Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 10, 1897 In southeastern Norway, a sailing ship built at the Prosgrund Baatbyggeri shipyard in the municipality of Porsgrunn was launched. (At this time, the present-day kingdom of Norway was part of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.) The ship was named after the wyvern, a mythical winged reptile that resembles a dragon... Continue Reading →
July 6, 2012 The ship HNLMS Holland (P840) was commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN). This ship was the first one of RNLN’s Holland-class offshore patrol vessels to go into service. HNLMS Holland in fact carried out her first official mission about three-and-months before being commissioned. This unique mission involved a mirror that the... Continue Reading →
June 16, 1941 About six months before the United States officially entered World War II on the side of the Allies, the schooner Bowdoin was commissioned into the U.S. Navy. USS Bowdoin (IX-50) became one of this military branch’s few sail-powered vessels at the time. Bowdoin was placed under the command of USNR (U.S. Navy... Continue Reading →
June 8, 1945 With World War II still underway in the Pacific Theater, the ship Francis J. O’Gara was launched at the shipyard of J.A. Jones Construction Company in Panama City, Florida. This vessel was one of more than 2,700 Liberty ships built in the United States during the war. These standardized cargo vessels were... Continue Reading →
May 14, 1917 Just a little over a month after the United States entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers, the U.S. Navy acquired the private yacht Sybilla III for use as a section patrol craft in the fight against the Central Powers. On the same day that she was acquired... Continue Reading →
May 7, 1910 The steamship SS Ste. Claire was launched at the yards of the Toledo Shipbuilding Company along Lake Erie. The vessel was built by that company for the Detroit, Belle Isle, & Windsor Ferry Company (DBI&W), which had been established in 1881. DBI&W used its fleet of vessels to transport tourists and commuters... Continue Reading →
April 10, 1926 The motor yacht Siele launched at the Pusey and Jones Corporation’s shipyard in Wilmington, Delaware. This vessel was designed by naval architect B.T. Dobson and built by Pusey and Jones for Detroit-area resident and banker John H. French (1881-1952). At the time, he was serving as both president of the French Investment... Continue Reading →
March 10, 1906 SS Viper was launched at the shipyard of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (widely known as Fairfields) in the Scottish burgh of Govan. (Six years later, Govan was annexed as part of the city of Glasgow.) This steel, triple-screw, turbine-driven was built at Govan by Fairfields for use by the maritime transportation... Continue Reading →
February 26, 2021 A little over a month after being launched, the expeditionary survey boat HNLMS Hydrograaf (H8021) was commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy. This commissioning was carried out via video call by Barbara Visser (born in 1977), who became the Dutch government’s state secretary for defense in October 2017 and served in this... Continue Reading →
February 23. 1984 On the Australian island state of Tasmania, the Bowen Bridge in the city of Hobart was dedicated. This 3,202-foot (976-meter)-long segmental cantilever bridge carries Goodwood Road (Route B35) across the River Derwent. The Bowen Bridge serves a key link for motor vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists traveling between the eastern and western areas... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 