HMS WELSHMAN, (minelayer), was sunk off Crete. LCDR L. Gellatly, DSC, RAN was serving in the ship when she was lost, but he survived the sinking. He had been awarded the DSC for service in WELSHMAN in 1942 and was later MID for his fortitude and devotion to duty when the vessel was sunk.
The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS SHEPPARTON, (CMDR C. G. Little, RN), was commissioned at Melbourne. Lady Goudie, (Wife of the Commissioner of Public Works, Victoria), performed the launching ceremony. SHEPPARTON was laid down in Williamstown Dockyard, Melbourne, on 14 November 1941, and launched on 15 August 1942.
The anti-submarine training ship/target ship HMAS BURRA BRA, was commissioned. BURRA BRA was laid down in Mort’s Dock, Sydney, in 1908, as a passenger ferry. She was requisitioned for the RAN on 13 March 1942, and converted for naval service by Poole & Steel Ltd, Sydney.