Indonesian Navy
What was the operator of HMAS Ipswich (J186) from 1949 to 1950?
HMAS Ipswich ( J186 ) HMAS Ipswich ( J186/B244/A118 ) , named for the city of Ipswich , Queensland , was one of 60 s built during World War II and one of 20 built on Admiralty order but manned by personnel of and later commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) . Ipswich was later operated by the Royal Netherlands Navy ( RNLN ) as HNLMS Morotai , and by the Indonesian Navy ( TNI-AL ) as KRI Hang Tuah . In Indonesian service in 1958 the ship was attacked by a CIA aircraft and sunk with considerable loss of life . 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 saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel , with a top speed , and a range of , armed with a 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 Ipswich ) ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels , and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy . Ipswich was laid down by Evans Deakin & Co at Brisbane in Queensland on 6 March 1941 . She was launched on 11 August 1941 by Evelyn Foll , wife of the Minister for the Interior Harry Foll , and commissioned on 13 June 1942 . Operational history . RAN . Ipswich was employed from commissioning until 3 November 1942 as a convoy escort in Australian waters . From 3 November 1942 until 21 January 1945 , Ipswich was assigned to the British Eastern Fleet , primarily serving in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf , but spending May to October 1943 in the Mediterranean . During this time , Ipswich was credited with shooting down a twin-engined bomber near Syracuse on 25 July 1943 , and on 11 February 1944 worked with and to sink the . Upon leaving the British Eastern Fleet , Ipswich returned to Australia , where she was assigned to the British Pacific Fleet . Ipswich was present in Tokyo Bay on Victory over Japan Day ( 2 September 1945 ) , when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed . Ipswich earned five battle honours for her wartime service : Pacific 1942 , Indian Ocean 1942–45 , Sicily 1943 , East Indies 1944 , and Okinawa 1945 . RNLN . Ipswich paid off from RAN service on 5 July 1946 and was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy and renamed HNLMS Morotai . TNI-AL . Morotai was transferred to the Indonesian Navy in 1949 and renamed KRI Hang Tuah . On 28 April 1958 a Douglas B-26 Invader aircraft , painted black and showing no markings , bombed and sank her off Balikpapan in southern Borneo . 18 crew were killed and another 28 were wounded . The B-26s co-pilot was Colonel Muharto of the Permesta rebel movements AUREV insurgent air force but the aircraft , its ammunition and pilot were supplied by the CIA as part of an insurgency to destabilise President Sukarnos government . The pilot was William H . Beale , a former United States Army Air Forces lieutenant colonel then employed by a Taiwan-based CIA front organisation , Civil Air Transport .