The Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg More American soldiers (617,528) died during the 1861-65 American Civil War than in any other conflict involving Americans. The next worse loss of life was in WW II when 407,316 were killed (Morison and Commager 1950, p. 653). These figures cannot compare to the millions of Russian, German and other European […]
Bantry, the unknown invasion by Tom De Voil This is a true story of bad timing, missed communications, confusing orders and changes in plans. The Commander-in-Chief goes missing, there is inclement but predictable weather and bad intelligence. Where did it occur? Bantry is a picturesque township of about 3000 people at the head of Bantry […]
The Battle of North Cape and HMS Belfast By Richard Johnstone-Bryden. Reprinted with permission of the editor, Broadsheet, 2003. Since 1971 the heavy (sic) cruiser HMS Belfast has been preserved in the Pool of London as the last of the big gun armoured ships to have served in the Royal Navy during the Second World […]
The Rufigi Delta and HMAS Pioneer HMAS Pioneer, the RAN’s old Pelorus class light cruiser, fired more shots in anger than any other RAN ship in WW I. Most of her angst was directed towards the blockade and destruction of the commerce raider SMS Königsberg and other targets in German East Africa between 6 July […]
The ONS-5 Convoy and U-boat battle By Mike DownesPaper presented to the Company of Master Mariners, Sydney Branch, 24 November 1993, reprinted with permission. The chief ONS-5 adversary was the Type VII U-boat. The most common variant, the Type VIIC, was 67 x 5.85 x 4.37 metres (220 ft x 19 x 14 feet) and […]
In harm’s way: The saga of Gambier Bay, the Battle off Samar By Barrett Tillman. Reprinted with permission from The Hook, Vol 14/4 Winter 1986, pp 40-52. USS Gambier Bay, straddled by large calibre rounds from VADM Kurita’s surface force, 25 October 1944. (Painting is by C.G. Evers, reproduced with permission of the U.S. Naval […]
Mikasa, the Tsushima Straits victor Don’t be misled by the “10 minutes walk, 8 if you run a bit” posted signs in Japan. The Mikasa website says the old museum battleship might be only a 10 minute walk from the National Line Yokosuka-Chuo railway station, but it’s a good 45-minute slog around the dockyard and […]
The Loss of HMS Glorious Book review by John van Gelder Winton, J. (1999) Carrier Glorious: The life and death of an aircraft carrier. Cassell Military Paperbacks: London. $16.95. John Winton is a well-known author of many fiction and non-fiction books concerning the Royal Navy and naval subjects generally. In this book he has […]
The Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway, fought 4-7 June 1942, is regarded by many to be as significant for the USA and Australia as any of Nelson’s victories were for England. This article, downloaded from the USN’s Naval Historical Center’s web site, describes the fight: The Battle of Midway, fought near the Central […]
The Battle of the Coral Sea by John B Macartney. Republished with permission from the Australian-American Newsletter, April 2000. (John Macartney retired as a Paymaster LCDR after service in HMAS Australia, Hobart and Shropshire between 1939 and 1946. He spent all but three months of his war service in a seagoing ship.) There has only […]
