Australian Cruiser “Perth”, The 1939-1942

For all but a few months from her commissioning in June 1939 to her sinking on 1 March 1942, the Australian light cruiser Perth was engaged in wartime operations against the forces of Germany, Italy, Vichy France and Japan. Despite all this active service, up until her sinking, she had lost fewer than a dozen of her company to enemy action. Using diaries kept by members of her ships company to supplement British, Australian, German, Italian and Japanese official sources, Ian Pfennigwerth has provided a picture of the men who contributed to the ships proud record and the conditions under which they did so.He describes how the unshakable bonds of trust between crew members were developed and forged in the crucible of ferocious attacks by the enemy, even into the ship’s last desperate battle against a superior Japanese force. This sustained the survivors in the ordeal of imprisonment and mistreatment that was to follow. The book is a story of adventure and courage in adversity, written as a tribute by a former commanding officer of the cruiser’s namesake, the guided missile destroyer Perth II.pp. 263 illusts #0519History Military World War II History / Australia & New Zealand