HMAS Geranium (formerly HMS Geranium) was an 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. The propulsion system consisted of a four-cylinder triple expansion engine, connected to a single propeller shaft.
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. She was delivered to the Royal Navy on 18 March 1916.
Operational history
Geranium joined the Mediterranean Fleet after commissioning, being based at Malta.
After World War I, Geranium and two sister ships ( and ) were sent to Australia to clear mines deployed by the German auxiliary cruiser . Despite hard work in rough seas, the ships only found one mine. 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. 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. In October, Geranium rescued the civilian steamship Montoro after she struck Young Reef. In May 1927, the survey ship assisted the steamship Tasman, which had hit a reef off Clarke Island.