top of page

HMAS CAIRNS J183

Class:       Bathurst Class

Type        Australian Minesweeper

Builder   Walkers Ltd, Maryborough

Laid Down           31 March 1941

Launched              7 October 1941

Commissioned          11 May 1942

Decommissioned      17 January 1946

 

Battle Honours  

 

    PACIFIC 1942-45

    INDIAN OCEAN 1942–45

    SICILY 1943

    OKINAWA 1945

Cairns 1.jpg

Displacement                      650 tons

Length                                 186 feet

Beam                                    31 feet

Draught                               8 feet 6 inches

Speed                                   15 knots

Crew                                    85

Propulsion                          Triple expansion,

                                              2 shafts

Horsepower                       2,000

Armament Guns                1 x 12-pounder gun

                                             1 x Bofors (later)

                                             Machine guns

                                              3 x Oerlikons (later 4)

                                             Depth charge chutes                                                 and throwers

Extract Corvette Magazine  January 1993

DITS
Remembered by Clarrie (Jesse) James ex Cairns:

WE SHOW THE 'KIPPERS' HOW IT'S DONE

HMAS Cairns, six months old, paintwork clean, the flesh pots of the Seychelles behind her, steamed into Killindini to join the Eastern Fleet. Famous battle-wary ships, recently arrived from the Mediterranean, were there ...... Warspite, Illustrious, Hawkins, Hotspur...... Their crews waved friendly greetings as Cairns moved toward her allotted buoy, right near the flagship of Admiral Viscount Somerville.  How proud we were to be in such company!

The buoy party and whaler's crew manned their boat - excited young "salts", ready, willing and able (?) to show the RN how to secure to a buoy.

Then - Start the falls, lower away, Avast lowering, out pins and then slip.  It was not noticed from the upper deck that the cox'n had not removed the after pin, but he let go the slipping tackle. Down went the bows, the stern still hanging from the after fall. In a second, almost obscured and swamped by water spray, the whaler was being towed stern-first, the choleric Permanent Service Chief Bosn's Mate yelling in a strangle voice, "Pay out that xx##!!!*** after fall - the boat yawing violently on the ever-lengthening fall.

Finally, freeing her from the fall, amid cheers from the gleeful spectators, our whaler's crew pulled to the buoy, onto which we scrambled, trying to conceal our embarrassment by giving the boxer's salute and bowing to the audience.

The picking-up rope was duly clipped to the ring of the buoy, the slip-rope rove and the end passed back inboard.  The picking-up rope cast off. We, on the buoy breathed sighs of relief and triumphantly waved to the watchers. But alas! There was more to come.  J183 went astern to take up the slack - NO, NO XX##!!!***Too  fast!!!  The wire was bow-taut! A tug-of-was between ship and moorings - The ship won. The buoy , half out of the water and tilting.  We gracefully (?) went into the "drink".

Cheers! Jeers! Catcalls! from that bloody  xx###*** horde of "kippers" lining their guard rails.

Crestfallen, we clambered into the whaler and slunk on board. 

The mess deck rumour (probably from the Leading Sig.) was that a signal came from Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet:  Welcome to Eastern Fleet. We all enjoyed a great show and a big laugh. Congratulations.

That was just another day in the career of HMAS Cairns.  She was a great ship, though!

 
bottom of page