HMAS Ipswich (J186/B244/A118) was a Bathurst-class corvette constructed during World War II, representing one of 60 vessels built to serve Australia's wartime naval needs. She was laid down by Evans Deakin & Co in Brisbane on 6 March 1941, launched on 11 August 1941, and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 13 June 1942. The Bathurst-class corvettes were designed as versatile 'all-rounders' capable of anti-submarine warfare and mine-sweeping, with a displacement of approximately 680 tons. Ipswich measured in line with this design, featuring a top speed of 15.5 knots and a range of 2,850 nautical miles, armed with a 4-inch gun and equipped with asdic for underwater detection. Initially, Ipswich served as a convoy escort in Australian waters until November 1942, after which she was assigned to the British Eastern Fleet. Her operational area included the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, with a brief deployment in the Mediterranean from May to October 1943. Notably, she shot down a twin-engined bomber near Syracuse in July 1943 and participated in sinking the Japanese submarine Ro-110 in February 1944 alongside HMAS Launceston and HMIS Jumna. Ipswich's service extended to the Pacific later in the war, and she was present in Tokyo Bay during the signing of Japan’s surrender on 2 September 1945. Her wartime record earned her five battle honours: "Pacific 1942," "Indian Ocean 1942–45," "Sicily 1943," "East Indies 1944," and "Okinawa 1945." Decommissioned from the RAN on 5 July 1946, Ipswich was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, renamed HNLMS Morotai, and later to the Indonesian Navy as KRI Hang Tuah. Her service ended tragically in 1958 when she was attacked and sunk by a CIA-supplied aircraft off Balikpapan, Borneo, resulting in the loss of 18 crew members and wounding 28. The vessel's history underscores her significant wartime contribution and complex post-war service across multiple navies.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.