Royal Australian Navy Beach Commandos

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A member of Beach Commando B during the first phase of the landing on Tarakan Island in April 1945

During World War II the Royal Australian Navy formed beach commando units to go ashore with the first waves of amphibious assaults, to signpost the beaches, control boat traffic, and communicate with the maritime forces. These were known as Royal Australian Navy Beach Commandos. They took part in the Borneo campaign (1945).

1 Training
2 Organisation
3 Operations
4 References
5 Further Reading

[edit] Training

An Amphibious Training Centre was commissioned as HMAS Assault at Port Stephens on 1 September 1942. The Amphibious Training Centre was commanded by Commander F. N. Cook, RAN, an officer who had won the DSC for his service in Combined Operations while serving with the Royal Navy. At the time he was recalled to Australia he was in command of HMS Tormentor, a Royal Navy Combined Operations School. The school trained beach parties and boat crews. Graduates were posted to the Australian landing ships HMAS Kanimbla, Manoora and Westralia, each of which had a beach party as part of its complement.

These beach parties saw little action, as the landing ships were often too valuable to risk in forward areas in 1943. An eight-man RAN Beach Party under the command of Lieutenant Commander J. M. Band, RANR participated in the Battle of Scarlet Beach. Band was fatally wounded in the fighting, and was awarded the US Navy Cross posthumously.

In October 1943, the Australian Army's Commander in Chief, General Sir Thomas Blamey, asked for the beach parties to be detached from their ships for training with the 6th Division and the 1st Beach Group at Cairns. Because US Navy doctrine was that beach parties were a part of a ship's complement, Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey was reluctant to agree. Blamey suggested that a separate unit be raised for service with the Australian Army. An RAN Beach Commando was formed on 6 January 1944.

All RAN Beach Commando personnel were listed as part of the complement of HMAS Assault, but formed a part of the 1st Beach Group. In early 1944, the Army raised a 2nd Beach Group, and another beach commando was formed for it. Following Royal Navy practice, the two units were designated Beach Commando A and Beach Commando B. Later the Army requested two smaller commandos for subsidiary operations. These were formed as Beach Commandos C and D. These were organised similarly to A and B, but with only two beach parties, and no boat repair section. The four beach commandos were grouped administratively as the RAN Beach Unit (RANBU) under Commander R. S. Pearson, RAN as Senior Naval Officer Beach Units (SNOBU).

[edit] Organisation

A Beach Commando contained:

a Headquarters with a Commander as Principal Beachmaster, a Lieutenant Commander as Deputy Principal Beachmaster, and two seamen as messengers
Three Beach Parties, each commanded by a Lieutenant or Lieutenant Commander as Beachmaster, with two officers as Assistant Beachmasters, two Petty Officers, and 22 seamen.
A Boat Repair and Recovery Section under a Boatswain, with two Petty Officers and 14 seamen as boat crews, plus two artisan's mates, two torpedomen, a sailmaker's mate, for shipwrights and joiners, four motor mechanics and two stokers in the repair section.
A Beach Signals Section under a Sub Lieutenant or Midshipman, with a Yeoman of signals, a Petty Officer Telegraphist, four leading seamen. two leading telegraphists, ten signalmen, and 10 telegraphists.

[edit] Operations

In April 1945, Beach Commando B under Commander B. G. B. Morris, RANVR went into action in the Battle of Tarakan (1945), supporting the Army's 26th Infantry Brigade and 2nd Beach Group. Two beach commandos were killed and two wounded.

Beach Commandos A and C, under Lieutenant Commander R. McKauge, RANVR took part in the 9th Division and 1st Beach Group's landings at Brunei and Labuan.

Beach Commandos B and D participated in the 7th Division and 2nd Beach Group's landings in the Battle of Balikpapan.