HMAS Arunta Turret

This turret was the rearmost turret mounted on the destroyer HMAS Arunta, which saw distinguished service in the South West Pacific during the Second World War. It holds two 4.7-inch (120mm) quick-firing guns.

The Arunta was commissioned in March 1942. In August of that year, it saw its first success, sinking the Japanese submarine RO-33 off the coast of Papua New Guinea, before being part of troop escort convoys between Queensland and New Guinea as Australian forces gradually pushed the Japanese back over the Kokoda Trail. At the beginning of 1943, Arunta also served in Timor evacuating guerrilla forces and civilians during the Japanese invasion of Timor; and in May 1943, joined Task Force 74 in the Coral Sea, performing escort duties all over the South-West Pacific, including actions at Milne Bay. After covering the United States landing at Saidor, New Guinea, during January and February 1944, the ship was involved in further assaults on Japanese-held positions in New Guinea and the surrounding island chains.

In December 1944, HMAS Arunta was bound for Luzon in the Philippines as part of the Lingayen Gulf assault force. On the 5th of January 1945, two Kamikaze aircraft attacked the ship, one hitting the sea on the starboard side. The resultant explosion sent shrapnel through the ship's side, severing the power cables to the steering gear, resulting in two fatalities and five wounded. In February 1945, HMAS Arunta participated in fire support during the liberation of Corregidor and, by early May, assisted in mopping-up operations of Japanese positions around New Guinea. At Balikpapan, Borneo, the ship shelled shore positions from June until the amphibious landing in July. In July 1945, HMAS Arunta sailed for Sydney for a major refit and ended her wartime career and was decommissioned in December 1956.