HMAS Shropshire

[The Sailor]

HMAS SHROPSHIRE


Following the loss of the heavy cruiser HMAS CANBERRA on 9 August 1942 in the Battle of Savo Island, the British Government approved the transfer of SHROPSHIRE to the Royal Australian Navy as a replacement.

In August 1943 SHROPSHIRE began her voyage to Australia escorting a Gibraltar bound convoy. She arrived at Capetown on 4 September and Fremantle three weeks later

In December 1943 SHROPSHIRE took part in the New Britain operations covering the landings at Arawe and Cape Gloucester. In March 1944, with other ships of Task Force 74, she took part in the operations leading to the seizure of the Admiralty Islands and the following month was again in action at the Hollandia / Humboldt Bay operations.

Continuing support of the American northward sweep, she was at Biak in May 1944 before returning for a brief period to Sydney. On 12 July SHROPSHIRE proceeded to the Aitape, New Guinea operating in support of the 6th Army ashore and followed this duty with bombardment support for the landings at Cape Sansapor on 28 July.
In September 1944 the cruiser gave support to the landings on Morotai Island, prior to proceeding north as part of the invasion fleet for the Philippine operation at Leyte. She took part in the Battle of Surigao Strait on 25 October force ending in the rout of the Japanese.
In January 1945, after Leyte Gulf patrols, SHROPSHIRE took part in the assault on Lingayen, in the Philippines, before returning to Sydney in March for refit.

In June 1945 SHROPSHIRE was back in the operational area and after supporting the landings at Brunei, she was part of the force at the Balikpapan landings on 3 July. SHROPSHIRE then returned to the Philippines and was there when the Japanese surrendered. She sailed for Tokyo Bay and was present for the surrender ceremony


[B]Type County Class Heavy Cruiser
Displacement 9,850 tons
Length 633 feet
Beam 66 feet
Draught 17 feet
Builder William Beardmore & Co Ltd, Dalmuir, Scotland
Laid Down 24 February 1926
Launched 5 July 1928, Completed 12 September 1929
Machinery Parsons geared turbines, 4 screws
Horsepower 80,000
Speed 32 ¼ knots
Armament Original:
8 x 8-inch guns
4 x 4-inch guns
4 x 2-pounder guns
4 x 3-pounder guns
Several smaller guns (2 x .5-inch machine guns added in the 1930s)
8 x 21-inch torpedo tubes (2 quadruple mounts)
On transfer to RAN:

In the second pic, Stropshire refuels HMAS Arrunta at sea 1944

[herakles]

Most interesting thread Sailor.

There's no doubt she was a busy ship during that time.

And it's nice to read of a happy ending for the ship!

Do you know of her eventual fate?

[The Sailor]

Yes Herk, here it is............In May 1946 SHROPSHIRE left Australia for the United Kingdom, carrying the Australian Contingent for the Empire Victory celebrations, returning to Australia in August.

In January 1947 she became Squadron representative in Japanese waters, returning to Sydney in March 1947 in preparation for paying off, her days as an active warship ended. Since first commissioning in the Royal Australian Navy she had steamed 506,445.9 miles. The ship paid off into Special Reserve on 10 November 1949 after a number of periods in different Reserve categories.

After several years lying in Sydney Harbour, SHROPSHIRE was sold as scrap on 16 July 1954 to Thomas W. Ward Ltd, Sheffield, on behalf of the British Iron and Steel (Salvage) Corporation. On 9 October 1954 she left Sydney in tow of the Dutch tug OOSTZEE bound for the shipbreakers in Scotland. SHROPSHIRE was broken up at Troon and Dalmuir.

Below is the stained glass window out of the Garden Island chapel Sydney Harbor

[herakles]

Many thanks for the added information.

[kookaburra]

Compared to American vessels, most of Australia's British-designed warships went into the Pacific war very underdone in the anti-aircraft battery department.

HMAS Shropshire, however, arrived from Britain after a major refit with a very considerable radar array. It is recorded in several places that she amazed the Americans by using her 8-in. main armament against aircraft - and apparently, with good radar direction, it was pretty effective.

There's a nice story also told in John Alliston's book 'Destroyer Man' (Greenhouse Publications, 1985), how, after their first appalling encounters with kamikaze in the Philippines, the main units were back in Seeadler Harbour and Alliston, in command of the destroyer HMAS Warramunga, noticed an American LSD in this rear area
literally bristling with bofors, the most modern AA weapon of the time. Alliston's frontline Tribal-class destroyer had only 20mm Oerlikons and a four barrelled pom pom, plus the 4 inch twin.

He went to see Warwick Bracegirdle on Shropshire, only to find he had already taken the initiative. Bracegirdle had approached the US base commander, given him a first-hand account of the kamikaze attacks, and, Alliston writes, with typical American generosity and lack or red tape, was immediately given the LST's bofors - 13 I think. Moreover, the Americans sent over engineering crews to fit them, all this happening instantly, and without consulting the Australian Naval Board.

Warramunga got four, and the rest must be some of those we later saw photographed sitting on top of the Australian cruiser B turrets and X turrets.

Here are some pics of Shropshire in war, and peace - the latter repatriating troops and delivering the Australian Victory Contingent to and from London in 1946. Some will have been seen before, but a few may be new. Main source is the Australian War Memorial.

[qprdave]

Article, published in The Times of London on September 7, 1943, reporting the transfer of HMS Shropshire to the Australian Navy.

Dave

[ludsie]

Great pics and great stories about this often under reported ship