HMAS Hobart (D 39)

HMAS Hobart in California, 1992
History
Australia
NamesakeCity of Hobart
BuilderDefoe Shipbuilding Company, Michigan, US
Laid down26 October 1962
Launched9 January 1964
Commissioned18 December 1965
Decommissioned12 May 2000
Motto"Sic Fortis Hobartia Crevit" (Thus Did Hobart Grow Strong)
Honours and
awards
FateSunk as dive wreck 5 November 2002
General characteristics
Class and typePerth-class guided missile destroyer
Displacement
  • 3,370 tons standard
  • 4,618 tons full load
Length
Beam47 ft 1 in (14.35 m)
Draught15 ft 3 in (4.65 m) maximum
Propulsion2 × General Electric steam turbines, 70,000 shp (52,000 kW), 2 shafts
Speed35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement20 officers, 312 sailors
Armament

HMAS Hobart (D 39) was a Perth-class guided missile destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in the United States of America to a slight variant of the United States Navy (USN) Charles F. Adams class, she was commissioned into the RAN in 1965. In March 1967, Hobart became the first RAN combat ship deployed to fight in the Vietnam War. This marked the start of consistent six-month deployments to the warzone, which continued until late 1971; Hobart was redeployed in 1969 and 1970. During the 1968 tour, the destroyer was attacked by a United States Air Force aircraft.

After the Vietnam War, Hobart saw service during Operation Navy Help Darwin; the RAN disaster relief effort following Cyclone Tracy, was the first RAN ship to dock at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, and completed a round-the-world voyage in 1976. The ship was modernised during the late 1970s. Hobart was decommissioned in 2000, and sunk as a dive wreck off South Australia.