View source for HMAS Torrens (D67)

{{short description|River-class torpedo-boat destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy}}
{{Other ships|HMAS Torrens}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMAS Torrens (AWM H17522).jpg
|Ship caption=HMAS ''Torrens''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Australia
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Australia|naval-1913}}
|Ship namesake=The [[River Torrens]]
|Ship builder=[[Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company]]
|Ship laid down=25 January 1913
|Ship launched=28 August 1915
|Ship commissioned=3 July 1916
|Ship decommissioned=19 July 1920 (to reserve)
|Ship reclassified=Training ship (1920–1925)
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=*'''Battle honour:'''
*[[Adriatic Campaign of World War I|Adriatic]] 1917–18
|Ship fate=Sunk as target 24 November 1930
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class={{sclass2|River|torpedo-boat destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=750 tons
|Ship length=*{{convert|250|ft|9|in|abbr=on}} [[length overall]]
*{{convert|243|ft|abbr=on}} [[between perpendiculars]]
|Ship beam={{convert|24|ft|3.625|in|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship propulsion=3 × Yarrow boilers, Parsons turbines, {{Convert|10000|shp|abbr=on}}, 3 shafts
|Ship speed={{convert|26|kn}}
|Ship range={{convert|2690|nmi}} at {{convert|11.5|kn}}
|Ship complement=5 officers, 67 sailors
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*1 × [[BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII|BL 4-inch Mk VIII gun]]
*3 × [[QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun]]s
*3 × [[.303 British|.303-inch machine guns]]
*3 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (450mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*[[Depth charge]] chutes and throwers (installed later)
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMAS ''Torrens''''', named for the [[River Torrens]], was a {{sclass2|River|torpedo-boat destroyer}} of the [[Royal Australian Navy]] (RAN). The destroyer was built at [[Cockatoo Island Dockyard]] and entered service with the RAN in 1916. The destroyer was first deployed to East Asia, then the Mediterranean, where she remained for the rest of World War I. After returning to Australia, the destroyer was decommissioned, but saw use in several ports for reservist training before the decision to sell her for scrap was made. After being stripped, the destroyer was towed outside [[Sydney Heads]], used for [[Target ship|gunnery practice]], and [[scuttled]].

==Design and construction==
{{Main|River-class torpedo-boat destroyer}}
''Torrens'' was one of six {{sclass2|River|torpedo-boat destroyer}}s built for the RAN.<ref name=Cassells138>Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 138</ref> The destroyer had a displacement of 750 tons, was {{convert|250|ft|9|in}} [[length overall|long overall]] and {{convert|245|ft}} long [[between perpendiculars]], and had a beam of {{convert|24|ft|3.625|in}}.<ref name=Cassells138/> Propulsion machinery consisted of three Yarrow boilers feeding Parsons turbines, which supplied {{convert|10000|shp}} to the ship's three propeller shafts.<ref name=Cassells139>Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 139</ref> Its maximum speed was {{convert|26|kn}}, and maximum range was {{convert|2690|nmi}} at {{convert|11.5|kn}}.<ref name=Cassells138.9>Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', pp. 138–9</ref> The ship's company consisted of 5 officers and 68 sailors.<ref name=Cassells139/>

The destroyer's main armament consisted of a [[BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII|BL 4-inch Mark VIII gun]], and three [[QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun|QF 12-pounder 12 cwt guns]].<ref name=Cassells138/> This was supplemented by three single 18-inch torpedo tubes and three [[.303 British|.303-inch machine guns]].<ref name=Cassells138/> Later in the ship's career, two depth charge throwers and four depth charge chutes were installed.<ref name=Cassells138/>

''Torrens'' was laid down by [[Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company]] at [[Cockatoo Island, New South Wales]] on 25 January 1913.<ref name=Cassells138/><ref name=SPC>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-torrens-i |title=HMAS Torrens (I) |work=Ship Histories |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |access-date=6 May 2011}}</ref> She was launched on 28 August 1915 by the wife of Lord [[Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar|Munro Ferguson]], the [[Governor-General of Australia]].<ref name=Cassells139/> The destroyer was commissioned into the RAN on 3 July 1916, twelve days before construction completed.<ref name=Cassells139/> The ship's name comes from the [[River Torrens]] in South Australia.<ref name=Cassells138/>

==Operational history==
''Torrens'' and sister ship {{HMAS|Swan|D61|2}} were first assigned to the [[British Far East Patrol]].<ref name=Cassells139/> From September 1916 to May 1917, ''Torrens'' operated throughout [[Maritime Southeast Asia]].<ref name=Cassells139/> In June, the destroyer docked at Singapore for a refit.<ref name=Cassells139/> after which ''Torrens'' and the other five River class vessels sailed for the Mediterranean.<ref name=Cassells139/> After escorting a convoy from Port Said to Malta, and refits at the island, ''Torrens'' was assigned to [[Brindisi]] as part of the anti-submarine patrol force.<ref name=Cassells139/> The heavy but monotonous workload forced the destroyer to visit Malta in December for another refit.<ref name=Cassells139/>

On the night of 22–23 April 1919, ''Torrens'' was one of six Allied ships patrolling the Adriatic.<ref name=Cassells139/> A force of five Austrian destroyers attacked, seriously damaging the British destroyers {{HMS|Hornet|1911|2}} and {{HMS|Jackal|1911|2}} before retreating faster than the Allied ships could pursue.<ref>Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', pp. 139–40</ref> Apart from a brief refit at Messina in September–October, ''Torrens'' remained in the region until the end of World War I.<ref name=Cassells140>Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 140</ref> Her wartime service was later recognised with the [[battle honour]] "Adriatic 1917–18".<ref name=newhonours>{{cite news |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours |title=Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours |date=1 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613184920/http://www.navy.gov.au/Navy_Marks_109th_Birthday_With_Historic_Changes_To_Battle_Honours |archive-date=13 June 2011 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |access-date=23 December 2012}}</ref><ref name=honourslist>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf |title=Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours |date=1 March 2010 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614064156/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Units_entitlement_list.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2011 |access-date=23 December 2012}}</ref> After returning to Australia in May 1919, ''Torrens'' was involved in routine duties.<ref name=Cassells140/>

==Decommissioning and fate==
''Torrens'' was paid off into reserve on 19 July 1920.<ref name=Cassells140/> The destroyer was relocated to [[Flinders Naval Depot]] in July 1924, and although not recommissioned, was used for the training of naval reservists.<ref name=Cassells140/> ''Torrens'' was later transferred to Port Adelaide, where she was again used for training until March 1925.<ref name=Cassells140/> The ship returned to Sydney on 11 May, with occasional use for reservist training.<ref name=Cassells140/>

[[File:Sinking of HMAS TORRENS 24 November 1930.jpg|thumb|left|''Torrens'' shortly before being sunk as a target in 1930]]
During the general reduction in naval activity imposed by lack of finance during the [[Great Depression in Australia|Great Depression]], it was decided to scrap ''Torrens'' and her five sister ships.<ref name=Cassells140/> On 24 November 1930, after being stripped of useful materials, ''Torrens'' was towed outside [[Sydney Heads]] by the tug ''Heroic'', and was used for [[Target ship|gunnery target practice]].<ref name=Cassells140/> The destroyer withstood considerable shelling before being scuttled by a charge of [[gelignite]].<ref name=Cassells140/> The wreck lies off Sydney in position {{coord|33|53|54|S|151|39|54|E}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hydro.gov.au/n2m/dumping/cwa/seadumping.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=31 August 2019 |archive-date=20 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420165819/http://hydro.gov.au/n2m/dumping/cwa/seadumping.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{commons category|HMAS Torrens (D67)}}
*{{cite book |last1=Briggs |first1=Mark |title=Warship 2019 |date=2019 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-1-4728-3595-6 |pages=153–167 |editor1-last=Jordan |editor1-first=John |chapter=Australia's First Destroyers}}
*{{cite book |last=Cassells |first=Vic |title=The Destroyers: Their Battles and Their Badges |year=2000 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=East Roseville, NSW |isbn=0-7318-0893-2 |oclc=46829686}}

{{River class TBD}}
{{1930 shipwrecks}}
{{Navbox shipwrecks of New South Wales|Scuttlednsw}}
{{coord|33|53|54|S|151|39|54|E|scale:10000000|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrens (D67)}}
[[Category:River-class torpedo-boat destroyers]]
[[Category:Training ships of the Royal Australian Navy]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1930]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels of New South Wales]]
[[Category:1915 ships]]