HMAS Albatross (1928)

HMAS Albatross began her first cruise a week after commissioning, visiting Tasmania and Victoria.[2] On 11 April 1929, the ship was sent from Sydney to off Wyndham, Western Australia to search for Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and the Southern Cross, which had disappeared while en route to England.[2] Before the ship could reach the area, Smith was found, having made an emergency landing near the Glenelg River.[2][8]

A Seagull III amphibian being manoeuvred towards the hangar hatch following recovery

In November 1931, the ship's engines were damaged by sabotage.[9] This occurred again in September 1932.[9] The acts of sabotage were attributed to widespread unrest among the sailors at the time; the RAN claimed at the time that Communist influence was the cause, although Tom Frame and Kevin Baker ascribe it to Depression-era pay cuts and retrentions, which were more likely to be forced onto sailors than officers.[9]

From December 1931, Albatross was refitted, recommissioning as a gunnery training ship early in 1932, and on 19 March 1932, took part in the ceremonial opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.[10]

Albatross in 1938

On 26 April 1933, Albatross was decommissioned into reserve and anchored in Sydney Harbour, although seaplanes continued to operate from the ship.[2][11] In 1938, with the Australian government experiencing difficulties in funding the purchase of the light cruiser Hobart, the Admiralty agreed to accept Albatross as part payment for Hobart (266,500 pounds was credited against the cruiser's purchase price).[2] The seaplane carrier was recommissioned on 19 April for the voyage to England, and departed on 11 July,[2] with the ship's company transferring to Hobart on arrival.

There was originally little need for a seaplane carrier in the Royal Navy, as several aircraft carriers were operational, and most warships from cruiser size up carried their own seaplanes.[2] After arrival in Britain Albatross was commissioned at Devonport as a trials ship, but in December that year, she was paid off. The ship's catapult was removed, and she was employed as an Accommodation ship.[10] However, the loss of the aircraft carriers Courageous and Glorious early in World War II created scope for the ship's use.[2] Albatross was assigned to Freetown in western Africa, where she and her aircraft were used for convoy escort, anti-submarine warfare, and air-sea rescue in the Atlantic.[2]

In May 1942, Albatross was transferred to the Indian Ocean to bolster trade protection there with the Eastern Fleet based at Kilindini, and in September provided air support for landings at Mayotte, during the Madagascan campaign.[12] After this, trade protection duties were resumed and continued until July 1943 (apart from refits at Durban and Bombay). Albatross then returned to Britain, where, in September, she was paid off.[12]

From October 1943 until early 1944, Albatross underwent major conversion, to a Landing Ship – Engineering (LSE), to support the Normandy landings.[2][12] She was initially deployed in the Thames estuary as part of the deceptions to divert enemy attention away from Normandy, but on 8 June 1944, she was moved to Gooseberry 5, off Sword Beach at Ouistreham to provide repair facilities and supply anti-aircraft and bombardment support.[12] Her allocation immediately followed the assault and coincided with the "great storm" that disrupted Allied plans.[12] Her repair duties at Sword saved 79 craft from total loss and returned 132 more to service off the beachhead.[12] In July, Albatross returned to Portsmouth for replenishment and to rest her crew and, on return to Normandy, she was reallocated to Juno Beach.[12]

On 11 August, while off Courseulles-sur-Mer, Albatross was hit by a torpedo which inflicted major structural damage and killed 66 of the ship's company.[2][12] Albatross was withdrawn from service and towed to Portsmouth by the Dutch tug Zwart Zee.[12] Her repairs lasted until early 1945.[12] After a brief spell as a minesweeper depot ship, she was paid off into reserve on 3 August 1945.[12]

Hellenic Prince photographed between 1949 and 1951

Albatross was sold to a British company on 19 August 1946 for commercial use.[2][13] The plan was to originally convert her into a luxury liner, but as the refurbishment was financially prohibitive, it was instead proposed that she be renamed Pride of Torquay and used as a floating cabaret at Torquay.[14] Before this went through, the ship was purchased on 14 November 1948 by the British-Greek Yannoulatos Group, and was renamed Hellenic Prince to recognise the birth of Prince Charles on that day, and his Greek heritage.[13][15] The vessel was converted into a passenger liner at Barry in Wales.[15]

In 1949, she was chartered by the International Refugee Organisation as a refugee transport to relocate displaced persons from Europe to Australia.[15] On 5 December 1949, Hellenic Prince arrived in Sydney Harbour with 1,000 passengers.[15]

In 1953, Hellenic Prince was used as a troopship during the Mau Mau uprising.[15] The ship's career finally ended when she was scrapped at Hong Kong on 12 August 1954.[13][15]

• Australian Naval Aviation Museum (ANAM) (1998). Flying Stations: A Story of Australian Naval Aviation. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-846-8. OCLC 39290180.
• Cassells, Vic (2000). The Capital Ships: Their Battles and Their Badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7318-0941-6. OCLC 48761594.
• Frame, Tom; Baker, Kevin (2000). Mutiny! Naval Insurrections in Australia and New Zealand. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-351-8. OCLC 46882022.
• Hobbs, David (1996). Aircraft Carriers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies: The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia from World War I to the Present. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-252-1.
• Molkentin, Michael (2012). Flying the Southern Cross: Aviators Charles Ulm and Charles Kingsford Smith. National Library Australia. ISBN 9780642277466.
• Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-117-7.

• "Conversion for Peace No. 3 – HMS Albatross". Marine News Supplement: Warships. 76 (2): S99–S101. February 2022. ISSN 0966-6958.

• Mason, Geoffrey (2005). "HMS Albatross". Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
• "HMAS Albatross (I)". HMA Ship Histories. Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 8 June 2013.