July 17
1203 4th Crusade: Crusaders capture Constantinople from Byzentines
1453 Battle of Castillon
1864 John Bell Hood replaces Joe Johnston as Commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee
1942 Battle of Stalingrad begins
1944 1st combat use of napalm, near St. Lo, France
1989 1st flight B-2

July 17 US Naval History

1858 - U.S. sloop Niagara departs Queenstown, Ireland, to assist in laying first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable.
1898 - Santiago, Cuba surrenders to U.S. Naval forces.
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.
1975 - Docking in space of the U.S. Apollo (Apollo 18) and Soviet Soyuz (Soyuz 19) space craft. This was the first manned space flight conducted jointly by the 2 nations.* Former naval aviator Vance D. Brand was the Apollo Command Module Pilot. The Apollo craft was in space for 9 days and 7.5 hours. Recovery was by USS New Orleans (LPH-11).

*Shows even during the cold war the US and Russia could sometimes find common ground.

July 18 US Naval History

1775 - Continental Congress resolves that each colony provide armed vessels
1779 - Commodore Abraham Whipple's squadron captures 11 prizes in largest prize value of Revolutionary War.
1792 - John Paul Jones dies in Paris, France
1813 - U.S. Frigate President captures British Daphne, Eliza Swan, Alert and Lion.
1920 - Naval aircraft sink ex-German cruiser Frankfurt in target practice.
1943 - German submarine shoots down K-47, the first and only U.S. airship lost during WW II.
1947 - President Harry S. Truman delegates responsibility for the civil administration of former Japanese mandated island to the Secretary of the Navy.
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).
1973 - Task Force 78, Mine Countermeasures Force, departs waters of North Vietnam after completing their minesweeping operations of 1,992 tow hours for the cost of $20,394,000.

July 18
390 B.C. Battle of Allia
1389 Truce of Leulingham France & England signs a Truce that lasts 13 years (longest of the War) during the 100 Years War.
1656 Battle of Warsaw
1861 Battle of Blackburn's Ford, preliminary to Battle of 1st Manassas, Va.
1863 Battle of Battery Wagner, near Charleston, S.C. 5,000 Union troops attack against 1,000 defenders. Defenders open fire @ point blank range mortally wounding Brig. Gen. George Strong, wounding Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour & killing Col. Robert Shaw of the 54th Mass. Union briefly takes one corner of the Battery before being repulsed. Basis for the movie "Glory".
1942 Me-262 makes its 1st flight with only jet engines
1996 Battle of Mullaitiva, Sri Lanka

July 19
711 Battle of Guadalete
1333 Battle of Halidon Hill
1544 1st Siege of Boulogne begins
1545 English warship Mary Rose sinks in battle
1588 naval Battle of Gravelines English defeat the Spanish Armada
1870 France declares War on Prussia
1916 Battle of Fromelles
1940 Battle of Cape Spada Royal Navy sinks Italian Light Cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni

July 19 US Naval History

1812 - USS Constitution escapes from British squadron after 3 day chase off New Jersey
1886 - Atlanta, the first steel-hulled American cruiser armed with breechloading rifled guns, is commissioned.
1897 - LT Robert E. Peary departs on year long Arctic Expedition which makes many important discoveries, including one of largest meteorites, Cape York.
1918 - Armored cruiser USS San Diego sunk off Fire Island, NY by a mine laid by U-156.
1940 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs second Naval Expansion Act.

July 20
70 Siege of Jerusalem: Romans storm the Fortress of Antonia
1304 English take Stirling Castle
1402 Battle of Ankara
1656 Battle of Warsaw ends
1864 Battle of Peachtree Creek, Ga
1866 navan Battle of Lissa
1898 Boiler explodes on USS Iowa off Cuba
1917 Russians capture Gumiskhanek, Armenia
1944 Plot to assasinate Hitler fails
1961 French break siege of Bizerte, Tunisia
1974 Turkey invades Cyprus
2006 Ethiopia invades Somalia

July 20 US Naval History

1846 - First visit of U.S. warships (USS Columbus and USS Vincennes) to Japan is unsuccessful in negotiating a treaty.
1960 - In first launch of Polaris missile, USS George Washington (SSBN 598) successfully fires 2 operational Polaris missiles while submerged off Florida.
1964 - Four Navy divers enter Project SEALAB I capsule moored 192 feet on the ocean floor off Bermuda for 11 day experiment.
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 22
838 Battle of Anzen
1298 Battle of Falkirk
1456 Siege of Belgrade: Final battle begins
1484 Battle of LochMaven Fair
1499 Battle of Dornach
1805 Battle of Cape Finisterre
1812 Battle of Salamanca
1864 Battle of Atlanta
1943 Allies liberate Palermo, Sicily

July 21 US Naval History

1823 - After pirate attack, LT David G. Farragut leads landing party to destroy pirate stronghold in Cuba.

1944 - Invasion and recapture of Guam begins.

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.

1987 - Navy escorts first Earnest Will Convoy in the Persian Gulf.