_at_IFR.jpg) HMAS Benalla on Sydney Harbour in October 2013
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Paluma |
| Builders | Eglo Engineering, Adelaide |
| Operators | Royal Australian Navy |
| In service | March 1988 – March 1990 |
| In commission | February 1989 – June 2023 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Retired | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Motor launch |
| Displacement | 320 tonnes |
| Length | 36.6 m (120 ft) length overall |
| Beam | 13.7 m (45 ft) |
| Draught | 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 Detroit V12 diesel engines |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Range | 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Endurance | 14 days |
| Complement | 3 officers, 11 sailors (plus accommodation for 4 additional) |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Armament | None fitted |
The Paluma-class motor launch was a class of four hydrographic survey motor launches operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in Port Adelaide between 1988 and 1990, the four catamarans were primarily based at HMAS Cairns in Cairns, Queensland, and operated in pairs to survey the waters of northern Australia.