1 August
1801 – U.S. schooner Enterprise captures Tripolitan ship Tripoli.
1921 – Successful tests of gyroscopic high level bombsight (Norden Bombsight) at Torpedo Station, Yorktown, Va. Carl Norden developed the bombsight for the Bureau of Ordnance.
1946 – Office of Naval Research established.
1950 – Control of Guam transferred to Department of Interior.
1958 – USS Nautilus (SSN 571) submerges under Arctic ice cap near Point Barrow.
2 August
1943 – PT-109, under command of Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy, cut in half by Japanese cruiser Amagiri.
1943 – Naval task groups bombard Japanese forces on Kiska, Alaska.
1950 – Amphibious force ships land Marine First Provisional Brigade at Pusan, Korea, helping to save this last area of South Korea from capture.
1964 – Three North Vietnamese PT boats attack USS Maddox (DD 731) in international waters in Gulf of Tonkin. Maddox sinks one.
3 August
1804 – American Squadron, including USS Constitution, attacks Tripoli.
1812 – Frigate Essex capture British brig Brothers.
1861 – Construction of USS Monitor authorized.
1861 – First manned ascent in a balloon from a ship, gunboat USS Fanny, to observe Confederate artillery position at Hampton Roads, Va.
1942 – Mildred McAffee (Horton) becomes the first woman officer commissioned into the Naval Reserve.
1950 – First Marine Corps aviation mission against North Korea by VMF-214, from USS Sicily (CVE 118).
1950 – First helicopter evacuation in Korea by VMO-6.
1958 – USS Nautilus (SSN 571) is first ship to reach the geographic North Pole while submerged.
1970 – USS James Madison (SSBN 627) conducts first submerged launching of Poseidon nuclear missile off Cape Kennedy.
4 August
1846 – Sailors and Marines from USS Congress capture Santa Barbara.
1858 – First trans-Atlantic cable completed by USS Niagara and British ship Agamemnon.
1944 – 5th Fleet carrier task forces begin air attack against Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands.
1947 – Birthdate of the Medical Service Corps.
1964 – USS Turner Joy (DD 951) and USS Maddox (DD 731) report being attacked by North Vietnamese PT boats in Gulf of Tonkin.
5 August
1832 – Frigate Potomac is first U.S. Navy ship to entertain royalty, King and Queen of Sandwich Islands, Honolulu.
1864 – Rear Admiral David Farragut wins Battle of Mobile Bay, sealing off last Confederate port on Gulf Coast.
1882 – Authorizing of first steel warships, beginning of the modern Navy.
1915 – First air spotting for shore batteries at Fort Monroe, Va.
1921 – Yangtze River Patrol Force established as command under Asiatic Fleet.
1953 – Exchange of prisoners of war of Korean Conflict (Operation Big Switch) begins.
1967 – Operation Coronado III begins in Rung Sat Zone, Vietnam.
1990 – Navy and Marine Task Force — USS Saipan (LHA 2), USS Ponce (LPD 15) and USS Sumter (APA 52) — begin evacuation of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals from Liberia during civil war.
6 August
1862 – CSS Arkansas destroyed by her commanding officer to prevent capture by USS Essex.
1943 – Battle of Vella Gulf begins. U.S. destroyers sink three of four Japanese destroyers.
1945 – Atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima, Japan. Navy weaponeer, Capt. W.S. Parsons, armed the atomic bomb on the B-29 bomber, Enola Gay.
1990 – President George Bush orders Operation Desert Shield, largest overseas deployment since Vietnam, to protect Saudi Arabia after Iraqi’s invasion of Kuwait.
1997 – Naval Forces on Guam help rescue and begin providing medical care to survivors of Korean Airlines Flight 801 that crashed on Guam.
7 August
1782 – Badge of Military Merit (Purple Heart) established.
1942 – Navy Amphibious Task Force lands Marines on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, in first U.S. land offensive of World War II.
1964 – Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress.
8 August
1813 – U.S. Schooners Hamilton and Scourge founder in storm on Lake Ontario.
1959 – Announcement of Project Teepee, electronic system to monitor 95 percent of earth’s atmosphere for missile launchings or nuclear explosions. System developed by William Thaler, Office of Naval Research physicist.
1972 – Women authorized for sea duty as regular ship’s company.
9 August
1815 – Captain Stephen Decatur concludes treaty for the United States with Tripoli.
1842 – Signing of Webster-Ashburton Treaty under which United States and Great Britain agreed to cooperate in suppressing the slave trade.
1865 – Return of Naval Academy to Annapolis after four years at Newport, R.I.
1919 – Construction of rigid airship Shenandoah (ZR 1) is authorized.
1941 – Atlantic Charter Conference is first meeting between President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
1942 – Battle of Savo Island begins; First of many sea battles near Guadalcanal.
1945 – Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Navy weaponeer arms the atomic bomb.
1949 – First use of pilot-ejection seat for emergency escape in U.S. made by Lt. Jack I. Fruin of VF-171 near Walterboro, S.C.
10 August
1916 – First Naval aircraft production contract, for the N-9 “Jenny.”
1921 – General Order establishes the Bureau of Aeronautics under Rear Adm. William Moffett.
1944 – Guam secured by U.S. forces.
1964 – Signing of Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which is used as the starting point of the Vietnam Conflict.
11 August
1812 – USS Constitution captures and destroys brig Lady Warren.
1877 – Professor Asaph Hall of Naval Observatory discovers first of two satellites of Mars. He found the second one within a week.
1921 – Carrier arresting gear first tested at Hampton Roads.
1960 – USNS Longview (T-AGM 3), using Navy helicopters and frogmen, recovers a Discover satellite capsule after 17 orbits. This is first recovery of U.S. satellite from orbit.
12 August
1812 – USS Constitution captures and destroys brig Adeona.
1918 – Secretary of the Navy approves acceptance of women as yeoman in U.S. Navy.
1942 – USS Cleveland (CL 55) demonstrates effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfully destroying three drones with proximity bursts fired by her five-inch guns.
1944 – Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., USNR, the older brother of John F. Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot in a mid-air explosion after taking off from England in a PB-4Y from Special Attack Unit One (SAU-1). Following manual takeoff, they were supposed to parachute out over the English Channel while the radio-controlled explosive filled drone proceeded to attack a German V-2 missile-launching site. Possible causes include faulty wiring or FM signals from a nearby transmitter.
1957 – In first test of Automatic Carrier Landing System, Lt. Cmdr. Don Walker is landed on USS Antietam (CV 36).
1958 – USS Nautilus (SSN 571) arrives at Portland, England, completing first submerged under ice cruise from Pacific to Atlantic oceans.
13 August
1777 – American explosive device made by David Bushnell explodes near British vessel off New London, Conn.
1846 – Joint expedition led by Cmdr. Robert Stockton seizes Los Angeles, Calif.
1870 – Armed tug Palos becomes first U.S. Navy ship to transit Suez Canal.
14 August
1813 – HMS Pelican captures USS Argus.
1886 – Secretary of the Navy establishes Naval Gun Factory at Washington Navy Yard.
1945 – Japan agrees to surrender; last Japanese ships sunk during World War II, Aug. 15.
15 August
1845 – The U.S. Naval Academy is established at Annapolis, Md., on former site of Fort Severn.
1895 – Commissioning of USS Texas, the first American steel-hulled battleship. Texas served off Cuba during the Spanish-American War and took part in the naval battle of Santiago. Under the name of San Marcos, she was sunk in weapon effects tests in Chesapeake Bay in 1911. Her hulk continued in use as a gunnery target through World War II.
1908 – First Navy post offices established in Navy ships.
1944 – Operation Dragoon, Allied invasion of Southern France.
1953 – First naval officer appointed Chairman, Joints Chiefs of Staff, Adm. William Radford.
1958 – USS Lexington (CVA 16) arrives in vicinity of Taiwan during Taiwan Straits crisis.
16 August
1812 – USS Constitution recaptures American merchant brig Adeline.
1954 – Beginning of Operation Passage to Freedom, the transport of refugees from Haiphong to Saigon, Vietnam.
17 August
1812 – Frigate President captures British schooner L’Adeline in North Atlantic.
1942 – Submarines USS Nautilus (SS 168) and USS Argonaut (SS 166) land 222 Marines on Makin Island, first amphibious attack made from submarines.
1959 – Adm. Arleigh Burke re-appointed as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for third two-year term, serving longest term as CNO.
1962 – Navy’s first hydrofoil patrol craft, USS High Point (PCH 1) launched at Seattle, Wash.
18 August
1838 – Exploring Expedition under Lt. Charles Wilkes embarks on world cruise.
1911 – First Navy Nurse Corps superintendent, Esther Voorhees Hasson, appointed.
1965 – First major amphibious assault in Vietnam, Operation Starlight captures 2,000 Viet Cong.
1966 – First ship-to-shore satellite radio message sent from USS Annapolis (AMGR 1) in South China Sea to Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor.
1974 – After flooding in Philippines, Navy helicopters begin six days of operations to rescue people and bring supplies (244 flights).
19 August
1812 – USS Constitution captures HMS Guerriere.
1818 – Captain James Biddle takes possession of Oregon Territory for the United States.
1967 – Operation Coronado IV begins in Mekong Delta.
1981 – Two VF-41 aircraft from USS Nimitz (CVN 68) shoot down two Libyan aircraft which fired on them over international waters.
20 August
1952 – In inter-service air operation at Chang Pyong-ni, Korea, U.S. Navy, Marine and Air Force aircraft destroy 80 percent of assigned area.
1959 – USS Thetis Bay (LPH 6) completes six-day humanitarian operation after floods in Taiwan.
1969 – Navy Seabees and Sailors from Helicopter Training Squadron (HT) 8 evacuated 820 people from Pass Christian, Miss., after Hurricane Camille.
21 August
1800 – U.S. Marine Corps Band gives its first concert in Washington, D.C.
1883 – Installation of the first electric lighting on a U.S. Navy Ship completed on USS Trenton.
1920 – Radio station built by U.S. Navy and French government transmits first wireless message heard around the world. At the time it was the most powerful radio station in the world.
1951 – First contract for nuclear-powered submarine awarded.
1965 – Launch of Gemini 5, piloted by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charles Conrad Jr., who completed 120 orbits in almost eight days at an altitude of 349.8 km. Recovery was by helicopter from USS Lake Champlain (CVS 39).
1980 – USS Truxtun (CGN 35) rescues 42 Vietnamese refugees and USS Merrill (DD 976) rescues 62 Vietnamese refugees, over 200 miles southeast of Saigon.
22 August
1912 – Birthday of the Navy Dental Corps.
1945 – First surrender of Japanese garrison at end of World War II; USS Levy (DE 162) receives surrender of Mille Atoll in Marshall Islands.
1980 – USS Passumpsic (AO 107) rescues 28 Vietnamese refugees.
23 August
1864 – Rear Adm. David Farragut’s squadron captures Fort Morgan at Mobile Bay, winning control of Mobile Bay.
1958 – Massive concentration of Pacific Fleet in Quemoy-Matsu area prevents invasion of islands by China.
1958 – In Taiwan Straits Crisis, units of the 7th Fleet move into Taiwan area to support Taiwan against Chinese Communists.
1963 – The first satellite communications ship, USNS Kingsport (T-AG 164) in Lagos, Nigeria, connected President John F. Kennedy with Nigerian Prime Minister Balewa who was aboard for the first satellite (Syncom II) relayed telephone conversation between heads of state.
24 August
1814 – British invasion of Maryland and Washington, D.C.; Washington Navy Yard and ships burned to prevent capture by the British.
1912 – Launching of USS Jupiter (AC 3), first electrically-propelled Navy ship.
1942 – U.S. carrier aircraft begin two-day Battle of Eastern Solomons where a Japanese task force is defeated and one Japanese carrier sunk. Japanese recall expedition to recapture Guadalcanal.
1960 – USS Bexar (APA 237) deploys to Pangahan Province in response to emergency request for aid from the Province’s governor.
25 August
1843 – Steam frigate Missouri arrives at Gibralter completing first trans-Atlantic crossing by a U.S. steam-powered ship.
1942 – Five Navy nurses who became POWs on Guam are repatriated.
1951 – Twenty-three fighters from USS Essex (CV 9) escort Air Force heavy bombers attacking Najin, Korea, since target was beyond range of land-based fighters.
26 August
1775 – Rhode Island Resolve: Rhode Island delegates to Continental Congress press for creation of Continental Navy to protect the colonies
1839 – Brig Washington seizes Spanish slaver, Amistad, near Montauk Point, N.Y.
1861 – Union amphibious force lands near Hatteras, N.C.
1865 – Civil War ends with naval strength of more than 58,500 men and 600 ships.
27 August
1917 – Squadron of minesweepers departs United States for service off France.
1944 – USS Stingray (SS 186) lands men and supplies on Luzon, Philippines, to support guerilla operations against the Japanese.
1945 – Pacific Fleet ships enter Sagami Bay, near Tokyo, Japan.
1959 – Off Cape Canaveral, Fla., USS Observation Island (EAG 154) makes first shipboard launching of a Polaris missile.
28 August
1867 – Captain William Reynolds of Lackawanna raises U.S. flag over Midway Island and took formal possession of these islands for the United States.
1942 – One hundred twenty women, each commissioned directly as an ensign or lieutenant j.g., reported to “USS Northampton,” Smith College for training.
1952 – Units on USS Boxer (CV 21) launch explosive-filled drone which explodes against railroad bridge near Hungnam, Korea. First guided missile launched from ship during Korean Conflict.
1965 – Commander Scott Carpenter and nine aquanauts enter SeaLab II, 205 ft. below Southern California’s waters to conduct underwater living and working tests.
1991 – A helicopter from USS America (CV 66) rescues three civilian sailors who spent 10 days in a lifeboat 80 miles off Capt May, N.J., after their sailboat capsized.
1992 – Navy and Marine forces begin providing disaster relief after Typhoon Omar hit Guam.
1992 – Marines and Army forces begin providing disaster relief in Florida after Hurricane Andrew.
29 August
1861 – U.S. squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, N.C.
1862 – Union gunboat Pittsburgh supports Army troops in landing at Eunice, Arkansas.
1915 – Navy salvage divers raise F-4, first U.S. submarine sunk in accident.
1916 – Congress passes act for expansion of Navy but most ships not completed until after World War I.
1964 – USS Boxer (LPD 4) and two LSDs arrive off coast of Hispaniola to give medical aid to Haiti and Dominican Republic, which were badly damaged by Hurricane Cleo.
30 August
1913 – Navy tests Sperry gyroscopic stabilizer (automatic pilot).
1929 – Near New London, Conn., 26 officers and men test Momsen lung to exit submerged USS S-4.
1961 – Two Cuban frigates fire on a Naval Reserve aircraft on a training mission over international waters.
31 August
1842 – Congress replaces the Board of Navy Commissioners, a group of senior officers who oversaw naval technical affairs, with the five technical bureaus, ancestors of the Systems Commands. One of the 1842 bureaus, the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, continues to serve under its original name.
1943 – Commissioning of USS Harmon (DE 678), first Navy ship named for an African-American Sailor.
1944 – Carrier task group begins three-day attack on Iwo Jima and Bonin Islands.
1962 – Last flight of a Navy airship made at NAS Lakehurst, N.J.