HMAS Gawler (FCPB 212)

For other ships with the same name, see HMAS Gawler.

History
Australia
Namesake	Town of Gawler
Builder	NQEA, Cairns
Laid down	18 January 1982
Launched	9 July 1983
Commissioned	27 August 1983
Decommissioned	8 July 2006
Motto	"Serve With Pride"
Honours and awards	Three inherited battle honours
Fate	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 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)
Complement	22
Armament	1 Bofors 40 mm/60 gun 2 12.7 mm machine guns 1 81 mm mortar (removed later)

HMAS Gawler (FCPB 212), named for the town of Gawler, South Australia was a Fremantle-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Design and construction

Main article: Fremantle-class patrol boat

Starting in the late 1960s, planning began for a new class of patrol boat to replace the Attackclass, 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 Bofors 40mm 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]}

Gawler was laid down by NQEA in Cairns, Queensland on 18 January 1982, launched on 9 July 1983, and commissioned into the RAN on 27 August 1983. ^[5]

Fate

Gawler was decommissioned at HMAS Coonawarra on 8 July 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. ^[7]

Citations

1. Mitchell, Farewell to the Fremantle class, p. 105
2. Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946, p. 89
3. Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946, p. 88
4. Jones, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 222
5. Moore, Jane's Fighting Ships 1985–86, p. 26
6. "HMAS Gawler (II)". navy.gov.au. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
7. 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: Child & Associates. ISBN   0-86777-219-0. OCLC   23470364.
• Jones, Peter (2001). "Towards Self Reliance". In Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-555542-2. OCLC   50418095.
• Mitchell, Brett (2007). "Farewell to the Fremantle Class". In Forbes, Andrew; Lovi, Michelle (eds.). Australian Maritime Issues 2006 (PDF). Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs. Sea Power Centre. ISBN   978-0-642-29644-3. ISSN   1327-5658. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  • The chapter is available separately as Semaphore, Issue 17, 2005 in PDF and HTML formats.
• "HMAS Gawler". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
• Moore, John, ed. (1985). Jane's Fighting Ships 1985–86. London: Janes Information Services. ISBN   0-7106-0814-4.