Image Gallery: November 2007
HMAS Armidale 1
30 November 2007
The current HMAS Armidale will conduct a commemoration service for the 65th anniversary of the sinking of HMAS Armidale I. This service will take place over the position of the wreck of HMAS Armidale I in the Timor Sea on Saturday, 1 December.
On 29 November 1942, Armidale was ordered to proceed to Betano (Timor) in company of her sister ship HMAS Castlemaine. The purpose of this mission was the reinforcement of allied guerrilla forces operating in Timor and the evacuation of Dutch troops and Portuguese women and children. Armidale carried three Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) soldiers, two Dutch officers and 61 Indonesian troops of the Netherlands East Indies Army.
Armidale and Castlemaine arrived off Betano in the early hours of 1 December. En route they had been attacked three times by Japanese aircraft, but did not sustain any damage or casualties. After failing to make contact with forces ashore, the ships retired with no civilian evacuees on board, to clear the coast before daylight.
At 3:15pm on 1 December Armidale was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The ship was sunk within five minutes in position 10°S, 126°30´E in the Timor Sea.
| HMAS-Armidale HMAS Armidale 1 was one of 60 Australian Minesweepers (commonly known as corvettes) built during World War II in Australian shipyards as part of the Commonwealth Government’s wartime shipbuilding programme. (Date taken: unknown) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
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