Royal New Zealand Naval Association Inc.

• 18 October - The third ship to be named HMS Inflexible is completed. She is the first warship in RN service to have an armoured citadel, armoured deck and armour along the sides.
• 19 October 1781 - British general Lord Cornwallis surrenders to the American forces at Yorktown in Virginia. He was cornered by the American army under George Washington and blockaded by the French fleet under the command of de Gasse who had evaded the RN fleet. This brings to an end the fighting between Britain and the American colonies over independence.
• 20 October 1942 - Bird-class M/S trawler HMNZS Kiwi commissioned into RNZN service.
• 21 October 1805 - 205th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar
• 22 October 1971 - the Leander-class frigate HMNZS Canterbury commissioned into RNZN service
• 23 October 1944 - Battle of Leyte Gulf opens when the USN 3rd and 7th Fleet engages with a Imperial Japanese Navy fleet. The battle concludes on 27 October.
• 24 October 1877 - The RN's HMTB Lightning, the first torpedo boat is commissioned into service

Did you know?

Reveille - the term for playing of a bugle or the beating of a drum to wake up sailors is an alteration of the French reveillez, or, 'to wake up'.
Salvo - this is a term for firing the ship's turrets simultaneously. It comes from the French term salve or the Italian salva which means 'greeting'. Both have their origin in the Latin term salvus or 'safe'. This word is also the origin for the words salvage and salute.