Netherlands
What was the country of registry for HMAS Cairns (J183) from 1946 to Apr 1950?
HMAS Cairns ( J183 ) HMAS Cairns ( J183 ) , named for the city of Cairns , Queensland , was one of 60 s 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 ( RAN ) . Design and construction . In 1938 , the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board ( ACNB ) identified the need for a general purpose local defence vessel capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties , while easy to construct and operate . The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons , a speed of at least , and a range of The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel , with a top speed , and a range of , armed with a 4-inch gun , equipped with asdic , and able to fitted with either depth charges or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations : although closer in size to a sloop than a local defence vessel , the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels . Construction of the prototype did not go ahead , but the plans were retained . The need for locally built all-rounder vessels at the start of World War II saw the Australian Minesweepers ( designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability , but popularly referred to as corvettes ) approved in September 1939 , with 60 constructed during the course of the war : 36 ordered by the RAN , 20 ( including Cairns ) ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels , and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy . Cairns was laid down by Walkers Limited at Maryborough , Queensland on 31 March 1941 . She was launched on 7 October 1941 by Mrs . R . D . Walker , wife of the Works Manager of Walkers Limited , and commissioned into the RAN on 11 May 1942 . Operational history . Royal Australian Navy . From entering service until 16 October 1942 , Cairns was based in Fremantle and operated as a convoy escort , anti-submarine patroller , and minesweeper . On 16 October , the corvette was reassigned to the British Eastern Fleet and ordered to Kilindini , Kenya , arriving on 14 November . Cairns remained with the Eastern Fleet until January 1945 . Most of this time was spent on patrol or escort duties in the Indian Ocean . The corvette was reassigned to the Mediterranean from June until September 1943 . During this time , Cairns was involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily . On 11 February 1944 , a convoy Cairns was assigned to was attacked by Japanese submarine RO-110 . The corvette was involved in the successful destruction of the submarine , but one convoy ship was torpedoed . Following a refit in Adelaide from May to July 1944 , Cairns was redeployed to Colombo , which was her base of operations until January 1945 , when the corvette was sent back to Australia . On arrival in Australian waters , Cairns was assigned to the British Pacific Fleet . The ship received four battle honours for her wartime service : Pacific 1942–45 , Indian Ocean 1942–45 , Sicily 1943 , and Okinawa 1945 . Royal Netherlands Navy . Following the end of World War II , all Admiralty-owned Bathurst class corvettes were disposed of . Cairns was paid off in Brisbane on 17 January 1946 . She was immediately recommissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy ( RNLN ) and renamed HNLMS Ambon . Indonesian Navy . Following four years of service with the RNLN , the ship was transferred to the Indonesian Navy on 6 April 1950 and renamed KRI Banteng . Fate . The corvette was broken up for scrap in April 1968 . References . - Books - Journal and news articles