HMAS Anzac (D59) - Operational History

Operational History

At the end of July 1951, Anzac left Australian waters for her first deployment to the Korean War. Arriving in Japan on 14 August, the destroyer was assigned as an escort to the United States Navy (USN) escort carrier USS Sicily and operated off the west coast of Korea. Sicily was replaced by the Royal Navy (RN) light carrier HMS Glory on 2 September, and on 6 September, Anzac was ordered to shell a suspected communist position near Haeju; firing in anger for the first time at 18:15 hours. During 12–26 September, Anzac led US Ships Thompson and Naifeh in a blockade of Wosan, before returning to Japanese waters at the end of the month.

Her first Korean tour completed, Anzac escorted HMS Glory to Sydney, where they arrived on 20 October. The destroyer then proceeded to Melbourne for a refit, which lasted until the end of 1951, and remained in Australian waters until deploying with the cruiser HMAS Australia in April 1952 for a training cruise through Maritime Southeast Asia. After undergoing another, brief refit, Anzac rejoined the Korean War effort, and spent most of September patrolling the west coast of Korea, then joined the escort screen of the RN light carrier Ocean at the start of October. After a short break in Kure, the destroyer was assigned to patrols and shore bombardments on the west coast until 19 December, when she relieved HMCS Haida and assumed responsibility for the defence of Yongdo Island. Herself relieved on 3 January 1953, Anzac returned to the west coast of Korea, where she resumed patrols and bombardments. Apart from a brief stint on the east coast shelling supply lines and a visit to Tokyo to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Anzac operated off the west coast until 13 June; the conclusion of her second Korean tour. Anzac arrived in Sydney on 3 July.

For her two tours, Anzac was awarded the battle honour "Korea 1951–53". During these tours, the ship's company often found themselves mistaken for British warships, as the RAN ensign at the time was identical to the British White Ensign. To counteract this, the executive officer acquired the largest sheet of brass he could find, and had the kangaroo design from the reverse of the Australian penny cut from the sheet, which was then mounted to the top of the mainmast as a 'weathervane'. This method of identification was later adopted across the RAN: all surface ships now bear a red kangaroo symbol on each side of their exhaust funnels or superstructure.

In February 1954, Anzac was assigned as escort ship during the visit of members of the British Royal Family.

Anzac operated during the Malayan Emergency. Following an overhaul of the RAN battle honours system, the destroyer was retroactively awarded a second honour to recognise this: "Malaya 1956".

In September 1960, Anzac was performing gunnery exercises with sister ship HMAS Tobruk. A malfunction in Anzac's gun direction equipment negated the deliberate 6° mis-aiming of her guns, with the resulting shell hitting Tobruk and doing enough damage to the destroyer to make repairs uneconomical. Two of Anzac's personnel were charged by the Naval Board, while Tobruk was decommissioned a month later.

During February and March 1963, Anzac again served as escort ship during a visit by members of the Royal Family. In April, the destroyer was refitted and reclassified for use as a training ship.