On this day:
1944 > WW2
There are 185 entries in this era
- 19 Nov 1944
HMAS BURDEKIN, (frigate), bombarded Japanese positions on Halmahera Island.
- 20 Nov 1944
The air/sea rescue vessel AIR VIEW, (SBLT L. K. Williams, RANVR), was commissioned.
ML827 foundered while under tow east of Waterfall Bay, New Britain. The commanding officer of ML827 was LEUT I. F. G. Downs, OBE, RANVR, who had served as a coastwatcher from 1942 to 1943.
- 21 Nov 1944
The Fremantle-based British submarine HMS Tantalus, (LCDR H. S. Mackenzie, RN), made a vain search for the Commandos of Operation Rimau on Merapas Island. The landing party found signs of a hurried departure by the Commandos.
- 22 Nov 1944
The Fremantle-based British submarine HMS STRATAGEM, was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in Malacca Strait.
- 25 Nov 1944
HMA Ships KALGOORLIE and TOWNSVILLE, (minesweepers), swept the passages in the Great Barrier Reef for enemy mines.
- 27 Nov 1944
The services reconnaissance department (SRD) craft HMAS KARINA, was commissioned.
The air/sea rescue vessel AIR WATCH, (SBLT W. A. Bach, RANVR), was commissioned.
- 28 Nov 1944
HMA Ships KALGOORLIE and TOWNSVILLE, (minesweepers), completed a three months’ search for mines in the Great Barrier Reef, during which time 491 mines were swept. The mines were laid by HMAS BUNGAREE, in 1942 and 1943.
LEUT K.R. Hudspeth, RANVR was awarded his third DSC, while commanding the midget submarine X-20 off the beaches of Normandy, prior to the Allied landing.
- 01 Dec 1944
The 21st and 22nd Minesweeping Flotillas, HMA Ships BURNIE, BALLARAT, MARYBOROUGH, LISMORE, WHYALLA, GOULBURN, KALGOORLIE, TOOWOOMBA, and BENDIGO, and HMA Ships GAWLER, GERALDTON, CESSNOCK, CAIRNS, IPSWICH, TAMWORTH, WOLLONGONG, PINE, and LAUNCESTON, were attached to the British Pacific Fleet.
- 04 Dec 1944
The Fremantle-based USS FLASHER, (submarine), sank the Japanese Ships KISHINAMI and IWANAMI, (destroyers), off the coast of Indo-China.
- 05 Dec 1944
LEUT W. F. Cook, RAN, was appointed to command HMAS NIZAM, (destroyer). Cook, aged 28, was the youngest officer appointed to command an Australian fleet destroyer.
- 07 Dec 1944
HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), was re-commissioned in Sydney. Damage inflicted by a Japanese torpedo in 1943 required 17 months in dockyard hands for repairs.
- 08 Dec 1944
The Fremantle-based US Ships PADDLE and HAMMERHEAD, (submarines), sank the Japanese transport SHOEI MARU off Borneo.
- 09 Dec 1944
CDRE H. B. Farncomb hoisted his pennant as Commodore Commanding the Australian Squadron, and Commander Task Group 74.1, in HMAS AUSTRALIA, (cruiser), at Manus.
- 11 Dec 1944
The air/sea rescue vessel AIR CLAN, (SBLT O. M. May, RANVR), was commissioned.
- 12 Dec 1944
The 21st Minesweeping Flotilla, HMA Ships BURNIE, LISMORE, MARYBOROUGH, and TOOWOOMBA swept shipping lanes in Bass Strait, following the attack on the merchant vessel ILISSOS, by the German submarine U862.
- 13 Dec 1944
The Fremantle-based US Ships, BERGALL and PINTADO, (submarines), sank a cruiser and two large Japanese landing ships. BERGALL torpedoed the heavy cruiser MYOKO off the coast of Indo China, and PINTADO torpedoed landing ships 12 and 104 in the Philippines.
- 14 Dec 1944
The Fremantle-based USS BLENNY, (submarine), sank the Japanese frigate coast defence vessel No. 38, off Luzon.
The Australian fleet oiler BISHOPDALE was damaged in attacks by Japanese aircraft off Leyte. The oiler was withdrawn.
HMAS SHOALHAVEN, (River class frigate), was launched at Walker’s Yard, QLD.
HMA Ships NAPIER and NESTOR, (destroyers), covered Allied troop attacks in the neighbourhood of St Martins Island, Burma, with close-range gunfire.
- 16 Dec 1944
HMA Ships NAPIER and NEPAL, (destroyers), supported the 74th Indian Brigade as it drove south in the vicinity of the Naf River, Burma.
- 17 Dec 1944
HMAS BUNBURY, (minesweeper), was damaged in a collision with HMS SEA ROVER, (submarine), off Fremantle, WA. BUNBURY was in dockyard hands for a month undergoing repairs.
- 19 Dec 1944
CAPT H. B. Farncomb was promoted and appointed Commodore Commanding Australian Squadron.
- 25 Dec 1944
HMAS WARRAMUNGA, (Tribal class destroyer), in the Philippines, served the following Christmas menu:
- Breakfast; fresh fruit, tea and coffee, cereal, fried eggs and bacon;
- Dinner; roast turkey and ham, beans and peas, plum pudding and brandy sauce, fruit trifle and jelly, nuts and beer;
- Tea; Christmas cake, nuts, iced fruit juice; supper: giblet soup, cold roast pork and ham, potato salad and mayonnaise, iced fruit juice. “
HMAS GASCOYNE, (frigate), took off 1300 troops from the burning transport SOMMELSDIJK, torpedoed by Japanese aircraft off Leyte.
- 26 Dec 1944
HMAS QUICKMATCH, (destroyer), picked up 67 survivors from the US merchant ship ROBERT J WALKER, torpedoed by a German submarine off Jervis Bay.
- 27 Dec 1944
HMA Ships NAPIER and NEPAL, (destroyers), anchored off Teknaf, 15 miles up the Naf River in Burma. The destroyers were supporting the Indian Army’s drive south.
- 28 Dec 1944
The Fremantle-based USS DACE, (submarine), sank the Japanese collier NOZAKI off Saigon.
- 30 Dec 1944
Three officers and 22 ratings of the RAN lost their lives in the Indian Ocean during the year, as a result of enemy submarine attacks on Allied shipping.
The services reconnaissance department (SRD) craft HMAS BLACK SNAKE, (SBLT J.R. Kay), was commissioned.