HMAS Deloraine (J232/M232), named for the town of Deloraine, Tasmania

Deloraine, Tasmania

Deloraine is a town on the Meander River, in the central north of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 50 km west of Launceston and 52 km south of Devonport along the Bass Highway. It is part of the Meander Valley Council. At the 2006 census, Deloraine had a population of 2,243.The region was...

, was one 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, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by 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).

Construction

Deloraine was laid down at Morts Dock & Engineering Co in Balmain, New South Wales

Balmain, New South Wales

Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....

 on 19 March 1941. She was launched on 26 July 1941 by Dame Mary Hughes, wife of the Minister for the Navy, and commissioned into the RAN on 22 November 1941.

World War II

After commissioning, Deloraine sailed to Darwin, where she was based for the first part of her career as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol vessel.On 20 January 1942, following reports from the United States destroyer USS Edsall

USS Edsall (DD-219)

USS Edsall , named for Seaman Norman Eckley Edsall , was a Clemson-class destroyer of the United States Navy....

 that a Japanese submarine was in the area. The submarine, I-124 of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 tried and failed to torpedo Deloraine at 1:35 pm, with Deloraine locating the submarine on asdic and dropping her full load of depth charges over the course of the afternoon. Sister ships Katoomba

HMAS Katoomba

HMAS Katoomba , named for the tourist resort of Katoomba, New South Wales, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy ....

 and Lithgow

HMAS Lithgow

HMAS Lithgow , named for the city of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy ....

 arrived in the area; the two ships continuing to patrol and depth-charge the area while Deloraine reloaded. They were successful, and the four ships were jointly credited with the kill of I-124—the first enemy submarine to be sunk in Australian waters, going down with 80 lives.

The ship was present in Darwin Harbour during the Japanese bombing of Darwin in February 1942. She was undamaged by the attack and assisted in rescue and recovery operations. On 5 March, Deloraine was attacked on several occasions by a Japanese flying boat, but was again undamaged.

In July 1942, the corvette returned to Sydney, and spent the next twenty months escorting supply convoys from Sydney to Newcastle, Brisbane, and New Guinea. In April 1943, Deloraine rescued 19 survivors from the torpedoed merchant ship Lydia M. Child. On 16 June 1943, Portmar and LST-469

USS LST-469

USS LST-469 was a Landing Ship, Tank operated by the United States Navy during World War II. She was commissioned in 1943 and decomissionsed in 1946.- Service history :...

 were torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine while travelling in Convoy GP55

Convoy GP55

Convoy GP55 was a convoy of Allied ships that travelled from Sydney to Brisbane in June 1943 during World War II. It comprised ten cargo ships, three landing ships, tank and an escort of five corvettes. The Japanese submarine I-174 attacked the convoy on 16 June, sinking the United States...

: the only two ships lost in the convoys Deloraine was attached to during her service history.

In May 1944, Deloraine was redeployed to New Guinea waters for escort, patrol, and troop transport duties.She carried out bombardments in support of several Allied landings in New Guina. At the end of April 1945, the corvette sailed to Brisbane for refits: hostilities ended while she was in dock.

The corvette was awarded three 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....

s for her wartime service: "Darwin 1942", "Pacific 1942-45", and "New Guinea 1943-44".

Post-war

After refitting, Deloraine was used to transport an occupation force from Morotai

Morotai

Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

 to Menado, then returned to Sydney and commenced clearing minefields

Royal Australian Navy minesweeping after World War II

Following World War II the Royal Australian Navy was required to clear naval mines from the waters around Australia and New Guinea. Minesweeping in these areas began in December 1945 and was completed in August 1948...

 off the New South Wales coast. For the first half of 1946, Deloraine was assigned to New Britain, again clearing minefields. She was paid off into reserve on 4 November 1945, but was recommissioned on 16 December, and recommenced minesweeping duties along the Australian coast.

Decommissioning and fate

Deloraine was paid off into reserve at Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

on 30 June 1948. She was sold for scrap to the Hong Kong Delta Shipping Company on 8 August 1956.