Ian Pfennigwerth

Ian Pfennigwerth

Ian Pfennigwerth spent 35 years in the Royal Australian Navy, including command of a guided missile destroyer and was the Australian Defence Attaché in Beijing for two years. In retirement, he gained his PhD from the University of Newcastle in 2005. Ian now researches, writes and promotes Australian naval history, and has had five books published, with three others awaiting publication. He is also the editor of the Journal of Australian Naval History published by the Naval Historical Society of Australia.

Collins of the Sydney: a life of Vice-Admiral Sir John Collins by Anthony Macdougall – Book Review

Tony MacDougall has taken on the necessary but difficult task of researching and writing a biography of the first Australian officer to command the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Vice-Admiral John […]

Australia’s first spies: the remarkable story of Australia’s intelligence operations, 1901-45 by John Fahey – Book Review

This impressively researched book deals with the origins and development of Australia’s intelligence services from Federation to 1945.

Honouring the Service of Australia’s Naval Men and Women

Before Federation, colonial naval officers were recognised for steadfastness and courage while serving in South Africa and China.

Bravo Zulu: Honours and Awards to Australian Naval People: Volume 1, 1900-1974

Between 1900 and 2014 over 4,000 Australian naval people received honours and awards for their efforts, courage, sacrifice and service to the nation.

Some Facts about Indonesian Confrontation

There seems to be a growing tide of commemoration of the involvement of Australian forces in the conflict which became known as Indonesian Confrontation. This is right and proper, because […]

Celebrating the Service of the RAN’s Ton Class Minesweepers

December 2012 marked the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the six Ton Class minesweepers of the 16th Minesweeper Squadron in Sydney and the commissioning of their base as HMAS […]

No Contest! The US Navy Destroys Australia’s Special Intelligence Bureau

It happened in ‘Monterey’ a long time ago – 70 years ago this October to be precise, in a block of apartments on Melbourne’s Queens Road. ‘Monterey’ had been requisitioned […]

The Battles of the Java Sea: Allied Naval Defeat, December 1941-March 1942

In relating and explaining our naval history to Australians, one is faced with several problems. The first is that the average person knows next to nothing about it. Despite the […]

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