The Navy Vol_49_Part1 1987 - Navy League of Australia

HMAS PIONEER attacking the German cruiser KONIGSBERG during the Great War. July, 1915the Royal Australian Navy was a smalt, efficientHeel comprising fourteen major warships andfive support vesselsTo destgn, build and then commission thenumber of front line and support ships requiredto wage an effective war at sea was a long andinvolved process But by August 1945. at theclose of conflict the Navy had grown by morethan 570 vessels, from cruisers and destroyersthrough to patrol craft and general purposevesselsTo achieve such massive growth in this shorttime the Government ordered over 250 buthfor-the -purpose ships, but overall still reliedheavily on tonnage already In service with theAustralian maritime fraternity From the tartergroup came more than 300 coasters, motorvessels, trawlers, launches, oilers and amultitude of other ship types tc establish thebackbone of a local naval defence while thelarger and more capable Fleet units served asfar afield as the Atlantic theatre, the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and everywherein betweenSupporting the "Requisitioned Fleet" werethe mass-produced patrol craft of British destgn.the Harbour Defence Motor Launches and thelarger Fairmile B' patrol boatsTogether with the auxiliary minesweepers,requisitioned after only hours following the outbreakof war. the small ships undertook manyimportant tasks, but also the majority of themore mundane, but still necessary, routinepatrolsTo properly illustrate three of the smallerwarship types in Royal Australian Navy serviceduring the Second World War. artist Phil Belbinhas dramatically recreated the above scene withthe Harbour Defence Motor Launch No 1324.the auxiliary minesweeper HMASGOONAMBEE. and Fairmile B' Motor LaunchNo 817 at sea dunng a coastal voyage in June1944The twenty eiynt Harbour Defence MotorLaunches were commissioned into the Fleetfrom earty October 1942 to January 1945 Allof the launches experienced war servicehftfigMworking either from Australian ports or in theNew Guinea tone Three were imported as builtfrom Bntain. another sixteen from the UnitedStates of America and the remaining nineconstructed locally by Australian shipbuildersThe main armament carried by the HDMLwas the 20 mm Oerlikon gun and for anti-submarine work two sets of four depth chargeslocated aft on each beam No HDMLs were lostduring the conflict with many being retired aftervictory in the PacificIn the Royal Australian Navy's 75th Year,one HDML. No 1325. survives in naval servicewith the Naval Officer Commanding. WESTRALIA. 42 years after first commissioning on 4November. 1943The threat posed by German raiders and submarines capable of laying mines in coastalwaters resulted in the requisitioning of a fleet offishing trawlers, coastal steamers and even aformer Royal Navy minesweeper Thus, theRoyal Australian Navy commissioned into itsfleet vessels with such illustrious names asHMAS BOMBO. HMAS OLIVE CAM HMASTERKA and HMAS GOONAMBEESuch was the dilemma facing the Navy thatsome of the requisitioned tonnage dated as farback as 1907 Ironically, in the mid thirties the1919 vintage S Class destroyers and FlowerClass sloops were scuttled off the roast ofSydney, all-purpose built warships which wouldhave proved invaluable in ihe coming conflictThe Royal Australian Navy's Fairmile B'motor launches were ordered in 1943. with thespecific aims of hunting enemy submarines, andif need be to provide an escort for convoy workand to satisfy stationary parrots Wartime sawthem do a great deal more 1In his book, "Australia's Ships of War", navalhistonan, John Bastock. described the Fairmile'B's as useful, seaworthy and versatile craft ofsimple construction which distinguished themselves in the "Island War" to the north of Australiaand in the New Guinea regionBy late 1945. most of the 33 surviving Fairmite B's had paid the price of peace, either laidup in reserve, or already earmarked for sale Alt33 were eventually sold between 1947 and1949. but ironically, most survived into the1960s. 1970s and even some to the presentday. rebuilt as private launches or ferries, butstill unmistakably former Fairmile B's of theRoyal Australian Navy"rV" class destroyers HMA Ships NIZAM and NESTOR in action in the MediterraneanTHE NAVY Aprll-Junt, 1987larbour Defence Motor Launch No.324One of the longest serving HDMLs. No324. remained an active unit of the Royal\ustralian Navy from her commissioning on 12tunc, 1944. until laid up for disposal in 1982The launch was present, with other units ofhe Navy, at the Japanese surrender aboard thesurvey ship HMAS MORESBY on 11September 1945 at Koepang. Timor After thewar. HDML 1324 was reclassified as a seawarddefence boat ISDB) and in February 1953com missioned as a tender lo HMASTARANGAU at Manus IslandAfter four and a half years in New Guineawaters. SDB 1324 sailed for Hobart locommence duties as a naval reserve trainingvessel For the new role she was namedHUON In June 1967. she wiled for Melbournewith the Battle Class destroyer. HMAS ANZACas her escort, her place having been taken inHobart bv the general purpose vessel HMASBASSThe Serond World War veteran hadcommenced yet another phase of her longcareer, in Port Phillip Bay. as the training vesselNEPEAN. attached to the Royal AustralianN«vy Reserve Training Depot. HMAS Lonsdale, at Port Melbourne This routine continuedto the early 1980s, when her responsibilitieswere assumed by ihe Attack Class patrol boatHMASBAYONETNEPEAN was de-stored at the WilliamstownNaval Dockyard during 1982-83. where sheremains today in a state of ever increasingdecayHMAS GOONAMBEEOne of the thirteen trawlers requisitionedduring the early stages of the war.GOONAMBEE. was originally built for the NewSouth Wales Government In 1926 she waspuichased by the Sydney-based Red FunnelFisheries Ltd who sold her to Cam and SonsPty Ltd. another Sydney fishing group, threeyears laterAfter a rattier unadvenlurous life, trawlingfrom Sydney for over two decades, the vesselwas requisitioned for naval service on 28 June.1940 She was fined out as an auxiliary minesweeper, armed with guns and depth chargesand received her livery of naval grey, includingtwo large distinguishing letters GB. painted onher bowsGOONAMBEE commissioned as HMAS on9 August 1940 with Lieutenant Commander V.M Andrewartha. RANR. in command Initially,the ship setved as a member ol the BrisbanebasedMtnesweeping Group 74By the time of the Japanese midget submarineattack in Sydney Harbour Ion the ntqhtof 31 May 1 June 19421. GOONAMBEE hadbeen transferred south During the submarineattack she alerted naval authorities to thelocation of a suspicious object in Taylor Bay.Sydney Harbour, which ultimately led lo thedestruction of t midget submarine by channelpatrol vesselsThe Royal Australian Navy purchasedGOONAMBEE outright from Cam and Sons on29 June. 1943. but less than a year later. 21June, she had been decommissionedOn 4 October. 1944. she was resold to Camand Sons Pty Ltd with whom she operated until1954 Four years later. C K>NAMBEE. a heroof the midget submarine attack, had beenbroken up in SydneyFairmile 'B* Motor Launch 817Motor Launch 817 commissioned for warservice on 16 February. 1943. under thecommand of Lieutenant A G Townley.The year is 1965. HMAS MELBOURNE steams in company with the destroyer HMAS VAMPIREand frigate HMAS PARRAMATTA.April-June, 19S7THE NAVYRANVR After a short work-up in Sydney, andanother ten weeks operating along the Queensland coast. ML 817 sailed for New Guinea asthe advance vessel of what would become anAustralian Flotilla of 16 Fairmile 'B' and fourHarbour Defence Motor Launches based onMilne BayML 817 arrived on 28 June. 1943, and up tolate September joined in the closing phases todrive enemy forces from the Huon PeninsulaOn 1 September. 1943. ML 817 sailed to join•he 7th Fleet Amphibious Force (Task Group761 for troop landings at Lae and Salamaua,her task being to shepherd landing craft fromthe dispersal areas to the assault rendezvousBy 3 September, the Fairmile was at Morobe.a settlement now subject to Japanese aerialattacks Aboard ML 817 was the Naval Officerin-Charge. Milne Bay. Commander GBranson. RN During one of the attacks ML817 was splinter-holed in several places on herport side Commander Branson commented"I was much impressed by the efficiency andmorale in ML 817 Lieutenant CommanderTownley got his ship under may in a matter ofseconds, although the blast had thrown him onhis face on the quarter deck Midshipman Pricehad an extremely lucky escape m that hesuffered a scalp wound over the left eye. which.but for a fractio" of time, might well haue killedhim So quickly did ML 817 react to thesituation that by the time I had boarded fromSHEPPARTQN. the lines were let go. the guncrews were closed up and the Midshipman, htsface covered in blood, was at his action stationprepared to direct the gun fire As soon as ML817 was clear of the SHEPPARTON. theformer opened fire from her for'ard twopounder gunDespite the holes in her hull. ML 817remained at the front and on 4 September,assisted the landings by HQ 9th Division and20th and 26th Australian Infantry Brigades ontwo beaches east and west of Bula PlantationAs a result of these landings and the subsequentland operations. Japanese resistance in southeasternNew Guinea was defeatedDuring December 1943. ML 817 returned toSydney for refit and to repair the bombdamage The ML left for New Guinea again on15 February. 1944. with Lieutenant John ADoyle. RANR (S). replacing LieutenantTownley (transferred to ML 424| For theensuing nine months. ML 817 operated in thesouthern region, then to Aitape. Madang.Hollandia. Mios Woendi and Biak IslandDuring this time the ML formed part of an RANforce which bombarded Karkar IslandIn November 1944. it was decided towithdraw the vessel to Australia, towed by theminesweeper HMAS TOWNSVILLE The twoships arrived in Sydney on 27 November, andthereafter, until paying off Into reserve on 10October 1945. she remained active tn localwatersAfter victory In the Pacific ML 817 wasdeclared surplus to future naval requirementsand was auctioned without engines on 25October. 1947All-in-all, the publication of The RoyalAustralian Navy The First Seventy-five Years isa worthy tribute In recognising Ihe invaluablecontribution made to Australia by the men andwomen of the Royal Australian Navy duringThe First Seventy-five YearsA publication worthy of your coif erf ion.NgtMM