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HMAS Brisbane (1915)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Brisbane was a Town class
Town class cruiser (1910)
The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...
light cruiser of 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). Built in Sydney between 1913 and 1916 to the Chatham subtype design, Brisbane operated in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Australian coastal waters during World War I.
Following the end of the war, the cruiser was decommissioned and recommissioned on several occasions, and was reclassified as a training ship in late 1925. In 1935, Brisbane was reactivated to transport personnel for the new cruiser to Britain, after which she was decommissioned and sold for breaking up
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
as scrap.
Design and construction
Brisbane was built by Cockatoo Island Dockyard to the Chatham subtype of the Town class cruiserTown class cruiser (1910)
The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...
design. Laid down on 25 January 1913, the cruiser was launched on 30 September 1915 by the wife of Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister on three separate occasions. Fisher's 1910-13 Labor ministry completed a vast legislative programme which made him, along with Protectionist Alfred Deakin, the founder of the statutory structure of the new nation...
; Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
on three occasions. Brisbane was commissioned into the RAN on 31 October 1916, although she was not completed until 12 December. The ship cost A£746,624
Australian pound
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...
to build.
She was 456 foot long overall
Overall length
The overall length of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing....
, with a beam of 49 in 10 in (15.19 m) and a maximum draught of 19 in 11 in (6.07 m). The cruiser had a standard displacement of 5,400 tons. Her ship's company consisted of 31 officers and 454 sailors.
Brisbane was propelled by Parsons steam turbines, which provided 25000 SHP to four propellers. Although designed with a maximum speed of 25 knots (49 km/h), Brisbane once reached 25.67 knots (50.3 km/h) during full speed trials. Her standard cruising speed was 11.5 knots (22.5 km/h), which could be maintained for 4000 nautical miles (7,408 km). The ship was fuelled by a combination of coal (1,196 tons at full load) and oil (260 tons).
Armament
The cruiser's primary armament consisted of eight BL 6 inches (152.4 mm) Mk XI* gunsBL 6 inch Mk XI naval gun
The BL 6 inch Gun Mark XI was a British 50 calibres high-velocity naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on cruisers and secondary armament on pre-dreadnought battleships.-History:...
, arranged in single mountings behind open-backed gunshields. A single quick-firing 3 inches (76.2 mm) gun
QF 3 inch 20 cwt
The QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun became the standard anti-aircraft gun used in the home defence of the United Kingdom against German airships and bombers and on the Western Front in World War I. It was also common on British warships in World War I and submarines in World War II...
was used to protect the ship from air attack. Brisbane carried a 12-pounder field gun
Ordnance QF 12 pounder 8 cwt
The Ordnance QF 12 pounder 8 cwt was a Royal Navy "landing gun" intended for navy use ashore. "8 cwt" refers to the weight of the gun and breech, approximately 8 cwt = 8 x = 896 lb. This was how the British often differentiated between guns of the same calibre or weight of shell...
for ashore deployment. Four 3-pounder (47-mm, 1.9-in) quick-firing Hotchkiss guns
QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss
The QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss was a light 47-mm naval gun introduced in 1886 to defend against new small fast vessels such as torpedo boats, and later submarines...
were used as saluting guns. Ten .303-inch
.303 British
.303 British, or 7.7x56mmR, is a .311 inch calibre rifle and machine gun cartridge first developed in Britain as a blackpowder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee-Metford rifle, later adapted to use smokeless powders...
machine guns were carried for close defence work (eight Lewis guns
Lewis Gun
The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...
and two Maxim gun
Maxim gun
The Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884. It has been called "the weapon most associated with [British] imperial conquest".-Functionality:...
s). Two submerged 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo
British 18 inch torpedo
There have been a number of 18 inch torpedoes in service with the United Kingdom. These have been used on ships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of both the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force...
tubes were fitted: one on each side, firing broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
.
Operational history
On 13 December 1916, Brisbane departed on a voyage to the Mediterranean. After reaching Malta on 4 February, the cruiser was recalled to the Indian Ocean to help search for the German raiders WolfSMS Wolf (auxiliary cruiser)
SMS Wolf was an armed merchant raider or auxiliary cruiser of the German Imperial Navy in World War I...
and Seeadler.
In 1917, a Sopwith Baby
Sopwith Baby
-See also:...
seaplane was acquired from ; the first aircraft to be used by a RAN ship. This remained aboard until June, when Brisbane was sent back to Australia with orders to patrol the Western Australian coast. From October 1917 to January 1918, the cruiser was assigned to operations in the Western Pacific Ocean, after which she returned to Australian waters. On 30 October 1918, Brisbane departed for the United Kingdom, and was en route when World War I ended. The battle honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
"Indian Ocean 1917" recognises the cruiser's wartime service.
The cruiser remained in British waters until 17 April 1919, when she departed from Portsmouth for home. During the return trip, she caught up with the submarine depot ship and the six J class submarines
British J class submarine
The J class of submarines was a seven submarine class developed by the Royal Navy prior to the First World War in response to claims that Germany was developing submarines that were fast enough to operate alongside surface fleets...
transferred from the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
to the RAN after the war. was experiencing problems, and Brisbane took the boat under tow: the two vessels reached Sydney on 27 June. The cruiser operated in Australian waters until 4 August 1922, when she was decommissioned into reserve.
Brisbane was reactivated on 14 April 1923. From February until August 1925, the ship served with the Royal Navy's China Squadron. The cruiser was placed back in reserve on 7 October, underwent a refit, and recommissioned on 17 November as a training ship attached to Flinders Naval Depot. A longer period of decommissioning and refit ran from 30 October 1926 until 28 June 1928, when she resumed training duties. In August 1928, Brisbane visited Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and was present for celebrations commemorating the 150th anniversary of the islands' discovery. The cruiser was again decommissioned, on 16 August 1929.
Fate
Brisbane was commissioned for the final time on 2 April 1935, for the specific purpose of conveying the ship's company of the new cruiser to their ship in Britain. Brisbane reached Portsmouth on 12 July 1935, and was decommissioned on 24 September.On 13 June 1936, Brisbane was sold to Thomas Ward & Company for A£19,215 to be broken up
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
. The cruiser was scrapped at Briton Ferry, Wales.