Armidale class

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Armidale class
HMAS Albany 2010.jpg
Overview
Type Patrol boat
units 14 (13 active)
delivery 2004-2007
Namesake Australian cities
period of service

2005 until today

Technical specifications
displacement

300 t

length

56.80 m

width

9.50 m

Draft

2.70 m

crew

21 standard, 29 maximum

drive

2 × MTU 4000 16V diesel engines; 6225  hp (4642  kW )

speed

25 knots

Range

3000 nm at 12 knots

Radius of action

21 days at sea standard, 42 days at sea maximum

Armament

1 × Rafael Typhoon carriage with a M242 bus master machine gun
2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns

The Armidale- class is a patrol boat class of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It was planned to replace the outdated Fremantle class . The project began in 1993 in cooperation with the Royal Malaysian Navy , but the project ended when the Malaysian Navy pulled out. In 1999 the project was reactivated under the name SEA 1444 as the sole RAN project. Of the seven proposals, the Austal Ships / Defense Maritime Services proposal for twelve units of larger patrol boats was accepted. The lead ship HMAS Armidale was put into service in June 2005. Two more units were ordered in 2005 to provide a sufficient patrol fleet for the North West Shelf Venture off the northwest coast of Australia.

The Armidales are longer and heavier than their Fremantle predecessors, with improved endurance at sea and increased range. This enables the Armidales to reach the offshore territories of Australia. The ships have several crews who regularly serve on board. Three crews are available for two ships. This allows the ships to spend more time at sea without affecting the crew's training and rest times. At the beginning of their use there were problems with the fuel systems and a 20-berth bunk room for additional passengers was closed after at least two toxic gases were found in the compartment.

All 14 units were built by Austal Ships in Henderson, Western Australia , with the last ship entering service in February 2008. The Armidales are operated by the Australian Patrol Boat Group and are based in Cairns and Darwin. Their main tasks are border protection, fisheries control and the interception of unauthorized border crossings at sea, two ships are permanently assigned to the North West Shelf Venture to protect the production facilities. After a fire on board, HMAS Bundaberg was decommissioned at the end of 2014 due to the severe damage. A fictional Armidale- class ship, HMAS Hammersley , is the setting for the Australian military drama series Sea Patrol for Season Two .

Development and construction

Planning for the Armidale class began in 1993 as a replacement for the Fremantle class , which should be decommissioned in 1998. This resulted in a joint project with Malaysia for the construction of an ocean patrol boat. When Malaysia pulled out, the project was stopped and the Fremantles were modernized to increase their lifespan. The cost of maintaining the aging ships prompted the Ministry of Defense to set up a new program called SEA 1444 .

SEA 1444 marks several deviations from the usual procurement procedures of the ministry. Instead of specifying the number of ships, the target was set at 3000 sea days per year for the class (with 1800 days in border patrol operations, and a basic capacity of 3600 days). Then it was calculated how many ships would be needed to achieve this. The ships had to meet certain performance parameters, including the ability to enter operations and surveillance operations. The designer was also obliged to take over the maintenance and retrofitting of the ships for 15 years after manufacture.

Nine companies showed interest, seven of which had the necessary capacities to build the ships. Out of those seven, three were shortlisted based on their reputation, competitiveness and the involvement of Australia's own industries for both construction and long-term maintenance. Austal Ships and Defense Maritime Services (DMS) merged to offer 12 ships based on an enlarged version of the Bay Class used by Australian Customs . The companies offered two proposals for a 56.80 meter long ship, one with a steel hull and one with an aluminum hull. The latter meant a 21 percent reduction in fuel consumption. Australian Defense Industries (ADI) offered a design based on the patrol boats of Flyvefisken class of the Royal Danish Navy . The ship should be made of GRP , comparable to the minesweepers of the Huon class . Tenix's proposal was a variant of the 56-meter-long sea rescue ship of the Philippine Coast Guard . The contract went to Austal / DMS in December 2003. The order was valued at $ 553 million with a unit cost of between $ 24 million and $ 28 million.

During the 2004 election, the coalition promised to acquire two more units to adequately monitor the oil and gas production facilities off the northwest coast. These were ordered in 2005.

Design and construction

All fourteen ships were built by Austral at their own shipyards in Henderson, Western Australia . The lead ship HMAS Armidale was put into service in June 2005. Two more ships were delivered in 2005, six in 2006 and five in 2007 with the last ship of the class, HMAS Glenelg , in October 2007. Commissioning was completed in 2008. At the peak, six ships were built at the same time.

HMAS Armidale , the lead ship of the class in Darling Harbor in January 2008

Each boat is 56.8 meters long, 9.7 meters wide, has a 2.7 meter draft and a standard displacement of 300 tons. The shell is made of aluminum. The long forecastle is closed off by a set of structures with a panoramic bridge. The Schanz serves as a large work surface and as the location for the two cranes with the two rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and two masts, which serve as antenna and sensor carriers. The ships are a combination of the Det Norske Veritas standards for light high-speed boats and the requirements of the RAN. A lot of effort was made to prevent the ships from becoming overloaded or being reinterpreted as "miniature warships".

The Armidales reach a top speed of 25 knots up to sea state 4 (2.5 meters wave height) over a maximum of 24 hours and have two propellers, each driven by a 6225  hp (4642  kW ) MTU 4000 16V diesel engine. The ships have a range of 3,000 nautical miles at 12 knots, which allows them to monitor the more distant offshore territories, including the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island . In the meantime, the Armidales have shown their improved seaworthiness compared to the older Fremantle class: the Armidales are 15 meters longer, 85 tons heavier and have hydraulic stabilizer fins and trim tanks that allow them to withstand seas of level nine. They are designed for standard patrols of 21 days, the maximum sea ​​endurance is 42 days.

Weapons and systems

The main weapon on board HMAS Armidale

The main armament of the Armidale class is a Rafael Typhoon gun carriage with an M242 Bushmaster automatic cannon in 25 mm caliber. This cannon fires 200 rounds per minute and is controlled remotely via a weapon station on the bridge. The target data are determined by an optronic sensor installed on the gun. Two Browning M2 machine guns in 12.7 mm caliber are mounted on the bridge nocks .

Enter actions are long with two 7.2 meter, of a water jet propulsion driven rigid inflatable boats ( English RIB ) is performed. These can transport ten people, including an eight-man fully equipped boarding party. They are larger and more stable than the single Fremantle RIB , can operate independently, and have their own communications, navigation and security equipment. Each RIB is attached to its own davit , and the boats can simply be lowered into the water and recovered. A centralized “dressing room” inside the ship simplifies the loading and unloading of the boats.

The ships have a Bridgemaster E surface search and navigation radar, a Toplite electro-optical positioning system and a Warrlock direction finding system. A Prism III radar detector was integrated in the last two boats when they were built and retrofitted in the others. The Armidale class may be retrofitted with a drone system.

crew

Each patrol boat has a standard crew of 21 people, with a maximum of 29 people (not including the 20-berth additional bedroom). Unlike the Frematles , the Armidale boats have no permanent crew. Instead, there are a total of 21 crews for the 14 boats, which are divided into four divisions: Attack , Assail , Ardent , and Aware . The first three divisions each provide six crews for four ships, Aware provides three crews for two boats. The Armidales are permanently manned, two of the crews are active, while the third is on shore leave, training or preparing to take over the ship. A handover can take place in less than six hours. The purpose of multiple crews is to give the ships more time at sea without affecting the crews' training and rest times.

HMAS Bundaberg entering Sydney Harbor, October 2013

The simple sailors live on board in four-bed cabins, officers and NCOs have their own cabins or two-man cabins. The older Fremantles still had 16-bed cabins for the sailors. Crews have access to e-mail services and satellite television, and the galley is better equipped than a Fremantle and better suited to rough seas. Each Armidale is fully air-conditioned (except for the engine and engine room). The comfort for the crew is therefore significantly improved.

Commissioning

The introduction of the class was not without initial difficulties. Since 2005, all active Armidales have suffered twice from restrictions based on water contamination of the main fuel system. The first incident in September 2006 led to the patrol boats being shut down for months and the engine controls were completely revised. The problem reappeared in January 2007 and led to another "break in operation" while Austral revised the fuel system, changed operating procedures and tightened the quality criteria for the fuel. The five ships under construction were equipped with the new systems at the shipyard, and the active ships were upgraded in 2007. Since December 2007 there have been no more problems with the fuel.

In the original design, there is an additional 20-berth compartment aft for the transport of soldiers, illegal fishermen or illegal immigrants who were caught. In the latter two cases, the compartment can be cordoned off from the outside. A malfunction in the sewage systems on board HMAS Maitland pumped hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide into the compartment in August 2006. Four seafarers who worked in it were injured. The use of the compartment to accommodate people was then banned throughout the class. This ban continued in January 2014. In 2009, on another armidale, a seaman working in the compartment was also exposed to hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide was measured regularly in the compartment.

Mission history

HMAS Albany in the Timor Sea 2012

The Armidales are operated by the Australian Patrol Boat Group and mainly perform border patrol duties and fishing patrols. In 2009, seven Armidales patrolled Australian waters at any time during Operation Resolute . At times it was up to nine of the 14 boats, if necessary. At the beginning of 2014, the long journey and the permanent commitment had an effect on compliance with the maintenance cycles.

The Ardent Division and four ships are based in Cairns, the other three divisions at HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin. Two ships, usually HMAS Glenelg and HMAS Maryborough , plus the Aware Division, can be moved to an advanced base in Dampier, Western Australia , from where they monitor the oil and gas fields off the northwest coast of Australia.

In August 2014, a fire broke out on board the HMAS Bundaberg during a conversion at a civil shipyard in Hemmant, Queensland . The patrol boat was badly damaged and decommissioned on December 18.

units

ship Commissioning Stationing place Decommissioning
Attack Division (6 crews, stationed at HMAS Coonawarra , Darwin )
HMAS Armidale June 24, 2005 Darwin, Northern Territory  
HMAS Larrakia February 10, 2006 Darwin, Northern Territory  
HMAS Bathurst February 10, 2006 Darwin, Northern Territory  
HMAS Albany July 15, 2006 Albany, Western Australia  
Assail Division (6 crews, stationed at HMAS Coonawarra , Darwin)
HMAS Pirie July 29, 2006 Port Pirie, South Australia  
HMAS Maitland September 29, 2006 Newcastle, New South Wales  
HMAS Ararat November 10, 2006 Melbourne, Victoria  
HMAS Broome February 10, 2007 Broome, Western Australia  
Ardent Division (6 crews, stationed at HMAS Cairns , Cairns )
HMAS Bundaberg March 3, 2007 Bundaberg, Queensland December 18, 2014
HMAS Wollongong June 23, 2007 Sydney, New South Wales  
HMAS Childers July 7, 2007 Cairns, Queensland  
HMAS Launceston September 22, 2007 Launceston, Tasmania  
Aware Division (3 crews, stationed at HMAS Coonawarra , Darwin)
HMAS Maryborough December 8, 2007 Brisbane, Queensland  
HMAS Glenelg February 22, 2008 Adelaide, South Australia  

Appeared in film and television

HMAS Broome 2010. In 2008 the Broome was the fictional HMAS Hammersley

From season two of Sea Patrol , an Australian military drama series, the action is set on the fictional Armidale patrol boat HMAS Hammersley . In 2008, two ships served as Hammersley : 42 of the 86 days of shooting took place on board the Broome , re-shot scenes were produced on the HMAS Launceston .

replacement

Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 , the 2009 Australian Ministry of Defense strategy paper, proposed the replacement of the Armidales along with the RAN's minehunting and hydrographic vessels with a single class of multi-use vessels. The new ships will weigh up to 2000 tons and be able to use a helicopter or a drone. A modular system is also to be used to convert the ships according to the current operational requirements.

The 2013 strategy paper describes this new class of ship as a long-term project and mentions a patrol boat class as a short-term interim solution, based on an existing design. The SEA1179 project is running several studies on the possible replacement of the Armidales .

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Kerr, Plain sailing .
  2. ↑ a b c Heron & Powell, in Australian Maritime Issues 2006 , p. 129.
  3. ↑ a b c Finalists await Patrol Boat decision , in Defense Today , p. 36.
  4. ↑ a b c Heron & Powell, in Australian Maritime Issues 2006 , p. 130.
  5. ↑ Finalists await Patrol Boat decision , in Defense Today , p. 38.
  6. ↑ a b c Finalists await Patrol Boat decision , in Defense Today , p. 40.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h Kerr, Patrol Boats shake down fuel faults .
  8. ↑ a b c d Wertheim (ed.), The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World , p. 22.
  9. ↑ a b c d e f Saunders (ed.), IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2012–2013 , p. 33.
  10. ↑ a b Heron & Powell, in Australian Maritime Issues 2006 , p. 132.
  11. ↑ a b Heron & Powell, in Australian Maritime Issues 2006 , p. 131.
  12. ^ Australian Aviation, DMO releases UAS tender .
  13. ↑ a b c McKenna, Gas risk remains for navy boats
  14. ↑ a b Ian McPhedran: The navy's patrol boat fleet is over worked and under maintained according to a new report . In: Herald Sun , January 4, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2015. 
  15. ^ Australian Department of Defense, Operation RESOLUTE .
  16. ^ Department of Defense, Defense update on HMAS Bundaberg fire (press release).
  17. ↑ Radulova, Fire! Navy patrol boat HMAS Bundaberg engulfed in flames during maintenance work in a Brisbane dry dock .
  18. ^ Staples, HMAS Bundaberg decommissioned .
  19. ↑ a b Idato, All ship shape .
  20. ^ A b Department of Defense: Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 . Commonwealth of Australia, May 2, 2009, ISBN 978-0-642-29702-0 , pp. 72-3, OCLC 426475923 .
  21. ^ A b Australian Offshore Combatant Vessels Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. In: Sea Power Center - Australia (Ed.): Semaphore . 2010, No. 04, May 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  22. ^ Sean Thornton: The Rationale for the RAN Offshore Combatant Vessel . In: Navy League of Australia (ed.): The Navy . 72, No. 1, January 2010, ISSN  1322-6231 , pp. 6-10.
  23. ^ Daniel Boettger: The Offshore Combatant Vessel: Future Flexibility. In: Australian Naval Institute (ed.): Headmark. No. 134, December 2009, ISSN  1833-6531 .
  24. ↑ Department of Defense: Defense White Paper 2013 . Commonwealth of Australia, 3 May 2013, ISBN 978-0-9874958-0-8 , p. 84.
  25. ^ Patrol boat replacement . Defense Science and Technology Organization. Retrieved June 21, 2015.

swell

Books

Newspaper and news articles

Press releases

Websites

  • Operation RESOLUTE . In: Global Operations . Australian Department of Defense. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Armidale class  - collection of images, videos, and audio files