| HMAS Geranium | |
|---|---|
 HMAS Geranium | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
| Name: | HMS Geranium |
| Builder: | Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company, Scotland |
| Laid down: | August 1915 |
| Launched: | 8 November 1915 |
| Fate: | Transferred to Australia, 1919 |
| Career (Australia) | |
| Name: | HMAS Geranium |
| Acquired: | 18 October 1919 |
| Commissioned: | 17 January 1920 |
| Decommissioned: | 10 November 1927 |
| Nickname: | Gerger |
| Fate: |
Dismantled, June 1932 Sunk as a hulk, 24 April 1935 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Arabis-class sloop |
| Displacement: | 1,250 tons |
| Length: |
255 ft 3 in (77.80 m) p/p 267 ft 9 in (81.61 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m) |
| Draught: | 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m) |
| Propulsion: |
1 × 4-cylinder triple expansion engine 2 × cylindrical boilers 1 screw |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Range: | 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) with max. 250 tons of coal |
| Complement: |
77 (RN) 113 (RAN) |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 × Fairey IIID seaplane (RAN) |
HMAS Geranium (formerly HMS Geranium) was an Arabis-class sloop built in Scotland and launched in 1915. The ship was operated by the Royal Navy as a minesweeper from 1915 until 1919, when she was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for use as a survey ship between 1919 and 1927. The ship was decommissioned in 1927 and scrapped during 1932, with the remains scuttled in 1935.
Design and construction[]
Geranium was one of 56 Arabis class sloops built for the Royal Navy during World War I.[1] The sloops-of-war were intended for minesweeping duties in European waters.[1]
Geranium had a displacement of 1,250 tons.[1] She was 255 feet 3 inches (77.80 m) long between perpendiculars, 267 feet 9 inches (81.61 m) in length overall, had a beam of 33 feet 6 inches (10.21 m), and a draught of 11 feet 9 inches (3.58 m).[citation needed] The propulsion system consisted of two coal-fired cylindrical boilers supplying steam to a four-cylinder triple expansion engine, connected to a single propeller shaft.[citation needed]. Maximum speed was 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph),[1] and the ship could a achieve a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi).[citation needed] Up to 250 tons of coal could be carried.[2]
Geranium was laid down for the Royal Navy by the Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company, Greenock, Scotland, in August 1915 and launched on 8 November 1915.[citation needed]
Operational history[]
After World War I, Geranium and two sister ships (Mallow and Marguerite) were sent to Australia to clear mines deployed by the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Wolf.[1] Despite hard work in rough seas, the ships only found one mine.[1]
Geranium and the other two ships were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy on 18 October 1919.[1] The ships' minesweeper design made them suitable for handling survey equipment,[1] and Geranium was commissioned on 17 January 1920 as the first RAN survey ship.[citation needed] The ship was poorly designed for survey duties in tropical Australian waters: she was designed for the North Sea Climate, and was required to carry a ship's company of 113, 36 more than the intended ship's company of 77.[1] In 1923, the sloop ran aground on an uncharted reef off Vanderlin Island in the Gulf of Carpenteria.[3] The ship's company were able to refloat the ship and patch the damage, and after repairs in Sydney, the ship resumed northern survey operations.[4] In October, Geranium rescued the civilian steamship Montoro after she struck Young Reef.[4]
In early 1924, the ship ran aground again in the MacArthur River.[4] The ship was refloated and repaired.[4] Later that year, Geranium was fitted to carry a Fairey IIID seaplane: the first RAN survey vessel to carry an aircraft.[5] In May 1927, the survey ship assisted the steamship Tasman, which had hit a reef off Clarke Island.[Clarification needed][5]
Decommissioning and fate[]
Geranium paid off on 10 November 1927.[citation needed] The ship was broken up for scrap at Cockatoo Island during 1932, and the stripped hulk was sunk outside Sydney Heads on 24 April 1935.[5]
Citations[]
References[]
- Frame, Tom; Baker, Kevin (2000). Mutiny! Naval Insurrections in Australia and New Zealand. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-351-8. OCLC 46882022.
The original article can be found at HMAS Geranium and the edit history here.