HMAS Voyager (D31)
HMAS Voyager
| |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Voyager |
Builder | Alexander Stephens and Sons |
Laid down | 17 May 1917 |
Launched | 8 May 1918 |
Commissioned | 24 June 1918 |
Decommissioned | 11 October 1933 |
Fate | Transferred to RAN |
Australia | |
Name | Voyager |
Acquired | 11 October 1933 |
Commissioned | 11 October 1933 |
Decommissioned | 14 April 1936 |
Recommissioned | 26 April 1938 |
Honours and awards |
|
Fate | Ran aground 23 September 1942, scuttled |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | W-class destroyer |
Displacement |
|
Length |
|
Beam | 29 ft 6 in (9.0 m) |
Draught | 14 ft 7 in (4.4 m) |
Propulsion | 3 × Yarrow boilers, 2 × Brown-Curtis turbines, 27,000 shp (20,000 kW), two shafts |
Speed | 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
Range | 2,600 nautical miles (4,800 km; 3,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 6 officers, 113 sailors |
Armament |
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HMAS Voyager (D31/I31) (formerly HMS Voyager (G36/G16/D31)) was a W-class destroyer of the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Commissioned into the RN in 1918, the destroyer remained in RN service until 1933, when she was transferred to the RAN. Recommissioned, Voyager served in the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres of World War II until 23 September 1942, when she ran aground while trying to deliver troops to Timor. The ship was damaged by Japanese bombers while trying to refloat, then was scuttled by her crew.
Design and construction
Voyager was a
At launch, Voyager's main armament consisted of four single
Voyager was laid down by Alexander Stephen and Sons at their shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland on 17 May 1917.[1] She was launched on 8 May 1918.[1] The destroyer was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 24 June 1918, the day of her completion.[2][a] Voyager was the only ship of her class that carried a name starting with "V": the rest of the W class had names starting with "W".[1]
Operational history
In July 1918, Voyager joined the 11th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet. She remained part of the 11th Flotilla through the end of the War until the flotilla was disbanded in March 1919, then transferring to the newly established 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Atlantic Fleet .[3] On 22 April 1919, Voyager took part in a visit to the French port of Cherbourg by 13 British warships, including the battleships Barham, Malaya, Valiant and Warspite.[4]
In June 1919, Voyager was deployed to the
Voyager was deployed to Irish waters in May 1920 and January–March 1921, during the Irish War of Independence.[3] In January 1922, Voyager transferred to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla,[3] and in February the year, took part in Atlantic Fleet exercises in the Mediterranean, followed by a series of port visits.[11] In 1925, the 5th Flotilla, including Voyager transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet and was renamed the 1st Destroyer Flotilla.[12][3] On 17 July 1928, Voyager was in collision with the destroyer Vendetta while on passage between Crete and Skyros. Both destroyers received minor damage, and underwent temporary repairs by the depot ship Sandhurst, with more permanent repairs being made at Malta.[13][14] Voyager was refitted at Devonport between 3 May and 15 June 1929, returning to the Mediterranean in July that year.[14] Her stay there was short, however, as on 6 November, the destroyer left Malta for Britain, arriving at Sheerness on 15 November, where her crew transferred to the destroyer Waterhen.[15][16] Voyager had her boilers retubed at Chatham from January to September 1930, before returning the Mediterranean to rejoin the 1st Flotilla.[14] Voyager remained part of the 1st Flotilla until December 1932, when she was replaced by the newly-built Dainty. Voyager was reduced to reserve at Portsmouth on 17 January 1933.[14]
Transfer to RAN
In 1933, the
World War II
On 14 October 1939, Voyager left Sydney.[2] It was originally intended for the Flotilla to be based in Singapore, but en route it was decided that the ships would be of more use in the Mediterranean.[18] The arrival of the Australian Destroyer Flotilla was met with derision in Germany, with Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels referring to Voyager and her sister ships as "Australia's Scrap Iron Flotilla", a moniker the ships quickly adopted.[19]
Voyager commenced operations on 1 January 1940, initially as a convoy escort operating out of Alexandria.[2] The ship was docked at Malta for refit during April.[2] On 13 June and again on 19 June, Voyager attacked submarines without success, but on 27 June she attacked the Italian submarine Console Generale Liuzzi off Crete with the British destroyers Dainty, Ilex, Decoy, and Defender, forcing the Italians to surrender and scuttle their vessel.[2] Two days later, the Allied ships encountered the Italian submarine Uebi Scebeli and sank her after capturing the crew.[2][20] On 9 July, Voyager was involved in the Battle of Calabria, as escort to the carrier HMS Eagle.[2] A day later, she was assigned to escort a convoy from Malta to Alexandria.[2]
On 23 July, there was a brief mutiny aboard the destroyer, when 12 sailors sat down outside their mess deck and refused to move until their issue was addressed.
In March 1941, Voyager was involved in
Loss
Following the capture of Timor by the Japanese in February 1942, and despite initial appearances that all Allied soldiers were captured or killed, it became evident that the 2/2nd Independent Company, supported by other surviving Australian and Dutch troops, were mounting a guerrilla campaign against the Japanese.[27][28] Throughout late 1942, a haphazard supply service began, and Voyager became involved when a sizable troop landing (400 commandos from 2/4th Independent Company) and evacuation (the 2/2nd, plus any Portuguese women and children) was planned for September 1942: the need for a large capacity, speed, and surprise requiring the use of a destroyer.[27][28]
The 2/4th boarded at Darwin on 22 September 1942, along with supplies and barges to convey them ashore.
At 13:30 on 24 September, the beached ship was spotted by two Japanese aircraft; the bomber shot down, but the escorting fighter escaped to report.[25][28] At 16:00 a flight of Japanese bombers attacked the ship and the beach.[27][28] The destroyer was damaged beyond recovery, and while none of the ship's company were injured, their alcohol supply – which had been brought ashore during the refloating attempts – was destroyed by a bomb.[28] After the air attack, the Voyager personnel signalled Darwin to explain the ship's loss and request evacuation; they were retrieved by the corvettes Kalgoorlie and Warrnambool at 20:00 on 25 September.[27][28]
The destroyer's wartime service is recognised with seven battle honours: "Darwin 1942", "Calabria 1940", "Libya 1940–41", "Greece 1941", "Crete 1941", "Mediterranean 1941", and "Pacific 1942".[29][30]
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 166
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 167
- ^ a b c d e f English 2019, p. 83
- ^ "British Naval Visit to France: Welcome at Cherbourg and Brest". The Times. No. 42081. 23 April 1919. p. 11.
- ^ Bennett 2002, p. 119
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 31
- ^ Dunn 2020, pp. 211–212
- ^ Bennett 2002, p. 198
- ^ Dunn 2020, pp. 189–191
- ^ Dunn 2020, pp. 191, 193–195
- ^ "Atlantic Fleet's Cruise: Visits to Mediterranean ports". The Times. No. 42948. 6 February 1922. p. 5.
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 46
- ^ "News in Brief: British Destroyers in Collision". The Times. No. 44949. 19 July 1928. p. 16.
- ^ a b c d English 2019, p. 84
- ^ "Naval, Military, And Air Force: Destroyer Changes". The Times. No. 45352. 5 November 1929. p. 10.
- ^ "Naval, Military, And Air Force: Destroyer Changes". The Times. No. 45361. 15 November 1929. p. 21.
- ^ Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 154
- ^ a b HMAS Voyager (I), Sea Power Centre
- ^ THE SCRAP-IRON FLOTILLA Chapter 1. Scrap Iron or "Scrap" Iron?
- ^ Goldrick, in The Royal Australian Navy, p. 112
- ^ a b Frame & Baker, Mutiny, p. 152
- ^ Frame & Baker, Mutiny!, pp. 151-2
- ^ a b c Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 168
- ^ Cassells, The Destroyers, pp. 168–9
- ^ a b c d Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 169
- ^ Goldrick, in The Royal Australian Navy, p. 119
- ^ a b c d Goldrick, in The Royal Australian Navy, p. 130
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bauer, Heroic stand of HMAS Armidale, [page needed]
- ^ "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
- Bennett, Geoffrey (2002). Freeing the Baltic. Edinburgh, UK: Birlinn. ISBN 1-84341-001-X.
- Cassells, Vic (2000). The Destroyers: their battles and their badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. OCLC 46829686.
- Dunn, Steve R. (2020). Battle in the Baltic: The Royal Navy and the Fight to Save Estonia & Latvia 1918–20. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4273-5.
- English, John (2019). Grand Fleet Destroyers: Part I: Flotilla Leaders and 'V/W' Class Destroyers. Windsor, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 978-0-9650769-8-4.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link - Frame, Tom; Baker, Kevin (2000). Mutiny! Naval Insurrections in Australia and New Zealand. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 46882022.
- Gill, George Hermon (1957). Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942. OCLC 848228.
- Goldrick, James (2001). "World War II: The war against Germany and Italy (pp. 103–126), World War II: The war against Japan (pp. 127–154)". In Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. pp. 103–126. OCLC 50418095.
- Preston, Antony (1971). 'V & W' Class Destroyers 1917–1945. London: Macdonald. OCLC 464542895.
Journal articles
- Feuer, A.B. (February 1999). "Heroic stand of HMAS Armidale". World War II. 13 (6): 50–57. ISSN 0898-4204.
Websites
- "HMAS Voyager (I)". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
Further reading
- Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1979). 'V' and 'W' Class Destroyers. Man o' War. Vol. 2. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 0-85368-233-X.