HMAS Kiama, named for the coastal town of Kiama, 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 one of four sold to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). She served as HMNZS Kiama from 1952 until 1976, when the corvette was paid off and marked for disposal.
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 Kiama) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.
Operational history
World War II
Kiamas first deployment was in March 1944 to Milne Bay in New Guinea.
The corvette arrived in Sydney on 21 December 1944. Kiama was assigned to anti-submarine patrols near Sydney for the final days of the year, before sailing to Adelaide for a month-long refit on 3 January 1945. In November, Kiama was assigned to escort demilitarized Japanese cruiser as the cruiser embarked Japanese soldiers in New Guinea for repatriation.
Kiama returned to Sydney on 29 January 1946. During her wartime service, the ship had been at sea for 6,369 hours, and had sailed a distance of .
Transfer to RNZN
On 5 March 1952, Kiama and three other Bathurst-class corvettes (, , and ) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy. Kiama was commissioned into the RNZN, receiving the prefix HMNZS. Upon acquisition by New Zealand, the corvette was converted into a training ship. Kiamas 4-inch gun and aft minesweeping equipment were removed, and replaced with two 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns. This is contradicted by a 1996 newspaper article which said it had been mothballed by the New Zealand Navy and converted to a training ship and for use on fisheries patrols in 1966.
In 1966, Kiama was re-commissioned under command of Lieutenant-Commander E Burrows in the 27th Fisheries Protection Squadron to join her sister ship . Other duties included search-and-rescue operations and transportation of scientific teams to small island along New Zealand's coastline.
In May 1966 the Kiama was involved in the search for the Kaitawa which was lost with all hands near 90 mile beach. Apart from the initial search, the Kiama formed part of Operation Seabed, along with the Inverell and the frigate Taranaki.
The corvette revisited her namesake town in Australia in late 1966.
RNZN Commanders
- 1966 Lt Commander E Burrows
- 1967 Lt-commander M C Verran
- 1968 Lt-Commander L J Tempero
- 1970 Lt-Commander F D Arnott
- 1971 Lt-Commander D L Douglas
- 1973 Lt Commander N Cameron
Fate
On 27 May 1968 the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral J O Ross, described the Kiama and Inverell as obsolete and no longer fit for purpose. The Kiama remained in service until 1975 when it was placed in reserve. The ship was paid off for disposal on 19 August 1976 and broken up in 1979.