On This Day - 10 December
- 1878
- CDRE John C. Wilson, ADC, was appointed Commodore Commanding Australia Station.
- 1910
- Commonwealth ships HMAS PARRAMATTA and HMAS YARRA, (torpedo boat destroyers), the first warships built for the Australian navy since Federation, arrived in Port Phillip, Melbourne, Victoria, the Federal Capital of Australia.
- 1918
- HMAS BRISBANE, (light cruiser), operated with the Australian Destroyer Flotilla in the Black Sea.
- 1919
- HMAS SYDNEY, (light cruiser), patrolled the Timor Sea as beacon ship for Ross and Keith Smith's flight from England to Australia. The aviators recorded the cruiser was sighted exactly on station.
- 1940
- HMAS BALLARAT, (minesweeper), was launched at Williamstown Dockyard, VIC.
- 1941
- Japanese bombers sank HMS PRINCE OF WALES, (battleship), and HMS REPULSE, (battle-cruiser), in the South China Sea. HMAS VAMPIRE, (destroyer), picked up survivors. One of those lost in the sinking of HMS REPULSE was MIDN R. I. Davies, RAN, who commanded an Oerlikon gun on the port side of the battle-cruiser. The Naval Review wrote: 'An Australian midshipman was still firing his Oerlikon gun at an aircraft; several enemy aircraft were brought down by Midshipman Davies after the order to abandon ship had been given.'
- 1945
- The Q class destroyer, HMAS QUEENBOROUGH, was commissioned. QUEENBOROUGH was laid down at Swan Hunter's Yard, England, on 6 November 1940, and launched on 16 January 1942. QUEENBOROUGH was transferred to the RAN in September 1945.
- 1968
- Clearance Diving Team 3 recovered bodies, weapons and diving equipment from a Viet Cong supply sampan, sunk in an ambush at Rung Sat, Vietnam.
- 1969
- The first Australian chart published in metric measurement was issued by the RAN Hydrographic Office.
- 1983
- The Fremantle class patrol boat HMAS GERALDTON, was commissioned. GERALDTON was laid down in Cairns, QLD.
'On This Day' is based on the book "Navy Day by Day: Historic Naval Events in Australia and Abroad" written by the late Lew Lind. More information.
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Credit:
'On This Day' is based on the book "Navy Day by Day: Historic Naval Events in Australia and Abroad" written by the late Lew Lind. More information.
- 1942 > WW2
- 2000-present-day
- 1976-1999 > Post Vietnam
- 1960-1975 > Vietnam era
- 1946-1959 > Post WW2
- 1945 > WW2
- 1944 > WW2
- 1943 > WW2
- 1941 > WW2
- 1940 > WW2
- 1919-1938 > Depresssion and between the wars
- 1914-1918 > WW1
- 1900-1913 > Federation, RAN and pre-WW1
- 1850-1899 > Colonial Navies & RN
- 1770-1849 > First Fleet and RN
- 1939 > WW2