- Robert William Rankin
Robert William Rankin (
June 3 1907 –March 4 1942 ) was aRoyal Australian Navy officer who was killed in action inWorld War II . He is one of six people to have aCollins class submarine named after him.Early life
Rankin was born in
Cobar, New South Wales .Naval career
He joined the
Royal Australian Naval College in 1921. His first assignments were as a midshipman on board HMAS "Brisbane" and later HMAS "Melbourne", following these appointments Rankin was sent to the Royal Navy in 1926 to undergo training. On the completion of his studies in England, he joined the newly commissioned HMAS "Canberra" and returned to Australia where he was promotedlieutenant in August 1929.Rankin joined HMAS "Moresby" on
18 January 1934 and assisted in charting the waters of Australian andNew Guinea until February 1938. Rankin was promotedlieutenant commander in August 1937 and sent to Britain on exchange duty, he was posted to HMS "Gleaner", a minesweeper and following courses at HMS "Dryad", he was posted to the repair-ship HMS "Resource" as first lieutenant. Rankin served with the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean and South Atlantic in the early years of the war. Rankin arrived back in New South Wales during September 1941.In early 1942, following the outbreak of war with Japan, he was posted to the
sloop HMAS "Yarra". On5 February 1942 , while under air attack nearSingapore , "Yarra" took on board 1,804 people from the "SS "Empress of Asia"", a troopship which had caught fire. He was commended for his actions during the rescue.Rankin assumed command of "Yarra" on
11 February and was tasked mainly with escort duties around theDutch East Indies . At 6.30am onMarch 4 , while escorting a small convoy fromJava to Australia, "Yarra" encountered a Japanese naval force comprised of threecruiser s and twodestroyer s. Rankin immediately transmitted a sighting report, ordered the convoy to scatter, and placed "Yarra" between the enemy and the convoy. The sloop made smoke and engaged the vastly superior Japanese force, with her 4-inch guns. Rankin gave the order to abandon ship at around 8 am. A direct hit on the bridge killed him shortly afterwards. Of the 151 on aboard "Yarra", only 13 were rescued.Memorials and tributes
In honour of Robert Rankin the 6th and final
Collins class submarine , HMAS "Rankin" was named in his honour. The ship's motto is "Defend the Weak", a reference to the efforts of Robert Rankin and "Yarra" to defend the unarmed convoy ships.A group of Australian naval historians and others are campaigning Rankin to be awarded a posthumous
Victoria Cross (as was awarded to Captain Edward Fogarty Fegen of HMS "Jervis Bay", for similarly defending a convoy against hopeless odds). A website has been set up for the campaign.References
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160067b.htm Australian Dictionary of Biographies]
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