HMAS Barcoo (K375)

HMAS Barcoo (K375/F375/A245) was a River class frigate that served the Royal Australian Navy from 1944–1964.

She was named for the Barcoo River in Queensland and was one of twelve River class frigates built for the RAN during World War II. The vessel logged 342579 nmi in her career.

Construction
Barcoo was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company, Ltd., Sydney on 21 October 1942, and launched on 26 August of the following year by the wife of Richard Keane, the Minister for Trade and Customs. Barcoo was commissioned at Sydney on 17 January 1944.

World War II
After several weeks of working up, Barcoo was tasked to New Guinea in March 1944 for convoy escort duty. That year, the ship also participated in the bombardments of Japanese Army positions in eastern New Guinea, rescued two downed American P-47 Thunderbolt pilots, and conducted convoy escort and patrol duties in the waters around New Guinea. The frigate's last hostile action occurred on 3 August 1945, during a bombardment of the village of Soengaipaten in Borneo.

Barcoo received the three battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1944–45", "New Guinea 1944", and "Borneo 1945".

Post-war
In August 1946, Barcoo was refitted as a survey vessel. During her remaining career, she carried the pennant numbers F375 and A245 at various times.

On 11 April 1948, Barcoo ran aground at West Beach, South Australia, during a violent storm. Initial attempts to refloat the ship failed, but Barcoo was able to pull herself off the beach after a channel was dug behind the destroyer, and she had been lightened by the removal of stores and fuel. HMAS Warrego (U70) towed Barcoo to Adelaide for inspection and repairs.

She logged approximately 54000 nmi on survey duty, before being retired from service in 1949. She was reactivated for survey duties from 1952–1956 and from 1959–1964.

Decommissioning and fate
Barcoo was decommissioned from the RAN on 21 February 1964. She was sold on 15 February 1972 to N. W. Kennedy, Ltd., Vancouver for scrap. She was later scrapped in Taiwan.