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HMAS Quickmatch (G92)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Quickmatch (G92/D21/D292/F04), named for the quick-match, a fast burning match used for lighting cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, was a Q class destroyer
Q and R class destroyer
The Q and R class was a class of sixteen War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered for the British Royal Navy in 1940 as the 3rd and 4th Emergency Flotilla. They served as convoy escorts during World War II. Three Q class ships were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy upon completion, with...
operated by the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
(RAN). Although commissioned into the RAN in 1942, the ship was initially the property of the Royal Navy. Quickmatch served with both the British Eastern Fleet
British Eastern Fleet
The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...
and British Pacific Fleet
British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...
during World War II. In the 1950s, the destroyer was converted into an anti-submarine frigate. In 1957, Quickmatch operated in support of Malaya during the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
. The ship remained in service until 1963, and after use as an accommodation ship, was sold for scrap
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
in 1972.
Design and construction
Quickmatch was one of eight Q class destroyersQ and R class destroyer
The Q and R class was a class of sixteen War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered for the British Royal Navy in 1940 as the 3rd and 4th Emergency Flotilla. They served as convoy escorts during World War II. Three Q class ships were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy upon completion, with...
constructed as a flotilla under the War Emergency Programme
War Emergency Programme destroyers
The War Emergency Programme destroyers were 112 destroyers built for the British Royal Navy during World War II. They were based on the hull and machinery of the earlier J, K and N class destroyer. Due to supply problems and the persistent failure by the Royal Navy to develop a suitable...
. She had a standard displacement of 1,750 tons, and a deep load displacement of 2,420 tons. Quickmatch was358 in 3 in (109.19 m) long overall, and 339 in 6 in (103.48 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 35 in 8 in (10.87 m). Propulsion was provided by two Admiralty 3-drum boilers connected to Parsons Impulse turbines, which generated 40000 shp for the propeller shafts. Quickmatch had a maximum speed of 31 knots (16.9 m/s). The ship's company consisted of 220 officers and sailors.
Main armament consisted of four QF 4.7 inch Mk IX guns in single turrets. This was supplemented by a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom, and six 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. Four depth-charge throwers were fitted, with a payload of 70 charges carried, and two quadruple 21-inch torpedo tube sets were fitted, although a maximum of eight torpedoes were carried.
The ship was laid down by J. Samuel White and Company Limited at their shipyard in Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
, on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, on 6 February 1941. She was launched on 11 April 1942 by the wife of the company's deputy chairman. Quickmatch was commissioned into the RAN on 14 September 1942. Despite being commissioned into the RAN, Quickmatch remained the property of the British government until the early 1950s, when she was gifted to the RAN. The ship's name came from the quick match, a fast burning match used for lighting cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
.
World War II
From October 1942, Quickmatch operated as a convoy escort vessel; initially in British waters, then in the South Atlantic, then in the Indian Ocean. While in the Indian Ocean, the ship was assigned to a force dedicated to covering convoys between the Gulf of Aden and India. In May 1944, the destroyer joined the British Eastern FleetBritish Eastern Fleet
The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...
. Shortly after, the destroyer formed part of the carrier screen during Operation Transom
Operation Transom
Operation Transom was a major bombing raid on Japanese targets at Surabaya, Java by American and British planes on 17 May 1944 during World War II....
, an air raid on Japanese-held Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
. This role was repeated in June during an air attack on the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
.
In October, Quiberon arrived in Australia for a refit. After this, she remained in Australian waters until March 1945, when she was reassigned to the British Pacific Fleet
British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...
. As part of this force, Quiberon took part in operations in support of the American seizure of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
and attacks on the Japanese home islands
Japan campaign
The Japan Campaign was a series of battles and engagements in and around the Japanese Home Islands, between Allied forces and the forces of Imperial Japan during the last stages of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The Japan Campaign lasted from around June 1944 to August 1945.-Air war:Periodic...
. The ship received six battle honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
s for her wartime service: "English Channel 1942", "Atlantic 1943", "Indian Ocean 1943-44", "Sabang 1944", "Pacific 1944-45", and "Okinawa 1945".
Post-war and frigate conversion
Over the following years, '"Quickmatch made several deployments to Japanese and Korean waters, with the rest of her time spent operating around Australia. On 15 May 1950, Quickmatch paid off for a major refit in which she was converted to an anti-submarine frigate at WilliamstownWilliamstown, Victoria
Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Williamstown had a population of 12,733....
Naval Dockyard in Victoria. She was recommissioned on 23 September 1955.
Post-conversion career
In 1957, Quickmatch operated in support of Malaya during the Malayan EmergencyMalayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
. She was later awarded her seventh battle honour, "Malaya 1957", for this.
Decommissioning and fate
Quickmatch performed routine duties until she paid off to reserve at Williamstown on 26 April 1963. After paying off she served as an accommodation ship until she sold for scrap to the Fujita Salvage Company Limited of OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
in Japan on 15 February 1972. The ship departed Melbourne for Japan under tow on 6 July 1972.