This Day in Naval History - June 01

From Navy News Service

1813 - HMS Shannon captures USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence during the War of 1812. As the mortally wounded Lawrence was carried below, he ordered, "Tell the men to fire faster! Don't give up the ship!" These words would live on in naval history. Oliver Hazard Perry honored his dead friend Lawrence when he had the motto sewn onto the private battle flag flown during the Battle of Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813.

1871 - Rear Adm. Rodgers lands in Korea with a party of Sailors and Marines and captures five forts to secure protection for U.S. citizens after Americans were fired upon and murdered.

1914 - General Order 99 prohibits alcohol aboard naval vessels, or at navy yards or stations.

1915 - First contract for lighter-than-air craft for Navy.

1939 - Director of the Naval Research Laboratory, Capt. Hollis M. Cooley, proposes research in atomic energy for future use in nuclear powered submarine.

1944 - ZP-14 Airships complete first crossing of Atlantic by non-rigid lighter-than-air aircraft.

1954 - First test of steam catapult from USS Hancock (CV/CVA 19).

This Day in Naval History - Feb. 07

From the Navy News Service

1800 - USS Essex becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to cross the equator.

1815 - The Board of Naval Commissioners, a group of senior officers, is established to oversee the operation and maintenance of the Navy under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy.

1955 - Ships from the 7th Fleet begin the evacuation of Chinese nationalists from the Tachen Islands.

1965 - In response to a Viet Cong attack on a U.S. barracks area in Pleiku, South Vietnam, aircraft from carriers USS Coral Sea (CV 43), USS Hancock (CV 19) and USS Ranger (CV 61) attack a North Vietnamese area near Donghoi.

1991 - Using her remotely piloted vehicle for spotting, USS Wisconsin (BB 64) pounds Iraqi artillery, electronic warfare and naval sites with her 16-inch guns. Fifty rounds sink or severely damage 15 boats, and destroy piers at Khawr al-Mufattah Marina.