HMAS Cessnock
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History | |
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Australia | |
Namesake | City of Cessnock |
Builder | NQEA, Cairns |
Laid down | 9 March 1981 |
Launched | 15 January 1983 |
Commissioned | 5 March 1983 |
Decommissioned | 23 June 2005 |
Homeport | HMAS Coonawarra |
Motto | "No Steps Backward" |
Honours and awards | Four inherited battle honours |
Fate | Scrapped |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Fremantle-class patrol boat |
Displacement | 220 tons |
Length | 137.6 ft (41.9 m) |
Beam | 25.25 ft (7.70 m) |
Draught | 5.75 ft (1.75 m) |
Propulsion | 2 MTU series 538 diesel engines, 3,200 shp (2,400 kW), 2 propellers |
Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) |
Complement | 22 |
Armament |
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HMAS Cessnock (FCPB 210), named for the city of Cessnock, New South Wales was a Fremantle-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Main article: Fremantle-class patrol boat |
Starting in the late 1960s, planning began for a new class of patrol boat to replace the Attack class, 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 Bofors 40mm gun, supplemented by two .50 cal Browning machineguns and an 81 mm mortar.[2] 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.[4][3]
Cessnock was laid down by the NQEA in Cairns, Queensland on 9 March 1981, launched on 15 January 1983, and commissioned into the RAN on 5 March 1983.[5][6]
Following Cyclone Bola in 1988, Cessnock provided assistance to 30 villages across 11 islands in Vanuatu.[5]
Cessnock was decommissioned on 23 June 2005.[5] It was scrapped in Darwin during 2006, at a cost of $400,000 to the Australian government.[7]