HMAS Brisbane (1915)
Template:Short description Template:Other ships Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English
Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship characteristicsHMAS Brisbane was a Town class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in Sydney between 1913 and 1916 to the Chatham subtype design, Brisbane operated in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Australian coastal waters during World War I.
Following the end of the war, the cruiser was decommissioned and recommissioned on several occasions, and was reclassified as a training ship in late 1925. In 1935, Brisbane was reactivated to transport personnel to Britain for training on the new cruiser Template:HMAS, after which she was decommissioned and sold for breaking up as scrap.
Design and construction
Brisbane was built by Cockatoo Island Dockyard to the Chatham subtype of the Town class cruiser design.<ref name=Cassells35.6>Cassells, The Capital Ships, pp. 35–6</ref> Laid down on 25 January 1913, the cruiser was launched on 30 September 1915 by the wife of Andrew Fisher; Prime Minister of Australia on three occasions.<ref name=Cassells36/> Brisbane was commissioned into the RAN on 31 October 1916, although she was not completed until 12 December.<ref name=Cassells36/> The ship cost A£746,624 to build; unlike her Australian sister ships, the cost of adding armour was included in the original estimate.<ref name=Cassells36/><ref name=Bastock38>Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 38</ref>
She was Template:Convert long overall, with a beam of Template:Convert and a maximum draught of Template:Convert.<ref name=Cassells35.6/> The cruiser had a standard displacement of 5,400 tons.<ref name=Cassells35/> Brisbane was propelled by Parsons steam turbines, which provided Template:Convert to four propellers.<ref name=Cassells36/> Although designed with a maximum speed of Template:Convert, Brisbane once reached Template:Convert during full speed trials.<ref name=Cassells35/> Her standard cruising speed was Template:Convert, which could be maintained for Template:Convert.<ref name=Cassells35.6/> The ship was fuelled by a combination of coal (1,196 tons at full load) and oil (260 tons).<ref name=Cassells36>Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 36</ref> Her ship's company consisted of 31 officers and 454 sailors.<ref name=Cassells36/>
The cruiser's primary armament consisted of eight [[BL 6-inch Mk XI naval gun|BL Template:Convert Mk XI* guns]], arranged in single mountings behind open-backed gunshields.<ref name=Cassells35>Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 35</ref> A single [[QF 3-inch 20 cwt|quick-firing Template:Convert gun]] was used to protect the ship from air attack.<ref name=Cassells35/> Brisbane carried a 12-pounder field gun for ashore deployment.<ref name=Cassells35/> Four 3-pounder (47-mm, 1.9-in) quick-firing Hotchkiss guns were used as saluting guns.<ref name=Cassells35/> Ten .303-inch machine guns were carried for close defence work (eight Lewis guns and two Maxim guns).<ref name=Cassells35/> Two submerged 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes were fitted: one on each side, firing broadside.<ref name=Cassells35/> Armour plating consisted of side belts Template:Convert thick amidships, tapering to Template:Convert thick at the bow and stern, along with protective decking over the engineering and magazine spaces, and an armoured conning tower.<ref name=Bastock38/>
Operational history
On 13 December 1916, Brisbane departed on a voyage to the Mediterranean.<ref name=Cassells36/> After reaching Malta on 4 February, the ship was fitted with equipment not available in Australia at the time.<ref name=Cassells36/><ref name=Bastock40>Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 40</ref> Soon after, the ship was redeployed to Colombo, and employed on Indian Ocean patrols to search for the German raiders Wolf and Seeadler.<ref name=Cassells36/><ref name=Bastock40/>
In February 1917, a Sopwith Baby seaplane was acquired from Template:HMS for reconnaissance work; the first aircraft to be used by a RAN ship.<ref name=Cassells36/><ref name=Bastock40/> This remained aboard until June, when Brisbane was sent back to Australia with orders to patrol the Western Australian coast.<ref name=Cassells36/> From October 1917, the cruiser was assigned to operations in the western Pacific in response to reports of German raider activity.<ref name=Cassells36/><ref name=Bastock40/> Initially deployed to the Solomon Islands, Brisbane visited Nauru, the Gilbert Islands, and Fiji, before returning to duties in Australian waters in January 1918.<ref name=Cassells36/><ref name=Bastock40/>
On 21 October 1918, Brisbane departed for the eastern Mediterranean, and was between Colombo and Suez when World War I ended.<ref name=Bastock40/> The battle honour "Indian Ocean 1917" recognises the cruiser's wartime service.<ref name=newhonours>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=honourslist>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The ship reached Mudros in late November, and spent most of December operating with the Australian Destroyer Squadron, before visiting Smyrna and the Dardanelles.<ref name=Bastock40/>
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Brisbane reached the United Kingdom before the end of December 1918, and began refitting at Portsmouth.<ref name=Bastock40/> The most visible aspect of the refit was the installation of a tripod mast.<ref name=Bastock40/> The cruiser remained in British waters until 17 April 1919, when she departed from Portsmouth for home.<ref name=Cassells36/> During the return trip, she caught up with the submarine depot ship Template:HMAS and the six J class submarines transferred from the Royal Navy to the RAN after the war, and relieved Template:HMAS as their escort.<ref name=Cassells36/><ref name=Bastock40/> Template:HMS was experiencing problems, and Brisbane took the boat under tow: the two vessels reached Sydney on 27 June.<ref name=Cassells36/> The cruiser operated in Australian waters until 4 August 1922, when she was decommissioned into reserve.<ref name=Cassells36/>
Brisbane was reactivated on 14 April 1923.<ref name=Cassells36/> On 23 July 1924, she ran aground off Port Moresby, New Guinea; she was refloated later that day.<ref>Template:Cite newspaper The Times</ref> From February until August 1925, the ship served with the Royal Navy's China Squadron as part of an exchange, with Template:HMS sent to Australia.<ref name=Bastock40/> While deployed with the China Squadron, Brisbane became the first RAN ship to visit Japan.<ref name=Bastock41/> The cruiser was placed back in reserve on 7 October, underwent a refit, and recommissioned on 17 November as a training ship attached to Flinders Naval Depot.<ref name=Cassells36/> A longer period of decommissioning and refit ran from 30 October 1926 until 28 June 1928, when she resumed training duties.<ref name=Cassells36/> In August 1928, Brisbane visited Hawaii, and was present for celebrations commemorating the 150th anniversary of the islands' discovery.<ref name=Cassells36/> The cruiser was again decommissioned, on 16 August 1929.<ref name=Cassells36/>
Brisbane was commissioned for the final time on 2 April 1935, for the specific purpose of conveying the ship's company of the new cruiser Template:HMAS to their ship in Britain.<ref name=Cassells36/> During the voyage, the cruiser assisted the British sloop Template:HMS.<ref name=Bastock41>Bastock, Australia's Ships of War, p. 41</ref> Brisbane reached Portsmouth on 12 July 1935, and was decommissioned on 24 September.<ref name=Cassells36/> She was the last coal-fuelled cruiser operational in any British Empire navy.<ref name=Bastock41/> On 13 June 1936, Brisbane was sold to Thos. W. Ward for A£19,215 to be broken up.<ref name=Cassells36/> The cruiser was scrapped at Briton Ferry, Wales by the end of 1936.<ref name=Cassells36/><ref name=Bastock41/>