Guided missile destroyer of the Australian Navy, sunk as a dive site off Western Australia
HMAS "Perth" (D 38) was the lead ship of the guided missile destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in the United States to a modified version of the "Charles F. Adams" design, "Perth" entered service with the RAN in 1965.
The destroyer made three deployments to the Vietnam War, earning a RAN battle honour and two United States Navy commendations for her service. The majority of the ship's career was spent on training exercises and goodwill visits to other nations, with one deployment as far as the Mediterranean. "Perth" was decommissioned in 1999, and sunk as a dive wreck off the coast of Western Australia in 2001.
Design and construction.
"Perth" was the lead ship of three guided missile destroyers built for the RAN. Based on the United States Navy's , "Perth" had a displacement of 3,370 tons at standard load, and 4,618 tons at full load, a length of overall and between perpendiculars, a beam of , and a maximum draught of . Propulsion was provided by four Foster Wheeler boilers feeding two General Electric turbines, which provided to the destroyer's two propeller shafts. "Perth" could achieve speeds of . The ship's company consisted of 22 officers and 311 sailors.
As a guided missile destroyer, "Perth"'s main armament consisted of a Mark 13 missile launcher firing Tartar missiles. 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, two Ikara anti-submarine missile launchers were installed during a refit in 1966–67, then removed in 1991, the Mark 13 launcher was modified to fire Standard missiles, and two Phalanx CIWS units were installed.
"Perth" was laid down at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company shipyard in Bay City, Michigan, on 21 September 1962. She was launched on 26 September 1963 by the wife of Howard Beale, the Australian Ambassador to the United States. "Perth" was completed on 22 May 1965, having cost $45 million to construct, and was commissioned into the RAN on 17 July. During the month leading up to the commissioning, the ship's company volunteered to help create hiking trails in the forests of Rhode Island's George Washington Management Area. The destroyer spent eight months in American waters on trials and exercises before sailing for her namesake city, via Pearl Harbor and Suva, on 12 February 1966. During construction, the ship was assigned the United States Navy hull number DDG-25.
Operational history.
In April 1967, "Perth" was ordered to Macquarie Island to rescue a seriously ill researcher. The ship arrived without incident, but conditions at the island were so adverse to boat handling that instead, the ship's diver swam ashore and back towing a liferaft.
Vietnam deployments.
During the mid-1960s, the United States government pressured Australia to increase the resources it was committing to the Vietnam War; one of the requests was for a combat vessel to help the USN meet the demand for naval gunfire support operations. The idea of deploying a RAN combat ship to the Vietnam War was initially hampered by the number of ships available, particularly with commitments to the Far East Strategic Reserve and involvement in the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, along with the difficulty of operating and maintaining British-designed ships with USN resources. On 14 December 1966, the Australian Cabinet approved the deployment of "Hobart" as part of increases to Australian military commitment to the conflict. Destroyers deployed to the Vietnam theatre generally operated in one of four roles:
Although RAN ships on deployment were expected to fulfil all duties of an equivalent American destroyer, they were forbidden by the Australian government from operating outside the Vietnam theatre on unrelated Seventh Fleet duties (such as the Taiwan Patrol Force, guard ship duties at Hong Kong, or the Space Recovery Program). After the invasion of Cambodia in 1970, RAN ships were also prohibited from entering Cambodian waters.
While deployed to Vietnam, the destroyers were placed under the administrative control of Commander Australian Forces Vietnam in addition to that of the Flag Officer Commanding Australian Fleet. Operationally, the RAN vessels were under the command of the United States Seventh Fleet. Arrangements were made to provide logistic support through the United States Pacific Fleet. A USN lieutenant was assigned to each ship during deployments to act as a liaison with the Seventh Fleet. The deployment of in March 1967 began a pattern of six-month deployments for RAN destroyers, with a constant RAN presence with the Seventh Fleet. Australia was the only allied nation to provide naval support to the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.
First deployment.
On 14 September 1967, Vietnam duties were handed to "Perth" by "Hobart". The destroyer's first assignment was the gunline off the II Corps operating area, where "Perth" rendezvoused with on 26 September. The ship was specifically tasked with providing gunfire support for the 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army, which was involved in Operation Pershing. Three days later, "Perth" was reassigned to the northern part of South Vietnam, in response to increased North Vietnamese activity. On 2 October, both turrets broke down; both were repaired by 23:00, but the aft turret failed again the next evening, with the new problem beyond repair until replacement parts were air-dropped on 5 October. "Perth" was redeployed to Sea Dragon operations on 16 October, joining American cruiser . On the morning of 18 October, the destroyer was fired on by coastal artillery while investigating a group of fishing junks; "Perth" was hit once, with the shell deflecting off the aft gun turret and penetrating the superstructure to start a fire in the confidential books vault. The gun turret captain was later awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his actions in response to the attack, while the officer of the watch was mentioned in despatches for courage and calmness under fire. Six days later, "Perth" and fired on six small supply craft, sinking five.
"Perth" sailed to Subic for emergency maintenance and rebarrelling on 26 October, and returned to Sea Dragon duties on 1 November. Another maintenance period occurred between 7 and 16 November, after which "Perth" sailed to Singapore for shore leave, returning to operations on 27 November. This gunline deployment lasted until 20 December, with "Perth" coming under shore battery fire on two occasions, but receiving no hits or damage. After maintenance at Subic, the destroyer returned Sea Dragon operations on 9 January. Problems with the forward gun turret and the starboard propeller saw "Perth" withdraw to Subic for repairs on 2 February. These were completed by 14 February, with the destroyer returning to the Sea Dragon force that day. The commanding officer of "Perth" was appointed overall commander of both the northern and southern task units; the northern unit was normally led by the commander of the assigned cruiser, but "Newport News" was in dock for maintenance. In mid-February, the forward gun mount malfunctioned again, which left the turret operational but unable to rotate. On 1 March, the destroyer withdrew for maintenance, returning to operations ten days later. On 23 March, "Perth" withdrew to Subic to conclude her tour of duty, and was replaced on 31 March by "Hobart".
The destroyer was awarded the United States Navy Unit Commendation for her service during the deployment. In addition to the two personnel awards for actions in response to the 18 October hit, "Perth"'s commanding officer was Mentioned in Despatches, and 22 personnel received Naval Board commendations.
Second deployment.
On 19 September 1968, "Perth" departed from Sydney to replace "Hobart" in the Vietnam warzone. En route, a training exercise with RAAF aircraft revealed that one of the radars and both identification-friend-or-foe units had defects, which were repaired in Subic. "Perth" relieved her sister ship on 29 September, and after exercising with the Seventh Fleet, deployed to the gunline on 5 October. Four days later, the destroyer sailed north to relieve as leader of the northern Sea Dragon unit, as that destroyer was experiencing faults with her gun turrets and targeting computer. The next day, "Perth" and were joined by the battleship , with the battleship taking command of the unit and the Australian destroyer was reassigned back to the southern force. On 21 October, a day after rejoining the northern Sea Dragon unit, the destroyer observed the return of 14 North Vietnamese prisoners-of-war.
Two days later, a failure of the counter-recoil mechanism in the forward turret forced "Perth" to withdraw from Sea Dragon and sail south to less-demanding gunline duties of Danang. She remained on station until November, when she sailed to Hong Kong for personnel leave. Operation Sea Dragon was cancelled completely on 1 November. The ship was assigned to the II Corps area on 12 November, providing gunfire support for a battalion of the Korean 26th Regiment, then later relocated south to the IV Corps area to provide similar services for the South Vietnamese 7th and 9th Divisions. "Perth" returned to the gunline off Danang on 12 December, sailed back to the IV Corps area four days later, then effectively turned around on arrival as the ship was ordered to sail to the II Corps area and provide gunfire support for Operation McLain; firing 511 rounds in one day. On 19 December, "Perth" sailed back to IV Corps, where, apart from a brief deployment to Taiwan at the start of 1969, she remained until 20 January. The destroyer was assigned to the destroyer screen of the aircraft carrier for ten days, sailed to Subic for maintenance on 7 February, then returned to naval gunfire support duties on 22 February. From 25 to 28 February, the ship operated in support of Operation Victory Dragon VIII, and fired 690 shells at a variety of targets. "Perth" continued on fire support operations until 16 March, when she sailed to Hong Kong.
"Perth" was awarded the United States Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation for the second deployment. An appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, two Mentions in Despatches, and 25 Naval Board commendations recognised the achievements of individual personnel during the tour of duty.
Third deployment.
"Perth"'s third and final tour of duty in Vietnamese waters began on the ship's arrival in Subic on 26 September 1970. After relieving "Hobart" and completing work-up trials, the destroyer arrived off Danang on 3 October and took up gunline duties in Military Region 1. On 23 October, the ship supported a United States Navy SEALs; although two commando teams were able to infiltrate the Cua Viet River, the operation was inconclusive. On 26 October, "Perth" sailed to Subic for maintenance and rebarrelling, and returned to gunline operations on 4 November. On 14 November, both gun turrets became unusable, although the aft turret was restored later that day. Two days later, the ship sailed south to Military Region 3. On 2 December, the destroyer moved further south to Military Region 4. "Perth" sailed to Hong Kong for shore leave on 22 December.
The Australian warship returned to duties on 10 January with a five-day stint at Yankee Station, escorting the carrier during Rolling Thunder operations. "Perth" was then assigned to the gunline at Military Region 4. The forward gun turret became unusable again during the latter part of January, and the destroyer sailed to Bangkok for leave on 2 February, then Subic for maintenance and repairs. The ship returned to service on 22 February, operating across Military Regions 2 and 3. There was minimal activity when operating off Military Region 3, as the presence of a gunfire support vessel was unexpected, thus no pre-planned fire missions had been made. "Perth" left the gunline for the final time on 7 March, and was attached to the escort group of . Five days later, she sailed to Hong Kong, then Subic, to conclude her Vietnam deployment. The destroyer was relieved by on 29 March. Personnel awards for the deployment included one appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire, two instances of Mentioned in Despatches, and 26 Naval Board commendations.
During 1971, the Australian government decided to withdraw all forces from Vietnam by the end of the year; "Brisbane" was the last ship to make a combat deployment to Vietnam, and was not replaced when this deployment ended in September. "Perth" was awarded the battle honour "Vietnam 1967–71" for her three deployments.
1970s.
In February 1973, "Perth", , and sailed on a