Tarra describes the 25 years of service provided to the nation by a 125-foot wooden cargo vessel, operated by the Australian Army from her launch in 1945 to her abandonment in huge seas off the north coast of New South Wales in 1965. During the war in the South Pacific, the only mode of transport available to provide food ammunition and supplies to the fighting forces and civilian population to the north of Australia, other than aircraft and pack horses, was seagoing small craft a...

The compelling and very human story of the first foreign assault on Australian soil since settlement - the attack on Darwin by the Japanese in February, 1942. Darwin was a battle Australia would rather forget. Yet the Japanese attack on 19 February 1942 was the first wartime assault on Australian soil. The Japanese struck with the same carrier-borne force that devastated Pearl Harbor only ten weeks earlier. There was a difference. More bombs fell on Darwin, more civilians were killed, and ...

**The definitive biography of the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth, and the brave men who sailed with her.**Of all the Australians who fought in the Second World War, none saw more action nor endured so much of its hardship and horror as the crew of the cruiser HMAS Perth. Most were young - many were still teenagers - from cities and towns, villages and farms across the nation. In three tumultuous years they did battle with the forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Vich...

'This account . . . is breathtaking in its scope and riveting in its research' - Sydney Morning HeraldThe gripping story of a small force of Australian Special Forces commandos that launched relentless hit and run raids on far superior Japanese forces in East Timor for most of 1942.These Australians were the men of the 2/2nd Australian Independent Company - a special commando unit. Initially stranded without radio contact to Austra...

Sea Wolves is the story of the crews who bravely manned British submarines in the Second World War. This small band of highly trained and highly skilled individuals fought in the front line for six long years, undertaking some of the most dangerous missions of the war.Britain's Sea Wolves operated close to shore in mined waters, attacking warships and heavily guarded convoys. But in the course of these vital operations, the submariners suffered devastating casualties.This is the vi...

The cruiser HMAS Australia II and the Pacific War on JapanIn 1924, the grand old battle cruiser HMAS Australia I was sunk off Sydney Heads. Once she had been the pride of the navy and the nation. She had saved Australia from an attack by a German squadron in the Pacific in World War I.But after the war she was obsolete, and a victim in the race to disarm after WWI. It was a day of national mourning when they blew the bottom out of her; she...

In May of 1942, the war seemed very far away to most Sydneysiders - until the night the three Japanese midget submarines crept into the harbour and caused an unforgettable night of mayhem, high farce, chaos and courage. A ground-breaking new look at one of the most extraordinary stories of Australia at war.On the night of 31 May 1942, Sydney was doing what it does best: partying. The theatres, restaurants, dance halls, illegal gambling dens, clubs and brothels offe...

A comprehensive history of Canada’s submarine service and the people who have served in it.Through a Canadian Periscope’s second edition celebrates the story of the Canadian submarine service on the occasion of its centenary in 2014.Created in 1914, at the beginning of World War I, Canada’s submarine force has overcome repeated attempts to sink it since then. Surprise, controversy, political expediency, and naval manipulation flow through its one hundred-ye...

On the night of December 7, 1942, five canoes were launched off the mouth of the Gironde river, each containing a pair of British commandoes tasked with slipping into the port of Bordeaux and destroying as many of the merchant ships as possible. Only two of the canoes made it to the target, but it was enough. Five enemy ships were badly damaged in the attack. It then became a game of cat and mouse for the surviving commandoes in their attempt to get back to Britain. Some of the men made it...

The thrilling and true story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the extraordinary men who crewed these dangerous vessels. The commando frogmen who rode the Chariots and operated as divers from the X-craft were the forerunners of today's Special Boat Service, the SBS.Their aim was to attach an explosive charge underneath an enemy ship to destroy the vessel. Their...

" A wonderfully illustrated biography" of one of history's greatest warships whose sinking "signaled the end of the surety that Britannia ruled the waves" ( War History Online).Unmatched for beauty, unequalled for size, for twenty years the HMS Hood was the glory ship of the Royal Navy, flying the flag across the world in the twilight years of the British Empire. Here, in words, photos and color illustrations, is the story of her ...

The unknown story of how a fleet of Australian fishing boats, trawlers and schooners supplied US and Australian forces in the Pacific - and helped turn the course of World War II.Mid-1942: from China to New Guinea, the Pacific belonged to the Japanese. In this desperate situation, a fleet of hundreds of Australian small ships is assembled, sailing under the American flag, and crewed by over 3000 Australians either too young or too old to join the regular armed forc...