UNSW Canberra School of Humanities & Social Sciences

Naval History Podcast Series – Season 2

Black and white image of war at sea

Commander Greg Swinden and his expert panel discuss the remarkable service of the cruiser HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean during World War II and much more.

  • Commander Greg Swinden  his expert panel discuss the remarkable service of the cruiser HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean during World War II. The panel consists of Vice Admiral Peter Jones, Mr Wes Olsen and Mr John Perryman.

    Further reading: 
    • Collins, JA, As Luck Would Have It: Reminiscences of an Australian Sailor, Angus & Robertson, 1965.
    • Collins, JA, HMAS Sydney, Garden Island, The Naval Historical Society of Australia, 1971.
    • Gill, G.H., Royal Australian Navy 1939-1942, Collins, Melbourne, 1985.
    • Jones, PD, Australia's Argonauts: The Remarkable Story of the First Class to enter the Royal Australian Navy, Echo Books, 2016.
    • Olson, W, HMAS Sydney (II): In Peace and War, Hilton, 2016.

  • Commander Greg Swinden and his expert panel discuss the World War II action in which the cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German raider Kormoran engaged one another and were both sunk. The panel consists of Vice Admiral Peter Jones, Mr David Mearns, Mr Wes Olsen and Mr John Perryman.

    Further reading: 
    • Collins, J.A., HMAS Sydney, Garden Island, The Naval Historical Society of Australia, 1971.
    • Detmars,T, The Raider Kormoran, Tandem Publishing, London, 1973.
    • Gill, G.H., Royal Australian Navy 1939-1942, Collins, Melbourne, 1985.
    • Jones, PD, Australia's Argonauts: The Remarkable Story of the First  Class to enter the Royal Australian Navy, Echo Books, 2016.
    • Mearns, DL, The Shipwreck Hunter: A lifetime of extraordinary discovery and adventure in the deep seas, Allen and Unwin, 2017.
    • Olson, W, Bitter Victory: The Death of HMAS Sydney, University of WA, 2000.
    • Olson, W, HMAS Sydney (II): In Peace and War, Hilton, 2016.

  • This episode was recorded at a seminar to mark the 50th anniversary of the deployment of the first RAN Charles F Adams guided missile destroyers (DDGs) to Vietnam Three seminar speakers discuss the impact the DDGs had on the RAN and their service in the Vietnam War. The first of three episodes. The presenters are Rear Admiral James Goldrick, Vice Admiral David Shackleton and Vice Admiral Rob Walls.

    Further reading: 
    • ACSACS Occasional Paper No.7. The RAN DDGs in Vietnam: Their war service and their impact of the DDGs on the RAN
    • Perryman, J & Mitchell, B, Australia's Navy in Vietnam: Royal Australian Navy Operations 1965-72, Topmill, 2007.

  • Two seminar speakers discuss the technical and logistic impact of the three Charles F. Adams class destroyers had on entering RAN service. The second of three episodes. The presenters are Rear Admiral Peter Purcell and Rear Admiral David Campbell.

    Further reading: 
    • ACSACS Occasional Paper No.7. The RAN DDGs in Vietnam: Their war service and their impact of the DDGs on the RAN.
    • Perryman, J & Mitchell, B, Australia's Navy in Vietnam: Royal Australian Navy Operations 1965-72, Topmill, 2007.

  • Two seminar speakers give their perspectives as junior officer and junior sailor onboard the new RAN Charles F. Adams class destroyers in the Vietnam War. The final of three episodes. The presenters are Captain David Cotsell and Warrant Officer Peter Eveille.

    Further reading: 
    • ACSACS Occasional Paper No.7. The RAN DDGs in Vietnam: Their war service and their impact of the DDGs on the RAN.
    • Perryman, J & Mitchell, B, Australia's Navy in Vietnam: Royal Australian Navy Operations 1965-72, Topmill, 2007.

  • Commander Greg Swinden and his expert panel discuss the RAN's involvement in both the Malaysian Emergency and Confrontation. The panel consists of commander Peter Cooke-Russell, Commodore Ian Pfennigwerth, Dr Andrew Ross and Commander Steve Youll.

    Further reading: 
    • Grey, J, Up top : The Royal Australian Navy and Southeast Asian conflicts, 1955-1972, Allen & Unwin, 1998.
    • Pfennigwerth, I, Tiger Territory: The Untold Story of the Royal Australian Navy in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1971, Rosenberg Publishing, 2008.

  • This episode was recorded at the 50-year reunion of the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (HFV) at the Fleet Arm Museum on October 2017. The episode presents five speakers that discuss the preparations for the deployment and operations with the US Army and RAAF.

    Further reading: 
    • Australian Naval Aviation Museum, Flying Stations: A Story of Australian Naval Aviation, Allen & Unwin, 1998.
    • Perryman, J & Mitchell, B, Australia's Navy in Vietnam: Royal Australian Navy Operations 1965-72, Topmill, 2007.

  • This episode was recorded at the 50-year reunion of the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (HFV) at the Fleet Arm Museum on October 2017. The episode presents four speakers that provide a US Army view of the HFV contribution as well as command and logistics.

    Further reading: 
    • Australian Naval Aviation Museum, Flying Stations: A Story of Australian Naval Aviation, Allen & Unwin, 1998.
    • Perryman, J & Mitchell, B, Australia's Navy in Vietnam: Royal Australian Navy Operations 1965-72, Topmill, 2007.

  • This episode was recorded at the 50-year reunion of the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (HFV) at the Fleet Arm Museum on October 2017. The final episode with two speakers gives a perspective of the families and well as the HFV's return to Australia.

    Further reading: 
    • Australian Naval Aviation Museum, Flying Stations: A Story of Australian Naval Aviation, Allen & Unwin, 1998.
    • Perryman, J & Mitchell, B, Australia's Navy in Vietnam: Royal Australian Navy Operations 1965-72, Topmill, 2007.

  • Commander Greg Swinden and his expert panel discuss the brutal Battle of Savo Island in which HMAS Canberra and three US heavy cruisers were sunk. The panel consists of Dr Greg Gilbert, Vice Admiral Peter Jones and Dr Kathryn Spurling.

    Further reading: 
    • Carlton, M, Flagship: The Cruiser HMAS Australia and the Pacific War on Japan, William Heinemann, 2016.
    • Gill, GH, Royal Australian Navy 1942-1945, Collins, 1968.
    • Jones, PD, Australia's Argonauts: The Remarkable Story of the First Class to enter the Royal Australian Navy, Echo Books, 2016.
    • Loxton, B and Coulthard-Clark, C, The Shame of Savo: Anatomy of a naval disaster, Allen and Unwin, 1994.
    • Spurling, K, HMAS Canberra: Casualty of Circumstance, New Holland Publishers, 2016.