On This Day

1946-1959 > Post WW2

December 7, 1951

HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), suffered her second pilot loss when SBLT R. R. Sinclair was killed. His Sea Fury was hit by flak north-west of Chinnampo, and he bailed out, however he struck the tail of the aircraft in doing so. A rescue mission was mounted, but the helicopter crew found him to be dead when they arrived on the scene.

December 4, 1951

HMAS AUSTRALIA, (cruiser), and the merchant ship SOMERSET, collided off Garden Island, Sydney. Damage to both vessels was slight.

November 20, 1951

HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), launched the first of 10 air strikes against barracks and industrial plants at Hungnam, Korea.

November 18, 1951

The Battle class destroyer HMAS TOBRUK, (CMDR Richard I. Peek, RAN), destroyed a complete Communist freight train between Songjin and Chongjin, Korea.

November 17, 1951

The destroyer HMAS Tobruk (I) was in action off the east coast of Korea, engaging and destroying a North Korea supply train as it attempted to get past Tobruk’s patrol area.

November 13, 1951

Aircraft from HMAS Sydney (III) were in action spotting the fall of shot for the US Navy battleship USS New Jersey. Sydney completed her third patrol on this day, her strikes having made inoperable all of the railway lines in her target area.

November 5, 1951

LEUT K. E. Clarkson, DFM, RAN, was killed in action when his aircraft failed to pull out of dive during an attack on North Korean transports. His death was the first operational casualty during the deployment to Korean waters of HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier).

October 26, 1951

Firefly fighter bombers from HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), attacked railway tunnels on the west coast of Korea. One aircraft was lost in the operation, and crashed close to Communist positions. The pilot, SBLT M. D. Macmillan, RAN, and Observer 1st Class J. Hancox, were unhurt, and later rescued by a USN helicopter piloted by CPO A. K. Babbitt, who was awarded the US Navy Cross, and the British DSM, for the same act of gallantry.

October 25, 1951

A Sea Fury piloted by LEUT C. M. Wheatley, RAN, (from HMAS SYDNEY, aircraft carrier), was hit by flak, and crashed into the sea of Chinnampo, South Korea. Wheatley was picked up by a patrolling helicopter and taken to the main Allied airbase at Kimpo.

October 18, 1951

Air strikes from HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), sank a flotilla of North Korean supply junks in the Yalu estuary, Korea.

October 14, 1951

HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), suffered damage in Typhoon Ruth off Sasebo, Japan. Six aircraft lashed to the flight deck were lost, and the ship sustained damage to sponsons and fittings. Mountainous seas and cyclonic winds swept SYDNEY’s deck.

October 12, 1951

Twelve Sea Fury fighter bombers from HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), attacked 1000 North Korean troops advancing in the open.

October 11, 1951

HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), created a record for a light fleet carrier by flying 89 sorties in one day. SYDNEY was operating against Communist store dumps at Kojo, Korea.

October 4, 1951

HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), commenced her first patrol in the Korean War.

October 3, 1951

HMAS Tobruk began active operational duty in the Korean theatre when she reported for duty on the screen of Commander Task Element 95.11 (USS Rendova) with HMC Ships Athabaskan and Sioux in company.

September 30, 1951

The frigate HMAS MURCHISON, (LCDR A. N. Dollard, RAN), engaged North Korean guns and small arms in a close-range encounter on the Han River, Korea. MURCHISON suffered three wounded. For conspicuous gallantry in the action the following awards were made:-DSC LCDR A. N. Dollard; DSC LEUT M. Kelly, RAN.

September 28, 1951

The frigate HMAS MURCHISON, (LCDR A. N. Dollard, RAN), penetrated the Han River, Korea, and came under heavy Communist gunfire. MURCHISON withdrew after suffering light damage.

HMAS Labuan paid off to reserve and was sold for disposal on 9 November 1955. The landing ship was heavily damaged during the 1951 visit to Heard Island. Labuan attempted to sail home, but broke down completely en route. The vessel had to be towed back to Fremantle, arriving on 1 March

September 12, 1951

HMAS Anzac (II) proceeded to Wonsan, eastern Korea, where she assumed the duties of Commander Task Element 95.22, the other vessels of the group being US Ships Thompson and Naifeh. Duties of the group were ‘blockade of the east coast of Korea from a point 23 miles south of Songjin to latitude 41°50’N’, being some 34 miles south of the Korean/Siberian border. Operations with TE 95.22 continued until 26 September, when after firing her one thousandth round of 4.5-inch ammunition against the enemy, Anzac (II) parted company for Kure, ending her first tour of duty in the Korean theatre.

September 6, 1951

HMAS ANZAC, (Battle class destroyer), fired her guns in war for the first time when she engaged enemy targets at Haelu, in western Korea.

August 31, 1951

HMAS Sydney with HMAS Tobruk in company as her escort departed Sydney for Korea and arrived in Japan on 19 September 1951. Squadrons embarked were 805 (Sea Furies), 808 (Sea Furies) and 817 (Fireflies).

August 16, 1951

The tug HMAS EMU (LCDR J. Toulouse, RANVR), ferried ashore 575 troops from the New Zealand ship WAHINE, wrecked on Masela Island, near Darwin, NT.

August 1, 1951

HMAS BATAAN, (Battle class destroyer), fought a gun duel with enemy batteries on the west coast of Korea.

July 24, 1951

HMAS Murchison was in action off the coast of Korea, destroying Chinese vehicles while on a coastal patrol. Murchison remained on patrol until 4 August bombarding shore installations, troop concentrations, gun emplacements and store dumps firing some 1,100 rounds of 4-inch ammunition.

May 29, 1951

HMAS Bataan sailed from Hong Kong for home after eleven months service with the United Nations in Korean waters. Bataan was en route to Japan for her sixth post-war tour of duty with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force when the Korean War began on 25 June 1950.

April 9, 1951

HMS DUCHESS, (Daring class destroyer), was launched at Thorneycroft’s Yard, England. DUCHESS was loaned to the RAN to replace HMAS VOYAGER, (destroyer), which had been sunk in 1964 during a collision with HMAS MELBOURNE, (aircraft carrier). She was purchased outright by the RAN in 1972, but was paid off in 1977.