CRUISER: The Life and Loss of HMAS PERTH and Her Crew

CARLTON, Mike

ISBN 10: 1741668395 / ISBN 13: 9781741668391

Published by William Heinemann. Sydney. ., 2010

About this Item

1st Ed. XIV, 706 PP with 1 plan and 4 maps, plus 24 pages with 10 colour illustrations and 64 b/w photos. Eps: White Ensign, Royal Navy. Hard cover, dj. Neat ex-libris stamp of previous owner on FFEP, o/wise a fine copy. 24 x 16. Seller Inventory # 58870

Bibliographic Details

Title: CRUISER: The Life and Loss of HMAS PERTH and...

Publisher: William Heinemann. Sydney. .

Publication Date: 2010

Binding: Hardcover

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Of all the Australians who fought in World War II, none saw more action nor endured so much of its hardship and horror as the crew of the cruiser HMAS Perth. Most were young, many still teenagers, from cities and towns, villages, and farms across the nation. In three tumultuous years they did battle with the forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Vichy French, and, finally, the Imperial Japanese Navy. They were nearly lost in a hurricane in the Atlantic. In the Mediterranean in 1941 they were bombed by the Luftwaffe and the Italian Air Force for months on end until, ultimately, during the disastrous evacuation of the Australian army from Crete, their ship took a direct hit and 13 men were killed. After the fall of Singapore in 1942, HMAS Perth was hurled into the forlorn campaign to stem the Japanese advance towards Australia. Off the coast of Java in March that year she met an overwhelming enemy naval force. Firing until her ammunition literally ran out, she was sunk with the loss of 353 of her crew, including her much-loved captain and the Royal Australian Navy's finest fighting sailor, "Hardover" Hec Waller. Another 328 men were taken into Japanese captivity, most to become slave laborers in the infinite hell of the Burma-Thai railway. Many died there, victims of unspeakable atrocity. Only 218 men, less than a third of her crew, survived to return home at war's end.

About the Author:

Mike Carlton is one of Australia's best-known broadcasters and journalists. In a 40-year career, he has been a radio and television news and current affairs reporter, foreign correspondent, radio host, and newspaper columnist. He was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation war correspondent in Vietnam in 1967 and 1970, and for three years was the ABC's Bureau Chief in Jakarta. He also reported for the ABC from London, New York, and major Asian capitals.