This Day in Naval History - Dec. 04
Story Number: NNS011210-07
Release Date: 12/10/2001 5:23:00 PM
From the Navy News Service
1918 - President Woodrow Wilson sails in USS George Washington for Paris Peace Conference.
1943 - Aircraft from USS Lexington (CV 16) and USS Independence (CVL 22) attack Kwajalein Atoll, sinking four Japanese ships and damaging five others while only three U.S. ships suffered damage.
1944 - USS Flasher (SS 249) sinks Japanese destroyer Kishinami and damages a merchant ship in the South China Sea. Flasher is only U.S. submarine to sink over 100,000 tons of enemy shipping in World War II.
1965 - Gemini 7, piloted by Cmdr. James A. Lovell, is launched. This flight consisted of 206 orbits at an altitude of 327 km, lasting 13 days and 18 hours. HS-11 helicopters from USS Wasp (CVS 18) lead the recovery efforts.
1983 - Aircraft from USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) and USS Independence (CV 62) strike against the anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon that fired on U.S. aircraft Dec. 3. Two U.S. Navy planes are shot down in the strike.
For more information about Naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at www.history.navy.mil.