HMAS Swan (DE 50) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids History |
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|---|---|
 Australia |
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| Namesake | The Swan River |
| Builder | Williamstown Dockyard |
| Laid down | 16 February 1965 |
| Launched | 16 December 1967 |
| Commissioned | 20 January 1970 |
| Decommissioned | 13 September 1996 |
| Motto | "Forward" |
| Nickname(s) | "Fluffy Duck" or "Duck", "Swarrens" |
| Honours and awards |
Four inherited battle honours |
| Fate | Sunk as dive wreck in 1997 |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | River-class destroyer escort |
| Displacement | 2,700 tons |
| Length | 372 ft (113 m) |
| Beam | 41 ft (12 m) |
| Draught | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Sensors and processing systems |
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| Armament |
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HMAS Swan (DE 50) was a special kind of warship called a destroyer escort. It was named after the Swan River in Western Australia. This ship was part of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Swan was built in Melbourne after another ship, HMAS Voyager, was lost in a collision. Swan started its service in 1970. During its time, the ship often went to South East Asia as part of the ANZUK forces.
In the mid-1980s, Swan was updated with new equipment. It was then sent to the new naval base, HMAS Stirling, on the west coast of Australia. Swan finished its service in 1996. It was later sunk on purpose in 1997 to become a dive wreck off the coast of Dunsborough, Western Australia.
Contents
Building HMAS Swan
Why HMAS Swan Was Built
Swan and its sister ship, HMAS Torrens, were ordered in 1964. They were meant to replace HMAS Voyager, a destroyer that was lost in a crash with the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne in 1964.
The original plan was for Swan to be like the older River-class ships. These were based on the British Type 12 frigate. However, the design changed in 1965 to include new improvements from the British Leander-class frigates.
Construction Challenges
Work on Swan began without all the final plans or a contract. The design kept changing while the ship was being built. This caused delays and made the building process more expensive. These issues were mainly due to a lack of early planning.
Swan was built by the Williamstown Dockyard in Melbourne, Victoria. Its construction started on 16 February 1965. The ship was launched on 16 December 1967 by the wife of the Navy Minister, Allen Fairhall. The launching ceremony was a bit tricky. It took 11 tries to break the ceremonial bottle of champagne to officially name Swan.
Even though the ship was not fully finished, it officially joined the RAN on 20 January 1970. Swan was the third RAN ship to be named after the Swan River. Building Swan cost about $22 million.
HMAS Swan's Service History
Early Years: 1970–1983
In October 1970, Swan sailed to Fiji. It was there on 10 October when Fiji became an independent country from Britain. On 16 September 1971, the warship went to Singapore. This was for its first and only deployment with the Far East Strategic Reserve. This group was later replaced by ANZUK on 1 November.
Swan worked as part of ANZUK until April 1972. During this time, it visited ports in Japan. It also escorted the Royal Yacht Britannia during a Royal Visit to Thailand. The ship also took part in a SEATO exercise called Sea Hawk.
After returning to Australia on 17 April, the ship had maintenance work done. It spent the rest of 1972 on training exercises. In 1973, after more exercises, Swan went into dry dock for a refit. This lasted from early April to early October. During this time, an Ikara missile system was added. The rest of 1973 was spent on sea trials and exercises.
In 1974, Swan went to Hobart to be the main ship for the Royal Hobart Regatta. On 25 May, Swan received a distress call from a yacht named Cutty Sark. Despite rough seas, swimmers from Swan rescued the yacht's crew. In October, the ship sailed to Singapore as part of the ANZUK force. When ANZUK ended in early 1975, Swan became Australia's contribution to the Five Power Agreement.
During its time in South East Asia, which ended in April 1975, Swan visited many ports. It also took part in three international exercises. The ship learned it had won the Gloucester Cup for 1947. This award recognized it as the most efficient ship in the RAN. After returning to Sydney on 14 April, Swan spent the rest of the year doing maintenance and training.
In 1976, Swan visited ports around Australia. Then it went into dry dock for a refit from May 1976 to February 1977. In 1977, Swan took part in SINDEX 77, an international exercise in the Indian Ocean. In early 1978, Swan had to make an emergency stop for repairs due to a leak.
On 18 January 1979, Swan was evacuated because of a bomb threat against another ship, HMAS Stalwart. After visiting ports along the eastern Australian coast, the warship had maintenance for most of the year.
In March 1980, Swan was sent to South East Asia for five months. On 17 April, it visited Singapore. During this trip, it visited 18 ports in eight countries. On 17 June, it rescued 72 refugees from a crowded boat in the South China Sea. Australia agreed to take responsibility for these refugees. The warship returned to Sydney in late August. After a short maintenance, it visited New Zealand.
Swan returned to South East Asia for seven months in 1981, visiting 22 ports. It survived a strong storm, Typhoon Agnes, near China. It became the first Australian warship to visit China in 32 years. It was also the first to train with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. In 1982, Swan became the only ship of its kind to use the Fremantle Public Works slipway. It was also the first warship to use a special hydraulic lift at Cockburn Sound. In 1983, the ship went on five trips. It traveled around Australia, Asia, and the Pacific for port visits and international exercises.
Later Years: 1984–1996
In early 1984, Swan went into Williamstown for a 20-month upgrade. During this time, the Limbo anti-submarine mortar was removed. It was replaced with two triple-barrel Mark 32 torpedo launchers. Other parts of the ship were also improved.
Near the end of the upgrade, many parts had to be taken from its sister ship, Torrens, to make Swan ready. For a while, the ship was nicknamed Swarrens, because it was thought to be half Swan and half Torrens.
Swan returned to service in September 1985. In December, it became the second ship of its class to be based at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia. This base was less advanced, and Swan was better suited for it.
Early 1986 was spent getting used to operating in the Indian Ocean. It visited ports along Australia's western and northern coasts and did training exercises. In the middle of the year, Swan went on a two-month trip to South East Asia. When it returned, it stayed at Stirling for maintenance. Early 1987 was similar. Then Swan sailed to Melbourne for a refit in March, which finished in June. After returning to Stirling, the ship went to the South China Sea for an exercise called Starfish. The rest of the year was spent training with ships from the United States, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
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1988 began with many port visits to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary Year. Then it had two trips to South East Asia. The first was from June to August, and the second from October to January 1989. When it returned, Swan went into dry dock for a refit. It was the first RAN ship to use the Jervoise Bay shiplift. It was also the first major warship refitted in Western Australia. The refit lasted until September. Swan spent the rest of the year on training exercises.
After visiting New Zealand and Sydney in early 1990, the ship went on a five-month trip across Asia. It traveled as far north as Japan. It also took part in many training exercises with navies from the region. 1991 started with more training and port visits. In April, all the Ikara missiles on Swan were removed. This was because the system was stopped across the fleet.
Another trip to South East Asia was made from April to August. Then a short visit to the region in September and October. During this time, Swan helped people after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The warship visited South East Asia again from June to October 1992.
The ship took part in international exercises off Darwin in May 1993. After returning to Western Australia, it visited many ports along Australia's southern and eastern coasts on its way to Sydney. Swan then sailed to South East Asia for more international exercises. It returned to Stirling in early December.
Maintenance and training were done in early 1994. Then Swan sailed around Australia, visiting ports in Australia and Indonesia in April, May, and June. When it returned, Swan went into dry dock for a refit, which lasted until the end of the year.
In 1995, the ship took part in fleet exercises around Australia. During a gunnery exercise, Swan fired 1081 4.5-inch shells. It was the first RAN ship since 1942 to fire its entire magazine in one event. In 1996, the destroyer escort was changed to a training ship. Swan was used to train new officers in early 1996. Then it sailed to Singapore for a final trip to South East Asia before returning to Fremantle to be decommissioned.
Decommissioning and Final Resting Place
Swan officially finished its service on 13 September 1996. During its career, it traveled about 775,870 nautical miles (1,436,910 km) and spent 56,982 hours at sea. In November, the Australian government gave the ship to the state of Western Australia.
On 11 November 1996, State Minister for Tourism Norman Moore announced that the ship would be given to the Geographe Bay Artificial Reef Society. The plan was to sink it and turn it into an artificial reef and dive site. This would be the first purposely prepared dive wreck in the Southern Hemisphere.
Swan was towed to Bunbury, Western Australia. Over the next year, the ship was cleaned of things that could harm the environment, like oil and plastics. Things that could be dangerous for divers, like cables, were also removed. Access holes were cut, and the engine and boiler rooms were sealed off.
After all the preparations, the ship was towed about 1.3 nautical miles (2.4 km) from Point Picquet (near Meelup Beach), close to Dunsborough, Western Australia. Swan was sunk on the morning of 14 December 1997. About 10,000 people watched from the shore, and many more watched from boats. The actual button to detonate the charges was pushed by a six-year-old child. Their father had won a raffle for this honor.
Swan sank quickly in 30 meters (98 ft) of water. It came to rest on the sandy bottom almost upright. The wreck is marked with red buoys at its front and back.
The Swan wreck quickly became a popular tourist spot. In 1998, it brought in A$2.4 million to the local economy from tourism. Up to 15,000 dives are made at the site each year. The wreck is home to about 100 different types of sea creatures. Because the wreck was so popular, the destroyer HMAS Perth was later acquired and sunk as a dive wreck off Albany, Western Australia in 2001.
Swan's 4.5-inch Mk V/Mk 6 gun turret is now kept at Princess Royal Fortress in Albany, Western Australia. Visitors can see this turret, and it is open for them to explore.
Images for kids
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A QF 4.5-inch gun turret of HMAS Swan on display at the Princess Royal Fortress, Albany, Western Australia
_QF_4.5-inch_Mk_I_%E2%80%93_V_naval_gun_on_display_at_Princess_Royal_Fortress,_April_2022_02.jpg)
