HMAS Townsville (J205)

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HMAS Townsville (AWM 125073).jpg
HMAS Townsville in 1946
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgAustralia
Namesake: City of Townsville, Queensland
Builder: Evans Deakin & Co in Brisbane, Queensland
Laid down: 16 November 1940
Launched: 13 May 1941
Commissioned: 19 December 1941
Decommissioned: 5 August 1946
Motto: "Bold and Ready"
Honours and
awards:
Fate: Sold for scrap in 1956
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:

HMAS Townsville (J205/M205/A124), named after the city of Townsville, 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). [1]

<i>Bathurst</i>-class corvette general purpose corvette produced for the Royal Australian Navy

The Bathurst-class corvettes were a class of general purpose vessels produced 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.

Royal Australian Navy Naval warfare branch of the Australian Defence Force

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force, called the Commonwealth Naval Forces. Originally intended for local defence, the navy was granted the title of 'Royal Australian Navy' in 1911, and became increasingly responsible for defence of the region.

Contents

Design and construction

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 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 Townsville) 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]

The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board was the governing authority over the Royal Australian Navy from its inception and through World Wars I and II. The board was established on 1 March 1911 and consisted of civilian members of the Australian government as well as naval officers.

Displacement (ship) ships weight

The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight based on the amount of water its hull displaces at varying loads. It is measured indirectly using Archimedes' principle by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship then converting that value into weight displaced. Traditionally, various measurement rules have been in use, giving various measures in long tons. Today, metric tonnes are more used.

Bar-class boom defence vessel

The Bar class were a class of boom defence vessels of the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy during World War II.

Townsville was laid down by Evans Deakin & Co at Brisbane, Queensland on 16 November 1940. [1] She was launced on 13 May 1941 by Mrs. P. E. McNeil, wife of the Third Member of the Naval Board, and commissioned into th RAN on 19 December 1941. [1]

Brisbane capital city of Queensland, Australia

Brisbane is the capital of and the most populated city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of approximately 2.5 million, and the South East Queensland metropolitan region, centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3.6 million.

Queensland Premier William Forgan Smith speaks at Townsville's launch StateLibQld 1 74157 Townsville (ship).jpg
Queensland Premier William Forgan Smith speaks at Townsville's launch

Operational history

Townsville entered active service in February 1942, escorting convoys between Darwin and Thursday Island. [1] She was present in Darwin Harbour when the Japanese aircraft bombed the area on 19 February 1942, but was not damaged. [1] Townsville remained in Darwin until July 1942, when she was sent to Sydney to begin escort duties off the east coast of Australia. [1] The ship remained until May 1944, and despite being in the heaviest period of Japanese naval activity in Australian waters, only one ship was lost from a Townsville convoy; the iron ore transport Iron Knight was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-21 on 8 February 1943. [1]

Thursday Island Town in Queensland, Australia

Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the indigenous language, Waiben, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago located approximately 39 kilometres north of Cape York Peninsula in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It has an area of about 3.5 square kilometres. The Muralag peoples are the traditional owners of the land and seas surrounding Thursday Island. The highest point on Thursday Island, standing at 104 metres above sea level, is Milman Hill, a World War II defence facility. At the 2011 census, Thursday Island had a population of 2,610.

Axis naval activity in Australian waters

Although Australia was remote from the main battlefronts, there was considerable Axis naval activity in Australian waters during the Second World War. A total of 54 German and Japanese warships and submarines entered Australian waters between 1940 and 1945 and attacked ships, ports and other targets. Among the best-known attacks are the sinking of HMAS Sydney by a German raider in November 1941, the bombing of Darwin by Japanese naval aircraft in February 1942, and the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. In addition, many Allied merchant ships were damaged or sunk off the Australian coast by submarines and mines. Japanese submarines also shelled several Australian ports and submarine-based aircraft flew over several Australian capital cities.

I-21 was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which saw service during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She displaced 1,950 tons and had a speed of 24 knots (44 km/h). I-21 was the most successful Japanese submarine to operate in Australian waters, participating in the attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 and sinking 44,000 tons of Allied shipping during her two deployments off the east coast of Australia.

In May 1944, Townsville began a five-month tour of escort and patrol duties in New Guinea, returned briefly to Australian waters for minesweeping work in November 1944, was reassigned to New Guinea at the end of the month, and remained in the area of Morotai and Biak until June 1945. [1] Townsville was then sent to Melbourne for refitting, and was in dock when World War II ended. [1]

New Guinea Island in the Pacific Ocean

New Guinea is a large island separated by a shallow sea from the rest of the Australian continent. It is the world's second-largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi), and the largest wholly or partly within the Southern Hemisphere and Oceania.

Morotai island in North Maluku Province, Indonesia

Morotai Island is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands.

Biak small island in Papua province, Indonesia

Biak is a small island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals.

The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Darwin 1942", "Pacific 1942–45", and "New Guinea 1944". [10] [11]

Battle honour recognition of distinguished service in combat in a battle by a military unit

A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.

Following the war, Townsville was engaged in minesweeping and patrol duties in Australian and New Britain waters, before being decommissioned into reserve in Fremantle on 5 August 1946. [1]

Fate

Townsville was sold for scrap to the Hong Kong Delta Shipping Company on 8 August 1956. [1]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "HMAS Townsville (I)". Sea Power Centre Australia. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 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.

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