Following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
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) was required to clear
naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...
s from the waters around
Australia and
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
.
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 ...
in these areas began in December 1945 and was completed in August 1948. One ship, the
''Bathurst'' class corvette HMAS ''Warrnambool'', was sunk during these operations.
History
During World War II both the Allies and Japanese laid mines in Australian and New Guinean waters. The RAN's
minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing control ...
,
HMAS ''Bungaree'', laid almost 10,000 mines in Australian waters alone, and further mines were laid around Australian ports.
Following the war Australia was legally responsible for clearing mines from its territorial waters as part of an international minesweeping effort coordinated by the Mine Clearance Board in London.
[Fogarty (1998), p. 123]
The RAN's
20th Minesweeping Flotilla was assigned the task of sweeping Australian waters for mines. The flotilla was based at
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
and was commanded from the sloop
HMAS ''Swan''. Clearance operations began in December 1945, and were generally conducted by ''Bathurst'' class corvettes.
Ships involved included HMAS ''Swan'',
''Ararat'',
''Cowra'',
''Deloraine'',
''Echuca'',
''Katoomba'',
''Lithgow'',
''Mildura'' and ''Warrnambool'' as well as harbour defence motor launches ''1323'', ''1328'', ''1329'' and general purpose vessels ''960'' and ''963''. Over 1,200 sailors were involved in the operation.
Minesweeping was arduous and dangerous and the sailors involved were granted danger money of 6
d per day.
[Fogarty (1998), p. 124] On 13 September 1947 ''Warrnambool'' struck a mine off
North Queensland which had been laid by ''Bungaree'' in November 1943 and sank shortly afterwards with four sailors killed and another 25 wounded.
''Warrnambool'' is the only RAN warship to have ever been sunk by a mine.
The 20th Minesweeping Flotilla completed its task in August 1948. By this time 1,816 mines had been swept.
Eleven officers and sailors were recommended for honours and awards for their role in the operation, with all recommendations being fully endorsed by Vice Admiral
John Collins, the
First Naval Member, Australian Commonwealth Naval Board. Some of the awards were delayed and others never granted, however, due to disagreements between the RAN and the Government over whether post-war minesweeping constituted 'operational' service.
[Fogarty (1998), pp. 124–125]
See also
*
Clearance Diving Branch (RAN)
The Clearance Diving Branch is the specialist diving unit of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) whose versatile role covers all spheres of military diving, and includes explosive ordnance disposal and maritime counter-terrorism. The Branch has evo ...
Notes
References
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{{Royal Australian Navy
minesweeping after World War II
minesweeping after World War II
Aftermath of World War II in Australia