HMAS Cootamundra

HMAS ''Cootamundra'' (J316/M186), named for the town of Cootamundra, New South Wales, 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).

Design and construction

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.Stevens, ''The Australian Corvettes'', p. 1Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', p. 103 The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least , and a range of Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', pp. 103–4 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 top speed, and a range of , 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. Construction of the prototype did not go ahead, but the plans were retained.Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', p. 104 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 ''Cootamundra'') ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', pp. 105, 148Donohue, ''From Empire Defence to the Long Haul'', p. 29Stevens et al., ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 108

''Cootamundra'' was laid down by Poole & Steel at Sydney, New South Wales on 26 February 1942. She was launched on 3 December 1942 by Lady Davidson, wife of the general manager of the Bank of New South Wales, and commissioned into the RAN on 30 April 1943.

Compared to other ''Bathurst'' class corvettes, ''Cootamundra'' is slightly longer ( as opposed to ) and has a slightly shallower draught ( compared to ).

Operational history

World War II

After commissioning, ''Cootamundra'' was assigned to convoy escort duties along the east coast of Australia. On 15 June, a thirteen-ship convoy heading for Brisbane and escorted by ''Cootamundra'' and sister ships ''Bundaberg'', ''Deloraine'', ''Kalgoorlie'', and ''Warrnambool'', was attacked off Smoky Cape. The United States Army Transport ''Portmar'' and the US Navy Landing ship ''LST-469'' were torpedoed by Japanese submarine ''I-174'': the former sinking in minutes with the loss of only two lives, while 26 were killed aboard the latter ship, which survived and was towed to port.Gill (1968). Pages 261–262. This was the last submarine attack to be made on the east coast of Australia during World War II.

''Cootamundra'' was reassigned to Darwin in early June, and began to escort shipping between Darwin and Thursday Island. On 6 August, while escorting the merchantman SS ''Macumba'', the two ships were attacked by two Japanese aircraft. ''Macumba''’s engine room was destroyed, and despite efforts to tow the ship to safety, the merchantman's crew were taken aboard the corvette that evening and the ship was allowed to sink. ''Cootamundra'' remained in her role until April 1944, when she sailed to Sydney for refit. The refit finished at the end of May, and after a brief period operating as an escort from Darwin, ''Cootamundra'' was reassigned to New Guinea waters. The corvette served as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship from 5 July until the end of World War II.

The corvette was awarded three battle honours for her wartime service: "Darwin 1943", "Pacific 1943–45", and "New Guinea 1944".

Post-war

Following the end of the war, ''Cootamundra'' was used to transport Allied prisoners-of-war back to Australia, and carry an occupation force to Ambon, before leaving New Guinea waters on 29 September 1945 while towing HMAS ''Leilani''. The corvette arrived in Melbourne on 26 November 1945, where she was decommissioned into reserve.

On 12 December 1951, ''Cootamundra'' was re-commissioned as a training ship. In 1954, the corvette visited New Zealand. In 1957, she was assigned to northern Australian waters, to supervise the Japanese pearling fleet.

Decommissioning and fate

''Cootamundra'' was decommissioned for the second time on 8 June 1959. She was marked for disposal on 27 September 1961, and was sold for scrap on 28 March 1962.

Citations

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cootamundra
Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal Australian Navy
Ships built in New South Wales
1942 ships
World War II corvettes of Australia
Training ships of the Royal Australian Navy