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EPISODES OF WWII: The AMC HMS KANIMBLA, Finschafen, New Guinea 1940 - Photo Derek Simon [1919-2004], courtesy Graeme Andrews.
4291. For reasons of historical interest and authenticity, we begin a series of photos from the albums of the late Frank Derek Simon [June 4, 1919 - Oct. 6, 2004].
At the outbreak of WWII, Derek Simon, as he was known, was a young Bridlington, Yorkshire-born merchant marine officer whose family had settled in New Zealand.
Mr Simon was to serve with the RAN during WWII, and while some details are now not completely clear he was rated an RAN Lieutenant in July 1942, and a Lieutenant Commander in July 1950, although by then he had resumed his merchant marine career, and at some point in the postwar period became a Great Barrier Reef pilot.
Among the ships he served on during WWII were the Australian-manned armed merchant cruiser HMS KANIMBLA, the minelayer HMAS BUNGAREE, and corvette HMAS KAPUNDA.
These photos comes to us courtesy of Graeme Andrews, who came to know Mr Simon late in his life when he was an important member of the the Sydney Heritage Fleet preservation organisation's research and library group. Graeme interviewed Mr Simon for an article on his Barrier reef pilot years published in the SHF's journal 'Australian Sea Heritage' in issue 53, Summer 1998, and was given access to his photo albums and [forbidden] wartime diaries.
What follows are some rare glimpses from the sea lanes of WWII, with many ships and incidents, seen mainly from the decks of HMS/HMAS KANIMBLA, above, anchored at Finschafen, New Guinea, in early 1940.
We'll see the capture of a Soviet blockade runner off Japan in the period of the notorious Hitler-Stalin Non-Aggression Pact [also called the Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact] signed on August 23, 1939 - a temporary treaty of convenience that allowed the Soviets to grab a slice of Poland, and which also resulted in Soviet invasion of Finland.
We'll also see rare images of the raid on German shipping at the Iranian port of Bandar Sharpur on August 24, 1941 - a truly dramatic sideshow of the war, when KANIMBLA led a polyglot little fleet of ships, including a tugboat and a dhow, into the hostile port and created utter havoc.
These things will unfold, perhaps a little slowly, as we sort the many images before us out.
Photo: Derek Simon [1919-2004], courtesy of Graeme Keith Andrews [RAN 1955-1968, RANR 1980].
mr Simon was to serve of the Armed merchant Cr .
Transferring to naval service, he was to hold ranks from midshipman to Lieutenant in the RAN up to Lieutenant Commander ro As a consequence,
EPISODES OF WWII: The AMC HMS KANIMBLA, Finschafen, New Guinea 1940 - Photo Derek Simon [1919-2004], courtesy Graeme Andrews.
4291. For reasons of historical interest and authenticity, we begin a series of photos from the albums of the late Frank Derek Simon [June 4, 1919 - Oct. 6, 2004].
At the outbreak of WWII, Derek Simon, as he was known, was a young Bridlington, Yorkshire-born merchant marine officer whose family had settled in New Zealand.
Mr Simon was to serve with the RAN during WWII, and while some details are now not completely clear he was rated an RAN Lieutenant in July 1942, and a Lieutenant Commander in July 1950, although by then he had resumed his merchant marine career, and at some point in the postwar period became a Great Barrier Reef pilot.
Among the ships he served on during WWII were the Australian-manned armed merchant cruiser HMS KANIMBLA, the minelayer HMAS BUNGAREE, and corvette HMAS KAPUNDA.
These photos comes to us courtesy of Graeme Andrews, who came to know Mr Simon late in his life when he was an important member of the the Sydney Heritage Fleet preservation organisation's research and library group. Graeme interviewed Mr Simon for an article on his Barrier reef pilot years published in the SHF's journal 'Australian Sea Heritage' in issue 53, Summer 1998, and was given access to his photo albums and [forbidden] wartime diaries.
What follows are some rare glimpses from the sea lanes of WWII, with many ships and incidents, seen mainly from the decks of HMS/HMAS KANIMBLA, above, anchored at Finschafen, New Guinea, in early 1940.
We'll see the capture of a Soviet blockade runner off Japan in the period of the notorious Hitler-Stalin Non-Aggression Pact [also called the Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact] signed on August 23, 1939 - a temporary treaty of convenience that allowed the Soviets to grab a slice of Poland, and which also resulted in Soviet invasion of Finland.
We'll also see rare images of the raid on German shipping at the Iranian port of Bandar Sharpur on August 24, 1941 - a truly dramatic sideshow of the war, when KANIMBLA led a polyglot little fleet of ships, including a tugboat and a dhow, into the hostile port and created utter havoc.
These things will unfold, perhaps a little slowly, as we sort the many images before us out.
Photo: Derek Simon [1919-2004], courtesy of Graeme Keith Andrews [RAN 1955-1968, RANR 1980].
mr Simon was to serve of the Armed merchant Cr .
Transferring to naval service, he was to hold ranks from midshipman to Lieutenant in the RAN up to Lieutenant Commander ro As a consequence,