HMAS Wallaroo (I)
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| Type | Australian Minesweeper (Bathurst Class) |
|---|---|
| Laid down | 24 April 1941 |
| Launched | 18 February 1942 by Mrs Poole, wife of the Chairman of Directors, Poole and Steel Ltd |
| Builder | Poole and Steel Ltd, Sydney |
| Commissioned | 15 July 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 knots7.717 m/s 27.78 km/h 0.00772 km/s 1,519.029 ft/min 25.317 ft/s |
HMAS Wallaroo (I) 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 Wallaroo (I)) were built for the Royal Australian Navy and four for the Royal Indian Navy.
Wallaroo (I) commissioned at Sydney on 15 July 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Eric S. Ross RANR(S).
Wallaroo (I) had a very short and uneventful life. She commenced duty on anti-submarine patrols between Adelaide, Geraldton and Fremantle in September 1942. She was also employed on escort duties and minesweeping in the Fremantle area.
She met her end in the early hours of 11 June 1943 when she sank as the result of a collision with the United States Liberty Ship HENRY GILBERT COSTIN. The collision occurred shortly after midnight off the Western Australian coast, approximately west of Fremantle. The night was dark and overcast and in accordance with wartime precautions the vessels were steaming without lights.
Some four hours after the collision, while endeavouring to reach Fremantle, Wallaroo (I) sank. HENRY GILBERT COSTIN reached port safely with no casualties and only minor damage. Three ratings from Wallaroo (I) lost their lives at the time of the collision.
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.
