View source for HMAS Yarra (M 87)

{{Short description|Australian warship}}
{{Other ships|HMAS Yarra}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:HMAS Yarra, 2024 Royal Fleet Review Sydney.jpg|300px|HMAS Yarra]]
|Ship caption=HMAS ''Yarra'' in 2024 during the Royal Fleet Review
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Australia
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Australia|naval}}
|Ship name=''Yarra''
|Ship namesake=[[Yarra River]]
|Ship builder=Australian Defence Industries
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=19 January 2002
|Ship commissioned=1 March 2003
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship homeport=[[HMAS Waterhen (naval base)|HMAS ''Waterhen'']]
|Ship identification={{MMSI Number|503126000}}
|Ship motto="Hunt and strike"
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=Five [[HMAS Yarra#Battle honours|inherited battle honours]]
|Ship status=Active as of 2016
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=[[File:HMAS yarra crest.png|Ship's badge]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class=[[Huon-class minehunter|''Huon''-class minehunter]]
|Ship displacement=732&nbsp;tons at full load
|Ship length={{convert|52.5|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|9.9|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|3|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*1 × Fincantieri GMT BL230-BN diesel motor, {{convert|1985|bhp|abbr=on}}, 1 × [[Variable-pitch propeller (marine)|controllable-pitch propeller]]
*3 × {{convert|120|hp|abbr=on}} Riva Calzoni [[azimuth thruster]]s
|Ship speed=*{{convert|14|kn}} on diesel
*{{convert|6|kn}} on thrusters
|Ship range={{convert|1600|nmi}} at {{convert|12|kn}}
|Ship endurance=19 days
|Ship complement=6 officers and 34 sailors, plus up to 9 additional
|Ship sensors=*Kelvin-Hughes Type 1007 navigational radar
*GEC-Marconi Type 2093M variable-depth minehunting sonar
|Ship EW=*AWADI PRISM radar warning and direction-finding system
*Radamec 1400N surveillance system
*2 × Wallop Super Barricade decoy launchers
|Ship armament=*1 × 30&nbsp;mm [[DS30B rapid fire cannon]]
*2 × 0.50 calibre machine guns
*2 × SUTEC [[Double Eagle (mine disposal vehicle)|Double Eagle mine disposal vehicles]]
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMAS ''Yarra'' (M 87)''' is the sixth [[Huon-class minehunter|''Huon''-class minehunter]] to have been built for the [[Royal Australian Navy]] (RAN) and the fourth warship to be named after the [[Yarra River]] in Victoria. Built by a joint partnership between [[Australian Defence Industries]] (ADI) and [[Intermarine SpA]], ''Yarra'' was constructed at ADI's Newcastle shipyard, and entered service in 2003.
==Design and construction==
{{Main|Huon-class minehunter}}
In 1993, the Department of Defence issued a request for tender for six coastal minehunters to replace the problematic [[Bay-class minehunter]]s.<ref name="JIDR-01061993">{{cite journal |date=1 June 1993 |title=Australia plans new mine warfare force |journal=Jane's International Defence Review |publisher=Jane's Information Group |volume=26 |issue=6}}</ref> The tender was awarded in August 1994 to [[Australian Defence Industries]] (ADI) and [[Intermarine SpA]], which proposed a modified [[Gaeta-class minehunter|''Gaeta''-class]] minehunter.<ref name="JIDR-01061993"/><ref name="Sea 1555">{{cite web |url=http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/msd/sea1555/sea1555.cfm |title=Defence Materiel Organisation – Sea 1555 Project |accessdate=16 January 2007 |date=13 June 2006 |publisher=Department of Defence – Australian Government |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061003195914/http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/msd/sea1555/sea1555.cfm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate=3 October 2006}}</ref>
''Yarra'' has a full load displacement of 732&nbsp;tons, is {{convert|52.5|m}} long, has a beam of {{convert|9.9|m}}, and a draught of {{convert|3|m}}.<ref name=IHS33>Saunders (ed.), ''IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2012–2013'', p. 33</ref> Main propulsion is a single Fincantieri GMT BL230-BN diesel motor, which provides {{convert|1985|bhp}} to a single [[Variable-pitch propeller (marine)|controllable-pitch propeller]], allowing the ship to reach {{convert|14|kn}}.<ref name=Wertheim23>Wertheim (ed.), ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World'', p. 23</ref> Maximum range is {{convert|1600|nmi}} at {{convert|12|kn}}, and endurance is 19 days.<ref name=IHS33/><ref name=Wertheim23/> The standard ship's company consists of 6 officers and 34 sailors, with accommodation for 9 additional (typically trainees or [[Clearance Diving Team (RAN)|clearance divers]]).<ref name=IHS33/> The main armament is a MSI DS30B 30&nbsp;mm cannon, supplemented by two 0.50 calibre machine guns.<ref name=Wertheim23/> The sensor suite includes a Kelvin-Hughes Type 1007 navigational radar, a GEC-Marconi Type 2093M variable-depth minehunting sonar, an AWADI PRISM radar warning and direction-finding system, and a Radamec 1400N surveillance system.<ref name=IHS33/> Two Wallop [[Super Barricade]] decoy launchers are also fitted.<ref name=IHS33/>
For minehunting operations, ''Yarra'' uses three {{convert|120|hp}} Riva Calzoni [[azimuth thruster]]s to provide a maximum speed of {{convert|6|kn}}: two are located at the stern, while the third is sited behind the variable-depth sonar.<ref name=Wertheim23/> Mines are located with the minehunting sonar, and can be disposed of by the vessel's two [[Double Eagle (mine disposal vehicle)|Double Eagle mine disposal vehicles]], the Oropesa mechanical sweep, the Mini-Dyad magnetic influence sweep, or the towed AMASS influence sweep (which is not always carried).<ref name=Wertheim23/> To prevent damage if a mine is detonated nearby, the ships were built with a [[glass-reinforced plastic]], molded in a single [[monocoque]] skin with no ribs or framework.<ref name=Wertheim23/> As the ships often work with clearance divers, they are fitted with a small [[recompression chamber]].<ref name=IHS33/>
''Yarra'' was built by [[Australian Defence Industries]] in [[Newcastle, New South Wales]], launched on 19 January 2002, and commissioned into the RAN on 1 March 2003.<ref name=IHS33/> ''Yarra'' is based at [[HMAS Waterhen (naval base)|HMAS ''Waterhen'']] in Sydney, along with the majority of the RAN's mine warfare assets.<ref name=IHS33/>
==Operational history==
[[File:RAN-IFR 2013 D3 81.JPG|thumb|left|HMAS Yarra in 2013]]
In May 2003, ''Yarra'' and sister ship {{HMAS|Hawkesbury|M 83|2}} were operating off the coast of Queensland on exercises.<ref name="DOD29-6-03">{{cite press release |title=Navy findings of search for ex Army Hospital Ship (AHS) ''Centaur'' |publisher=[[Australian Department of Defence]] |date=29 June 2003 |url=http://www.defence.gov.au/media/DepartmentalTpl.cfm?CurrentId=2912 |accessdate=2 June 2009}}</ref> During this, the two ships were tasked with checking the believed location of the shipwreck of [[AHS Centaur|AHS ''Centaur'']], a hospital ship sunk off Moreton Island during World War II, following several media stories indicating that the wreck at this location might not be the hospital ship.<ref name="DOD29-6-03"/> These searches, followed up by the hydrographic survey ship {{HMAS|Melville|A 246|6}} a month later, found that the wreck had been incorrectly marked as ''Centaur'' since its discovery in 1995.<ref name="DOD29-6-03"/>
Following the discovery by the survey ships {{HMAS|Benalla|A 04|2}}, and {{HMAS|Shepparton|A 03|2}}, of a submerged object that corresponded to the dimensions of [[HMAS AE1|Australian submarine ''AE1'']], which had disappeared off the coast of [[East New Britain]] during World War I, ''Yarra'' was sent in June 2007 to confirm the findings.<ref name="SMH Mar0107">{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Missing-WWI-sub-may-have-been-found/2007/03/01/1172338754207.html |title=Missing WWI sub may have been found |accessdate=1 March 2007 |author=AAP |date=1 March 2007 |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |authorlink=Australian Associated Press}}</ref> The object was found to be a submarine-shaped rock formation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/5010/topstories/story6.htm |title=Resurface of mystery |work=Navy News |publisher=Australian Government, Department of Defence |date=14 June 2007 |accessdate=7 December 2008}}</ref>
On the morning of 13 March 2009, ''Yarra'' 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://digital.realviewtechnologies.com/default.aspx?xml=defencenews_navy.xml&iid=23701 |title=Marching into History |last=Brooke |first=Michael |date=2 April 2009 |work=Navy News |publisher=Department of Defence}}</ref> The minehunter was one of the thirteen ships involved in the ceremonial entry through Sydney Heads, and anchored in the harbour for the review.
In October 2013, ''Yarra'' participated in the [[International Fleet Review 2013]] in Sydney.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/ifr/participants/warships |title=Participating Warships |date=2013 |work=International Fleet Review 2013 website |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210092404/http://www.navy.gov.au/ifr/participants/warships |archivedate=10 December 2013 |accessdate=14 December 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*{{cite book |title=IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2012–2013 |editor=Saunders, Stephen |publisher=IHS Jane's |location=Coulsdon |date=2012 |series=[[Jane's Fighting Ships]] |isbn=9780710630087 |oclc=793688752}}
*{{cite book |title=The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems |editor=Wertheim, Eric |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |year=2007 |edition=15th |isbn=978-1-59114-955-2 |oclc=140283156 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJunjRvplU4C}}
==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-yarra-iv |title=HMAS Yarra (IV) |accessdate=1 January 2013 |publisher=Royal Australian Navy}}
{{Huon class minehunter}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarra (M 87)}}
[[Category:Huon-class minehunters]]
[[Category:Ships built in New South Wales]]
[[Category:2002 ships]]
[[Category:Minehunters of Australia]]