Allied Warships
HMAS Shropshire (83)
Heavy cruiser of the London class
HMAS Shropshire seen here as HMS Shropshire
| Navy | The Royal Australian Navy |
| Type | Heavy cruiser |
| Class | London |
| Pennant | 83 |
| Built by | William Beardmore & Co. (Dalmuir, Scotland) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 24 Feb 1927 |
| Launched | 5 Jul 1928 |
| Commissioned | 20 Apr 1943 |
| End service | 10 Nov 1949 |
| History | Given to Australia by the British government to replace HMAS Canberra. While under refit at Chatham Dockyard she was commissioned as HMAS Shropshire on 20 April 1943. However, the refit occupied many months and it was not until 25 June 1943 that Shropshire was formally handed over to the Royal Australian Navy. Decommissioned to reserve on 10 November 1949. Sold to be broken up for scrap on 16 July 1954. Broken up by Arnott Young at Dalmuir and Troon arriving on 20 January 1955. |
| Former name | HMS Shropshire |
Commands listed for HMAS Shropshire (83)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Cdr. David Hugh Harries, RAN | 28 Dec 1942 | 6 Apr 1943 |
| 2 | Capt. John Augustine Collins, RAN | 7 Apr 1943 | 6 May 1944 |
| 3 | Capt. Henry Arthur Showers, RAN | 6 May 1944 | 25 Sep 1944 |
| 4 | Capt. Charles Alfred Godfrey Nichols, RN | 25 Sep 1944 | 14 Apr 1946 |
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Notable events involving Shropshire include:
27 Jun 1945
In the morning HrMs Tromp (A/Capt. F. Stam, RNN) bombarded Japanese shore guns off Balikpapan.
Later that day Tromp joined Task Force 74.1 which was made up of the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Shropshire (Capt. C.A.G. Nichols, MVO, DSO, RN), the Australian light cruiser HMAS Hobart (Capt. R.S. Dowling, RAN), the Australian destroyer HMAS Arunta (Cdr. A.E. Buchanan, DSO, RAN) and the US destroyers USS Hart (Cdr. W.D. Coleman, USN) and USS Metcalf (Cdr. D.L. Martineau, USN). (1)
Sources
- Files 2.12.03.6855 and 2.12.27.121 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)