On This Day - 12 January
- 1817
- HMCS LADY NELSON, (brig), sailed from Sydney to search for survivors from the brig TRIAL in the Port Stephens area. Natives interrogated by the ship's crew said the convicts who had landed from the wreck had built a smaller vessel and had sailed north.
- 1905
- Commonwealth Naval and Military Boards were constituted under the Defence Act of 1903-1904. The regular members of the Naval Board were the Minister for Defence, (Mr J. W. McKay) as President, the Director of Naval Forces, (CAPT William Creswell), and a civilian as finance member, (Mr J. A. Thompson). CMDR F. Brownlow, (Officer Commanding Naval Forces New South Wales), was named as consultative member.
- 1940
- The Australian tug HEROS, (escort vessel), was commissioned into the RAN. She was re-commissioned on 12 February 1943 as a naval salvage tug.
- 1944
- HMAS AUSTRALIA and USS NASHVILLE, (cruisers), commenced refit in Sydney.
- 1945
- HMAS NAPIER, (destroyer), and the Royal Indian Navy ships JUMNA and NARBADA, supported by HDML1248 and ML854, launched the assault on Myebon, Burma, (operation Pungent).
- 1946
- The River class frigate HMAS BARWON, was commissioned. BARWON was laid down in Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, on 31 May 1943, and launched on 3 August 1944.
- 1953
- 850 Squadron commissioned as a fighter squadron at NAS Nowra with Hawker Sea Furies.
- 1968
- Naval aircrewmen, K. R. Wardle and K. J. French were rescued by helicopters of No. 9 Squadron, RAAF, when their helicopter gunship crashed in jungle north of Baria, Phuoc Tuy Province, Vietnam. Both airmen were injured in the crash.
'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.
