HMAS Wollongong (J172)

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For other ships of this name, see HMAS Wollongong.

Career Australia
HMAS Wollongong in 1943
Builder:	Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Ltd
Laid down:	29 January 1941
Launched:	5 July 1941
Commissioned:	23 October 1941
Renamed:	Banda (Royal Netherlands Navy), Radjawali (Indonesian Navy)
Status:	Sold for scrap in 1968
General Characteristics
Displacement:	650 tons
Length:	186 feet
Beam:	31 feet
Draught:	8 feet 6 inches
Propulsion:	Triple expansion, 2 shafts. 2,000 hp
Speed:	15 knots
Complement:	85
Armament:	1 x 4 inch gun, 3 x Oerlikons (later 2), 1 x Bofors (later), Machine guns, Depth charge chutes and throwers
Motto:	"Heed the Call"
Honours and awards:	Indian Ocean 1942-1945 Mediterranean 1943 Sicily 1943 Pacific 1942-1945 Okinawa 1945
Badge:

The first Australian naval ship to be named after the city of Wollongong, HMAS Wollongong was a Bathurst class corvette laid down by Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Ltd on the 29 January 1941, launched 5 July 1941, by Mrs Beasley, wife of the Minister for Supply and Shipping and commissioned later that year.

During her career, Wollongong was part of the British Eastern Fleet.

On 11 February 1946 Wollongong paid off at Sydney in preparation for transfer to the Royal Netherlands Navy. She had steamed more than a quarter of a million miles during her commission with the Royal Australian Navy. Renamed HNLMS Banda, she served with the Royal Netherlands Navy until April 1950, when she was handed over to the newly created Indonesian Navy, being renamed Radjawali. Jane's Fighting Ships reports that, in April 1968, the vessel was scrapped in Hong Kong.