HMAS Martindale
HMAS
Martindale
 |
| Type |
Motor Yacht / Air Sea Rescue Launch |
|---|---|
| Builder |
RT Searles & Sons, Port Adelaide, Australia |
| Commissioned |
11 July 1941 |
| Decommissioned |
3 June 1945 |
| Dimensions & Displacement | |
| Displacement | 56 tons |
| Length | 66 feet |
| Beam | 14 feet 2 inches |
| Draught | 8 feet |
| Performance | |
| Speed | 9.5 knots |
| Complement | |
| Crew | 8 |
| Propulsion | |
| Machinery | Single 6 cylinder Gardiner diesel engine |
| Horsepower | 110 hp |
| Armament | |
| Guns | Twin .303 Vickers Machine Guns |
| Other Armament | Depth charges |
Martindale, named after Martindale Hall at Mintaro, South Australia, was a motor yacht originally built for an Adelaide family in 1932 and lent to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) free of charge on 13 May 1941. She was subsequently commissioned HMAS Martindale under the command of Warrant Officer William James, RANR(S), on 27 August 1941 as a tender to HMAS Torrens and conducted patrols in the Whyalla area.
She sailed for Sydney in March 1944 to undergo a refit to prepare her for war service in New Guinea. She arrived in Milne Bay on 7 July 1944
Martindale in her merchant vessel configuration.
Martindale served in an air/sea rescue role working in conjunction with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). She also acted as a pilot ship in Madang and Hollandia, and carried out general duties including carrying stores and personnel to outlying ports.
She returned to Australian waters in October 1945 and decommissioned on 3 June 1946 in Adelaide when she was again refitted before being handed back to her original owner. Martindale changed owners several times following the end of the war before falling into disrepair.
In 1984 Martindale was restored by a Sydney businessman in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her departure for New Guinea. Present at the anniversary celebrations were former crew members: Reg Webb (Skipper), Keith Collison, Paddy Malone, Alistair Knox, George Sangster, Don Deany and Ross Gourlay.
