On this day in Royal Australian Navy History. 21 November 1916 The Australian ship WARILDA was converted to a hospital ship at Garden Island, Sydney. In February 1918 the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine in the English Channel, but the torpedo failed to explode. On 3 August the ship was torpedoed again off Le Havre, and sank with a loss of 123 lives, many of whom were wounded soldiers. 1918 HMA Ships AUSTRALIA, (battle cruiser), SYDNEY, and MELBOURNE, (cruisers), were present at the surrender of the German Fleet in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. AUSTRALIA led the Port Division of the British Fleet, while MELBOURNE and SYDNEY were in their normal places in the 2nd light cruiser squadron. 1944 The Fremantle-based British submarine HMS Tantalus, (LCDR H. S. Mackenzie, RN), made a vain search for the Commandos of Operation Rimau on Merapas Island. The landing party found signs of a hurried departure by the Commandos. 1947 Nine members of the crew of HMAS TARAKAN, (landing ship tank), were injured, when a box of fuses in a cargo of obsolete ammunition, being dumped off Sydney Heads, exploded. 1968 HMAS SYDNEY, (fast troop transport), landed the Australian 9th Battalion, RAR, at Vung Tau, Vietnam. 1988 Principal Anglican Naval Chaplain John Jones, retired after 22 years service in the RAN, to become Rector of Sydneys historic St. Philips Church.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 03:31:18 +0000
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