HMAS ''Kanimbla'' was a passenger ship converted for use as an armed merchant cruiser and landing ship infantry during

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 ...

. Built during the mid-1930s as the passenger liner MV ''Kanimbla'' for McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co, the ship operated in Australian waters until 1939, when she was requisitioned for military service, converted into an armed merchant cruiser, and commissioned in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

as HMS ''Kanimbla''. Initially used to board and take control of merchant vessels belonging to

Occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

and operating in Asian waters, ''Kanimbla'' led the raid to capture the Iranian port of Bandar Shahpur in August 1941, and was present during the covert 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 ...

in 1942. In 1943, the ship was converted into a Landing Ship Infantry, transferred to 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 ...

, and operated throughout the

South West Pacific Theatre The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of ...

until the end of the war. ''Kanimbla'' was decommissioned and returned to her commercial owners in 1950. In 1961, she was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed ''Oriental Queen''. The ship operated as a liner throughout the Pacific and to Japan until 1973, when she was broken up for scrap.

Construction

The ship was laid down as motor vessel (MV) ''Kanimbla'' for McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co by

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. She was launched on 15 December 1935 and completed in 1936. The ship was named for the

Kanimbla Valley Kanimbla may refer to: *, several ships of Royal Australian Navy *'' Kanimbla'' a Sydney K-class ferry * ''Kanimbla''-class landing platform amphibious * Kanimbla, Queensland, a suburb of the city of Cairns in Australia * Kanimbla Valley, a valley ...

, west of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. A Sydney Harbour ferry, launched in 1910 as '' Kanimbla'' gave up her name to the new larger vessel in 1936, and was renamed ''Kurra-Ba''.

Operational history

Pre-war

The ship arrived in Melbourne 12 June 1936 and operated a passenger service between Cairns and Fremantle. The ship accommodated 203 first class and 198 cabin class passengers. This passenger service continued until the outbreak of World War II. Kanimbla carried its own broadcast radio station ( call sign 9MI), which broadcast programs to onshore listeners and other ships, as it passed along the coastline. If broadcast on short wave, but sometimes its programs were relayed by onshore medium wave stations. It was conducted entirely by Eileen Foley. It broadcast between 1936 and 1939.

World War II

Om 5 September 1939, ''Kanimbla'' was requisitioned for military service, and underwent conversion to an armed merchant cruiser at Garden Island in Sydney.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 216 She was commissioned into the

as HMS ''Kanimbla'', though with a largely Australian crew, on 6 September 1939. The ship was initially assigned the pennant number F23 - and later given the pennant number C78. ''Kanimbla'' was engaged in patrolling the coasts of Asia and boarding vessels of German or

occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

origin. On 24 August 1941, ''Kanimbla'' led a raid to capture the Iranian port of Bandar Shahpur. The ship led seven other vessels, including the gunboat , the corvette , the

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built ...

HMT ''Arthur Cavannagh'', the sloop , an oil rig tugboat, and a dhow. In addition, ''Kanimbla'' carried 300

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

troops, including

Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...

s and soldiers from 3rd Battalion,

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments. During more ...

, whose task was to board and capture the German cargo ship ''Hohenfels''. ''Kanimbla'' used her armament in support of the raid, which resulted in the securing of the railhead, and the capture of eight Axis merchantmen, two gunboats, and a floating dock were captured as well as the railhead. ''Kanimbla'' was one of several Allied vessels located in Sydney Harbour during the covert attack by Japanese midget submarines on the night of 31 May 1942. She arrived back in Sydney on 2 April 1943, was converted to a Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) and commissioned into the

as HMAS ''Kanimbla'' on 1 June 1943. She received the pennant number C78.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 217 In this configuration, she could carry 1,280 troops, and carried up to 22 LCVPs, plus two

Landing Craft Mechanised Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...

.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 215 The ship earned five

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: "New Guinea 1944", "Leyte Gulf 1944", "Lingayen Gulf 1945", "Borneo 1945", and "Pacific 1945".

Post-war

''Kanimbla'' paid off at Sydney on 25 March 1949 and was returned to her owners on 13 December 1950 after being converted back by the

Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company The Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company was a ship building and maintenance company which operated the Cockatoo Island Dockyard on Cockatoo Island in Sydney, Australia between 1933 and 1992. History The Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company ...

with the ship subsequently bringing European migrants to Australia and later taking Australian tourists to Japan and other parts of Asia. In 1961, the ship was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed ''Oriental Queen''. For the next three years, the ship was chartered to transport pilgrims between Indonesia and Jeddah. In 1964, ''Oriental Queen'' was chartered by a Japanese shipping company and served as a liner on the

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

–

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

route. The vessel was later sold outright to the Japanese charterer. ''Oriental Queen''s career ended in 1973, with the ship's sale to Taiwanese breakers for scrapping.

Legacy

The suburb of Kanimbla in Cairns was named after the ship.

Citations

References

* * * *

External links

Mentioned in dispatches
'' London Gazette'' 6 March 1942
HMS Kanimbla at uboat.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanimbla Amphibious warfare vessels of the Royal Australian Navy World War II Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Belfast 1935 ships Ships built by Harland and Wolff