|
HMAS ''Mildura'' (J207/M207), named for the city of Mildura, Victoria, was one of 60 ''Bathurst''-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was laid down by Morts Dock & Engineering Co in 1940 and commissioned into the RAN in 1941. ''Mildura''s initial deployments were on the east coast of Australia as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol vessel. At the start of 1944, she escorted vessels between Townsville, Queensland and New Guinea. Late 1944 saw the ship relocated to Fremantle, Western Australia as a local patrol ship. After a refit at the start of 1945, ''Mildura'' was based at Morotai, and operated throughout the Dutch East Indies until August, when the corvette was sent to clear Hong Kong waters of mines. During September and October, the mine warfare area increased to include Chinese waters. In late October, ''Mildura'' returned to Sydney for refitting, then spent the next two years clearing mines around Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The corvette was paid off in 1948, but was recommissioned in 1951 to serve as a training vessel for National Service trainees. ''Mildura'' was decommissioned again in 1953, then was towed to Brisbane for use as a training hulk for local reservists. The ship was sold for scrap in 1965. ==Design and construction== (詳細は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.〔Stevens, ''The Australian Corvettes'', p. 1〕〔Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', p. 103〕 The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least , and a range of 〔Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', pp. 103–4〕 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 top speed, and a range of , armed with a 4-inch gun, equipped with asdic, and able to be 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.〔〔Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', pp. 103–5〕 Construction of the prototype did not go ahead, but the plans were retained.〔Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', p. 104〕 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 ''Mildura'') ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.〔〔Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', pp. 105, 148〕〔Donohue, ''From Empire Defence to the Long Haul'', p. 29〕〔Stevens et al., ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 108〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=HMAS Mildura )〕 As constructed, ''Mildura'' displaced 650 tons, with a length of , a beam of , and a draught of .〔 the propulsion system consisted of a single triple expansion steam engine, which supplied to two propeller shafts.〔 Maximum speed was .〔 Main armament for the corvette consisted of one 4-inch high-angle gun, supplemented by three 20 mm Oerlikon cannons (one of which was later replaced by a 40 mm Bofors gun), plus machine guns.〔 Depth charge chutes and throwers were also fitted.〔 The ship's company consisted of 85 personnel.〔 ''Mildura'' was laid down by Morts Dock & Engineering Co in Sydney on 23 September 1940.〔 She was launched on 15 March 1941 by the wife of Commodore John Walter Durnford, the Second Naval Member of the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board, and commissioned on 23 July 1941.〔 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 Mildura」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|