HMAS Tobruk (L 50) was a Landing Ship Heavy (LSH) of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), based on the design of the Round Table-class of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Planning for the ship began in the 1970s to provide the Australian Army with a permanent sealift capability. She was laid down by Carrington Slipways in 1979, launched in 1980, and commissioned in 1981. She was a multi-purpose, roll-on/roll-off heavy lift ship capable of transporting soldiers, APCs, and tanks, and delivering them to shore via landing craft or directly by beaching.
The ship experienced problems during her early career with her engines (which differed from the British base design) and sewage system (leading to the death of a cadet in 1981). During the 1980s, the ship delivered supplies to the Multinational Force and Observers on the Sinai Peninsula, assisted in the withdrawal from RAAF Base Butterworth, provided support and accommodation for delegates to the South Pacific Forum, and was part of the Australian response to the 1987 Fijian coups d'état. In the early 1990s, Tobruk was part of ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove, then after a refit, participated in peacekeeping efforts in Somalia.
Plans to replace Tobruk with one of the Kanimbla-class ships began in 1993. She was offered for sale to the Royal New Zealand Navy, which refused because of the ship's manpower requirements. Delays in converting the Kanimblas for service meant Tobruk continued with normal operations during the 1990s. Attempts to sell the ship to the British and the Portuguese did not succeed, and in 1997 the decision was made to keep Tobruk, as the Kanimblas could not completely replace the heavy lift capability provided. During this period, Tobruk was deployed to Bougainville on several occasions as peacekeeping operations during the Bougainville Civil War. At the end of the decade, Tobruk operated as part of the INTERFET peacekeeping operation in East Timor.
In 2000 and 2001, Tobruk was sent to the Solomon Islands on several deployments in response to the civil war: first to evacuate Australian citizens, then as a neutral venue for peace talks. From late 2001 to early 2002, the ship was in northern Australian waters on border-protection duties as part of Operation Relex. During 2005 and early 2006, Tobruk sailed to the Middle East on several occasions to deliver vehicles and cargo to Australian forces in the region. Tobruk and the two Kanimblas were set to East Timor in mid-2006 in response to the 2006 East Timorese crisis, forming the first RAN amphibious readiness group since World War II. The rest of the decade included further border protection deployments under Operation Resolute, a visit to Hawaii for the RIMPAC multinational naval exercise, support for the Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program, relief operations following the 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami, and use as the venue for a Fall Out Boy concert.
After spending several months in 2010 undergoing extended maintenance, Tobruk participated in the United States Navy's Pacific Partnership humanitarian assistance deployment. Because of the need for propeller shaft repairs, Tobruk could not be part of the military response to Cyclone Yasi. Heavy use and lack of maintenance in previous years began to take its toll, with Tobruk unavailable for service on several occasions during the early 2010s. As the two Kanimblas had been forced out of service by ongoing issues, the Australian government had to charter a succession of civilian ships to provide standby heavy transport capability. In 2013, Tobruk again participated in Pacific Partnership, followed by a visit to the Philippines with disaster relief supplies after Typhoon Haiyan. In early 2015, the ship was part of the response to Cyclone Pam's impact on Vanuatu. Tobruk was decommissioned in July 2015, and was scuttled as a dive wreck in June 2018.
Design and construction In the late 1970s, it was decided that the Australian Army needed to be provided with a long-term sealift capability, preferably through the acquisition of a dedicated cargo ship. The chartering of civilian ships to provide this capability when required—as had been done with the merchant vessels and during the Vietnam War—was considered and rejected, because Australian National Line was unable to provide the necessary level of support. It was decided that a purpose-built ship would be constructed for the role, and would be operated by the RAN. While the Army did not require that the ship be capable of beaching, the RAN set this as a requirement, to maximise the ship's flexibility. In 1975, the Navy successfully convinced Australian Military's Force Structure Committee to endorse this requirement over the Army's opposition, and the committee authorised the purchase of a Landing Ship Heavy (LSH) on 19 March 1975.Doolan (2007), pp. 8–13.
Two designs were considered for Tobruk, with a modified Sir- or Round Table-class landing ship logistics, in use with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary at the time, selected for construction. Tobruk design was based on RFA Sir Bedivere, the second of the class, which had been modified following the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's experience with operating the class' lead ship, RFA Sir Lancelot. The ship was designed as a multi-purpose, roll-on/roll-off heavy lift and transport vessel.Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Tobruk (II) – Part 1 The Australian modifications to the design were kept to a minimum to simplify construction; the most significant changes were to improve the ship's ability to operate both large and multiple helicopters, fitting an operations room, and adding a derrick with a lift of 70 tonnes. Most of the other changes related to bringing accommodation conditions into line with Australian requirements. Like the other ships of the Round Table class, Tobruk was built to commercial rather than military standards, and was unable to sustain as much damage as warships.Doolan (2007), pp. 16–18.
The ship had a standard displacement of 3,353 tons, and a full load displacement of 5,791 tons. She was in length, with a beam of , and a draught of . Propulsion machinery consisted of two Mirrlees Blackstone KDMR8 diesels, providing to the ship's two propeller shafts.Saunders (ed.), (2012), p. 32. The ship was fitted with different engines to those used in the equivalent British ships, which were proven unreliable early in Tobruk career.Doolan (2007), pp. 28–30. Top speed was , with a range of at . A bow thruster was also fitted to assist with confined-waters manoeuvring. Armament initially consisted of two 40/60 Bofors guns, supplemented by two 12.7 mm machine guns.Sharpe (ed.), (1998), p. 30 During the 1990s, the Bofors were removed.Royal Australian Navy (2007), Last blast for Bofors They were later replaced by two Mini Typhoon 12.7 mm mounts, which were not permanently installed but fitted as needed, and the number of standard 12.7 mm machine guns was increased to six. The sensor suite included a Kelvin Hughes Type 1006 surface search radar and a Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 navigational radar. In 2012, the ship's company was 148, including 13 officers.
Tobruk was capable of embarking between 300 and 520 soldiers (extended duration versus short term), along with 1,300 tons of cargo or 330 lane metres of vehicles (equivalent to 18 Leopard 1 or M1 Abrams main battle tanks plus 40 M113 armored personnel carriers or Australian Light Armoured Vehicles). Vehicles and cargo could be embarked via bow or stern ramps, with the reinforced tank-deck running the length of the ship, and inter-deck transfer ramps fitted. The bow ramp was contained behind horizontal-opening bow doors, and could be extended and lowered for beach or harbour loading, while at the stern a combined door-ramp could be used conventionally when at suitable facilities, or for ramp-to-ramp loading of landing craft at sea. Additional cargo handling was provided by the 70-tonne Velle heavy lift derrick (a feature singled out for attention in Jane's Fighting Ships), supplemented by two 8.5-tonne Favco cranes. Two LCM-8 landing craft could be carried in cradles on the main deck, while two LCVPs were carried in derricks on the superstructure. Two Naval Lighterage Equipment pontoons could be carried on the ship's flanks to extend the reach of the bow ramp when beaching, or as rafts to transport cargo ashore.Gillett (1988), p. 81 The ship had an aft helicopter platform capable of handling aircraft up to Westland Sea King size, while the main deck (once cleared of landing craft and cargo) could be used as a secondary flight deck for helicopters up to Boeing CH-47 Chinook size.Gillett (1988), p. 80 Both flight decks could be operated simultaneously and both had capability for landed or at-hover refuelling.
Tobruk was built by Carrington Slipways in Tomago, New South Wales. The company was selected following a competitive tender in May 1977, with contract negotiations completed on 3 November 1977.Doolan (2007), pp. 25–26. Construction of Tobruk formally began on 7 February 1978, when the ship's keel was laid. Tobruk was launched on 1 March 1980 by Lady Anna Cowen, wife of Governor General Zelman Cowen. The ship left the dockyard for the first time in December 1980: her construction had been delayed by over four months by industrial disputes, and her final cost of A$59 million was 42 percent greater than originally estimated.Doolan (2007), pp. 30–36. The ship's sea trials were conducted in early 1981 off Newcastle and Port Stephens by a joint Navy-Army-civilian crew, and fitting out was completed on 7 April 1981. Tobruk was handed over to the Navy on 11 April 1981 and was commissioned at Newcastle on 23 April.Doolan (2007), pp. 45–49. The ship's name had been selected in 1976 and refers to the Siege of Tobruk during World War II, in which the RAN's 'Scrap Iron Flotilla' supplied the besieged 9th Australian Division.Doolan (2007), p. 15. She was the second RAN ship of this name; preceded by the Battle-class destroyer . She was the first purpose-built major amphibious vessel in RAN service, and was classified as a Landing Ship Heavy by the RAN.
Operational history
1980s Following her commissioning, Tobruk proceeded to her initial home port of in Brisbane, Queensland for the first time, then undertook further sea trials. These trials were conducted during the winter of 1981, and were intended to both test whether the ship met her design specifications and develop procedures for landing helicopters and beaching. The trials were generally successful, although Tobruk engines continued to be unreliable and problems were encountered with the sewage system.Doolan (2007), pp. 50–54. The ship undertook its first tasking in the spring of 1981 when she transported elements of the 16th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery from Adelaide to Port Alma, Queensland. Following this Tobruk proceeded to Port Phillip Bay and suffered a serious engine malfunction while approaching Station Pier. While the engines were repaired, the main engine control mechanism was later found to be entirely unreliable and had to be redesigned and reconstructed at Brisbane. During trials following this repair the ship's sewage system seriously malfunctioned, fatally gassing one of the Australian Navy Cadets who had been embarked for seagoing experience.Doolan (2007), pp. 54–56. The cadet's death led to an inquiry into the ship by the Commonwealth Government's Auditor General which concluded that she should not have been accepted by the RAN at the time she was commissioned due to the number of defects still present.