HMAS Sydney

HMAS Sydney Statistics

Commanding Officer	Captain Luke Charles-Jones
Pennant	FFG 03
Type	Surface Combatant
Classification	Guided Missile Frigate (FFG)
Class	Adelaide Class
Based	Sydney
Launched	26 September 1980
Commissioned	29 January 1983
Displacement	4200 tonnes4,200,000 kg 4,200,000,000 g 9,259,412.4 lb 148,150,640.4 oz
Length	138.1 metres13,810 cm 0.138 km 0.0858 mi 453.084 ft 5,437.008 in
Beam	13.7 metres1,370 cm 0.0137 km 0.00851 mi 44.948 ft 539.37 in
Armament	76mm Rapid Fire Gun Harpoon Anti-ship Missiles SM2 Surface-to-Air Missiles Evolved Sea Sparrow Surface-to-Air Missiles Mk 41 Vertical Launch System Mk 13 Missile Launcher Phalanx Close-in Weapons System Nulka, Pirate, Seagnat and Lescut decoy systems 2 Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes Mk 46 torpedoes
Aircraft	Up to two SeaHawk helicopters
Main Machinery	Two General Electric LM2500 gas turbines driving a single controllable pitch propeller
Speed	30 knots15.433 m/s 55.56 km/h 0.0154 km/s 3,038.059 ft/min 50.634 ft/s
Company	210
Battle Honours	Rabaul 1914 Emden 1914 North Sea 1916-18 Calabria 1940 Spada 1940 Mediterranean 1940 Kormoran 1941 Korea 1951-52 Malaysia 1964 Vietnam 1965-72 Kuwait 1991 East Timor 1999 Persian Gulf 2001-03 Iraq 2003

HMAS Sydney is one of four guided missile frigates currently in service with the Royal Australian Navy. She has recently been extensively upgraded.

Sydney is a long-range escort with the ability to provide area air defence, anti-submarine and anti-shipping warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interdiction. She can counter simultaneous threats from the air, sea surface and under water.

Sydney has deployed to the Middle East four times. On the first occasion she took part in Operation Desert Storm, the action against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, for which she earned a Meritorious Unit Citation. She later supported UN sanctions against Iraq in 1991/92 and 1993. Sydney also deployed to East Timor in support of INTERFET in 1999 and in 2000, supported the efforts bring peace to the Solomon Island . Her fourth deployment to the Middle East was during the pinnacle of the Iraq War in 2003 in support of allied forces.

This is the fourth ship to carry this name and she is the proud inheritor of eighth "battle honours", more than any other RAN unit. Notable actions of former ships include the sinking of the German light cruiser SMS Emden by Sydney (I) in World War I. During World War II, Sydney (II) sank the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni, damaged another and shared in the destruction of an Italian destroyer.

On 19 November 1941, Sydney (II) was lost with all hands in battle against the German Raider Kormoran, which was also sunk. This loss of 645 sailors represented over a third of the RAN's casualties during WWII. Sydney (III), a light carrier, operated with distinction in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.