HMAS Queenborough

The sixth RN ship to be named after the town of Queenborough in Kent, England, Queenborough was laid down by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson at Wallsend-on-Tyne on 6 November 1940. She was launched on 16 January 1942, commissioned into the RN on 15 September, and completed on 10 December. The main armament for Queenborough consisted of four single 4.7-inch QF Mark IX guns, two before and two aft of the main superstructure. Secondary weapons included a quadruple-mounting QF 2-pounder Mark VIII pom-pom located just aft of the funnel, and six single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons provided anti-air capability, while eight Mark VIII torpedo tubes (4 forward, 4 aft) firing British 21-inch torpedo| Mark IX torpedoes for anti-ship engagements. ==RN service==

HMS Queenborough served in the Arctic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean during World War II. Arctic convoys Following commissioning, Queenborough was assigned to the British Home Fleet and spent the end of 1942 and the early part of 1943 as an Arctic convoy escort. She was briefly deployed to the waters off South Africa before the 4th Destroyer Flotilla was assigned to Force H and the Mediterranean theatre in mid-1943. The destroyer was involved in the leadup to the British landings at Calabria from 31 August to 3 September, including preparatory shelling of the landing site on 31 August and 2 September. British Eastern Fleet The 4th Destroyer Flotilla was ordered to depart the Mediterranean theatre and sail for the Indian Ocean in March 1944, to join the British Eastern Fleet. Leaving Trincomalee, on 21 March, the 18-ship fleet practiced refuelling south of Ceylon. On her return to Trincomalee, the destroyer joined Task Force 66 for Operation Transom, a carrier-based air raid on Surabaya. The task force replenished from tankers at Exmouth Bay on 15 May, before attacking on 17 May. The diversionary attacks, known as Operation Millet, included a series of bombardments and air raids against Japanese installations and ships in Malacca and Car Nicobar, and were intended to appear as if the Allies were preparing an invasion of Malaya. Despite heavy damage to the target areas, Operation Millet failed to attract a significant reaction from the Japanese, as available resources were already en route to defend Leyte from invasion. The destroyer received five battle honours for her wartime service: "Arctic 1942–43", "Sicily 1943", "Salerno 1943", "Mediterranean 1943", and "Okinawa 1945". ==Transfer to RAN==

Following the conclusion of World War II, Queenborough was one of three RN Q-class destroyers transferred to the RAN on loan. Queenborough was the last ship to commission into the RAN, in September 1945, in trade for . A proposal was made by the Australian government to pay for the upgrade to the five on-loan vessels, at the predicted cost of AU£400,000 each. The conversions were part of an overall plan to improve the anti-submarine warfare capability of the RAN, although Queenborough and the other ships were only a 'stopgap' measure until purpose-built ASW frigates could be constructed. The conversion started with the removal of the ship's entire armament. The quality of accommodation was improved. The conversion resulted in a 315-ton increase in standard displacement. The ship's draught increased from to . The converted ships were formed as the 1st Australian Frigate Squadron. ==Post-conversion service==

As frigate On 24 February 1955, Queenborough departed Sydney for England, to participate in anti-submarine warfare training with the Royal Navy. In addition to the squadron's badge depicting the Red Hand of Ulster, Queenborough added a red kangaroo design to her funnel to depict the ship's Australian allegiance; one of the earliest instances of using a red kangaroo to identify an Australian warship. On 8 May 1963 Queenborough collided with British submarine off Jervis Bay during anti-submarine training exercises. Tabards fin and conning tower were damaged, and minor damage was inflicted to the underside of Queenborough, but both vessels were able to return to Sydney unaided. In September, Queenborough and sister ship Quiberon were deployed to the FESR. On 26 October, the two ships were involved in the rescue of survivors from MV Kawi, The ships visited Calcutta in December, before returning to Hong Kong for Christmas. Following the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Australia in March and April 1963, Queenborough was stationed between Australia and New Caledonia as a precautionary air-sea rescue ship for the first leg of the Queen's departure flight. As training ship After spending three years in reserve, a need for expanded training capabilities saw Queenborough recommissioned on 28 July 1966 as a dedicated anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training ship. An improved Type 978 radar was installed. An Australian researcher on Macquarie Island required a medical evacuation: as the closest Australian vessel, Queenborough changed course for the island. At the start of 1969, the RAN's ship designation and numbering system was changed from the British system to the US system. Queenborough was reclassified as a destroyer escort, and received the number 57 (without any prefix letter). On 22 July 1969, Queenborough completed her 400,000th nautical mile of sailing since launching. In June 1971, Queenborough left Sydney to visit Fiji, Samoa, and New Zealand. Heavy weather between Fiji and New Zealand created cracks in the bow. These were detected in New Zealand waters, with Queenborough docking in Auckland until 5 July for repairs. ==Decommissioning and fate==

Queenborough was decommissioned on 7 April 1972. ==Citations==