Royal New Zealand Naval Association Inc.

This week in Naval History

9 August 1942 - Battle of Savo Island. Two days after the American landings on Guadalcanal, a Japanese force of cruisers attack the Allied naval force supporting the landings at night sinking three American and one Australian cruisers. Amazingly, the Japanese commander decides not to attack the anchorage which was vulnerable.

9 August 1945 - the atomic implosion device named Fat Boy is dropped on Nagasaki.

10 August 1995 - HMNZS Tui departs for Mururoa as part of Operation Valerian

11 August 1943 - Flying Officer Lloyd Trigg is awarded a postumous VC for sinking U468 off the Gambian coast.

12 August 1941 - the Bird-class minesweeper/ASW HMNZS Moa is commisioned into New Zealand naval service at Leith

13 August 1762 - a British fleet captures Havana in a demonstration of interserive cooperation. The siege was raised and the British captured nine enemy vessels and sank five others.

14 August 1917 - The Q-ship HMS Prize sunk by U48 off the Irish coast. Lieutenant William Sanders VC and all hands are lost.

15 August 1914 - Samoan Expeditionary Force departs Wellington escorted by HMS Philomel, Psyche. Pyramus

15 August 1915 - Japan offers unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers.

DID YOU KNOW??

Bigwig - Up until the nineteenth century naval officers were expected wear a wig to emphasise their importance and their position within the Navy. The size of wig would indicate the rank of the officer hence senior officers would be called 'bigwigs' by those on the lower deck.

Flimsy - the naval connection to this term for something that is thin, weak, without substance or not up to the task comes from certificates of conduct a commander of a ship would provide for an officer who was 'turning over' or moving to another ship. This certificate was produced on a thin type of paper resembling thin film. and recorded the officer's service, rank, and comments on his conduct from the commanding officer. Hence they became known by the term flimsy.