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The tradition of naming ships of the Royal Australian Navy's fleet after our nation's cities and towns began when the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Unit was created in the years immediately preceding World War I. When the Australian Fleet Unit first arrived in Sydney on 4 October 1913 it was led into Port Jackson by the flagship HMAS Australia (I), followed closely by two brand new cruisers each carrying the name of Australia's largest cities - Melbourne and Sydney. Later, more cruisers were ordered and over time the names of other capital cities were added including Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Hobart. The citizens of those major cities took much pride in having state-of-the-art Australian warships so named, particularly as most knew someone serving in them. It followed that the exploits and adventures of those men and ships were reported with great enthusiasm and pride by 'hometown' newspapers.Soon after the outbreak of World War II an order was placed for sixty minesweepers of simple design to be constructed in Australian shipyards as part of the Commonwealth Government's wartime shipbuilding programme. Rapidly produced, these vessels were capable of patrol work, shore bombardment, minesweeping, escort and survey duties and troop-transport. They became popularly known as corvettes and with so many ships commissioning the Navy turned its attention to regional towns and communities in search of worthy names.The lead ship of the class was named HMAS Bathurst after the town in the central tablelands of NSW and those that followed each took their names from other regional towns dotted around the country. This linkage between the Navy and the Nation forged strong and enduring links between the RAN and the communities it drew upon to crew its fighting ships at a time when Australia never felt more threatened. Altogether 56 Bathurst class corvettes saw active service in the RAN during World War II performing valuable work in far-flung theatres in both hemispheres. Four corvettes were built for the Royal Indian Navy. Three corvettes were lost during the war and a fourth in 1947 while clearing mines from the Great Barrier Reef.
In May of 1942, the war seemed very far away to most Sydneysiders - until the night the three Japanese midget submarines crept into the harbour and caused an unforgettable night of mayhem, high farce, chaos and courage. A ground-breaking new look at one of the most extraordinary stories of Australia at war. On the night of 31 May 1942, Sydney was doing what it does best: partying. The theatres, restaurants, dance halls, illegal gambling dens, clubs and brothels offered plenty of choice to roistering sailors, soldiers and airmen on leave in Australia's most glamorous city. The war seemed far away. Newspapers devoted more pages to horse racing than to Hitler. That Sunday night the party came to a shattering halt when three Japanese midget submarines crept into the harbour, past eight electronic indicator loops, past six patrolling Royal Australian Navy ships, and past an anti-submarine net stretched across the inner harbour entrance. Their arrival triggered a night of mayhem, courage, chaos and high farce which left 27 sailors dead and a city bewildered. The war, it seemed, was no longer confined to distant desert and jungle. It was right here at Australia's front door. Written at the pace of a thriller and based on new first person accounts and previously unpublished official documents, A Very Rude Awakening is a ground-breaking and myth-busting look at one of the most extraordinary stories ever told of Australia at war.
During the Vietnam War, 270 U.S. Navy and four Royal Australian Navy warships served at various times on the gunline. Within this armada were the battleship New Jersey, ten cruisers, 212 destroyers, fifty destroyer escorts, and the inshore fire support ship Carronade. When necessary, naval guns poured out round after round, until their barrels overheated and turned red, exterior paint blistered, and rifled-barrel liners were worn smooth. Allied troops locked in battle with North Vietnamese Army or Viet Cong troops in South Vietnam were grateful for artillery support from the sea. When North Vietnam launched the Easter Offensive across the DMZ in 1972, eight to ten ships in line, abreast, often firing simultaneously and around the clock, delivered desperately needed fire support. At one point, over forty cruisers and destroyers were serving together on the gunline. Warships conducting SEA DRAGON and LINEBACKER operations--naval bombardment of military targets along the coast of North Vietnam--came under fire on a number of occasions. Runs in to within five miles of a hostile shore, to strike Vinh, Haiphong, and other targets, often preceded duels with shore batteries. Most such action occurred at mission completion as ships zigzagged, while racing seaward at high speed to clear the coast, to throw off the aim of enemy gunners. This book highlights the grit, determination, and heroism of young men--many who would likely have preferred the laid-back lifestyle of the 1960s, were it not for their country's call to arms. Photographs; maps and diagrams; appendices; a bibliography; and an index to full-names, places and subjects add value to this work.
A brilliant and important book about Australia’s future Can Australia defend itself in the Asian century? How seriously ought we take the risk of war? Do we want to remain a middle power? What kind of strategy, and what Australian Defence Force, do we need? In this groundbreaking book, Hugh White considers these questions and more. With exceptional clarity and frankness, he makes the case for a reconceived defence of Australia. Along the way he offers intriguing insights into history, technology and the Australian way of war. Hugh White is the country’s most provocative, revelatory and yet realistic commentator on Australia’s strategic and defence orientation. In an age of power politics and armed rivalry in Asia, it is time for fresh thinking. In this controversial and persuasive contribution, White sets new terms for one of the most crucial conversations Australia needs to have. ‘This book, by one of Australia’s leading defence policy thinkers, will be a very important contribution to our national discussion in coming years. Hugh White tackles many challenging issues and opens up the new debate that we need to have as Australia plots its course through a changing international environment.’—Robert O’Neill, former Chichele Professor of the history of war, University of Oxford ‘Hugh White is among our most knowledgeable and practised strategists. While I am strongly supportive of the US alliance, How to Defend Australia is a serious work from a serious patriot that requires close reading. It deserves a wide audience.’—Kim Beazley
Describes the ships used by the British, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and American navies during World War II
In 2015, the Australian government will produce a new Defence White Paper to outline revised and refined defense objectives. As it prepares the new report, a basic question facing the government is whether Australia should buy ships from foreign shipbuilders or support a domestic naval shipbuilding industry. This question is complex, containing many facets and issues that often center on cost trade-offs and economic considerations, but that also touch upon important national and strategic concerns.
The world's first war machines were ships built two millennia before the dawn of the Classical world. Their influence on the course of history cannot be overstated. A wide variety of galleys and other types of warships were built by successive civilisations, each with their own distinctive appearance, capability and utility. The earliest of these were the Punt ships and the war galleys of Egypt which defeated the Sea People in the first known naval battle. Following the fall of these civilisations, the Phoenicians built biremes and other vessels, while in Greece the ships described in detail in the 'Trojan' epics established a tradition of warship building culminating in the pentekonters and triaconters. The warships of the period are abundantly illustrated on pottery and carved seals, and depicted in inscriptions and on bas-reliefs. The subject has been intensively studied for two and a half millennia, culminating in the contemporary works of authoritative scholars such as Morrison, Wallinga, Rodgers and Casson. To date there are no works covering the subject which are accessible and available to non-academics.
Reproduced from the wartime editions of Jane's All the World's Ships.