HMAS Castlemaine

HMAS Castlemaine
History
Australia
Namesake	City of Castlemaine, Victoria
Builder	HMA Naval Dockyard in Williamstown, Victoria
Laid down	17 February 1941
Launched	7 August 1941
Commissioned	17 June 1942
Decommissioned	14 December 1945
Reclassified	Immobilised training hulk (1945) Museum ship (1973)
Motto	"Watch and Prey"
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Darwin 1942–43 Pacific 1942–43 New Guinea 1942–44
Status	Preserved as a museum ship in Williamstown, Victoria
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Bathurst-class corvette
Displacement	650 tons (standard), 1,025 tons (full war load)
Length	186 ft (57 m)
Beam	31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught	8.5 ft (2.6 m)
Propulsion	triple expansion engine, 2 shafts. 2,000 hp
Speed	15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Complement	85
Armament	1 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) gun Mk XIX 1 x Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun 3 × 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns 2 × 0.5-inch machine guns Depth charges chutes and throwers[1]

HMAS Castlemaine (J244/M244/A248), named for the city of Castlemaine, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially crewed and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).^[2]

Launched in 1941 and commissioned in 1942, Castlemaine operated during World War II in the waters of Australia, New Guinea, and Timor. She remained in service until 1945, when she was decommissioned into reserve and converted into an immobilised training ship. In 1973, Castlemaine was presented to the Maritime Trust of Australia for conversion to a museum ship. She is one of two surviving examples of the Bathurst class, the other being HMAS Whyalla.^[3]