HMAS Platypus (1917)
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HMAS Platypus with all six Australian J-class submarines in 1919
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Builder | John Brown and Company, Clydebank , Scotland |
Laid down | 14 October 1914 |
Launched | 28 October 1916 |
Commissioned | 21 March 1917 |
Decommissioned | 1919 |
Fate | Transferred to Royal Australian Navy |
Australia | |
Commissioned | 25 March 1919 |
Decommissioned |
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Renamed |
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Reclassified |
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Stricken | 20 February 1958 |
Motto | "Nothing Too Difficult" |
Honours and awards |
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Fate | Sold for scrap in 1958 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 3,476 tons |
Length |
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Beam | 44 ft (13 m) |
Draught | 15 ft 8 in (4.78 m) |
Propulsion | 2 sets of triple expansion reciprocating steam engines, twin screw |
Speed | 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
Armament | 1 × 4.7-inch gun |
HMAS Platypus was a submarine depot ship and base ship operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1919 and 1946. Ordered prior to World War I to support the Australian submarines AE1 and AE2, Platypus was not completed until after both submarines had been lost, and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy from 1917 to 1919.
After the RAN acquired six
Construction and acquisition
Platypus was ordered as a
Operational history
At the conclusion of the war, the ship was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy and was commissioned into the RAN on 25 March 1919.
Platypus's main role was to support the RAN's six
Platypus and all six J-class submarines were based at Geelong in February 1920. Due to the poor condition of the submarines and financial pressure on the RAN the Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service was disbanded in May 1922 and Platypus was redesignated as a destroyer tender. Platypus reverted to her original role as a submarine tender in 1929 when the RAN acquired two O-class submarines but was used as a depot ship after these submarines were placed into reserve in 1930. She was renamed HMAS Penguin on 15 August 1930.
In October 1932, a mutiny occurred aboard Penguin.[1] The mutiny was in protest of the decreases in sailor pay and conditions: Depression-era cutbacks had impacted them harder than officers, as they had no avenues of protest.[1] The ship's commanding officer was sympathetic, promising that he would forward their concerns to the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (which refused to consider them) and that they would not be punished.[1]
She continued as a depot ship until 26 February 1941 when she was renamed HMAS Platypus and returned to seagoing service as a
Decommissioning and fate
Platypus was placed into reserve on 13 May 1946,
Citations
- ^ a b c Frame & Baker, Mutiny, p. 126
- ^ "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
- Frame, Tom; Baker, Kevin (2000). Mutiny! Naval Insurrections in Australia and New Zealand. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 46882022.
- "HMAS Platypus (I)". Sea Power Centre Australia. Retrieved 15 September 2008.