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WRECK DIVING IN VICTORIA Warships your passion? Sunken warships are not that unique because most are spontaneously placed by an act of war or weather. But in most cases warships are sunk too deep for any diver to visit. That's not the case in Victoria, Australia. We already have warships and submarines, plus numerous other wrecks which were deliberately scuttled in depth accessible to both recreational and technical scuba divers. So, as magnificent as we expect diving the 138 metres (453 feet) long, 14.3 metres (47 feet) beam, 4,100 tonne (4,519 short tons) displacement ex HMAS Canberra FFG-02 will eventually be, once the ship has been prepared and scuttled, there are plenty of other reasons to come and dive in the temperate waters of Victoria, Australia — today!
Submarines your passion? Victoria has an amazing fleet of four World War One 'J' class submarine wreck dive sites which attract divers from around the world. Artificial reefs your passion? There are numerous other wrecks, some dating back to the 1800's. Plus we have the ships graveyard, just off Port Phillip Bay, in Bass Strait. These wreck dive sites are all teeming with marine life. In this section of the ex HMAS Canberra Reef web site, you can read about what we expect diving the ex HMAS Canberra FFG-02 will eventually be like once the ship has been prepared and scuttled in Victoria.
PADI WRECK SPECIALTY ONLY $320
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VICTORIA'S MAP OF THE HMAS CANBERRA DIVE SITE
Click to down load HMAS Canberra maps   |
SCUBA DIVING PICTURES ON THE CANBERRA
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THE SINKING OF THE HMAS CANBERRA
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HISTORY OF THE HMAS CANBERRAFrom Warship to Second to None Divers' PlaygroundLaunched in 1 December 1978, the HMAS Canberra FFG-02 was built by Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation in Seattle, Washington, USA. The second of six similar FFG-7 Class Guided Missile Frigates, she was commissioned on 21 March 1981. The HMAS Canberra and her five sister frigates (HMA Ships Adelaide, Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne and Newcastle), were the first Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships to be powered by gas turbines for their main propulsion. The HMAS Canberra's role was to operate with other maritime forces to help keep the world's sea lanes open and free by providing protection for military and merchant convoys. To achieve this she was specifically designed to simultaneously counter the threats posed by submarines, air, surface and subsurface launched missiles and enemy warships. Accordingly, the ship was fitted with long range radar, sonar and electronic surveillance sensors which were co-ordinated by high speed computers to provide data for the ship's weapon systems. The weapons systems of the HMAS Canberra FFG-02 included shipborne and helicopter borne torpedo delivery systems, surface to air and surface to surface guided missiles, a rapid firing gun and electronic decoy devices. This weapons fit was intended to provide an in-depth defence for both the ship and the force or convoy she was protecting. The HMAS Canberra was powered by two computer controlled gas turbine engines operating through a controllable pitch propellor to give the ship high manoeuvrability and the ability to be "on-line" in less than one eight of the time required by steam turbine ships. | Ship Specifications |
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| Built by | Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation
Seattle, Washington, USA | | Keel laid | 1 March 1978 | | Launched | 1 December 1978 | | Commissioned | 21 March 1981 | | Launching lady | Lady Marjorie Tange | | Length | 138.1 metres (453 feet) | | Beam | 14.3 metres (47 feet) | | Draught | 7.5 metres (25 feet) | | Displacements | 4,100 tonne (4,519 short tons) | | Ship's Company | Approximately 210 | | Armament | Mark 13 Guided Missile Launcher
- Harpoon anti-surface missile
- Standard anti-aircraft missile | | Combat systems | 76mm rapid fire gun,
Harpoon anti-ship missiles,
Standard surface to air missiles,
Phalanx Mk15 close-in weapon system,
2 triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes for Mk 46 torpedoes | | Propulsion | Two General Electric LM 2500 Gas Turbines developing 30,000 kilowatts (40,231 horsepower)
Two 270 kilowatts (362 horsepower) Electric Drive Auxiliary Propulsion Units
Single Controllable Reversible Pitch Propellor | | Maximum Speed | More than 30 knots (56 kpm) | | Range | 7,250 kilometres (4,505 miles) at 20 knots (37 kpm) | | Aircraft carried | Two S-70B Sea Hawk helicopters | | Motto | "For Queen And Country" |
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