From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
| Career (Australia) |
 |
| Namesake: |
city of Gladstone, Queensland |
| Builder: |
Walkers Limited |
| Laid down: |
4 August 1942 |
| Launched: |
26 November 1942 |
| Commissioned: |
22 March 1943 |
| Decommissioned: |
16 July 1956 |
| Fate: |
Entered civilian service in 1956 |
| 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, 2,000 hp |
| Speed: |
15 knots at 1,750 hp |
| Complement: |
85 |
| Armament: |
1 x 4-inch HA gun, 3 x Oerlikons, 1 x Bofors (installed later), Machine guns, Depth charges chutes and throwers |
The first ship of the Royal Australian Navy to be named for the city of Gladstone, Queensland, HMAS Gladstone (J324/M324) was a Bathurst class corvette laid down by Walkers Limited at Maryborough in Queensland on 4 August 1942, launched on 26 November 1942 by Mrs. D. Watson, wife of a member of the dockyard staff, and commissioned on 22 March 1943.[1]
HMAS Gladstone paid off on 16 July 1956, was sold to the Port Phillip Sea Pilots Association and renamed Akuna.[1] In November 1973, Akuna was sold to a private owner and used as a yacht.[1] A report in 1981 revealed that the vessel had since been sold to Food for the Hungry International, was based in Singapore, and tasked with rescuing Vietnamese boat people from the Gulf of Thailand.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d HMAS Gladstone I
