User:Navy Smart/01 17
Appearance
- 1863 - Union iron-clad gunboat USS Baron de Kalb, with tinclad gunboats Forest Rose and Romeo, along with an Army transport, clear out Confederate strong holds up White River to Des Arc, Ark.
- 1899 - Gunboat USS Bennington, commanded by Cmdr. E.D. Taussig, claims Wake Island for the United States, giving the U.S. a cable route between Honolulu and Manila, a factor that influences territorial demands in the Pacific.
- 1943 - Submarine USS Whale (SS 239) sinks the Japanese transport Heiyo Maru.
- 1943 - Light aircraft carrier USS Cowpens (CV-25) is launched. Redesignated CVL 25 six months later, she serves in the Pacific during World War II.
- 1944 - Dauntless SBD scout planes and Avenger TBF torpedo bombers bomb Japanese shipping at Rabaul and sank three ships, damaging a third.