HMAS Whang Pu

SS Whang Pu in civilian service
History
Owner China Navigation Company
Operator
Port of registryUnited Kingdom London
BuilderTaikoo Dockyard, Hong Kong
Launched1920
Acquired31 December 1941
Commissioned1 October 1943
Decommissioned22 April 1946
FateSold to shipbreakers 1949
General characteristics
TypePassenger & cargo liner
Displacement3204 GRT
Length320 ft (98 m)
Beam46.5 ft (14.2 m)
Draught22.3 ft (6.8 m)
PropulsionTriple-expansion steam reciprocating engines driving twin screws
Speed10 knots (19 km/h)

HMAS Whang Pu (FY-03), previously Wang Phu, was a 3,204 ton riverboat of the China Navigation Company that was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in World War II. Her Chinese name translates to "Happy Times". She was one of the Allied Chinese Ships requisitioned for the RAN in similar circumstances.

Pre-war service

Wang Phu was built by the Taikoo Dockyard, Hong Kong in 1920 for the China Navigation Company (CNC). Both Taikoo Dockyard and CNC were owned by John Swire & Sons.

War service

Whang Pu after escaping the Battle of Singapore

The Admiralty requisitioned Whang Pu on 31 December 1941 and work started at Singapore to convert her into a submarine depot ship for the Royal Navy. However, this coincided with the Japanese invasion of Malaya and in January 1942 work on Wang Phu was stopped. She sailed to Fremantle, Western Australia where she served as a depot ship for Royal Netherlands Navy submarine and minesweeper crews.

She was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 1 October 1943 as HMAS Whang Pu and fitted out in Melbourne as a mobile repair ship. She served in New Guinea waters and later at Morotai in the Dutch East Indies as a stores ship. After the war she sailed to Hong Kong where she was paid off on 22 April 1946 and returned to her owners.

Post-war

She was then used as an accommodation ship, and in November 1949 was sold for breaking up.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships" (PDF). Lloyd's Register. 1937–38. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  2. ↑ Harnack, Edwin P (1938) [1903]. All About Ships & Shipping (7th ed.). London: Faber & Faber. p. 444.
  3. 1 2 3 "HMAS Whang Pu". Allied Chinese Ships WWII. Allied Chinese Ships Association. Archived from the original on 28 October 2003. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Swiggum, S; Kohli, M (28 July 2010). "China Navigation Company". The Ships List. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  5. ↑ The archives of John Swire & Sons Ltd (including the papers of the Taikoo Dockyard and the China Navigation Company Ltd) are held at the SOAS University of London, London, http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/archives/
  6. 1 2 Gillett, Ross (1977). Warships of Australia. Rigby. p. 255. ISBN 0 7270 0472 7.