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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Today in Naval History
July 29
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1967 - On USS Forrestal (CVA 59), a Zuni 5 rocket accidentally fires and sets off a series of explosions that kill 134 of her crew and injure 161 crewmembers.
On This Day

1846

During the Mexican-American War, a detachment of Marines and Sailors, led by Arm. Col. John C. Fremont from the sloop USS Cyane, commanded by Cmdr. Samuel F. DuPont, lands and takes possession of San Diego and raises the U.S. flag.

1898

During the Spanish-American War, the gunboat, USS Helena, commanded by Cmdr. William T. Swinburne, captures the Spanish steamer Manati at Cienfuegos, Cuba.

1920

USS St. Louis (CA 20) is ordered to Turkish waters to protect American nationals and citizens during the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922).

1944

USS Balao (SS 285) shells and sinks Japanese sampan (No.7) Nissho Maru about 100 miles off Palau. USS Drum (SS 228) sinks Asahi Maru with gunfire in the same general area, and takes survivors prisoner. Also on this date, USS Perch (SS 313) sinks Japanese guardboat Kannon Maru I-Go in the Philippine Sea, east of Dinagat Island.

1967

On the flight deck of USS Forrestal (CVA 59), a Zuni 5 rocket accidentally fires from a (F 4B) Phantom II aircraft into a parked and armed (A 4E) Skyhawk, setting off a series of explosions that kill 134 of her crew and injure 161 crewmembers.

1995

USS Maine (SSBN 741) is commissioned at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine. The Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine is the third Navy vessel to be named after the state.

2017

The guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) is commissioned in a ceremony at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego. The ship honors Marine Corps Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for actions during combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom.