Army Support Ship 'Crusader'.

[Brian James]

Australian Army Amphibious Operations Support Ship 'Crusader' pictured in December 1945.She was built at Williamstown Dockyard,Victoria in 1945.She was launched shortly before the war ended and entered service in late 1945. From 1945 to 1947 she was mainly used to return Australian Army equipment from the islands off New Guinea. She was also loaned to the Australian Shipping Board in early 1947 and transported earth moving equipment and timber between Melbourne and Tasmania. However, the Army did not need a ship with Crusader's capabilities after the war, and she was sold in 1947 to the Queensland Cement and Lime Company which operated her as a coral barge on the Brisbane River until the mid-1980s. She was scuttled in 1986 and became a popular dive wreck.