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HMAS Darwin (FFG 04)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Darwin (FFG 04), named for the capital city of the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, is an Adelaide class
Adelaide class frigate
The Adelaide class is a ship class of six guided missile frigates constructed in Australia and the United States of America for service in the Royal Australian Navy. The class is based on the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates, but modified for Australian requirements...
guided-missile frigate 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). 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
INTERFET
The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers...
peacekeeping taskforce, and off the Solomon Islands. The frigate underwent a major upgrade during 2007 and 2008, and is actively serving as of 2011.
Design and construction
Darwin was the fourth Adelaide class vessel (a derivative of the United States Oliver Hazard Perry class frigateOliver Hazard Perry class frigate
The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...
) to be ordered, and the last to be built in the United States of America. The ship was laid down by Todd Pacific Shipyards
Todd Pacific Shipyards
Vigor Shipyards was founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation through the merger of Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company of Erie Basin, Brooklyn, New York, the Tietjen & Long Dry Dock Company of Hoboken, New Jersey, and the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company...
at Seattle, Washington on 2 July 1981, to the Perry class Flight III design. The Adelaides were built as part of the United States Navy's construction program, so were assigned USN hull number
Hull number
Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. A lower number implies an older vessel. The precise usage varies by country and type....
s; Darwin was FFG-44. She was launched on 26 March 1982, and commissioned into the RAN on 21 July 1984.
Armament
Darwins main weapon is the Mark 13 missile launcher located on the foredeck: this is used to fire both Harpoon and SM-2MR StandardRIM-66 Standard
The RIM-66 Standard MR is a medium range surface-to-air missile originally developed for the United States Navy . The SM-1 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar that were deployed in the 1950s on a variety of USN ships...
missiles. A 76 millimetres (3 in) Mark 75 OTO Melara gun is located on top of the superstructure, in front of the exhaust funnel. A triple-barrelled Mark 32 torpedo tube set
Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes
The Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes system is a torpedo launching system designed for the United States Navy. The Mark 32 has been the standard anti-submarine torpedo launching system aboard United States Navy surface vessels since its introduction in 1960, and in use aboard the warships of...
is fitted to each side of the superstructure. For close defence, a 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in) Mark 16 Mod 2 Phalanx CIWS
Phalanx CIWS
The Phalanx CIWS is an anti-ship missile defense system. It is a close-in weapon system and was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division...
sits at the aft end of the superstructure, above the frigate's two helicopter hangars. The hangars houses two S-70B Seahawk
SH-60 Seahawk
The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant airframe modification is a hinged tail to reduce its footprint aboard ships.The...
helicopters.
Operational history
During her career, Darwin has been deployed to the Persian GulfPersian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
on several occasions.
Darwin was deployed to East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
as part of the Australian-led INTERFET
INTERFET
The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers...
peacekeeping taskforce from 19 September to 3 November 1999.
The ship was deployed to the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
in 2001.
Garden Island, New South Wales
Garden Island is an inner-city locality of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located to the north-east of the Sydney central business district, north of the suburb of Potts Point....
during 2007 and 2008; returning to service prior to November 2008.
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
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
in 1988. 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 honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
s system, Darwin was granted three battle honours in 2010: "East Timor 1999", "Persian Gulf 2003-03", and "Iraq 2003".