HMAS Anzac (D59)

HMAS Anzac (D59) History

Combat-class destroyer groups are an early development of the Royal Navy (RN) during the Cold War (although they were designed during World War II). The class ended up with 26 ships and, in addition to the RN, also flew the flags of Australia, Iran and Pakistan. The Combat class succeeded the Weapons class ships of the Second World War and was replaced by the Bold class which appeared in the late 1940s/early 1950s.

HMAS Anzac (D59) was completed as part of the Combat class, laid on 23 September 1946 from the Williamstown Naval Shipyard. She was launched on 20 August 1948 and commissioned on 14 March 1951. During her time at sea, the warship served with the motto "United as One".

Building to existing British standards reduces procurement costs for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and makes their construction easier. When built, the vessel displaces 2,435 tons, has an overall length of 379 feet, a beam of 41 feet, and a draft of 21 feet. Shallow draughts allow warships to operate in coastal areas while being designed for blue water service. Power comes from 2 x Admiralty 3 drum boilers feeding 2 x 50,000 hp Parson geared steam turbines on 2 x shafts below the stern.

Top speed (under ideal conditions) is 31 knots and range is up to 4,400 nautical miles. Her staff includes 320 employees.

Armament consists of 4 x QF 4.5"/45 (113 mm) Mark V deck guns arranged as a pair of twin gun turrets above the forecastle. These turrets are protected by 12 x 40 mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft (AA ). The guns are located on the ship's three twin and six single gun mounts.

2 x 21" 5-barrel Pentad torpedo launchers are also carried, as well as the anti-submarine mortar weapon "Squid".

Her profile consisted of two forward mounted main turrets and a raised bridge set amidships as part of the central superstructure. The deck line runs unobstructed all the way amidships until the stern height is significantly lowered.

Acceptance testing of the ship took place in 1951, and in July of the same year, the ship was transferred to the Korean theater as part of the Korean War (1950-1953). Their artillery was first used to shell suspicious enemy positions near Haizhou in September of the same year. Vossan's blockade followed.

HMAS Anzac completed two full tours during the conflict, during which she undertook additional enemy shelling and general patrol operations, as well as providing naval support to the British and US navies among other assignments.

Their next deployment was during the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960), which lasted from 1956 to 1959 (as part of the "Strategic Far East Reserve" force). Completed as a training platform in March 1961, the warship now has a crew of only 169 and a maximum of 109 cadets. The second 4.5" turret was also removed.

Escort operations and training cruises welcomed the rest of her career with the Australian Navy.

She was decommissioned on October 4, 1974, and sold as scrap in November 1975. For her service, she received two fighting awards: "Korea 1951-1953" and "Malayan 1956".

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