Difference between revisions of "HMAS Sydney"
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| − | {{Infobox | + | {{Infobox ship |
| − | | | + | | image = [[File:HMAS_Sydney.jpg|500px]] |
| − | + | | caption = Australian Navy photo | |
| − | + | | image2 = [[File:HMAS_Sydney_2.jpg]] | |
| − | + | | caption2 = | |
| − | + | | shipname = HMAS Sydney (II) | |
| − | + | | shipowner = Royal Australian navy | |
| − | | caption | + | | shipbuilder = Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend-on-Tyne |
| − | | | + | | shipyardnumber = |
| − | | caption2 | + | | shiplaunched = 22 Sep 1934 |
| − | + | | shipcompleted = 24 Sep 1935 | |
| − | + | | shipinservice = 24 Sep 1935 | |
| − | + | | shipoutofservice = 19 Nov 1941 | |
| − | + | | shipinservice2 = | |
| − | + | | shipoutofservice2 = | |
| − | | | + | | shipreclassified = |
| − | + | | shipID = D48 | |
| − | | | + | | shipfate = Sunk by German Armed Merchant Cruiser |
| − | | | + | | shiptype = Leander Class Light Cruiser |
| − | + | | shiptonnage = 7,250 tons | |
| − | + | | shiplength = 555 feet (169.16m) | |
| − | | | + | | shipbeam = 56 feet 8 inches (17.27m) |
| − | | | + | | shipdepth = |
| − | + | | shippropulsion = 72,000 HP | |
| − | | | + | | shipspeed = 32.5 knots |
| − | | | + | | shipcapacity = 645 crew |
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==Remarks== | ==Remarks== | ||
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| − | She returned to Australia in early 1941 for a period of repair and leave for her personnel. More convoy escort duties followed, based again in Fremantle. Several voyages to New Zealand followed as convoy escorts before she returned to WA and again undertook escort duties in the Indian Ocean. | + | She returned to Australia in early 1941 for a period of repair and leave for her personnel. More convoy escort duties followed, based again in Fremantle. Several voyages to New Zealand followed as convoy escorts before she returned to WA and again undertook escort duties in the Indian Ocean. |
[[File:HMAS_Sydney_crew_2.jpg|thumb|none|1200px|Ricky Devereux 2 row from front, 5th from right]] | [[File:HMAS_Sydney_crew_2.jpg|thumb|none|1200px|Ricky Devereux 2 row from front, 5th from right]] | ||
Revision as of 23:36, 12 September 2019
 Australian Navy photo | |
 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMAS Sydney (II) |
| Owner | Royal Australian navy |
| Builder | Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend-on-Tyne |
| Launched | 22 Sep 1934 |
| Completed | 24 Sep 1935 |
| In service | 24 Sep 1935 |
| Out of service | 19 Nov 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk by German Armed Merchant Cruiser |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Leander Class Light Cruiser |
| Tonnage | 7,250 tons |
| Length | 555 feet (169.16m) |
| Beam | 56 feet 8 inches (17.27m) |
| Propulsion | 72,000 HP |
| Speed | 32.5 knots |
| Capacity | 645 crew |
Remarks
At commencement of her build she was to be the HMS Phaeton, but she was purchased the following year while under construction by the Australian Government and renamed HMAS Sydney.
Launched on 22 Sep 1934 she was commissioned a year later on 24 Sep 1935. Her armament comprised 8 x 6 inch guns, 54 x 4 inch guns.12 x 50 Calibre machine guns in three quad mounts, 12 x .303 Lewis guns, and 4 x 3 pounder saluting guns. She also carried 8 x 21 inch torpedo tubes in 2 x quadruple mounts.
Even before the Sydney arrived in Australia it was exposed to the looming war clouds when Italy invaded Abyssinia and she was detained on her way home and detached to the the Royal Navy's Second Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean. Outbreaks of rubella and mumps required a period of quarantine. Finally on 14 Jul 1936 she sailed for Australia. Between 1937 and the outbreak of war she was busy exercising and training.
At the time war was declared the Sydney had taken up her wartime station in Fremantle, and her crew was boosted. What followed was rigorous training before she took responsibility for convoy escort duties. At the end of 1939 she returned to Sydney for leave and maintenance, before arriving back in Fremantle on 8 Feb 1940.
In May she received orders to join the 7th Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, serving with distinction and participating in shore bombardments and several minor naval battels during which she sank an Italian destroyer and later disabled an Italian Cruiser while badly damaging a second one. In return she suffered one minor casualty and a hole in her funnel.
She returned to Australia in early 1941 for a period of repair and leave for her personnel. More convoy escort duties followed, based again in Fremantle. Several voyages to New Zealand followed as convoy escorts before she returned to WA and again undertook escort duties in the Indian Ocean.
Crew
- Patrick John Kelly 2 May 1939 - 2 Jul 1940
- Eric Gordon (Ricky) Devereux 25 Feb 1939 - 19 Nov 1941
- Peter Hill - 19 Nov 1941