HMAS Bayonet (P 101) was an Attack class patrol boat

Attack class patrol boat

The Attack class patrol boats were small coastal defence vessels built for the Royal Australian Navy and operated between 1967 and 1985...

 of the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 (RAN).

Design and construction

The Attack class was ordered in 1964 to operate in Australian waters as patrol boat

Patrol boat

A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...

s (based on lessons learned through using the Ton class minesweeper

Ton class minesweeper

The Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy, but also used by other navies such as the South African Navy and the Royal Australian Navy...

s on patrols of Borneo during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation

Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation

Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation during 1962–1966 was Indonesia’s political and armed opposition to the creation of Malaysia. It is also known by its Indonesian/Malay name Konfrontasi...

, and to replace a variety of old patrol, search-and-rescue, and general-purpose craft. Initially, nine were ordered for the RAN, with another five for Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

's Australian-run coastal security force, although another six ships were ordered to bring the class to twenty vessels. The patrol boats had a displacement of 100 tons at standard load and 146 tons at full load, were 107.6 feet (32.8 m) in length overall, had a beam of 20 feet (6.1 m), and draughts of 6.4 feet (2 m) at standard load, and 7.3 feet (2.2 m) at full load. Propulsion machinery consisted of two 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines, which supplied 3460 shp to the two propellers. The vessels could achieve a top speed of 24 knots (13.1 m/s), and had a range of 1200 nautical miles (2,222.4 km) at 13 knots (7.1 m/s). The ship's company consisted of three officers and sixteen sailors. Main armament was a bow-mounted Bofors 40 mm gun, supplemented by two .50 calibre M2 Browning machine guns and various small arms. The ships were designed with as many commercial components as possible: the Attacks were to operate in remote regions of Australia and New Guinea, and a town's hardware store would be more accessible than home base in a mechanical emergency.

Bayonet was laid down by Walkers Limited

Walkers Limited

Walkers Limited is an Australian engineering company, based in Maryborough, Queensland, which built ships and locomotives. It is still in the locomotive-building business as part of Downer Rail.-History:...

 at Maryborough, Queensland

Maryborough, Queensland

Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...

 in October 1968, launched on 6 November 1968, and commissioned on 22 February 1969.

Operational history

Bayonet was transferred to the Melbourne Port Division of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve

Royal Australian Naval Reserve

The Royal Australian Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy in Australia.The current Royal Australian Naval Reserve was formed in June 1973 by merging the former RANR and the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve....

 on 27 March 1982.

Fate

Bayonet paid off on 26 June 1988. She was scuttled on 21 September 1999, sinking 55 kilometres (34.2 mi) off Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula

The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...

 in Bass Strait

Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...

.