The Bathurst-class corvettes were a ship class of sixty vessels built in Australia during World War II and initially operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the British Admiralty (although the ships were crewed by and commissioned into the RAN) and the Royal Indian Navy. Following the conclusion of World War II, many of the ships were sold or transferred to other organisations, and saw service in the Royal Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, Indonesian Navy, Turkish Navy, Pakistan Navy and civilian service.
This list is divided into two sections. The first section, Primary service, lists the sixty vessels during their initial period of service, up until their decommissioning. Secondary service lists any vessels which later served in other navies, entered civilian service, or were recommissioned into the RAN for training purposes.
Primary service
edit36 of the Bathurst class were constructed for and crewed by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). All of the four corvettes lost during activities related to World War II are in this group.
20 Bathurst-class ships were constructed for the British Admiralty, but were crewed by and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy.
4 Bathurst-class corvettes were constructed for the Royal Indian Navy (RIN). On 15 August 1947, India gained independence from the British Empire. After this date, the navy was referred to as the Indian Navy, and the prefix of all ships was changed from HMIS to INS.
| Prefix | Name | Operator | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Paid off | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMAS | Ararat | RAN | Evans Deakin & Company | 6 July 1942 | 20 February 1943 | 16 June 1943 | 11 April 1947 | Sold into private ownership, 6 January 1961 |
| HMAS | Armidale | RAN | Mort's Dock & Engineering Company | 1 September 1941 | 24 January 1942 | 11 June 1942 | - | Sunk by 13 Japanese aircraft, 1 December 1942 |
| HMAS | Ballarat | Admiralty | HMA Naval Dockyard | 19 April 1940 | 10 December 1940 | 30 August 1941 | 27 September 1946 | Sold into private ownership |
| HMAS | Bathurst | Admiralty | Cockatoo Island Dockyard | 10 February 1940 | 1 August 1940 | 6 December 1940 | 27 September 1946 | Sold for scrap, 21 June 1948 |
| HMAS | Benalla | RAN | HMA Naval Dockyard | 24 March 1942 | 19 December 1942 | 27 April 1943 | 28 January 1946 | Sold for scrap, 20 February 1958 |
| HMAS | Bendigo | Admiralty | Cockatoo Island Dockyard | 12 August 1940 | 1 March 1941 | 10 May 1941 | 1946-09-27 | Sold into private ownership, 5 May 1947 |
| HMIS | Bengal | RIN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 3 December 1941 | 7 July 1942 | 8 August 1942 | 1960 | - |
| HMIS | Bombay | RIN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 19 July 1941 | 6 December 1941 | 24 April 1942 | 1960 | Sold for scrap, 1961 |
| HMAS | Broome | Admiralty | Evans Deakin & Company | 3 May 1941 | 6 August 1941 | 29 June 1942 | 29 June 1946 | Transferred to the Turkish Navy |
| HMAS | Bowen | RAN | Walkers Limited | 9 February 1942 | 28 July 1942 | 9 November 1942 | 17 January 1946 | Sold for scrap, 18 May 1956 |
| HMAS | Bunbury | RAN | Evans Deakin & Company | 1 November 1941 | 16 May 1942 | 3 January 1943 | 26 August 1946 | Sold for scrap, 6 January 1961 |
| HMAS | Bundaberg | RAN | Evans Deakin & Company | 7 June 1941 | 1 December 1941 | 12 September 1942 | 1946-03-26 | Sold for scrap, 6 January 1961 |
| HMAS | Burnie | Admiralty | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 4 June 1940 | 25 August 1940 | 15 April 1941 | 5 July 1946 | Transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, 5 July 1946 |
| HMAS | Cairns | Admiralty | Walkers Limited | 31 March 1941 | 7 October 1941 | 11 March 1942 | 17 January 1946 | Transferred to Royal Netherlands Navy, 17 January 1946 |
| HMAS | Castlemaine | RAN | HMA Naval Dockyard | 17 January 1941 | 7 August 1941 | 17 June 1942 | 14 December 1945 | Training hulk at HMAS Cerberus until 1973-09, museum ship since late 1973 |
| HMAS | Cessnock | Admiralty | Cockatoo Island Dockyard | 16 April 1941 | 17 October 1941 | 26 January 1941 | 12 July 1946 | Sold for scrap, 23 April 1947 |
| HMAS | Colac | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 18 April 1941 | 30 August 1941 | 6 January 1942 | 30 January 1953 | Tank cleaning vessel until 1983-09-30, sunk as a target by HMAS Ovens on 1987-03-04 |
| HMAS | Cootamundra | RAN | Poole & Steel | 26 February 1942 | 3 December 1942 | 30 April 1943 | 8 June 1959 | Sold for scrap, 1962-03-28 |
| HMAS | Cowra | RAN | Poole & Steel | 12 August 1942 | 27 May 1943 | 8 October 1943 | 26 June 1953 | Sold for scrap, 1961-01 |
| HMAS | Deloraine | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 19 March 1941 | 26 July 1941 | 22 November 1941 | 30 June 1948 | Sold for scrap, 1956-08-08 |
| HMAS | Dubbo | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 13 October 1941 | 7 March 1942 | 31 July 1942 | 7 February 1947 | Sold for scrap, 20 February 1958 |
| HMAS | Echuca | RAN | HMA Naval Dockyard | 22 February 1941 | 17 January 1942 | 7 September 1942 | 28 June 1948 | Transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy, 1952-03-05 |
| HMAS | Fremantle | RAN | Evans Deakin & Company | 11 February 1942 | 18 August 1942 | 24 March 1943 | 25 January 1946 | Recommissioned as training ship, 1952 |
| HMAS | Gawler | Admiralty | BHP | 24 January 1941 | 4 October 1941 | 14 August 1942 | 5 April 1946 | Transferred to the Turkish Navy, 1946-04-05 |
| HMAS | Geelong | RAN | HMA Naval Dockyard | 16 October 1940 | 22 April 1941 | 16 January 1942 | - | Sunk following collision, 18 October 1944 |
| HMAS | Geraldton | Admiralty | Poole & Steel | 20 November 1940 | 16 August 1941 | 6 April 1942 | 14 June 1946 | Transferred to the Turkish Navy, 14 June 1946 |
| HMAS | Gladstone | RAN | Walkers Limited | 4 August 1942 | 26 November 1942 | 22 March 1943 | 16 July 1956 | Sold into civilian service, 1956 |
| HMAS | Glenelg | RAN | Cockatoo Island Dockyard | 2 March 1942 | 25 September 1942 | 16 November 1942 | 14 January 1946 | Sold for scrap, 2 May 1957 |
| HMAS | Goulburn | Admiralty | Cockatoo Island Dockyard | 10 July 1940 | 16 November 1940 | 28 February 1941 | 27 September 1946 | Sold into civilian service, 13 October 1947 |
| HMAS | Gympie | RAN | Evans Deakin & Company | 27 August 1941 | 30 January 1942 | 4 November 1942 | 23 May 1946 | Sold for scrap, 6 January 1961 |
| HMAS | Horsham | RAN | HMA Naval Dockyard | 26 June 1941 | 16 May 1942 | 18 November 1942 | 17 December 1945 | Sold for scrap, 8 August 1956 |
| HMAS | Inverell | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 7 December 1941 | 2 May 1942 | 17 September 1942 | 14 June 1946 | Transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy, 5 March 1952 |
| HMAS | Ipswich | Admiralty | Evans Deakin & Company | 6 March 1941 | 11 August 1941 | 13 June 1942 | 5 July 1946 | Transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, 5 July 1946 |
| HMAS | Junee | RAN | Poole & Steel | 17 February 1943 | 16 November 1943 | 11 April 1944 | 21 January 1946 | Recommissioned as training ship, 25 February 1953 |
| HMAS | Kalgoorlie | Admiralty | BHP | 27 July 1940 | 7 August 1941 | 7 April 1942 | 1946-05-08 | Transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, 8 May 1946 |
| HMAS | Kapunda | RAN | Poole & Steel | 27 August 1941 | 23 June 1942 | 21 October 1942 | 14 January 1946 | Sold for scrap, 6 January 1961 |
| HMAS | Katoomba | RAN | Poole & Steel | 9 September 1940 | 16 April 1941 | 17 December 1941 | 2 August 1948 | Sold for scrap, 2 May 1957 |
| HMAS | Kiama | RAN | Evans Deakin & Company | 2 November 1942 | 3 July 1943 | 26 January 1944 | 3 April 1946 | Transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy, 1952-03-05 |
| HMAS | Latrobe | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 27 January 1942 | 19 June 1942 | 6 November 1942 | 13 March 1953 | Sold for scrap, 18 May 1956 |
| HMAS | Launceston | Admiralty | Evans Deakin & Company | 23 December 1940 | 30 June 1941 | 9 April 1942 | 23 March 1946 | Transferred to the Turkish Navy, 1946 |
| HMAS | Lismore | Admiralty | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 26 February 1940 | 10 August 1940 | 24 January 1941 | 3 June 1956 | Transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, 3 June 1946 |
| HMAS | Lithgow | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 19 August 1940 | 21 December 1940 | 14 June 1941 | 8 June 1948 | Sold for scrap, 8 October 1956 |
| HMAS | Maryborough | Admiralty | Walkers Limited | 16 April 1940 | 17 August 1940 | 12 June 1941 | 1945-12 | Sold into private ownership, 9 May 1947 |
| HMIS | Madras | RIN | Cockatoo Island Dockyard | 4 August 1941 | 17 February 1942 | 12 May 1942 | 1960 | - |
| HMAS | Mildura | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 23 September 1940 | 15 March 1941 | 23 July 1941 | 21 May 1948 | Recommissioned as training ship, 1951 |
| HMAS | Pirie | Admiralty | BHP | 19 May 1941 | 3 December 1941 | 10 October 1942 | 5 April 1946 | Transferred to the Turkish Navy, 5 April 1946 |
| HMAS | Parkes | RAN | Evans Deakin & Company | 16 March 1943 | 30 October 1943 | 25 May 1944 | 17 December 1945 | Sold for scrap, 2 May 1957 |
| HMIS | Punjab | RIN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 26 May 1941 | 10 October 1941 | 20 March 1942 | 1949 | Transferred to Pakistan during Partition of India. |
| HMAS | Rockhampton | RAN | Walkers Limited | 6 November 1940 | 26 June 1941 | 21 January 1942 | 5 August 1946 | Sold for scrap, 6 January 1961 |
| HMAS | Shepparton | RAN | HMA Naval Dockyard | 14 November 1941 | 15 August 1942 | 1 February 1943 | 10 May 1946 | Sold for scrap, 20 February 1958 |
| HMAS | Stawell | RAN | HMA Naval Dockyard | 18 June 1942 | 3 April 1943 | 7 August 1943 | 26 March 1946 | Transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy, 5 March 1952 |
| HMAS | Strahan | RAN | NSW State Dockyard | 9 October 1942 | 12 July 1943 | 14 March 1944 | 25 January 1946 | Sold for scrap, 6 January 1961 |
| HMAS | Tamworth | Admiralty | Walkers Limited | 25 August 1941 | 14 March 1942 | 8 August 1942 | 30 April 1946 | Transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, 30 April 1946 |
| HMAS | Townsville | RAN | Evans Deakin & Company | 16 November 1940 | 13 May 1941 | 19 December 1941 | 5 August 1946 | Sold for scrap, 8 August 1956 |
| HMAS | Toowoomba | Admiralty | Walkers Limited | 6 August 1940 | 26 March 1941 | 9 August 1941 | 5 July 1946 | Transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, 5 July 1946 |
| HMAS | Wagga | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 8 March 1942 | 25 July 1942 | 18 December 1942 | 28 November 1945 | Recommissioned as training ship, 12 December 1951 |
| HMAS | Wallaroo | RAN | Poole & Steel | 24 April 1941 | 18 February 1942 | 15 July 1942 | - | Sunk following collision, 11 June 1943 |
| HMAS | Warrnambool | RAN | Morts Dock & Engineering Company | 13 November 1940 | 8 May 1941 | 23 September 1941 | - | Sunk by mine, 13 September 1947 |
| HMAS | Whyalla | Admiralty | BHP | 24 June 1940 | 12 May 1941 | 8 January 1942 | 16 May 1946 | Sold into private ownership, 10 February 1947 |
| HMAS | Wollongong | Admiralty | Cockatoo Island Dockyard | 29 January 1941 | 5 July 1941 | 23 October 1941 | 11 February 1946 | Transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, 11 February 1946 |
Secondary service
edit| Prefix | Name | Original name | Operator | Origin | Commissioned/entered service | Decommissioned/left service | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMNZS | Inverell | HMAS Inverell | Royal New Zealand Navy | Acquired from RAN | 5 March 1952 | 19 August 1976 | Sold for scrap, 1 November 1977 |
| Isobel Queen | HMAS Maryborough | Australian General Trading and Shipping Syndicate | Purchased from RAN | 9 May 1947 | c. 1953 | Sold for scrap in 1953 | |
| HMAS | Mildura | HMAS Mildura | Royal Australian Naval Reserve | Recommissioned as training vessel for National Service trainees | 20 February 1951 | 11 September 1953 | Towed to Brisbane for use as immobilised training hulk |
| Mildura | HMAS Mildura | Royal Australian Naval Reserve | Used as immobilised training hulk | 8 December 1954 | c. 1965 | Sold for scrap on 8 September 1965 | |
| HMS | Pirie | HMAS Pirie | Royal Navy | Acquired from RAN | 5 April 1946 | c. 1946 | Transferred into the Turkish Navy |
| TCG | Amasra | HMAS Pirie | Turkish Navy | Acquired from Royal Navy | c. 1946 | 26 March 1984 | Left service |
| HMNZS | Stawell | HMAS Stawell | Royal New Zealand Navy | Acquired from RAN | 5 March 1952 | c. late 1950s | Sold for scrap in July 1968 |
| HNLMS | Tidore | HMAS Tamworth | Royal Netherlands Navy | Acquired from RAN | 30 April 1946 | c. December 1949 | Transferred to the Indonesian Navy |
| KRI | Pati Unus | HMAS Tamworth | Indonesian Navy | Acquired from the Royal Netherlands Navy | c. December 1949 | c. 1969 | Left service |
| HNLMS | Boeroe | HMAS Toowoomba | Royal Netherlands Navy | Acquired from RAN | 5 June 1946 | c. 1958 | Left service |
| HNLMS | Morotai | HMAS Ipswich | Royal Netherlands Navy | Acquired from RAN | 5 July 1946 | c. 1949 | Transferred to the Indonesian Navy |
| KRI | Hang Tuah | HMAS Ipswich | Indonesian Navy | Acquired from the Royal Netherlands Navy | c. 1949 | 28 April 1958[1] | Destroyed by mercenaries[1] |
| HMAS | Wagga | HMAS Wagga | Royal Australian Naval Reserve | Recommissioned as training vessel for National Service trainees | 12 December 1951 | 28 October 1960 | Sold for scrap in March 1962 |
| Rip | HMAS Whyalla | Victorian Public Works Department | Acquired from RAN | 10 February 1947 | c. 1984 | Sold to Whyalla City Council | |
| HMAS | Whyalla | HMAS Whyalla | Whyalla City Council | Victorian Public Works Department | c. late 1984 | - | Museum ship |
| HMAS Ararat | Burns Philp of Darwin | Acquired from RAN | 6 January 1961 | c. 1961 | Sold to Fujita Salvage Company of Japan | ||
| HMAS Ararat | Fujita Salvage Company of Japan | Acquired from Burns Philp of Darwin | c. 1961 | Scrapped | |||
| Carmencita | HMAS Ballarat | Ta Hing Company (Hong Kong) Ltd | Acquired from RAN | December 1950 | c. 1953 | Sold for scrap | |
| Cheung Hing | HMAS Bendigo | Ta Hing Company (Hong Kong) Ltd | Acquired from RAN | 5 May 1947 | - | Acquired by People's Liberation Army Navy | |
| Loyang | HMAS Bendigo | People's Liberation Army Navy | Acquired from Ta Hing Company (Hong Kong) Ltd | - | c. 1988 | Last record of service | |
| HMNZS | Kiama | HMAS Kiama | Royal New Zealand Navy | Acquired from the RAN | date unknown | 19 August 1976 | Disposed of |
| HNLMS | Ceram | HMAS Burnie | Royal Netherlands Navy | Acquired from the RAN | 5 July 1946 | 1958 | Left service |
| HNLMS | Ambon | HMAS Cairns | Royal Netherlands Navy | Acquired from the RAN | 17 January 1946 | 1950 | Transferred to the Indonesian Navy |
| KRI | Banteng | HMAS Cairns | Indonesian Navy | Acquired from the Royal Netherlands Navy | 6 April 1950 | c. 1968 | Sold for scrap |
Citations
editUnless indicated here, all information is taken from each ship's corresponding Ship History page on the Sea Power Centre website.
References
edit- Various. "Ship Histories (and subpages)". HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre - Royal Australian Navy. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- Lind, Lew (1986) [1982]. The Royal Australian Navy - Historic Naval Events Year by Year (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Reed Books. ISBN 0-7301-0071-5. OCLC 16922225.