HMAS Stalwart (D 215)
| Career (Australia (RAN)) |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney |
| Laid down: | 23 June 1964 |
| Launched: | 7 October 1966 |
| Commissioned: | 9 February 1968 |
| Homeport: | HMAS Kuttabul |
| Motto: | "Heart of Oak" |
| Nickname: |
"Building 215" "The Mighty 'Wart" "Battlestar" |
| Fate: | Sold into civilian service in 1990. Scrapped in 2003 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Escort Maintenance Ship |
| Displacement: |
15,000 tons (designed) 15,500 tonnes (actual) |
| Length: | 515 ft 6 in (157.12 m) |
| Beam: | 67 ft 6 in (20.57 m) |
| Draught: | 20 ft 1 in (6.12 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 x 6 cylinder Scott-Sulzer Diesels of 7,000 hp (5,200 kW) driving twin screws, developing 10,740 kW |
| Speed: | Over 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Complement: |
25 officers, 392 sailors (design) Varied according to role |
| Armament: |
2 x 40-millimetre (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns Fitted for, but not with, Sea Cat anti-aircraft missile systems |
| Aircraft carried: | One utility helicopter (Wessex; later Sea King) |
HMAS Stalwart (A 215/D 215) was an Australian-designed and constructed Escort Maintenance ship of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Commissioned on 9 February 1968 and decommissioned on 9 March 1990, Stalwart served as a destroyer tender, the RAN flagship, and a training vessel during her career. She was sold into civilian service in mid-1990 for use as a passenger ferry, and broken up for scrap in 2003.
Construction
Stalwart was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company Limited in Sydney on 23 June 1964.[1] She was launched on 7 October 1966 by Lady Casey, wife of Governor-General Richard Casey, and commissioned on 9 February 1968.[1]
At 15,500 tons, 500 tons over design, Stalwart was the largest Australian-designed and constructed naval vessel.[1]
Operational history
Stalwart served as a destroyer tender, the RAN flagship, and a training vessel throughout her career.[1]
Stalwart commenced duty in March 1968. She was involved in the relief effort following Cyclone Tracy in 1974, the independence of Papua New Guinea in 1975, disaster relief in the Solomon Islands in June 1986, and hosted a meeting of the Cabinet of Australia in September 1986.[1] She took part in precautionary deployments to Fiji and Vanuatu during 1987 and 1988.[1]
On 8 September 1980, Stalwart joined five other RAN vessels to form the Australia Squadron.[2] The Squadron, which included HMA Ships Melbourne, Perth, Derwent, Supply, and Otama spent two months in the Indian Ocean as part of a flag-showing cruise;[2] the largest RAN deployment since World War II.
Post-RAN career
HMAS Stalwart paid off on 9 March 1990,[1] and was sold in May 1990 to Marlines S.A., a Greek shipping company, that renamed her MV Her Majesty M intending to convert it to a passenger ferry. She lay in Eleusis near Athens, Greece until 1999, when it was renamed MV Tara II and had some conversion and use.
Fate
She was scrapped at Alang in Gujarat, India in 2003.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "HMAS Stalwart II". Sea Power Centre Australia. http://www.navy.gov.au/HMAS_Stalwart_%28II%29. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lind, Lew (1986) [1982]. The Royal Australian Navy - Historic Naval Events Year by Year (2nd ed. ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Reed Books. pp. p. 297. ISBN 0730100715. OCLC 16922225.
