Английская Википедия:HMAS Echuca

Материал из Онлайн справочника
Перейти к навигацииПерейти к поиску

Шаблон:Use Australian English Шаблон:Use dmy dates

Шаблон:Infobox ship imageШаблон:Infobox ship careerШаблон:Infobox ship careerШаблон:Infobox ship careerШаблон:Infobox ship characteristics

HMAS Echuca (J252/M252), named for the town of Echuca, Victoria, was one of 60 Шаблон:Sclasss constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).[1]

Design and construction

Шаблон:Main 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.[2][3] The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least Шаблон:Convert, and a range of Шаблон:Convert[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 Шаблон:Convert top speed, and a range of Шаблон:Convert, 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.[2][5] Construction of the prototype Шаблон:HMAS did not go ahead, but the plans were retained.[6] 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 (including Echuca) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.[2][7][8][9][1]

Echuca was laid down by HMA Naval Dockyard at Williamstown, Victoria on 22 February 1941.[1] She was launched on 17 January 1942 by Lady Royle, wife of First Naval Member Sir Guy Royle, and commissioned into the RAN on 7 September 1942.[1]

Operational history

World War II

Echuca’s initial role was as an anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort vessel along the eastern Australia coast and in New Guinea waters.[1] She stayed in this role from October 1942 until August 1944, when she was ordered to Darwin and attached to the United States Seventh Fleet's Survey Group.[1] She performed survey duties until the end of World War II, when she was refitted with minesweeping gear in Brisbane and assigned to the 20th Minesweeping Flotilla.[1] The Flotilla was responsible for clearing minefields set up in the waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Britain, and the Solomon Islands.[1]

Echuca received the battle honours "Pacific 1942–44" and "New Guinea 1943–44" for her wartime service.[10][11]

Echuca was paid off into Reserve in August 1946, but recommissioned in January 1947 for mine clearance work in the Great Barrier Reef.[1] The corvette performed this duty until August 1947, and in November 1947 towed the decommissioned corvette Шаблон:HMAS to Sydney.[1] Echuca was decommissioned again in Fremantle on 29 June 1948. At the end of April 1952, the corvette was sailed to Melbourne.[1]

RNZN service

On 5 March 1952, Echuca and three other Bathurst-class corvettes (HMA Ships Inverell, Шаблон:HMAS, and Шаблон:HMAS) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).[12] She was commissioned into the RNZN in May 1952, and received the prefix HMNZS.[13]

The corvette remained in service with the RNZN until 1967, although from 1953 she was classified as being in reserve.[1][13] She was sold to Pacific Scrap Limited of Auckland for scrapping[1] on 11 April 1967.[14]

Citations

Шаблон:Reflist

References

Books

Journal and news articles

External links

Шаблон:Commons category


Шаблон:Bathurst class corvette

  1. 1,00 1,01 1,02 1,03 1,04 1,05 1,06 1,07 1,08 1,09 1,10 1,11 1,12 Шаблон:Cite web
  2. 2,0 2,1 2,2 Stevens, The Australian Corvettes, p. 1
  3. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 103
  4. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–4
  5. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–5
  6. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 104
  7. Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 105, 148
  8. Donohue, From Empire Defence to the Long Haul, p. 29
  9. Stevens et al., The Royal Australian Navy, p. 108
  10. Шаблон:Cite news
  11. Шаблон:Cite web
  12. Шаблон:Cite web
  13. 13,0 13,1 Шаблон:Cite book
  14. Шаблон:Cite journal