On This Day
1914-1918 > WW1
On This Day - 1914-1918
- January 14, 1918
PO P. J. Kempster, DSM, died when HM Submarine G8 was lost in the North Sea. Kempster was an RAN rating on loan to the RN and had been awarded the DSM in 1917 for his bravery and devotion to duty while serving in G8.
- January 3, 1918
The Minesweeping Section of the RAN, under LCDR F. J. Ranken, RNR, completed the first sweeping of a minefield in Australian waters. The field, off Cape Otway, was laid by the German raider WOLF
- December 25, 1917
HMAS HUON, (torpedo boat destroyer), transported the Greek Prime Minister, M. Venizelos and his staff, from Taranto to Pireaus.
A crewman wrote: ‘As we passed the British cruisers they gave us three cheers for going to sea on Christmas Day‘.
- December 18, 1917
Flight Lieutenant F. N. Fox, RNAS, flew a Sopwith Pup aircraft from the quarterdeck of HMAS AUSTRALIA, (battle-cruiser).
- December 14, 1917
CAPT Dumaresq, RAN, commanding HMAS SYDNEY, (cruiser), signalled Scapa Flow Aerodrome:- ‘As DUBLIN’s pilot has to return shortly request that CAMPANIA may be asked to supply a pilot and Camel or standard Pup, complete with two mechanics to SYDNEY’.
Two days later a perplexed query came back ‘Does Camel refer to part of equipment or to a particular type of aircraft?’ SYDNEY promptly replied: ‘The machine referred to is a Sopwith Camel aeroplane. It is the test standard fighter and has succeeded the Pup’.
CAPT Dumaresq received his aircraft shortly afterwards.
- December 12, 1917
HMAS AUSTRALIA, (battle-cruiser), was damaged in a collision with HMS REPULSE, (battle-cruiser).
- December 8, 1917
HMAS Sydney launched the first aircraft to take off from an Australian warship. On arrival at Scapa Flow in December 1917, her Commanding Officer Captain Dumaresq, borrowed a Sopwith Pup then being operated from a fixed platform on the cruiser Dublin for use onboard Sydney (I). On 8 December 1917 the aircraft was launched successfully from Sydney’s platform in the fixed position.
- November 17, 1917
HMS VENDETTA, (destroyer, later HMAS VENDETTA), participated in the light cruiser action off Heligoland.
- November 16, 1917
HMAS PARRAMATTA, (torpedo boat destroyer), took in tow the torpedoed Italian transport ORIONE. While the lines were being passed to the disabled ship, a torpedo was fired by an enemy submarine that missed PARRAMATTA.
- November 15, 1917
One officer and 97 ratings of the RAN Bridging Train transferred to the AIF in preference to being returned to Australia ‘for disposal’.