HMAS Warrnambool (FCPB 204)

History
Australia
Namesake	City of Warrnambool
Builder	NQEA, Cairns
Laid down	30 September 1978
Launched	25 October 1980
Commissioned	14 March 1981
Decommissioned	29 November 2005
Motto	"Protect and Avenge"
Honours and awards	Three inherited battle honours
Fate	Scrapped
Badge
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 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)
Complement	22
Armament	1 Bofors 40 mm/60 Bofors gun 2 12.7 mm machine guns 1 81 mm mortar (removed later)

HMAS Warrnambool (FCPB 204), named after the city of Warrnambool, Victoria, was a Fremantle-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

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 40 mm Bofors gun as main armament, supplemented by two .50 cal Browning machine guns and an 81 mm mortar,^[2] although the mortar was removed from all ships sometime in the late 1990s.^{[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]

Warrnambool was built by NQEA, Cairns.^[2] The ship was laid down on 30 September 1978, launched on 25 October 1980, and commissioned into the RAN on 14 March 1981.^[5]

Warrnambool was decommissioned on 29 November 2005.^{[citation needed]}

The patrol boat was broken up for scrap in Darwin during 2006 and 2007, at a cost of $450,000 to the Australian government.^[6]

• Gillett, Ross (1988). Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946. Brookvale: Child & Associates. ISBN 0-86777-219-0. OCLC 23470364.
• Jones, Peter (2001). "Towards Self Reliance". In Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555542-2. OCLC 50418095.
• Mitchell, Brett (2007). "Farewell to the Fremantle Class". In Forbes, Andrew; Lovi, Michelle (eds.). Australian Maritime Issues 2006 (PDF). Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs. Sea Power Centre. ISBN 978-0-642-29644-3. ISSN 1327-5658. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  • The chapter is available separately as Semaphore, Issue 17, 2005 in PDF and HTML formats.
• Moore, John, ed. (1985). Jane's Fighting Ships 1985–86. London: Janes Information Services. ISBN 0-7106-0814-4.

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