Built for the Royal Navy as HMS Apollo, the cruiser transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in 1938 and became HMAS Hobart. Her battle honours ranged from the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean to the Coral Sea, Savo Island, Guadalcanal, the East Indies, Borneo, and the wider Pacific, making her the class's only ship to survive such a broad wartime career. A sailor's account describes the rhythm after refit: ten-day Coral Sea patrols followed by short rests inside the Great Barrier Reef at Dunk or Palm Island. In March 1943 Hobart joined HMAS Australia, USS Phoenix, seven U.S. destroyers, and the Australian destroyers Arunta and Warramunga in Task Force 74. The force's return to Espiritu Santo after a patrol sets the operational scene for the submarine attack that nearly ended Hobart's career.
Notable Point · 50:15-53:27
Hobart's route from Apollo to Task Force 74
Before the torpedo attack, former HMS Apollo had served across the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific before joining the mixed Australian-American Task Force 74.