HMAS Hobart (D 39) was a Perth-class guided missile destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy, built as a variant of the USN Charles F. Adams class. Constructed in the United States by Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Michigan, she was laid down on 26 October 1962, launched on 9 January 1964, and commissioned into the RAN on 18 December 1965. The vessel displaced approximately 3,370 tons at standard load and 4,618 tons at full load, measuring 440 feet 3 inches (134.19 m) overall in length, with a beam of 47 feet 1 inch (14.35 m) and a maximum draught of 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m). Powered by two General Electric turbines producing 70,000 shaft horsepower, she could reach speeds of up to 35 knots (65 km/h). Hobart’s main armament comprised a Mark 13 missile launcher capable of firing Tartar and later Standard missiles, two Ikara anti-submarine missile launchers (later removed in 1989), two 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 guns, and two Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes. Her crew consisted of 20 officers and 312 sailors. Her service history was marked by active participation in the Vietnam War, becoming the first RAN combat ship to deploy to Vietnam in March 1967. During her multiple deployments, she conducted gunfire support, Sea Dragon operations, and interdiction missions, firing over 10,000 rounds at more than 1,050 targets across her Vietnam tours. Hobart was awarded the United States Navy Unit Commendation for her distinguished service and earned the battle honour "Vietnam 1967–70." Post-Vietnam, Hobart participated in disaster relief after Cyclone Tracy, completed a round-the-world voyage in 1976, and underwent significant modernisations in the late 1970s and 1980s, including a propulsion conversion from furnace oil to diesel fuel and the installation of a Naval Combat Data System. She also engaged in multinational exercises, notably RIMPAC, and represented Australia internationally, including at a naval review in Canada in 1985. Decommissioned in 2000, Hobart was transferred to the South Australian Government and scuttled as a dive wreck in Yankalilla Bay in 2002, forming the Fleurieu Artificial Reef within Encounter Marine Park. Her wreck remains a protected historic site, symbolizing her notable contribution to Australian naval history.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.