HMAS Patricia Cam

HMAS Patricia Cam was an auxiliary vessel operated by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. She was sunk by a Japanese aircraft in 1943.

Construction
The ship was built by G. Beattie, of Brisbane Waters, New South Wales as a trawler for the Sydney fishing company Cam & Sons Pty Ltd in 1940.

Operational history
Following the outbreak of war in the Pacific, the ship was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy for use as an auxiliary minesweeper on 9 February 1942. After commissioning into the RAN on 3 March 1942, HMAS Patricia Cam was based in Darwin, where she was mainly used to transport supplies to small communities and military outposts.

Loss
On 22 January 1943, while near the Wessel Islands off the north coast of the Northern Territory, Patricia Cam was attacked and sunk by a Japanese floatplane. As she sank, the pilot of the Japanese aircraft machine-gunned and bombed the survivors. The aircraft then landed on the water and captured one of the survivors, the Rev. Leonard Kentish, a Methodist missionary. Eight other crew and passengers were killed during the attack. The 13 survivors were rescued by HMAS Kuru on 29 January. Kentish was flown to Dobo in the Aru Islands where he was interrogated, including the frequent use of beatings, for several weeks, before being executed by his captors on or about 4 May.

The vessel's military service was later recognised with the battle honour "Darwin 1942-43".