This Day In Naval History: August 1

 

1849 - Pope Pius IX and King Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies, briefly visit USS Constitution and marks the first time that a Roman Catholic pope steps foot on American territory.

 

1921 - A high-altitude bombsight, mounted on a gyroscopically stabilized base was successfully tested at Torpedo Station, Yorktown, Va. This test was the first phase of Carl L. Nordens development of an effective high-altitude bombsight, which became known as the Norden Bombsight.

 

1944 - PBY aircraft attacked Japanese convoy, sink ammunition ship, Seia Maru, in Taliaboe Bay, Soela Island. Also on this date, USS Puffer (SS 268) damages Japanese oiler, Sunosaki, northeast of Borneo.

 

1946 - President Harry S. Truman approves legislation establishing the Office of Naval Research (ONR), charging ONR to "...plan, foster and encourage scientific research in recognition of its paramount importance as related to the maintenance of future naval power, and the preservation of national security..."

 

1952 - During the Korean War, USS Carmick (DMS 33) is fired on by enemy shore guns in the vicinity of Songjin lighthouse. Returning fire, Carmicks battery fire silences the guns.

 

1961 - Adm. George W. Anderson, Jr., takes office as the 16th Chief of Naval Operations, serving until Aug. 1, 1963. During Adm. Anderson's tenure as CNO, he oversaw the U.S. Navy's quarantine of Cuba, thus enabling the Kennedy administration to compel the Soviet Union to remove its nuclear weapons from the island.