Extract from Corvette Magazine

 

HMAS KIAMA

by Eric Moffitt from a Bill Robison file

 

HMAS Kiama was built at Evans Deakin Shipyards, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, being launched on July 3, 1943 and commissioned on January 26, 1944. She began her war career doing convoy work along the Australian East Coast. Convoy duty, though sometimes uneventful – often boring – is never a sinecure.

 

The escort vessels bear awesome responsibilities. The ships of the convoy, the lives of their crews and passengers, soldiers bound for battle areas, vital cargoes etc. rely absolutely upon them. Every instant on passage, ship and crew must be ready for instant and effective action. The lookouts must sight hostile ships or aircraft before they see the convoy. The Asdic operator, always intensely alert, must detect the echo from that submarine lest a torpedo explosion be the first indication of its presence. The Officer of the Watch is always watchful for happenings in his own ship or the convoy, always in station and on the alert for the unexpected.

 

March 1944 saw Kiama arrive at Milne Bay for service in New Guinea waters, mainly doing escort work along the New Guinea coast and engaging in anti-submarine patrols. One of these patrols in conjunction with a convoy was carried out during May 1944 in an area adjacent to the Admiralty Islands where it was known that the Japanese had about ten submarines operating.

 

At 2122 hours on May 11, Kiama’s Asdic made contact with a suspected submarine and a five depth charge pattern was fired. A sixth and greater explosion followed which enabled Captain Benson to report the sinking of the submarine. This was confirmed after the war in an official Japanese report outlining the history of Japanese submarine during World War II.

 

On September 3, 1944, Kiama embarked 13 AIF officers, two RAAF officers and 73 other ranks and 10 natives at Lae to carry out survey duty in enemy held Jacquinot Bay, New Britain, in preparations for possible landings there.

 

Forming part of the United States Seventh Fleet, most of the remainder of the year was spent in escorting convoys and taking part in the landings at Manus, Madang, Cape Gloucester, Hollandia, Biak and Moratai. Following the landing at Moratai, Kiama withstood seven consecutive nights of air attacks by Japanese aircraft. During that eight months period of duty, Kiama had steamed 30,000 miles and was at sea for more than 3,000 hours.

 

On December 24, 1944, Kiama arrived in Sydney en-route to Adelaide to undergo refit. On Christmas morning the ship’s company was recalled from leave to go to the assistance of an American liberty ship “Robert J Walker” which had been torpedoed and was sinking off the NSW coast near Jervis Bay.

 

The remainder of 1944 was spent in this area carrying out anti-submarine patrol. With the refitting completed at Adelaide in February 1945, the Kiama headed west and the next two months were spent in Western Australian waters exercising with US submarines based at Fremantle.

 

From Fremantle, Kiama sailed for the Solomon Islands where she was again to come into active contact with the enemy. For four months she was engaged in bombardments off Buka Island and the East Coast of Bougainville. In one of these attacks on Japanese barges, huts and caves, it was estimated by AIF reconnaissance that Kiama’s fire was responsible for the deaths of 190 Japanese.

 

In July 1945 at Torokina, Bougainville, Kiama embarked HRH the Duke of Gloucester, for a tour of inspection of the Solomon Islands area. After the cessation of hostilities, Kiama was engaged in minesweeping Simpson Harbour, Rabaul, in preparation for the surrender and occupation of Rabaul.

 

This was followed by Kiama going to Kaviang, New Ireland, to take the Japanese surrender there. On January 29, 1946 she arrived back in Sydney and on April 3, 1946 was “paid-off” into reserve.

 

During her two years and two months service, Kiama steamed 60,882 miles and was 6369 hours at sea.