This day in military history..

Oct 12
1748 naval Battle of Havana
1861 naval Battle of the Head of the Passes
1917 1st Battle of Paschendale
1940 E Boat S-37 sunk by mine east of Orfordness, Suffolk. French Naval Trawlers Chasseur 6 & 7 sunk by KM Torpedo Boat Grief. R.N. Trawler HMS Resolvo damaged by mine n.e. of Sheerness, beached & abandonded at Scheerness. naval Battle of Cape Passero: Italian Torpedo Boats Ariel & Airone sunk by Cruiser HMS Ajax and Ajax recieving damage, Destroyer Artigliere damaged by Ajax and later sunk by Cruiser HMS York
1941R.N. Lighters A6 & A7 sunk by U-75 in the Med. Soviet sub S-8 sunk by mine off Dago, Estonia.
1942 Soviet subShch-311 sunk by Finnish Patrol Boats VMV 13 & 15. U-597 sunk by RAF B-24 s.w. of Iceland. Battle of Cape Esperance ends: Destroyer USS Duncan & IJN Destroyers Fubuki & Furutaka sunk, Cruisers Aoba & Boise heavily damaged, IJN Destroyer Natsugumo bombed/sunk and Murakumo damaged by US aircraft from Henderson Field, Murakuma scuttled by Destroyer Shirayuki.
1944 Athens liberated
2000 Terrorists damage USS Cole
 
Oct 13
1644 Naval Action of Oct. 13, 1644
1710 British capture Port Royal, Capital of Acadia
1775 Continental Navy Est.
1812 Battle of Queenston Heights
1915 Battle of Loos ends
1939 U-40 sunk by mine in English Channell. U-42 sunk by Destroyers HMS Imogen & Ilex off the s.w. coast of Ireland
1940 Rescue Tug HMS Danube III sunk by mine off Sheerness. R.N. Trawler HMS Summer Rose sunk by mine off Sunderland.
1943 Italy declares War on Germany. U-402 sunk by Avengers from USS Card
1944 Red Army occupies Riga
 
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Oct 14
1066 Battle of Hastings
1322 Battle of Byland Moor
1758 Battle of Hotchkirch
1805 Battle of Elchingen
1806 Battles of Jena-Auerstedt
1863 Battle of Bristoe Station
1938 1st flight P-40
1939 Battleship HMS Royal Oak sunk by U-47 @ Scapa Flow. U-45 sunk by 3 R.N. Destroyers s.w. of Ireland
1940 Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Chesire damaged by U-137 n.w. of Ireland, beached at Belfast Lough, repaired & returned to service. R.N. Trawler HMS Lord Stamp sunk by mine off Dorset. Cruiser HMS Liverpool damaged by Italian torpedo bomber. KM netlayer Genua sunk by Destroyer HMS Cossack at Egersund, Norway
1941 Corvette HMS Fleur de Lys sunk by U-206 west of Gibraltar. R.N. Trawler HMS Forerunner sunk in collision in the Thames Estuary. Italian Torpedo Boat Pleiada sunk by RAF at Tripoli. KM Flackship UJ-1709 sunk by RAF west of Lista
1942 KM Raider Komet sunk with all hands by R.N. MTB 236 off Cap de la Hague, France. R.N. LCMs 508, 509, 519, 522, 523, 532, 537, 547, & 620, and LCT 2006 lost as deck cargo when Whaling factory ship Southern Empress is sunk by U-221 n.e. of St. John's, Newfoundland. Soviet sub Shch-213 sunk by mine off Constanta. Troopship Teison Maru sunk by USS Finback off Tansui, Formosa.
1943 2nd Schweinfurt Air Raid. USCG Patrol ship Dow lost by grounding during a gale off Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
1944 KM Repair ship Sudmeer sunk by RAF or Soviet aircraft off Nordkyn, Norway
1949 Chinese Communists occupy Canton
1952 Battle of Triangle Hill begins
 
Oct 15
1211 Battle of Rhyndacus
1529 Siege of Vienna ends
1863 H L Hunley & his crew are killed by a ballast tank failure while testing his sub H L Hunley, later raised, repaired & returned to service.
1864 Confederates capture Sedalia & Glasgow, Mo.
1917 Destroyer USS Cassin damaged by U-61 south of Mind Head, Ireland
1940 Sub HMS Triad sunk by Italian sub Enrico Toti south of Cape Collonne, Gulf of Toranto. R.N. Trawler HMS Mistletoe sunk by mine in Humber Estuary, possibly raised, repaired & returned to service.
1942 Attack Cargo ship USS Electra torpedoed off Casablanca, beached, repaired & returned to service. Destroyer USS Merideth bombed/sunk off Guadalcanal. U-661 rammed/sunk by Destroyer HMS Viscount
1944 U-777 bombed/sunk by RAF at Wilhemlshaven. KM patrol ship V1609 bombed/sunk off Justoy, Norway
 
Oct 16
1793 Battle of Wittignies ends
1803 Battle of Leipzig begins
1859 John Brown's Harper's Ferry Raid
1940 Destroyers HMS Ashanti, Fame, & Maori run aground off Sunderland, repaired & returned to service. Minesweeper HMS Dundalk damaged by mine off Harwich. R.N. MTB 106 sunk by mine north of Sheerness
1942 U-353 sunk by Destroyer HMS Fame west of Ireland
1943 Naval Yacht USS Moonbeam sunk in collision with Destroyer USS Greer at the mouth of the Indian River. U-470, 844, & 964 sunk by RAF B-24s in the Western Approaches. U-533 sunk by RAF Blenheim in the Gulf of Oman.
1944 U-1006 sunk by Frigate HMCS Annan s.e. of the Faeroes. KM Minesweeper R-301 sunk by Soviet aircraft at Vardo. KM Patrol Ship V-1707 sunk by Soviet aircraft at Kirkines
1962 Cuban Missle Crisis begins
 
Oct 17
456 Battle of Placentia
1347 Battle of Neville's Cross
1448 2nd Battle of Kosovo begins
1777 Gen. Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga
1800 British occupy Curacou
1939 Battleship HMS Iron Duke bombed by Ju-88s and beached at Scapa Flow, repaired & returned to service.
1940 Minesweeper HMS Dundalk, damaged by a mine the day before, sinks off Harwich. R.N. Trawler HMS Kingston Cairngorm damaged by mine south of the Isle of Portland
1941 Corvette HMS Gladiolus sunk with all hands by U-558. Destroyer USS Kearny torpedoed/damaged by U-568 while in a battle defending a British convoy even though the US wasn't at War with Germany. Repaired & returned to service
1943 U-540 sunk by RAF B-24s s.e. of Cape Farewell, Greenland. U-631 sunk by Corvette HMS Sunflower s.e. of Cape Farewell. U-841 sunk by Frigate HMS Byard east of Cape Farewell. KM Raider Michel sunk by USS Tarpon 50 miles from Yokohama
1944 IJN Minelayer Itsukushima sunk by Dutch sub Zwaardvis in Java Sea n.e. of Bawean Island. Soviet Guard Ship BMO-527 sunk by U-1165 in the Baltic. KM Patrol Ship V-6107 bombed/sunk by Soviet aircraft in Varangerfjord. US Minesweeper YMS 70 foundered in a storm off Leyte
1977 GSG 9 rescues hostages from Lufthansa Flight 818 in Mogadishu
 
Oct 18
1016 Battle of Ashingdon
1081 Battle of Dyrrhachium
1540 Battle of Mabila
1599 Battle of Sellenberk
1812 USS Wasp captures HMS Frolic
1859 US Marines capture John Brown & his Raiders
1940 R.N. Trawler HMS Kingston Cairngorm, damaged by a mine the day before, sinks. R.N. sub H-49 sunk by KM Sub Chasers UJ-116 and UJ-118 off Texel. Aux. Minesweeper HMCS Bras d'Or lost with all hands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Italian sub Durbo sunk by 2 Saunders-Roe London seaplanes & HMS Firedrake and Wrestler.
1941 Destroyer HMS Broadwater sunk by U-101 south of Iceland. Italian Troopships Oceana & Neptunia sunk by HMS Upholder off of Tripoli
 
Oct 19
202 B.C. Battle of Zama
439 Vandals capture Carthage
1781 Cornwallis surrenders @ Yorktown
1805 Battle of Ulm ends
1812 French retreats from Moscow
1813 Battle of Leipzig ends
1912 Italy takes Tripoli
1914 1st Battle of Ypres begins
1939 Soviet sub SC-424 sunk in collision with a trawler
1940 R.N. Trawler HMS Velia sunk by mine off the Kentish Knock Lightship. Destroyer HMS Venitia sunk by mine off Margate
1941 U-204 sunk by Corvette HMS Mallow & Sloop HMS Rochester in the Strait of Gibraltar
1942 Destroyer USS O'Brien was torpedoed by I-15 on Sept. 15 off Espiritu Santo. She sailed to Australia & recieved temporary repairs. While sailing to the US for permanent repairs she suffered loss of structural integrity and sank off Samoa.
1944 US troops land on Leyte
1950 China intervienes in the Korean War
 
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Oct 20
1572 Siege of Goes lifted
1824 USS Porpoise captures 4 Pirate ships off Cuba
1827 Battle of Navarino
1861 Battle of Ball's Bluff begins
1939 KM Flackship V-701 sunk by mine off Mon, Denmark
1940 Italian Destroyer Francesco Nulla damaged by Destroyer HMS Kimberly & beached on Harmil Island in the Red Sea. Italian sub Lafole sunk by 3 R.N. Destroyers off Melilla
1941 Italian Torpedo Boats Altair & Aldebaran sunk by mines in the Gulf of Athens
1942 U-216 sunk by RAF B-24 s.w. of Ireland. Cruiser USS Chester damaged by I-176 in the Solomons
1943 German POW ship Finfra sunk by B-25s & Beaufighter in Suda Bay, killing 2,098 Italian POWs. U-378 sunk by aircraft from USS Card
1944 Red Army occupies Belgrade
1962 Sino-Indian War begins
1967 Operation Coronado VII begins
 
Oct 21
1096 Battle of Civetot
1097 Siege of Antioch begins
1600 Battle of Sekigahara
1797 Frigate USS Constitution launched, oldest commissioned US Navy ship
1805 Battle of Trafalgar
1861 Battle of Ball's Bluff ends
1912 Bulgaria captures Kardzhali
1937 Spanish Nationalists capture Gijon
1938 Japan captures Guanthou. Japanese capture Chinese gunboat Yongji at Xinti
1940 Italian Destroyer Francesco Nulla, damaged & beached the day before, is destroyed by RAF Blenheims. R.N. MTB 17 sunk by mine off Ostend, Belgium
1941 Gunboat HMS Gnat is damaged by U-79 off Bardia. Beached at Alexandria & used as an anti-aircraft platform for rest of the War, then scrapped. Soviet sub M-58 sunk by mine at mouth of the Danube
1942 KM POW ship Palatia sunk by RNZAF Hampden torpedo bomber off Lindesnes, Norway. 915 Russian POWs & apx 70 crew killed. Soviet sub S 7 sunk by Finnish sub Vesihiisi in the Baltic
1943 Destroyer USS Murphy is cut in two in a collision with tanker SS Bulkoil off the New Jersey coast. The forward section ahead of the forward funnel sinks, the rest is towed in, repaired with a new forward section & returned to service. U-431 sunk by RAF Wellington off Algiers. R.N. Trawler HMS Orfasy sunk with all hands by U-68 s.e. of Freetown, Liberia. Minesweeper HMCS Chedabucto sunk in collision with cable ship Lord Kelvin in the St. Lawrence River
1944 US troops capture Aachen. KM Gun Ferries AF-6 & AF-57 sunk by Soviet aircraft off Kirkenes. KM Minesweeper R-151 sunk by Soviet aircraft off Vardo & M-31 torpedoed & sunk off Honningsvag, Norway. Cruiser HMAS Australia damaged by an airplane strike
1950 Battle of Yongju begins
 
Oct 22
1633 Battle of Liaoluo Bay
1707 R.N. Scilly Isles Disaster
1777 Battle of Red Bank
1940R.N. Trawler HMS Josepth Button sunk by mine off Aldegurg. R.N. Trawler HMS Hickory sunk by mine south of Portland. Destroyer HMCS Margaree sunk in collision with MV Port Fairy
1941 R.N. Trawler HMS Alder lost by grounding on east coast of Scotland. Fleet Aux Oiler Darkdale sunk with all hands that were aboard by U-68 at Jamestown, St. Helena
1942 U-42 sunk by RAF Wellington n.e. of the Faroe Islands
1943 Kassel, Germany Air Raid. Greek Destroyer Adrias loses her bow, & Destroyer HMS Hurworth sunk, by mines off Kalymnos. Adrias beached at Gamusluk, Turkey. After temp. repairs sailed to Alexandria where bow was parialy fixed & returned to service
2007 Anuradhapura Sri Lankan Air Force Base Raid
 
Oct 23
42 B.C. 2nd Battle of Phillipi
1086 Battle of Sagrajas
1157 Battle of Grathe Heath
1642 Battle of Edge Hill
1864 Battle of Westport, Mo
1937 Chinese Protected Cruiser Yingrui sunk by dive bombers at Jiangyin
1938 Japan captures Humen, China
1940 Italian sub Foca lost to unkown causes in eastern Med.
1942 2nd Battle of El Alamein begins. Battle of Henderson Field begins. Cruiser HMS Phobe damaged by U-161 off the Congo Estuary. Beached at Pointe Noire, repaired in New York, returned to service.
1943 Cruiser HMS Charybdis is sunk by KM Torpedo Boats T23 and T27, and Destroyer HMS Limbourne is torpedoed by T22 & scuttled by Destroyer HMS Rocket, in Bay of Biscay off Quessant, France. U-274 sunk by 2 R.N. Destroyers and an RAF B-24 s.w. of Iceland
1944 Red Army enters Hungary. Battle of Leyte Gulf begins: Battle of Palawan Passage:Cruiser Atago sunk by Sub USS Darter & Cruiser Maya sunk by sub USS Dace.
KM Patrol ship V-6311 sunk by Soviet aircraft off Syltefjord, Flackship Zick V-5506 sunk by RAF Mosquitos off Bergen. U-985 damaged by mine at Lister and withdrawn from service. Seaplane Tender Kamikawa Maru sunk by USS Sawfish south of Formosa
1972 Operation Linebacker ends
1983 US Marine and French Army Barracks in Beirut blown up with truck bombs
2002 Moscow Theatre Siege begins
 
Oct 24
1812 Battle of Maloyaroslavets
1912 Battle of Kumanovo ends
1917 Battle of Caporetto begins
1940 KM Weather ship Adolf Vinnen sunk by 3 R.N. destroyers
1941 R.N. Trawlers HMS Emilian and Lucienne Jeanne sunk by mines in the Thames Estuary, Wreck of Emilian blown up as a hazard to navigation
1942 U-599 sunk by RAF B-24 n.w. of the Azores.
1943 U-566 damaged by RAF Wellington west of Portugal & scuttled. Destroyer HMS Eclypse sunk by mine off Klymnos
1944 KM Patrol Ship V-6111 sunk by Soviet aircraft off Korsfjord. U-672 sunk after collieding with U-382 and then running aground near Smaaskjar, raised, scrapped after the War. POW ship Arisan Maru sunk by USS Shark with 1781 US & Allied POWs on board, only 9 survived.
Battle of Leyte Gulf: Sub USS Darter runs aground while chasing the IJN Fleet & is scuttled to prevent capture. IJN Destroyer Wakaba sunk by US aircraft west of Panay. Battleship Musashi sunk by aircraft in Luzon Strait. Fleet Tug USS Sonoma sunk by aircraft hit off Dio Island. USS Shark sunk by Destroyer Harakaze in Luzon Strait.
Sub USS Tang sunk by own malfuntioning torpedo off Turnabout Island.
 
Oct 25
1147 Siege of Lisbon ends. Battle of Dorylaeum
1415 Battle of Agincourt
1812 USS United States captures HMS Macedonian
1854 Battle of Balaklava
1864 Battle of Mine Creek, Ks
1939 U-16 sunk by R.N. Trawler HMS Clayton Wyke & Sloop HMS Puffin off Goodwin Sands
1940 R.N. Trawler HMS Lord Inchcape sunk by mine, raised, repaired & returned to service
1941 Italian sub Galileo Ferraris damaged by RAF PBY & sunk by Destroyer HMS Lamerton, or scuttled by her crew west of Gibraltar. Minesweeper HMS Latona sunk by Ju-87s off Tobruk
1942 fleet tug USS Seminole & Patrol Ship YP-284 sunk by IJN Destroyers off Tulagi. IJN Cruiser Yura dameged by US aircraft & scuttled in the Indispencible strait off Guadalcanal
1943 KM E Boats S-63 & S-88 sunk by R.N. MTBs 603 & 607, and S-74 sinks R.N. Trawler HMS William Stephen, all off of Cromer
1944 Destroyer HMCS Skeena wrecked in a storm at Vioey Island, Iceland. KM Minesweeper R-250 sunk by soviet aircraft. Soviets capture KM base at Kirkenes, Norway
Battle of Leyte Gulf: Battle of Surigao Strait: IJN losses: Destroyers Michishio, Yamagumo & Asagumo, Cruiser Mogami, Battleships Fuso & Yamashiro. Battle off Samar: Cruiser Chiyoda, Destroyer Wakaba, Destroyer Escort USS Samuel B Roberts, Destroyers USS Hoel & Johnston, Escort Carrier Gambier Bay. Battle of Cape Engano: Destroyer Hatsuzuki, carrier Zuiho.
Other losses Escort Carrier USS St. Lo, IJN Cruiser Toma & Carrier Zuikaku
1982 UD invades Grenada
 
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Oct 26
1597 naval Battle of Myeongnyang
1813 Battle of Chateauguay
1912 Greece liberates Thessaloniki. Serbia liberates Skopje
1917 Brazil declares War on the Central Powers
1940 1st flight P-51
1941 Fighter Catapult ship HMS Ariguani damaged by U-83. Towed to Gibraltar & layed up, eventually repaired & sold into merchant service
1942 Troopship SS President Coolidge sunk by mines at Espiritu Santo. Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands: Carrier USS Hornet sunk by aircraft. Destroyer USS Porter damaged by torpedo from crashed USN TBF & scuttled. IJN Carrier Shokaku, Cruiser Chikuma heavily damaged.
1944 I-26 sunk by 2 US Destroyer Escorts. KM Minesweeper M-433 bombed/sunk off Leka, Norway. Norwegian Corvette Rose sunk in collision with Frigate HMS Manners east of Prince Edward Island.
Battle of Leyte Gulf ends:US aircraft sinks Cruisers Noshiro & Kinu & Destroyers Uranami & Nowaki.
 
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Oct 27
710 Saracins invade Sardinia
1644 2nd Battle of Newbury
1863 Battle of Brown's Ferry begins
1864 Battle of Boydton Plank Road begins. Lt. Cushing sinks CSS Albemarle using a steam launch armed with a spar torpedo
1870 Siege of Metz ends
1914 Battleship HMS Audacious sunk by mine off of Ireland
1916 Battle of Segale
1940 Free French Forces from Cameroon invade Vichy French held Gabon
1941 Destroyer HMS Cossack, torpedoed on the 23rd by U-563, sinks west of Gibraltar
1942 U-627 sunk by RAF B-17 south of Ireland. R.N. LCT 2281 lost as deck cargo when whaling factory ship Sourabaya is sunk by U-436
1944 U-1060 is attacked by Barracudas & Fireflys from HMS Implacable, plus RAF B-24s, & is then wrecked south of Bronnoysund
1967 Operation Coronado VIII begins
1981 Soviet "Whiskey on the rocks" sub grounding Incident begins with Sweden
 
Oct 28
312 Battle of Milvian Bridge
456 Visigoths sack Braga
1516 Battle of Yaunis Khan
1531 Battle of Amba Sel
1628 Siege of La Rochelle ends (began 9/27)
1664 British Royal Marines est.
1776 Battle of White Plains
1864 Battle of Boydton Plank Road ends
1940 Italy invades Greece. Troopship Empress of Britian sunk by U-32 n.w. of Ireland
1941 KM Flackship V-309 sunk by mine off Ventspils, Latvia
1943 U-220 sunk by aircraft from USS Block Island
1944 Destroyer escort USS Eversole sunk by IJN sub I-46. I-45 sunk by Destroyers USS Gridley & Helm
1962 Cuban Missle Crisis ends
 
Oct 29
969 Siege of Antioch ends
1467 Battle of Brustem
1658 naval Battle of the Sound
1665 Battle of Mbwila
1863 Battle of Brown's Ferry ends
1918 High Seas Fleet Mutiny begins
1941 R.N. Trawler HMS Flotta runs aground off Buchan Ness. Soviet Patrol Boat MO-266 bombed/sunk off Shepelevski Lighthouse, near Leningrad
1942 R.N. LCT-2190, 2192, & 2284 lost as deck cargo when whaling factory ship Kosmos II, damaged by U-606 on the 28th, is sunk by U-624
1943 U-282 sunk by 3 R.N. ships s.e. of Greenland
1944 I-45 sunk by Destroyer Escort USS Whitehurst off Dinagat Island, Philippines
1955 Soviet Battleship Novorossiik sunk by mine at Sevastopol
1956 Arab-Israeli War begins
 
Oct 30
758 Canton, China sacked by Arabs & Persians
1137 Battle of Rignano
1270 Siege of Tunis ends by agreement
1340 Battle of Salado
1806 Stettin surrenders to the French
1864 Gen. Forrest's Cavalry captures Gunboat USS Undine & transports
1918 Ottomans sign armistice with the Allies, ending WWI in the Mid-East
1937 Chinese coast artillery sink 2 IJN ships at Wushan
1939 Ocean Boarding Vessel HMS Northern Rover sunk by U-59 west of the Shetlands
1940 U-32 sunk by Destroyers HMS Harvester & Highlander n.w. of Ireland. R.N. Motor Launch ML 109 sunk by mine in the Humber. Destroyer HMS Sturdy wrecked off Tiree Island, Scotland
1942 British Troopship President Doumer sunk by U-604 north of Madeira. U-559 sunk by 5 R.N. ships in the Med. U-520 sunk by RCAF Douglas Digby light bomber (B-18) east of Newfoundland. U-658 sunk by RCAF Hudson east of Newfoundland
1944 KM Minelayer Zeus bombed/sunk at Thessaloniki
 
Oct 31
1917 Battle of Beersheba
1940 Battle of Britain ends. R.N. MTB 16 sunk by mine off Clecton-on-Sea
1941 Destroyer USS Reuben James sunk by U-552 off Iceland
1943 Soviet Minesweeper SKA-088 sunk by U-24 off Gagra. U-306 sunk by Destroyer HMS Whitehall and Corvette HMS Geranium n.e. of the Azores. U-584 sunk by aircraft from USS Card. U-732 sunk by R.N. Trawler HMS Imperialist & Destroyer HMS Douglas off Tangier
1944 Troopship Bremerhaven sunk by Soviet aircraft north of Gotenhafen. IJN Oceanographic Research ship Kaiyo No. 6 sunk by sub USS Gabilan in the Kii Strait. Soviet Landing Craft SB-2 sunk by U-475 off Osmussaar, Estonia
1956 British & French aircraft begin bombing Egyptian positions
 
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