HMAS Buccaneer (P 100)

History
Australia
Builder	Evans Deakin and Company
Launched	14 September 1968
Commissioned	11 November 1969
Decommissioned	27 July 1984
Motto	"Seek and Find"
Fate	Sunk as target
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Attack-class patrol boat
Displacement	100 tons standard; 146 tons full load;
Length	107.6 ft (32.8 m) length overall
Beam	20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught	6.4 ft (2.0 m) at standard load; 7.3 ft (2.2 m) at full load;
Propulsion	2 × 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines; 3,460 shp (2,580 kW); 2 shafts;
Speed	24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Range	1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement	3 officers, 16 sailors
Armament	1 × Bofors 40 mm gun; 2 × .50-calibre M2 Browning machine guns; Small arms;

HMAS Buccaneer (P 100) was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Design and construction

The Attack class was ordered in 1964 to operate in Australian waters as patrol boats (based on lessons learned through using the Ton-class minesweepers on patrols of Borneo during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and to replace a variety of old patrol, search-and-rescue, and general-purpose craft.^[1] Initially, nine were ordered for the RAN, with another five for Papua New Guinea's Australian-run coastal security force, although another six ships were ordered to bring the class to twenty vessels.^[1] The patrol boats had a displacement of 100 tons at standard load and 146 tons at full load, were 107.6 feet (32.8 m) in length overall, had a beam of 20 feet (6.1 m), and draughts of 6.4 feet (2.0 m) at standard load, and 7.3 feet (2.2 m) at full load.^[2]^[1] Propulsion machinery consisted of two 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines, which supplied 3,460 shaft horsepower (2,580 kW) to the two propellers.^[2]^[1] The vessels could achieve a top speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), and had a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph).^[2]^[1] The ship's company consisted of three officers and sixteen sailors.^[2] Main armament was a bow-mounted Bofors 40 mm gun, supplemented by two .50-calibre M2 Browning machine guns and various small arms.^[2]^[1] The ships were designed with as many commercial components as possible: the Attacks were to operate in remote regions of Australia and New Guinea, and a town's hardware store would be more accessible than home base in a mechanical emergency.^[3]

Buccaneer was built by Evans Deakin and Company at Brisbane, Queensland,^[4] launched on 14 September 1968,^[5] and commissioned on 11 November 1969.^[4]

Operational history

Fate

Buccaneer paid off on 27 July 1984,^[4] and was sunk by gunfire during target practice on 8 October 1988.^{[citation needed]}

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Ships since 1946, p. 86
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Blackman (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968–69, p. 18
^ The patrol boat, Australian National Maritime Museum
^ ^a ^b ^c Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Ships since 1946, p. 87
^ Other, A. N. (12 April 2019). "Occasional Paper 51: The Attack Class Patrol Boat". Naval Historical Society of Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

References

Blackman, Raymond, ed. (1968). Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968–69 (71st ed.). London: Jane's Publishing Company. OCLC 123786869.
Gillett, Ross (1988). Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946. Brookvale, NSW: Child & Associates. ISBN 0-86777-219-0. OCLC 23470364.
"The patrol boat". Australian National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.

[Gillett86-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Ships since 1946, p. 86

[Janes68-2] Blackman (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968–69, p. 18

[ANMM-3] The patrol boat, Australian National Maritime Museum

[Gillett87-4] Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Ships since 1946, p. 87

[5] Other, A. N. (12 April 2019). "Occasional Paper 51: The Attack Class Patrol Boat". Naval Historical Society of Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

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