HMAS Ladava (P 92)

Last updated

HMASAdvancecrop.jpg
HMAS Advance, a sister ship to Ladava
History
Naval Ensign of Australia.svgAustralia
NamesakeVillage of Ladava, PNG
BuilderWalkers Limited
Launched11 May 1968
Commissioned21 October 1968
Decommissioned14 November 1974
Motto"Fight The Good Fight"
FateTransferred to Papua New Guinea
Badge HMAS Ladava.png
Naval Ensign of Papua New Guinea.svgPapua New Guinea
Commissioned14 November 1974
Decommissioned1988[ citation needed ]
FateUnknown
General characteristics
Class and type Attack-class patrol boat
Displacement
  • 100 tons standard
  • 146 tons full load
Length107.6 ft (32.8 m) length overall
Beam20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught
  • 6.4 ft (2.0 m) at standard load
  • 7.3 ft (2.2 m) at full load
Propulsion
  • 2 × 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines
  • 3,460 shp (2,580 kW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Range1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement3 officers, 16 sailors
Armament

HMAS Ladava (P 92) was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It was named after the small village of Ladava situated on the shore of Milne Bay in Alotau District, Papua New Guinea. Completed in 1968, the vessel was one of five assigned to the RAN's Papua New Guinea (PNG) Division. The patrol boat was transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in 1974 as HMPNGS Ladava. The patrol boat was decommissioned in 1988, although her fate is unknown.

Contents

Design and construction

The Attack class was ordered in 1964 to operate in Australian waters as patrol boats (based on lessons learned through using the Ton-class minesweepers on patrols of Borneo during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and to replace a variety of old patrol, search-and-rescue, and general-purpose craft. [1] Initially, fourteen were ordered for the RAN, five of which were intended for the Papua New Guinea Division of the RAN, although another six ships were ordered to bring the class to twenty vessels. [1]

The patrol boats had a displacement of 100 tons at standard load and 146 tons at full load, were 107.6 feet (32.8 m) in length overall, had a beam of 20 feet (6.1 m), and draughts of 6.4 feet (2.0 m) at standard load, and 7.3 feet (2.2 m) at full load. [1] [2] Propulsion machinery consisted of two 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines, which supplied 3,460 shaft horsepower (2,580 kW) to the two propellers. [1] [2] The vessels could achieve a top speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), and had a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). [1] [2] The ship's company consisted of three officers and sixteen sailors. [2] Main armament was a bow-mounted Bofors 40 mm gun, supplemented by two .50-calibre M2 Browning machine guns and various small arms. [1] [2] The ships were designed with as many commercial components as possible: the Attacks were to operate in remote regions of Australia and New Guinea, and a town's hardware store would be more accessible than home base in a mechanical emergency. [3]

Ladava was built by Walkers Limited at Maryborough, Queensland, [4] launched on 11 May 1968, [5] and commissioned on 21 October 1968. [4]

Operational history

HMAS Ladava arrived at the RAN base HMAS Tarangau at Los Negros Island, Manus Province in December 1968, joining the previously delivered Aitape, Samarai, and Lae. [5] Primary roles of the new patrol boats were fisheries protection and sea training, but also undertook search and rescue, medical evacuation and monitoring of navigational aids roles. The ship's company was made up of both Australian and PNG servicemen. [5] Prior to the arrival of the Attack-class patrol boats, surveillance of PNG waters was conducted by small coastal craft and occasional visits by larger RAN warships, but the PNG Division was now able to chase and apprehend vessels suspected of illegal fishing. [5]

In February 1968, Ladava and sister ship Aitape traveled 231 miles (372 km) up the Sepik River in western Papua New Guinea. [5] In a first for the PNG Division, HMAS Ladava became the first patrol boat to be completely PNG-manned on 18 June 1974, when Lieutenant Karry Frank took command. [5]

Ladava was one of the five Attack-class patrol boats of the RAN PNG Division transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force's (PNGDF) Maritime Element (now Maritime Operations Element) on 14 November 1974 when the PNGDF took over maritime functions from the RAN. [5] They formed the PNGDF Patrol Boat Squadron based at Manus. [5] Ladava was decommissioned in 1988.[ citation needed ]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Ships since 1946, p. 86
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Blackman (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968–69, p. 18
  3. ↑ The patrol boat, Australian National Maritime Museum
  4. 1 2 Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Ships since 1946, p. 87
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sinclair, James (1990). "The Maritime Element". To find a path: the life and times of the Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (Commemorative ed.). Boolarong Publications. ISBN   0-7316-9111-3.

Related Research Articles

HMAS Acute was an Attack-class patrol boat operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Adroit</i> (P 82)

HMAS Adroit was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Advance</i> (P 83)

HMAS Advance was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Constructed during 1967 and commissioned into the RAN in 1968, Advance operated from Darwin and patrolled northern Australian waters.

HMAS <i>Aitape</i> (P 84) Papua New Guinea Defence Force vessel

HMAS Aitape was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It was named for the small town of Aitape, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. Completed in 1967, the vessel was one of five assigned to the RAN's Papua New Guinea (PNG) Division. The patrol boat was transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in 1974 as HMPNGS Aitape. She remained active until 1982, when she was removed from service for use as a parts hulk. Aitape was scuttled off Port Moresby for use as a dive wreck in 1995.

HMAS Archer was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Ardent</i> (P 87) 1968 Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Ardent was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was built by Evans Deakin and Company, and was commissioned into the RAN in 1968. Ardent was decommissioned in 1994, then assigned as a navigation training vessel. At the end of 1998, she was removed from service. Initially marked for preservation at the Darwin Military Museum, the vessel was sold into civilian service in 2001 after the Northern Territory government declined. In 2002, the patrol boat was acquired by the Indonesian Navy, and commissioned as KRI Tenggiri (865) in 2003.

HMAS <i>Arrow</i> (P 88)

HMAS Arrow was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Assail</i> (P 89)

HMAS Assail was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Attack</i> (P 90)

HMAS Attack was the lead ship of the Attack-class patrol boats used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Launched in April 1967 and commissioned in November that year, the ship was largely commercial in design and was used to protect fisheries in Australia's northern waters, and to support the survey ship Moresby. The vessel remained in RAN service until 1985 when it was transferred to the Indonesian Navy and renamed Sikuda.

HMAS <i>Aware</i> (P 91)

HMAS Aware was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS Bandolier was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Barbette</i> (P 97)

HMAS Barbette was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS Barricade was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Bayonet</i> (P 101) Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Bayonet was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS Bombard was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Buccaneer</i> (P 100)

HMAS Buccaneer was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

<i>Attack</i>-class patrol boat

The Attack-class patrol boats were small coastal defence vessels built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and operated between 1967 and at least 1991. Following their Australian service, twelve ships were transferred to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

HMAS <i>Madang</i> (P 94) Australian, then PNG, naval vessel

HMAS Madang, named for the settlement of Madang in New Guinea, was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Completed in 1968, the vessel was one of five assigned to the RAN's Papua New Guinea (PNG) Division. The patrol boat was transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in 1974 as HMPNGS Madang. She was decommissioned in 1989.

HMAS <i>Samarai</i> (P 85) Australian, then PNG, naval vessel

HMAS Samarai, named after the island of Samarai and its former town, was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Completed in 1968, the vessel was one of five assigned to the RAN's Papua New Guinea (PNG) Division. The patrol boat was transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in 1974 as HMPNGS Samarai. She remained in service until 1987, when she was paid off and used as a parts hulk.

HMAS <i>Lae</i> (P 93) Australian, then PNG, naval vessel

HMAS Lae was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It was named for the city of Lae, capital of Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. Completed in 1968, the vessel was one of five assigned to the RAN's Papua New Guinea (PNG) Division. The patrol boat was transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in 1974 as HMPNGS Lae. She remained in service until 1988.

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.