How Not to Run an Air Force! -The Higher Command of the Royal Australian Air Force During the Second World War
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An Analysis of the Loss of HMAS SYDNEY
An analysis of the loss of HMAS SYDNEY By David Kennedy The 6,830-ton modified Leander class cruiser HMAS SYDNEY THE MAIN STORY The sinking of cruiser HMAS SYDNEY by disguised German raider KORMORAN, and the delayed search for all 645 crew who perished 70 years ago, can be attributed directly to the personal control by British wartime leader Winston Churchill of top-secret Enigma intelligence decodes and his individual power. As First Lord of the Admiralty, then Prime Minster, Churchill had been denying top secret intelligence information to commanders at sea, and excluding Australian prime ministers from knowledge of Ultra decodes of German Enigma signals long before SYDNEY II was sunk by KORMORAN, disguised as the Dutch STRAAT MALAKKA, off north-Western Australia on November 19, 1941. Ongoing research also reveals that a wide, hands-on, operation led secretly from London in late 1941, accounted for the ignorance, confusion, slow reactions in Australia and a delayed search for survivors . in stark contrast to Churchill's direct part in the destruction by SYDNEY I of the German cruiser EMDEN 25 years before. Churchill was at the helm of one of his special operations, to sweep from the oceans disguised German raiders, their supply ships, and also blockade runners bound for Germany from Japan, when SYDNEY II was lost only 19 days before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Southeast Asia. Covering up of a blunder, or a punitive example to the new and distrusted Labor government of John Curtin gone terribly wrong because of a covert German weapon, can explain stern and brief official statements at the time and whitewashes now, with Germany and Japan solidly within Western alliances. -
Of the 90 YEARS of the RAAF
90 YEARS OF THE RAAF - A SNAPSHOT HISTORY 90 YEARS RAAF A SNAPSHOTof theHISTORY 90 YEARS RAAF A SNAPSHOTof theHISTORY © Commonwealth of Australia 2011 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. Disclaimer The views expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defence, the Royal Australian Air Force or the Government of Australia, or of any other authority referred to in the text. The Commonwealth of Australia will not be legally responsible in contract, tort or otherwise, for any statements made in this document. Release This document is approved for public release. Portions of this document may be quoted or reproduced without permission, provided a standard source credit is included. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry 90 years of the RAAF : a snapshot history / Royal Australian Air Force, Office of Air Force History ; edited by Chris Clark (RAAF Historian). 9781920800567 (pbk.) Australia. Royal Australian Air Force.--History. Air forces--Australia--History. Clark, Chris. Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Office of Air Force History. Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Air Power Development Centre. 358.400994 Design and layout by: Owen Gibbons DPSAUG031-11 Published and distributed by: Air Power Development Centre TCC-3, Department of Defence PO Box 7935 CANBERRA BC ACT 2610 AUSTRALIA Telephone: + 61 2 6266 1355 Facsimile: + 61 2 6266 1041 Email: [email protected] Website: www.airforce.gov.au/airpower Chief of Air Force Foreword Throughout 2011, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has been commemorating the 90th anniversary of its establishment on 31 March 1921. -
Victoria Barracks, Melbourne
Victoria Barracks, Melbourne Imperial Beginnings The Barracks were to first appear on a map of the military reservation dated in 1859, however, construction did not begin Victoria Barracks, fronting the magnificent boulevard of St. until the following year. The progress of the construction of A Kilda Road, stands four-square at the main southern entrance Block was dependent on available funding, although its com- to the city of Melbourne, its heavy bluestone walls loom pletion was clearly a priority with many of those in command. darkly in a formal and imposing military presence. Its original In March 1860, the Deputy Adjutant General's office wrote to purpose was to house the British Imperial garrison troops and the Honourary Commissioner of Public Works stressing its later the Victorian Colonial forces. Following Federation, it importance,'... it is desirable that the Officers Quarters should was to play a central role in the history of Australiais defence, be proceeded with without delay, both as a matter of conve- housing the Defence Department and Army Headquarters for nience and discipline'. some 60 years. More recently it continues to provide accom- modation for elements of the Defence Department, the Army Drawings at the time indicate that the ground floor of the and also the Royal Australian Air Force which has historic ties southern wing, or pavilion, was intended to house field offi- with the Barracks. cers. However, the 'Field Officers' Quarters' appear to have been occupied by the British Commander-in-Chief in By far the most well-known of the buildings on the Australia as a single three-storeyed residence until 1866, when Barracks site is A Block, the frontispiece, which is one of a separate residence in St. -
ROM the Moment He Learned of His Appointment As Commanding
CHAPTER 28 PROBLEMS OF COMMAN D ROM the moment he learned of his appointment as Commanding F General, Allied Air Forces, South-West Pacific Area, General Kenne y must have had few illusions about his new task . He was wished good luck at Washington with the comment that "from reports coming out of tha t theatre" he would need it. From General Arnold and General Marshal l his only instructions were, "Simply report to General MacArthur ." Of this meeting with his two chiefs he has written, "I was told that there were about 600 aircraft out there and that should be enough to fight a pretty good war with. Anyhow, while they would do what they could to help me out, they just had to build up the European show first''' . On the day that he left the United States for Australia the Japanese establishe d their Gona-Buna beach-head . He learned of this at Hickam Field, Hawaii. Kenney flew to Brisbane where General Headquarters, S .W.P.A., and Allied Air Forces Headquarters had now been established, having moved from Melbourne on 20th July and thus sited themselves 800 miles neare r the scene of actual operations . 2 Here he found first that, to use his own crisp phraseology, "Brett certainly was in wrong . Nothing that he did was right. " This he heard from MacArthur's chief of staff, Genera l Sutherland, whom he described as " a brilliant, hard-working officer [who] had always rubbed people the wrong way " , adding, "He was ego- tistic, like most people, but an unfortunate bit of arrogance combined with his egotism had made him almost universally disliked ." According to Sutherland ". -
The Final Campaigns: Bougainville 1944-1945
University of Wollongong Thesis Collections University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Year The final campaigns: Bougainville 1944-1945 Karl James University of Wollongong James, Karl, The final campaigns: Bougainville 1944-1945, PhD thesis, School of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, 2005. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/467 This paper is posted at Research Online. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/467 The Final Campaigns: Bougainville 1944-1945 A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree Doctor of Philosophy from University of Wollongong by Karl James, BA (Hons) School of History and Politics 2005 i CERTIFICATION I, Karl James, declare that this thesis, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, is wholly my work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Karl James 20 July 2005 ii Table of Contents Maps, List of Illustrations iv Abbreviations vi Conversion viii Abstract ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 ‘We have got to play our part in it’. Australia’s land war until 1944. 15 2 ‘History written is history preserved’. History’s treatment of the Final Campaigns. 30 3 ‘Once the soldier had gone to war he looked for leadership’. The men of the II Australian Corps. 51 4 ‘Away to the north of Queensland, On the tropic shores of hell, Stand grimfaced men who watch and wait, For a future none can tell’. The campaign takes shape: Torokina and the Outer Islands. -
Transcript of Oral History Recording
TRANSCRIPT OF ORAL HISTORY RECORDING Accession number S00543 Title (Not Applicable) Burnside, Dr Colin Campbell (Lieutenant) Interviewer Connell, Daniel Place made Not stated Date made March 1989 Description Dr Colin Campbell Burnside as a lieutenant Radar Officer, HMAS Hobart, interviewed by Daniel Connell for the Keith Murdoch Sound Archive of Australia in the War of 1939–45 Discussing pre-war employment; enlistment; acceptance into ASDIC; transfer to England and studying radar at Portsmouth; radar appointment to Adelaide; description of sinking of Rameses; intelligence reports on enemy radar sets; task of outfitting Hobart with radar equipment; involvement in selection and purchase of radar equipment for Hobart; installation of radar on Hobart; crew morale; shipboard life; post-war Japan; demobilisation; post-war employment opportunities. COLIN CAMPBELL Page 2 of 34 Disclaimer The Australian War Memorial is not responsible either for the accuracy of matters discussed or opinions expressed by speakers, which are for the reader to judge. Transcript methodology Please note that the printed word can never fully convey all the meaning of speech, and may lead to misinterpretation. Readers concerned with the expressive elements of speech should refer to the audio record. It is strongly recommended that readers listen to the sound recording whilst reading the transcript, at least in part, or for critical sections. Readers of this transcript of interview should bear in mind that it is a verbatim transcript of the spoken word and reflects the informal conversational style that is inherent in oral records. Unless indicated, the names of places and people are as spoken, regardless of whether this is formally correct or not – e.g. -
British Imperial Air Power: the Royal Air Forces and the Defense of Australia and New Zealand Between the World Wars
Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Purdue University Press Book Previews Purdue University Press 6-2020 British Imperial Air Power: The Royal Air Forces and the Defense of Australia and New Zealand Between the World Wars Alex M. Spencer Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/purduepress_previews Part of the Military History Commons This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. BRITISH IMPERIAL AIR POWER PURDUE STUDIES IN AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS James R. Hansen, Series Editor Purdue Studies in Aeronautics and Astronautics builds on Purdue’s leadership in aeronautic and astronautic engineering, as well as the historic accomplishments of many of its luminary alums. Works in the series will explore cutting-edge topics in aeronautics and astronautics enterprises, tell unique stories from the history of flight and space travel, and contemplate the future of human space exploration and colonization. RECENT BOOKS IN THE SERIES A Reluctant Icon: Letters to Neil Armstrong by James R. Hansen John Houbolt: The Unsung Hero of the Apollo Moon Landings by William F. Causey Dear Neil Armstrong: Letters to the First Man from All Mankind by James R. Hansen Piercing the Horizon: The Story of Visionary NASA Chief Tom Paine by Sunny Tsiao Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom by George Leopold Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA’s Record-Setting Frequent Flyer by Jerry L. Ross Purdue University Press West Lafayette, Indiana The funding and support of the author by the Smithsonian Institution made the research and writing of this book possible. -
John Curtin's War
backroom briefings John Curtin's war CLEM LLOYD & RICHARD HALL backroom briefings John Curtin's WAR edited by CLEM LLOYD & RICHARD HALL from original notes compiled by Frederick T. Smith National Library of Australia Canberra 1997 Front cover: Montage of photographs of John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia, 1941-45, and of Old Parliament House, Canberra Photographs from the National Library's Pictorial Collection Back cover: Caricature of John Curtin by Dubois Bulletin, 8 October 1941 Published by the National Library of Australia Canberra ACT 2600 © National Library of Australia 1997 Introduction and annotations © Clem Lloyd and Richard Hall Every reasonable endeavour has been made to contact relevant copyright holders of illustrative material. Where this has not proved possible, the copyright holders are invited to contact the publisher. National Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data Backroom briefings: John Curtin's war. Includes index. ISBN 0 642 10688 6. 1. Curtin, John, 1885-1945. 2. World War, 1939-1945— Press coverage—Australia. 3. Journalism—Australia. I. Smith, FT. (Frederick T.). II. Lloyd, C.J. (Clement John), 1939- . III. Hall, Richard, 1937- . 940.5394 Editor: Julie Stokes Designer: Beverly Swifte Picture researcher/proofreader: Tony Twining Printed by Goanna Print, Canberra Published with the assistance of the Lloyd Ross Forum CONTENTS Fred Smith and the secret briefings 1 John Curtin's war 12 Acknowledgements 38 Highly confidential: press briefings, June 1942-January 1945 39 Introduction by F.T. Smith 40 Chronology of events; Briefings 42 Index 242 rederick Thomas Smith was born in Balmain, Sydney, Fon 18 December 1904, one of a family of two brothers and two sisters. -
We Envy No Man on Earth Because We Fly. the Australian Fleet Air
We Envy No Man On Earth Because We Fly. The Australian Fleet Air Arm: A Comparative Operational Study. This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Murdoch University 2016 Sharron Lee Spargo BA (Hons) Murdoch University I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. …………………………………………………………………………….. Abstract This thesis examines a small component of the Australian Navy, the Fleet Air Arm. Naval aviators have been contributing to Australian military history since 1914 but they remain relatively unheard of in the wider community and in some instances, in Australian military circles. Aviation within the maritime environment was, and remains, a versatile weapon in any modern navy but the struggle to initiate an aviation branch within the Royal Australian Navy was a protracted one. Finally coming into existence in 1947, the Australian Fleet Air Arm operated from the largest of all naval vessels in the post battle ship era; aircraft carriers. HMAS Albatross, Sydney, Vengeance and Melbourne carried, operated and fully maintained various fixed-wing aircraft and the naval personnel needed for operational deployments until 1982. These deployments included contributions to national and multinational combat, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. With the Australian government’s decision not to replace the last of the aging aircraft carriers, HMAS Melbourne, in 1982, the survival of the Australian Fleet Air Arm, and its highly trained personnel, was in grave doubt. This was a major turning point for Australian Naval Aviation; these versatile flyers and the maintenance and technical crews who supported them retrained on rotary aircraft, or helicopters, and adapted to flight operations utilising small compact ships. -
Song of the Beauforts
Song of the Beauforts Song of the Beauforts No 100 SQUADRON RAAF AND BEAUFORT BOMBER OPERATIONS SECOND EDITION Colin M. King Air Power Development Centre © Commonwealth of Australia 2008 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. Approval has been received from the owners where appropriate for their material to be reproduced in this work. Copyright for all photographs and illustrations is held by the individuals or organisations as identified in the List of Illustrations. Disclaimer The views expressed in this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defence, the Royal Australian Air Force or the Government of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia will not be legally responsible in contract, tort or otherwise, for any statements made in this document. Release This document is approved for public release, distribution unlimited. Portions of this document may be quoted or reproduced without permission, provided a standard source credit is included. First published 2004 Second edition 2008 Published by the Air Power Development Centre National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: King, Colin M. Title: Song of the Beauforts : No 100 Squadron RAAF and the Beaufort bomber operations / author, Colin M. King. Edition: 2nd ed. Publisher: Tuggeranong, A.C.T. : Air Power Development Centre, 2007. ISBN: 9781920800246 (pbk.) Notes: Includes index. Subjects: Beaufort (Bomber)--History. Bombers--Australia--History World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, Australian--History. -
The Political Decisions and Policy Leading to the Royal Australian Air Force Having No Fighters Or Interceptors for the Coming War Against Japan
The political decisions and policy leading to the Royal Australian Air Force having no fighters or interceptors for the coming war against Japan James Rorrison BA; Honours Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology 2015 KEY WORDS Australian aircraft industry; Australia’s Air Defence; Beaufort; Sir Winston Churchill; John Curtin; Billy Hughes; Interwar politics; Joseph Lyons; Sir Robert Menzies; Messerschmitt; Milestones in military aircraft; Mustang; Royal Air Force; Royal Australian Air Force; United States Army Air Corps; War against Japan; Warplanes; Weapons of World War I; Weapons of World War II; Wirraway; World War I; World War II; Zero. i ABSTRACT One of the most dangerous, illusional and deceptive of Australian pre-World War 11 beliefs was that the British represented a powerhouse of military protection against any foreign intimidation. In reality they impersonated a defence system without substance and an actual siphon of Australia’s military resources towards their own ends while offering only a potentially high-risk strategic alliance that helped bring Australia to the brink of disaster. As just one outcome on 18 January 1942, over two months after the Japanese air attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, less than half a squadron of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Wirraway lightly armed training planes alighted from an airstrip at Rabaul on New Britain ostensibly to intercept a Japanese naval air armada of over one hundred modern military aircraft, the outcome of which was a national tragedy. The Australian-made and manned Wirraways were shot from the sky or crash-landed with the loss of most of their crews. -
Mastery of the Air the Raaf in World War Ii
021 2 WINTER WINGS NO.2 73 VOLUME SHOOTING STAR PHANTOMS IN VIETNAM AMERICA’S FIRST SUCCESSFUL JET AN AUSSIE PILOT'S EXPERIENCE MASTERY OF THE AIR THE RAAF IN WORLD WAR II SECRET FLIGHTS CATALINAS ON THE DANGEROUS 'DOUBLE SUNRISE' ROUTE AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE defencebank.com.au Special 1800 033 139 edition AF100 Visa Debit card. To celebrate the 100 Year Anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force, we have launched our special edition Defence Bank AF100 Visa Debit card. Scan the QR code or visit our website for full details. Defence Bank Limited ABN 57 087 651 385 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 234582. CONTENTS. defencebank.com.au ON THE COVER 1800 033 139 Consolidated PBY Catalina Flying boat VH-PBZ wearing the famous RAAF World War II Black Cat livery. Special Photo: Ryan Fletcher / Shutterstock.com 38 WINGS TEAM WINGS MANAGER Ron Haack EDITOR Sandy McPhie ART DIRECTOR Katie Monin SENIOR ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE CONTENTS Sue Guymer ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Phil Whiteman wings WINTER 2021 volume 73 / NO.2 edition ASSISTANT EDITORS Mike Nelmes (history) 4 WELCOME MESSAGE John Kindler AO AFC (industry news) 5 MANAGER’S MESSAGE & LETTERS Bob Treloar AO MiD (military aviation) 6 MILITARY AVIATION AF100 Visa Debit card. 12 PRESIDENT'S DESK & CONTACT ASSOCIATION NEWS E [email protected] W wingsmagazine.org 16 INDUSTRY NEWS A RAAFANSW Publications Pty Ltd 22 A GLOBAL WAR To celebrate the 100 Year Anniversary Salamander Bay LPO, PO Box 656 History of the RAAF, part 2 Salamander Bay 2317 30 COMBAT EXPERIENCE of the Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Phantoms in Vietnam PRINTED BY: WHO Printing, Regional Printer we have launched our special edition of the Year, National Print Awards 2020.