HMAS Geraldton (FCPB 213)

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History
Naval Ensign of Australia.svgAustralia
NamesakePort city of Geraldton, Western Australia
Builder North Queensland Engineers and Agents
Laid down3 May 1982
Launched22 October 1983
Commissioned10 December 1983
Decommissioned7 October 2006
Motto"Fortune to the Brave"
Honours and
awards
Three inherited battle honours
FateScrapped
Badge HMAS geraldton crest.png
General characteristics
Class and type Fremantle-class patrol boat
Displacement220 tons
Length137.6 ft (41.9 m)
Beam25.25 ft (7.70 m)
Draught5.75 ft (1.75 m)
Propulsion2 MTU series 538 diesel engines, 3,200 shp (2,400 kW), 2 propellers
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)
Complement22
Armament
  • One general purpose 40 mm/60 Bofors gun
  • Two 12.7 mm machine guns
  • One 81 mm mortar (removed later)

HMAS Geraldton (FCPB 213), named for the port city of Geraldton, Western Australia, was a Fremantle-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Contents

Design and construction

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 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]

Geraldton was laid down by North Queensland Engineers and Agents at Cairns, Queensland on 3 May 1982, launched on 22 October 1983, and commissioned into the RAN on 10 December 1983. [5]

Operational history

Fate

Geraldton was decommissioned on 7 October 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. 1 2 3 4 5 Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946, p. 89
  3. 1 2 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. scheme=AGLSTERMS. AglsAgent; corporateName=Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence; address=Russell Offices. "Defence News & Releases | News || Department of Defence". www1.defence.gov.au.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  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

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References