Attack class patrol boat
 HMAS Advance, now a museum ship at the Australian National Maritime Museum |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Attack |
| Builders: | Evans Deakin and Company Walkers Limited |
| Operators: |  Royal Australian Navy Indonesian Navy Papua New Guinea Defence Force |
| Preceded by: | Bathurst class corvette |
| Succeeded by: | Fremantle class patrol boat |
| Cost: | A$800,000 |
| Completed: | 20 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| Retired: | 9 |
| Preserved: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Patrol boat |
| Displacement: | 100 tons standard 146 tons full load |
| Length: | 107.5 ft (32.8 m) |
| Beam: | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Draught: | 7.3 ft (2.2 m) at full load |
| Propulsion: | 2x 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) |
| Complement: | 3 officers, 16 sailors |
| Armament: | 1 x 40 mm Bofors gun 2 x .50 calibre machine guns |
| Notes: | Taken from:[1] |
The Attack class patrol boats were small coastal defence vessels built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and operated between 1967 and 1985. Following their Australian service, twelve ships were transferred to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Contents |
[edit] Construction
Twenty boats were ordered by the Department of Defence in November 1965[1] at a cost of around A$800,000[citation needed] each from two Queensland shipyards, Evans Deakin in Brisbane and Walkers in Maryborough.[1] Five were marked for the formation of a "New Guinea coastal security force", while the other fifteen were for patrols and general duties in Australian waters.[1]
The first vessel was scheduled to be commissioned in August 1966, but she was not launched until March 1967.[1]
The inclusion of the Attack class in the RAN fleet led to a second version of the ship's badge design to be created, as it was not deemed appropriate for such small vessels to use the full-size badge.[2] The badge used by the patrol boats was scaled down from 755 by 620 millimetres (29.7 by 24 in) to 440 by 365 millimetres (17 by 14.4 in), with no other alterations.[2]
[edit] In fiction
Two Attack class boats represented the fictional HMAS Ambush in the first series of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV series Patrol Boat.
[edit] Fates
The Attack class was replaced in RAN service by the larger and more capable Fremantle class patrol boats. In 1975, Aitape, Ladava, Lae, Mandang, and Samarai were transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.[3] Acute, Archer, Assail, Attack, Bandolier, Barricade, and Bombard were transferred to the Indonesian Navy between 1974 and 1985, where they are still in service under new names.[3]
Arrow was destroyed in Darwin on 25 December 1974 during Cyclone Tracy.
Advance was donated to the Australian National Maritime Museum in the late 1980s for preservation as a museum ship.[4] Ardent was to be preserved as a memorial in Darwin, but as of 2007, her status is unknown.[5] Aware was sold to a private owner during the 1990s, who modified her for use as a diving and salvage mothership, then was resold in to new owners in 2006.[6][7] Aitape was sunk as a dive wreck off Port Moresby in 1995. Bayonet was scuttled in Bass Strait in 1999 and has been successfully dived.[citation needed] Adroit paid off on 28 March 1992 and was sunk as a target by A-4 Skyhawk aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force west of Rottnest Island on 8 August 1994. The remainder of the class were broken up for scrap.
[edit] Attack Class
| Ship | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Paid Off | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | P 90 | Evans Deakin and Company | 17 November 1967 | 8 April 1967 | 21 February 1985 | Transferred to Indonesia (KRI Sikuda 863) |
| Acute | P 81 | Evans Deakin and Company | 26 August 1967 | 26 April 1968 | 6 May 1983 | Transferred to Indonesia (KRI Silea 858) |
| Adroit | P 82 | Evans Deakin and Company | 3 February 1968 | 17 August 1968 | 28 March 1992 | Sunk as target 8 August 1994 |
| Advance | P 83 | Walkers Limited | 16 August 1967 | 24 January 1968 | 6 February 1988 | Museum ship ANMM, Sydney |
| Archer | P 86 | 2 December 1967 | 15 May 1968 | 21 May 1974 | Transferred to Indonesia (KRI Siliman 848) | |
| Ardent | P 87 | Evans Deakin and Company | 27 April 1968 | 26 October 1968 | 6 January 1994 | |
| Arrow | P 88 | Walkers Limited | 17 February 1968 | 3 July 1968 | Destroyed Darwin 25 December 1974 | |
| Assail | P 89 | Evans Deakin and Company | 18 November 1967 | 21 July 1968 | 18 October 1985 | Transferred to Indonesia (KRI Sigurot 864) |
| Aware | P 91 | Evans Deakin and Company | 7 October 1967 | 21 June 1968 | 17 July 1993 | Private ownership, Bundaberg, Queensland |
| Bandolier | P 95 | Walkers Limited | 2 October 1968 | 14 December 1968 | 16 November 1973 | Transferred to Indonesia (KRI Sibarau 847) |
| Barbette | P 97 | Walkers Limited | 10 April 1968 | 16 August 1968 | 15 June 1984 | Transferred to Indonesia? |
| Barricade | P 98 | Evans Deakin and Company | 29 June 1968 | 26 October 1968 | 20 May 1982 | Transferred to Indonesia (KRI Sigalu 857) |
| Bayonet | P 101 | 6 November 1968 | 22 February 1969 | 26 June 1988 | Scuttled 21 September 1999, Victoria | |
| Bombard | P 99 | 6 July 1968 | 5 November 1968 | 12 September 1983 | Transferred to Indonesia (KRI Siribua 859) | |
| Buccaneer | P 100 | Evans Deakin and Company | 14 September 1968 | 11 November 1969 | 27 July 1984 | Sunk as target, 8 October 1988 |
| Ship | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Paid Off | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitape | P 84 | Walkers Limited | 6 July 1967 | 13 November 1967 | 14 November 1974 | Transferred to PNG 1974 (HMPNGS Aitape). Scuttled 1995 |
| Ladava | P 92 | Walkers Limited | 11 May 1968 | 13 November 1967 | 14 November 1974 | Transferred to PNG 1974 (HMPNGS Ladava) |
| Lae | P 93 | Walkers Limited | 5 October 1967 | 3 April 1968 | 14 November 1974 | Transferred to PNG 1974 (HMPNGS Lae) |
| Madang | P 94 | Evans Deakin and Company | 10 October 1968 | 28 November 1968 | 14 November 1974 | Transferred to PNG 1974 (HMPNGS Madang) |
| Samarai | P 85 | Evans Deakin and Company | 14 July 1967 | 1 March 1968 | 14 November 1974 | Transferred to PNG 1974 (HMPNGS Samarai) |
[edit] See also
Media related to Attack class patrol boat at Wikimedia Commons
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Blackman (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968-69, p. 18
- ^ a b Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 195
- ^ a b Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p. 261
- ^ Mitchell, Brett (23 February 2006). "Past meets future". Navy News. http://www.defence.gov.au/news/NAVYNEWS/editions/4902/topstories/story07.htm. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
- ^ Andrews, Graeme (October 2007). "Yesterday's Navy: On the hardships ashore and hulks - part 2". Afloat. http://www.afloat.com.au/afloat-magazine/archive/2007_October2007_YesterdaysNavyPart2byGraemeAndrews.htm. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "Looking for a used "sub"?". Navy News. 10 August 1998. http://www.defence.gov.au/news/NAVYNEWS/editions/1998/08_10_98/100898story2.htm. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ Cavander, Letea (16 April 2010). "Man told 'pay up or sink boat'". Bundaberg NewsMail. http://www.news-mail.com.au/story/2010/04/16/war-on-water/. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- Blackman, Raymond (ed.) (1968). Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968-69 (71st ed.). London: Jane's Publishing Company. OCLC 123786869.
- Cassells, Vic (2000). The Capital Ships: their battles and their badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7318-0941-6. OCLC 48761594.
- Frame, Tom (2004). No Pleasure Cruise: the story of the Royal Australian Navy. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-74114-233-4. OCLC 55980812.
- Godley, Peter J. (2005). "Twenty of the Best". Australian Warship (Sydney: Topmill) (25).
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