Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

HMAS Yarra (II)

HMAS Yarra (II) (U77) was laid down on 24 May 1934 by Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Ltd in Sydney.[i] She was launched by Mrs Florence Parkhill, the wife of then Minister for Defence Sir Richard Archdale Parkhill KCMG, on 28 March 1935.[ii] The vessel was based on the Grimsby class stoops, four of which had been built for the Royal Australian Navy previously.[iii] Her namesake is Melbourne’s Yarra River.

Yarra was first attached to the 20th Minesweeping Flotilla.[iv] Her first taste of action was on the night of her arrival in Aden, Yemen, in the Rea Sea on 18 September 1940.[v] Two days later, Yarra participated in an Allied escort for convoy BN 7, which was attacked by Italian destroyers. Two enemy torpedoes were fired, but both were successfully evaded by Yarra.[vi] The Italian force were driven off soon after.

After a relatively quiet stint in the Red Sea conducting escort and patrol missions, Yarra arrived at Basra, Iraq, the Persian Gulf on 12 April 1941. From there, they became involved in the Anglo-Iraqi War.[vii] During this time, Yarra sunk the sloop Babr, and captured the Italian ship Hilda.[viii] She was then transferred to the Mediterranean and operated as part of the Tobruk Ferry Service.[ix]

Yarra reached Java on 11 January 1942, where she once again commenced escort duties.[x] Notable achievement during this service include the escort of the final sloop to Singapore before it fell to the Japanese, the destruction and damage of several Japanese aircraft, and the rescue of 1,800 soldiers from the burning Troopship SS Empress of Asia.[xi]

On 2 March, Yarra was ordered to escort the depot ship Anking, the minesweeper MMS-51 and the tanker Francol to Fremantle from Tjilatjap, Central Java, Indonesia.[xii] On 3 March, forty survivors from the Dutch ship Paragi were rescued by Yarra. Early in the morning of 4 March, the convoy encountered a Japanese fleet: cruisers Atago, Takao and Maya, as well as four destroyers.[xiii] A smokescreen was laid down by Yarra’s commander Robert William Rankin (/explore/people/644335) while the rest of the convoy scattered. Despite the efforts of the Yarra, the entire fleet was sunk. By the time the survivors were rescued by Dutch submarine K XI, only 13 of the total compliment of 151 remained.[xiv]

HMAS Yarra was recognised with two battle honours: “Libya 1941” and “East Indies 1942”.[xv] In 2013, then Governor-General Quinten Bryce announced that a Unit Citation for Gallantry would be retroactively awarded to the ship’s company at the time of the sinking.[xvi]

Visit the Royal Australian Navy for a more detail account of HMAS Yarra’s service: RAN Biography (www.navy.gov.au)

Refrences:

[i] Royal Australian Navy 2022, HMAS Yarra (II), Royal Australian Navy, viewed 3 March 2022, <https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-yarra-ii>.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Bastock, J 1975, Australia's Ships of War, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, p. 132.
[v] Ibid.
[vi] O'Hara, V 2013, Struggle for the Middle Sea, Naval Institute Press, Maryland, p. 103
[vii] Bastock, J 1975, Australia's Ships of War, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, p. 132.
[viii] Ibid.
[ix] Ibid.
[x] Royal Navy
[xi] Bastock, J 1975, Australia's Ships of War, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, p. 132.
[xii] Ibid.
[xiii] Ibid.
[xiv] Royal Australian Navy 2022, HMAS Yarra (II), Royal Australian Navy, viewed 3 March 2022, <https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-yarra-ii>.
[xv] Ibid.
[xvi] Ibid.