HMAS Barcoo (K375)

HMAS Barcoo (K375) in 1944.
History
Australia
Namesake:	Barcoo River
Builder:	Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co. Ltd., Sydney
Laid down:	21 October 1942
Launched:	26 August 1943
Commissioned:	17 January 1944
Decommissioned:	21 February 1964
Motto:	"We Clear the Way"
Honours and awards:	Battle honours: Pacific 1944–45 New Guinea 1944 Borneo 1945
Fate:	Sold for scrap on 15 February 1972 to N.W. Kennedy Ltd., Vancouver. Scrapped in Taiwan.
General characteristics
Class and type:	River-class frigate
Displacement:	1,420 long tons (1,440 t; 1,590 short tons) 2,020 long tons (2,050 t; 2,260 short tons) (deep load)
Length:	301.3 feet (91.85 m)
Beam:	36.7 feet (11.18 m)
Draught:	12.0 feet (3.66 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, reciprocating vertical triple expansion engines, 5,500 horsepower (4,100 kW), 2 shafts
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range:	5,180 nautical miles (9,593 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement:	140
Armament:	2 × QF 4 inch (102 mm) /45 Mark XVI guns, single HA/LA Mark XX mounts 2 × QF 40 mm Bofors, single Mark VII mounts 6 × QF 20 mm Oerlikons, single Mark III mounts 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar 2 × Squid anti-submarine mortars Depth charge throwers

HMAS Barcoo (K375/F375/A245) was a River-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of twelve frigates constructed in Australia during World War II, Barcoo (named after the Barcoo River), was laid down by Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company, Ltd. in 1942, and commissioned into the RAN in early 1944.

Most of the ship's wartime service was spent in New Guinea waters; with primary duties including patrol, convoy escort, troop transport, along with the shelling of Japanese positions. In April 1945, Barcoo was attached to the Borneo campaign. She was the command ship for a landing craft division at the Tarakan landings in May, and directly supported the North Borneo landings in June, before being assigned to general escort and fire support roles.

After World War II, Barcoo was converted into a survey ship. In 1948, the ship spent over a week aground on West Beach, South Australia after bring driven ashore by a storm. Barcoo spent the rest of her career surveying the waters of Australia and New Guinea, except for periods of deactivation from 1949 to 1951, and from 1956 to 1959. She was decommissioned for the final time in 1964, and sold for scrapping.

Barcoo was one of twelve frigates built in Australia during World War II. She and seven other vessels were constructed to the British River-class design.Barcoo was 301.3 feet (91.85 m) in length, with a beam of 36.7 feet (11.18 m), and a draught of 12.0 feet (3.66 m). The frigate displaced 1,340 tonnes at standard load and 1,923 tonnes at full load. Propulsion machinery consisted of two Admiralty 3-drum boilers, feeding steam to reciprocating vertical triple expansion engines, which provided 5,500 horsepower (4,100 kW) to drive two propeller shafts. Maximum speed was 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), and maximum range was 5,180 nautical miles (9,593 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The ship's company consisted of 140 personnel.