History | |
---|---|
Australia | |
Namesake | City of Ipswich |
Builder | NQEA, Cairns |
Laid down | 29 October 1980 |
Launched | 25 September 1982 |
Commissioned | 13 November 1982 |
Decommissioned | 11 May 2007 |
Homeport | HMAS Cairns |
Motto | "Dare to Defy" |
Honours and awards | Five inherited battle honours |
Fate | Scrapped |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Fremantle-class patrol boat |
Displacement | 220 tons |
Length | 137.6 ft (41.9 m) |
Beam | 25.25 ft (7.70 m) |
Draught | 5.75 ft (1.75 m) |
Propulsion | 2 MTU series 538 diesel engines, 3,200 shp (2,400 kW), 2 propellers |
Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) |
Complement | 22 |
Armament |
|
HMAS Ipswich (FCPB 209), named for the city of Ipswich, Queensland, was a Fremantle-class patrol boat in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Main article: Fremantle-class patrol boat |
Starting in the late 1960s, planning began for a new class of patrol boat to replace the Attack class, with designs calling for improved seakeeping capability, and updated weapons and equipment.[1] The Fremantles had a full load displacement of 220 tonnes (220 long tons; 240 short tons), were 137.6 feet (41.9 m) long overall, had a beam of 24.25 feet (7.39 m), and a maximum draught of 5.75 feet (1.75 m).[2] Main propulsion machinery consisted of two MTU series 538 diesel engines, which supplied 3,200 shaft horsepower (2,400 kW) to the two propeller shafts.[2] Exhaust was not expelled through a funnel, like most ships, but through vents below the waterline.[3] The patrol boat could reach a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), and had a maximum range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).[2] The ship's company consisted of 22 personnel.[2] Each patrol boat was armed with a single Bofors 40mm gun as main armament, supplemented by two .50 cal Browning machineguns and an 81 mm mortar,[2] although the mortar was removed from all ships sometime after 1988.[citation needed] The main weapon was originally to be two 30 mm guns on a twin-mount, but the reconditioned Bofors were selected to keep costs down; provision was made to install an updated weapon later in the class' service life, but this did not eventuate.[3][4]
Ipswich was laid down by NQEA in Cairns, Queensland on 29 October 1980, launched on 25 September 1982, and commissioned into the RAN on 13 November 1982.[5]
During October and November 2006, Ipswich was the primary ship used for filming the 13-episode Australian television drama series Sea Patrol.[6] Ipswich was rebadged as the fictional HMAS Hammersley (pennant number 202), and spent six weeks operating off Dunk Island with both the show's cast and her normal crew aboard.[6] Footage of Ipswich at sea was mixed with scenes shot on and around sister ship HMAS Wollongong while the latter was docked in Sydney.[6]
Ipswich was decommissioned on 11 May 2007, in a joint ceremony with HMAS Townsville.[7] The two patrol boats were the last of the class in active service.[7] The patrol boat was broken up for scrap in Darwin during 2007, at a cost of $450,000 to the Australian government.[8] The patrol boat's Bofors gun was incorporated into a naval memorial cairn shaped like Ipswich's bow in Queens Park, Ipswich.[9]