{"product_id":"flagship-the-cruiser-hmas-australia-ii","title":"Flagship : The Cruiser HMAS Australia II and the Pacific War on Japan","description":"\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eThe cruiser HMAS \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eAustralia II\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e and the Pacific War on Japan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1924 the grand old battle cruiser HMAS \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eAustralia I\u003c\/span\u003e, once the pride of the nation, was sunk off Sydney Heads. She had saved Australia from a German attack in the Pacific in World War I, but after the war she was a victim in the race to disarm. There was a day of national mourning when they blew the bottom out of her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1928 the RAN acquired a new ship of the same name, the fast, heavy cruiser HMAS \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eAustralia II\u003c\/span\u003e, and she finally saw action when World War II began, patrolling the North Atlantic on the lookout for German battleships.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy March 1942 \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eAustralia\u003c\/span\u003e had returned home, where the ship was stunned by a murder. One night one of her sailors, Stoker Riley, was found stabbed and bleeding to death. Before he died, he named his two attackers, who'd tried to kill him because, he said, he'd threatened to expose their homosexual activities. At a hastily arranged court martial, the two men were found guilty and sentenced to death under British Admiralty law.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnly weeks later \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eAustralia\u003c\/span\u003e fought in the Battle of the Coral Sea near Papua New Guinea, the first sea battle to stop the Japanese advance in the Pacific. She was heavily attacked and bombed from the air but, with brilliant ship-handling, escaped unscathed. In 1944 she took part in the greatest sea fight of all time, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which returned the American General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines. She was struck by a kamikaze bomber, killing her captain and 28 other men. The next year, she was hit by no fewer than four kamikaze planes on four successive days. She was, in fact, attacked by more kamikaze aircraft than any other Allied ship in the war, and in the end this finished her war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe retired gracefully, laden with battle honours, and was scrapped in 1956 - the last of her name, for the navy no longer uses \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eAustralia\u003c\/span\u003e for its ships. In this riveting book, with his inimitable panache and flawless research Mike Carlton tells the story of \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eAustralia\u003c\/span\u003e, which encompasses the era's fascinating naval and social history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAuthor : Mike Carlton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback : 656 pages\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSKU : P3129","brand":"Boat books Australia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52957800530284,"sku":"P3129","price":49.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0946\/1920\/5996\/files\/Flagship-The-Cruiser-HMAS-Australia-II-e1721615293116.jpg?v=1764813157","url":"https:\/\/www.boatbooks-aust.com.au\/products\/flagship-the-cruiser-hmas-australia-ii","provider":"Boat books Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}