• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • Show Search
  • 0 items
Hide Search
Menu
  • Home
  • Research
    • Where to start
      • Research – We can help!
      • Self help
      • Naval Service Records
      • Library
    • Resources
      • Articles
      • On This Day
      • Podcasts
      • Videos
      • Related Maritime websites
      • Downloads
    • Other
      • Newsletters: Call The Hands
      • Occasional Papers
      • Books
      • A Cook’s Tour
      • HMAS Shropshire
      • Book reviews
    • Close
  • Naval Heritage Sites
    • World Heritage Listings
      • Cockatoo Island
    • National Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
      • HMVS Cerberus
    • Commonwealth Heritage Listings
      • Garden Island NSW
      • HMAS Watson
      • HMAS Penguin
      • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
      • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
      • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
      • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
      • HMAS Cerberus
      • Naval Offices QLD
      • Garden Island WA
      • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
      • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
    • Close
  • Tours
    • Sub Base Platypus Tour (North Sydney)
    • Dockyard Heritage Tour
    • Heritage Tour of Northern End of Garden Island
    • Tour Bookings
    • Close
  • About us
    • About Us
      • What we do
      • Our People
      • Office Bearers
      • Become a volunteer
      • Our Goals and Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Victoria Chapter
      • WA Chapter
      • ACT Chapter
    • Close
  • Membership
  • Shop
  • Become a volunteer
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Archives for Australian Navy / HMAS Stalwart I

HMAS Stalwart I

Obituary: Harry Train 1918-1999

December 23, 1999

Born: Millthorpe, October 26, 1918 Died: Balmain, May 23, 1999

Harry Train gave 30 years of his life to serving his country with the RAN.

After enlisting in 1936 as a stoker he sailed the oceans of the world and fought in two wars.

Ships in which he served included two from the famous scrap-iron flotilla, the Stuart and Voyager, Australia’s seaplane carrier Albatross, the Australia during the early part of World War II and the cruiser Canberra, which was sunk in 1942.

He was a member of the commissioning crew of the Australia-built Tribal class destroyer Warramunga, which took part in the World War II Philippines campaign. He was also on board the Arunta when it was attacked by a Japanese suicide bomber, resulting in the loss of two of his shipboard mates. In the same ship he took part in the Surigao Straits battle.

In the Korean War he served in Australia’s first aircraft carrier, Sydney. Later he was a member of the crews of two other carriers, Vengeance and Melbourne.

In the early 1960s, by now an engineering officer, he spent a year on board the Gascoyne. He was an engineering instructor at the apprentice: school, HMAS Nirimba.

Within six years of enlisting Mr Train became a petty officer. He studied and passed the artificers’ course and was commissioned as an engineer sub-lieutenant. He left the service with the rank of lieutenant.

Mr Train was educated at Millthorpe and Orange. Before enlisting he had worked for a photographer in Sydney, which led to a life-long interest in the subject.

Mr Train, who did not marry, is survived by his brothers, a sister and a niece.

Daily Telegraph, 28.6.99

The RAN’s Destroyers

March 11, 1991

Surely destroyers are the backbone of our Royal Australian Navy. Thirty-nine destroyers have served in the RAN since Foundation in 1911, from our first destroyers – HMA Ships PARRAMATTA (1), and YARRA (1), of only 700 tons, to our latest DDGs PERTH, HOBART and BRISBANE displacing over 4,500 tons.

River Class

HMAS Parramatta
HMAS Parramatta

Australia’s first destroyers were known as the River Class (I Class in the Royal Navy). The first two, PARRAMATTA and YARRA, were completely built in the UK during 1910/11, with WARREGO 1910/12, built in England, then disassembled and shipped to Australia to be rebuilt in Cockatoo Island Dockyard in NSW (for the ship building experience). The remaining four were completely built in Cockatoo Island Dockyard – WARREGO 1910/11/12, HUON (laid as DERWENT, but renamed HUON so as not to be confused with HMS DERWENT) 1913/15, TORRENS 1913/15 and SWAN 1915/16. They had a displacement of 700 tons, length 250ft, beam 24½ft and a 9ft draught. They carried one 4″ gun forward, 3x 12pdrs, 3×18″ torpedoes in tubes. Speed of 26/27 knots, with a complement of 66 officers and men. The cost of the UK built ships was £81,500, and the Australian built ships £160,000. (How times have changed.)

These ships served in the Mediterranean and the Pacific areas during World War I, and after the War, from 1919 in various duties, and for Naval Reserve training.

Gift Destroyers

In 1919 the RAN received six gift destroyers from the Royal Navy, the first was HMAS ANZAC (1), 1917 to 1933, a Marksman (Destroyer leader) Class destroyer of 1,660 tons, length 325ft, beam 31½ft, draught 12½ft, with three funnels. Her armament was 4×4″ guns, 2x12pdrs, 4×21″ torpedoes. She had a speed of 34 knots from her triple screws, with a complement of 122 officers and ratings. ANZAC transferred to the RAN, leaving Plymouth (England) in February 1920 and sailed to Sydney, arriving there on 29 April. There was little to do after the War (Great War), and she spent her time on the Australian east coast, though she visited New Guinea and New Britain in 1924, 1926 and 1930. But she remained the only destroyer kept through the depression years, till she was paid off in 1933, and scrapped in 1935. Sold for £1,800, ANZAC was sunk off Sydney on 7 May 1936 as target practice for RAN ships.

S Class

The other five S Class Destroyers – HMA Ships STALWART (1), SUCCESS, SWORDSMAN, TASMANIA and TATTOO were of 1,070 tons, 276ft in length, beam 26¾ft, draught 10½ft, with 3×4″ guns, 1x2pdr, pompoms and machine guns, 4×21″ torpedoes, speed 34 knots and complement of 90 officers and ratings.

For these ships, the majority of their service life was spent in port, and on the east coast, the only exception being TASMANIA, which visited New Guinea in 1924.

These S Class were famous ships, and over sixty more were built for the Royal Navy to replace WW I ships, and though many were scrapped between the wars, eleven still served in the Royal Navy during WW II.

The RAN’s five were built in the UK 1917/18, and commissioned into the RAN 1920. They paid off and went to Reserve in the late 1920s to 1930, and were all sold by 1937.

TATTOO was the last to pay off in 1933. On one of its last trips outside Sydney’s Heads, when passing the Matson Liner MARIPOSA, it signalled ‘Are you catching any fish’. Poor TATTOO! At least – they claimed – TATTOO never broke down.

V&W Class

Next, after service with the Royal Navy from 1918 to 1932, STUART transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in October 1933, along with four V & W Class destroyers (to replace the old S Class destroyers).

HMAS STUART (1) was a Scott Class Destroyer Leader, with displacement of 2,000 tons, length 332ft, beam 31¾ft, draught 12¼ft. Her armament (original) was 5×4.7″ guns, 1×3″ AA and small arms, and 6×21″ torpedoes. Speed 36½ knots and ship’s complement of 185. In her RAN commission, she was the Flotilla Leader, and up to 1939 served mainly in Australian waters, though being decommissioned for two short periods in that time.

With the declaration of war in 1939, STUART (Cmdr H.M.L. Waller, RAN), with the V & Ws HMA Ships VAMPIRE (1), VENDETTA (1), VOYAGER (1), and WATERHEN (1), sailed for the Mediterranean, where the Flotilla saw much action along the North African coast, with the British Fleet all over the Eastern Mediterranean, and with HMAS SYDNEY in action against the Italian Fleet at Calabria, through to the Battle of Matapan, then landings of troops on Greece and Crete, and later evacuating those troops after German occupation. STUART departed the Mediterranean August 22nd 1941, to return to Australia to commence a long and overdue refit, till April 1942. She then served in north eastern Australian waters till 1946, paying off 27th April 1946 and was scrapped in 1947.

Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6

Spitfire – The First Australian Built Warship

December 31, 1981

SINCE THE FORMATION of the Royal Australian Navy in 1911 hundreds of Australian built ships have served under the White Ensign, ships ranging in size and types from small Channel Patrol boats through to destroyers, cruisers and the 10,500 ton destroyer tender Stalwart. The Australian shipbuilding industry’s finest hour occurred during the Second World War, when, as well as providing support for Australian and Allied navies, the dockyards built destroyers, frigates, corvettes and other minor types. This tradition of Australian naval construction had its beginning, like most of Australia’s history, on the shores of Port Jackson with the launching of the Spitfire.

The wooden gunboat Spitfire was ordered by the NSW Government to help protect Sydney against Russian warships based at Vladivostok. Designed and built by the Sydney shipbuilder John Cuthbert, she was a sturdy little vessel which was to render valuable service to two Colonial governments and numerous private owners.

After the appropriate ceremonies, the Spitfire was finally launched by Mrs. Cuthbert at 10.30 am on the 3rd April 1855. The sight of the Spitfire gracefully gliding into the waters of Port Jackson filled the assembled crowd with a sense of pride and achievement, for this was the first warship built in Australia for a Colonial government.

Constructed entirely of ironbark and blackwood with copper fastenings, the Spitfire was a graceful yet solid little ship. Her hull was sheathed with 22 oz copper, which was to prove invaluable in her latter career in Australia’s tropical north. Accommodation onboard consisted of a four berth cabin aft as well as some temporary berths in the ship’s hold. The hold (which had an overall depth of 7ft 3in) also served as the magazine and storeroom.

The main armament, consisting of a smooth-bore muzzle loading 32 pounder, was mounted on a traversing carriage located between the fore and main masts. To cater for the weight of the gun and carriage the deck was strengthened by the addition of diagonal braces and metal knees. So that the gun’s crew could obtain a clear field of fire, the bulwarks were capable of being rapidly lowered.

Rigged as a ketch, the Spitfire was originally fitted with a running bowsprit, but this was later altered to a fixed bowsprit.

Very little is known about the service of the ship in New South Wales, where she remained in service for only four years. Most of this time would have been spent as a training ship, and exercising with the Sydney Forts.

Spitfire was transferred to the Queensland Government in 1859, where her new masters immediately put the ship to work as the pilot cutter on Moreton Bay. She was also to serve as a transport for government officials and visiting dignitaries.

During the latter part of 1860 the Governor of Queensland, Sir G. Ferguson Bowen, despatched an expedition to try and locate the mouth of the Burdekin River, the party sailing aboard Spitfire in August for Rockhampton, where they were to transfer to another vessel. On arriving at Rockhampton this vessel was found to be unfit for sea, so the expedition continued in the Spitfire. Those taking part in this exercise were: Captain Joseph W. Smith – in overall command, Mr. G.E. Dalrymple – Commissioner for Crown Land, Mr. R.P. Stone – Surveyor, Mr. Fitzallen – Botanist Mr. Bausfield – Master of the Spitfire, plus seven seamen and two aboriginals.

Spitfire arrived off Port Denison 11th September 1860, and members of the expedition began to explore the port and surrounding areas. After failing to locate the mouth of the river they sailed for Halifax Bay. Shortly after landing in Halifax Bay the shore party was approached by a group of aboriginals, who began to crowd the exploration party and making gestures that were interpreted as being hostile. The white men opened fire and returned to the ship where they were informed that two canoes of aboriginals had tried to board the ship. History later revealed that the natives were trying to lead the expedition to Mr. James Morrill, a white castaway living with them.

On Sunday, 23rd September, after morning prayers, the party located a large river delta, which was later identified as the mouth of the Burdekin River. After exploring the river delta the expedition returned to Port Denison and examined the suitability of the area for a settlement. The township of Bowen was later established on the site surveyed by the expedition.

After the successful completion of the expedition, during which the little ship travelled a total of 767 miles, the Spitfire returned to Brisbane where she resumed her more mundane tasks.

With the discovery of gold in the Palmer River, North Queensland, the Spitfire was transferred to Cooktown, where she became the first pilot boat. The Spitfire was to remain in Cooktown until she was sold out of service in 1885.

Probably the most unpleasant task undertaken by Spitfire during her period in Cooktown was the recovery of the remains of a Mrs. Watson, her child and a Chinese servant. Mrs. Watson worked at the beche-de-mer station on Lizard Island, north of Cairns. As the beche-de-mer had been finished out around the island, the two men who operated the station left to search for a new location. Soon after the two left a group of aboriginals landed on Lizard Island. The aboriginals ambushed and speared both Chinese servants who worked on the island, killing one of them. Mrs. Watson fled the island, taking her child and the wounded Chinese with her. When the authorities arrived at the island they found it deserted and assumed that Mrs. Watson and the others had been killed.

The mystery of what happened to Mrs. Watson was solved on 19th January 1882 when the master of the schooner Kate Kearney sighted a small boat in mangrove swamps along the coast. Onboard the boat were the remains of Mrs. Watson, her child and the Chinese; they had died of thirst after escaping. The Spitfire was despatched to recover the bodies and return them to Cooktown for burial.

Spitfire was finally sold out of service around 1885, when she was purchased by Captain Alex Mathewson, who converted her to a beche-de-mer fishing vessel. She was sold once more in 1892, when she was taken over by Messrs. Dan Moynahan and S.B. Andreassen. These gentlemen also used her in the beche-de-mer trade. Whilst in the employ of Moynahan and Andreassen the Spitfire was badly damaged during a cyclone off Hinchinbrook Island in 1896, and had to be sailed back to Cairns under jury rig.

During her civilian employment the Spitfire was almost completely rebuilt, with a new stern, new bows, new masts being added.

Spitfire’s career finally came to an end in December 1899 when she was sunk off the Piper Island Light during a cyclone. Though gone, the memory of this hard working little ship lives on in the names of many bays, reefs and other navigation marks along the Queensland coast.

Details of Spitfire
Type – Ketch rigged wooden gunboat
Designer – John Cuthbert
Builder – John Cuthbert
Built at – Millers Point, Sydney
Launched by – Mrs. Cuthbert
Launched – 3rd April 1855
Tonnage – 60 tons
Length (oa) – 62 feet
Length (keel) – 51 feet
Beam – 16 feet
Draught – 5 feet 6 inches
Armament – One long SB 32 pounder on traversing carriage.

The Gift Fleet

December 31, 1980

The Gift Fleet – from the RN to Australia, 1919

WITH THE END OF THE GREAT WAR the Imperial Government found itself with a considerable number of naval vessels on hand and with little possibility of being able to put them all to work. General reductions in both men and ships soon got under way, the bulk of the ships would have to be placed in reserve or sold. Of the ships that had been completed before 1914, the obvious thing was for them to be sold as scrap. Some would be able to be used in subsidiary services, but on the whole it would be prudent to scrap them altogether. Of the ships completed during hostilities, most of them would be retained as they were modern, with the lessons of the war built into them. One other avenue was open to the Imperial Government. It could turn some of the newer ships over to the Colonial and Dominion Governments to build up their naval strengths. This latter course was adopted, the main recipient being the Commonwealth of Australia.

In 1919 a well balanced squadron of three minesweepers, six submarines, one flotilla leader and five destroyers were presented to the Royal Australian Navy in recognition of the assistance given by that service during the Great War. The gift fleet was a mixed lot, but all were seaworthy, and the five destroyers were still not in a completed state at the time of the presentation. They were in fact brand new.

The three minesweepers were units of the Flower class of single screwed ships classified as ‘fleet sweeping vessels’ and were designed to act as sweepers and escort sloops. The three ships allocated to Australia were Mallow, Marguerite and Geranium, three ships that had been sent over to Australian waters to sweep up the mines laid by the raider Wolf.

Although of one basic class, they represented two distinct types and with three schemes of gun armament. The smaller of the two types was known as the Acacia type and was represented in the gift fleet by Mallow. This ship had a standard displacement of 1,200 tons and had been launched in July 1915. Her gun armament on arrival in Australia consisted of a 12 pdr 12 cwt QF gun on the foc’sle and a 3 pounder on a high angle mounting aft. Her speed of 16.5 knots gave her a comfortable margin over the average merchantman of the day, enabling her to act as an escort, and being coal fired meant that she could take on fuel practically anywhere in the world. Her main engine developed 1,800 IHP, with steam supplied by two scotch boilers.

Her sister ships were of the slightly improved Arabis type. There was an increase of 50 tons in the displacement and an increase of 7 feet in the overall length when compared with the Acacia’s, but they were for all intents and purposes the same general class.

Geranium had been launched in November 1915, whilst the third ship of the group, Marguerite, had been launched the same month as Geranium. The armament in this pair was quite different. Geranium carried a QF 4.7 gun, while Marguerite had a BL 4 inch gun. Both mounted two 3 pounder AA guns.

The three ships arrived in Australia in June 1919 and after mine clearance operations paid off in Sydney on 18th October 1919 for transfer to the RAN. The intention was for them to be used as a minesweeping training unit, but this did not eventuate. Geranium and Marguerite commissioned as minesweepers in February and January 1920 respectively, but in the case of Geranium this was only a run of four months. She recommissioned as a surveying vessel on 1st July 1920 and soldiered on in this capacity until finally paid off on 10th October 1927.

Marguerite became a Reserves Training Ship, many of the old system compulsory training reserves saw service in this little ship. She finally paid off on 23rd July 1929, but during her training days she had paid off and recommissioned on many occasions.

The other Flower class sloop, Mallow, saw very little use, and spent a good part of her life at Westernport, Victoria, in reserve. In 1928 she returned to Sydney and lay idle in ‘rotten row’ until the Government decided that she was of no further use. In the latter half of 1932 the three Flowers were sent up to Cockatoo Island, where all useful fittings were removed. In 1935 the three were laid to rest in the ship’s graveyard outside Sydney Heads, two of them being used as gunnery targets.

The six submarines were the infamous ‘J’ boats and were not a very reliable group of ships. They had been hurriedly designed on the strength of faulty intelligence, it being understood that the German Navy had submarines capable of 20 knots on the surface. This was found to be wrong, but not until the ‘J’ boats were well and truly heading towards completion.

To get close to the alleged 20 knots the ships were given three screws by the simple expedient of fitting three instead of two standard submarine diesel engines. This gave the ships a speed on the surface of 19½ knots but they were only armed with 18 inch torpedoes. The class had a nasty habit of snapping propeller shafts. They arrived in Sydney after a very unpleasant delivery voyage in August 1919. After a much needed refit, the flotilla was transferred to Corio Bay, near Geelong, where a submarine base had been opened in the buildings that had been the original RAN College. The arrangement did not last very long and on 22nd July 1922 the flotilla paid off. Declared for disposal in January 1924, four boats (J1, J2, J4 and J5) were sold in February 1924 to the Melbourne Salvage Syndicate and, after stripping, their bare hulls were scuttled outside Barwon Heads, Victoria.

J4 had caused some concern by sinking alongside the wharf at Williamstown while being dismantled, but she was eventually raised and joined her three sisters off Barwon Heads. J3 and J7 were retained slightly longer but in 1926 J3 was sold. Her hull is still visible today as she lies ashore on Swan Island. She is rusting badly but enough of her remains to identify her as a J boat. J7 remained in service until 1929, being used as a floating station at Flinders Naval Depot. Her hull still exists at Hampton, Victoria. She was originally purchased to form a breakwater for the yacht club and in this role she was quite successful. When a marina was built the old hulk was badly rusted and it was near impossible to remove it, so the marina was built over the remains.

The six submarines were not identical in appearance. J1 was built with bridge wings, where as J2, J3, J4 and J5 did not. J7 had a completely different profile to the other five. Her conning tower was built further aft on the casing but her gun was mounted forrard on deck. The other boats had their gun one deck higher, being carried on a platform on the face of the conning tower.

In length of service these ships were quite young when sold. The first five had been all launched at the end of 1915, J7 being launched in February 1917 and had only a couple of years war service. They were handed over to the RAN on the 25th March 1919, so when considering that they paid off in July 1922, their service in the RAN was only a matter of three years and four months. The exception in this case was of course J7 but she did not operate as a submarine for her last seven years. Taken all round, the J Class submarines were not a very spectacular group by any means. They did provide training in submarine warfare for a short time, but were not missed, or regretted, when sold.

The flotilla leader in the gift fleet was ANZAC (1), a unit of the later ‘Marksman’ class of leaders. She was a well liked ship, but was regarded as being somewhat odd by many people. She was our last triple screwed destroyer, the first to mount super-firing guns and the only one with three funnels. Launched in January 1917 and completed three months later, she saw service with the Royal Navy’s 14th Destroyer Flotilla, her half leader being Vampire, which was later to join the RAN. ANZAC headed a flotilla of five Admiralty ‘S’ class destroyers, named Swordsman, Success, Stalwart, Tasmania and Tattoo.

The ‘S’ boats were all building when the war ended and were transferred to the RAN on completion. They never commissioned as HM Ships. Although turned over in March and April 1919, the six ships had to remain in the United Kingdom until 1920 when crews could be found to make the delivery voyage out to Australia. The crews were mainly Royal Navy men loaned for a two year commission. Many transferred to the RAN on completion of the two year period and became permanent residents of Australia.

After the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1920, the Australian Squadron settled down to full peace time routine and one of the worst features was the cutting down on manpower. Only three destroyers were kept in full commission, the ‘S’ boats rotating between full commission and reserve fleet status. The depression era had a marked effect on the RAN and the destroyers in particular. One by one the boats were paid off and in 1931 only one, ANZAC, was in commission. In July 1931 she too paid off into reserve, her place as sole destroyer being taken by Tattoo.

With the arrival of Stuart (1) and the four V & W class destroyers in 1933, Tattoo was relegated to training duties and by 1936 she too had reached the end of the line.

ANZAC was sold in August 1935, followed by the five Ss in June 1937. The gift fleet had gone. Little remains today to remind us of this group and our historians have been in the habit of neglecting them for the more famous named ships of the RAN but during their service they made a very commendable contribution to the training and efficiency of the RAN. It is pleasing to note that our destroyer tender of the present time is named Stalwart and that the replacement fleet replenishment ship is to be named Success. It had been stated that it is intended to build a second ship of this type and it is to be hoped that she will be named Swordsman to keep the tradition alive.

The ‘J’ Class submarines were, in their day, comparable with the present Oberon class. They were classed as fleet submarines and were in fact very large boats. With a length of 274 feet, a beam of 23 feet 6 inches and a draught of 14 feet, they were almost as big as our present boats, although the standard surface displacement of 1,260 tons is much smaller than the 2,030 tons of the Oberons. The ‘S’ boats were small ships by destroyer standards, but they were fast and above all they were brand new. The minesweeping sloops were very good, all round ships, but were never utilised to their full capacity. Financial difficulties played a very large part in the break up of the Gift Fleet, unfortunately denying Australia a group of ships that could have been very useful in 1939.

Out of the Past – pictorial

March 16, 1974

H.M.S. Achilles (renamed Delhi) in a visit to Sydney in 1971
H.M.S. Achilles (renamed Delhi) in a visit to Sydney in 1971

HMAS Stalwart puts to sea, 1928
HMAS Stalwart puts to sea, 1928

The "S" Class destroyers Tattoo, Stalwart and Swordsman laid up in reserve at Garden Island, 1930.
The “S” Class destroyers Tattoo, Stalwart and Swordsman laid up in reserve at Garden Island, 1930.

H.M.S. Penguin Depot and Receiving ship, Sydney, and H.M.S. T o r c h (sloop, in reserve) circa 1903
H.M.S. Penguin Depot and Receiving ship, Sydney, and H.M.S. T o r c h (sloop, in reserve) circa 1903
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Latest Podcasts

  • First Victory, Musical Composition by Petty Officer Musician Martyn Hancock
  • AE2 – Stoker’s Submarine, Musical Composition by Lieutenant Matthew Klohs RAN.
  • AE1 – The Ship without a Name, Musical Composition by Lieutenant Matthew Klohs RAN.
  • The Loss of HMAS Armidale by Dr Kevin Smith
  • D-Day commando on Sword Beach by Commander Jim Speed DSC, RAN

Links to other podcasts

Australian Naval History Podcasts
This podcast series examines Australia’s Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere.
Produced by the Naval Studies Group in conjunction with the Submarine Institute of Australia, the Australian Naval Institute, Naval Historical Society and the RAN Seapower Centre

Life on the Line Podcasts
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories.
These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher.

Video Links

  • Australian War Memorial YouTube channel
  • Royal Australian Navy YouTube Channel
  • Research – We can help!
  • Naval Heritage Sites
  • Dockyard Heritage Tour
  • About us
  • Shop
  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Facebook

  • Members Area
  • Privacy Policy
  • Log Out

Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Copyright © 2021