HMAS Lithgow
| File:HMAS Lithgow 041264.jpg HMAS Lithgow at Milne Bay, Papua during 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| File:Naval ensign of the United Kingdom.svgAustralia | |
| 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 & 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
[edit | edit source]In 1938, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB) identified the need for a general purpose 'local defence vessel' capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties, while easy to construct and operate.[2][3] The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), and a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi)[4] The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) top speed, and a range of 2,850 nautical miles (5,280 km; 3,280 mi), armed with a 4-inch gun, equipped with asdic, and able to fitted with either depth charges or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a sloop than a local defence vessel, the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels.[2][5] Construction of the prototype HMAS Kangaroo did not go ahead, but the plans were retained.[6] The need for locally built 'all-rounder' vessels at the start of World War II saw the "Australian Minesweepers" (designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability, but popularly referred to as "corvettes") approved in September 1939, with 60 constructed during the course of the war: 36 (including Lithgow) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.[2][7][8][9][1]
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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d e f Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ 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
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References
[edit | edit source]- Books
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- Journal and news articles
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