HMAS ''Katoomba'' (J204/M204), named after the tourist resort of
Katoomba, New South Wales
Katoomba is the chief town of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and the administrative headquarters of Blue Mountains City Council. The council's understanding is that Katoomba is located on the lands of the Dharug and Gu ...
, was one of 60
''Bathurst''-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially crewed and commissioned solely by the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
(RAN).
Design and construction
In 1938, the
Australian Commonwealth Naval Board
The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board was the governing authority over the Royal Australian Navy from its inception and through World Wars I and II. The board was established on 1 March 1911 and consisted of civilian members of the Australian ...
(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. 1][Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', p. 103] The vessel was initially envisaged as having a
displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and Physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
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
The Bar class were a class of boom defence vessels of the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy and South African Navy during World War II.
Ships Royal Navy
* HMS ''Barbain'' (Z01)
* HMS ''Barbarian'' (Z18)
* HMS ''Barbastel'' (Z276)
* HMS ''Bar ...
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
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on or ...
, and able to fitted with either
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s or
minesweeping
Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...
equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
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 ''Katoomba'') ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty
The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...
but crewed and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy
The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India.
Fr ...
.[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][
''Katoomba'' was laid down by ]Poole & Steel
Poole & Steel was a major Australian engineering, railway rolling stock manufacturer and shipbuilding company. It had facilities located in Balmain, New South Wales and Osborne, South Australia.
History
The company was set up by Arthur Hugh Pool ...
at Balmain, New South Wales
Balmain is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Inner West Council.
It is locate ...
on 9 September 1940.[ She was launched on 16 April 1941 by Mrs. Lloyd, then deputy mayoress of Katoomba, and was commissioned into the RAN on 17 December 1941.][
]
Operational history
''Katoomba'' entered active service with an assignment to Darwin, where she arrived on 19 December 1941.[ The next day, ''Katoomba'', along with sister ships ''Deloraine'' and ''Lithgow'', and the United States destroyer ''Edsall'', was involved in the prosecution and successful sinking of Japanese submarine ''I-124'', the first enemy submarine sunk in Australian waters.][ ''Katoomba'' was present during the Japanese ]bombing of Darwin
The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in ...
on 19 February, but was not significantly damaged.[
At the end of June, ''Katoomba'' was reassigned as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship in the waters of northern Queensland and ]New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
.[ On 14 August, ''Katoomba'' was sent to assist United States submarine ''S-39'', which had run aground on a reef off ]Rossel Island
Rossel Island (named after de Rossel, a senior officer on the French expedition of d'Entrecasteaux, 1791-1793; also known as Yela) is the easternmost island of the Louisiade Archipelago, within the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Tree Isle ...
.[ Attempts to refloat the submarine were unsuccessful, and on 16 August, the corvette left Rossel Island with ''S-39''’s entire crew of 47 embarked.][ The submarine was gutted and left to break up naturally.][ On 28 November, ''Katoomba'' and sister ship ''Ballarat'' were attacked by a force of ten Japanese dive bombers.][ The corvettes escaped without serious damage.][ ''Katoomba'' was attacked again during January 1943, when a force of six Japanese aircraft attacked the corvette and the Dutch merchant ship ''Van Heutz''.][ ''Katoomba'' escaped serious damage, but the merchantman was hit, with one man killed and three injured.][
In February 1944, ''Katoomba'' ended her escort duties, and after a short period on patrol, was sent to Sydney for refitting.][ Upon her return to New Guinea waters in early May 1944, the corvette was assigned as an anti-submarine patrol ship.][ She remained in this role until the start of March 1945, although during this period she was occasionally used as an escort ship.][ The corvette returned to Australian waters, spent three months in ]Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
, then was assigned to Darwin, where she operated until the end of World War II.[
After the war's end, ''Katoomba'' was sent to the ]Japanese surrender
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
at Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...
, before assignment to mine-clearance duties throughout New Guinea waters.[ She returned to Sydney in October 1946, and was prepared for decommissioning, but was instead reactivated to help clear the coast of Queensland of mines.][
''Katoomba'' received three ]battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
In European military t ...
s for her wartime service: "Darwin 1942", "Pacific 1942–45", and "New Guinea 1942–44".
Decommissioning and fate
''Katoomba'' arrived in Fremantle on 16 January 1948, and was paid off into reserve on 2 August.[ She remained in reserve until 2 May 1957, when she was sold for breaking up as scrap to the Hong Kong Rolling Mills.][
]
Citations
References
;Books
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;Journal and news articles
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katoomba
Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal Australian Navy
Ships built in New South Wales
1941 ships
World War II corvettes of Australia