HMAS ''Torrens'', named for the

River Torrens The River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Ad ...

, was a of 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). The destroyer was built at

Cockatoo Island Dockyard The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role ...

and entered service with the RAN in 1916. The destroyer was first deployed to East Asia, then the Mediterranean, where she remained for the rest of World War I. After returning to Australia, the destroyer was decommissioned, but saw use in several ports for reservist training before the decision to sell her for scrap was made. After being stripped, the destroyer was towed outside

Sydney Heads The Sydney Heads (also simply known as the Heads) are a series of headlands that form the wide entrance to Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north; South Head and Dunbar Head are to ...

, used for gunnery practice, and

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

Design and construction

''Torrens'' was one of six s built for the RAN.Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 138 The destroyer had a displacement of 750 tons, was

long overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also u ...

and long

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, and had a beam of . Propulsion machinery consisted of three Yarrow boilers feeding Parsons turbines, which supplied to the ship's three propeller shafts.Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 139 Its maximum speed was , and maximum range was at .Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', pp. 138–9 The ship's company consisted of 5 officers and 68 sailors. The destroyer's main armament consisted of a BL 4-inch Mark VIII gun, and three QF 12-pounder 12 cwt guns. This was supplemented by three single 18-inch torpedo tubes and three .303-inch machine guns. Later in the ship's career, two depth charge throwers and four depth charge chutes were installed. ''Torrens'' was laid down by

Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company The Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company was a ship building and maintenance company which operated the Cockatoo Island Dockyard on Cockatoo Island in Sydney, Australia, between 1933 and 1992. History The Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company ...

Cockatoo Island, New South Wales Cockatoo Island Wareamah is a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the confluence of the Parramatta River and Lane Cove River in Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. Cockatoo Island is the largest of several harbour islands t ...

on 25 January 1913. She was launched on 28 August 1915 by the wife of Lord Munro Ferguson, the Governor-General of Australia. The destroyer was commissioned into the RAN on 3 July 1916, twelve days before construction completed. The ship's name comes from the

in South Australia.

Operational history

''Torrens'' and sister ship were first assigned to the British Far East Patrol. From September 1916 to May 1917, ''Torrens'' operated throughout

Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. The terms Island Southeast Asia and Insular Southeast Asia are sometimes given the same meaning as ...

. In June, the destroyer docked at Singapore for a refit. after which ''Torrens'' and the other five River class vessels sailed for the Mediterranean. ''Torrens'' began her Mediterranean assignment by escorting a convoy from Port Said to Malta, where she underwent and refits. She then relocated to

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

as part of the anti-submarine patrol force. The heavy but monotonous workload forced the destroyer to visit Malta in December for another refit. On the night of 22–23 April 1919, ''Torrens'' was one of six Allied ships patrolling the Adriatic. A force of five Austrian destroyers attacked, seriously damaging the British destroyers and before retreating faster than the Allied ships could pursue. Apart from a brief refit at Messina in September–October, ''Torrens'' remained in the region until the end of World War I.Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 140 Her wartime service was later recognised with 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 ...

"Adriatic 1917–18". After returning to Australia in May 1919, ''Torrens'' was involved in routine duties.

Decommissioning and fate

''Torrens'' was paid off into reserve on 19 July 1920. The destroyer was relocated to

Flinders Naval Depot HMAS ''Cerberus'' is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base that serves as the primary training establishment for RAN personnel. The base is located adjacent to Crib Point on the Mornington Peninsula, south of the Melbourne City Centre, Victor ...

in July 1924, and although not recommissioned, was used for the training of naval reservists. ''Torrens'' was later transferred to Port Adelaide, where she was again used for training until March 1925. The ship returned to Sydney on 11 May, with occasional use for reservist training. Sinking of HMAS TORRENS 24 November 1930

Sinking of HMAS TORRENS 24 November 1930

During the general reduction in naval activity imposed by lack of finance during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, it was decided to scrap ''Torrens'' and her five sister ships. On 24 November 1930, after being stripped of useful materials, ''Torrens'' was towed outside

by the tug ''Heroic'', and was used for gunnery target practice. The destroyer withstood considerable shelling before being scuttled by a charge of

gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and Potassi ...

. The wreck lies off Sydney in position .

Citations

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrens (D67) River-class torpedo-boat destroyers Training ships of the Royal Australian Navy Ships sunk as targets Maritime incidents in 1930 Scuttled vessels of New South Wales 1915 ships