Template:Short description Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship characteristicsHMAS Cowra (J351/M351), named for the town of Cowra, 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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Design and constructionEdit
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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 Cowra) 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/>
Cowra was laid down by Poole & Steel at Balmain, New South Wales on 12 August 1942.<ref name=SPC/> She was launched on 27 May 1943 by the wife of Percy Spender, the Federal Treasurer and member of the Advisory War Council, and was commissioned into the RAN on 8 October 1943.<ref name=SPC/>
Operational historyEdit
Cowra began active service in November 1943 as a convoy escort along the east coast of Australia.<ref name=SPC/> She continued until March 1944, when she was reassigned to New Guinea as an escort and anti-submarine patrol vessel.<ref name=SPC/> In June 1944, the corvette sailed to Melbourne for refits, which concluded on 19 August.<ref name=SPC/> She returned to New Guinea at the end of the month, and for the next eleven months was primarily assigned to escort and patrol duties near Morotai.<ref name=SPC/> In January 1945, Cowra fired on Japanese shore positions at Yalela Bay, before visiting Brisbane briefly in February 1945.<ref name=SPC/> On 17 July, she was recalled to Australian waters, where she spent the rest of World War II.<ref name=SPC/> The ship was awarded two battle honours—"Pacific 1943–45" and "New Guinea 1944"—for her wartime service.<ref name=newhonours>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=honourslist>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Following the end of the war, Cowra was assigned to the 20th Minesweeping Flotilla, and performed mine clearance operations in the waters of Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.<ref name=SPC/> On 2 December 1946, Cowra returned to Sydney and was decommissioned into reserve.<ref name=SPC/>
On 20 February 1951, Cowra was recommissioned for use as a training ship for National Service trainees.<ref name=SPC/>
Decommissioning and fateEdit
Cowra was paid off for the second time on 26 June 1953.<ref name=SPC/> In January 1961, the corvette was sold to the Kinoshita Company of Japan for scrapping.
A memorial to the ship located outside the Cowra Services Club was dedicated on 15 March 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CitationsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- Books
- Journal and news articles