| Navy | The Royal Australian Navy |
| Type | Minesweeper |
| Class | Bathurst |
| Pennant | J 172 |
| Built by | Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co. Ltd. (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) |
| Ordered | 29 Jul 1940 |
| Laid down | 29 Jan 1941 |
| Launched | 5 Jul 1941 |
| Commissioned | 23 Oct 1941 |
| End service | 11 Feb 1946 |
| History | Decommissioned on 11 February 1946. |
Commands listed for HMAS Wollongong (J 172)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | T/Lt. Gordon Alexander Keith, RANR(S) | 27 Jul 1941 | 7 Mar 1943 | |
| 2 | Lt. Thomas Hartley Smith, RANR(S) | 8 Mar 1943 | ||
| 3 | T/Lt. John Hare, RANR(S) | 26 Jun 1944 | 11 Feb 1946 | |
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Notable events involving Wollongong include:
12 Sep 1943
German U-boat U-617 was beached, in the Mediterranean Sea near Melilla, in position 35°13'N, 03°21'W, after being damaged by depth charges from two British Wellington aircraft (179 Sqn RAF). The wreck was subsequently attacked by British Hudson aircraft (48 and 233 Sqn RAF) and two British Swordfish aircraft (833 and 886 Sqn FAA) and finally destroyed by gunfire from the British corvette HMS Hyacinth (Lt.Cdr. J.D. Hayes, DSO, RN) and the Australian minesweeper HMAS Wollongong (Lt. T.H. Smith, RANR(S)).
10 Aug 1945
HMS Virtue (Lt. R.D. Cairns, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Sydney with (at least) HMAS Wollongong (T/Lt. J. Hare, RANR(S)). (1)
Sources
- ADM 173/20293
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.