Dates in Naval History: FebruaryReturn to Naval Historical Center home page. Return to Dates in Naval History page DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER 805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060 Dates in American Naval History: February February 1 1941 - United States Fleet reorganized, reviving Atlantic and Pacific Fleets 1942 - USS Enterprise and Yorktown make first WW II air strike, Japanese Marshall Islands 1955 - Operation Deep Freeze, a research task force, established in Antarctic February 2 1800 - USS Constellation (CAPT Thomas Truxtun) captures la Vengeance 1862 - USS Hartford, Capt David G. Farragut, departs Hampton Roads for Mississippi River campaign February 3 1801 - Senate approves peace treaty with France ending undeclared naval war that began 1798 1917 - US severs diplomatic relations with Germany February 4 1779 - John Paul Jones takes command of Bonhomme Richard 1959 - Keel laying of USS Enterprise, first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, Newport News, VA February 5 1854 - Dedication of first chapel built on Navy property, Annapolis, MD 1941 - Chief Nurse Marion B. Olds and Nurse Leona Jackson, Navy, arrive on Guam. 1971 - Moonwalk by CAPT Alan B. Shepherd, Jr. USN, Commander of Apollo 14 and CDR Edgar D. Mitchell, USN Lunar Module Pilot. During the 9 day mission, 94 lbs of lunar material was collected and Shepard became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. Recovery was by helicopter from USS New Orleans (LPH-11). February 6 1862 - Union gunboat squadron captures Fort Henry, Tennessee River 1922 - World powers sign the Washington Naval Treaty providing for limitation of naval armament 1973 - Operation End Sweep mine clearing begins off North Vietnam February 7 1800 - USS Essex becomes first U.S. Navy vessel to cross the Equator. 1815 - The Board of Naval Commissioners, a group of senior officers, is established to oversee the operation and maintenance of the Navy, under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy. 1955 - Seventh Fleet ships begin evacuation of Chinese nationalists from Tachen Islands 1965 - In response to a Viet Cong attack on barracks area at Pleiku, South Vietnam, aircraft from carriers, USS Coral Sea, USS Hancock, and USS Ranger attack North Vietnamese area near Donghoi. February 8 1862 - Joint amphibious force capture Roanoke Island, key to Albemarle Sound 1890 - USS Omaha sailors and marines assist Hodogary, Japan in subduing large fire February 9 1799 - USS Constellation (CAPT Truxtun) captures French l'Insurgente 1943 - Organized Japanese resistance on Guadalcanal ends February 10 1862 - Union gunboats destroy Confederate ships at Elizabeth City, NC 1900 - Appointment of first naval governor of Guam, Commodore Seaton Schroder 1960 - USS Sargo (SSN-583) surfaces at North Pole February 11 1862 - SecNav directs formation of organization to evaluate new inventions and technical development which eventually led to National Academy of Science. 1971 - U.S. and USSR sign a treaty prohibiting the deployment of nuclear weapons on the ocean floor. February 12 1945 - USS Batfish (SS-310) sinks second Japanese submarine within three days 1947 - First launching of guided missile (Loon) from a submarine, USS Cusk February 13 1854 - Admiral Perry anchors off Yokosuka, Japan to receive Emperor's reply to treaty proposal 1913 - Naval Radio Station, Arlington, VA begins operations 1945 - First naval units enter Manila Bay since 1942 1968 - Operation Coronado XI begins in Mekong Delta February 14 1778 - John Paul Jones in Ranger receives first official salute to U.S. Stars and Strips flag by European country, at Quiberon, France. 1813 - Essex becomes first U.S. warship to round Cape Horn and enter the Pacific Ocean 1814 - USS Constitution captures British Lovely Ann and Pictou 1840 - Officers from USS Vincennes make first landing in Antarctica on floating ice February 15 1856 - USS Supply, commanded by LT David Dixon Porter, sails from Smyrna, Syria, bound for Indianola, Texas, with a load of 21 camels intended for experimental use in the American desert west of the Rockies. 1898 - U.S. battleship Maine blows up in Havana Harbor. February 16 1804 - Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, with volunteers from frigate Constitution and schooner Enterprise, enters Tripoli harbor by night in the ketch Intrepid to burn the captured frigate Philadelphia. Decatur's raid succeeds without American losses. England's Lord Nelson calls this "the most daring act of the age." 1815 - USS Constitution captures British Susannah 1967 - Operation River Raider begins in Mekong Delta February 17 1864 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sinks USS Housatonic 1942 - First Construction Battalion (Seabees) arrive Bora Bora 1944 - Carrier aircraft strike Japanese fleet at Truk, sinking ships and destroying aircraft February 18 1846 - General order on Port and Starboard 1944 - Amphibious Force under RADM Hill lands troops on Engebi Island, Eniwetok 1955 - 1st of 14 detonations, Operation Teapot nuclear test February 19 1814 - USS Constitution captures British brig Catherine 1945 - Marines with naval gunfire support land on Iwo Jima; island secured 16 March. February 20 1815 - USS Constitution, under Captain Charles Stewart, captures HMS Cyane and sloop-of-war Levant 1962 - LCOL John Glenn,USMC becomes first American to orbit Earth. His flight in Friendship 7 (Mercury 6) consisted of 3 orbits in 88 minutes at a velocity of 17,544 mph with the highest altitude of 162.2 statute miles. Recovery was by USS Noa (DD-841). 1962 - USS Dixie (AD-14) rescues lone crewman aboard a sailing yawl adrift for four days. 1974 - S-3A Viking ASW aircraft (carrier jet) introduced officially, given to VS-41. February 21 1944 - Marines with support of naval bombardment and carrier aircraft secure Eniwetok atoll February 22 1865 - RADM Porter's gunboats' bombardment cause surrender of Wilmington, NC . 1870 - After arriving on USS Nipsic, and supported by USS Guard and USS Nyack, the Darien Expedition, commanded by CDR Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., begins active operations ashore at Caldonia Bay to survery the Isthmus of Darien, Panama, for an interoceanic ship canal. 1909 - Great White Fleet returns from round the world cruise to Hampton Roads, VA 1943 - USS Iowa (BB-61), the lead ship of the last class of American fast battleships, is commissioned. 1974 - LTJG Barbara Ann Allen becomes first Navy designated female aviator February 23 1795 - U.S. Navy Office of Purveyor of Supplies is established. This is the Navy Supply Corps Birthday. 1919 - Launching of Osmond Ingram (DD-255), first Navy ship named for an enlisted man 1944 - Carrier groups under Spruance attack Saipan, Tinian and Rota in the Marianas 1945 - Marines and a Navy corpsman raise flag on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima February 24 1813 - USS Hornet, Captain James Lawrence, captures HMS Peacock 1968 - Task Force Clearwater established in I Corps 1973 - In accordance with the Paris Accords, Navy Task Force 78, composed of 4 ocean minesweepers plus Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 12, begins sweeping the North Vietnamese waters of the mines laid in 1972. February 25 1861 - Saratoga, member of U.S. African Squadron, captures slaver sloop Express 1933 - Commissioning of USS Ranger, first true aircraft carrier 1959 - USS Galveston fires first Talos surface-to-air missile February 26 1811 - Congress authorizes first naval hospital 1913 - Approval of experimental wind tunnel for Navy 1944 - Sue Sophia Dauser, Superintendent of the Navy's Nurse Corps is first woman in Navy to receive rank of Captain. February 27 1942 - Battle of the Java Sea, Allied Naval Force attacks Japanese invasion convoy February 28 1844 - Explosion of Peacemaker, experimental 14 inch gun, on board USS Princeton. 1893 - Launching of USS Indiana (BB-1), first true battleship in U.S. Navy. 1959 - USS Strong rescues 13 Arab fishermen from Bahrain when their fishing boats floundered in a storm. 1980 - Blue crew of USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657) launches 4 Trident I (C-4) missiles in first C-4 Operational Test. More Dates in Naval History JanuaryFebruaryMarchApril MayJuneJulyAugust SeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember Return to Naval Historical Center home page 19 February 2003