HMAS Tasmania

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HMAS Tasmania
HMAS Tasmania
History
Australia
NamesakeState of Tasmania
BuilderWilliam Beardmore and Company
Laid down18 December 1917
Launched22 November 1918
Completed22 January 1919
Commissioned
  • Royal Navy: January 1919
  • RAN: 27 January 1920
Decommissioned9 January 1928
FateSold for scrap on 4 June 1937
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty S class destroyer
Displacement1,075 tons
Length275 ft 10.625 in (84.08988 m) length overall
Beam26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
Propulsion3 × Yarrow boilers, Brown-Curtis turbines, 27,000 shp (20,000 kW), 2 shafts
Speed
  • 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) as designed
  • 32.93 knots (60.99 km/h; 37.90 mph) on power trails
  • 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) economical
Range2,589 nautical miles (4,795 km; 2,979 mi) at 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Complement6 officers, 93 sailors
Armament

HMAS Tasmania (H25) was an Admiralty S class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built for the Royal Navy during World War I, the ship was not completed until 1919, and spent a year commissioned but not operational in British service before being transferred to the RAN at the start of 1920. The destroyer's career was uneventful, with almost all of it spent in Australian waters. Tasmania was decommissioned in 1930, and was sold for ship breaking in 1937.

Design and construction[edit]

Main article: S-class destroyer (1917)

Tasmania was built to the Admiralty design of the S-class destroyer, which was designed and built as part of the British emergency war programme.[1] The destroyer had a displacement of 1,075 tons, a length overall of 276 feet 10.625 inches (84.39468 m), and a beam of 26 feet 10 inches (8.18 m).[2] The propulsion machinery consisted of three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtis turbines, which supplied 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) to the ship's two propeller shafts.[3] Although designed with a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph), Tasmania was only able to achieve 32.93 knots (60.99 km/h; 37.90 mph) on power trails.[2] The destroyer's economical speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) gave her a range of 2,589 nautical miles (4,795 km; 2,979 mi).[1] The ship's company was made up of 6 officers and 93 sailors.[3]

The destroyer's primary armament consisted of three QF 4-inch Mark IV guns.[2] These were supplemented by a 2-pounder pom-pom, two 9.5-inch howitzer bomb throwers, five .303 inch machine guns (a mix of Lewis and Maxim guns), two twin 21-inch torpedo tube sets, two depth charge throwers, and two depth charge chutes.[2]

Tasmania was laid down by William Beardmore and Company, Limited, at Dalmuir in Scotland on 18 December 1917.[2] The destroyer was launched on 22 November 1918, and completed on 22 January 1919.[4] The ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy in January 1919, but was not made operational, and was marked for transfer to the RAN, along with four sister ships.[3] Tasmania was commissioned into the RAN on 27 January 1920.[3]

Operational history[edit]

Tasmania and three of her sister ships sailed for Australia on 20 February, visiting ports in the Mediterranean, India, Singapore, and the Netherlands East Indies before reaching Sydney on 29 April.[4] Tasmania was primarily used for training, and apart from a visit to New Guinea in 1924, remained in Australian waters.[3]

Decommissioning and fate[edit]

Tasmania paid off into reserve on 9 January 1928.[3] She was sold to Penguins Limited for ship breaking on 4 June 1937.[3]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b Cassells, The Destroyers, pp. 126–7
  2. ^ a b c d e Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 126
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 127
  4. ^ a b Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 114

References[edit]

  • Cassells, Vic (2000). The Destroyers: Their Battles and Their Badges. East Roseville, New South Wales: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7318-0893-2. OCLC 46829686.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
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