HMAS Stuart (D00)

HMAS Stuart in 1938
History
United Kingdom
Namesake:	The Scottish House of Stuart
Builder:	Hawthorn Leslie and Company
Laid down:	18 October 1917
Launched:	22 August 1918
Commissioned:	21 December 1918
Decommissioned:	May 1933
Motto:	"By Honour Flourish"
Fate:	Transferred to RAN
Australia
Commissioned:	11 October 1933
Decommissioned:	27 April 1946
Honours and awards:	Battle honours: Mediterranean 1940 Calabria 1940 Libya 1940–41 Matapan 1941 Greece 1941 Crete 1941 Pacific 1942–43 New Guinea 1942–44
Fate:	Sold for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type:	Admiralty-type (or Scott-class) destroyer leader
Displacement:	1,530 tons standard 2,053 tons full load
Length:	332 ft 7.5 in (101.384 m) length overall 320 ft (98 m) between perpendiculars
Beam:	31 ft 9.375 in (9.68693 m)
Draught:	11 ft 4 in (3.45 m) at full load
Propulsion:	4 × Yarrow boilers, 2 × Brown-Curtis turbines, 43,000 shp (32,000 kW), 2 shafts
Speed:	34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) as designed
Range:	3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	183 officers and sailors in 1918 11 officers and 156 sailors in 1936
Armament:	In 1933: 5 × BL 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns 1 × QF 3-inch (76 mm) AA gun 2 × QF 2-pounder (40 mm) AA guns (pom-poms) 5 × .303 inch machine guns 6 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (two triple mountings) 2 × depth charge throwers 4 × depth charge chutes See "Design and construction" section for changes during World War II

HMAS Stuart (formerly HMS Stuart) was a British Scott-class flotilla leader. The ship was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company for the Royal Navy during World War I, and entered service at the end of 1918. The majority of the destroyer's British service was performed in the Mediterranean, and in 1933 she was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy. Although placed in reserve in 1938, Stuart was reactivated at the start of World War II to lead the Australian destroyer force, nicknamed the Scrap Iron Flotilla by German propagandists.

The flotilla operated in the Mediterranean, with Stuart participating in the Western Desert Campaign and the battles of Calabria and Cape Matapan, defeating the Italian submarine Gondar, evacuating Allied troops from Greece and Crete, and serving with the Tobruk Ferry Service. The destroyer returned to Australia for repairs and refit in late 1941, and spent most of 1942 and 1943 in Australian waters. Stuart was modified into a stores and troop transport in early 1944, and operated in this role around Australia and New Guinea until early 1946. Stuart was placed in reserve in 1946, and was sold for ship breaking in early 1947.

Stuart was one of nine Admiralty-type (or Scott-class) flotilla leaders constructed during World War I for the Royal Navy. The ship had a displacement of 1,530 tons standard and 2,053 tons at full load. She was 332 feet 7 ¹⁄₂ inches (101.38 m) long overall and 320 feet (98 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 31 feet 9 ³⁄₈ inches (9.69 m), and a draught of 11 feet 4 inches (3.45 m) at full load. The propulsion machinery consisted of four Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis turbines, which delivered 43,000 shaft horsepower (32,000 kW) to the two propeller shafts. Although designed with a maximum speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph), Stuart could reach 34.669 knots (64.207 km/h; 39.896 mph) on the measured mile during trials. Maximum range was 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). The ship's company initially consisted of 183 personnel, but by 1936 had decreased to 167: 11 officers and 156 sailors.

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