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

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

 

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.

 

When World War II broke out, Hobart was escorting convoys between Australia, Singapore, Java, Ceylon, and Bombay, frequently accompanied by the destroyer HMS Electra. On August 18, 1940, HMAS Hobart was involved in the evacuation of Commonwealth troops from British Somaliland following the Italian invasion. She missed sailing 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.

 

 

On July 20, 1943 in the Solomon Islands, Hobart took a direct hit from a torpedo aimed at HMAS Australia. She lost 13 crew in the attack and one U.S. officer who was on board; seven others were seriously injured. The damage included a huge hole in the side, a badly distorted forward deck and stern, both portside propellers blown off by the impact, many pipes broken, bulkheads crushed and power cables severed. Hobart was taken out of service for repairs and modernisation at the Cockatoo Island 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 present in Tokyo Bay on Victory over Japan Day (2 September 1945), when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed. Hobart was made part of the Navy Reserve following the war, and was decommissioned in 1962. She was sold for scrap in the same year.

 

More information can be found in this link to a more detailed History of HMAS Hobart 1

 

External links

• HMAS Hobart I - Sea Power Centre

• HMAS Hobart history and images, U. S. Naval Historical Center

 

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