HMAS Hobart (D 39)
HMAS Hobart was a guided missile destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy. Built in the United States of America to a slight variant of the United States Navy , she was commissioned into the RAN in 1965. In March 1967, Hobart became the first RAN combat ship deployed to fight in the Vietnam War. This marked the start of consistent six-month deployments to the warzone, which continued until late 1971; Hobart was redeployed in 1969 and 1970. During the 1968 tour, the destroyer was attacked by a United States Air Force aircraft.
After the Vietnam War, Hobart saw service during Operation Navy Help Darwin; the RAN disaster relief effort following Cyclone Tracy, was the first RAN ship to dock at in Western Australia, and completed a round-the-world voyage in 1976. The ship was modernised during the late 1970s. Hobart was decommissioned in 2000, and sunk as a dive wreck off South Australia.
Design and construction
Hobart was one of three guided missile destroyers built for the RAN. Based on the United States Navy's, Hobart had a displacement of 3,370 tons at standard load, and 4,618 tons at full load, a length of overall and between perpendiculars, a beam of, and a maximum draught of. Propulsion was provided by two General Electric turbines, which provided to the destroyer's two propeller shafts. Hobart could achieve speeds of. The ship's company consisted of 20 officers and 312 sailors.As a guided missile destroyer, Hobarts main armament consisted of a Mark 13 missile launcher firing Tartar missiles and two Ikara anti-submarine missile launchers. 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, the Mark 13 launcher was modified to fire Standard missiles, the Ikara launchers were stripped out in 1989 and two Phalanx CIWS units were installed in 1991.
Hobart was laid down by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company at Bay City, Michigan on 26 October 1962. The ship was launched on 9 January 1964 by Alison Hay, the wife of David Hay, the Australian ambassador to the United Nations. Hobart was commissioned into the RAN on 18 December 1965. The cost of the destroyer was approximately A$45 million, including the initial load of supplies and ammunition. During construction, the ship was assigned the United States Navy hull number DDG-26. After commissioning, Hobart remained in American waters for eight months on trials and training exercises. Hobart left the US on 3 August 1966, and sailed via Hawaii and Fiji before reaching her namesake city on 1 September. The ship spent very little time in Australian waters before being deployed to fight in the Vietnam War in March 1967.
Operational history
Vietnam deployments
During the mid-1960s, the United States government pressured Australia to increase the resources it was committing to the Vietnam War; one of the requests was for a combat vessel to help the USN meet the demand for naval gunfire support operations. The idea of deploying a RAN combat ship was initially hampered by the number of ships available, particularly with commitments to the Far East Strategic Reserve and involvement in the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, along with the difficulty of operating and maintaining British-designed ships with USN resources. On 14 December 1966, the Australian Cabinet approved the deployment of Hobart as part of increases to Australian military commitment to the conflict. Destroyers deployed to the Vietnam theatre generally operated in one of four roles:- Patrols along the coast of North Vietnam as part of Operation Sea Dragon to interdict coastal shipping, with secondary attacks on inland supply lines and military targets, along with coastal defence sites that had fired on American and Australian ships. Ships assigned to Sea Dragon were normally split into a northern and southern unit, with each unit made up of two to three ships. However, the Australian government forbade RAN vessels from operating in the northern area.
- Naval gunfire support operations to assist ground forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps units operating closest to the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. Seven ships were usually stationed on the 'gunline', and attacks fell into two categories: 'unspotted' shelling of areas where People's Army of Vietnam or Viet Cong forces and facilities were known or believed to be, and 'spotted' fire missions in direct support of ground troops. During these operations, Hobart operated under the callsign "Royal Purple".
- Anti-infiltration operations under Operation Market Time, which aimed to stop the logistic supply and reinforcement of VC units operating in South Vietnam by tracking, intercepting, and searching coastal shipping. RAN destroyers were never formally assigned to Market Time, but the overlap of the gunline and Market Time operational areas meant the ships were often called on to assist by tracking suspicious ships or participating in raids.
- Escort of USN aircraft carriers involved in Operation Rolling Thunder airstrikes.
While deployed to Vietnam, the destroyers were placed under the administrative control of Commander Australian Forces Vietnam in addition to that of the Flag Officer Commanding Australian Fleet. Operationally, the RAN vessels were under the command of the Seventh Fleet. Arrangements were made to provide logistic support through the United States Pacific Fleet. A USN lieutenant was assigned to each ship during deployments to act as a liaison with the Seventh Fleet. The deployment of Hobart in March 1967 began a pattern of six-month deployments for RAN destroyers, with a constant RAN presence with the Seventh Fleet. Australia was the only allied nation to provide naval support to the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.
First deployment
On 15 March 1967, Hobart arrived at U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay to join the Seventh Fleet. After a comprehensive familiarisation period, Hobart replaced on 31 March, taking over the US destroyer's gunfire support duties. By 04:45 the next morning, the Australian ship had already fired 100 rounds. On 3 April, the forward 5-inch gun mount became unserviceable, a state which remained for four-and-a-half-days. Hobart remained on the gunline until 15 April, during which she fired 1,651 shells. The ship was then rotated to Sea Dragon operations. The destroyer was fired on by shore batteries several times, and on one occasion took minor shrapnel damage. Several explosions in 5-inch/54 gun mounts during the later weeks of April saw all equipped destroyers reassigned to other duties while investigations into the cause were explored. Hobart was attached to the carrier escort group for on 23 April. On 29 April, the destroyer sailed to Subic, underwent self-maintenance, then returned to Sea Dragon operations. Over the next week, Hobart and cooperated on the interdiction of coastal shipping during a period of heavy activity; previous successes saw the North Vietnamese begin to increase retaliation with coastal artillery in an attempt to dissuade American operations. Apart from a brief stint on the gunline, Hobart remained assigned to Sea Dragon until 26 May, when sailed to Subic for maintenance, with both 5-inch gun barrels replaced.After delays caused by monsoonal conditions, the ship returned to the gunline on 18 June. During this period, the destroyer was also called on to escort the amphibious warfare ships involved in the Beacon Torch landings. After mid-June, the number of fire missions undertaken by Hobart dropped because of a need to conserve 5-inch/54 ammunition across the Seventh Fleet, and the fact that Marines in the area had successfully established their own artillery units in the area and were less reliant on naval gunfire. On 23 June, Hobart rotated to Sea Dragon. A reduction in the number of seaborne infiltration attempts and the increasing availability of spotter aircraft meant that most gunfire missions were against inland targets like truck convoys. On 10 July, the destroyer left the operational area and sailed to Subic via Hong Kong, and underwent self-maintenance. This was completed on 24 July, and Hobart sailed for the operational area. The ship was double tasked to the escort group and Sea Dragon operations; three destroyers were required to escort the carrier at any time, with any additional ships operating on Sea Dragon duties. On 29 July, a fire aboard the carrier necessitated the carrier's removal from the operational area; Hobart was one of the ships assigned to escort and assist with casualties. The ship returned to Sea Dragon operations on 31 July. This continued until 16 August, and after maintenance at Subic, Hobart was attached to the gunline on 6 September. On 14 September, Hobart arrived in Subic, handed over responsibility to, and sailed for home.
During this deployment, Hobart fired over 10,000 rounds at 1,050 targets during 160 days at sea, and was fired on ten times, with no casualties. Hobart was awarded the United States Navy Unit Commendation for this tour of duty. Personnel awards included a Distinguished Service Order, a British Empire Medal, a Mention in Despatches and 25 Naval Board commendations.
Second deployment
Hobart was deployed to Vietnam for the second time in 1968, relieving Perth on 31 March. On 13 April, the destroyer arrived on the gunline to relieve. Five days later, she began Sea Dragon operations with. The ships were unsuccessfully shelled by coastal artillery on 22 and 23 April, then spent the next three days attempting to attract attention from shore batteries so they could be bombed by aircraft. Hobarts participation in Sea Dragon ended in late April, and after maintenance in Hong Kong and Taiwan from 1 to 20 May, resumed gunline duties. This continued until 2 June, when the destroyer's guns required new barrels. On 11 June, the destroyer returned to the Sea Dragon area of operations, joining. During this deployment, boat traffic between the mainland and Tiger Island was seen as a priority, with gunline ships also granted approval to operate against targets in this area. Early in the month, problems with the 5-inch/54 guns aboard Hobart and several US destroyers appeared; Hobarts captain decided to only fire the guns in emergencies until the problem was clearly identified. The destroyer joined Hobart and Chandler to make up for the lack of firepower.During the evening of 16–17 June, the three destroyers were ordered to undertake surveillance missions around Tiger Island, because of reports of North Vietnamese helicopter activity in the area. At 03:09, Hobarts radar picked up an aircraft approaching with no IFF transponder active. At 03:14, the aircraft fired a single missile at the ship, which killed one sailor, wounded two others and damaged the chief petty officer's mess, air search radar and missile control compartments and the ship's funnels. Two minutes later, the aircraft made a second pass and fired two missiles. The missiles hit simultaneously: one penetrated the superstructure and damaged the gunners' store, engineers workshop and aft seamans' mess, while the other hit close to the original missile, causing further damage to the mess and missile control room, while also damaging the Tartar checkout room, killing another sailor and wounded six others. There was also major damage around the destroyer's Ikara magazine, but as Hobart was not carrying any Ikara missiles at the time, the potential magazine fire did not occur. The aircraft came around for a third attack run, but was scared off when Hobarts forward gun turret, under independent control, fired five rounds at the aircraft. At 03:30, Edson reported coming under fire, and Hobart captain ordered the three destroyers to take up anti-aircraft formation. At 05:15, the three destroyers linked up with the cruiser and the escorting destroyer, and continued anti-aircraft manoeuvring. After being relieved, Hobart sailed for Subic Bay, where the damage was inspected by RAN and USN personnel, including three admirals. Debris collected from Hobart and the other ships indicated that the missiles were of United States Air Force origin.
The attacks on Hobart and the other ships were the capstone of a series of firing incidents between 15 and 17 June, and an inquiry was held by the USN into the incidents, with three RAN personnel attending as technical advisors. The inquiry found that a few hours before the attack on Hobart, Patrol Craft Fasts PCF-12 and PCF-19, along with, were attacked by what they identified at the time as hovering enemy aircraft, but were believed to be friendly planes; PCF-19 was sunk in the attack. F-4 Phantoms of the USAF Seventh Air Force, responding several hours after the attack on the PCFs, were unable to distinguish between the radar signature of surface ships and airborne helicopters and instead opened fire on Hobart, Boston, and Edson. Hobart underwent repairs in Subic Bay, and returned to duty on the gunline on 25 July.
During the evening of 27 July, Hobart was involved in another friendly fire incident; this time, shells from the ship fell close to a Marine unit's command post and injured three Marines. The fault was found to be with the Marine unit's spotter, who was inexperienced, failed to signal the close proximity of friendly units to the target, and failed to fully identify the target before calling for five rounds of shellfire. Although Hobart was asked to rotate Sea Dragon duties on 2 August to relieve a destroyer experiencing gunnery faults, nine days early, the destroyer's captain refused, as he wanted more time to prepare the ship after the repairs, particularly as the air warning radars were yet to become operational, and the gun mounts were experiencing minor problems. The Sea Dragon deployment did not eventuate, and after operating near the DMZ, Hobart was reassigned to gunfire support duties around southern Vietnam on 12 August. On 22 August, the destroyer fired to support the 1st Australian Task Force in Phuoc Tuy Province: the first time a RAN destroyer provided naval gunfire support for Australian soldiers in the war. On 29 September, Perth relieved Hobart at Subic, and Hobart sailed for home. One sailor was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his actions during the 17 June attack, while two Mentions in Despatches and 23 Naval Board commendations were also issued.