Discovery of propellers from the ship explains why Peary was the only warship of several vessels to be sunk By Dr Tom Lewis[1] This paper was previously published in The ...
History - WW2
Bougainville
This article forms the final part of a trilogy covering the history of the Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island. Part 1 discussing the Solomon Islands from European discovery to the ...
Rommel’s Riposte
By Andreas Biermann1 We were recently contacted by the author regarding an article published in a previous edition of the Naval Historical Review in which we incorrectly attributed the date ...
HMAS Sydney 80th Anniversary Commemorative Speech
By Commodore Ivan Ingham AM RAN The following commemorative speech was delivered by Commodore Ingham at the HMAS Sydney (II) memorial in Geraldton, Western Australia on Friday 19 November 2021. ...
Melville Neilson Cumming: An Albany hero known by many names
By David Theodore, Curator, Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum Melville, Skinny or Bob? Over a lifetime a person can be identified by a number of names. From all official documents ...
A/Captain Ross V. Wheatley OBE, RAN: A distinguished officer wrongly criticised
By Hector Donohue and Mike Turner Ross Wheatley was born in Adelaide on 19 December 1900, joined the Naval College in 1914 and subsequently specialised as a hydrographer, qualifying as ...
Tulagi: an Historic Outpost of Empire A little island with a big history
Tulagi is one of more than 900 islands and atolls in the nation of the Solomon Islands, a beautiful archipelago stretching over 1,400 kilometres in the Coral Sea. It lies ...
The Battle of Cape Spada – 19 July 1940 Part 1: The Genesis of Italy’s Light Cruiser Force
By Andreas Biermann Introduction This article is the first of two that aim to provide a new perspective on the Battle of Cape Spada on 19 July 1940, one of ...
Occasional Paper 119: Darwin, 19 February 1942: a forgotten moment in the history of naval air operations
By Angus Britts The Japanese air attacks against Port Darwin in the forenoon of 19 February 1942 were a salient moment in Australia’s modern history. For the first time the ...
News reel of the surrender ceremony on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.
Produced by United News, it features the speech made by General Douglas McArthur. The background music is “With Honour Crowned”. ...
The HMAS Australia II Story by Kez Hasanic
Online presentation about HMAS Australia II by Kez Hasanic. The HMAS Australia II Story ...
Book Review: Right Man, Right Place, Worst Time
Right Man, Right Place, Worst Time. By Betty Lee, Boolarong Press, Tingalpa, Queensland, 2019. Paperback, 318 pages, with sketch maps and photographs. Available from booksellers and publisher rrp $32.00. Along ...
A Warship named Bradman
By John Smith One would have thought that the Australian Fleet would have been proud to have a warship named BRADMAN to honour our most famous cricketer, Sir Donald Bradman. ...
HMAS Quickmatch to the Rescue
Also published as Occasional Paper 156, March 2023 By Max Hayles and R.C.H. Mason The first part of this story by Max Hayles appeared in the June 2007 edition of ...
Leonard Roy McLeod – Soldier and Sailor
A recent photograph of some veterans at the 75th anniversary celebrations of the great Battles of Leyte Gulf showed Rear Admiral Guy Griffiths and ex-Able Seaman David Mattiske who both ...
Derek Holyoake and the torpedoing of HMAS Hobart in 1943
Derek Holyoake enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy on July 8, 1940 at the age of 16 and was serving onboard HMAS Hobart when she was torpedoed on July 20, ...
Book Review: Teddy Sheean VC – A Selfless Act of Valour
Teddy Sheean VC – A Selfless Act of Valour. Paperback of 379 pages by Tom Lewis. Big Sky Publishing, Newport NSW, 2021. Also available as an eBook. The author played ...
The Remarkable Cavaye family
A colleague from the United Kingdom conducting research into wartime submarine losses recently contacted the Society seeking information on the Australia- born captain of HMS Tempest which was lost in ...
Port Clearance Parties – the Australian Connection
By Hector Donohue Port Clearance Parties, or P Parties, were established in the Royal Navy (RN) in late 1943 and were trained to clear the ports and harbours of Northern ...
George Hermon Gill: Writer of History
The name George Hermon Gill might mean little to a new generation of men and women serving in the RAN but in your careers you will almost certainly come across ...
Memories of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
News of the death of Prince Philip was received with great sadness when he recently crossed the bar just short of his century. Not only was he a magnificent consort ...
Occasional Paper 113: A Sailor’s Life in the Mediterranean, 1940/41: Pictorial Record
An insight into the lighter moments in the life of Stores Assistant Gordon Hill who served in HMAS Vendetta from September 1938 until May 1941. ...
Occasional Paper 112: The Hollywood Fleet in Sydney Harbour
How four luxurious gin palaces became hard-working heroines of the Battle of Sydney Harbour. By Neale Philip ...
Occasional Paper 109: First Command
A recollection of a first submarine command experience by Captain Goodwin Felton Gower of the South African Navy was provided by his son Allen Gower who lives in Sydney. ...
The Navy’s Secret War in the Pacific
This article was the first to appear in the very first issue of the Australian Naval Historical Review in 1971. It retains its historical interest, and is very much in ...