HMAS SYDNEY, (cruiser), patrolled south of Cyprus with HMS PROTECTOR, in search of a Vichy French transport bound for Beirut. Two shells from the French Ship RICHELIEU, (battleship), struck HMAS ...
Australian Naval History on 25 September 1940
Australian Naval History on 24 September 1940
HMAS AUSTRALIA, (cruiser), fired on two battleships and a cruiser in Dakar. The enemy cruiser was observed to be hit and caught fire. During the day AUSTRALIA’S Seagull amphibian was ...
Australian Naval History on 23 September 1940
HMAS AUSTRALIA, (cruiser), participated in the combined British-Free French attack on French ships at Dakar, Operation Menace. AUSTRALIA engaged two enemy destroyers attempting to leave the port, and drove them ...
Australian Naval History on 22 September 1940
Australian troop convoy US 5 departed Fremantle with Dutch liners CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS (16,287grt), INDRAPOERA (10,825grt), NIEUW HOLLAND (11,066grt), and SLAMAT (11,636grt). 4262 troops were carried in this convoy. The convoy ...
Australian Naval History on 20 September 1940
A British hunter group was formed to locate the German armed merchant cruiser Atlantis. The group was composed of HMA Ships Canberra and Westralia and HM Ships Capetown and Durban ...
Australian Naval History on 19 September 1940
HMAS AUSTRALIA, (cruiser), sighted three Vichy French cruisers, 250 miles south of Dakar, and shadowed them north. The cruiser HMAS ADELAIDE, (CAPT H. A. Showers), escorted the Norwegian tanker NORDEN, ...
Australian Naval History on 7 September 1940
HMAS ADELAIDE, (cruiser), arrived at Vila to install De Gaullist M. Sautot as French Commissioner of the New Hebrides. Vila was in the hands of Vichy sympathisers, and ADELAIDE stood ...
Australian Naval History on 6 September 1940
HMAS Australia departed the Clyde for Freetown to replace HMS Fiji in Operation Menace. On 8 September, U.56 unsuccessfully attacked Australia, which arrived at Freetown on the 14th. ...
Australian Naval History on 5 September 1940
HMAS HOBART, escorting convoy BS.3 at 15‑25N, 41‑46E, was unsuccessfully attacked eight times by Italian bombers. The auxiliary minesweeper HMAS SAMUEL BENBOW, was commissioned. SAMUEL BENBOW was laid down in ...
Australian Naval History on 4 September 1940
The cruiser, HMAS SYDNEY, (CAPT J. A. Collins, RAN), and HM Ships DAINTY and ILEX, (destroyers), bombarded Italian airfields at Scarpanto. Three Italian E-boats attacked the squadron, but accurate fire ...
Australian Naval History on 3 September 1940
While proceeding to Brisbane from Sydney, en route to New Caledonia, HMAS Adelaide (I) was in collision with SS Coptic of the Shaw Savill and Albion Line. Although both ships ...
Australian Naval History on 2 September 1940
The German raider ORION laid dummy mines off Albany, WA. The auxiliary anti-submarine vessel HMAS WILCANNIA, (LCDR G. Tancred, RAN), was commissioned. WILCANNIA, (as WYRALLAH), was laid down in Burmeister ...
Australian Naval History on 26 August 1940
HMAS AUSTRALIA, (cruiser), launched her Seagull amphibian aircraft on a solo bombing attack of Tromso, Norway. Heavy cloud and poor visibility caused the aircraft to turn back. ...
Australian Naval History on 24 August 1940
HMAS WATERHEN, (destroyer), and HM Ships DIAMOND, ILEX, and JUNO, of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla, bombarded the Italian seaplane base at Bomba, Libya. ...
Australian Naval History on 23 August 1940
In Operation DR, HMS NORFOLK (Captain A J L Phillips) and HMAS AUSTRALIA (Captain R R Stewart RN) departed Scapa Flow at 1939 to operate in the area of Bear ...
Australian Naval History on 22 August 1940
The Grimsby type escort sloop HMAS WARREGO, (CMDR R. V. Wheatley), was commissioned. WARREGO was laid down in Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, on 15 May 1939, and launched on 10 ...
Australian Naval History on 19 August 1940
The cruiser HMAS HOBART, (CAPT H. Howden, RAN), bombarded the main buildings and port installations of Berbera, as the Italian Army entered the port. During the bombardment three exhausted soldiers ...
Australian Naval History on 18 August 1940
The evacuation of Berbera was completed. HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), launched her Seagull amphibian aircraft soon after dawn, on a reconnaissance of the Berbera Plains. No enemy activity was observed. ...
Australian Naval History on 17 August 1940
The Port of Sydney was closed, when objects suspected of being mines were sighted, off Botany Bay. HMA Ships STUART, VENDETTA, and WATERHEN, (destroyers), were on the screen of HM ...
Australian Naval History on 16 August 1940
LEUT E. T. Lees, RANVR, was awarded the DSC for bravery and conspicuous service while serving in HM trawler ARAB, during the Norwegian Campaign. Lees was First Lieutenant of the ...
Australian Naval History on 15 August 1940
CAPT H. Howden, RAN, commanding HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), was appointed Senior Naval Officer at Berbera. Howden successfully directed the evacuation of the port as it was invaded by superior Italian ...
Australian Naval History on 14 August 1940
CMDR H. J. Buchanan, RAN, was awarded the DSO for conspicuous gallantry while commanding HMS VANITY, (destroyer), during the evacuation of Dunkirk. CMDR Buchanan later commanded HMA Ships NORMAN and ...
Australian Naval History on 10 August 1940
At the request of the army HMAS HOBART sent ashore 3 volunteers to man a 3-pounder Hotchkiss saluting gun. The sailors were PO H. Jones, AB H. C. Sweeney, and ...
Australian Naval History on 9 August 1940
The auxiliary minesweeper HMAS GOONAMBEE, was commissioned. GOONAMBEE was laid down in the State Dockyard, Newcastle, NSW, in 1919. She was requisitioned for the RAN, from her owners, Cam & ...
Australian Naval History on 8 August 1940
HMAS HOBART’S, (cruiser), amphibian aircraft, made a solo bombing raid on the Italian airfield at Zeila, Somaliland. Italian bombers retaliated by straddling HOBART with bombs. ...