collected during the cruises. During her transits between Manzanillo and the waters around 03°S 100°W via Clipperton Island from July through September, she made observations of seabird populations, noting the relative of boobies, gadfly petrels, Gould's petrels, shearwaters, sooty terns, and storm petrels at various latitudes and relative to thermoclines and temperature and salinity fronts in the eastern tropical Pacific.

1981

From 7 March to 24 July 1981, Researcher used CTD casts to collect electrical conductivity, temperature, and pressure data in the North Atlantic Ocean. In November 1981, she began a cruise in the eastern Pacific Ocean between the Galapagos Islands and the coast of South America along 80 to 85 degrees West Longitude to collect hydrographic data — electrical conductivity, temperature, pressure, and oxygen data via CTD casts, as well as the sigma-t of sea water — between 24 November and 7 December in support of EPOCS, the first time this data had been collected for EPOCS east of 95 degrees West Longitude.

1982

In March 1982, Researcher made a cruise to study climate in the subtropical Atlantic Ocean, followed in April by a voyage focused on acid rain. From mid-May to early June she made another trip to study the subtropical Atlantic climate. After she returned from the cruise, a hull-mounted acoustic doppler current profiler was installed aboard her which could run unattended and profile currents she encountered without interferng with most of her other operations, and she usually ran it continuously while at sea thereafter. She operated from Bermuda from early July until the beginning of August to study marine minerals. She made another ROME voyage from the latter part of August until the beginning of October. She returned to the Pacific Ocean in November, and took Pegasus current profiler, temperature, depths in the waters off Peru and Ecuador for EPOCS in the waters between 80 and 85 degrees West from 21 November to 5 December.

1983

Researcher again cruised in the Pacific Ocean off Peru and Ecuador to collect Pegasus current prolifer, temperature, and pressure data for EPOCS between 23 March and 6 April and again from 18 to 30 May. In November and December 1983 she operated in the Strait of Florida to engage in the continuous collection of data on the Florida Current′s velocity, mass transport, and temperature in support of the Sub-Tropical Atlantic Current Study (STACS), an attempt to define the oceanographic processes involved in meridional heat flux. She operated generally along the line of 27 degrees North latitude and between 79 and 80 degrees West longitude, gathering data via use of the Pegasus current profiler, CTD casts, expendable bathythermographs, and her hull-mounted aocustic Doppler current profiler from 29 November through 13 December.

1984

Researcher took bathythermograph readings in the North Atlantic Ocen from 25 January to 9 February 1984. Between 6 and 10 February 1984, while operating off Long Island, New York, Naval Researcher Laboratory scientists aboard her also conducted an experiment using her navigation radar to study sea spikes — the localized sea scatter of radar signals — at low grazing angles. In early March 1984, she visited Washington, D.C., to hold a combined "school science day" open house with Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland for elementary school students that drew 3,300 visitors, kicking off the 1984–1985 Year of the Ocean. She then deployed to the Straits of Florida for another cruise to study the Florida Current for STACS, operating in the same area she had in November–December 1983 and gathering the same types of data. From 14 May to 4 June 1984, she participated in interlocking experiments to study the effects of equatorial oceans on climactic disasters, acid rain, and the world′s carbon dioxide balance, cruising in the Pacific Ocean between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tahiti to take air and water measurements while a NOAA Lockheed WP-3D Orion weather reconnaissance aircraft operating from Honolulu, Tahiti, and Kiritimati flew over her to collect complimentary atmospheric samples. The data Researcher and the WP-3D collected supported four studies: One examined how the flux of chemicals from the ocean to the atmosphere can cause acid rain to develop in maritime zones, another sought to identify air-sea transfer characteristics for carbon dioxide, a third sought to understand the role of updrafts and downdrafts in the lower atmosphere in the exchange of heat between the atmosphere and the ocean, and the fourth studied how atmospheric boundary layer processes affect the movement of the trade winds toward the equator. She focused on bathythermograph collection of temperature profile data in the [[Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) project area of the Pacific Ocean from 9 to 21 June 1984, and from 28 June to 1 July 1984 she collected current data in the North and South Pacific.

1985

Researcher collected temperature profile data through the use of bathythermographs in the Gulf of Mexico and the TOGA area of the Pacific Ocean between 20 October and 14 December 1985.

1987

Researcher condcuted an equatorial Pacific cruise from June through August 1987 during which she made CTD casts at every degree of longitude as she steamed eastward from 150 degrees West to 79 degrees West off the coast of Peru to improve understanding of how ocean processes transport heat from the tropics toward the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Between 23 June and 28 July, she made a total of 161 casts at latitudes between 4°38.9' South and 15°22' South while proceeding from 150°0.3' West to 077°15.3' West. She also mad port calls in Tahiti and Panama.

USS Scandinavia

File:USC&GS Scandinavia.jpg USC&GS Scandinavia in the waters of Southeast Alaska ca. 1927.
History
United States
Name	Scandinavia
Namesake	Scandinavia
Builder	G. T. Taylor Marine Railway, Norfolk, Virginia
Launched	1916
Completed	1916
Fate	Sold to United States Navy 5 October 1918
History
United States Navy
Name	USS Scandinavia
Namesake	Previous name retained
Acquired	5 October 1918
Commissioned	5 October 1918
Decommissioned	21 May 1919
Fate	Transferred to United States Coast and Geodetic Survey 21 May 1919
History
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
Name	USC&GS Scandinavia
Namesake	Previous name retained
Acquired	21 May 1919
General characteristics (as U.S. Navy vessel)
Type	Patrol boat
Displacement	26 tons
Length	61 ft (18.6 m)
Beam	14 ft 2 in (4.3 m)
Draft	5 ft 3 in (1.6 m)
Speed	10 knots
General characteristics (as U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey vessel)
Type	Survey launch
Length	61 ft (18.6 m)
Beam	14 ft 2 in (4.3 m)
Draft	5 ft 3 in (1.6 m)
Propulsion	Twin engines

USS Scandinavia (SP-3363) was a patrol boat in commission in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919, seeing service during World War I. After her U.S. Navy service, she was in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as the survey launch USC&GS Scandinavia.

Construction

Scandinavia was constructed in 1916 as a private motorboat of the same name by G. T. Taylor Marine Railway at Norfolk, Virginia.

United States Navy service, 1918–1919

File:USC&GS Scandinavia wire drag.jpg

USC&GS Scandinavia conducting wire-drag operations in Alaskan waters, ca. 1920.

The United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917. On 5 October 1918, the U.S. Navy purchased Scandinavia from her owner, Bie and Schiott of Baltimore, Maryland, for war service as a patrol vessel in the section patrol and commissioned her as USS Scandinavia (SP-3363) the same day.

The U.S. Navy assigned Scandinavia to the district supervisor of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service at Baltimore for use as a dispatch vessel and pilot boat. She operated in this capacity through the end of the war on 11 November 1918 and into 1919. On 15 May 1919, she arrived at Norfolk for disposal. She was decommissioned the same day. On 21 May 1919, the U.S. Navy transferred her to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey service

The Coast and Geodetic Survey commissioned Scandinavia as USC&GS Scandinavia and designated her for use as a survey launch in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. After she underwent repairs and maintenance, a U.S. Navy transport towed her on 1 August 1919 to the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, where she was loaded aboard a U.S. Navy transport for shipment to Puget Sound in the State of Washington. The transport unloaded her at Seattle, and there she and the survey ship USC&GS Explorer, the survey launch Helianthus, and a 30-foot (9.1 m) tender began preparations in the latter part of February 1920 for hydrographic survey operations in Southeast Alaska. During this period, Scandinavia' took part in a Coast and Geodetic Survey project conducted from 24 July 1919 to 26 March 1920 to conduct wire-drag surveys of Lake Washington and Lake Union and to find and remove dangerous snags in those waters, and she struck a submerged tree with a least depth of 4 feet (1.2 m) west of Mercer Island, fortunately at too low a speed to suffer damage.

With preparations for their Alaska season complete, Explorer, Scandinavia, and Helianthus departed Seattle on 16 April 1920 bound for Juneau, Alaska, pausing along the way at Ketchikan, Alaska, for repairs to Scandinavia and at Petersburg, Alaska, to inspect the Bureau of Fisheries sales agency there. After making final preparations at Juneau, the vessels began the 1920 season′s field work, which included triangulation, wire-drag surveys, and topographic surveys in Stephens Passage in the Alexander Archipelago and the installation of an automatic tide gauge at Taku Harbor.

After spending the winter of 1920–1921 at Seattle, the vessels returned to the area in the spring of 1921, focusing on wire-drag surveys beginning in Stephens Passage and working their way northward through Gastineau Channel and Lynn Canal, but also conducting topographic and magnetic surveys. They wrapped up the field season on 7 October 1921 and departed Juneau on 18 October bound for Seattle, where they arrived on 22 or 23 October (sources disagree) to spend the winter. On 14 March 1922, Explorer, Scandinavia, Helianthus, and the wire-drag launch No .1 set out from Seattle again, spent 20–26 March at Ketchikan making repairs to the three launches, then departed Ketchikan on 27 March and arrived on 29 March at Juneau, where they overhauled the launches and wire-drag gear. On 3 April, Helianthus left Juneau to operate independently in Lynn Canal, conducting triangulation and topographic survey work, while Explorer, Scandinavia, and No. 1 departed Juneau on 4 April bound for the south end of Stephens Passage and then worked their way northward in the passage to close gaps in previous wire-drag survey work between Cape Fanshaw and South Island. Completing this work on 13 April, they returned to Juneau, where Helianthus rejoined them on 14 April. On 17 April, all four vessels left Juneau to continue their survey program for the 1922 field season, The vessels conducted topographical surveys to the heads of Chilkat Inlet, Chilkoot Inlet, and Taiya Inlet, and in the southern portion of Lynn Canal, and triangulation in Lynn Canal and Icy Strait, and they also paused to inspect the Coast and Geodetic Survey chart agency at Haines, Alaska, on 9 June. After they completed a wire-drag survey all the way north to Skagway in late June 1922, they returned to Juneau. Scandinavia joined Helianthus and No. 1 in a wire-drag work south of Douglas Island to Stephens Passage from 1 to 8 July 1922 while Explorer underwent boiler cleaning at Juneau. Scandinavia and the other launches then reunited with Explorer for more wire-drag surveys and triangulation in Lynn Canal and in Icy Strait. Late in the season they also closed gaps in wire-drag survey coverage of Stephens Passage and located a dangerous rock a steamer had reported in Hood Bay (57°24′35″N 134°30′58″W). The vessels also installed tide gauges at Funter Bay and at Hoonah and did magnetic survey work in Lynn Canal, Icy Strait, Chilkoot Inlet, and Taiya Inlet, and in September they inspected the Coast and Geodetic Survey chart station at Hoonah. After wrapping up field work for the season on 30 September 1922, the vessels proceeded to Ketchikan, where Scandinavia and Helianthus were hauled out of the water to spend the winter at the boathouse there. Explorer then proceeded to Seattle for the winter.

In 1923, the vessels pushed their survey work to the end of Icy Strait and through about half of Cross Sound. The also installed tide gauges in Excursion Inlet, Mud Bay, Port Althorp, and Auke Bay.

working their way farther northward through Lynn Canal and then westward through Cross Sound and Icy Strait to Cape Spencer.

References

Bibliography

• Annual Report of the Superintendent, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1919, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1919
• Annual Report of the Superintendent, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1920, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1920
• [hhttps://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924097830834 Annual Report of the Superintendent, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1921, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1921]

External links

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Scandinavia (SP 3363)
• NOAA History, A Science Odyssey: Tools of the Trade: Ships: Coast and Geodetic Survey Ships: Scandinavia

USFC Fish Hawk

1881 season

Workers completed a refit of Fish Hawk in mid-January 1881, and during January and February 1881 she conducted a series of experiments with her hatching equipment in the Hampton Roads area. She departed the Norfolk Navy Yard on 26 February 1881 and steamed to the Washington Navy Yard, where her shad-hatching apparatus was installed after she arrived there on 28 February 1881. She departed Washington on 23 March 1881 to proceed to the Avoca shad-fishing station at the mouth of the Roanoke River on the coast of North Carolina in Albemarle Sound. Grounding three times in shoal water near her destination, she arrived on 30 March 1881 at Avoca, where she remained until 30 April 1881 on shad-hatching duty. She then steamed to Havre de Grace, Maryland, arriving there on 4 April 1881 to conduct shad-hatching operations at the head of the Chesapeake Bay off the mouth of the North East River until 5 June 1881. After a hull inspection and minor repairs at Baltimore, Maryland, on 6 June 1881, she steamed to Washington, which she reached on 8 June 1881. She took aboard equipment for experiments in hatching Spanish mackerel on 13 June 1881, steamed to St. Jerome′s Creek the next day, then participated in the experiments under the oversight of Marshall McDonald at Cherrystone Inlet from 15 to 28 June 1881. On 29 June 1881 she left for the Washington Navy Yard, arriving there on 30 June 1881, where she landed her hatching equipment and took aboard dredges for the 1881 deep-sea exploration season, departing Washington on 7 July and arriving at Wood's Hole on 10 July 1881. From Wood's Hole, she conducted a series of scientific cruises (15-17 July, 20 July, 3–5 August, 8–10 August, 13 August, 22–24 August, 26 August, 29–30 August, 7–9 September, 13–15 September, 20–21 September, and 22 September), dredging and trawling in Buzzard's Bay and Vineyard Sound, off Chatham, Massachusetts, in waters between Gay Head and Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, and at depths of 264 to 4,692 feet (80 to 1,430 m) in the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic Ocean southwest, south, and southeast of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island. Fish Hawk departed Wood's Hole on 4 October, made stops at Bristol, Rhode Island, and New Haven, Connecticut, and trawled in the Gulf Stream on 9 October 1881 at depths of 240 to 810 feet (73 to 247 m) before arriving the Washington Navy Yard on 12 October 1881. The Fish Commission then offered her services to United States Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt, who in turn placed her at the disposal of United States Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln. With Lincoln and his party aboard, Fish Hawk departed Washington on 17 October 1881 and on 18 October 1881 arrived at Yorktown, Virginia, where the naval and military celebration of the centennial of the American and French victory in the Battle of Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War had begun on 7 October. When the ceremonies concluded on 20 October 1881, Lincoln returned to Fish Hawk, which transported him back to Washington, arriving there on 21 October 1881. Fish Hawk then spent the winter of 1881–1882 at the Washington Navy Yard.

Fish Hawk′s 1881 deep-sea exploration season continued to expand greatly the understanding of flora and fauna around the edge of the continental shelf, revealing a rich community of sea life previously unknown to science, as well as taking extensive depth and water temperature readings. In the Report of the Commissioner for 1886, published in 1889, the Fish Commission described Fish Hawk′s deep-sea explorations of 1880 and 1881 as having revealed "the richest dredging ground upon our [i.e., the U.S.] coast, both as regards variety of life and abundance of specimens." During the 1881 season, she became the first ship to employ "trawl-wings," light nets attached to her trawls to capture sea creatures disturbed by the oncoming trawl and moving away from its line of approach that might otherwise have escaped, and these new trawl-wings collected species that were new to science. Of particular interest to the Fish Commission was the tilefish, a tasty fish averaging 12 to 20 pounds (5.4 to 9.1 kg) with the largest specimen captured of about 50 pounds (23 kg), which Fish Hawk′s 1881 work showed to occur from Cape Cod to at least as far south as Delaware and to be at least as abundant as all the other species she caught (hake, cod, and herring) combined, reinforcing the Fish Commission′s hope that a successful tilefish fishery could develop.

1882 season

On 25 February 1882, Fish Hawk departed Washington for a cruise in the Chesapeake Bay, equipped with an extra-large assortment of gill nets for use in catching cod, herring, Spanish mackerel, menhaden, shad, and whitefish, with a goal of determining whether anadromous fish species could be caught in the bay and its tributaries early in the year and in deeper water before their routine appearance in shallow waters later in the season. Fighting strong winds and tides that interfered with her work, Fish Hawk set nets at depths ranging from 30 to 120 feet (9 to 37 m) in Maryland waters off Barren Island, Point Lookout, and the mouth of the Patuxent River, and in the waters of Virginia off Smith Point, Tangier Point, Cherrystone, and the mouth of the York River, with negative results except for a few young menhaden caught off Barren Island and some spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) caught off Cherrystone. Dredging with a beam trawl at 150 feet (46 m) off Barren Island and Cherrystone caught only a few alewives, some young menhaden, some skates of the genus Raja, a crayfish, some shrimp, and a few shellfish. The results led scientists aboard Fish Hawk to the conclusion that no commercial fishery for any economically useful specifies existed that early in the year inside the Virginia Capes. Fish Hawk also brought cod eggs with her to experiment with hatching them in her hatching cones in water taken from the bay, which had a lower density than seawater, and found that cod embryos did not develop in bay water, became misshapen, and died within a few days. During the cruise, she also trawled for oysters off Kent Island and the mouth of the Magothy River, finding relatively few live oysters at either location, and made port calls at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and at Annapolis, Maryland. She took legislators of the Maryland General Assembly on a day trip on 21 March 1882 to observe her operations, before departing Annapolis on 22 March and returning to Washington on 23 March 1882. On 15 March 1882, while Fish Hawk was on her cruise, Secretary of the Navy Hunt assigned Lieutenant Tanner to additional duty supervising the construction of the Fish Commission steamer USFC Albatros at the Pusey and Jones shipyard in Wilmington, Delaware, although he remained commanding officer of Fish Hawk as well. This duty required him to make frequent visits to the shipyard.

Fish Hawk steamed from Washington to Quantico, Virginia, on 10 April 1882, remaining there until 10 May 1882 to hatch herring and shad. After returning to Washington, she departed on 22 April 1882 to steam to Havre de Grace, Maryland, where she remained until 15 May 1882 to collect shad for an experiment in confining them in an enclosure until they were ready to spawn. She returned to Washington on 16 May 1882, She departed the navy yard on 19 June 1882 towing two Fish Commission barges, braving a gale on the lower Potomac River before delivering them to the Fish Commission station at St. Jerome's Creek in Maryland, then returned to Washington on 30 June 1882 to prepare for the season′s deep-sea exploration work. She interrupted those preparations for a voyage from 8 to 16 July 1882 during which she transported freight to the Pusey and Jones shipyard for USFC Albatross, then carried Fish Commission cargo from Baltimore, Maryland, to Havre de Grace before returning to the Washington Navy Yard to resume preparations for her scientific cruise. Departing Washington on 21 July 1882, she steamed to Wood's Hole, arriving there on 24 July to deliver Fish Commission cargo and bring aboard deep-sea dredging equipment.

Fish Hawk began her deep-sea exploration program for the year with a cruise from 1 to 3 August 1882 in which she dredged off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, visiting previously examined areas off Chatham and Provincetown and an area off Nauset Light never before studied by fisheries scientists. On her next cruise, from 10 to 12 August 1882, she trawled at depths of 390 to 2,094 feet (119 to 638 m) between 40°03′N 069°44′W and 39°53′N 069°43′W. Shen trawled in Vineyard Sound on 18 August 1882 to reexamine previously studied areas.

The tilefish had experienced a massive die-off in 1882, with many millions of dead fish found between Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Cape May, New Jersey, so Fish Hawk put to sea from Woods Hole on 21 August 1882 in search of tilefish; she trawled at depths of 420 to 1,470 feet (128 to 448 m) between 40°02′N 070°35′W and 40°03′N 070°25′W, catching hake, skate, and other fish but no tilefish before returning to Woods Hole on 23 August 1882. During her next cruise, from 25 to 27 August 1882, she trawled at depths of 582 to 4,722 feet (177 to 1,439 m) between 40°08′N 068°48′W and 40°03′N 068°56′W. On 28 August 1882, the U.S. Navy sidewheel paddle steamer USS Tallapoosa arrived at Woods Hole with U.S. Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler and other senior U.S. Navy officials aboard, and Fish Hawk took them and Commissioner of Fisheries Spencer F. Baird out that day in Vineyard Sound to demonstrate her capabilities and operations with a day of dredging and trawling. On 2 September 1882, she spent a day dredging off Nomans Land and sent a landing party to Nomans Land to investigate a reported – but nonexistent – rock formation. On 6 September 1882, the presidential yacht USS Despatch, accompanied by the Fish Commission steamer USFC Lookout, arrived at Wood's Hole with President Chester A. Arthur aboard, and after Arthur and Baird boarded Fish Hawk, Fish Hawk spent the day demonstrating her dredging and trawling capabilities and operations in Menemsha Bight. She made another scientific cruise from 7 to 9 September 1882, trawling at depths of 1,008 to 2,712 feet (307 to 827 m) between 39°40′N 071°52′W and 39°33′N 072°06′W, following that with her final cruise of the season from 3 to 5 October 1882, during which she trawled at depths of 594 to 3,324 feet (181 to 1,013 m) between 40°00′N 070°37′W and 39°52′N 070°30′W.

Fish Hawk left Wood's Hole on 12 October 1882 and called at Bristol, Rhode Island, on 16 October to take delivery of a steam cutter and a steam lifeboat for USFC Albatross, which she delivered to Albatross at Wilmington on 26 October 1882 before arriving at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on 29 October 1882. She spent the winter of 1882–1883 at the Washington Navy Yard undergoing minor repairs. On 10 November 1882, Lieutenant Tanner received orders dated 4 November detaching him from command of Fish Hawk so that he could take command of Albatross.

Deep-sea fishes collected by Fish Hawk studied by BOF and published to supplement earlier work by Alexander Agassiz.

1883 season

Fish Hawk got underway from Washington on 15 March 1883 to investigate a reported sperm whale ashore in the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Potomac River at Smith Point, Virginia; she found no whale, but inspected the Fish Commission station at St. Jerome and investigated the fisheries off Brent's Point and Marlborough Point – finding striped bass and perch in significant numbers and lesser numbers of herring and shad – before returning to Washington on 18 March. She again left Washington on 24 March 1883 to deliver cargo to the Fish Commission′s Battery Station on Battery Island near Havre de Grace and dredge for oysters off St. Jerome's Creek; she also called at Baltimore before returning to the Washington Navy Yard on 1 April 1883. On 12 April 1883 she departed the navy yard to begin the year′s hatching operations on the Potomac River, proceeding to the newly established Fish Commission station at Fort Washington, Maryland, and collecting and hatching shad, herring, and striped bass eggs at Shipping Point until 7 May and then at Glymont, Maryland, until 25 May, when she completed her hatching season for the year and returned to Washington, arriving at the Washington Navy Yard on 28 May. Her next cruise began on 4 June 1883, when she departed Washington to gather information on the commercial use of pound nets and trap nets on the Potomac River and on the coast of Virginia along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay from the mouth of the Potomac south to Cape Charles and along the bay′s Virginia eastern shore from Cape Henry to Cherrystone. Completing that work with her arrival at Cherrystone on 12 June 1883, she proceeded to York Spit, arriving there on 18 June to begin the next phase of her cruise, a search for Spanish mackerel and experiments with hatching that species′s eggs; although she hatched the eggs, none of the young fish survived for more than a few hours. While she was anchored in Lynnhaven Bay off Ocean Beach, Virginia, near Hampton Roads during this work, a heavy storm caused her to drag her anchor and blew her ashore on the evening of 13 July 1883. At various times the United States Army tug Monroe, the U.S. Navy tug USS Pinta, the commercial tug Snowdrop, the United States Revenue-Marine revenue cutter USRC Ewing, and the United States Lighthouse Board lighthouse tender USLHT Holly rendered assistance, and she finally was refloated on 18 July without suffering any damage. She resumed her Spanish mackerel operations on 21 July 1883, pausing them to tow the hospital barge Sesnon and moor her at Fisherman's Inlet at the request of health authorities. She completed her Spanish mackerel operations on 3 August 1883.

After a final – and unsuccessful – attempt to procure Spanish mackerel eggs on 13 August and a delay due to bad weather, Fish Hawk got underway from Hampton, Virginia, on 17 August 1883 bound for Wood's Hole, which she reached on 20 August. She began her deep-sea exploration program for the season with her first trawling cruise in the Gulf Stream from 22 to 24 August, commencing dredging operations south of Martha's Vineyard at 40°13′N 070°29′W beginning on 23 August. She made a day trip with a scientific party aboard to trawl and dredge on 27 August. She proceeded to New Bedford, Massachusetts, on 30 August and underwent boiler repairs there, departing New Bedford on 4 September, and made another day trip t trawl and dredge off the south coast of Martha′s Vineyard on 6 September. On 23 September 1883 she joined the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey survey ship USC&GS Blake and the U.S. Revenue-Marine revenue cutter USRC Dexter in coming to the assistance of the steamer Decatur H. Miller, which was ashore on the coast of Massachusetts in Vineyard Sound, and they succeeded in refloating Decatur H. Miller by the evening. On 9 October she made a day trip to Mememsha Bight to trawl and dredge with a scientific party aboard. She departed Wood′s Hole on 16 October, stopped at Newport, Rhode Island, for coal, and arrived at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, on 20 October. After loading scientific equipment from the U.S. Navy screw steamer USS Yantic — newly returned from an expedition to Greenland — and 100 live lobsters for release in the Chesapeake Bay, she departed Brooklyn on 26 October. Reaching Hampton Roads on 27 October, she deposited 92 of the lobsters near the Rip Raps, then proceeded to Washington, where she arrived on 30 October. She remained at Washington until 12 November, when she left for the Fish Commission station at St. Jerome's Creek, where she arrived on 13 November and began surveying and stocking the oyster beds and dredging and laying out three oyster ponds. She arrived at Washington on 26 November, completing her work for 1883. and spent the winter of 1883–1884 there.

1884 season

Fish Hawk departed Washington on 8 March 1884 to conduct a reconnaissance of rivers in the southeastern United States to gather information on the feasibility of increasing the shad population there by transferring hatching operations to rivers in Florida and South Carolina. After stops at Norfolk, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina, she arrived at Fernandina, Florida, on 18 March, then proceeded to St. Marys, Georgia, took aboard a pilot, and steamed up the St. Marys River,to Kings Ferry, Florida, where she arrived on 19 March. Finding few fish and none in good breeding condition there, she got back underway on 31 March and returned to Fernandina. Departing Fernandina on 3 April, she stopped at Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, before arriving at Georgetown, South Carolina, where she put a landing party ashore to examine the shad fishery in Winyah Bay and the feasibility of establishing a Fish Commission hatching station there. She departed Georgetown on 7 April and arrived at Washington on 10 April, her commanding officer reporting that the rivers Fish Hawk had investigated were not suitable for the artificial propagation of shad. She conducted a cruise in the lower Potomac River and lower Chesapeake Bay from 24 to 28 April to study the fisheries there for shad, herring, and other fishes.

From 1 to 27 May 1884, Fish Hawk engaged in shad-hatching operations in the Potomac River at Bryant's Point off Fort Washington and off Mount Vernon, Virginia, interrupting her work on 14 June to take members of the United States Fisheries Association on a day trip on the Potomac from Washington to visit downriver fisheries. On 23 June she departed Washington to transport coal and ice to the St. Jerome station, where she remained — making repairs to the station′s boats and working with the Fish Commission steamer USFC Lookout — until 2 July, when she launched a barge and took the barge under tow for delivery to Battery station. Stopping at Baltimore from 3 to 5 July to pick up a scow, she delivered the barge and scow to the Battery station on 5 July. After loading cargo, she departed Havre de Grace on 7 July with a launch under tow. She delivered the launch to the St. Jerome station on 8 July and arrived at Washington, that evening.

On 15 July, Fish Hawk departed Washington to carry freight to Woods Hole. Stopping at New York City from 17 to 20 July and then pausing at Noank, Connecticut, to take a scow under tow for delivery to Woods Hole, she arrived at Woods Hole on 21 July. She began her annual deep-sea exploration cruises on 23 July with a day trip to trawl and dredge off Gay Head, Massachusetts, with U.S. Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler and his party aboard. She was hauled out of the water at New Bedford to have her bottom cleaned on 30 and 31 July, and returned to Woods Hole on 1 August. On 19 August she embarked a scientific party for a day trip to Hawes Shoal for trawling and dredging. After the steamer Gate City transferred personnel of the U.S. Navy paddle steamer USS Tallapoosa — which had sunk in Vineyard Sound during the night of 21–22 August after colliding with the schooner J. S. Lowell — to Fish Hawk on 22 August, Fish Hawk steamed to the scene of Tallapoosa′s wreck, where she picked up Tallapoosa′s steam launch and the rest of her crew, determined that she could provide no further assistance, and returned to Woods Hole. She then returned to her scientific activities, embarking scientists for trawling trips to Menemsha Bight on 25 August and Buzzards Bay on 2 September and a dredging trip in Vineyard Sound on 8 September. Carrying specimens and freight, she departed Woods Hole on 16 October, stopped at the New York Navy Yard from 17 to 18 October to pick up 63 live lobsters, deposited the lobsters in the lower Chesapeake Bay off Back River Light on 19 October, and returned to the Washington Navy Yard on 20 October. From 2 to 27 November she made a Chesapeake Bay cruise to study oyster beds, making stops in at Annapolis, Baltimore, and Crisfield, Maryland, and operating primarily off St. Jerome's Creek and in Tangier Sound using equipment such as trawls, dredges, and tangle bars. She also sent a diver down at each location to study the conditions on the bottom of the bay, finding that the turbidity of the water limited the diver mostly to using his sense of touch during his investigations. Her return to Washington on 27 November ended her operations for the year.

1885 season

On 7 January 1885, Fish Hawk took advantage of relatively ice-free conditions on the Potomac River and got underway for Norfolk, Virginia, where she arrived on 8 January. She remained there until 16 March, when she steamed up the Chesapeake Bay bound for Havre de Grace, where she arrived on 17 March and took a scow under tow for delivery to the Fish Commission′s Battery Station. She got to within 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) of Battery Station on 18 March but encountered ice off the mouth of the Susquehanna River and was forced to anchor, soon getting underway when her crew found that the ice was threatening to push her ashore and making for Baltimore, where she made repairs to ice damage and awaited the breakup of the ice. She left Baltimore on 2 April, took in tow a schooner carrying 40 tons of coal for Battery Station, and steamed to Battery Island, finally mooring there on 3 April. Her crew did maintenance work on the station′s facilities. On 8 April she embarked two generals — Heth and Smith — of the United States Army Corps of Engineers for a day trip, steaming in the direction of the Sassafras River to locate the wrecks of two coal barges that had sunk in the Chesapeake Bay, posing hazards to navigation, and found them at 39°23′30″N 076°03′30″W. Heth and Smith disembarked on 9 April. On 24 April, Fish Hawk steamed from Battery Station to Havre de Grace, where she coaled on 24–25 April, and then moved on to Washington, where she arrived at the Washington Navy Yard on 26 April. On 7 May, she took members of the American Fisheries Society on a day trip from Washington to the Fish Commission station at Fort Washington, where they observed seine hauling and the manipulation of fish eggs at the hatchery. She was moored at Fort Washington from 16 to 20 May so that members of her crew could receive instruction in taking spawn, her crew going ashore with fire buckets 90 minutes after her arrival on 16 May to help fight a fire that broke out at the hatchery.

On 20 May 1885, Fish Hawk got back underway to deploy to the Delaware River, arriving off Gloucester Point, New Jersey, on 26 May. Finding that shad had already been spawning for some time before her arrival — leading the Fish Commission to conclude that an earlier start was advisable in future years in order to increase the productivity of artificial hatching efforts — she collected 10,604,000 shad eggs between 23 May and 10 June, of which 8,063,000 hatched, and she deposited all of the juvenile fish in the Delaware River. On 11 June, she went on display at Burlington, New Jersey. Departing the Delaware River on 13 June, she called at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 13 to 14 June, then steamed south to Norfolk, where she arrived on 15 June. From 19 June to 6 August — suffering a mishap on 29 June while unmooring at the Norfolk Navy Yard when a mooring line parted, causing her port propeller to strike a spar fender and lose two of its blades — she operated in the Chesapeake Bay, where she collected 4.5 million shad eggs and hatched 1,370,000 of them and experimented with hatching Spanish mackerel eggs; the vast majority of the Spanish mackerel eggs died, although on 22 July Fish Hawk finally hatched 30,000 Spanish mackerel successfully and deposited them in Tangier Sound. From 9 to 29 August she was involved in driving piles as part of the construction of a channel at the St. Jerome fisheries station. On 1 September she arrived at Baltimore, where she was hauled out of the water from 6 to 12 September for repairs. She departed Baltimore on 18 September and, after making stops at Battery Station from 18 to 19 September, Havre de Grace from 19 to 20 September, and St. Jerome Station on 20 September, she proceeded to Hampton Roads. She departed Hampton Roads on 24 September, called at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn from 25 to 26 September, and on 27 September arrived at Woods Hole, where she spent the winter of 1885–1886.

1886

Apart from a trip to New Bedford from 14 to 16 February 1886 for coal and supplies, Fish Hawk remained at Woods Hole until 21 February 1886, when she got underway to operate in the eastern Gulf of Maine to collect cod eggs for the Woods Hole Station, mostly using Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as her base for these operations. While she was anchored in the harbor at Portsmouth between 25 and 27 February, a severe gale struck, sinking her steam launch, putting Fish Hawk in danger of dragging her anchor and going onto rocks, and causing two schooners to collide with her, slightly damaging her upper works, On 27 February the weather moderated enough for her to get underway and tie up at the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery, Maine, where she remained until 3 March to ride out the remainder of the storm. She conducted a search for her sunken steam launch on 3 and 4 March, but did not find it, and it was not refloated and recovered until September 1886. Resuming her planned operations, she collected several million cod eggs for shipment to Woods Hole. Completing the work, she steamed from the Portsmouth Navy Yard to the Boston Navy Yard at Boston, Massachusetts, on 24 March and remained there until 10 April while awaiting orders and undergoing repairs to the damage she suffered from her collision with the schooners at Portsmouth during the February gale. She left Boston on 12 April and returned to Woods Hole, which she reached on 14 April.

Fish Hawk departed Woods Hole on 16 April 1886 and headed south, spending the night of 16–17 April at Newport, Rhode Island, because of heavy fog and calling at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn from 18 to 22 April to await orders. She then steamed to the Fish Commission station at Battery Island in the Chesapeake Bay, arriving there on 24 April. From 26 April to 1 May she operated on shad-propagation duties in the vicinity of Battery Island and the mouth of the Susquehanna River. On 3 May she departed Battery Island and proceeded to Gloucester City, New Jersey, to propagate shad on the Delaware River, collecting 34,454,500 shad eggs and hatching 21,018,000 of them on board by 10 June, when she arrived at Camden, New Jersey, to undergo repairs that involved hauling her out of the water from 15 to 17 June. She then called at Gloucester City from 19 to 21 June, when she got underway for Washington, D.C., where she moored at the Washington Navy Yard on 24 June. She remained there until 9 July, when she departed for St. Jerome Station. From 10 July until 28 August, she moved back and forth between the St. Jerome and Battery stations, towing vessels such as a dredger, scows, and a steam launch between the stations and her crew assisting in dredging and construction work at each station and in the sinking of an artesian well at the St. Jerome Station. Completing this work, she headed south on 28 August carrying equipment and passengers to Woods Hole, stopping at Hampton Roads from 28 to 29 August, and then heading up the United States East Coast, stopping at the Winter Quarter Shoal, Five Fathom Bank, and Sandy Hook lightships to instruct their crews in the methods of taking temperature measurements for the Fish Commission. She also paused at Newport, Rhode Island, to embark the Commissioner of Fisheries, Spencer F. Baird, for transportation to Woods Hole. With him aboard, she steamed from Newport to Woods Hole on 2 September and remained there until 12 September.

A steam windlass and its engines and boiler manufactured for the new Fish Commission schooner USFC Grampus had proven too heavy for Grampus during her August 1886 shakedown cruise, and Grampus had unshipped the windlass after the cruise and left it at Woods Hole. Fish Hawk loaded it aboard on 13 September, and on 14 September got underway with the Fish Commission steamer USFC Halcyon in tow. During the day she dropped Halcyon off at the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, Rhode Island, then arrived at Providence, Rhode Island, where the American Steam Windlass Company installed Grampus′s former windlass aboard Fish Hawk. With that completed, Fish Hawk departed Providence on 27 September and, after spending the night of 27–28 September at Newport due to fog, returned to Woods Hole, where she remained until 24 October. She got underway on 24 October with the Fish Commission launch USFC Cygnet in tow. She called at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn from 24 to 26 October, dropping off Cygnet there, then began a voyage to the St. Jerome Station, pausing just outside New York Harbor to conduct an unsuccessful search near Sandy Hook, New Jersey, for English sole, a species that had been introduced there several years earlier. Experiencing weather delays, she finally arrived at St. Jerome Station on 2 November, then towed a launch from St. Jerome Station to Battery Station on 3–4 November and remained at Battery Station until 3 December — except for a round trip to St. Jerome Station from 22 to 26 November to pick up cargo for Battery Station — while her crew performed work for the station. With ice appearing on 3 December and endangering Fish Hawk, she got underway, arriving at Baltimore on 4 December and spending the rest of the year there.

1887

Fish Hawk spent 2 through 26 May 1887 on shad-hatching duties in the eastern Chesapeake Bay off the mouth of the North East River, turning her remaining fish and eggs over to the Battery Island station at the end of deployment, bringing her total for shad eggs transferred to the station for the season to 1,330,000 eggs.

1888

Fish Hawk spent 2 through 26 May 1887 on shad-hatching duties in the eastern Chesapeake Bay off the mouth of the North East River, turning her remaining fish and eggs over to the Battery Island station at the end of deployment, bringing her total for shad eggs transferred to the station for the season to 1,330,000 eggs.

USFS Gannet

FY1921 - Fish-culture New England coast. p. 49 1921; Boothbay Harbor fish-culture, lobster pound repairs, p. 38.

1806 shipwrecks

~ Category:Shipwrecks and maritime incidents templates

Game log

Legend
	Expos win
	Expos loss
	Postponement
Bold	Expos team member

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
1	April 3	Dodgers	4–10	Brown (1–0)	Hermanson (0–1)	Adams (1)	51,249	0–1
2	April 4	Dodgers	4–10	Park (1–0)	Irabu (0–1)	—	12,143	0–2
3	April 5	Dodgers	6–5	Telford (1-0)	Shaw (0-1)	—	8,867	1–2
4	April 6	Dodgers	11–3	Pavano (1-0)	Pérez (0-1)	—	9,121	2–2
5	April 7	Padres	5-10	Meadows (1-0)	Powell (0–1)	—	12,260	2–3
6	April 8	Padres	10–9	Telford (2-0)	Wall (0-1)	Urbina (1)	13,528	3–3
7	April 9	Padres	2–1	Irabu (1–1)	Boehringer (0–1)	Urbina (2)	9,782	4–3
8	April 11	@ Pirates	7–3	Vázquez (1-0)	Benson (0-2)	Kline (1)	11,335	5–3
9	April 12	@ Pirates	4–6	Silva (1-0)	Batista (0-1)	Williams (1)	10,290	5–4
10	April 13	@ Pirates	3–4	Silva (2-0)	Urbina (0-1)	—	11,162	5–5
11	April 14	@ Phillies	4–0	Hermanson (1–1)	Brock (0-2)	—	12,366	6–5
—	April 15	@ Phillies	Postponed (rain): Rescheduled for September 11.
12	April 16	@ Phillies	4–5	Aldred (1-1)	Telford (1-2)	—	18,648	6–6
—	April 17	@ Phillies	Postponed (rain): Rescheduled for September 11 as part of a doubleheader.
13	April 18	Cubs	4–3	Strickland (1–0)	Tapani (0-2)	Urbina (3)	9,975	7–6
14	April 19	Cubs	7–3	Pavano (2-0)	Quevedo (0–2)	—	10,112	8–6
15	April 20	Cubs	6–10	Williams (1-0)	Blank (0-1)	—	12,186	8–7
16	April 21	Brewers	5–1	Hermanson (2–1)	Haynes (2-1)	Urbina (4)	12,315	9–7
17	April 22	Brewers	3–7	Stull (1-1)	Irabu (1-2)	—	14,461	9–8
18	April 23	Brewers	6–4	Vázquez (2-0)	Navarro (0–4)	Urbina (5)	14,410	10–8
19	April 25	Rockies	10–4	Pavano (3-0)	Bohanon (0-2)	—	10,019	11–8
20	April 26	Rockies	9–2	Hermanson (3–1)	Jarvis (1-1)	Urbina (6)	10,735	12–8
21	April 28	@ Giants	9–3	Telford (3-1)	Ortiz (2–3)	—	40,930	13–8
22	April 29	@ Giants	1–2	Johnstone (2–1)	Telford (3-2)	Nen (4)	40,930	13–9
23	April 30	@ Giants	4–3	Strickland (2–0)	Johnstone (2–2)	Urbina (7)	40,930	14–9

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
24	May 1	@ Rockies	8–15	White (1–0)	Hermanson (3–2)	—	35,104	14–10
25	May 2	@ Rockies	6–12	Karl (1-2)	Powell (0–2)	—	39,132	14–11
26	May 3	@ Rockies	7–16	Astacio (3-2)	Irabu (1-3)	—	40,096	14–12
27	May 5	@ Brewers	10–2	Vázquez (3-0)	Bere (2–3)	—	10,002	15–12
28	May 6	@ Brewers	3–2	Telford (4–2)	Weathers (2–1)	Urbina (8)	12,381	16–12
29	May 7	@ Brewers	4–9	Haynes (4–2)	Hermanson (3–3)	—	11,989	16–13
—	May 8	Phillies	Postponed (rain): Rescheduled for May 11.
30	May 9	Phillies	3–2 (10)	Kline (1–0)	Gomes (1–3)	—	8,845	17–13
31	May 10	Phillies	0–8	Person (3-1)	Vázquez (3-1)	—	9,411	17-14
32	May 11	Phillies	4–6	Wolf (2–2)	Pavano (3-1)	Gomes (6)	8,311	17-15
33	May 12	Cubs	8–3	Thurman (1-0)	Wood (1–2)	Hermanson (1)	15,626	18-15
34	May 13	Cubs	1–2	Lieber (4-2)	Armas (0-1)	—	14,321	18-16
35	May 14	Cubs	16–15	Hermanson (4–3)	Aguilera (1-1)	—	10,621	19-16
36	May 16	Diamondbacks	2–0	Vázquez (4-1)	Johnson (7-1)	Hermanson (2)	11,898	20-16
37	May 17	Diamondbacks	10–2	Pavano (4-1)	Reynoso (2–4)	—	8,766	21-16
38	May 18	Diamondbacks	6–8	Kim (2-1)	Telford (4–3)	—	11,073	21-17
39	May 19	Astros	3–2	Hermanson (5–3)	Slusarski (0-1)	—	12,679	22-17
40	May 20	Astros	8–7	Irabu (2-3)	Elarton (2-1)	Hermanson (3)	15,166	23-17
41	May 21	Astros	8–3	Vázquez (5-1)	Lima (1-7)	—	20,111	24-17
42	May 23	@ Giants	3–2	Pavano (5-1)	Rueter (2–3)	Hermanson (4)	40,930	25-17
43	May 24	@ Giants	0–18	Estes (3–2)	Thurman (1-1)	—	40,930	25-18
44	May 25	@ Giants	1–4	Hernández (3–5)	Armas (0-2)	Nen (7)	40,930	25-19
45	May 26	@ Padres	2–6	Whiteside (2-0)	Irabu (2-4)	—	19,517	25–20
46	May 27	@ Padres	2–4	Wall (2–2)	Kline (1-1)	Hoffman (10)	40,110	25–21
47	May 28	@ Padres	3–4	Walker (1-0)	Pavano (5-2)	Hoffman (11)	26,411	25–22
48	May 30	@ Reds	2–4	Fernández (2-0)	Armas (0-3)	Williamson (6)	20,250	25–23
49	May 31	@ Reds	10–4	Johnson (1-0)	Parris (2-7)	—	21,207	26–23

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
50	June 1	@ Reds	9–7	Vázquez (6-1)	Villone (6-2)	Kline (2)	23,099	27–23
51	June 2	Orioles	5–3	Pavano (6-2)	Johnson (0–4)	Kline (3)	12,654	28–23
52	June 3	Orioles	7–4	Lira (1–0)	Rapp (4–3)	Kline (4)	13,628	29–23
53	June 4	Orioles	1–0	Armas (1-3)	Ponson (3–3)	Kline (5)	15,181	30–23
54	June 5	Yankees	6–4	Johnson (2-0)	Cone (1–6)	Kline (6)	18,095	31–23
55	June 6	Yankees	1–8	Grimsley (2–1)	Vázquez (6-2)	—	24,453	31–24
56	June 7	Yankees	2–7	Hernández (6–4)	Pavano (6-3)	—	25,381	31–25
57	June 9	@ Blue Jays	3–13	Carpenter (5–5)	Tucker (0–1)	—	26,122	31–26
58	June 10	@ Blue Jays	11–2	Armas (2-3)	Escobar (5–7)	—	30,239	32–26
59	June 11	@ Blue Jays	3–8	Koch (4–1)	Mota (0–1)	—	25,838	32–27
60	June 12	@ Brewers	1–8	Bere (4–5)	Vázquez (6–3)	—	16,686	32–28
61	June 13	@ Brewers	9–4	Pavano (7-3)	Woodard (1–5)	—	10,705	33–28
62	June 14	@ Brewers	2–11	Wright (2–1)	Johnson (2-1)	—	12,875	33–29
63	June 16	@ Cubs	8–9	Van Poppel (2–2)	Armas (2-4)	Aguilera (14)	38,010	33–30
64	June 17	@ Cubs	0–1	Rain (1–0)	Hermanson (5–4)	Aguilera (15)	39,502	33–31
65	June 18	@ Cubs	4–3 (11)	Telford (5–3)	Garibay (1–3)	Rigby (2)	38,752	34–31
66	June 19	Pirates	2–1	Pavano (8-3)	Loiselle (0–2)	Kline (7)	7,483	35–31
67	June 20	Pirates	1–2	Benson (6–5)	Johnson (2-2)	Williams (10)	8,056	35–32
68	June 21	Pirates	3–8	Córdova (5–5)	Armas (2-5)	Peters (1)	8,324	35–33
69	June 22	Pirates	6–5	Hermanson (6–4)	Ritchie (4–4)	Telford (2)	8,635	36–33
70	June 23	Phillies	6–13	Coggin (1–0)	Vázquez (6–4)	—	8,197	36–34
71	June 24	Phillies	1–8	Wolf (7–4)	Pavano (8-4)	—	8,374	36–35
72	June 25	Phillies	3–1	Johnson (3-2)	Byrd (1–6)	Kline (8)	13,164	37–35
73	June 27	Braves	6–4	Armas (3-5)	Glavine (7–5)	Kline (9)	11,636	38–35
74	June 28	Braves	4–7	Mulholland (8–6)	Hermanson (6–5)	Ligtenberg (5)	12,653	38–36
75	June 30	Marlins	4–5	Almanza (1–0)	Kline (1–2)	Alfonseca (23)	8,047	38–37

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
76	July 1	Marlins	5–6	Dempster (9–4)	Johnson (3-3)	Alfonseca (24)	8,529	38–38
77	July 2	Marlins	1–2	Cornelius (3–2)	Santana (0–1)	Alfonseca (24)	9,076	38–39
78	July 3	@ Braves	17–1	Armas (4-5)	Mulhollandl (8–8)	—	44,302	39–39
79	July 4	@ Braves	3–7	Maddux (10–3)	Hermanson (6–6)	—	47,277	39–40
80	July 5	@ Braves	6–5	Vázquez (7–4)	Millwood (5–7)	Kline (10)	34,044	40–40
81	July 6	@ Braves	4–2	Johnson (4-3)	Burkett (6-4)	Kline (11)	36,377	41–40
82	July 7	Blue Jays	10–5	Lira (2–0)	Quantrill (0–5)	—	13,317	42–40
83	July 8	Blue Jays	3–6	Wells (15–2)	Armas (4–86)	Koch (20)	17,420	42–41
84	July 9	Blue Jays	3–13	Castillo (6–5)	Hermanson (6–7)	—	22,489	42–42
All–Star Break (July 10–12)
85	July 13	@ Devil Rays	4–6	Mecir (7–1)	Lira (2–1)	Hernández (13)	14,924	42–43
86	July 14	@ Devil Rays	5–8	Lopez (6–6)	Armas (4–7)	Hernández (13)	15,870	42–44
87	July 15	@ Devil Rays	4–1	Hermanson (7–7)	Trachsel (6–9)	Kline (12)	19,366	43–44
88	July 16	@ Red Sox	2–5	Wakefield (6–5)	Johnson (4-4)	Wasdin (1)	32,164	43–45
89	July 17	@ Red Sox	3–7	Pichardo (4–1)	Telford (5–4)	—	32,703	43–46
90	July 18	@ Red Sox	1–3	Martínez (9–4)	Vázquez (7–5)	Lowe (21)	32,629	43–47
91	July 19	Mets	3–5	Mahomes (4–1)	Kline (1–3)	Benítez (22)	14,198	43–48
92	July 20	Mets	4–1	Hermanson (8–7)	Hampton (9–7)	Strickland (1)	13,348	44–48
93	July 21	@ Marlins	7–3	Thurman (2–1)	Smith (0–3)	—	11,234	45–48
94	July 22	@ Marlins	17–7	Johnson (5-4)	Cornelius (3–4)	—	15,476	46–48
95	July 23	@ Marlins	7–6	Vázquez (8–5)	Sánchez (6–8)	Strickland (2)	11,307	47–48
96	July 25	@ Mets	0–5	Rusch (7–7)	Hermanson (8–8)	—	41,028	47–49
—	July 26	@ Mets	Postponed (rain): Rescheduled for July 27 as part of a doubleheader.
97	July 27 (1)	@ Mets	8–9	Franco (5–3)	Strickland (2–1)	Benítez (23)	35,088	47–50
98	July 27 (2)	@ Mets	3–4	Hampton (10–7)	Irabu (2–5)	—		47–51
99	July 28	Reds	3–8	Dessens (5–0)	Johnson (5-5)	—	11,547	47–52
100	July 29	Reds	3–4 (11)	Graves (10–0)	Santana (0–2)	—	13,577	47–53
101	July 30	Reds	4–7	Bell (5–6)	Hermanson (8–9)	Graves (18)	14,495	47–54
102	July 31	Cardinals	0–4	Kile (13–6)	Thurman (2–2)	—	9,558	47–55

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
103	August 1	Cardinals	4–0	Moore (1–0)	Ankiel (7–7)	—	9,818	48–55
104	August 2	Cardinals	7–10	Hentgen (10–8)	Johnson (5-6)	—	9,669	48–56
105	August 4	@ Astros	6–7	Green (1–0)	Kline (1–4)	Dotel (5)	38,502	48–57
106	August 5	@ Astros	10–9	Strickland (3–1)	Valdes (2–4)	Kline (13)	42,399	49–57
107	August 6	@ Astros	1–8	Elarton (12–4)	Thurman (2–3)	—	36,882	49–58
108	August 7	@ Diamondbacks	2–5	Schilling (9–6)	Moore (1–1)	—	31,526	49–59
109	August 8	@ Diamondbacks	9–3	Lira (3–1)	Anderson (9–5)	—	33,113	50–59
110	August 9	@ Diamondbacks	4–3	Strickland (4–1)	Guzmán (4–4)	Telford (2)	33,500	51–59
111	August 11	Rockies	3–10	Bohanon (6–8)	Hermanson (8–10)	—	9,136	51–60
112	August 12	Rockies	2–14	Yoshii (5–12)	Moore (1–2)	—	9,815	51–61
113	August 13	Rockies	3–5	Chouinard (1–1)	Strickland (4–2)	White (3)	10,606	51–62
114	August 14	Rockies	3–4	House (1–0)	Strickland (4–3)	Jiménez (16)	6,924	51–63
115	August 15	Giants	7–9	del Toro (1–0)	Lira (3–2)	Nen (29)	7,165	51–64
116	August 16	Giants	1–4	Gardner (8–6)	Hermanson (8–11)	Nen (30)	7,910	51–65
117	August 17	Giants	4–5	Estes (12–3)	Moore (1–3)	Rodríguez (3)	9,198	51–66
118	August 18	@ Padres	6–3	Thurman (3–3)	Clement (11–11)	Strickland (3)	20,597	52–66
119	August 19	@ Padres	3–4 (11)	Walker (7–1)	Santana (0–3)	—	56,779	52–67
120	August 20	@ Padres	4–5	Witasick (4–9)	Lira (3–3)	Hoffman (34)	25,343	52–68
121	August 21	@ Dodgers	4–1	Hermanson (9–11)	Herges (8–3)	Strickland (4)	32,053	53–68
122	August 22	@ Dodgers	6–14	Adams (6–6)	Santana (0–4)	—	29,804	53–69
123	August 23	@ Dodgers	1–5	Brown (11–5)	Thurman (3–4)	—	31,337	53-70
124	August 24	@ Dodgers	0–7	Park (13–8)	Vázquez (8–6)	—	28,896	53-71
125	August 25	Astros	1–3	Holt (6–12)	Lira (3–4)	Dotel (10)	7,636	53-72
126	August 26	Astros	5–4	Hermanson (10–11)	Lima (5–15)	Kline (14)	8,619	54-72
127	August 27	Astros	3–7	Elarton (15–4)	Moore (1–4)	—	10,732	54-73
128	August 28	Diamondbacks	9–5	Thurman (4–4)	Schilling (10–9)	Telford (3)	6,389	55-73
129	August 29	Diamondbacks	7–8	Plesac (4–4)	Forster (0–1)	Mesa (11)	6,029	55-74
130	August 30	Diamondbacks	0–7	Johnson (17–5)	Lira (3–5)	—	7,650	55-75

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
131	September 1	@ Reds	2–8	Bell (6–7)	Hermanson (10–12)	—	22,973	55-76
132	September 2	@ Reds	9–5	Lira (4–5)	Villone (9–8)	—	29,403	56-76
133	September 3	@ Reds	1–8	Parris (10–14)	Thurman (4–5)	—	26,152	56-77
134	September 4	@ Cardinals	2–4	Hentgen (14–12)	Vázquez (8–7)	Veres (25)	39,704	56-78
135	September 5	@ Cardinals	6–7	Reames (1–1)	Santana (0–5)	Timlin (12)	31,821	56-79
136	September 6	@ Cardinals	7–2	Hermanson (11–12)	Stephenson (15–8)	—	30,280	57-79
137	September 7	@ Cardinals	1–6	Kile (17–9)	Armas (4–8)	—	30,799	57-80
138	September 8	@ Braves	2–3	Ashby (9–12)	Moore (1–4)	Rocker (20)	35,870	57-81
139	September 9	@ Braves	7–5 (12)	Santana (1–5)	Seelbach (0–1)	—	47,775	58-81
140	September 10	@ Braves	4–0	Vázquez (9–7)	Glavine (19–7)	—	39,068	59-81
141	September 11 (1)	@ Phillies	2–5	Politte (3–2)	Hermanson (11–13)	Brantley (23)	11,310	59-82
142	September 11 (2)	@ Phillies	7–6	Mota (1–1)	Padilla (1–2)	Strickland (5)		60-82
143	September 12	@ Phillies	1–0	Armas (5–8)	Telemaco (1–1)	Strickland (6)	12,135	61-82
144	September 13	@ Phillies	5–15	Chen (7–2)	Lira (4–6)	—	12,316	61-83
145	September 14	Mets	4–10	Rusch (10–10)	Thurman (4–6)	—	6,219	61-84
146	September 15	Mets	4–3	Vázquez (10–7)	Wendell (7–6)	Strickland (7)	6,979	62-84
147	September 16	Mets	4–10	Reed (10–5)	Hermanson (11–14)	—	9,045	62-85
148	September 17	Mets	5–0	Armas (6–8)	Jones (9–6)	—	9,349	63-85
149	September 18	Marlins	11–4	Lira (5–6)	Sánchez (9–11)	—	4,769	64-85
150	September 19	Marlins	1–3	Dempster (13–10)	Thurman (4–7)	Alfonseca (42)	5,283	64-86
151	September 20	Marlins	4–2	Vázquez (11–7)	Cornelius (3–10)	Strickland (8)	5,851	65-86
152	September 21	Marlins	10–3	Hermanson (12–14)	Burnett (2–7)	—	4,801	66-86
153	September 22	Braves	6–4	Armas (7–8)	Millwood (10–12)	Strickland (9)	8,464	67-86
154	September 23	Braves	0–10	Maddux (19–8)	Lira (5–7)	—	10,136	67-87
155	September 24	Braves	5–14	Ashby (12–12)	Thurman (4–8)	—	11,350	67-88
156	September 25	Braves	0–6	Glavine (20–9)	Vázquez (11–8)	—	6,931	67-89
157	September 26	@ Marlins	4–5 (10)	Alfonseca (5–6)	Kline (1–5)	—	8,538	67-90
158	September 27	@ Marlins	3–6	Burnett (3–7)	Armas (7–9)	Alfonseca (43)	10,269	67-91
159	September 28	@ Marlins	4–7	Penny (8–7)	Lira (5–8)	Alfonseca (44)	7,864	67-92
160	September 29	@ Mets	2–11	Hampton (15–10)	Thurman (4–9)	—	28,788	67-93
161	September 30	@ Mets	2–4	Wendell (8–6)	Vázquez (11–9)	Benítez (41)	39,468	67-94

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
162	October 1	@ Mets	2–3 (13)	Mahomes (5–3)	Powell (0–3)	—	44,869	67-95

2005-06 Georgetown season

The Hoyas began their season on the road on November 18 with an easy win at Navy in which Roy Hibbert came off the bench to grab seven rebounds and score a game-high 20 points, Jeff Green also pulled down seven rebounds and led Georgetown starters with 13 points, Ashanti Cook contributed 12 points off the bench, and Darrel Owens added 10 points. Another road win followed three days later at James Madison in which Hibbert came off the bench again to score Georgetown′s first 15 points on the way to a game-high and career-high 23 points, shooting 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) from the field and 9-for-9 from the free-throw-line. The Hoyas staved off a Dukes surge in the second half to preserve the victory, with Cook scoring 14 points and Jonathan Wallace 12, both off the bench, and the only Hoya starter to finish in double figures, Darrel Owens, contributing 10 points. Georgetown opened its season with a 2–0 record for the first time since the 2003–04 season.

The Hoyas′ next game was their home opener at the MCI Center, and they stumbled for the first time, losing to Vanderbilt, with Jeff Green scoring a team-high 14 points, Brandon Bowman 12, and Darrel Owens 10, and Jonathan Wallace coming off the bench to score 11 in a losing cause. They then traveled across the United States for a win at Oregon in the first meeting of the schools. Ashanti Cook scored 16 points in the first half on the way to a 25-point game, a career high. Cook also had career highs in shooting from the field (8-for-10) and three-point attempts (with four); all four of his three-point attempts came in the first half, and he sank all four of them. Roy Hibbert had a double-double against the Ducks with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Bowman scored 13 points.

Georgetown next faced its first ranked opponent of the season, visiting No. 11 Illinois, winner of eight straight games and 25 in a row at home. Illinois mounted a strong defense in the first half and, while the Hoyas missed eight of their first 10 shots, the Fighting Illini scored the game′s first 10 points. Georgetown finally scored on a Roy Hibbert layup with 14:39 left in the half, but Illinois pulled back out to a 10-point lead at 12–2 with 13:58 remaining. The Hoyas closed to 12–7 with 10:59 left in the half, but over the next 9:02 missed nine straight shots and committed four turnovers. At halftime, the Hoyas trailed 28–13, but after they returned to the floor for the second half they began to claw their way back as Illinois′s offense slumped. While the Fighting Illini shot 9-for-25 (36.0 percent) from the field in the second half, Jeff Green led a Hoya rally, scoring 19 of his 21 points after halftime as the Hoyas closed to 52–44 with 1:10 left in the game. After that, however, the Hoyas missed three straight shots and had to foul to stop the clock, and Illinois made all six of the resulting free throws. Green scored four more points in the final seconds, but in the end, Georgetown could not recover from its poor first-half offensive showing. Despite shooting only 32 percent from the field for the game, Illinois won, 58-48, extending its winning streak to nine games and its home winning streak to 26. Although Georgetown had a height advantage, Illinois outrebounded the Hoyas 41–33 and had 21 offensive rebounds, and other than Green, Ashanti Cook with 10 points was the only Hoya to score in double figures. Roy Hibbert, Georgetown′s leading scorer for the season at 16 points per game, managed only four points.

Having played four of their first five games on the road and with a record of 3–2, the Hoyas returned to the MCI Center to sweep a three-game homestand with easy wins over Fairfield, Stetson, and Savannah State. Brandon Bowman led the Hoyas with a game-high 16 points against Fairfield, while Jonathan Wallace scored 11 points and Ashanti Cook finished with 10 against the Stags. In the game against winless Stetson, Roy Hibbert had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Bowman and Marc Eggerson scored 12 points each. In the victory over Savannah State – coached by former Georgetown player Horace Broadnax in his first season as the Tigers′ head coach – Hibbert had another double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), Jeff Green scored 14 points, Jesse Sapp contributed 11, and Jonathan Wallace added 10. The Hoyas then closed out 2005 with a trip to El Paso, Texas, to participate in the Sun Bowl Tournament, held in conjunction with the 2005 Sun Bowl college football game. The Hoyas won the tournament championship, extending their winning streak to five by beating Colgate in the semifinals and UTEP in the final game. Hibbert scored 18 points on 8-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line and blocked three shots against Colgate, while Bowman contributed 10 points. Against UTEP, Georgetown sank 12 three-pointers; Darrel Owens went 6-for-6 from the field, including 5-for-5 in three-pointers, and scored 21 points, while Bowman finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, and three steals. Jonathan Wallace scored 13 points, Ashanti Cook contributed 11, and Jeff Green added 10 against the Miners.

Conference schedule

With a record of 8–2, Georgetown returned to the MCI Center to open its Big East season with a game against Providence on January 5. The Hoyas committed 15 turnovers in the first half and trailed 30–24 at halftime, but after an angry John Thompson III berated them in the locker room for their sloppiness, they opened the second half with a decisive 20–4 run and beat the Friars 72–62, committing a season-high 22 turnovers during the game but outrebounding Providence 28–11 in the second half. Brandon Bowman (19 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs) and Roy Hibbert (16 points and 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles – Hibbert achieving his despite fouling out – while Jonathan Wallace scored 15 points and had five steals and Ashanti Cook also finished with 15 points, 14 of them in the second half. Three days later, the Hoyas met St. John's at Madison Square Garden in New York, had a season-high 11 steals, and won again, with Darrel Owens hitting a season-high six three-pointers and scoring a game-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, while Brandon Bowman scored 16 points and Jeff Green finished with 11. The victory gave the Hoyas a seven-game winning streak, an overall record of 10–2, and their first 2–0 opening in Big East play since the 2000–2001 season.

The St. John′s game was the first of three on the road, and the Hoyas′ next stop was at West Virginia to face the No. 16 Mountaineers, their second ranked opponent of the season. The Mountaineers were hosting their first home game since the January 2 Sago Mine disaster in Sago, West Virginia, and they held a moment of silence for 12 miners killed in the accident. West Virginia had won eight straight games, and at 2–0 they were off to their best Big East start in their 11 years in the conference. The Mountaineers missed 19 of their first 24 shots from the field and 14 of their first 16 three-point attempts, and Georgetown led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but the Hoyas went scoreless for the final 6:55 of the half, and clung to a 23–21 lead at halftime. West Virginia took the lead early in the second half before Georgetown tied the game at 33–33 with 14:36 left in the game, but the Mountaineers responded by hitting five three-pointers and had their biggest lead of the game at 57-45 with four minutes remaining. With two minutes to play, Ashanti Cook was called for an intentional foul, and on the next possession Darrel Owens was called for a technical foul and was ejected from the game after he argued with an official. The Hoyas closed to 66–61 with 26 seconds left to play, but the Mountaineers sank two more free throws to come away with a 68–61 victory. Georgetown′s defense was ranked first in the Big East at 57 points allowed per game, and West Virginia′s 68 points tied the most the Hoyas had given up in a game all season; the 47 points they allowed the Mountaineers in the second half were the most in a half all season. Jeff Green finished with 17 points and nine rebounds Roy Hibbert scored 16, and Jonathan Wallace added 12, but West Virginia outrebounded Georgetown 33–29 despite the Hoyas′ height advantage. West Virginia won its ninth straight game and extended is best-ever Big East start to 3–0, and Georgetown′s winning streak came to an end.

The Hoyas′ next game was three days later and was another road game against a ranked opponent, No. 4 Connecticut. Georgetown trailed 33–24 at halftime, then closed to 39–36 early in the second half, but the Huskies extended their lead to 51–40, their largest lead of the second half, with 9:47 left to play. Led by two three-pointers and a two-point layup by Ashanti Cook, the Hoyas closed to 67–63 with 1:18 left to play, but after that Connecticut pulled away again and won 74–67. The Huskies shot a season-high 60 percent from the field and beat the Hoyas for the 11th time in a row. Brandon Bowman led Georgetown with 20 points, Jeff Green added 13 points and eight rebounds, Roy Hibbert scored 12, and Cook finished with 11, but the Hoyas lost consecutive games for the first time all season and fell to 10–4 overall, 2–2 in the Big East, and 0–3 against Top 25 teams.

The Hoyas returned to the MCI Center to begin a two-game homestand with what was supposed to be a far less challenging game against South Florida, but neither team shot very well, and the Hoyas avoided overtime and came away with a 50–47 victory only when Bulls junior guard McHugh Mattis′s last three-point attempt clanged off the rim at the final buzzer. Darrel Owens scored 20 points and Ashanti Cook 12, but otherwise the Hoyas′ top players had poor offensive performances, and Roy Hibbert, the team's leading scorer at 12.8 points per game, went scoreless.

Four days later, Georgetown stepped away from Big East competition for a non-conference game against no less than No. 1 Duke, their fourth Top 25 opponent of the season and third in four games. The Blue Devils entered the game with a record of 17–0, tying the best start in school history. Georgetown sold out the MCI Center for the only the second time since the Hoyas moved there in December 1997 – the last sellout, on January 24, 2004, also having been for a game against a No. 1-ranked Duke team – and the attendance was triple the average for a Georgetown game there. Duke led only once during the game, at 22–20. Relying on a stubborn defense in the paint and backdoor layups for much of its scoring during the game, Georgetown shot 67 percent during the first half and went on a 19–5 run to close out the half, going into the locker room with a 42–28 lead at halftime. The Hoyas led by as many as 16 points in the second half despite Duke senior guard JJ Redick′s 41 points; Reddick had two blocked shots during the game and became only the third player in Atlantic Coast Conference history – along with Tim Duncan and Ralph Sampson – to reach 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 350 blocked shots for his career. The Hoyas shot 61 percent from the field for the game and held Duke senior forward Shelden Williams to a season-low four points. However, the Blue Devils rallied in the second half and closed to a two-point deficit with 4:03 left to play. The Hoyas pulled back out to an 82–74 lead with 1:15 left, but went only 7–for–12 (58.3 percent) from the free-throw line over the final 1:46 and allowed Duke to close to 87–84. Jonathan Wallace stole the ball from Duke freshman point guard Greg Paulus as he dribbled at halfcourt with four seconds left, Brandon Bowman – who led the Hoyas with 23 points – jumped on the loose ball at the final buzzer, and the Hoyas upset the Blue Devils 87–84. Jeff Green scored 18 points and Darrel Owens added 13. It was Georgetown′s first victory over a No. 1 team in 21 years – the last had been when the Hoyas defeated No. 1 St. John's in the famous "Sweater Game" on February 27, 1985 – and broke a nine-game Hoya losing streak against ranked opponents dating back to January 2005. Hoya fans stormed the court as former Georgetown head coach John Thompson, Jr. embraced his son John Thompson III at courtside. It was part of a day of upsets in which the only other two major college basketball teams that entered the day unbeaten, Pittsburgh and Florida, lost as well with a few hours of Duke′s defeat.

The Hoyas ascended to No. 21 in the Associated Press Poll – their first Top-25 ranking since early January 2002 – before their next game, a visit to Notre Dame. The Hoyas never trailed and won 85–82 in double overtime – the third overtime game in the last seven meetings between the schools – despite blowing a 15-point first-half lead, a Brandon Bowman foul on a three-point shot by Fighting Irish junior guard Colin Falls that allowed Falls to tie the game in regulation with a four-point play and force overtime, and allowing what was almost a game-winning shot by Notre Dame senior point guard Chris Quinn at the end of the first overtime. It was only Georgetown′s second win in the past seven games against Notre Dame, but it gave the Fighting Irish a 1–5 start in the Big East, their worst since a 1–5 start in 1996–1997, and stretched the Hoyas′ winning streak to three games. Roy Hibbert had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, Darrell Owens also scored 18, Ashanti Cook added 15 points, Jeff Green had 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Jonathan Wallace finished with 10 points. Two much easier wins followed against Cincinnati and at DePaul over the next week, Georgetown – the only Big East school with five players averaging in double figures – enjoying its largest margin of victory in a Big East game in nearly four years in the 19-point defeat of Cincinnati. Against Cincinnati, Jeff Green had 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, Brandon Bowman finished with 12 points, and Jonathan Wallace scored 10, while at DePaul – in a game in which the Hoyas displayed the balanced scoring, strong defense, and good rebounding that all had become consistent for them since they upset Duke – Roy Hibbert scored 17 points, Green had 15, and Bowman finished with 10. It was DePaul′s sixth straight loss.

With a five-game winning streak, a 15–4 overall record, and a Big East record of 6–2, Georgetown began February by moving up to No. 17 in the AP Poll, the team's highest ranking since November 2001, and hosting No. 9 Pittsburgh at the MCI Center on February 5. The game featured a match-up between two of the Big East′s top centers, Roy Hibbert and Panthers junior Aaron Gray. Hibbert got the early upper hand and scored the game's first six points, but after that he was shut out until the second half and scored only one more point before the final buzzer. The Hoyas, meanwhile, could not contain Gray, and fell behind by 15 points, 33–18, after a 15–0 Pittsburgh run. Georgetown concluded the first half with a 10–2 run of its own, but still trailed 35–28 at halftime. In the second half, John Thompson III went to a matchup zone defense to stop Gray on offense – Gray finished with a double-double (15 points and 11 rebounds), but scored all of his points in the first half – and moved Jeff Green to a point forward position, forcing Gray to move away from the basket and allowing Green to drive around him and score. With Gray neutralized, the Hoyas clawed back, Brandon Bowman tying the game at 45–45 on a fast-break layup and then giving Georgetown the lead for good at 48–47 by sinking a three-pointer with 9:38 left in the game. The Panthers did not score again for the next nine minutes and fell behind, 59–50, but mounted a comeback in the game′s final 30 seconds, scoring eight consecutive points on back-to-back three-pointers and an easy layup that allowed them to narrow Georgetown′s lead to one point with six seconds left. Darrell Owens made two free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining to stretch the Georgetown lead back to three. Panthers sophomore guard Ronald Ramón then took a long – but wide-open – three-point shot that could have sent the game into overtime, but it missed at the buzzer. Despite being outrebounded 35–23 and getting only two points from its bench (on Owens′ two free throws), Georgetown won in an upset, 61–58. Green finished with 22 points, tying his career high, while Bowman scored 15 points, 10 of them in the second half. The win gave the Hoyas a six-game winning streak that included two victories over Top Ten teams, broke a four-game home losing streak against the Panthers, and moved Georgetown into sole possession of fourth place in the Big East at 7–2. With the Hoyas climbing to No. 15 in the AP Poll, a rout of St. John′s – the Red Storm′s fifth straight loss – at the MCI Center followed in which Bowman scored 16 points and Hibbert 14, and for the second time in the 2005–2006 season, the Hoyas had a seven-game winning streak.

With a record of 17–4 overall and 8–2 in the Big East, No. 15 Georgetown closed out its three-game homestand by hosting West Virginia, which had reached No. 9 in the AP Poll. At 18–5 overall and 9–1 in the Big East, the Mountaineers were coming off their first conference loss of the season three days earlier at Pittsburgh. In the first half, with West Virginia playing its customary 1-3-1 zone defense, the Mountaineers built a 20–13 lead before a 15–0 Georgetown run put the Hoyas ahead 28–20. Georgetown increased its lead to 11 points, its largest of the game, at 33–22, and at halftime held a 37–29 lead. In the second half, however, West Virginia head coach John Beilein switched the Mountaineers to a man-to-man defense for the rest of the game. It proved far more effective, and the Hoyas missed their first six shots of the half. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers opened the second half with a 10–0 run that gave them a 39–37 lead. Green scored two baskets for Georgetown′s first points of the half, but then the Mountaineers responded with an 8–0 run. The Hoyas clawed back to a 54–51 deficit with 6:01 left in the game, but did not score again until the final minute, during which thousands of West Virginia fans at the MCI Center chanted "overrated" as the final 60 seconds wound down. The Hoyas made their only free throw of the game – part of a 1-for-5 performance from the line for the evening – with 0.1 second left to play, and West Virginia won 69–56, stopping Georgetown′s winning streak at seven and sweeping the season series with the Hoyas. The West Virginia offense shot 62 percent from the field after halftime, scoring 40 points in the second half, while Georgetown managed only 19 points in the half, Green scoring 14 of them on 6-for-10 (60 pecent) shooting from the field while the rest of the team went 2–for–23 (8.7 percent) from the field after halftime and scored just five points. Green finished with 21 points and Brandon Bowman had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, with 13 of Bowman's points coming in the first half. Darrel Owens scored 10 points. West Virginia senior forward Kevin Pittsnogle, held scoreless at Pittsburgh three nights earlier, scored 25 points against Georgetown. The Mountaineers advanced to a first-place tie in the Big East standings with Connecticut and Villanova.

Falling to No. 17 in the AP Poll after the West Virginia game, the Hoyas suffered back-to-back defeats for only the second time all season by losing their next game as well, being upset at Marquette. Golden Eagles senior forward Steve Novak went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, setting a new Marquette single-season record of 91 three-point shots made when he sank his fourth three-pointer of the game. Roy Hibbert with 17 points was the only Georgetown player to score in double figures. Georgetown′s two top scorers, Brandon Bowman and Jeff Green, each averaging 12 points a game, went a combined 4-for-14 from the field and contributed a combined nine points, and Green committed eight turnovers, while /Bowman committed three. The Hoyas then met No. 4 Villanova in another road game. The Wildcats, winners of nine straight, had won 16 of their last 17 Big East games and had defeated No. 1 Connecticut in their last game six days earlier, the first time Villanova had defeated a No. 1 team in nearly 11 years. Georgetown trailed by only 30–28 at halftime, but fell ten points behind midway through the second half before surging to close to only a 59–57 deficit late in the game. Villanova sophomore point guard Kyle Lowry then scored five straight points over the next minute and a half to give the Wildcats a 64–57 lead, and Villanova went on to win 75–65. Despite having a size disadvantage at almost every position, with a four-guard starting lineup and no starter taller than 6-foot-4 (193 cm), the Wildcats outrebounded the underdog Hoyas 31–30 overall and 13–9 in offensive rebounds. Hibbert had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Ashanti Cook scored 16 points, and Green finished with 15, but Brandon Bowman, leading the team with 11.9 points per game for the season, managed only four. The win gave first-place Villanova two 10-game winning streaks in the same season for the first time in school history. Georgetown's loss, meanwhile, dropped the Hoyas to 17–7 overall and 8–5 in the Big East and gave them their only three-game losing streak of the season.

Dropping farther to No. 23 in the AP Poll, the Hoyas – remembering the previous season, when they had started 15–7 but had dropped the final five games of the regular season and missed a bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament – felt a sense of urgency about getting back on track toward a bid in the 2006 tournament. Georgetown returned to the MCI Center to break the losing streak by sweeping a two-game homestand against Rutgers and archrival Syracuse, in the latter game snapping a five-game losing streak against the Orange. Roy Hibbert shot 10-for-13 (76.9 percent) from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line and had a career-high 25 points against Rutgers, while Jeff Green had an 18-point, seven-rebound game against Syracuse. Darrell Owens scored 11 against Rutgers and – in the final home game of his collegiate career – 12 against Syracuse. Jonathan Wallace scored 10 points each against Rutgers and Syracuse. In the Syracuse game, Ashanti Cook scored 10 points and his defense held Orange senior guard Gerry McNamara to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field while Brandon Bowman, in his final home game, had two key steals and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the second half, finishing with six points.

Rising to No. 20 in the AP Poll, Georgetown finished the season a week after beating Syracuse with an upset loss at South Florida – which was 6–22 on the season and 0–15 in the Big East entering the game – on March 4; it was the Bulls′ first victory since December 23 and their only conference win of the season and they avoided becoming just the second Big East team in the past 25 years – and first since Miami in 1993–1994 – to have a winless conference season. Ashanti Cook and Brandon Bowman led the Hoyas with 11 points each, while Jeff Green and Jonathan Wallace each scored 10. It was Georgetown′s fourth loss in six games, and it meant that the Hoyas could not clinch a No. 4 seed and first-round bye in the 2006 Big East Tournament. Georgetown finished the season with a record of 19–8 overall and 10–6 in the Big East, and they finished tied with Marquette and Pittsburgh for fourth place in the conference.

Big East Tournament

Main article: 2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

Seeded fifth in the 2006 Big East Tournament and dropping to No. 23 in the AP Poll, Georgetown faced 12th-seeded Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden in New York City in the tournament′s first round. The Hoyas finished the regular season with the best field-goal shooting percentage in the Big East at 47.6 percent but got off to a slow start against Notre Dame′s 2-3 zone defense, missing their first 12 shots from the field as Notre Dame′s defense spread out the Georgetown offense and forced the Hoyas to make what John Thompson III considered to be too many three-point attempts. Notre Dame built an 11-0 lead before the Hoyas finally scored with 13:34 remaining in the first half on a Jonathan Wallace three-pointer. After that, Georgetown closed the gap, and at halftime Notre Dame clung to a 30–27 lead. In the second half, with 3:57 left in the game and the score tied 55–55, Wallace hit the last of Georgetown′s nine three-pointers to give the Hoyas a 58–55 lead. Notre Dame senior point guard Chris Quinn responded with a drive to close the gap to 58–57, but Brandon Bowman then scored four straight points to open Georgetown′s lead to 62–57. Fighting Irish junior shooting guard Russell Carter sank the last of Notre Dame′s 11 three-pointers to narrow Georgetown′s lead to 62–60 with 1:38 left in the game. With 1:14 left, Ashanti Cook took a low pass from Roy Hibbert and scored while falling down to make it 64–60, but Notre Dame senior center Torin Francis completed a three-point play with 54 seconds left and the Fighting Irish closed to 64–63. With 22 seconds remaining, Brandon Bowman – who scored six of the Hoyas′ last nine points – made a left-handed drive past a Notre Dame defender for a tough layup that gave the Hoyas a 66–63 lead. Georgetown won 67–63 despite a strong three-point-shooting performance by Notre Dame; the Fighting Irish, who led the Big East in three-point percentage during the regular season at 40.1 percent, went 11-for-23 (47.8 percent) from beyond the arc during the game. Bowman recovered from his late-season slump to score a season-high 25 points, exceeding the 23 he scored in the January 21 Duke game. Cook shot 4-for-8 from three-point range and finished with 14 points, Wallace had an eight-point, six-rebound, four-assist performance, and Jeff Green scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while Hibbert scored only four points but had 11 rebounds and four assists. Georgetown entered the game shooting 36.3 percent on three-pointers, but shot 9-for-24 (37.5 percent) against Notre Dame, although the Hoyas fell below their regular season field-goal average overall on 24-for-58 (41.4 percent) shooting from the field. The Hoyas outrebounded the Fighting Irish 41–31. The win improved Georgetown′s record to 20–9, giving the Hoyas their first 20-win season since 2000–2001.

Georgetown advanced to the quarterfinals to face fourth-seeded Marquette, a newcomer to the Big East in 2005–2006 which had had a bye in the first round. For the second straight game, the Hoyas got off to a slow start, falling behind 20–9 with 9:03 left in the first half, but then they closed out the half with a 13–2 run, and at halftime the score was tied 22–22. In the second half, with five minutes left in the game, Georgetown clung to a 49–48 lead but then went on a 9–2 run that opened the lead to 58–50 with 37.7 seconds left. The Golden Eagles responded with a 6–0 run of their own to close to 58–56 with 12.9 seconds remaining. Brandon Bowman hit two free throws to open Georgetown′s lead to 60–56 with 11.5 seconds to play, but Marquette senior forward Steve Novak hit a three-pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining to shrink the Hoyas′ lead to 60–59. Bowman sank two more free throws with 5.1 seconds left to play to extend Georgetown′s lead to 62–59. Golden Eagles freshman guard Jerel McNeal missed a 30-foot shot at the final buzzer that would have tied the game, and Georgetown came away with a 62–59 victory. For the second straight game, the Hoyas struggled on offense, shooting only 41.2 percent from the field and only 2-for-10 from three-point range, but Georgetown′s defense held the Golden Eagles to 29 percent shooting from the field in the first half and 39.6 percent for the game. Jeff Green finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, while Ashanti Cook scored 16 points. Bowman, who struggled on offense for the game′s first 30 minutes, scored 12 of his 14 points in the final ten minutes, grabbed seven reounds, and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to secure the win in the face of Marquette′s late surge. Jesse Sapp scored only two points but grabbed a career-high seven rebounds in the game.

The Hoyas advanced to the Big East Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2000 to face their archrival, ninth-seeded and 16th-ranked Syracuse, which had defeated Cincinnati in the opening round and upset the tournament′s top seed, No. 2 Connecticut, in the quarterfinals to advance. It was the twelfth meeting of the schools in the Big East Tournament, with Georgetown holding a 6–5 edge against the Orange in the tournament entering the game. The Hoyas went into the locker room at the half with a 36–21 lead, the largest halftime lead in any Big East Tournament game in history. In the second half, Georgetown still led 40–28 with 14:15 left in the game, but then Syracuse mounted a comeback with an 18–7 run that closed the gap to 47–46 with 8:14 remaining. Roy Hibbert responded with a jumper that put the Hoyas ahead 49–46, but Syracuse redshirt junior Matt Gorman hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 49–49 with 7:18 left to play. Georgetown led 57–53 after Hibbert scored on a free throw with 2:15 remaining, but Syracuse senior guard Gerry McNamara sank a three-pointer with 52 seconds left to bring the Orange within one point at 57–56. On the next possession, Ashanti Cook attempted a cross-court pass which Orange junior forward Demetris Nichols deflected; McNamara grabbed the ball and passed it to freshman guard Eric Devendorf, who promptly scored a go-ahead basket to give Syracuse its first lead of the game, 58–57. McNamara created a turnover on the next possession by causing Cook to bobble the ball and commit a traveling violation with 1.5 seconds left. The turnover secured a 58–57 Syracuse victory and knocked Georgetown out of the tournament. Brandon Bowman led the Hoyas with 12 points, Jonathan Wallace had 10 points and tied his season high with six assists, Jeff Green also scored 10 points and had seven rebounds, and Hibbert just missed a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds. During the game, the Hoyas shot only 8-for-17 (47 percent) from the free-throw line, and they missed five of their last six free throws over the final 4:10 of the game, both major factors in their loss. In addition to overcoming the largest halftime deficit in tournament history for the victory, Syracuse also became the lowest-seeded team ever to advance to the Big East Tournament championship game, and only the fourth team in tournament history to win three games to advance to the final. The win improved the Orange′s record against the Hoyas in the tournament all-time to 6–6. The following day, Syracuse completed its memorable run by defeating Pittsburgh to win the tournament championship.

In March 2015, the NCAA announced that it would penalize Syracuse for the use of ineligible players in games during several seasons between 2004 and 2012 and would require Syracuse to vacate wins in which it used those players. In October 2016, the NCAA announced which victories Syracuse would have to vacate, and these included all 23 wins during the 2005–2006 season, changing the Orange′s record for the season from 23–12 to 0–12 and removing Syracuse′s victories in the 2006 Big East Tournament from the record books. However, the NCAA ruling had no effect on the records of Syracuse′s opponents, and so Georgetown′s 2005–2006 record continues to include the loss to Syracuse in the semifinals of the tournament.

NCAA Tournament

Main article: 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

With a record of 21–9, Georgetown received an at-large bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the Hoyas′ first NCAA Tournament bid since 2001 and only the second NCAA Tournament appearance for Georgetown since 1997. Seeded seventh in the tournament's Minneapolis Region, the Hoyas traveled to University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, to meet the region′s No. 10 seed, Northern Iowa, in the first round. The Panthers, a Missouri Valley Conference team, also had received an at-large bid with a record of 23–9, a school record for wins in a season, but had won only two of their last seven games. Northern Iowa senior shooting guard John Little had a hot first half, going 5-for-5 from the field, including a career-high four three-pointers on 4-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc, and Northern Iowa led 27–20 by late in the first half and by 30–26 at halftime. Georgetown′s defense, best in the Big East during the season, stiffened after halftime, however, and the Panthers opened the second half by making only two of their first 18 shots from the field. Roy Hibbert tied the game at 30–30 with four straight points in the first 59 seconds of the second half. The Hoyas took the lead for good in the second half when Jesse Sapp hit a three-pointer to put Georgetown ahead 37–34 with 12:38 left in the game. The Hoyas extended their lead to as many as six points, although Northern Iowa closed to 50–47 on a three-pointer with 13 seconds left. Ashanti Cook then made two free throws and a fast-break dunk in the final seconds, and Georgetown won 54–49, the Hoyas′ first NCAA Tournament victory in five years. Hibbert dominated the game, holding the ball high over his head and out of reach of the Panthers as he looked for open teammates and open shots – much as Patrick Ewing had done on the Georgetown teams of the early 1980s – and shot 8-for-10 from the field, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 1:11 left to play. Ashanti Cook scored 14 points. Former Georgetown head coach John Thompson Jr., father of head coach John Thompson III, had provided courtside radio commentary for the game, and he hugged both Hibbert and John Thompson III after the game. Northern Iowa lost its opening game of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.

Georgetown advanced to meet the region′s No. 2 seed, sixth-ranked Ohio State, two days later in the second round before a crowd of nearly 13,000, about 75 percent of whom were Ohio State fans. The Buckeyes were the Big Ten Conference regular-season champions and had defeated 15th-seeded Davidson in the first round; they were making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since an NCAA investigation into former Buckeye head coach Jim O'Brien′s tenure had resulted in the erasure from the record books of Ohio State′s four straight trips to the tournament from 1999 to 2002. The Hoyas played a patient and disciplined offense and put on a strong defense. They jumped out to an early lead, and were ahead 20–10 with 9:30 left in the first half. Ohio State senior guard Je'Kel Foster hit three straight three-pointers to narrow the Georgetown′s advantage to 22–19, but the Hoyas shot 57 percent from the field in the first half and soon opened their lead again, closing the half on a 11–2 run and going to the locker room at halftime ahead 38–25. For the rest of the game, Ohio State never got closer than six points, and the Hoyas mounted a late-game 9–0 run that stretched their lead to 15 points and prompted the primarily pro-Ohio State crowd to head for the exits early. Georgetown won in an upset, 70–52. Only four Hoyas scored during the game: Roy Hibbert finished with a double-double (20 points and 14 rebounds) as well as three blocked shots, Jeff Green added 19 points, Ashanti Cook contributed 17, and Darrell Owens scored 14. John Thompson Jr. again was at courtside, and the team pointed at him as he smiled and raised a fist as the clock wound down through the final seconds of the game, and he again hugged John Thompson III after the final buzzer.

Five days later, the Hoyas were in the "Sweet Sixteen" for the first time since 2001, facing the Minneapolis Region′s third seed, No. 11 Florida, in the regional semifinal at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota; John Thompson Jr. again provided radio commentary from courtside. Florida had a record of 29–6, the most wins in a season in school history, and had defeated South Alabama and Wisconsin-Milwaukee to advance to meet Georgetown. The Hoyas jumped out to a lead of as many as nine points in the first half, but late in the half Florida′s transition game allowed the Gators to go on a 16–2 run over a four-minute stretch and tie the game at 26–26. At halftime, Georgetown clung to a 30–28 lead. In the second half, with the score tied 49–49, Brandon Bowman banked in a jump shot to give the Hoyas 51–49 lead, but Florida junior guard Lee Humphrey responded with a three-pointer that put the Gators back in front, 52–51. An Ashanti Cook jumper again put Georgetown ahead, 53–52, with 1:51 to play, but the Hoyas did not score again. With 27.5 seconds to play, Florida sophomore forward Corey Brewer made a twisting shot while falling down and then hit a free throw, a three-point play that put the Gators ahead 55–53. Darrell Owens had an open three-point shot in the final seconds that could have put the Hoyas ahead, but it clanged off the back of the rim. Gators sophomore center-forward Al Horford was fouled and hit both resulting free throws with 6.6 seconds left. Florida won, 57–53, and Georgetown′s season came to an end. The Hoyas played their typical strong defense and forced the Gators to abandon their fast-break offense and play a more patient game, but Georgetown shot only 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) from three-point range. Jeff Green led the Hoyas with 15 points and Ashanti Cook finished with 12, while Roy Hibbert and Brandon Bowman each had 10 points and seven rebounds. Florida went on to win the national championship, but no other team came as close as the Georgetown did to knocking the Gators out o the toprnaentF]]]]