HMAS Horsham (I)
 | |
| Type | Australian Minesweeper (Bathurst Class) |
|---|---|
| Laid down | 26 June 1941 |
| Launched | 16 May 1942 |
| Builder | Melbourne Harbour Trust, Williamstown |
| Commissioned | 18 November 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 | 2,000 |
| Speed | 15 1/2 knots |
| Complement | 85 |
HMAS HORSHAM 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 commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy. Thirty-six (including HORSHAM) were built for the Royal Australian Navy and four for the Indian Navy.
HMAS HORSHAM commissioned at Melbourne on 18 November 1942 under the command of Lieutenant William H. Newby RANR(S).
On completion of trials in January 1943 HORSHAM was assigned to the Fremantle command as an anti-submarine patrol vessel. Except for a trip to Geraldton and another to Exmouth Gulf she remained in the Fremantle area until August 1944. She then proceeded to Darwin as a Survey Ship where she remained, except for a period refitting at Fremantle, until the close of hostilities.
HORSHAM was present at the surrender of Japanese forces at Timor in September 1945. Further survey duties in the Darwin area occupied the vessel until she returned to Fremantle at the end of November for paying off into the Reserve Fleet. She steamed 95,872 miles and was 11,302 hours under way.
HORSHAM was sold as scrap for breaking up to the Hong Kong Delta Shipping Co, Hong Kong, on 8 August 1956.
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.
