{{Short description|Bathurst-class corvette of the Royal Australian Navy}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=HMAS Boven SLV AllanGreen1.jpg |image_caption=HMAS ''Bowen'' }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |country=Australia |flag={{shipboxflag|Australia|naval-1913}} |namesake=Town of [[Bowen, Queensland]] |builder=[[Walkers Limited]] |laid_down=9 February 1942 |launched=11 June 1942 |commissioned=9 November 1942 |decommissioned=17 January 1946 |motto= |nickname= |honours=*'''Battle honours:''' *[[South West Pacific theatre of World War II|Pacific]] 1942–45 *[[New Guinea campaign|New Guinea]] 1943–44<ref name=newhonours>{{cite news |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours |title=Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours |date=1 March 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613184920/http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours |archivedate=13 June 2011 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |accessdate=23 December 2012}}</ref><ref name=honourslist>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf |title=Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours |date=1 March 2010 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614064156/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf |archivedate=14 June 2011 |accessdate=23 December 2012}}</ref> |fate=Scrapped 18 May 1956 |notes= |badge= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |class={{sclass|Bathurst|corvette}} |displacement=650 tons (standard), 1,025 tons (full war load) |length={{convert|186|ft|m|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|31|ft|m|abbr=on}} |draught={{convert|8.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} |propulsion=Triple expansion engine, 2 shafts |speed={{convert|15|kn}} at 1,750 hp |complement=85 |sensors= |armament=1 × [[QF 4 inch Mk XIX naval gun|4 inch Mk XIX]] gun, 3 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]s, Machine guns, [[Depth charge]]s chutes and throwers |notes= }} }} '''HMAS ''Bowen'' (J285/M285)''', named for the town of [[Bowen, Queensland]], was a {{sclass|Bathurst|corvette}} of the [[Royal Australian Navy]].
==Design and construction== {{main|Bathurst-class corvette}} 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.<ref name=Hindsight1>Stevens, ''The Australian Corvettes'', p. 1</ref><ref name=StevensACV103>Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', p. 103</ref> The vessel was initially envisaged as having a [[displacement (ship)|displacement]] of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least {{convert|10|kn}}, and a range of {{convert|2000|nmi}}<ref name=StevensACV103.4>Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', pp. 103–4</ref> The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled [[Bar-class boom defence vessel]] saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a {{convert|15.5|kn}} top speed, and a range of {{convert|2850|nmi}}, armed with a 4-inch gun, equipped with [[asdic]], and able to fitted with either [[depth charge]]s or [[Naval mine#Mine sweeping|minesweeping]] equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a [[sloop-of-war|sloop]] than a local defence vessel, the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels.<ref name=Hindsight1/><ref>Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', pp. 103–5</ref> Construction of the prototype {{HMAS|Kangaroo||6}} did not go ahead, but the plans were retained.<ref name=StevensACV104>Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', p. 104</ref> 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 ''Bowen'') ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the [[British Admiralty]] but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the [[Royal Indian Navy]].<ref name=Hindsight1/><ref>Stevens, ''A Critical Vulnerability'', pp. 105, 148</ref><ref name=Donohue29>Donohue, ''From Empire Defence to the Long Haul'', p. 29</ref><ref name=Stevens108>Stevens et al., ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 108</ref><ref name=spc/>
''Bowen'' was laid down by [[Walkers Limited]] at [[Maryborough, Queensland]] on 9 February 1942, launched on 11 June 1942 by Mrs. Crittal and commissioned on 9 November 1942.<ref name=spc/>
==Operational history== The corvette operated in the South West Pacific area during World War II, and earned the [[battle honour]]s "Pacific 1942–45" and "New Guinea 1943–44" for her service.<ref name=newhonours/><ref name=honourslist/>
==Fate== ''Bowen'' paid off on 17 January 1946 and was sold for scrap to the [[Hong Kong]] Rolling Mills on 18 May 1956.<ref name=spc>{{cite web |url=https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-bowen |title=HMAS Bowen |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |accessdate=7 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405161332/http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-bowen |archivedate=5 April 2015 }}</ref>
==Citations== {{reflist}}
==References== ===Books=== *{{cite book |last=Donohue |first=Hector |title=From Empire Defence to the Long Haul: post-war defence policy and its impact on naval force structure planning 1945–1955 |series=Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs |volume=1 |date=October 1996 |publisher=Sea Power Centre |location=Canberra |isbn=0-642-25907-0 |issn=1327-5658 |oclc=36817771}} *{{cite book |last=Stevens |first=David |title=A Critical Vulnerability: the impact of the submarine threat on Australia's maritime defense 1915–1954 |series=Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs |volume=15 |year=2005 |publisher=Sea Power Centre Australia |location=Canberra |isbn=0-642-29625-1 |oclc=62548623 |issn=1327-5658}} *{{cite book |author=Stevens, David |author2=Sears, Jason|author3= Goldrick, James|author4= Cooper, Alastair|author5= Jones, Peter|author6= Spurling, Kathryn |editor=Stevens, David |title=The Royal Australian Navy |series=The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III) |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=South Melbourne, VIC |isbn=0-19-554116-2 |oclc=50418095}}
===Journal and news articles=== *{{cite journal |last=Stevens |first=David |date=May 2010 |title=The Australian Corvettes |journal=Hindsight (Semaphore) |publisher=Sea Power Centre – Australia |volume=2010 |issue=5 |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Semaphore_2010_5.pdf |accessdate=13 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320183407/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Semaphore_2010_5.pdf |archivedate=20 March 2011 }}
==External links== {{Commons category|J283 Bowen (ship, 1942)}}
{{Bathurst class corvette}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen}} [[Category:Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal Australian Navy]] [[Category:Ships built in Queensland]] [[Category:1942 ships]] [[Category:World War II corvettes of Australia]]