HMAS River Snake

{{Short description|Snake-class junk of Royal Australian Navy}}

{{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Infobox ship begin}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=File:HMAS River Snake 1945.jpg

|Ship caption=HMAS River Snake in May 1945

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{{Infobox ship career

|Hide header=

|Ship country=Australia

|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Australia|naval-1913}}

|Ship name=HMAS River Snake

|Ship namesake=

|Ship builder=Millars Bunnings Shipbuilding, Fremantle

|Ship laid down=

|Ship launched=1945

|Ship completed=

|Ship in service=19 February 1945

|Ship out of service=2 November 1945

|Ship struck=

|Ship registry=

|Ship fate=Handed over to the British Civil Administration Unit in Borneo

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=

|Ship class=Snake-class junk

|Ship tonnage=80 tons (gross)

|Ship displacement=

|Ship length={{convert|66|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship beam={{convert|17|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship draught=

|Ship depth={{convert|7.6|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship power=Gray Marine 64 YTL diesel, single screw, {{convert|300|hp|abbr=on|lk=in}}

|Ship propulsion=

|Ship speed={{convert|9|kn|km/h}}

|Ship range={{convert|500|nmi|km}}

|Ship endurance=

|Ship capacity=20 tons of cargo

|Ship complement=9

|Ship armament=Two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, three or four M2 Browning machine guns or Bren Guns

|Ship notes=

}}

HMAS River Snake was a Snake-class junk built for the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War. She was launched in 1945 and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 19 February 1945. She was used by the Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) and was paid off on 2 November 1945, before being handed over to the British Civil Administration in Borneo.{{sfn|Straczek|1996|p=}}

Operation Suncharlie

During Operation Suncharlie SRD operatives were deployed from HMAS River Snake, an Australian built Country Craft, in Portuguese Timor on 23 April 1945. This operation, partly using folboats (collapsible kayaks), was to be for long term intelligence work, but after a short reconnaissance they returned to River Snake on 26 April 1945.{{sfn|Hoehn|2011|p=70}}

Commander John Gowing.

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Notes

{{Reflist}}

References

{{Refbegin}}

  • {{cite book|last=Hoehn|first=John|title=Commando Kayak: The Role of the Folboat in the Pacific War | year=2011 |publisher=Hirsch |location=Zurich, Switzerland |url=http://hirschbooks.net/|isbn=978-3-033-01717-7}}
  • {{cite book|last=Straczek|first=J.H.|year=1996|title=Royal Australian Navy: A-Z Ships, Aircraft and Shore Establishments|publisher=Navy Public Affairs|location=Sydney|isbn=1876043784}}

{{Refend}}

Further reading

{{Refbegin}}

  • {{cite book|title=Corvettes. Australia's Naval Patrol Forces. Photo file No. 10|publisher=Topmill|location=Marrickille|date=2001|isbn=1-876860-21-9}}

{{Refend}}

  • {{cite web|website=National Archives of Australia|pages=131–133|url=https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=235327&S=1&R=0|title=The Official History of the Operations and Administration of] Special Operations – Australia [(SOA), also known as the Inter-Allied Services Department (ISD) and Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD)] Volume 2 – Operations Part 1 page 53-54}}

{{Snake-class junk}}

{{Australian Commando raids of the Second World War}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:River Snake}}

Category:Snake-class junks

Category:1945 ships

Category:Ships built in Western Australia