Naval History and Heritage Command

Congress establishes the Department of the Navy as a separate cabinet department. Previously, naval matters were under the cognizance of the War Department. Benjamin Stoddert is named as the first Secretary of the Navy.

USS Alligator, commanded by Lt. W.W. McKean, captures the Colombian pirate schooner Ciehqua near the Windward Islands.

USS Indiana (BB 58) is commissioned during World War II.

USS Bang (SS 385) attacks a convoy engaged the previous night and sinks the Japanese merchant tanker Nittatsu Maru off the northwest of Luzon.  Also on this date, USS Flasher (SS 249) sinks the Vichy French gunboat Tahure in the South China Sea off Cape Varella, French Indochina. 

USS Thomas (DE 102), USS Bostwick (DE 103), USS Coffman (DE 191) and frigate Natchez (PF 2) sink German submarine U 548 off the Virginia Capes.

Navy patrol bombers PB4Y (VPB 103) and a PBY-5A Catalina aircraft flown by Lt. Fredrick G. Lake from VP 63 sink two German submarines off the coast of Brest, France.

USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) conducts its second significant drug interdiction operation in the first month of its deployment to the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command area of responsibility, disrupting the smuggling of 4.6 metric tons of narcotics from the fishing vessel Salomon.