.gif)
HMAS Anzac (D59)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Anzac (D59) was a Battle class
Battle class destroyer
The Battle class were a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . Built in three groups, the first group were ordered under the 1942 naval estimates. A modified second and third group, together with two ships of an extended design were planned for the 1943 and 1944...
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). Named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial...
, the destroyer was commissioned in 1951. The ship served on two tours of duty during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and attempts to distinguish herself from British ships led to the practice of red kangaroo symbols on Australian warships. During 1956, Anzac served during the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
. In 1960, a malfunction in the destroyer's gun direction equipment caused Anzac to fire directly on sister ship during a gunnery exercise, with Tobruk left unrepairable. In 1963, the destroyer was reclassified as a training vessel. Anzac remained in service until 1974, and was sold for breaking
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...
a year later.
Design and construction
Anzac was built to the British Battle class destroyerBattle class destroyer
The Battle class were a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . Built in three groups, the first group were ordered under the 1942 naval estimates. A modified second and third group, together with two ships of an extended design were planned for the 1943 and 1944...
design. The ship had a displacement of 2,436 tons as designed, although this displacement increased to 3,450 tons after her 1963 reclassification as a training ship. She was 379 feet (115.5 m) long overall and 355 feet (108.2 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 41 feet (12.5 m), and a draught of 21 foot. Propulsion was provided by two Admiralty 3-drum boilers supplying steam to Parsons geared turbines; these generated 50,000 shaft horsepower for the destroyer's two propeller shafts. Anzac was designed to reach 31.5 knots (17.1 m/s), but could usually only reach 31 knots (16.9 m/s). The ship's company originally consisted of 320 personnel, but after conversion into a training ship, this changed to 169 ship's company plus 109 trainees.
The main armament of Anzac consisted of four 4.5-inch Mark VI guns in two twin turrets. This was supplemented by twelve Bofors 40 mm guns for air defence, (three twin mountings and six single mountings, a Squid
Squid (weapon)
Squid was a British World War II ship-mounted anti-submarine weapon. It consisted of a three-barrelled mortar which launched depth charges. It replaced the Hedgehog system, and was in turn replaced by the Limbo system....
anti-submarine mortar, and two sets of 5-tube 21-inch Pentad torpedo launchers.
Anzac was laid down by the Williamstown Naval Dockyard at Melbourne, Victoria on 23 September 1946, and was launched on 20 August 1948 by the wife of John Augustine Collins, the Chief of the Naval Staff. Anzac was commissioned as a ship of the RAN on 14 March 1951. The ship was originally to be named Matapan, for the Battle of Cape Matapan
Battle of Cape Matapan
The Battle of Cape Matapan was a Second World War naval battle fought from 27–29 March 1941. The cape is on the southwest coast of Greece's Peloponnesian peninsula...
, but this was changed to Anzac, for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial...
prior to launch.
Operational history
At the end of July 1951, Anzac left Australian waters for her first deployment to the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Arriving in Japan on 14 August, the destroyer was assigned as an escort to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
(USN) escort carrier and operated off the west coast of Korea. Sicily was replaced by 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...
(RN) light carrier on 2 September, and on 6 September, Anzac was ordered to shell a suspected communist position near Haeju
Haeju
Haeju is a city located in South Hwanghae Province near Haeju Bay in North Korea. It is the administrative centre of South Hwanghae Province. As of 2000, the population of the city is estimated to be 236,000. At the beginning of 20th century, it became a strategic port in Sino-Korean trade...
; firing in anger for the first time at 18:15 hours. During 12–26 September, Anzac led US Ships and in a blockade of Wosan, before returning to Japanese waters at the end of the month.
Her first Korean tour completed, Anzac escorted HMS Glory to Sydney, where they arrived on 20 October. The destroyer then proceeded to Melbourne for a refit, which lasted until the end of 1951, and remained in Australian waters until deploying with the cruiser in April 1952 for a training cruise through Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia refers to the maritime region of Southeast Asia as opposed to mainland Southeast Asia and includes the modern countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and Singapore....
. After undergoing another, brief refit, Anzac rejoined the Korean War effort, and spent most of September patrolling the west coast of Korea, then joined the escort screen of the RN light carrier at the start of October. After a short break in Kure, the destroyer was assigned to patrols and shore bombardments on the west coast until 19 December, when she relieved and assumed responsibility for the defence of Yongdo Island. Herself relieved on 3 January 1953, Anzac returned to the west coast of Korea, where she resumed patrols and bombardments. Apart from a brief stint on the east coast shelling supply lines and a visit to Tokyo to celebreate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, Anzac operated off the west coast until 13 June; the conclusion of her second Korean tour. Anzac arrived in Sydney on 3 July.
For her two tours, Anzac was awarded 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....
"Korea 1951–53". During these tours, the ship's company often found themselves mistaken for British warships, as the RAN ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
at the time was identical to the British White Ensign
White Ensign
The White Ensign or St George's Ensign is an ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field with the Union Flag in the upper canton....
. To counteract this, the executive officer acquired the largest sheet of brass he could find, and had the kangaroo design from the reverse of the Australian penny
Penny (Australian)
The Australian Penny was a coin of the Australian pound used in the Commonwealth of Australia prior to decimalisation in 1966. It was worth one twelfth of an Australian shilling and 1/240 of an Australian pound...
cut from the sheet, which was then mounted to the top of the mainmast as a 'weathervane'. This method of identification was later adopted across the RAN: all surface ships now bear a red kangaroo symbol on each side of their exhaust funnels or superstructure.
In February 1954, Anzac was assigned as escort ship during the visit of members of the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
.
Anzac operated during the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
. Following an overhaul of the RAN battle honours system, the destroyer was retroactively awarded a second honour to recognise this: "Malaya 1956".
In September 1960, Anzac was performing gunnery exercises with sister ship . A malfunction in Anzacs gun direction equipment negated the deliberate 6° mis-aiming of her guns, with the resulting shell hitting Tobruk and doing enough damage to the destroyer to make repairs uneconomical. Two of Anzacs personnel were charged by the Naval Board, while Tobruk was decommissioned a month later.
During February and March 1963, Anzac again served as escort ship during a visit by members of the Royal Family. In April, the destroyer was refitted and reclassified for use as a training ship.