Steamer of the Royal Australian Navy
Adele was a steel screw steamer that was built in 1906 as a yacht. She was twice commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), firstly as HMAS "Franklin and later as HMAS "Adele. She was wrecked at Port Kembla, New South Wales on 7 May 1943.
Design and construction.
"Adele" was built in 1906 by Hawthorns &amp; Co Ltd, Leith, Scotland as yard number 116. She was launched on 18 October 1906 and completed in November 1906.
Originally built as a yacht, she was later converted to steam power.
Propulsion.
By 1930, "Adele" was powered by a triple expansion steam engine with cylinders of , and bore by stroke. The engine was manufactured by Hawthorns &amp; Co Ltd. "Adele" was capable of .
Official Number and Code Letters.
Official numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. In 1930, "Adele" had the UK Official Number 123022 and used the Code Letters HJRW.
Operational history.
In 1915, "Adele" was purchased by the Australia Government for £21,500 from the estate of Henry Dutton of Kapunda, South Australia. On 14 September 1915 she was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS "Franklin". HMAS "Franklin" served as a tender to the Royal Australian Naval College.
"Franklin" collided with the Sydney Harbour ferry, "Vaucluse" in 1916 injuring two passengers. "Franklin's" sharp bow smashed halfway through the wooden ferry's hull almost sinking her, however, the ferry was towed to nearby Garden Island where the dock's pumps kept her afloat.
"Franklin" was paid off on 31 March 1921 only to be recommissioned on 21 September.
"Franklin" was decommissioned on 18 September 1922 and gifted to the Administrator of Papua-New Guinea, serving there until 1929. By 1930, she had reverted to the name "Adele" and was owned by the Commonwealth Government of Australia and operated by the Department of Home &amp; Territories. At the time she was homeported at Port Adelaide under the British Flag. In 1932, "Adele" was laid up at Rabaul. She was sold for £1,652 on 7 December of that year to W L Buckland of Melbourne, Australia who refitted her as a private yacht and used her for cruising. "Adele" was later sold to C H Relph of Sydney and was laid up for some years at Rose Bay Port Jackson, Sydney.
On 24 October 1939, "Adele" was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS "Adele". She was armed with two .303-in Vickers machine guns and employed as an examination vessel. From December 1941, HMAS "Adele" was attached to .
Loss.
On 7 May 1943, "Adele" struck the breakwater at Port Kembla and was subsequently declared a total loss. The wreck of "Adele" is protected under the New South Wales Heritage Act, 1977.
Legacy.
Franklin is remembered in the naming of two other sail training yachts associated with the RAN College:
References.
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