SUCCESS HMAS (AOR 304)
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:25 pm
Built as a replenishment ship by the Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, N.S.W. for the Royal Australian Navy.
09 August 1980 laid down.
03 March 1984 launched as the HMAS SUCCESS (AOR 304), christened by Her Excellency Lady Stephen, wife of the then Governor General of Australia.
Displacement 17,933 tons full load, dim. 157.2 x 21.2 x 8.65m. (draught)
Powered by two 16-cyl PC 2-5V SEMT Pielstick diesel engines, 20,000 shp., twin shafts, speed 19 knots.
Range by a speed of 15 knots, 9,000 mile.
Armament 2 – Phalax Mk 15 close-in weapon systems, 4 – 12.7mm heavy machine guns and numerous small arms.
One Westland Sea King helicopter housed in a hangar beneath the two funnels.
Crew 220.
19 February 1986 completed.
23 April 1986 commissioned.
The design is based on the French Durance class, and at that time she was the largest vessel built for the Royal Australian Navy and also the largest ever built in Sydney.
During her construction the building contract had been renegotiated in June 1983 and acceptance date was extended by three years. The building cost also increase from 68.4 million to 187.3 million Australian dollars.
She carries 8,220 tons of diesel fuel, 1,131 tons of Avcat, 259 tons of distilled water, 183 tons of victuals, 250 ton of ammunition and 45 tons of spares.
At sea she can provide simultaneous replenishment of two ships one on each beam.
In 1986, SUCCESS was part of the multi-national fleet that entered Sydney Harbour to mark the 75th anniversary of the RAN. Prior to the ceremonial entry, SUCCESS and two other replenishment ships (one United States Navy, one Royal Navy) were tasked with replenishing the assembled fleet: a competition between the three ships saw SUCCESS replenish more vessels than the other two.
SUCCESS formed part of the Australian contribution to the 1991 Gulf War, and provided support to the Australian-led forces which deployed to East Timor in 1999 and 2006.
In 2005, SUCCESS was one of several Australian warships to participate in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2005, a series of joint RAN-USN war games.
In late November 2006, SUCCESS was one of three Australian warships sent to Fiji during the leadup to the 2006 coup d'état by Fijian military forces against Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. SUCCESS joined HMA Ships NEWCASTLE, and KANIMBLA; the other two ships having sailed in the first week of November. The three vessels were to be used in the event of an evacuation of Australian citizens and nationals, but not as a military force.
The task group was stood down in late December 2006, with all three ships returning to port.
On 20 February 2007, SUCCESS intercepted a boat carrying 85 Sri Lankans, who were suspected of attempting to enter Australia illegally. These were the last asylum seekers to be processed under the Pacific Solution policy before its cancellation.
SUCCESS was deployed as part of Operation Resolute for three months of 2008. While assigned to Resolute, the vessel was deployed with several other RAN vessels to take part in RIMPAC 08, a multi-national naval exercise. During RIMPAC, on the night of 23 July, SUCCESS completed her 3,000th Replenishment at Sea (RAS): a dual-replenishment of USS CHUNG –HOON (port side, 2,999th RAS) and HMAS ANZAC (starboard side, 3,000th RAS).
On the morning of 13 March 2009, SUCCESS 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 replenishment ship was one of the thirteen vessels involved in the ceremonial entry through Sydney Heads, and anchored in the harbour for the review.
In May 2009, while SUCCESS was on exercise in South-East Asia, the ship's Commanding Officer was alerted to an alleged sex gambling game aboard, which challenged male sailors to record their sexual activities with female sailors in a 'ledger', and awarded them prize money, with bonuses for seducing difficult targets, like officers or lesbians, or for having sex in unusual or risky places. Three male sailors were removed from SUCCESS when the ship docked in Singapore, and were sent back to Australia to participate in a formal inquiry. Shadow Minister for Defence David Johnston claimed that initial investigations found little substance to the claims made against the men, but media-driven public pressure meant a formal inquiry occurred anyway. In February 2010, the formal inquiry was found to be flawed due to bias. The three men were offered the option to return to their posts aboard SUCCESS while a second inquiry is set up, but they have refused to return until formal apologies are made, and are considering leaving the RAN.
At the end of 2009, the Department of Defence released a request for tender for modification of SUCCESS into a double hull vessel, allowing her to meet International Maritime Organization standards for oil tankers. The conversion is expected to be completed in 2011.
Fate
The Australian Department of Defence predicts that HMAS SUCCESS will reach the end of her useful operational lifespan sometime between 2015 and 2017.
Norfolk Island 1990 $2 swg493, scott489
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?HMAS_Success_%28AOR_304%29 Australian & New Zealand Warships since 1946 by Ross Gillett. Mr. Erhard Jung.
09 August 1980 laid down.
03 March 1984 launched as the HMAS SUCCESS (AOR 304), christened by Her Excellency Lady Stephen, wife of the then Governor General of Australia.
Displacement 17,933 tons full load, dim. 157.2 x 21.2 x 8.65m. (draught)
Powered by two 16-cyl PC 2-5V SEMT Pielstick diesel engines, 20,000 shp., twin shafts, speed 19 knots.
Range by a speed of 15 knots, 9,000 mile.
Armament 2 – Phalax Mk 15 close-in weapon systems, 4 – 12.7mm heavy machine guns and numerous small arms.
One Westland Sea King helicopter housed in a hangar beneath the two funnels.
Crew 220.
19 February 1986 completed.
23 April 1986 commissioned.
The design is based on the French Durance class, and at that time she was the largest vessel built for the Royal Australian Navy and also the largest ever built in Sydney.
During her construction the building contract had been renegotiated in June 1983 and acceptance date was extended by three years. The building cost also increase from 68.4 million to 187.3 million Australian dollars.
She carries 8,220 tons of diesel fuel, 1,131 tons of Avcat, 259 tons of distilled water, 183 tons of victuals, 250 ton of ammunition and 45 tons of spares.
At sea she can provide simultaneous replenishment of two ships one on each beam.
In 1986, SUCCESS was part of the multi-national fleet that entered Sydney Harbour to mark the 75th anniversary of the RAN. Prior to the ceremonial entry, SUCCESS and two other replenishment ships (one United States Navy, one Royal Navy) were tasked with replenishing the assembled fleet: a competition between the three ships saw SUCCESS replenish more vessels than the other two.
SUCCESS formed part of the Australian contribution to the 1991 Gulf War, and provided support to the Australian-led forces which deployed to East Timor in 1999 and 2006.
In 2005, SUCCESS was one of several Australian warships to participate in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2005, a series of joint RAN-USN war games.
In late November 2006, SUCCESS was one of three Australian warships sent to Fiji during the leadup to the 2006 coup d'état by Fijian military forces against Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. SUCCESS joined HMA Ships NEWCASTLE, and KANIMBLA; the other two ships having sailed in the first week of November. The three vessels were to be used in the event of an evacuation of Australian citizens and nationals, but not as a military force.
The task group was stood down in late December 2006, with all three ships returning to port.
On 20 February 2007, SUCCESS intercepted a boat carrying 85 Sri Lankans, who were suspected of attempting to enter Australia illegally. These were the last asylum seekers to be processed under the Pacific Solution policy before its cancellation.
SUCCESS was deployed as part of Operation Resolute for three months of 2008. While assigned to Resolute, the vessel was deployed with several other RAN vessels to take part in RIMPAC 08, a multi-national naval exercise. During RIMPAC, on the night of 23 July, SUCCESS completed her 3,000th Replenishment at Sea (RAS): a dual-replenishment of USS CHUNG –HOON (port side, 2,999th RAS) and HMAS ANZAC (starboard side, 3,000th RAS).
On the morning of 13 March 2009, SUCCESS 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 replenishment ship was one of the thirteen vessels involved in the ceremonial entry through Sydney Heads, and anchored in the harbour for the review.
In May 2009, while SUCCESS was on exercise in South-East Asia, the ship's Commanding Officer was alerted to an alleged sex gambling game aboard, which challenged male sailors to record their sexual activities with female sailors in a 'ledger', and awarded them prize money, with bonuses for seducing difficult targets, like officers or lesbians, or for having sex in unusual or risky places. Three male sailors were removed from SUCCESS when the ship docked in Singapore, and were sent back to Australia to participate in a formal inquiry. Shadow Minister for Defence David Johnston claimed that initial investigations found little substance to the claims made against the men, but media-driven public pressure meant a formal inquiry occurred anyway. In February 2010, the formal inquiry was found to be flawed due to bias. The three men were offered the option to return to their posts aboard SUCCESS while a second inquiry is set up, but they have refused to return until formal apologies are made, and are considering leaving the RAN.
At the end of 2009, the Department of Defence released a request for tender for modification of SUCCESS into a double hull vessel, allowing her to meet International Maritime Organization standards for oil tankers. The conversion is expected to be completed in 2011.
Fate
The Australian Department of Defence predicts that HMAS SUCCESS will reach the end of her useful operational lifespan sometime between 2015 and 2017.
Norfolk Island 1990 $2 swg493, scott489
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?HMAS_Success_%28AOR_304%29 Australian & New Zealand Warships since 1946 by Ross Gillett. Mr. Erhard Jung.