HMAS Derwent (DE 49)

HMAS "Derwent" (F 22/DE 49) was a River class destroyer escort, laid down by the Williamstown Naval Dockyard at Melbourne in Victoria on 17 June 1959, launched on 17 April 1961 and commissioned on 23 April 1964. HMAS Derwent paid off on 8 August 1994, and was sunk after being used for trials off Western Australia.

"Derwent" was named after the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania.

Operational History

HMAS "Derwent" was the first RAN vessel to launch a guided missile when she fired a Seacat missile on 25 May, 1964.

On 8 September 1980, "Derwent" joined five other RAN vessels to form the Australia Squadron.cite book |last=Lind |first=Lew |title=The Royal Australian Navy - Historic Naval Events Year by Year |origyear=1982 |edition=2nd ed. |year=1986 |publisher=Reed Books |location=Frenchs Forest, NSW |pages=p. 297 |isbn=0730100715 |oclc=16922225] The Squadron, which included HMA Ships "Melbourne", "Perth", "Stalwart", "Supply", and "Otama" spent two months in the Indian Ocean as part of a flag-showing cruise; the largest RAN deployment since World War II.

From 1991 to 1992, "Derwent"'s Seacat and Ikara launchers were removed. During this time, "Derwent" was used as a training vessel.

Prior to Australian ships deploying to the Persian Gulf, "Derwent" conducted trials in launching the RBS 70 Surface to Air Missile from a naval platform.

"Derwent" was decommissioned at HMAS Stirling on 8 August, 1994 after 30 years' service, HMAS "Derwent" had steamed 890,927 nautical miles (1,649,997 km) during her naval career.

Fate

Following scientific tests to study ship survivability, "Derwent" was sunk in deep waters, 15 nautical miles (28 km) west of Rottnest Island as a "fish attraction device" on 21 December, 1994.

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