HMAS Ladava (P 92) was an of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It was named after the small village of Ladava situated on the shore of Milne Bay in Alotau District, Papua New Guinea. Completed in 1968, the vessel was one of five assigned to the RAN's Papua New Guinea (PNG) Division. The patrol boat was transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in 1974 as HMPNGS Ladava. The patrol boat was decommissioned in 1988, although her fate is unknown.
Design and construction
The Attack class was ordered in 1964 to operate in Australian waters as patrol boats (based on lessons learned through using the s on patrols of Borneo during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and to replace a variety of old patrol, search-and-rescue, and general-purpose craft. Propulsion machinery consisted of two 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines, which supplied to the two propellers.
Ladava was built by Walkers Limited at Maryborough, Queensland, launched on 11 May 1968, Primary roles of the new patrol boats were fisheries protection and sea training, but also undertook search and rescue, medical evacuation and monitoring of navigational aids roles. The ship's company was made up of both Australian and PNG servicemen.