The Australian Naval Institute partners with the Naval Studies Group at the University of New South Wales (Canberra), the Royal Australian Navy Seapower Centre, the Naval Historical Society and the Submarine Institute of Australia to produce the Australian Naval History podcast series.
Each episode tells of a different event in the RAN’s rich history. It brings together naval historians, serving and former officers and sailors to both give account and analyse the topic in a conversational style. In 2019 the series was rated #5 of all maritime podcasts in a global ranking with over 100,000 downloads.
There are 53 episodes in Seasons 1-4 with an additional 20 episodes to be progressively released in Season 5 (2020) from 10 August. They can be accessed via most podcast apps or on the UNSW website here.
Episode | Release | Title | Speakers |
1 | 10 Aug | The Battle of Java Sea | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Mr Mike Carlton & Rear Admiral James Goldrick & Dr Ian Pfennigwerth |
2 | 17 Aug | RAN Protection of Shipping in World War II | Commander Greg Swinden with Nicole Townsend, Rear Admiral Simon Cullen & Dr Mark Bailey |
3 | 24 Aug | HMAS Wyatt Earp & the RAN in Antarctica | Professor Peter Stanley with Trish Burgess & John Compton |
4 | 31 Aug | The Battle of Sunda Strait | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Mr Mike Carlton, Rear Admiral James Goldrick, Rear Admiral Jeff Harley, USN & Dr Ian Pfennigwerth |
5 | 7 Sep | Warship building in Australia | Professor Peter Stanley with Rear Admiral James Goldrick, Ms Honae Cuffe & John Jeremy. |
6 | 14 Sep | Centenary of the RAN Hydrographic Service: Part 1 | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Commodores John Compton, Fiona Freeman & Rod Nairn. |
7 | 21 Sep | Centenary of the RAN Hydrographic Service: Part 2 | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Commodores John Compton, Fiona Freeman & Rod Nairn. |
8 | 28 Sep | Countering the German Raiders in the Indian Pacific. | Professor Peter Stanley with John Perryman, Lieutenant Tim Döbler, FGN & Stephen Robinson. |
9 | 5 Oct | The Scrap Iron Flotilla. | Commander Greg Swinden with Dr Karl James, Flight Lieutenant Greg Pierce & Dr John Nash |
10 | 12 Oct | The Patrol of U-862 to Australia & New Zealand | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Dr David Stevens & Captain (N) Hillman, FGN. |
11 | 19 Oct | The RAN and the Spanish Flu Pandemic | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Dr Steve Bullard, Commodore Mike Dowsett & Commander Neil Westphalen |
5-12 | 26 Oct | RAN Destroyers & Frigates in the Korean War | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Peter Djokovic and Michael Kelly. |
13 | 2 Nov | HMAS Pioneer in East Africa 1915 | Professor Peter Stanley with Dr Richard Dunley & Lieutenant Tim Döbler, FGN. |
14 | 9 Nov | The RAN & Operation Desert Shield | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Dr David Stevens, Vice Admiral Russ Shalders , Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie and Rear Admiral Chris Oxenbould. |
15 | 16 Nov | The RAN & the Gulf War | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Dr David Stevens, Vice Admiral Russ Shalders , Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie and Rear Admiral Chris Oxenbould. |
16 | 23 Nov | The RAN & Sanction enforcement against Iraq | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Dr David Stevens, Rear Admiral Allan Du Toit, Rear Admiral James Goldrick & Mr Paul Singer. |
17 | 30 Nov | The RAN & the Iraq War | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Dr David Stevens, Vice Admiral Peter Jones, Commodore John Stavridis & Captain David McCourt. |
18 | 7 Dec | The Flagship HMAS Melbourne: Part 1 | Commander Greg Swinden with Rear Admiral Cathcart Swan, Commodore Jack McCaffrie & Commander Tom de Voil. |
19 | 14 Dec | The Flagship HMAS Melbourne: Part 2 | Commander Greg Swinden with Rear Admiral Cathcart Swan, Commodore Jack McCaffrie & Commander Tom de Voil. |
20 | 21 Dec | The Navy & the 1998 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race | Professor Rob McLaughlin with Commander Rick Neville, Lieutenant Nick Trimmer, WO Shane Pashley & John Stanley (Winston Churchill) Commander Tanzi Lea. |