John Currin
15 years in Royal New Zealand Navy
U.S. Carriers Reagan and Roosevelt Join Pacific Valiant Shield 2024 Drills
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) transits the South China Sea in support of Valiant Shield 2024, June 7, 2024. US Navy Photo
DZIRHAN MAHADZIR JUNE 10, 2024 3:22 PM
The Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Groups conducted separate group sails on Friday in the South China Sea and Philippine Sea with partner nations to kick off the Valiant Shield 2024 exercise. Meanwhile, also on Friday, the Netherlands Defence Ministry accused Chinese attack aircraft and an attack helicopter of harassing a Royal Netherlands Navy helicopter operating from a frigate in the East China Sea monitoring North Korea for UN maritime sanctions violations.
In the Philippine Sea on Friday, carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), together with U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19), cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62), destroyers USS Higgins (DDG-76) and USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) joined Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer helicopter carrier JS Izumo (DDH-183), destroyer JS Haguro (DDG-180) and submarine JS Jingei (SS-515) and to carry out a formation sailing event. Jingei is Japan’s newest submarine, having been commissioned on Mar. 8 this year. Four F/A-18 Super Hornets from Carrier Air Wing 5 embarked on Reagan and U.S. Air Force aircraft consisting of two B-1 Lancer bombers, four F-22 Raptor fighters, four F-16 Falcon fighters, one RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and one KC-46 Pegasus tanker, and Japan Air Self-Defense Force aircraft comprising of two F-2 fighters and two F-15 Eagles also conducted a flyover.
A Navy release stated that the formation sailing and flyover was part of the biennial Valiant Shield exercise and that, for the first time in its history, multinational, joint field training exercise focused on integration between U.S. and allied forces. “Over the coming days, our joint and combined forces will continue to hone our tactics and precise execution of those tactics to increase interoperability and lethality. This exercise expresses the full spectrum of capabilities we can bring to bear in our commitment to global peace and stability,” said Rear Adm. Greg Newkirk, commander, CSG 5 in the release.
In the South China Sea, carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), destroyers USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118), USS Halsey (DDG-97) and USS Russell (DDG-59) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49), together with French Navy frigate FS Bretagne (D655) and Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montreal (FFH 336) conducted a transit in support of Valiant Shield 2024 stated a DVIDS photo release.
Bretagne is making its way to Hawaii to take part in the Rim of the Pacific 2024 (RIMPAC2024) exercise from June 26 to Aug. 2. Montreal is on deployment in the Indo-Pacific as part of Operation Horizon, Canada’s ongoing forward-presence mission to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
On Friday as well, the Netherlands Defence Ministry issued a release stating that earlier that day, in the East China Sea, two Chinese warplanes circled Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS Tromp (F803) several times, and during a patrol, the frigate’s embarked NH90 helicopter was approached by two Chinese fighter aircraft and a helicopter. “This created a potentially unsafe situation. The incident occurred in international airspace,” stated the release.
The Netherlands Defence Ministry also released photos on social media channel X, taken from the deck of the frigate, showing a JH-7 attack aircraft and Z-19 helicopter flying nearby.
Tromp was conducting patrols in the East China Sea in support of a U.N. multinational force overseeing the enforcement of maritime sanctions against North Korea as defined by U.N. Security Council resolutions, according to the release. A Japan Ministry of Defense release stated that Tromp carried out monitoring and surveillance activities from late May to early June and that this was the first time the Netherlands had conducted such activities. The frigate is on a deployment to the Indo-Pacific, called Pacific Archer 24, which will see it taking part in RIMPAC before heading home via the Panama Canal and the Atlantic Ocean.
Tromp on Sunday carried out the first ever bilateral exercise between the Royal Netherlands Navy and the JMSDF, drilling with destroyer JS Akebono (DD-108) with the two ships conducting tactical maneuvering and linking exercises in the waters west of the main island of Kyushu, according to a JMSDF release. Following the drills, Tromp docked into Nagasaki on Monday for a port visit.
Chinese warships and military aircraft have on several occasions harassed ships and embarked helicopters along with maritime patrol aircraft carrying out the surveillance and monitoring missions on North Korea, claiming such missions were cover for surveillance on China and its military and the action it takes are lawful and legitimate.
The most recent incident since Friday was on May 4, when a People’s Liberation Army Air Force fighter jet dropped flares in front of a Royal Australian Navy MH-60R over the Yellow Sea. The MH-60R was embarked on destroyer HMAS Hobart (DDG39), which was undertaking routine activities as part of Operation Argos – Australia’s contribution to the international effort to enforce UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea. China’s Ministry of National Defense counterclaimed that Hobart dispatched its helicopter on three occasions to conduct surveillance and “nuisance activities” on People’s Liberation Army Navy ships training nearby.
China so far has not issued any official statement on Friday’s incident as both the defense and foreign ministries do not conduct press response over the weekend and Monday is a public holiday in China.
How a WW1 German U-boat became a tourist attraction on a British beachfront
Laura Skitt 11th June 2024 at 9:40am
A metallic beast described at the time as a “helpless, yet sinister monster” caused a stir on Hastings beachfront in 1919 – but it wasn’t a living being capturing the attention of onlookers.
It was U-118, a 267ft-long mine-laying U-boat of the Imperial Germany Navy that was stranded on its side on the sand in front of the Queen’s Hotel like a beached whale.
After the First World War, two captured U-boats – U-118 and UB-121 – were being towed for scrapping through stormy weather by the French destroyer Francis Garnier from Harwich in Essex to Brest, the westernmost port of France.
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In the early hours of 15 April 1919, U-118’s dragging hawser was damaged in the storm and the submarine broke free in the English Channel, leading to it stranding at high tide just yards away from Hastings’ beachfront houses.
Commissioned on 8 May 1918, the U-boat was responsible for sinking the British steamer Wellington on 16 September 1918 and British tanker Arca on 2 October 1918.
UB-121 was later found stranded at Birling Gap, a coastal hamlet found between Seven Sisters and Beachy Head.
Articles and images from the time show how following its abrupt arrival U-118 became a popular tourist attraction, with thousands of people from across the country visiting Hastings to see it during the Easter holidays.
The Hastings and St Leonards Observer reported on the event on 19 May, saying: “The news soon spread and, on Tuesday morning, people on their way to business turned aside to look at the curiosity.
“It was then high and dry and a tour inspection was possible.
“The wind was blowing very strongly and the sea was high.
“As the morning advanced and the tide came in, the craft was buffeted tremendously.
“The boat appeared a helpless yet sinister monster as it rolled in the surf only a few yards from the promenade at Harold Place.
“There were thousands of spectators during the day.”
Welcoming home the troops
News of the astonishing sight was also reported in newspapers such as the Dundee Evening Telegraph, the Yorkshire Evening Post, the Belfast Telegraph and the Western Mail.
At that time, most people were not familiar with submarines, so the stranded U-boat became an intriguing and fascinating thing for many to see up close.
Attempts to refloat it failed and it was too close to the public beach and Queen’s Hotel to break it up using explosives.
The Admiralty gave the town permission to charge people for exploring the submarine to raise funds for a welcome home event for soldiers returning from the First World War.
It was reported by the Hastings and St Leonards Observer on 10 May 1919 that £273 (£11,776 in 2024) had been raised for the welcome home fund.
Tragedy strikes
For a couple of weeks, excited visitors to the U-boat were guided around the inside of the vessel by Chief Boatman William Heard and Chief Officer W Moore, two members of the coastguard.
However, when these men became gravely ill, the visits were stopped at once.
Authorities initially believed spending so much time in poorly ventilated areas containing the rotting food that remained on board was the cause of the men’s illness.
Tragically, Chief Officer Moore died in December 1919, while Chief Boatman Heard died in February 1920.
It was revealed at the inquest into their untimely deaths that a toxic gas released from the submarine’s damaged batteries had caused deadly abscesses on the men’s lungs and brains.
What next for the submarine?
When locals and visitors to Hastings could no longer enjoy a tour around the U-boat, some began to call for the vessel to be salvaged for profit.
Local resident H P White’s suggestion for the future of the U-boat was published in the Hastings and St Leonards Observer, saying: “Surely the Admiralty would have no objection to Hastings taking care of their old submarine and I do not think it beyond the range of possibility that it might be hauled further up the beach, put on an even keel, painted up and made a unique attraction to visitors.
“And if it were kept in decent repair a charge might be made for a visit to the interior and the funds devoted to the lifeboat or some similar society.”
https://youtube.com/watch?v=U_Hz_PP6ggw%3Fenablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.forces.net
The Hastings and St Leonards Observer reported on 17 May 1919 that a decision had been made about the fate of the stranded vessel, saying: “On the motion of Alderman Tree, it was agreed that the Town Clerk apply to the Admiralty to present to the town the gun of the German submarine which is to be sold and broken up.”
Therefore, U-118’s impromptu visit to the seaside town of Hastings didn’t last long as, on 21 May 1919, the wreck was sold to James Dredging Co for £2,200 (£94,899 in 2024) and broken up on the beach.
The deck gun was left behind but eventually removed in 1921.
Although Hastings Council reportedly removed the keel in 1937, it is believed a portion of the ship’s keel is still buried deep beneath the sand.
Hastings Museum & Art Gallery has in its archives a solid iron ballast block and part of a speaking tube from the U-boat is on display.