The New Zealand scow was developed from the Canadian/US log barges that plied the Great Lakes during the 1800s. First built in New Zealand in 1873 for Septimus Meiklejohn of ...
History - WW2
Operation Downfall – The Invasion Of Japan
HMAS Sydney Grave No Longer Unmarked
In late 1998 the Guided Missile Frigate HMAS Canberra visited the remote Australian Territory of Christmas Island. During her visit a group of young sailors journeyed to the old European ...
Obituary: Rupert Robison
Rupert Robison Born: Springwood, May 29, 1909 Died: Rozelle, June 7, 1999 Lieutenant-Commander Rupert Robison was captain of HMAS Voyager when it ran aground on Timor in 1942. The commander ...
Book Review: Bombers and Battleships
Letters: Inquiry into the Loss of HMAS Sydney – Approaching unknown ship
I have read with great interest the article by IHN in NHR Vol. 19-4 [Dec. 1998] and the letters in Vo1.20-1 [March 1999] re the sad loss of HMAS Sydney. ...
Letter: The Day It Rained Metal At Manus
Hedy Lamarr, Movie Star (and Inventor of torpedo-control )
Letters – Japanese surrender in Timor
There was a uniqueness about the RAN involvement in the Japanese surrender ceremonies in Timor, raised in Peter Evans’s (Fairmile Association) letter in REVIEW Vol 19 No. 2 when he ...
The Greek Campaign 1941
The debate will never cease on the wisdom or otherwise of the decision by Churchilll’s war cabinet to send troops to assist the Greek Army in 1941. Field Marshal Earl ...
What flag was that?
Amid the saga of events in Jakarta over recent times, the red over white horizontal halves of the flag of the Republic of Indonesia have figured in high prominence. Displayed ...
The raid on St Nazaire 1942
1942, and the British were clinging on while their convoys were only just getting enough supplies through to keep the people and the war effort going. But on the Biscay ...
Radar Equipment, HMAS Shropshire
When “Shropshire” was being prepared in England for handing over to the RAN in 1942/43 she was fitted out with a full complement of the current RN equipment. (This is ...
SS Queen Mary & the loss of HMS Curacoa 1942
How the USA Flexed its Industrial Muscle in 1941
From December 7, 1941 to August 15, 1945, American shipyards constructed 10 battleships, 13 heavy cruisers, 33 light cruisers, 27 aircraft carriers, 110 escort aircraft carriers, 352 destroyers, 498 destroyer ...
Mystery of paper trail for HMAS Yarra gallantry claims
Memorial Window – RAN destroyers
At the Chapel of Remembrance, Garden Island, Sydney on Sunday, 15th July 1997 a memorial window commemorating the fifteen RAN destroyers which served in World War II was dedicated and ...
HMS Hood Memorial
Memorials to the loss of naval ships in UK are seldom seen but there is one of world-wide interest. The old Parish Church of Boldre, the building of which commenced ...
Book Review: U-Boat Far from Home
Obituary: Commander Leslie Brooks RAN (1900-1996)
Leslie Brooks was one of the best-known figures of Sydney’s Anzac Day marches with his snowy beard and ramrod straight presence. Brooks joined the Navy at 14, served in two ...
The Naming of USS Canberra (Follow-up Article)
Binoculars from the Past
One of Australia’s major naval tragedies of World War II has had its echo in Canberra more than 50 years later. Commodore (retired) M. Rayment of the Royal Australian Navy, ...
Book Review: Corvettes – Little Ships for Big Men
Title: “Corvettes – Little Ships for Big Men” Author: Frank B. Walker Published by: Kingfisher Press, 177 Sunrise Avenue, Budgewoi, NSW. 2262 The headlines on the fly sheet, “This story ...
Book Review: Commando! The M/Z Unit’s Secret War Against Japan
Title: Commando! The M/Z Unit’s Secret War Against Japan Author: A.B. Feuer This book describes the raising of Z Unit forces after Japan’s entry into World War II and contains first-hand ...
The Naming of USS “Canberra” – 1942
The following correspondence is self-evident and highlights the warm relationship between the USN and the RAN during WWII. Canberra Dated September 1, 1942 Recd 9:43 a.m., 2nd Secretary of State, ...