Perth-class destroyer

HMAS Perth at sea in 1980
HMAS Perth at sea in 1980
Class overview
NamePerth class
BuildersDefoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan
Operators Royal Australian Navy
Preceded byDaring class
Succeeded byHobart class
SubclassesCharles F. Adams class (parent)
In commission1965–2001
Completed3
Preserved3 (as dive wrecks)
General characteristics
TypeGuided missile destroyer
Displacement
  • 3,370 tons standard
  • 4,500 tons full load (at launch)
  • 4,618 tons full load (in 1998)
Length
Beam47.1 ft (14.4 m)
Draught20.1 ft (6.1 m)
Propulsion
  • 4 × Foster Wheeler D-type boilers
  • 2 × General Electric double reduction steam turbines
  • 70,000 shp (52,000 kW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range
  • 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
  • 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement
  • 21 officers, 312 sailors (at launch)
  • 25 officers, 285 sailors (in 1998)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Hughes SPS-52C air search radar
  • Norden SPS-40C air search radar
  • Norden SPS-67V surface search radar
  • 2 × Raytheon SPG-516 fire control radars (Mark 13 launcher)
  • Western Electric SPG-53F fire control radar (5-inch guns)
  • Sangamo SQS-23KL hull-mounted sonar
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • 2 × SRBOC Mark 36 units
  • Nulka decoy launcher
  • AN/SLQ-25 towed decoy
Armament

The Perth-class destroyers were three modified Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Ordered from Defoe Shipbuilding Company during 1962 and 1963, HMA Ships Perth, Hobart, and Brisbane were the first guided missiled-armed warships, and the first naval ships of United States design, to enter service with the RAN. All three ships operated during the Vietnam War, while Brisbane also participated in the Gulf War. The class was decommissioned between 1999 and 2001, with all three vessels later sunk as dive wrecks.