Design and Construction
In the mid-1970s, the Australian Government elected to acquire several Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates to replace the RAN's three Daring class destroyers, following the cancellation of the Australian light destroyer project. Sydney, the third ship of what became the Adelaide class, was ordered from the United States in late 1977.
The last ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry Flight II design, Sydney was laid down at Todd Pacific Shipyards on 16 January 1980. She was launched on 26 September 1980, and commissioned into the RAN on 29 January 1983. During construction, the ship received the United States Navy hull number FFG-35.
At launch, the ship was 136 metres (446 ft) long, 13.7 metres (45 ft) wide, and has a draught of 4.5 metres (15 ft). The length was increased to 138 metres (453 ft) in 1987-88 to permit the operation of the S-70B Seahawk from the frigate. Displacement at launch was 3,678 tons; by 2009, various refits and upgrades had increased this to 4,200 tons.
The frigate carries a ship's company of 210. Sydney was the first ship of her class to carry female sailors and officers, requiring the installation of partitioning to some mess decks.
Read more about this topic: HMAS Sydney (FFG 03)
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