HMAS Tamworth (J181)

HMAS Tamworth
History
Australia
Namesake	City of Tamworth, New South Wales
Builder	Walkers Limited in Maryborough, Queensland
Laid down	25 August 1941
Launched	14 March 1942
Commissioned	8 August 1942
Decommissioned	30 April 1946
Motto	"Strong in Adversity"
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Pacific 1942–45 Indian Ocean 1943–44
Fate	Sold to RNLN
Netherlands
Name	Tidore
Namesake	Tidore Island
Commissioned	30 April 1946
Decommissioned	December 1949
Fate	Sold to TNI-AL
Indonesia
Name	Pati Unus
Namesake	Pati Unus, Sultan of Demak
Commissioned	December 1949
Decommissioned	1969
Fate	Disposed of
General characteristics during Admiralty 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
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at 1,750 hp
Complement	85
Armament	1 × 12-pounder gun (later replaced by 1 × 4 inch Mk XIX gun), 3 × Oerlikons (1 later removed), 1 × Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun (installed later), Machine guns, Depth charges chutes and throwers

HMAS Tamworth (J181/B250/A124), named for the city of Tamworth, New South Wales, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built on Admiralty order but manned by personnel of and later commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). ^[1] Tamworth later saw service in the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) and in the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL). ^[1]

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 Mk XIX 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 ordered by the RAN, 20 (including Tamworth) ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy. ^{[2] [7] [8] [9] [1]}

Tamworth was laid down by Walkers Limited at Maryborough, Queensland on 25 August 1941. ^[1] She was launched on 14 March 1942 by Mrs. A. M. Horsburgh, the wife of one of the shipyard's directors, and commissioned on 8 August 1942. ^[1]

Operational history

From February 1943 until January 1945, Tamworth was assigned to the British Eastern Fleet. ^[1] Following this, she was deployed with the British Pacific Fleet. ^[1] Tamworth returned to Australian operational control on 28 September 1945. ^[1] Tamworth earned two battle honours for her wartime service, "Pacific 1942–45" and "Indian Ocean 1943–44". ^{[10] [11]}

After a brief period of service as a training vessel in Australian waters was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy on 30 April 1946. ^[1] In RNLN service, the ship operated under the name HNLMS Tidore, and served until December 1949. ^[1]

Following this, the ship was transferred to the Indonesian Navy, renamed RI Pati Unus, and served until disposal in 1969. ^[1]

Citations

1. "HMAS Tamworth". Sea Power Centre Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
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. "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.
11. "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.

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.