HMAS Samuel Benbow was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. She was launched in 1918 by Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen.[1] She was a Strath class trawler admiralty design. The ship operated in Australian waters from 1929, and was requisitioned by the RAN and commissioned on 5 September 1940. She was resold to her former owners after the war.
Operational history
This section needs expansionwith: Any info on the ship's owners and history between 1918 and 1928 and RAN service. You can help by adding to it. (May 2012)
Samuel Benbow was purchased by A. A. Murrell and sailed to Australia in 1928.[3] She was sold on to Cam and Sons Pty Ltd in 1940[4]
With the outbreak of World War II, she was requisitioned by the RAN. On 5 September 1940, Samuel Benbow was commissioned by the RAN for use as an auxiliary minesweeper. Samuel Benbow was in Sydney Harbour during the attack on Sydney Harbour on 31 May-1 June 1942.
On the evening of 1 June 1942, the Samuel Benbow was tethered to the sunken Japanese Midget Submarine No. 21. The following morning, on 2 June 1942, efforts by the Samuel Benbow to tow the submarine towards the shore were unsuccessful. Subsequently, the submarine was maneuvered into shallow waters using sheerlegs and slings, and salvaged. [4]
In September 1944, the vessel was deployed to Thursday Island, where it undertook various duties. Throughout the remainder of World War II, it operated primarily in the waters of Queensland. The ship was repurposed as a survey vessel in 1945.
She was resold to her former owners 24 May 1946 and resumed trawling. She was adrift for nine hours after her propeller was fouled by her nets on 14 January 1951, before being towed into Sydney by Goonambee.[5] Her captain drowned after being caught in her nets in November 1952.[6]
HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen is a Jan van Amstel-class minesweeper of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN).
HMAS Benalla (J323/M323), named for the city of Benalla, Victoria, 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). Built by HMA Naval Dockyard in Victoria, Benalla was fitted out as armed survey ship instead of a minesweeper like the rest of the class, and was commissioned into the RAN in 1943.
HMAS Cootamundra (J316/M186), named for the town of Cootamundra, 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).
The Bathurst-class corvettes were a class of general purpose vessels designed and built in Australia during World War II. Originally classified as minesweepers, but widely referred to as corvettes, the Bathurst-class vessels fulfilled a broad anti-submarine, anti-mine, and convoy escort role.
HMAS Mildura (J207/M207), named for the city of Mildura, 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). The ship was laid down by Morts Dock & Engineering Co in 1940 and commissioned into the RAN in 1941.
HMAS Rockhampton (J203/M203), named for the city of Rockhampton, Queensland, 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 Ballarat (J184), named for the city of Ballarat, Victoria, 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).
HMAS Patricia Cam was an auxiliary vessel operated by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. She was sunk by a Japanese aircraft in 1943.
HMAS Bungaree was an auxiliary minelayer of Royal Australian Navy (RAN), serving during World War II. The ship was built as a cargo vessel for the Adelaide Steamship Company by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Dundee, and launched in 1937. The ship operated in Australian waters and was requisitioned by the RAN in October 1940. Decommissioned on 7 August 1946 and returned to her owners on 5 November 1947, she was sold in 1957 and renamed Dampier. She was then sold in 1960 and renamed Eastern Mariner and while operating in South Vietnamese waters she struck a mine on the Saigon River and was sunk on 26 May 1966. She was salvaged by a Japanese company and subsequently scrapped in 1968.
HMAS Geelong (J201), named for the city of Geelong, Victoria, 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 Doomba was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) warship of World War II. Built for the Royal Navy around the end of World War I as the Hunt-class minesweeper HMS Wexford, the ship only saw two years of service before she was decommissioned in 1921 and sold to the Doomba Shipping Company. The vessel was renamed SS Doomba, converted into a passenger ship, and operated in the waters around Brisbane until 1939, when she was requisitioned by the RAN for wartime service. Serving first as an auxiliary minehunter, then an auxiliary anti-submarine vessel, HMAS Doomba was purchased outright by the RAN in 1940, and served until early 1946, when she was sold and converted into a linseed oil lighter. Doomba was scuttled off Dee Why, New South Wales in 1976.
HMAS Goorangai was a 223-ton auxiliary minesweeper of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was built in 1919 for the Government of New South Wales, then sold in 1926 to the fishing company Cam & Sons. The trawler was requisitioned for military service following the outbreak of World War II, converted into a minesweeper, and assigned to Melbourne. She was sunk in an accidental collision with MV Duntroon in 1940, becoming the RAN's first loss of World War II, and the first RAN surface ship to be lost in wartime.
HMAS Durraween (F93) was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. The ship was built as a trawler by Collingwood Shipbuilding Company at Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, and launched in 1918 as Seville. The ship served briefly in the Royal Canadian Navy during the last months of World War I, before being laid up and sold to a British company. In 1928, she was sold to Sydney-based fishing company and operated in Australian waters until she was requisitioned by the RAN in mid-1940 for use as an auxiliary minesweeper during World War II. Durraween operated in the Bass Strait as part of Minesweeping Group 54, and was responsible for clearing mines laid by German merchant raiders, and then later operated around the Torres Strait. She was returned to civilian service after paying off in late 1945, and was broken up in 1952.
HMAS Goolgwai was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. She was launched in 1919 by Collingwood Shipbuilding Company at Collingwood, Ontario, Canada as Almeria. The ship operated in Australian waters from 1928, and was requisitioned by the RAN on 3 September 1939. She was returned to her owners in 1945 before being wrecked near Malabar, Sydney, on 29 May 1955.
Burra Bra was a Manly ferry on Sydney Harbour that operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company from 1908 until 1940, before being requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy for use as an anti-submarine training vessel and target tow during World War II.
HMAS Medea was an auxiliary minesweeper of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1942 until 1946. Built in 1912 for the Ocean Steam Ship Co. she was sold to the Straits Steam Ship Co. in 1925. She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1939 and converted into an auxiliary minesweeper and named HMS Circe. She was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in 1942 and renamed HMAS Medea until she was returned to her owners in 1946. She was sold and was scuttled off Sydney on 20 January 1948.
HMAS Mercedes was an auxiliary minesweeper of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1942 until 1946. Built in 1913 for the Ocean Steam Ship Co. she was sold to the Straits Steam Ship Co. in 1925. She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1939 and converted into an auxiliary minesweeper and named HMS Medusa. She was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in 1942 and renamed HMAS Mercedes until she was returned to her owners in 1946. She was sold and was scuttled off Sydney on 23 January 1948.
Yandra was a 990-ton coastal steamer built by Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen in 1928 for Coast Steamships for service in the Australian state of South Australia. She was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy in June 1940 during World War II for conversion to a minesweeper and anti-submarine vessel and was commissioned on 22 September 1940 as HMAS Yandra. She returned to civilian service in 1946. She ran aground during dense fog onto South Neptune Island on 25 January 1959 and was subsequently written off.
HMAS Wilcannia was a 1,049-ton anti-submarine and patrol vessel of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
HMAS Tolga was an auxiliary minesweeper which served in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Australia
