HMAS Perth (D 38)

HMAS Perth underway during the late 1980's
History
Australia
Namesake	City of Perth
Builder	Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Michigan, US
Laid down	21 September 1962
Launched	26 September 1963
Completed	22 May 1965
Commissioned	17 July 1965
Decommissioned	15 October 1999
Motto	"Fight And Flourish"
Honours and awards	Battle honours: Vietnam 1967–71 plus eight inherited honours Awards: Navy Unit Commendation Meritorious Unit Commendation
Fate	Sunk as dive wreck 24 November 2001
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Perth-class (Modified Charles F. Adams-class) destroyer
Displacement	3,370 tons standard 4,618 tons full load
Length	134 m (440 ft) length overall 128 m (420 ft) between perpendiculars
Beam	14 m (46 ft)
Draught	6 m (20 ft)
Propulsion	4 × Foster Wheeler boilers, 2 × General Electric steam turbines, 70,000 shp (52 MW), 2 propellers
Speed	35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	311 sailors, 22 officers
Armament	1 × Mk 13 launcher for Tartar, then Standard missiles 2 × 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 guns 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tube sets 2 × Ikara anti-submarine missile launchers (installed 1967, removed 1991) 2 × Phalanx CIWS (installed later)

HMAS Perth (D 38) was the lead ship of the Perth-class guided missile destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in the United States to a modified version of the Charles F. Adams design, Perth entered service with the RAN in 1965.

The destroyer made three deployments to the Vietnam War, earning a RAN battle honour and two United States Navy commendations for her service. The majority of the ship's career was spent on training exercises and goodwill visits to other nations, with one deployment as far as the Mediterranean. Perth was decommissioned in 1999, and sunk as a dive wreck off the coast of Western Australia in 2001.