German Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels, described the arrival of the Australian Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean as ‘a consignment of junk’, and ‘Australia’s Scrap Iron Flotilla’. The five WWI destroyers, HMA Ships STUART, VAMPIRE, VENDETTA, VOYAGER, and WATERHEN, emblazoned the name in glory under the command of CAPT H. M. L. Waller, RAN.
The auxiliary minesweeper HMAS COOLEBAR was commissioned. COOLEBAR was laid down in Ardrossan, Scotland, in 1911. She was requisitioned for the RAN, from her owners, the North Coast Steam Navigation Co, NSW, on 18 December 1939.