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HMAS ''Australia'' was one of three s built for the defence of the British Empire. Ordered by the Australian government in 1909, she was launched in 1911, and commissioned as flagship of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1913. ''Australia'' was the only capital ship ever to serve in the RAN. At the start of World War I, ''Australia'' was tasked with finding and destroying the German East Asia Squadron, which was prompted to withdraw from the Pacific by the battlecruiser's presence. Repeated diversions to support the capture of German colonies in New Guinea and Samoa, as well as an overcautious Admiralty, prevented the battlecruiser from engaging the German squadron before the latter's destruction. ''Australia'' was then assigned to North Sea operations, which consisted primarily of patrols and exercises, until the end of the war. During this time, ''Australia'' was involved in early attempts at naval aviation, and 11 of her personnel participated in the Zeebrugge Raid. The battlecruiser was not at the Battle of Jutland, as she was undergoing repairs following a collision with sister ship . ''Australia'' only ever fired in anger twice: at a German merchant vessel in January 1915, and at a suspected submarine contact in December 1917. On her return to Australian waters, several sailors aboard the warship mutinied after a request for an extra day's leave in Fremantle was denied, although other issues played a part in the mutiny, including minimal leave during the war, problems with pay, and the perception that Royal Navy personnel were more likely to receive promotions than Australian sailors. Post-war budget cuts saw ''Australia''s role downgraded to a training ship before she was placed in reserve in 1921. The disarmament provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty required the destruction of ''Australia'' as part of the British Empire's commitment, and she was scuttled off Sydney Heads in 1924. ==Design== The ''Indefatigable'' class of battlecruisers were based heavily on the preceding . The main difference was that the ''Indefatigable''s design was enlarged to give the ships' two wing turrets a wider arc of fire. As a result, the ''Indefatigable'' class was not a significant improvement on the ''Invincible'' design; the ships were smaller and not as well protected as the contemporary German battlecruiser and subsequent German designs. While ''Von der Tann''s characteristics were not known when the lead ship of the class, , was laid down in February 1909, the Royal Navy obtained accurate information on the German ship before work began on ''Australia'' and her sister ship .〔Roberts, ''Battlecruisers'', pp. 28–29〕 ''Australia'' had an overall length of , a beam of , and a maximum draught of .〔Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', pp. 16–7〕 She displaced at load and at deep load.〔Roberts, ''Battlecruisers'', pp. 43–44〕 The Parsons direct-drive steam turbines were designed to produce , which would propel the ship at . However, during trials in 1913, ''Australia'' turbines provided , allowing her to reach . ''Australia'' carried approximately of coal, and an additional of fuel oil; this was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate.〔Roberts, ''Battlecruisers'', pp. 76, 80〕 ''Australia'' carried eight BL 12-inch Mark X guns in four BVIII * twin turrets; the largest guns fitted to any Australian warship.〔 Two turrets were mounted fore and aft on the centreline, identified as 'A' and 'X' respectively. The other two were wing turrets mounted amidships and staggered diagonally: 'P' was forward and to port of the centre funnel, while 'Q' was situated starboard and aft.〔 Each wing turret had some limited ability to fire to the opposite side. Her secondary armament consisted of sixteen BL 4-inch Mark VII guns positioned in the superstructure.〔Roberts, ''Battlecruisers'', pp. 81–84〕 She mounted two submerged tubes for 18-inch torpedoes, one on each side aft of 'X' barbette, and 12 torpedoes were carried.〔Campbell, ''Battle Cruisers'', p. 14〕 ''Australia''s 'A' turret was fitted with a rangefinder at the rear of the turret roof. It was also equipped to control the entire main armament, in case normal fire control positions were knocked out or rendered incommunicado.〔Roberts, ''Battlecruisers'', pp. 90–91〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMAS Australia (1911)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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