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HMAS Quiberon (G81)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Quiberon (G81/D20/D281/F03) was a Q class
Q and R class destroyer
The Q and R class was a class of sixteen War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered for the British Royal Navy in 1940 as the 3rd and 4th Emergency Flotilla. They served as convoy escorts during World War II. Three Q class ships were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy upon completion, with...
destroyer 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). Although built for 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...
and remaining British property until 1950, Quiberon was one of two Q class destroyers commissioned into the RAN during World War II. She was passed into full RAN ownership in 1950, and converted into an anti-submarine frigate.
Design and construction
Quiberon was one of eight Q class destroyersQ and R class destroyer
The Q and R class was a class of sixteen War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered for the British Royal Navy in 1940 as the 3rd and 4th Emergency Flotilla. They served as convoy escorts during World War II. Three Q class ships were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy upon completion, with...
constructed as a flotilla under the War Emergency Programme
War Emergency Programme destroyers
The War Emergency Programme destroyers were 112 destroyers built for the British Royal Navy during World War II. They were based on the hull and machinery of the earlier J, K and N class destroyer. Due to supply problems and the persistent failure by the Royal Navy to develop a suitable...
. These ships had a standard displacement of 1,705 tons, and a deep load displacement of 2,424 tons. Quiberon was361 foot long overall, and 339 in 6 in (103.48 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 35 in 8 in (10.87 m). Propulsion was provided by two Admiralty 3-drum boilers connected to Parsons Impulse turbines, which generated 40000 shp for the propeller shafts. Quiberon achieved a maximum speed of 32.7 knots (17.8 m/s) during full-power trials. At 32 knots (17.4 m/s), she had a range of only 1150 nautical miles (2,129.8 km), but could travel fro 3560 nautical miles (6,593.1 km) at 8 knots (4.4 m/s). The ship's company consisted of 8 officers and 181 sailors.
Main armament consisted of four QF 4.7 inch Mk IX guns in single turrets. This was supplemented by a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom, and six 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. Four depth-charge throwers were fitted, with a payload of 70 charges carried, and two quadruple 21-inch torpedo tube sets were fitted, although a maximum of eight torpedoes were carried.
Quiberon was laid down by J. Samuel White
J. Samuel White
J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White . It came to prominence during the Victorian era...
and Company at their shipyard in Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
, on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, on 14 October 1940. She was launched on 31 January 1942 by the wife of Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
S. D. Tillard, Flag Officer in Charge, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. Quiberon was commissioned into the RAN on 6 July 1942. Although commissioned as an Australian ship, the destroyer initially remained the property of the Royal Navy. The ship was named after the Battle of Quiberon Bay
Battle of Quiberon Bay
The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire...
, which occurred in 1759.
World War II
Quiberon first served on North Atlantic convoy escort duty, operating out of Scapa Flow. She was assigned to support the Allied landings in North AfricaOperation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
in October 1942. On 28 November, Quiberon attacked and sank the Italian submarine Dessiè off the Tunisian coast. After this, the destroyer was assigned to "Force Q", which was based at Bone
Annaba
Annaba is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 257,359 , it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria....
and consisted of three cruisers and two other Q class destroyers. Around midnight on 1 December, this force located and attacked
Battle of Skerki Bank
The Battle of Skerki Bank was a World War II naval battle which took place near Skerki Bank in the Mediterranean Sea on the early hours of 2 December 1942 between British and Italian forces....
an Italian convoy of four merchant ships and escorting destroyers off Skerki Bank. All four supply ships were sunk, and at 01:35 on 2 December Quiberon fired the final shot into the Italian torpedo boat Lupo
Spica class torpedo boat
The Spica-class were a class of torpedo boats of the Regia Marina during World War II. These ships were built as a result of a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, which stated that ships with a tonnage of less than 600 tons could be built in unlimited numbers...
which was part of the escort of another convoy. While returning to port, sister ship was torpedoed by a German aircraft: Quiberon evacuated most of the other destroyer's personnel. On 21 December, Quiberon rescued survivors from the passenger vessel Strathallen.
In January 1943, the destroyer escorted a convoy from England to Cape Town, then made for Victoria, Australia for refit. After work was completed, Quiberon was assigned to the British Eastern Fleet
British Eastern Fleet
The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...
, primarily as a convoy escort across the Indian Ocean. In April 1944, the destroyer was part of the carrier escort screen during Operation Cockpit
Operation Cockpit
Operation Cockpit was a bombing raid by aircraft from two Allied naval forces on 19 April 1944. The forces were made up of 22 warships, including two aircraft carriers, from the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, and United States Navy...
, then again in May for Operation Transom
Operation Transom
Operation Transom was a major bombing raid on Japanese targets at Surabaya, Java by American and British planes on 17 May 1944 during World War II....
: air raids against Japanese forces occupying the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. After a brief refit in Melbourne, Quiberon resumed operations with the Eastern Fleet in August. In October, she took part in a series of fleet bombardments of the Japanese-held Nicobar Islands
Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean...
. In mid December, Quiberon was reassigned to Australian waters as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol vessel. During early 1945, the destroyer was attached to the British Pacific Fleet
British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...
. Operating from Manus Island
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
, Quiberon took part in operations in support of the American seizure of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
and attacks on the Japanese home islands
Japan campaign
The Japan Campaign was a series of battles and engagements in and around the Japanese Home Islands, between Allied forces and the forces of Imperial Japan during the last stages of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The Japan Campaign lasted from around June 1944 to August 1945.-Air war:Periodic...
.
At the end of World War II, Quiberon was present at the Allied reoccupation of Singapore, and spent the period until February 1946 operating in the East Indies to help reestablish Dutch control, move troops, and repatriate prisoners-of-war. The ship received eight 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: "Mediterranean 1942", "North Africa 1942-43", "Atlantic 1943", "Indian Ocean 1943-44", "East Indies 1944", "Pacific 1945", "Okinawa 1945", and "Japan 1945". Between 1946 and 1948, Quiberon was deployed with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force
British Commonwealth Occupation Force
The British Commonwealth Occupation Force , was the name of the joint Australian, Canadian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 21 February 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952...
on three occasions.
Frigate conversion
In early 1950, the decision was made to convert all five Q class destroyers in RAN service (three more had been acquired after World War II) to anti-submarine warfare frigates, similar to the Type 15 frigateType 15 frigate
The Type 15 frigate was a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were conversions based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers built to the standard War Emergency Programme "utility" design.-History:...
conversions performed on several War Emergency Programme destroyers
War Emergency Programme destroyers
The War Emergency Programme destroyers were 112 destroyers built for the British Royal Navy during World War II. They were based on the hull and machinery of the earlier J, K and N class destroyer. Due to supply problems and the persistent failure by the Royal Navy to develop a suitable...
of the RN. A proposal was made by the Australian government to pay for the upgrade to the five on-loan vessels, at the predicted cost of AU₤
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 :...
400,000 each. Instead, the British Admiralty presented the ships to the RAN on 1 June as gifts. The conversions were part of an overall plan to improve the anti-submarine warfare capability of the RAN, although Quiberon and the other ships were only a 'stopgap' measure until purpose-built ASW frigates could be constructed.
Quiberon paid off on 15 May 1950 for conversion at Cockatoo Island Dockyard and Garden Island Dockyard in Sydney. She was recommissioned on 18 December 1957.