Bathurst - class corvette The " Bathurst " class corvettes were a class of general purpose vessels produced in Australia during World War II . Originally classified as minesweepers , but widely referred to as corvette s , the " Bathurst " class vessels fulfilled a broad anti - submarine , anti - mine , and convoy escort role . Sixty " Bathurst " class corvettes were built in eight Australian shipyards to an Australian design . 36 were constructed for the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) , while 20 were built on British Admiralty orders but manned and commissioned by the RAN , and 4 served in the Royal Indian Navy . Three more were ordered for construction in India , but were cancelled . Although designed for the anti - submarine and anti - mine role , the " Bathurst " s operated as " maids - of - all - work " during the war ; serving as troop and supply transports , supporting amphibious landings , providing air defence for convoys and disabled ships , participating in shore bombardments , and undertaking hydrographic surveys . Three ships were lost during the war — one to Japanese air attack and two to collisions with friendly merchant ships — while a fourth struck a friendly mine while sweeping the Great Barrier Reef in 1947 and sank . After the war , the Admiralty ships were sold to the Turkish Navy , Royal Netherlands Navy , and civilian operators , while several RAN - owned vessels were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy , temporarily reactivated to facilitate National Service Training , or sold to civilians . Four of the Netherlands " Bathurst " s were sold onward to the Indonesian Navy , one of which was destroyed in 1956 by rebels opposing the ' Guided Democracy ' political system . The rest of the RAN and Admiralty ships were sold for scrap to help fund other projects . Two ships of the class are preserved as museum ships . Background . In February 1938 , the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board ( ACNB ) identified the need for a general purpose ' local defence vessel ' ( which itself evolved from plans for a training tender attached to the anti - submarine warfare training school at ) that was easy to construct and operate . The ships had to be capable of both anti - submarine and mine - warfare duties . The RAN ' s Director of Engineering , Rear Admiral P . E . McNeil , was instructed in July 1938 to prepare plans for such a ship , with a displacement of approximately 500 tons , a speed of at least , and a range of . In an initially unrelated development , three " Bar " class boom defence vessels were ordered by the RAN in 1937 , but when the requirement was lowered to two ships in early 1938 , the third , , was earmarked for construction as a prototype of the ' local defence vessel ' . McNeil completed his drawings in February 1939 ; his design was for a 680 ton vessel , with a speed of , and a range of . The prototype would have been armed with a 4 - inch gun , equipped with asdic , and able to fitted with either depth charge s or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations . Although closer to a small sloop than a local defence vessel , the increase in size and speed meant the design was more versatile than originally envisioned . Before construction could begin , the number of boom vessels was increased back to three , and " Kangaroo " was laid down as a boom defence vessel . Although the " Kangaroo " prototype was never built , the design was retained as it had advantages over dedicated British minesweeper and anti - submarine vessels , and with the exception of weapons and specialised instruments , could be built using local resources . Although not perfectly suited for any specific role , the all - round general capability for minesweeping , anti - submarine warfare , patrol , and escort duties was seen as a good short - term solution until better vessels could be requisitioned or constructed . The design underwent the normal procurement process , and in September 1939 , the ACNB approved seven ships of a slightly modified design . Additional orders were quickly placed by the RAN , the British Admiralty and the Royal Indian Navy , with 60 ships constructed over the course of World War II ; 36 were commissioned into the RAN , 20 were manned by RAN personnel but were paid for by the Admiralty , and 4 were built for the Royal Indian Navy . The ships were officially designated " Australian Minesweepers " ( AMS ) to hide their intended anti - submarine role , although the " Bathurst " s were popularly referred to as corvette s . Design . Each ship ' s company varied in size : the standard complement was 85 , including 6 commissioned and 12 to 13 non - commissioned officers . Over 20 , 000 personnel served on a " Bathurst " during the war : the early ships were primarily manned by reservists , while the majority of the ' Hostilities Only ' personnel recruited during the war served on a " Bathurst " class vessel sometime during their career . Sailors were accommodated in ten - man messdeck s , which were small , poorly - lit rooms that were perpetually damp from seawater and sweat . In anything but calm weather , hatches and portholes would have to be closed : sunlight and fresh air was a rarity inside the hull . Because of the conditions , high rates of sickness ( particularly pneumonia and tuberculosis ) were experienced . Officers slept in cabins with bunks ( as opposed to hammocks ) , and ate and relaxed in each ship ' s wardroom , complete with bar and steward service . The difference in conditions between officers and sailors prompted tensions between these two groups . Six large escort vessels based on a scaled - up version of the " Bathurst " design were considered for construction in mid - 1941 , but the design was determined to be inferior to the River class frigate . Armament and equipment . The most common armament for " Bathurst " class corvettes was a 12 - pounder gun or a 4 - inch Mark XIX high - angle gun , three Oerlikon 20 mm cannon s , two Lewis . 303 machine guns , and two . 303 Vickers machine guns . The corvettes carried up to 40 depth charge s , which were deployed by 4 throwers and 2 chutes . Many of the 12 - pounder carrying corvettes were refitted with the 4 - inch during their service life , while one of the Oerlikons was often replaced with a Bofors 40 mm gun . " Bathurst " s equipped with the 4 - inch main gun were primarily allocated to northern waters , because of the increased air threat and the greater anti - aircraft capabilities of the 4 - inch compared to the 12 - pounder gun mounted on other corvettes . Due to the variety of shipyards constructing the corvettes , as well as the varying roles the " Bathurst " s were pressed into , there was no true standardisation of armament . Some ships varied significantly from the common armament profile , while an individual ship ' s weapons outfit could vary significantly for different periods of her career . At one stage , carried six Oerlikon cannons , a number later reduced to four . only carried a single 4 - inch gun and a single 40 mm gun , possibly the lightest armament on a " Bathurst " class corvette . The " Bathurst " s were equipped with modified Type 128 asdic equipment , redesigned to be used without a gyroscopic stabiliser . Minesweeping equipment also varied across the class : ships equipped with the newer ' LL ' minesweeping gear were distributed as evenly as possible throughout major Australian ports . Each was fitted with a triple expansion steam engines ( usually fabricated by railway workshops ) to drive two propellers at a theoretical maximum speed of , although this required ideal conditions and was rarely achieved . Construction . Construction of the ships required a significant expansion of the Australian shipbuilding industry . This was achieved by bringing disused dockyards back into production and establishing new facilities . The lead shipyard was Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney , which laid down the first ship , , in February 1940 , and produced a further seven vessels . The other seven shipyards involved were Walkers Limited in Maryborough , Queensland ( 7 ships ) , Evans Deakin & Co in Brisbane ( 11 ships ) , Morts Dock & Engineering Co in Sydney ( 14 ships ) , Poole & Steel in Sydney ( 7 ships ) , NSW State Dockyard at Newcastle , New South Wales ( 1 ship ) , HMA Naval Dockyard at Williamstown , Victoria ( 8 ships ) , and Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd at Whyalla , South Australia ( 4 ships ) . Each ship cost approximately A£ 250 , 000 to build . The initial rate of construction was slow , due to a variety of factors : delays in equipment delivery from overseas , industrial problems , a lack of qualified labour , and the difficulty of naval overseers in supporting all eight shipyards at once primary among them . The initial prediction was that two vessels per month would enter service through 1941 , but by June 1940 , only five of the seventeen ordered so far had been laid down , and the RAN was advised at the end of 1940 that only seven would be completed December 1940 . The prioritisation of Admiralty orders by the Australian government meant that RAN - ordered ships were further delayed , although the Admiralty later allowed the first four of their ships to remain in local waters until replacements entered service . Rate of construction increased by late 1941 , although the increasing need of shipbuilding resources for repairs as the war progressed slowed the rate of construction back down . The " Bathurst " class build time was comparable to that of an " Essex " class aircraft carrier : the fourteen - month construction time for was equal to or faster than the individual build time of half the corvettes . Three additional " Bathurst " s were to be built for the Royal Indian Navy by Garden Reach of Calcutta . All three were laid down on 3 May 1943 , but were cancelled and broken up on the slipways in March 1945 . Instead , three Flower class corvette s were transferred from the Royal Navy to India . Role . The two main purposes the ships were intended for were minesweeping and anti - submarine escort . However , the corvettes found themselves performing a wide range of duties , including troop and supply transport , bombardment , assault landings support , survey and hydrography mapping , and providing aid to disabled ships . The " Bathurst " s were seen as ' maids of all work ' by the RAN , even though the design was inappropriate for some roles ; being too small , too slow , or inadequately armed or equipped . It was not until March 1943 that sufficient ships were available to take the individual variations and capabilities of the " Bathurst " s into account : prior to this , the first ( and often only ) available vessel . Because of the dual , conflicting roles of local defence vessel and ocean - going escort , " Bathurst " s based in Australia were under two different controllers for the first part of the Pacific War ; operationally under the US Navy ' s Naval Commander South West Pacific Area Forces ( COMSOUWESTPAC ) , and administratively under the Naval Officer In Charge ( NOIC ) of the ship ' s homeport . Following multiple incidents where a ship would be assigned to two different tasks simultaneously ; conflicts between local needs , escort schedules , and maintenance requirements ; and protests from the NOIC in Fremantle and Darwin , the Australian - based corvettes were placed completely under NOIC control in May 1942 . COMSOUWESTPAC would indicate that ships would be needed from a particular port for escort duties , leaving the NOIC of that port free to allocate available ships . " Bathurst " class ships were assigned up to three different pennant number s during the course of their career . With the exception of , all of the " Bathurst " class corvettes were given numbers with the ' J ' flag superior , designating them as minesweepers . Ships of the class that served with the British Pacific Fleet , like many other ships serving with the fleet , had their pennant numbers changed to ones with a ' B ' flag superior . At the end of World War II , a reorganisation of the pennant system saw the " Bathurst " s given new numbers with ' M ' as the flag superior , which was the new designator for minesweepers . Operational history . World War II . In the early part of their war service , " Bathurst " s were involved in the evacuation of several locations which fell to the initial Japanese advance , and in the transportation of supplies and reinforcements to Australian and Dutch guerrilla operations in Timor . was the only ship of the class destroyed by enemy action ; she was sunk by torpedoes from Japanese aircraft on the afternoon of 1 December 1942 while transporting personnel of the Netherlands East Indies Army to Betano , Timor . The " Bathurst " s were involved in several attacks on submarines during the war . On 20 January 1942 , Japanese submarine " I - 124 " was sunk outside Darwin . This , the first RAN kill of a full - size submarine , was credited to , with sister ships and assisting . On 11 September 1943 , assisted in the destruction of German submarine " U - 617 " . On 11 February 1944 , the corvettes and , along with Indian sloop HMIS " Jumna " , were responsible for the sinking of Japanese submarine " RO - 110 " in the Bay of Bengal . In early 1943 , HMA Ships and were modified to serve as hydrographic survey ships . The corvettes were assigned to Task Group 70 . 5 of the United States Seventh Fleet , and were used to survey waters prior to several amphibious landings during the war . Eight corvettes were deployed to the Mediterranean in May 1943 . Their anti - aircraft armament made them appropriate for escort duties during the Allied invasion of Sicily . A month later , four " Bathurst " s were part of an eight - ship escort for a 40 - strong convoy to Gibraltar when it was attacked by 50 German torpedo bombers ; the corvettes ' air defence destroyed nine aircraft , and only two merchant ships received damage . During their time in the Mediterranean , several corvettes reached the Atlantic Ocean . In early 1945 , eighteen " Bathurst " class corvettes were assigned to the British Pacific Fleet . Eight of these ships cleared Victoria Harbour before the BPF arrived in Hong Kong at the end of the Japanese occupation , while three - , , and - were present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed . The poor working and living conditions aboard the ships , combined with the heavy and often difficult workloads , led to mutinous acts aboard four ships during the war : , , , and . The incidents in " Geraldton " and " Lithgow " were minor and resolved without disciplinary charges , while the ' mutiny ' aboard " Toowoomba " was caused by a lack of communication : after a hard day loading supplies , the sailors did not respond to an order to assemble on the quarterdeck as they felt they had laboured enough that day , but changed their mind when informed that the order to assemble was so the captain could thank them for their efforts , and reward them with drinks . However , the " Pirie " mutiny was far more serious : the ship ' s company were unable to respect their commanding officer , who was an ineffective leader but an overly strict disciplinarian with a superiority complex . This lack of respect was compounded while repairs were made to the corvette following an air attack off Oro Bay in April 1943 , when the captain forced the rest of the company to live aboard , while he took residence at a hotel . A lack of pay , mail , and shore leave contributed to the sailors ' frustration , and in response , 45 junior sailors refused to report for duties on 9 May until they could present their grievances to the commander . Instead , he had the ship surrounded by armed guards and disabled the main gun . A Board of Inquiry failed to identify any ringleaders , and the problem was handed back to " Pirie " s commander to solve as he saw fit : fourteen men were charged with mutiny , with ten sent to prison . Relationships between commander and company did not improve until he was replaced at the end of 1943 for his botched handling of the event . Only three " Bathurst " class corvettes were lost during World War II . Apart from " Armidale " , the other two ships were lost following collisions with merchant vessels of the United States : in June 1943 , and in October 1944 . Post - war . After the war , the 20 Admiralty - owned vessels were disposed of ; five to the Turkish Navy , eight to the Royal Netherlands Navy , and one to China , with the rest converted and sold for civilian use or broken up for scrap . Four of the Netherlands " Bathurst " s were later sold on to the Indonesian Navy . One of these , , renamed KRI " Hang Tuah " , was bombed and sunk on 28 April 1958 by a CIA Douglas B - 26 Invader operating in support of Permesta rebels opposed to the Guided Democracy in Indonesia established the previous year . Of the 33 surviving RAN vessels , twelve were formed into the 20th Minesweeping Flotilla and tasked with clearing minefields deployed during the war in the waters of Australia , New Guinea , and the Solomons . was sunk by an Australian mine in the Great Barrier Reef in September 1947 . Several ships were also used to transport soldiers and liberated prisoners of war . The corvettes were then were placed in operational reserve , with the intention that they be reactivated for escort work in the event of another war or international crisis . Most were sold off during the 1950s , including four to the Royal New Zealand Navy , to help offset the cost of acquiring and operating two aircraft carriers . Four corvettes ( , , , and ) were recommissioned in 1951 as training vessels for the National Service Program . The RAN component of the program ended in 1957 . The last ship to leave RAN service was on 28 October 1960 . The gradual loss of minesweeping - capable ships was not rectified until late 1962 , when the RAN purchased six " Ton " class minesweepers from the Royal Navy . The 56 corvettes commissioned as Australian vessels travelled a combined total of during their service with the RAN . A total of 83 personnel were killed in service across the entire service life of the class . Surviving examples and monuments . Of the 60 vessels , only two examples remain . HMAS " Castlemaine " is a museum ship in Williamstown , Victoria . HMAS " Whyalla " is a land - based tourist attraction in Whyalla , South Australia . A monument to the 56 Australian - operated corvettes is located at the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre , at Garden Island , Sydney . The monument , " Corvettes " , was unveiled by Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair on 12 November 1995 . Also at Garden Island , Sydney , a stained glass window listing the names of the corvettes frames the upper balcony doors of the Naval Chapel .