The Naval Historical Society is an association of individuals bound together by a love of the navy. Occasionally a member of this band of brothers and sisters stands out from ...
Naval history
Australia’s Nuclear Submarines – Costs and Timelines
By Jack Dillich* The recent government announcement on the acquisition of nuclear submarines is one of the most significant events in the history of the Royal Australian Navy. This article, ...
Letter: The Newport Ship
I was very interested to see the article on the Newport Ship in our recent journal. I saw the timbers in tubs in Newport in 2005 and had a good ...
Book Review: Love, Oil and the Fortunes of War
Love, Oil and the Fortunes of War is a fictionalised history by Sydney-based author Paul Ashford Harris. Published by Ventura Press in 2023, a paperback edition of 288 pages and ...
Book Review: Nelson’s Lost Son.
Nelson’s Lost Son. The recently published Nelson’s Lost Son is the second part of a trilogy by author Oliver Greeves. Part One, Nelson’s Folly, was reviewed in the December 2021 ...
Regal and would-be Regal Yachts
In the era just past we became accustomed to hearing of the Royal Yacht Britannia and there was a tinge of sadness when obsolescence and economies led to her demise. ...
The Frigates that ‘did nothing in particular, and did it very well’ – with apologies to W.S. Gilbert.
By John Ingram Fifty years ago, the Whitlam Labor government cancelled the troubled Light Destroyer (DDL) project and set in place the acquisition of six patrol frigates of the Oliver ...
The Maritime Strategic Fleet Taskforce and its Implications for the RAN
The findings of a Maritime Strategic Fleet Taskforce may have a considerable bearing on the future of the impoverished Australian maritime industry and be of great benefit. As this may ...
Occasional Paper 164: Saving the old Parramatta
By Ross Gillett The unusual post-war career of the first Australian destroyer The first HMAS Parramatta, a River class torpedo boat destroyer (TBD), was commissioned into the Australian Fleet in ...
Occasional Paper 163: Able Seaman Frank McGovern OAM 1919 – 2023
By Commander Steve Youll OAM RAN (Retd) Frank McGovern, at 19 years of age joined the Royal Australian Navy on the 30 August 1939. After initial training he was posted ...
Occasional Paper 161: HMAS Tobruk (II) Recognized for Operation SOLACE Service
Thirty years after the event, HMAS Tobruk and the crew members of her 1992-93 Operation SOLACE deployment to Somalia received approval from the Minister for Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh for ...
Occasional Paper 162: Port Phillip’s Fleet Review 1920
By Ross Gillett “In the perfect beauty of the crisp autumn afternoon, the Prince of Wales made his triumphant entry to the homeland of the Anzacs in the Australian destroyer ...
Occasional Paper 159: River Class Torpedo Boat Destroyers
This article was originally published in LE GROGNARD!, the newsletter of the ACT Branch of the Military Historical Society of Australia, January 2023 edition – Issue #2023/1. Tim Lyon is ...
Occasional Paper 160: Shipwright First Class Patrick Daniel Murphy BEM
The following biography is based on that prepared by the Museum of Perth for the Soldiers of Barrack Street exhibition. Included in the second part of this paper is a ...
Occasional Paper 158: John Palmer: The Colony’s First Principal Commissary
By Cheryl Timbury. This paper was first published on 6 February 2012 by the First Fleet Fellowship Victoria Inc ©. John Palmer (1760 – 1833) the first Commissary-General of New ...
Book Review: The Scrap Iron Flotilla
The Scrap Iron Flotilla by Mike Carlton. William Heinemann Australia. Paperback of 448 pages. rrp $34.99 On Sunday September 3rd 1939, history was tumbling over itself. In the mess decks ...
Book Review: The Hunt for the Storozhevoy; the 1975 Soviet Navy Mutiny in the Baltic
The Hunt for the Storozhevoy; the 1975 Soviet Navy Mutiny in the Baltic. By Michael Fredholm von Essen. From Helion Books, Europe At War Series No 19. Published 2022. This ...
Book Review: The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania and Mutiny in the South Pacific.
The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania and Mutiny in the South Pacific. This 327-page paperback edition written by Brandon Presser was published by Icon Books of London in ...
Warrant Officer of the Navy
The previous incumbent, WO Deb Butterworth OAM CSM & Bar, held this prestigious position for three years until December 2022 when WO Andrew Bertoncin OAM became the tenth Warrant Officer ...
An Australian minesweeper goes to Cyprus
The following arises from the article A Magnificent Greek Warship published in the December 2022 edition of the Naval Historical Review which explored the history of the Greek museum ship ...
The Big Guns of Tarawa
By Walter Burroughs The December 2022 edition of this magazine contained an article A Lonely and Dangerous Vigil regarding New Zealand Coastwatching operations in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Comments ...
The Newport Medieval Ship Project
This article originally appeared in the Magazine of the Institute of Conservation (ICON News) Issue 101, August 2022 and is reproduced, with minor amendments, by kind permission of the author ...
Royal Australian Navy: Fleet Reviews over the Years
By Dr J.K. Haken A Fleet Review is a British tradition where the monarch inspects the massed ships of the navy. It originally occurred when the fleet was mobilised for ...
The Sydney Harbour Invasion
By Colin Randall Many Australian harbours are defended against enemy attack and none more so than Sydney, which has had shore-based fortifications since the days of the First Fleet. Potential ...
The Enterprising Enderbys
By Walter Burroughs The English Civil War During the 18th and 19th centuries the name Enderby was well-known in shipping circles in Great Britain and its colonies in America and ...