HMAS Katoomba (J204/M204), named for the tourist resort of Katoomba, New South Wales

Katoomba, New South Wales

Katoomba is the chief town of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia and the administrative headquarters of Blue Mountains City Council. It is on the Great Western Highway 110 kilometres west of Sydney and 39 kilometres south-east of Lithgow. Katoomba railway station is on the...

, 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

Katoomba 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 9 September 1940. She was launched on 16 April 1941 by Mrs. Lloyd, then deputy mayoress of Katoomba, and was commissioned into the RAN on 17 December 1941.

Operational history

Katoomba entered active service with an assignment to Darwin, where she arrived on 19 December 1942. The next day, Katoomba, along with sister ships HMAS Deloraine

HMAS Deloraine

HMAS Deloraine , named for the town of Deloraine, Tasmania, 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 .-Construction:...

 and HMAS 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 ....

, and 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....

, was involved in the prosecution and successful sinking of Japanese submarine I-124, the first enemy submarine sunk in Australian waters. Katoomba was present during the Japanese bombing of Darwin on 19 February, but was not significantly damaged.

At the end of June, Katoomba was reassigned as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship in the waters of northern Queensland and New Guinea. On 14 August, Katoomba was sent to assist United States submarine USS S-39, which had run aground on a reef off Rossel Island. Attempts to refloat the submarine were unsuccessful, and on 16 August, the corvette left Rossel Island with S-39’s entire crew of 47 embarked. The submarine was gutted and left to break up naturally. On 28 November, Katoomba and sister ship Ballarat

HMAS Ballarat (J184)

HMAS Ballarat , named for the city of Ballarat, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built for the Admiralty but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy .-Construction:Ballarat was laid down by HMA Naval...

 were attacked by a force of ten Japanese dive bombers. The corvettes escaped without serious damage. Katoomba was attacked again during January 1943, when a force of six Japanese aircraft attacked the corvette and the Dutch merchant ship Van Heutz. Katoomba escaped serious damage, but the merchantman was hit, with one man killed and three injured.

In February 1944, Katoomba ended her escort duties, and after a short period on patrol, was sent to Sydney for refitting. Upon her return to New Guinea waters in early May 1944, the corvette was assigned as an anti-submarine patrol ship. She remained in this role until the start of March 1945, although during this period she was occasionally used as an escort ship. The corvette returned to Australian waters, spent three months in Fremantle, then was assigned to Darwin, where she operated from until the end of World War II.

After the war's end, Katoomba was sent to the Japanese surrender at Timor, before assignment to mine-clearance duties throughout New Guinea waters. She returned to Sydney in October 1946, and was prepared for decommissioning, but was instead reactivated to help clear the coast of Queensland

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...

 of mines.

Katoomba received 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 1942-44".

Decommissioning and fate

Katoomba arrived in Fremantle on 16 January 1948, and was paid off into reserve on 2 August. She remained in reserve until 2 May 1957, when she was sold for breaking up as scrap to the Hong Kong Rolling Mills.