二次世界大戰資料庫 (WW2DB)

Contributor: Alan Chanter

ww2dbaseBataan was the only Tribal-Class Destroyer not to be named after a people or nation of the British Empire. On the 9th of Auguist 1942 the Australian cruiser Canberra was sunk whilst operating with US forces at the battle of Savo Island. To honour of the brave fight that the Canberra had put up the USN decided to name one of their new cruisers Canberra. To return the compliment the Australians decreed that the Destroyer Kurnai, at that time under construction, should be renamed Bataan, in honour of US General Douglas MacArthur who had spent much of the war based in Australia.

ww2dbaseBataan's wartime career was rather brief. In July 1945, commanded by Cdr H.M. Burrell RAN, she joined Task Force 74 in Subic Bay in order to participate in the final assault on the Japanese mainland. With the surrender however, she sailed as part of the occupation force and was present at the formal signing of surrender in Tokyo Bay on the 2nd September 1945.

ww2dbasePost War, Bataan saw considerable service during the Korean Conflict, but in 1954 was placed in reserve, pending conversion to an Anti-submarine escort. This conversion was canceled in 1957 and Bataan was sold to the Japanese firm Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha Limited for scrap during the following year.

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Bataan (Tribal-class) Operational Timeline

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2.  Alan Chanter says:
13 Sep 2015 11:14:39 PM

Re: Previous comment. Returning to Korean waters in early 1952, HMAS Bataan (Cdr W.S. Bracegirdle, DSC, RAN) was straddled by five 76mm shells off Taedong-Man. Four were near misses, but one hit aft, wrecking the captain's cabin and ruining his old frock coat. Rear Admiral Scott-Moncrieff made him a signal expressng sympathy for the loss of his tail. This was not the first time that Bataan was engaged by shore batteries. Off Haeju-Man, on the west coast of Korea, on 1st August 1950 she had been shelled by communist artillery. The Cruiser, HMS Belfast, arrived to assist, adding her 6-in shells to Bataan's retaliatory bombardment.