The following is an address given by Captain Ralph T. Derbidge MBE RAN (Retired) on Monday 19 October 2015 at the Australian War Memorial. The occasion was the dedication of ...
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy in World War One
The following note was provided by Captain Sean Andrews, RAN Director of the Sea Power Centre -Australia. Thanks also for the link to a short film made by the Sea ...
Occasional Paper 76: The Navy and the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic
By Greg Swinden The world is currently combatting the Coronavirus 19 (COVID 19) which originated in China and has now spread throughout the globe. Australia has fortunately been spared, so ...
Book review: Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Royal Australian Navy in Vietnam 1965-72
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Royal Australian Navy in Vietnam 1965-1972. Second Edition. By John R. Carroll. First published in 2013, this second edition has been revised with ...
Border and Resource Protection: Past Challenges and Future Opportunities for the Royal Australian Navy
This essay won the New Entry Officers Course 61 Naval Historical Society History Prize, awarded in December 2019. By Lieutenant Melissa Chen RAN1 Australia has unique problems and may thus ...
Appear where you are not expected
By Lieutenant Commander Chris Watson RAN1 This essay won the Smith Prize, which is open to all members of the Department of Defence in the Chief of Navy’s 2019 Essay ...
Book Review: Collins of the Sydney
By Tony Macdougall, published by Clarion Editions, 77 Lewis Street, Mudgee, NSW 2850. Tel: 02 6372 1387 or email: macdougallburns@bigpond.com.au. A quality paperback of 576 pages with many photographs ...
Special feature interview with an incredible veteran on the 80th anniversary of WWII
Alan Jones hosted a special feature interview to mark 80 years since Australia joined World War II. On September 3, 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced to the nation that ...
Occasional Paper 60: Naval Gigs: Past and Present
August 2019 By Dennis J Weatherall JP TM AFAITT(L) LSM, Volunteer Researcher, Naval Historical Society of Australia Subsequent to the recent recovery of an HMAS Australia (1) Gig from bushland at ...
Occasional Paper 56: Recollections of founding the Naval Historical Society
June 2019 In 1970 Lew Lind, Rod Atwill, Alan Payne and myself found ourselves with the responsibility of putting together an association which we were to call the Naval Historical ...
Occasional Paper 52: The RAN and the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic
May 2019 Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Issue 6 of Semaphore, the publication produced by The Sea Power Centre Australia in March 2006. We are indebted to them ...
Occasional Paper 51: The Attack Class Patrol Boat
April 2019 By Dennis J Weatherall JP TM AFAITT(L) LSM Volunteer Researcher, Naval Historical Society of Australia Patrol boats have proven to be the most flexible and versatile elements of ...
Occasional Paper 50: Royal Australian Navy’s 118th Birthday
April 2019 On 1 March 2019 a ceremony was conducted at the Royal Australian Navy Memorial, ANZAC Parade, Canberra to mark the Australian Navy’s 118th Birthday. The program of events ...
Occasional Paper 44: The Fairey Gannet A/S1
By CMDR (P) R. V. Morritt, RAN Rtd The Fairey Gannet A/S 1 aircraft was introduced into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in 1955. When embarked ...
Australia Day 2019
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Occasional Paper 39: The Story Of Commander Paul Hugill Hirst RAN 1899-1963
November 2018 Compelled to Resign: The Story Of Commander Paul Hugill Hirst RAN 1899-1963 by Lieutenant Commander Terry Feltham RAN Ret’d “Just because something ends doesn’t mean it never should’ve ...
Occasional Paper 35: Loss of HMAS Parramatta (II): First Hand Accounts
September 2018 Recently the Naval Historical Society of Australia was favoured with two handwritten letters from survivors of the sinking of HMAS Parramatta (II) off Tobruk overnight 27 November 1941. ...
Occasional Paper 33: HMAS Cerberus – Early History and Observations
August 2018 This paper was developed after locating a 1970 HMAS Cerberus Wardroom mess dinner menu. The menu included observations by prominent citizens about HMAS Cerberus and its location at ...
Occasional Paper 32: HMAS Voyager (I) or What’s in a Coat of Paint?
August 2018 During WWII ships of the RAN were painted in a number of different colour schemes as these photos of Voyager illustrate and information on both peacetime and wartime ...
Occasional Paper 30: HMAS Hobart
Several events concerning the three HMA Ships Hobart come together with a memorial and commemoration service at the Garden Island Chapel on Sunday 22nd July starting at 10.00am. HMAS Hobart ...
Occasional Paper 28: Cockatoo Island – An Historical Account
June 2018 Cockatoo Island has a long association with the RAN. The Island has World Heritage Listing and some additional information can be found on our website at https://navyhistory.au/naval-heritage-sites/cockatoo-island. This ...
Occasional Paper 27: Royal Naval House, ‘Johnnies’: Some Personal Reminisces
May 2018 Royal Australian Naval House has always been known affectionately as ‘Johnnies’, although the origin of the name is hard to trace. From 1968 to 1970 a young Able ...
Occasional Paper 24: Sydney Harbour Minefield
April 2018 Through the Society’s relationship with the Australian National Maritime Museum, stories are shared between the two organizations. The following is an Article from ‘All Hands’ December 2017 edition, ...
Occasional Paper 38: RAN Returns to the Unit System of Machinery Layout
After World War 2 the Daring Class destroyer was designed taking into account the lessons learnt for the ships damaged during the war. Many destroyers had been rendered unpowered because ...
Occasional Paper 22: HMAS Advance faces 50
An Article from ‘All Hands’ December 2017 edition The Australian National Maritime Museum Volunteers’ Quarterly Newsletter By Wal Robson The museum’s popular patrol boat has a significant birthday coming up ...