HMAS Deloraine HMAS " Deloraine " ( J232 / M232 ) , 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 ( RAN ) . Construction . " Deloraine " was laid down at Morts Dock & Engineering Co in Balmain , New South Wales on 19 March 1941 . She was launched on 26 July 1941 by Dame Mary Hughes , wife of the Minister for the Navy , and commissioned into the RAN on 22 November 1941 . Operational history . World War II . After commissioning , " Deloraine " sailed to Darwin , where she was based for the first part of her career as a convoy escort and anti - submarine patrol vessel . On 20 January 1942 , following reports from the United States destroyer USS " Edsall " that a Japanese submarine was in the area . The submarine , " I - 124 " of the Imperial Japanese Navy tried and failed to torpedo " Deloraine " at 1 : 35 pm , with " Deloraine " locating the submarine on asdic and dropping her full load of depth charges over the course of the afternoon . Sister ships " Katoomba " and " Lithgow " arrived in the area ; the two ships continuing to patrol and depth - charge the area while " Deloraine " reloaded . They were successful , and the four ships were jointly credited with the kill of " I - 124 " — the first enemy submarine to be sunk in Australian waters , going down with 80 lives . The ship was present in Darwin Harbour during the Japanese bombing of Darwin in February 1942 . She was undamaged by the attack and assisted in rescue and recovery operations . On 5 March , " Deloraine " was attacked on several occasions by a Japanese flying boat , but was again undamaged . In July 1942 , the corvette returned to Sydney , and spent the next twenty months escorting supply convoys from Sydney to Newcastle , Brisbane , and New Guinea . In April 1943 , " Deloraine " rescued 19 survivors from the torpedoed merchant ship " Lydia M . Child " . On 16 June 1943 , " Portmar " and " LST - 469 " were torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine while travelling in Convoy GP55 : the only two ships lost in the convoys " Deloraine " was attached to during her service history . In May 1944 , " Deloraine " was redeployed to New Guinea waters for escort , patrol , and troop transport duties . She carried out bombardments in support of several Allied landings in New Guina . At the end of April 1945 , the corvette sailed to Brisbane for refits : hostilities ended while she was in dock . The corvette was awarded three battle honour s for her wartime service : " Darwin 1942 " , " Pacific 1942 - 45 " , and " New Guinea 1943 - 44 " . Post - war . After refitting , " Deloraine " was used to transport an occupation force from Morotai to Menado , then returned to Sydney and commenced clearing minefields off the New South Wales coast . For the first half of 1946 , " Deloraine " was assigned to New Britain , again clearing minefields . She was paid off into reserve on 4 November 1945 , but was recommissioned on 16 December , and recommenced minesweeping duties along the Australian coast . Decommissioning and fate . " Deloraine " was paid off into reserve at Fremantle , Western Australia on 30 June 1948 . She was sold for scrap to the Hong Kong Delta Shipping Company on 8 August 1956 .