HMAS Manoora (F48)

HMAS Manoora after conversion to a Landing Ship Infantry
History
Name:	Manoora (1935–61) Ambulombo (1961–65, 1966) Affan Oceana (1965)
Owner:	Adelaide Steamship Company, Melbourne (1935–61) Government of Indonesia (1961–65) P T Affan Raja, Indonesia (1965–66) P T P P Arafat, Indonesia (1966–72)
Port of registry:	Melbourne (1935–61) Jakarta (1961–72)
Builder:	Alexander Stephen and Sons, Govan
Yard number:	540
Laid down:	July 1934
Launched:	25 October 1935
Identification:	UK Official Number: 153959 Code Letters: VLDL Pennant number: F48 (C77 from 1943)
Fate:	Sold for scrap in 1972
History
Australia
Name:	Manoora
Acquired:	11 October 1939
Commissioned:	12 December 1939
Decommissioned:	6 December 1947
Out of service:	1972
Reclassified:	2 February 1943 (from AMC to LSI)
Motto:	"In War and Peace"
Honours and awards:	Battle honours: Indian Ocean 1941–42 Pacific 1942–45 New Guinea 1944 Leyte Gulf 1944 Lingayen Gulf 1945 Borneo 1945
Fate:	Returned to owners in 1949
General characteristics
Tonnage:	10,856 grt
Length:	480 ft (150 m)
Beam:	66 ft 3 in (20.19 m)
Draught:	24 ft (7.3 m)
Propulsion:	Diesels, twin screws by JG Kincaid, Greenock
Speed:	15.7 knots (29.1 km/h; 18.1 mph)
Capacity:	1,230 troops (as LSI)
Complement:	345
Armament:	As AMC: 7 × 6-inch guns 2 × 3-inch anti-aircraft guns 2 × Lewis light machine guns As LSI: 1 × 6-inch gun (later replaced by 2 × 4-inch guns) 2 × 3-inch anti-aircraft guns 8 × 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns 6 × 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (added later)
Aircraft carried:	1 × Seagull V aircraft (as AMC)

HMAS Manoora was a passenger liner that served in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. Built in Scotland in 1935 for the Cairns to Fremantle coastal passenger run for the Adelaide Steamship Company. She was requisitioned by the RAN for naval service in 1939. Manoora was initially converted into an armed merchant cruiser (AMC), operating primarily in Australian, New Guinea, and Pacific waters, with deployments to Singapore and the Bay of Bengal.

In 1942, the ship was converted into the RAN's first landing ship, infantry (LSI). After extensive training, Manoora was involved in most of the Allied amphibious operations in the Pacific during 1944 and 1945. After the war's end, the ship was used to transport occupation forces and refugees until 1947, when she was decommissioned from naval service and returned to the Adelaide Steamship Company. Manoora continued to operate in Australian waters until 1961, when she was sold to an Indonesian company and renamed Albulombo. The ship was sold for scrap in 1972.

The passenger liner was 482 feet (147 m) in length overall, with a beam of 66 feet 3 inches (20.19 m), and a draught of 24 feet (7.3 m).Manoora measured 10,900 gross register tons. She had a twin-screw propulsion system, with diesel engines supplying 8,200 brake horsepower (6,100 kW) to drive the ship at 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).

Manoora was built by Alexander Stephen and Sons in Govan, Scotland for the Adelaide Steamship Company. The ship was laid down in July 1934, launched on 25 October 1935, and completed in 1935.

Manoora entered service on the Cairns to Fremantle coastal passenger run.