HMAS Adelaide was a light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), named after Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. Laid down in 1915, wartime shortages and design modifications meant the ship was not completed until 1922, earning her the nickname "HMAS Longdelayed".
Adelaide served with the Royal Navy's Special Service Squadron during 1924 and 1925, and was involved in the 1927 Malaita massacre. She was decommissioned in 1928, but was modernised and returned to service just before World War II began. During the war, Adelaide was involved in successful efforts to secure the colony of New Caledonia for Free France, was present during the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, and intercepted the German blockade runner Ramses.
The cruiser was decommissioned in 1946, and broken up for scrap in 1949.
Design and construction
The design of Adelaide was modified from the Chatham subclass of the light cruisers, with similarities to the Birmingham subclass. The initial ship's company stood at 33 officers and 450 sailors, but by 1941, this had dropped to 26 officers and 436 sailors.
Adelaide was laid down at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney on 20 November 1915. She was launched on 27 July 1918 by Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, the wife of the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson. Construction was not completed until 31 July 1922 because of wartime shortages, loss of machinery part forgings for items that could not be made in Australia to enemy action, and modifications based on wartime experience: the ship was consequently nicknamed "HMAS Longdelayed". Some incorrect versions of the ship's badge show the motto as "United We Stand", the motto for . During May and June 1942, the anti-aircraft armament was supplemented by six 20 mm Oerlikon guns.
World War II
The ship was initially used for convoy escort and protection duties in Australian waters. On 3 September, while en route, Adelaide collided with the merchant vessel SS Coptic. (Although both ships only suffered minor damage, the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line sued the Australian government in 1947 for £35,000 in damages. After the refit, Adelaide was assigned to Fremantle for convoy escort work in the Indian Ocean.
Decommissioning and fate
thumb|upright|Adelaides main-mast at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Adelaide was decommissioned for the final time on 13 May 1946. An information plaque with a diagram of the ship was installed nearby. One of the cruiser's 6-inch guns was found at a rubbish tip in Victoria; this was restored, then placed on display at HMAS Cerberus, Victoria. The naval gun and shield were installed at the Leighton Battery in September 2015 to replicate the original 6-inch guns at site.