HMAS Barcoo (K375)
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| 300px HMAS Barcoo (K375) in 1944. | |
| Career (Australia (RAN)) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Barcoo River |
| Builder: | Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co. Ltd., Sydney |
| Laid down: | 21 October 1942 |
| Launched: | 26 August 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 17 January 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 21 February 1964 |
| Honours and awards: |
Battle honours: Pacific 1944-45 New Guinea 1944 Borneo 1945[1][2] |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap on 15 February 1972 to N.W. Kennedy Ltd., Vancouver. Scrapped in Taiwan. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | River class frigate |
| Displacement: |
1,420 long tons (Template:Convert/t ST) 2,020 long tons (Template:Convert/t ST) (deep load) |
| Length: |
283 feet (86.26 m) p/p 301.25 feet (91.82 m)o/a |
| Beam: | 36.5 feet (11.13 m) |
| Draught: | 9 feet (2.74 m); 13 feet (3.96 m) (deep load) |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) |
| Speed: | 20 knots (37.0 km/h) |
| Range: | 500 long tons (Template:Convert/t ST) oil fuel; 5,180 nautical miles (9,593 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Complement: | 140 |
| Armament: |
|
HMAS Barcoo (K375/F375/A245) was a River class frigate that served the Royal Australian Navy from 1944-1964.
She was named for the Barcoo River in Queensland and was one of twelve River class frigates built for the RAN during World War II. The vessel logged 342,579 nautical miles (634,456 km) in her career.
Contents
Construction
Barcoo was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company, Ltd., Sydney on 21 October 1942, and launched on 26 August of the following year by the wife of Richard Keane, the Minister for Trade and Customs. Barcoo was commissioned at Sydney on 17 January 1944.
Operational history
World War II
After several weeks of working up, Barcoo was tasked to New Guinea in March 1944 for convoy escort duty. That year, the ship also participated in the bombardments of Japanese Army positions in eastern New Guinea, rescued two downed American P-47 Thunderbolt pilots, and conducted convoy escort and patrol duties in the waters around New Guinea. The frigate's last hostile action occurred on 3 August 1945, during a bombardment of the village of Soengaipaten in Borneo.
Barcoo received the three battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1944-45", "New Guinea 1944", and "Borneo 1945".[1][2]
Post-war
In August 1946, Barcoo was refitted as a survey vessel. During her remaining career, she carried the pennant numbers F375 and A245 at various times.
On 11 April 1948, she ran aground at Glenelg North, along Adelaide's coastline during a violent storm, but was refloated shortly afterwards without damage.
She logged approximately 54,000 nautical miles (100,000 km) on survey duty, before being retired from service in 1949. She was reactivated for survey duties from 1952-1956 and from 1959-1964.
Decommissioning and fate
Barcoo was decommissioned from the RAN on 21 February 1964. She was sold on 15 February 1972 to N. W. Kennedy, Ltd., Vancouver for scrap. She was later scrapped in Taiwan.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours". Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours". Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
- HMAS Barcoo - HMA Ship Histories (Sea Power Centre - Australia)
- Cockatoo Island Dockyard: Ships - HMAS Barcoo
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