HMAS Dubbo (J251)

HMAS ''Dubbo'' (J251/M251), named for the city of Dubbo, 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 ''Dubbo'') 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

''Dubbo'' was laid down by Mort's Dock & Engineering Company at Balmain, New South Wales on 13 October 1941. She was launched on 7 March 1942 by Mrs. E. B. Scrisier, Mayoress of Dubbo, and was commissioned into the RAN on 31 July 1942.

Operational history

World War II

From 1942 until March 1945, ''Dubbo'' was assigned to convoy escort anti-submarine duties off the western Australian coast.

In March 1945, ''Dubbo'' sailed to Port Moresby, where she spent the rest of World War II around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, actively supporting Australian land forces. ''Dubbo'' fired her first hostile shots on 25 April 1945, against a Japanese position on Muschu Island. This was the first of several bombardments performed by the ship against Japanese positions during the war. ''Dubbo'' was undamaged during all of these, and returned to Brisbane in May 1945.

The corvette received one battle honour for her wartime service: "Pacific 1942–45".

Post-war

In August 1945, ''Dubbo'' returned to the Solomon Islands, where she was part of minesweeping operations. She returned for refits in October 1945, and in January 1946 performed minesweeping duties off the Australian coast.

Decommissioning and fate

''Dubbo'' was paid off into reserve on 7 February 1957, and was sold for scrap to Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha of Tokyo on 20 February 1958. In June 1958, ''Dubbo'' and the repair ship left Sydney under tow.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubbo (J251)
Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal Australian Navy
Ships built in New South Wales
1942 ships
World War II corvettes of Australia