Commodore John Collins

Portrait of Commodore John Augustine Collins, CB, later Vice Admiral, KBE. In the early war years, Collins commanded HMAS 'Sydney' in the Mediterranean. Australians celebrated a great naval victory when HMAS 'Sydney' sunk the Italian cruiser 'Bartolomeo Colleoni' in July 1940. Collins left the Sydney before it was tragically sunk, with the loss of all 645 men on board by a German raider off the West Australian coast in November 1941. In 1943 Collins commanded HMAS 'Shropshire' and took part in operations at Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, the Admiralties, and Hollandia. He was later Commodore Commanding the Australian Naval Squadron, with HMAS 'Australia' as his flagship. Badly wounded by a Japanese suicide attack at Leyte Gulf in October 1944, he did not resume his command until July 1945. When the war ended Collins was the RAN's representative at the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.