HMAS Brisbane (D 41)

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HMAS Brisbane (D 41) was one of three Perth-class guided missile destroyers to serve in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The United States-designed ship was laid down at Bay City, Michigan in 1965, launched in 1966 and commissioned into the RAN in 1967. She is named after the city of Brisbane, Queensland.

During her career, Brisbane made two deployments to the Vietnam War, was involved in the post-Cyclone Tracy disaster relief operation Navy Help Darwin, and deployed to the Persian Gulf during the first Gulf War. Brisbane was decommissioned in 2001, and was sunk as a dive wreck off the Queensland coast in 2005.

Design and construction

Brisbane was one of three Perth-class guided missile destroyers built for the RAN.<ref name=Cassells30>Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 30</ref> Based on the United States Navy's Charles F. Adams class, Brisbane had a displacement of 3,370 tons at standard load, and 4,551 tons at full load, a length of Template:Convert overall and Template:Convert between perpendiculars, a beam of Template:Convert, and a maximum draught of Template:Convert.<ref name=Cassells30/> Propulsion was provided by two General Electric turbines, which provided Template:Convert to the destroyer's two propeller shafts.<ref name=Cassells30/> Brisbane could achieve speeds of Template:Convert.<ref name=Cassells30/> The ship's company consisted of 24 officers and 312 sailors.<ref name=Cassells30/>

As a guided missile destroyer, BrisbaneTemplate:'s main armament consisted of a Mark 13 missile launcher firing Tartar missiles and two Ikara anti-submarine missile launchers.<ref name=Cassells30/> This was supplemented by two 5"/54 calibre Mark 42 guns and two Mark 32 triple torpedo tube sets.<ref name=Cassells30/><ref name=Chant208>Chant, A compendium of armaments and military hardware, p. 208</ref> Over the course of the ship's career, the Mark 13 launcher was modified to fire Standard missiles, two Phalanx CIWS units were installed in 1990, and the Ikara launchers were removed in 1991.<ref name=Cassells30/>

Brisbane was laid down by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company at Bay City, Michigan on 15 February 1965.<ref name=Cassells30/> The ship was launched on 5 May 1966 by the wife of Fred Chaney, Sr., the Minister for the Navy.<ref name=Cassells30/> Brisbane was handed over to the RAN at Boston Navy Yard on 7 December 1967, and was commissioned into the RAN nine days later.<ref name=Cassells30/> The cost of the destroyer was approximately A$50 million.<ref name=Cassells30/> The ship was given the nicknames Steel Cat and Fighting Forty-One (references to her ship's badge and pennant number respectively).<ref name=Cassells31>Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 31</ref> During construction, the ship was assigned the United States Navy hull number DDG-27.<ref>Sea Power Centre-Australia, AWD, Hobart, MFU or DDGH – What's in a name?</ref>

Brisbane spent the first nine months of her career undergoing exercises in US waters, before sailing for Australia on 28 September 1968.<ref name=Cassells30/> After visits to Pearl Harbor and Suva, Brisbane arrived in her namesake city on 17 October.<ref name=Cassells30/>

Operational history

Vietnam deployments

Template:Further 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.<ref>Grey, Up Top, pgs. 132, 138–9</ref> 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.<ref>Grey, Up Top, pgs. 76, 80</ref> On 14 December 1966, the Australian Cabinet approved the deployment of Hobart as part of increases to Australian military commitment to the conflict.<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 81</ref><ref name=Cooper204/> Brisbane operated in one of three roles:

• Naval gunfire support operations to assist ground forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps units operating closest to the North Vietnam border.<ref>Grey, Up Top, pp. 130–5</ref> Seven ships were usually stationed on the 'gunline', and attacks fell into two categories: 'unspotted' shelling of areas where North Vietnamese or Viet Cong forces and facilities were known or believed to be, and 'spotted' fire missions in direct support of ground troops.<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 132</ref> In this role, Brisbane operated under the callsign "Flamboyant".<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 155</ref>
• Anti-infiltration operations under Operation Market Time, which aimed to stop the logistic supply and reinforcement of Viet Cong units operating in South Vietnam by tracking, intercepting, and searching coastal shipping.<ref>Grey, Up Top, pp. 135–8</ref> RAN destroyers were never formally assigned to Market Time, but the overlap of the gunline and Market Time operational areas meant the ships were often called on to assist by tracking suspicious ships or participating in raids.<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 135</ref>
• Escort of USN aircraft carriers involved in Operation Rolling Thunder airstrikes.<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 125</ref>

Sister ships Hobart and Template:HMAS had also been involved in shipping interdiction patrols along the coast of North Vietnam as part of Operation Sea Dragon, but this operation had ended by the time of BrisbaneTemplate:'s first deployment.<ref>Grey, Up Top, pp. 125–30, 204</ref> 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).<ref>Grey, Up Top, pp. 140–1</ref> After the invasion of Cambodia in 1970, RAN ships were also prohibited from entering Cambodian waters.<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 141</ref>

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.<ref>Grey, Up Top, pp. 82–3</ref> Operationally, the RAN vessels were under the command of the United States Seventh Fleet.<ref name=Grey82>Grey, Up Top, p. 82</ref> Arrangements were made to provide logistic support through the United States Pacific Fleet.<ref name=Grey82/> A USN lieutenant was assigned to each ship during deployments to act as a liaison with the Seventh Fleet.<ref name=Grey144>Grey, Up Top, p. 144</ref> The deployment of Template:HMAS in March 1967 began a pattern of six-month deployments for RAN destroyers, with a constant RAN presence with the Seventh Fleet.<ref name=Cooper204>Cooper, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 204</ref> Australia was the only allied nation to provide naval support to the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.<ref>Grey, Up Top, pp. 94–5</ref>

First deployment

After time in Australian waters to prepare for wartime service, Brisbane arrived in Subic on 28 March 1969 to be deployed to the Vietnam War.<ref name=Cassells30/><ref name=Grey197/> Responsibility was handed over from Perth on 31 March, and the ship spent the first two weeks of April undergoing familiarisation exercises and having both gun turrets repaired following equipment failures early on.<ref name=Grey197>Grey, Up Top, p. 197</ref> The destroyer was first deployed to naval gunfire support duties, and arrived off the IV Corps operating area on 15 April.<ref name=Grey197/> During this period, there was a surge in Market Time activity, and although Brisbane was not assigned to that operation, she was asked to provide gunfire assistance on several occasions.<ref>Grey, Up Top, pp. 198–9</ref> On 5 May, Brisbane was ordered to the Gulf of Thailand to provide support for South Vietnamese forces operating near the Cambodian border.<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 199</ref> The destroyer was relieved on 18 May by Template:USS, and sailed to Subic for maintenance.<ref name=Grey200>Grey, Up Top, p. 200</ref> On 10 June, the Australian ship relieved Template:USS and commenced gunline duties in the II Corps Area.<ref name=Grey200/> After four days, during which Brisbane and Template:USS completed a combined 189 fire missions, the Australian ship was ordered north to I Corps to relieve the American cruiser Template:USS.<ref name=Grey200/> Here, the Australian ship provided support for 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines during Operation Virginia Ridge.<ref name=Grey200/> Brisbane returned to the II Corps area on 24 June, but only remained in the area for four days; on 29 June, the ship was relieved by Template:USS, and sailed to Singapore for maintenance and refit.<ref name=Grey200/><ref name=Farfax74>Fairfax, Navy in Vietnam, p. 74</ref> En route to Singapore, the destroyer encountered the merchant vessel Template:MV, which was on fire.<ref name=Farfax74/> After unsuccessfully attempting to extinguish the fire, Brisbane evacuated SincereTemplate:'s crew, and remained in the area until the salvage vessel Salvana arrived to take the stricken vessel in tow.<ref name=Farfax74/>

Brisbane returned to operations in II Corps on 15 July.<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 202</ref> On 22 July, near the end of a shore bombardment operation, a premature explosion occurred in the barrel of the forward gun turret; casualties were limited to one sailor with a fractured wrist, but the turret was unusable.<ref name=Farfax74/><ref>Grey, Up Top, pp. 202–3</ref> On the ship's return to Subic on 3 August, the damaged turret was removed, but as the replacement turret would not arrive until September, Brisbane would complete the deployment with only a single gun turret.<ref name=Grey203>Grey, Up Top, p. 203</ref> After the completion of maintenance, Brisbane returned to duty on 23 August, but instead of gunline duties, was assigned as the head of the escort screen for the aircraft carrier Template:USS.<ref name=Grey203/> The ships were deployed to Yankee Station, with Brisbane and Template:USS (plus other destroyers on occasion) performing escort and plane guard duties.<ref name=Grey203/> On 12 September, Oriskany and Perkins departed, and were replaced by Template:USS and Template:USS respectively.<ref name=Grey203/> On 14 September, Brisbane sailed to Subic for maintenance and fitting of the replacement turret, then departed on 1 October for Sydney, having been relieved by the Daring-class destroyer Template:HMAS two days earlier.<ref name=Cassells30/><ref name=Farfax74/><ref>Grey, Up Top, pgs. 203, 208</ref> Arriving on 13 October, Brisbane was almost immediately docked for a major refit, which lasted until 15 July 1970.<ref name=Cassells30/>

BrisbaneTemplate:'s tour was considered quieter than those experienced previously by Australian ships.<ref name=Grey204>Grey, Up Top, p. 204</ref> This, combined with the damage to the forward gun turret and other defects, meant that the destroyer only fired 7,891 shells during the six-month deployment.<ref name=Grey204/> Two officers from the ship were Mentioned in Despatches, while other personnel awards included a British Empire Medal and 25 Naval Board commendations.<ref name=Grey204/>

Second deployment

On 29 March 1971, Brisbane relieved Perth of Vietnam duties.<ref name=Grey228>Grey, Up Top, p. 228</ref> The ship was assigned to Military Region 3 for gunfire support duties, and arrived on 5 April.<ref name=Grey228/> Shortly after, the destroyer was moved south to Military Region 4.<ref name=Grey228/> She returned to Military Region 3 on 15 April.<ref name=Grey228/> The first period on the gunline during that time concluded on 20 April, during which gunfire support operations had occurred on only 11 of the 16 days.<ref name=Grey228/> The destroyer returned to the gunline on 15 May, with BrisbaneTemplate:'s commanding officer tasked as the overall commander of gunfire operations; the only time the position was held by a RAN officer.<ref name=Grey229>Grey, Up Top, p. 229</ref> Brisbane was assigned to operate near the Demilitarized Zone.<ref name=Grey229/> The ship was relieved on 31 May and sailed to Danang.<ref name=Grey229/> The destroyer was then assigned to escort the carrier Template:USS.<ref name=Grey230>Grey, Up Top, p. 230</ref> During 3 and 4 May, Brisbane was detached to provide cover for the repatriation of prisoners-of-war to North Vietnam.<ref name=Grey230/> The operation did not go ahead, as only 13 of the 570 prisoners wanted to return to North Vietnam, and the North Vietnamese government refused to accept them.<ref name=Grey230/> Brisbane returned to carrier escort duties, where she remained until sailing to Hong Kong for maintenance on 12 June.<ref name=Grey230/>

On 24 June, Brisbane was assigned back to gunline duties in Military Region 3.<ref name=Grey230/> Activity was minimal, and the ship was redeployed to Military Region 4 on 26 June.<ref name=Grey230/> Foul weather prevented gunfire support operations until 30 June, but the rate of activity increased, with 60 fire missions completed by the end of the three-week period.<ref name=Grey230/> In mid-July, after a short stint back in Region 3, Brisbane sailed to Subic for maintenance and leave.<ref name=Grey232>Grey, Up Top, p. 232</ref> On 15 August, the destroyer commenced gunfire support operations off the Demilitarized Zone.<ref name=Grey232/> A spike in activity had resulted in the deployment of two gunfire support ships, with Brisbane and Template:USS rotating between being the active vessel and being on 15 minutes standby to provide assistance.<ref name=Grey232/> On 21 August, Berkeley was relieved by Template:USS.<ref name=Grey232/> Of the 7,231 shells fired during the second deployment, 2,127 were fired from 15 August onwards, which caused a problem as the rate of fire would cause the gun barrels to come up for replacing a week before the destroyer was due to rotate off the gunline.<ref name=Grey232.3>Grey, Up Top, pp. 232–3</ref> The amount of wear had yet to compromise accuracy, and the destroyer was instructed to continue gunfire missions, while the cruiser Template:USS and the destroyer Template:USS were deployed to the gunline in support of Brisbane; the Australian destroyer only firing if targets were out of the other ships' range or they were otherwise unavailable.<ref name=Grey232.3/> BrisbaneTemplate:'s second Vietnam deployment concluded on 5 September.<ref name=Grey233>Grey, Up Top, p. 233</ref>

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 the deployment ended.<ref>Grey, Up Top, p. 96</ref> Brisbane received the first of two battle honours, "Vietnam 1969–71", for her Vietnam service.<ref name=newhonours>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=honourslist>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Personnel awards for the deployment included 24 Naval Board commendations, two personnel Mentioned in Despatches, and the appointment of the ship's commanding officer as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.<ref name=Grey233/>

1970s and 1980s

On 11 March 1974, Brisbane was docked for a major refit.<ref name=Cassells30/> This concluded on 3 October, but the destroyer remained in Sydney for the rest of the year.<ref name=Cassells30/> During the night of 24–25 December 1974, Cyclone Tracy destroyed the city of Darwin; the destroyer's personnel were recalled from leave, and she left early on 26 December in the company of Template:HMAS, which was loaded with relief supplies.<ref name=Cassells30/><ref name=Lind289>Lind, The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year, p. 289</ref><ref name=Hobbs8.9>Hobbs, HMAS Melbourne (II), pp. 8–9</ref> Brisbane sped ahead and arrived on 31 December, setting up communications between the relief force and Canberra.<ref name=Cassells30/> The destroyer's participation on Operation Navy Help Darwin, the RAN's largest disaster-relief operation, was the longest of any RAN vessel; the first to arrive, and the last to depart on 31 January 1975.<ref name=Cassells30/><ref>Sea Power Centre, Disaster Relief</ref> In addition to facilitating communications, BrisbaneTemplate:'s personnel were responsible for clearing sites for helicopters and headquarters, salvaging boats and equipment, repairs of infrastructure, and installation of power generators: on average, 160 of the ship's company went ashore each day.<ref name=Cassells30/>

Brisbane at Port Adelaide in 1981

On 16 July 1975, Brisbane sailed for a deployment to the Far East Strategic Reserve.<ref name=Cassells30/> This concluded on 5 November, with the destroyer returning to Sydney and docking for maintenance.<ref name=Cassells30/> In early 1977, Brisbane participated in the RIMPAC multinational exercise.<ref name=Cassells30/> In April 1977, Brisbane and Template:HMNZS were assigned to escort Melbourne during a five-month return trip to the United Kingdom for the Silver Jubilee Naval Review.<ref name=Stevens231>Stevens et al., The Royal Australian Navy, p. 231</ref> On 9 May, one of the carrier's Sea King helicopters was forced to ditch in the Indian Ocean: Brisbane successfully recovered the aircrew.<ref>Lind, The Royal Australian Navy – Historic Naval Events Year by Year , p. 292</ref> The ships participated in the naval review at Spithead on 28 June, and Brisbane returned to Sydney on 4 October, entering dock for refit eight days later.<ref name=Cassells31/> This maintenance period lasted until May 1979, and saw the ship's propulsion system converted from fuel oil to diesel, updates to the combat system, and installation of an AN/SPS-40C radar.<ref name=Cassells31/> Apart from a visit to New Zealand, Brisbane spent the rest of 1979 in Australian waters.<ref name=Cassells31/>

File:HMAS Brisbane (D41) during PITCH BLACK 84.jpg

Brisbane underway in 1984

During the early 1980s, the destroyer participated in RIMPAC exercises, and made patrols of the Indian Ocean.<ref name=Cassells31/> From 16 August 1982 to 5 August 1983, Brisbane underwent refit, after which, the destroyer remained docked alongside at Garden Island until March 1984.<ref name=Cassells31/> Another refit period occurred between September 1985 to October 1987.<ref name=Cassells31/> In early 1988, Brisbane visited Melbourne for the Moomba festal, then sailed to her namesake city in August to participate in a 'Shopwindow' exercise with ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy.<ref name=Cassells31/> In October, the destroyer was deployed to South-east Asia for three months, returning to Darwin on 8 January 1989.<ref name=Cassells31/> During June and July, the ship made visits to ports in New Zealand, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands.<ref name=Cassells31/> Brisbane attended RIMPAC during April and May 1990, then returned to Australia to prepare for deployment to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Damask.<ref name=Cassells31/>

File:010519-N-4790M-005 - USS John McCain (DDG-56) and Australian ship at sea.jpg

Brisbane (background) cruising alongside the US Navy destroyer Template:USS in 2001

Operation Damask

Brisbane arrived in the Gulf on 6 December 1990 to serve as part of the naval blockade.<ref name=Cassells31/> She was attached to the United States Navy battle group from 17 January to 28 February 1991.<ref name=Cassells31/> In late March, the destroyer sailed home via Singapore.<ref name=Cassells31/> Brisbane was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation by the Australian government for her actions during Operation Damask.<ref name=unitcitation>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Brisbane also earned a second battle honour, "Kuwait 1990–91".<ref name=newhonours/><ref name=honourslist/>

1990s and 2000s

During late 1992, Brisbane was operating in South-east Asia.<ref name=Cassells31/> The ship spent most of 1993 exercising along Australia's east coast, then docked for a refit lasting from August 1993 until May 1994.<ref name=Cassells31/> The destroyer was deployed to South-east Asia for exercises, flag-showing, and port visits on four occasions between 1994 and 1996, then again in late 1998.<ref name=Cassells31/>

During August 1999, Brisbane participated in Exercise Kakadu.<ref>Cassells, The Destroyers, pp. 31–2</ref> During this, a fire broke out in the ship's forward gun turret, which was quickly extinguished.<ref name=Cassells31/> In March 2000, Brisbane was one of three RAN ships to participate in a Royal New Zealand Navy fleet concentration period.<ref>Cassells, The Destroyers. p. 32</ref>

Decommissioning and fate

File:HMAS Brisbane AWM Nov 08.JPG

BrisbaneTemplate:'s bridge and gun turret outside the Australian War Memorial

Brisbane paid off on 19 October 2001.<ref name=RAN>Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Brisbane (II)</ref> Among the initial ideas for the ship's disposal was a proposal to donate the destroyer to the Australian National Maritime Museum as a replacement for the Daring-class destroyer Template:HMAS.<ref>Ballantine, Navy warships, jets up for sale</ref> Brisbane was eventually marked for scuttling as a dive wreck off the coast of Queensland.<ref name=OxCom127>Dennis et al., The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, p. 127</ref> Her bridge and one of her Template:Convert guns were removed and preserved at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, which were incorporated into the post-1945 galleries, which opened in 2007.<ref name=OxCom127/> The ship's air search radar was donated to the Royal Thai Navy in 2002 to help the Thais maintain their naval capabilities.<ref>Huxley, in Forbes, Sea Power, p. 265</ref>

Brisbane was sunk approximately Template:Convert off the coast of Mudjimba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, on 31 July 2005 in Template:Convert of water.<ref name=WreckToReef2.3>Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, The Brisbane, Wreck to Reef... one year on, pp. 2–3</ref> Brisbane was filled with Template:Convert of concrete, and 38 small charges were detonated to breach the hull.<ref name=WreckCulture>Queensland Government, Nature, culture and history</ref> Brisbane sank in two minutes and ten seconds, coming to rest with the keel embedded a metre into the seabed and facing the ocean currents, and the uppermost part of the ship Template:Convert below sea level.<ref name=WreckToReef2.3/><ref name=WreckCulture/><ref name=SnorkelSafari>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The wreck site has been colonised by sponges, soft corals, and hard corals, while over 200 different species of fish have been sighted in the area.<ref name=SnorkelSafari/> A 2009 study of the value of protected areas estimated that the wreck had contributed A$18 million to the Sunshine Coast economy.<ref>ABC News, Dive wreck makes $18m for Sun Coast</ref> In July 2010, the Queensland State Government was forced to step up patrols of the wreck site because people were illegally using the dive exclusion zone as a fishing site.<ref>Jacobi, Government failing to stop illegal fishing at dive site</ref> As part of celebrations for the tenth anniversary of BrisbaneTemplate:'s scuttling, 92.7 MIX FM conducted the world's first live underwater radio broadcast from the wreck on 31 July 2015.<ref>Sunreef Scuba Diving Services, Sunreef and Mix FM to celebrate ex-HMAS anniversary with world-first live broadcast from a wreck</ref>

References

Sources

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External links

• HMAS Brisbane – Australian War Memorial Website
• Stephen Trainor, video of a dive on HMAS Brisbane, October 2005
• Conservation area and location on openstreetmap.org
• Scuba Diving HMAS Brisbane, dive info.