HMAS Wallaroo

{{main|Bathurst-class corvette}}

In 1938, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB) identified the need for a general purpose 'local defence vessel' capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties, while easy to construct and operate.Stevens, The Australian Corvettes, p. 1Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 103 The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least {{convert|10|kn}}, and a range of {{convert|2000|nmi}}Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–4 The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a {{convert|15.5|kn}} top speed, and a range of {{convert|2850|nmi}}, armed with a 4-inch gun, equipped with asdic, and able to fitted with either depth charges or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a sloop than a local defence vessel, the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels.Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 103–5 Construction of the prototype {{HMAS|Kangaroo||6}} did not go ahead, but the plans were retained.Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, p. 104 The need for locally built 'all-rounder' vessels at the start of World War II saw the "Australian Minesweepers" (designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability, but popularly referred to as "corvettes") approved in September 1939, with 60 constructed during the course of the war: 36 (including Wallaroo) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.Stevens, A Critical Vulnerability, pp. 105, 148Donohue, From Empire Defence to the Long Haul, p. 29Stevens et al., The Royal Australian Navy, p. 108

Wallaroo was laid down by Poole & Steel in Sydney on 24 April 1941. She was launched on 18 February 1942 by Mrs Poole, wife of the shipyard's Chairman of Directors, and commissioned on 15 July 1942.

Wallaroo entered service in September 1942, patrolling between Adelaide in South Australia and Fremantle in Western Australia for submarines, as well as performing escort and minesweeping duties around Fremantle.

Just after midnight on 11 June 1943, while out to sea west of Fremantle, the corvette collided with United States Liberty Ship Henry Gilbert Costin. The night was overcast, and the ships were travelling without lights as a precaution against attacks. Three of Wallaroo{{'}}s crew were killed in the collision, and the corvette sank four hours later with no further casualties while trying to reach Fremantle. The Liberty Ship received minor damage, and made it to port.

The corvette's wartime service was recognised with the battle honour "Pacific 1942".{{cite news |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours |title=Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours |date=1 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613184920/http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours |archive-date=13 June 2011 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |access-date=23 December 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf |title=Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours |date=1 March 2010 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614064156/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2011 |access-date=23 December 2012}}

{{Reflist}}

;Books

• {{cite book |last=Donohue |first=Hector |title=From Empire Defence to the Long Haul: post-war defence policy and its impact on naval force structure planning 1945–1955 |series=Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs |volume=1 |date=October 1996 |publisher=Sea Power Centre |location=Canberra |isbn=0-642-25907-0 |issn=1327-5658 |oclc=36817771}}
• {{cite book |last=Stevens |first=David |title=A Critical Vulnerability: the impact of the submarine threat on Australia's maritime defense 1915–1954 |series=Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs |volume=15 |year=2005 |publisher=Sea Power Centre Australia |location=Canberra |isbn=0-642-29625-1 |oclc=62548623 |issn=1327-5658}}
• {{cite book |author=Stevens, David |author2=Sears, Jason|author3= Goldrick, James|author4= Cooper, Alastair|author5= Jones, Peter|author6= Spurling, Kathryn |editor=Stevens, David |title=The Royal Australian Navy |series=The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III) |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=South Melbourne, VIC |isbn=0-19-554116-2 |oclc=50418095}}

;Journal and news articles

• {{cite journal |last=Stevens |first=David |date=May 2010 |title=The Australian Corvettes |journal=Hindsight (Semaphore) |publisher=Sea Power Centre – Australia |volume=2010 |issue=5 |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Semaphore_2010_5.pdf |access-date=13 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320183407/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Semaphore_2010_5.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2011 }}

{{Bathurst class corvette}}

{{coord|31|54|24|S|114|37|31|E|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallaroo}}

Category:Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal Australian Navy

Category:Ships built in New South Wales

Category:1942 ships

Category:World War II corvettes of Australia

Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean

Category:Shipwrecks of Western Australia

Category:Maritime incidents in June 1943

Category:Ships sunk in collisions