HMAS Canberra (FFG 02)

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For other ships of this name, see HMAS Canberra.

Career (Royal Australian Navy)
HMAS Canberra in 1988
Namesake:	City of Canberra
Builder:	Todd Pacific Shipyards
Laid down:	March 1, 1978
Launched:	1 December 1978
Commissioned:	21 March 1981
Decommissioned:	November 2005
Motto:	"For Queen And Country"
Nickname:	FFG-18 (US hull designation during construction)
Fate:	Sunk as dive wreck
Status:	Decommissioned, awaiting conversion to dive wreck
General characteristics
Class and type:	Adelaide class guided missile frigate
Displacement:	4,100 tons
Length:	138 metres
Beam:	14 metres
Draught:	7.5 metres
Propulsion:	2 × General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines providing 41,000 hp (490 kW)
Speed:	29 knots (54 km/h)
Range:	4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement:	184 + aircrew
Armament:	Mk 13 launcher for Harpoon and SM-1 missiles; 1 × 3 in OTO Melara; 1 × 20 mm Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS; 2 x triple 324 mm Mk 32 torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried:	2 x S-70B Seahawk

HMAS Canberra (FFG 02) was an Adelaide class guided missile armed frigate of the Royal Australian Navy.

1 Construction
2 Operational history
3 Dive wreck
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Construction

The ship was laid down by Todd Pacific Shipyards at Seattle in Washington on 1 March 1978, launched on 1 December 1978. HMAS Canberra was commissioned on 21 March 1981 and decommissioned in Sydney in November 2005. The ship was designated FFG-18 during construction.

[edit] Operational history

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Canberra launching a Harpoon

[edit] Dive wreck

In October 2006 it was announced that the decommissioned frigate will be scuttled off the coast of Barwon Heads, Victoria, to be used as a wreck diving site. In October 2006, The Federal Government allocated A$2.8 million to this project and the Victorian Government allocated A$500,000. ^[1] On the 23rd July 2007, the Minister for Defence, Dr Brendan Nelson, announced that in order to ensure the quickest possible schedule for the sinking of the ship, A$7m of federal money would be allocated to the project.^[2]

The Victorian Artificial Reef Society (VARS) is the Victorian dive community group behind the push to secure, prepare, sink and dive the ex HMAS Canberra as an artificial reef dive site for Victoria. VARS has established the ex HMAS Canberra web site to keep track of the project and promote Victoria as a temperate water diving destination.