HMAS Swan (DE 50)

HMAS "Swan" (DE 50) was a "River" class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Construction

"Swan" was laid down by the Williamstown Dockyard at Melbourne in Victoria on 16 February 1965. She was launched on 16 December 1967, by Mrs. Allen Fairhall, the wife of the then Minister for the Navy, and commissioned into the RAN on 20 January 1970.

HMAS "Swan" was the third vessel in the Royal Australian Navy to be named so. She was the twenty-fifth "Royal Swan", the twenty-two others having served in Her Majesty's Royal Navy.

She was constructed together with her sister ship, HMAS "Torrens", as a replacement for HMAS "Voyager", which was lost on 10 February 1964 in a collision with the aircraft carrier HMAS "Melbourne". Both vessels were derivations of the Royal Navy's "Leander" class general purpose frigate, which was in turn derived of the "Type 12" frigate.

Operational history

In 1974, HMAS "Swan" was in Hong Kong for Christmas, when it was announced that she had been awarded the Duke of Gloucester Cup for being the most efficient ship in the Royal Australian Navy. Seven years later, on 4 September 1981, she became the first Australian warship to visit China in thirty-two years. On the same deployment, "Swan" also became the first Australian warship to be involved in joint exercises with Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force.

Decommissiong and fate

HMAS "Swan" paid off on 13 September 1996 and was scuttled as a dive wreck in Geographe Bay off Dunsborough in Western Australia on 14 December 1997.

After decommissioning, the Australian government gifted the ship to the state of Western Australia. The state government subsequently set up an independent committee, headed by the Western Australian Tourism Commission, to decide the ship's fate. Many applications were received from across the state, with ideas including conversion into a floating hotel, a floating church, a homeless shelter, or an artificial reef. On 11 November 1996, it was announced by State Minister for Tourism Norman Moore that the ship would be givent to the Geographe Bay Artificial Reef Society to be scuttled and made into an artificial reef and dive site.

Preperations for scuttling were made with the help of the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia, whose members had experience in dealing with similar-sized ships. "Swan" was towed to Bunbury, Western Australia. Over the next twelve months, the ship was cleaned on environmental hazards (such as oil and plastics) and diver hazards (such as cabling), and had access holes cut. Ten explosive charges were installed; six at the bow, four at the stern. After preperations were completed, the ship was towed to a point convert|1.3|nmi|km from Point Picquet (Meelup Beach), near Dunsborough, Western Australia.

On 14 December 1997, "Swan" was scuttled. The sinking was observed by an estimated 10,000 spectators on shore, plus 600 spectator craft. The actual detonation was performed by a six-year-old child, whose father had won a raffle for the honour. "Swan" sank quickly in convert|31|m|ft, and came to rest on the sandy bottom in a nearly upright position. The site is now host to an estimated 100 different species of marine life.

External links

* [http://www.navy.gov.au/HMAS_Swan_(III) RAN website for HMAS Swan III]
* [http://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/articles/hmasswan.htm Michael McFadyen - Devilfish Diving Services's page about the Swan]
* [http://www.totaltravel.com.au/travel/wa/southwestwa/margaretriverwine/guide/hmas-swan-wreck Totaltravel.com page on HMAS Swan]