H.M.A.S. Australia
I.84
1938
(Argonaut AR-199)
- Class: Kent - 7 cruisers of 1924-25
- Displacement: 9,870 tons
- Dimensions: 590(pp) 630(oa) x 68.25 x 17.25 ft.
- Machinery: 4-shaft geared turbines, SHP 80,000 = 31.5 knots
- Armor: Main belt 3-5in, deck 1.5in, turrets 1.5-2in, DCT 3in
- Armament: 8-8in (4x2), 4-4in AA (4x1), 3-2pdr AA (3x1) guns; 8-21in TT (2x4); 1 aircraft
- Complement: 685
- Builder: John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Clydebank, Scotland
- Laid Down: 26 Aug 1925
- Launched: 17 Mar 1927
- Completed: 24 Apr 1928
- Service: Australia 1939-40, East Indies 1941, Australia 1942-45. Took part in operations off Dakar Sep 1940, damaging Vichy French destroyer L'Audacieux, but receiving hits from shore batteries. Escort and partrol duty in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans during 1941. Sent to SW Pacific Area in early 1942 and survived a Japanese torpedo bomber attack during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May. Provided fire support for Allied landing forces at Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and New Britain during 1942-44. Damaged by Kamikaze 21 Oct 1944 during the Leyte operation -- the first such attack -- killing the commanding officer Capt Emile Dechaineux and 30 others. Hit again on 25 Oct, requiring repairs, but returned to combat in Jan 1945. Hit four more times before the end of the war, making her the most-often-hit Kamikaze target. Served as a training ship post-war until paid off in 1954. Departed 26 Mar 1955 under tow to Barrow-in-Furness, England for scrapping. Sistership HMAS Canberra was sunk by a Japanese task force during the Battle of Savo Island, 9 Aug 1942.
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