HMAS Kanimbla (L 51)

HMAS Kanimbla in 2010
History
United States
NameSaginaw
NamesakeCity of Saginaw, Michigan
BuilderNational Steel & Shipbuilding Company
Laid down24 May 1969
Launched7 February 1970
Sponsored byWife of R. James Harvey
Commissioned23 January 1971
Decommissioned28 June 1994
HomeportLittle Creek, Virginia
IdentificationLST-1188
FateTransferred to the Royal Australian Navy in 1994
Australia
NameKanimbla
NamesakeKanimbla Valley
Commissioned29 August 1994
Decommissioned25 November 2011
HomeportFleet Base East
IdentificationL 51
Motto"Cry Havoc"
Honours and
awards
FateSold for scrap, 20 May 2013
Badge
Ship's badge
General characteristics as Kanimbla
Class and typeKanimbla-class landing platform amphibious
Displacement8,534 tons
Length159.2 m (522 ft 4 in)
Beam21.2 m (69 ft 7 in)
Draught5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)
Propulsion6 × ALCO V16 diesel engines, 2,050 kW (2,750 hp) each driving two shafts (3 engines per shaft)
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Range14,000 nmi (26,000 km; 16,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried
2 × LCM8 landing craft
Capacity400 embarked forces, 955 m2 (10,280 sq ft) of usable tank deck space
Complement23 naval officers, 2 army officers, 197 sailors, 18 soldiers
Armament
Aircraft carried4 × Blackhawk or 3 × Sea King
Aviation facilitiesHangar for 4 helicopters, 3 landing spots

HMAS Kanimbla (L 51) was a Kanimbla-class landing platform amphibious ship operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Originally built for the United States Navy (USN) as the Newport-class tank landing ship USS Saginaw (LST-1188), the ship was decommissioned in 1994 and sold to the RAN.

After entering service with the RAN in 1999, Kanimbla participated in numerous worldwide deployments, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and in response to the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. During the ship's career, two helicopters were lost in crashes. After a fire broke out aboard Kanimbla in late 2010, she and sister ship Manoora were removed from active service because of extensive problems found aboard both ships. The intention was to repair Kanimbla and return her to service by 2012, but this was deemed uneconomical. The ship was decommissioned in 2011, and sold for breaking in 2013.