DOCSLIB.ORG

Australia Station 1941

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Australia Station 1941 CHAPTER 1 2 THE AUSTRALIA STATION—194 1 N the Australia Station the year 1941 was, in the main, a perio d O of building up in preparation for an extension of the war on a major scale in the Far East . Long recognised as a possibility, suc h extension increasingly loomed as a probability as the year progressed, until the storm finally burst in the Pacific in December . Meanwhile, after the German raider attack on Nauru Island on th e 27th December 1940, the Australia Station had remained free from enem y attack until November 1941 . Alarms and false reports were not wantin g however, mainly of sightings of " submarines" ; nor was there lack of evidence of the visits of the raiders the previous year . Scarce a month of 1941 passed without one or more of the mines then laid being swep t up, sighted floating, or found washed ashore on beaches, to a total o f forty-nine.' Most of them were from, and near, the fields laid off the Spencer Gulf, Hobart, Bass Strait, and the New South Wales coas t between Sydney and Newcastle ; but one of the dummy mines laid by Orion in September 1940 off Albany, Western Australia, was in Novem- ber 1941 washed ashore in King George Sound, and the following mont h a German mine was recovered in Hervey Bay, Queensland. The swept mines were accounted for by the ships of the 20th Mine- sweeping Flotilla in conjunction with the minesweeping groups based o n the ports in the various areas . Some of the "floaters" were sighted (and in a number of instances destroyed by rifle fire) by coastal merchant ships . One, which was sighted off Montague Island in November 1941, wa s picked up by the auxiliary minesweeper Uki,2 landed on her deck, and brought to port. About a third of the mines were found washed ashore o n beaches and were dealt with by R .M.S. (Rendering Mines Safe) parties from the nearest naval depot . Casualties resulting from enemy mine s in Australian waters during 1941 were fortunately few . Only one vessel was sunk, and a total of nine lives lost . On the 26th March the trawle r Millimumul (287 tons) fishing off the New South Wales coast, fouled an d exploded a mine in her trawl and was lost with seven of her crew; and on the 14th July two ratings3 of an R.M.S. party from the Port Adelaide depot were killed when a mine exploded on the beach at Beachport , South Australia . Millimumul sank just on the 100 fathom line thirty mile s due east from Broken Bay and twenty miles S.S.E. from where Nimbin was similarly lost in December 1940 . The mine was sighted in the traw l before it exploded and its condition, heavily covered with marine growth , 1 At the end of 1941 the total of German mines accounted for in Australian waters was 73— 24 in 1940, 49 in 1941 . This was from a total of 234 laid, including the dummies laid b y Orion off Albany, W .A . 2 HMAS Oki, auxiliary minesweeper (1923 ; commnd RAN 1939), 545 tons, one 12-pdr gun, 9 kts . ° AB W. L. E. Danswan, 20548, RAN. HMAS Canberra 1935-Feb 1941 . Of Temora, NSW; b . Temora, 16 Mar 1918 . Killed by mine explosion, 14 Jul 1941 . AB T. W . Todd, PA439, RANK. Of Glanville, SA ; b . Glanville, 18 Apr 1911 . Killed by mine explosion, 14 Jul 1941 . 1940-42 NEW CORVETTES 41 1 indicated that it came from a field as old as that which sank Nimbin. The Beachport mine was probably from the Spencer Gulf field . At intervals during the year's sweeping operations the 20th Flotilla was joined for varying periods by new corvettes, fourteen of which, buil t under the Government's naval building program, came into commissio n in 1941 .4 It will be recalled that at June 1940 the naval shipbuilding progra m included 17 corvettes ; seven for the R .A.N. and 10 on Admiralty account . The following August this program was expanded . In that month the Naval Board told the Government that it considered a minimum of 5 9 local defence. vessels for minesweeping and anti-submarine work was then essential "in the light of the present position in Europe and as a n assurance against the possibility of Japanese intervention" . Of this number 34 were already approved, seven corvettes and 27 vessels requisitione d from the coastal trade. It was proposed, and approved, that a furthe r 17 corvettes be built for the R.A.N., bringing the total to 24 ; and tha t eight more coastal traders be requisitioned for local work, making the requisitioned total 35 . In addition, a further 10 corvettes were ordered for Admiralty account and four for the Royal Indian Navy, so that i n August 1940 the corvette building program was for 48 vessels, 20 o f which were for the Admiralty.° The requisitioning of another nine coastal vessels for minesweeping° was approved in February 1941, and th e following July the naval shipbuilding program was again expanded by the inclusion of 12 additional corvettes (bringing the total up to 60, at which it remained) and six of a new and larger type known as frigates . The old terms "Corvette" and "Frigate " were revived by the Admiralty in 1940 and 1942 respectively to meet the need for some designation of new warship types brought into being by the changing conditions of sea warfare. The prototype of the corvette had been called "whaler" which was, Churchill pointed out, "an entire misnomer as they are not going to catch whales " . The Australian corvettes were of 650 tons, mostl y armed with a 4-inch gun (though some had a 12-pounder as main arma- ment) and light anti-aircraft guns, and had a speed of 151 knots . They were named after Australian towns . The Australian frigates were of 1,420 tons, armed with two 4-inch guns and light anti-aircraft guns, and with a speed of 20 knots. They were named after Australian rivers. In the war of 1939-45, as in the previous world conflict, the shortag e of merchant ship tonnage quickly became a matter of concern to Aus- tralia. Preliminary moves towards the establishment of a merchant ship - 4 Lismore (Jan) ; Goulburn (Feb) ; Burnie (Apr) ; Bendigo (May) ; Lithgow, Maryborough (Jun) ; Mildura (July) ; Ballarat (Aug) ; Warrnambool (Sep) ; Wollongong, Toowoomba (Oct) ; Delorain e (Nov) ; Katoomba, Townsville (Dec) . The months are those of commissioning . Of these, Goulburn, Burnie, Lithgow, Maryborough, Mildura, Ballarat and Warrnambool operated at som e time or another with the 20th Flotilla during 1941 . 6 The corvettes built on Admiralty account were : Bathurst, Ballarat, Bendigo, Broome, Burnie, Cairns, Cessnock, Gawler, Geraldton, Goulburn, Ipswich, Kalgoorlie, Launceston, Lismore, Maryborough, Pirie, Tamworth, Toowoomba, Whyalla, Wollongong . 6 During 1941 the following auxiliary minesweepers, requisitioned from trade, were commissioned : Toorie, Terka (Jan) ; Coombar (Apr) ; Paterson, Bombo (May) ; Narani (Jun) ; Birchgrove Park (Aug) ; Allenwood, Kianga, Warrawee (Sep) ; Marrawah (Dec) . 412 THE AUSTRALIA STATION—1941 1939-41 building industry had been made before the outbreak of war, and in June 1939 the Tariff Board reported on the establishment of a bount y for shipbuilding. The matter was carried a step further in April 194 0 when the Full Cabinet considered a submission from the Department of Trade and Customs, based upon a report by A. R. Townsend , on the possibilities and problems of merchant ship construction in Australia . The Cabinet referred the matter to a sub-committee which the following mont h recommended the construction of standard ships as soon as possible . Other urgent matters, including the increase in naval building, tended t o crowd out the question of merchant ship construction, but towards the end of 1940 the Third Naval Member of the Naval Board (Engineer Rear- Admiral McNeil) presented to the War Cabinet a memorandum on th e position of shipbuilding and the possibility of future developments . He stated that if action were taken immediately it should be possible to have five or six berths equipped for merchant shipbuilding with the tapering off of the naval construction program towards the end of 1941 . Arising from these preliminary moves a Shipbuilding Board was established in March 1941, with McNeil as deputy chairman and Director of Ship - building while retaining his position on the Naval Board . As the beginning of a program which was subsequently recast in the light of events, order s were placed for eight ships, each of 9,300 tons deadweight . The keel of the first of these, the River Clarence, was laid at Cockatoo Island Dock - yard on the 29th July 1941 . 8 The combined naval and merchant shipbuilding programs as they stoo d in July 1941 were then estimated to absorb all building facilities availabl e in Australia until around the end of 1943, so that the Naval Board found it impossible to undertake further naval construction for the Admiralt y and the Royal Indian Navy, though that had been sought . The prospect of meagre shipping space for exports made merchant ship construction in Australia (as Mr Menzies told the War Cabinet in May 1941 on his return from Britain) " appear to be an essential corollary both from the practica l and political angles" . In addition to new construction work, Australian shipyards during th e war up to September 1941 fitted 214 ships with defensive armament, 216 with paravanes, and degaussed 198 vessels .9 The naval building program naturally called for an increase in the numbers of officers and men in the R.A.N.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Call the Hands
    CALL THE HANDS Issue No. 7 April 2017 From the President Welcome to Call the Hands. Our focus this month is on small vessels that played a large role in Australia's naval history. Similarly, some individuals and small groups who are often overlooked are covered. We look at a young Australian, the little known WW1 naval pilot, Lieutenant R. A. Little who became an ace flying with the Royal Navy Air Service and 11 sailors from HMAS Australia who participated with distinction in the 1918 raid on Zeebrugge. As many stories cannot be covered in detail I hope you find the links and recommended ‘further reading’ of value. Likewise, the list of items included in ‘this month in history’ is larger. This may wet appetites to search our website for relevant stories of interest. I would like to acknowledge the recent gift of a collection of books and DVDs to the Society's library by Mrs Jocelyn Looslie. Sadly, her husband, RADM Robert Geoffrey Looslie, CBE, RAN passed away on 5 September 2016 at age 90. His long and distinguished career of 41 years commencing in 1940 included four sea commands. One of these was the guided missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane (1971–1972). During this period Brisbane conducted its second Vietnam deployment. David Michael From the Editor Occasional Paper 6 published in March 2017 listed RAN ships lost over a century. Whilst feedback was positive we acknowledge subscribers and members who pointed out omissions which included; HMA ships Tarakan1, Woomera and Arrow. The tragic circumstances of their loss and the lives of their sailors underscores the inherent risks our men and women face daily at sea in peace and war.
    [Show full text]
  • The Vietnam War an Australian Perspective
    THE VIETNAM WAR AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE [Compiled from records and historical articles by R Freshfield] Introduction What is referred to as the Vietnam War began for the US in the early 1950s when it deployed military advisors to support South Vietnam forces. Australian advisors joined the war in 1962. South Korea, New Zealand, The Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand also sent troops. The war ended for Australian forces on 11 January 1973, in a proclamation by Governor General Sir Paul Hasluck. 12 days before the Paris Peace Accord was signed, although it was another 2 years later in May 1975, that North Vietnam troops overran Saigon, (Now Ho Chi Minh City), and declared victory. But this was only the most recent chapter of an era spanning many decades, indeed centuries, of conflict in the region now known as Vietnam. This story begins during the Second World War when the Japanese invaded Vietnam, then a colony of France. 1. French Indochina – Vietnam Prior to WW2, Vietnam was part of the colony of French Indochina that included Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Vietnam was divided into the 3 governances of Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina. (See Map1). In 1940, the Japanese military invaded Vietnam and took control from the Vichy-French government stationing some 30,000 troops securing ports and airfields. Vietnam became one of the main staging areas for Japanese military operations in South East Asia for the next five years. During WW2 a movement for a national liberation of Vietnam from both the French and the Japanese developed in amongst Vietnamese exiles in southern China.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • RAN Ships Lost
    CALL THE HANDS OCCASIONAL PAPER 6 Issue No. 6 March 2017 Royal Australian Navy Ships Honour Roll Given the 75th anniversary commemoration events taking place around Australia and overseas in 2017 to honour ships lost in the RAN’s darkest year, 1942 it is timely to reproduce the full list of Royal Australian Navy vessels lost since 1914. The table below was prepared by the Directorate of Strategic and Historical Studies in the RAN’s Sea Power Centre, Canberra lists 31 vessels lost along with a total of 1,736 lives. Vessel (* Denotes Date sunk Casualties Location Comments NAP/CPB ship taken up (Ships lost from trade. Only with ships appearing casualties on the Navy Lists highlighted) as commissioned vessels are included.) HMA Submarine 14-Sep-14 35 Vicinity of Disappeared following a patrol near AE1 Blanche Bay, Cape Gazelle, New Guinea. Thought New Guinea to have struck a coral reef near the mouth of Blanche Bay while submerged. HMA Submarine 30-Apr-15 0 Sea of Scuttled after action against Turkish AE2 Marmara, torpedo boat. All crew became POWs, Turkey four died in captivity. Wreck located in June 1998. HMAS Goorangai* 20-Nov-40 24 Port Phillip Collided with MV Duntroon. No Bay survivors. HMAS Waterhen 30-Jun-41 0 Off Sollum, Damaged by German aircraft 29 June Egypt 1941. Sank early the next morning. HMAS Sydney (II) 19-Nov-41 645 207 km from Sunk with all hands following action Steep Point against HSK Kormoran. Located 16- WA, Indian Mar-08. Ocean HMAS Parramatta 27-Nov-41 138 Approximately Sunk by German submarine.
    [Show full text]
  • The Need for a New Naval History of the First World War James Goldrick
    Corbett Paper No 7 The need for a New Naval History of The First World War James Goldrick The Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies November 2011 The need for a New Naval History of the First World War James Goldrick Key Points . The history of naval operations in the First World War urgently requires re- examination. With the fast approaching centenary, it will be important that the story of the war at sea be recognised as profoundly significant for the course and outcome of the conflict. There is a risk that popular fascination for the bloody campaign on the Western Front will conceal the reality that the Great War was also a maritime and global conflict. We understand less of 1914-1918 at sea than we do of the war on land. Ironically, we also understand less about the period than we do for the naval wars of 1793-1815. Research over the last few decades has completely revised our understanding of many aspects of naval operations. That work needs to be synthesized and applied to the conduct of the naval war as a whole. There are important parallels with the present day for modern maritime strategy and operations in the challenges that navies faced in exercising sea power effectively within a globalised world. Gaining a much better understanding of the issues of 1914-1918 may help cast light on some of the complex problems that navies must now master. James Goldrick is a Rear Admiral in the Royal Australian Navy and currently serving as Commander of the Australian Defence College.
    [Show full text]
  • Australia's Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise
    AUSTRALIA’S NAVAL SHIPBUILDING ENTERPRISE Preparing for the 21st Century JOHN BIRKLER JOHN F. SCHANK MARK V. ARENA EDWARD G. KEATING JOEL B. PREDD JAMES BLACK IRINA DANESCU DAN JENKINS JAMES G. KALLIMANI GORDON T. LEE ROGER LOUGH ROBERT MURPHY DAVID NICHOLLS GIACOMO PERSI PAOLI DEBORAH PEETZ BRIAN PERKINSON JERRY M. SOLLINGER SHANE TIERNEY OBAID YOUNOSSI C O R P O R A T I O N For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR1093 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-0-8330-9029-4 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2015 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.html. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface The Australian government will produce a new Defence White Paper in 2015 that will outline Australia’s strategic defense objectives and how those objectives will be achieved.
    [Show full text]
  • Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Phd Thesis
    ;2<? /81 >42 0<5>5=4 8/@/7 =>/>598 !'+&+#'+)," 6NPGE 9PRIX#=NREKN / >HEQIQ =SBLIRRED FNP RHE 1EGPEE NF ;H1 AR RHE ?MITEPQIRW NF =R$ /MDPEUQ ',,+ 3SKK LERADARA FNP RHIQ IREL IQ ATAIKABKE IM <EQEAPCH.=R/MDPEUQ-3SKK>EVR AR- HRRO-%%PEQEAPCH#PEONQIRNPW$QR#AMDPEUQ$AC$SJ% ;KEAQE SQE RHIQ IDEMRIFIEP RN CIRE NP KIMJ RN RHIQ IREL- HRRO-%%HDK$HAMDKE$MER%'&&()%(,*+ >HIQ IREL IQ OPNRECRED BW NPIGIMAK CNOWPIGHR PERU AND THE BRITISH NAVAL STATION (1808-1839) Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo. Thesis submitted for Philosophy Doctor degree The University of Saint Andrews Maritime Studies 1996 EC A UNI L/ rJ ý t\ jxý DF, ÄNý Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo Peru and the British Naval Station ABSTRACT The protection of British interests in the Pacific was the basic reason to detach a number of Royal Navy's vessels to that Ocean during the Nineteenth Century. There were several British interests in the area, and an assorted number of Britons established in Spanish America since the beginning of the struggle for Independence. Amongst them, merchants was perhaps the most important and influential group, pressing on their government for protection to their trade. As soon as independence reached the western coast of America, a new space was created for British presence. First Valparaiso and afterwards Callao, British merchants were soon firmly established in that part of South America. As had happened in the Atlantic coast, their claims for protection were attended by the British government through the Pacific Squadron, under the flag of the Commander-in-Chief of the South American Station, until 1837, when it was raised to a separate Station.
    [Show full text]
  • FROM CRADLE to GRAVE? the Place of the Aircraft
    FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE? The Place of the Aircraft Carrier in Australia's post-war Defence Force Subthesis submitted for the degree of MASTER OF DEFENCE STUDIES at the University College The University of New South Wales Australian Defence Force Academy 1996 by ALLAN DU TOIT ACADEMY LIBRARy UNSW AT ADFA 437104 HMAS Melbourne, 1973. Trackers are parked to port and Skyhawks to starboard Declaration by Candidate I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgment is made in the text of the thesis. Allan du Toit Canberra, October 1996 Ill Abstract This subthesis sets out to study the place of the aircraft carrier in Australia's post-war defence force. Few changes in naval warfare have been as all embracing as the role played by the aircraft carrier, which is, without doubt, the most impressive, and at the same time the most controversial, manifestation of sea power. From 1948 until 1983 the aircraft carrier formed a significant component of the Australian Defence Force and the place of an aircraft carrier in defence strategy and the force structure seemed relatively secure. Although cost, especially in comparison to, and in competition with, other major defence projects, was probably the major issue in the demise of the aircraft carrier and an organic fixed-wing naval air capability in the Australian Defence Force, cost alone can obscure the ftindamental reordering of Australia's defence posture and strategic thinking, which significantly contributed to the decision not to replace HMAS Melbourne.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Cockatoo Island
    EHA MAGAZINE Engineering Heritage Australia Magazine Volume 3 No.8 May 2021 Engineering Heritage Australia Magazine ISSN 2206-0200 (Online) May 2021 This is a free magazine covering stories and news items about Volume 3 Number 8 industrial and engineering heritage in Australia and elsewhere. EDITOR: It is published online as a down-loadable PDF document for Margret Doring, FIEAust. CPEng. M.ICOMOS readers to view on screen or print their own copies. EA members and non-members on the EHA mailing lists will receive emails The Engineering Heritage Australia Magazine is notifying them of new issues, with a link to the relevant Engineers published by Engineers Australia’s National Australia website page. Committee for Engineering Heritage. Statements made or opinions expressed in the Magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect CONTENTS the views of Engineers Australia. Editorial 3 Contact EHA by email at: In honour of Jack Mundey AO, 1929 – 2020 3 [email protected] or visit the website at: Recognising Wartime Service in Public Utilities 4 https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Communiti Cockatoo Island – Industrial Powerhouse 6 es-And-Groups/Special-Interest-Groups/Engineerin g-Heritage-Australia A Black Summer for Victoria's Bridges 15 Sydney's Earliest Public Water Supplies 20 Unsubscribe: If you do not wish to receive any further material from Engineering Heritage Paving Our Ways – A History of the World's Australia, contact EHA at : Roads and Pavements 24 [email protected] Connections 25 Subscribe: Readers who want to be added to the 2021 Australasian Engineering Heritage Conference 27 subscriber list can contact EHA via our email at : [email protected] We ran out of space in Connections, Readers wishing to submit material for publication so here is a story about Midget Submarines.
    [Show full text]
  • Semaphore Sea Power Centre - Australia Issue 8, 2017 the Royal Australian Navy on the Silver Screen
    SEMAPHORE SEA POWER CENTRE - AUSTRALIA ISSUE 8, 2017 THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY ON THE SILVER SCREEN In this day and age, technologies such as smart phones and tablets allow users to film and view video streams on almost any topic imaginable at the convenience of their fingertips. Indeed, most institutions, including the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), promote video streaming as part of carefully coordinated public relations, recruiting and social media programs. In yesteryear, however, this was not a simple process and the creation and screening of news reels, motion pictures and training films was a costly and time consuming endeavor for all concerned. Notwithstanding that, the RAN has enjoyed an ongoing presence on the silver screen, television and more recently the internet on its voyage from silent pictures to the technologically advanced, digital 21st century. The RAN’s earliest appearances in motion pictures occurred during World War 1. The first of these films was Sea Dogs of Australia, a silent picture about an Australian naval officer blackmailed into helping a foreign spy. The film’s public release in August 1914 coincided with the outbreak of war and it was consequently withdrawn after the Minister for Defence expressed security concerns over film footage taken on board the battlecruiser HMAS Australia (I). There was, however, an apparent change of heart following the victory of HMAS Sydney (I) over the German cruiser SMS Emden in November 1914. Australia’s first naval victory at sea proved big news around the globe The Art Brand Productions - The Raider Emden. and it did not take long before several short, silent propaganda films were produced depicting the action.
    [Show full text]
  • Issue 46, October 2020
    From the President Welcome to this 46th edition of Call the Hands. As always, we are pleased to present a wide cross section of stories and draw attention to some most interesting audio and video recordings. Don’t miss the links to a short description by Lieutenant Commander Henry Stoker of AE2’s 1915 passage through the Dardanelles strait and the snippets of life in HMAS Australia (II) in 1948. In a similar vein, those with an interest in HMAS Cerberus should not miss the link to aerial footage of the extensive building works undertaken in Cerberus in recent years. In its 100th anniversary year HMAS Cerberus is well equipped for current and future high trainee throughputs. Highlighted are two remarkable people; Able Seaman Moss Berryman the last member of the Operation Jaywick operatives and Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Samuel Stening, a HMAS Perth survivor and POW. Links to their remarkable stories are worthy of attention. Occasional Paper 91 provides detailed insight into strategic and operational level decisions concerning the employment of the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Navy’s China Fleet and South Atlantic Squadron in pursuit of the German East Asia Squadron during the early months of World War One. It is a story of bungled and poor strategic decision making on the part of the First Sea Lord and Admiralty. The consequences of this disjointed strategy, wasted time and not allowing Admiral Sir George Patey freedom of action in his flagship HMAS Australia, to pursue the German Squadron were significant. Occasional Paper 92 addresses the matter of the award of the first Royal Australian Navy Victoria Cross and other forms of recognition for Ordinary Seaman Edward “Teddy” Sheean.
    [Show full text]