HMAS Geelong (I)
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| Type | Australian Minesweeper (Bathurst Class) |
|---|---|
| Laid down | 16 October 1940 |
| Launched | 22 April 1941 by Lady Dugan, wife of the Governor of Victoria |
| Builder | Melbourne Harbour Trust, Williamstown |
| Commissioned | 16 January 1942 |
| Displacement | 650 tons |
| Length | 186 feet56.693 m 5,669.28 cm 0.0567 km 0.0352 mi 2,232 in |
| Beam | 31 feet9.449 m 944.88 cm 0.00945 km 0.00587 mi 372 in |
| Draught | 8 feet 6 inches |
| Armament |
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| Main Machinery |
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| Horsepower | 1,750 |
| Speed | 15 knots7.717 m/s 27.78 km/h 0.00772 km/s 1,519.029 ft/min 25.317 ft/s |
| Complement | 85 |
HMAS GEELONG was one of sixty Australian Minesweepers (commonly known as corvettes) built during World War II in Australian shipyards as part of the Commonwealth Government’s wartime shipbuilding programme. Twenty were built on Admiralty order but manned and commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy. Thirty-six (including GEELONG) were built for the Royal Australian Navy and four for the Royal Indian Navy.
GEELONG commissioned at Melbourne on 16 January 1942 under the command of LEUT Colin G. Hill MBE RANR(S).
After commissioning GEELONG proceeded to her namesake city the following day for a one day visit, after which she commenced her trials and working up exercises.
Operational war service began with a brief period of minesweeping and anti-submarine duty on the Australian east coast. On 8 March 1942 GEELONG departed from Brisbane for New Caledonia where she served on anti-submarine duties in the Noumea area until May 1942. In June 1942 she began a period of convoy escort duty between Sydney and Queensland ports which lasted until January 1944, when she proceeded to Adelaide for a refit which lasted until March 1944.
Following a further brief period of service in Australian waters, GEELONG proceeded to the New Guinea theatre of operations, arriving at Milne Bay on 17 April 1944. The next six months were spent on convoy escort duties in the South West Pacific Area, mainly in New Guinea and New Britain waters, and as an anti-submarine patrol vessel in the Solomons Sea.
On 18 October 1944 GEELONG sank following a collision with the United States tanker YORK (10,488 tons) in position 6°4´S, 147°45´E, north of Langemak, New Guinea. There were no casualties. The survivors were picked up by YORK and landed at Langemak, from where they were taken to Milne Bay by aircraft and her sister ship HMAS ARARAT.
Further Reading
- The Corvettes: Forgotten Ships of the Royal Australian Navy by Iris Nesdale - published by the Author, October, 1982.
- Corvettes - Little Ships for Big Men by Frank B. Walker - published by Kingfisher Press, NSW, 1996.
