HERMAN GILL IN HIS HISTORY of the Royal Australian Navy 1939-1942 stated that the Bathurst class minesweepers or corvettes were ‘an Australian modification of an Admiralty design’ and this view ...
Australian Units
Bomb Alley, 1942
IN 1942 THE BOMB ALLEY of this story extended 400 miles along the central Mediterranean with every mile within 30 minutes of enemy airfields. At the eastern end the strategically ...
Corvette Maryborough 1941-1946
HMAS MARYBOROUGH was built by Walker’s Ltd at Maryborough, Queensland and commissioned by Lieutenant Commander G. L. Cant, RAN on 15th June, 1941. Known as the Bathurst class of mine-sweepers, ...
Australian Naval History on 17 June 1980
The destroyer escort HMAS SWAN, (CMDR D. T. Read, RAN), rescued 72 Vietnamese refugees from a disabled vessel in the South China Sea. ...
Australian Naval History on 5 June 1980
Evaluations of the US designed Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo, (for potential use in the Oberon class submarines), commenced at HMAS WATSON. ...
Australian Naval History on 30 May 1980
HMA Ships ATTACK, ADVANCE, and BUCCANEER, (patrol boats), commenced offshore oil rig patrols. The patrols were organized to prevent terrorist attacks on the oil rigs ...
Australian Naval History on 18 May 1980
China’s first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile landed in the Pacific Ocean north west of Fiji. The splashdown was observed by HMA Ships VAMPIRE, (destroyer), and JERVIS BAY, (training ship). A ...
Australian Naval History on 13 May 1980
HMA Ships VAMPIRE, (Daring class destroyer), and HMAS JERVIS BAY, (training ship), were dispatched to the area between the Solomon Islands and Fiji, to observe the test firing of China’s ...
Australian Naval History on 6 May 1980
The first female officers of the RAN to serve at sea, embarked in the training ship HMAS JERVIS BAY. ...
On the Gunline – HMAS Perth’s 3rd deployment in Vietnam
Australian Naval History on 17 March 1980
The patrol boat HMAS FREMANTLE, (LEUT R. Thomas, RAN), the lead ship of the Fremantle class patrol boats was commissioned at Lowestoft, England. A publicity hoax claiming the discovery of ...
Australian Naval History on 13 March 1980
AB J. Stewart was lost overboard from HMAS BRISBANE, (guided missile destroyer), 120 miles north-west of Honolulu before midnight on 12/3/1980, and was picked up 12 hours later by USS ...
Australian Naval History on 1 March 1980
HMAS TOBRUK, (amphibious heavy lift ship), was launched at Newcastle, NSW. ...
Australian Naval History on 29 February 1980
HMAS DIAMANTINA, (oceanographic research ship), and the last World War II ship in commission in the RAN, was paid off for disposal at Garden Island, Sydney. She had steamed 615,755 ...
Australian Naval History on 16 January 1980
The keel for HMAS SYDNEY, the third guided missile frigate ordered from the USA, was laid at Seattle, USA. ...
The Tobruk Run
WHILE I WAS IN COMMAND of HMAS Vendetta in 1940-41, she ran a record number of trips to Tobruk. If my memory serves me right we went into that port ...
Australian Naval History on 9 October 1979
HMAS Vendetta was decommissioned. In her 21 year career, she had steamed 670952 nautical miles. She subsequently served as a source of spare parts for Vampire (II), the last Australian ...
The History of HMAS Tingira
Australian Naval History on 31 August 1979
CPO Jackson, of HMAS KIMBLA, (survey vessel), was washed overboard and drowned in heavy seas, while the ship was leaving Port Philip Bay, VIC. His body was never recovered. ...
Australian Naval History on 23 August 1979
The Minister for Defence, Mr. D. J. Killen, announced the building of an underway replenishment ship for the RAN at Cockatoo Island. The ship was named HMAS SUCCESS. ...
Australian Naval History on 20 August 1979
Trials of the Australian-designed and developed Mulloka Submarine Sonar System were completed in HMAS YARRA. ...
Australian Naval History on 1 July 1979
The WRAN officer rank titles were replaced with male officer rank titles. The Navy began training its WRAN officer cadets at RAN College at Jervis Bay with their male counterparts. ...
The RAN – 1918-1919
Australian Naval History on 15 January 1979
The RAN Staff College was officially opened at HMAS PENGUIN, Sydney, under the command of CAPT N. Ralph, AM, DSC, RAN. Prior to this all RAN officers undergoing staff training ...
Australian Naval History on 5 January 1979
HMAS HOBART, (guided missile destroyer), was dispatched on a 3000 nautical mile mercy dash to Heard Island to evacuate a seriously ill biologist. ...