HMAS Tobruk (D37)

Tobruk was a Battle-class destroyer.[1] The ship had a standard load displacement of 2,436 tons and a full load displacement of 3,400 tons.[1] She was 379 feet (116 m) long overall and 355 feet (108 m) long between perpendiculars, had a beam of 41 feet (12 m), and a draught of 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 m).[1] Propulsion machinery consisted of Admiralty 3-drum boilers connected to Parsons geared turbines, which supplied 50,000 shaft horsepower (37,000 kW) to the ship's two propeller shafts.[1] Although designed with a maximum speed of 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph), Tobruk achieved 32.36 knots (59.93 km/h; 37.24 mph) during full-power trials.[1] Maximum range was 1,140 nautical miles (2,110 km; 1,310 mi) at 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph), or 4,420 nautical miles (8,190 km; 5,090 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[1] The ship's company consisted of 19 officers and 301 sailors.[1]

Tobruk's primary armament consisted of four 4.5-inch (114 mm) Mark III guns, fitted forward in two twin turrets.[1] For anti-aircraft defence, the ship carried twelve 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns: three twin mountings on the aft half of the ship, and six single mountings.[1] Two five-tube Pentad torpedo tube sets were carried.[1] Tobruk was also fitted with a Squid anti-submarine mortar.[1]

The ship was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company at their shipyard on Cockatoo Island, New South Wales on 5 August 1946.[1] Tobruk was launched on 20 December 1947 by the wife of Bill Riordan, Minister for the Navy.[1] The destroyer was commissioned into the RAN on 8 May 1950, although she was not completed until 17 May.[1] The ship's name comes from the Siege of Tobruk.[1]

After completing trials and workups, Tobruk was deployed to the Korean War in August 1951.[1] Between October 1951 and January 1952, the destroyer carried out six patrols, primarily serving as an aircraft carrier escort, or performing shore bombardments.[1] Tobruk returned to Australia in February 1952.[1] In October, she was part of the security patrol around the Montebello Islands during Operation Hurricane, the first British nuclear weapons test.[1] In June 1953, Tobruk returned to Korea for a second deployment.[1] Although a ceasefire was signed in July 1953, Tobruk remained in the area until January 1954, then returned to Australia for a refit.[1] Tobruk received the battle honour "Korea 1951–53" for these deployments.[2][3]

HMAS Tobruk

After completing refit, Tobruk operated in the waters of Australia and New Guinea until mid 1955, when she joined several RAN ships in a deployment to South East Asia.[1] In 1956, she was assigned to the Far East Strategic Reserve.[1] A further deployment was made in 1957,[1] during which Tobruk was involved in the Malayan Emergency; this was later recognised with a second battle honour: "Malaya 1957".[1][2][3] On 26 April, during night exercises, a star shell fired by HMS Cockade landed in one of Tobruk's gun bays, killing one sailor and severely wounding another.[4] The destroyer's third and final assignment to the Strategic Reserve occurred during 1959.[1] After a refit during early 1960, Tobruk and several other RAN ships made port visits to Nouméa and New Guinea.[1]

In September 1960, Tobruk was performing gunnery exercises with sister ship HMAS Anzac off Jervis Bay.[5] A malfunction in Anzac's gun direction equipment negated the deliberate 6° mis-aiming of her guns, with the resulting shell hitting Tobruk and doing enough damage to the destroyer to require lengthy repairs.[5] Temporary repairs were made to Tobruk in Jervis Bay before the ship limped back to Sydney, where she was placed into reserve on 29 October 1960.[1][6] Two of Anzac's crew were charged over the incident.[5]

Repairing the destroyer was considered uneconomical, and she remained moored until the ship was marked for disposal on 14 May 1971.[1] Tobruk was sold for scrap to Fujita Salvage Company Limited of Osaka, Japan on 15 February 1972, and departed Sydney under tow on 10 April 1972.[6]

• Cassells, Vic (2000). The Destroyers: Their Battles and Their Badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7318-0893-2. OCLC 46829686.
• Frame, Tom (1992). Where Fate Calls: The HMAS Voyager Tragedy. Rydalmere, NSW: Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-340-54968-8.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMAS Tobruk (D37).

• Hodges, Peter (1971). Battle Class Destroyers. London: Almark Publishing. ISBN 0-85524-012-1.