Japanese submarine I-58 sinks the USS Indianapolis 30 July 1945

Image taken as reference from google photos

 

USS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931, the vessel served as the flagship for the commander of Scouting Force 1 for eight years, then as flagship for Admiral Raymond Spruance in 1943 and 1944 while he commanded the Fifth Fleet in battles across the Central Pacific during World War II.

In July 1945, Indianapolis completed a top-secret high-speed trip to deliver parts of Little Boy, the first nuclear weapon ever used in combat, to the United States Army Air Force Base on the island of Tinian, and subsequently departed for the Philippines on training duty. At 0015 on 30 July, the ship was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58, and sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,195 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship.The remaining 890 faced exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks while stranded in the open ocean with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy only learned of the sinking four days later, when survivors were spotted by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol. Only 316 survived.The sinking of Indianapolis resulted in the greatest single loss of life at sea from a single ship in the history of the US Navy.

 

 

 

Mekong - Ganges of South-East Asia

The Himalayas is the source of many rivers like Ganga, Sindhu, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, etc. But Mekong river is longer and massive than all of them, which is a lifeline of South East Asia.

Mekong river originates in Tibet and runs through six countries (China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam) in  South-East-Asia. 

"Mekong" is derived from "Me Kongkea" which means "Ma Ganga" (Mother Ganga) in the Khmer language. Mekong started as Mother Ganga has the deep Indian influences and spiritual connections.

Stamp Info : 

 

Mekong River – Photo by Agence Économique du Gouvernement de l’Indochine – Engraver: Paul Dufresne
Michel 1-3.

 Laos: 

 

Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma, the People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

From the mid 19th to the mid 20th century, the French controlled the Indochina area, which included Laos, although the French regime allowed Laos an internal autonomy and so the Royal family continued their rule over Laos, albeit with restricted power. In 1950, Laos, headed by King Sisavang Vong, was declared independent constitutional monarchy but under the French Union. In November 9, 1953, Laos gained its full independence and the monarchy survived until December 1975 when its last King, Savang Vatthana, surrendered the throne to the Pathet Lao, a Laotian anti-Royal guerilla force, in favor of a communist state called the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) which has controlled Laos since.

On November 13, 1951, the first set of stamps bearing the inscription "Union Française" (French Union) and "Royaume du Laos" (Kingdom of Laos) was issued by Laos, to replace the more general Indo-China stamps which had been in use for years. Since then, more than 400 stamps were issued by the Kingdom, most of them beautifully designed and engraved, mostly by French artists like Marc Leguay and Chamnane Prisayane.

Navy Day in India 4 December

Navy Day in India is celebrated on 4 December every year to recognize the achievements and role of the Indian Navy to the country. 4 December was chosen as on that day in 1971, during Operation Trident, the Indian Navy sank four Pakistani vessels including PNS Khaibar, killing hundreds of Pakistani Navy personnel.On this day, those who martyred in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 are also remembered.

During the days leading up to Navy Day, during Navy Week and the days prior to that, various events take place such as an open sea swimming competition, ships are open for visitors and school children, there is a veteran sailors lunch, performances by the Naval Symphonic Orchestra take place, an Indian Navy Inter School Quiz Competition happens, a Navy Half Marathon as well as an air display for school children and the beating retreat and tattoo ceremonies happen.

 

24 September - World Maritime Day

 

World Maritime Day seeks to raise awareness about international maritime industries and celebrate their work toward the global economy. This day focuses on shipping safety, maritime security, and protection of the marine environment. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) works as a regulatory framework for the maritime industry and first recognized the day in 1978. World Maritime Day is observed annually on the fourth Thursday of September.

Guernsey artwork collection fishing trawler

 

The stamp is a part of the set of 6 stamps on Artwork collections released On 21 July 2020 ,this stamp designs shows wonderful talents of the local art community.One of the stamp features the picture with a fishing trawler.

The Guernsey Arts Commission (GAC) had invited local artists to submit pieces of work to the team, for possible inclusion on our stamps.  The standard of pieces submitted was incredibly high and gave unenviable task of selecting just six pieces of artwork to feature on stamps and one on the First Day Cover. 

A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls.Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets that are pulled along the bottom of the sea or in midwater at a specified depth. A trawler may also operate two or more trawl nets simultaneously.

#ArtWorksHere #ArtistOnTwitter #Guernsey #stamps #philately  #stamp #collectibles #philately #Guernsey #UnitedKingdom

SS Andrea Doria sank on 26 July 1956

SS Andrea Doria pronounced was an ocean liner for the Italian Line home-ported in Genoa, Italy, known for her sinking in 1956, when 46 people died.

Named after the 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the ship had a gross register tonnage of 29,100 and a capacity of about 1,200 passengers and 500 crew. For a country attempting to rebuild its shattered economy and reputation after World War II, Andrea Doria was an icon of Italian national pride. Of all Italy's ships at the time, Andrea Doria was the largest, fastest and supposedly safest. Launched on 16 June 1951, the ship undertook her maiden voyage on 14 January 1953.

On 25 July 1956, while Andrea Doria was approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, bound for New York City, the eastbound MS Stockholm of the Swedish American Line collided with her in one of history's most infamous maritime disasters. Struck in the side, the top-heavy Andrea Doria immediately started to list severely to starboard, which left half of her lifeboats unusable. The consequent shortage of lifeboats could have resulted in significant loss of life, but the ship stayed afloat for over 11 hours after the collision.

The calm, appropriate behavior of the crew, together with improvements in communications, and the rapid response of other ships, averted a disaster similar in scale to that of Titanic in 1912. While 1,660 passengers and crew were rescued and survived, 46 people on the ship died as a direct consequence of the collision.The evacuated luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning. This accident remains the worst maritime disaster to occur in United States waters since the sinking of SS Eastland in 1915

It was recorded that Andrea Doria finally sank bow first 10 hours after the collision, at 10:09 am on 26 July 1956

HMS Vestal 26 July 1943 ship was sunk

HMS Vestal was an Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1943 and saw service in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan. She was critically damaged by Japanese kamikaze aircraft in 1945 and was subsequently scuttled in waters close to Thailand.

Vestal was the only British ship to be taken out of action by kamikaze pilots in the Indian Ocean and the last Royal Navy ship to be lost in the Second World War.She was sunk whilst partaking in Operation Livery. Vestal was commanded by Lt. Charles William Porter, DSC, from 26 July 1943 until 26 July 1945, when the ship was sunk.Her engine was provided by Paxman