HMAS Dubbo (J251)

For other ships of 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 & 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 gun, 3 × Oerlikons, 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

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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "HMAS Dubbo (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre – Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 23 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.

References

Books
Journal and news articles


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