On This Day

On This Day - 7 December

1939

The Australian War Cabinet considered a memorandum from VADM Sir Ragnar Colvin, RN, the British First Naval Member and Chief of Naval Staff, which advocated that HMA Ships CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, and SYDNEY, (cruisers), be assigned to protect convoy US1, (11 fast liners carrying 13,500 Australian and New Zealand troops), from Fremantle to the Cocos Islands. The Australian Government would not agree to such a depletion of naval forces in Australian coastal waters.

1941

The Siege of Tobruk ends after 242 days. RAN ships supported the Allied forces in Tobruk by running a 'ferry service' bringing in ammunition, food, water, medical supplies, and fresh troops, while evacuating wounded and prisoners of war.

1942

HMAS BUNGAREE, (minelayer), laid a defensive minefield along the Great Barrier Reef QLD, to protect shipping lanes from Japanese submarine attacks.

1944

HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), was re-commissioned in Sydney. Damage inflicted by a Japanese torpedo in 1943 required 17 months in dockyard hands for repairs.

1945

The River class frigate HMAS MACQUARIE, (LEUT L. M. Hinchliffe, DSC, RAN), was commissioned. She was laid down as CULGOA in Mort's Dock, Sydney, on 3 December 1943, and launched on 3 March 1945 as MACQUARIE.

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.

1952

HMAS ANZAC, (destroyer), bombarded North Korean troop positions at Cho Do and Sok To Islands, inflicting heavy casualties.

1954

HMAS QUEENBOROUGH was re-commissioned as an anti-submarine Frigate. During conversion she became the first ship of the RAN fitted with Type 170 Asdic and the Mk 10 Limbo mortar.

1959

HMAS Warramunga paid off. After 18 months in reserve she was declared for disposal on 22 May 1961. On 15 February 1963 she was sold to the Japanese firm Kinoshita & Co Ltd for breaking up and subsequently left Sydney under tow for Japan.

1962

The newly formed 16th MCM Squadron arrived in Australia with the six Bird class minesweepers.

1973

HMPNGS BUNA, (landing craft heavy), was commissioned into the PNGDF. She was a sister ship to the RAN LCH vessels, and was a gift from Australia to Papua New Guinea.

1976

HMAS ASSAIL, (patrol boat), surveyed the Alligator River, NT.

1993

RADM D. B. Chalmers, AO, RAN, was appointed as Maritime Commander Australia. The position had previously been known as Flag Officer Commanding the Australian Fleet.

2013

End of operation RENDER SAFE, an annual, Australian-led operation to help remove the explosive remnants of World War II (WWII) from the South West Pacific during which HMAS Labuan II was deployed and during which some 10,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance were located and either destroyed or made safe.