Australia Australia 
Pictures:
More pictures of HMAS Australia
| Laid down 23rd June 1910 |
Launched 25th October 1911 |
Completed N/A |
Commissioned June 1913 |
| Fate Scuttled:1924 off Sydney, Australia |
Builders J. Brown, Clydebank United Kingdom |
Complement 900 |
|
| Displacement 18150 tons stanard, 22150 tons max |
Dimensions 590' x 80' |
Draught 30' |
|
| Main guns 8 x 12" (4 x 2) |
Secondary guns As built: 16 x 4" (16 x 1) 1916: 14 x 4" (14 x 1) |
Light Weapons 4 x 3pdr |
Torpedo tubes As built: 3 x 18" 1916: 2 x 18" |
| Armour Belt: 2" - 6" Turrets: 4" - 7" Deck: 1" - 2.5" C.T.: 10" |
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| Machinery 31 x Babcock & Wilcox boilers 4 x Parsons steam turbines Power output 47135shp Shafts 4 |
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| Speed 26kts |
Range 6330NM @ 10kts 2290NM @ 23kts |
Fuel 3170 tons coal |
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The HMAS Australia was the only battlecruiser ever owned or operated by that nation.
This ship was an Indefatigable Class vessel, built in Scotland at J.Brown,
Clydebank, 1910-1913. Australia paid for
this vessel as a contribution to Commonwealth
Defense Programme. In addition, Australia
paid for the running costs of this vessel,
so she was placed under Australian command
upon completion, and served as flagship for
the Royal Australian Navy from June 1913
to December 1914. However, Great Britain
was granted the right of disposal over this
ship, which meant that the ship could be
withdrawn and placed under Royal Navy control
in time of war, as long as it's withdrawal
from the South Pacific did not present a
danger to Australia.
HMAS Australia was on convoy escort duty through-out August
of 1914, then participated in actions against
German New Guinea in mid-December. When the
last German outpost in the SouthEast Pacific
(Tsingtau) was annexed by the Japanese in
late December, HMAS Australia was ordered to transfer to England. On the
way, she encountered and sank the German
steamer Elinore Woermann near the Falkland Islands 1/6/15. She arrived
in Portsmouth on 1/28/15 and joined the Grand
Fleet.
On 4/22/16 Australia was damaged in a collision with her sister
ship New Zealand, and was not repaired until 6/9/16. She
was involved in sweeps of the North Sea in
search of German raiders, but saw no action.
On 12/12/17 she collided with HMS Repulse and was out of service for about two weeks.
From 3/18 to 5/18 she was fitted with a flying-off
platform to test aircraft operations.
Australia was released to return to her home country
in 1919. This voyage took from 4/23/19 until
5/28/19. During the voyage, five of her crewmen
were jailed for mutiny. Follow this link to learn about the mutiny.
HMAS Australia was taken out of service 12/12/21. Upon
the ratification of the Washington Naval
Treaty, she counted towards the capital ship
limits for the United Kingdom, so the HMAS Australia had to be disposed of. On 4/12/24, she was
scuttled with full military honors in 150
fathoms of water off the coast of South Head,
Australia. Strips of her teak deck were removed
and manufactured into picture frames, which
were sold along with photos of the ship after
her sinking.
