HMAS Inverell, named for the town of Inverell, New South Wales, was one of 60 s constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
After World War II, the corvette was transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), where she served from 1952 to 1976.
Design and construction
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. The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least , and a range of The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a top speed, and a range of , 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. Construction of the prototype did not go ahead, but the plans were retained. 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 Inverell) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.
RNZN service
On 5 March 1952, Inverell and three other Bathurst-class corvettes (HMA Ships Echuca, , and Stawell) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy. She was recommissioned on 15 August 1965, and served until 19 August 1976, when she was decommissioned.