HMAS Katoomba

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HMAS Katoomba (J204/M204), named after the tourist resort of Katoomba, New South Wales, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially crewed 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 Katoomba) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but crewed 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/>

Katoomba was laid down by Poole & Steel at Balmain, New South Wales on 9 September 1940.<ref name=SPC/> She was launched on 16 April 1941 by Mrs. Lloyd, then deputy mayoress of Katoomba, and was commissioned into the RAN on 17 December 1941.<ref name=SPC/>

Operational history

Katoomba entered active service with an assignment to Darwin, where she arrived on 19 December 1941.<ref name=SPC/> The next day, Katoomba, along with sister ships Deloraine and Lithgow, and the United States destroyer Edsall, was involved in the prosecution and successful sinking of Japanese submarine I-124, the first enemy submarine sunk in Australian waters.<ref name=SPC/> Katoomba was present during the Japanese bombing of Darwin on 19 February, but was not significantly damaged.<ref name=SPC/>

At the end of June, Katoomba was reassigned as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship in the waters of northern Queensland and New Guinea.<ref name=SPC/> On 14 August, Katoomba was sent to assist United States submarine S-39, which had run aground on a reef off Rossel Island.<ref name=SPC/> Attempts to refloat the submarine were unsuccessful, and on 16 August, the corvette left Rossel Island with S-39’s entire crew of 47 embarked.<ref name=SPC/> The submarine was gutted and left to break up naturally.<ref name=SPC/> On 28 November, Katoomba and sister ship Ballarat were attacked by a force of ten Japanese dive bombers.<ref name=SPC/> The corvettes escaped without serious damage.<ref name=SPC/> Katoomba was attacked again during January 1943, when a force of six Japanese aircraft attacked the corvette and the Dutch merchant ship Van Heutz.<ref name=SPC/> Katoomba escaped serious damage, but the merchantman was hit, with one man killed and three injured.<ref name=SPC/>

In February 1944, Katoomba ended her escort duties, and after a short period on patrol, was sent to Sydney for refitting.<ref name=SPC/> Upon her return to New Guinea waters in early May 1944, the corvette was assigned as an anti-submarine patrol ship.<ref name=SPC/> She remained in this role until the start of March 1945, although during this period she was occasionally used as an escort ship.<ref name=SPC/> The corvette returned to Australian waters, spent three months in Fremantle, then was assigned to Darwin, where she operated until the end of World War II.<ref name=SPC/>

After the war's end, Katoomba was sent to the Japanese surrender at Timor, before assignment to mine-clearance duties throughout New Guinea waters.<ref name=SPC/> She returned to Sydney in October 1946, and was prepared for decommissioning, but was instead reactivated to help clear the coast of Queensland of mines.<ref name=SPC/>

Katoomba received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Darwin 1942", "Pacific 1942–45", and "New Guinea 1942–44".<ref name=newhonours>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=honourslist>Template:Cite web</ref>

Decommissioning and fate

Katoomba arrived in Fremantle on 16 January 1948, and was paid off into reserve on 2 August.<ref name=SPC/> She remained in reserve until 2 May 1957, when she was sold for breaking up as scrap to the Hong Kong Rolling Mills.<ref name=SPC/>

References

Books

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Journal and news articles

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