HMAS Reserve (W 149)

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An aerial photograph of the tugboat HMAS Reserve at sea
HMAS Reserve in 1951
History
Australia
BuilderLevingston Shipbuilding Company, Orange, Texas
Acquired
Commissioned17 August 1943
Decommissioned19 October 1953
IdentificationIMO number: 5417052
Honours and
awards
FateSold 21 September 1961
General characteristics
Displacement800 tons
Length143 ft (44 m)
Beam33 ft 1 in (10.08 m)
Draught14 ft 7 in (4.45 m)
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Armament1 × 3 inch HA/LA gun, 2 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, 2 × M2 Browning machine gun
NotesShip characteristics from[1]

HMAS Reserve was a tugboat operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1943 and 1953.

Construction[edit]

She was built by the Levingston Shipbuilding Company, Orange, Texas during 1942.

Operational history[edit]

Reserve was acquired by the Australian Commonwealth Marine Salvage Board on 10 December 1942. She was commissioned into the RAN on 17 August 1943 and served off eastern Australia and in the South West Pacific.[1] During late 1943 and 1944, she participated in the Allied landings at Cape Gloucester, the Admiralty Islands, Saidor, Hollandia, Wakde, Leyte and Mindoro.[2]

The ship received the battle honour 'New Guinea 1943-44" for her wartime service.[3][4]

Decommissioning and fate[edit]

Polaris, formerly HMAS Reserve, unsuccessfully attempts to pull the wrecked Sydney car ferry, Koondooloo, off the beach at Trial Bay, 1972

Reserve remained in service with the RAN until 19 October 1953 when she was decommissioned. She was subsequently sold on 21 September 1961.[1]

Sold to Filipino interests, she was renamed Polaris. She was used in an ill-fated attempt to tow 4 vessels from Newcastle to Manila, being former Sydney ferries, (Kalang, Koondooloo and Kooroongabba and former Hobart vessel, Lurgerena). Kooroongabba sank, and the other three vessels beached themselves at Trial Bay while Polaris was at anchor for repairs. The tug tried to remove the old ferries, but they remained fast. Their timber superstructures were broken up by the waves, and their rusted steel structures remain in the sands of the beach. Defeated, Polaris returned to the Philippines.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Straczek, J.H. (1996). The Royal Australian Navy. Ships, Aircraft and Shore Establishments. Sydney: Navy Public Affairs - Sydney. ISBN 1-876043-78-4.
  2. ^ Dexter, Frank (26 December 1944). "Australian Tug at Mindoro". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours". Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours" (PDF). Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  5. ^ Andrews, Graeme (1975). The Ferries of Sydney. A.H. & A.W. Reed Pty Ltd. p. 87. ISBN 0589071726.


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