HMAS Labuan
From Our Contribution
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMAS Labuan |
| Owner | Royal Australian Navy |
| Builder | Canadian Vickers, Montreal, Canada |
| Launched | 31 Aug 1944 |
| Out of service | 28 Sep 1951 |
| Fate | sold |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Landing Ship Tank Mark 3 |
| Tonnage | 2,140 tons |
| Length | 345 feet (105m) |
| Beam | 55 feet 3 inches (16.84m) |
| Depth | 13 feet 1 inch (3.99m) |
| Propulsion | 5,500HP twin screw |
| Speed | 13 knots |
| Capacity | 104 crew plus 18 x 40 ton tanks; 27 trucks; 168 troops; 7 Landing Craft Mechanised. |
Remarks
LST 3501 was operated by the British Navy during WW II. In 1946, along with five other ships of the same class it was loaned to the Royal Australian Navy.
In 1947, LST 3501, was selected to assist in the establishment and ongoing support of research facilities on Heard and Macquarie Islands in the Southern Ocean. Painted yellow to assist with visibility in Antarctic waters, it made its first trip to Heard Island in late 1947, landing scientists and their equipment, before making a second trip , this time to Macquarie Island in February 1948.
LST 3501 was renamed HMAS Labuan on 16 Dec 1948. She returned to the Southern Ocean Islands five more times to deliver supplies and transfer personnel before being heavily damaged during the 1951 visit to Heard Island. Attempting to sail home it broke down completely and had to be towed back to Fremantle. Labuan was paid off to the reserve on 28 Sep 1951, and was sold for disposal on 9 Nov 1955.
Crew members
- Rowland Basil Devereux 1 - 10 Jul 1946
- Norman Denton Barrett 29 Jul 1949 - 16 Jan 1950