by Michael Griggs
1/600 HMAS Sydney II and HMAS Hobart I (Airfix)
The Royal Australian Navy acquired the three "Modified Leander Class" light Cruisers Sydney, Perth and Hobart in the 1930s. These cruisers were only slightly improved versions of the Royal Navy's Leander Class, but because the adoption of US style 'Unit' arrangement of the propulsion system required a reversion to two funnels, looked very different.
Airfix produced a version of the Leanders in HMS Ajax. The modifications made to the real Leanders can be made to the Airfix model to produce 1/600 scale models of these Australian World War II era cruisers. Two of the three ships were lost during the war. HMAS Sydney was the only allied cruiser sunk by a German Merchant Raider when it was ambushed by the Kormoran off Western Australia in November 1941. The 645 men who died remain the largest war loss ever by the RAN.
HMAS Perth was sunk at the battle of the Sunda Strait by Japanese heavy cruisers. She was in company with USS Houston during the battle. HMAS Hobart although badly damaged by a torpedo hit in 1943 returned to service in 1945, and served with the US 7th fleet off the Phillipines. She survived the war but was put into reserve in 1947, and was never recommissioned. She was sold for scrapping in Japan in 1962 .
