HMAS Cowra (J351/M351), named for the town of Cowra, New South Wales

Cowra, New South Wales

Cowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia in the Cowra Shire. It is located on the Mid-Western Highway, 317 kilometres west of Sydney on the banks of the Lachlan River at an altitude of 310 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census Cowra had a population of 8,430...

, 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

Cowra was laid down by Poole & Steele Limited at 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 12 August 1942. She was launched on 27 May 1943 by the wife of Percy Spender

Percy Spender

Sir Percy Claude Spender, KCVO, KBE, QC, , was an Australian politician. diplomat and jurist.Spender was born in Sydney and educated at the prestigious Fort Street High School and later the University of Sydney. He joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1915...

, the Federal Treasurer and member of the Advisory War Council

Advisory War Council (Australia)

The Advisory War Council was an Australian Government body during World War II. The AWC was established on 28 October 1940 to draw all the major political parties in the Parliament of Australia into the process of making decisions on Australia's war effort and was disbanded on 30 August...

, and was commissioned into the RAN on 8 October 1943.

Operational history

Cowra began active service in November 1943 as a convoy escort along the east coast of Australia. She continued until March 1944, when she was reassigned to New Guinea as an escort and anti-submarine patrol vessel. In June 1944, the corvette sailed to Melbourne for refits, which concluded on 19 August. She returned to New Guinea at the end of the month, and for the next eleven months was primarily assigned to escort and patrol duties near 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:...

. In January 1945, Cowra fired on Japanese shore positions at Yalela Bay, before visiting Brisbane briefly in February 1945. On 17 July, she was recalled to Australian waters, where she spent the rest of World War II. The ship was awarded two 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—"Pacific 1943-45" and "New Guinea 1944"—for her wartime service.

Following the end of the war, Cowra was assigned to the 20th Minesweeping Flotilla, and performed mine clearance operations

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...

 in the waters of Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. On 2 December 1946, Cowra returned to Sydney and was decommissioned into reserve.

On 20 February 1951, Cowra was recommissioned for use as a training ship for National Service trainees.

Decommissioning and fate

Cowra was paid off for the second time on 26 June 1953. In January 1961, the corvette was sold to the Kinoshita Company of Japan for scrapping.