HMAS Stawell

HMAS Stawell during 1944
History
Australia
Namesake	Town of Stawell, Victoria
Builder	HMA Naval Dockyard at Williamstown, Victoria
Laid down	18 June 1942
Launched	3 April 1943
Commissioned	7 August 1943
Decommissioned	26 March 1946
Motto	"Without Fear or Favour"
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Pacific 1943–45 New Guinea 1943–44 Borneo 1945
Fate	Sold to RNZN
New Zealand
Acquired	5 March 1952
Decommissioned	Late 1950s
Fate	Sold for scrap in 1968
General characteristics during RAN service
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, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW)
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 Stawell (J348/M348) was a Bathurst-class corvette named for the town of Stawell, Victoria. ^[1] Sixty Bathurst-class corvettes were constructed during World War II, and Stawell was one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). ^[1]

The corvette later served in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as HMNZS Stawell.

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. ^{[2] [3]} 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) ^[4] 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 (102 mm) 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. ^{[2] [5]} Construction of the prototype HMAS Kangaroo did not go ahead, but the plans were retained. ^[6] 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 (including Stawell) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy. ^{[2] [7] [8] [9] [1]}

Stawell was laid down by HMA Naval Dockyard at Williamstown, Victoria on 18 June 1942. ^[1] She was launched on 3 April 1943 by Mrs. J. J. Dedman, wife of the Minister for War Organisation, and commissioned into the RAN on 7 August 1943. ^[1]

Operational history

RAN

The majority of Stawell's career was spent in three areas. Initially, she served as a convoy escort along the east coast of Australia. ^[1] Following this, Stawell participated in a variety of escort, minesweeping, and combat roles throughout New Guinea waters. ^[1] On 3 August 1945 she sank an armed Daihatsu barge in the Moluccas area. ^[10] In the final third of her career, the ship spent time in Hong Kong waters, performing minsweeping and anti-piracy duties. ^[1] Stawell returned to Brisbane in November 1945. ^[1]

The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1943–45", "New Guinea 1943–44", and "Borneo 1945". ^{[11] [12]}

RNZN

Stawell was removed from RAN service on 26 March 1946. ^[1] On 5 March 1952, Stawell and three other Bathurst-class corvettes (HMA Ships Echuca, Inverell, and Kiama) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy. ^[13]

She was commissioned into the RNZN during May 1952 and given the prefix HMNZS. ^[14] Stawell operated primarily as a training vessel until 1959, when she was placed into reserve. ^{[1] [14]}

Fate

Stawell was sold to Pacific Scrap Limited of Auckland, New Zealand, in July 1968, and was broken up for scrap. ^[1]

Citations

1. "HMAS Stawell (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre – Royal Australian Navy. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
2. Stevens, The Australian Corvettes, p. 1
3. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 103
4. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–4
5. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–5
6. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 104
7. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 105, 148
8. Donohue, From Empire Defence to the Long Haul, p. 29
9. Stevens et al., The Royal Australian Navy, p. 108
10. "HMAS Stawell" . Retrieved 17 August 2022.
11. "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.
12. "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.
13. "HMAS Inverell (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre – Royal Australian Navy. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
14. Gillett, Ross (1988). Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946. Brookvale, NSW: Child & Associates. p. 140. ISBN   0-86777-219-0. OCLC   23470364.

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.
• Wright, Gerry (2015). Kiwi Bathurst Tales: Some stories from those who served in the four New Zealand Bathursts, HMNZ Ships Echuca, Stawell, Kiama and Inverell. Auckland: Gerry Wright. ISBN   9780473337193.

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.