&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:US_Navy_DN-ST-90-08224_HMAS_Townsville_(FCPB_205)_cropped.jpg) HMAS Townsville in 1990
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Namesake | City of Townsville |
| Builder | NQEA, Cairns |
| Laid down | 5 March 1979 |
| Launched | 16 May 1981 |
| Commissioned | 18 July 1981 |
| Decommissioned | 11 May 2007 |
| Homeport | HMAS Cairns |
| Motto | "Bold and Ready" |
| Nickname(s) |
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| Honours and awards | Three inherited battle honours |
| Fate | Museum ship at Townsville Maritime Museum |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Fremantle-class patrol boat |
| Displacement | 220 tons |
| Length | 137.6 ft (41.9 m) |
| Beam | 25.25 ft (7.70 m) |
| Draught | 5.75 ft (1.75 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 MTU series 538 diesel engines, 3,200 shp (2,400 kW), 2 propellers |
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) |
| Complement | 22 |
| Armament |
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HMAS Townsville (FCPB 205), named for the city of Townsville, Queensland, was a Fremantle-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by NQEA, Cairns, the ship was laid down in 1979, and commissioned into the RAN in 1981.
Assigned to the naval base HMAS Cairns, Townsville was primarily assigned to fisheries protection and border patrol operations in northern Australian waters. In December 1981, the patrol boat recaptured an escaping illegal fishing vessel. The next year, she was used for filming of the Patrol Boat television series. Townsville was deployed to Fiji as part of Operation Morris Dance in May 1987.
Townsville was decommissioned in May 2007. The ship was donated to the Townsville Maritime Museum for preservation. Attempts to put the ship on display stalled and the ship fell into disrepair, with the maritime museum acquired by Port of Townsville in 2015.