2 January 1940
In 1933, the British Admiralty transferred five destroyers to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN):
- the destroyer flotilla leader HMS Stuart
- HMS Vampire
- HMS Vendetta
- HMS Voyager
- HMS Waterhen.
They were to replace the RAN’s obsolete S-class destroyer fleet. The destroyers would become famous as the ‘Scrap Iron Flotilla’.
With the outbreak of war, the destroyer flotilla was under the command of Commander Hector ‘Hec’ Waller RAN in HMAS Stuart. The flotilla joined operations with the British Mediterranean Fleet. Although they had replaced an outdated fleet, the ships had been constructed during the First World War. As such, they were on the verge of obsolescence themselves.
Upon their arrival in the Mediterranean, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, labelled them ‘scrap iron’. In true Australian fashion, the men of the flotilla took the name as their own and bore it with pride.
From 2 January 1940, the Scrap Iron Flotilla was almost constantly at sea. If not operating with the fleet, it was on the never-ceasing duty of escort and patrol. It took part in the major campaigns in:
- North Africa
- Greece
- Crete
- Syria.
The flotilla also took part in the Battle of Calabria, and supported Australian troops during the siege of Tobruk.
On 29 June 1941, HMAS Waterhen was attacked by enemy dive bombers. It was severely damaged by several near misses, sinking early the following morning. There were no casualties.
The remaining ships of the flotilla returned to Australia in September 1941. They continued to provide valuable service in the south Pacific and Indian oceans.
HMAS Vampire was operating off the coast of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) with the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. It came under attack by Japanese dive bombers on the morning of 9 April 1942. Hermes sank first, with the loss of over 300 lives. Vampire shot down one Japanese aircraft and damaged others before it was hit by several bombs and broke in half, sinking in less than 10 minutes.
Nine crew members were killed, including commanding officer Commander William Moran RAN. Survivors were rescued by the hospital ship Vita, local fishing vessels and a few managed to swim ashore.
On 23 September 1942, during the Timor Campaign, HMAS Voyager ran aground at Betano Bay while disembarking troops at night. The stranded vessel came under repeated enemy air attack on the following day. By the evening, there was no alternative but to destroy the ship. HMA Ships Kalgoorlie and Warrnambool safely evacuated Voyager's crew.
Stuart and Vendetta both survived the war.