HMAS Samuel Benbow

HMAS Samuel Benbow was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. She was launched in 1918 by Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen.[1] She was a Strath class trawler admiralty design. The ship operated in Australian waters from 1929, and was requisitioned by the RAN and commissioned on 5 September 1940. She was returned to her owners after the war.

History
Name: Samuel Benbow[1]
Owner:
  • A. A. Davidson
  • A. A. Murrell
  • Cam & Sons Pty Ltd
Builder: Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen, Scotland
Yard number: 635[2]
Launched: 1918
History
Australia
Name: Samuel Benbow
Commissioned: 5 September 1940
Decommissioned: 24 May 1946
Fate: Returned to owners in 1946
General characteristics
Tonnage: 122 gross tonnage[1]
Length: 115.4 ft (35 m)[1]
Beam: 22.1 ft (7 m)[1]
Depth: 12.1 ft (4 m)[1]

Operational history

Samuel Benbow was purchased by A. A. Murrell and sailed to Australia in 1928.[3]

With the outbreak of World War II, she was requisitioned by the RAN. On 5 September 1940, Samuel Benbow was commissioned by the RAN for use as an auxiliary minesweeper. Samuel Benbow was in Sydney Harbour during the Attack on Sydney Harbour on 31 May-1 June 1942.

She was returned to her owners in late 1946 and resuming trawling. She was adrift for nine hours after her propellor was fowled by her nets on 14 January 1951, before being towed into Sydney by Goonambee.[4] Her captain drowned after being caught in her nets in November 1952.[5]

Citations
  1. "Lloyds Register 1930-31" (PDF). Plimsoll ShipData. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  2. "Samuel Benbow". Aberdeen Ships. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  3. "More Trawlers, New Vessels, Flourishing Industry". The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 30 October 1928, p.11. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  4. "12 hour tow after ship drifts". The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 15 January 1951, p.1. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  5. "Swept from ship and drowned". The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 1 December 1952, p.6. Retrieved 16 May 2012.


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