February 2nd - On This Date - Royal Australian Navy

1898

CAPT R. P. Minifie, DSC and two Bars, an Australian who served with the RNAS, was born in Melbourne. Minifie was Australia’s youngest air ace of the First World War, being credited with shooting down 21 enemy aircraft.
 

1916

HM submarine J4, later HMA submarine J4, was launched at Pembroke, England.

1934

The hulk of HMAS SWAN, (former torpedo boat destroyer), sank during a gale on the Hawkesbury River, NSW. Her sister ship PARRAMATTA was blown ashore onto a mud flat where the wreck remains to this day.

1942

HMAS VENDETTA, (destroyer), was towed by HMS STRONGHOLD from Singapore to Java. VENDETTA was in the middle of an extended refit and was immobilised.

The former Chinese river boats PING WO and WHANG PU sailed from Singapore to Australia. PING WO later took over the tow of the destroyer HMAS VENDETTA from HMS STRONGHOLD and despite encountering adverse weather conditions and breakdowns, delivered the destroyer to Fremantle. Both river boats were later commissioned into the RAN and served as workshop vessels in New Guinea waters. They were paid off in 1946 and returned to China.

1943

HMAS MANOORA returned to service after conversion from an armed merchant cruiser to a landing ship, infantry.

HMAS WHYALLA, (minesweeper), bombarded Japanese fortifications at McLaren Harbour, New Guinea.

1944

The services reconnaissance department craft HMAS ALATNA, was commissioned.

1950

A Naval Board of Inquiry reported that the fire in HMAS TARAKAN, which resulted in the loss of eight lives, was caused by a spark from a ventilating fan igniting petrol vapour in a 9090-litre tank in the ship.

1969

A helicopter crewed by SBLT M. A. Perrott, RAN, and SBLT R. J. Kyle, RAN, rescued the crew of a helicopter gunship shot down within 20 metres of a Viet Cong bunker. The rescued crew were SBLT W. E. Symons, RAN, and SBLT T. E. Supple, RAN.