HMAS Adelaide (1918)

HMAS Adelaide in her third armament configuration
History
Australia
Name	Adelaide
Namesake	City of Adelaide
Builder	Cockatoo Island Dockyard
Laid down	20 November 1915
Launched	27 July 1918
Completed	31 July 1922
Commissioned	5 August 1922
Decommissioned	27 June 1928
Recommissioned	13 March 1939
Decommissioned	17 May 1939
Recommissioned	1 September 1939
Decommissioned	26 February 1945
Recommissioned	19 May 1945
Decommissioned	13 May 1946
Motto	"Ut Prosint Omnibus Conjuncti" "United for the Common Weal"
Nickname(s)	HMAS Longdelayed
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Pacific 1941–43 East Indies 1942
Fate	Sold for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type	Town-class light cruiser
Displacement	5,560 long tons (5,650 t)
Length	138.8 m (455 ft)
Beam	14.9 m (49 ft)
Draught	5.7 m (19 ft)
Propulsion	Parsons turbines, 2 shafts, 25,000 shp (19,000 kW)
Speed	25 knots (46.3 km/h; 28.8 mph)
Complement	1922: 33 officers and 450 sailors 1941: 26 officers and 436 sailors
Armament	Original configuration: 9 × 6-inch (152-mm) Mk XII guns 1 × 3-inch (76-mm) anti-aircraft gun 1 × 12-pounder (3-inch) 8-cwt field gun 4 × 3-pounder saluting guns 10 × .303-inch machine guns 2 × 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes 2 × depth charge chutes
Armour	3-inch (7.6 cm) side armour-belt over midships section

HMAS Adelaide was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), named after Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. Laid down in 1915, wartime shortages and design modifications meant the ship was not completed until 1922, earning her the nickname "HMAS Longdelayed".

Adelaide served with the Royal Navy's Special Service Squadron during 1924 and 1925, and was involved in the 1927 Malaita massacre. She was decommissioned in 1928, but was modernised and returned to service just before World War II began. During the war, Adelaide was involved in successful efforts to secure the colony of New Caledonia for Free France, was present during the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, and intercepted the German blockade runner Ramses.

The cruiser was decommissioned in 1946, and broken up for scrap in 1949.