RADM R. C. Moffitt, AM, RAN, was appointed as Maritime Commander Australia. He had previously served as the Deputy Chief of Navy from 2002-04. ...
Australian Naval History on 28 June 2004
Australian Naval History on 26 June 2004
The ANZAC class guided missile frigate, HMAS BALLARAT, (CMDR D. J. Hunter, CSC, RAN), was commissioned. BALLARAT was laid down in Tenix Williamstown Dockyard, VIC, and launched on 22 May ...
Australian Naval History on 18 June 2004
The frigate HMAS NEWCASTLE, (CAPT T. N. Jones, CSC, RAN), was en-route to Hawaii for Exercise Rimpac 04, when she was diverted to rescue three Danish sailors from the yacht ...
Book Review: Royal Navy Escort Carriers
Royal Navy Escort Carriers By Commander David Hobbs, MBE, Royal Navy Published by Maritime Books in UK Available at the Australian Maritime Museum bookshop at Darling Harbour. £19.95 (approx A$50 ...
Australian Naval History on 16 June 2004
The tanker MT DELOS, was purchased by the RAN as a replacement for HMAS WESTRALIA. MT DELOS is a 37,000 double-hulled tanker built in South Korea. The tanker was to ...
Australian Naval History on 12 June 2004
The Iraqi Coastal Defence Force was officially formed at the Umm Qasr Naval Base, Iraq. Personnel from the RAN, RN, USN, and Polish Navy, had been instrumental in the training ...
The Amethyst Incident Recalled
Visit To HMAS Sheean – Garden Island 2003
The Editor managed to score an unexpected conducted tour of one of the RAN’s latest Collins Class submarines, HMAS Sheean, alongside the dedicated submarine berth in Fleet Base East. ON ...
By Dawn’s Early Light
Middle East Patrol (HMS Mermaid)
The Origin Of Port (Side To . .)
IN 1844 THE ADMIRALTY issued an order, stating: ‘The word ‘Port‘ is frequently substituted for the word ‘Larboard‘, and as the distinction between ‘Starboard‘ and ‘Port‘ is so much more ...
HMAS Hawkesbury and Singapore POWs return
With the unveiling by CDF General Cosgrove at Ballarat on 6 February 2004 of the memorial dedicated to 35,000 Australians who became prisoners-of-war in all conflicts, journalist and Navy veteran ...
HMS Vanessa North Atlantic 1941
HMS Viscount 1940
Australian Naval History on 6 June 2004
60 years after the D-Day landings, a significant commemorative service was held at Arromanches, France. Four Australian ex-servicemen, including CDRE Dacre Smyth, (RAN, Retired), were presented with the French Legion ...
Australian Naval History on 3 June 2004
The Minister of Defence, Mr Robert Hill, announced the purchase of a new tanker to replace the aging HMAS WESTRALIA. The tanker DELOS, which had been built in South Korea ...
Australian Naval History on 2 June 2004
During a two week ‘blitz’ on illegal fishing vessels in Northern Australian waters, more then 15 Indonesian fishing vessels were detained. HMA Ships BUNBURY, WARRNAMBOOL, and WHYALLA, (patrol boats), assisted ...
Australian Naval History on 1 June 2004
The damaged yacht ELIZABETH II was towed into Darwin, after being rescued by the patrol boat HMAS GAWLER, (LCDR R. Donnelly, RAN), near Bathurst Island. ...
Australian Naval History on 28 May 2004
The Minister of Defence, Mr Robert Hill, announced that an RAN Heritage Centre would be built at the northern end of Garden Island, Sydney, to display RAN artifacts. The idea ...
Australian Naval History on 20 May 2004
The ADF ceased to formally provide security forces in Timor Leste, (formerly East Timor), when security for the nation was handed over to the country’s own Defence Force and Police. ...
Australian Naval History on 5 May 2004
A ceremonial plate-cutting, of the first aluminum for the RAN’s new Armidale class patrol boats, was conducted at the Austal Shipyard near Fremantle, WA. Under the $550 million contract, Austal/Defence ...
Australian Naval History on 25 April 2004
Prime Minister, John Howard, accompanied by the CDF, (General Peter Cosgrove), make a surprise ANZAC Day visit to Australian personnel serving in Baghdad. A planned visit to HMAS STUART, then ...
Australian Naval History on 24 April 2004
The ANZAC class frigate HMAS STUART, (CMDR Phillip Spedding, RAN), took part in the rescue of US personnel following a suicide attack by three boats on oil terminals at Basra ...
Australian Naval History on 7 April 2004
In one of the stranger law cases dealt with in Australia, Leading Seaman Michael Szewczyk was found to have stolen over 1000 books on Naval and Military history, (worth over ...
Chief of Naval Staff Visits HMAS Benalla
DURING WW2 we had commissioned the corvette HMAS Benalla as a survey ship and she was lying alongside Station Pier West, Port Melbourne, about to start acceptance and work-up. A ...