| Navy | The Royal Australian Navy |
| Type | Minesweeper |
| Class | Bathurst |
| Pennant | J 316 |
| Built by | Poole & Steel Pty. Ltd. (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) |
| Ordered | 7 Aug 1941 |
| Laid down | 26 Feb 1942 |
| Launched | 3 Dec 1942 |
| Commissioned | 30 Apr 1943 |
| End service | 8 Jun 1959 |
| History | Decommissioned at Melbourne on 26 November 1945. |
Commands listed for HMAS Cootamundra (J 316)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | T/Lt. George Alfred Johns, RANR(S) | Jan 1943 | 20 Dec 1944 |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Harold James Hull, RANR | 20 Dec 1944 | 20 Sep 1945 |
| 3 | Lt. Kenneth Ralph Gourlay, RANR | 21 Sep 1945 |
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Notable events involving Cootamundra include:
5 Aug 1944
Around 1800K/5, HMAS Vendetta (Lt.Cdr. J.S. Mesley, RAN), HMAS Cootamundra (T/Lt. George Alfred Johns, RANR(S)) and HMAS Glenelg (T/Lt. L. Robson, RANR(S)) departed Langemak Bay to escort a convoy of 14 LCI's to Humboldt Bay. An additional two LCI were to be detached to Aitake while en-route. HMAS Glenelg was to be detached to escort these two LCI's.
The LCI's in question were from LCI(L) Flottilla 22. The following LCI's were part of this convoy USS LCI(L)-224, USS LCI(L)-328, USS LCI(L)-333, USS LCI(L)-357, USS LCI(L)-360, USS LCI(L)-429, USS LCI(L)-433, USS LCI(L)-435, USS LCI(L)-445, USS LCI(L)-976, USS LCI(L)-977 and USS LCI(L)-979.
Around two hours after sailing four more LCI(L)'s joined the convoy, these were USS LCI(L)-436, USS LCI(L)-446, USS LCI(L)-968 and USS LCI(L)-970 joined.
Two of the LCI(L)'s soon straggled from the convoy, being unable to keep up, these were USS LCL(L)-328 and USS LCL(L)-970. HMAS Glenelg was detached around 2030K/5 to escort these two vessels to Aitape.
While doing so around 1934K/6, HMAS Glenelg obtained a promising A/S contact. She attacked with depth charges and then commenced to hunt the supposed submarine while the two LCI(L)'s continued on unescorted to Aitape.
Around 2100K/6, HMAS Cootamundra was detached from the main convoy to take over the escort of the two LCI(L)'s for Aitape where they eventually arrived around 1200K/7.
Around 2300K/6, HMAS Vendetta, now the sole escort of the remaining 14 LCI(L)'s, obtained an A/S contact. Several attacks were made but no definitive result could be observed.
The main convoy of 14 LCI(L)'s arrived at Humboldt Bay around 1300K/7. HMAS Vendetta remained on A/S patrol until the last LCI(L) had entered and then entered the Bay herself. (1)
Sources
- Report of proceedings of HMAS Vendetta for August 1944