The Navy Vol_49_Part1 1987 - Navy League of Australia

^=*s NAVAL | ROUNDUP "GAYUNDAH"The Port of Fremantle wasinundated with visitors in February.Two Ruyal Navy patrol vesselHong Kong Squadron battled for a placeberth amongst the many ocean liners and tallships already thereThe two ships, HMS PEACOCK (P239) andHMS STARLING (P241) were the first Bntishpatrol ships from the Hong Kong Squadron tovisit FremantleDisplacing 710 :onnes. the ships carry acomplement of seven officers and 36 sailorsEach ship has a length of 62 b metres, and iscapable of 25 knotsEach is armed with a single 7b mm OtoMelara gun and its associated British aerospacefire control system Up to four 7 62 mm generalpurpose machine guns can be positioned aboutthe upper deck, and there are two inch rocketlaunchers midshipsBuilt by Hall Russell Limited. Scotland, theships ate specially designed for patrol duties inHong Kong waters, including search andrescue, and have the ability to stay ai sea duringtyphoonsHMS PEACOCK was commissioned on 14July. 1984. and HMS STARLING on 10August. 1984USS PAUL F FOSTER enteDecember 1986(prtotc -toiiWtifwng the Port of Fremantle,LSPM E Pitman, fUN|1The first of the 12 Australian Shipbuilding Industry ASI 315 165 tonne patrol boats underconstruction at South Coogee in Western Australia has had its superstructurelowered mtx place This vessel is the first of four for Papua New Guinea ft will be namedHMPNGS TARANGAU The others are destined for FI/I (4). and one each tor Vanuatu,Western Samoa. Solomon islands and the Cook Islands The 31 5 metre boats has beenspecifically designed for operating m a remote and harsh environment, with emphasis onease of maintenance and good seakeepmg Qualities, |pnoto LSPH E Pitman RANInuss vir CENNES. firstAustralia.Fremantle4=35JmTiconcDecemberRAN]I•P1nog!1186% »gldmpMMLm *cruiserLSPH EovisitPitmanApril-June. 1987Compiled byThe first modernisation of theNavy's guided missile launchersystem to take Harpoon, as well asStandard missiles, has been successfullycompleted at Garden IslandDockyard.The launcher is fined in 'he Royal AustralianNavy's guided missile frigates and guidedmissile destroyers currently being modernised atGarden IslandNAVAL ROUNDUP -GAYUNDAH"Major Modernisation of Ouided Missile LauncherThe General Manager of the dockyard. RearAdmital Nigel Berkyn. said that the completionof this major project represented a remarkableachievement (or the dockyard He elaboratedthat it was a major dockyard protect using, inpart, state-of-the-art weapons technology asused by major weapon manufacturers in theUSA. completed on time and cost, principallyby a team of dedicated dockyard employees,breaking new ground in AustraliaDoing the job at GID saved $2 5 million, andresulted in the launcher being available 12months earlierThe launcher facility is the only purpose builtfacility of its type to offer disassembly, overhaul,reassembly and full test capabilitiesIt is already attracting the attention of othernavies, and of launcher manufacturers Thefacility, coupled with the co-located 254-tonnecrane, also offers the unique capability ofremoval and return of the 60 tonne launcher tothe ship as a complete unit, minimising workrequired on shipThe facility will be m use until the nextcentury for the programme of Navy missilelauncher overhauls and modernisations Thefirst completed missile launcher was lifted by thedockyard's 254-tonne crane, and fitted into theguided missile destroyer. HMASon 25 FebruaryBRISBANE,Lose a cannon, gain anairpla lane?Ballarat may ask the Navy for anobsolete naval aircraft as a replacementfor FIMVS CERBERUS' gun,formerly in their Botanic Gardens.The City Council agreed to return the historiccannon tc the Royal Australian Navy as a 75thanniversary gesture, bul declined the offer of aBofors gun in its placeThe Mayor. Cr Jim Reeves, said he had hadan informal suggestion that the Navy might beasked to donate an old naval aircraft for theEureka Aviation MuseumThe council agreed that the Mayorshouldfollow up the idea with the museum and theNavyThe council received a letter from theAssistant Minister for Defence Mr Brown,thanking the city for agreeing to transferCERBERUS yun.theMr Brown said that this contribution by thepeople of Ballarat to the 75lh anniversary of theNavy was greatly appreciated'Items such as the ex-HMVSCERBERUS'gun. because of their rarity, are of tremendousimportance to ihe history of the Navyand.indeed, to our nation's maritime heritage," hesaid"This will be particularly so for the thousandsof naval personnel who pass through theRecruit Training Establishment. HMASCERBERUS, .•.)!.•!the gun will be located andalso to the members of the public who will havethe opportunity to view the gun within thisnaval envitonment "Early Seatime for NewBreed of SailorSixty-eight young men headed fortravel and adventure with the RoyalAustralian Navy on 27 February,pioneering a new job category —general duties.Aged between17 and 28. they arrived atHMAS Ninrr.ba. Quaker's Hill, near Blacktown.NSW. for basic training after signing on for twoyearsAfter an eight-week course, including thetraditional sailors' arts of ropework, drill, plusfirefighting. damage control, nuclear, biologicaland chemical defence (NBCD1. they will join aseagoing naval unitAfter two years, the men will be able to discharge,or apply to transfer after six months to aspecific specialisation such as radar plotter orsubmariner, depending upon availability andsuitabilityThe Navy aims to sign on some 300 of themen in the new category each year and hold(our courses during this periodMaritime College winsMinesweeping ContractA Tasmania-based researchcompany has received a contractworth more than $500,000, whichcould enable minesweeping to bedone by some commercial craftrather than minesweepers.The contract for development of a prototypewire trawl capable of sweeping moored mineshas been placed with the AustraliaMaritimeCollege research company. AMC Search Ltd.In LauncestonAnnouncing this, the Minister forDefence.Mr Kim Beaziey. said successful developmentof the minesweeping trawl would complementother minesweeping development work beingundertaken by the Royal Australian Navy's ResearchLaboratory at Pyrmont, in Sydney"The contract has been let as part of a planby the RAN to regain a minesweeping capabilitybased on extensive use of Australian commercialinfrastructure." he said"The minesweeping programme accords withthe high priority given by the Governmentthe acquisition of a mine countermeasures canabilityfor the defence of Australian ports "The development work and trials so farcarried out on the RAN ResearchtoLaboratoryequipment, had been very encouraging and hebelieved that AMC Search Ltd was capable ofproducing a prototype sweep to meet tneNavy's requirements"The excellent facilities at the MaritimeCollege in Launceston. combined with theexpertise of the development team formed forthe wire trawl protect should ensure everyopportunity for success in this complexhe said.task."The Minister added that, if the developmentsprove successful, it should be possible to usesuitable commercial craft for minesweepingrather than expensive, purpose-built minesweepingvesselsPage Thirteen