Category: Ports and Bases - Africa, Asia and Australasia

Scapa is a wreck divers mecca and this describes the wrecks and their sinkings, including Royal Oak.

CLEMENTS, Bill. The Fatal Fortress: The Guns and Fortifications of Singapore 1819-1956. vii, 199p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2016. ISBN: 9781473829565.

A good detailed account of the defences at Singapore from the Victorian period onwards. Argues that the fall of Singapore in 1942 was a failure of command rather than bad design.

LEWIS, Tom & INGMAN, Peter. Zero Hour in Broome: The Untold Story of the Attacks on Northwest Australia in 1942. 184p., bibliog., illus., index. Kent Town, S.A.: Avonmore Books, 2010. ISBN: 9780957735156.

Examines the actions of senior officials in the second most deadly attack on Australian soil when Zero fighters destroyed 15 flying boats at Broome which were packed with evacuees from Java. Profiles the different aircraft used during the Broome operation and the fate of Broome pearling luggers due to the scorched earth policy.

HMAS Harman: A History 1943-1983. [23p.], [Canberra: HMAS Harman., c.1983]. ISBN: 064286909X

The RAN Wireless/Transmitting Station, Canberra, began operations on April 20, 1939 and was commissioned in 1943. During WW2, the Canberra station provided communications services for ships and allied navies working in the Pacific theatre. It was staffed by members of the WRANS. This short pamphlet is mainly concerned with the post war years. Updated and republished in 1993 under the authorship of Annette Nelson, q.v.

NELSON, Annette. A History of HMAS Harman and Its People: 1943-1993. 40p., illus. Canberra: HMAS Harman, 1993.

The RAN Wireless/Transmitting Station, Canberra, began operations on April 20, 1939 and was commissioned in 1943. During WW2, the Canberra station provided communications services for ships and allied navies working in the Pacific theatre. It was staffed by members of the WRANS. An earlier anonymous edition with the same title was published in 1983, q.v. A second edition of this title was published in 2003, and a third edition in 2013 by the same author.

COOPER, Anthony. Darwin Spitfires. 516p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2013. ISBN: 9781783461882.

The Japanese air attack on Darwin is well recorded. Much less known is the large number of subsequent attacks, especially in 1943. This is the story of how the RAF ‘s No. 1 Fighter Wing fought off these raids.

PRIME, Mervyn W. WA’s Pearl Harbour: The Japanese Raid on Broome. 32p., illus. Bull Creek, W.A.: Aviation Museum, Royal Australian Air Force Association, 1985.

A heavily illustrated account, including reprints of contemporary newspaper clippings.

PRIME, Mervyn W. Broome's One Day War: The Story of the Japanese Raid on Broome 3rd March 1942. 48p., illus. Broome, W.A. : Shire of Broome [for Broome Historical Society], 1992.

An updated and expanded edition of W.A.’s Pearl Harbour, published 1985. The tale of a Japanese air attack on this northern Australian town. An updated edition was published in 2007.

HITCH, G. The Pacific War 1941-1945 and Norfolk Island. viii, 104p., bibliog., illus., index. Norfolk Island, author, 1992. ISBN: 0646106775.

Norfolk Island was mainly used as an air base but this work has some marginal naval interest. Regularly reprinted in at least four editions.

SPETHMAN, D. W. & MILLER, R. G. The Naval Auxiliary Patrol Queensland Squadron, 1941-1944. 50p., illus. Fort Lytton: Fort Lytton Historical Association, 2001.

Research notes on Organisations, Vessels, Patrol Duties, Patrol Areas, Weapons, Bases, Maintenance and Slipways etc. The Naval Auxiliary Patrol (NAP) was a war-raised unit approved on 25 June 1941. It was charged with patrolling and safeguarding Australia's inner harbours, ports, rivers and estuaries against enemy sabotage or attack and it was part of the RANVR.

STURMA, Michael. Fremantle's Submarines : How Allied Submariners and Western Australians Helped to Win the War in the Pacific. ix, 236p., bibliog., illus., index. Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, 2015. ISBN: 9781612518602.

This book by an Australian academic lovingly captures the spirit of the Allied base and the arduous work of the flotillas based there.

RICE, Bill. The Royal Navy in South Africa 1900-2000. 128p., illus. Liskeard: Maritime Books, 2001. ISBN: 0907771823.

A photographic record of ships visiting or refitting in South Africa with good coverage of WW2.

LEWIS, Tom & INGMAN, Peter. Carrier Attack - Darwin 1942: The Complete Guide to Australia's own Pearl Harbor. 368p., bibliog., illus., index.  Adelaide: Avonmore, 2013. ISBN: 0987151932.

A fresh analysis of the raid which draws on Japanese sources. It argues that the attack was far from a disaster for the Australians.

An interesting record.

An alphabetical listing of and guide to all the ships drydocked at the graving dock since the early 1900's, all of whom left their badges adorning the walls. Much information on the use of the dockyard in WW2. A limited edition of 500 copies.

A brief illustrated account to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the attacks.

The first two of seven planned volumes. These cover Naval and Merchant Shipping Movements (1939-1943) and record port visits. A good reference work.

A very detailed chronology with much of RAN interest and covering an important area for the Southwest Pacific campaign.

A good scientific study covering the six remaining wrecks.

Two local Australian authors describe the city's role in supporting Pacific submarine operations. Republished in 2011 by Boolarong Press. ISBN: 9781921555893.

The dockyard operated from the 1850s to 1991 and this workmanlike history gives a full account of wartime activities.

A comprehensive and definitive work. As well as detailed descriptions of the defences, this former gunner describes the command and control systems.

Sketches and 17 photographs showing Darwin at war, including the Japanese air raids and their aftermath.

A short detailed and technical account.

The Fort Stikine, carrying explosives, blew up in Bombay harbour on 14 April 1944, killing at least 500 people and destroying 35,000 tons of shipping. US title: The Great Bombay Explosion.

The report is the first in a proposed series on Auckland's coast defences in WW2. It has much esoteric information and good detailed plans.