On This Day
1944 > WW2
On This Day - 1944
- April 14, 1944
The Fremantle-based USS BONEFISH, (submarine), sank the Japanese destroyer INAZUMA, off North Borneo.
LEUT M. H. Shean, RANVR, commanding a midget submarine, successfully laid charges in Bergen Harbour, Norway. A floating dock was severely damaged and the merchant vessel BARENFELS was sunk in the attack. Shean was awarded the DSO.
- April 11, 1944
The Fremantle-based USS REDFIN, (submarine), sank the Japanese destroyer AKIGUMO, off Zamboanga, in the Philippines.
The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS JUNEE, was commissioned. JUNEE was laid down at Poole & Steel Yard, Sydney, on 17 February 1943, and launched on 16 November 1943.
- April 10, 1944
The Fremantle-based USS COD, (submarine), sank the Japanese destroyer KARUKAYA off Luzon.
- March 31, 1944
HMA Ships NAPIER, NORMAN, NEPAL, and QUIBERON, (destroyers), and HM ships QUALITY and QUEENBOROUGH, participated in Operation Diplomat, the reinforcing of the British Eastern Fleet.
HMA Submarine K9, formerly the Dutch KIX, was paid off for disposal. The vessel was later wrecked on Seal Rocks, NSW, while under tow to the Far East for breaking up.
- March 27, 1944
The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS STRAHAN, was commissioned. STRAHAN was laid down in the State Dockyard, Newcastle, NSW, on 19 October 1942, and launched on 12 July 1943.
The Fremantle-based USS HAKE, (submarine), sank the Japanese tanker YAMAMIZU MARU in the Java Sea off Borneo.
- March 26, 1944
The Coastwatcher’s Navy in far northern waters consisted of, HMAS PALUMA and HDML 1321, commanded respectively by the brothers SBLT P. Palmer, RANVR, and SBLT E. Palmer, RANVR.
- March 25, 1944
Manus Island was captured by the Allies. Seeadler Harbour was developed as a major naval base and by September 1944 it rivalled Pearl Harbour. It was equipped with a 100,000 ton floating dock and cranes with a lifting capacity of 180 tons.
HMAS LACHLAN, (frigate), was launched at Mort’s Dock, Sydney.
- March 24, 1944
The Fremantle based USS BOWFIN, (submarine), sank the Japanese transports SHINKYO MARU and BENGAL MARU.
An explosion and fire onboard the Fairmile motor launch, HMAS ML 427, caused the deaths of three RAN personnel. ML 427 was alongside the wharf at HMAS LADAVA, (Milne Bay), undergoing repairs when a spark from a battery terminal ignited fuel in the bilge. Those who died, (or subsequently died from their injuries), were Stoker C. J. Jones, Motor Mechanic R. L. McKee, and Motor Mechanic E. J. Williams. Motor Mechanic J. A. Page, who was passing by, saw the explosion and stopped to render assistance. He subsequently rescued two men from the vessel and was later awarded the British Empire Medal, (BEM), for gallantry.
- March 23, 1944
The Fremantle-based USS DACE, (submarine), landed a coastwatcher reconnaissance party, under CAPT G. C. Harris, on Cape Tanahmerah, Dutch New Guinea, to gather intelligence for the proposed landing at Hollandia.
- March 22, 1944
HMA Ships AUSTRALIA, (cruiser), and ARUNTA, (destroyer), with the USS MULLANY, (destroyer), carried out a sweep of the New Guinea coast east of Tanahmerah Bay and destroyed a number of Japanese barges.