HMAS Hobart ( D63 ) HMAS " Hobart was a modified " Leander " - class light cruiser which served in the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) during World War II . Originally constructed for the Royal Navy as HMS " Apollo , the ship entered service in 1936 , and was sold to Australia two years later . During the war , " Hobart " was involved in the evacuation of British Somaliland in 1940 , fought at the Battle of the Coral Sea and supported the amphibious landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi during 1942 , was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1943 , then returned to service in 1945 and supported the landings at Tarakan , Wewak , Brunei , and Balikpapan . " Hobart " was placed in reserve in 1947 , but plans to modernise her and return her to service as an aircraft carrier escort , training ship , or guided missile ship were not followed through . The cruiser was sold for scrapping in 1962 . Design and construction . The ship was one of three Modified " Leander " - class light cruisers constructed for the Royal Navy . The main difference to the previous five " Leander " s was that the newer ships had their machinery and propulsion equipment organised in two self - contained units ( separated fore and aft ) , allowing the ship to continue operating if one set was damaged . The two exhaust funnels , one for each machinery space , gave the modified ships a different profile from the early " Leander " s , which had a single funnel . To cover the separate machinery spaces , the side armour was extended from , negating the weight reduction created by the separation . During design , it was planned to modify the forward - most and aft - most 6 - inch turrets to be fitted with three guns instead of two , but the plan was cancelled when it was determined that the required alterations would cause several negative side effects , including reducing the ship ' s top speed and causing problems with effective fire control . The cruiser was laid down at HM Dockyard , Devonport , England on 15 August 1933 as HMS " Apollo " . She was launched on 9 October 1934 by Lady Florence , wife of Admiral Sir William Boyle . The ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 13 January 1936 . Operational history . Royal Navy service . " Apollo " served on the North American and West Indies Station until 1938 . Australian acquisition . The ship was purchased by the Australian Government in 1938 , with the transfer of the seaplane tender to the Royal Navy part of the payment . She was originally to be renamed and transferred to the RAN on 6 October , but the mobilisation of the British Home Fleet in response to the Munich Crisis brought this forward to 28 September . The cruiser arrived in Australia at the end of 1938 , and visited her namesake city during February 1939 . World War II . At the start of World War II , " Hobart " was initially deployed on patrols of Bass Strait . A month later , on 13 October , the cruiser sailed for Singapore with several RAN destroyers . After arrival , she was assigned to patrols and convoy escort duties in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea . In February 1940 , she escorted an Australian troop convoy from Colombo to the Middle East , then spent time in Ceylon as flagship of the East Indies Station before being transferred to Aden with in April to form the core of the Royal Navy ' s Red Sea Force . The cruiser fired in anger for the first time on 12 June 1940 , in retaliation to Italian aircraft attacking Aden . On 19 June , the cruiser ' s Walrus amphibious aircraft dropped bombs on an Italian wireless station on Centre Peak Island in the Red Sea . At the start of August , " Hobart " escorted a relief force to Berbera , in response to the Italian invasion of British Somaliland . Two weeks later , the decision was made to abandon British Somaliland , and " Hobart " was designated headquarters for the evacuation . The Walrus was used to successfully fend off air raids and bomb the Italian headquarters at Zeila , while a 3 - pounder Hotchkiss saluting gun was converted into an anti - tank gun and sent to assist in the rearguard action , although the three volunteers crewing the weapon were captured . " Hobart " s captain orchestrated the evacuation of over 7 , 000 soldiers and civilians aboard a heterogenous flotilla of vessels . The cruiser was the last ship to leave on 19 August , collecting stragglers in the ship ' s boats while demolition teams and the ship ' s guns destroyed anything of value . " Hobart " remained in the Red Sea until October , when she sailed to Colombo for refit , then returned to Australia . Shortly after arrival , Rear Admiral John Gregory Crace transferred his flag from to " Hobart " . The cruiser was used as an escort in Australian waters until June 1941 , when the ship ' s seaplane and catapult were removed , Crace transferred his flag back to " Canberra " , and " Hobart " was sent to the Mediterranean to relieve sister ship . On 13 July , " Hobart " was in Port Tewfik when the area was bombed . The troopship " Georgic " was damaged by bombs and attempted to beach , but collided with the transport " Gleneran " and forced her ashore as well . " Hobart " s company helped to evacuate crew and passengers from the ships during the evening , and helped to refloat " Georgic " the next day . On joining the Mediterranean Fleet , " Hobart " was assigned to support Allied forces during the Western Desert Campaign until December 1941 , when the Japanese declaration of war required the ship to relocate to Australian waters . The cruiser was diverted to escort a convoy from Colombo to Singapore ; the ships arrived on 3 January , the same day as a Japanese air raid . " Hobart " reached Fremantle on 11 January , then escorted a convoy to Java before the month ' s end . On 3 February 1942 , while sailing from Singapore to Batavia , " Hobart " and the destroyer came to the aid of the merchant ship " Norah Moller " , which had been bombed by three aircraft . The cruiser collected 57 of the 70 aboard , with the rest aboard " Tenedos " . From this point , the ship was almost constantly deployed on convoy escort duties in the Far East Station . On 25 February , the cruiser was attacked by 27 bombers while refuelling from a tanker at Tanjong Priok . There was only minor damage , but the fuelling operation could not be completed , and " Hobart " was unable to join the Allied force that was defeated during the Battle of the Java Sea two days later . " Hobart " participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 , as part of the Allied cruiser force shielding Port Moresby . The Australian squadron ( Task Force 44 ) was commanded by Royal Navy Admiral Sir John Gregory Crace , and included the US cruiser and the destroyers , , and in addition to " Australia " and " Hobart " . Crace ' s squadron , away from the main scene of battle , had been ordered to patrol the Jomard Passage , through which a Japanese invasion force bound for Port Moresby would pass . Crace ' s ships were vulnerable as they had no air cover , and adopted an anti - aircraft diamond formation . In the late morning of 7 May a Japanese reconnaissance plane sighted the squadron and reported its position to Rabaul . That afternoon , eleven Japanese torpedo bombers attacked the Allied ships , which retaliated with a strong barrage . No ships were severely damaged during the five - minute engagement , but six Australians and three Americans were casualties . A second Japanese attack was mounted almost immediately , this time with accurate pattern bombing from high altitude , but the ships were successful in evading . Minutes later , a third wave of three bomber aircraft flew overhead and narrowly missed the American destroyers ; it was later learned that these were B - 17 Flying Fortresses of the United States Army Air Forces , which believed they were attacking a squadron of Japanese ships . On 7 August , " Hobart " supported the amphibious landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi . On 20 July 1943 , while in the Solomon Islands , " Hobart " was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine . The torpedo struck the port quarter and caused serious damage . The damage included a huge hole in the side , a badly distorted forward deck and stern , both portside propellers blown off by the impact , many pipes broken , bulkheads crushed and power cables severed . Fourteen personnel , including a visiting US officer , were killed . The cruiser limped to Espiritu Santo for temporary repairs , then sailed for Australia with the destroyers and escorting . The cruiser arrived in Sydney on 26 August , and was docked at Cockatoo Island Dockyard for repairs and refurbishment ; the quantity of damage meant that she was out of service until 1945 . Following her return , " Hobart " was involved in the landing at Tarakan on 25 April , at Wewak on 11 May , at Brunei in June , and at Balikpapan in July . " Hobart " entered Tokyo Bay on 31 August , and was present for Victory over Japan Day ( 2 September 1945 ) , when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed . Following the war , " Hobart " spent 1946 and 1947 in Japanese waters . " Hobart " received eight battle honour s for her wartime service : " Mediterranean 1941 " , " Indian Ocean 1941 " , " Coral Sea 1942 " , " Savo Island 1942 " , " Guadacanal 1942 " , " Pacific 1942 – 45 " , " East Indies 1940 " , and " Borneo 1945 " . Decommissioning and fate . " Hobart " was paid off into the reserve fleet on 20 December 1947 . In 1950 , following the failure to find a suitable new British cruiser design , and a dollar shortage preventing the purchase of US vessels , it was decided to modernise " Hobart " and use her as a stop - gap aircraft carrier escort until the " Daring " class destroyers entered service , after which she would serve as a troop convoy escort to the Middle East in the event of a future conflict . This planned role changed in 1952 following a series of financial cutbacks and the realisation that the Battle class destroyers were suitable carrier escorts ; instead , " Hobart " was to replace " Australia " as the training cruiser . She was taken to the Newcastle State Dockyard for modification . During 1953 and 1954 , further reductions in the RAN saw one carrier taken off active duty for use as a training vessel , eliminating the need to return " Hobart " to service . Other options for reactivating the cruiser were explored , including conversion to a guided missile ship , but by April 1955 , all proposals were abandoned . Despite the conversion work to date having cost £A 1 million , the modification was cancelled , and " Hobart " was returned to the reserve fleet and marked for disposal . " Hobart " was sold for scrap on 22 February 1962 to Japanese firm Mitsui & Co ( Aust ) Pty Ltd . The ship left Sydney under tow on 3 March , and arrived in Osaka on 2 April for breaking up .