U.S. Army Commanding General, Western Task Force Major Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. (left) and U.S. Navy Commander Western Naval Task Force Rear Adm. H. Kent Hewitt, (center) share a light moment on board USS Augusta (CA-31), off Morocco during the Operation “Torch“ landings. On Nov. 8, 1942 American forces landed at Casablanca. French naval forces attacked U.S. Navy ships and 13 French ships were sunk without a loss to the U.S.
Nov. 5
1775 - Commodore Esek Hopkins appointed to Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy.
1915 - In AB-2 flying boat, Lt. Cmdr. Henry C. Mustin makes first underway catapult launch from a ship, USS North Carolina, at Pensacola Bay, Fla.
1917 - German submarine torpedoes USS Alcedo off French coast.
1923 - Tests designed to prove the feasibility of launching a small seaplane from a submarine occur at Hampton Roads Naval Base. A Martin MS-1, stored disassembled in a tank on board USS S-1, was removed and assembled. Then the submarine submerged allowing the plane to float free and take off.
1944 - TF 38 (Vice Adm. John S. McCain) begins two days of carrier strikes on Luzon, Philippines.
1945 - Ensign Jake C. West (VF-41) makes first jet landing on board a carrier, USS Wake Island (CVE-65).
Nov. 6
1851 - U.S. Navy expedition under command of Lt. William Lewis Herndon, on a mission to explore the valley of the Amazon and its tributaries, reaches Iquitos in the jungle region of the upper Amazon after their departure from Lima, Peru.
1941 - On Neutrality Patrol, USS Omaha (CL-4) and USS Somers (DD-381) intercept the German blockade runner Odenwald disguised as a U.S. freighter, board her after the German crew abandoned the ship, and brought the ship to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the boarding party was awarded salvage shares.
1942 - First officer and enlisted women from training schools report for shore duty around the U.S.A.
1951 - Soviet aircraft shoot at Neptune Patrol bomber (VP-6) on weather reconnaissance mission near Siberia. U.S. aircraft fails to return.
1967 - Helicopter from USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) rescues 37-man crew of Liberian freighter Royal Fortunes aground on reef in Tonkin Gulf.
Nov. 7
1861 - Naval forces under Rear Admiral Samuel F. DuPont capture Port Royal Sound, S.C.
1881 - Naval Advisory Board submits report recommending the new ships in U.S. Navy be constructed of steel instead of iron.
1973 - War Powers Resolution becomes law.
Nov. 8
1861 – Capt. Charles Wilkes seizes two Confederate diplomats from the British steamer Trent, causing an international controversy with Great Britain (known as the Trent Affair).
1942 - Operation Torch (Allied landings in French Northwest Africa). American forces land at Casablanca. French naval forces attack U.S. Navy ships and 13 French ships are sunk without a loss to the U.S.
1956 - Navy Stratolab balloon (Lt. Cmdr.s Malcolm D. Ross and M. Lee Lewis) better world height record soaring to 76,000 feet over Black Hills, S.D., on flight to gather meteorological, cosmic ray, and other scientific data.
1975 - Over 100 Sailors and Marines from USS Inchon (LPH-12) and USS Bagley (DE-1069) fight a fire aboard a Spanish merchant vessel at Palma.
Nov. 9
1921 - USS Olympia arrives at the Washington Navy Yard from France carrying the body of the Unknown Soldier for internment at Arlington National Cemetery.
1950 - Task Force 77 makes first attack on the Yalu River bridges. In first engagement between MIG-15 and F9F jets (USS Philippine Sea), Lt.Cmdr.. William T. Amen (VF-111) shoots down a MIG and becomes first Navy pilot to shoot down a jet aircraft.
1956 - Secretary of the Navy proposes the Polaris missile program to the Secretary of Defense.
Nov. 10
1775 - Congress votes to raise two battalions of Continental Marines, establishing the Marine Corps.
1941 - U.S. escorted convoy WS 12, carrying 20,000 British troops to Singapore, sails from Halifax
Nov. 11
1870 - Navy expedition to explore the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, southern Mexico, commanded by Capt. Robert W. Shufeldt, enters the Coatzacoalcos River to begin a survey for possible interoceanic canal. Support provided by USS Kansas and USS Mayflower.
1918 - Armistice ends World War I.
1920 - Lenah S. Higbee becomes the first woman to be awarded the Navy Cross. It was awarded for her World War I service.
1921 - Washington Naval Conference begins.
1943 - Two Carrier Task Forces strike Japanese shipping at Rabaul, sinking one carrier and damaging other ships. Raid was first use of SB2C Curtiss Helldivers in combat.
1954 – Nov. 11 designated as Veterans Day to honor veterans of all U.S. wars
1966 - Launch of Gemini 12, with Cmdr. James A. Lovell, Jr., USN the command pilot. Mission lasted three days, 22 hours and 34 minutes and included 59 orbits at an altitude of 162.7 nautical miles. Recovery by HS-11 helicopter from USS Wasp (CVS-18).
1981 - Commissioning of first Trident-class Nuclear Powered Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine, USS Ohio (SSBN-726).
Nov. 12
1912 – Lt. Theodore Ellyson makes first successful launching of an airplane (A-3) by catapult at the Washington Navy Yard.
1940 – Chief of Naval Operations Adm.Stark submits memorandum to Secretary of the Navy on four plans if U.S. enters war. He favors the fourth one, Plan Dog, calling for strong offensive in the Atlantic and defense in the Pacific.
1942 - First day of the three days of fighting in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
1943 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt embarks on USS Iowa (BB-61) to go to the Allied conferences at Teheran, Iran, and Cairo, Egypt.
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