|
Sheppard J. Shreaves
Sheppard James Shreaves (July 1885–January 1968) was a Dockmaster and foreman shipwright for the Panama Canal Mechanical Division, as well as a qualified diver and supervisor of the Panama Canal's salvage and diving crew. At age 38, Sheppard Shreaves was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for his heroic efforts in raising of the sunken submarine with two men trapped in the torpedo room. Working against time, Shreaves enabled the rescue of Lawrence Brown and Henry Breault from the bottomed submarine. His being underwater and in his diving suit for almost 24 hours set a new record for the longest duration dives up to that time.Grigore (May 1969) pp. 16-18. With more than 1,000 dives behind him, Shreaves retired to St. Petersburg, Florida on December 31, 1945, after 32 years of Panama Canal service. He died in January 1968. Recovery of the O-5 On 28 October 1923, the was operating with other units of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet under the command of Commander Submarine Force, Coco Solo, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lifesaving Medal
The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are U.S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were established by Act of Congress, 20 June 1874; later authorized by . These decorations are two of the oldest medals in the United States and were originally established at the Department of Treasury as Lifesaving Medals First and Second Class. The Department of the Treasury initially gave the award, but today the United States Coast Guard awards it through the Department of Homeland Security. They are not classified as military decorations, and may be awarded to any person. Chapter 4 History A British Sea Gallantry Medal The Sea Gallantry Medal (SGM) (officially the 'Medal for Saving Life at Sea', and originally the ' Board of Trade Medal for Saving Life at Sea'), is a United Kingdom award for civil gallantry at sea. History The Merchant Shipping Act 1854 pr ... for saving life was authorized in 1854. Twenty years later in the United State ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Breault
Henry Breault (14 October 1900 – 5 December 1941) was a United States Navy submarine sailor who received the Medal of Honor for his actions while serving aboard the submarine . He was the first submariner and he remains the only enlisted submariner to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions aboard a United States submarine. Biography Henry Breault was born in Putnam, Connecticut, Putnam, Connecticut, on 14 October 1900. During World War I he enlisted in the British Royal Navy at sixteen years of age and, after serving under the White Ensign for four years, joined the U.S. Navy. On 28 October 1923, Torpedoman Second Class Breault was a member of the crew of when that submarine was sunk in a collision in the Panama Canal. Though he could have escaped, Breault chose to assist a shipmate and remained inside the sunken submarine until both were rescued more than a day later. For his "heroism and devotion to duty" on this occasion, Henry Breault was awarded the Medal of Honor. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limon Bay
Limon Bay (''Bahía Limón'' in the original Spanish) is a natural harbor located at the north end of the Panama Canal, west of the cities of Cristóbal and Colón. Ships waiting to enter the canal stay here, protected from storms by breakwaters A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h .... Bays of Panama Colón Province {{Colón-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan and the even less popular route through the Arctic Archipelago and the Bering Strait. Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the canal during construction. France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped because of lack of investors' confidence due to engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate. The United States took over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Fruit Company
The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 from the merger of the Boston Fruit Company with Minor C. Keith's banana-trading enterprises. It flourished in the early and mid-20th century, and it came to control vast territories and transportation networks in Central America, the Caribbean coast of Colombia and the West Indies. Although it competed with the Standard Fruit Company (later Dole Food Company) for dominance in the international banana trade, it maintained a virtual monopoly in certain regions, some of which came to be called banana republics – such as Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. United Fruit had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coco Solo
Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on the Atlantic Ocean (northwest) side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama. Five C-class submarines were based there during 1914–1919. United States Senator John McCain was born in 1936 at a small Navy hospital, at Coco Solo Naval Air Station. The larger Coco Solo Hospital was constructed in the summer of 1941. The area containing it was transferred from the civil part of the Panama Canal Zone to the naval part when Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8981 on December 17, 1941. On December 7, 1941, three V-Class submarines (''Barracuda'', ''Bass'' and ''Bonita'') were stationed at Coco Solo. During World War II, Coco Solo also served as a Naval Air Facility, housing a squadron of USAAF P-38 Lightning aircraft. By the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ajax (crane Barge)
Ajax is a floating crane built to move and install the canal locks and other large parts of the Panama canal. Ajax also helped in ship repairs and clearing the canal as needed. Ajax and her identical sister crane, the ''Hercules'', were the largest floating cranes at time of completion, able to install the massive Panama Canal locks. Ajax could lift a maximum of 250 tons to a height of 21 feet, with a close reach. At Ajax's far reach she could lift a maximum of 100 tons. ''Ajax'' and ''Hercules'' were built by Deutsche Maschinenbau AG (1910-1977) (that later became part of Demag, in Wilhelmshaven, Germany). After the Ajax and Hercules, Deutsche Maschinenbau AG later made the Langer Heinrich, or Long Henry in 1915, in use for 100 years. The contract for the two cranes was signed on April 21, 1913. The cranes were of the revolving type, at a cost of about $837,500 each. The two cranes were to be completed in 580 days and delivered to the Panama Isthmus by December 2, 1914, from Emde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaillard Cut
The Culebra Cut, formerly called Gaillard Cut, is an artificial valley that cuts through the Continental Divide in Panama. The cut forms part of the Panama Canal, linking Gatun Lake, and thereby the Atlantic Ocean, to the Gulf of Panama and hence the Pacific Ocean. It is from the Pedro Miguel lock on the Pacific side to the Chagres River arm of Lake Gatun, with a water level above sea level. Construction of the cut was one of the great engineering feats of its time; the immense effort required to complete it was justified by the great significance of the canal to shipping, and in particular the strategic interests of the United States of America. ''Culebra'' is the name for the mountain ridge it cuts through, and was also originally applied to the cut itself. From 1915 to 2000 the cut was named ''Gaillard Cut'' after US Major David du Bose Gaillard, who had led the excavation. After the canal handover to Panama in 2000, the name was changed back to ''Culebra''. In Spanish the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Naval Institute
The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds several annual conferences. The Naval Institute is based in Annapolis, Maryland. Established in 1873, the Naval Institute claimed "almost 50,000 members" in 2020, mostly active and retired personnel of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The organization also has members in over 90 countries. The organization has no official or funding ties to the United States Naval Academy or the U.S. Navy, though it is based on the grounds of the Naval Academy through permission granted by a 1936 Act of Congress. History The U.S. Naval Institute was formed on October 9, 1873 by fifteen naval officers gathered at the U.S. Naval Academy's Department of Physics and Chemistry building in Annapolis to discuss, among other topics, the impli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the territory of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón. Its capital was Balboa. The Panama Canal Zone was created on November 18, 1903 from the territory of Panama; established with the signing of the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which allowed for the construction of the Panama Canal within the territory by the United States. The zone existed until October 1, 1979, when it was incorporated back into Panama. In 1904, the Isthmian Canal Convention was proclaimed. In it, the Republic of Panama granted to the United States in perpetuity the use, occupation, and control of a zone of land and land underwater for the construction, maintenance, opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
