HMAS Launceston (FCPB 207)

History
Australia
Namesake	City of Launceston, Tasmania
Builder	NQEA, Cairns
Laid down	29 March 1980
Launched	23 January 1982
Commissioned	1 March 1982
Decommissioned	8 September 2006
Motto	"Progress with Prudence"
Honours and awards	Four inherited battle honours
Fate	Scrapped
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Fremantle-class patrol boat
Displacement	220 tons
Length	137.6 ft (41.9 m)
Beam	25.25 ft (7.70 m)
Draught	5.75 ft (1.75 m)
Propulsion	2 MTU series 538 diesel engines, 3,200 shp (2,400 kW), 2 propellers
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)
Complement	22
Armament	1 Bofors 40 mm/60 gun 2 12.7 mm machine guns 1 81 mm mortar (removed later)

HMAS Launceston (FCPB 207), named for the city of Launceston, Tasmania, was a Fremantle-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Starting in the late 1960s, planning began for a new class of patrol boat to replace the Attack class, with designs calling for improved seakeeping capability, and updated weapons and equipment.^[1] The Fremantles had a full load displacement of 220 tonnes (220 long tons; 240 short tons), were 137.6 feet (41.9 m) long overall, had a beam of 24.25 feet (7.39 m), and a maximum draught of 5.75 feet (1.75 m).^[2] Main propulsion machinery consisted of two MTU series 538 diesel engines, which supplied 3,200 shaft horsepower (2,400 kW) to the two propeller shafts.^[2] Exhaust was not expelled through a funnel, like most ships, but through vents below the waterline.^[3] The patrol boat could reach a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), and had a maximum range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).^[2] The ship's company consisted of 22 personnel.^[2] Each patrol boat was armed with a single Bofors 40mm gun as main armament, supplemented by two .50 cal Browning machineguns and an 81 mm mortar,^[2] although the mortar was removed from all ships sometime after 1988.^{[citation needed]} The main weapon was originally to be two 30-mm guns on a twin-mount, but the reconditioned Bofors were selected to keep costs down; provision was made to install an updated weapon later in the class' service life, but this did not eventuate.^[4][3]

Launceston was laid down by NQEA at Cairns, Queensland on 29 March 1980.^[5] She was launched on 23 January 1982, and commissioned into the RAN on 1 March 1982.^[5]

Launceston was decommissioned in Darwin on 8 September 2006.^[6] The patrol boat was broken up for scrap in Darwin during 2006 and 2007, at a cost of $450,000 to the Australian government.^[7]

• Gillett, Ross (1988). Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946. Brookvale: Child & Associates. ISBN 0-86777-219-0. OCLC 23470364.
• Jones, Peter (2001). "Towards Self Reliance". In Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555542-2. OCLC 50418095.
• Mitchell, Brett (2007). "Farewell to the Fremantle Class". In Forbes, Andrew; Lovi, Michelle (eds.). Australian Maritime Issues 2006 (PDF). Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs. Sea Power Centre. ISBN 978-0-642-29644-3. ISSN 1327-5658. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  • The chapter is available separately as Semaphore, Issue 17, 2005 in PDF and HTML formats.
• Moore, John, ed. (1985). Jane's Fighting Ships 1985–86. London: Janes Information Services. ISBN 0-7106-0814-4.

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