HMAS Perth (D38)

HMAS Perth underway during the early 1990s
History
Namesake:	City of Perth
Builder:	Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Michigan, USA
Laid down:	21 September 1962
Launched:	26 September 1963
Completed:	22 May 1965
Commissioned:	17 July 1965
Decommissioned:	15 October 1999
Motto:	"Fight And Flourish"
Honours and awards:	Battle honours: Vietnam 1967–71 plus eight inherited honours Awards: Navy Unit Commendation Meritorious Unit Commendation
Fate:	Sunk as dive wreck
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Perth-class (Modified Charles F. Adams-class) destroyer
Displacement:	3,370 tons standard 4,618 tons full load
Length:	134 m (440 ft) length overall 128 m (420 ft) between perpendiculars
Beam:	14 m (46 ft)
Draught:	6 m (20 ft)
Propulsion:	4 × Foster Wheeler boilers, 2 × General Electric steam turbines, 70,000 shp (52 MW), 2 propellers
Speed:	35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range:	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	311 sailors, 22 officers
Armament:	1 × Mk 13 launcher for Tartar, then Standard missiles 2 × 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 guns 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tube sets 2 × Ikara anti-submarine missile launchers (installed 1967, removed 1991) 2 × Phalanx CIWS (installed later)

HMAS Perth (D 38) was the lead ship of the Perth class guided missile destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in the United States of America 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.

Perth was the lead ship of three Perth class guided missile destroyers built for the RAN. Based on the United States Navy's Charles F. Adams class, Perth had a displacement of 3,370 tons at standard load, and 4,618 tons at full load, a length of 134 metres (440 ft) overall and 128 metres (420 ft) between perpendiculars, a beam of 14 metres (46 ft), and a maximum draught of 6 metres (20 ft). Propulsion was provided by four Foster Wheeler boilers feeding two General Electric turbines, which provided 70,000 shaft horsepower (52,000 kW) to the destroyer's two propeller shafts.Perth could achieve speeds of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). 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.