Convoy GP55 was a convoy of Allied ships that travelled between Sydney and Brisbane in June 1943 during World War II. It comprised ten cargo ships, three Landing Ships, Tank and an escort of five corvettes. The Japanese submarine I-174 attacked the convoy on 16 June, sinking the United States Army transport ship Portmar and damaging USS LST-469. Two of the corvettes subsequently counter-attacked I-174, but only lightly damaged her. The Australian military conducted an intensive search for I-174 in the days after the attack in the mistaken belief that she had been significantly damaged. This search was not successful and highlighted the unsatisfactory communications between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Due to Japan's deteriorating strategic situation, I-174 was the last Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) submarine to operate off the Australian east coast.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_GP55

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1600:

San Marino, the world's oldest constitutional republic, adopted its written constitution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_San_Marino

1856:

Officials of the Chinese Qing Dynasty arrested and imprisoned twelve people aboard the Hong Kong-registered ship Arrow for suspected piracy and smuggling, sparking the Second Opium War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Opium_War

1871:

The Great Chicago Fire broke out in Chicago, destroying 17,500 buildings and leaving 90,000 people homeless within two days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1871_Great_Chicago_Fire

1918:

World War I: After his platoon suffered heavy casualties during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France's Forest of Argonne, United States Sergeant Alvin C. York led the seven remaining men on an attack against a German machine gun nest, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132 others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_C._York

1932:

The Indian Air Force was founded as an auxiliary air force of the Indian Empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Air_Force

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

analgesic (n): (pharmacology) Any medicine, such as aspirin, that reduces pain without inducing unconsciousness http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/analgesic

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Muad'Dib could indeed see the Future, but you must understand the limits of this power. Think of sight. You have eyes, yet cannot see without light. If you are on the floor of a valley, you cannot see beyond your valley. Just so, Muad'Dib could not always choose to look across the mysterious terrain. He tells us that a single obscure decision of prophecy, perhaps the choice of one word over another, could change the entire aspect of the future. He tells us "The vision of time is broad, but when you pass through it, time becomes a narrow door." And always, he fought the temptation to choose a clear, safe course, warning "That path leads ever down into stagnation." --Frank Herbert http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert