Perth class destroyer

The "Perth class" is the name given to the modified "Charles F. Adams" class destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy. The three "Perth" class vessels were the first guided missile-armed destroyers in the Royal Australian Navy. Based on the "Charles F. Adams" class of guided missile destroyer of the US Navy, the class came about from a requirement for the RAN to purchase guided missile armed vessels; traditionally the RAN up to then had purchased designs based on those of the Royal Navy. However, the "County" class destroyer entering service in the RN provoked doubts, especially regarding its Sea Slug missile system. As a consequence, the RAN looked elsewhere for a design that met their specifically Australian requirements, and led to the government ordering two modified "Charles F. Adams" class destroyers from Defoe Shipbuilding Company of Bay City, Michigan in January 1962, with a third ordered in June 1963:
*HMAS "Perth"
*HMAS "Hobart"
*HMAS "Brisbane"

The main modification from the American ships being built at the same time was the addition of two broad deckhouses between the funnels for the Ikara ASW missile system, and having a single arm missile launcher rather than a twin arm launcher. The ships were the first of a series of American designs to enter service in the RAN.

Once commissioned, all three units served in the Vietnam War as part of the US Seventh Fleet, providing both area air defence for the US aircraft carriers and naval gunfire support for troops inland. For their service in Vietnam, both "Perth" and "Hobart" were awarded unit decorations by the United States. "Brisbane" also served as part of the RAN commitment to the Gulf War in 1991. In 1993, the "Charles F. Adams" class destroyer USS "Goldsborough", which had been recently decommissioned by the US Navy, was purchased by the RAN as a spares hulk for the three "Perth" class units. All three units were decommissioned between 1999 and 2001. Following their withdrawal, all three were sunk as dive wrecks off the coast of Australia.

pecifications

*Displacement: 4,720 tons
*Dimensions: length 133.2 metres, beam 14.3 metres, draught 6.1 metres
*Armament:
**2 x 127 mm (5") mark 42 mod 10 automatic rapid fire guns
**1 x Mk 13 single arm launcher for SM-1 missile (initially Tartar)
**2 x Ikara ASW missile systems (removed 1989-1991)
**2 x Mk 15 Vulcan Phalanx (first fitted in 1990, rotated between ships)
**2 x triple 324 mm torpedo tubes
*Propulsion: 2 x GE steam turbines; 2 shafts; 70,000 shaft horse power (52 MW)
*Speed: 30+ knots

hips

fnb|1 The ex-USS "Goldsborough" was purchased by the RAN as a source of spares for its three units. The ship was never officially part of the RAN fleet.
fnb|2 The "Goldsborough" never received an official pennant number. The RAN crew assigned with identifying usable equipment painted the number "40" on the ship's bow, to fill in the missing number ^{[http://www.ussgoldsborough.com/history/disposition.htm|1]}

Replacement

There was no direct replacement of the "Perth" class following their withdrawal from service, with the area air defence role instead taken by the "Adelaide" class guided missile frigate, armed with the SM-1 missile. Four of the six "Adelaide" class, are being upgraded as a makeshift gap-filler (while the two oldest "Adelaides" are decommissioned), with the addition of an eight cell Mk 41 VLS armed with ESSM, and the replacement of SM-1 with SM-2. However, the Sea 4000 Project will see the construction of three brand new air defence destroyers equipped with the Aegis combat system, projected to enter service from 2013. Two of these units will be named "Hobart" and "Brisbane".

External links

* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/australia/destroyers/pages/australian_destroyer_index.htm MaritimeQuest Australian Destroyer Index]