| Navy | The Royal Australian Navy |
| Type | Minesweeper |
| Class | Bathurst |
| Pennant | J 179 |
| Built by | Evans Deakin Ltd. (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) |
| Ordered | 31 Jul 1940 |
| Laid down | 23 Dec 1940 |
| Launched | 30 Jun 1941 |
| Commissioned | 9 Apr 1942 |
| End service | Apr 1946 |
| History | Decommissioned in April 1946. |
Commands listed for HMAS Launceston (J 179)
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. Percy Goldsworthy Collins, RANR(S) | 22 Sep 1941 | Jul 1944 |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Paul Bartels Smith, RANVR | Jul 1944 | 23 Sep 1944 |
| 3 | T/A/Lt.Cdr. Eric John Barron, RANR(S) | 23 Sep 1944 | 23 Jan 1946 |
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Notable events involving Launceston include:
12 Feb 1944
The Japanese submarine RO-110 (offsite link) was depth charged and sunk east-south-east off Visakhapatnam, India by the Indian sloop HMIS Jumna (A/Cdr. I.B.W. Heanly, RIN) and the Australian minesweepers HMAS Launceston (T/A/Lt.Cdr. P.G. Collins, RANR(S)) and HMAS Ipswich (T/Lt. R.H. Creasey, RANR(S)).
RO-110 had attacked convoy JC-36 (Colombo-Calcutta) and torpedoed and damaged the British merchant Asphalon (6274 GRT).
9 Nov 1944
During 9 and 10 November 1944, HMS Sea Rover (Lt. J.P. Angell, RN), HMS Spiteful (Lt.Cdr. F.H. Sherwood, DSC, RCNVR) and HMS Sturdy (Lt. W.St.G. Anderson, DSC, RNR) conducted exercises off Fremantle. These also included night exercises.
Convoy attack exercises were carried out during which HMAS Bunbury (Lt. J.F. Bleckman, RANR(S)), HMAS Inverell (Lt. A.I. Chapman, RANR(S)), HMAS Launceston (T/A/Lt.Cdr. E.J. Barron, RANR(S)), HMAS Mildura (Lt.Cdr. J.M. Little, RANR(S)) and HMAS Warrnambool (Lt.Cdr.(Emgy.) E.J.B. Wight, RAN) served as the targets. (1)
Sources
- ADM 173/18679
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.