HMAS Armidale (J240)

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HMAS Armidale in Port Moresby Harbour, September 1942
History
Australia
Namesake	City of Armidale, New South Wales
Builder	Morts Dock & Engineering Co in Sydney
Laid down	1 September 1941
Launched	Floated 24 January 1942
Commissioned	11 June 1942
Motto	"Stand Firm"
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Darwin 1942 Pacific 1942 New Guinea 1942[1][2]
Fate	Sunk by Japanese aircraft, 1 December 1942
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Bathurst-class corvette
Displacement	650 long tons (660 t) (standard), 1,025 long tons (1,041 t) (full war load)
Length	186 ft (57 m)
Beam	31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught	8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Propulsion	2 × triple expansion steam engines 2 × screws
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at 1,750 horsepower (1,300 kW)
Complement	85
Armament	1 × 4-inch (102 mm) gun 3 × 20-mm Oerlikon guns Machine guns Depth charges chutes and throwers

HMAS Armidale (J240), named for the then town of Armidale, New South Wales, 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).^[3]

Launched in early 1942, and initially assigned to convoy escort duties, Armidale was transferred to Darwin in October 1942. The corvette was attacked and sunk off Betano Bay (9°9′52″S 125°43′30″E / 9.16444°S 125.72500°E / -9.16444; 125.72500), on the south coast of Portuguese Timor, (now East Timor) by 13 Japanese aircraft on 1 December 1942, while attempting to evacuate Australian and Dutch soldiers and deliver a relief contingent. She was the only Bathurst-class corvette to be lost to enemy action.^[4]