HMAS Broome (J191)

For other ships with the same name, see HMAS Broome.

HMAS Broome
History
Australia
Namesake	Town of Broome, Western Australia
Builder	Evans Deakin and Company
Laid down	3 May 1941
Launched	6 October 1941
Commissioned	29 July 1942
Decommissioned	24 August 1946
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Pacific 1942-45 New Guinea 1942-44 [1] [2]
Fate	Sold to the Turkish Navy
History
Turkey
Name	Alanya
Commissioned	1946
Decommissioned	1975
General characteristics
Class and type	Bathurst-class corvette
Displacement	650 tons (standard), 1,025 tons (full war load)
Length	186 ft (57 m)
Beam	31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught	8.5 ft (2.6 m)
Propulsion	triple expansion engine, 2 shafts
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at 1,750 hp
Complement	85
Armament	1 × 4 inch Mk XIX gun, 3 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons, Machine guns, Depth charges chutes and throwers

HMAS Broome (J191), named for the town of Broome, Western Australia, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built for the Admiralty but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). ^[3]

Design and construction

Main article: Bathurst-class corvette

In 1938, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB) identified the need for a general purpose 'local defence vessel' capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties, while easy to construct and operate. ^{[4] [5]} The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), and a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) ^[6] The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) top speed, and a range of 2,850 nautical miles (5,280 km; 3,280 mi), armed with a 4-inch gun, equipped with asdic, and able to fitted with either depth charges or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a sloop than a local defence vessel, the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels. ^{[4] [7]} Construction of the prototype HMAS Kangaroo did not go ahead, but the plans were retained. ^[8] The need for locally built 'all-rounder' vessels at the start of World War II saw the "Australian Minesweepers" (designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability, but popularly referred to as "corvettes") approved in September 1939, with 60 constructed during the course of the war: 36 ordered by the RAN, 20 (including Broome) ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy. ^{[4] [9] [10] [11] [3]}

Mrs McKew launching Broome

Broome was laid down by Evans Deakin and Company at Brisbane on 3 May 1941, launched on 6 October 1941 by Mrs. M. J. McKew, wife of the shipyard's works manager, and commissioned on 29 July 1942. ^[3]

Operational history

The corvette operated during World War II, and was awarded the battle honours "Pacific 1942-45" and "New Guinea 1942-44" for her service. ^{[1] [2]}

HMAS Broome paid off on 24 August 1946, was sold to the Turkish Navy and renamed Alanya. ^[3] The vessel left Turkish service in 1975. ^[3] The ship's bell was recovered before the sale, and returned to Broome. ^[3] It was presented to the Broome Road Board in June 1952, who then passed the bell on to Broome State School in November. ^[3] The bell later ended up at the town's Returned and Services League club. ^[3]

Citations

1. "Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours". Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
2. "Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours" (PDF). Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
3. "HMAS Broome (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre - Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
4. Stevens, The Australian Corvettes, p. 1
5. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 103
6. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–4
7. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–5
8. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 104
9. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 105, 148
10. Donohue, From Empire Defence to the Long Haul, p. 29
11. Stevens et al., The Royal Australian Navy, p. 108

References

Books

• Donohue, Hector (October 1996). From Empire Defence to the Long Haul: post-war defence policy and its impact on naval force structure planning 1945–1955. Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs. Vol. 1. Canberra: Sea Power Centre. ISBN   0-642-25907-0. ISSN   1327-5658. OCLC   36817771.
• Stevens, David (2005). A Critical Vulnerability: the impact of the submarine threat on Australia's maritime defense 1915–1954. Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs. Vol. 15. Canberra: Sea Power Centre Australia. ISBN   0-642-29625-1. ISSN   1327-5658. OCLC   62548623.
• Stevens, David; Sears, Jason; Goldrick, James; Cooper, Alastair; Jones, Peter; Spurling, Kathryn (2001). Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-554116-2. OCLC   50418095.

Journal and news articles

• Stevens, David (May 2010). "The Australian Corvettes" (PDF). Hindsight (Semaphore). 2010 (5). Sea Power Centre – Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2010.