HMAS Hobart (D63)
HMAS Hobart
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Apollo |
Builder | HM Dockyard, Devonport |
Laid down | 15 August 1933 |
Launched | 9 October 1934 |
Commissioned | 13 January 1936 |
Decommissioned | 1938 |
Identification | Pennant number: D63 |
Fate | Sold to Royal Australian Navy |
Australia | |
Name | Hobart |
Namesake | City of Hobart |
Commissioned | 28 September 1938 |
Decommissioned | 20 December 1947 |
Identification | Pennant number: D63 |
Motto |
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Honours and awards |
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Fate | Sold for scrap in 1962 |
General characteristics (as completed) | |
Class and type | Modified Leander-class light cruiser |
Displacement | 7,003 long tons (7,115 t) (standard) |
Length |
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Beam | 56 ft 8 in (17.3 m) |
Draught | 19 ft 5 in (5.9 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 4 shafts; 4 × geared steam turbines |
Speed | 32.5 kn (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) |
Range | 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Complement | 646 (35 officers, 611 ratings) standard |
Armament |
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Armour |
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Aircraft carried | 1 Supermarine Walrus |
Aviation facilities | 1 catapult |
HMAS Hobart was a
Design and construction
The ship was one of three Modified Leander-class light cruisers constructed for the Royal Navy. The main difference to the previous five Leanders was that the newer ships had their machinery and propulsion equipment organised in two self-contained units (separated fore and aft), allowing the ship to continue operating if one set was damaged.[2] The two exhaust funnels, one for each machinery space, gave the modified ships a different profile from the early Leanders, which had a single funnel.[2] To cover the separate machinery spaces, the side armour was extended from 84 to 141 feet (26 to 43 m), negating the weight reduction created by the separation.[3] During design, it was planned to modify the forward-most and aft-most 6-inch turrets to be fitted with three guns instead of two, but the plan was cancelled when it was determined that the required alterations would cause several negative side effects, including reducing the ship's top speed and causing problems with effective fire control.[4]
The cruiser was laid down at HM Dockyard, Devonport, England on 15 August 1933 as HMS Apollo.[5] She was launched on 9 October 1934 by Lady Florence, wife of Admiral Sir William Boyle.[5][6] The ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 13 January 1936.[5][6]
Operational history
Apollo served on the
Australian acquisition
The ship was purchased by the Australian Government in 1938, with the transfer of the seaplane tender
World War II
At the start of World War II, Hobart was initially deployed on patrols of
The cruiser
Hobart remained in the Red Sea until October, when she sailed to Colombo for refit, then returned to Australia.
The cruiser was diverted to escort a convoy from Colombo to Singapore; the ships arrived on 3 January, the same day as a Japanese air raid.
At the start of May, the Americans learned of an imminent
On 7 August, Hobart supported the amphibious
On the evening of 20 July 1943, while sailing to Espiritu Santo as part of Task Force 74, Hobart was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-11.[18] The torpedo struck the port quarter and caused serious damage.[11] The damage included significant structural damage around the wardroom, and the loss of electricity supply and steering control.[18] Seven officers and six sailors were killed, while another six officers and one sailor were injured.[18] No submarine was detected prior to or after the attack, and post-attack reconstructions concluded that the unidentified submarine, positioned ahead of the eastward-sailing task force, saw the ships silhouetted against the sunset and fired a spread of torpedoes at Australia from at least 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi); these missed the heavy cruiser, and the torpedo at one edge of the fan impacted against Hobart instead.[18] After electrical power and steering were restored, the cruiser limped to Espiritu Santo under the escort of USS Nicholas and USS Radford for temporary repairs, which were performed by USS Vestal, then sailed for Australia on 21 August with the destroyers Arunta and Warramunga escorting.[11][19][20] The cruiser arrived in Sydney on 26 August, and was docked at Cockatoo Island Dockyard for repairs and refurbishment; the quantity of damage meant that she was out of service until 1945.[21]
Following her return, Hobart was involved in the
Hobart received eight battle honours for her wartime service: "Mediterranean 1941", "Indian Ocean 1941", "Coral Sea 1942", "Savo Island 1942", "Guadalcanal 1942", "Pacific 1942–45", "East Indies 1940", and "Borneo 1945".[24][25]
Decommissioning and fate
Hobart was paid off into the reserve fleet on 20 December 1947.[23] In 1950, following the failure to find a suitable new British cruiser design, and a dollar shortage preventing the purchase of US vessels, it was decided to modernise Hobart and use her as a stop-gap aircraft carrier escort until the Daring-class destroyers entered service, after which she would serve as a troop convoy escort to the Middle East in the event of a future conflict.[26] This planned role changed in 1952 following a series of financial cutbacks and the realisation that the Battle-class destroyers were suitable carrier escorts; instead, Hobart was to replace Australia as the training cruiser.[26] She was taken to the State Dockyard, Newcastle for modification.[26]
During 1953 and 1954, further reductions in the RAN saw one carrier taken off active duty for use as a training vessel, eliminating the need to return Hobart to service.[26] Other options for reactivating the cruiser were explored, including conversion to a guided missile ship, but by April 1955, all proposals were abandoned.[26] Despite the conversion work to date having cost £A1 million, the modification was cancelled, and Hobart was returned to the reserve fleet and marked for disposal.[26] Hobart was sold for scrap on 22 February 1962 to Japanese firm Mitsui & Co (Aust) Pty Ltd.[6] The ship left Sydney under tow on 3 March, and arrived in Osaka on 2 April for breaking up.[6]
Citations
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 76
- ^ a b Frame, HMAS Sydney, p. 15
- ^ Frame, HMAS Sydney, pp. 15–16
- ^ Frame, HMAS Sydney, p. 16
- ^ a b c d e f g Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 124
- ^ a b c d e "HMAS Hobart (I)". Sea Power Centre – Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 73
- ^ "RAMSAY MACDONALD'S LAST HOMECOMING: BERMUDA TO LOSSIEMOUTH". The Illustrated London News. lONDON. 4 December 1937.
- ^ H.M.S. ORION 1937-1939. Flood & Son, Ltd, The Borough Press, Lowestoft, England: Royal Navy (HMS Orion). 1939. p. 26.
- ^ a b c d e f Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 125
- ^ a b c d e f g Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 74
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, p. 41
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, p. 47
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, pp. 48–50
- ^ a b c d e Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, p. 50
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, p. 52
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, p. 53
- ^ a b c d Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, p. 291
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, p. 292
- ^ "Vestal". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 73–5
- ^ "Allied Ships Present in Tokyo Bay During the Surrender Ceremony, 2 September 1945". Naval Historical Center – U.S. Navy. 27 May 2005. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
Taken from Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPAC/CINCPOA) A16-3/FF12 Serial 0395, 11 February 1946: Report of Surrender and Occupation of Japan
- ^ a b Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 75
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c d e f Donohue, From Empire Defence to the Long Haul, pp. 148–9
References
- Bastock, John (1975). Australia's Ships of War. Cremorne, NSW: Angus and Robertson. OCLC 2525523.
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- Cassells, Vic (2000). The Capital Ships: Their Battles and their Badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. OCLC 48761594.
- 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. 1. Canberra: Sea Power Centre. OCLC 36817771.
- Frame, Tom (1993). HMAS Sydney: Loss and Controversy. Rydalmere, NSW: Hodder & Stoughton. OCLC 32234178.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
- Gill, George Hermon (1968). Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945. registry number Aus 68-1798.
- ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- Payne, Alan (1981). "The Modified Leander Class". In Roberts, John (ed.). Warship V. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 22–27. ISBN 0-85177-244-7.
- Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- ISBN 1-86019-874-0.
External links
- HMAS Hobart history and images, U. S. Naval Historical Center