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HMAS Australia - World Naval Ships Directory

HMAS Australia

Name : HMAS Australia
Laid Down : 25th August 1925
Launched : 17th March 1927
Completed : 24th April 1928
Type : Cruiser
Class : County
Builder : John Brown
Country : Australia
Pennants : I84, D84, C30
Fate : Sold for scrap 25th January 1955.

J Brown launched this County class heavy cruiser for the Royal Australian Navy on 17 March 1927 and she entered service in the Royal Australian Navy on 24 April 1928. After World War II began, "The Aussie" (as the ship was affectionately known within the RAN), first fired her main armament in anger off the coast of Dakar, in September 1940, when she took part in Operation Menace. AUSTRALIA damaged the Vichy French destroyer L'AUDACIEUX, which as a result beached herself. AUSTRALIA received hits from shore batteries and anti-aircraft fire shot down her Supermarine Seagull V reconnaissance plane.

During 1941, AUSTRALIA escorted convoys and patrolled the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Following the onset of the Pacific War, AUSTRALIA re-deployed to the South West Pacific Area. In May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, the ship survived a brief but intense attack from Japanese torpedo bombers. From August 1942 until mid-1944, AUSTRALIA provided supporting fire and surface protection for Allied land forces in the invasion of Guadalcanal and the New Guinea campaign.

On October 21, 1944, in the lead-up to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, AUSTRALIA was hit by a Japanese plane carrying a 200 kg bomb, in the first-ever kamikaze attack. The plane struck the superstructure, above the bridge, spewing burning fuel and debris over a large area. However, the bomb failed to explode; if it had, the ship might have sunk. At least 30 crew members died, including the commanding officer, Captain Emile Dechaineux; among the wounded was Commodore John Collins, the Australian force commander. On October 25, a kamikaze hit AUSTRALIA again forcing her to retire to the New Hebrides for repairs. The ship returned to combat in January 1945; by the end of the war, she had survived being hit by kamikazes on six separate occasions, which had resulted in the loss of 86 lives. AUSTRALIA she was still undergoing repairs when the war ended.

Following the end of the war, AUSTRALIA served as a training ship. She left Sydney under tow on March 26, 1955, arriving at the Thomas W. Ward Shipbreaking Yard at Barrow-in-Furness in 1956 for scrapping.

HMAS Australia Photos for Sale
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HMAS Australia, in dock, 1928.


HMAS Australia 1928.


HMAS Australia, 1928.


HMAS Australia, July 1935.


HMAS Australia, July 1935.


HMAS Australia, 1946.


HMAS Australia, 1949.

Timeline Entries :


19th October 1934 - Sailed Melbourne
27th April 1937 - Arrived Jervis Bay
17th August 1937 - Arrived Brisbane

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Database Currently Holds : 6284 ships and 6289 crew!

Last edited : 22:19, December 29, 2011
By : jbryce1437

First Added : 10:39, March 3, 2011
By : kc


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