HMAS Melbourne (1912)

HMAS Melbourne
History
Australia
Name	Melbourne
Namesake	City of Melbourne
Builder	Cammell Laird & Co Ltd
Laid down	4 April 1911
Launched	30 May 1912
Commissioned	18 January 1913
Decommissioned	23 April 1928
Motto	"Viries Acquiret Eundo"
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Rabaul 1914 North Sea 1916–18
Fate	Sold for scrap in 1929
General characteristics
Class and type	Town class cruiser
Displacement	5,400 long tons (5,500 t)
Length	456 ft 10+3⁄8 in (139.252 m) length overall 430 ft (130 m) between perpendiculars
Beam	49 ft 10 in (15.19 m)
Draught	19 ft 7 in (5.97 m) maximum 15.75 ft (4.80 m) mean
Propulsion	Parsons turbines, Yarrow boilers, 25,000 shp (19,000 kW), 4 screws
Speed	27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph)
Complement	13 officers, 454 sailors
Armament	8 × BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) Mk XI* 50 calibre guns 1 × QF 3-inch anti-aircraft gun 1 × 76 mm (3.0 in) field gun 2 × .303-inch Maxim guns 2 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 4 × 3-pounder saluting guns

HMAS Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in England in 1911, launched in 1912 and commissioned in 1913. At the start of World War I, Melbourne was involved in attempts to locate the German East Asia Squadron, and participated in the capture of German colonies in the Pacific, before being assigned to the North America and West Indies Stations. In 1916, the cruiser joined the Grand Fleet in the North Sea, where she remained for the remainder of the war. Melbourne spent late 1919 and early 1920 in reserve, then was flagship of the Royal Australian Navy from 1920 until 1928, except for a second period in reserve during 1924 and 1925. HMAS Melbourne paid off in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1928, and was scrapped in 1929.