Probably best known as a former “talk-back” radio star, Mike Carlton has more recently transformed himself into a very useful naval historian. This is his seventh such book. All are well-researched and, most importantly, easy and enjoyable to read.
They will therefore perform a very valuable function in bringing to the fore a sadly neglected aspect of Australia’s maritime history. They are sure to be well promoted and widely read. That can only help reduce the “sea blindness” of the wider Australian public.
While Australia’s naval aviation activities are now quite miniscule, mainly warship-borne helicopters, the branch’s history is replete with important, interesting and little known action. With his very personal and anecdotal approach, Carlton brings those adventures to life and reminds his readers of the important role Australia’s naval aviators have performed since World War I in Europe.
As he pointed out, in the 1950s and 1960s, the Royal Australian Navy actually possessed two aircraft carriers that performed much important work in the Vietnam and Korean Wars and the Malayan Emergency. Unfortunately, that work was somewhat blighted by two tragic accidents that befell one of those carriers, namely, HMAS Melbourne. Through no fault of its own, it managed to bisect and sink two of its escorting destroyers with considerable loss of life.
However, as Carlton made clear, Australia’s naval aviators have much to be proud of. Theirs is an interesting and very important history that he has told very well.
Author: Mike Carlton
Available from Penguin Random House Australia, Sydney