On This Day

On This Day - 19 April

1934

RADM Sir Wilbraham Tennyson Randle Ford, KCB, was appointed Flag Officer Commanding His Majesty's Australian Squadron.

1941

HMA Ships STUART, VOYAGER, and WATERHEN, (destroyers), covered a landing by British Commandos on enemy positions near Bardia, Libya. The German raiders ATLANTIS and KORMORAN rendezvoused in the Indian Ocean. On leaving the rendezvous KORMORAN changed her disguise to the Dutch ship STRAAT MALACCA.

1942

HMAS VOYAGER, (destroyer), was in a near collision with the troop ship QUEEN MARY, south of Melbourne.

1944

HMA Ships NAPIER, NEPAL, NIZAM, QUICKMATCH, and QUIBERON, (destroyers), operated as part of the British Pacific Fleet in the attack on Sabang, (Operation Cockpit), by carrier-borne aircraft.

1949

HMAS SHOALHAVEN, (frigate), was anchored at Shanghai and preparing to proceed up the Yangtse River to Nanking, to relieve HMS CONSORT. The ships were part of an Allied force standing by to evacuate British and Australian nationals in the event of increased hostilities between the Nationalist Chinese Government and the Peoples Liberation Army, (Communist Army), who were then engaged in a bitter Civil War. However, with the arrival of HMS AMETHYST, the decision was made that she would relieve CONSORT instead, and stores onboard SHOALHAVEN were transferred to the British warship which then departed for Nanking. Within 24 hours AMETHYST was in action against Communist shore batteries, and suffered heavy damage and casualties.

1953

HMAS Culgoa commenced operations off Korea when she arrived off Paengyong Do to relieve HMS Whitesand Bay on the west coast patrol. Culgoa remained on patrol anchored off Paengyong Do by day and under way at night until 28 April, when she was relieved on station by HMNZS Kanier

1964

HMS DUCHESS, (Daring class destroyer), arrived in Sydney on loan to the RAN as a replacement for HMAS VOYAGER. DUCHESS was later purchased outright by the Australian Government.

1972

HMAS Stuart departed Sydney for deployment with the ANZUK Forces in the Far East, followed by a visit to Pearl Harbor in August/September 1972 for exercises with US, Canadian and other Australian Ships. She returned to Sydney on 6 October 1972.

1985

HMAS BETANO was the first landing craft heavy, (LCH), in the RAN, to be assigned to survey duties. Over the next eight years other LCH's were used as interim survey vessels until the new survey motor launches were commissioned in the early 1990's. Once this occurred, the LCH's returned to their amphibious role.

2006

The patrol boat HMAS ARMIDALE, (LCDR J. Hunter, RAN), whilst en-route to the Solomon Islands, was diverted to the Tongan Islands of Tofua and Kao, to rescue 17 Australian and United States civilians. They were part of a US Peace Corps, stranded due to severe weather conditions. They were taken to Tonga.