HMAS Condamine (K698/F698), named for the Condamine River in Queensland, was a River-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Commissioned in 1946, Condamine served in the Korean War. The ship was paid off in 1955, and sold for scrap in 1961.
HMAS Murchison (K442/F442) was a Modified River or Bay-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was laid down in 1943, but not commissioned until after the end of World War II. Murchison fought in the Korean War, was decommissioned in 1956, and sold for scrap in 1961.
HMAS Quiberon (G81/D20/D281/F03) was a Q-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Although built for the Royal Navy and remaining British property until 1950, Quiberon was one of two Q-class destroyers commissioned into the RAN during World War II. She was passed into full RAN ownership in 1950, and converted into an anti-submarine frigate.
HMAS Quickmatch (G92/D21/D292/F04) was a Q-class destroyer operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Although commissioned into the RAN in 1942, the ship was initially the property of the Royal Navy. Quickmatch served with both the British Eastern Fleet and British Pacific Fleet during World War II. In the 1950s, the destroyer was converted into an anti-submarine frigate. In 1957, Quickmatch operated in support of Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. The ship remained in service until 1963, and after use as an accommodation ship, was sold for scrap in 1972.
HMAS Shoalhaven (K535/M535/F535), named for the Shoalhaven River in New South Wales, was a modified River-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy. She was laid down by Walkers at Maryborough on 18 December 1943, launched on 14 December 1944 by Senator Dorothy Tangney and commissioned at Urangan Pier in Hervey Bay in Queensland on 2 May 1946. Her first commander was Commander Rodney Rhoades.
HMAS Queenborough (G70/D270/F02/57) was a Q-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
HMAS Echuca (J252/M252), named for the town of Echuca, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
HMAS Encounter was a second-class protected cruiser of the Challenger class operated by the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was built by HM Dockyard Devonport and completed at the end of 1905.
HMAS Inverell, named for the town of Inverell, New South Wales, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
HMAS Pioneer was a Pelorus-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. She was transferred to the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1912. During World War I, the cruiser captured two German merchant ships, and was involved in the East African Campaign, including the blockade of the cruiser SMS Königsberg and a bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam. She returned to Australia in late 1916 and was decommissioned. Pioneer was used as an accommodation ship for the following six years, then was stripped down and sold off by 1926. The cruiser was scuttled outside Sydney Heads in 1931.
HMAS Platypus was a submarine depot ship and base ship operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1919 and 1946. Ordered prior to World War I to support the Australian submarines AE1 and AE2, Platypus was not completed until after both submarines had been lost, and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy from 1917 to 1919.
HMAS Anzac (D59) was a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the destroyer was commissioned in 1951. The ship served on two tours of duty during the Korean War, and attempts to distinguish herself from British ships led to the practice of red kangaroo symbols on Australian warships. During 1956, Anzac served during the Malayan Emergency. In 1960, a malfunction in the destroyer's gun direction equipment caused Anzac to fire directly on sister ship HMAS Tobruk during a gunnery exercise, with Tobruk left unrepairable. In 1961, the destroyer was reclassified as a training vessel. Anzac remained in service until 1974, and was sold for breaking a year later.
HMAS Arunta (I30/D5/D130) was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Named for the Arrernte Aboriginal peoples, the destroyer was laid down in 1939 and commissioned into the RAN in 1942.
HMAS Tobruk (D37) was a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard, the destroyer was completed in 1950. Tobruk was deployed to the Korean War twice, and served with the Far East Strategic Reserve on three occasions during the late 1950s. In 1960, she was damaged beyond economical repair by sister ship HMAS Anzac during a gunnery exercise, which led to the destroyer's decommissioning that year, and sale for scrap in 1971.
HMAS Gascoyne (K354/F354/A276) was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Laid down in 1942 and commissioned in 1943, the frigate served during World War II, before being placed in reserve in 1946. Reactivated in 1959, Gascoyne was reclassified as a survey and research ship, a role she fulfilled until she was decommissioned again in 1966, and sold for scrap in 1972.
HMAS Vampire was the third of three Australian-built Daring-class destroyers serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of the first all-welded ships built in Australia, she was constructed at Cockatoo Island Dockyard between 1952 and 1959, and was commissioned into the RAN a day after completion.
HMAS Yarra, named for the Yarra River, was a River-class torpedo-boat destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Ordered in 1909 for the Commonwealth Naval Forces, Yarra was temporarily commissioned into the Royal Navy on completion in 1910 and handed over to Australian control on arrival in Australia.
HMAS Warrego, named for the Warrego River, was a River-class torpedo-boat destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Ordered in 1909, construction of the destroyer started in Scotland, but she was then broken down and reassembled at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in order for the Australian shipbuilding industry to gain experience in warship construction. Warrego was commissioned into the RAN in 1912, and spent her early career operating in Australian waters.
HMAS Karangi was a Kangaroo-class boom defence vessel operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. The third of three ships constructed by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company at Cockatoo Island Dockyard based on the British Bar-class, Karangi was launched on 16 August 1941. After the war, the ship remained in active service with the RAN and played a small but key role in the British nuclear testing program. She was placed in reserve in 1953. In 1955, Karangi was reactivated and served for another two years until May 1957 and was eventually sold for scrap in 1966.
Vice Admiral Sir Richard Innes Peek was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy, who served as First Naval Member of the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board from 1970 to 1973.
Australia
