HMAS Mildura
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History | |
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Australia | |
Namesake | City of Mildura, Victoria |
Builder | Morts Dock & Engineering Co in Sydney |
Laid down | 23 September 1940 |
Launched | 15 March 1941 |
Commissioned | 23 July 1941 |
Decommissioned | 21 May 1948 |
Recommissioned | 20 February 1951 |
Decommissioned | 11 September 1953 |
Reclassified |
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Motto | "Look Ahead" |
Honours and awards |
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Fate | Sold for scrap in 1965 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Bathurst-class corvette |
Displacement | 650 tons (standard), 1,025 tons (full war load) |
Length | 186 ft (57 m) |
Beam | 31 ft (9.4 m) |
Draught | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
Propulsion | 1 × triple expansion engine, 1,750 horsepower (1,300 kW), 2 shafts |
Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 85 |
Armament |
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HMAS Mildura (J207/M207), named for the city of Mildura, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was laid down by Morts Dock & Engineering Co in 1940 and commissioned into the RAN in 1941.
Mildura's initial deployments were on the east coast of Australia as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol vessel. At the start of 1944, she escorted vessels between Townsville, Queensland and New Guinea. Late 1944 saw the ship relocated to Fremantle, Western Australia as a local patrol ship. After a refit at the start of 1945, Mildura was based at Morotai, and operated throughout the Dutch East Indies until August, when the corvette was sent to clear Hong Kong waters of mines. During September and October, the mine warfare area increased to include Chinese waters. In late October, Mildura returned to Sydney for refitting, then spent the next two years clearing mines around Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
The corvette was paid off in 1948, but was recommissioned in 1951 to serve as a training vessel for National Service trainees. Mildura was decommissioned again in 1953, then was towed to Brisbane for use as a training hulk for local reservists. The ship was sold for scrap in 1965.