A group photo of the crew of the Australian Wallaroo corvette (HMAS Wallaroo).
Wallaroo Corvette Commander Lieutenant Eric S. Ross is in the photo. The photo was taken between July 1942 and July 1943.
The Wallaroo corvette, hull number J222, belonged to the Bathurts class.
Wallaroo corvette construction commenced on 24 May 1941, launched on 18 February 1942, and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 15 July 1942.
Wallaroo corvette, main characteristics: displacement – 650 tons. Length – 57 m, width – 9.4 m, draft – 2.6 m. Power plant (2 thousand hp) – one boiler, two screws. The maximum speed is 15 knots. Cruising range – 2850 miles at a speed of 10 knots. The crew is 85 people.
Wallaroo corvette, armament – 102-mm cannon (QF 4 inch Mk XIX) on the bow, three 20-mm automatic anti-aircraft guns “Oerlikon”, up to 40 depth charges.
The Wallaroo corvette escorted Allied sea convoys and conducted anti-submarine patrols on the east coast of Australia.
The Wallaroo corvette sank on the night of July 11, 1943, as a result of a collision with the American freighter SS Henry Gilbert Costin, Liberty class.
The crew of the Australian Wallaroo Corvette photo source: Australian Department of Defense.
Location: Pacific Ocean
Photo time: July 1942 – July 1943