HMAS Dubbo (J251)

For other ships with the same name, see HMAS Dubbo.

HMAS Dubbo being launched
History
Australia
Builder	Mort's Dock & Engineering Company
Laid down	13 October 1941
Launched	7 March 1942
Commissioned	31 July 1942
Decommissioned	7 February 1947
Motto	"Fight to the Finish"
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Pacific 1942–45
Fate	Sold for scrap in 1958
Badge
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	1 × 4 inch Mk XIX gun, 3 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons, Machine guns, Depth charges chutes and throwers

HMAS Dubbo (J251/M251), named for the city of Dubbo, 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). ^[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 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 Dubbo) 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]}

Dubbo was laid down by Mort's Dock and Engineering Company at Balmain, New South Wales on 13 October 1941. ^[1] She was launched on 7 March 1942 by Mrs. E. B. Scrisier, Mayoress of Dubbo, and was commissioned into the RAN on 31 July 1942. ^[1]

Operational history

World War II

From 1942 until March 1945, Dubbo was assigned to convoy escort anti-submarine duties off the western Australian coast. ^[1]

In March 1945, Dubbo sailed to Port Moresby, where she spent the rest of World War II around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, actively supporting Australian land forces. ^[1] Dubbo fired her first hostile shots on 25 April 1945, against a Japanese position on Muschu Island. ^[1] This was the first of several bombardments performed by the ship against Japanese positions during the war. ^[1] Dubbo was undamaged during all of these, and returned to Brisbane in May 1945. ^[1]

The corvette received one battle honour for her wartime service: "Pacific 1942–45". ^{[10] [11]}

Post-war

In August 1945, Dubbo returned to the Solomon Islands, where she was part of minesweeping operations. ^[1] She returned for refits in October 1945, and in January 1946 performed minesweeping duties off the Australian coast. ^[1]

Decommissioning and fate

Dubbo was paid off into reserve on 7 February 1957, and was sold for scrap to Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha of Tokyo on 20 February 1958. ^[1] In June 1958, Dubbo and the repair ship HMAS Platypus left Sydney under tow. ^[1]

Citations

1. "HMAS Dubbo (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre – Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 23 December 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. "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. No. 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. No. 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). Sea Power Centre – Australia. 2010 (5). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2010.