Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

HMAS Vendetta (II) D08 1958-1979

HMAS Vendetta was one of three British-designed 'Daring'-class destroyers built for and operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in Australia.   Vendetta was built by Williamstown Naval Dockyard in Melbourne, launched in 1954 and entered service in 1958. The Royal Australian Navy initially ordered four Daring-class destroyers, which were to be named after the ships of the famous "Scrap Iron Flotilla" of World War II. The ships were modified during construction: most changes were made to improve habitability, including the installation of air-conditioning.  

The "Darings" were designed and built as versatile, multi-purpose "Gun Ships" with three separate weapon control systems to control the main and secondary armament. In the Naval Gunfire Support (NGS) mode for example, the main Gunnery Fire Control System was capable of providing very accurate and rapid fire to a range of nine nautical miles (18,000 yards) in normal mode and in excess of ten nautical miles (20,000 yards) in extended range mode. At a rate of fire of 16 rounds per gun per minute, the Darings were capable of firing up to 100 x 4.5-inch shells per minute, with each standard high explosive shell weighing 56 lbs.

Four Darings were initially ordered for the Royal Australian Navy, although only three, Voyager (II), Vendetta and Vampire (II) were eventually completed. They were the first prefabricated all-welded ships to be built in Australia, and, between ordering and completion, the cost of each Daring increased from £2.6 million to £7 million meaning the fourth was never built, as a cost saving measure.

During her early career, Vendetta was deployed as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve on multiple occasions. In 1965 and 1966, the destroyer undertook deterrence patrols during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. This was either side of several runs escorting the troop transport HMAS Sydney (later aka 'The Vung Tau Ferry') to South Vietnam in 1965.  From late 1969 to early 1970 Vendetta was assigned to combat operations and thus became the only Australian-built warship to serve in a shore bombardment role during the Vietnam War.

The ship underwent a two-year modernisation from 1971 to 1973, and in December 1974 was one of thirteen RAN warships involved in Operation Navy Help Darwin after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. Several more deployments were made to the Far East, up until 1978. In October 1979, the destroyer was decommissioned, and served as a parts hulk for sister ship HMAS Vampire. Voyager had been lost in the worst Naval peace-time incident in the RAN's history, in 1964 as a result of a collision with the aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne.  Vendetta was sold for ship breaking in January 1987.

Sources:

1. Wikipedia

2. Seapower Centre website - https://seapower.navy.gov.au/history/units/hmas-vendetta-ii (seapower.navy.gov.au)

Compiled by Steve Larkins Jan 26