Robert William Rankin
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Robert William Rankin (3 June 1907 – 4 March 1942) was a
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 ...
officer who was killed in action during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He is one of six people to have had a
Collins class submarine The ''Collins''-class submarines are Australian-built diesel-electric submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ''Collins'' class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral John Augustine Collins; each of the six submarines ...
named after him.


Early life

Rankin was born in
Cobar, New South Wales Cobar is a town in Outback New South Wales, Australia, whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Highwa ...
.


Naval career

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. He completed the Junior Officers War Course, at Greenwich, in Britain, graduating as one of six sub-lieutenants who "received their Lordship’s appreciation of essays written". Serving in a range of ships, in the normal style of developing his general abilities, he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1929, and ended the 1920s with a posting as Assistant Torpedo Officer in the cruiser HMAS Canberra, where he also gained his watchkeeping certificate. He then was posted to HMAS Anzac. He applied to specialise in Communications, without success. A shore posting to HMAS ''Cerberus'' followed, and by January 1934 Rankin was specialising in surveying, appointed as Assistant Surveyor 4th Class Rankin joined HMAS ''Moresby'' on 18 January and assisted in charting the waters of Australian and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. In 1936 he expressed a desire to return to general duties, despite having gained his qualification as Assistant Surveyor 3rd Class the previous July. This was denied, with the order to complete another "season" of surveying. Promotion to lieutenant commander followed in August, 1937. He was married in that year, to Mary Broughton, a trainee nurse based on Thursday Island, in Brisbane, in a glittering affair keenly reported in the local newspapers, which featured Rankin's naval officer friends – who called him 'Oscar' – forming an "arch of swords", for their friend and his bride to walk under as they entered the reception. On 30 March 1938 he was posted to Britain, to join HMS ''Gleaner'', a minesweeper, for surveying duties. Gaining a step in his survey career as Assistant Surveyor 2nd Class in July 1938, Rankin remained with ''Gleaner'' until 11 September 1939, when he was posted to the shore training establishment of HMS ''Dryad'', for a navigating course. In July his daughter Patricia was born, but she and her mother had to be evacuated to Australia as the war commenced. On 14 November 1939 Rankin was made the first Lieutenant and navigator of the repair ship HMS ''Resource''. The ship was a large vessel of 12, 300 tons displacement, and 581 men on board. Serving in the Mediterranean, generally around Malta and Alexandria, ''Resource'' was not a fighting unit but an essential one nevertheless, for the Med was seeing the initial fleet actions of the war, with substantial fighting between the Allies and their enemies: the two Axis powers of Germany and Italy. ''Resource'' was much involved with the evacuation of battle survivors from Greece, and Rankin was complimented on his success at raising their morale. Rankin served with ''Resource'' until 11 September 1941. His report on posting commented again in glowing terms and gave Rankin the credit for the successful esprit de corps on board. He had also apparently served with "a difficult Wardroom" with success. Rankin was posted back to Australia arriving in September 1941. He was to carry out a survey of Pittwater, north of Sydney. Although this might have been thought to have been cancelled due to his not having seen his wife and child for a considerable time, the war took priority. He completed the survey in December 1941: the Australian Hydrographic Service today still has the completed work in what is known as a "fairsheet", with his signature above the words "in charge of survey". The survey is of central Pittwater and was completed in support of a proposed torpedo firing range with facilities at Taylors Point. The range was subsequently built and used for several decades. 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 Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, ''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 mainly given the task of escort duties around the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
. At 6.30am on 4 March, while escorting a small convoy from
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
to Australia, ''Yarra'' encountered a Japanese naval force comprising three
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
s and two
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s. 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 A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
killed him shortly afterwards. Of the 151 on aboard ''Yarra'', only 13 were rescued.


Memorials and tributes

In honour of Robert Rankin the 6th and final
Collins class submarine The ''Collins''-class submarines are Australian-built diesel-electric submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ''Collins'' class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral John Augustine Collins; each of the six submarines ...
, HMAS ''Rankin'' was named in his honour. The ship's motto is "Defend the Weak", a reference to the efforts of Robert Rankin and ''Yarra'' to defend the unarmed convoy ships. A group of Australian naval historians and others are campaigning Rankin to be awarded a
posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
(as was awarded to Captain Edward Fogarty Fegen of HMS ''Jervis Bay'', and to Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope of HMS Glowworm, for similarly defending convoys against hopeless odds). A website has been set up for the campaign. A plaque in his memory, is at the base of a tree, in Memorial Ave, Merrylands, NSW (Outside the Uniting Church).


References


Entry
in ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'' *


External links


Royal Australian Navy webpage for Lieutenant Commander Robert William Rankin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Robert 1907 births 1942 deaths Australian military personnel killed in World War II Graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College Military personnel from New South Wales Royal Australian Navy officers Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II