HMAS Gawler (J188)
.jpg) HMAS Gawler
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Namesake | Town of Gawler |
| Builder | BHP, Whyalla |
| Laid down | 24 January 1941 |
| Launched | 4 October 1941 |
| Commissioned | 14 August 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 5 April 1946 |
| Motto | "Serve With Pride" |
| Honours and awards |
|
| Fate | Transferred to Turkish Navy |
| Badge |  |
| History | |
 Turkey | |
| Name | Ayvalik |
| Acquired | 5 April 1946 |
| Commissioned | 1946 |
| Decommissioned | 1963 |
| Fate | Withdrawn from service |
| General characteristics during RAN service | |
| 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, 2,000 hp |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at 1,750 hp |
| Complement | 85 |
| Armament |
|
HMAS Gawler (J188/B241/A115), named for the town of
After a short assignment to
Gawler was decommissioned from the RAN in April 1946. The Admiralty transferred the ship to the
Design and construction
In 1938, the
Gawler was laid down by the BHP at its Whyalla shipyard on 24 January 1941.[9] She was launched on 4 October 1941 by the wife of Sir Winston Dugan, then Governor of Victoria, and commissioned into the RAN on 14 August 1942.[9] The ship was originally to be named Gambier, for the city of Mount Gambier.[10]
Operational history
RAN service
Upon entering service in September 1942, Gawler was briefly based at
Following this, Gawler and three sister ships were formed into as the 21st Minesweeping Flotilla and sent to the Mediterranean Sea to serve as minesweepers and convoy escorts.[9] On 17 June 1943 when the British troopship Yoma was sunk off the coast of Libya, Gawler and her sister ship HMAS Lismore were among the ships that rescued 1,477 survivors.[11]
In July, Gawler was involved in the Allied
After leaving the Eastern Fleet, Gawler underwent a four-month refit in
Gawler returned to Australian waters in February 1946, and was decommissioned in Sydney on 5 April 1946.[9] The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1942", "Indian Ocean 1942–45", and "Sicily 1943".[12][13]
Prior to decommissioning, Gawler was marked for transfer to the
The corvette was withdrawn from service in 1963.[9][14] The name was passed on to sister corvette TCG Antalya (the former Geraldton).[9]
Citations
- ^ a b c Stevens, The Australian Corvettes, p. 1
- ^ Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 103
- ^ Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–4
- ^ Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–5
- ^ Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 104
- ^ Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 105, 148
- ^ Donohue, From Empire Defence to the Long Haul, p. 29
- ^ Stevens et al., The Royal Australian Navy, p. 108
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "HMAS Gawler (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre – Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 24 December 2008.
- ISSN 0813-0523.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2013). "Yoma". Ships hit by U-boats. Guðmundur Helgason. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ISBN 0-7270-0472-7.
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. Vol. No. 1. Canberra: Sea Power Centre. )
- Stevens, David (2005). A Critical Vulnerability: the impact of the submarine threat on Australia's maritime defense 1915–1954. Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs. Vol. No. 15. Canberra: Sea Power Centre Australia. )
- 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: OCLC 50418095.
- Journal and news articles
- Stevens, David (May 2010). "The Australian Corvettes" (PDF). Hindsight (Semaphore). 2010 (5). Sea Power Centre – Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
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