HMAS Launceston (J179)
.JPG)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Namesake | City of Launceston, Tasmania |
| Builder | Evans Deakin & Co |
| Laid down | 23 December 1940 |
| Launched | 30 June 1941 |
| Commissioned | 9 April 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 23 March 1946 |
| Motto | Progress With Prudence |
| Honours and awards |
|
| Fate | Transferred to Turkish Navy |
| Badge |  |
| History | |
 Turkey | |
| Name | TCG Ayancik |
| Renamed | Hamit Naci |
| Fate | Withdrawn from military service, 1965. Transferred to the Turkish Seamanship College. |
| 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 horsepower |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at 1,750 hp |
| Complement | 85 |
| Armament | 1 × 12-pounder gun, 3 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons (1 later removed), 1 × Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun (installed later), Machine guns, Depth charges chutes and throwers |
HMAS Launceston (J179/B246/A120), named for the city of
Admiralty but manned by personnel of and commissioned into 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]
Launceston was laid down by
Evans Deakin & Co at Brisbane, Queensland on 23 December 1940.[1] She was launched on 30 June 1941 by the wife of William Forgan Smith, then Premier of Queensland, and was commissioned into the RAN on 9 April 1942.[1]
Operational history
RAN service
After entering service, Launceston was initially assigned to convoy escort duties in Australian waters before sailing to Colombo in September 1942 to join the
HMIS Jumna destroyed Japanese submarine Ro-110.[1] Convoy duties continued until September 1944, when the corvette returned to Fremantle for refit.[1] After refit, Launceston operated from Fremantle as an anti-submarine patrol ship until February 1945, when she was sent to Manus Island to join the British Pacific Fleet.[1] As part of the Pacific Fleet, the corvette was involved in the Battle of Okinawa.[1]
Following the end of World War II, Launceston was based in Hong Kong as a minesweeper and anty-piracy patrol ship, before returning to Australia in late 1945.[1] Official visits were made to cities in Tasmania, including the corvette's namesake city, before the corvette sailed to Sydney.[1]
The corvette received four battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1942–45", "Indian Ocean 1942–44", "East Indies 1944", and "Okinawa 1945".[10][11]
Turkish service
After the war's end, Launceston was marked for transfer to the
Turkish Navy.[1] The corvette was placed in reserve in mid-April 1946, then was recommissioned into the Royal Navy on 21 May as HMS Launceston for the transfer.[1] The corvette, along with sister ships Pirie and Gawler sailed for Colombo, where they were commissioned into the Turkish Navy.[1]
Launceston was initially named TCG Ayancik and she served as a minelayer & minesweeper. She was later withdrawn from military service in 1965.[1] Then, she is transferred to Turkish Seamanship College and renamed as Hamit Naci after the founder of that school.[1]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "HMAS Launceston (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre – Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
- ^ 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
- ^ "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.
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 defence 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, VIC: Oxford University Press. 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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