HMAS Lithgow (J206)
 HMAS Lithgow at Milne Bay, Papua during 1943
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Namesake | City of Lithgow, New South Wales |
| Builder | Mort's Dock & Engineering Co in Sydney |
| Laid down | 19 August 1940 |
| Launched | 21 December 1940 |
| Commissioned | 14 June 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 8 June 1948 |
| Honours and awards |
|
| Fate | Sold for scrap in 1956 |
| General characteristics | |
| 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 | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion | triple expansion engine, 2 shafts |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at 1,750 hp |
| Complement | 85 |
| Armament | 1 × 4 inch Mk XIX gun, 3 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons |
HMAS Lithgow (J206/M206), named for the city of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia 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
Lithgow was laid down by Morts Dock & Engineering Co at Mort's Dock in Balmain, New South Wales on 19 August 1940.[1] She was launched on 21 December 1940, and commissioned into the RAN on 14 June 1941.[1]
Operational history
Lithgow, in company with USS Edsall, HMAS Katoomba, and HMAS Deloraine, sank the enemy Japanese submarine I-124 off Darwin, the first enemy submarine sunk in Australian waters, on 20 January 1942.[1]
In May 1943, Lithgow was one of several ships to search for survivors following the torpedoing of AHS Centaur, with no success.[10]
The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Darwin 1942", "Pacific 1941–45", and "New Guinea 1942–44".[11][12]
Fate
Lithgow paid off to reserve on 8 June 1948 and was sold for scrap to the Hong Kong Delta Shipping Company on 8 August 1956.[1]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f "HMAS Lithgow". Sea Power Centre Australia. Retrieved 15 September 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
- ISBN 0-646-07631-0.
- ^ "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. 1. Canberra: Sea Power Centre. OCLC 36817771.
- 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. 15. Canberra: Sea Power Centre Australia. OCLC 62548623.
- 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.
External links
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