Naval Historical Review

Evolution of the Capital Ship 1906-1914

Date, John C., RANVR (Rtd) · Jun 27, 1988 ·

DREADNOUGHTS – the name given to battleships and battlecruisers of the navy, were ships to inspire men’s imaginations and by their majestic increase in tonnage and fire power, became the ...

Sons of the Sea – 1947 RAN College Entry

Zammitt, Alan · Jun 27, 1988 ·

PRIOR TO 1956 Cadet-Midshipmen entered the RAN College in January after reaching thirteen years of age. Late in 1946 six hundred thirteen year old candidates went before a Naval Selection ...

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Changi and the HMAS Perth Survivors

Thomson, Max · Mar 16, 1988 ·

HMAS PERTH SURVIVORS probably never got to hear about it! Even today, they are probably still unaware. But they were the subject of a special request tabled to authorities when ...

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Warramunga to the Rescue of SS Starr King

A.N. Other · Mar 13, 1988 ·

DURING 1943 several Japanese submarines operated off the east coast of Australia. In all about 14 ships were torpedoed by these subs. Surface escorts for ships operating off the coast ...

Leyte: HMAS Shropshire and HMAS Arunta in the Battle of Surigao Strait

Date, John C., RANVR (Rtd) · Mar 13, 1988 ·

IN THE GREATEST SEA BATTLE of all time, near the Philippine Island of Leyte in 1944, overmatched ships fought desperately against three Japanese fleets to keep the hard-won beachheads open. ...

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Man Overboard! Warramunga Saga

Whyte,Sam · Dec 13, 1987 ·

A DREADED CRY, which all sailors hope and trust that they never hear. However it does happen and when it does, all crew members try their hardest to help and ...

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The Birth of the Soviet Fleet, Kronstadt, 1921

Head, M.A., S.J. · Dec 13, 1987 ·

KRONSTADT IS A FORTIFIED CITY on the island of Kotlin, about 30 kilometres from Leningrad in the Gulf of Finland. Built three centuries ago, it was to guard the approaches ...

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Island Traders – Four and Twenty Dutchmen

Thomson, Max · Sep 13, 1987 ·

THEY WERE NOT WARSHIPS. They were not even Australian. Yet the contribution they made to Australia’s survival in the dark years of 1942 and 1943 when Japanese forces swept so ...

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HMAS Waterhen – a history

A.N. Other · Sep 13, 1987 ·

THE LATTER STAGES of the Great War saw the introduction into the Royal Navy of a number of capable and high performance destroyers. To operate with these destroyers the Admiralty ...

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HMAS Swan (Sloop) 1937-38

Mesley, Rear Admiral J.S., CBE, MVO, DSC · Sep 13, 1987 ·

I HAVE BEEN ASKED to prepare a short history of HMAS Swan during the period in which I served in her during her first commission from 21st January 1937, until ...

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Perth Survivor story

Bee, W.A. ("Buzzer") · Sep 11, 1987 ·

‘AND THE DAWN CAME UP LIKE THUNDER out of Java across the Bay’. These few words echoing an amended version of the famous song ‘On the Road to Mandalay’, seemed ...

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Lost Letter Throws New Light on Sydney-Emden Action

Bywater, G (Naval Archives) · Jun 11, 1987 ·

Locating the Letter: As part of a general clean up and rationalisation of cabinets belonging to the Naval Historian, the Navy Archives staff dug through a number of filing cabinets ...

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Sydney – Emden Action: a short history

A.N. Other · Jun 11, 1987 ·

IN OCTOBER 1914, Sydney and her sister ship Melbourne detached from the Flagship (Australia) and returned to Australia to form a unit of the escort of the first Anzac convoy ...

HMS Driver – First Paddlewheel Ship to Circumnavigate the World

Rivett, Norman C · Jun 11, 1987 ·

HMS DRIVER, a 180 foot paddlewheel sloop, was the first steam vessel to circumnavigate the world. The voyage took five years and commenced from Portsmouth in 1842. Her record, despite ...

Strange Orders – in Strange Places

Thomson, Max · Jun 11, 1987 ·

Warships received some strange orders in some strange places during World War II. Midget Submarines and Human Torpedoes: Milne Bay was a pretty forlorn place in the early days of ...

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HMAS Platypus & The Darwin Raid – 1942

Gale, Lieutenant Commander M.B. , VRD, RANR (Retd.) · Jun 11, 1987 ·

THE PLATYPUS (Plats) was a WWI submarine depot Ship which, together with five ‘J’ class submarines, was presented by the RN to the RAN in 1919. She was later paid ...

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Wartime Submarine Service

Piggott, Lieut. Cdr. F.M., RD, MNI, RNR. Rtd., · Mar 11, 1987 ·

Recollections of Lieut. Cdr. Piggott of his wartime service in submarines. PRIOR TO WORLD WAR II and general hostilities I had been serving as an officer in the Merchant Service ...

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FFG5 Builds in Two Dockyards 600 Miles Apart

A.N. Other · Mar 11, 1987 ·

A TECHNIQUE successfully employed by Germany for the building of U boats is being employed in the building of the two guided missile frigates building in Australia. The frigates FFG5 ...

HMAS Perth POW – Moji Maru Incident

Bee, W.A. ("Buzzer") · Mar 11, 1987 ·

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TWO MONTHS since our group arrived in Singapore from Java when the news was received that we were on the move again. Although rumours were strong ...

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Camouflage in the Royal Australian Navy

Parkin, Ray · Mar 11, 1987 ·

(This short account of camouflage in the Royal Australian Navy was written by Ray Parkin some years ago and throws a little light on the devious art.) I DID NOT ...

Williamstown Naval Dockyard – Part 3

Sullivan, John · Mar 11, 1987 ·

(In the previous two issues of Naval Historical Review John Sullivan has written of the early establishment years of Williamstown Dockyard up to the outbreak of World War 2. This ...

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HMAS Parramatta Silver Jubilee

Old, Commander R.H., RAN · Dec 13, 1986 ·

ON 4 JULY 1986 HMAS Parramatta celebrated her Silver Jubilee – 25 years service preserving the peace. The keel of the third warship to bear the name of the cradle ...

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RAN Formation – A Personal Memory

Feakes, Rear Admiral , CBE · Dec 11, 1986 ·

The following account of how the Royal Australian Navy was born was written by Rear Admiral H.J. Feakes, CBE almost fifty years ago. Feakes was an eyewitness to the great ...

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Williamstown Naval Dockyard – Part 2

Sullivan, John · Dec 11, 1986 ·

Vice President John Sullivan continues his story of HMA Dockyard, Williamstown, and in this article relates how the streets and thoroughfares received their names. ONE THING WHICH SURPRISED ME when ...

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Royal Australian Naval Operations 1914

Hinchliffe, L.M. · Sep 24, 1986 ·

I FEEL THAT THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY of the Royal Australian Navy should not be allowed to slip away without brief mention of the operations carried out by the Navy in ...

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