HMAS Armidale (J240), named for the city of Armidale, New South Wales, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Launched in early 1942, and initially assigned to convoy escort duties, Armidale was transferred to Darwin in October 1942. The corvette was attacked and sunk off Betano Bay (9°9′52″S 125°43′30″ECoordinates, on the south coast of Portuguese Timor, (now East Timor) by 13 Japanese aircraft on 1 December 1942, while attempting to evacuate Australian and Dutch soldiers and deliver a relief contingent. She was the only Bathurst-class corvette to be lost to enemy action.
At 13:00, five approaching Japanese dive-bombers were sighted by Armidale. Two aircraft were damaged by the corvette's guns, while the other three missed while attempting to evade fire. A second air attack occurred at 14:00; five Zero fighters distracted the corvette's weapons while nine torpedo bombers made attack runs. At one point, a late-released torpedo passed over the bridge before hitting the water. At 15:10, the ship was hit in the port side by two torpedoes in quick succession: the first into the mess deck, killing many of the soldiers there, the second into the engine room.
As the soldiers and sailors began to evacuate into the water, the Zeroes stopped attacking the sinking corvette and began strafing runs on those in the water. Ordinary Seaman Edward "Teddy" Sheean, who had been wounded in the initial attack, strapped himself into one of Armidale's 20 mm Oerlikons and opened fire on the aircraft. Teddy forced one Zero to crash into the sea and damaged at least two others; continuing to fire until he went down with Armidale. In 2020, Sheean was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions. Low on fuel, the Japanese aircraft headed for home. The survivors found that the two ship's boats survived the sinking, and were able to fashion a raft from debris.
The survivors remained together until midday on 2 December, when one of the boats, with the commanding officer aboard, set out for Darwin in an effort to find rescuers. At 10:15 on 5 December, they were spotted by a reconnaissance aircraft, and the 22 aboard were rescued by Kalgoorlie. On learning that more men were still at sea, an air search was organised, and the auxiliary patrol boat Vigilant was to stand by off Melville Island. That same day, the other boat, with 29 aboard, headed for Darwin, leaving the raft, with 49 aboard, behind. At 16:00 on 8 December, a PBY Catalina flying boat sighted the raft, now with about 20 aboard, and the second boat. The aircraft was unable to land to assist either group of survivors because of rough seas, but directed Kalgoorlie to the boat. However, the raft could not be located again, and the search effort was called off on 13 December. 40 personnel from Armidale and 60 embarked men of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army were killed.
As a Letterbox Hybrid cache, you will find a logbook AND a Stamp. The stamp is not a trade item but intended to stay within the cache. Use it to stamp your own notebook, and stamp the logbook with your own personal stamp, OR alternatively, simply date and sign the logbook as you would normally do at any other geocache. Again, the stamp and logbook remain in the letterbox for the next visitor to use.