Portal:Military history of Australia

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The military history of Australia spans the nation's 230-year modern history, from the early Australian frontier wars between Aboriginal people and Europeans to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 21st century. Although this history is short when compared to that of many other nations, Australia has been involved in numerous conflicts and wars, and war and military service have been significant influences on Australian society and national identity, including the Anzac spirit. The relationship between war and Australian society has also been shaped by the enduring themes of Australian strategic culture and the unique security challenges it faces.

The six British colonies in Australia participated in some of Britain's wars of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, as a federated dominion and later as an independent nation, Australia fought in the First World War and Second World War, as well as in the wars in Korea, Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam during the Cold War. In the Post-Vietnam era Australian forces have been involved in numerous international peacekeeping missions, through the United Nations and other agencies, including in the Sinai, Persian Gulf, Rwanda, Somalia, East Timor and the Solomon Islands, as well as many overseas humanitarian relief operations, while more recently they have also fought as part of multi-lateral forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, nearly 103,000 Australians died during these conflicts. (Full article...)

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Image 1

Colonel John Wilton in Morotai, September 1945

General Sir John Gordon Noel Wilton, (22 November 1910 – 10 May 1981) was a senior commander in the Australian Army. He served as Chief of the General Staff (CGS), the Army's professional head, from 1963 until 1966, and as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CCOSC), forerunner of the role of Australia's Chief of the Defence Force, from 1966 until 1970. His eight-year tenure as senior officer of first the Army and then the Australian military spanned almost the entire period of the nation's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Born in Sydney, Wilton entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1927. Owing to lack of opportunity in the Australian military at the time, he took a commission in the British Army following his graduation in 1930. He spent most of the remainder of the decade with the Royal Artillery in India. Wilton returned to Australia on the eve of World War II and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Artillery. He saw action with the 7th Division in Syria and the 3rd Division in New Guinea, earning a mention in despatches in the former campaign and the Distinguished Service Order in the latter. Finishing the war a temporary colonel, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1947. Wilton was posted to Korea in 1953 to take command of the 28th Commonwealth Brigade, leading it in its final action of the war in July. He was raised to Commander of the Order of the British Empire and awarded the US Legion of Merit for his performance in Korea. (Full article...)
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Davey in September 1918

Phillip Davey, (10 October 1896 – 21 December 1953) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. Davey enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in December 1914 for service in World War I, and joined his unit, the 10th Battalion, on the island of Lemnos on 10 April 1915. Along with his battalion, he landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on 25 April. He fought at Anzac until he was evacuated sick in early November, returning to Australia the following January.

Davey embarked for England in June 1916, and rejoined his battalion on the Western Front in October. In January 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in rescuing a wounded man under fire. He was promoted to corporal in April. In the lead-up to the capture of Merris in June, he killed an eight-man German machine-gun crew, saving his platoon from annihilation, for which he was awarded the VC. During this action he was severely wounded. He returned to Australia to be discharged, and was employed by South Australian Railways over many years before dying in 1953, having suffered for years with bronchitis and emphysema. He was buried with full military honours in the AIF Cemetery, West Terrace. His medals are displayed in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial. (Full article...)
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The Battle of Arras, April 1917

The Battle of Arras, also known as the Second Battle of Arras, was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the Western Front. The British achieved the longest advance since trench warfare had begun, surpassing the record set by the French Sixth Army on 1 July 1916 in the First day on the Somme. The British advance slowed in the next few days and the German defence recovered. The battle became a costly stalemate for both sides and by the end of the battle, the British Third Army and the First Army had suffered about 160,000 casualties and the German 6th Army about 125,000.

For much of the war, the opposing armies on the Western Front were at a stalemate, with a continuous line of trenches from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. The Allied objective from early 1915 was to break through the German defences into the open ground beyond and engage the numerically inferior German Army (Westheer) in a war of movement. The British attack at Arras was part of the Anglo-French Nivelle Offensive, the main part of which was the Second Battle of the Aisne 50 mi (80 km) to the south. The aim of the French offensive was to break through the German defences in forty-eight hours. At Arras the Canadians were to capture Vimy Ridge, dominating the Douai Plain to the east, advance towards Cambrai and divert German reserves from the French front. (Full article...)
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An A-4G landing on HMAS Melbourne in 1980

The McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk is a variant of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft developed for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The model was based on the A-4F variant of the Skyhawk, and was fitted with slightly different avionics as well as the capacity to operate AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The RAN received ten A-4Gs in 1967 and another ten in 1971, and operated the type from 1967 to 1984.

In Australian service the A-4Gs formed part of the air group of the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, and were primarily used to provide air defence for the fleet. They took part in exercises throughout the Pacific region and also supported the training of RAN warships as well as other elements of the Australian military. The Skyhawks did not see combat, and a planned deployment of some of their pilots to fight in the Vietnam War was cancelled. Ten A-4Gs were destroyed as a result of equipment failures and non-combat crashes during the type's service with the Navy, causing the deaths of two pilots. (Full article...)
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Three RAAF F/A-18A Hornets in 2012

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operated McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft between 1984 and 2021. The Australian Government purchased 75 A and B variants of the F/A-18 in 1981 to replace the RAAF's Dassault Mirage III fighters. The Hornets entered service with the RAAF between 1984 and 1990. Four Hornets were destroyed in flying accidents during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

RAAF Hornets were first sent on a combat deployment as part of the Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. During the invasion, 14 Hornets flew patrols over Iraq, as well as close air support sorties to assist coalition ground forces. RAAF F/A-18s also provided security for the American air base at Diego Garcia between late 2001 and early 2002, and have protected a number of high-profile events in Australia. Between 2015 and 2017 a detachment of Hornets was deployed to the Middle East and struck ISIL targets as part of Operation Okra. (Full article...)
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Brigadier Henry Wells c. 1945

Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wells, (22 March 1898 – 20 October 1973) was a senior officer in the Australian Army. Serving as Chief of the General Staff from 1954 to 1958, Wells' career culminated with his appointment as the first Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, a position marking him as the professional head of the Australian Military. He served in this capacity from March 1958 until March 1959, when he retired from the army.

Born in Victoria, Wells began his career in the Australian Army in 1916 when he entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Graduating as a lieutenant three years later, he served in a variety of staff and instructional positions before the outbreak of the Second World War. Initially posted to the 7th Division as a staff officer in 1940, Wells was promoted to lieutenant colonel and made senior liaison officer to I Corps. Serving in Greece and North Africa, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership at El Alamein. Transferred to the South West Pacific theatre in 1943 as a brigadier, he served in the New Guinea Campaign with the headquarters of II Corps and later in the Borneo campaign with I Corps. (Full article...)
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Official RAAF portrait of Air Vice-Marshal Stanley Goble

Air Vice-Marshal Stanley James Goble (21 August 1891 – 24 July 1948) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He served three terms as Chief of the Air Staff, alternating with Wing Commander (later Air Marshal Sir) Richard Williams. Goble came to national attention in 1924 when he and fellow RAAF pilot Ivor McIntyre became the first men to circumnavigate Australia by air, journeying 13,600 kilometres (8,500 mi) in a single-engined floatplane.

During World War I, Goble flew fighters on the Western Front with the British Royal Naval Air Service. He became an ace with ten victories, commanded No. 5 Squadron (later No. 205 Squadron RAF), and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Service Cross. Returning to Australia, Goble assisted in the formation of the RAAF as an independent branch of the Australian armed forces. On an exchange posting to Britain in the 1930s, he led No. 2 (Bomber) Group RAF. (Full article...)
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One of the RAAF's C-130H Hercules in 2004

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has operated forty-eight Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The type entered Australian service in December 1958, when No. 36 Squadron accepted the first of twelve C-130As, replacing its venerable Douglas C-47 Dakotas. The acquisition made Australia the first operator of the Hercules after the United States. In 1966 the C-130As were joined by twelve C-130Es, which equipped No. 37 Squadron. The C-130As were replaced by twelve C-130Hs in 1978, and the C-130Es by twelve C-130J Super Hercules in 1999. No. 37 Squadron became the RAAF's sole Hercules operator in 2006, when No. 36 Squadron transferred its C-130Hs before converting to Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy transports. The C-130Hs were retired in November 2012, leaving the C-130J as the only model in Australian service. A further twenty C-130Js will be ordered to replace the current fleet.

The RAAF's first strategic airlifter, the Hercules has frequently been used to deliver disaster relief in Australia and the Pacific region, as well as to support military deployments overseas. The aircraft saw extensive service during the Vietnam War, transporting troops and cargo to Southeast Asia and undertaking aeromedical evacuation. Nineteen of the RAAF's fleet of twenty-four C-130s took part in relief efforts in 1974–75 after Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin. Since then, the Hercules have been involved in humanitarian missions to New Guinea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Bali, Sumatra, and New Zealand. They have also seen service during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Fijian coups in 1987, operations in Somalia in 1993, INTERFET operations in East Timor in 1999–2000, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 to 2021. In over fifty years of Australian service, the Hercules have accumulated more than 800,000 flying hours. (Full article...)
Image 9

Vice Admiral Henry Burrell c. 1959

Vice Admiral Sir Henry Mackay Burrell, (13 August 1904 – 9 February 1988) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). He served as Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 1959 to 1962. Born in the Blue Mountains, Burrell entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1918 as a 13-year-old cadet. His first posting at sea was aboard the cruiser HMAS Sydney. During the 1920s and 1930s, Burrell served for several years on exchange with the Royal Navy, specialising as a navigator. During World War II, he filled a key liaison post with the US Navy, and later saw action as commander of the destroyer HMAS Norman, earning a mention in despatches.

Promoted captain in 1946, Burrell played a major role in the formation of the RAN's Fleet Air Arm, before commanding the flagship HMAS Australia in 1948–49. He captained the light aircraft carrier HMAS Vengeance in 1953–54, and was twice Flag Officer of the Australian Fleet, in 1955–56 and 1958. Burrell was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1955 and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1959. As CNS, he began a major program of acquisitions for the Navy, including new helicopters, minesweepers, submarines and guided-missile destroyers. He also acted to reverse a plan by the government of the day to dismantle the Fleet Air Arm. Knighted in 1960, Burrell retired to his farm near Canberra in 1962 and published his memoirs, Mermaids Do Exist, in 1986. He died two years later, aged 83. (Full article...)
Image 10

Waller on the bridge of HMAS Stuart in 1940

Hector Macdonald Laws Waller, (4 April 1900 – 1 March 1942) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). His career spanned almost thirty years, including service in both world wars. At the helm of the flotilla leader HMAS Stuart in the Mediterranean from 1939 to 1941, he won recognition as a skilful ship's captain and flotilla commander. He then transferred to the South West Pacific as captain of the light cruiser HMAS Perth, and went down with his ship during the Battle of Sunda Strait in early 1942.

Born in Benalla, Victoria, Waller entered the Royal Australian Naval College aged thirteen. After graduating, he served with the Royal Navy in the closing stages of World War I. Between the wars, he specialised in communications and was posted as signals officer to several British and Australian warships. He gained his first seagoing command in 1937, as captain of the destroyer HMS Brazen. In September 1939, he took command of HMAS Stuart and four other obsolete destroyers that together became known as the "Scrap Iron Flotilla". In 1940, these were augmented by other ships to form the 10th Destroyer Flotilla, supporting Allied troops in North Africa. (Full article...)

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Image 1

Captain John Collins in 1943

Vice-Admiral Sir John Augustine Collins, (7 January 1899 – 3 September 1989) was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) officer who served in both World Wars, and who eventually rose to become a vice admiral and Chief of Naval Staff. Collins was one of the first graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College to attain flag rank. During the Second World War, he commanded the cruiser HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean campaign. He led the Australian Naval Squadron in the Pacific theatre and was wounded in the first recorded kamikaze attack, in 1944. (Full article...)
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Operation Downfall was the proposed plan by United States and British Empire forces for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. It was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war on Japan and invasion of Manchuria.

The operation had two parts: Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. Set to begin in November 1945, Operation Olympic was intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island, Kyūshū, with the recently captured island of Okinawa to be used as a staging area. In Spring 1946 would come Operation Coronet, the planned invasion of the Kantō Plain, near Tokyo, on the main Japanese island of Honshu. Airbases on Kyūshū captured in Operation Olympic would allow land-based air support for Operation Coronet. If Downfall had taken place, it would have been the largest amphibious operation in history, surpassing D-Day. (Full article...)
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Major General Elizabeth Cosson, (born 1958) served as Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs from 2018-2023. Cosson "vowed" to resign as Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, on 19 July 2020, if she cannot improve the department’s relationship with veterans stating in a media interview on 19 July 2019 that "if I’m still part of the problem in 12 months I will hand over [the job]."

Between 1979 and 2010, Cosson served 31 years in the Australian Army as an officer, commencing with officer training in the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) on 22 February 1979 (when she was 20 years old) at Georges Heights (WRAAC OCS 28/79 – the first WRAAC Officer course to have a similar syllabus and training duration as the male officer cadets had, and coming only a year after servicewomen first received the right to equal pay). In 1983 she was transferred to the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps, as the WRAACs disbanded. (Full article...)
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Kissing Point Fortification, 2007

Kissing Point Fortification is a heritage-listed fortification at 38–40 Howitt Street, North Ward, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Peter Scratchley and Major Edward Druitt and built from 1891 by A McMillan (Govt Foreman of Works c1890) and then from 1939 to 1941. It is also known as Jezzine Barracks. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2010.

It is now the home of the Army Museum of North Queensland. (Full article...)
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Inside the moat of the fort.

Fort Lytton National Park is a national park in Lytton, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Its main attraction is Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct, providing guided tours of historic Fort Lytton, a museum and re-enactments. The park was created in 1990 as Queensland's first historic national park. It initially contained only heritage-listed Fort Lytton, a colonial coastal fort that continued to operate as a military base until after the Second World War. The park was extended in 1999 to include Lytton Quarantine Station which occupied adjacent land. The Quarantine Station is also heritage-listed, but is only open to the public on special occasions.

The park is 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) northeast of the Brisbane CBD near the mouth of the Brisbane River. (Full article...)
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The JORN area of operation

The Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) is an over-the-horizon radar (OHR) network operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) that can monitor air and sea movements across 37,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi). It has a normal operating range of 1,000–3,000 kilometres (620–1,860 mi). The network is used in the defence of Australia, and can also monitor maritime operations, wave heights, and wind directions.

JORN's main ground stations comprise a control centre, known as the JORN Coordination Centre (JCC), at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia and three transmission stations: Radar 1 near Longreach, Queensland, Radar 2 near Laverton, Western Australia and Radar 3 near Alice Springs, Northern Territory. (Full article...)
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Angus Houston at the 2010 Anzac Day National Ceremony, Canberra

Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston (born 9 June 1947) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2001 and then as the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 2005. He retired from the military on 3 July 2011.

Since then Houston has been appointed to a number of positions, including chairman of Airservices Australia. In March 2014 he was appointed to head the Joint Agency Coordination Centre during the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, and in the Australia Day Honours of 2015, he was knighted for this service. (Full article...)
Image 8

Clive Caldwell c. 1942

Clive Robertson Caldwell, (28 July 1911 – 5 August 1994) was the leading Australian air ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties, including a German ace in a day, Erbo Graf von Kageneck. In addition to his official score, he has been ascribed six probables and 15 damaged.

Caldwell flew Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks in the North African Campaign and Supermarine Spitfires in the South West Pacific Theatre. He was the highest-scoring P-40 pilot from any air force and the highest-scoring Allied pilot in North Africa. (Full article...)
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1943 portrait by war artist Nora Heysen

Sybil Howy Irving (25 February 1897 – 28 March 1973) was an Australian military officer who was the founder and controller of the Australian Women's Army Service during World War II. She served in this position from 1941 to 1946, and was active in charity and social organisations until she was aged 74. (Full article...)
Image 10

Photograph of the Owen gun, 1942

The Owen gun, known officially as the Owen machine carbine, was an Australian submachine gun that was designed by Evelyn Owen in 1938. The Owen was the only entirely Australian-designed and constructed service submachine gun of World War II. It was used by the Australian Army from 1942 until 1971. (Full article...)

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Selected picture

Photo credit: Australian War Memorial collection database
A member of 3 RAR stares into the frozen waters of the Han River in early 1951.

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Selected anniversaries

September 3

1915 – Wilbur Taylor Dartnell wins a VC in Maktau, Kenya
1939 – Australia declares war on Germany following her invasion of Poland

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Did you know

...that Major General John Paton commanded the rear party during the evacuation of Anzac Cove in World War I and was one of the last Australian soldiers to leave the beach?
...that HMAS Biloela was the first ship to be built entirely from Australian materials to an Australian design?

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Major topics

RAN • History
Admiral of the Fleet, Bases, Cadets, Clearance Divers, Current Ships, Fleet Air Arm, Future, Historic ships, HMAS, Memorial, Patrol Boat Group, Persian Gulf Operations, RANVR, Reserve, Ship classes, Silent Service, WRANS

Army • History
Armoured Units, Army Aviation, Corps, First Australian Imperial Force, Second Australian Imperial Force, Brigades, Cadets, Royal Military College, Enlisted Ranks, Memorial, Officer Ranks, RAR, Regiments, Senior Officers, Regional Surveillance Units, Structure, VC Recipients, Weapons

RAAF • History
Aircraft, Airfield Defence Guards, Bases, Chief of Air Force, Flights, First Tactical Air Force, Ranks, Roulettes, Squadrons, Structure

Special Forces
1st Commando Regiment, 2nd Commando Regiment, 171st Squadron, 200 Flight, Coastwatchers, Special Operations Engineer Regiment, SASR, SOCOMD, Tactical Assault Group, WWII Commando companies, Z Special Unit, M Special Unit

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Image 1

An Australian soldier from 3RAR with an L4A4 Bren light machine-gun, on patrol near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, 1965.

The Battle of Sungei Koemba (27 May – 12 June 1965) took place during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. Involving Australian and Indonesian troops, the battle consisted of a series of ambushes launched by the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR), along the Sungei Koemba river in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). The ambushes were part of the wider Operation Claret which involved cross-border operations by British-Commonwealth units from bases in Sarawak, penetrating up to 10,000 yards (9,100 m) into Indonesian territory with the aim of disrupting the movement and resupply of Indonesian forces and to keep them off balance.

The first ambush was conducted by two platoons from B Company on 27 May 1965 and resulted in significant Indonesian casualties, for no loss to the Australians. The second ambush was conducted a fortnight later and was set a little further downstream from the last one, this time by a platoon from C Company, occurring on 12 June 1965 and again resulting in heavy Indonesian casualties for no loss to the Australians. (Full article...)
Image 2

Colour Patch of HQ 1st Armoured Brigade

The 1st Armoured Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in July 1941, at Greta, New South Wales from volunteers for the Second Australian Imperial Force and was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division. Raised initially for service in the Middle East, following Japan's entry into the war, the brigade was assigned to the defence of Australia in case of an invasion. After garrison duties in New South Wales and Western Australia, it was disbanded in November 1944 without seeing active service, although some of its former units saw action later with other formations.

It was re-raised in the postwar period, serving in the Citizens Military Force between 1948 and 1957. During this period, the brigade was based in New South Wales and formed part of Eastern Command. The brigade's headquarters was broken up when the Australian Army determined that there was no need for large-scale armoured formations as the focus shifted to jungle operations and close infantry-armoured cooperation. Its constituent units were subsequently dispersed to other formations. (Full article...)
Image 3

Soldiers from the 2/31st dig a section defence post in Syria during October 1941

The 2/31st Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was raised in June 1940 and was assigned to the 25th Brigade, 7th Division. It initially served in the United Kingdom where it undertook defensive duties before being moved to the Middle East in 1941. After taking part in the fighting in Syria and Lebanon, the battalion undertook garrison duties around Tripoli before being transferred back to Australia in 1942. In late 1942 the battalion was sent to New Guinea to fight against the Japanese along the Kokoda Track. They subsequently fought a number of battles throughout 1942, 1943 and early 1944. Their last campaign came in mid-1945 when they landed on Borneo. After the war the battalion was disbanded in March 1946. (Full article...)
Image 4

The Withdrawal from Dunkirk, June 1940 by Charles Cundall

The Battle of France (French: Bataille de France; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and France during the Second World War. The plan for the invasion of the Low Countries and France was called Fall Gelb (Case Yellow or the Manstein plan). Fall Rot (Case Red) was planned to finish off the French and British after the evacuation at Dunkirk. The Low Countries and France were defeated and occupied by Axis troops down to the French demarcation line.

On 3 September 1939, France and Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, over the German invasion of Poland on 1 September. In early September 1939, the French army began the limited Saar Offensive but by mid-October had withdrawn to the start line. On 10 May 1940, Wehrmacht armies invaded Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and parts of France. (Full article...)
Image 5

CAC Winjeel prototype, No. 1 Basic Flying Training School, 1953

No. 1 Basic Flying Training School (No. 1 BFTS) was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Along with No. 1 Initial Flying Training School (No. 1 IFTS), it was formed in response to increased demand for aircrew during the Korean War and Malayan Emergency. No. 1 BFTS was established in December 1951 at RAAF Base Uranquinty, New South Wales, where it operated de Havilland Tiger Moths and CAC Wirraways. The school absorbed the activities of No. 1 IFTS in January 1955, as aircrew training requirements had eased following the end of the Korean War. No. 1 BFTS moved to RAAF Base Point Cook, Victoria, in May 1958, by which time it was exclusively flying CAC Winjeels. Its training program expanded in the mid-1960s owing to Australia's commitments in the Vietnam War. No. 1 BFTS was re-formed as No. 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook in January 1969. (Full article...)
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Flying Officer Peter Turnbull in Palestine, June 1941

Peter St George Bruce Turnbull, DFC (9 February 1917 – 27 August 1942) was an Australian fighter ace of World War II, credited with twelve aerial victories. Born in Armidale, New South Wales, he was an electrician before he joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in January 1939. After pilot training he was posted to No. 3 Squadron, which departed for action in the Middle East in July 1940.

Flying Gloster Gladiator, Hawker Hurricane and P-40 Tomahawk fighters during the North African and Syria-Lebanon campaigns, Turnbull was credited with nine victories and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Posted to the South West Pacific in March 1942, he joined No. 75 Squadron at Port Moresby, New Guinea, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. (Full article...)
Image 7

Second Lieutenant Fredericks Birks VC, MM c.1916

Frederick Birks, VC, MM (16 August 1894 – 21 September 1917) was a Welsh-born Australian First World War soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in Buckley, Flintshire, Birks served in the Royal Artillery for three years before emigrating to Australia in 1913. After serving as a non-commissioned officer during the landing at Gallipoli and the Battle of the Somme, Birks was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 4 May 1917. On 20 September, during the Battle of Passchendaele, while advancing in Glencorse Wood, Ypres, Birks, alongside a corporal, forced a garrison to surrender and captured sixteen men in another attack. His actions were later recognised with the Victoria Cross. The following day, Birks was killed by a shell while attempting to save some of his men. (Full article...)
Image 8

Map showing nuclear test sites in Australia

Between 1956 and 1963, the United Kingdom conducted seven nuclear tests at the Maralinga site in South Australia, part of the Woomera Prohibited Area about 800 kilometres (500 mi) north west of Adelaide. Two major test series were conducted: Operation Buffalo in 1956 and Operation Antler the following year. Approximate weapon yields ranged from 1 to 27 kilotons of TNT (4 to 100 TJ). The Maralinga site was also used for minor trials, tests of nuclear weapons components not involving nuclear explosions. The tests codenamed "Kittens" were trials of neutron initiators; "Rats" and "Tims" measured how the fissile core of a nuclear weapon was compressed by the high explosive shock wave; and "Vixens" investigated the effects of fire or non-nuclear explosions on atomic weapons. The minor trials, numbering around 550, ultimately generated far more contamination than the major tests.

Operation Buffalo consisted of four tests; One Tree (12.9 kilotons of TNT (54 TJ)) and Breakaway (10.8 kilotons of TNT (45 TJ)) were detonated on towers, Marcoo (1.4 kilotons of TNT (5.9 TJ)) at ground level, and the Kite (2.9 kilotons of TNT (12 TJ)) was released by a Royal Air Force (RAF) Vickers Valiant bomber from a height of 11,000 metres (35,000 ft). This was the first drop of a British nuclear weapon from an aircraft. Operation Antler in 1957 tested new, light-weight nuclear weapons. Three tests were conducted in this series: Tadje (0.93 kilotons of TNT (3.9 TJ)), Biak (5.67 kilotons of TNT (23.7 TJ)) and Taranaki (26.6 kilotons of TNT (111 TJ)). The first two were conducted from towers, while the last was suspended from balloons. Tadje used cobalt pellets as a tracer for determining yield, resulting in rumours that Britain was developing a cobalt bomb. (Full article...)
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The Battle of Kranji was the second stage of the Empire of Japan's plan for the invasion of Singapore during the Second World War. On 9 February 1942 the Imperial Japanese Army assaulted the north-western front of Singapore, capital of the Straits Settlements.

Their primary objective was to secure a second beachhead after their successful assault at Sarimbun Beach on 8 February, in order to breach the Jurong-Kranji defence line as part of their southward thrust towards the heart of Singapore City. Defending the shoreline between the Kranji River and the Johor–Singapore Causeway was the Australian 27th Brigade, led by Brigadier Duncan Maxwell, and one irregular company. (Full article...)
Image 10

Beaufort crew of No. 7 Squadron, which operated under the control of No. 75 Wing in 1943–44

No. 75 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing that operated during World War II. It was formed in October 1943 at Townsville, Queensland, under North-Eastern Area Command. The wing soon deployed to Horn Island to take control of RAAF units based there and at Thursday Island and Cape York Peninsula. Responsible for air defence and maritime patrol in the Torres Strait, No. 75 Wing's flying units operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, Bristol Beaufort reconnaissance bombers, and A-31 Vengeance dive bombers. The wing was disbanded in August 1944. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various military history of Australia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Soldiers from 3 RAR watch as a Korean village burns in late 1950 (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 2The 10th Reinforcements of the 5th Pioneers at Port Melbourne prior to embarkation, October 1917 (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 3Fairey Firefly aircraft on board HMAS Sydney off Korea, during the Korean War. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 4Australian anti-tank gunners overlooking the Johor Causeway between Singapore and Malaya in February 1942 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 5An Australian Hampden from No. 455 Squadron RAAF at RAF Leuchars in May 1942. (from History of the Royal Australian Air Force)
Image 6The Japanese advance through the Malay Barrier in 1941–1942 and feared offensive operations against Australia. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 7Australians arrive at Tan Son Nhut Airport, Saigon (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 8HMAS Sheean at Fremantle Harbour (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 9Australian engineers board the United States C-5 Galaxy aircraft which will transport them to Namibia (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 10HMAS Anzac and HMAS Darwin with United States and British warships in late 2002 (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 11No. 453 Squadron Spitfires in Normandy during 1944. The aircraft are painted with invasion stripes. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 12Recruitment poster, 1914–1918. (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 13Australian soldiers exercising to defend Geraldton, Western Australia in October 1942 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 14Australian soldiers in Somalia during Operation Solace (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 15Australian and Dutch POWs at Tarsau, Thailand in 1943. Australia declared war on Thailand on 2 March 1942 and an Australian–Thai Peace Treaty was signed on 3 April 1946. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 16North Africa showing the progress of Operation Compass and strategic locations (from Australia in World War II)
Image 17No. 80 Squadron aircraft at Noemfoor in November 1944 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 18Workers inspecting practice bombs at a factory in South Australia during 1943 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 19Australian soldiers display Japanese flags they captured at Kaiapit, New Guinea in 1943 (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 20The gunboat HMQS Paluma in 1889 (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 21MacArthur with Blamey and Prime Minister Curtin in March 1942 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 22A sailor from HMAS Adelaide inspecting a ship in the Persian Gulf during 2004 (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 23The Japanese interpreter in charge of Australian POWs at Ambon arriving at Morotai in October 1945 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 24Four members of the Australian contingent to Mission 204 in Yunnan Province, China, during 1942 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 25Australian soldiers in New Britain in 1945 (AWM 092342). (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 26A Sopwith 1½ Strutter aircraft taking off from a temporary flight deck on the first HMAS Australia, a battle cruiser, in 1918. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 27Australian-designed CAC Boomerang aircraft at Bougainville in early 1945 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 28"He's coming south — It's fight, work or perish", a propaganda poster warning of the danger of Japanese invasion. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 29An Australian Beaufighter flying over the Owen Stanley Range in New Guinea in 1942 (from History of the Royal Australian Air Force)
Image 30The Australian squadron entering Simpson Harbour, Rabaul, September 1914 (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 31The wrecked German raider Emden (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 32A Japanese Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarine, believed to be Midget No. 14, is raised from Sydney Harbour (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 33Sailors from Sydney posing around and in the forward funnel shellhole (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 3430 August 1945. Yokosuka Naval Base, Tokyo Bay. Commander Yuzo Tanno hands over the keys of Yokosuka Naval Base to Captain H. J. Buchanan, Royal Australian Navy. Buchanan led the first Commonwealth party to go ashore in Japan. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 35An Australian Halifax from No. 462 Squadron RAAF at RAF Foulsham in 1945. (from History of the Royal Australian Air Force)
Image 36Australian troops in East Timor in May 2002 (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 37Australian troops at Milne Bay, October 1942 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 38Australian and Japanese Army forces in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in late 1944 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 39B-25 Mitchell bombers from No. 18 (NEI) Squadron near Darwin in 1943. This was one of three joint Australian-Dutch squadrons formed during the war. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 40A map showing the progress of the Borneo campaign (from Australia in World War II)
Image 41Memorial to HMAS Sydney at the state war memorial in Western Australia (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 42Portside view of the Challenger-class light cruiser HMAS Encounter (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 43Australian soldiers landing at ANZAC Cove (from History of the Australian Army)
Image 44Women, friends, and family on the wharf waving farewell to the departing troop ship RMS Strathallan carrying the Advance Party of the 6th Division to service overseas. They include George Alan Vasey's wife Jessie Vasey (second from the left). The photograph is especially poignant because Vasey did not survive the war. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 45Bartolomeo Colleoni sinking, 19 July 1940 (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 46HMAS Yarra (from Australia in World War II)
Image 47HMAS Pioneer off East Africa in 1916 (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 48Australian Army transport trucks move along the coast road in Lebanon during the Syria-Lebanon campaign. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 49No. 3 Squadron P-51 Mustang fighters return from a raid over Northern Italy in May 1945 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 50HMAS Anzac operating in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)

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Daily unit article

The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. The 2nd AIF began forming in September 1939 and was gradually expanded to a peak strength of four infantry divisions, an armoured division and numerous support units. The Second AIF fought against Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Vichy France and the Japanese Empire, with many units fighting in both the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres of the war. Most 2nd AIF personnel were demobilised by the end of 1946 and the 2nd AIF officially ceased to exist in June 1947.

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