Vampire's bow section sank immediately, but the stern remained afloat for some minutes until it was sunk by a magazine explosion. Eight men were killed in the attack. Her survivors and those of Hermes were rescued by hospital ship Vita. [2/2] #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
#OTD March 29, 1941: Off Cape Matapan, Britain’s RN & Australia’s RAN defeated Italy’s fleet using radar & Ultra intel. Sank 3 cruisers, 2 destroyers, 2,300 Italians died. Allied losses were three airmen. Victory secured Mediterranean supply lines.
#WWII #royalnavy #royalaustraliannavy #navalhistory
Royal Australian Navy auxiliary minesweeper HMAS Terka photographed soon after conversion from mercantile service. Image: Australian War Memorial collection. Description: black and white photograph of a small naval vessel under way, viewed from an elevated position, port side profile view.
26 Mar 1945 // Auxiliary minesweeper HMAS Terka sank, rather suddenly and for no readily apparent reason, while coaling at Madang, Papua New Guinea. There were no casualties. She was in use as a water carrier when she was lost. (Image: Australian War Memorial) #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
Following the 125th anniversary of the #RoyalAustralianNavy, a piece on one of its great heroes serving with the #RoyalNavy in #WW2 and the work of mine disposal officers: wix.to/H7zx8SU #RAN125 #Minewarfare
Last week it was the #AustralianArmy, this week it was the #RoyalAustralianNavy ‘s turn to celebrate 125 years with an #internationalFleetReview on #SydneyHarbour on a day that went from sunshine to rain before mostly clearing. A great afternoon spent on a Lunch cruise checking it out.
117 of her crew died. 34 survived but when their raft was found on 9 March by Dutch submarine K.XI only 13 were still alive. Despite Yarra's courageous defence all ships in the convoy were sunk, with few survivors. [3/3] (Image: Australian War Memorial 016263) #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
3 Mar 1945 // Air-sea rescue boat HMAS Steady Hour, based at Darwin, was destroyed by an accidental fire without casualties in Melville Bay in the Northern Territory of Australia. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
Royal Australian Navy light cruiser HMAS Perth. Dutch Ministry of Defence photograph via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Description: a large warship with two funnels under way with her bows to the left and a shoreline with buildings visible in the background. There are several groups of men drawn up in ranks on her decks.
1 Mar 1942 // Light cruiser HMAS Perth was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese destroyers in the Battle of the Sunda Strait, with 353 lives lost. 324 survivors were taken prisoner by the Japanese of whom 106 would die in captivity. (Image: Wikimedia Commons) #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
19 Feb 1942 // Two Royal Australian Navy vessels were lost in Japanese air attacks on Darwin: auxiliary patrol boat HMAS Mavie, sunk by dive bombing, and coal hulk HMAS Kelat, sunk by gunfire from Japanese aircraft. There were no casualties on either vessel. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2
A Royal Commission placed most of the blame on Melbourne's captain, John Robertson. This caused controversy in Australia, being widely seen as unjust. A second Royal Commission found that Voyager's captain was medically unfit and cleared Robertson of blame. [4/4] #RoyalAustralianNavy #NavalHistory
26 Jan 1942 // Patrol boat HMAS Sirocco was destroyed by an accidental fire at Hobart, Tasmania, where she was serving as tender to the shore establishment there. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
Images, from the Australian War Memorial online collection: HMAS Patricia Cam (301155), and group photograph of some of the survivors from the Patricia Cam (014329). [6/6] #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
1 Jan 1946 // HMAS Alatna, a former Army fast supply launch in use as a tender for the Navy, was struck by an American freighter while being towed by destroyer HMAS Quickmatch north of Borneo. She was cut in two and sank immediately with the loss of one man. #RoyalAustralianNavy #NavalHistory
25 Dec 1974 // Patrol boat HMAS Arrow was lost when cyclone Tracy struck Darwin. She had been moored in the outer bay but was torn loose when the cyclone struck and, unable to hold her position, was driven against a wharf and wrecked with the loss of two men. #RoyalAustralianNavy #NavalHistory
1 Dec 1942 // Minesweeper HMAS Armidale was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Betano on Timor, where she was evacuating troops and civilians. Hit by two torpedoes, she shot down one enemy aircraft before sinking with 98 lives lost. There were 49 survivors. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
27 Nov 1941 // Sloop HMAS Parramatta, escorting a supply ship to Tobruk from Alexandria with destroyer HMS Avon Vale and two whalers, was torpedoed by U-boat U.559 north west of Tobruk. She broke in two and sank. 138 of the 162 on board lost their lives. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
The court of enquiry found that the Goorangai, which was under partial blackout, was showing her lights incorrectly, and appeared to the captain of the Duntroon to be on a parallel course. This was the first RAN loss of #WW2. [2/2] (Image: Australian War Memorial) #RoyalAustralianNavy #NavalHistory
The Sydney had last been seen limping away, heavily damaged, barely under control and burning fiercely. Hits from the Sydney had crippled the Kormoran and she was then abandoned, sinking after fires detonated her mines. [3/3] (Images: Wikimedia Commons) #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
12 Nov 1944 // HMAS Marlean, a patrol vessel serving as a tender to the base at Garden Island, Sydney, was destroyed without casualties in an accidental fire in Sydney harbour. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
Royal Australian Navy Replenishment Oiler HMAS Stalwart (III) A304
Royal Australian Navy Replenishment Oiler HMAS Stalwart (III) A304 #HMASStalwart #HMASStalwartA304 #Oiler #RAN #ReplinishmnetOiler #RoyalAustralianNAvy #tanker #warship www.destinationsjourney.com/hmas-stalwar...
Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Sydney (V) DDG 42 at Fleet Base East 23 October 2025
Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Sydney (V) DDG 42 at Fleet Base East 23 October 2025 #airwarfaredestroyer #destroyer #HMASSydney #HMASSydneyDDG42 #HMASSydney #HMASSydneyDDG42 #Navy #RAN #RoyalAustralianNavy #RoyalAustralianNavy #warship www.destinationsjourney.com/ships/warshi...
18 Oct 1944 // Minesweeper HMAS Geelong sank after colliding with American tanker York off Langemak, New Guinea. It was dark (around 9pm), both ships had dimmed lights, and neither saw the other. York's boats picked up all Geelong's crew before she sank. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
17 Oct 1943 // HMAS Gladmor, an auxiliary patrol vessel based at Fremantle, was destroyed in an accidental fire with no casualties. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
It soon became clear that the ship could not be saved. Explosive charges were set and she was scuttled, and on the morning of 25 Sept her remains were burned and abandoned. Two RAN ships evacuated the crew that evening. (Image: Wikimedia Commons) [2/2] #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
23 Sept 1942 // HMAS Siesta, a patrol boat stationed at Fremantle, suffered an explosion in the engine room as she left harbour on an evening patrol, and was destroyed by fire. All her crew were taken off and survived. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
22 Sept 1943 // HMAS Hulda, a requisitioned motor vessel in use as a tender in Papua New Guinea, was attacked and sunk off Buna by Japanese aircraft, with no casualties. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
Her wreck was located in 2017. Human error or mechanical failure, possibly a faulty ventilation valve, may have caused her to sink during a dive. AE.1 was the first #RoyalAustralianNavy loss and the first Allied submarine loss of #WW1. She was lost with all hands: 35 men. [2/2] #NavalHistory
7 Sept 1943 // HMAS Starfish, a patrol boat based at Sydney, ran aground south of Wollongong Lighthouse. There was no loss of life but she was written off as a total loss. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
14 Aug 1944 // RAN friendly fire incident: Motor Launch ML430 was shot up by Motor Launch ML819 as both hunted a reported enemy submarine at night off Biak, New Guinea. ML819 scuttled ML430 with gunfire after evacuating her crew (including two wounded). #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
Royal Australian Navy heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra photographed alongside at Wellington, New Zealand, in the 1930s. Photograph by William Hall Raine. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, via Wikimedia Commons.
US Navy destroyers USS Blue (left) and USS Patterson (right) rescuing survivors from the heavily damaged Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra at Savo Island, 9 August 1942. Official US Navy photograph via Wikimedia Commons.
9 Aug 1942 // Heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra received heavy damage from Japanese cruiser gunfire during the beginning of the Battle of Savo Island. Under pressure of time she could not be repaired, and was scuttled by USS Ellet. 84 of Canberra's crew died. #RoyalAustralianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory
