John Augustine Collins
Sir John Augustine Collins (born January 7, 1899 in Deloraine near Westbury , Australia , † September 3, 1989 in Australia) was an Australian naval officer in World War II . He was the Commander in Chief of the Australian Navy between 1948 and 1955 .
Life
At the age of 14, Collins began his military training at the recently established Royal Australian Naval Academy HMAS Creswell in the Jervis Bay Territory in New South Wales . He was one of the institution's first cadets. Another graduate of his class was the future Rear Admiral Harold Farncomb . In January 1917 John Collins reached the rank of midshipman and was in the First World War used.
Between the world wars, he rose continuously in the military hierarchy. He reached the position of Chief of Military Reconnaissance on the General Staff of the Australian Navy.
For the first two years of World War II, Collins commanded the light cruiser HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean . Under the command of John Collins, the Australian warship sank the modern Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni in July 1941 , killing 121 Italian sailors. Collins was transferred from the Sydney a few months before it sank in November 1941. On November 19, 1941, the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran sank the Sydney in the Indian Ocean . The entire crew of 645 men was lost.
In 1943, Collins commanded the heavy cruiser HMAS Shropshire . The cruiser took part under the command of Collins in the fighting for Bougainville , the Admiralty Islands , Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea and the Allied landings in New Britain .
Then Collins was given command of Task Force 74, which was set up together with the US Navy . Its flagship was the HMAS Australia . During the sea and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte , Australia became the first victim of a Japanese kamikaze attack on October 21, 1944 . The commander of the cruiser Captain Emile Dechaineux was one of the 30 Australian fatalities . Collins suffered serious injuries, which is why he could not start his service again until July 1945.
Vice Admiral John Collins was the Royal Australian Navy official at the signing of Japan's Surrender Document on September 2, 1945 in Tokyo Bay on the battleship USS Missouri .
Between 1948 and 1955, John Collins was Commander in Chief of the Australian Navy. After the end of his military career, Collins was appointed as Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand . He served in this capacity between 1956 and 1962.
Honors
His major awards include the Order of the British Empire and the Order of the Bath .
The Australian Navy honors its former Commander in Chief by naming its currently most modern class of submarines. The lead ship of the Collins class was launched on August 28, 1993 and was christened HMAS Collins by the Admiral's widow .
See also
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Collins, John Augustine |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian naval officer in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 7, 1899 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Deloraine near Westbury , Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd September 1989 |
| Place of death | Australia |