During the early hours of Christmas Day 1974, devastated the city of Darwin with winds in excess of 160 knots, killing 49 people ashore and a further 16 at sea. ...
Battles and operations
Naval Art: Well Worth the Visit
This story was first published in the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) Volunteers’ quarterly magazine, ‘All Hands’, Issue 129 in December 2024. The author, Geoff Barnes is a volunteer with ...
History of Australian Defence Landing Craft and the Balikpapan Class Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) 1971 – 2014
This Historical Booklet (Monograph 200) by Bjarne Kristensen was published by the Naval Historical Society of Australia in December 2024. This paper discusses the history of Australian Defence Amphibious vessels ...
Australian Submarines in the Cold War — A force Multiplier in the West
This Historical Booklet (Monograph 199) by Dr Tom Lewis was published by the Naval Historical Society of Australia in September 2024. This paper discusses the role of the Royal Australian ...
Bathurst Class Corvettes
When war looked imminent after the Munich crisis in 1938, the Royal Australian Navy realised it needed a fleet of escort ships to guard convoys and keep the sea lanes ...
Occasional Paper 183: The RAN Bridging Train – Dry Land Sailors
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Book Review: The Yachties. Australian Volunteers in The Royal Navy 1940-45
The Yachties. Australian Volunteers in The Royal Navy 1940-45. By Janet Roberts Billett. Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd., North Melbourne Vic. 3051 In 1940 the Royal Navy anticipated a shortage ...
Yachties Piece: Lieutenant Peter Smith RANVR Rtd: A ‘Roy-Boy’ at War
By Dr Simon Smith AM FRHSV Dad, what did you do in the war? A question most baby boomers would have posed as they grew up and became conscious of ...
Kingfishers over the Shoalhaven
There is a fascinating small book by Barry Pattison titled Kingfishers in the Antipodes which was published in 1998 and later serialised in News & Views, the magazine of the ...
HMAS Forceful
The coal burning steam tug Forceful was built by Alexander Stephen & Sons of Govan in Scotland in 1925 for the Australian based shipping company MacDonald, Hamilton & Company (later ...
Occasional Paper 176: A Ship is Burning
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Occasional Paper 174: The Queensland Fraser Coast and Royal Australian Navy Historical Ties
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Occasional Paper 173: HMAS Magnetic
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Occasional Paper 171 : Tasmanian leads the African Naval Expedition 1915-18
By Ross Gillett Some of the most exotic campaigns of the Great War (1914 to 1918) were fought in Africa. All but forgotten today, they are fascinating stories in their ...
Occasional Paper 169: HMAS Vendetta and Commander Eric Eugene Johnston RAN; Vietnam Deployment 1969 – 1970
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Occasional Paper 168: The Royal Australian Navy in the Pacific War: 1943
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Letter: The Big Guns of Tarawa
I’m reading the latest NHR after having read the latest CTH and Buzz, and the Occasional Papers/articles, and they’re all excellent – of a high standard and an enjoyable read, ...
Occasional Paper 161: HMAS Tobruk (II) Recognized for Operation SOLACE Service
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Occasional Paper 159: River Class Torpedo Boat Destroyers
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Book Review: The Scrap Iron Flotilla
The Scrap Iron Flotilla by Mike Carlton. William Heinemann Australia. Paperback of 448 pages. rrp $34.99 On Sunday September 3rd 1939, history was tumbling over itself. In the mess decks ...
Battle of the River Forth: Britain pays full Military Honours to German Aircrew
By Carole Welch One of our United Kingdom readers was recently going through some family mementoes and asked if we would be interested in this story emanating from the early ...
The Big Guns of Tarawa
By Walter Burroughs The December 2022 edition of this magazine contained an article A Lonely and Dangerous Vigil regarding New Zealand Coastwatching operations in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Comments ...
Book Review: Australia’s Secret Army.
Australia’s Secret Army. A story of the Coastwatchers, the unsung heroes of Australia’s Armed Forces during World War II is told by Michael Veitch, published by Hachette, Sydney, 2022. Soft ...
Book Review: The Scrap Iron Flotilla – Five valiant destroyers and the Australian war in the Mediterranean.
By Mike Carlton, published by Random House Australia. A 448-page illustrated paperback with photographs. Available at all good booksellers from about $30.00. Some chroniclers are ideal authors for their subject ...
An Essay on Lessons to be Learnt from the Korean War
By MIDN Li-Chun Chen RAN Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Chen grew up in Melbourne where they developed a love of learning with particular interests in science and philosophy. The younger ...