River class destroyer escort

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The "River" class was the name given to a class of six related Type 12 and Leander class frigates of the Royal Australian Navy. The ships were initially ordered as ASW frigates, with the first four commissioned as such. However, they were reclassified as "destroyer escorts" during the 1960s, with the last two serving only under that designation. The "River" class also served as the first missile armed ships in the RAN, when they were fitted with the Seacat system in the early 1960s—again, the first four units had Seacat fitted after they entered service, while the final two had it installed during construction.

[edit] Specifications

Note: although these ships are grouped together as a single class, there were many significant differences between the first four units (Type 12) and the final two (Leander).

	Type 12	Leander
Displacement	2,560 tons	2,700 tons
Dimensions	113m (length), 12.49m (beam), 5.18m (draught)	107m (length), 12.49m (beam), 4.57m (draught)
Armament	2 x 4.5in Mk6 gun; 2 x Limbo Mk10 AS mortar¹	2 x 4.5in Mk6 gun; 1 x quad Seacat SAM launcher; 1 x Limbo Mk10 AS mortar; 1 x Ikara ASW system
Propulsion	2 x English Electric steam turbines; 2 shaft; 30,000 shp	2 x English Electric steam turbines; 2 shaft; 30,000 shp
Speed	31.9 knots	30 knots

Note 1: : All four of the Type 12 units were refitted with both the Seacat and Ikara missile systems, replacing 40mm AA guns and Limbo mortars, and later Mark 32 torpedo tubes were added.

[edit] Ships

Name	Pennant	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Home port	Status
HMAS Parramatta	DE 46	Cockatoo Island Shipyard, Sydney	January 31, 1959	July 4, 1961	Sydney	Broken Up
HMAS Yarra	DE 45	Williamstown Navy Yard, Melbourne	September 30, 1958	July 27, 1961	Sydney	Broken Up
HMAS Stuart	DE 48	Cockatoo Island	April 8, 1961	June 28, 1963	Sydney	Broken Up
HMAS Derwent	DE 49	Williamstown Navy Yard	April 17, 1961	April 30, 1964	Sydney	Sunk as dive wreck
HMAS Swan	DE 50	Williamstown Navy Yard	December 16, 1967	January 20, 1970	Sydney	Sunk as dive wreck
HMAS Torrens	DE 53	Cockatoo Island	September 28, 1968	January 19, 1971	Sydney	Sunk as target