herakles
02-09-2008, 20:15
John Augustine Collins was born in Deloraine, Tasmania, in 1899. In 1913 at the age of 14, he joined the RAN College, becoming Midshipman in 1917. He took part in various actions with the RAN toward the end of WW1.
In 1939 he held the positions of Assistant Chief of Naval Staff and Director of Military Intelligence. At the outbreak of WW2 he was appointed Captain of HMAS Sydney. In July 1940 he was in command at the sinking of the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni. This earned him a CB.
He left HMAS Sydney before her tragic loss at the hands of the Kormoran. He was transferred to Singapore and made Assistant Chief of Staff to the British Naval Commander in Chief, China Command.
At the fall of Singapore he organised evacuation from Batavia and was one of the last to evacuate Singapore. For these actions he was Mentioned in Despatches and was later made a Commander of the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau.
For a time he was Senior Naval Officer Western Australia. During 1943, Collins commanded HMAS Shropshire and took part in the Bougainville campaign, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and operations off the Admiralty Islands and Hollandia (Dutch New Guinea).
In mid-1944, Collins was made commander of the Australian-US Navy Task Force 74, and commander of the Australian Naval Squadron, with HMAS Australia as his flagship. He became the first graduate of the RAN College to command a naval squadron in action, during the bombardment of Noemfoor, on 2 July 1944.
Collins was badly wounded in the first kamikaze attack in history, on October 21, 1944, in the lead up to the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He did not resume his command until July 1945. When the war ended Collins was the RAN’s representative at the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.
Collins was appointed Chief of Naval Staff in 1948 and held the position until 1955. This was a period that included the deployment of ships to the Korean War. During this time he also oversaw many changes and administrative reforms in the navy, and was involved in closer Australian–American naval co-operation. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1951 New Year Honours. He later served as Australia’s High Commissioner to New Zealand (1956–1962). He died 3 Sep 1989.
The latest class of Australian submarine, the Collins class bears his name. The first of these, HMAS Collins, was launched by his widow in 1993.
(with help from Wiki)
In 1939 he held the positions of Assistant Chief of Naval Staff and Director of Military Intelligence. At the outbreak of WW2 he was appointed Captain of HMAS Sydney. In July 1940 he was in command at the sinking of the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni. This earned him a CB.
He left HMAS Sydney before her tragic loss at the hands of the Kormoran. He was transferred to Singapore and made Assistant Chief of Staff to the British Naval Commander in Chief, China Command.
At the fall of Singapore he organised evacuation from Batavia and was one of the last to evacuate Singapore. For these actions he was Mentioned in Despatches and was later made a Commander of the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau.
For a time he was Senior Naval Officer Western Australia. During 1943, Collins commanded HMAS Shropshire and took part in the Bougainville campaign, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and operations off the Admiralty Islands and Hollandia (Dutch New Guinea).
In mid-1944, Collins was made commander of the Australian-US Navy Task Force 74, and commander of the Australian Naval Squadron, with HMAS Australia as his flagship. He became the first graduate of the RAN College to command a naval squadron in action, during the bombardment of Noemfoor, on 2 July 1944.
Collins was badly wounded in the first kamikaze attack in history, on October 21, 1944, in the lead up to the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He did not resume his command until July 1945. When the war ended Collins was the RAN’s representative at the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.
Collins was appointed Chief of Naval Staff in 1948 and held the position until 1955. This was a period that included the deployment of ships to the Korean War. During this time he also oversaw many changes and administrative reforms in the navy, and was involved in closer Australian–American naval co-operation. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1951 New Year Honours. He later served as Australia’s High Commissioner to New Zealand (1956–1962). He died 3 Sep 1989.
The latest class of Australian submarine, the Collins class bears his name. The first of these, HMAS Collins, was launched by his widow in 1993.
(with help from Wiki)