By Leyland Wilkinson In the latter part of the 19th century, Germany had been actively developing her Pacific island colonies and by 1900 had large holdings to the north of ...
History - WW2
Instructor Captain Richard Gerard Fennessy DSC RAN
By Noel Burgess This extraordinary story concerns a country schoolmaster who mainly served through WW II in one ship in which he won the DSC and afterwards rose to become the ...
Betano Bay Today
By John Ellis This article first appeared in the United Service Journal 65(1) March 2014 and is reproduced with the kind permission of the Royal United Services Institute of New ...
The Royal Australian Navy at Leyte Gulf October 1944
By Kingsley Perry The series of sea battles at and around Leyte Gulf in October 1944 marked a turning point in the Pacific war. Despite together representing the greatest sea ...
Book Review: Rising Sun, Falling Skies – The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II
Rising Sun, Falling Skies – The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II. By Jeffrey R. Cox. Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2014. Hardback of 487 pages with b&w photographs and ...
Milne Bay Revisited
The Naval Historical Society is not here to promote the travel industry, but in this instance it may be warranted, as some members may be interested. A recent initiative by ...
Memoirs of George William Rayner 15 Oct 1886 – 18 July 1962
These important memoirs provided by Robert Rayner are taken from his grandfather’s handwritten notes discovered in the family’s Sydney home in 2007. Early Life in Prison! I was born at ...
HMAS Yarra (II) Unit Citation for Gallantry
By LCDR Desmond Woods, RAN On 4 March this year the Governor General Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce, AC, CVO awarded a retrospective Unit Citation for Gallantry to HMAS ...
The Lessons Learned from the Actions of Both Sides during the Battle of the Coral Sea
By Midshipman Gerard G. Vejrych, RAN Gerard Vejrych was born in Canberra but raised in Suffolk, England. From an early age he aspired to pursue a career in military aviation ...
Letter: HMAS Kuru
Dear Sir, I was very interested to read the article concerning the above ship which was included in the September 2013 issue of the Review. My father was Commanding Officer ...
Book Review: Carrier Attack Darwin 1942: The Complete Guide to Australia’s own Pearl Harbor
Carrier Attack Darwin 1942: The Complete Guide to Australia’s own Pearl Harbor. By Dr Tom Lewis & Peter Ingram. Published by Avonmore Books, Kent Town, South Australia, 2013. Hardback, 368 ...
The Effectiveness of Torpedoes and Mines in World War II
By Mike Turner Mike Turner graduated from Sydney University with a degree in Science and an Honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering. After qualifying as a Ships Diver in 1957 he ...
The Importance of Defence Strategy following the Battle of Sunda Strait
By Sub-Lieutenant G. Bateman, RAN Garry Bateman was born in Plymouth on 23 July 1980. His father was a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy serving in submarines. This ...
Letter: HMAS Platypus and the Darwin Blitz February 1942
Dear Editor I have just read G. W. Ireland’s recounting of his experience in Darwin during the first and continuing raids and I would like to add that my father, ...
Book Review: Carriers at War 1939 -1945
Carriers at War 1939 -1945 by Adrian Stewart. Published by: Pen & Sword, Barnsley, 2013. Paperback of 224 pages with numerous photographs. rrp about $30 but reductions now available. Barely ...
Letter: Sea mine
The article by Sub-Lieutenant N.J. Laing, RAN in the June 2013 Review quotes the myth that the sea mine ‘accounted for more shipping losses than any other weapon’ during World ...
Manus Memories
By David Mattiske A recent article in the June 2013 edition of the NHR brought back memories to the author who served in HMAS Shropshire during an important shore bombardment ...
Rugby in the RAN – the Navy’s first Australian Services Rugby Premiership
By Ian Wrigley With a proud sporting heritage we surprisingly hear little in the way of naval sporting activities and achievements in these pages. This short article looks at some ...
HMAS Kuttabul Remembered both sides of the Harbour
As the Naval Historical Society was recently represented at similar events on both sites of the harbour our members might be interested in their reports. Unfortunately restricted access to the ...
HMA Ships Kuru and Vigilant
The Patrol Vessel Vigilant was a prototype built by Cockatoo Island Dockyard. She was a handsome vessel and the first ship in Australia built with an aluminium hull and superstructure; ...
Book Review: A Parting Shot: Shelling of Australia by Japanese Submarines 1942
A Parting Shot: Shelling of Australia by Japanese Submarines 1942 by Terry Jones and Steven Carruthers. Published by Casper Publications Pty Ltd, Sydney, 2013. 320 pages with illustrations and photographs. ...
Tokyo Rose
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. Shakespeare’s enduring couplet from Romeo and Juliet, now often shortened to ...
The Loss of HMS Glowworm: an Australian Connection
By Greg Swinden War at sea has no intermissions, none of the periods of recovery between advances or retreats that land warfare enjoys, no breaks safely behind the lines between ...
The Admiralty Islands
Previous editions of this magazine have focused on the histories of Cocos, Christmas and Nauru Islands as they formed part of the Government’s Pacific Solution for asylum seekers. This article ...
Letter: Sydney Sharp-Shooter and the Zero
Dear Editor On page 23 of the Naval Historical Review (March 2013), the statement is made that Sergeant Hajime Toyoshima (alias Tadeo Minami) captured on 19 February 1942 was the ...