On this day, the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst is sunk by British warships in the Arctic after decoded German naval signals reveal that the Scharnhorst is on a mission to attack an Anglo-American convoy to Russia.

Hitler's navy had posed serious threats to convoys shipping supplies to the Soviet Union since the fall of 1941. American, British, and Soviet merchant ships had suffered devastating attacks in the Arctic, mostly by German U-boats. Operation Rainbow was the German plan to attack two Anglo-American convoys as they sailed between Bear Island and the North Cape en route to the Eastern front. But Enigma, the British code-breaker, once again provided the Allies with the sensitive strategic information they needed to anticipate and prevent disaster. The Scharnhorst, Germany's 31,000-ton battle cruiser, which had already sunk the British cruiser Rawalpindi, was surprised by the British battleship Duke of York, which sank it in what became known as the Battle of North Cape.

Approximately 2,000 German sailors and crew drowned and only 36 survived

Vrolijk Kerstfeest Joyeux Noel Frohe Weihnachten Buon Natale Feliz Natal Geseende Kerfees Glædelig Jul Hyvää Joulua Kellemes karácsonyi ünnepeket Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva Feliz Navidad

John Paul Jones (July 6, 1747(1747-07-06) – July 18, 1792(1792-07-18)) was the United States' first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolutionary War. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to this day.

During his engagement with Serapis, Jones uttered, according to the later recollection of his First Lieutenant, the legendary reply to a quip about surrender from the British captain: "I have not yet begun to fight!"

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Continental Congress creates a Continental Navy

Congress also named four captains to the new service: Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, Nicholas Biddle and John Burrows Hopkins. Their respective vessels, the Alfred, Columbus, Andrew Doria and Cabot, became the first ships of the Navy's fleet. Five first lieutenants, including future American hero John Paul Jones, five second lieutenants, and three third lieutenants also received their commissions.

The new Admiral Hopkins, as he was dubbed by George Washington, was a Rhode Islander of some standing. His brother was Stephen Hopkins, the state's governor. Esek Hopkins had married well and used his wife's fortune to buy a ship. It proved a wise investment. He added to his wealth working as a privateer during the Seven Years' War. In his new position, Congress promised to pay him 125 dollars per calendar month; they also informed that he could look forward to some share of the prizes allotted to the captors. Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina designed Hopkins' personal standard, which flew from the first navy fleet. The yellow flag bore the image of a coiled snake and the Patriot motto, Don't Tread on Me.

Hopkins' first assignment was to assess the feasibility of an attack on British naval forces in the Chesapeake Bay. After sailing south with his meager force of eight ships, Hopkins decided that victory in such an encounter was impossible. He sailed to the Bahamas instead, where he attacked the British port of Nassau, a decision for which he was relieved of his command upon returning to the continent.

The USS Forrestal (CV-59), formerly AVT-59 and CVA-59, is a supercarrier that was named after former Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal and was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers. The other carriers of her class were the Saratoga (CV-60), USS Ranger and USS Independence. She superseded Shinano of World War II vintage as the largest aircraft carrier ever built by full load displacement and was the first to specifically support jet aircraft. The ship was affectionately called "The FID", because James Forrestal was the first ever Secretary of Defense, FID standing for "First In Defense". This is also the slogan on the ship's insignia and patch. She was also informally known in the fleet as the "Zippo" and "Forrest Fire" or "Firestal" because of a number of highly publicized fires on board, most notably a 1967 incident in which 134 sailors died and 161 were injured.

Forrestal was launched 11 December 1954 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, Virginia, sponsored by Josephine Forrestal, widow of Secretary Forrestal; and commissioned 1 October 1955, Captain R. L. Johnson in command.

Forrestal was the first American aircraft carrier to be constructed with an angled flight deck, steam catapult, and an Optical Landing System, as opposed to having them installed after launching

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