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herakles
28-02-2008, 22:31
There have been two ships bearing this name, that of the capital city of Queensland. A third is in the planning stage.

1. HMAS Brisbane

a Town class light cruiser built at Cockatoo Island launched Sep 1915 and named by the wife of Prime Minister Fisher, the man who brought Australia into WW1.

Displacement: 5,400 tons
Length: 456 feet 8 3/8 inches
Beam: 49 feet 10 inches
Draught: 19 feet 11 inches
Propulsion: Parsons turbines, 4 screws, 25,000 horsepower
Speed: 25.5 knots
Complement: 485
Armament: 8 x 6 inch guns
1 x 3 inch anti-aircraft gun
1 x 12 pounder gun<br<4 x 3 pounder guns
10 smaller guns
2 x 21 inch submerged torpedo tubes (broadside)

She served in the Mediterranean from 1915 to 1917 before moving to the Indian Ocean. She was the first RAN ship to be involved with naval aviation having taken on-board a Sopwith Baby seaplane from the carrier HMS Raven II.

She served in patrol duty in the Western Pacific until Jan 1918 before returning to Australian waters. In late 1918 she headed to England, spending time with the Australia destroyer flotilla in the Eastern Med. On her return voyage to Australia in Apr 1919, she escorted one of the J class submarines presented to Australia by Britain.

She was paid off in Aug 1922 and re-commissioned a year later. For much of 1925 she serve on exchange duty with the RN China Squadron. She was paid off again in Oct 1925. After a refit she was commissioned again and served as a training ship at the Flinders Naval Depot. Between then 1935 she was in and out of service. In May 1935 she sailed for England taking the men appointed to man HMAS Sydney. En route she assisted HMS Hastings which had run aground in the Red Sea. She was finally paid off late 1935.

2. HMAS Brisbane - or the Fornicating 41

a Perth class guided missile destroyer built in the USA and commissioned in 1967

Displacement: 4,600 tons
Length: 134 metres
Beam: 14 metres
Draught: 6 metres
Propulsion: 2 × General Electric steam turbines providing 70,000 hp (52 mW)
Speed: 30+ knots
Range: 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement: 310
Armament: Mk 13 Mod 6 launcher for SM-1MR; 2 x 127 mm/54 (5 in/54) Mk 42; 2 x 20 mm Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS; 2 x triple 324 mm Mk 32 torpedo tubes

She had active service in Vietnam and acted as escort to HMAS Melbourne in the Atlantic.

She took part in Operation Damask in 1990 - the liberation of Kuwait. Her primary role was as plane guard for the USS Midway Carrier Task Group. She was also responsible for boarding commercial shipping in the Gulf and in mine clearance there. For her duties, she was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation.

Paid off in Sep 2001. Her bridge was removed and is now on display in the Australian War Museum. She was sunk 5 km off the Sunshine Coast Queensland. The site is a popular diving site.

3. HMAS Brisbane

She will be a Hobart Class destroyer due for commissioning in 2013. This class is based on the Spanish Álvaro de Bazán class design, also known as the F100. She will be built in South Australia.

Displacement: 6,250 tonnes
Length: 146.7 m
Beam: 18.8 m
Draft: 7.2 m
Speed: 28 kn +
Range: 5000 nmi + @ 18+ kn
Complement: ~180, accommodation for 234
Armament: 48 cell Mk 41 vertical launch system capable of firing SM2 and ESSM Surface-to-air missiles
8 x RGM-84 Harpoon SSM
6 x torpedoes
1 x 5"/54 caliber Mark 45 gun
1 x CIWS
Sensors: AN/SPY-1D(V) phased array radar, horizon search radar, hull mounted and towed array sonar system
Aircraft carried: 1 x helicopter

BALTICSUBS
06-03-2010, 07:25
Hi All,

just dug these out of an old draw. I remember taking them when i went onboard HMAS Brisbane, and from memory this is when she paid a vist to Melbourne after the first Gulf War.

I'm sure an expert on the forum with get my memory back on track and tell me if i'm correct and when this was.

kookaburra
06-03-2010, 15:45
Big crowd on board! Damn Balticsubs, you shouldn't be leaving things like this in your drawers. Get 'em out man, get em out.

Anyway, enjoyed them. Thanks.

steve roberts
06-03-2010, 16:10
Hi Balticsubs.As K say's keep looking in your drawers there might be some other gems in there.For K,I see she has those strange wind-brake things rigged,but this time with an awning up as well....Regards Steve.

harry.gibbon
06-03-2010, 20:19
The RN ships on which I served ... when the ship was hosting a cocktail party (or two), for invited shoreside dignitaries, those 'wind break things' as they are being described used to be erected around a suitable area of uncluttered deck space, Little h

BALTICSUBS
07-03-2010, 00:00
Hi All,

will try and track more down as i used to tour any warship that was open for inspection no matter what navy it was. I know i took a heap of photos on board HMAS Melbourne, and all the destroyers from that era. Will start sniffing!

Cheers DB

tassie48
07-03-2010, 03:22
herakles hi I am building HMAS BRISBANE D41 in 1/48 scale need to no if the aft radar the big square black frame turned 360 degree and at what speed it turned will post photos of the build as we go along tassie48.

PHOENIX09
07-03-2010, 05:01
Hey tassie48
You will find a Brisbane walkaround for some good ref. here.
http://www.nachohat.org/gallery/ships_hmas_brisbane

tassie48
09-03-2010, 06:32
PHOENIX09 Hi many thanks for the walk around shots of Brisbane good reference tassie48.

John O'Callaghan
09-03-2010, 08:03
Hi All! The awnings refered to previously were rigged on the Ikara deck.Actually the top (roof)of the Ikara anti sub.system magazine.It provided a large squarish open area for Wardroom does and a landing area for stores and ammo during RASs/Unreps.The Ikara missiles were fed out onto their launchers, port and starboard, through doors in the forward bulkhead.Yes the radar above the after funnel traversed 360 degrees.I can't remember the radar type not being in the 'E' game but I would imagine it traversed at a rate of about 8-10 times a minute. Some whizz will now tell me how wrong I am.
Cheers John O'C.

harry.gibbon
09-03-2010, 10:21
John O'C your estimate is not far out sir, see:-

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=l-DzknmTgDUC&pg=PA370&lpg=PA370&dq=SCAN+rate+AN/SPS+52C&source=bl&ots=2rgRBWufGm&sig=VreaLXHOin97oOeU3HP9XHK1FXY&hl=en&ei=0h-WS_LlAtOQjAfklr2ACg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CA0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=SCAN%20rate%20AN%2FSPS%2052C&f=false

and for Tassie 48 - the system:-

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/13732861/US-Navy-course---Fire-Controlman-Volume-2-Fire-Control-Radar-Fundamentals-NAVEDTRA-14099

Little h

John O'Callaghan
09-03-2010, 20:25
Hi Harry! Thanks for the additional info. I was trying to remmember stuff from long long ago and it was stuff I had very little to do with.I did however regularly work on the Ikara deck bringing on ammo.
Cheers John O'C.

Hixy
17-03-2010, 01:17
Hi All,

just dug these out of an old draw. I remember taking them when i went onboard HMAS Brisbane, and from memory this is when she paid a vist to Melbourne after the first Gulf War.

I'm sure an expert on the forum with get my memory back on track and tell me if i'm correct and when this was.

You are right BALTICSUBS. The pictures are post AG war. The Phalanx CIWS was fitted before Brisbane deployed to the Arabian Gulf as were the OE-82 antennas (seen in the last photo next to the flaghoist). They were satellite tracking antennas which were round, shaped like a garbage tin lid: hence their nickname.

Funny story about the OE-82's. Every time we entered harbour the XO insisted the OE-82's were placed in the position exhibited in the photos so that everything looked ship-shape. The result was that we lost all communications because they could not track the satellite in that position.

BALTICSUBS
17-03-2010, 01:32
Hi Frank,

any idea when these were taken, as mentioned, i know it was after the Gulf War hence the big crowds as there was a lot of hype around her visit.

Were you onboard at the time? I remember taking some that day as well of my ex girlfriend onboard Brisbane, but alas seems the photos went with her, not sure i want to see them anyway he he.

Hixy
17-03-2010, 20:49
I would think the pictures were taken some time in 1991. Brisbane (only ever known as the Steel Cat) arrived in the Gulf to participate in Operation Damask in November 1990 and arrived back in Darwin on 14 April 1991.

If you can get hold of a copy of "Steel Cat" by Ken Doolan (a former CO) it is a great historical read. It has some great photos as well as a story on the adoption of the "Steel Cat" nickname.

I was not onboard at the time. I left her in January 1984. I would have given anything to be there though. Great ship, great memories.

Jackaroo
15-05-2010, 00:22
The new Steel Cat

Shinysheff
15-05-2010, 09:02
I do think they are going to be ugly ships. Mind you, it's not what it looks like...