Vietnam War destroyers of Australia

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 18. Chapters: HMAS Brisbane (D 41), HMAS Hobart (D 39), HMAS Perth (D 38), HMAS Vendetta (D08), Perth class destroyer. Excerpt: 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 1975. The ship was modernised during the late 1970s. Hobart was decommissioned in 2000, and sunk as a dive wreck off South Australia. Hobart was one of three Perth class guided missile destroyers built for the RAN. Based on the United States Navy's Charles F. Adams class, Hobart had a displacement of 3,370 tons at standard load, and 4,618 tons at full load, a length of 440 feet 3 inches (134.19 m) overall and 420 feet (130 m) between perpendiculars, a beam of 47 feet 1 inch (14.35 m), and a maximum draught of 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m). Propulsion was provided by two General Electric turbines, which provided 70,000 shaft horsepower (52,000 kW) to the destroyer's two propeller shafts. Hobart could achieve speeds of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The ship's company consisted of 20 officers and 312 sailors. As a guided missile destroyer, Hobarts main armament consisted of a Mark 13 missile launcher firing Tartar missiles and two Ikara anti-submarine missile launchers. This was supplemented by two 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 guns and two Mark 32 triple torpedo tube sets. Over the course of the ship's career, the Mark 13 launcher was modified to fire Standard missiles,