Allied Warships
HMAS Strahan (J 363)
Minesweeper of the Bathurst class
Photo from Imperial War Museum (IWM), FL-19390
| Navy | The Royal Australian Navy |
| Type | Minesweeper |
| Class | Bathurst |
| Pennant | J 363 |
| Built by | New South Wales State Dockyard (Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia) |
| Ordered | 7 Aug 1941 |
| Laid down | 19 Nov 1942 |
| Launched | 12 Jul 1943 |
| Commissioned | 14 Mar 1944 |
| End service | |
| History | Sold to be broken up for scrap in January 1961. |
Commands listed for HMAS Strahan (J 363)
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 | Lt.Cdr. Leonard Dale Williams, RANR | Jan 1944 | Apr 1945 | |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Ronald Ashman Nettlefold, RANR | 19 May 1945 | ||
| 3 | Lt. Walter Haddon Burke, RANR | 19 Aug 1945 | ||
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Notable events involving Strahan include:
10 Jun 1944
Around 1430K/10, a convoy departed Langemak Bay (Megum Island anchorage) for Humboldt Bay (Hollandia).
This convoy was made up of the (troop) transports; Charles M. Russell (American, 7176 GRT, built 1943), David C. Shanks (American, 12097 GRT, built 1943), Edward Lander (American, 7176 GRT, built 1944), Esso Pittsburgh (American (tanker), 11236 GRT, built 1943), I.N. van Nuys (American, 7207 GRT, built 1944), James H. Lane (American, 7176 GRT, built 1943), James M. Clements (American, 7176 GRT, built 1943), Lewis L. Dyche (American, 7176 GRT, built 1943), Sea Pike (American, 7949 GRT, built 1943) and Yunnan (British, 2812 GRT, built 1934).
Also the landing craft USS LCI 444 (Lt. F.C. Gebhart, USNR) and USS LCI 446 (Lt.(jg) H.T. Coller, USNR) were with the convoy as were ten PT boats from MTB Squadron 9, these were; USS PT-126, USS PT-154, USS PT-155, USS PT-156, USS PT-157, USS PT-159, USS PT-160, USS PT-161, USS PT-162 and USS PT-187.
The convoy was escorted by the destroyer escorts USS Witter (Cdr. A.C. Davis, USNR, SO of the escort), USS Bowers (T/Lt.Cdr. F.W. Hawes, USN), USS Foreman (Lt.Cdr. C.A. Manston, USNR), destroyer HMAS Vendetta (Lt.Cdr. J.S. Mesley, RAN) and minesweeper HMAS Strahan (Lt.Cdr. L.D. Williams, RANR).
Around 1650K/10, the Yunnan parted company with the convoy to return to Langemak Bay.
Around 1800K/10, the transport Tarakan (Dutch, 8183 GRT, built 1930) joined the convoy.
Around 2210K/10, the transports Jean P. Chouteau (American, 7176 GRT, built 1943) and Hanyang (British, 2865 GRT, built 1940) joined the convoy. They were escorted by the patrol vessel USS PC 1123 (Lt. W.R. Plage, USNR) which also joined the convoy.
Around 0520K/12, the James M. Clements parted company with the convoy to proceed to Aitape escorted by USS PC-1123.
The convoy arrived at Humboldt Bay around noon on the 13th. (1)
Sources
- Report of proceedings of HMAS Vendetta for June 1944 + War diaries for June 1944 from USS Witter, USS Bowers, USS Foreman and MTB Ron 9