Twelve telegraphists, and two stewards of the Women’s Emergency Signalling Corps, (WESC), commenced duty at the Harman W/T Station in Canberra. The WESC was the forerunner of the Women’s Royal ...
Australian Naval History on 18 April 1941
Australian Naval History on 16 April 1941
HMAS KATOOMBA, (minesweeper), was launched at Poole and Steele’s Yard, Sydney. ...
Australian Naval History on 15 April 1941
The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS BURNIE was commissioned. BURNIE was laid down at Mort’s Dock, Sydney, on 3 June 1940, and launched on 25 October 1940. HMAS PERTH, (cruiser), ...
Australian Naval History on 14 April 1941
HMAS SYDNEY embarked Australian delegates for the ABDA conference and departed for Singapore, arriving on the 19/4/41. HMAS WATERHEN, (destroyer), rescued 430 patients and medical staff from the hospital ship ...
Australian Naval History on 13 April 1941
The destroyers HMAS STUART and HMS GRIFFIN, bombarded enemy positions at Sollum, Libya. ...
Australian Naval History on 12 April 1941
The siege of Tobruk started and went on for 242 days, until the 8 December. The Tobruk Ferry involved RAN destroyers making 139 runs, with HMAS VENDETTA alone making 39. ...
Australian Naval History on 10 April 1941
HMAS Canberra joined military convoy WS 6 as relief for HMS PHOEBE ...
Australian Naval History on 8 April 1941
HMAS PARRAMATTA, (sloop), towed the damaged cruiser HMS CAPETOWN to the port of Massawa. The cruiser had been attacked and torpedoed by Italian destroyers in the Red Sea. ...
Australian Naval History on 6 April 1941
The Seagull amphibian from HMAS AUSTRALIA, (cruiser), crashed and sank when taking off in Cook Strait. HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), was in company with AUSTRALIA, and landed its Seagull aircraft on ...
Australian Naval History on 5 April 1941
The trading schooner GERARD was commissioned into the RAN as an auxiliary patrol vessel. ...
Australian Naval History on 3 April 1941
HMAS PARRAMATTA, (sloop), passed a flotilla of Italian destroyers at night while escorting a convoy off Port Sudan. No sighting report was made by either side. ...
Australian Naval History on 2 April 1941
HMAS VOYAGER, (destroyer), sank the heavily damaged cargo ships HOMEFIELD, and COLOUROUS XENOX, after savage German air attacks in the central Mediterranean. ...
Australian Naval History on 1 April 1941
Three sailors from HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), who were captured after volunteering to man a shore-based gun in August 1940, were released from prisoner-of-war camp in Eritria, East Africa. They were ...
Australian Naval History on 31 March 1941
The Italian submarine DAGABUR sank the cruiser HMS BONAVENTURE which was escorting convoy GA 8. 310 survivors were picked up by HMAS Stuart and HMS Hereward. HMAS Stuart heavily depth ...
Australian Naval History on 30 March 1941
The Mediterranean Fleet returned to a vociferous welcome from ships at Alexandria after the Battle of Matapan. HMA Ships PERTH, STUART, and VENDETTA were detached after the battle to escort ...
Australian Naval History on 29 March 1941
The destroyer HMAS STUART, (CAPT H.M.L. Waller, RAN), fired her last shots, in the Battle of Matapan, at the Italian destroyer VITTORIO ALFERI. The Italian Navy lost three cruisers and ...
Australian Naval History on 28 March 1941
The Battle of Matapan commenced. HMA Ships PERTH, STUART, and VENDETTA participated in the battle which destroyed Italian naval supremacy in the Mediterranean. VENDETTA was the first Australian ship to ...
Australian Naval History on 26 March 1941
The Australian trawler MILLIMUMU sank after striking a German mine on the south coast of NSW. HMAS TOOWOOMBA, (minesweeper), was launched at Walker’s Yard, QLD. The vessel was transferred in ...
Australian Naval History on 21 March 1941
LEUT C. G. Hill, RANR, of HMAS WARERHEN, boarded the bombed and burning Danish tanker MARIE MAERSK, after the vessel had been abandoned by her crew north of Crete. Hill ...
Australian Naval History on 19 March 1941
HMAS PARRAMATTA, (sloop), blockaded the Perim area to intercept enemy shipping attempting to escape from the ports of Massawa and Assab. ...
Australian Naval History on 7 March 1941
HM Ships ORION and AJAX and HMAS PERTH, comprising convoy AG.3, departed Alexandria with 1900 troops for Piraeus arriving on 8/3/41 ...
Australian Naval History on 6 March 1941
HMAS STUART, (destroyer), was attacked seven times by German bombers while on passage to Piraeus. In the last attack she was near-missed by a large bomb. CAPT H. Waller wrote: ...
Australian Naval History on 4 March 1941
HMAS CANBERRA intercepted the German raider supply ship COBURG and a captured tanker, KETTY BROVIG east of Italian Somaliland. These two ships were support vessels for three German raiders then ...
Australian Naval History on 1 March 1941
HMAS BENDIGO, (minesweeper), was launched at Cockatoo Island, Sydney. ...
Australian Naval History on 28 February 1941
The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette) HMAS GOULBURN, (LCDR B. Paul, RANR), was commissioned. GOULBURN was laid down in Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, on 10 July 1940, and launched on 19 ...