HMAS ''Adelaide'' was a light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), named after

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, the capital city of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Laid down in 1915, wartime shortages and design modifications meant the ship was not completed until 1922, earning her the nickname "HMAS ''Longdelayed''". ''Adelaide'' served with the Royal Navy's

Special Service Squadron The Special Service Squadron was a component of the United States Navy during the earlier part of the 20th century. The squadron patrolled the Caribbean Sea as an instrument of gunboat diplomacy. It was headquartered in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone ...

during 1924 and 1925, and was involved in the 1927

Malaita massacre The Malaita massacre inflicted a large number of deaths on the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands in late 1927. William R. Bell, the District Officer of Malaita in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, and many of his deputies were k ...

. She was decommissioned in 1928, but was modernised and returned to service just before World War II began. During the war, ''Adelaide'' was involved in successful efforts to secure the colony of New Caledonia for Free France, was present during the Japanese midget submarine

attack on Sydney Harbour In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three ''Ko-hyoteki''-class midget submarin ...

, and intercepted the German

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usual ...

''Ramses''. The cruiser was decommissioned in 1946, and broken up for scrap in 1949.

Design and construction

The design of ''Adelaide'' was modified from the ''Chatham'' subclass of the light cruisers, with similarities to the ''Birmingham'' subclass. The ship was

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the stern ...

, with a beam of , and a draught of .Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 5 The initial ship's company stood at 33 officers and 450 sailors, but by 1941, this had dropped to 26 officers and 436 sailors. The propulsion system consisted of Parsons turbines providing to two propeller shafts. As designed, the ship had a maximum speed of , but modifications during her career saw this increase to during the 1920s, then drop to by 1941. The cruiser was originally fuelled by both coal and oil, but the ship's refit in 1938–39 saw her converted to oil only, along with the removal of the foremost funnel and boilers.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 6 ''Adelaide'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at the

Cockatoo Island Dockyard The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role ...

, Sydney on 20 November 1915.Royal Australian Navy, ''HMAS Adelaide (I)'' She was launched on 27 July 1918 by

Lady Helen Munro Ferguson Helen Hermione Munro Ferguson, Viscountess Novar (14 March 1865 – 9 April 1941) was a Red Cross leader, as well as an advocate for nursing and healthcare and political activist. Early life Born Helen Hermione Munro Hamilton-Temple-Blackwo ...

, the wife of the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Ronald Munro Ferguson.Perryman, ''Ships Named Adelaide'', p. 1 Construction was not completed until 31 July 1922 because of wartime shortages, loss of machinery part forgings for items that could not be made in Australia to enemy action, and modifications based on wartime experience: the ship was consequently nicknamed "HMAS ''Longdelayed''". She was finally commissioned into the RAN on 5 August 1922. ''Adelaide'' cost 1,271,782 pounds to build. HMAS Adelaide 6 inch gun crew 1939 AWM 000047

HMAS Adelaide 6 inch gun crew 1939 AWM 000047

The

ship's badge Naval heraldry is a form of identification used by naval vessels from the end of the 19th century onwards, after distinguishing features such as figureheads and gilding were discouraged or banned by several navies. Naval heraldry commonly takes t ...

was based on the municipal seal of the City of Adelaide. Her motto was "''Ut Prosint Omnibus Conjuncti''", Latin for "United for the Common Weal".Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 9 Some incorrect versions of the ship's badge show the motto as "United We Stand", the motto for .

Armament

At launch, the cruiser's armament consisted of nine

BL 6-inch Mk XII naval gun The BL 6-inch Mark XII naval gun was a British 45 calibre naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on light cruisers and secondary armament on dreadnought battleships commissioned in the period 1914–1926, and remained in service on m ...

s, a single QF 3-inch anti-aircraft gun, a single

Ordnance QF 12-pounder 8 cwt The Ordnance QF 12-pounder 8 cwt was a Royal Navy "landing gun" intended for navy use ashore. "8 cwt" refers to the weight of the gun and breech, approximately 8 cwt = 8 x = . This was how the British often differentiated between guns of the sam ...

field gun, four QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss saluting guns, ten .303-inch machine guns (a mix of

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

and

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition * Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Si ...

guns), two submerged broadside 21-inch torpedo tubes, and two depth charge chutes. The number of machine guns was increased to twelve in 1924. During a refit in 1938 and 1939, ''Adelaide''s armament was altered. One 6-inch gun, the field gun, the anti-aircraft gun, and the torpedo tubes were all removed. They were replaced with three 4-inch anti-aircraft guns. Fire-control equipment was also upgraded at this time.Perryman, ''Ships Named Adelaide'', p. 2 During May and June 1942, the anti-aircraft armament was supplemented by six

20 mm Oerlikon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emp ...

guns. Another refit lasting from June to September 1943 saw a second 6-inch gun removed, the 4-inch armament reduced to two guns, and four hydraulic depth charge throwers installed.

Operational history

1922–1939

HMAS Adelaide entering Burrard Inlet 1924

After a brief sea-trials and working up period off Jervis Bay, ''Adelaide'' spent the period from commissioning until February 1924 operating on standard duties and exercises throughout the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

. On 18 April 1924, following a brief refit, she joined the Royal Navy's

for a flag-showing cruise outside Australian waters. During the voyage, ''Adelaide'' visited New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, the western coasts of Canada and the United States, the Panama Canal (becoming the first RAN ship to travel through), the Caribbean, and eastern Canada, before reaching Portsmouth on 28 September. The cruiser left for home on 10 January 1925, sailing via the Mediterranean, Ceylon, Singapore, and Thursday Island, and reached Sydney on 7 April. In October 1927, ''Adelaide'' was called to the Solomon Islands in response to the killing of a district officer, a cadet, and fifteen native police by

Kwaio Kwaio is an ethnic group found in central Malaita, in the Solomon Islands. According to Ethnologue, they numbered 13,249 in 1999. Much of what is known about the Kwaio is due to the work of the anthropologist Roger M. Keesing, who lived among th ...

natives at Malaita. Arriving at

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...

on 14 October, an officer and sixteen sailors were sent ashore to reinforce local law enforcement. The ship then proceeded to Malaita to protect the landing of three platoons of troops on 17 October, then remained in the area to provide personnel support for the soldiers as they searched for the killers, in what became the

. ''Adelaide'' returned to Australia on 23 November. Over the next year, ''Adelaide'' continued a pattern of exercises and promotional visits to Australian ports. The cruiser was paid off into reserve on 27 June 1928. During 1938 and 1939, the ship underwent a 60,000 pound modernisation, which included the conversion from both coal and oil as fuel to oil-only (requiring the removal of two boilers and an exhaust funnel), and alterations to the cruiser's armament. The cruiser was recommissioned on 13 March 1939, and undertook exercises with the Australian and New Zealand Squadrons. The ship returned to Sydney in late April, and was paid off again on 17 May, so that the ship's company could be sent to England aboard to commission the new light cruiser . With the threat of war in Europe imminent, ''Adelaide'' was prepared for a return to service, and was commissioned on 1 September.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 7

World War II

The ship was initially used for convoy escort and protection duties in Australian waters. In September 1940, ''Adelaide'' carried the French official

Henri Sautot Henri Camille Sautot (5 May 1885 – 23 March 1963) was a French colonial governor. Biography Sautot was born in Bourbonne-les-Bains and attended school in Nancy.New Hebrides (later Vanuatu) to Nouméa, New Caledonia. Sautot had been appointed governor by Free French leader

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, following attempts by

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

to gain control of the French colony. On 3 September, while en route, ''Adelaide'' collided with the merchant vessel SS ''Coptic''. (Although both ships only suffered minor damage, the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line sued the Australian government in 1947 for £35,000 in damages.) After Sautot landed, on 25 September, ''Adelaide'' patrolled off the coast, to counter a perceived threat from the Vichy sloop ''Dumont d'Urville''. The Australian cruiser remained in the area until the situation had stabilised, returning to Sydney on 8 October. ''Adelaide'' resumed escort and patrol duties around Australia and New Guinea waters. During May to July 1942, ''Adelaide'' was docked at Garden Island for a refit, focused primarily on increasing the ship's anti-aircraft weapon outfit.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 8 Consequently, the ship was one of several major Allied vessels in Sydney Harbour during the Japanese midget submarine attack of 31 May 1942.Gillett, ''Warships of Australia'', pp. 193–4 After the refit, ''Adelaide'' was assigned to Fremantle for convoy escort work in the Indian Ocean. In November 1942, ''Adelaide'', along with the Dutch cruiser and the Australian corvettes and , escorted a convoy across the southern Indian Ocean. On 28 November, the ships spotted an unidentified vessel, which claimed to be the Norwegian merchantman ''Taiyang''. Officers aboard ''Adelaide'' recognised the ship as the German

''Ramses'', but did not receive a response to their challenging until two boats were lowered from the ship, followed by the sound of an explosion from a scuttling charge. ''Adelaide'' opened fire, hitting with the third salvo onwards, and continued shooting until ''Ramses'' sank eight minutes later, then recovered the Germans from the boats. ''Adelaide'' continued to operate from Fremantle until October 1944, apart from a refit at

Williamstown Naval Dockyard Williamstown Dockyard was one of Australia's principal ship building yards at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia. The Colony of Victoria decided to construct a large slipway at Williamstown to provide ship repair facilities in 1856 and the Govern ...

from June to September 1943, where further armament alterations were made. On 8 October 1944, the cruiser made for Sydney. On 26 February 1945, ''Adelaide'' was decommissioned, but then recommissioned on 19 May to serve as a tender to the naval base . ''Adelaide'' was awarded the

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 ...

s "Pacific 1941–43" and "East Indies 1942" for her wartime service.

Decommissioning and fate

''Adelaide'' was decommissioned for the final time on 13 May 1946. The ship was stripped of equipment during 1947, and on 24 January 1949, the hulk was sold to Australian Iron and Steel for breaking up. ''Adelaide'' was towed by the tug to Port Kembla during 1 and 2 April, where she was scrapped. As a memorial to the ship the main-mast was erected alongside the Sphynx Memorial in

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is a national park on the northern side of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The park is north of the Sydney central business district and generally comprises the land east of the M1 Pacific Motorway, sou ...

, Sydney, in about 1950.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 10 An information plaque with a diagram of the ship was installed nearby. One of the cruiser's 6-inch guns was found at a rubbish tip in Victoria; this was restored, then placed on display at HMAS ''Cerberus'', Victoria. The ship's bell came first to the Amazon Hotel in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

, England, removed to the Spice Lounge restaurant in Exmouth. In 2014, a shield removed from HMAS ''Adelaide'' during a refit in 1943 and dumped on a tip on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, was transported to Perth for refurbishment. A member of the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Society of Western Australia, which had been searching for such a shield for 20 years as a match for a 6-inch Mk XI naval gun it held from HMAS ''Sydney'', a ship scrapped in 1928, had spotted the shield at location. The naval gun and shield were installed at the

Leighton Battery Leighton Battery at Buckland Hill, Mosman Park, Western Australia, was part of the Coastal defences of Australia during World War II and the Fremantle Fortress, protecting Fremantle Harbour. The battery initially consisted of two 6-inch Mk ...

in September 2015 to replicate the original 6-inch guns at site.

Citations

References

;Books * * * ;Journal articles * ;Websites *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelaide 1918 ships Ships built in New South Wales World War I cruisers of Australia World War II cruisers of Australia Town-class cruisers (1910) of the Royal Australian Navy