- 1928 - Cmdr. Theodore G. Ellyson, the Navy's first aviator, along with Lt. Cmdr. Hugo Schmidt and Lt. Rogers Ransehounsen, crash to their deaths in a Loening Amphibian, a 2-seat amphibious biplane, on a night flight from Norfolk to Annapolis.
- 1942 - Seaplane tender USS Langley, carrying 32 Army Air Force P-40 aircraft for the defense of Java, is bombed by Japanese naval land attack planes 75 miles south of Tjilatjap. Due to the damage, Langley is shelled and torpedoed by USS Whipple.
- 1942 - The Battle of the Java Sea begins, where the 14-ship Allied forces attempt to stop the 28-ship Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies colony of Java. The Japanese, during battles over three days, decimates the Allied forces, sinking at least 11 ships, killing more than 3,370 and taking nearly 1,500 prisoners.
- 1944 - Three Navy submarines sink three Japanese cargo ships: USS Grayback sinks Ceylon Maru in the East China Sea; USS Cod sinks Taisoku Maru west of Halmahera while USS Trout sinks Aki Maru.
- 1945 - USS Scabbardfish sinks Japanese guardboat Kikau Maru, 100 miles northeast of Keelung, while USS Blenny attacks a Japanese convoy off French Indochina and sinks merchant tanker Amato Maru off Cape Padaran.
- 1945 - Land-based patrol aircraft from VPB-112, along with others from three British vessels, HMS Labaun, HMS Loch Fada, and HMS Wild Goose, sink German submarine U-327 in the English Channel.
- 1973 - First airborne mine sweep in a live minefield takes place in the Haiphong ship channel by helicopters from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Twelve on board USS New Orleans.
Gallery
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The Navy's first aviator crashes to his death on a night flight.
