1 July
1797 – Naval Regulations passed by Congress.
1800 – First convoy duty; USS Essex escorts convoy of merchant ships from East Indies to U.S.
1801 – U.S. squadron under Commodore Dale enters Mediterranean to strike Barbary Pirates.
1850 – Naval School at Annapolis renamed Naval Academy.
1851 – Naval Academy adopts four year course of study.
1911 – Trial of first Navy aircraft, Curtiss A-1. The designer, Glenn Curtiss, makes first flight in Navy’s first aircraft, A-1, at Lake Keuka, N.Y., then prepares Lt. Theodore G. Ellyson, the first naval aviator, for his two solo flights in A-1.
1914 – Prohibition of alcohol begins in the Navy.
1916 – Establishment of informal school for officers assigned to submarines at New London, Conn.
1946 – First of two detonations, Operation Crossroads nuclear test.
1951 – Responsibility for the Government of Trust Territories transferred from Navy to Department of Interior.
1972 – Date of rank of Rear Admiral Samuel Lee Gravely Jr., who was first U.S. Navy admiral of African-American descent.
2 July
1923 – Commissioning of Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
1926 – Distinguished Flying Cross authorized by Congress.
1937 – Amelia Earhart disappears in Pacific. Navy conducts extensive unsuccessful search.
1945 – USS Barb (SS 220) bombards Japanese installations on Kaihyo Island, Japan; first successful use of rockets against shore positions.
1946 – Establishment of VX-3 to evaluate adaptability of helicopters to naval purposes.
1950 – USS Juneau (CLAA 119) and two British ships sink five of six attacking North Korean torpedo boats and gunboats.
1967 – During Operation Bear Claw, 7th Fleet Amphibious Force conducts helicopter assault 12 miles inland at Con Thien.
3 July
1785 – Order received to sell last ship remaining in Continental Navy, frigate Alliance. No other Navy were ships authorized until 1794.
1898 – Collier Merrimac sunk in channel leading to Santiago, Cuba in unsuccessful attempt to trap Spanish fleet. The crew was captured and later received the Medal of Honor.
1949 – Wesley A. Brown becomes the first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.
1966 – Launch of Gemini 9, piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Eugene A. Cernan. The mission included 45 orbits over three days. Recovery was by USS Wasp (CVS 18).
4 July
1776 – American colonies declare their independence from Great Britain.
1777 – John Paul Jones hoists first Stars and Stripes flag on Ranger at Portsmouth, N.H.
1801 – First Presidential Review of U.S. Marine Band and Marines at the White House.
1831 – U.S. concludes indemnity treaty with France.
1842 – First test of electrically operated underwater torpedo sinks gunboat Boxer.
1863 – Confederates surrender of Vicksburg, Miss., gives Union control of Mississippi River.
5 July
1814 – Sloop-of-war Peacock captures British Stranger, Venus, Adiona and Fortitude.
1815 – Commodore Stephen Decatur’s squadron arrives at Tripoli to collect reparations for seizure of American merchant ships in violation of Treaty of 1805.
6 July
1747 – Birth of John Paul Jones at Arbigland, Scotland.
1898 – Armed Auxiliary Dixie captures Spanish Three Bells, Pilgrim and Greeman Castle.
1908 – Cmdr. Robert Peary sails in Roosevelt from New York to explore Arctic.
1911 – First naval aviation base established at Annapolis, Md.
1920 – Test and first use of radio compass in aircraft off Norfolk, Va.
1943 – Night Battle of Kula Gulf results in loss of two Japanese destroyers and USS Helena (CL 50).
1976 – First women enter U.S. Naval Academy.
7 July
1798 – Congress rescinds treaties with France; Quasi War begins with frigate Delaware capturing French privateer, Croyable.
1846 – Commodore John D. Sloat lands at Monterey and claims California for U.S.
1916 – Thomas A. Edison becomes head of Naval Consulting Board which screens inventions for use by the Navy.
1948 – First six enlisted women sworn into Regular Navy. The Navy WAVES in Naval Reserve, who were the first to transfer to the Regular Navy, were Kay Louise Langdon, Aviation Storekeeper First Class; Wilma Juanita Marchal, Chief Yeoman; Frances Teresa Dovaney, Storekeeper Second Class; Edna Earle Young, Yeoman Second Class; Doris Roberta Robertson, Teleman Second Class; and Ruth Flora, Hospital Corpsman First Class.
8 July
1778 – Allied French fleet under Comte d’Estaing arrives in America.
1853 – Commodore Matthew C. Perry sails his squadron into Tokyo Bay.
1879 – USS Jeannette departs San Francisco to explore Arctic.
1944 – Naval bombardment of Guam begins.
9 July
1846 – Sailors and Marines from USS Portsmouth occupy and raise flag over San Francisco.
1918 – Henry Ford launches first of 100 Eagle boats.
1944 – Organized Japanese resistence ceases on Saipan, Marianas.
1960 – USS Wasp (CVA 18) departs Guantanamo Bay to support United Nations effort to calm the newly independent Congo.
10 July
1854 – U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., holds first formal graduation exercises. Previous classes graduated without ceremony.
1896 – Authorization of first experimental ship model tank.
1943 – Operation Husky, Allied landing on Sicily.
11 July
1798 – Reestablishment of Marine Corps under the Constitution.
1919 – Pay Corps renamed Supply Corps.
1943 – Gunfire from U.S. cruisers and destroyers stop German and Italian tank attack against Army beachhead at Gela, Sicily.
12 July
1836 – Commissioning of Charles H. Haswell as first regularly appointed engineer officer.
1916 – North Carolina is first Navy ship to carry and operate aircraft.
1921 – Congress creates Bureau of Aeronautics to be in charge of all matter pertaining to naval aeronautics.
1951 – Ninth Naval District forces assist in flood relief work in Kansas City through July 20.
1953 – United Nations Fleet launches heavy air and sea attack on Wonsan; Marine Maj. John Bolt becomes first jet ace in Marine Corps.
1988 – SECDEF approves opening Navy’s Underwater Construction Teams, fleet oiler, ammunition ships and combat stores ships to women.
1990 – Cmdr. Rosemary Mariner becomes first woman to command an operational aviation squadron (VAQ-34).
13 July
1863 – USS Wyoming battled Japanese warlord’s forces.
1939 – Appointment of Rear Adm. Richard Byrd as commanding officer of 1939-1941 Antarctic Expedition.
1943 – During Battle of Kolombangara in Solomon Islands, U.S. lost USS Gwin (DD 433), while Japanese lost light cruiser Jintsu.
14 July
1813 – Lt. John Gamble, the first Marine to command a ship in battle (prize vessel Greenwich in capture of British whaler Seringapatam).
1853 – Commodore Matthew Perry lands and holds first meeting with Japanese at Uraga, Japan.
1882 – Sailors and Marines from four U.S. ships land to help restore order at Alexandria, Egypt.
1945 – U.S. warships bombard Kamaishi, Japan; first naval gunfire bombardment of Japanese Home Islands.
1950 – U.S. Marines sail from San Diego for Korean Conflict.
1952 – Laying of keel of USS Forrestal (CV 59), the first 59,900-ton aircraft carrier.
15 July
1870 – Act of Congress establishes Pay Corps, which later becomes the Supply Corps.
1942 – First photographic interpretation unit set up in the Pacific.
1958 – In response to request by the president of Lebanon, 6th Fleet lands 1,800 Marines at Beruit to support Lebanese government against Communist rebels.
16 July
1862 – Congress creates rank of Rear Admiral. David G. Farragut is named the first Rear Admiral.
1912 – Rear Adm. Bradley Fiske receives patent for torpedo plane, or airborne torpedo.
1915 – First Navy ships, battleships USS Ohio (BB 12), USS Missouri (BB 11), and USS Wisconsin (BB 9) transit Panama Canal.
1945 – First atomic bomb test at Alamogordo, N.M.
17 July
1812 – USS Constitution escapes from British squadron after 3 day chase off New Jersey.
1858 – U.S. sloop Niagara departs Queenstown, Ireland, to assist in laying first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable.
1898 – Santiago, Cuba surrenders to U.S. Naval forces.
1927 – First organized dive bombing attack in combat by Marine Corps pilots against Nicaraguan bandits who were surrounding U.S. Marine garrison at Ocotal, Nicaraguan.
1944 – Ammunition explosion at Naval Magazine, Port Chicago, Calif.
1975 – Docking in space of the U.S. Apollo (Apollo 18) and Soviet Soyuz (Soyuz 19) space craft. This was the first manned space flight conducted jointly by the 2 nations. Former naval aviator Vance D. Brand was the Apollo Command Module Pilot. The Apollo craft was in space for 9 days and 7.5 hours. Recovery was by USS New Orleans (LPH-11).
18 July
1775 – Continental Congress resolves that each colony provide armed vessels.
1779 – Commodore Abraham Whipple’s squadron captures 11 prizes in largest prize value of Revolutionary War.
1792 – John Paul Jones dies in Paris, France.
1813 – U.S. Frigate President captures British Daphne, Eliza Swan, Alert and Lion.
1920 – Naval aircraft sink ex-German cruiser Frankfurt in target practice.
1943 – German submarine shoots down K-47, the first and only U.S. airship lost during WW II.
1947 – President Harry S. Truman delegates responsibility for the civil administration of former Japanese mandated island to the Secretary of the Navy.
1966 – Launch of Gemini 10 with Lt. Cmdr. John W. Young, as Command Pilot. Mission involved 43 orbits at an altitude of 412.2 nautical miles and lasted 2 days, 22 hours, and 46 minutes. Capsule was recovered by HS-3 helicopter from USS Guadalcanal (LPH 7).
19 July
1886 – Atlanta, the first steel-hulled American cruiser armed with breechloading rifled guns, is commissioned.
1897 – Lt. Robert E. Peary departs on year long Arctic Expedition which makes many important discoveries, including one of largest meteorites, Cape York.
1918 – Armored cruiser USS San Diego (ACR 6) sunk off Fire Island, N.Y. by a mine laid by German U-boat U-156.
1940 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs second Naval Expansion Act.
20 July
1846 – First visit of U.S. warships (USS Columbus and USS Vincennes) to Japan is unsuccessful in negotiating a treaty.
1960 – In first launch of Polaris missile, USS George Washington (SSBN 598) successfully fires 2 operational Polaris missiles while submerged off Florida.
1964 – Four Navy divers enter Project SEALAB I capsule moored 192 feet on the ocean floor off Bermuda for 11 day experiment.
1969 – Former Navy pilot Neil Armstrong is first man to set foot on the moon, announcing, “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Armstrong was Commander of Apollo 11 which during its 8 day mission landed on the Sea of Tranquility. Recovery was by HS-4 helicopters from USS Hornet (CVS 12).
21 July
1823 – After pirate attack, Lt. David G. Farragut leads landing party to destroy pirate stronghold in Cuba.
1944 – Invasion and recapture of Guam begins.
1946 – In first U.S. test of adaptability of jet aircraft to shipboard operations, XFD-1 Phantom makes landings and takeoffs without catapults from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV 42).
1987 – Navy begins Operation Earnest Will, escorting first Kuwaiti tanker convoy in the Persian Gulf.
22 July
1802 – Frigate Constellation defeats 9 Corsair gunboats off Tripoli.
1905 – Body of John Paul Jones moved to Annapolis, MD for reburial
1953 – U.S. ships laid down heavy barrage to support UN troops in Korea.
1964 – Four Navy Divers (LCDR Robert Thompson, MC; Gunners Mate First Class Lester Anderson, Chief Quartermaster Robert A. Barth, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Sanders Manning) submerge in Sealab I for 10 days at a depth of 192 feet, 39 miles off Hamilton, Bermuda. They surfaced on July 31.
1974 – Evacuees from the coup on Cyprus arrive on board Navy vessels in the Mediterranean. Operation ended on July 24.
23 July
1947 – First Navy all jet squadron (VF-17A) receives its first aircraft (FH).
1948 – USS Putnum (DD 757) evacuates U.N. team from Haifa, Israel and becomes first U.S. Navy ship to fly the U.N. flag.
1950 – USS Boxer sets record crossing of Pacific to bring aircraft, troops, and supplies to Korea at start of the Conflict.
1958 – USS Nautilus (SSN 571) departs Pearl Harbor for first submerged transit of North Pole.
1993 – Sarah Deal becomes first female Marine selected for naval aviation training.
24 July
1813 – Sailing Master Elijah Mix attempts to blow up British warship Plantagenet with a torpedo near Cape Henry, Virginia.
1944 – Following 43 days of naval gunfire and air bombardment, Naval Task Force lands Marines on Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands.
25 July
1779 – Amphibious expedition against British in Penobscot Bay, Me.
1863 – U.S. Squadron bombards Fort Wagner, N.C.
1866 – Rank of Admiral created. David G. Farragut is appointed the first Admiral in the U.S. Navy.
1898 – Landing party from armed yacht Gloucester occupies Guanica, Puerto Rico.
1912 – First specifications for naval aircraft published.
1934 – First President to visit Hawaii, Franklin D. Roosevelt, reaches Hilo on board USS Houston (CA 30).
1941 – Bureau of Ordnance issues first Navy “E”certificates (for excellence) for industry.
1943 – Launching of USS Harmon (DE 72), first ship named for an African-American.
1990 – USS Cimarron (AO 177) rescues 25 refugees adrift southeast of Subic Bay, Philippines.
26 July
1812 – Frigate Essex captures British brig Leander.
1912 – First airborne radio communications from naval aircraft to ship (Lt. John Rodgers to USS Stringham).
1942 – Capt. Joy Bright Hancock appointed director, Women’s Naval Reserve.
1948 – President Harry S. Truman orders desegregation of the Armed Services.
1954 – Three aircraft from USS Philippine Sea (CVA 47) shoot down two Chinese fighters that fired on them while they were providing air cover for rescue operations for a U.K. airliner shot down by a Chinese aircraft.
27 July
1953 – Korean War armistice signed at Panmunjon, Korea and Korean cease-fire went into effect at 10:00 PM.
28 July
1915 – Sailors and Marines land in Haiti to restore order.
1916 – Navy establishes a Code and Signal Section which initially worked against German ciphers and tested the security of communications during U.S. naval training maneuvers.
1926 – Team of scientists from Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and Carnegie Institution determine height of the Ionosphere through use of radio pulse transmitter developed by NRL.
1945 – USS Callaghan (DD 792) is last ship sunk by a Japanese kamikaze attack, off Okinawa.
1973 – Launch of Skylab 3, the second manned mission to the first U.S. manned space station, was piloted by MAJ Jack R. Lousma, USMC with CAPT Alan L. Bean, USN as the Commander of the mission and former Navy electronics officer, Owen K. Garriott as Science Pilot. The mission lasted 59 days, 11 hours and included 858 Earth orbits. Recovery by USS New Orleans (LPH 11).
29 July
1846 – Sailors and Marines from U.S. sloop Cyane capture San Diego.
1918 – Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, visits Queenstown, Ireland.
1945 – U.S. warships bombard Hamamatsu, Japan.
30 July
1918 – Units of First Marine Aviation Force arrive at Brest, France.
1941 – Japanese aircraft bomb USS Tutuila (PR 4) at Chungking, China; First Navy ship damaged by Axis during World War II.
1942 – FDR signs act establishing Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). During World War II, more than 80,000 officer and enlisted women served in the WAVES.
1944 – Naval Task Force lands Army troops near Cape Opmarai, New Guinea.
1945 – Japanese submarine, I-58, sinks USS Indianapolis (CA 35) in Philippine Sea; 316 out of 1,199 crew survived.
31 July
1815 – Commodore Stephen Decatur concludes agreement with Bey of Tunis to compensate U.S. for seizure of merchant ships during the War of 1812.
1865 – East India Squadron established to operate from Sunda Strait to Japan.
1874 – Commissioning of USS Intrepid, first U.S. warship equipped with torpedoes.
1912 – First attempt to launch an airplane by catapult made at Annapolis.
1933 – USS Constitution commences tour of principal U.S. seaports.
1964 – All-nuclear task force with USS Long Beach (CGN 9), USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and USS Bainbridge (CGN 25) leaves Norfolk, Va., to begin voyage, Operation Sea Orbit, to circle the globe without refueling. They returned October 3.