collins class submarine ssg hmas australian navy

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Royal Australian Navy
Collins class Submarine (SSG)
 
 
collins class attack submarine ssg ssk royal australian navy hmas
 
 
Units:
 
SSG 73
HMAS Collins (1996)
SSG 74
HMAS Farncomb (1998)
SSG 75
HMAS Waller
(1999)
SSG 76
HMAS Dechaineux
(2001)
SSG 77
HMAS Sheean
(2001)
SSG 78
HMAS Rankin
(2003)
  
 
Boat data:

HMAS Collins (SSG 73)
 
Laid down:
February 14, 1990
Launched:
August 28, 1993
Commissioned:
July 27, 1996
STATUS: IN SERVICE
Namesake: Vice Admiral Sir John Collins - KBE, CB
Motto: Vanguard
 


HMAS Farncomb (SSG 74)

Laid down: March 1, 1991
Launched:
December 15, 1995
Commissioned:
January 31, 1998
STATUS: IN SERVICE
Namesake: Rear Admiral Harold Farncomb - CB, DSO, MVO
Motto: With Skill and Resolve
 

HMAS Waller (SSG 75)

 Laid down: March 19, 1992
Launched:
March 14, 1997
Commissioned:
July 10, 1999
STATUS: IN SERVICE
Namesake: Captain Hector Waller - DSO+BAR
Motto: Tenacity
 

HMAS Dechaineux (SSG 76)

 Laid down: March 4, 1993
Launched:
March 12, 1998
Commissioned:
February 23, 2001
STATUS: IN SERVICE
Namesake: Captain Emile Dechaineux - DSC
Motto: Fearless and Ferocious
 

HMAS Sheean (SSG 77)

 Laid down: February 17, 1994
Launched:
May 1, 1999
Commissioned:
February 23, 2001
STATUS: IN SERVICE
Namesake: Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean
Motto: Fight On
 

HMAS Rankin (SSG 78)

 Laid down: May 12, 1995
Launched:
November 26, 2001
Commissioned:
March 29, 2003
STATUS: IN SERVICE
Namesake: Lieutenant Commander Robert Rankin
Motto: Defend the Weak
 
 
Specifications:

Builder:
Australian Submarine Corporation, Osborne, South Australia
Length: 77,42 meters (254 feet)

Beam: 7,8 meters (26 ft)
Draft: 7 meters (23 ft)
Displacement: 3100 tons (surfaced) / 3400 tons (submerged)
Speed: 10 knots (19 km/h) - surfaced / 20 knots (37 km/h) - submerged
Depth: test depth over 180 meters (590 ft) - actual depth classified
Complement: 58

Range:
11500 NM (21300 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) - surfaced
9000 NM (17000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) - snorkel
480 NM (890 km) at 4 knots (7,4 km/h) - submerged
Endurance: 70 days


Installed power:
3 x
Garden Island-Hedemora HV V18b/15Ub (VB210) 18-cylinder diesel motors
3 x Jeumont-Schneider generators (1400 kW, 440-volt DC)

Propulsion:
Main: 1 x
Jeumont-Schneider DC motor (7200 hp or 5,400 kW)
Emergency: 1 x MacTaggart Scott DM 43006 retractable hydraulic motor
1 x 4,22 m (13.8 ft) diameter skewback propeller (7 blades)

Armament:
6 x
21 inches (533mm) torpedo tubes (bow)
for a mix of
Mk-48 Mod.7 CBASS heavyweight torpedoes
UGM-84C Harpoon SSM
or up to 44 Stonefish Mark III mines

 
Systems:
Raytheon CCS Mk.2 (AN/BYG-1) combat system
Thomson Sintra Scylla bow and distributed sonar arrays
Thales SHORT-TAS towed sonar array
Thales intercept array
Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 surface search radar
Thales CK043 search periscope
Thales CH093 attack periscope
Condor CS-5600 ESM
SSE decoys (submarine signal ejector)

 
 
The Collins class of six Australian-built diesel-electric submarines is operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The Collins class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral John Augustine Collins; all six submarines are named after significant RAN personnel who distinguished themselves in action during World War II. The boats were the first submarines to be constructed in Australia, prompting widespread improvements in Australian industry.

Planning for a new design to replace the RAN's Oberon-class submarines began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Proposals were received from seven companies; two were selected for a funded study to determine the winning design, which was announced in mid-1987. The submarines, enlarged versions of Swedish shipbuilder Kockums' Västergötland class and originally referred to as the Type 471, were constructed between 1990 and 2003 in South Australia by the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC).

The submarines have been the subject of many incidents and technical problems since the design phase, including accusations of foul play and bias during the design selection, improper handling of design changes during construction, major capability deficiencies in the first submarines, and ongoing technical problems throughout the early life of the class. These problems have been compounded by the inability of the RAN to retain sufficient personnel to operate the submarines - by 2008, only three could be manned, and between 2009 and 2012, on average two or fewer were fully operational. The resulting negative press has led to a poor public perception of the Collins class.

The Collins class was expected to be retired about 2026, however, the 2016 Defence White Paper extended this into the 2030s. The Collins class life will now be extended and will receive an unplanned capability upgrade, including but not limited to: sonar and communications.

The Collins class will be replaced by the Future Submarine Program (SEA 1000) that is scheduled, according to the 2016 Defence White Paper, to begin entering service in the early 2030s with construction extending into the late 2040s to 2050.

Construction:
The Australian Submarine Corporation construction facility was established on previously undeveloped land on the bank of the Port River, at Osborne, South Australia. Work on the site began on 29 June 1987, and it was opened in November 1989. South Australia was selected as the site of the construction facility based on the proposed location of the facility and promises by the State Government to help minimise any problems caused by workers unions. The state's bid was aided by careful promotion to both Kockums and IKL/HDW during early in the project, and problems with the other states' proposals: Tasmania and Western Australia lacked the necessary industrial base, New South Wales could not decide on the location of the construction facility, Victoria's proposed site was poorly sited, and building in Liberal-led Queensland would have been politically unwise for the project when Labor was in power both federally and in all other states.

Each submarine was constructed in six sections, each consisting of several sub-sections. One of the main criteria of the project was that Australian industries contribute to at least 60% of the work; by the conclusion of the project 70% of the construction and 45% of the software preparation had been completed by Australian-owned companies. Work was sub-contracted out to 426 companies across twelve countries, plus numerous sub-sub-contractors. In many cases, components for the first submarine were constructed by companies outside Australia, while those for the following five boats were replicated by an Australian-owned partner or subsidiary. The project prompted major increases in quality control standards across Australian industries: in 1980, only 35 Australian companies possessed the appropriate quality control certifications for Defence projects, but by 1998 this had increased to over 1,500.

Although the acquisition project organisers originally planned for the first submarine to be constructed overseas, the Cabinet decided as part of the project's approval that all six submarines would be built in Australia; the increases in construction time and cost from not building the lead ship in the winning designer's home shipyard was considered to be offset by the additional experience provided to Australian industries. Even so, two sections of the first submarine were constructed by Kockums' shipyard in Malmo, Sweden.

By the end of 1990, Chicago Bridge & Iron and Wormald International had both sold their shares in ASC. The shares were bought up by Kockums and the Australian Industry Development Corporation, with some of Kockums' shares then sold to James Hardie Industries to maintain an Australian majority ownership of the company. On 5 April 2000, the shares in ASC held by Kockums were bought out and the company was nationalised, despite a trend at the time to privatise government-owned companies. At the end of 2003, a contract to maintain the Collins class worth $3.5 billion over 25 years was awarded to ASC.

As of April 1996, the option to order the seventh and eighth submarines was still under consideration, but was looked on unfavourably by the Department of Defence at the time, as the additional cost would require the diversion of funding from the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force, resulting in an imbalance in the capabilities of the Australian Defence Force. The option was cancelled outright by late 2001.

Characteristics:
The Collins class is an enlarged version of the Kockums Västergötland class submarine. The design was referred to as the Type 471 Submarine until it was decided to name the lead boat, HMAS Collins, after RAN Vice Admiral Sir John Augustine Collins. The names of the six submarines was first announced during Collins' laying down ceremony: Collins, Farncomb, Waller, Dechaineux, Sheean, and Rankin; all named after Australian naval personnel who distinguished themselves during World War II. The Collins-class submarines are classified by the RAN as SSGs, or guided missile carrying submarines, although some defence industry websites refer to the boats as hunter-killer submarines, or SSKs.

At 77.8 metres (255 ft) in length, with a beam of 7.8 metres (26 ft) and a waterline depth of 7 metres (23 ft), the six boats were the largest conventionally powered submarines in the world at the time of their commissioning. The submarines are single-hulled, and have two continuous decks. Each boat displaces 3,100 tonnes (3,100 long tons) when surfaced, and 3,407 tonnes (3,353 long tons) when submerged. The depth that the submarines can dive to is classified: most sources claim that the diving depth is in excess of 180 metres (590 ft), although some give the maximum depth as over 300 metres (980 ft). Following the near-loss of Dechaineux in 2003 when a seawater hose burst during a deep dive, the diving depth was reduced.

The hull is constructed from a high-tensile micro-alloy steel, developed by Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB, and improved by BHP of Australia, which was lighter and easier to weld than the HY-80 or HY-100 nickel-alloy steel used in contemporary submarine construction projects, while providing better results in explosion bulge testing. The submarines are covered in a skin of anechoic tiles to minimise detection by sonar: Collins was retrofitted with the tiles after the standard sonar signature of the submarine had been established, while the other five boats were covered during construction. These tiles were developed by the Australian DSTO: as the United States and United Kingdom would not share their information on the tiles used on their nuclear submarines, Australian researchers had to develop the tiles from scratch. The tiles were moulded in the shape of the hull, and are secured by a commercial adhesive normally used to fix cat's eyes to road surfaces: although British and American submarines are often seen with missing tiles, as of March 2007, none have been lost from a Collins-class boat.

Armament:
The Collins class submarines are armed with six 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes, and carry a standard payload of 22 torpedoes. Originally, the payload was a mixture of Gould Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes and UGM-84C Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles; previously carried by the Oberon-class boats. In 2006, the Mark 48 torpedoes were upgraded to the Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) version, which was jointly developed with the United States Navy. Waller was the first vessel of either navy to fire an armed Mod 7, sinking the decommissioned Spruance-class destroyer USS Fletcher on 16 July 2008, during RIMPAC 08. Some or all of the torpedo payload can be replaced with up to 44 Stonefish Mark III mines.

During the construction phase, consideration was given to acquiring submarine-launchable Tomahawk cruise missiles; giving the boats the capability to attack land targets after minor modifications. Plans to acquire Tomahawk or similar land-attack missiles remained under consideration until 2009, when the Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 white paper was released; stating that land-attack missiles will instead be incorporated into the armament of the Collins-class replacement.

The Collins-class was not designed to support special forces operations providing a limited capability similar to the Oberon-class. In 2005, Collins received a special forces upgrade to provide three capabilities of multi swimmer release, float on/float off and exit and reentry. However, there were issues with exit and reentry during sea trials. Originally only one submarine was planned to receive the upgrade. In 2014, Dechaineux was upgraded and the issue with exit and reentry was rectified. Collins is scheduled on its next maintenance docking to receive the safety upgrade for exit and reentry. However, the full special forces upgrade is yet to be reached with outboard stowage of equipment, such as for inflatable boats, still in the design phase.

Propulsion:
Each submarine is equipped with three Garden Island-Hedemora HV V18b/15Ub (VB210) 18-cylinder diesel engines, which are each connected to a 1,400 kW, 440-volt DC Jeumont-Schneider generator. The combined electrical generation capability of each submarine is 4.2 megawatts. The Hedemora diesels were chosen because of modular construction, which made servicing easier; they could be installed three across in the available space, while other contenders required at least two banks of two; and they had turbochargers driven by the exhaust gas. Fifteen fuel tanks are located throughout the submarine: they must be used in specific sequences to preserve the submarine's buoyancy and trim.

Electricity is stored in four lead-acid battery packs, totalling 400 tonnes, assembled by Pacific Marine Batteries, a joint venture between VARTA of Germany and Pacific Dunlop of Australia. These supply a single Jeumont Schneider DC motor, which provides 7,200 shaft horsepower to a seven-bladed, 4.22-metre (13.8 ft) diameter skewback propeller. The propeller design is classified Top Secret, and must be covered before a Collins-class submarine can be removed from the water for maintenance. Emergency propulsion is provided by a MacTaggart Scott DM 43006 retractable hydraulic motor. The aft control surfaces are mounted on an X-shaped structure, giving the boats the ability to outmanoeuvre most warship and submarine classes.


The Collins class has a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) when surfaced and at snorkel depth, and can reach 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) underwater. When travelling at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), the submarines have a range of 11,500 nautical miles (21,300 km; 13,200 mi) along the surface, or 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at snorkel depth. When fully submerged, a Collins-class submarine can travel 480 nautical miles (890 km; 550 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph). Each boat has an endurance of 70 days.

Nuclear propulsion was ruled out at an early stage of the project, because supporting nuclear submarines without a nuclear power industry in Australia and public opposition to such infrastructure would be extremely difficult. Air-independent propulsion (AIP) was also considered for the class, and the submarines were designed to be retrofitted with an AIP system. The AIP plan was cancelled in July 1996, after it was demonstrated during sea trials that during constant operations, the boat's snorkel was exposed for only a few minutes in a 24-hour period; officials from ASC claimed that any Collins-class submarine spotted while snorting would be because the boat was "dead unlucky". Installation of AIP was not believed to provide enough of an improvement on this to justify the predicted A$100 million cost.

Sensors and systems:
The main sonar array is a Thomson Sintra Scylla active/passive bow sonar, linked to a passive intercept and ranging array distributed along the flanks of the submarine; three panels on each side. Collins and Farncomb were originally fitted with Thales Karriwarra passive towed sonar arrays, while the other four boats could be fitted with the Karriwarra or Thales' Namara array. These were later replaced across the class with the Thales SHOR-TAS towed passive array, deployed through the horizontal 'pipe' at the stern. When surfaced or at periscope depth, the Collins-class boats can use a Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 surface search radar, which is situated in a retractable mast on the fin.

Each submarine is fitted with a CK043 search periscope and CH093 attack periscope. The periscopes were manufactured by Pilkington Optronics (now Thales Optronics), and experienced several problems early in the submarines' service lives.

The hardware for the original combat system was based around the Motorola 68000 family of processors. The replacement combat system consists of the tactical and fire control components from the Raytheon CCS Mk2 system, combined with the sonar interfaces developed for the improved combat system used aboard Sheean and Dechaineux. Countermeasures include a Condor CS-5600 ESM intercept and warning unit, and two SSE decoys. The boats are fitted with a Marconi SDG-1802 degaussing system, and a receive-only Link 11 combat information exchange datalink. In October 2006, Sagem Défense Sécurité was selected to fit the Collins class with SIGMA 40XP gyrolaser inertial navigation systems.

source: wikipedia

 

images
 

SSG 73 HMAS Collins

hmas collins ssg-73 attack submarine royal australian navy 02
 

SSG 74 HMAS Farncomb

hmas farncomb ssg-74 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 02
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2012

hmas farncomb ssg-74 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 03
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2012

hmas farncomb ssg-74 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 04 rimpac
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2012
    

SSG 75 HMAS Waller

hmas waller ssg-75 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 04
Apra Harbor, Guam - September 2013

hmas waller ssg-75 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 03
Apra Harbor, Guam - September 2013

hmas waller ssg-75 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 02
Apra Harbor, Guam - September 2013

hmas waller ssg-75 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 05
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2008

hmas waller ssg-75 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 06
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2008
 

SSG 76 HMAS Dechaineux

hmas dechaineux ssg-76 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 02

hmas dechaineux ssg-76 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 03 mk-48 adcap torpedo
a Mk-48 heavy-weight torpedo was loaded
  

SSG 77 HMAS Sheean

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 10
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 04
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 18
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 05
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 12
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 06 pearl harbor hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 17 exercise rimpac
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 07
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 08
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 02
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 03
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 16
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 11
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 14
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 13
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 09
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2014

hmas sheean ssg-77 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 15
Pacific Ocean - July 2014
 

SSG 78 HMAS Rankin

hmas rankin ssg-78 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 02
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2018

hmas rankin ssg-78 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 07
Pacific Ocean - July 2006

hmas rankin ssg-78 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 08
undated

hmas rankin ssg-78 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 04 pearl harbor hawaii
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - August 2004

hmas rankin ssg-78 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 03
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - August 2004

hmas rankin ssg-78 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 06
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2004

hmas rankin ssg-78 collins class attack submarine ssk royal australian navy 05
Pacific Ocean - July 2004
 
 

Vice Admiral John A. Collins

 vice admiral john collins australian navy

Vice-Admiral Sir John Augustine Collins, KBE, CB (7 January 1899 - 3 September 1989) was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) officer who served in both World Wars, and who eventually rose to become a vice admiral and Chief of Naval Staff. Collins was one of the first graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College to attain flag rank. During the Second World War, he commanded the cruiser HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean campaign. He led the Australian Naval Squadron in the Pacific theatre and was wounded in the first recorded kamikaze attack, in 1944.
 

Rear Admiral Harold B. Farncomb

rear admiral harold farncomb australian navy

Rear Admiral Harold Bruce Farncomb CB, DSO, MVO (28 February 1899 - 12 February 1971) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) who served in the First and Second World Wars, and as a lawyer. He was the first Australian-born RAN officer to reach a flag rank in the RAN. The Collins class submarine HMAS Farncomb is named in his honour.


 

Captain Hector Waller

captain hector waller australian navy

Hector Macdonald Laws (Hec) Waller, DSO and Bar (4 April 1900 - 1 March 1942) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). His career spanned almost thirty years, including service in both world wars. At the helm of HMAS Stuart in the Mediterranean from 1939 to 1941, he won recognition as a skilful ship's captain and flotilla commander. He then transferred to the South West Pacific as captain of the light cruiser HMAS Perth, and went down with his ship against heavy odds during the Battle of Sunda Strait in early 1942.
Born in Benalla, Victoria, Waller entered the Royal Australian Naval College at the age of thirteen. After graduating, he served with the Royal Navy in the closing stages of World War I. Between the wars, he specialised in communications and was posted as signals officer to several British and Australian warships. He gained his first seagoing command in 1937, as captain of the destroyer HMS Brazen. In September 1939, he took charge of HMAS Stuart and four other obsolete destroyers that together became known as the "Scrap Iron Flotilla". In 1940, these were augmented by other ships to form the 10th Destroyer Flotilla, supporting Allied troops in North Africa.
Waller was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, and twice mentioned in despatches, for his achievements in the Mediterranean. He assumed command of HMAS Perth in October 1941, taking part in the Battle of the Java Sea shortly before his final action in Sunda Strait. He received a third mention in despatches posthumously, and in 2011 came under formal consideration for the award of the Victoria Cross for his performance as Perth's captain. The submarine HMAS Waller is named in his honour.
 

Captain Emile Dechaineux


captain emile dechaineux australian navy
 
Emile Frank Verlaine Dechaineux, DSC (3 October 1902 - 21 October 1944) was an Australian mariner who reached the rank of Captain in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. He was killed by a Japanese aircraft in what is believed to have been the first ever kamikaze attack, in the lead-up to the Battle of Leyte Gulf.










 

Seaman Edward Sheean

seaman edward sheean australian navy
Edward "Teddy" Sheean (28 December 1923 - 1 December 1942) was a sailor in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War. Born in Tasmania, Sheean was employed as a farm labourer when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in April 1941. Following training at HMAS Derwent and the Flinders Naval Depot, he was posted to Sydney, where he joined the newly commissioned corvette HMAS Armidale in June 1942. Sheean served aboard Armidale as she initially took part in escort duties along the eastern Australian coast and in New Guinea waters, before he transferred with the ship to Darwin in October, where Armidale was given the task of assisting Australian operations in Timor.
On 29 November 1942, Armidale set out for an operation to Betano, Timor, along with HMAS Castlemaine. The two ships were attacked by Japanese aircraft along the way, and were subsequently late in arriving at their destination, missing a planned rendezvous with HMAS Kuru. While returning to Darwin, the pair encountered Kuru south of Betano and it was decided by Castlemaine's commanding officer - as the senior officer - that Armidale and Kuru should make for Betano. The two ships took different routes to Betano, during which both vessels came under aerial assault.
During a subsequent confrontation with thirteen Japanese aircraft on 1 December, Armidale was struck by two torpedoes and a bomb, and began to sink; the order to abandon ship was given. After helping to free a life-raft, Sheean was wounded by two bullets. He made his way to the aft Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and began to fire on the Japanese aircraft to protect those in the water. Sheean managed to shoot down one of the Japanese bombers, but was killed when Armidale sank. Many of the survivors credited their lives to Sheean and he was posthumously mentioned in despatches. In 1999, the submarine HMAS Sheean was named in his honour, and efforts have been made to have Sheean awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia.
 

Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Rankin

lieutenant commander robert rankin australian navy
 
Robert William Rankin (3 June 1907 - 4 March 1942) was a Royal Australian Navy officer who was killed in action during the Second World War.


Rankin entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1921. He gained his Colours in Rugby, and prizes for mathematics and engineering.
Graduating in 1924, he joined his first ship, the cruiser HMAS Brisbane, in 1925.

In early 1942, following the outbreak of war with Japan, he was posted to the sloop HMAS Yarra. On 5 February 1942, while under air attack near Singapore, Yarra took on board 1,804 people from the SS Empress of Asia, a troopship which had caught fire. He was commended for his actions during the rescue.
Rankin assumed command of Yarra on 11 February and was tasked mainly with escort duties around the Dutch East Indies. At 6.30am on 4 March, while escorting a small convoy from Java to Australia, Yarra encountered a Japanese naval force comprising three cruisers and two destroyers. Rankin immediately transmitted a sighting report, ordered the convoy to scatter, and placed Yarra between the enemy and the convoy. The sloop made smoke and engaged the vastly superior Japanese force, with her 4-inch guns. Rankin gave the order to abandon ship at around 8 am. A direct hit on the bridge killed him shortly afterwards. Of the 151 on aboard Yarra, only 13 were rescued.


 
  
collins class submarine ssg ssk insignia crest patch badge royal australian navy hmas
 
 
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