HMAS Quickmatch

Quickmatch was one of eight Q-class destroyers constructed as a flotilla under the War Emergency Programme. She had a standard displacement of 1,750 tons, and a deep load displacement of 2,420 tons. Quickmatch had a maximum speed of . This was supplemented by a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom, and six 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. Four depth-charge throwers were fitted, with a payload of 70 charges carried, and two quadruple 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tube sets were fitted, although a maximum of eight torpedoes were carried. The ship was laid down by J. Samuel White and Company Limited at their shipyard in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, on 6 February 1941. She was launched on 11 April 1942 by the wife of the company's deputy chairman. Quickmatch was commissioned into the RAN on 14 September 1942. Despite being commissioned into the RAN, Quickmatch remained the property of the British government until the early 1950s, when she was gifted to the RAN. The ship's name came from the quick match, a fast burning match used for lighting cannon. ==Operational history==

World War II From October 1942, Quickmatch operated as a convoy escort vessel; initially in British waters, then in the South Atlantic, then in the Indian Ocean. In July 1943, the ship rescued survivors from , that was sunk by U-boat U-177. Post-war and frigate conversion Over the following years, Quickmatch made several deployments to Japanese and Korean waters, with the rest of her time spent operating around Australia. In 1957, Quickmatch operated in support of British Commonwealth forces deployed during the Malayan Emergency, for which she was later awarded her seventh battle honour, "Malaya 1957". On 10 November 1960 Quickmatch rescued the crew of an Indonesian Proa with failed engines near Singapore. ==Decommissioning and fate==

Quickmatch performed routine duties until she paid off to reserve at Williamstown on 26 April 1963. After paying off she served as an accommodation ship until she was sold for scrap to the Fujita Salvage Company Limited of Osaka in Japan on 15 February 1972. The ship departed Melbourne for Japan under tow on 6 July 1972. ==Notes==