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HMAS ''Sydney'' was a ''Chatham'' class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Laid down in 1911 and launched in 1912, the cruiser was commissioned into the RAN in 1913. During the early stages of World War I, ''Sydney'' was involved in supporting the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, and escorting the first ANZAC convoy. On 9 November 1914, the cruiser defeated the German cruiser at the Battle of Cocos. During 1915 and 1916, ''Sydney'' operated on the North America and West Indies Station, before joining the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron at Greenock, Scotland in November 1916. On 4 May 1917, the cruiser was involved in an inconclusive action against the German zeppelin ''L43''; neither was damaged. During late 1917, ''Sydney'' became the first Australian warship to launch an aircraft, and the first warship to do so from a rotatable platform. After the war's end, ''Sydney'' spent a year in reserve before being reactivated to serve as Flagship of the RAN. The cruiser was decommissioned in 1928 and broken up for scrap. Several sections of the ship, including her bow and foremast, have been preserved as monuments, and three of the ship's main guns saw later use in shore fortifications. ==Design and construction== ''Sydney'' was a Town class light cruiser, of the ''Chatham'' subclass.〔Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 138〕 She had a standard displacement of 5,400 tons.〔 The cruiser was long overall and long between perpendiculars, with a mean of , and a draught of .〔 Coal- and oil-fuelled Yarrow boilers were connected to Parsons geared turbines, which provided shaft horsepower to the ship's four propellers.〔 Although designed with a maximum speed of , ''Sydney'' achieved a mean maximum of during trials.〔 Her economical cruising speed was rated at in 1921, and in 1926.〔 The standard ship's company was 376 strong, but during wartime, this would increase to the maximum of 475; 31 officers and 454 sailors.〔 The cruiser's main armament was made up of eight single BL 6-inch Mark XI guns.〔〔6-inch BL Mk XI guns on mounting P Mk VI. (The Sight Manual. Admiralty, 1916. ADM 186/216 )〕 Secondary and anti-aircraft armament consisted of a single quick-firing high-angle anti-aircraft gun and ten 0.303-inch machine guns (eight Lewis guns and two Maxim guns).〔Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 139〕 Two 21-inch torpedo tubes were fitted, with a payload of seven torpedoes carried.〔 Two hydraulic-release depth charge chutes were carried for anti-submarine warfare.〔 A single 12-pounder 8-cwt field gun and four 3-pounder Hotchkiss saluting guns rounded out the armament.〔 Armour plating consisted of side belts thick amidships, tapering to thick at the bow and stern, along with protective decking over the engineering and magazine spaces, and an armoured conning tower.〔Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 38〕 ''Sydney'' was laid down by the London and Glasgow Engineering and Iron Shipbuilding Company at Glasgow, Scotland, on 11 February 1911.〔 The ship was launched on 29 August 1912 by the wife of Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson.〔 ''Sydney'' was completed on 26 June 1913, and commissioned into the RAN that day.〔 The ship cost approximately 385,000 pounds to build.〔 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 Sydney (1912)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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