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HMAS Westralia (F95)
HMAS ''Westralia'' (F95/C61) was an auxiliary cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by Scottish shipbuilder Harland and Wolff and completed in 1929, ''Westralia'' was operated by the Huddart Parker company until 1939, when she was requisitioned for service with the RAN as an Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC). Fitted with guns and commissioned in early 1940, ''Westralia'' was initially used to escort convoys in the Pacific and Indian oceans. In November 1940, the largest mutiny in RAN history occurred aboard the ship, with 104 men charged. In 1943, ''Westralia'' was converted into a Landing Ship, Infantry (LSI). The ship was used to transport units of the United States Army and United States Marine Corps, and took part in numerous amphibious landings. After being used to repatriate personnel at the end of the war, ''Westralia'' was decommissioned in 1946. Before she could be returned to her owners, the vessel was requisitioned again, this time for use as a troop transport ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMAS Westralia (AWM 301717)
Two ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) have been named HMAS ''Westralia'': *, a passenger vessel launched in 1929, requisitioned for RAN service as an armed merchant cruiser in 1939, converted into an infantry landing ship in 1943, and returned to her civilian owners in 1951 *, a Leaf-class replenishment oiler acquired from the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1989, and decommissioned in 2006 Battle honours Ships named HMAS ''Westralia'' are entitled to carry six battle honours: *Pacific 1941–45 *New Guinea 1943–44 *Leyte Gulf 1944 * Lingayen Gulf 1945 *Borneo 1945 *Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ... 1991 See also * , a passenger liner converted into a troopship and sunk in 1942 References {{DEFAULTSORT:Westralia, Hmas Royal Australian Navy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Commonwealth Occupation Force
The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, the BCOF committed about 40,000 personnel, that comprised 25% of the occupation force, which was equal to about a third of the number of US military personnel in Japan. History Background Following the dropping of atomic bombs and the entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan, the Japanese Empire surrendered to the Allies on 15 August 1945, with their government accepting the Potsdam Declaration. The formal surrender was signed on 2 September in Tokyo Bay. Unlike in the occupation of Germany, the Soviet Union had little to no influence over the occupation of Japan, leaving the Americans, British and Commonwealth Forces responsible for occupation duties. Whilst US forces were responsible for military government, the BCOF was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attack On Sydney Harbour
In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three ''Ko-hyoteki''-class midget submarines, (M-14, M-21 and M-24) each with a two-member crew, entered Sydney Harbour, avoided the partially constructed Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net, and attempted to sink Allied warships. Two of the midget submarines were detected and attacked before they could engage any Allied vessels. The crew of M-14 scuttled their submarine, whilst M-21 was successfully attacked and sunk. The crew of M-21 killed themselves. These submarines were later recovered by the Allies. The third submarine attempted to torpedo the heavy cruiser , but instead sank the converted ferry , killing 21 sailors. This midget submarine's fate was unknown until 2006, when amateur scuba divers discovered the wreck off Sydney's northern beaches. Immediately following th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members of the military against an internal force, but it can also sometimes mean any type of rebellion against any force. Mutiny does not necessarily need to refer to a military force and can describe a political, economic, or power structure in which there is a change of power. During the Age of Discovery, mutiny particularly meant open rebellion against a ship's captain. This occurred, for example, during Ferdinand Magellan's journeys around the world, resulting in the killing of one mutineer, the execution of another, and the marooning of others; on Henry Hudson's ''Discovery'', resulting in Hudson and others being set adrift in a boat; and the notorious mutiny on the ''Bounty''. Penalty Those convicted of mutiny often faced capital punis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action Stations
General quarters, battle stations, or action stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ... to signal that all hands (everyone available) aboard a ship must go to battle stations (the positions they are to assume when the vessel is in combat) as quickly as possible. According to ''The Encyclopedia of War'', formerly " naval service, the phrase 'beat to quarters' indicated a particular kind of drum roll that ordered sailors to their posts for a fight where some would load and prepare to fire the ship's guns and others would arm with muskets and ascend the rigging as sharpshooters in preparation for combat." Aboard U.S. Navy vessels, the following announcement would be made using the vessel’s public address system ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watchkeeping
Watchkeeping or watchstanding is the assignment of sailors to specific roles on a ship to operate it continuously. These assignments, also known at sea as ''watches'', are constantly active as they are considered essential to the safe operation of the vessel and also allow the ship to respond to emergencies and other situations quickly. These watches are divided into work periods to ensure that the roles are always occupied at all times, while those members of the crew who are assigned to work during a watch are known as ''watchkeepers''. On a typical seafaring vessel, be it naval or merchant, personnel "keep a watch" in various locations and duties across the ship, such as the bridge and engine room. Typical bridge watchkeepers include a lookout and a deck officer who is responsible for the safe navigation of the ship; whereas in the engine room, an engine officer ensures that running machinery continues to operate within tolerances. Types of watches A wide variety of types of w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Dutch government in 1800. During the 19th century, the Dutch possessions and hegemony expanded, reaching the greatest territorial extent in the early 20th century. The Dutch East Indies was one of the most valuable colonies under European rule, and contributed to Dutch global prominence in spice and cash crop trade in the 19th to early 20th centuries. The colonial social order was based on rigid racial and social structures with a Dutch elite living separate from but linked to their native subjects. The term ''Indonesia'' came into use for the geographical location after 1880. In the early 20th century, local intellectuals began developing the concept of Indonesia as a nation state, and set the stage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koepang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest city and port on the island of Timor, and is a part of the Timor Leste-Indonesia-Australia Growth Triangle free trade zone. Geographically, Kupang is the southernmost city in Indonesia. History Early history and Portuguese domination Kupang was an important port and trading post during the Portuguese and Dutch colonial eras. There are still ruins and remnants of the colonial presence in the city. Representatives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) first encountered Kupang in 1613 after having conquered the Portuguese fort on the island of Solor. At this time the area of the city was governed by a Raja of the Helong tribe, who claimed descent from the island of Ceram in the Maluku archipelago. Kupang occupied an ideal strategic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sparrow Force
Sparrow Force was a detachment based on the 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion and other Dutch, British, US and Australian 8th Division units during World War II. The force was formed to defend the island of Timor from invasion by the Empire of Japan. It formed the main part of the Allied units in the Battle of Timor. The force began deploying in late 1941, and following Japan's entry into the war, it was drawn into the fighting in response to the Japanese invasion of Portuguese and Dutch Timor in February 1942. After heavy fighting around Irekum, the main element of the force – the 2/40th – were forced to surrender on 23 February 1942; however, elements of the force, specifically commandos from the 2/2nd Independent Company, supported by the local population, continued a guerilla campaign and inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese until August, when the Japanese launched a counter-offensive. Despite reinforcements from the 2/4th Independent Company arriving in Sept ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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