HMAS Manoora (L 52)

HMAS Manoora during 2006
History
United States
NameFairfax County
NamesakeFairfax County, Virginia
Ordered15 July 1966
BuilderNational Steel & Shipbuilding Company
Laid down28 March 1970
Launched19 December 1970
Commissioned16 October 1971
Decommissioned17 August 1994
Stricken17 August 1994
IdentificationLST-1193
FateDisposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), 27 September 1994
Australia
NameManoora
Acquired27 September 1994
Commissioned25 November 1994
Decommissioned27 May 2011
HomeportFleet Base East
IdentificationL 52
Motto"In War And Peace"
Honours and
awards
FateSold for scrap, 20 May 2013
BadgeShip's badge
General characteristics as Manoora
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
Capacity450 embarked forces, 955 m2 (10,280 sq ft) of usable tank deck space
Complement23 naval officers, 2 army officers, 197 sailors, 18 soldiers
Armament
  • 1 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Phalanx Mk 15 close-in weapon system
  • 6 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns
  • 4 × MK36 SRBOC launcher
Aircraft carried4 × Blackhawk or 3 × Sea King

HMAS Manoora (L 52) 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 Fairfax County (LST-1193), the ship was decommissioned in 1994 and sold to the RAN.

Although commissioned into Australian service in that year, the vessel was heavily modified from her original design, and did not begin operations until the end of the decade. During her Australian career, Manoora saw wartime service during the War in Afghanistan, and non-combat service in the Solomon Islands and East Timor. In 2001, the ship was involved in the Tampa affair, a diplomatic incident involving a Norwegian cargo ship and a group of asylum seekers.

In late 2010, Manoora and sister ship Kanimbla were placed in an 'operational pause' after several problems were identified with the ships. In early 2011, it was announced that repairing Manoora was cost-prohibitive, and she was decommissioned on 27 May 2011. The ship was sold for breaking in 2013.