HMAS Hawkesbury (M 83)

Last updated

HMAS Hawkesbury Norman under tow.jpg
HMAS Hawkesbury and sister ship HMAS Norman under tow in 2010
History
Naval Ensign of Australia.svgAustralia
NameHawkesbury
Namesake Hawkesbury River
BuilderAustralian Defence Industries
Launched24 April 1998
Commissioned12 February 2000
Homeport HMAS Waterhen
Motto"Equality not servitude"
StatusIn reserve as of 2016
Badge HMAS hawkesbury crest.png
General characteristics
Class and type Huon-class minehunter
Displacement732 tons at full load
Length52.5 m (172 ft)
Beam9.9 m (32 ft)
Draught3 m (9.8 ft)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on diesel
  • 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) on thrusters
Range1,600 nautical miles (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Endurance19 days
Complement6 officers and 34 sailors, plus up to 9 additional
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Kelvin-Hughes Type 1007 navigational radar
  • GEC-Marconi Type 2093M variable-depth minehunting sonar
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • AWADI PRISM radar warning and direction-finding system
  • Radamec 1400N surveillance system
  • 2 × Wallop Super Barricade decoy launchers
Armament

HMAS Hawkesbury (M 83), named for the Hawkesbury River, is the second Huon-class minehunter to have been built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by a joint partnership between Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, Hawkesbury was constructed at ADI's Newcastle shipyard, and entered service in 2000.

Contents

The minehunter was active throughout the 2000s, and in addition to minehunting and training exercises, was one of several ships used to disprove the false wreck site of the hospital ship Centaur, was rotated onto border protection duties on several occasions, and participated in a formal fleet review. Although still commissioned as of 2016 and considered a part of the RAN fleet, Hawkesbury is one of two minehunters that have been in reserve since 2011, due to personnel shortages. As of 6 November 2018 the vessel has been advertised for sale. [1]

Design and construction

In 1993, the Department of Defence issued a request for tender for six coastal minehunters to replace the problematic Bay-class minehunters. [2] The tender was awarded in August 1994 to Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, which proposed a modified Gaeta-class minehunter. [2] [3]

Hawkesbury has a full load displacement of 732 tons, is 52.5 metres (172 ft) long, has a beam of 9.9 metres (32 ft), and a draught of 3 metres (9.8 ft). [4] The ship's main source of propulsion is a single Fincantieri GMT BL230-BN diesel motor, which provides 1,985 brake horsepower (1,480 kW) to a single controllable-pitch propeller, allowing the ship to reach 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). [5] It has a maximum range of 1,600 nautical miles (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), and is able to stay at sea for 19 days. [4] [5] The standard ship's company consists of six officers and 34 sailors, with accommodation for nine additional personnel who are typically trainees or clearance divers. [4] The vessel's main armament is a MSI DS30B 30 mm cannon, which is supplemented by two 0.50 calibre machine guns. [5] Its sensor suite includes a Kelvin-Hughes Type 1007 navigational radar, a GEC-Marconi Type 2093M variable-depth minehunting sonar, an AWADI PRISM radar warning and direction-finding system, and a Radamec 1400N surveillance system. [4] Two Wallop Super Barricade decoy launchers are also fitted. [4]

For minehunting operations, Hawkesbury uses three 120 horsepower (89 kW) Riva Calzoni azimuth thrusters to provide a maximum speed of 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph): two are located at the stern, while the third is sited behind the variable-depth sonar. [5] Mines are located with the minehunting sonar, and can be disposed of by the vessel's two Double Eagle mine disposal vehicles, the Oropesa mechanical sweep, the Mini-Dyad magnetic influence sweep, or the towed AMASS influence sweep (which is not always carried). [5] To prevent damage if a mine is detonated nearby, the ships were built with a glass-reinforced plastic, moulded in a single monocoque skin with no ribs or framework. [5] As the ships often work with clearance divers, they are fitted with a small recompression chamber. [4]

Hawkesbury was built by Australian Defence Industries in Newcastle, New South Wales, launched on 24 April 1998, and commissioned into the RAN on 12 February 2000. [4] Hawkesbury is based at Sydney naval base HMAS Waterhen, along with the majority of the RAN's mine warfare assets. [4]

Operational history

In May 2003, Hawkesbury and sister ship HMAS Yarra were operating off the coast of Queensland on exercises. [6] During this, the two ships were tasked with checking the believed location of the shipwreck of AHS Centaur, a hospital ship sunk off Moreton Island during World War II, following several media stories indicating that the wreck at this location might not be the hospital ship. [6] These searches, followed up by the hydrographic survey ship HMAS Melville a month later, found that the wreck had been incorrectly marked as Centaur when it had been discovered in 1995. [6]

As of 2008, Hawkesbury and sister ship HMAS Huon were taking turns supporting border security operations. [7]

On the morning of 13 March 2009, Hawkesbury was one of seventeen warships involved in a ceremonial fleet entry and fleet review in Sydney Harbour, the largest collection of RAN ships since the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. [8] The minehunter did not participate in the fleet entry, but was anchored in the harbour for the review.[ citation needed ]

By October 2011, Hawkesbury and sister ship HMAS Norman had been placed into reserve, and the Australian Department of Defence predicted that it would take five years to bring both back to operational status and train personnel to run the vessels. [9]

Citations

  1. ↑ "Ex-Military Huon Class MHC Ships". Australian Frontline Machinery. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Australia plans new mine warfare force". Jane's International Defence Review. Jane's Information Group. 26 (6). 1 June 1993.
  3. ↑ "Defence Materiel Organisation – Sea 1555 Project". Department of Defence – Australian Government. 13 June 2006. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Saunders (ed.), IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2012–2013, p. 33
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wertheim (ed.), The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, p. 23
  6. 1 2 3 "Navy findings of search for ex Army Hospital Ship (AHS) Centaur" (Press release). Australian Department of Defence. 29 June 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  7. ↑ Saunders, Stephen, ed. (2008). Jane's Fighting Ships 2008–2009 (111th ed.). Surrey: Jane's Information Group. p. 32. ISBN   978-0-7106-2845-9. OCLC   225431774.
  8. ↑ Brooke, Michael (2 April 2009). "Marching into History". Navy News. Department of Defence. pp. 11–14. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  9. ↑ Stewart, Cameron (19 October 2011). "Navy fund and training cuts leave us exposed to terror". The Australian. Retrieved 16 December 2011.

Related Research Articles

The Royal Australian Navy, although a significant force in the Asia-Pacific region, is nonetheless classed as a medium-sized navy. Its fleet is based around two main types of surface combatant, with limited global deployment and air power capability. However, in 2009, a white paper, Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, was produced by the Australian government which set out a programme of defence spending that will see significant improvements to the RAN's fleet and capabilities.

<i>Huon</i>-class minehunter

The Huon-class minehunter coastal (MHC) ships are a group of minehunters built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Following problems with the Bay-class minehunters, a request for tender was issued in 1993 for a class of six coastal minehunters under the project designation SEA 1555. The tender was awarded in 1994 to the partnership of Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, which was offering a variant of the Italian Gaeta-class minehunter.

HMAS <i>Huon</i> (M 82) Ship of the Huon-class of minehunters operated by the Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Huon, named for the Huon River, is the lead ship of the Huon class of minehunters operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The first of six ships built by a joint partnership of Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, Huon's hull was fabricated at Intermarine's Italian shipyard, then freighted to ADI facilities at Newcastle for completion. She entered service in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Base East</span> Naval installation

Fleet Base East is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) major fleet base that comprises several naval establishments and facilities clustered around Sydney Harbour, centred on HMAS Kuttabul. Fleet Base East extends beyond the borders of Kuttabul and includes the commercially-operated dockyard at Garden Island, and adjacent wharf facilities at nearby Woolloomooloo, east of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. Fleet Base East is one of two major facilities of the RAN, the other facility being Fleet Base West. The fleet operates in the Pacific Ocean.

HMAS <i>Waterhen</i> (naval base) Australian naval base

HMAS Waterhen is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base located in Waverton on Sydney's lower north shore, within Sydney Harbour, in New South Wales, Australia. Constructed on the site of a quarry used to expand Garden Island in the 1930s, the location was used during World War II as a boom net maintenance and storage area. In 1962, the area was commissioned as a base of the RAN, and became home to the RAN's mine warfare forces. Waterhen was the first small-ship base established by the RAN, and from 1969 to 1979 was also responsible for the RAN's patrol boat forces.

HMAS <i>Sirius</i> (O 266) Fleet replenishment vessel

HMAS Sirius was a commercial tanker purchased by the Royal Australian Navy and converted into a fleet replenishment vessel to replace HMAS Westralia. She was named in honour of HMS Sirius of the First Fleet. Launched in South Korea on 2004, and converted in Western Australia, Sirius was commissioned in 2006; three years before a purpose-built vessel would have been built, and at half the cost. The tanker was decommissioned in 2021 and subsequently scrapped.

<i>Osprey</i>-class minehunter Ship class

The Osprey class are a series of coastal minehunters designed to find, classify, and destroy moored and bottom naval mines from vital waterways.

MSA <i>Brolga</i> (1102) Australian minesweeper

MSA Brolga (1102) was a minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1988 and 2003. Launched in 1975 by Australian Shipbuilding Industries, the ship was designed for the Department of Transport as the lighthouse tender Lumen. Originally operating as a supply vessel for lighthouses around northern Queensland and the Torres Strait, the transition in lighthouse lights from acetylene gas to solar power meant there was less demand for the vessel, and by 1988, the Department of Transport was looking to sell the ship.

Tripartite-class minehunter Ship class of minehunters

The Tripartite class is a class of minehunters developed from an agreement between the navies of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. A total of 35 ships were constructed for the three navies. The class was constructed in the 1980s–1990s in all three countries, using a mix of minehunting, electrical and propulsion systems from the three member nations. In France, where they are known as the Éridan class they are primarily used as minehunters, but have been used for minesweeping and ammunition transport in Belgium and the Netherlands, where the Tripartites are known as the Alkmaar class.

HMAS <i>Diamantina</i> (M 86)

HMAS Diamantina, named after the Diamantina River, is a Huon-class minehunter currently serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by a joint partnership between Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, Diamantina was constructed at ADI's Newcastle shipyard, and entered service in 2000.

HMAS <i>Melville</i> (A 246)

HMAS Melville is the second ship of the Leeuwin class of hydrographic survey vessels operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Norman</i> (M 84)

HMAS Norman, named for the Norman River in Queensland, is the third Huon-class minehunter to serve in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by a joint partnership between Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, Norman was constructed at ADI's Newcastle shipyard, and entered service in 2000.

HMAS <i>Gascoyne</i> (M 85) Huon-class minehunter of the Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Gascoyne, named for the Gascoyne River, is the fourth of six Huon-class minehunters constructed for and currently in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by a joint partnership between Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, Gascoyne was constructed at ADI's Newcastle shipyard, and entered service in 2000.

HMAS <i>Yarra</i> (M 87) Australian warship

HMAS Yarra is the sixth Huon-class minehunter to have been built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the fourth warship to be named after the Yarra River in Victoria. Built by a joint partnership between Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, Yarra was constructed at ADI's Newcastle shipyard, and entered service in 2003.

<i>Paluma</i>-class motor launch

The Paluma-class motor launch was a class of four hydrographic survey motor launches operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in Port Adelaide between 1988 and 1990, the four catamarans were primarily based at HMAS Cairns in Cairns, Queensland, and operated in pairs to survey the waters of northern Australia.

<i>Lerici</i>-class minehunter Class of Italian minehunters

The Lerici class is a class of minehunters constructed by Intermarine SpA and owned and operated by the Italian Navy. The class incorporates two subclasses: the first four ships are referred to specifically as the first series of the Lerici class, while eight more ships produced to a slightly modified design are known as "second series Lericis" or as the Gaeta class.

TRV Tailor (803) was one of three Torpedo Recovery Vessels operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Defence Maritime Services (DMS). Ordered in 1969, the vessel, originally identified as TRV 255, was completed in 1971 and assigned to the naval base HMAS Waterhen in Sydney. The ship received a name and the pennant number "TRV 803" in 1983. In 1988, the three vessels were sold to DMS. Tailor was assigned to the naval base HMAS Creswell in Western Australia. Tailor was decommissioned in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craft of Opportunity Program</span>

The Craft of Opportunity Program (COOP) was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) acquisition program intended to supplement the navy's mine warfare capability with civilian vessels that could be quickly converted into minesweepers. Vessels acquired under COOP were not commissioned into the RAN, and instead operated with the prefix "MSA" (Minesweeper Auxiliary).

<i>Bandicoot</i>-class minesweeper

The Bandicoot class was a ship class of two minesweeper tugboats operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). MSA Bandicoot and MSA Wallaroo were built in 1982 for Maritime (PTE) Ltd. as the tugboats Grenville VII and Grenville V. In 1990, the RAN purchased the vessels for conversion into auxiliary minesweepers under the Craft of Opportunity Program (COOP). The vessels could be equipped with a sidescan sonar and various towed minesweeping arrays, and also functioned as berthing tugs. Both vessels were placed in reserve in 2010, but were deployed on several occasions since to provide berthing support to nuclear-powered warships. They were removed from naval service in 2014.

References


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.