HMAS Sydney (FFG 03) was an guided-missile frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The frigate was one of six modified <nowiki/>s ordered from 1977 onwards, and the third of four to be constructed in the United States of America. Laid down and launched in 1980, Sydney was named for the capital city of New South Wales, and commissioned into the RAN in 1983.

During her operational history, Sydney has been involved in Australian responses to the 1987 Fijian coups d'état and the Bougainville uprising. The frigate was deployed to the Persian Gulf on five occasions in support of United States operations during the Gulf War, War in Afghanistan, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and has completed two round-the-world voyages.

Sydney was originally expected to remain in service until 2013, but was retained in service until 2015; ceasing active deployments on 27 February and serving as a moored training ship until her decommissioning on 7 November. The frigate has been replaced in service by a .

Design and construction

Following the cancellation of the Australian light destroyer project in 1973, the British Type 42 destroyer and the American were identified as alternatives to replace the cancelled light destroyers and the s. Although the Oliver Hazard Perry class was still at the design stage, the difficulty of fitting the Type 42 with the SM-1 missile, and the success of the acquisition (a derivative of the American ) compared to equivalent British designs led the Australian government to approve the purchase of two US-built Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates in 1976. A third (Sydney) was ordered in 1977, followed by a fourth, with all four ships integrated into the USN's shipbuilding program. A further two ships were ordered in 1980, and were constructed in Australia. Top speed was , with a range of at . For anti-submarine warfare, two Mark 32 torpedo tube sets were fitted; originally firing the Mark 44 torpedo, the Adelaides later carried the Mark 46, then the MU90 Impact following the FFG Upgrade. Up to six machine guns could be carried for close-in defence, and since 2005, two M2HB .50 calibre machine guns in Mini Typhoon mounts were installed when needed for Persian Gulf deployments. The sensor suite included an AN/SPS-49 air search radar, AN/SPS-55 surface search and navigation radar, SPG-60 fire control radar connected to a Mark 92 fire control system, and an AN/SQS-56 hull-mounted sonar. She was launched on 26 September 1980, and commissioned into the RAN on 29 January 1983. During construction, the ship was identified by the United States Navy hull number FFG-35. During this time, the frigate conducted working-up and training exercises. Sydney and sister ship , alongside in Lautoka, were instructed to remain off Fiji to aid in any necessary evacuation of Australian citizens; the first component of what became Operation Morris Dance. Sydney and Tobruk stood down in February, and the two ships departed with the submarine on a deployment to Turkey to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove. The frigate arrived home in September.

On 3 December 1990, Sydney and the arrived in the Persian Gulf to relieve HMA Ships and as part of Operation Damask; the Australian military contribution to the Gulf War. Sydney was assigned to the escort screen around Battle Force Zulu (Task Force 154), a naval force built around four United States Navy aircraft carriers, and also participated in surveillance and boarding operations. The two Australian warships remained in the area until 26 March 1991.

thumb|left|alt=Aerial view of a frigate travelling at speed.|Sydney underway in the Persian Gulf during the Operation Damask deployment

Sydney was deployed back to the Persian Gulf for Operation Damask from September 1991 to February 1992, and again from June 1993 to December 1993.

On 14 March 1994, Sydney rescued the crew of a yacht which had been participating in the Trans-Tasman Yacht Race before encountering difficulties. In early October, the frigate was called on to search for survivors of a light aircraft that ditched into the Tasman Sea.

In May 1995, Sydney became the first RAN warship to visit the Russian port of Vladivostok, as support for a diplomatic and trade mission.

In 1997, Sydney was one of several RAN vessels placed on standby following the outbreak of political disturbances in Papua New Guinea as part of the Sandline affair. No action was required by the Australian warships. She received the battle honour "East Timor 1999" for this deployment.

In October 2001, Sydney returned to the Persian Gulf to operate in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the War in Afghanistan. The frigate was joined by sister ship and the amphibious warfare vessel in early December, and returned to Australia in March 2002. The battle honours "Persian Gulf 2001–03" and "Iraq 2003" recognise these deployments. By November 2008, the problems with the upgrade had been solved.

thumb|Sydney (rear) maneuvers with in 2009

On the morning of 13 March 2009, Sydney was one of seventeen warships involved in a ceremonial fleet entry and fleet review in Sydney Harbour, the largest collection of RAN ships since the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. The frigate led the line of thirteen ships involved in the ceremonial entry through Sydney Heads, and anchored in the harbour for the review. On 17 May, Sydney and Ballarat provided aid to two merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, driving off two separate groups of Somali pirates attacking the ships. Sydney remained in the area to report the incidents to Combined Task Force 151, while Ballarat escorted an impromptu convoy of eight ships, including the two that were attacked, to safety.

thumb|left|Sydney during the International Fleet Review 2013

In May 2013, Sydney began a three-month deployment with the United States Seventh Fleet, attached to Carrier Strike Group Five as an escort for the carrier .

In October 2013, Sydney participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in Sydney.

Sydney visited Hobart in February 2015 for the Royal Hobart Regatta. During the weekend of 7–8 February, the frigate was anchored in the River Derwent to free up wharf space for a civilian vessel. Despite flying a decommissioning pennant, the ship was not paid off until 7 November 2015; two years later than originally expected. In the interim, she was moored at Fleet Base East as an alongside training ship. At the time of decommissioning, Sydney had travelled . She will be replaced by one of the three s.

In April 2016, the Navy offered Sydney for use as a dive wreck to Australia's states and territories, in the same manner as her sisters and . However, the decision to utilise the ship in this way has been condemned by different organisations, with calls for it to be restored as a memorial to the modern RAN. No organisations expressed interest in using the ship as a dive wreck, and in May 2017 Sydney departed under tow for Western Australia where she was to be scrapped.

In May 2017, the Sydney was towed to Henderson, Western Australia to be scrapped. A former Todd Shipyards employee informed the company doing the scrapping, Birdon, that a miniature of MacNoughton Canadian Whisky "wrapped in insulation tape, was apparently hidden inside the forward starboard leg of the main mast of HMAS Sydney by the team that built her at the Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle in 1982. The date, 10 April 1982 was also scribbled on the label." The bottle was retrieved from its hiding place of 35 years.

Citations

References

Books

Journal articles

News articles

Websites and other media

  • MaritimeQuest HMAS Sydney FFG-03 Photo Gallery