HMS Bulolo
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MV Bulolo |
| Owner | Burns, Philp Shipping Company |
| Route | Mail service from Australia to Papua New Guinea |
| Builder | Barclay, Curle & Company Limited (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Yard number | 668 |
| Launched | 31 May 1938 |
| Maiden voyage | 18 November 1938 |
| In service | 1938-39 |
| Fate | Requisitioned by Royal Navy September 1939 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Bulolo |
| Commissioned | 4 January 1940 |
| Decommissioned | 4 December 1946 |
| Refit |
|
| Identification | Pennant number: F82 |
| Honours and awards |
|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | MV Bulolo |
| Owner | Burns, Philp Shipping Company |
| In service | 1948-1968 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1968 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 6,267 GRT |
| Length | 412 ft (126 m) |
| Beam | 58 ft (18 m) |
| Draught | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Propulsion | Twin-screws driven by 3 man B & W (Burmeister & Wain) diesel-electric engines |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Range | 9,300 nautical miles at 12 knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 LCP(L) |
HMS Bulolo was a 6,267 ton passenger and cargo ship of the
Pre-WW II service
MV Bulolo was built for the Burns Philp line to be a passenger, cargo and mail steamer. She began her career on 19 November 1938 between Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Hebrides, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands. She had completed eight voyages when war broke out in September 1939.
World War II history
On 22 September 1939 the Bulolo was requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport on behalf of the Royal Navy from Burns, Philp & Company Limited, (based in Sydney, New South Wales). She spent October 1939 to January 1940 under conversion to an armed merchant cruiser with seven 6-inch guns, two 3-inch anti-aircraft guns, depth charges and smaller armaments.
On 24 January 1940 Bulolo sailed from
On 25 March 1942 the Bulolo was sold to the Admiralty and from 4 April 1942 to October 1942 she was converted to an amphibious Landing Ship Headquarters ship. During this refit she had a sophisticated communications systems installed for use in army, navy and air force control purposes. Her armament was sharply reduced as well.
Bulolo then headed to North Africa as the flagship of
On 28 April 1944,
Following another refit, the Bulolo was sent in 1945 to be the Headquarters Ship and flagship of Rear Admiral Benjamin Martin for 'Force W' off Malaya commanding the Allies retaking of South East Asia from Japanese forces. In September 1945, Bulolo was used to accept the Japanese surrender at Singapore.[3]
Bibliography
- Holtham, Tony (May 2022). "HMS Bulolo". Marine News Supplement: Warships. 76 (5): S283–S299. ISSN 0966-6958.
Post-World War II career
On 4 December 1946 she was decommissioned and returned to the Burns, Philp Shipping Company in 1948 to resume her merchant duties. After 161 round voyages, she was sold to the
in May 1968.References
- ^ "MV Bulolo". Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ISBN 9780805062885.
- ^ "TSMV Bulolo". ssmaritime.com. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
External links
- Bryan Seymour (7 June 2014). "The Sydney cruise ship that became a battleship". Yahoo 7 News. Yahoo. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- "Naval Bombardment" on YouTube- Training video from 1945 showing the Bulolo.