HMS Suva

HMS Suva was an Armed boarding steamer of the Royal Navy during World War I. She was also commissioned briefly into the Royal Australian Navy before being returned to her owners.^[3] She was sold in 1928 and renamed Sirius and sold again in 1929 and renamed Bohol. An Imperial Japanese air raid on Manila in 1942 during the Second World War sank her.^[3]

Suva, circa 1919
History
Name	Suva (1906–1928) Sirius (1928–1929) Bohol (1929–1941)[1]
Namesake	Suva, Bohol
Operator	Australasian United Steam Navigation Company (1906–1928) Madrigal and Company (1928–1929) Fernandez Bros (1929–1941)
Builder	Workman, Clark and Company
Launched	14 December 1905
Fate	Sunk during air raid on Manila in 1942
United Kingdom (RN)
Name	HMS Suva
Commissioned	20 July 1915
Decommissioned	19 December 1919
Fate	Commissioned in RAN
Australia (RAN)
Name	HMAS Suva
Commissioned	23 June 1919
Decommissioned	12 August 1919
Fate	returned to Australasian United Steam Navigation Company
General characteristics
Tonnage	2,126 gross register tonnage[2]
Length	300.3 ft (92 m)[2]
Beam	41.1 ft (13 m)[2]
Depth	11.8 ft (4 m)[2]
Armament	3 × 4.7 inch naval guns (1915) 2 × 3 pounder naval guns (1919)[3]

Career

Built by Workman, Clark and Company, Belfast she was launched in 1906 for the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company and used on the Australia-Fiji run and coastal passenger service from Brisbane.^[2][3]

She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 20 July 1915 and converted into an armed boarding steamer at Garden Island, New South Wales. She was armed with two QF 4.7 inch naval guns, with a third being fitted in Colombo.^[3]

Suva was part of the Red Sea Patrol during the First World War, taking part in the Capture of Yanbu.^[4]

Collage of commemorative photographs, including the visit of Admiral Viscount Jellicoe

She was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 23 June 1919, equipped with two QF 3 pounder naval guns, as HMAS Suva, for transporting Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Jellicoe to the Australia Station and Pacific Islands.^[3] Suva was paid off on 12 August and was returned to her owners.^[5] Suva was sold in July 1928 to Madrigal and Company, Manila, and renamed Sirius. She was later resold in December 1929 to Fernandez Bros., who renamed her Bohol. A Japanese air attack in Manila Bay sank her on 16 April 1942.

Citations

1. "Details of the Ship". Plimsoll ShipData. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
2. "Lloyds Register" (PDF). Plimsoll ShipData. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
3. Wilson, p.51.
4. Lawrence, T.E. (1935). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. pp. 129-130.
5. "HMAS Suva". navy.gov.au. Retrieved 14 January 2020.

References

• Wilson, Michael; Royal Australian Navy 21st Century Warships, Naval auxiliaries 1911 to 1999 including Defence Maritime Services, Profile No. 4 – Revised Edition, Topmill Pty Ltd, Marrickville. ISBN 978-1-876270-72-8