July 25 - 31
July 25:
1779 - Amphibious expedition against British in Penobscot Bay, ME. (USN)
1934 - First President to visit Hawaii, Franklin D. Roosevelt, reaches Hilo on board USS Houston. (USN)
1947- The Women’s Reserve of the Coast Guard Reserve (SPARS) was disestablished. Some SPARs continued to serve in the coming years, however. (USCG)
1846- Revenue Cutter Woodbury put down a mutiny on board the troop ship Middlesex during the Mexican War. (USCG)
1912 - First airborne radio communications from naval aircraft to ship (LT John Rodgers to USS Stringham). (USN)
1947 - The National Security Act of 1947 became effective, reaffirming the status of the Marine Corps as a separate military service within the Department of the Navy. (USMC)
1948 - President Harry S. Truman orders desegregation of the Armed Services. (USN)
July 27:
1953 - Koean War armistice signed at Panmunjon, Korea and Korean cease-fire went into effect at 10:00 PM.1957- A Captain of the Port patrol vessel discovered a fire of unknown origin at the Mystic Coal Yard in Boston, MA. The U.S. Coast Guard Base, Boston, immediately rushed the CGC Cactus, 150 Coast Guardsmen, and portable fire-fighting equipment to the scene. While the cutter moved a 450-foot Norwegian freighter away from the flaming dock, the shore party with the assistance of local agencies brought the fire under control. Eight Coast Guardsmen were hospitalized because of the injuries they received while fighting the fire. (USCG)
July 28:
1916 - Navy establishes a Code and Signal Section which initially worked against German ciphers and tested the security of
communications during U.S. naval training maneuvers. (USN)
1918 - Brigadier General John A. Lejeune assumed command of the 2d Division, U.S. Army in France, and remained in that capacity until August 1919 when the unit was demobilized. He was the first Marine officer to hold an Army divisional command, and following the Armistice, he led his division in the march into Germany. (USMC)
1944- LTJG Clarence Samuels became the first African-American to command a "major" Coast Guard vessel since Michael Healy and the first to achieve command of a Coast Guard vessel "during wartime" when he assumed command of the Light Vessel No. 115 on 28 July 1944. (USCG)
July 29:
1846 - Sailors and Marines from U.S. sloop Cyane capture San Diego, CA. (USN/USMC)1967 - Fire on board USS Forrestal killed 134 members of the crew. (USN)
1948 - Congress approved Public Law 810 allowing retirement pay at age 60 for reservists with 20 years of service. Some consider this to be the "birth" of the modern Coast Guard Reserve. (USCG)
July 30:
1918 - Units of First Marine Aviation Force arrive at Brest, France. (USMC)
1941 - Japanese aircraft bomb USS Tutuila (PR-4) at Chungking, China; First Navy ship damaged by Axis during World War II. (USN)1942 - FDR signs act establishing WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). During World War II, over 80,000 officer and enlisted women served in the WAVES. (USN)
July 31:
1874 - Commissioning of USS Intrepid, first U.S. warship equipped with torpedoes. (USN)
1876- Congress re-established the Revenue Cutter cadet training program after three years suspension and the institution of promotion by examination. (USCG)
1912 - First attempt to launch an airplane by catapult made at Annapolis. (USN)
1964 - All-nuclear task force with USS Long Beach, USS Enterprise, and USS Bainbridge leaves Norfolk, VA to begin voyage, Operation Sea Orbit, to circle the globe without refueling. They returned on 3 October. (USN)
July 18 - 24
July 18:
1792 - John Paul Jones dies in Paris, France.1966 - Launch of Gemini 10 with LCDR John W. Young, USN as Command Pilot. Mission involved 43 orbits at an altitude of 412.2 nautical miles and lasted 2 days, 22 hours, and 46 minutes. Recovery was by HS-3 helicopter from USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7).
July 19:
1812 - USS Constitution escapes from British squadron after 3 day chase off New Jersey.
1940 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs second Naval Expansion Act.
July 20:
1846 - First visit of U.S. warships (USS Columbus and USS Vincennes) to Japan is unsuccessful in negotiating a treaty.
1969 - Former Navy pilot Neil Armstrong is first man to set foot on the moon. While taking the first step, he said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong was Commander of Apollo 11 which during its 8 day mission landed on the Sea of Tranquility. Recovery was by HS-4 helicopters from USS Hornet (CVS-12).
July 21:
1823 - After pirate attack, LT David G. Farragut leads landing party to destroy pirate stronghold in Cuba.
1946 - In first U.S. test of adaptability of jet aircraft to shipboard operations, XFD-1 Phantom makes landings and takeoffs without catapults from Franklin D. Roosevelt.
July 22:
1802 - Frigate Constellation defeats 9 Corsair gunboats off Tripoli.
1964 - Four Navy Divers (LCDR Robert Thompson, MC; Gunners Mate First Class Lester Anderson, Chief Quartermaster Robert A. Barth, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Sanders Manning) submerge in Sealab I for 10 days at a depth of 192 feet, 39 miles off Hamilton, Bermuda. They surfaced on 31 July 1964.
July 23:
1950 - USS Boxer sets record crossing of Pacific to bring aircraft, troops, and supplies to Korea at start of the Conflict.
1993 - Sarah Deal becomes first women Marine selected for naval aviation training.
July 24:
1813- Sailing Master Elijah Mix attempts to blow up British warship Plantagenet with a torpedo near Cape Henry, Virginia.
1944 - Following 43 days of naval gunfire and air bombardment, Naval Task Force lands Marines on Tinian.
July 11 - 17
July 11:
1798 - Reestablishment of Marine Corps under the Constitution
1943 - Gunfire from U.S. cruisers and destroyers stop German and Italian tank attack against Army beachhead at Gela, Sicily
July 12:
1916 - North Carolina is first Navy ship to carry and operate aircraft1990 - Commander Rosemary B. Mariner becomes first woman to command an operational aviation squadron (VAQ-34)
July 13:
1863 - USS Wyoming battled Japanese warlord's forces
1939 - Appointment of RADM Richard Byrd as commanding officer of 1939-1941 Antarctic Expedition
July 14:
1853 - Commodore Matthew Perry lands and holds first meeting with Japanese at Uraga, Japan
1950 - U.S. Marines sail from San Diego for Korean Conflict
July 15:
1870 - Act of Congress establishes Pay Corps, which later becomes the Supply Corps
1942 - First photographic interpretation unit set up in the Pacific
July 16:
1862 - Congress creates rank of Rear Admiral. David G. Farragut is named the first Rear Admiral
1915 - First Navy ships, battleships Ohio, Missouri, and Wisconsin transit Panama Canal
July 17:
1927 - First organized dive bombing attack in combat by Marine Corps pilots against Nicaraguan bandits who were surrounding U.S. Marine garrison at Ocotal, Nicaraguan
1944 - Ammunition explosion at Naval Magazine, Port Chicago, CA