See main article: Battle-class destroyer. Tobruk was a Battle-class destroyer.[1] The ship had a standard load displacement of 2,436 tons and a full load displacement of 3,400 tons.[1] She was long overall and long between perpendiculars, had a beam of, and a draught of 13feet.[1] Propulsion machinery consisted of Admiralty 3-drum boilers connected to Parsons geared turbines, which supplied 50000shp to the ship's two propeller shafts.[1] Although designed with a maximum speed of 31.5kn, Tobruk achieved during full-power trials.[1] Maximum range was at, or at .[1] The ship's company consisted of 19 officers and 301 sailors.[1]
Tobruks primary armament consisted of four 4.5adj=onNaNadj=on Mark III guns, fitted forward in two twin turrets.[1] For anti-aircraft defence, the ship carried twelve 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns: three twin mountings on the aft half of the ship, and six single mountings.[1] Two five-tube Pentad torpedo tube sets were carried.[1] Tobruk was also fitted with a Squid anti-submarine mortar.[1]
The ship was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company at their shipyard on Cockatoo Island, New South Wales on 5 August 1946.[1] Tobruk was launched on 20 December 1947 by the wife of Bill Riordan, Minister for the Navy.[1] The destroyer was commissioned into the RAN on 8 May 1950, although she was not completed until 17 May.[1] The ship's name comes from the Siege of Tobruk.[1]
After completing trials and workups, Tobruk was deployed to the Korean War in August 1951.[1] Between October 1951 and January 1952, the destroyer carried out six patrols, primarily serving as an aircraft carrier escort, or performing shore bombardments.[1] Tobruk returned to Australia in February 1952.[1] In October, she was part of the security patrol around the Montebello Islands during Operation Hurricane, the first British nuclear weapons test.[1] In June 1953, Tobruk returned to Korea for a second deployment.[1] Although a ceasefire was signed in July 1953, Tobruk remained in the area until January 1954, then returned to Australia for a refit.[1] Tobruk received the battle honour "Korea 1951–53" for these deployments.[2] [3]
After completing refit, Tobruk operated in the waters of Australia and New Guinea until mid 1955, when she joined several RAN ships in a deployment to South East Asia.[1] In 1956, she was assigned to the Far East Strategic Reserve.[1] A further deployment was made in 1957,[1] during which Tobruk was involved in the Malayan Emergency; this was later recognised with a second battle honour: "Malaya 1957".[1] [2] [3] On 26 April, during night exercises, a star shell fired by landed in one of Tobruks gun bays, killing one sailor and severely wounding another.[4] The destroyer's third and final assignment to the Strategic Reserve occurred during 1959.[1] After a refit during early 1960, Tobruk and several other RAN ships made port visits to Nouméa and New Guinea.[1]
In September 1960, Tobruk was performing gunnery exercises with sister ship off Jervis Bay.[5] A malfunction in Anzacs 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 require lengthy repairs.[5] Temporary repairs were made to Tobruk in Jervis Bay before the ship limped back to Sydney, where she was placed into reserve on 29 October 1960.[1] Two of Anzacs crew were charged over the incident.[5]
Repairing the destroyer was considered uneconomical, and she remained moored until the ship was marked for disposal on 14 May 1971.[1] Tobruk was sold for scrap to Fujita Salvage Company Limited of Osaka, Japan on 15 February 1972, and departed Sydney under tow on 10 April 1972.[6]