HMAS ''Platypus'' was a submarine

depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...

and base ship operated 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) between 1919 and 1946. Ordered prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to support the Australian

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s and , ''Platypus'' was not completed until after both submarines had been lost, and she was commissioned into 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 F ...

from 1917 to 1919. After the RAN acquired six J-class submarines, ''Platypus'' was recommissioned as an Australian warship. She was repurposed as a destroyer tender after the J class was removed from service in the 1920s, tasked with supporting the two O-class submarines during 1929 and 1930. After the submarines were placed in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

, ''Platypus'' was renamed HMAS ''Penguin'' and operated as a depot ship until 1941. The ship assumed her old name and was relocated to Darwin, then

Cairns 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 ...

for use as a base ship. After a refit in 1944, ''Platypus'' operated as a repair vessel in

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 ...

waters until she was placed into reserve in 1946. ''Platypus'' was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...

in 1958.

Construction and acquisition

''Platypus'' was ordered as a submarine tender by the Australian government before the outbreak of the war to service the new E-class

s, and . She was built by John Brown and Company at

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and launched on 28 October 1916. By the time she was completed, both submarines had been lost, and she was instead commissioned into the

on 21 March 1917.

Operational history

Royal Navy

At the conclusion of the war, the ship was transferred to the

and was commissioned into the RAN on 25 March 1919.

Royal Australian Navy

''Platypus''s main role was to support the RAN's six J-class submarines, which she sailed with from Britain to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

between April and July 1919. ''Platypus'' and all six J-class submarines were based at

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

in February 1920. Due to the poor condition of the submarines and financial pressure on the RAN the Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service was disbanded in May 1922 and ''Platypus'' was redesignated as a destroyer tender. ''Platypus'' reverted to her original role as a submarine tender in 1929 when the RAN acquired two O-class submarines but was used as a

after these submarines were placed into

in 1930. She was renamed HMAS ''Penguin'' on 15 August 1930. In October 1932, a mutiny occurred aboard ''Penguin''.Frame & Baker, ''Mutiny'', p. 126 The mutiny was in protest of the decreases in sailor pay and conditions: Depression-era cutbacks had impacted them harder than officers, as they had no avenues of protest. The ship's commanding officer was sympathetic, promising that he would forward their concerns to the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (which refused to consider them) and that they would not be punished. She continued as a depot ship until 26 February 1941 when she was renamed HMAS ''Platypus'' and returned to seagoing service as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

. In May 1941, ''Platypus'' sailed to Darwin to serve as a base ship. She survived the Japanese attack on Darwin in February 1942 and remained at Darwin until January 1943 when she sailed to Cairns, Queensland where she again served as a base ship until May 1944. In June 1944 ''Platypus'' received a major refit and sailed to

as a repair and maintenance vessel. She operated off

and

Morotai Island Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

until returning to Australia in December 1945. The wartime service of ''Platypus'' was later recognised with the battle honour "Darwin 1942–43".

Decommissioning and fate

''Platypus'' was placed into reserve on 13 May 1946,

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

on 1 November 1956 and was sold for

on 20 February 1958.

Citations

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platypus Submarine depot ships of the Royal Australian Navy 1916 ships Ships built on the River Clyde