By Hector Donohue Early Career Francis James Ranken was born in 1864 at ‘Saltram’, Eglinton, near Bathurst. He was the eldest son of James Australian Ranken and was educated at ...
Naval history
HMAS Hobart – The Skilful Survivor
As told to our Editor by Cyril Rayner The Australian Navy started the war with three relatively modern Modified Leander Class light cruisers. Of these fine ships much has been ...
A Short History of the Peruvian Navy
By Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo is a retired Commander in the Peruvian Navy. He holds a B.A. in history from the Peruvian Catholic University and a Ph.D. in maritime history ...
Our Most Welcome Spanish Guest
Spanish guests are only infrequently welcomed to our shores, in fact this seems to occur about every 200 years. The famous navigator Luis Vaz de Torres visited in 1606 and ...
The RAN and the Capitulation of German New Guinea
In August 1914 the Australian government responded with caution to a British suggestion that it might undertake the destruction of the radio stations located in German colonial possessions in the ...
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 ...
Those Amazing Young Men and their Flying Machines
…brought to life with memorabilia from an Australian air ace found on Queensland rubbish tip By Jim Craigie The Great Find A World War I pilot’s helmet worn by Australia’s greatest ...
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 ...
Sea Chaplains: Serving their Country with Pride
By Rev Dr Melissa Baker RAN …the drenching spray as the ship thudded into each on-coming wave and then rose upon it, the loneliness amid the dull green or grey-black ...
Vincent Patrick Taylor (Captain Penfold) – The Man who Bombed the Fleet
By Cris George There was plenty of aerial activity attached to this year’s Fleet Entry celebrations in Sydney Harbour. What you might not know is that there was an aerial ...
The Chilean Navy: Two Centuries Of Service
By Carlos Tromben-Corbalán, PhD Exon. Carlos Tromben-Corbalán is a retired Chilean Navy Engineer Captain. He studied at the Academia Politécnica Naval, Chile where he gained a Master of Science in ...
They Also Served – Supply Assistant John Norman Carr Hordern (1924 – 2013)
‘They also serve who only stand and wait’ is the final line taken from the great English poet John Milton’s sonnet on his blindness. In a modern context this implies ...
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 ...
William Creswell – What Maketh the Man
Age of Change It was the age of change when centuries old maritime practice collided with the industrial revolution. Over two millennia past and more, man had conquered the great ...
One King, One Fleet, One Nation?
By Lindsey Shaw Lindsey Shaw is a former Senior Curator at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Committee Member of the Naval Historical Society and Member of the Board of Directors ...
Book Review: Lost – The stories of all ships lost by the Royal Australian Navy.
Lost: The stories of all ships lost by the Royal Australian Navy. Written and published by Allen Lyne in Adelaide, 2013. ISBN 980-0-646-90375-0 in soft cover, 305 pages with plentiful ...
Letter: The Hammerhead Crane
A number of our readers have pointed out an erroneous comment made in the article regarding the Hammerhead Crane contained in the June 2013 edition of this magazine. This concerns ...
Royal Australian Navy Border Protection: A focus on illegal immigration since 1975
By Sub Lieutenant R.E. Whitby, RAN Rian Whitby was born in Bowen and spent his childhood in rural Queensland. There is a strong family tradition of service in the ...
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 ...
Reflections on four decades in the profession of Naval Engineering – and Jacky Fisher got it right!
By Rear Admiral David Holthouse, AO, RAN (Rtd) David Holthouse entered the Australian Naval College in 1950, just a few days after his 14th birthday. He had an outstanding career ...
HMAS Adelaide Memorial Mast Restoration – Two for the Price of One
By Leyland Wilkinson HMAS Adelaide I was a 6 inch cruiser built at Cockatoo Island Dockyard. She was originally laid down in November 1915 but was not commissioned until August ...