HMAS Warrnambool (J202)

History
HMAS Warrnambool in 1941 before being commissioned.
Australia
Namesake:	City of Warrnambool, Victoria
Builder:	Morts Dock & Engineering Co in Sydney
Laid down:	13 November 1940
Launched:	8 May 1941
Commissioned:	23 September 1941
Motto:	"Protect And Avenge"
Honours and awards:	Battle honours: Darwin 1942 Pacific 1942–45 New Guinea 1942
Fate:	Sunk during mine clearance on 13 September 1947
Badge:
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:	8.5 ft (2.6 m)
Propulsion:	triple expansion engine, 2 shafts
Speed:	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) at 1,750 hp
Complement:	85
Armament:	1 × 4 inch Mk XIX gun 1 × 40 mm Bofors AA gun (installed later) 3 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns (1 later removed) machine guns depth charge chutes and throwers

HMAS Warrnambool (J202), named for the city of Warrnambool, Victoria 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).Warrnambool sank after she hit a mine in the Great Barrier Reef on 13 September 1947. She was one of only four Bathurst class corvettes lost while in Australian service, and the only one lost after World War II.

In 1938, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB) identified the need for a general purpose 'local defence vessel' capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties, while easy to construct and operate. The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), and a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) top speed, and a range of 2,850 nautical miles (5,280 km; 3,280 mi), armed with a 4-inch gun, equipped with asdic, and able to fitted with either depth charges or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a sloop than a local defence vessel, the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels. Construction of the prototype HMAS Kangaroo did not go ahead, but the plans were retained. The need for locally built 'all-rounder' vessels at the start of World War II saw the "Australian Minesweepers" (designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability, but popularly referred to as "corvettes") approved in September 1939, with 60 constructed during the course of the war: 36 (including Warrnambool) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.

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