HMAS Bendigo (FCPB 211)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name: | HMAS Bendigo |
| Namesake: | City of Bendigo, Victoria |
| Builder: | North Queensland Engineers and Agents |
| Laid down: | 21 September 1981 |
| Launched: | 9 April 1983 |
| Commissioned: | 28 May 1983 |
| Decommissioned: | 9 September 2006 |
| Homeport: | HMAS Cairns |
| Motto: | "Advance with Purpose" |
| Honours and awards: | Three inherited battle honours |
| Status: | Scrapped |
| Badge: |
 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and 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: |
|
HMAS Bendigo (FCPB 211) was a Fremantle-class patrol boat serving in 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 538TB91 V16 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. 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]
Bendigo was laid down by North Queensland Engineers and Agents at Cairns, Queensland on 21 September 1981, launched on 9 April 1983, and commissioned on 28 May 1983.[5]
Operational history
Bendigo operated out of HMAS Cairns, and spent the majority of her career protecting Australia's northern borders.[6]
On 12 November 1998, Bendigo grounded on submerged rocks near Michaelmas Cay, 20 miles north of Cairns, while carrying 45 passengers for a Family Day cruise.[7] There were no casualties and only minor damage to the patrol boat, which was refloated 35 minutes after the grounding, with the help of an Australian Volunteer Coast Guard boat.[7]
On 16 July 1985, Bendigo became the first patrol boat to circumnavigate Australia.[8]
Fate
Bendigo was decommissioned on 9 September 2006.[6] The patrol boat was broken up for scrap in Darwin during 2006 and 2007, at a cost of $450,000 to the Australian government.[9]
Citations
- ↑ Mitchell, Farewell to the Fremantle class, p. 105
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946, p. 89
- 1 2 Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946, p. 88
- ↑ Jones, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 222
- ↑ Moore, Jane's Fighting Ships 1985–86, p. 26
- 1 2 Gillett, Ross (January–March 1999). "HMAS Bendigo Grounding" (PDF). 61 (1): 18. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ↑ "On This Day". Naval Historical Society of Australia. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- ↑ Australian National Audit Office (5 February 2015), Management of the Disposal of Specialist Military Equipment (Report), Government of Australia, p. 62, retrieved 24 April 2015
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 (PDF). Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs. Sea Power Centre - Australia. ISBN 0-642-29644-8. ISSN 1327-5658. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- Moore, John, ed. (1985). Jane's Fighting Ships 1985–86. London: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN 0-7106-0814-4.