Category: Royal Australian Navy: Corvettes

A detailed operational history with some information on each of the Australian corvettes - strictly Bathurst Class minesweepers.

LEWIS, Tom. Honour Denied: Teddy Sheean, A Tasmanian Hero.and other Brave Warriors of the Royal Australian Navy. 317p., bibliog., illus., index. Kent Town, S.A.: Avonmore, 2016. ISBN: 9780987151971.

No member of the Royal Australian Navy has ever been awarded a Victoria Cross. Of the 100 so far given to Australians, 96 are to the Army and four to the Royal Australian Air Force. This detailed and passionate account of Sheean’s bravery during the sinking of HMAS Armidale aims to prove the lack of VCs for the RAN is unjust.

MURRAY, Allan A. Sunk in Two Minutes: The Fatal Encounter between I-21, HMAS Mildura and the Iron Knight (Men and Ships at War, Book 4).vi, 68p., bibliog., illus. [n.p.], The Family Murray Trust, 2017. ISBN: 9781973117001.

        A description of the fatal encounter between Japanese submarine I-21, HMAS Mildura and ss Iron Knight off the south-east coast of Australia on 8 February 1943. Iron Knight was sunk in 2 minutes by I-21. The sinking occurred in full view of Mildura, the corvette escorting convoy, OC.68. Thirty-six merchant seamen lost their lives, many from Newcastle. Allan's great uncle, 'Dukesy' Forbes, also from Newcastle, was aboard Mildura.

Kapunda was one of the so-called corvettes. This is a souvenir volume aimed at ex-crew members, which gives a good feel of small ship life, with a mixture of reminiscences, copies of the ship's newspaper, letters of proceedings, sports results, crew lists, diary excerpts, and so on. She had a busy war, including hosting the formal surrender of Japanese forces in Borneo.

Active war service included convoy escort duties between Australia and Noumea, east coast convoys, minesweeping and anti-submarine patrols around New Guinea, Borneo and China. The Mildura was the first allied ship to enter Hong Kong.

After taking part in the evacuation of the Far East and a lengthy refit she served in the New Guinea area. No copy seen.

Armidale had a brief career of six months before being sunk by Japanese planes in a botched operation to help evacuate Timor. The bravery and suffering of her crew went largely unremarked in the larger tragedy of the Japanese invasion, until in 1990 one of the new class of Australian submarines was named after an Ordinary Seaman who died in the action. A sad and bitter little tale.

The author served on corvettes and attempts a mixture of fact and recollection to cover their service in the RAN.

She was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy.

Completed late in 1942 she saw action on the New Guinea run then was based at Darwin in support of Thursday Island. In June 1944 she moved to Port Moresby for convoy work.

Tamworth served with the Eastern Fleet and the BPF.

Wagga served actively in New Guinea waters.

Bundaberg was a convoy escort on the East Coast but then rotated between convoy work and service in the New Guinea area.

The author spent three years on Maryborough and this lower deck autobiography-cum-history records life on (and off) a hard-working ship which fought from the fall of Singapore through the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean and on to the defeat of Japan.

She was one of the "24" class corvettes and spent most of her war career as a survey ship, often near combat zones.

An account by her former crew.

Her tragic six-month career is seen from three very different perspectives. Second edition was published in 2000.

Another view of these hard worked small ships. She saw service in the fall of the Far East and after service in Australian waters worked in forward areas. No copy seen.

The RAN built fifty-six corvettes. Some thirty-nine of these passed through Fremantle where they were photographed by the local newspaper. This is a compilation of these pictures and a variety of anecdotes.

Another ship history in fairly detailed chronological diary format. Ipswich had a busy war ranging from the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf to the BPF..

Personal reminiscences

The career of another corvette which saw hard and bitter fighting in the first two years of her life. A revised and expanded edition of 245 pages covering 1941-1948 was published in 2001 (ISBN: 0958527741).

A former AB on Bendigo, Wally Eves, has assembled over 50 reminiscences into a diary-cum-logbook of her career. This included the loss of Singapore and support for the army in New Guinea. Includes a good contemporary diary of this Bathurst Class "corvette."

Completed late in 1942 Pirie began her career as an escort on the New Guinea Run, seeing action which required a major refit. Later she joined the BPF and was in Tokyo Bay for the surrender.

The 18 ships of the 21st and 22nd Minesweeping Flotillas spent much of 1944 and 1945 escorting the Fleet Train. The former First Lieutenant of Tamworth describes their role.

The author served as a telegraphist aboard the ship during her wartime commission. A very personal account.

A mixture of autobiography and history as seen from the lower deck. Stawell saw a busy war as an escort and supporting army landings.

A sort of memento book of her war in Australian waters, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean.

HMAS Horsham had a quiet war. Completed late in 1942 she served in the Fremantle Command as an A/S vessel then in August 1944 moved to Darwin as a survey vessel. Still a good memoir.