- Author
- Nesdale, Iris
- Subjects
- RAN operations, Ship histories and stories, Post WWII
- Tags
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- RAN Ships
- HMAS Anzac II, HMAS Culgoa, HMAS Shoalhaven, HMAS Bataan, HMAS Warramunga I, HMAS Tobruk I, HMAS Sydney III, HMAS Murchison, HMAS Condamine
- Publication
- June 2007 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
Australian warships that took part in the Korean War for varying periods from 1951‑53 included the following:
| 1xAircraft Carrier | HMAS Sydney, Captain David H. Harries, CB, RAN |
| 4xDestroyers | HMAS Anzac, Cmdr John Plunkett-Cole, RAN HMAS Bataan, Cmdr William B. M. Marks, DSC, RAN; Cmdr W. S. Bracegirdle, DSC, RAN HMAS Tobruk, Cmdr Richard I Peek, OBE, DSC, RAN HMAS Warramunga, Captain O. H. Becher, DSO, DSC and Bar, RAN |
| 4xFrigates | HMAS Culgoa, Lt-Cmdr Domara A. H. Clark, DSC, RAN HMAS Condamine, Lt-Cmdr Robert C. Savage, DSC, RAN HMAS Murchison, Lt-Cmdr Alan N. Dollard, DSC, RAN HMAS Shoalhaven, Cmdr Ian A. McDonald, RAN |
By the time the two Tribals returned to Australia, HMAS Bataan had steamed 98 000 nautical miles, and HMAS Warramunga had steamed 112 000 nautical miles
It had been recognised very soon that the ships would have extremely difficult weather conditions to contend with. There were the wintry low temperatures with decks dangerously slippery, rigging coated with ice, and the water below frozen into closely packed floating ‘pancake’ ice. Beyond anything to the north, the men still remember the freezing temperatures of Korea.