The following are accounts of individual contributions made by two remarkable people in the aftermath of the Japanese midget submarine attack in Sydney Harbour on 31 May1942. Actions by these ...
Australian Units
Occasional Paper 11: THE REMARKABLE SHORT LIFE OF HMAS NESTOR THE SHIP THAT NEVER CAME HOME
The following address was delivered Commander Walter Burroughs RAN Rtd during the 75th anniversary ceremony conducted by the RAN on Garden Island, Sydney 16 June 2017. I am honoured ...
Occasional Paper 10: THE LOSS OF HMAS KUTTABUL
The following address was delivered Captain Christopher Skinner RAN Rtd during the 75th anniversary ceremony conducted by HMAS Kuttabul on Garden Island, Sydney 1 June 2017. Good morning to you ...
Occasional Paper 9: THE SINKING OF HMAS ARMIDALE ON 1st DECEMBER 1942
The following address was delivered by Dr Kevin Smith OAM to members of the Naval Historical Society of Australia in Sydney 18 April 2017. In 1798 at the Battle of ...
Occasional Paper 8: THE GUSTAVO STEFANINI STORY
The following story was provided by Commander Stephen Youll, OAM RAN Retd in relation to the matter of the first RAN ship to sink a submarine in World War 2. ...
Occasional Paper 7: HMAS VAMPIRE MEMORIAL ADDRESS 9 APRIL 2017
On 9 April 1942, HMAS VAMPIRE (I) was sunk by Japanese bombers in the vicinity of Batticaloa, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) with the loss of eight lives. This action was commemorated ...
Occasional Paper 5: Ken Brown: Service in HMAS Nestor
By Warrant Officer Martin Grogan SBLT Ken Brown, RAN Mr Ken BROWN (aged 95) a retired RAN Lieutenant Commander and World War Two veteran was recently awarded the British ...
Occasional Paper 4: Naval Historical Society of Australia PRESENTATION– 26 SEPTEMBER 2016 HMAS MELBOURNE II
By Tom de Voil Introduction I recently had a brief article about HMAS MELBOURNE, the aircraft carrier, published and consequent on that I was asked to give this talk. It ...
Occasional Paper 3: TOBRUK – THE LIFTING OF THE SEIGE
December 9, 2016 is the 75th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Tobruk, the port on the north coast of Libya, that proved such a thorn in Rommel’s ...
Occasional Paper 2: Operation DAMASK – HMA Ships BRISBANE and SYDNEY
The following story was contributed by Hugh Hyland. Hugh worked for the variously named Defence departments for over 50 years until retiring in December 2015. He held numerous positions in ...
Occasional Paper 1: Battle of Australia Day Commemoration – Sydney 7 Sep 16
By Commander Rebecca Jeffcoat RAN Distinguished Guests, Ladies andGentlemen First I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people, the Traditional Custodians of this Land on which we are gathered, and ...
HMAS Brisbane and her ‘Baby’ – Embarking aircraft at sea
On 6 May 1917 the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) began its long association with naval aviation. In these early days, the seaplane was the aircraft of choice to be ...
HMAS SWAN to SHANGHAI
The 1981 trials of the ‘heavenly duck’ by Max Sulman During the 1970s there was a gradual easing of tension between China and the West. There were cautious overtures ...
Old timer HMAS Krait
Three views of the Second World War Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) vessel Krait. The following description is from the Australian War Memorial website: “Operation Jaywick was a raid on shipping ...
LIMBO MYSTERY SOLVED
By Walter Burroughs In late 2020 the Naval Historical Society was approached by colleagues from across the Tasman for help in finding a Mortar Mark 10, required for their naval ...
Losing a funnel – HMAS Protector: From the Archives
In June 1919, the Royal Australian Navy gunboat HMAS Protector almost sank. The incident took place off Cape Everard, (known as Point Hicks since 1970), the small coastal headland in ...
Box-Brownies’ : HMAS Platypus 1940-44
Good clear images of the veteran depot ship HMAS Platypus (I)during the Second World War, are a rare commodity. A few years back the editor received a number of ...
70 YEARS AGO HMAS QUEENBOROUGH’s 1955 TRAINING CRUISE
HMAS Queenborough sailed from Sydney for the United Kingdom on 24 February 1955. Her task, to gain experience in the latest methods of anti-submarine warfare and to evaluate the capabilities ...
IN MEMORY: HMAS SYDNEY II
The Daily Mercury in Mackay, Queensland, featured the following ode to the lost light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II), sunk with all hands off the Western Australian coast on 19 November ...
Occasional Paper 191: Aviation in the Royal Australian Navy, the first 65 Years, 1917 to 1982
The following story is based on a Royal Australian Navy News story first published on Friday 23 April 1982, page 4. Australian Naval aviation this month celebrated the 65th anniversary ...
Australian Naval History on 12 December 2024
Four of the Evolved Cape class patrol boats were commissioned into the RAN. Formerly ADV vessels they became HMA Ships Cape Pillar, Cape Naturaliste, Cape Woolamai and Cape Capricorn ...
History of Australian Defence Landing Craft and the Balikpapan Class Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) 1971 – 2014
This Historical Booklet (Monograph 200) by Bjarne Kristensen was published by the Naval Historical Society of Australia in December 2024. This paper discusses the history of Australian Defence Amphibious vessels ...
Australian Naval History on 5 December 2024
HMAS Gascoyne II was decommissioned at HMAS Waterhen, Sydney ...
Australian Submarines in the Cold War — A force Multiplier in the West
This Historical Booklet (Monograph 199) by Dr Tom Lewis was published by the Naval Historical Society of Australia in September 2024. This paper discusses the role of the Royal Australian ...
Australian Naval History on 1 November 2024
The Evolved Cape class patrol boat ADV Cape Schanck was officially accepted by the RAN ...