HMAS MILDURA - THE WAR YEARS 1941-1948
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EAST
COAST CONVOY DUTY 1942 - 1943 The convoy system was introduced on the East Coast of Australia after a large number of attacks by Japanese submarines in June 1942. Ships sailed in large groups, line abreast in several rows. To avoid collisions, the convoy could be spread over several square miles. Control of the vessels in the convoy was the responsibility of the convoy's Commodore, the senior merchant ship captain. The naval escort group, of between two and five ships, were commanded by the senior officer of the escort ships. The escorts formed a protective screen around the convoy. The average speed of the convoys was 8 knots. The corvettes could steam at 15 knots, but they were constantly zig zagging to make it difficult for a submarine to penetrate the protective screen. There was also limited air cover. Radio silence had to be maintained at sea, so communication between vessels was mainly by Aldis lamp or flag signals. Convoys sailing from Newcastle to Melbourne were designated "CO" and "OC" in the reverse direction. Sydney to Brisbane was designated "GP" and Brisbane to Sydney "PG". Life on board the corvettes was difficult on the East Coast convoys. There were not enough escort ships for the task and ships crews had little respite. During the winter the corvettes were thrown around by the huge seas in Bass Strait, lashed by gale force, icy winds. Often the ships were unable to make headway against the seas. HMAS MILDURA's captain, Claude Guille, recalled that the corvette was mistaken for a submarine as it spent so much time submerged. Traveling in the opposite direction did allow for a better speed, but the waves would deluge the stern and flood the crews living quarters. Sailors usually only got one day a fortnight shore leave, if you weren't on the duty watch. Jim Radburn remembers missing a recall from leave along with several others and copping a stoppage of leave as punishment - result seven weeks before he got shore leave. The Japanese submarines operated independently, unlike the German U-boat packs, and this greatly reduced the ability of the Japanese to interrupt the flow of allied commerce, troops or war materials. The convoy system meant that isolated ships could no longer be picked off as soft targets. For more information on the East Coast Convoys, read "The Secret Battle 1942-1944" by Robert Wallace, former crew member of HMAS WARRNAMBOOL.
The "PETER H. BURNETT" was an American liberty ship torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-21 420 miles east of Newcastle on January 22, 1943. Loaded with 18,154 wool bales and 123 mail bags, the BURNETT didn't sink. Several ships, destroyer USS ZANE and corvettes HMAS DELORAINE and HMAS GYMPIE attempted to tow her back to Sydney, but it was HMAS MILDURA that succeeded with the 450 nautical mile voyage. The official RAN history credits the tow to another corvette, however the official history and all subsequent books about the incident are incorrect. This is the true story. The Liberty ships were designed to built quickly using techniques of mass production (welding rather than the traditional rivetting), to help carry the vast quantity of war resources and to make up for the devastating losses to enemy submarines. Henry Kaiser developed a system where the ships were built in modules at factories throughout the US and then welded together at coastal dockyards. The PETER H. BURNETT was built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation (Calship) of Terminal Island. She was hull number 300, IX 104.
Specifications: Displacement 14,245 t.(fl); Length 441' 6"; Beam 59': Draft 22'; Speed 11kts; Armament, three 3"/50 gun mounts, eight 20mm guns; Propulsion, two boilers, reciprocating steam engine, single shaft, 8,500shp
The MILDURA succeeded in the towing as it was fitted with non-regulation equipment, a thick towing cable. Captain Guille comments, "When I first joined the MILDURA in 1942 the First Lieutenant and I inspected all the ship's gear. I could see that the wire allocated for towing was unbelievably inadequate and wouldn't pull the top off a rice pudding. This concerned me greatly and soon afterwards on Garden Island I noticed proper three and a half inch towing wire lying around, apparently unwanted. I returned to the ship and said to the Buffer "You are on a bottle of rum if you can get that three and a half inch towing wire aboard this ship." It wasn't long before we had it aboard and that is why we were the only ship successful in towing the Burnett, which we did from near Lord Howe Island to Sydney Heads. I got into a bit of bother when Navy HQ found out we used non issue gear, but we were eventually congratulated on the achievement. Ironically, a signal was later sent to all corvettes (except MILDURA) asking them to upgrade their towing wire." Guille's blunt response to the Admiral's reprimand for using nonstandard equipment was, "He's a bloody idiot."
After being towed to Sydney she was acquired by the US Navy, retrofitted and commissioned, USS Peter H. Burnett (IX-104) in 1943; Decommissioned in October 1946; Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown); Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal; Final Disposition; fate unknown.
If you have any items to share, or would like to be contacted when this page is updated, please send an e-mail to the hmasmildura@hotmail.com
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| © HMAS MILDURA ASSOCIATION Victoria Australia August 27, 2004 | ||||
