HMAS Kanimbla (C78)

HMAS Kanimbla was a passenger ship converted for use as an armed merchant cruiser and landing ship infantry during World War II. Built during the mid-1930s as the passenger liner MV Kanimbla for McIlwraith McEachern Limited, the ship operated in Australian waters until 1939, when she was requisitioned for military service, converted into an armed merchant cruiser, and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Kanimbla.

Initially used to board and take control of merchant vessels belonging to Occupied Europe and operating in Asian waters, Kanimbla led the raid to capture the Iranian port of Bandar Shahpur in August 1941, and was present during the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942. In 1943, the ship was converted into a Landing Ship Infantry, transferred to the Royal Australian Navy, and operated throughout the South West Pacific Theatre until the end of the war.

Kanimbla was decommissioned and returned to her commercial owners in 1950. In 1961, she was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed Oriental Queen. The ship operated as a liner throughout the Pacific and to Japan until 1973, when she was broken up for scrap

Construction
The ship was laid down as motor vessel (MV) Kanimbla for McIlwraith McEachern Limited by Harland and Wolff Limited at Belfast in Northern Ireland in July 1933. She was launched on 15 December 1935 and completed on 26 April 1936.

The ship was named for the Kanimbla Valley, west of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

Pre-war
The ship operated a passenger service between Cairns, Queensland and Fremantle, Western Australia until the outbreak of World War II.

World War II
At the start of the war, Kanimbla was converted to an armed merchant cruiser at Sydney. She commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Kanimbla, though with a largely Australian crew, on 6 September 1939. The ship was assigned the pennant number F23.

Kanimbla was engaged in patrolling the coasts of Asia and boarding vessels of the countries of occupied Europe so that they could be taken into "Allied control".

On 24 August 1941, Kanimbla led a raid to capture the Iranian port of Bandar Shahpur. The ship led seven other vessels, including the gunboat HMS Cockchafer (1915), the corvette HMS Snapdragon (K10), the naval trawler HMT Arthur Cavannagh, the sloop, an oil rig tugboat, and a dhow. In addition, Kanimbla carried 300 Indian troops, including Gurkhas and soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 10th Baluch Regiment, whose task was to board and capture the German cargo ship Hohenfels. Kanimbla used her armament in support of the raid, which resulted in the securing of the railhead, and the capture of eight Axis merchantmen, two gunboats, and a floating dock were captured as well as the railhead.

Kanimbla was one of several Allied vessels located in Sydney Harbour during the attack by Japanese midget submarines on 31 May 1942.

She arrived back in Sydney on 2 April 1943, was converted to a Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Kanimbla on 1 June 1943. She received the pennant number C78. In this configuration, she could carry 1,380 troops, and carried 10 LCA landing craft.

The ship earned five battle honours for her wartime service: "New Guinea 1944", "Leyte Gulf 1944", "Lingayen Gulf 1945", "Borneo 1945", and "Pacific 1945".

Post-war
Kanimbla paid off at Sydney on 25 March 1949 and was returned to her owners on 13 December 1950. In 1961, the ship was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed Oriental Queen. Oriental Queen served as a liner visiting various Pacific islands, and served on the Yokohama – Guam route. Her final voyage concluded in Yokohama on 6 October 1973. She was laid up, sold to Taiwanese breakers, and delivered to Kaohsiung on 7 December 1973 for scrapping.