On This Day
1945 > WW2
On This Day - 1945
- March 25, 1945
HMA Ships HOBART, (cruiser), and WARRAMUNGA, (destroyer), bombarded Japanese positions on Cebu Island, Philippines.
- March 24, 1945
HRH the Duke of Gloucester officially opened the Captain Cook Graving Dock at Garden Island, Sydney. A ribbon suspended across the dock entrance was cut by HMAS LACHLAN, (frigate). The building of the dock was the largest engineering project undertaken in Australia up to that time. At the peak of its activity 4000 men were employed, 24 hours a day, on the project. The dock was designed to accommodate the largest warships afloat, and the super liners QUEEN MARY and QUEEN ELIZABETH.
- March 21, 1945
GHQ Operations Instruction No. 99 detailed the only large-scale amphibious operation undertaken by Australian Forces in the World War II. It was the battle plan for the assault on Tarakan undertaken on 29 April.
- March 20, 1945
The British Pacific Fleet arrived at Ulithi to join the US Fifth Fleet for Operation Iceberg, the assault on Okinawa. HMAS QUICKMATCH and QUIBERON, (destroyers), were serving with the 4th Destroyer Flotilla in the Fleet.
- March 19, 1945
The general purpose vessel HMAS TRINGA, was commissioned. TRINGA was laid down in Greenpoint Naval Boatyard, Sydney.
HMAS WARREGO surveyed the approaches to the Iloilo River in the Philippines. The sloop swept mines and marked channels which enabled Liberty ships to berth alongside a pier at the river mouth.
- March 14, 1945
HMAS WATSON, Sydney, was commissioned as the RAN’s radar establishment. A radar school was established at the depot in 1942.
- March 10, 1945
HMA ML 825 shot down a Japanese fighter off Cape Orford, New Guinea.
HMAS LACHLAN, (frigate), surveyed the approaches to Mindanao, Philippines.
- March 9, 1945
HMAS WARREGO, (sloop), and the motor survey launches ALERT and BLOWFLY, surveyed Santa Cruz beaches in the Philippines under intense fire from shore guns. ALERT, (SBLT D.L. Cole, RANR) was struck by enemy shore fire. The boat was holed and two crew members wounded. SBLT Cole was awarded the DSC for this action.
HMAS SWAN, (sloop), shelled Japanese fortifications at Open Bay, New Britain.
- March 8, 1945
The services reconnaissance department (SRD) craft HMAS EDUARDO, was commissioned. EDUARDO was lent to SRD by the RN in March 1945.
- March 7, 1945
The destroyer HMAS NAPIER, (CAPT H. J. Buchanan, RAN), lost two seamen overboard when the destroyer rolled heavily and shipped a large sea off King Island, Bass Strait. The ship’s jolly boat was smashed in and a gun shield and guard rails were torn away. Three similar accidents were recorded in destroyers of this class in World War II.