HMAS Advance (P83)

HMAS Advance is an Attack class patrol boat, built by Walkers Ltd of Maryborough, Queensland.  Launched on 16 August 1967 and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 24 January 1968, Advance was the third of 20 Attack class boats built for the RAN between 1967 and 1969.  These boats were designed to carry out surveillance duties around Australia's coasts and HMAS Advance was based out of Darwin until 1977 and at Sydney until 1980.  During her 12-year service life, Advance assisted in shadowing the Russian fishing trawler and suspected spy ship Van Gogh, dispersed large numbers of illegal foreign fishing boats, survived Cyclone Tracy in December 1974, and conducted hydrographic surveys of Australia's northwest coast.  In 1979, Advance was one of two Attack class boats to portray the fictional HMAS Ambush in the popular Australian Broadcasting Corporation television series Patrol Boat.  With the entry into service of the new Fremantle class patrol boats from 1979, HMAS Advance was redesignated as a Naval Reserve training vessel in 1980 and and assigned to the Sydney Port Division.  On 6 February 1988, Advance was decommissioned and transferred to the Australian National Maritime Museum in operational condition.

Specifications: HMAS Advance
Displacement: 148.3 tonnes (full load)
Length: 32.8 metres (107.6 feet)
Beam: 6.1 metres (20 feet)

Draught: 2.2 metres (7.2 feet) at full load
Propulsion: 2 x Paxman V16 Ventura turbo-charged diesels generating 3,460 shaft horsepower and driving twin screws
Speed: 21 knots (38.9 km/h; 24.2 mph)
Range: 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 kilometres; 1,400 miles) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) 

Armament: 1 x 40mm Bofors gun and 2 x .50-calibre Browning machine guns
Complement: 19 (3 officers, 16 sailors)

Photos taken 26 October 2014

A starboard side view of HMAS Advance.  The Attack class patrol boats had steel hulls and lightweight aluminum superstructures.

Visitors climb a ladder to the open bridge of HMAS Advance, where a canvas awning is strung up to protect against the hot South Pacific sun.

A look at the forecastle, where Advance's heaviest weapon, a single 40mm Bofors gun mounting, was useful for self-defence and firing warning shots across the bows of suspect vessels.

Looking aft from the forecastle.  Although the Attack class patrol boats were similar to contemporary American and British designs, they were constructed using many easily-available commercial components.  This was a conscious decision in light of the fact that Royal Australian Navy patrol boats would operate in remote waters off northern Australia, far from naval bases, and might need to source replacement parts from hardware shops in isolated coastal communities.

An Australian Red Ensign flies from the stern of HMAS Advance, which is maintained in seaworthy condition and participates in various events in Sydney Harbour.