On This Day - 26 April
- 1941
- HMAS PERTH, (cruiser), carried 911 Australian and New Zealand troops, and HMAS STUART, (destroyer), evacuated 109, from Tolos to Suda Bay, Crete. Earlier that night STUART had ferried 600 troops from Tolos to Navplion, where they were transferred to ORION.
- 1943
- The Japanese submarine I-26, torpedoed and sank the merchant ship LIMERICK off Cape Byron, NSW. The survivors were rescued by HMAS COLAC, (minesweeper). A RAAF Catalina flying boat of 11 Squadron, piloted by Flight Lieutenant W. J. Clark, crashed while dropping supplies to coastwatchers on Bougainville. Clark, and two other members of the crew were killed. Six survivors later reached the coastwatchers' camp, and were subsequently evacuated by USS GUARDFISH, (submarine).
- 1944
- HMAS BUNDABERG, (minesweeper), attacked Japanese positions on Sek Island, (off Madang). All the ship's armament was used in the attack. A landing party made up of soldiers, and some of the ship's company, then landed and captured the island.
- 1957
- HMAS Tobruk was taking part in a night encounter exercise while participating in SEATO Exercise ASTRA. The opposing forces were designated ‘blue’ and ‘orange’ respectively and the purpose of the exercise was to detect and engage the opposition in a night action environment. Shortly after 21:00 hours Tobruk was steaming as the third, and rear ship, in a Blue Force column lead by HMS Newcastle steering 340 at 25 knots. HMAS Anzac was the second ship in the column ahead of Tobruk. Each ship was 2000 yards apart. At approximately 21:10, star shell bursts were observed by Tobruk to the west of Anzac as the column was executing a turn together to port, to course 160. Several minutes later Tobruk and Anzac were ordered by Newcastle to form on a line of bearing and the course was altered to 130. At 21:17 reports were issued from Tobruk indicating that shells were falling very close to each side of the ship and shortly afterwards she was hit by a shell that passed inboard through the upper deck into ‘A’ gun bay where it detonated critically injuring two ratings: Able Seaman RW Spooner and Able Seaman JR Stevenson. Able Seaman Spooner subsequently died of his wounds. A board of inquiry into the tragedy revealed that a star shell fired from HMS Cockade during the night encounter exercise was responsible for the damage to Tobruk and her casualties.
- 1968
- The Attack class fast patrol boat HMAS ACUTE was commissioned. ACUTE was laid down at Evans Deakin Yard, Brisbane, in April 1967, and launched on 26 August 1967. CAPT I. R. Jones, RAN, and CMDR R. G. Harries, RAN, were awarded the MID, for their services in HMAS HOBART, (guided missile destroyer), in operations off Vietnam in 1967.
- 1982
- RAN personnel joined the Multi-National Force and Observers, (MFO), operating on the Sinai Peninsula, to enforce the separation of Egyptian and Israeli forces. The RAN provided Iroquious helicopters, (which had been transported to the Middle East by HMAS TOBRUK), to patrol the peninsula. The RAN presence ceased in 1986, but a small Army detachment remained.
- 1999
- HMAS Tobruk II was assigned the difficult task of supporting the investigation and recovery of a RAAF F-111G aircraft which had crashed on the Malaysian Island of Pulau Aur while participating in an International Air Defence Exercise. Tragically both the F-111's aircrew, Flight Lieutenant Anthony Short and Squadron Leader Stephen Hobbs, were killed in the accident. Members of Tobruk’s crew, along with the RAAF Accident Investigation Team, erected a white cross at the crash site in memory of the aircrew.
- 2006
- The patrol boat HMAS TOWNSVILLE, (LCDR I. M. Ingham, RAN), sailed from Thursday Island to proceed to Honiara, Solomon Islands, to provide support to Australian Army and Federal Police units, following an outbreak of violence, which resulted from the announcement of a new Prime Minister. TOWNSVILLE arrived on 24 April, and was allocated to CTF635.
The patrol boat HMAS ARMIDALE, (LCDR J. C. Hunter, RAN), was directed to proceed to Honiara, Solomon Islands, and conduct a handover with HMAS TOWNSVILLE upon arrival.
'On This Day' is based on the book "Navy Day by Day: Historic Naval Events in Australia and Abroad" written by the late Lew Lind. More information.