Ship histories and stories

HMAS Quickmatch – Medical Rescue – 1944

Hayles, Max · Jun 4, 2007 ·

A slice of Naval life…I’m sure we’ve all been involved in something similar during our life at sea. On September 30th 1944, HMAS Quickmatch was emergency destroyer in Trincomalee harbour, ...

Pages: 1 2

Korean Waters – Tribal Class Destroyers

Nesdale, Iris · Jun 4, 2007 ·

This is a slightly abbreviated version of Chapter 13 from the book Action Stations – Tribal Destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy by the late Iris Nesdale, published by the ...

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Gascoyne to the Rescue On Christmas Day 1944

Newspaper, The West Australian · Jun 4, 2007 ·

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in the West Australian newspaper late in 1949, and comes to us from Mr Paul Rooke, via his friend and fellow ex-Navy man, Graham Dennis. ...

Pages: 1 2 3

HMAS Adelaide – Boarding Party, Persian Gulf 2004

Johnston, Anthony, DSM, Lieutenant Commander, RAN · Jun 4, 2007 ·

Because of the remote location of the Coalition’s naval forces in the Persian Gulf, very little news about their day to day activities is reported in the Australian media, apart ...

Pages: 1 2 3

U-859 – From Germany to Penang

Wright, Ken · Mar 4, 2007 ·

By May 1943, Germany had lost the U-boat war in the Atlantic. U-boat losses had reached an intolerable level with the loss of 38 U-boats for May alone. The Allies ...

Pages: 1 2 3

HMS Invincible – A Flawed Design

Haigh, Gideon · Mar 4, 2007 ·

The Bulletin, Friday, December 22, 2006 ‘It was hailed a century ago as a revolution in battleship design, but tragedy awaited the Invincible as the mists lifted in the Battle ...

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Letters: Followup on Disappearance of AE1

Letter Writer · Dec 3, 2006 ·

I was very interested in reading about the disappearance of the AE1 submarine without a trace in 1914. I have an idea that it may have been sucked down by ...

Book Review: Shadow Voyage – Escape of the SS Bremen

Book reviewer · Dec 3, 2006 ·

Shadow Voyage – The Extraordinary Wartime Escape of the Legendary SS Bremen, by Peter Huchthausen, Published by John Wiley Reviewed by Ian Pfennigwerth In July 1929 the new Nord-Deutscher Lloyd ...

Pages: 1 2

Christmases Past …

A.N. Other · Dec 3, 2006 ·

1776 Captain James Cook with HM ships Resolution and Discovery, arrived at Kerguelen or Desolation Island and named it after Capitan de Kerguelen, the French navigator. 1789 Entry in New ...

HM Barque Endeavour Replica: Around the Horn 2002

Ellis, John · Dec 3, 2006 ·

(with apologies to Kenneth Horne et al) – by John Ellis (Member) The author was a volunteer member of the crew of HM Barque Endeavour on passage from Sydney to ...

Pages: 1 2

Reflections on the Sydney/Kormoran Battle 1941

Captain Peter Hore, RN · Dec 3, 2006 ·

Ninety two year old Baron Reinhold von Malapert is today the senior surviving officer of the German raider Kormoran and as Radio Officer he had a grandstand view of the ...

Pages: 1 2

Sebastiano Venier-Mediterranean 1941: Tribute to an Enemy

Wright, Ken · Sep 3, 2006 ·

At the Axis held port of Benghazi in Libya on the afternoon of 8 December 1941, Italian soldiers assembled 2,000 assorted Australian, British, New Zealand and predominately South African prisoners ...

Pages: 1 2 3

Women in the RAN – a Personal Perspective

A.N. Other · Sep 3, 2006 ·

By Telegraphists S.V.T and D.G.H. This article first appeared in the Australian War Memorial publication HMAS in 1943. Ed. During the Great War of 1914-18, several new auxiliary services were ...

Pages: 1 2

HMS Byron and the Captain’s Appendix

Whitehouse, John · Sep 3, 2006 ·

HMS Byron was one of the 78 American-built Destroyer Escorts (DEs) acquired by the Royal Navy as welcome additional convoy escort vessels under Lend-Lease arrangements, and immediately employed in the ...

Pages: 1 2

A Reminiscence – Bombers and MTBs in the Med

A.N. Other · Sep 3, 2006 ·

By Telegraphist L.M.D., HMAS Townsville. (Obviously he has moved on to quieter times since this article was written). Editor’s note: I’m sure many of you will recall the series of ...

Pages: 1 2

Naval Communications – One for the Sparkers 1942

Cox, Leonard J. · Sep 3, 2006 ·

In October 1942, an Australian ‘N’ Class and an RN Destroyer were searching for survivors from a ship torpedoed some 800 miles south of the Cape of Good Hope. The ...

Disappearance of AE1 – 14 September 1914 – Still a Mystery

Fuqua Chris S · Sep 3, 2006 ·

This article brings together an article, Australia’s First Naval Casualty Remains a Mystery, written by Chris Fuqua and Rick Kennett, which first appeared in the NHS Review in June 1991, ...

Pages: 1 2 3

16th Minesweeping Squadron – Plaque Dedication

Moffatt, Allan (Shorty) · Jun 5, 2006 ·

On 31 March 2006 at 10.00am, I attended a Plaque Dedication Service at the West Wing, Australian War Memorial to honour those who had served on the sweepers during Indonesian ...

Pages: 1 2

HMA Anti-Submarine School – The Rushcutter Story

Cleary, Brian, Commodore, RAN (Rtd) · Jun 3, 2006 ·

During World War I, the only underwater detection device in use was the hydrophone – a passive listening set. In June 1917, the British Admiralty and the Royal Navy embarked ...

Pages: 1 2 3

HMS Belfast – The Missing Spadrem

Whitehouse, John · Jun 3, 2006 ·

Come the end of the War, someone in the Supply Department, doubtless with an eye to promotion, decided to hold a massive Stores Audit throughout the Fleet, presumably to discover ...

Pages: 1 2

HMAS Bass: The Thin White (and Buff-coloured) Line

Howland, Tony · Jun 3, 2006 ·

It was early 1964. I recall it was a Sunday. Darwin dozed through a typical Wet Season day – humidity ‘off the clock high’, stinking hot, ‘suicide weather’ the locals ...

Pages: 1 2

Rushcutter Graduates in the Battle of the Atlantic

Worledge, Ray · Jun 3, 2006 ·

Editor’s Note: The full text of Ray’s article described the evolution of HMAS Rushcutter as the Australian A/S School in 1938/39, and the training of both officers and sailors in A/S Warfare equipment ...

Pages: 1 2 3

The Kelly Story

Wright, Ken · Mar 3, 2006 ·

2 April 1937 Kelly began her life as Job number 615 at the R. & W. Hawthorn/Leslie & Company Limited shipyard at Hebburn-on-Tyne, Newcastle. She and her sister ship 614 ...

Pages: 1 2 3

Submarine in the Bush – Holbrook NSW

Wahlquist, Gilbert · Mar 3, 2006 ·

I suppose it is the fantasy of every submariner – up periscope, a quick circuit and there, a cable’s length away – is the local pub. Dreams are about to ...

Pages: 1 2

Book Review: The Voyage of HMS Herald 1861

Book reviewer · Dec 3, 2005 ·

The Voyage of HMS Herald 1861. By LCDR Andrew David RN. Miegunyah Press, (The Miegunyah Press is an imprint of Melbourne University Press). This is the authoritative account of one ...

Ship histories and stories

Follow us