HMAS Stalwart (A 215/D 215) was an Australian-designed and constructed Escort Maintenance ship 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). Commissioned on 9 February 1968 and decommissioned on 9 March 1990, Stalwart served as a destroyer tender

Destroyer tender

A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...

, the RAN flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

, and a training vessel during her career. She was sold in 1993 for conversion into a short-range cruise ship, under the names MV Her Majesty M, then MV Tara II. The vessel did not enter civilian service before she was broken up for scrap

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

 in 2003.

Design and construction

The ship was designed by Navy Office in Canberra to provide afloat support for the RAN, primarily by providing maintenance and minor repairs to the navy's destroyers and frigates. 75 percent of the ship's company were geared towards the maintenance role. Stalwart could perform these tasks at sea, and could operate out of minor ports or forward bases around and away from Australia. Up to four ships could be assisted simultaneously, with Stalwart providing power, water, communications, and personnel facilities for the ships' companies of those alongside.

Stalwart was designed with a displacement of 15,000 tons, although her actual displacement was 15,500 tons. This was the largest displacement of any ship operated by the RAN to that point, except for the two Majestic class aircraft carriers and the battlecruiser . Stalwart was 515 in 6 in (157.12 m) long overall, 458 feet (139.6 m) long between perpendiculars, had a beam of 67 in 6 in (20.57 m), and a draught of 20 in 1 in (6.12 m). Propulsion was provided by two 6-cylinder Scott-Sulzer diesels

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

, which provided 7000 hp to the ship's two propellers, and allowing Stalwart to sail at over 20 knots (10.9 m/s).

The size of the ship's company varies between sources: Cassells states a complement of 396, while the RAN website gives 25 officers and 392 sailors. Stalwarts armament consisted of two 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns. The ship was fitted for but not with two Sea Cat missile

Sea Cat missile

Sea Cat was a British short-range surface to air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system and was designed so that the Bofors guns could be replaced with minimum...

 launchers. A single helicopter was carried for utility purposes; initially, this was a Westland Wessex

Westland Wessex

The Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...

, although it was later replaced by a Westland Sea King

Westland Sea King

The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...

. The ship's helipad was capable of receiving any helicopter flown by the RAN.

Stalwart was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company Limited in Sydney on 23 June 1964. She was launched by Lady Maie Casey, wife of the Governor-General

Governor-General of Australia

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...

 on 1 October 1966. Stalwart was commissioned into the RAN on 1 February 1968, a day after she was completed. The ship's name came from the destroyer . She carried several nicknames, including "Building 215" (referring to the fact that, when not deployed, she was always secured to the same buoy just off at Sydney), "The Mighty 'Wart", and "Battlestar

Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...

".

Operational history

On 14 November 1974, Stalwart was present at Port Moresby

Port Moresby

Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...

 for Papua New Guinean independence celebrations. At the end of 1974, after Cyclone Tracy

Cyclone Tracy

Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974...

 destroyed Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

, Stalwart sailed from Sydney as part of the disaster relief effort Operation Navy Help Darwin

Operation Navy Help Darwin

Operation Navy Help Darwin was a disaster relief operation initiated by the Royal Australian Navy following the destruction of Darwin, Northern Territory by Cyclone Tracy during the night of 24-25 December 1974. 13 ships, 11 aircraft, and 3,000 personnel were sent to Darwin in the largest disaster...

. The vessel arrived on 2 January 1975, and was the only vessel to dock alongside in Darwin Harbour (the other ships anchored in or outside the harbour). Stalwart remained until 30 January, during which she provided workshop and maintenance facilities, was used to provide electricity to the city, and her ship's company performed an average of 1,000 man-hours of cleanup and reconstruction work per day. She was one of the last two RAN ships to leave, and arrived back in Sydney on 6 February.

The ship started 1976 by participating in training exercises off south-east Australia and 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:...

. Stalwart visited New Zealand in June, returned to Sydney for refit, visited New Zealand and Nouméa in September, then undertook a circumnavigation of Australia, which concluded in Sydney on 9 December.

In 1980, Starwart undertook exercises of Victoria, before visiting Newcastle for Australia Day

Australia Day

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...

, Hobart for the Royal Hobart Regatta

Royal Hobart Regatta

The Royal Hobart Regatta began in 1838, is a series of aquatic competitions and displays held annually in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and is Tasmania's oldest sporting event. The regatta runs for three days, ending on the second Monday in February, and dominates the whole river for the duration of...

, then Melbourne and Sydney before March. In May, the role of Flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of the RAN was transferred from to Stalwart. During September and October, the ship participated in Exercise Kangaroo 81.

Stalwart was deployed on a three-month flag-showing cruise through South-East Asia during late 1984. During this deployment, the ship visited China, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

On 22 October 1985, while en route from Darwin to Indonesia, a combination of cleaning chemicals and the contents of the ship's sullage tanks caused hydrogen sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...

 gas to form. 62 people had to be evacuated to Darwin by helicopter after inhaling the gas, and 3 were killed; one was posthumously awarded the Bravery Medal for his actions during the incident. In November, the ship was sent to resupply the Antarctic research station at Macquarie Island

Macquarie Island

Macquarie Island lies in the southwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, about half-way between New Zealand and Antarctica, at 54°30S, 158°57E. Politically, it has formed part of the Australian state of Tasmania since 1900 and became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978. In 1997 it became a world heritage...

 after the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition vessel Nella Dan

Nella Dan

MV Nella Dan was one of the famous 'Dan' ships of the Danish J. Lauritzen A/S Lines that were almost synonymous with ANARE shipping through the early years of Australia's official Antarctic program...

became beset by ice. The ship took on supplies and unloaded 85 sailors at Jervis Bay on 31 November to make room for the civilians and their equipment, before sailing to Hobart and taking on more supplies and a 41-strong relief team. She sailed on 4 December to Macquarie Island, and successfully transferred the relief team and supplies, receiving 33 men for transport back to Australia.

In late May 1986, the vessel was sent 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...

 on a disaster relief mission following heavy storms. In September, Stalwart hosted a meeting of the Cabinet of Australia

Cabinet of Australia

The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister the Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, and serves at the former's pleasure. The strictly private...

.

During the late 1980s, the ship focused less on her role as a maintenance vessel (primarily because the United States-designed vessels entering service were easier to self-maintain at shore facilities), and more on her role as Flagship, by sending most of her maintenance personnel ashore and hosting the staff of the Flag Officer Commanding Australian Fleet and the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Band.

She took part in precautionary deployments to Fiji (Operation Morris Dance

Operation Morris Dance

Operation Morris Dance was an Australian military operation conducted in May 1987 in response to the first of the 1987 Fijian coups d'état.On the morning of 14 May 1987 the Military of Fiji took control of the country in a bloodless coup d'état. In response to the coup the Australian Defence Force ...

) and Vanuatu during 1987 and 1988. From 15 January 1989, Stalwart began scaling down her ship's company and operations; the extra space for personnel and the superior facilities on board saw her transferred to the training squadron.

Decommissioning, civilian career, and fate

Stalwart was decommissioned on 9 March 1990 at Fleet Base East. The ship was sold to the Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

-based Royal Sea Ferries on 3 March 1990 for conversion into a Mediterranean cruise ship. The vessel was named MV Her Majesty M. She was later renamed MV Tara II. The ship did not enter commercial service, and on 19 February 2003, Tara II arrived at Alang, India for breaking

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

.