HMAS Whyalla (FCPB 208) | |
---|---|
Career (Australia) | |
Namesake: | City of Whyalla, South Australia |
Builder: | North Queensland Engineers and Agents |
Decommissioned: | 2 September 2005 |
Homeport: | HMAS Cairns |
Motto: | "Thrust Ahead" |
Honours and awards: | Three inherited battle honours |
Status: | Sold for scrap |
General characteristics | |
Class & type: | Fremantle class patrol boat |
Displacement: | 220 tons |
Length: | 137.6 ft (41.9 m) |
Beam: | 25.25 ft (7.70 m) |
Draught: | 5.75 ft (1.75 m) |
Propulsion: | 2 MTU series 538 diesel engines, 3,200 shp (2,400 kW), 2 propellers |
Speed: | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
Range: | 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) |
Complement: | 22 |
Armament: |
One general purpose 40/60 mm Bofors gun Two 12.7 mm machine guns One 81 mm mortar (removed later) |
HMAS Whyalla (FCPB 208), named for the city of Whyalla, South Australia, was a Fremantle class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Design and construction[]
Starting in the late 1960s, planning began for a new class of patrol boat to replace the Attack class, with designs calling for improved seakeeping capability, and updated weapons and equipment.[1] The Fremantles had a full load displacement of 220 tonnes (220 long tons; 240 short tons), were 137.6 feet (41.9 m) long overall, had a beam of 24.25 feet (7.39 m), and a maximum draught of 5.75 feet (1.75 m).[2] Main propulsion machinery consisted of two MTU series 538 diesel engines, which supplied 3,200 shaft horsepower (2,400 kW) to the two propeller shafts.[2] Exhaust was not expelled through a funnel, like most ships, but through vents below the waterline.[3] The patrol boat could reach a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), and had a maximum range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).[2] The ship's company consisted of 22 personnel.[2] Each patrol boat was armed with a single 40 mm Bofors gun as main armament, supplemented by two .50 cal Browning machineguns and an 81-mm mortar,[2] although the mortar was removed from all ships sometime after 1988.[citation needed] The main weapon was originally to be two 30-mm guns on a twin-mount, but the reconditioned Bofors were selected to keep costs down; provision was made to install an updated weapon later in the class' service life, but this did not eventuate.[3][4]
Whyalla was built by North Queensland Engineers and Agents, in Cairns, Queensland.[2]
Operational history[]
Fate[]
Whyalla was based at HMAS Cairns, and was decommissioned on 2 September 2005.[5] She was scrapped in Darwin.[citation needed]
Citations[]
- ↑ Mitchell, Farewell to the Fremantle class, p. 105
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946, p. 89
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946, p. 88
- ↑ Jones, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 222
- ↑ "Farewell old friend". Navy Annual 2005. Royal Australian Navy. 2005. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110321100958/http://www.navy.gov.au/Publication:Navy_Annual_2005/Farewell_Old_Friend. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
References[]
- Gillett, Ross (1988). Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946. Brookvale, NSW: Child & Associates. ISBN 0-86777-219-0. OCLC 23470364.
- Jones, Peter (2001). "Towards Self Reliance". In Stevens, David. The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555542-2. OCLC 50418095.
- Mitchell, Brett (2007). "Farewell to the Fremantle Class". In Forbes, Andrew & Lovi, Michelle. Australian Maritime Issues 2006. Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs. Sea Power Centre - Australia. ISBN 0-642-29644-8. ISSN 1327-5658. Archived from the original on 3 Oct 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20091003233838/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/PIAMA19.pdf. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
The original article can be found at HMAS Whyalla (FCPB 208) and the edit history here.