HMAS Adelaide (1918)

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For other ships of this name, see HMAS Adelaide.

Career Australia
HMAS Adelaide in her third armament configuration
Builder:	Cockatoo Island Dockyard
Laid down:	November 20, 1915
Launched:	July 27, 1918
Commissioned:	August 5, 1922
Decommissioned:	May 13, 1946
Status:	Sold for scrap
General Characteristics
Displacement:	5,560 tons
Length:	138.8 m
Beam:	14.9 m
Draught:	5.7 m
Propulsion:	Parsons turbines, 2 x shafts. 25,000 hp
Speed:	25 knots
Complement:	470
Armament:	Original configuration: 9 x 6 inch guns, 1 × 3 inch anti-aircraft guns, 4 × 3 pdr guns, 1 x 12 pdr gun, 10 smaller guns, 2 × 21 inch submerged broadside torpedo tubes, 2 depth charge chutes
Armour:	3 inch side armour-belt over midships section
Nickname:	Long Delayed

HMAS Adelaide was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy, named after Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. She was laid down by HMA Naval Dockyard at Cockatoo Island, Sydney on November 20, 1915 and launched on July 27, 1918 by Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, the wife of the Governor-General. Fitting out and completion were delayed due to the loss of important machinery parts as a result of enemy action, which gave rise to the nickname "Long Delayed". Adelaide was completed on July 31, 1922 and commissioned on August 5, 1922.

1 Operational History
- 1.1 World War II
2 Class note
3 References

[edit] Operational History

Adelaide was decommissioned and placed in reserve on May 17 1939, her crew travelling to England to take possession of the recently-transferred HMAS Perth. When World War II began on 1 September 1939, Adelaide was immediately re-commissioned and re-crewed.

[edit] World War II

Following the outbreak of World War II, Adelaide was dispatched in 1940 to the French colony of New Caledonia, to intervene if Vichy France was able to take control. "88 Lord Caldecote, UK Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, to Sir Geoffrey Whiskard, UK High Commissioner in Australia [1] Cablegram 291 LONDON, 30 August 1940, 11.10 p.m." "sloop DUMONT D'URVILLE was ordered by the Vichy Government to proceed from Papeete to New Caledonia."

"130 Captain H. A. Showers, Commanding Officer of H.M.A.S. Adelaide, to Commonwealth Naval Board Naval signal 0357Z/21 NOUMEA, 21 September 1940, 3.57 a.m. Received 21 September 1940, 6.21 a.m. [2] "Situation ashore still unstable mainly due to presence of 'DUMONT D'URVILLE' and lack of any military officer above rank of Lieutenant to give active assistance to SAUTOT."

On 28 November 1942, Adelaide, in company with the Dutch cruiser Jacob van Heemskerk, identified and damaged the German supply vessel and blockade runner Ramses, which then scuttled itself, in the Indian Ocean.

Adelaide was paid off on May 13, 1946 and was sold to Australian Iron and Steel Pty Ltd January 24, 1949. On 2 April 1949 the hulk was towed to Port Kembla, NSW and broken up.

[edit] Class note

The first three "Town" ships of the Royal Australian Navy (HMAS Melbourne, HMAS Sydney, and HMAS Brisbane) were similar but from the "Chatham" sub-class. HMAS Adelaide was built to the final "Birmingham" sub-class and is immediately distinguishable from the other Australian ships in having only three funnels.