HMAS Junee

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HMAS Junee (J362/M362), named for the town of Junee, New South Wales, 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 (RAN).<ref name=SPC>Template:Cite web</ref>

Design and construction

Template:Main In 1938, the 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.<ref name=Hindsight1>Stevens, The Australian Corvettes, p. 1</ref><ref name=StevensACV103>Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 103</ref> The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least Template:Convert, and a range of Template:Convert<ref name=StevensACV103.4>Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–4</ref> 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 Template:Convert top speed, and a range of Template:Convert, armed with a 4-inch gun, equipped with asdic, and able to 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.<ref name=Hindsight1/><ref>Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–5</ref> Construction of the prototype Template:HMAS did not go ahead, but the plans were retained.<ref name=StevensACV104>Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 104</ref> 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 Junee) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.<ref name=Hindsight1/><ref>Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 105, 148</ref><ref name=Donohue29>Donohue, From Empire Defence to the Long Haul, p. 29</ref><ref name=Stevens108>Stevens et al., The Royal Australian Navy, p. 108</ref><ref name=SPC/>

Junee was laid down by Poole & Steel at Balmain, New South Wales on 17 February 1943.<ref name=SPC/> She was launched on 16 November 1943 by the wife of John Solomon Rosevear, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, and commissioned into the RAN on 11 April 1944.<ref name=SPC/>

Operational history

World War II

After entering active service, Junee was briefly assigned to New Guinea before being redeployed to Darwin, where she served as an anti-submarine patrol ship until February 1945, when the corvette underwent refit in Melbourne.<ref name=SPC/>

In April 1945, Junee was sent to New Guinea, to serve as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship.<ref name=SPC/> In August, the corvette fired her weapons in anger for the first time; sinking three Japanese supply barges while in the Sangir Islands.<ref name=SPC/> The corvette was later assigned to Balikpapan as a guard ship, where she remained until the end of World War II.<ref name=SPC/>

Following the end of the war, Junee evacuated Australian prisoners-of-war and civilians, assisted in the transportation of occupation forces, and aided in the reestablishment of Dutch authority in the Netherlands East Indies.<ref name=SPC/> After fulfilling these duties, Junee returned to Australia, and was paid off into reserve in Melbourne on 21 January 1946.<ref name=SPC/>

Junee received two battle honours for her wartime service: "New Guinea 1943" and "Pacific 1944–45".<ref name=newhonours>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=honourslist>Template:Cite web</ref>

Post-war

The corvette was reactivated and recommissioned as a training ship on 25 February 1953.<ref name=SPC/> Initially operating along the east coast, Junee was reassigned to the west coast on 25 August, operating from Fremantle.<ref name=SPC/>

Decommissioning and fate

HMAS Junee paid off to reserve for the final time at Fremantle on 21 August 1957.<ref name=SPC/> She was sold for scrap to W. G. Davies of Fremantle on 18 June 1958.<ref name=SPC/> The ship was stripped and the hull sunk in the Rottnest ship graveyard off Rottnest Island, Western Australia on 6 or 7 September 1968.<ref name=SPC/><ref name=Garratt>Template:Cite report</ref>

References

Books

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Journal and news articles

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