HMAS Protector (1884)
As built :
1 x BL 8-inch (203.2 mm) Mk VII gun
5 x BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) 80-pounder guns
4 x QF 3-pounder guns
5 x Gatling guns
From 1914 :
3 x QF 4-inch Mk III guns
2 x QF 12 pounder guns
HMCS/HMAS Protector was a large flat-iron gunboat commissioned and purchased by the South Australian government in 1884, for the purpose of defending the local coastline against possible attacks in the aftermath of the ‘Russian scare', of 1870s. She arrived in Adelaide in September 1884 and subsequently served in the Boxer Rebellion, World War I and World War II.
During July 1943, Protector was requisitioned for war service by the US Army. On the way to New Guinea and off Gladstone, she was damaged in a collision with a tug and abandoned. The hull was subsequently taken to Heron Island off the Queensland coast and later sunk for use as a breakwater. Her rusting remains are still visible to this day.
Read more about HMAS Protector (1884): Description and Armament, Operational History, Present Day
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