HMAS Swan (DE-50)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Swan (DE 50), named for the Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
, was a 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). Constructed in Melbourne following the loss of HMAS Voyager
Melbourne-Voyager collision
The Melbourne-Voyager collision, also referred to as the "Melbourne-Voyager incident" or simply the "Voyager incident", was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy ; the aircraft carrier and the destroyer...
, Swan entered service in 1970, and remained in commission until 1996. Swan was sunk as a dive wreck off the coast of Dunsborough, Western Australia
Dunsborough, Western Australia
Dunsborough is a coastal town in the South West of Western Australia, south of Perth on the shores of Geographe Bay.Dunsborough is a popular tourist destination for Western Australians; in 1999 it was voted the state's best tourist destination. During the last decade the town has grown quickly and...
at the end of 1997.
Construction
Swan and sister ship were ordered in 1964 as replacements for , a destroyer lost following a collisionMelbourne-Voyager collision
The Melbourne-Voyager collision, also referred to as the "Melbourne-Voyager incident" or simply the "Voyager incident", was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy ; the aircraft carrier and the destroyer...
with the aircraft carrier in 1964. Although intended to be the same as the previous River class ships (themselves based on the British Type 12 frigate
Type 12 frigate
Type 12 frigate can refer to several ship classes. It most commonly describes the common design of three ship classes of the Royal Navy designed during the 1950s and constructed during the 1960s....
), the design was changed from 1965 to incorporate many of the improvements of the British Leander class frigates
Leander class frigate
The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...
. Work on the two vessels started without specifications or a contract, and the evolving design meant changes were being made as the ships were being constructed, with resulting delays and cost increases attributed to a lack of planning.
Swan was laid down by the Williamstown Dockyard at Melbourne, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
on 16 February 1965, and was launched on 16 December 1967 by the wife of the Minister for the Navy, Allen Fairhall
Allen Fairhall
Sir Allen Fairhall KBE was an Australian politician and Member of the Parliament of Australia for the Division of Paterson from 1949 to 1969. During that period he held a number of ministerial portfolios, most notably Supply and Defence.Fairhall was born at Morpeth and attended East Maitland...
. Although the ship had not been completed, she was commissioned into the RAN on 20 January 1970. She was the third ship of the RAN to be named for the Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
in Western Australia.
1970–1983
In October 1970, Swan sailed to Fiji, and was present in Suva on 10 October when the former British colonyColonial Fiji
The United Kingdom declined its first opportunity to annex Fiji in 1852. Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau had offered to cede the islands, subject to being allowed to retain his Tui Viti title, a condition unacceptable to both the British and to many of his fellow chiefs, who regarded him only as first...
was granted independence. The warship was deployed to Singapore on 16 September 1971 for her first and only deployment to the Far East Strategic Reserve
Far East Strategic Reserve
The British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve was a joint military force of the British, Australian, and New Zealand armed forces...
, which was replaced by ANZUK
ANZUK
ANZUK was a tripartite force formed by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to defend the Asian Pacific region after the United Kingdom withdrew forces from the east of Suez in the early seventies. The ANZUK force was formed in 1971 and disbanded in 1974....
on 1 November. Swan operated as part of ANZUK until April 1972, during which she visited Japanese ports, served as escort to the Royal Yacht Britannia
HMY Britannia
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former Royal Yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. She is the second Royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the famous racing cutter built for The Prince of Wales...
during a Royal Visit to Thailand, and participated in SEATO Exercise Sea Hawk. On her return to Australia on 17 April, the ship underwent maintenance, then spent the rest of the year on training exercises. After more exercises during the first third of 1973, Swan was docked at Williamstown for a refit from early April to early October, during which an Ikara missile system
Ikara (missile)
The Ikara missile was an Australian ship-launched anti-submarine missile, named after an Australian Aboriginal word for "throwing stick". It launched an acoustic torpedo to a range of , allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to...
was installed. Sea trials and exercises took up the rest of 1973.
1974 started with Swan deploying to Hobart to serve as flagship 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...
. On 25 May, Swan received a distress call from the disabled yacht Cutty Sark: despite rough seas and high winds, swimmers from the warship were able to recover the yacht's crew. In October, the ship sailed to Singapore for a deployment as part of the ANZUK force, and on the organisation's disbandment at the start of 1975, served as the Australian contribution to the Five Power Agreement. During the ship's time in South East Asia, which ended in April 1975, she visited multiple ports, participated in three multinational exercises, and received news that she had been awarded the 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...
for 1947, recognising her as the most efficient ship in the RAN. After returning to Sydney on 14 April, Swan spent the rest of the year alternating between maintenance dockings and training exercises. The early part of 1976 was spent performing port visits around Australia, before Swan docked at Williamstown for a refit, which lasted from May 1976 to February 1977.
During 1977, amongst training exercises and maintenance dockings, Swan participated in SINDEX 77, a multinational exercise in the Indian Ocean. After training exercises in early 1978, Swan was forced to make an emergency docking in early March because of leakage on a stern gland.. In early May, the warship was tasked with finding the yachtsman from Josephine II, which had run aground on Middleton Reef
Middleton Reef
Middleton Reef is a coral reef in the Tasman Sea. It is separated by a deep oceanic pass some 45 km wide from nearby Elizabeth Reef, forming part of the Lord Howe Rise underwater plateau. Middleton Reef is around 220 km from Lord Howe Island and 555 km from the coast of New South...
, but was unsuccessful (the sailor was later found at sea by another ship). Swan participated in several major fleet exercises during the latter part of the year. On 18 January 1979, while docked alongside the destroyer tender at Garden Island, Swan was evacuated when a bomb threat was made against the tender. After port visits along the eastern Australian coast, the warship underwent a maintenance docking for the majority of the year.
In March 1980, Swan was deployed to South East Asia for five months. On 17 April the ship visited Singapore at the start of the deployment in South-east Asian waters, "for the first of three 'show the flag' visits...The ship's spokesman, Sub-Lieutenant John Rawson, said this was to stress Australia's interest in the region…". During this trip she visited 18 ports in eight countries, and also rescued 72 refugees from an overloaded 35 feet (10.7 m) boat in the South China Sea on 17 June. The then Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, Mr Ian MacPhee, announced that Australia would accept responsibility for the refugees. The warship returned to its home port of Sydney in late August, and underwent a short maintenance period before visiting New Zealand near the end of the year. Swan returned to South East Asia for a seven month deployment in 1981, during which she visited 22 ports. After "weathering a violent storm", Typhoon Agnes – part of the 1981 Pacific typhoon season
1981 Pacific typhoon season
The 1981 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1981, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern...
– in the Yangtze Delta, she became the first Australian warship to visit China in 32 years (and the first following the formation of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
), and the first to participate in joint training exercises with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
The , or JMSDF, is the naval branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. It was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy after World War II....
. During 1982, Swan became the only ship of her type to use the Fremantle Public Works slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
, and the first warship to use the hydraulic lift at the West Australian Maritime Support Facility at Cockburn Sound. The ship embarked on five consecutive deployments in 1983, travelling throughout Australia, Asia, and the Pacific for port visits and multinational exercises.
1984–1996
At the start of 1984, Swan went into Williamstown for a 20-month modernisation. During this time, the Limbo anti-submarine mortarLimbo (weapon)
Limbo, or Anti Submarine Mortar Mark 10 , was the final British development of a forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon originally designed during the Second World War. Limbo, a three-barreled mortar similar to the earlier Squid that it superseded, was developed by the Admiralty Underwater Weapons...
was removed and replaced with two triple-barrel Mark 32 torpedo launchers
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...
, while other upgrades to her capabilities were made. Near the end of the modernisation, a large number of components had to be scrounged from sister ship Torrens to make Swan operational: for a time, the ship came to be known as Swarrens, as she was reputed to be half-Swan, half-Torrens. Swan reentered service in September 1985, and in December became the second ship of her class to be based out of in Western Australia: she was better suited to operating from the less-advanced western base as she was did not need the specialised technical and logistics support required by the s and s. Early 1986 was spent adjusting to operating conditions in the Indian Ocean, visiting ports along the western and northern Australian coasts, and undergoing training exercises. Mid-year, Swan undertook a two-month deployment to South East Asia. On her return, she spent the rest of the year alongside at Stirling for maintenance. Early 1987 followed the same pattern as the previous year's start, after which Swan sailed to Melbourne for a refit in March. This was completed in June, and after returning to Stirling, the ship travelled to the South China Sea to participate in the multinational Exercise Starfish. The rest of the year was spent undergoing training exercises with the United States, Malaysian, and Indonesian ships.
1988 started with a multitude of port visits to celebrate 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:...
Year, followed by two deployments to South East Asia, the first from June until August, the second from October to January 1989. On her return, Swan was docked for a refit; she was the first RAN vessel to use the Jervoise Bay shiplift, and the first major warship refitted in Western Australia. The refit ran until September, and Swan spent the rest of the year undergoing training exercises. After visiting New Zealand and Sydney in early 1990, the ship embarked on a five-month deployment throughout Asia; travelling as far north as the top of Japan and participating in multiple training exercises with regional navies. 1991 started off with more training exercises and port visits. In April, all of the Ikara missiles carried by Swan were removed following fleet-wide instructions to cease use of the system. Another deployment to South East Asia was made from April to August, followed by a brief visit to the region in September and October: during the latter, Swan was called in to provide humanitarian assistance following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo
Mount Pinatubo
Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Luzon, near the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. It is located in the Tri-Cabusilan Mountain range separating the west coast of Luzon from the central plains, and is west of the dormant and...
. The warship visited South East Asia again from June to October 1992.
During the 1990s, women were integrated into the RAN
Women in the Australian military
Women have served in Australian armed forces since 1899. Until World War II women were restricted to the Australian Army Nursing Service. This role expanded in 1941–42 when the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force established female branches in which women...
. The hasty implementation and the lack of preparation or education caused problems aboard several ships, particularly Swan. In August 1992, a female 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....
medical officer reported that she had been sexually assaulted by a male officer. Although the male officer was acquitted at a court martial, other claims from female personnel aboard Swan came forward, including unsatisfactory living arrangement, sexual harassment, and gender-based discrimination. The Swan incidents became the centrepiece of an inquiry into sexual harassment across the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
(ADF), which found that although the rate of sexual harassment in the ADF was equal to other workforces, the attitudes and traditions evolved by the previously all-male military had to change.
The ship participated in multinational exercises off Darwin in May 1993, and after returning to Western Australia, made a series of port visits along the southern and eastern coasts of Australia while en route to Sydney. Swan then sailed to South East Asia to participate in multinational exercises, and returned to Stirling at the start of December. Maintenance and training exercises were carried out during early 1994, after which Swan left to circumnavigate Australia, visiting ports across Australia and in Indonesia during April, May, and June. On her return, Swan was docked for a refit, which lasted until the end of the year. 1995 saw the ship participate in fleet exercises around Australia: during a gunnery exercise off Shoalwater Bay, Swan fired 1081 4.5 inches (114.3 mm) shells, becoming the first RAN vessel since 1942 to fire her entire magazine in one event. In 1996, the destroyer escort was reclassified as a training ship. Swan was used to train midshipmen during the early part of the year, then sailed to Singapore for a final South East Asia deployment before returning to Fremantle to decommission.
Decommissioning and fate
Swan paid off on 13 September 1996. During her career, she travelled 775870 nautical miles (1,436,911.2 km) during 56982 hours spent at sea. After decommissioning, the Australian government gifted the ship to the state of Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The state government subsequently set up an independent committee, headed by the Western Australian Tourism Commission, to decide the ship's fate. Many applications were received from across the state, with ideas including conversion into a floating hotel, a floating church, a homeless shelter, or an artificial reef. On 11 November 1996, it was announced by State Minister for Tourism Norman Moore that the ship would be given to the Geographe Bay
Geographe Bay
Geographe Bay is located in the South West of Western Australia around 220 km southwest of Perth.The bay was named in May 1801 by French explorer Nicolas Baudin; Baudin named the bay after his ship, Géographe. The bay is a wide curve of coastline extending from Cape Naturaliste past the towns...
Artificial Reef Society to be scuttled and made into an artificial reef and dive site.
Preparations for scuttling were made with the help of the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia
Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia
The Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia is a registered non-profit organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They began operations in 1989, with the G.B. Church project, and have since sunk 7 ships and 1 Boeing 737...
, whose members had experience in dealing with similar-sized ships. Swan was towed to Bunbury, Western Australia
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
, and over the next twelve months, the ship was cleaned on environmental hazards (such as oil and plastics) and diver hazards (such as cabling), and had access holes cut. Ten explosive charges were installed; six at the bow, four at the stern. After preparations were completed, the ship was towed to a point 1.3 nautical miles (2.4 km) from Point Picquet (Meelup Beach), near Dunsborough, Western Australia
Dunsborough, Western Australia
Dunsborough is a coastal town in the South West of Western Australia, south of Perth on the shores of Geographe Bay.Dunsborough is a popular tourist destination for Western Australians; in 1999 it was voted the state's best tourist destination. During the last decade the town has grown quickly and...
.
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
in 2001.