HMAS Tobruk (D37) 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). Built at Cockatoo Island, the destroyer was completed in 1950. Tobruk was deployed to 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...

 twice, and served with the Far East Strategic Reserve

Far East Strategic Reserve

The British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve was a joint military force of the British, Australian, and New Zealand armed forces...

 on three occasions during the late 1950s. In 1960, she was damaged beyond economical repair by sister ship during a gunnery exercise, which led to the destroyer's decommissioning that year, and sale for scrap in 1971.

Design and construction

Tobruk was a Battle class destroyer. The ship had a standard load displacement of 2,436 tons and a full load displacement of 3,400 tons. She was 379 feet (115.5 m) long overall and 355 feet (108.2 m) long between perpendiculars, had a beam of 41 feet (12.5 m), and a draught of 13 in 6 in (4.11 m). Propulsion machiney consisted of Admiralty 3-drum boilers connected to Parsons geared turbines, which supplied 50000 shp to the ship's two propeller shafts. Although designed with a maximum speed of 31.5 knots (17.1 m/s), Tobruk achieved 32.36 knots (17.6 m/s) during full-power trials. Maximum range was 1140 nautical miles (2,111.3 km) at 31 knots (16.9 m/s), or 4420 nautical miles (8,185.8 km) at 12 knots (6.5 m/s). The ship's company consisted of 19 officers and 301 sailors.

Tobruks primary armament consisted of four 4.5-inch Mark III guns, fitted forward in two twin turrets. For anti-aircraft defence, the ship carried twelve 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns: three twin mountings on the aft half of the ship, and six single mountings. Two five-tube Pentad torpedo tube sets were carried. Tobruk was also fitted with 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.

The ship was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company at their shipyard on Cockatoo Island, New South Wales

Cockatoo Island, New South Wales

Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located at the junction of the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers, Cockatoo Island is a former imperial prison, industrial school, reformatory and gaol. It was also the site of one of Australia's biggest...

 on 5 August 1946. Tobruk was launched on 20 December 1947 by the wife of Bill Riordan

Bill Riordan

William James Frederick "Bill" Riordan CBE was an Australian politician and Minister for the Navy.Riordan was born in Chillagoe, Queensland, son of William James Riordan and nephew of Darby Riordan and Ernest Riordan William James Frederick "Bill" Riordan CBE (8 February 1908 – 15 January 1973)...

, Minister for the Navy

Minister for Defence (Australia)

The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...

. The destroyer was commissioned into the RAN on 8 May 1950, although she was not completed until 17 May. The ship's name comes from the Siege of Tobruk

Siege of Tobruk

The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...

.

Operational history

After completing trials and workups, Tobruk was deployed to 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...

 in August 1951. Between October 1951 and January 1952, the destroyer carried out six patrols, primarily serving as an aircraft carrier escort, or performing shore bombardments. Tobruk returned to Australia in February 1952. In October, she was part of the security patrol around the Montebello Islands

Montebello Islands

The Montebello Islands, also known as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands lying north of Barrow Island and off the Pilbara coast of north-western Australia. Montebello is Italian for "beautiful mountain"...

 during Operation Hurricane

Operation Hurricane

Operation Hurricane was the test of the first British atomic device on 3 October 1952. A plutonium implosion device was detonated in the lagoon between the Montebello Islands, Western Australia....

, the first British nuclear weapons test. In June 1953, Tobruk returned to Korea for a second deployment. Although a ceasefire was signed in July 1953, Tobruk remained in the area until January 1954, then returned to Australia for a refit. Tobruk received 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" for these deployments.
After completing refit, Tobruk operated in the waters of Australia and New Guinea until mid 1955, when she joined several RAN ships in a deployment to South East Asia. In 1956, she was deployed to the Far East Strategic Reserve

Far East Strategic Reserve

The British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve was a joint military force of the British, Australian, and New Zealand armed forces...

. A second deployment was made in 1957. During this, Tobruk was involved in 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....

, and was later recognised with a second battle honour: "Malaya 1957". On 26 April, during night exercises, a star shell fired by landed in one of Tobruks gun bays, killing one sailor and severely wounding another. The destroyer's third and final assignment to the Strategic Reserve occurred during 1959. After a refit during early 1960, Tobruk and several other RAN ships made port visits to Nouméa and New Guinea.

Fate

In September 1960, Tobruk was performing gunnery exercises with sister ship off Jervis Bay

Jervis Bay

Jervis Bay is a large bay bounded by the state of New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, and a detached enclave of the Australian Capital Territory. HMAS Creswell is located between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch in the Jervis Bay Territory.-History:...

. 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. Temporary repairs were made to Tobruk in Jervis Bay before the ship limped back to Sydney, where she was placed into reserve on 29 October 1960. Two of Anzacs crew were charged over the incident.

Repairing the destroyer cas considered uneconomical, and she remained moored until the ship was marked for disposal on 14 May 1971. Tobruk was sold for scrap to Fujita Salvage Company Limited of Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, Japan on 15 February 1972, and departed Sydney under tow on 10 April 1972.