Australian Army ship Crusader (AV 2767)

Crusader in December 1945
Crusader in December 1945
History
Australia
Operator
BuilderMelbourne Harbour Trust, Williamstown Dockyard
Launched8 August 1945
CommissionedLate 1945
Decommissioned1947
Out of service1984
Renamed
  • Cementco (1947)
  • Crusader II (1984?)
FateSunk as a dive wreck in 1986
General characteristics
Displacement1,500 long tons (1,500 t)
Length200 ft (61.0 m)[1]
Beam50 ft (15.2 m)[1]
Draft12 ft (3.7 m)[1]
RampsSix vehicle loading ramps
PropulsionSix Ruston & Hornsby engines and six propellers
Speed9 knots (17 km/h)
Endurance30 days
Capacity1,500 long tons (1,500 t) of cargo in three holds and 40 vehicles as deck cargo
Complement31
ArmamentFitted for self-defence guns at the bow and stern
NotesCharacteristics are for the ship's Army service and are from [2] and [3]

Crusader (AV2767) was an Australian Army amphibious operations support ship of World War II. She was launched shortly before the war ended and entered service in late 1935. From 1945 to 1947 she was mainly used to return Australian Army equipment from the islands off New Guinea. She was also loaned to the Australian Shipping Board in early 1947 and transported earth moving equipment and timber between Melbourne and Tasmania. However, the Army did not need a ship with Crusader's capabilities after the war, and she was sold in 1947 to the Queensland Cement and Lime Company which operated her as a coral barge on the Brisbane River until the mid-1980s. The ship was scuttled in 1986 and became a popular dive wreck.

  1. ^ a b c Army History Unit. "On this day – 8 August". Australian Army. Archived from the original on 31 July 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  2. ^ Gillett (1983), p. 259
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference James65 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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