Allied Warships

HMAS Tamworth (J 181)

Minesweeper of the Bathurst class


Photo courtesy of Allan C. Green Collection

NavyThe Royal Australian Navy
TypeMinesweeper
ClassBathurst 
PennantJ 181 
Built byWalkers Ltd. (Maryborough, Queensland, Australia) 
Ordered24 Sep 1940 
Laid down25 Aug 1941 
Launched14 Mar 1942 
Commissioned8 Aug 1942 
End service30 Apr 1946 
History

Decommissioned at Sydney on 30 April 1946 and transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy on the same day being renamed Tidore.
Tidore was transferred to the Indonesian Navy in December 1949 and renamed Pati Unus.
Stricken in 1969.

 

Commands listed for HMAS Tamworth (J 181)

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.

CommanderFromTo
Frank Evelyn Eastman, SANF(V)22 Mar 1944
1T/Lt. William Hargreaves Deans, RANR(S)5 Aug 194224 Sep 1943 (+)

2T/Lt. David Bennett Lloyd-Jones, RANR(S)22 Mar 1944Jun 1945

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Notable events involving Tamworth include:


22 Mar 1943
HrMs O 23 (Lt.Cdr. A.M. Valkenburg, RNN) conducted exercises off Colombo with HMS Overdale Wyke, HMS Okapi and HMAS Tamworth (T/Lt. W.H. Deans, RANR(S)). (1)

26 Mar 1943
HrMs O 23 (Lt.Cdr. A.M. Valkenburg, RNN) conducted exercises off Colombo with HMS Hoxa (T/Lt. H.P Davies, RNR) and HMAS Tamworth (T/Lt. W.H. Deans, RANR(S)). (1)

30 Dec 1943
Around 0845D/30, HMS Danae (Capt. J.R.S. Haines, RN) arrived at Bandar Abbas from Abadan. During the night exercises had been carried out during which HMAS Tamworth (T/Lt. F.E. Eastman, RNR) acted as an enemy raider trying to enter the Persian Gulf. (2)

22 Feb 1944
The Australian minesweeper HMAS Tamworth and the Indian minesweeper HMIS Orissa (Lt. A.V. Baker, RIN) both pick up survivors from the American tanker E.G. Seubert that was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-510 about 200 nautical miles east of Aden in position 13°50'N, 48°49'E.

HMAS Tamworth also picks up 52 survivors from the British tanker San Alvaro that was also torpedoed and heavily damaged by German U-boat U-510 about 200 nautical miles east of Aden in position 13°50'N, 48°49'E. The burning San Alvaro was then scuttled by HMAS Tamworth with gunfire and depth charges.

26 Jan 1945
Ships belonging to the Fleet Train of the British Pacific Fleet departed Trincomalee for Fremantle. These were the destroyer deport ship Tyne (Capt. S. Boucher, RN), repairs ships HMS Resource (Capt.(Retd.) D.B. O’Connell, RN), Artifex (A/Capt.(Retd.) C.C. Flemming, RN) and the target ship HMS Lewes (T/Lt. M.H. Grylls, SANF(V)). The tanker Battle Rock (American, 10448 GRT, built 1944) was also in company with these ships.

Escort was provided by the heavy cruiser London and the minesweepers HMAS Cairns (T/Lt. N.G. Weber, RANR(S)), HMAS Cessnock (Lt. A.G. Chapman, RANR(S)), HMAS Gawler (Lt.Cdr. J.H.P. Dixon, RANR(S)), HMAS Geraldton (Cdr. J.K. Walton, RAN), HMAS Ipswich (T/Lt. R.H. Creasey, RANR(S)), HMAS Tamworth (T/Lt. D.B. Lloyd-Jones, RANR(S)) and HMAS Wollongong (T/Lt. J. Hare, RANR(S)).

They arrived at Fremantle on 9 February 1945. (3)

Sources

  1. File 2.12.03.6427 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
  2. ADM 53/117309 + ADM 199/636
  3. ADM 199/1457

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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