• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

  • Events
  • Account
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • Show Search
  • 0 items
Hide Search
Menu
  • Home
  • Research
    • Where to start
      • Research – We can help!
      • Self help
      • Naval Service Records
      • Library
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Resources
      • Articles
      • Videos
      • On This Day
      • Podcasts
      • Australian Military Ship Losses
      • RAN events on a  Google Earth Map
      • RAN Vessels – Where are they now?
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Other
      • Newsletters: Call The Hands
      • Occasional Papers and Historical Booklets
      • Books
      • HMAS Shropshire
      • Book reviews
    • Close
  • Naval Heritage Sites
    • World Heritage Listings
      • Cockatoo Island
    • National Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
      • HMVS Cerberus
    • Commonwealth Heritage Listings
      • Garden Island NSW
      • HMAS Watson
      • HMAS Penguin
      • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
      • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
      • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
      • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
      • HMAS Cerberus
      • Naval Offices QLD
      • Garden Island WA
      • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
      • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
    • NSW Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Rushcutter
    • Close
  • Naval Art
  • Tours & Cruises
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, East
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, West
    • Anniversary Cruise: Sydney under Japanese Attack
    • Tour Bookings
    • Close
  • About us
    • About Us
      • What we do
      • Our People
      • Office Bearers
      • Become a volunteer
      • Our Goals and Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Victoria Chapter
      • WA Chapter
      • ACT Chapter
    • Close
  • Membership
  • Shop
  • Become a volunteer
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Archives for Article topics / Battles and operations

Battles and operations

Yachties Piece: Lieutenant Peter Smith RANVR Rtd: A ‘Roy-Boy’ at War

A.N. Other · Dec 27, 2023 ·

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

Editorial Staff · Dec 16, 2023 ·

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

A.N. Other · Dec 15, 2023 ·

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

Ken Wright · Dec 4, 2023 ·

By Ken Wright As the attractive blonde seventeen-year-old rode her push bike to work on the cold morning of 22 July 1942, the Japanese submarine I-11 had already torpedoed the American ...

Occasional Paper 174: The Queensland Fraser Coast and Royal Australian Navy Historical Ties

Lorraine Fildes · Nov 6, 2023 ·

The Queensland Fraser Coast and Royal Australian Navy Historical Ties The Queensland Fraser Coast has a rich maritime history and a long and entwined history, first with the Queensland Maritime ...

Occasional Paper 173: HMAS Magnetic

Lorraine Fildes · Nov 5, 2023 ·

When in Townsville, a stroll along The Strand is a must. A walkway starts at historic Jezzine Barracks and ends at the current ferry terminal. The path follows the line ...

Occasional Paper 171 : Tasmanian leads the African Naval Expedition 1915-18

Gillett, Ross · Oct 2, 2023 ·

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

A.N. Other · Sep 1, 2023 ·

By  Bjarne (Barney) Kristensen The 18 August 2023 marked fifty years since the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam (The Vietnam War) with commemorations conducted throughout Australia. In this paper I ...

Occasional Paper 168: The Royal Australian Navy in the Pacific War: 1943

Editorial Staff · Jul 31, 2023 ·

Eighty years ago, in 1943 the tide of the war in the Pacific was at last turning for the better. After four long years of war and significant RAN ship ...

Letter: The Big Guns of Tarawa

Letter Writer · Jun 30, 2023 ·

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

Editorial Staff · May 2, 2023 ·

Thirty years after the event, HMAS Tobruk and the crew members of her 1992-93 Operation SOLACE deployment to Somalia received approval from the Minister for Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh for ...

Occasional Paper 159: River Class Torpedo Boat Destroyers

Tim Lyon · Apr 4, 2023 ·

This article was originally published in LE GROGNARD!, the newsletter of the ACT Branch of the Military Historical Society of Australia, January 2023 edition – Issue #2023/1. Tim Lyon is ...

Book Review: The Scrap Iron Flotilla

Book reviewer · Mar 8, 2023 ·

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

A.N. Other · Mar 8, 2023 ·

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

Editorial Staff · Mar 8, 2023 ·

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.

Book reviewer · Dec 7, 2022 ·

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.

Book reviewer · Sep 16, 2022 ·

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

A.N. Other · Sep 16, 2022 ·

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 ...

My Father’s Service in the RNZAF during WWII: Airman Pilot Ian Speedy RNZAF

A.N. Other · Sep 1, 2022 ·

By Max Speedy This article first appeared in the June 2022 edition of the RAN Fleet Air Arm magazine Slipstream Vol 33 No 2 and is reproduced by kind permission ...

Occasional Paper 143: HMAS Adelaide: The Final Years in Neutral Bay

John Jeremy, AM Vice President NHSA · Aug 31, 2022 ·

By John C. Jeremy, AM Vice President NHSA The archives of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron are extensive and contain a priceless collection of material relating to sailing and the ...

Occasional Paper 145: The Royal Australian Navy’s Involvement in the Burma Campaign and the part played by HMAS Norman

Lorraine Fildes · Aug 31, 2022 ·

By Lorraine Fildes The Burma Campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of Burma. The campaign was waged against the Japanese in Burma, eastern India and ...

Book Review: Sea Monsters – Savage Submarine Commanders of WWII

Book reviewer · Jun 26, 2022 ·

 Sea Monsters – Savage Submarine Commanders of WWII, by Tony Matthews. Soft cover of 348 pages with b&w photographs. Published by Big Sky Publishing, Sydney, 2021. This book discusses the ...

The Arthur Lunan Story: Part III

Editorial Staff · Jun 25, 2022 ·

The late Arthur Lunan maintained a diary of his service in the RAN from 1941 to 1946. His brother-in-law William Moody digitised this and added some family photographs. William and ...

The Tobruk Run – The Loss of HMS Auckland

A.N. Other · Jun 25, 2022 ·

By Andreas Biermann A 1200-ton general purpose sloop about to enter the building program was assigned the name HMS Heron, but was renamed and commissioned as HMS Auckland on 16 ...

Ultra and the Battle of the Atlantic – The True Story

David Stratton · May 30, 2022 ·

Ultra and the Battle of the Atlantic – The True Story By Tim D. Lyon “The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all throughout the war. Battles might ...

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 25
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Latest Podcasts

  • The Fall of Singapore
  • HMAS Armidale
  • Napoleon, the Royal Navy and Me
  • The Case of the Unknown Sailor
  • Night of the midget subs — Sydney under attack

Links to other podcasts

Australian Naval History Podcasts
This podcast series examines Australia’s Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere.
Produced by the Naval Studies Group in conjunction with the Submarine Institute of Australia, the Australian Naval Institute, Naval Historical Society and the RAN Seapower Centre

Life on the Line Podcasts
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories.
These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher.

Video Links

  • Australian War Memorial YouTube channel
  • Royal Australian Navy YouTube Channel
  • Research – We can help!
  • Naval Heritage Sites
  • Explore Naval Art
  • Dockyard Heritage Tour
  • About us
  • Shop
  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Members Area
  • Privacy Policy

Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Copyright © 2025