HMAS Melbourne (1912)

HMAS Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in England in 1911, launched in 1912 and commissioned in 1913. At the start of World War I, Melbourne was involved in attempts to locate the German East Asia Squadron, and participated in the capture of German colonies in the Pacific, before being assigned to the North America and West Indies Stations. In 1916, the cruiser joined the Grand Fleet in the North Sea, where she remained for the remainder of the war. Melbourne spent late 1919 and early 1920 in reserve, then was flagship of the Royal Australian Navy from 1920 until 1928, except for a second period in reserve during 1924 and 1925. HMAS Melbourne paid off in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1928, and was scrapped in 1929.

Design and construction

Melbourne was a Town class light cruiser. The ship had a standard displacement of 5,400 tons, was long overall and long between perpendiculars, had a beam of , a maximum draught of , and a mean draught of . The cruiser's main armament consisted of eight BL Mk XI* 50 calibre guns. A single QF 12-pounder 8 cwt gun field gun, four QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss saluting guns were also carried. The ship was laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in England on 4 April 1911. The ship cost 405,000 pounds to build. ==Operational history==

Operational history

On completion, Melbourne sailed from Portsmouth for Australia, arriving in Fremantle on 10 March 1913. On 1 June 1918, Melbourne launched her aircraft after sighting German aircraft over Heligoland Bight, but the pilot lost his target in the clouds. in 1918. Melbourne was the only ship of the RAN to be painted in dazzle camouflage during World War I. Melbourne stayed in Portsmouth until 7 March 1919, then sailed for Sydney via Suez, Singapore, and Darwin. In 1922, the ship rescued personnel from the sailing vessel Helen B. Sterling, which had been disabled in the Tasman Sea by a gale. Also in 1922, the ship was assigned as Flagship of the Australian Squadron. She was returned to reserve on 29 September 1924; most of the four years in service had been spent in Australian waters, with cruises to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The cruiser was recommissioned on 8 October 1925, and left Sydney for England on 23 November. During 1926, the ship was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet on exchange, with the British cruiser sent to operate with the RAN. Melbourne returned in August 1926, and resumed duties as Flagship. ==Fate==

Fate

in 2015 On 9 February 1928, Melbourne commenced her last voyage to England, where she arrived on 12 April. Melbourne was decommissioned for the final time on 23 April, with her ship's company assigned to the new heavy cruiser . The ship was sold to the Alloa Shipbreaking Company on 8 December for 25,000 pounds. The cruiser was transported to Birkenhead, and was broken up over the course of 1929. ==Citations==

Source: Wikipedia ↗

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