U.S. FRIGATE CONSITITUTION LAUNCHED 21 OCT 1787

 21 October 2024: While technically Autumn has arrived, we have been enjoying some nice mild weather for the past weeks with virtually no rain - and that's not necessarily a good thing - the lack of rain, that is. For the moment, it appears that the enormously destructive hurricanes are done beating the South and Southeast into submission (folks in the Carolinas are still recovering, sadly!) and there are a few more weeks of pleasant boating weather still ahead - we hope!

We had another piece planned for today's post, but because today is a notable date and anniversary, we will do that in the next post. 21 October is a special anniversary for those of us who are into American history and especially maritime history. The birthday of (now) U.S.S. Constitution [The prefix "USS" did not come into use until 1907 - before that it was the U.S. Frigate...] from the Hartt Shipyard in Boston in 1787. The following from FOXNEWS.

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The mighty USS Constitution, arguably the most famous warship in American history — a testament to dauntless courage at sea in the nation's infancy — was launched in Boston on this day in history, Oct. 21, 1797.

The mighty warship, today 227 years old, is still afloat in Boston's Charlestown Navy Yard. 

She serves the United States as a reminder of the fight for national sovereignty, a symbol of our unique-at-the-time constitutional foundations and as the centerpiece of the USS Constitution Museum "The ship sailed its first cruise [in 1798] as the Quasi-War with France emerged. Later it served in engagements with pirates off the Barbary Coast in the Mediterranean," the National Park Service writes of the vessel. 

The USS Constitution was part of the American fleet that bombarded Tripoli in 1804, a powerful show of force on the global stage of the young nation's naval power.

She remains a commissioned US Navy vessel, making the USS Constitution the oldest warship in the world. [ed: oldest warship afloat in the world; HMS Victory wins the title "oldest" but she's on the hard at the Royal Dockyards in Portsmouth England]

The frigate, better known as Old Ironsides for her mighty oak hull  and masts,  [ed: just hull, not masts] was designed by Joshua Humphreys.

It was built over three years at Hartt's shipyard, in what is now Boston's North End. 

Launch of Frigate Constitution by Paul Garnett

 The ship was ordered on March 1, 1794, in anticipation of the passage of the Naval Act of 1794, which President George Washington signed on March 27. 

She enjoyed her greatest glory and earned her status in the annals of naval warfare during the War of 1812. 

"Huzzah, her sides are made of iron!" an America sailor shouted joyfully, as the ship's white oak planks and live oak frame, grown in the swamps of Georgia, repelled volleys of direct cannon fire from British warship HMS Guerriere. 

Constitution vs HMS Guerierre

The battle was fought on the high seas, about 600 miles east of Boston, on Aug. 19, 1812

The Constitution, under Captain Isaac Hull, destroyed the Guerriere and forced her to surrender in the close-combat sea exchange. The British ship was so badly beaten that Hull scuttled it rather than capture it as a trophy of war. 

"The Constitution went on to defeat or capture seven more British ships in the War of 1812 and ran the British blockade of Boston twice," notes History.com. 

She earned 33 victories at sea, with zero defeats. 

"By 1833, Constitution needed repairs and was about to be scrapped when Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem Old Ironsides helped to save her," writes the National Museum of the U.S. Navy. [ed: we have published that wonderful poem in these pages]

 "Recommissioned in 1835, she served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific, where she became the first U.S. warship to conduct a show of force against Vietnam in May 1845."

She served several more decades in various capacities through the 20th century, before being decommissioned one last time.  

"Following restoration that began in 1925, she was recommissioned in July 1931 and sailed on a 90-port tour along United States' coasts," writes the U.S. Navy Museum. 

"Today, the USS Constitution occasionally sails through Boston Harbor for special anniversaries and commemorations," according to the National Park Service.

At the 200th anniversary of War of 1812

 "The USS Constitution and its U.S. Navy crew go underway with the assistance of tugboats as they sail down the coast to Castle Island. In the harbor near Castle Island, the Navy crew always fires a cannon salute before they turn around to return to the Charlestown Navy Yard."

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So, friends, hoist a glass and give us a resounding "huzzah" for our Ship of State, USS Constitution. And should you find yourself in or near Boston, MA, go see her (she's open to the public for tours) and visit the USS Constitution Museum while you're there; you won't regret it!

Until next time! 

                                             Fair Winds, 

                                                      Old Salt

 

DD 224 -USS STEWART: ADDENDUM

 7 October 2024: It is very rare that we do this here at Maritime Maunder, but it has come to our attention that yesterday's post on the USS Stewart was a trifle obscure in explaining how the United States destroyer came to be in Japanese hands in WWII. Following should explain it more clearly -- from the GreekReporter:

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The USS Stewart’s journey began as an American destroyer, labeled DD-224, sent to Borneo in late 1941, just before the US officially entered World War II.

During the first months of the Pacific War, it operated alongside other US warships, providing escort duties. However, its fate changed in February 1942 during the Battle of Badung Strait near Bali when Japanese warships caused severe damage.

The damaged Stewart managed to make it to Surabaya, a port on the island of Java. However, with Japanese forces advancing, the crew decided to scuttle the ship, sinking it on purpose by using explosives.

 

A year later, the Japanese salvaged the destroyer, putting it back to use as a patrol boat for the Imperial Navy until the war ended in 1945.

After Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945, the ship returned to US control. The US Navy briefly recommissioned it as DD-224, but it was in poor condition by that time. In May 1946, the vessel was officially decommissioned and then used for target practice.

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We hope this will clear up any confusion as to what happened and how the ship came to be part of the Imperial Japanese Navy. 

And to you folks in Southwest Florida: hang tough and stay safe! You're in our prayers!

        Until next time,

                                              Fair Winds,

                                                      Old Salt

 

 

USS STEWART DD 224

 6 September 2024: Fall (Autumn) is in the air and the nights - at least - are getting cooler. Not necessarily a bad thing. What is a bad thing though, are the storms that roll through at this time of year and this year is no exception. Hurricanes are queuing up to whack the southeastern United States - some have already done so with disastrous results - and another is in line for making a landfall in the coming week. Let's keep those folks already affected and those about to be in our thoughts and prayers.... it's likely to get real ugly.

Today's post caught us quite by surprise as we had no idea that a United States ship had been captured by an enemy force since the U.S. Frigate Chesapeake  was captured by the British frigate HMS Shannon off Boston MA on 1 June, 1813 (War of 1812). This courtesy of the Daily Mail.

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'Ghost Ship of the Pacific' is found on California ocean bed 82 years after becoming only American vessel to be captured by Japanese in WW2

The wreck of the 'Ghost Ship of the Pacific' has been found on the California ocean bed, eight decades after its historic role in World War II. 

Found almost 3,500 feet beneath the water's surface, the wreck of the 'Ghost Ship of the Pacific' was discovered through powerful robotic sonar technology after 82 years. 

 

The 314-foot-long ship was identified to be the only US Navy Destroyer that was captured by Japanese forces during World War II, known as the DD-224 or USS Stewart. Another set of drones managed to capture images of the wreck days later, finding it sitting upright and 'almost perfectly intact', reported the New York Times. 

The level of preservation is 'exceptional' for a ship of its age, according to superintendent of the Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones national submarine sanctuaries. 

'[This] makes it potentially one of the best-preserved examples of a US Navy 'four-piper' destroyer known to exist,' she continued. 

 

The drones used to locate the historic shipwreck have become a valuable asset fo researching the history of our oceans. 

In 2018, Ocean Infinity developed and deployed the largest fleet of marine robotics to collect subsea data. 

'Using the latest remote and robotic technology, we provide scientists and research institutions with vast quantities of data to help them make important decisions and to aid their understanding of the changing ocean landscape,' wrote Ocean Infinity. 

The company also helped find the wreck of the USS Nevada in 2020, which escaped Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and was one of the US Navy's longest-serving battleships. 

The drones, orange and torpedo-shaped, serve to collect high resolution data using sonars that create high-resolution maps of the seafloor. The same technology is used for projects such as wind farms, oil rigs or laying undersea cable and pipelines. 

Senior Vice President, Jim Delgado, of SEARCH Inc, the leading global organization in maritime archaeology, told the New York Times: 'We're in the midst of, I think, a radical change in Ocean discovery. 

Delgado was part of the search for the DD-224 for a decade as the director of maritime heritage for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees more then 620,000 square miles of underwater parks in the US. 

The company's research to understand and predict changes in weather, climate and oceans and coasts is part of their effort to educate as well as conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.

Russ Matthews, president of the nonprofit Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and a member of the discovery team, told the New York Times: 'The whole history of that ship was actually exceptionally well documented. The only piece of that story we didn't have is, what does it look like today?'

Matthews and Sherell, the director of maritime operations at Ocean Infinity, collaborated to test the biggest autonomous drones to locate the DD-224. 

Sherrell said that mapping a region of 37 square nautical miles, which was the search area for the DD-224, typically takes weeks but with the drones the ship was spotted within hours. 

Now, the data gathered by Ocean Infinity makes up the best map of that portion of the Cordell Bank sanctuary. 

The Stewart received two battle stars for her service in WWII. She began when she joined the Destroyer Squadron, Atlantic, in 1921 where she was sent to the Philippines for a 23-year mission. 

 

As war broke out in 1937 between Japan and China, Stewart was stationed along Chinese ports before World War II led her back to the Philippines. 

She was lead ship of the second group against Japanese forces and came under several vicious night-time attacks. 

 

Stewart sustained damage to her torpedo racks and galley, as well as a shot below the waterline that flooded the engine room with two feet of water.

Despite being able to continue operating, she was severely damaged and wasn't supported well enough on the Surabaya floating drydock she was docked at during repairs. As the dock rose, she fell onto her side in 12 feet of water that caused further damage to the hull and propeller shafts. 

A Japanese bomb caused even more damage before the ship's port was eventually evacuated. 

Later in the war, reports of an American warship operating in enemy waters came through after Japanese forces had repaired the Stewart in 1943 until arriving in Kure in 1944. 

In April 1945, she was bombed and damaged by US forces and was eventually found again in August of the same year. 

In October 1945, the ship was recommissioned by the US Navy at Kure and nicknamed 'RAMP-224' for 'Recovered Allied Military Personnel' before her engines gave out near Guam.

She was decommissioned in May 1946 and sunk off San Francisco as a target for aircraft after two hours 

 of gunfire.

 

Dr. Delgado said: 'This ship, in its own way, basically was humanized by the Navy. People pour so much into ships - and we have since the beginning of time. They represent us.'

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Certainly a surprise for us and perhaps for many of our American readers. Maybe we all learned something!

Until next time,

                                            Fair Winds,

                                                    Old Salt 

 

 

 

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