Ordinary Seaman Neil F. Roberts interviewed by Alexandra Torrens about the sinking of HMAS Kuttabul by a Japanese Midget Submarine in Sydney Harbour on the night of 31 May - 1 June 1942. Accession Number: S01996

Description

Discusses: early life; enlists in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at age 19 years; training at Flinders Naval Depot; posted to Sydney; on sentry duty four hours on and four hours off; quartered on HMAS Kuttabul; on board when vessel torpedoed by Japanese midget submarine; describes escaping the sinking ship; an unexploded torpedo found at Gun Wharf; sent to hospital for recovery; mentions New Zealander Colin Whitfield and describes injuries Colin incurred as a result of the explosion; returns to sentry duty at Gun Wharf; attack by Japanese at Bondi and Newcastle; posted to corvette HMAS Dubbo; sea patrols; reaction of local people to Japanese attack. END TAPE

A transcript of this recording may be available. For further information please contact the Sound section.

Details

Accession Number
S01996
Interviewer/Recordist
Alexandra Torrens
Interviewee
Neil F Roberts
Classification
Sound
Object Type
Oral history
Physical Description
Format: BASF DM 120 DAT
Measurement
12 min 59 sec
Date Made
17 September 1997
Place Made
Whole/Part
Intellectual record
Item Count
1
Access
Open
Copying Provisions
Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction.
Copyright
AWM copyright

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Last modified: 3 November 2026 - 6.11 am