HMAS Hobart (D63)

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Career
Ordered:
Laid down:
Launched:	1934
Commissioned:
Decommissioned:	1962
Fate:
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	6,890 tons, standard (9,130 tons, full load)
Length:	554.9 ft (169.1 m)
Beam:	56 ft (17.1 m)
Draught:	19.1 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion:	4 Parsons geared steam turbines, 4 boilers 4 shafts, 72,000 shp
Speed:	32.5 knots
Range:
Complement:	570
Armament:	Original configuration: 8 × 6 in guns (4 × 2) 4 (later 8) x 4 in guns (4 × 1, later 4 × 2) 12 × 0.5 in machine guns (3 × 4) 8 × 21 in torpedo tubes (2 × 4)
Aircraft:	1 Supermarine Walrus, 1 catapult

The HMAS Hobart [1] was a Leander class light cruiser which served in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II.

Description

The Hobart was the second of its class to be modified for Australian service, and the first to be named after the city of Hobart in Tasmania. Originally built for the Royal Navy as the HMS Apollo, it was obtained by Australia and renamed upon commissioning.

• Displacement: 6980 tons
• Dimensions: Length: 554 ft (169 m); Beam: 55.5 ft (17 m); Draught: 19 ft
• Armament: 8 × 6 in (152 mm), 8 × 4 in (102 mm), 8 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes.
• Propulsion: 72,000 bhp (54 MW)
• Speed: 32.5 knots (59 km/h)
• Aircraft: 1 catapult-launched Supermarine Walrus

The one noticeable visible difference between the ships transferred to Australia and those still in the British Navy was that the British ships had one broad smokestack, whereas the Australian had two narrower funnels.

History

When World War II broke out, Hobart was escoring convoys between Australia, Singapore, Java, Ceylon, and Bombay, frequently accompanied by the destroyer HMS Electra. She missed sailling with the rest of the attack force heading for the Battle of the Java Sea because of damage suffered by the tanker that she was refueling from. She participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, as part of the cruiser force under Admiral Crace. Aside from being mistakenly bombed by American B-17s, the force saw no action.

Hobart was damaged by a torpedo in July 1943 in the Solomons, and was taken out of service for repairs and modernisation at the Cockatoo Docks in Sydney. She was back in service by December 1944, in time to participate in the amphibious assaults on the Philippines, Borneo, and Wewak. She was in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender in 1945.

Hobart was made part of the Navy Reserve following the war, and was decommissioned in 1962.

See also

• List of World War II ships
• See HMAS Hobart for other vessels of the same name