- Royal Australian Navy Beach Commandos
During
World War II theRoyal Australian Navy formed beach commando units to go ashore with the first waves of amphibious assaults, to signpost the beaches, control boat traffic, and communicate with the maritime forces. These were known as Royal Australian Navy Beach Commandos. They took part in theBorneo campaign (1945) .Training
An Amphibious Training Centre was commissioned as HMAS Assault at
Port Stephens on1 September 1942 . The Amphibious Training Centre was commanded byCommander F. N. Cook, RAN, an officer who had won the DSC for his service in Combined Operations while serving with theRoyal Navy . At the time he was recalled to Australia he was in command of HMS Tormentor, a Royal Navy Combined Operations School. The school trained beach parties and boat crews. Graduates were posted to the Australian landing ships HMAS Kanimbla, Manoora and Westralia, each of which had a beach party as part of its complement.These beach parties saw little action, as the landing ships were often too valuable to risk in forward areas in 1943. An eight-man RAN Beach Party under the command of
Lieutenant Commander J. M. Band, RANR participated in theBattle of Scarlet Beach . Band was fatally wounded in the fighting, and was awarded the USNavy Cross posthumously.In October 1943, the
Australian Army 'sCommander in Chief ,General SirThomas Blamey , asked for the beach parties to be detached from their ships for training with the 6th Division and the1st Beach Group atCairns . BecauseUS Navy doctrine was that beach parties were a part of a ship's complement,Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey was reluctant to agree. Blamey suggested that a separate unit be raised for service with the Australian Army. An RAN Beach Commando was formed on6 January 1944 .All RAN Beach Commando personnel were listed as part of the complement of HMAS Assault, but formed a part of the
1st Beach Group . In early 1944, the Army raised a2nd Beach Group , and another beach commando was formed for it. FollowingRoyal Navy practice, the two units were designated Beach Commando A and Beach Commando B. Later the Army requested two smaller commandos for subsidiary operations. These were formed as Beach Commandos C and D. These were organised similarly to A and B, but with only two beach parties, and no boat repair section. The four beach commandos were grouped administratively as the RAN Beach Unit (RANBU) underCommander R. S. Pearson, RAN as Senior Naval Officer Beach Units (SNOBU).Organisation
A Beach Commando contained:
* a Headquarters with aCommander as Principal Beachmaster, aLieutenant Commander as Deputy Principal Beachmaster, and two seamen as messengers
* Three Beach Parties, each commanded by aLieutenant orLieutenant Commander as Beachmaster, with two officers as Assistant Beachmasters, twoPetty Officers , and 22 seamen.
* A Boat Repair and Recovery Section under aBoatswain , with twoPetty Officers and 14 seamen as boat crews, plus two artisan's mates, two torpedomen, a sailmaker's mate, for shipwrights and joiners, four motor mechanics and two stokers in the repair section.
* A Beach Signals Section under aSub Lieutenant orMidshipman , with a Yeoman of signals, a Petty Officer Telegraphist, four leading seamen. two leading telegraphists, ten signalmen, and 10 telegraphists.Operations
In April
1945 , Beach Commando B under Commander B. G. B. Morris, RANVR went into action in theBattle of Tarakan (1945) , supporting the Army's 26th Infantry Brigade and 2nd Beach Group. Two beach commandos were killed and two wounded.Beach Commandos A and C, under
Lieutenant Commander R. McKauge, RANVR took part in the 9th Division and1st Beach Group 's landings at Brunei and Labuan.Beach Commandos B and D participated in the 7th Division and
2nd Beach Group 's landings in theBattle of Balikpapan .References
Further reading
Jones, A. E. (Ted), "Sailor and Commando", ISBN 0859052532
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