Singapore – a bastion of the British Empire, an impregnable fortress, fortified to withstand attack and prevent siege. With that in mind, thoughts of evacuation were therefore unnecessary. What the ...
WWII operations
HMAS Reserve in the Liberation of the Philippines and the Not-so-Little Tug that Could
By Paul Baker On Christmas Day 1944, just as the 34 members of the crew of HMAS Reserve celebrated the occasion aboard their ship in San Pedro Bay in the Philippines, ...
The Admiralty Islands
By David Mattiske Recent announcements that the United States will partner Papua New Guinea and Australia on an initiative to further develop a naval base on Manus Island has aroused ...
Occasional Paper 46: Lieutenant Kenneth Robert Hudspeth DSC, RANVR
Lieutenant Kenneth Robert Hudspeth, Distinguished Service Cross and 2 Bars, RANVR, WWII Lieutenant Kenneth Robert Hudspeth, RANVR was one of many Royal Australian Naval personnel whose service in Royal Navy ...
Occasional Paper 41: SS William Dawes – A Ship is Burning (1942)
This account records an incident in the Japanese submarine campaign off Australia and the efforts of the RAAF and VAOC to protect coastal shipping. As the attractive blonde 17 year ...
Scapa Flow Revisited
By Walter Burroughs The name Scapa Flow was synonymous with naval operations in both world wars as a safe anchorage for vast fleets seeking to control access to the seaborne ...
Letter: Hospital ships
Dear Editor As always, lots of interest in the September edition but one item has caught my attention. In the article about the hospital ships, on page 43 you show ...
RAN controlled minefields in World War 2
By Mike Turner and Hector Donohue Very little has ever been reported about the controlled minefields laid at ports along Australia’s east coast in 1942 as part of Australia’s defence ...
Occasional Paper 39: The Story Of Commander Paul Hugill Hirst RAN 1899-1963
November 2018 Compelled to Resign: The Story Of Commander Paul Hugill Hirst RAN 1899-1963 by Lieutenant Commander Terry Feltham RAN Ret’d “Just because something ends doesn’t mean it never should’ve ...
Occasional Paper 35: Loss of HMAS Parramatta (II): First Hand Accounts
September 2018 Recently the Naval Historical Society of Australia was favoured with two handwritten letters from survivors of the sinking of HMAS Parramatta (II) off Tobruk overnight 27 November 1941. ...