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PQ-17 - The greatest Convoy disaster
The Russia convoys

When the Wehrmacht smashed into the Soviet Union in June 1941 Russia and Britain found themselves in alliance against Germany. As a result Britain agreed to supply the Soviet Union with material and goods via convoys through the Arctic Seas (The greatest support of course came from the United States though).

The destinations were the northern ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. To reach them, the convoys had to travel dangerously near the German occupied Norwegian coastline.

Convoys headed for Russia were known as PQ convoys and those heading back from Russia were designated as QP convoys (interestingly the officer in charge of planning these earliest Russia convoys was Commander P.Q. Edwards and they were soon nicknamed after his initials).

The battle groups gather. To the left, dazzle painted, is the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and to the right Tirpitz. In the foreground are two destroyers.

The first convoy left Britain in August 1941 and by the spring of 1942 only one ship of the 103 that had been sent had been lost and 12 convoys had passed through those waters. That ship had been lost as the new year of 1942 began and had fallen victim to one of the first U-boats sent into the Arctic. That gave the allied a grim warning that things would not be that quiet much longer.

The first military loss from these convoys happened to PQ-8 when U-454 (Kptlt. Hackländer) sank the British destroyer HMS Matabele with almost all hands north-east of the Kola peninsula on 17 Jan, 1942.

From May 24 right until May 30, 1942 German aircraft made 245 bomber and torpedo sorties against convoy PQ-16, the largest Russia convoy so far with 30 ships, sinking 5 ships and damaging 4. This was the biggest blow any convoy had suffered in the Arctic.

PQ-17 disembarks from Iceland

At 1600hrs on June 27, 1942 the ships of convoy PQ-17 left the berth in Hvalfjordur, Iceland and headed northwards. The convoy consisted of 35 ships and was heavily loaded with 297 aircraft, 594 tanks, 4246 lorries and gun carriers and additional 156,000 tons of cargo. This was enough to equip an army of 50,000 men and valued at 700 million dollars at the time.

The convoy was heavily escorted (although not as strong as the numbers suggested) including 4 cruisers, 3 destroyers and two British submarines and two tankers which would fuel the ships when needed.

Shortly after leaving Iceland one of the ships, SS Richard Bland, ran aground in Iceland and had to return and on June 29 the ships ran into heavy ice and 4 ships were heavily damaged and one, SS Exford was permitted to return to port. This left 33 ships en route to Russia.

The Losses

All in all 24 ships were sunk out of the 33 which made up the convoy. 153 merchant men lost their lives, of those only 7 had perished before the convoy was scattered. The loss of material was extremely heavy; 22 merchant ships had been lost for a total of 142,518 tons of shipping and with them 3,350 motor vehicles, 430 tanks, 210 bombers and 99,316 tons of general cargo including radar sets and ammunition to name a few.

Additionally the Soviet tanker Azerbaijan had lost her cargo of linseed oil and much of Winston-Salem's cargo had also been jettisoned in Novaya Zemlya.

The next convoy to Russia

PQ-18 left Loch Ewe, Britain on 2 Sept, 1942 with 40 ships and arrived in Arkhangelsk on 17 Sept with 27 ships. U-boats had sunk 3 ships and Luftwaffe 10, but not without loss as 3 U-boats were lost U-88, U-457 and U-589 (there were no survivors from any of the U-boats).

Convoy operations to Russia were suspended after PQ-18 disaster and not resumed until JW-51 sailed in December 1942. The strategic effect of this battle was thus far greater than the materials and lives lost, it deprived Russia of several more convoys during the months immediately following PQ-17 and PQ-18.

Ships lost from the convoy

Date	Ship	Weight	Country	Sunk by
4 July	Christopher Newport	7,191	US	U-457
4 July	William Hopper	7,177	US	U-334
2215hrs: Convoy is ordered to scatter and the escorts leave her

5 July	Navarino	4,841	UK	Luftwaffe
5 July	Carlton	5,127	US	U-88
5 July	Fairfield City	5,686	US	Luftwaffe
5 July	Daniel Morgan	7,177	US	U-88
5 July	Empire Byron	6,645	UK	U-703
5 July	River Afton	5,423	UK	U-703
5 July	Earlston	7,494	UK	U-334
5 July	Honomu	6,977	US	U-456
5 July	Peter Kerr	6,476	US	Luftwaffe
5 July	Washington	5,564	US	Luftwaffe
5 July	Bolton Castle	5,203	UK	Luftwaffe
5 July	Zaafaran	1,559	UK	Luftwaffe

6 July	Pan Atlantic	5,411	US	Luftwaffe
6 July	John Witherspoon	7,180	US	U-255

7 July	Alcoa Ranger	5,116	US	U-255
7 July 0600	Pankraft	5,644	US	Luftwaffe
7 July 1600	Aldersdale	8,402	US	U-457
7 July 2000	Hartlebury	5,082	UK	U-355

8 July	Olopana	6,069	US	U-255

10 July	El Capitan	5,255	Panama	U-251
10 July	Hoosier	5,060	US	U-376

13 July*	Paulus Potter	7,168	Dutch	U-255

* Found afloat and deserted 8 days after being bombed by the Luftwaffe. 3 men from the U-boat boarded her and examined her to see if she could be sailed to Norway but found that impossible and Kptlt. Reche put a torpedo into it.

3 more losses took place when 3 of the 11 surviving ships from PQ-17; Silver Sword (sunk by U-255 on 20 July, 1942 for her 5th victim from the PQ-17), Bellingham and Gray Ranger were sunk on the return voyage from Russia in the next home bound convoy.

The Luftwaffe flew 202 sorties against the convoy and lost 5 planes for the 8 ships they sank.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on January 29:
1584 Frederik Hendrik count of Nassau/Prince of Orange
1688 Emanuel Swedenborg Sweden, religious leader (Angelic Wisdom)
1689 Hubert K Poot Dutch poet
1700 Daniel Bernoulli Basel Switzerland, mathematician (10 time French award)
1703 Carlmann Kolb composer
1711 Giuseppe Bonno composer
1715 Georg Christoph Wagenseil Austrian (court)composer/pianist
1717 Jeffrey Amherst English Governor-General of America/field marshal
1737 Thomas Paine political essayist (Common Sense, Age of Reason)
1756 Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee (Republican/Governor-VA)/General/cavalryman
1761 Abraham AA "Albert" Gallatin Switzerland, US minister of Finance (1801-14)
1763 J G Seume writer
1782 Daniel-François-Esprit Auber French opera composer (Fra Diavolo)
1782 Frantiszek Tucek Scigalski composer
1783 Vasili A Zjukovski Russian folk poet/translator (Homerus)
1784 Ferdinand Ries composer
1798 Henry Neele London, poet
1801 Johannes Bernardus van Bree Dutch violinist/composer (Felix Meritis)
1803 James Outram Bulterley Hall Derbyshire, General
1810 Earnest E Kummer German mathematician
1821 Isaac Ferdinand Quinby Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1891
1823 Franklin Gardner Major-General (Civil War-fought at Shiloh & Port Hudson)
1824 Karl von Perfall composer
1836 Benjamin Franklin Potts Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1887
1836 James Meech Warner Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1897
1843 William McKinley Niles OH, (R) 25th President (1897-1901)
1850 Lawrence Hargrave inventor (box kite)
1850 Ebenezer Howard London, pioneer of garden cities
1852 Frederick Hymen Cowen composer
1852 Ion Luca Caragiale Romanian actor/playwright (O Noapte Furtunoasa)
1854 Willem PC Knuttel Dutch bibliographer/librarian
1860 Anton Pavlovich Chekhov Tagarov Russia, playwright (Cherry Orchard)
1862 Frederick Delius Bradford England, composer (Hiawatha)
1864 Adolf Philipp composer
1866 Romain Rolland France, writer (Jean-Christophe) (Nobel 1915)
1867 Vicente Blasco Ibáñez Spain, writer (4 Horsemen of Apocalypse)
1869 Andrey Vladimirovich Scherbachov composer
1871 Eduardo Lopez-Chavarri y Marco composer
1873 Luigi A duke of the Abruzzes, Italy, explorer/climber (Mt St Elias)
1874 John David Rockefeller Jr Cleveland OH, philanthropist
1874 Robert Lach composer
1876 Carl Henrik Ludolf Nielsen composer
1876 Havergal Brian Dresden Staffordshire, composer
1878 Barney Oldfield Ohio, daredevil
1880 W C Fields [William Claude Dukenfield] Philadelphia PA, "on the whole, he'd rather be in Philadelphia"/actor (My Little Chickadee, Bank Dick)
1884 Juhan Aavic composer
1887 Albert Conti Trieste Austria, actor (Jazz Heaven, Doomed Battalion)
1889 Francisco Santiago composer
1889 Rudolf Mauersberger composer
1890 Marguerite Canal composer
1891 R N Williams II tennis champ (US Open-1914)
1892 Clifford Gray US, bobsled (Olympics-gold-1928)
1893 Edric Cundell composer
1893 Martian Negrea composer
1896 Teddy Hoad cricketer (pioneering West Indian Test batsman)
1898 Fernand Quinet Belgian cellist/composer/conductor (La Guerre)
1898 Karl Bjarnhof Danish blind journalist/writer (History of Sascha)
19-- Niclas Sigevall rocker (Electric Boys-Funk-o-metal Carpet Ride)
1900 Marco Tajcevic composer
1900 Willem F K Hussem Dutch painter/poet (Coastline, Lookout on Sea)
1901 Allen B DuMont inventor (perfected commercial practical cathode ray tube)
1903 Cornelis H Edelman Dutch geologist
1905 Barnett Newmann US painter (postpainterly abstraction)
1906 Franciscus Hin Holland, yachtsman (Olympics-gold-1920)
1906 Joe Primeau NHL center
1908 Adam Clayton Powell (Representative-D-NY, 1945-70)
1909 Alan Marshal Sydney Australia, actor (White Cliffs of Dover, Lydia)
1909 Tonypandy Viscount
1910 Henri Queffélec French writer (Au bout du monde)
1910 Paul Hodder-Williams publisher
1911 Bernard Herrmann New York City NY, composes film music
1911 George Burns British Major-General
1912 Professor Irwin Corey Brooklyn NY, comedian (Car Wash, Doc)
1912 Jacob "Jaap" Balk journalist (AH, Onder de Keizerskroon)
1913 Victor Mature Louisville KY, actor (One Million BC, The Robe, Samson & Delilah)
1915 Frederic Ramsey Jr folklorist/author
1915 Halfdan Rasmussen Danish poet/WWII resistance fighter (Skoven)
1916 Barbara Skelton writer
1917 John Raitt Santa Ana CA, actor/singer (Chevy Show, Pajama Game)
1918 John Forsythe New Jersey, actor (Bachelor Father, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty)
1918 William Rigney baseball manager (San Francisco Giants)
1919 Norman F Simpson British playwright (One Way Pendulum)
1920 Alec Coppen psychiatrist
1923 Paddy Chayevsky [Sydney], US, dramatist (Marty, Hospital)
1924 Luigi Nono Venice Italy, composer (Canonic Variations)
1924 Brian Trubshaw British test pilot
1924 Gregson Lord
1925 Anthony George Endicott NY, actor (Untouchables, Checkmate)
1925 Lane of Horsell Lord
1925 Pier Tania (Meinte Piet) radio/TV host (ANP, De Bezetting)
1926 Abdus Salam theoretical physicist
1926 Bob Berry cricketer (England slow lefty 1950)
1927 Edward Abbey US author (Desert Solitaire)
1928 Bengt Hambraeus composer
1928 Marinus Peijnenburg Dutch politician
1928 Peter Byrne actor (Postcards from America, Carry on Cabby)
1929 William McMillan US, rapid pistol (Olympics-gold-1960)
1929 Elio Petri Italy, director (Property is no theft)
1930 John Junkin actor/writer (A Hard Day's Night)
1931 Leslie Bricuse English/US composer (Stop the world I want to get off)
1932 Clyde Lord
1932 Raman Subba Row CEO (Test/County Cricket Board)
1933 A C Alston bibliographer
1933 Margaret Laird Commissioner (Third Church Estates)
1934 Paul Gutama Soegijo composer
1936 Noel Harrison actor (Girl From UNCLE)
1936 Malcolm Binns concert pianist
1937 Bobby Scott jazz singer
1938 Bill Christian US, ice hockey player (Olympics-gold-1960)
1939 Germaine Greer Melbourne Australia, feminist/author (Female Eunuch)
1939 O P Kolomitsev cosmonaut
1942 Arnaldo Mendez Cuba, 1st Cuban in space (Soyuz 38)
1942 Claudine Longet France, former Mrs Andy Williams/singer
1942 Katharine Ross Hollywood CA, actress (Graduate, Francesca-Colbys)
1942 Robin Morgan Lake Worth FL, actress (Dagmar-Mama)
1942 Arnaldo Tamayo-Mendez Cuba, cosmonaut (Soyuz 38)
1942 F R Hartley Vice-Chancellor (Cranfield University)
1942 Richard Needham British MP
1943 Charles Fitzgerald-Lombard Abbot of Downside
1943 Timothy Andrew James Souster composer
1944 Barbara Moore Wardell MO, actress (Lisa Rogers-Man From UNCLE)
1944 Hans Plomp Dutch writer/poet (Venus in Holland)
1945 Donna Marie Caponi Young Detroit MI, LPGA golfer (US Open 1969, 70)
1945 Tom Selleck Detroit MI, actor (Lance-Rockford Files, Magnum PI)
1945 James Nicholson British MP
1947 David Byron vocalist (Uriah Heep)
1947 Israel Wetrin managing director (Elonex)
1947 Michael Mavor Head Master (Rugby School)
1948 Bill Kirchen singer/guitarist (Commander Cody & Lost Planet Airmen)
1948 Felice Taylor R&B singer (I Feel Love Comin' On)
1948 Marc Singer Vancouver Canada, actor (V, Dallas)
1950 Ann Jillian Cambridge MA, actress (Mr Mom, Jennifer Slept Here)
1950 Jody Schecter South African auto maker (World Driver's 1979)
1951 Andy Roberts cricketer (brilliant West Indies quickie with 202 wickets 74-84)
1951 Earl Howe England, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence
1952 Tommy Ramone [Thomas Erdelyi], Budapest Hungary, rock drummer/bassist [Ramones-Rock & Roll High School)
1953 Dalila di Lazzaro Udine Italy, covergirl/model (Vogue)
1954 Alejandro Casañas Havana Cuba, 110m hurdler (Olympics-silver-1976, 80)
1954 Dick Manitoba vocalist (Dictators)
1954 Oprah Winfrey Kosciusko MI, actress/TV host (Color Purple, Oprah)
1955 John Tate US, heavyweight boxer (Olympics-bronze-1968)
1957 Irlene Mandrell Corpus Christi TX, country singer (Mandrell Sisters)
1957 Jac Bico Dutch guitarist/singer (Tambourine)
1958 Judy Norton-Taylor Santa Monica CA, actress (Mary Ellen-Waltons)
1958 Ole Mortensen cricketer (pace bowler for Derbyshire & Denmark)
1959 Paul McGann actor (Dr Who)
1960 Cho-Liang Lin Taiwan, violinist (Queen Sophia 1st prize)
1960 Eddie Jackson bassist (Queensryche-Breaking the Silence, The Warning)
1960 Gregory Efthimos Louganis San Diego CA, champion diver (Olympics-gold-1984, 88)
1960 Matthew Ashford Davenport IA, actor (Jack Devaraux-Days of Our Lives)
1960 Sean Kerly hockey player
1960 Steve Sax 2nd baseman (Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox)
1961 Mike Aldrete US baseball infielder (Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees)
1962 Nicholas Turturro Queens NY, actor (James Martinez-NYPD Blue)
1963 Michelle Bell Melrose MA, LPGA golfer (1981 Mass School Girls Champ)
1964 Roddy Frame rock vocalist/guitarist (Aztec Camera-Stray)
1964 Andre Reed NFL wide receiver (Buffalo Bills)
1964 John Gallagher rugby league player
1964 John Habyan US baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals)
1965 Dominik Hasek Pardubice Czechoslovakia, NHL goalie (Czech Olympics-Gold-98, Buffalo)
1965 Peter Lundgren Sweden, tennis star
1965 Tim Johnson NFL defensive tackle (Washington Redskins)
1967 David Pitcher CFL fullback (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1967 Khalid Skah Midelt Morocco, 5k/10k runner
1967 Sean Burke Windsor, NHL goalie (Hartford Whalers)
1967 Stacey King NBA forward/center (Miami Heat)
1968 Aeneas Williams NFL cornerback (Arizona Cardinals)
1968 Chris Pringle (New Zealand cricket pace bowler (since 1990)
1968 Ed Burns director/actor (Brothers McMullen)
1968 Harold Green NFL running back (Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons)
1968 John Hudson NFL center/guard (New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles)
1968 Kevin Roberson US baseball outfielder (Chicago Cubs)
1969 Flora Perfetti Faenza Italy, tennis star (1995 Futures-Reims-FRA)
1969 Karen Fonteyne Calgary Alberta, synchronized swimmer (Olympics-silver-96)
1969 Robert Young NFL player (St Louis Rams)
1970 Eric Gouka cricketer (Netherlands pace bowler 1996 World Cup)
1970 Heather Graham Milwaukee WI, actress (Drugstore Cowboy, Diggstown)
1970 Scott Davis guard (Atlanta Falcons)
1971 Chris Vargas CFL quarterback (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1971 Jamal Fountaine NFL defensive end (San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons)
1972 Hessley Hempstead NFL guard (Detroit Lions)
1972 Scott Davis Great Falls MT, figure skater (Olympics-1994)
1972 Simon Cook cricketer (Victorian pace bowler joined New South Wales 1995-96)
1973 Darnell Stephens NFL linebacker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1973 Jason Schmidt Lewiston ID, pitcher (Atlanta Braves)
1973 Scott Milanovich quarterback (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1974 David LaFleur tight end (Dallas Cowboys)
1974 Jeff Mitchell corner (Baltimore Ravens)
1974 Kris Burley Truro Nova Scotia, gymnast (Olympics-96)
1974 Pat Walsh WLAF Tackle (London Monarchs)
1975 Hendrik Dreekmann Germany, tennis star
1975 Kelly Packard Glendale CA, actress (Tiffani Smith-California Dreams)
1975 Lorraine Magwenzi Miss Zimbabwe-Universe (1997)
1975 Maarten Kerkhof soccer player (Vitesse, De Graafschap)
1975 Sara Gilbert Santa Monica CA, actress (Darlene-Roseanne, Poison Ivy)
1976 Ilmira Shamsutdinova Miss Russia-Universe/best costume (1996)
1977 Martin Hohenberger hockey forward (Team Austria 1998)
1979 Andrew Keegan actor (Step by Step, Party of Five)
1980 Jason James Richter Medford OR, actor (Free Willy)

Deaths which occurred on January 29:
0969 Peter tsar of Bulgaria (927-69), dies
1559 Sir Thomas Pope English politician, benefactor, dies at about 52
1663 Robert Sanderson Bishop of Lincoln (1660-63), dies
1696 Ivan V co-tsar of Russia (1682-89), dies
1743 André Hercule Fleury French cardinal (1726-43), dies
1814 Johann G Fichte German philosopher (Wissenschaftslehre), dies at 51
1820 George III king of Great-Britain (1760-1820), dies at 81
1824 Louise MC countess of Albany Henegouws salon owner, dies at 71
1837 Aleksandr Pushkin poet/novelist/dramatist (Golden Cockeral), killed in a duel
1879 Antonia MB Antonucci Italian cardinal/diplomat, dies at 80
1888 Edward Lear poet/author, dies at 75
1899 Alfred Sisley painter, dies
1899 Robert J Fruin Dutch historian (80-year war), dies at 75
1906 Christaan IX King of Denmark (1893-1906), dies
1910 Edouard Rod French/Swiss writer (Mishel' Tes'e), dies at 52
1912 Hermann Bang writer, dies at 54
1916 Edward Hubertus Joannes Keurvils composer, dies at 62
1917 Evelyn Baring Earl Cromer English consul-General in Egypt, dies at 75
1921 Billy Gunn cricket (score 392 runs for England including a century), dies
1924 Joseph Ludwig composer, dies at 79
1928 Douglas Haig 1st Earl Haig/field marshal (WWI), dies at 66
1934 Fritz Haber German chemist (Nobel 1918), dies at 65
1941 Ioannis Metaxas Greek General/dictator (1936-41), commits suicide at 69
1942 Ladislao Joseph Philip Paul Zavrtal composer, dies at 92
1944 William Allen White US journalist (Emporia Gazette), dies at 75
1946 Harry L Hopkins US minister of Business (Loan & Lease law), dies at 55
1946 Sidney James Jones composer, dies at 84
1947 Fred Barratt cricket (5 wickets at 47 in 5 Tests for England 1929-30), dies
1951 James Bridie [Osborne Henry Mavor], dramatist, dies
1955 Hans Hedtoft premier of Denmark (1947-55), dies at 51
1956 H[enry] L[ouis] Mencken US essayist/critic/satirist (Smart Set), dies in Baltimore MD at 75
1960 Louis Jean Heydt actor (Joe-Waterfront), dies at 54
1962 Fritz Kreisler Austria/US violinist/composer, dies at 86
1963 Robert Lee Frost US poet (New Hampshire, 4 Pulitzers), dies at 88
1964 Alan Ladd actor (Shane), dies at 50 in Palm Springs CA
1965 John Larkin actor (Saints & Sinners, 12 O'Clock High), dies at 52
1965 Michael Spisak composer, dies at 50
1966 Josef Winckler German dentist/writer (Tolle Bomberg), dies at 84
1966 Pierre Mercure composer, dies at 38
1967 Wlodzimierz Pozniak composer, dies at 62
1968 Laxmidas Purshottamdas Jai cricketer (Test for India), dies
1970 Basil H Liddell Hart English military historian, dies at 74
1973 Johannes Paul Thilman composer, dies at 67
1973 Ludwig Stossel Austrian actor (Man With a Camera), dies at 89
1976 Michael Gwynn actor (Dunkirk, Barabbas, Cleopatra), dies at 59
1977 Freddie Prinze comedian/actor (Chico & the Man), shoots himself at 22
1977 E P "Buster" Nupen cricketer (50 wickets for South Africa, lost eye), dies
1978 Tim McCoy actor (Arizona Bound), dies at 86
1980 Jimmy Durante New York City NY, singer/comedian (Ink-a-dink-a-doo, Palooka, The Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 86
1980 Antonio Molina composer, dies at 85
1981 Cozy Cole rocker (Topsy Part II), dies
1984 Frances Goodrich (Diary of Anne Frank), dies from lung cancer at 93
1986 Leif Erickson actor (John-High Chaparral), dies at 74
1987 Ivo Lhotka-Kalinski composer, dies at 73
1988 James R Killian Jr MIT president (1948-59), dies at 83
1988 Bantcho Bantchevsky US opera singer, commits suicide
1988 Rogier van Otterloo Dutch composer/conductor, dies at 46
1991 Jan Odé Dutch pianist/director Sweelinck Conservatory, dies
1991 Yasushi Inoue Japanese historian, dies
1992 Willie Dixon blues composer (I'm a Man, Backdoor Man), dies at 76
1993 Hank Werba [Herman Werblowski], US journalist (Variety), dies at 79
1993 Michel Renault French ballet dancer (Giselle), dies
1994 Jevgeni P Leonov Russian actor (Gori, Moja Zvezda), dies at 67
1994 Nick Cravat midget (Gremlin-Twilight Zone), dies of lung cancer at 81
1994 Ulrike Maier olympic skier, breaks neck during world cup skiing at 26
1995 Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock English agronomist (Rhodesia), dies at 88
1995 Chris de Marigny painter/designer, dies at 52
1995 Raymond Joseph Cecil British architect, dies at 69
1995 Richard Desborough Burnell British oarsman (Olympics-gold-1948), dies at 77
1996 Jack Sutherland journalist, dies at 79
1996 John Terence Reese bridge master, dies at 82
1997 Eric Schneider murderer of 2 teachers, executed in MO at 35
1997 Louis Pauwels writer/editor, dies at 76
1997 Osvaldo Soriano writer, dies at 54

On this day...
1523 Sermon of Constanz Zwingli defends 67 Schlussreden
1574 Sea battle of Reimerswaal - Admiral Boisot beats Spanish fleet
1587 Deventer & Zutphen surrender to Spain
1613 Galileo observes Neptune but fails to recognize what he sees
1676 Fjodor Aleksejevitsj becomes czar of Russia
1728 John Gays' "Beggar's Opera" premieres in London
1732 Paris churchyard Saint-Médard closed after Jansenistic ritual
1781 Mozart's opera "Idomeneo" premieres, Munich
1788 Australia Day
1802 John Beckley of Virginia appointed 1st Librarian of Congress
1834 President Jackson orders 1st use of US troops to suppress a labor dispute
1839 Charles Darwin marries Emma Wedgwood
1845 Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" 1st published (New York City NY)
1848 Sicily accepts new Constitution (choose parliament/freedom of press)
1850 Henry Clay introduces a comprise bill on slavery to US Senate
1856 Victoria Cross established to acknowledge bravery
1860 American College established in Rome by Pope Pius IX
1861 Kansas becomes 34th state
1863 Battle at Bear River WA US Army vs Indians
1864 Battle of Moorefield WV (Rosser's Raid)
1872 Francis L Cardoza elected State Treasurer of South Carolina
1879 Custer Battlefield National Monument, Montana established
1886 1st successful gasoline-driven car patented, Karl Benz, Karlsruhe
1895 King Koko's Kopermannen assault on Akassa Niger, 100's killed
1896 Emile Grubbe is 1st doctor to use radiation treatment for breast cancer
1900 American League organized in Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee & Minneapolis
1900 Boers under Joubert beat English at Spionkop Natal, 2,000 killed
1903 Dutch railroad workers strike
1906 Coen de King skates world record time 32,370 km
1908 Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, at Cornell University, incorporates
1912 Martial law declared in textile strike in Lawrence MA
1913 Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, at Howard University, incorporates
1916 1st bombings of Paris by German Zeppelins takes place
1917 English submarine K13 leaves Gaire Loch
1919 Secretary of state proclaims the 18th amendment (prohibition)
1920 Walt Disney starts 1st job as an artist; $40 week with Kansas City Slide Co
1921 Hurricane hits Washington & Oregon
1922 Union of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador dissolved
1923 1st flight of the autogiro (Juan de la Cierva, Madrid Spain)
1924 Ice cream cone rolling machine patented by Carl Taylor, Cleveland
1925 British Liberals choose David Lloyd George as party leader
1927 4th German government of Marx forms
1929 Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization forms
1932 Test debut of Bill O'Reilly, vs South Africa at Adelaide
1936 1st players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame-Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson & Walter Johnson
1942 1st broadcast of Roy Plomley's "Desert Island Discs" on BBC
1942 German & Italian troops occupy Benghazi
1942 Peru & Ecuador sign Protocol of Rio (boundary determination)
1943 New Zealand's Kiwi cruiser collides with Japanese sub I-1 at Guadalcanal
1943 Sidney Kingsley's "Patriots" premieres in New York City NY
1944 285 German bombers attack London
1947 Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" premieres in New York City NY
1948 "Look Ma, I'm Dancin'" opens at Adelphi Theater New York City NY for 188 performances
1948 Commissioner Happy Chandler fines the Yankees, Cubs, & Phillies $500 each for signing high school players
1949 Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand & Switzerland recognize Israel
1951 Liz Taylor's 1st divorce (Conrad Hilton Jr)
1951 "Where's Charley?" opens at Broadway Theater New York City NY for 56 performances
1951 Baseball signs 6 year All-Star pact for TV-radio rights for $6 million
1953 1st movie in Cinemascope (The Robe) premieres
1954 Arnold Schoenberg's "De Profundis" premieres in Cologne
1955 John William Cox buys Yankee Stadium, sells grounds to Knights of Columbus, later leaves structure to Rice University (1962)
1956 F Dürrenmatt's "Der Besuch der Alten Dame" premieres in Zürich
1957 Graham Greene's "Potting Shed" premieres in New York City NY
1958 Murderer, Charles Starkweather, captured by police in Wyoming
1958 Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward wed
1959 Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" released
1961 US female Figure Skating championship won by Laurence Owen
1961 US male Figure Skating championship won by Bradley Lord
1963 Jim Thorpe, Red Grange & George Halas elected to football hall of fame
1964 9th Winter Olympic games open in Innsbruck, Austria
1964 Beatles record in German "Komm, Gib Mir Diene Hand" & "Sie Leibt Dich"
1964 Most lopsided high-school basketball score-211-29 (Louisiana)
1964 NBC purchases AFL 5 year (1965-69) TV rights for $36 million
1964 Unmanned Apollo 1 Saturn launcher test attains Earth orbit
1964 Stanley Kubrick's"Dr Strangelove" premieres
1966 "Sweet Charity" opens at Palace Theater New York City NY for 608 performances
1966 Lawry & Simpson complete 244 opening stand vs England, Adelaide
1966 Snow storm in north east US kills 165
1966 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
1966 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Allen
1967 "Let's Sing Yiddish" closes at Brooks Atkinson New York City NY after 107 performances
1967 Branch Rickey & Lloyd Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1967 Kees Verkerk becomes European skating champ
1967 WDAZ TV channel 8 in Devils Lake ND (ABC) begins broadcasting
1968 Nauru adopts constitution
1969 Jimi Hendrix & Peter Townshend wage a battle of guitars
1969 Sheahan & Connolly hang on for exciting draw Australia vs West Indies
1970 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakstan/Semipalatinsk USSR
1971 Test debut of Dennis Keith Lillee, vs England at Adelaide
1972 5th ABA All-Star Game East 142 beats West 115 at Louisville
1974 27th NHL All-Star Game West beat East 6-4 at Chicago
1975 "Men on the Moon" opens at Little Theater New York City NY for 5 performances
1975 1st Annual Comedy Awards of the Year hosted by Alan King
1975 W I win Fifth Test against India to take exciting series 3-2
1976 Zeiss planetarium in Hague destroyed by fire
1978 Joanne Carner wins Colgate Triple Crown Match-Play Golf Championship
1979 Brenda Spencer kills 2, inspires Boomtown Rats "I Don't Like Mondays"
1979 Emerson, Lake & Palmer disband after 10 years together
1979 President Carter commuted Patricia Hearst's 7 year sentence to 2 years
1979 9th NFL Pro Bowl NFC beats AFC 13-7
1979 Chinese vice-premier Deng Xiaoping visits Washington DC
1980 6 Iranian held US hostages escape with help of the Canadians
1980 Cleveland Cavaliers beat Los Angeles Lakers 154-153 in quadruple OT
1981 AL approves sale of White Sox to Jerry Reinsdorf & Eddie Einhorn for $20 million, & 80% of Mariners to George Argyros for $104 million
1982 Old Dominion ends Los Angeles Tech's women's basketball record 54-game win streak
1982 Wayne Garland, baseball 1st millionaire free agent, waived by Indians
1983 "Down Under" by Men At Work hit #1 on UK pop chart
1983 40th Golden Globes Gandhi, ET & Tootsie win
1984 Actress Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) marries Robert Altman
1984 President Reagan formally announces he will seek a 2nd term
1984 Space Shuttle 41-B (STS-11) Challenger launched
1984 34th NBA All-Star Game East beats West 154-145 (OT) at Denver
1984 NFL Pro Bowl NFC beats AFC 45-3
1984 Silvia Bertolaccini wins LPGA Mazda Golf Classic of Deer Creek
1985 Jari Kurri of Edmonton Oilers scores 100th point of season in game 39
1986 193.8 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange
1986 Yoweri Museveni sworn in as President of Uganda
1987 Lisa files for separation from husband New York Met Darryl Strawberry
1987 William J Casey, ends term as 13th director of CIA
1988 Canadian Ben Johnson breaks own 50-yard dash world record at 5.15
1988 Largest NBA crowd-Boston Celtics at Detroit (61,938)
1988 Talks break down between Sandinistas and Contras
1988 Detroit's Kirk Gibson signs a 3-year contract with Dodgers
1988 United Airlines Boeing 747SP, circles world in 36 hours 54 minutes 15 seconds
1989 Cleveland's Chris Dudley misses 5 free throws during 1 foul attempt
1989 Dow jumps 38.06 recoups 508-point loss since October 1987; index at 2,256.43
1989 Episcopal church appoints 1st female bishop
1989 L I preacher Gene Profeta pleads guilty to tax-evasion
1989 USSR's Phobos II enters Martian orbit
1989 77th Australian Open Men Tennis Ivan Lendl beats Miloslav Mecir (62 62 62)
1989 Dottie Mochrie wins Oldsmobile LPGA Golf Classic
1989 Game-winning RBI, official statistic dropped after 9 years of use New York Mets Keith Hernandez is the all-time leader with 129
1989 NFL Pro Bowl NFC beats AFC 34-3
1989 Orlando Arena opens
1990 Exxon Valdez captain Joseph Hazelwood goes on trial due to oil spill
1991 Battle for Khafji in Saudi Arabia (begins)
1991 "Piano Lesson" closes at Walter Kerr Theater New York City NY after 320 performances
1991 Nelson Mandela & Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi meet in Durban after 28 years
1993 Test debut of Vinod Kambli, prolific Indian batsman
1995 Greg Blewett scores century on Test debut vs England, Adelaide
1995 Super Bowl XXIX San Francisco 49ers beat San Diego Chargers, 49-26 in Miami; Super Bowl MVP Steve Young, San Francisco, Quarterback
1996 23rd American Music Award Garth Brooks wins
1996 6,138th performance of "Cats" is held in London, surpassing record of Broadway's longest-running musical, "A Chorus Line"
1996 Last day of Test cricket for David Boon
1998 "Capeman" opens at Marquis Theater New York City NY
1998 Singers Bobby Brown found guilty of DWI in Fort Lauderdale FL
1998 Soyuz TM-27 launches to MIR
1998 Thick Fog causes highway carnage in Belgium & Netherlands, 6 die
1998 Woman's Clinic in Birmingham AL bombed, 1 killed

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Kansas : Admission Day/Kansas Day (1861)
Australia : Australia Day (1788 - 1993) - - - - - ( Monday )
China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Tiger (1998/4696)
China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Dog (2006/4704)

Religious Observances
old Roman Catholic : St Francis of Sales, bishop of Geneva, doctor

Religious History
993 St. Ulrich, who lived c.890-973, and was Bishop of Augsburg from 923, was canonized at a Lateran Synod. With this action by Pope John XV, St. Ulrich became the first individual in Roman Catholic history formally elevated to sainthood.
1499 Birth of Katherine von Bora, the former German nun who became Martin Luther's wife in 1525 when he was 41 and she 26. During their 21-year marriage, Katie bore Martin 3 sons and 3 daughters. Her death in 1552 followed six years after her husband's in 1546.
1780 Pioneer American Methodist bishop Francis Asbury wrote in his journal: 'My soul is more at rest from the tempter when I am busily employed.'
1921 The Congregational Holiness Church was formally organized, following a split the previous year with the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Headquartered today in Griffin, GA, most CHC churches are located in the Southeast US.
1967 Pope Paul VI and Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny conferred at the Vatican in the first meeting in history between a Roman Catholic pontiff and the head of a Communist state.

Thought for the day :
"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."

Thanks, Sam. This shows that not every warrior wields a spear. And it also shows that men can be humane even in war.

He then told us he was sorry some men were killed and he gave us bread and sausage and told us which way the nearest land was. (Note - This was probably Kapitänleutnant Heino Bohmann - U88, Bergen's 11th U-Flotilla - who had been poised to attack the ship when she was struck by Luftwaffe bombs. It is unclear whether this U-boat, or U703 also stalking the ship, actually fired torpedoes at her).

Today's classic warship, USS Itty E. (SP-952)

Itty E. class motorboat.
Lenght. 25'
Beam. 6'
Draft. 20"
Speed. 35 k.

Itty E. (SP-952), a fast open motor boat, was built in 1916 by Murray and Tregurtha, South Boston, Mass.; acquired July 1917 from her owner, F. H. Rawson of Chicago.

Assigned to the 1st Naval District, USS Itty E. did yeoman service during the months before the war as a fast rescue boat at the Boston Naval Air Station. She was transferred to Norfolk 20 October 1917, but saw little service because of the need for extensive engine repairs. After her engine was burned in a fire ashore in July 1918, Itty E. was taken to the Washington Navy Yard in October 1918, and scrapped in 1920.

Good Morning Sam and all,

Just a note, off topic but still pertinent, about the group called grassfire.net. (Email-alert@grassfire.net)

I received an email from this organization today (this is the group sending the petition to Washington, with the goal of 200,000 signatures, supporting our President and troops) saying that they are fundraising by sending out yard signs that say Support our TROOPS with a picture of the historical flag raising so famous to all of us.

I am sending a check for two. One for my yard, one for my parents' yard. They are the standard yard signs (with metal supporting posts). I loved the idea and sent an email to um requesting that they make bumper stickers, too. Who knows if they will.

Point is-I think it is a great idea, especially when ya consider that many wonderful veterans as well as those who are currently serving our nation will surely be heartened upon seeing um.

Oh well....just thought some folks who love this thread might be especially interested.

Al-Khafji veteran bump (Jan 29, 1991) - My brush with combat