herakles
31-01-2008, 09:25
There have been 3 ships carrying this proud name. A fourth was planned but was never commissioned.
1. HMAS Australia
was an Orlando class cruiser,commissioned in 1888.
Displacement: 5,600 tons
Length: 300 ft (91.44 m)
Beam: 56 ft (17.07 m)
Draught: 22.5 ft (6.86 m)
Propulsion: 3-cylinder triple-extension steam engines two shafts 4 double-ended boilers 5,500 hp
8,500 hp forced-draught
Speed: 17 knots natural draughtn18 knots forced draught
Range: 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement: 484
Armament: 2 × 9.2 in (234 mm) guns (2 x 1)BL
10 x 6 in (152 mm) guns (10 x 1) BL
6 × 6 pdr guns (6 × 1) QF
10 × 3 pdr guns (10 × 1) QF
6 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes:
4 above-water broadside
1 bow and 1 stern submerged
Armour: 10 in (254 mm) belt
12 in (304.8 mm) conning tower
She was scrapped in 1905
2. HMAS Australia
was an Indefatigable class battlecruiser launched in 1911
18,800 tons
Length: 590 feet (overall)
Beam: 80 feet
Draught: 30 feet (maximum), 26 feet 6 inches (mean)
Builder: John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland
Laid Down: 26 June 1910
Launched: 25 October 1911, by Lady Reid, wife of Sir George Reid, Australian High Commissioner in London and former Prime Minister
Completed: 21 June 1913
Horsepower: 44,000
Speed: 25 knots
Armament: 8 x 12-inch guns
14 x 4-inch guns
2 x 18-inch torpedo tubes (broadside, submerged)
Armour: Maximum 6 inches (belt) amidships
Fuel: Coal - 3170 tons maximum bunkerage; 1200 tons normal bunkerage Oil - 840 tons
Her motto was Endeavour in recognition of James Cook.
Two days after launching the ship hoisted the flag of Rear Admiral George Edwin Patey, MVO (later Vice Admiral Sir George Patey, KCMG, KCVO), who had been selected to command the Australian Fleet. Along with HMAS Sydney, she arrived in Australia toward the end of 1913.
At the outbreak of war she was detailed to the Southern Pacific to counteract the influence of the German East Asiatic Cruiser Squadron. She participated in the capture of German possessions in New Guinea.
In December 1914 she was ordered to England and en route captured the supply ship of von Spee. She arrived at Rosyth and became flagship of the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Sir William Pakenham, KCB, MVO
The squadron patrolled the North Sea but the only time she fired in anger was at a suspected submarine in December 1917. In April 1916 she had a collision with HMNZS New Zealand and was forced to take repairs, thus missing the Battle of Jutland. In December 1917 she had a collision with HMS Repulse and once again withdrew for repairs. In March 1918 she was adapted to launch a Sopwith Struter. This was the first ever launching of a two-seater aircraft from a battle cruiser. By the end of the war nearly every British capital ship carried a Strutter for reconnaissance and a Sopwith Pup or Sopwith Camel as a fighter.
Back in Australia in early 1919, she was the subject of a mutiny at Fremantle after a not impossible request from the crew was turned down by the Captain. As there were no further duties to perform, in 1924 she was prepared for scuttling to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which provided for a reduction in naval strengths.
3. HMAS Australia (D84)
was a County class heavy cruiser launched in 1927.
Displacement: 9,850 tons (10,010 t) standard, 13,450 tons (13,670 t) full load
Length: 630 ft (192 m)
Beam: 68.25 ft (20.8 m)
Draught: 16.25 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion: 4 shaft Brown-Curtis geared turbines, 8 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 80,000 shp.
Speed: 31.5 knots
Range: 3,100 miles at 31.5 knots (5,740 km at 58 km/h), 13,300 miles at 12 knots (24,600 km at 22 km/h); 3,400 tons (3,450 t) fuel oil
Complement: 679 (848 at war)
Armament: Original configuration:
8 x 8 in (203 mm) single guns,
4 x 4 in (102 mm) dual Anti-aircraft guns,
4 x 3 pdr guns
Armour: Original configuration:
1 to 4 in magazine box protection,
1.375 in deck,
1 in side-plating,turrets and bulkheads,
4.5 in belt,
4 internal boiler room sides (added 1936-1940)
Aircraft carried: 1 aircraft
Motto: "Endeavour"
This ship was most usually being attacked during World War 2. She took part in Operation Menace off Dakar in 1940. She was hit by shore batteries and her reconnaissance plane shot down. She spent time with the British Home Fleet and was the target of enemy bombers when in Liverpool. During 1941 she escorted convoys and patrolled the Indian and Atlantic oceans. She patrolled Australian waters and sailed as far south as Antarctica. In 1942 she escorted the first American troops to Australia.
The Aussie took part in the Battle of The Coral Sea, narrowly escaping a concerted attack from torpedo bombers. She supported the invasions of Guadalcanal and the New Guinea campaign, including the Allied landings in New Britain.
In 1944 during the battle of Leyte Gulf she was the first ship ever to encounter Kamikaze attack. About 30 men were killed including the Captain. Four days later she was hit again by the Kamikaze and had to retire to the New Hebrides for repairs. Being the last survivor of the heavy cruiser fleet she returned again to the Philippines and once again was subjected to several Kamikaze attacks. All told, she survived 6 Kamikaze attacks before war's end. Total loss of life was 86. So serious was the damage that in late 1944 she was forced to retire. She never saw enemy action again.
Post WW2 she served as a training ship and was decommissioned in 1954.
The first 2 pictures are of Australia 1, the third of Australia 2 passing through the Panama canal.
1. HMAS Australia
was an Orlando class cruiser,commissioned in 1888.
Displacement: 5,600 tons
Length: 300 ft (91.44 m)
Beam: 56 ft (17.07 m)
Draught: 22.5 ft (6.86 m)
Propulsion: 3-cylinder triple-extension steam engines two shafts 4 double-ended boilers 5,500 hp
8,500 hp forced-draught
Speed: 17 knots natural draughtn18 knots forced draught
Range: 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement: 484
Armament: 2 × 9.2 in (234 mm) guns (2 x 1)BL
10 x 6 in (152 mm) guns (10 x 1) BL
6 × 6 pdr guns (6 × 1) QF
10 × 3 pdr guns (10 × 1) QF
6 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes:
4 above-water broadside
1 bow and 1 stern submerged
Armour: 10 in (254 mm) belt
12 in (304.8 mm) conning tower
She was scrapped in 1905
2. HMAS Australia
was an Indefatigable class battlecruiser launched in 1911
18,800 tons
Length: 590 feet (overall)
Beam: 80 feet
Draught: 30 feet (maximum), 26 feet 6 inches (mean)
Builder: John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland
Laid Down: 26 June 1910
Launched: 25 October 1911, by Lady Reid, wife of Sir George Reid, Australian High Commissioner in London and former Prime Minister
Completed: 21 June 1913
Horsepower: 44,000
Speed: 25 knots
Armament: 8 x 12-inch guns
14 x 4-inch guns
2 x 18-inch torpedo tubes (broadside, submerged)
Armour: Maximum 6 inches (belt) amidships
Fuel: Coal - 3170 tons maximum bunkerage; 1200 tons normal bunkerage Oil - 840 tons
Her motto was Endeavour in recognition of James Cook.
Two days after launching the ship hoisted the flag of Rear Admiral George Edwin Patey, MVO (later Vice Admiral Sir George Patey, KCMG, KCVO), who had been selected to command the Australian Fleet. Along with HMAS Sydney, she arrived in Australia toward the end of 1913.
At the outbreak of war she was detailed to the Southern Pacific to counteract the influence of the German East Asiatic Cruiser Squadron. She participated in the capture of German possessions in New Guinea.
In December 1914 she was ordered to England and en route captured the supply ship of von Spee. She arrived at Rosyth and became flagship of the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Sir William Pakenham, KCB, MVO
The squadron patrolled the North Sea but the only time she fired in anger was at a suspected submarine in December 1917. In April 1916 she had a collision with HMNZS New Zealand and was forced to take repairs, thus missing the Battle of Jutland. In December 1917 she had a collision with HMS Repulse and once again withdrew for repairs. In March 1918 she was adapted to launch a Sopwith Struter. This was the first ever launching of a two-seater aircraft from a battle cruiser. By the end of the war nearly every British capital ship carried a Strutter for reconnaissance and a Sopwith Pup or Sopwith Camel as a fighter.
Back in Australia in early 1919, she was the subject of a mutiny at Fremantle after a not impossible request from the crew was turned down by the Captain. As there were no further duties to perform, in 1924 she was prepared for scuttling to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which provided for a reduction in naval strengths.
3. HMAS Australia (D84)
was a County class heavy cruiser launched in 1927.
Displacement: 9,850 tons (10,010 t) standard, 13,450 tons (13,670 t) full load
Length: 630 ft (192 m)
Beam: 68.25 ft (20.8 m)
Draught: 16.25 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion: 4 shaft Brown-Curtis geared turbines, 8 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 80,000 shp.
Speed: 31.5 knots
Range: 3,100 miles at 31.5 knots (5,740 km at 58 km/h), 13,300 miles at 12 knots (24,600 km at 22 km/h); 3,400 tons (3,450 t) fuel oil
Complement: 679 (848 at war)
Armament: Original configuration:
8 x 8 in (203 mm) single guns,
4 x 4 in (102 mm) dual Anti-aircraft guns,
4 x 3 pdr guns
Armour: Original configuration:
1 to 4 in magazine box protection,
1.375 in deck,
1 in side-plating,turrets and bulkheads,
4.5 in belt,
4 internal boiler room sides (added 1936-1940)
Aircraft carried: 1 aircraft
Motto: "Endeavour"
This ship was most usually being attacked during World War 2. She took part in Operation Menace off Dakar in 1940. She was hit by shore batteries and her reconnaissance plane shot down. She spent time with the British Home Fleet and was the target of enemy bombers when in Liverpool. During 1941 she escorted convoys and patrolled the Indian and Atlantic oceans. She patrolled Australian waters and sailed as far south as Antarctica. In 1942 she escorted the first American troops to Australia.
The Aussie took part in the Battle of The Coral Sea, narrowly escaping a concerted attack from torpedo bombers. She supported the invasions of Guadalcanal and the New Guinea campaign, including the Allied landings in New Britain.
In 1944 during the battle of Leyte Gulf she was the first ship ever to encounter Kamikaze attack. About 30 men were killed including the Captain. Four days later she was hit again by the Kamikaze and had to retire to the New Hebrides for repairs. Being the last survivor of the heavy cruiser fleet she returned again to the Philippines and once again was subjected to several Kamikaze attacks. All told, she survived 6 Kamikaze attacks before war's end. Total loss of life was 86. So serious was the damage that in late 1944 she was forced to retire. She never saw enemy action again.
Post WW2 she served as a training ship and was decommissioned in 1954.
The first 2 pictures are of Australia 1, the third of Australia 2 passing through the Panama canal.