Australian Army ship Crusader (AV2767)
| Crusader in December 1945 Crusader in December 1945 | |
| Career (Australia) |  |
|---|---|
| Operator: |
Australian Army (1945–1947) Queensland Cement and Lime Company (1947–1984) |
| Builder: | Melbourne Harbour Trust, Williamstown Dockyard |
| Launched: | 8 August 1945 |
| Commissioned: | Late 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 1947 |
| Out of service: | 1984 |
| Renamed: |
Cementco (1947) Crusader II (1984?) |
| Fate: | Sunk as a dive wreck in 1986 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,500 tons |
| Length: | 200 feet (61.0 m)[1] |
| Beam: | 50 feet (15.2 m)[1] |
| Draft: | 12 feet (3.7 m)[1] |
| Ramps: | Six vehicle loading ramps |
| Propulsion: | Six Ruston & Hornsby engines and six propellers |
| Speed: | 9 knots (17 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 30 days |
| Capacity: | 1,600 tons of cargo in three holds and 40 vehicles as deck cargo |
| Complement: | 31 |
| Armament: | Fitted for self-defence guns at the bow and stern |
| Notes: | Characteristics are for the ship's Army service and are from [2] and [3] |
Crusader (AV2767) was an Australian Army amphibious operations support ship of World War II. She was launched shortly before the war ended and entered service in late 1945. The Army did not need a ship with her capabilities after the war and she was sold in 1947 to the Queensland Cement and Lime Company which operated her on the Brisbane River until 1984. The ship was sunk in 1986 and later became a dive wreck.
Service history
Crusader was designed by the Australian Army's chief engineer Major General Clive Steele to support amphibious operations and carry supplies to Army units operating on islands in the Pacific. Steele deliberately underestimated the cost of building the ship in order to gain approval for her design and construction.[3]
Crusader's design incorporated a number of unusual features. The ship had a shallow draft to allow it to operate close to the shore and four rudders and six engines driving six propellers to give her a high degree of maneuverability. Crusader's hold could carry 1,500 tons of stores and an additional 40 vehicles could be embarked on her deck. The ship had six 30-ton cranes to move heavy equipment and vehicles were embarked and disembarked via six bridge-like structures.[3] This equipment allowed her to discharge cargo at the rate of 90 tons at any one time.[4] Crusader had a 'box-like' appearance, and her design did not impress naval engineers.[5]
Crusader was built by the Melbourne Harbour Trust at Williamstown Dockyard in Williamstown, Victoria. She was the largest all-welded steel vessel to have been constructed in Australia at the time, and cost considerably more to build than Steele's deliberate under-estimate.[3] The ship was launched on 8 August 1945 after being named by Steele's wife and later became the largest ship to be commissioned by the Australian Army during World War II. Construction of a sister ship, to be called AV2768 Corsair, was also begun, but this ship was canceled when the war ended.[6]
The ship entered service with the Army's No. 2 Ordnance Craft Park in late 1945. In February 1946 Crusader sailed to Rabaul in New Britain and later Torokina, Bougainville.[3] During this and later voyages she proved successful in her intended role, and returned supplies and equipment from the islands to Australia.[7] By 1947 the Army no longer needed a ship with Crusader's capabilities, and she was sold to the Queensland Cement and Lime Company (QCL) and renamed Cementco.[3]
QCL used Cementco as a self-propelled coral barge. The ship was converted by moving the wheel-house from the aft superstructure to about 50 feet from the bow[4] and extensively modifying the cargo holds to carry up to 2,000 tons of coral. Cementco's stern was later extended so that all her crew had their own cabin.[8] After the conversion was completed in 1948 the ship carried coral dredged from Moreton Bay by a converted Landing Ship Tank (the former HMAS LST 3022) to QCL's cement factory at Darra in Brisbane.[9] Cementco was retired in 1984 when QCL moved its factory to Gladstone, and was laid up at Mary Street wharf while attempts were made to sell her. During this period she was renamed Crusader II to avoid confusion with a new ship named Cementco.[8] A buyer was not found, and in 1986 she was sunk at Flinders Reef off Cape Moreton and subsequently became a popular dive wreck.[3]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Army History Unit. "On this day - 8 August". Australian Army. http://www.defence.gov.au/army/ahu/On_This_Day/August/8_August.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
- ↑ Gillett (1983). Australian and New Zealand Warships 1914-1945. pp. 259.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 James (2007). The Army's Ugly Duckling. pp. 65.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gillett (1983). Australian and New Zealand Warships 1914-1945. pp. 258.
- ↑ Mellor (1958). The Role of Science and Industry. pp. 479.
- ↑ James (2007). The Army's Ugly Duckling. pp. 64–65.
- ↑ Mallett (2007). Australian Army Logistics 1943-1945. pp. 320. http://www.library.unsw.edu.au/~thesis/adt-ADFA/uploads/approved/adt-ADFA20071107.122900/public/10chapter10.pdf.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 ([dead link]) Queensland Cement and Lime Co.. 2008. pp. 5. http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/resources/file/eb156702701cbdb/Pdf_seascape_vol5_issue2_pt1.pdf.
- ↑ ([dead link]) Queensland Cement and Lime Co.. 2008. pp. 4. http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/resources/file/eb156702701cbdb/Pdf_seascape_vol5_issue2_pt1.pdf.
References
- "Queensland Cement and Lime Co." ([dead link]). Seascape (Maritime Safety Queensland) 5 (2): 4–5. 2008. http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/resources/file/eb156702701cbdb/Pdf_seascape_vol5_issue2_pt1.pdf.
- Gillett, Ross (1983). Australian and New Zealand Warships 1914-1945. Sydney: Doubleday. ISBN 0868240958.
- James, Karl (2007). "The Army's 'Ugly Duckling'". Wartime (Canberra: Australian War Memorial) (37): 64–65. ISSN 13282727.
- Mallett, Ross A. (2007). Australian Army Logistics 1943-1945. PhD thesis. http://www.library.unsw.edu.au/~thesis/adt-ADFA/uploads/approved/adt-ADFA20071107.122900/public/10chapter10.pdf.
- Mellor, DP (1958). The Role of Science and Industry. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 4 – Civil. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=34.
