HMAS Bathurst (J158), named for the city of Bathurst, New South Wales

Bathurst, New South Wales

-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...

, was the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of 60 Bathurst class corvettes

Bathurst class corvette

The Bathurst class corvettes were a class of general purpose vessels produced in Australia during World War II. Originally classified as minesweepers, but widely referred to as corvettes, the Bathurst class vessels fulfilled a broad anti-submarine, anti-mine, and convoy escort role.Sixty Bathurst...

 constructed during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and one of 20 built for the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 (RAN). Constructed during 1940, the ship spent most of her early career operating with the British Eastern Fleet

British Eastern Fleet

The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...

 in the Indian Ocean. She returned to Australian waters in late 1944, then was deployed to New Guinea in 1945, but saw little action. Bathurst was paid off in 1946, and sold to a Sydney scrap merchant in 1948.

Construction

Bathurst laid down by Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney on 10 February 1940. She was launched on 1 August 1940 by the wife of the dockyard's Engineer Manager, and commissioned on 6 December 1940.

Operational history

Bathurst began her career in January 1941 as part of the 21st Minesweeping Flotilla, operating off Australia's east coast. Between March and May, she was assigned as a patrol and escort vessel to Singapore, before proceeding to Colombo and joining the British Eastern Fleet

British Eastern Fleet

The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...

. Bathurst spent the month of June patrolling the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

, then was deployed for three and a half months as a blockade vessel in the Gulf of Tadjoura

Gulf of Tadjoura

The Gulf of Tadjoura is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean in the Horn of Africa. It lies south of the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, or the entrance to the Red Sea, at . Most of its coastline is the territory of Djibouti, except for a short stretch on the southern shore, which is part of the...

. During this time, the corvette captured at least three small vessels.

Bathurst returned to Colombo in December, and was used as a patrol vessel and escort between the Indian and African coasts until August 1944. She underwent refit in Colombo from September to November 1943, and was a key component in the rescue and salvage operation following the explosion of two munitions ships at Bombay on 14 April 1944. On 7 August 1944, Bathurst sailed for Fremantle, and performed anti-submarine patrols along the western coast of Australia until April 1945. She was then deployed to New Guinea, but the Allied successes of the Pacific War meant that the remainder of World War II consisted of routine patrols. Two battle honours recognise the ship's wartime service: "Indian Ocean 1942-44" and "Pacific 1945".

Following the conclusion of the war in August 1945, Bathurst was again assigned to the 21st Minesweeping Flotilla, and carried out minesweeping operations in the Hong Kong area.

Decommissioning and fate

Bathurst returned to Sydney on 9 November 1945, and was decommissioned into reserve on 27 September 1946. She was sold for scrap to T. Carr and Co of Sydney on 21 June 1948.