HMAS Junee

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HMAS Junee as a training ship in 1954. Her wartime armament has been replaced with two 40 mm Bofors guns.
HMAS Junee as a training ship in 1954. Her wartime armament has been replaced with two 40 mm Bofors guns.
History
Australia
NamesakeTown of
Junee, New South Wales
BuilderPoole & Steel
Laid down17 February 1943
Launched16 November 1943
Commissioned11 April 1944
Decommissioned21 January 1946
Recommissioned25 February 1953
Decommissioned21 August 1957
ReclassifiedTraining ship (1953)
Honours and
awards
FateSold for scrap in 1958
General characteristics
Class and typeBathurst-class corvette
Displacement650 tons (standard), 1,025 tons (full war load)
Length186 ft (57 m)
Beam31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught8.5 ft (2.6 m)
Propulsiontriple expansion engine, 2 shafts, 1,800 horspeower
Speed15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at 1,750 hp
Complement85
Armament1 ×
4-inch gun
1 ×
40 mm anti-aircraft gun

HMAS Junee (J362/M362), named for the town of

Junee, 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

British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.[2][7][8][9][1]

Junee was laid down by Poole & Steel at Balmain, New South Wales on 17 February 1943.[1] She was launched on 16 November 1943 by the wife of John Solomon Rosevear, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, and commissioned into the RAN on 11 April 1944.[1]

Operational history

World War II

After entering active service, Junee was briefly assigned to New Guinea before being redeployed to Darwin, where she served as an anti-submarine patrol ship until February 1945, when the corvette underwent refit in Melbourne.[1]

In April 1945, Junee was sent to New Guinea, to serve as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship.

Sangir Islands.[1] The corvette was later assigned to Balikpapan as a guard ship, where she remained until the end of World War II.[1]

Following the end of the war, Junee evacuated Australian prisoners-of-war and civilians, assisted in the transportation of occupation forces, and aided in the reestablishment of Dutch authority in the

Netherlands East Indies.[1] After fulfilling these duties, Junee returned to Australia, and was paid off into reserve in Melbourne on 21 January 1946.[1]

Junee received two battle honours for her wartime service: "New Guinea 1943" and "Pacific 1944–45".[10][11]

Post-war

The corvette was reactivated and recommissioned as a training ship on 25 February 1953.[1] Initially operating along the east coast, Junee was reassigned to the west coast on 25 August, operating from Fremantle.[1]

Decommissioning and fate

HMAS Junee paid off to reserve for the final time at Fremantle on 21 August 1957.[1] She was sold for scrap to W. G. Davies of Fremantle on 18 June 1958.[1] The ship was stripped and the hull sunk in the Rottnest ship graveyard off Rottnest Island, Western Australia on 6 or 7 September 1968.[1][12]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "HMAS Junee (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre – Royal Australian Navy. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  2. ^ a b c 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.
  12. ^ Garratt, Dena; Green, Jeremy (2006) [1999]. Précis of the wrecks in the ship's graveyard, Rottnest (PDF). Report—Department of Maritime Archaeology (Report). Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 15 August 2015.

References

Books
Journal and news articles

External links