HMAS Bataan (D9/I91/D191) was a destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Laid down in 1942 and commissioned in 1945, the destroyer was originally to be named Chingilli or Kurnai but was renamed prior to launch in honour of the US stand during the Battle of Bataan.
Although not completed in time to see combat service during World War II, Bataan was present in Tokyo Bay for the official Japanese surrender, and made four deployments to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. In 1950, while en route for a fifth Occupation Force deployment, the Korean War started, and the destroyer was diverted to serve as a patrol ship and carrier escort until early 1951. A second Korean tour was made during 1952. Bataan was paid off in 1954, and sold for scrap in 1958.
Description
Bataan was one of three destroyers ordered for the RAN. Propulsion was provided by three drum-type boilers supplying Parsons Impulse Reaction turbines; these provided to the ship's two propeller shafts. Maximum speed was , with an economical speed of .
Construction and career
The destroyer was laid down by Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company Limited at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney in New South Wales on 18 February 1942. The ship was commissioned into the RAN on 25 May 1945, with construction work completing on 26 June. The name was changed yet again prior to the ship's launch to Bataan; honouring ties between Australia and the United States by recognising the stand by US troops during the Battle of Bataan, and reciprocating the US decision to name a cruiser in honour of the Australian cruiser , lost at the Battle of Savo Island. Bataan remained in Japanese waters until 18 November, serving as representative of the Australian military and helping coordinate the repatriation of prisoners-of-war.
left|thumb|Bataan operating off Korea
In late June 1950, Bataan was en route to Japan for a fifth tour when the Korean War started. In November 1953, Bataan visited Singapore. The conversion was cancelled in 1957, with Bataan placed on the disposal list, then sold for scrap to T. Carr and Company of Sydney in 1958.