HMAS ''Reserve'' was a

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

operated by the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

(RAN) between 1943 and 1953.

Construction

She was built by the Levingston Shipbuilding Company,

Orange, Texas Orange is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,324 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houston. ...

during 1942.

Operational history

''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 Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. During late 1943 and 1944, she participated in the Allied landings at Cape Gloucester, the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...

Saidor Saidor is a village located in Saidor ward of Rai Coast Rural LLG, Madang Province, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It is also the administrative centre of the Rai Coast District of Madang Province in Papua New Guinea. The village was the ...

, Hollandia,

Wakde Wakde is an island group in Sarmi Regency, Papua, Indonesia, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas. It comprises two islands, Insumuar (the larger) and Insumanai (much smaller). History Occupied by Japanese forces in April 1942, th ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

and

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...

. The ship received the

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

'New Guinea 1943-44" for her wartime service.

Decommissioning and fate

Sydney car ferry KOONDOOLOO beached at trial bay

''Reserve'' remained in service with the RAN until 19 October 1953 when she was decommissioned. She was subsequently sold on 21 September 1961. Sold to Filipino interests, she was renamed ''Polaris''. She was used in an ill-fated attempt to tow 4 vessels from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, being former Sydney ferries, (''

Kalang ''Kalang'', later ''Sydney Queen'', was a vehicular ferry and later show boat on Sydney Harbour. A steel-hulled, steam screw ferry, she and sister ''Kara Kara'' were the largest vehicular ferries to operate in Sydney and the largest ferries oper ...

'', ''Koondooloo'' and ''Kooroongabba'' and former

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

vessel, ''Lurgerena''). ''Kooroongabba'' sank, and the other three vessels beached themselves at

Trial Bay Trial Bay is a broad bay on the Mid North Coast (New South Wales), Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The bay faces northwards and extends from Laggers Point in the east around to Grassy Head to the west, past the town of South West R ...

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reserve Favourite-class tugboats of the Royal Australian Navy Ships built in Orange, Texas 1942 ships