User:Saberwyn/HMAS Kanimbla (L 51)

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For other ships of this name, see HMAS Kanimbla.
For the ship's US Navy service, see USS Saginaw (LST-1188).

HMAS Kanimbla leaving Port Jackson for Operation Falconer
Career (United States Navy) United States Navy ensign
Name: USS Saginaw (LST-1188)
Namesake: City of Saginaw, Michigan
Builder: National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Laid down: 24 May 1969
Launched: 7 February 1970
Sponsored by: Wife of R. James Harvey
Commissioned: 23 January 1971
Decommissioned: 28 June 1994
Homeport: Little Creek, Virginia
Career (Royal Australian Navy) RAN ensign
Commissioned: 29 August 1994
Homeport: Fleet Base East
Motto: "Cry Havoc"
Honours and
awards:		 Meritorious Unit Citation
Badge: Placeholder
General characteristics as Kanimbla
Class and type: Kanimbla class Landing Platform Amphibious
Displacement: 8,534 tons
Length: 159.2 metres
Beam: 21.2 metres
Draught: 5.3 metres
Propulsion: 6 x ALCO V16 diesel engines, 2,750 hp each driving two shafts (3 engines per shaft)
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h)
Range: 14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h)
Boats and landing
craft carried:		 2 x LCM8 landing craft
Capacity: 400 embarked forces, 955 square metres of useable tank deck space
Complement: 23 naval Officers, 2 army Officers, 197 sailors, 18 soldiers
Armament: 1 x 20 mm Phalanx Mk 15 close–in weapon system, 6 x 12.7 mm Machine guns
Aircraft carried: 4 x Blackhawk or 3 x Sea King
Aviation facilities: Hangar for 4 helicopters, 3 landing spots

HMAS Kanimbla (L 51) (formerly USS Saginaw (LST-1188)) is the lead ship of the Kanimbla class Landing Platform Amphibious. Laid down in 1969 for the United States Navy (USN) as Newport class tank landing ship USS Saginaw...

The ship was acquired by the Royal Australian Navy in 1994 for conversion into a amphibious warfare transport ship.

Since entering RAN service, Kanimbla has participated in numerous worldwide deployments, and has lost two helicopters in crashes.

Contents

[edit] Design and construction

The ship was laid down by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company at San Diego, California for the USN on 24 May 1969 as Newport class tank landing ship USS Saginaw.[1] She was launched on 7 February 1970, sponsored by the wife of R. James Harvey, a Congressman and former mayor of Saginaw, Michigan, and commissioned into the United States Navy on 23 January 1971.[1]

[edit] Name

The ship was originally named after the city of Saginaw, Michigan.

Upon entering RAN service, the ship was renamed after the Kanimbla Valley, west of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The name was previously used by the passenger ship Kanimbla, which was commissioned into the Royal Navy and later the Royal Australian Navy during World War II, serving as a troopship. The ship's full motto is "And Caesar's spirit ranging for revenge, with 'ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a monarch's voice, cry "Havoc!" and let slip the Dogs of War", a quote from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

[edit] USN operational history

USS Saginaw in 1987
USS Saginaw in 1987
Main article: USS Saginaw (LST-1188)

Saginaw left San Diego on 4 March 1971 for her maiden voyage to her homeport in Little Creek, Virginia.[1] During the first day of the voyage, the ship located a drifting LCM (6), which she took in tow and handed over to USS Point Defiance.[1] The voyage continued via Acapulco, Mexico and the Panama Canal, with Saginaw arriving in Little Creek on 26 March.[1] The ship spent the rest of 1971 performing shakedowns and trials, including the first trial of converting the cargo decks to a hospital following the deployment of troops and vehicles.[1]

Saginaw began 1972 with participation in Operation Snowy Beach as part of Amphibious Squadron 8.[1] Following the conclusion of the exercise, which ran from 16 to 28 January off the coast of Maine, the ship was deployed to the Mediterranean to operate with the United States Sixth Fleet from February to August, arriving back in the United States on 21 August.[1] At the start of 1973, the ship was used to transport Marines to and from exercises on Vieques, Puerto Rico.[1] Between 22 March and 24 August, Saginaw was deployed to the Caribbean Amphibious Ready Group twice, with a resupply and leave period in late May.[1] Beginning on 26 November, the ship participated in anti-submarine warfare and convoy protection exercises with ships of the USN and the Royal Canadian Navy, before she returned to Little Creek on 6 December to spend the rest of 1963 in port.[1] Saginaw spent the first four months of 1964 participating in local operations and exercises, before a second deployment to the Sixth Fleet commenced on 10 May.[1]

  • [At some point prior to 1994], Saginaw was decommissioned as part of the USN's post-Cold War downsizing.[2]

[edit] Transfer and conversion

In the early 1990s, the RAN initiated a procurement project to replace HMAS Jervis Bay with a dedicated training and helicopter support ship.[2] Meeting the vague specifications of the project required a purpose built vessel at an approximate cost of AU$500 million.[2] The high cost of the project led to its cancellation by the Minister for Defence in 1993, with the instructions to find a cheaper alternative.

  • [Somehow, Saginaw became decommissioned and avaliable for sale]

In 1994, the RAN was able to acquire the surplus Saginaw and her sister ship Fairfax County for the combined price of AU$61 million (US$40 million).[2][3] Saginaw was to be renamed Kanimbla. Prior to Saginaw's decommissioning and transfer, a RAN crew was sent to Norfolk, Virginia, for several weeks training aboard the vessel, as they were to sail her to Australia after she was commissioned into the RAN.[4] Saginaw was decommissioned on 28 June 1994, but instead of being immediately recommissioned as HMAS Kanimbla, it was announced at the decommissioning ceremony that the United States Congress had decided not to release the ships into foregin service.[5] The last minute move was part of a sale blockage for fifteen surplus Newports to nine nations, and was caused by the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services in an attempt to pressure US President Bill Clinton on the perceived running-down of the USN's amphibious warfare capability, as well as the concerns of one Senator over human rights in Morocco (one of the other nations slated to acquire a ship).[3][6] The sale was not approved until the start of August, with the ship commissioned as HMAS Kanimbla on 29 August 1994.[7][8]

Kanimbla sailed to Australia in October, after training and maintenance checks were completed.[7] Kanimbla and Manoora were docked at Forgacs Dockyard in Newcastle, New South Wales, where they underwent conversion from tank landing ships to amphibious warfare transports.[9] The conversion required the bow ramp to be removed and the bow doors welded shut.[10] A hangar for three Sea King or four Blackhawk helicopters was added, while the aft helicopter deck was reinforced.[11] Chinook helicopters are able to land and take off from the aft deck, but cannot be carried long-term.[10] The deck forward of the superstructure was converted to carry two LCM-8 landing craft, which are launched and recovered by a single 70 ton crane.[11] When the LCM-8s are deployed, the area functions as a third helicopter landing spot.[10] Accommodation was provided for up to 450 soldiers, while improved medical facilities and an upgraded galley were also installed.[9][12]

  • The refit was planned to last from 1995 to 1996, but did not conclude until late 1999, after extensive corrosion was discovered in both ships.[2] The refit cost for the two ships increased AU$400 million, with half of the funding taken from repair and refit allocations for other ships.[2]


  • During Kanimbla's conversion, a small fire started aboard, when a cigarette butt was dropped on piping insulation.[13] The fire, which occurred on 8 February 1999, was extinguished quickly, and only caused superficial damage.[13]

[edit] RAN operational history

[edit] Persian Gulf deployment

HMAS Kanimbla launching a United States Navy RHIB in 2002
HMAS Kanimbla launching a United States Navy RHIB in 2002

Kanimbla was deployed to the Persian Gulf from February to May 2003, during the invasion of Iraq.[14] Kanimbla's role was to provide a command and control platform to the Australian Navy Task Group and specialised capabilities to the greater multinational fleet in the invasion of Iraq. Kanimbla also carried 12 extra boarding parties from the Royal Navy and United States Navy, enabling her to carry out round the clock boardings and patrols within the K.A.A. On the morning of 19 March 2003, Two RHIBs from Kanimbla intercepted and boarded two Iraqi minelaying vessels attempting to block Coalition access to Iraqi waters. The vessels were carrying 26 luggam World War One-era drift mines and 60 Italian Manta state of the art acoustic mines. [citation needed]

Kanimbla was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation on 27 November 2003 for her service during this deployment.[14]

[edit] Operation Sumatra Assist

Kanimbla was part of Operation Sumatra Assist, the Australian Defence Force humanitarian aid to victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. During its subsequent return voyage to Australia, she was recalled for Operation Sumatra Assist Phase II to help victims of the 2005 Sumatran earthquake.

During this operation, at about 09:30 UTC 2 April 2005, Shark 02, one of the ship's Sea King helicopters crashed while approaching the village of Amadraya in the south of the island of Nias, off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Nine ADF personnel were killed — seven men and two women, from all three ADF services. Two others were recovered alive from the site by the other Sea King operating from Kanimbla and transferred to the ship for medical assistance in her hospital facilities.[15][16]

[edit] Operation Astute

HMAS Kanimbla at Darwin in July 2006
HMAS Kanimbla at Darwin in July 2006

During early-mid 2006, HMAS Kanimbla operated near East Timor as part of Operation Astute.

[edit] 2006 Fiji coup

At the start of November 2006, HMAS Newcastle was one of three Australian warships sent to Fiji as part of the ADF response to threats of a coup d'etat by Fijian military forces against Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. Kanimbla sailed to waters south of Fiji two days after Newcastle, and the two ships were joined by HMAS Success later in 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.[17]

On 29 November 2006, an Australian Army S-70A Black Hawk helicopter operating from Kanimbla, and carrying ten Army personnel on board, crashed whilst attempting to land on the ship's deck, killing the helicopter's pilot (Captain Mark Bingley) and a Special Air Service Regiment soldier (Corporal Joshua Porter) and injuring seven of the people onboard the helicopter (with one not injured.)[18][19][20][21][22] Porter's body, and the wreckage of the helicopter, were not recovered until 5 March 2007, nearly three months after the accident.[23]

[edit] 2007

In October 2007, Kanimbla visited New Zealand.[24] The ship had been previously scheduled to visit New Zealand on two occasions in 2006, but was unable to on both occasions due to short-notice operational deployments.[24]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Saginaw-II. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval Historical Center - United States Navy. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Spurling, Kathryn (2001). "The Era of Forward Defence", in Stevens, David: The Royal Australian Navy, The Australian Centenary History of Defence III. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press, pg 275. ISBN 0-195-54116-2. OCLC 50418095. 
  3. ^ a b Scherer, Ron. "Senate hampers sale of Navy ships to eager nations", The Christian Science Monitor, 1994-07-18, p. 7. Retrieved on 2008-04-20. 
  4. ^ "Put in our place" (Spring 1994). Australia and World Affairs 22 (Spring): 43-45. ISSN 1033-6192. 
  5. ^ Put in our place (1994). pp. 43-44
  6. ^ Put in our place (1994). pg. 44
  7. ^ a b "US OKs sale of 2 ships", Sun Herald, 1994-08-07, p. 26. Retrieved on 2008-04-20. 
  8. ^ HMAS Kanimbla (Royal Australian Navy). Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  9. ^ a b "Contract puts Forgacs part of naval history", Newcastle Herald, Fairfax Media, 1998-05-13, p. pg 8. Retrieved on 2008-04-25. 
  10. ^ a b c Macey, Richard. "Navy in $70M Copter Carrier deal", Sydney Morning Herald, 1994-06-27, p. 6. Retrieved on 2008-04-20. 
  11. ^ a b (1997) in Sharpe, Richard: Jane's Fighting Ships, 110th edition (1997-1998), Jane's Fighting Ships, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-1546-9. 
  12. ^ Kathryn Spurling (2001). The Royal Australian Navy, pg 276
  13. ^ a b Australian Associated Press. "Small fire on board Navy vessel", Australian Associated Press, AAP Information Services, 1999-02-08. Retrieved on 2008-04-25. 
  14. ^ a b It's An Honour - Honours. Retrieved on 2008-02-22. “Citation: For meritorious service in warlike operations in the war against weapons of mass destruction, IRAQ, during Operations BASTILLE and FALCONER between February and May 2003.”
  15. ^ ADF :: Online Media Room
  16. ^ Nine Australians die in Nias chopper crash. 03/04/2005. ABC News Online
  17. ^ Aussie warships heading for Fiji. The Daily Telegraph (Australia), November 2, 2006.
  18. ^ "One dead, one missing in Black Hawk crash off Fiji", ABC, 2006-11-29. Retrieved on 2006-11-29. 
  19. ^ "BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER LOST NEAR FIJI (.wmv)", Australian Defence Force, 2006-11-29. Retrieved on 2006-11-30. 
  20. ^ "Black Hawk Helicopter Accident", Australian Defence Force, 2006-11-30. Retrieved on 2006-11-30. 
  21. ^ "Black Hawk Helicopter Accident Q&A (.wmv)", Australian Defence Force, 2006-11-30. Retrieved on 2006-11-30. 
  22. ^ "ADF releases name of missing SAS soldier", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2006-12-01. Retrieved on 2006-12-01. 
  23. ^ "Remains of SAS soldier found off Fiji", The Age, 2007-03-06. Retrieved on 2007-03-06. 
  24. ^ a b A 'chully in zid' experience for Kanimbla. Royal Australian Navy (2007-11-01). Retrieved on 2008-02-22.

[edit] External links