HMAS Huon (D50)

Coordinates: 33°58′S 151°36′E / 33.967°S 151.600°E / -33.967; 151.600
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see HMAS Huon.

HMAS Huon during her trials in December 1915
History
Australia
NamesakeHuon River
Builder
Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company
Laid down25 January 1913
Launched19 December 1914
Completed4 February 1916
Commissioned14 December 1915
Decommissioned7 June 1928
Honours and
awards
FateScuttled 10 April 1931
General characteristics
Class and type
torpedo-boat destroyer
Displacement700 tons
Length
  • 259 ft 9 in (79.17 m) length overall
  • 245 ft (75 m)
    between perpendiculars
Beam24 ft 3.375 in (7.40093 m)
Draught8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
Propulsion3 Yarrow boilers, Parsons geared turbines, 10,000 SHP, 3 propellers
Speed
  • 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) designed
  • 25.775 knots (47.735 km/h; 29.661 mph) mean trial speed
  • 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) economical
Complement5 officers and 60 sailors
Armament
  • 1 ×
    4-inch Mark VIII gun
  • 3 × 12-pounder guns
  • 1 × .303-inch Maxim gun
  • 2 × .303-inch Lewis guns
  • 3 × torpedo tubes for
    18-inch torpedoes
    (1 removed 1918)
  • 4 × depth charge chutes (installed 1917, 2 removed 1919)
  • 2 × depth charge throwers (installed 1918)

HMAS Huon (D50), named after the

torpedo-boat destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Originally to be named after the River Derwent, the ship was renamed before her 1914 launch because of a naming conflict with a Royal Navy
vessel.

Huon was commissioned into the RAN in late 1915, and after completion was deployed to the Far East. In mid-1917, Huon and her five sister ships were transferred to the Mediterranean. Huon served as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship until a collision with sister ship HMAS Yarra in August 1918 saw Huon drydocked for the rest of World War I. After a refit in England, Huon returned to Australia in 1919.

The destroyer spent several periods alternating between commissioned and reserve status over the next nine years, with the last three spent as a reservist training ship. Huon was decommissioned for the final time in 1928, and was scuttled in 1931 after being used as a target ship.

Design and construction

Main article: River-class torpedo-boat destroyer

Huon was one of the second batch of

between perpendiculars, had a beam of 24 feet 3.375 inches (7.40093 m), and a maximum draught of 8 feet 10 inches (2.69 m).[1] Propulsion was provided by three Yarrow-made boilers connected to Parsons geared turbines, which supplied 10,000 shaft horsepower to the three propellers.[2] Although designed to reach speeds of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), the destroyer could only achieve a mean speed of 25.775 knots (47.735 km/h; 29.661 mph) during high-speed trials.[1] Her economical cruising speed was 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[1] The ship's company consisted of 5 officers and 60 sailors.[2]

At launch, the ship's armament consisted of a single

18-inch torpedoes.[1] Four depth charge chutes were installed in 1917, although two were later removed in 1919.[1] Two depth charge throwers were added during a 1918 refit; at the same time, one of the torpedo tubes was removed.[1]

The ship was laid down at

British Admiralty complained that there would be easy confusion with the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Derwent.[2]

Operational history

Huon first served with the

Cocos Islands, with the six vessels sailing to the Mediterranean via Diego Garcia.[2] Huon joined the escort of a convoy from Port Said to Malta, and arrived on 20 August, after which the destroyer was docked for a month-long refit.[2]

12-pounder gun in the Adriatic Sea
, circa. 1917 – 1918

From October 1917 until April 1918, Huon was based at

stokers and a lieutenant died from influenza between late October and early November.[3] Huon left dockyard hands a day before World War I ended.[2] The six River-class ships made for Portsmouth, with Huon docking for refit on 14 January 1919.[2] Released on 28 February, Huon joined her sister ships and the cruiser HMAS Melbourne for the voyage to Australia.[2] The ships reached Sydney on 21 May.[2] Although not recognised at the time, an overhaul of the RAN battle honours system in 2010 recognised Huon's wartime service with the honour "Adriatic 1917–18".[4][5]

Huon recommissioned at Sydney on 1 August 1919,

Edward, Prince of Wales in early 1920.[2] The destroyer was placed in reserve in August 1920.[2] Huon was reactivated on 22 April 1921.[2] On 9 February 1922, the destroyer was holed below the waterline in a collision with the submarine HMAS J4.[2] Repairs were successful, but Huon returned to reserve on 31 May.[2] The destroyer was recommissioned on 29 August 1925, and served as a reservist training ship at Hobart until 26 May 1928, when she returned to Sydney.[2]

Decommissioning and fate

HMAS Huon's bell on display at the Australian War Memorial in August 2012

Huon was decommissioned for the final time on 7 June 1928.

scuttled[2] in 33°58′S 151°36′E / 33.967°S 151.600°E / -33.967; 151.600.[7] Her bell currently resides at the Australian War Memorial
.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 45
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 46
  3. ^ Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 48
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "List of Ships of the Royal Australian Navy: 11. "Huon"" (PDF). The Navy List. Commonwealth of Australia: 29. 1 January 1920. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMAS Huon (D50).

33°58′S 151°36′E / 33.967°S 151.600°E / -33.967; 151.600

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