HMAS Stawell

HMAS ''Stawell'' (J348/M348) was a named for the town of Stawell, Victoria. Sixty ''Bathurst''-class corvettes were constructed during World War II, and ''Stawell'' was one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The corvette later served in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as HMNZS ''Stawell''.

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 saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a top speed, and a range of , armed with a 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 ''Stawell'') ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.Donohue, ''From Empire Defence to the Long Haul'', p. 29Stevens et al., ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 108

''Stawell'' was laid down by HMA Naval Dockyard at Williamstown, Victoria on 18 June 1942. She was launched on 3 April 1943 by Mrs. J. J. Dedman, wife of the Minister for War Organisation, and commissioned into the RAN on 7 August 1943.

Operational history

RAN

The majority of ''Stawell''s career was spent in three areas. Initially, she served as a convoy escort along the east coast of Australia. Following this, ''Stawell'' participated in a variety of escort, minesweeping, and combat roles throughout New Guinea waters. On 3 August 1945 she sank an armed Daihatsu barge in the Moluccas area. In the final third of her career, the ship spent time in Hong Kong waters, performing minsweeping and anti-piracy duties. ''Stawell'' returned to Brisbane in November 1945.

The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1943–45", "New Guinea 1943–44", and "Borneo 1945".

RNZN

''Stawell'' was removed from RAN service on 26 March 1946. On 5 March 1952, ''Stawell'' and three other ''Bathurst''-class corvettes (HMA Ships , , and ) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy.

She was commissioned into the RNZN during May 1952 and given the prefix HMNZS. ''Stawell'' operated primarily as a training vessel until 1959, when she was placed into reserve.

Fate

''Stawell'' was sold to Pacific Scrap Limited of Auckland, New Zealand in July 1968, and was broken up for scrap.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stawell
Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal Australian Navy
Ships built in Victoria (state)
World War II corvettes of Australia
1943 ships
Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal New Zealand Navy