- HMAS Canberra (FFG 02)
HMAS "Canberra" (FFG 02) was an "Adelaide" class guided missile armed frigate of the
Royal Australian Navy .Construction
The ship was laid down by
Todd Pacific Shipyards atSeattle inWashington on 1 March 1978, launched on 1 December 1978. "Canberra" was commissioned on 21 March 1981. The ship was designated FFG-18 during construction.Operational history
"Canberra" was decommissioned in Sydney on 12 November 2005.
Dive wreck
In October 2006, it was announced that the decommissioned frigate will be scuttled off the coast of
Barwon Heads, Victoria , to be used as awreck diving site. In October 2006, the Federal Government allocated AU$2.8 million to the project, while the Victorian Government allocated AU$500,000. [Walker, Frank (2006). Hopes for dive wreck scuttled. "The Sun-Herald", 22 October 2006. ] On 23 July 2007, the Minister for Defence, Dr Brendan Nelson, announced that in order to ensure the quickest possible schedule for the sinking of the ship, AU$7 million of federal money would be allocated to the project. [cite web|url=http://www.hmascanberra.com.au/itn-20070723.htm|title=ex HMAS Canberra Reef - Minister for Defence, 23 July 2007 - Howard Government To Fund And Sink ex-HMAS Canberra ]The
Victorian Artificial Reef Society is the Victorian dive community group behind the push to secure, the frigate as an artificial reef dive site for Victoria. VARS has established a website [cite web|url=http://www.hmascanberra.com.au/|title=www.hmascanberra.com.au/ ] to keep track of the project and promote Victoria as a temperate water diving destination.References
External links
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/australia/frigates/pages/hmas_canberra_ffg_02.htm MaritimeQuest HMAS Canberra FFG-02 Photo Gallery]
* [http://www.hmascanberra.com.au/ Dive the HMAS Canberra] - Victorian Artificial Reef Society site regarding the acquisition and sinking of "Canberra"
* [http://www.hmascanberra.com HMAS Canberra FFG 02] - History of the ship, maintained by a member of the frigate's commissioning crew.
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