 HMASBrisbane shortly after completion in 1916 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name | Brisbane |
| Namesake | City ofBrisbane |
| Builder | Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney |
| Laid down | 25 January 1913 |
| Launched | 30 September 1915 |
| Commissioned | 31 October 1916 |
| Completed | 12 December 1916 |
| Decommissioned | 24 September 1935 |
| Motto |
|
| Honours & awards |
|
| Fate | Sold for scrap in 1936 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Town class light cruiser (Chatham subtype) |
| Displacement | 5,400 long tons (5,500 t) (standard) |
| Length | 456 ft8+3⁄8 in (139.202 m) |
| Beam | 49 ft 10 in (15.19 m) |
| Draught | 19 ft 11 in (6.07 m) (maximum) |
| Propulsion | Parsons turbines, 4 screws, 25,000 hp (19,000 kW) |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Complement | 31 officers, 454 sailors |
| Armament | |
HMASBrisbane was aTown class light cruiser of theRoyal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in Sydney between 1913 and 1916 to theChatham subtype design,Brisbane operated in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Australian coastal waters during World War I.
Following the end of the war, the cruiser was decommissioned and recommissioned on several occasions, and was reclassified as a training ship in late 1925. In 1935,Brisbane was reactivated to transport personnel to Britain for training on the new cruiserHMAS Sydney, after which she was decommissioned and sold forbreaking up as scrap.
Brisbane was built byCockatoo Island Dockyard to theChatham subtype of theTown class cruiser design.[1] Laid down on 25 January 1913, the cruiser was launched on 30 September 1915 by the wife ofAndrew Fisher;Prime Minister of Australia on three occasions.[2]Brisbane was commissioned into the RAN on 31 October 1916, although she was not completed until 12 December.[2] The ship costA£746,624 to build; unlike her Australian sister ships, the cost of adding armour was included in the original estimate.[2][3]
She was456 feet8+3⁄8 inches (139.202 m)long overall, with a beam of 49 feet 10 inches (15.19 m) and a maximum draught of 19 feet 11 inches (6.07 m).[1] The cruiser had a standard displacement of 5,400 tons.[4]Brisbane was propelled by Parsons steam turbines, which provided 25,000 shaft horsepower (19,000 kW) to four propellers.[2] Although designed with a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h),Brisbane once reached 25.67 knots (47.54 km/h) during full speed trials.[4] Her standard cruising speed was 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h), which could be maintained for 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km).[1] The ship was fuelled by a combination of coal (1,196 tons at full load) and oil (260 tons).[2] Her ship's company consisted of 31 officers and 454 sailors.[2]
The cruiser's primary armament consisted of eightBL 6-inch (152.4 mm) Mk XI* guns, arranged in single mountings behind open-backed gunshields.[4] A singlequick-firing 3-inch (76 mm) gun was used to protect the ship from air attack.[4]Brisbane carried a12-pounder field gun for ashore deployment.[4] Four3-pounder (47-mm, 1.9-in) quick-firing Hotchkiss guns were used assaluting guns.[4] Ten.303-inch machine guns were carried for close defence work (eightLewis guns and twoMaxim guns).[4] Two submerged18-inch (450-mm)torpedo tubes were fitted: one on each side, firingbroadside.[4] Armour plating consisted of side belts 3-inch (76 mm) thick amidships, tapering to 1.5-inch (38 mm) thick at the bow and stern, along with protective decking over the engineering and magazine spaces, and an armouredconning tower.[3]
On 13 December 1916,Brisbane departed on a voyage to the Mediterranean.[2] After reaching Malta on 4 February, the ship was fitted with equipment not available in Australia at the time.[2][5] Soon after, the ship was redeployed to Colombo, and employed on Indian Ocean patrols to search for the German raidersWolf andSeeadler.[2][5]
In February 1917, aSopwith Baby seaplane was acquired fromHMS Raven II for reconnaissance work; the first aircraft to be used by a RAN ship.[2][5] This remained aboard until June, whenBrisbane was sent back to Australia with orders to patrol the Western Australian coast.[2] From October 1917, the cruiser was assigned to operations in the western Pacific in response to reports of German raider activity.[2][5] Initially deployed to theSolomon Islands,Brisbane visitedNauru, theGilbert Islands, andFiji, before returning to duties in Australian waters in January 1918.[2][5]
On 21 October 1918,Brisbane departed for the eastern Mediterranean, and was betweenColombo andSuez when World War I ended.[5] Thebattle honour "Indian Ocean 1917" recognises the cruiser's wartime service.[6][7] The ship reachedMudros in late November, and spent most of December operating with theAustralian Destroyer Squadron, before visitingSmyrna and theDardanelles.[5]
.jpg)
Brisbane reached the United Kingdom before the end of December 1918, and began refitting atPortsmouth.[5] The most visible aspect of the refit was the installation of atripod mast.[5] The cruiser remained in British waters until 17 April 1919, when she departed from Portsmouth for home.[2] During the return trip, she caught up with the submarine depot shipHMAS Platypus and the sixJ class submarines transferred from theRoyal Navy to the RAN after the war, and relievedHMAS Sydney as their escort.[2][5]J5 was experiencing problems, andBrisbane took the boat under tow: the two vessels reached Sydney on 27 June.[2] The cruiser operated in Australian waters until 4 August 1922, when she was decommissioned into reserve.[2]
Brisbane was reactivated on 14 April 1923.[2] On 23 July 1924, she ran aground offPort Moresby,New Guinea; she was refloated later that day.[8] From February until August 1925, the ship served with the Royal Navy'sChina Squadron as part of an exchange, withHMS Concord sent to Australia.[5] While deployed with the China Squadron,Brisbane became the first RAN ship to visit Japan.[9] The cruiser was placed back in reserve on 7 October, underwent a refit, and recommissioned on 17 November as a training ship attached toFlinders Naval Depot.[2] A longer period of decommissioning and refit ran from 30 October 1926 until 28 June 1928, when she resumed training duties.[2] In August 1928,Brisbane visitedHawaii, and was present for celebrations commemorating the 150th anniversary of the islands' discovery.[2] The cruiser was again decommissioned, on 16 August 1929.[2]
Brisbane was commissioned for the final time on 2 April 1935, for the specific purpose of conveying the ship's company of the new cruiserHMAS Sydney to their ship in Britain.[2] During the voyage, the cruiser assisted the British sloopHMS Hastings.[9]Brisbane reached Portsmouth on 12 July 1935, and was decommissioned on 24 September.[2] She was the last coal-fuelled cruiser operational in any British Empire navy.[9] On 13 June 1936,Brisbane was sold toThos. W. Ward for A£19,215 to bebroken up.[2] The cruiser was scrapped atBriton Ferry, Wales by the end of 1936.[2][9]
| Bristol class |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weymouth class |
| ||||
| Chatham class |
| ||||
| Birmingham class |
| ||||
| Birkenhead class |
| ||||
| |||||
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1924 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
