HMAS Whyalla (J153)

HMAS ''Whyalla'' (J153/B252), named for the city of Whyalla was one of 60 ''Bathurst''-class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built on Admiralty order but manned by personnel of and later commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was sold to the Victorian Public Works Department at the end of the war, who renamed her ''Rip'' and used her as a maintenance ship. In 1984, she was purchased by Whyalla City Council, who put her on display as a landlocked museum ship in 1987.

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 Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a top speed, and a range of , armed with a 4-inch 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 ordered by the RAN, 20 (including ''Whyalla'') 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

''Whyalla'' was laid down by BHP at its Whyalla shipyard on 24 July 1940 as Yard Number 8. The corvette was launched on 12 May 1941 by Lady Barclay-Harvey, wife of the Governor of South Australia, and commissioned on 8 January 1942. ''Whyalla'' was the first ship built by the Whyalla shipyard. The ship was originally to be named ''Glenelg'', for the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg. That name was later used by another ''Bathurst''-class vessel.

Operational history

RAN

In 1942, the corvette worked supporting convoys off the south eastern Australian coast, and was in Sydney Harbour during the Japanese midget submarine attack of 31 May 1942. 12 days later, ''Whyalla'' was escorting a southbound convoy when the freighter ''Guatemala'' was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine ''I-21'', the only ship to be lost in a convoy escorted by ''Whyalla''.

In December 1942, the corvette was assigned to New Guinea, where she performed convoy escort, hydrographic survey work, and was involved in the leadup to the Battle of Buna-Gona. On 2 January 1943, ''Whyalla'' and two small Australian survey ships, ''Stella'' and ''Polaris'', were attacked by Japanese dive-bombers while in McLaren Harbour, Cape Nelson, New Guinea. The corvette received minor damage from near-misses, with two crew injured by shrapnel. The corvette continued survey work until relieved by sister ship ''Shepparton'' in April 1943. ''Whyalla'' proceeded to Milne Bay, and was present when the anchorage was attacked by a force of approximately 100 Japanese aircraft. Again, ''Whyalla'' was not seriously damaged, and the corvette assisted sister ships ''Kapunda'' and ''Wagga'' in the rescue and salvage effort.

''Whyalla'' returned to Australia for refits in June 1943, and on completion was assigned to convoy duty off Australia's east coast, where she remained until February 1944. Between February and June, she was involved in anti-submarine patrols off Sandy Cape, then was again assigned to New Guinea. In December 1944, ''Whyalla'' was one of nine Australian ''Bathurst''s assigned to the British Pacific Fleet's 21st Minesweeping Flotilla. ''Whyalla'' spent the rest of the war performing minesweeping, escort, and anti-submarine duties with the British Pacific Fleet, as well as participating in the occupation of Okinawa from March to May 1944, and entering a short refit in June 1944. Following the conclusion of World War II, ''Whyalla'' spent a short time operating in Hong Kong before returning to Brisbane in October 1945. She was decommissioned on 16 May 1946.

The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1942–45", "New Guinea 1942–44", and "Okinawa 1945".

Civilian service

''Whyalla'' was sold to the Victorian Public Works Department on 10 February 1947. The corvette was modified for civilian service, renamed ''Rip'', and towed to Melbourne, where she entered service as a lighthouse maintenance vessel at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. The ship was in service until 1984, and was to be sold for scrap.

Maritime museum

When the Whyalla City Council learned that the corvette was to be scrapped, it negotiated to purchase the ship. ''Whyalla'' was purchased for $5,000 and sailed back to Whyalla with a volunteer crew of 11 and under her own steam in late 1984. The corvette was located in her launching slipway until April 1987, when she was moved inland to become the centrepiece of the Whyalla Maritime Museum, which opened on 29 October 1988. ''Whyalla'' is one of only two ''Bathurst''-class corvettes still in existence as museum ships; the other being HMAS ''Castlemaine''.

Notes

Citations

References

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External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070926223414/http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mildura/corvettes_6.htm#Whyalla

HNSA Ship Page: HMSA Whyalla

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whyalla
Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal Australian Navy
Lighthouse tenders of Australia
Museums in South Australia
Museum ships in Australia
Ships built in South Australia
Whyalla
World War II corvettes of Australia
1941 ships