{{Short description|1942 Bathurst-class corvette}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=HMAS Horsham (300807).jpg |image_caption=HMAS Horsham }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |country=Australia |flag={{shipboxflag|Australia|naval-1913}} |namesake=City of Horsham, Victoria |builder=HMA Naval Dockyard |laid_down=26 June 1941 |launched=16 May 1942 |commissioned=18 November 1942 |decommissioned=17 December 1945 |motto= |nickname= |honours= |fate=Sold for scrap in 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, 2,000 horsepower |speed={{convert|15.5|kn}} |complement=85 |sensors= |armament=*1 × 4 inch Mk XIX gun *1 × 12-pounder gun *1 × 2-pounder gun *1 twin 0.5-inch gun |notes= }} }} '''HMAS ''Horsham'' (J235/M235)''', named for the city of Horsham, Victoria, was one of 60 ''Bathurst''-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).<ref name=SPC>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-horsham-i |title=HMAS Horsham (I) |access-date=26 December 2008 |work=HMA Ship Histories |publisher=Sea Power Centre - Royal Australian Navy}}</ref>
==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 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 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.<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 ''Horsham'') 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/>
''Horsham'' was laid down by HMA Naval Dockyard at Melbourne, Victoria on 26 June 1941.<ref name=SPC/> She was launched on 16 May 1942, and was commissioned into the RAN on 18 November 1942.
==Operational history== ''Horsham'' entered active service in January 1943.<ref name=SPC/> She was initially assigned to Fremantle as an anti-submarine patrol ship, where she remained until August 1944.<ref name=SPC/> The corvette was then deployed to Darwin as a survey ship, and remained there until the end of World War II.<ref name=SPC/> In September 1945, ''Horsham'' was present at the Japanese surrender of Timor.<ref name=SPC/> She continued in the survey role until November 1945, when she returned to Fremantle.<ref name=SPC/>
==Decommissioning and fate== ''Horsham'' paid off into reserve in Fremantle on 17 December 1945.<ref name=SPC/> She was sold for scrapping to the Hong Kong Delta Shipping Company on 8 August 1956.<ref name=SPC/>
==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 |access-date=13 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320183407/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Semaphore_2010_5.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2011 }}
{{Bathurst class corvette}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsham}} Category:Bathurst-class corvettes of the Royal Australian Navy Category:Ships built in Victoria (state) Category:1942 ships Category:World War II corvettes of Australia Category:Survey ships of the Royal Australian Navy