100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

7th July 1921

The battleship USS Massachusetts being constructed (construction will be canceled in 1922 due to the Washington Naval Treaty, which limits the size of the Great Powers' navies)


U.S. Navy C-3 blimp catches fire over Norfolk, Virginia and is destroyed. Pictured is the C-7 blimp of the same class.


Stubby the hero World War I dog receives a gold medal from Gen. John J. Pershing.


Ship Losses:

Eastern Sword (United States) The cargo ship ran aground at Belfast, County Antrim, United Kingdom. She was refloated on 10 July.

[Jimbuna]

8th July 1921

The battleship U.S.S. New Mexico underway.


Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Arthur Griffith is welcomed by crowds as he heads to the Mansion House to negotiate with British delegates.


Crowds gather outside the Mansion House in Dublin as Irish and British sides negotiate a truce to stop fighting in the Irish War of Independence.


Ship Losses:

Cap Blanc (France) The cargo ship foundered in the Atlantic Ocean off Peniche, Portugal. Her crew were rescued.
Western Comet (United States) The cargo ship ran aground at Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Inférieure, France. She was refloated on 21 July.

[Jimbuna]

9th July 1921

Truce agreement is signed between British and Irish sides to halt fighting in the Irish War of Independence, which will go into effect on the 11th


Ship Losses:

Onoria (Italy) The cargo ship caught fire in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Matapan, Greece and sank (36°29′N 22°00′E). Her crew were rescued.

[Jimbuna]

10th July 1921

The third “Bloody Sunday” occurs in Belfast just one day before a truce goes into effect between Ireland and the UK. Loyalist and IRA forces clash, resulting in over 16 killed, 100 injured, and around 200 homes destroyed.

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11th July 1921

American steamship Western Front explodes and catches fire off the Isles of Scilly, resulting in one crew death.


Truce goes into effect in Ireland, ending fighting in the Irish War of Independence. Crowds gather outside the Dublin Mansion House, reciting the Angelus prayer.


Ship Losses:

General Pershing (Norway) The five-masted schooner struck the Endymion Rock, Turks Islands and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.
Western Front (United States) The steamship foundered several miles west of the Isles of Scilly when she caught fire after an explosion. She was carrying 7,000 tons of naval stores, including naphtha, turpentine and resin from Jacksonville to London. One member of the crew lost his life.

[Jimbuna]

12th July 1921

Officers and crew of the U.S. Navy submarine S-2


Ship Losses:

Manuel L. Villaverde (Spain) The passenger ship struck rocks off the coast of Nigeria. She broke in two and sank. All on board were rescued.

[Jimbuna]

13th July 1921

Former German Navy destroyer SMS G102 is sunk off the coast of Virginia by U.S. Army S.E.5. airplanes as target practice.


President Harding was today presented with a chair made from the first American battleship "The Revenge"


Ship Losses:

General Turner (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the Black Sea off Cape Kaliakra, Bulgaria. Her crew were rescued.
Roxana Burton (United Kingdom) The schooner was abandoned in the Mediterranean Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) south east of Cape Palos, Spain. Her crew were rescued by the sailing ship Novelty (flag unknown).

[Jimbuna]

14th July 1921

Construction of the U.S.S. Constitution, a Lexington-class battleship, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. (Construction is cancelled due to the Washington Naval Treaty, which limits the size of Great Power navies)


France celebrates Bastille Day.

[Jimbuna]

15th July 1921

Airship R.38 alongside the skeleton of the R.37, the former being the largest in the world. The R.37 will not be completed, and the R.38, originally meant for the Royal Navy, will be sold to the U.S.


Ship Losses:

E. Marie Brown (United States) The schooner was rammed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 30 nautical miles (56 km) east of Fire Island, New York by Harmodius ( United Kingdom). Four of her crew were killed.
V43 German Empire The ex-German large torpedo boat, allocated to the United States under the Treaty of Versailles, was sunk as a target off Cape Henry by the American battleship Florida.

[Jimbuna]

16th July 1921

J.H. James wins the 200-mile Aerial Derby around London on his Gloster Mars aircraft.


Ship Losses:

Aida (Netherlands) The schooner was wrecked in the Caribbean Sea whilst on a voyage from Puerto Padre, Cuba to Barbados. All on board were rescued.

[Jimbuna]

17th July 1921

Ship Losses:

Helen Mathers (United Kingdom) The schooner came ashore at Galveston, Texas, United States and was wrecked.
HMS K15 (Royal Navy) The K-class submarine sank at Portsmouth, Hampshire. She was refloated on 7 July.

[Jimbuna]

18th July 1921

John Glenn (the first American to orbit Earth in space and later Senator of Ohio) is born in Cambridge, Ohio.


Ship Losses:

USS Frankfurt (United States Navy) The Wiesbaden-class light cruiser (formerly Imperial German Navy) was sunk as a target ship by United States Army Air Service and United States Navy bombers in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Henry, Virginia.

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19th July 1921

Ship Losses:

Denburn (United Kingdom) The coaster was destroyed by fire in the North Sea off Collieston, Aberdeenshire. Her crew were rescued.
Tender (United Kingdom) The coaster sank at Bridgwater, Somerset.

[Jimbuna]

20th July 1921

Ship Losses:

Antiope (United Kingdom) The tanker caught fire at Sourabaya, Netherlands East Indies, and was a total loss. Her crew were rescued.
William Finglay (United Kingdom) The cargo ship sank in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south east of Tod Point, Yorkshire, UK.

[Jimbuna]

21st July 1921

Milorad Drašković, the Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia), is killed by a communist assassin, causing the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to be banned.


Former German dreadnaught SMS Ostfriesland is sunk by U.S. Army bombers. While the conditions of the test were controversial (the bombers used unauthorized 2000 lb bombs), the demonstration proved even large warships could be sunk by airplanes.


Ship Losses:

USS Ostfriesland (United States Navy) The Helgoland-class battleship (ex- Imperial German Navy) was sunk as a target by United States Army Air Service aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.