(WW2H1) World War II - New Guinea
H. Ships that carried Australian and
United States troops to New
Guinea
on
individual voyages: 1942 to 1945
1. Australian and British Ships
2. Dutch Ships
3. U.S. Ships
H1. Australian and British Ships

http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/302920
Anhui (China Navigation
Company
awm
photo
(aerial view,
- scs
3494gt 1925 Hong Kong
wartime grey)
1925 on
Hong Kong Swatow-
ID No. 302920
Manila-
Singapore service -
slsa
photo (peace time
1941
(Dec. 10) arrived Manila from
livery)
Hongkong
and moored off the U.S.N.
Image No.
PRG
1324/1325
Cavite submarine base. Had near
miss in Japanese air attack on Cavite
that afternoon.
(Dec. 12) left
for Darwin.
1942 (Feb 20) two
days after
bombing of Darwin - left with a
naval escort carrying arms amd
munitions to Cebu in the Philippines
Grounded in the dark of Leyte but
came off 3 days later. Landed her
supplies on Cebu and returned to
Australia. Carried troops from
Brisbane to New Guinea,
Dec. 1942 - March 1943 one
of
the
vessels carrying troops and
supplies to Oro Bay on the East
Coast of New Guinea in Operation
Lilliput.
1946, returned
to China Navigation
1950 (June) struck a
mine off
Swatow, made port but was
further
damaged in a Nationalist air attack
Sold
to Moller's towage.
(Sep) towed to Hong
Kong.
Scrapped.

From the
"Old Ship Picture Galleries"
Anshun (China
Navigation Company) -
awm photo (on
her side at
scm
3188gt 1930 Greenock
Milne
Bay after being
1939,
requisitioned by Royal Navy,
shelled and sunk
by a
store issuing ship at Freetown, Sierra
Japanese cruiser)
Leonesc
ID
No. 106679
1941 (Dec 10)
at Manila, damaged
slsa photo (in
peace time
by
bombs in Japanese air attack.
livery)
Moved to
Indonesia.
Image No.
PRG 1324//1413
1942 (March),
reached Fremantle.
slv photo (Culcairn
ex-Anshun,
Became HMAS Anshun and store
after salvage,
repairs and sale)
issuing ship there. June, transferred
Image No. b39439
to US
Army for same duties.
(Sep 6) at
Milne Bay,
sunk
alongside jetty by shell fire
from a
Japanese cruiser.
1944
(June) salvaged and towed
to Sydney
and laid up.
!946 sold
to James Patrick & Co Ltd
1948,
entered service r/n Culcairn.
1962 sold
to Panamanian company
1964 r/n
Lombok and used as
livestock
carrier on charter to
Indonesia.
1966 severely
damaged by fire
at
Surabaya, Scrapped

From
Dickson Gregory's "Australian Steamships Past and Present"
Canberra (Melbourne
Steamship Co.)
nla
photo (peace
twscs
7707gt 1913 Glasgow
time
livery)
Built
for the Australian coastal
nla.pic-vn3257581
passenger trade
sln album 9 photos
1917-1919
reqistioned as a
(including one art
troopship
postcard - peace
1920
resumed
coastal passenger
time livery)
service
Digital Order No.
1939-1947 under Shipping
Contrller
a636684
1943
(Jul) with Duntroon and Taroona
slv photo uw
(peace
carried a brigade of troops to New
time livery)
Guinea
Image No.
gr000637
1947 (Aug) sold
to Singapore buyers
and re-sold to the Greesk
Line
1954 sold
to the Dominican Republic
1959 scrapped
Duntroon (Melbourne Steamship
Co.)
See (WW2B)
above
twscm 10340gt 1935 Newcastle

Hanyang & Anshun -
http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/303365
Hanyang (China
Navigation Co.)-
awm photo (moored
scs 2852gt 1940 Hong Kong
alongside Anshun)
1942-1945 Australian
Government
ID No. 303365
supply
ship to Port Moresby
1943 damaged
in Japanese air
attack off Milne Bay.
1964 sold
to Chinese company.
1969 scrapped
Katoomba (McIlwraith McEacharn)
-
See (WW2B)
above
trscm
9424gt 1913 Belfast
Lorinna (W.Holyman
& Sons) -
awm photo (starboard
scm 1185gt 1938 Grangemouth
bow
view)
1942 (Dec)-1943 (Jun)
ID
No. 303546
Operation
Lilliput, took part
Photo
from the "Old Ship
Picture Galleries"
Macdhui (Burns Philp) -
slv photo uw (peace
time
scm
4561gt 1931 Glasgow
livery with black hull)
1942
(Jun) bombed and sunk
Image No. a25372
at
Port Moresby
slq photo (approaching
wharf, peaceace time
livery, white hull)
Image No.23654
awm
photo (on fire and
drifting after being hit
by bombs at Port
Moresby)
ID No. P02945.003
Postcard in the author's collection
Taroona (Tasmanian Steamers)
-
slv 2 photos uw (pre - 1942
twscs 4324gt 1935 Glasgow
colours, two
funnels and
1935 on the Bass
Straits run
after repairs from a 1936
fire)
between Melbourne and
Image Nos. b37552 & b36926
Launceston
slv 2 photos
(Feb. 1948 still in
1942 (Jan) requisitioned by
the
wartime grey and with one
New Zealand authorities to carry
funnel)
troops to Fiji
Image Nos. b39447 & b39452
(Mar) requisitioned by
the
awm photo (with landing barge
Australian authorities and
alongside at Wewak)
converted to a troopshp.
ID No. 092751
In the conversion, the second
slv 2 photos (uw, one
funnel, after
of two funnels was removed
return to peacetime Bass Straits
(and not replaced after the war).
run)
Initially engaged in a shuttle
Image Nos. gr001174 & b36345
service between Townsville
and New Guinea. She made
94 round trips, carried 93,482
troops and steamed 204,535 miles,
including 69 calls mto Milne Bay,
46 to Port Moresby, 19 to Lae
and incidental calls to eleven
other ports and anchorages.
1946 (Oct) returned
to
owners
and the Bass Straits run
1963 sold to Greek buyers
r/n Hellas
1967 laid up
1989 scrapped

http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/303496
Yochow
(China Navigation Co.) -
awm (aerial view painted
scm 2810gt 1933 Greenock
in
camouflage)
1941 escaped to Autralia
ID No. 303946
1942 broke down off North
Queensland. Towed to Sydney
for repair
1942-1945 served
under
Australian control in the
North Australia-New
Guinea area
Sources:
1. Australian
War Memorial, Canberra, ACT, photographs
2. G Hermon
Gill's "The Royal Australian Navy 1942-1945, Series 2 (Navy),
Vol. II (Australian War Memorial, Canberra 1968)
3. Peter
Plowman's "Across the Sea to War" (Rosenberg, Dural, N.S.W. 2003)
4. Duncan Haws'
"Merchant Fleets 39 China Navigation Company"
(TCL Publications, UK 2001)
5. Peter
Plowman's "Passenger Ships of Australia & New Zealand Volume
II
1913-1981" (Doubleday, Sydney 1981
6.
Dickson
Gregory's "Australian Steamships Past and Present"
(The Richards Press, London 1928)
7. Website of
the Old Ship Picture Galleries
http://www.photoship.co.uk