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HMAS ''Albatross'' (later HMS ''Albatross'') was a seaplane tender of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), which was later transferred to the Royal Navy and used as a repair ship. ''Albatross'' was built by Cockatoo Island Dockyard during the mid-1920s and entered service at the start of 1929. The ship experienced problems with the aircraft assigned to her during her career: the amphibious aircraft she had been designed for were retired just before the ship entered service, the replacement aircraft could not be catapult-launched from the ship, and a new plane designed specifically to work with the ship began operations after ''Albatross'' was demoted from seagoing status in 1933. After five years in reserve, ''Albatross'' was transferred to the Royal Navy to offset the Australian purchase of the light cruiser . Although the British had little use for a seaplane carrier, the ship found a niche after two aircraft carriers were sunk by the Germans early in World War II. ''Albatross'' was initially based in Freetown, Sierra Leone for patrol and convoy escort duties in the southern Atlantic, then was relocated to the Indian Ocean in mid 1942. From late 1943 to early 1944, the vessel underwent conversion into a "Landing Ship (Engineering)" to support the Normandy landings, and was used to repair landing craft and other support vessels off Sword and Juno Beaches. ''Albatross'' was torpedoed in October, but survived to be towed back to England and repaired. After repairs completed at the start of 1945, she served as a minesweeper depot ship, but was decommissioned after the war's end. ''Albatross'' was sold into civilian service in August 1946, and after several changes of hands was renamed ''Hellenic Prince'' in 1948 and converted into a passenger liner. The vessel was chartered by the International Refugee Organisation to transport refugees from Europe to Australia. ''Hellenic Princess'' saw service as a troopship during the 1953 Mau Mau Uprising, but was broken up for scrap a year later. ==Design and construction== In 1925, Governor-General Lord Stonehaven announced the construction of a seaplane carrier, to the surprise of both the RAN and RAAF.〔ANAM, ''Flying Stations'', p. 16〕 The decision to acquire a seaplane carrier was prompted by both the need to provide work during the high unemployment of the 1920s and the realisation that a conventional aircraft carrier was outside the ability of the RAN to finance or man.〔 The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board requested that the British Admiralty supply a basic design for a seaplane carrier, with the conditions that the ship have a top speed of , and cost under 400,000 pounds if built in a British shipyard.〔 The ship displaced 4,800 tons at standard load.〔Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 11〕 She was long overall, with a beam of at her moulded depth and over the gun sponsons, and an initial maximum draught of , although this had increased to by 1936.〔 The propulsion machinery consisted of four Yarrow boilers supplying Parsons geared turbines.〔 These generated 12,000 shaft horsepower, which was fed to two propeller shafts.〔 Although ''Albatross'' was designed with a maximum speed of , full power trials showed that the ship was capable of .〔 At that speed, she had a range of , although she could cover at the more economical .〔 ''Albatross'' armament consisted of four QF 4.7 inch Mk VIII naval guns, four QF 2-pounder pom-pom guns, four QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss saluting guns, four .303-inch Vickers machine guns, and twenty .303-inch Lewis machine guns (ten singles and five twin mounts).〔 The ship's company consisted of 29 RAN officers, 375 RAN sailors, 8 RAAF officers, and 38 RAAF enlisted.〔Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 12〕 Development of the ship from the Admiralty sketch design was based around the Fairey IIID seaplane being operated for the RAN by the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 101 Flight.〔〔ANAM, ''Flying Stations'', p. 17〕 ''Albatross'' could carry up to nine aircraft—six active and three in reserve—in three internal hangars; their incorporation inside the ship's hull resulted in an unusually high freeboard in the forward half of the vessel, and forced the propulsion machinery, accommodation, and bridge to all be located in the aft half.〔〔 Three recovery cranes were used to manipulate the aircraft.〔 The Faireys were removed from service shortly before ''Albatross'' entered service, and were replaced by the Supermarine Seagull Mark III.〔 The Mark IIIs were unsuited for operations aboard ''Albatross'', particularly as the aircraft were not durable enough to withstand catapult launches.〔 Specifications for a new aircraft design were drawn up to the RAN and RAAF, and Supermarine designed the Seagull Mark V (later to be called the Walrus) specifically for ''Albatross'', although the design was later adopted by the Royal Navy.〔ANAM, ''Flying Stations'', pp. 18–20〕 ''Albatross'' was removed from seagoing service in 1933, two months before the Mark Vs entered service, although the aircraft were operated from the vessel while she was at anchor.〔ANAM, ''Flying Stations'', pp. 18–19〕 In addition, the new Seagulls were too tall to manoeuvre around inside the hangars, although this problem was worked around by placing the aircraft, with undercarriage retracted, on specially designed trolleys.〔ANAM, ''Flying Stations'', p. 19〕 ''Albatross'' was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company at Cockatoo Island, Sydney on 16 April 1926.〔 She was launched by the wife of the Governor-General of Australia, Baron Stonehaven of Ury on 23 February 1928.〔 ''Albatross'' was completed on 21 December 1928, and commissioned into the RAN on 23 January 1929.〔 She cost 1,200,000 pounds to construct.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMAS Albatross (1928)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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