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HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06), named for the city of Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, the largest provincial city in Australia, 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). The last ship of the class to be constructed, Newcastle entered service in 1993. During her career, the frigate has operated 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, served in the Persian Gulf, and responded to the 2006 Fijian coup d'état
2006 Fijian coup d'état
The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and 2005-2006 Fijian political crisis....
. The frigate is active as of 2011.
Construction
Newcastle was laid down by AMECON at Williamstown, VictoriaWilliamstown, Victoria
Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Williamstown had a population of 12,733....
, launched on 21 February 1992 and commissioned into the RAN on 11 December 1993. Unlike the first four Adelaide class frigates, Newcastle was not constructed in the United States of America and therefore does not possess a US Navy 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....
.
Newcastle is the only Adelaide class ship not named after a state capital city. Instead, she is named after Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, the largest regional city in the country. She is the only ship of the RAN to be named Newcastle, but eight Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ships have been named HMS Newcastle
HMS Newcastle
Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Newcastle, after the English city of Newcastle upon Tyne:*HMS Newcastle was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship launched in 1653. She was rebuilt in 1692 and wrecked in 1703....
. The Australian Newcastle was the first RAN ship not to inherit battle honours awarded to previous British ships of the same name.
Operational history
Newcastle was deployed to East TimorEast 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 December 1999 to 26 January 2000.
During 2005, Newcastle was deployed to the Persian Gulf
Persian 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...
. Newcastle and were the first RAN ships to be fitted with two M2HB .50 calibre machine guns in Mini Typhoon mounts; now a standard theatre fit for all RAN frigates deployed to the Persian Gulf.
At the start of November 2006, Newcastle was one of three Australian warships sent to Fiji during the leadup to the 2006 coup d'état
2006 Fijian coup d'état
The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and 2005-2006 Fijian political crisis....
by Fijian military forces against Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Fiji
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji is the head of government of Fiji. The Prime Minister was appointed by the President under the terms of the now-suspended 1997 constitution....
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...
. Newcastle was the first vessel on station, and was later joined by and . The three vessels were to be used in the event of an evacuation of Australian citizens and nationals. It did not prove necessary to conduct an evacuation and Newcastle returned to Australia in late December 2006.
On the morning of 13 March 2009, Newcastle 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 was one of the thirteen ships involved in the ceremonial entry through Sydney Heads, and 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, completed in March 2010, Newcastles service was recognised with two honours: "East Timor 1999-2000" and "Persian Gulf 2002-03". In April 2010, Newcastle was presented with the RAN Gloucester Cup
Gloucester Cup
The Gloucester Cup is the common name for three awards of the Australian Defence Force. Formally referred to as the Duke of Gloucester Cup, the three awards are presented to the most efficient infantry battalion of the Australian Army, ship of the Royal Australian Navy , and squadron of the Royal...
, recognising her as the most efficient ship during 2009. During July and August 2010, Newcastle was one of three RAN ships to participate in the RIMPAC
RIMPAC
RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime exercise. Conducted biennially , it is hosted and administered by the United States Navy, with the United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the leadership of...
2010 multinational exercise.