Peter Dunn (historian)

Last updated

Peter Dunn
Born
Peter James Dunn
OccupationMilitary historian
Awards Medal of the Order of Australia

Peter James Dunn OAM is an Australian historian who specialises in researching all aspects of military operations, training, and exercises that occurred in Australia during the Second World War. Dunn is particularly interested in researching wartime military aircraft losses and, in 2012, was responsible for identifying an unknown aircraft wreck off Magnetic Island as being that of a Curtiss-Wright CW-22 that had ditched in 1943. [1] As part of the Australia Day 2020 Honours List, Dunn was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia "for service to community history". [2]

Contents

Australia @ War

On 22 June 1996, Dunn launched his Australia @ War website where he has described his research as a "part-time hobby". [2] [3] Despite this, the website is particularly renowned for cataloguing the historical details of Second World War military aircraft crashes that occurred across Australia and, as of 2019, the website reportedly listed over 2000 such incidents. [4]

Related Research Articles

Australian Army Australias military land force

The Australian Army is the military land force of Australia. Formed in 1901, as the Commonwealth Military Forces, through the amalgamation of the Australian colonial forces following federation; it is part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) commands the ADF, the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA). The CA is therefore subordinate to the CDF but is also directly responsible to the Minister for Defence. Although Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout Australia's history, only during the Second World War has Australian territory come under direct attack.

Royal Air Force Aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.

Royal Australian Air Force Air warfare branch of Australias armed forces

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), formed in March 1921, is the aerial warfare branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It operates the majority of the ADF's fixed wing aircraft, although both the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy also operate aircraft in various roles. It directly continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC), formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF provides support across a spectrum of operations such as air superiority, precision strikes, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, air mobility, space surveillance, and humanitarian support.

Order of the British Empire British order of chivalry

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of the order.

George Cross Award for bravery in the United Kingdom

The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the UK honours system, the George Cross is equal in stature to the Victoria Cross, the highest military gallantry award. This has been the case since the introduction of the award in 1940. It is awarded "for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstance of extreme danger", not in the presence of the enemy, to members of the British armed forces and to British civilians. Posthumous awards have been allowed since it was instituted. It was previously awarded to residents of Commonwealth countries, most of which have since established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians including police, emergency services and merchant seamen. Many of the awards have been personally presented by the British monarch to recipients or, in the case of posthumous awards, to next of kin. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.

The Australian honours and awards system refers to all orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by Letters patent from the Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian Prime Minister at the time, that have been progressively introduced since 14 February 1975. The Australian honours and awards system excludes all state and local government, and private, issued awards and medals.

Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving personnel from the Australian colonies prior to Federation. Opened in 1941, the memorial includes an extensive national military museum.

Military Cross

The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.

HMAS <i>Pioneer</i> Pelorus-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century

HMAS Pioneer was a Pelorus-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. She was transferred to the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1912. During World War I, the cruiser captured two German merchant ships, and was involved in the East African Campaign, including the blockade of the cruiser SMS Königsberg and a bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam. She returned to Australia in late 1916 and was decommissioned. Pioneer was used as an accommodation ship for the following six years, then was stripped down and sold off by 1926. The cruiser was scuttled outside Sydney Heads in 1931.

Boeing 737 AEW&C Airborne early warning and control aircraft

The Boeing 737 AEW&C is a twin-engine airborne early warning and control aircraft based on the Boeing 737 Next Generation design. It is lighter than the 707-based Boeing E-3 Sentry, and has a fixed, active electronically scanned array radar antenna instead of a rotating one. It was designed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) under "Project Wedgetail" and designated E-7A Wedgetail.

HMAS <i>Brisbane</i> (D 41) Perth-class guided missile destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy sunk as a dive site off the Queensland coast

HMAS Brisbane was one of three Perth-class guided missile destroyers to serve in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The United States-designed ship was laid down at Bay City, Michigan in 1965, launched in 1966 and commissioned into the RAN in 1967. She is named after the city of Brisbane, Queensland.

Archerfield Airport

Archerfield Airport is a Leased Federal Airport located in Archerfield, 12 km (7.5 mi) to the south of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. For some time it was the primary airport in Brisbane. During World War II it was used as a Royal Australian Air Force station. Airport traffic peaked in the 1980s. In December 2010, a development plan was released for public comment which included a new parallel runway.

Aviation archaeology is a recognized sub-discipline within archaeology and underwater archaeology as a whole. It is an activity practiced by both enthusiasts and academics in pursuit of finding, documenting, recovering, and preserving sites important in aviation history. For the most part, these sites are aircraft wrecks and crash sites, but also include structures and facilities related to aviation. It is also known in some circles and depending on the perspective of those involved as aircraft archaeology or aerospace archaeology and has also been described variously as crash hunting, underwater aircraft recovery, wreck chasing, or wreckology.

Attack on Broome 1942 aerial bombing of Broome, Australia by the Japanese during World War II

The town of Broome, Western Australia, was attacked by Japanese fighter planes on 3 March 1942, during World War II. At least 88 civilians and Allied military personnel were killed.

Mungalalu Truscott Airbase

Mungalalu Truscott Airbase or Truscott-Mungalalu Airport, which during World War II was known as Truscott Airfield is today a commercial airport in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 UK legislation protecting wreckage of military ships and aircraft

The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft and designated military vessels. The Act provides for two types of protection: protected places and controlled sites. Military aircraft are automatically protected but vessels have to be specifically designated. The primary reason for designation is to protect as a 'war grave' the last resting place of British servicemen ; however, the Act does not require the loss of the vessel to have occurred during war.

Dr Thomas Anthony Lewis, OAM is an Australian author, military historian, editor, teacher, and former naval officer. An author since 1989, Lewis worked as a high school teacher, and served as naval officer for 20 years, seeing active service in Baghdad during the Iraq war, and working in East Timor. In June 2003, Lewis was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for meritorious service to the Royal Australian Navy, particularly in the promotion of Australian naval history.

Victoria Cross Highest military decoration awarded for valour in armed forces of various Commonwealth countries

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces. It may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command although no civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two-thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.

Raymond Brownell Senior Royal Australian Air Force officer, First World War flying ace

Air Commodore Raymond James Brownell, was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a First World War flying ace. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Brownell was working as a clerk with a firm of accountants when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the outbreak of the First World War. He served during the Gallipoli Campaign before transferring to the Western Front. Awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of Pozières, he was accepted for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. Brownell undertook flight training in the United Kingdom. Commissioned as a second lieutenant, he was posted for operational service over the Western Front in September 1917. Moving with his squadron to Italy, he was awarded the Military Cross and credited with shooting down 12 aircraft by war's end. Taking his discharge in 1919, Brownell returned to Australia.

Vice Admiral Jonathan Dallas Mead, is a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He joined the navy via the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS Creswell in 1984, and spent his early career with the Clearance Diving Branch before training as a Principal Warfare Officer. He captained HMAS Parramatta on operations in the Persian Gulf from 2006 to 2007 during the Iraq War and commanded Combined Task Force 150, overseeing maritime counter-terrorism operations around the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa, from 2011 to 2012. He served as Head of Navy Capability from 2015 to 2017, Commander Australian Fleet from 2018 to 2020, and was appointed Chief of Joint Capabilities in November 2020.

References

  1. "Unidentified plane wreck found to be ditched Falcon". ABC News. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 Australian Government n.d. "Award Extract - Australian Honours Search Facility". Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. Dunn, P. 2020 "I need your help to keep the 'Australia @ War' web site going". Australia @ War. Updated 9 November 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  4. Hobbins, P. 2019 "Unearthing airspace: the historical phenomenology of aviation artefacts". Australasian Historical Archaeology, vol. 37, pg. 43.