Welcome to the Military history of Australia portal!
The military history of Australia spans the nation's 230-year modern history, from the early
Australian frontier wars between
Aboriginals and
Europeans to the ongoing conflicts in
Iraq and
Afghanistan in the early 21st century. Although this history is short when compared to that of many other nations, Australia has been involved in numerous conflicts and wars, and war and military service have been significant influences on Australian society and national identity, including the
Anzac spirit. The relationship between war and Australian society has also been shaped by the enduring themes of Australian strategic culture and the unique security challenges it faces.
The six British colonies in Australia participated in some of Britain's wars of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, as a federated dominion and later as an independent nation, Australia fought in the First World War and Second World War, as well as in the wars in
Korea,
Malaya,
Borneo and
Vietnam during the
Cold War. In the Post-Vietnam era Australian forces have been involved in numerous international
peacekeeping missions, through the
United Nations and other agencies, including in the
Sinai,
Persian Gulf,
Rwanda,
Somalia,
East Timor and the Solomon Islands, as well as many overseas humanitarian relief operations, while more recently they have also fought as part of multi-lateral forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, nearly 103,000 Australians died during these conflicts. (Full article...)
The Battle of Morotai, part of the
Pacific War, began on 15 September 1944, and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. The fighting started when United States and Australian forces landed on the southwest corner of
Morotai, a small island in the
Netherlands East Indies (NEI), which the
Allies needed as a base to support the
liberation of the Philippines later that year. The invading forces greatly outnumbered the island's
Japanese defenders and secured their objectives in two weeks. Japanese reinforcements landed on the island between September and November, but lacked the supplies needed to effectively attack the Allied defensive perimeter. Intermittent fighting continued until the end of the war, with the Japanese troops suffering heavy loss of life from disease and starvation.
Morotai's development into an Allied base began shortly after the landing, and two major airfields were ready for use in October. These and other base facilities played an important role in the
Liberation of the Philippines during 1944 and 1945. Torpedo boats and aircraft based at Morotai also harassed Japanese positions in the NEI. The island's base facilities were further expanded in 1945 to support the Australian-led
Borneo Campaign, and Morotai remained an important logistical hub and command center until the Dutch reestablished their colonial rule in the NEI. (Full article...)
Image 2
RAAF area commands, November 1942. Eastern Area's boundaries remained in place until it re-formed as Home Command in October 1953, beginning the supersession of the area command system.
The area command continued to function after the war, its headquarters transferring from Sydney to
Glenbrook, in the
Blue Mountains, in 1949. By this time, most of the RAAF's operational units—including fighter, bomber, and transport
wings—were based within Eastern Area's boundaries, and the officer in command was responsible for air defence across all of Australia. In October 1953, the RAAF began reorganising its command-and-control system from one based on geography to one based on function; Eastern Area was re-formed as
Home Command, which was renamed
Operational Command in 1959, and
Air Command in 1987. (Full article...)
Image 3
Air Vice-Marshal Drummond in the Middle East, 1940
Air MarshalSir Richard Williams, KBE,CB,DSO (3 August 1890 – 7 February 1980), is widely regarded as the "father" of the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He was the first military pilot trained in Australia, and went on to command Australian and British
fighter units in World War I. A proponent for air power independent of other branches of the armed services, Williams played a leading role in the establishment of the RAAF and became its first
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) in 1922. He served as CAS for thirteen years over three terms, longer than any other officer.
During the first decades of the 20th century, the
Australian Government established the armed services as separate organisations. Each service had an independent
chain of command. In 1976, the government made a strategic change and established the ADF to place the services under a single headquarters. Over time, the degree of integration has increased and tri-service headquarters, logistics, and training institutions have supplanted many single-service establishments. The ADF has been deployed around the world, including as part of combat and
peacekeeping missions. (Full article...)
Image 6
Howell (right) with fellow Australian ace
Raymond Brownell in France c. 1917
Howell spent eight months flying operations over Italy, conducting attacks against ground targets and engaging in sorties against aerial forces. While in Italy, he was credited with shooting down a total of nineteen aircraft. In one particular sortie on 12 July 1918, Howell attacked, in conjunction with one other aircraft, a formation of between ten and fifteen German machines; he personally shot down five of these planes and was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order. He had previously been awarded the
Military Cross and
Distinguished Flying Cross for his gallantry in operations over the front. He was posted back to the United Kingdom in July 1918. In 1919, Howell was killed while taking part in the
England to Australia air race. Piloting a Martinsyde A1 aircraft, he attempted to make an emergency landing on
Corfu but the plane fell short, crashing into the sea just off the island's coast. Both Howell and his navigator subsequently drowned. (Full article...)
Davey embarked for England in June 1916, and rejoined his battalion on the
Western Front in October. In January 1918 he was awarded the
Military Medal for bravery in rescuing a wounded man under fire. He was promoted to
corporal in April. In the lead-up to the capture of
Merris in June, he killed an eight-man German machine-gun crew, saving his
platoon from annihilation, for which he was awarded the VC. During this action he was severely wounded. He returned to Australia to be discharged, and was employed by
South Australian Railways over many years before dying in 1953, having suffered for years with
bronchitis and
emphysema. He was buried with full military honours in the
AIF Cemetery, West Terrace. His medals are displayed in the Hall of Valour at the
Australian War Memorial. (Full article...)
In the battle, a US force of five
cruisers and four
destroyers under the command of
Rear AdmiralCarleton H. Wright intercepted eight Japanese destroyers attempting to deliver food to their forces on Guadalcanal. The US destroyers waited four minutes after
radar contact for permission to launch torpedoes and missed the optimal firing position; the torpedoes all missed, and the destroyers retired. The US cruisers opened fire and sank one destroyer. The muzzle flash exposed the US cruisers' positions. Under the command of Rear Admiral
Raizō Tanaka, Japanese destroyers quickly launched Type 93 "
Long Lance" torpedoes, sinking one US cruiser and heavily damaging three others. The rest of Tanaka's force escaped undamaged but failed to complete the intended supply mission. (Full article...)
Image 9
The First Battle of Dernancourt was fought on 28 March 1918 near
Dernancourt in northern France during
World War I. It involved a force of the German
2nd Army attacking elements of the
VII Corps, which included British and Australian troops, and resulted in a complete defeat of the German assault.
The Australian
3rd and
4th Divisions had been sent south from Belgium to help stem the tide of the
German spring offensive towards
Amiens and, with the British
35th Division, they held a line west and north of the
Ancre river and the area between the Ancre and
Somme, forming the southern flank of the
Third Army. Much of the VII Corps front line consisted of a series of posts strung out along a railway embankment between
Albert and
Buire-sur-l'Ancre. The main German assault force was the
50th Reserve Division of the
XXIII Reserve Corps, which concentrated its assault on the line between Albert and Dernancourt, attacking off the line of march after a short artillery preparation. Supporting attacks were to be launched by the
13th Division further west. Some German commanders considered success unlikely unless the embankment was weakly held, and the commander of the German 2nd Army ordered the attack to be postponed, but that message did not reach the assaulting troops in time. (Full article...)
Pentland served in the fledgling
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and later the
Royal Air Force, before going into business in 1927. His ventures included commercial flying around the goldfields of
New Guinea, aircraft design and manufacture, flight instruction, and charter work. In the early 1930s, he was employed as a pilot with
Australian National Airways, and also spent time as a dairy farmer. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, he re-enlisted in the RAAF, attaining the rank of
squadron leader and commanding rescue and communications units in the
South West Pacific. Perhaps the oldest operational pilot in the wartime RAAF, Pentland was responsible for rescuing airmen, soldiers and civilians, and earned the
Air Force Cross for his "outstanding courage, initiative and skill". He became a trader in New Guinea when the war ended in 1945, and later a coffee planter. Retiring in 1959, he died in 1983 at the age of eighty-nine. (Full article...)
HMAS Rankin, sixth submarine of the Collins class, underway in 2006
The Collins-class submarines are Australian-built
diesel-electricsubmarines operated by the
Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The Collins class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral
John Augustine Collins; each of the six submarines is named after significant RAN personnel who distinguished themselves in action during World War II. The six vessels were the first submarines built in Australia, prompting widespread improvements in Australian industry and delivering a sovereign (Australian controlled) sustainment/maintenance capability.
Planning for a new design to replace the RAN's
Oberon-class submarines began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Proposals were received from seven companies; two were selected for a funded study to determine the winning design, which was announced in mid-1987. The submarines, enlarged versions of Swedish shipbuilder
Kockums'
Västergötland class and originally referred to as the Type 471, were constructed between 1990 and 2003 in South Australia by the
Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC). (Full article...)
The Surafend massacre (
Arabic: مجزرة صرفند) was a premeditated massacre committed against inhabitants of the village of
Sarafand al-Amar (modern-day
Tzrifin) and a
Bedouin camp in
Palestine by occupying Australian, New Zealand and Scottish soldiers on 10 December 1918. Occurring at the conclusion of the
Sinai and Palestine campaign of
World War I,
Allied occupational forces in the region, in particular Australian and New Zealand troops, gradually grew frustrated over being subject to petty theft and occasional murders by local Arabs without redress.
On the night of 9 December, a New Zealand soldier was killed by an Arab thief who had stolen his kitbag. In response, troops of the
ANZAC Mounted Division, as well as a small number of Scottish soldiers, surrounded Sarafand al-Amar and demanded the village's leaders hand over the thief. When they denied knowledge of the murder, the soldiers deliberated on their course of action before eventually deciding to attack the village, killing approximately 40-137 male villagers, with the only body count being 137 while others who did not count the bodies stated it was as low as 40. The massacre caused a significant rift between the Division and its Commander-in-Chief,
Sir Edmund Allenby. (Full article...)
Image 5
Australia joined a U.S.-led coalition in the
Iraq War. Declassified documents reveal that the decision to go to war was taken primarily with a view to enhancing its
alliance with the United States.
The
Howard government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the
Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial
combat force contingents during the
2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer. Part of its contingent were among the first forces to enter Iraq after the official "execute" order. The initial Australian force consisted of three
Royal Australian Navy ships, a 500-strong
special forces task group, two
AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, two B707 Air-to-Air refuelling aircraft,
C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and
No. 75 Squadron RAAF (which included 14
F/A-18 Hornet fighters). Combat forces committed to Operation Falconer for the 2003 Invasion were withdrawn during 2003. Under the name Operation Catalyst, Australian combat troops were redeployed to Iraq in 2005, however, and assumed responsibility for supporting Iraqi security forces in one of Iraq's southern provinces. These troops began withdrawing from Iraq on 1 June 2008 and were completely withdrawn by 28 July 2009. (Full article...)
Image 6
Captain
Harry Cobby (centre), Lieutenant
Roy King (fourth from right), and other officers of "A" Flight, No. 4 Squadron AFC, with their Sopwith Camels on the Western Front, June 1918
In 1911, at the
Imperial Conference held in London, it was decided that aviation should be developed by the national armed forces of the
British Empire. Australia became the first member of the Empire to follow this policy. By the end of 1911, the Army was advertising for pilots and mechanics. During 1912, pilots and mechanics were appointed, aircraft were ordered, the site of a flying school was chosen and the first squadron was officially raised. On 7 March 1913, the government officially announced formation of the
Central Flying School (CFS) and an "Australian Aviation Corps", although that name was never widely used. (Full article...)
These are
Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Image 1
The demobilisation of the Australian military after World War II involved
discharging almost 600,000 men and women from the
military, supporting their transition to civilian life and reducing the three armed services to peacetime strengths. Planning for the demobilisation process began in 1942 and thousands of servicemen and women were discharged in the last years of the war in response to shortages of labour in the domestic war economy. The general demobilisation of the military began in October 1945 and was completed in February 1947. The demobilisation process was largely successful, but some military personnel stationed in the South West Pacific complained that their repatriation to Australia was too slow.
The disposal of surplus military equipment took place at the same time as the size of the services was being reduced. The disposal process was managed to limit its economic impact. Most equipment was transferred to other government agencies, sold or destroyed by the end of 1949. (Full article...)
Image 2
Australian soldiers returning to Bien Hoa airbase following Operation Rolling Stone, late February 1966.
The Battle of Suoi Bong Trang (23–24 February 1966) was an engagement fought between US, Australian and New Zealand forces, and the
Viet Cong and
North Vietnamese Army during the
Vietnam War. The battle occurred during
Operation Rolling Stone, an American security operation to protect engineers building a tactically important road in the vicinity of Tan Binh, in central
Binh Duong Province, 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-west of
Bien Hoa airbase. During the fighting, soldiers from the
US 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and the
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR), which had been attached for the operation, fought off a regimental-sized Viet Cong night assault. Repulsed by massed firepower from artillery and tanks, the Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw by morning. After the attack, the Americans and Australians made no attempt to pursue the Viet Cong, focusing on securing the battlefield and evacuating their own casualties. The Viet Cong continued to harass the American
sappers with occasional sniper and mortar fire, but these tactics proved ineffective, and the road was completed by 2 March. (Full article...)
Image 3
The Battle of Long Khanh (6–7 June 1971) was fought during the
Vietnam War between elements of
1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) and the
Viet Cong (VC) and
People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during Operation Overlord. The fighting saw Australian infantry from
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) attack a heavily fortified communist base camp in
Long Khanh Province, while
Centurion tanks providing close support crushed many bunkers and their occupants. Regardless, the VC fought hard to delay the Australian advance and although the bunker system was subsequently captured, along with a second system further south, the Australians suffered a number of casualties and the loss of a
UH-1 Iroquois helicopter. With the Australians unable to concentrate sufficient combat power to achieve a decisive result, the bulk of the VC/PAVN force successfully withdrew intact, although they probably sustained heavy casualties in the process. (Full article...)
Image 4
Troops from 'C' Company, 2/48th Battalion advance alongside Matilda tanks from the 2/9th Armoured Regiment during the attack on the "Sykes" feature on Tarakan in April 1945
During the campaign in
New Guinea, the battalion took part in the advance on
Lae during the
Salamaua–Lae campaign and the fighting around
Finschhafen and
Sattelberg, during the
Huon Peninsula campaign. Following this it was withdrawn to Australia, where it remained for over a year. In mid-1945, the 2/48th Battalion took part in the
landing on Tarakan, which was its final involvement in the war. It was disbanded in October 1945 and is considered to be Australia's most highly decorated unit of the war, with four members receiving the
Victoria Cross, the nation's highest decoration for
gallantry, while over 90 other decorations were also made to its members. (Full article...)
Image 5
American manned
Alligators during the landing of Australian troops at Balikpapan, Borneo
The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of
Operation Oboe, the campaign to liberate
Japanese-held British and
Dutch Borneo. The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The
Australian 7th Division, composed of the
18th,
21st and
25th Infantry Brigades, with a small number of Netherlands East Indies
KNIL troops, made an
amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two, a few miles north of
Balikpapan. The Allied invasion fleet consisted of around 100 ships. The landing had been preceded by heavy
bombing and shelling by Australian and US air and naval forces. The Allied force totalled 33,000 personnel and was commanded by Major General
Edward Milford, while the Japanese force, commanded by Rear Admiral
Michiaki Kamada, numbered between 8,400 and 10,000, of which between 3,100 and 3,900 were combatants. After the initial landing, the Allies secured the town and its port, and then advanced along the coast and into the hinterland, capturing the two Japanese airfields. Major combat operations concluded around 21 July, but were followed by mopping-up operations, which lasted until the end of the war in mid-August. Australian troops remained in the area until early 1946. (Full article...)
The General Dynamics F-111C (nicknamed the "Pig") is a variant of the
F-111 Aardvark medium-range
interdictor and
tactical strike aircraft, developed by
General Dynamics to meet Australian requirements. The design was based on the F-111A model but included longer wings and strengthened undercarriage. The Australian government ordered 24 F-111Cs to equip the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1963, but the aircraft were not delivered until 1973 because of long-running technical problems. During 1979 and 1980 four of these aircraft were converted to the RF-111C reconnaissance variant. Four ex–
United States Air Force (USAF) F-111As were purchased by Australia and converted to F-111C standard in 1982 to replace F-111Cs destroyed during accidents. Australia also operated 15 F-111Gs between 1993 and 2007, mainly for conversion training. The RAAF retired its remaining F-111Cs in December 2010. In Australian military and aviation circles, the F-111 Aardvark was affectionately known as the "Pig", due to its long snout and
terrain-following ability.
The F-111Cs gave the RAAF a powerful strike capability but were never used in combat. The aircraft went through modernization programs in the 1980s and 1990s, and the RAAF acquired improved weapons to maintain their ability to penetrate hostile airspace. Despite this, by the 2000s the F-111Cs were becoming outdated and expensive to maintain, leading to a decision to retire them in 2010 rather than 2020 as originally planned. The F-111s were replaced by 24
Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets pending delivery of
F-35 Lightning IIs in development. (Full article...)
Born in
Fremantle, Western Australia, Edwards joined the
Royal Australian Air Force in 1935, and a year later was granted a short service commission with the RAF. Serving throughout the Second World War, he gained a permanent commission and continued his career in the RAF after the war; he retired in 1963 with the rank of air commodore. Returning to Australia, he was appointed Governor of Western Australia in 1974. (Full article...)
Although disbanded in 1919 following the end of hostilities, it was re-raised in 1921 in the
Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) as a part-time infantry battalion based in Victoria. However, due to lack of funding following the
Great Depression and a shortage of manpower following the suspension of the
compulsory training scheme in 1929, the battalion was amalgamated with the
38th Battalion as the 7th/38th Battalion, although it was delinked again in 1936 when the Army was expanded due to rising tensions in Europe. (Full article...)
Image 10
Crusader in December 1945
Crusader (AV2767) was an
Australian Army amphibious operations support ship of
World War II. She was launched shortly before the war ended and entered service in late 1935. From 1945 to 1947 she was mainly used to return Australian Army equipment from the islands off New Guinea. She was also loaned to the
Australian Shipping Board in early 1947 and transported earth moving equipment and timber between
Melbourne and
Tasmania. However, the Army did not need a ship with Crusader's capabilities after the war, and she was sold in 1947 to the
Queensland Cement and Lime Company which operated her as a coral barge on the
Brisbane River until the mid-1980s. The ship was scuttled in 1986 and became a popular
dive wreck. (Full article...)
Image 22The light cruiser
HMAS Hobart showing torpedo damage inflicted by a Japanese submarine on 20 July 1943. Hobart did not return to service until December 1944. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 42Australian sailors take possession of a midget submarine at a Japanese naval base near Tokyo in September 1945. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 56Women friends and family on the wharf waving farewell to the departing troop ship RMS Strathallan carrying the Advance Party of the 6th Division to service overseas. They include
George Alan Vasey's wife
Jessie Vasey (second from the left). The photograph is especially poignant because Vasey did not survive the war. (from Military history of Australia during World War II)
No. 111 Air-Sea Rescue Flight was a
Royal Australian Air Force unit of World War II. The Flight was formed at
Madang in
New Guinea on 13 December 1944 and was equipped with
PBY Catalinas. The Flight's role was to carry out search and rescue operations and provide rescue support to other aircraft during attacks on Japanese targets. The flight's aircraft also conducted offensive operations and dropped supplies on behalf of the Australian New Guinea Administration Unit. Following the end of the war the Flight moved to
Port Moresby on 18 March 1946 and was disbanded there on 24 January 1947.
Welcome to the Military history of Australia portal!
The military history of Australia spans the nation's 230-year modern history, from the early
Australian frontier wars between
Aboriginals and
Europeans to the ongoing conflicts in
Iraq and
Afghanistan in the early 21st century. Although this history is short when compared to that of many other nations, Australia has been involved in numerous conflicts and wars, and war and military service have been significant influences on Australian society and national identity, including the
Anzac spirit. The relationship between war and Australian society has also been shaped by the enduring themes of Australian strategic culture and the unique security challenges it faces.
The six British colonies in Australia participated in some of Britain's wars of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, as a federated dominion and later as an independent nation, Australia fought in the First World War and Second World War, as well as in the wars in
Korea,
Malaya,
Borneo and
Vietnam during the
Cold War. In the Post-Vietnam era Australian forces have been involved in numerous international
peacekeeping missions, through the
United Nations and other agencies, including in the
Sinai,
Persian Gulf,
Rwanda,
Somalia,
East Timor and the Solomon Islands, as well as many overseas humanitarian relief operations, while more recently they have also fought as part of multi-lateral forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, nearly 103,000 Australians died during these conflicts. (Full article...)
The Battle of Morotai, part of the
Pacific War, began on 15 September 1944, and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. The fighting started when United States and Australian forces landed on the southwest corner of
Morotai, a small island in the
Netherlands East Indies (NEI), which the
Allies needed as a base to support the
liberation of the Philippines later that year. The invading forces greatly outnumbered the island's
Japanese defenders and secured their objectives in two weeks. Japanese reinforcements landed on the island between September and November, but lacked the supplies needed to effectively attack the Allied defensive perimeter. Intermittent fighting continued until the end of the war, with the Japanese troops suffering heavy loss of life from disease and starvation.
Morotai's development into an Allied base began shortly after the landing, and two major airfields were ready for use in October. These and other base facilities played an important role in the
Liberation of the Philippines during 1944 and 1945. Torpedo boats and aircraft based at Morotai also harassed Japanese positions in the NEI. The island's base facilities were further expanded in 1945 to support the Australian-led
Borneo Campaign, and Morotai remained an important logistical hub and command center until the Dutch reestablished their colonial rule in the NEI. (Full article...)
Image 2
RAAF area commands, November 1942. Eastern Area's boundaries remained in place until it re-formed as Home Command in October 1953, beginning the supersession of the area command system.
The area command continued to function after the war, its headquarters transferring from Sydney to
Glenbrook, in the
Blue Mountains, in 1949. By this time, most of the RAAF's operational units—including fighter, bomber, and transport
wings—were based within Eastern Area's boundaries, and the officer in command was responsible for air defence across all of Australia. In October 1953, the RAAF began reorganising its command-and-control system from one based on geography to one based on function; Eastern Area was re-formed as
Home Command, which was renamed
Operational Command in 1959, and
Air Command in 1987. (Full article...)
Image 3
Air Vice-Marshal Drummond in the Middle East, 1940
Air MarshalSir Richard Williams, KBE,CB,DSO (3 August 1890 – 7 February 1980), is widely regarded as the "father" of the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He was the first military pilot trained in Australia, and went on to command Australian and British
fighter units in World War I. A proponent for air power independent of other branches of the armed services, Williams played a leading role in the establishment of the RAAF and became its first
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) in 1922. He served as CAS for thirteen years over three terms, longer than any other officer.
During the first decades of the 20th century, the
Australian Government established the armed services as separate organisations. Each service had an independent
chain of command. In 1976, the government made a strategic change and established the ADF to place the services under a single headquarters. Over time, the degree of integration has increased and tri-service headquarters, logistics, and training institutions have supplanted many single-service establishments. The ADF has been deployed around the world, including as part of combat and
peacekeeping missions. (Full article...)
Image 6
Howell (right) with fellow Australian ace
Raymond Brownell in France c. 1917
Howell spent eight months flying operations over Italy, conducting attacks against ground targets and engaging in sorties against aerial forces. While in Italy, he was credited with shooting down a total of nineteen aircraft. In one particular sortie on 12 July 1918, Howell attacked, in conjunction with one other aircraft, a formation of between ten and fifteen German machines; he personally shot down five of these planes and was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order. He had previously been awarded the
Military Cross and
Distinguished Flying Cross for his gallantry in operations over the front. He was posted back to the United Kingdom in July 1918. In 1919, Howell was killed while taking part in the
England to Australia air race. Piloting a Martinsyde A1 aircraft, he attempted to make an emergency landing on
Corfu but the plane fell short, crashing into the sea just off the island's coast. Both Howell and his navigator subsequently drowned. (Full article...)
Davey embarked for England in June 1916, and rejoined his battalion on the
Western Front in October. In January 1918 he was awarded the
Military Medal for bravery in rescuing a wounded man under fire. He was promoted to
corporal in April. In the lead-up to the capture of
Merris in June, he killed an eight-man German machine-gun crew, saving his
platoon from annihilation, for which he was awarded the VC. During this action he was severely wounded. He returned to Australia to be discharged, and was employed by
South Australian Railways over many years before dying in 1953, having suffered for years with
bronchitis and
emphysema. He was buried with full military honours in the
AIF Cemetery, West Terrace. His medals are displayed in the Hall of Valour at the
Australian War Memorial. (Full article...)
In the battle, a US force of five
cruisers and four
destroyers under the command of
Rear AdmiralCarleton H. Wright intercepted eight Japanese destroyers attempting to deliver food to their forces on Guadalcanal. The US destroyers waited four minutes after
radar contact for permission to launch torpedoes and missed the optimal firing position; the torpedoes all missed, and the destroyers retired. The US cruisers opened fire and sank one destroyer. The muzzle flash exposed the US cruisers' positions. Under the command of Rear Admiral
Raizō Tanaka, Japanese destroyers quickly launched Type 93 "
Long Lance" torpedoes, sinking one US cruiser and heavily damaging three others. The rest of Tanaka's force escaped undamaged but failed to complete the intended supply mission. (Full article...)
Image 9
The First Battle of Dernancourt was fought on 28 March 1918 near
Dernancourt in northern France during
World War I. It involved a force of the German
2nd Army attacking elements of the
VII Corps, which included British and Australian troops, and resulted in a complete defeat of the German assault.
The Australian
3rd and
4th Divisions had been sent south from Belgium to help stem the tide of the
German spring offensive towards
Amiens and, with the British
35th Division, they held a line west and north of the
Ancre river and the area between the Ancre and
Somme, forming the southern flank of the
Third Army. Much of the VII Corps front line consisted of a series of posts strung out along a railway embankment between
Albert and
Buire-sur-l'Ancre. The main German assault force was the
50th Reserve Division of the
XXIII Reserve Corps, which concentrated its assault on the line between Albert and Dernancourt, attacking off the line of march after a short artillery preparation. Supporting attacks were to be launched by the
13th Division further west. Some German commanders considered success unlikely unless the embankment was weakly held, and the commander of the German 2nd Army ordered the attack to be postponed, but that message did not reach the assaulting troops in time. (Full article...)
Pentland served in the fledgling
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and later the
Royal Air Force, before going into business in 1927. His ventures included commercial flying around the goldfields of
New Guinea, aircraft design and manufacture, flight instruction, and charter work. In the early 1930s, he was employed as a pilot with
Australian National Airways, and also spent time as a dairy farmer. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, he re-enlisted in the RAAF, attaining the rank of
squadron leader and commanding rescue and communications units in the
South West Pacific. Perhaps the oldest operational pilot in the wartime RAAF, Pentland was responsible for rescuing airmen, soldiers and civilians, and earned the
Air Force Cross for his "outstanding courage, initiative and skill". He became a trader in New Guinea when the war ended in 1945, and later a coffee planter. Retiring in 1959, he died in 1983 at the age of eighty-nine. (Full article...)
HMAS Rankin, sixth submarine of the Collins class, underway in 2006
The Collins-class submarines are Australian-built
diesel-electricsubmarines operated by the
Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The Collins class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral
John Augustine Collins; each of the six submarines is named after significant RAN personnel who distinguished themselves in action during World War II. The six vessels were the first submarines built in Australia, prompting widespread improvements in Australian industry and delivering a sovereign (Australian controlled) sustainment/maintenance capability.
Planning for a new design to replace the RAN's
Oberon-class submarines began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Proposals were received from seven companies; two were selected for a funded study to determine the winning design, which was announced in mid-1987. The submarines, enlarged versions of Swedish shipbuilder
Kockums'
Västergötland class and originally referred to as the Type 471, were constructed between 1990 and 2003 in South Australia by the
Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC). (Full article...)
The Surafend massacre (
Arabic: مجزرة صرفند) was a premeditated massacre committed against inhabitants of the village of
Sarafand al-Amar (modern-day
Tzrifin) and a
Bedouin camp in
Palestine by occupying Australian, New Zealand and Scottish soldiers on 10 December 1918. Occurring at the conclusion of the
Sinai and Palestine campaign of
World War I,
Allied occupational forces in the region, in particular Australian and New Zealand troops, gradually grew frustrated over being subject to petty theft and occasional murders by local Arabs without redress.
On the night of 9 December, a New Zealand soldier was killed by an Arab thief who had stolen his kitbag. In response, troops of the
ANZAC Mounted Division, as well as a small number of Scottish soldiers, surrounded Sarafand al-Amar and demanded the village's leaders hand over the thief. When they denied knowledge of the murder, the soldiers deliberated on their course of action before eventually deciding to attack the village, killing approximately 40-137 male villagers, with the only body count being 137 while others who did not count the bodies stated it was as low as 40. The massacre caused a significant rift between the Division and its Commander-in-Chief,
Sir Edmund Allenby. (Full article...)
Image 5
Australia joined a U.S.-led coalition in the
Iraq War. Declassified documents reveal that the decision to go to war was taken primarily with a view to enhancing its
alliance with the United States.
The
Howard government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the
Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial
combat force contingents during the
2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer. Part of its contingent were among the first forces to enter Iraq after the official "execute" order. The initial Australian force consisted of three
Royal Australian Navy ships, a 500-strong
special forces task group, two
AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, two B707 Air-to-Air refuelling aircraft,
C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and
No. 75 Squadron RAAF (which included 14
F/A-18 Hornet fighters). Combat forces committed to Operation Falconer for the 2003 Invasion were withdrawn during 2003. Under the name Operation Catalyst, Australian combat troops were redeployed to Iraq in 2005, however, and assumed responsibility for supporting Iraqi security forces in one of Iraq's southern provinces. These troops began withdrawing from Iraq on 1 June 2008 and were completely withdrawn by 28 July 2009. (Full article...)
Image 6
Captain
Harry Cobby (centre), Lieutenant
Roy King (fourth from right), and other officers of "A" Flight, No. 4 Squadron AFC, with their Sopwith Camels on the Western Front, June 1918
In 1911, at the
Imperial Conference held in London, it was decided that aviation should be developed by the national armed forces of the
British Empire. Australia became the first member of the Empire to follow this policy. By the end of 1911, the Army was advertising for pilots and mechanics. During 1912, pilots and mechanics were appointed, aircraft were ordered, the site of a flying school was chosen and the first squadron was officially raised. On 7 March 1913, the government officially announced formation of the
Central Flying School (CFS) and an "Australian Aviation Corps", although that name was never widely used. (Full article...)
These are
Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
Image 1
The demobilisation of the Australian military after World War II involved
discharging almost 600,000 men and women from the
military, supporting their transition to civilian life and reducing the three armed services to peacetime strengths. Planning for the demobilisation process began in 1942 and thousands of servicemen and women were discharged in the last years of the war in response to shortages of labour in the domestic war economy. The general demobilisation of the military began in October 1945 and was completed in February 1947. The demobilisation process was largely successful, but some military personnel stationed in the South West Pacific complained that their repatriation to Australia was too slow.
The disposal of surplus military equipment took place at the same time as the size of the services was being reduced. The disposal process was managed to limit its economic impact. Most equipment was transferred to other government agencies, sold or destroyed by the end of 1949. (Full article...)
Image 2
Australian soldiers returning to Bien Hoa airbase following Operation Rolling Stone, late February 1966.
The Battle of Suoi Bong Trang (23–24 February 1966) was an engagement fought between US, Australian and New Zealand forces, and the
Viet Cong and
North Vietnamese Army during the
Vietnam War. The battle occurred during
Operation Rolling Stone, an American security operation to protect engineers building a tactically important road in the vicinity of Tan Binh, in central
Binh Duong Province, 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-west of
Bien Hoa airbase. During the fighting, soldiers from the
US 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and the
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR), which had been attached for the operation, fought off a regimental-sized Viet Cong night assault. Repulsed by massed firepower from artillery and tanks, the Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw by morning. After the attack, the Americans and Australians made no attempt to pursue the Viet Cong, focusing on securing the battlefield and evacuating their own casualties. The Viet Cong continued to harass the American
sappers with occasional sniper and mortar fire, but these tactics proved ineffective, and the road was completed by 2 March. (Full article...)
Image 3
The Battle of Long Khanh (6–7 June 1971) was fought during the
Vietnam War between elements of
1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) and the
Viet Cong (VC) and
People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during Operation Overlord. The fighting saw Australian infantry from
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) attack a heavily fortified communist base camp in
Long Khanh Province, while
Centurion tanks providing close support crushed many bunkers and their occupants. Regardless, the VC fought hard to delay the Australian advance and although the bunker system was subsequently captured, along with a second system further south, the Australians suffered a number of casualties and the loss of a
UH-1 Iroquois helicopter. With the Australians unable to concentrate sufficient combat power to achieve a decisive result, the bulk of the VC/PAVN force successfully withdrew intact, although they probably sustained heavy casualties in the process. (Full article...)
Image 4
Troops from 'C' Company, 2/48th Battalion advance alongside Matilda tanks from the 2/9th Armoured Regiment during the attack on the "Sykes" feature on Tarakan in April 1945
During the campaign in
New Guinea, the battalion took part in the advance on
Lae during the
Salamaua–Lae campaign and the fighting around
Finschhafen and
Sattelberg, during the
Huon Peninsula campaign. Following this it was withdrawn to Australia, where it remained for over a year. In mid-1945, the 2/48th Battalion took part in the
landing on Tarakan, which was its final involvement in the war. It was disbanded in October 1945 and is considered to be Australia's most highly decorated unit of the war, with four members receiving the
Victoria Cross, the nation's highest decoration for
gallantry, while over 90 other decorations were also made to its members. (Full article...)
Image 5
American manned
Alligators during the landing of Australian troops at Balikpapan, Borneo
The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of
Operation Oboe, the campaign to liberate
Japanese-held British and
Dutch Borneo. The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The
Australian 7th Division, composed of the
18th,
21st and
25th Infantry Brigades, with a small number of Netherlands East Indies
KNIL troops, made an
amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two, a few miles north of
Balikpapan. The Allied invasion fleet consisted of around 100 ships. The landing had been preceded by heavy
bombing and shelling by Australian and US air and naval forces. The Allied force totalled 33,000 personnel and was commanded by Major General
Edward Milford, while the Japanese force, commanded by Rear Admiral
Michiaki Kamada, numbered between 8,400 and 10,000, of which between 3,100 and 3,900 were combatants. After the initial landing, the Allies secured the town and its port, and then advanced along the coast and into the hinterland, capturing the two Japanese airfields. Major combat operations concluded around 21 July, but were followed by mopping-up operations, which lasted until the end of the war in mid-August. Australian troops remained in the area until early 1946. (Full article...)
The General Dynamics F-111C (nicknamed the "Pig") is a variant of the
F-111 Aardvark medium-range
interdictor and
tactical strike aircraft, developed by
General Dynamics to meet Australian requirements. The design was based on the F-111A model but included longer wings and strengthened undercarriage. The Australian government ordered 24 F-111Cs to equip the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1963, but the aircraft were not delivered until 1973 because of long-running technical problems. During 1979 and 1980 four of these aircraft were converted to the RF-111C reconnaissance variant. Four ex–
United States Air Force (USAF) F-111As were purchased by Australia and converted to F-111C standard in 1982 to replace F-111Cs destroyed during accidents. Australia also operated 15 F-111Gs between 1993 and 2007, mainly for conversion training. The RAAF retired its remaining F-111Cs in December 2010. In Australian military and aviation circles, the F-111 Aardvark was affectionately known as the "Pig", due to its long snout and
terrain-following ability.
The F-111Cs gave the RAAF a powerful strike capability but were never used in combat. The aircraft went through modernization programs in the 1980s and 1990s, and the RAAF acquired improved weapons to maintain their ability to penetrate hostile airspace. Despite this, by the 2000s the F-111Cs were becoming outdated and expensive to maintain, leading to a decision to retire them in 2010 rather than 2020 as originally planned. The F-111s were replaced by 24
Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets pending delivery of
F-35 Lightning IIs in development. (Full article...)
Born in
Fremantle, Western Australia, Edwards joined the
Royal Australian Air Force in 1935, and a year later was granted a short service commission with the RAF. Serving throughout the Second World War, he gained a permanent commission and continued his career in the RAF after the war; he retired in 1963 with the rank of air commodore. Returning to Australia, he was appointed Governor of Western Australia in 1974. (Full article...)
Although disbanded in 1919 following the end of hostilities, it was re-raised in 1921 in the
Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) as a part-time infantry battalion based in Victoria. However, due to lack of funding following the
Great Depression and a shortage of manpower following the suspension of the
compulsory training scheme in 1929, the battalion was amalgamated with the
38th Battalion as the 7th/38th Battalion, although it was delinked again in 1936 when the Army was expanded due to rising tensions in Europe. (Full article...)
Image 10
Crusader in December 1945
Crusader (AV2767) was an
Australian Army amphibious operations support ship of
World War II. She was launched shortly before the war ended and entered service in late 1935. From 1945 to 1947 she was mainly used to return Australian Army equipment from the islands off New Guinea. She was also loaned to the
Australian Shipping Board in early 1947 and transported earth moving equipment and timber between
Melbourne and
Tasmania. However, the Army did not need a ship with Crusader's capabilities after the war, and she was sold in 1947 to the
Queensland Cement and Lime Company which operated her as a coral barge on the
Brisbane River until the mid-1980s. The ship was scuttled in 1986 and became a popular
dive wreck. (Full article...)
Image 22The light cruiser
HMAS Hobart showing torpedo damage inflicted by a Japanese submarine on 20 July 1943. Hobart did not return to service until December 1944. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 42Australian sailors take possession of a midget submarine at a Japanese naval base near Tokyo in September 1945. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 56Women friends and family on the wharf waving farewell to the departing troop ship RMS Strathallan carrying the Advance Party of the 6th Division to service overseas. They include
George Alan Vasey's wife
Jessie Vasey (second from the left). The photograph is especially poignant because Vasey did not survive the war. (from Military history of Australia during World War II)
No. 111 Air-Sea Rescue Flight was a
Royal Australian Air Force unit of World War II. The Flight was formed at
Madang in
New Guinea on 13 December 1944 and was equipped with
PBY Catalinas. The Flight's role was to carry out search and rescue operations and provide rescue support to other aircraft during attacks on Japanese targets. The flight's aircraft also conducted offensive operations and dropped supplies on behalf of the Australian New Guinea Administration Unit. Following the end of the war the Flight moved to
Port Moresby on 18 March 1946 and was disbanded there on 24 January 1947.