HMAS Darwin (FFG 04)
Template:Short description Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship characteristicsHMAS Darwin (FFG 04), named for the capital city of the Northern Territory, was an Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate, formerly in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of four ships ordered from the United States, Darwin entered service in 1984. During her career, she has operated in the Persian Gulf, as part of the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce, and off the Solomon Islands. The frigate underwent a major upgrade during 2007 and 2008. She was decommissioned on 9 December 2017 and was supposed to be scuttled as a dive wreck in Tasmania, but the deal was pulled by the Tasmanian Government and her fate remains uncertain.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
Design and constructionEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Following the cancellation of the Australian light destroyer project in 1973, the British Type 42 destroyer and the American Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate were identified as alternatives to replace the cancelled light destroyers and the Daring-class destroyers.<ref name=Jones220>Jones, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 220</ref> Although the Oliver Hazard Perry class was still at the design stage, the difficulty of fitting the Type 42 with the SM-1 missile, and the success of the Perth-class acquisition (a derivative of the American Charles F. Adams-class destroyer) compared to equivalent British designs led the Australian government to approve the purchase of two US-built Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates in 1976.<ref name=Jones220/><ref name=FramePP102.162>Frame, Pacific Partners, pp. 102, 162</ref> A third was ordered in 1977, followed by a fourth (Darwin), with all four ships integrated into the USN's shipbuilding program.<ref name=FramePP162>Frame, Pacific Partners, p. 162</ref><ref name=MacDougall345>MacDougall, Australians at war, p. 345</ref><ref name=Hooton>Hooton, Perking-up the Perry class</ref> A further two ships were ordered in 1980, and were constructed in Australia.<ref name=MacDougall345/><ref name=Hooton/>
As designed, the ship had a full load displacement of 4,100 tons, a length overall of Template:Convert, a beam of Template:Convert, and a draught of Template:Convert.<ref name=Moore25>Moore (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships 1977–78 , p. 25</ref><ref name=Sharpe26/> Propulsion machinery consists of two General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, which provide a combined Template:Convert to the single propeller shaft.<ref name=Sharpe26>Sharpe (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships 1998–99, p. 26</ref> Top speed is Template:Convert, with a range of Template:Convert at Template:Convert.<ref name=Sharpe26/> Two Template:Convert electric auxiliary propulsors are used for close manoeuvring, with a top speed of Template:Convert.<ref name=Sharpe26/> Standard ship's company is 184, including 15 officers, but excluding the flight crew for the embarked helicopters.<ref name=Sharpe26/>
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Original armament for the ship consisted of a Mark 13 missile launcher configured to fire RIM-66 Standard and RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, supplemented by an [[OTO Melara 76 mm|OTO Melara Template:Convert]] gun and a Vulcan Phalanx point-defence system.<ref name=Moore25/><ref name=Sharpe26/> As part of the mid-2000s FFG Upgrade Project, an eight-cell Mark 41 Vertical Launch System was fitted, with a payload of RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles.<ref name=hazard(ous)>Australia's Hazard(ous) Frigate Upgrade, in Defense Industry Daily</ref> For anti-submarine warfare, two Mark 32 torpedo tube sets are fitted; originally firing the Mark 44 torpedo, the Adelaides later carried the Mark 46, then the MU90 Impact following the FFG Upgrade.<ref name=Sharpe26/><ref name=FishGrevatt>Fish & Grevatt, Australia's HMAS Toowoomba test fires MU90 torpedo</ref> Up to six Template:Convert machine guns can be carried for close-in defence, and since 2005, two M2HB .50 calibre machine guns in Mini Typhoon mounts have been installed when needed for Persian Gulf deployments.<ref name=Sharpe26/><ref name=ScottEnhanced>Scott, Enhanced small-calibre systems offer shipborne stopping power</ref> The sensor suite includes an AN/SPS-49 air search radar, AN/SPS-55 surface search and navigation radar, SPG-60 fire control radar connected to a Mark 92 fire control system, and an AN/SQS-56 hull-mounted sonar.<ref name=Sharpe26/> Two helicopters can be embarked: either two S-70B Seahawk or one Seahawk and one AS350B Squirrel.<ref name=Sharpe26/>
The ship was laid down by Todd Pacific Shipyards at Seattle, Washington on 3 July 1981, to the Perry class Flight III design.<ref name=Hooton/><ref name=RAN/> The Adelaides were built as part of the United States Navy's construction program, so were assigned USN hull numbers; Darwin was FFG-44.<ref name=Hooton/> She was launched on 26 March 1982 and commissioned into the RAN on 21 July 1984.<ref name=RAN/>
Operational historyEdit
During her career, Darwin has been deployed to the Persian Gulf on five occasions: during 1990, 1991, 1992, 2002, and 2004.<ref name=RAN>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Darwin was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce from 19 September to 3 November 1999.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
From 14 to 18 February 2001 Darwin was berthed in the Mumbai harbour in column RE for the International Fleet Review.Template:Citation needed
The ship was deployed to the Solomon Islands in 2001.<ref name=RAN/>
Darwin underwent a major upgrade and refit at Garden Island during 2007 and 2008, returning to service prior to November 2008.<ref name=worthwait>Template:Cite news</ref>
On the morning of 13 March 2009, Darwin was one of seventeen warships involved in a ceremonial fleet entry and fleet review in Sydney Harbour, the largest collection of RAN ships since the Australian Bicentenary in 1988.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The frigate did not participate in the fleet entry, but was anchored in the harbour for the review.
Following an overhaul of the RAN battle honours system, Darwin was granted three battle honours in 2010: "East Timor 1999", "Persian Gulf 2003-03", and "Iraq 2003".<ref name=newhonours>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=honourslist>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In October 2013, Darwin participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in Sydney.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
April 2014 saw Darwin, as part of Combined Task Force 150, intercept 1,032 kg of heroin on a dhow off the east coast of Africa,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> followed in July by a further 6,248 kg of hashish on a dhow in the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
As of 7 January 2016, Darwin has sailed over 1 million nautical miles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 2016, Darwin was one among the 100 ships participating in the International Fleet Review 2016 in Vishakhapattanam.
In March 2016, Darwin intercepted a small, stateless fishing vessel about 170 nautical miles off the coast of Oman. On board they found more than 2,000 pieces of weaponry, including 1,989 AK-47 assault rifles and 100 rocket propelled grenades. According to a U.S. assessment, the weapons were initially sent from Iran and were likely intended for Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In May 2016, Darwin made three seizures of heroin worth $800 million of the coast of Africa.
The Royal New Zealand Navy invited the Royal Australian Navy to send a vessel to participate in their 75th Birthday Celebrations over the weekend of 19–21 November 2016; however, following the Kaikōura earthquake on New Zealand's South Island, Darwin was sent to aide in humanitarian and disaster relief operations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Darwin was decommissioned in a ceremony held at Garden Island, Sydney on 9 December 2017.<ref name=RAN/> She and the other Adelaides are to be replaced by the Template:Sclasss.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
FateEdit
In August 2018, Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne announced that Darwin would be scuttled as a reef in Skeleton Bay, near St Helens, Tasmania. The ship was expected to be scuttled sometime in 2019,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but the Tasmanian Government later rejected the proposal citing costs.<ref name=":0" /> In response, a new campaign emerged attempting to preserve her as a museum ship.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 21 August 2019, several oil drums under Darwin caught fire at Henderson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
CitationsEdit
ReferencesEdit
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