Kookaburra2011
1914: HMAS CERBERUS as an RAN ammunition stores ship in Port Phillip Bay during WWI - State Library of South Australia.
4595. In effect, CERBERUS is now an ammunition lighter, as she is no longer able to move under her own power. There are some references which state that CERBERUS was also used as a port guard ship off Melbourne during WWI, but we understand that her 10-inch muzzle-loading main guns were inoperable by this time, and secondary weapons are not visible here. Her bridge and wheelhouse is also gone.
Perhaps one of the rigorous CERBERUS experts will help us with another source of confusion: the late John Bastock's limited edition book 'Australia's Ships of War' [1975] and other sources [Wikipedia for one] state that in 1921 CERBERUS was towed to Geelong to be used as a depot ship for the J Class submarines alongside their base at Osborne House [ which had been the first RAN College], and that on April 1, 1921 CERBERUS was re-named PLATYPUS, with her own name being transferred to the former South Australian gunboat PROTECTOR.
One will see that we have a right to be confused - and wondering about that April Fools Day date - when we consider that the RAN's original submarine depot ship HMAS PLATYPUS [RAN-1956] was at Geelong with the J Class submarines in the early 1920s, and took four of them down to Hobart from January 16 to February 24, 1921. We had one of our very favourite photos of that trip at pic NO. 3075, here:
www.flickr.com/photos/41311545@N05/5041424824/
Thus, we'd appreciate any enlightment on whether CERBERUS was involved with the J Class submarines soon after, and whether she was in fact re-named PLATYPUS at one stage, as stated [EDIT: Now answered and confirmed - see John Rogers's comment below].
PHOTO: State Library of South Australia.
A COMPENDIUM of links to 35+ HMVS CERBERUS images on the Photostream can be found under entry NO. 5848, here:
www.flickr.com/photos/41311545@N05/7253528494/in/photostream
1914: HMAS CERBERUS as an RAN ammunition stores ship in Port Phillip Bay during WWI - State Library of South Australia.
4595. In effect, CERBERUS is now an ammunition lighter, as she is no longer able to move under her own power. There are some references which state that CERBERUS was also used as a port guard ship off Melbourne during WWI, but we understand that her 10-inch muzzle-loading main guns were inoperable by this time, and secondary weapons are not visible here. Her bridge and wheelhouse is also gone.
Perhaps one of the rigorous CERBERUS experts will help us with another source of confusion: the late John Bastock's limited edition book 'Australia's Ships of War' [1975] and other sources [Wikipedia for one] state that in 1921 CERBERUS was towed to Geelong to be used as a depot ship for the J Class submarines alongside their base at Osborne House [ which had been the first RAN College], and that on April 1, 1921 CERBERUS was re-named PLATYPUS, with her own name being transferred to the former South Australian gunboat PROTECTOR.
One will see that we have a right to be confused - and wondering about that April Fools Day date - when we consider that the RAN's original submarine depot ship HMAS PLATYPUS [RAN-1956] was at Geelong with the J Class submarines in the early 1920s, and took four of them down to Hobart from January 16 to February 24, 1921. We had one of our very favourite photos of that trip at pic NO. 3075, here:
www.flickr.com/photos/41311545@N05/5041424824/
Thus, we'd appreciate any enlightment on whether CERBERUS was involved with the J Class submarines soon after, and whether she was in fact re-named PLATYPUS at one stage, as stated [EDIT: Now answered and confirmed - see John Rogers's comment below].
PHOTO: State Library of South Australia.
A COMPENDIUM of links to 35+ HMVS CERBERUS images on the Photostream can be found under entry NO. 5848, here:
www.flickr.com/photos/41311545@N05/7253528494/in/photostream