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Image Not Available for HMAS VAMPIRE 50th Anniversary Dinner held by the Australian National Maritime Museum
HMAS VAMPIRE 50th Anniversary Dinner held by the Australian National Maritime Museum
Image Not Available for HMAS VAMPIRE 50th Anniversary Dinner held by the Australian National Maritime Museum

HMAS VAMPIRE 50th Anniversary Dinner held by the Australian National Maritime Museum

Date19 June 2009
Object number00026796
NameOrder of service
MediumPaper, ink
DimensionsOverall (Closed): 210 x 128 x 1 mm
Overall (Open): 210 x 256 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionOrder of service and menu for the 50th Anniversary Dinner commemorating the commissioning of the HMAS VAMPIRE (II) in 1959. It was hosted by the ANMM and featured a tribute to the ship from a contingent of the Royal Australian Navy Band. VAMPIRE was the last of the biggest destroyers ever built in Australia, a class regarded as 'super destroyers' in their day. On 13 August 1986 VAMPIRE was decommissioned and in 1997 was transferred to the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) where it is currently on display. Today VAMPIRE is used as a focal point for Navy reunion events. HistoryHMAS VAMPIRE was a Daring class destroyer, the second with this name, and was ship number 189 built at Cockatoo Island Dockyard. It was a modified version of the English Daring class. It was laid down in 1952, launched in 1956 and joined the RAN fleet after commissioning and acceptance trials offshore in 1959. The vessel's sister ships are HMAS VENDETTA and HMAS VOYAGER. The Daring class destroyers, operating in the decades following World War II, came towards the end of 20th-century destroyer development. They were superseded by guided missile destroyers in which sophisticated technology posed different design challenges. In the Royal Australian Navy, VAMPIRE's class was replaced by American-built guided missile frigates. VAMPIRE, which served from 1959 to 1986, represents the culmination of a type of warship and the strategy it served. VAMPIRE was active as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve until 1971 and later with the Five Power Defence Arrangements, being deployed to east Asian waters for service in operations and naval exercises in 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964-1965, 1966, 1967, 1972-1973, 1975-1976, 1977, 1979. Between June 1970 and November 1971 VAMPIRE underwent a half-life modernisation and re-fit which included replacement of a major portion of the superstructure. In April 1973 the vessel visited Suva (Fiji) and Apia (Samoa), hosting the Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, during the South Pacific Forum. In March 1977 VAMPIRE was deployed for Royal Escort duty to the Royal Yacht BRITANNIA during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. VAMPIRE is the last of the biggest destroyers ever built in Australia, a class regarded as 'super destroyers' in their day. With guns as its main armament, HMAS VAMPIRE is also the last Australian example of a conventional gun destroyer, and it's the last surviving example of a steam turbine propelled Australian warship. Original armament included: six 4.5-inch (114mm) dual-purpose guns in three twin mountings; two single and two twin 40/60 mm Bofors AA guns; Mark 10 Limbo anti-submarine mortar; and a quintuple 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo launcher. The cramped living spaces graphically illustrate the nature of warship design: machinery, communications and weaponry come before the comfort of the crew. In the early 1980s it became a training ship and the anti-submarine system was removed to make way for a classroom. On 13 August 1986 VAMPIRE, the last of its class, was decommissioned and in 1997 was transferred to the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) where it is currently on display. The traditions of the navy are reflected in the many ceremonial events associated with the life of a ship. Today VAMPIRE is used as a focal point for Navy reunion events. This anniversary dinner was hosted by the ANMM and featured a tribute to the ship from a contingent of the Royal Australian Navy Band and marked the 50th year since VAMPIRE had been commissioned.SignificanceThe traditions of the navy are reflected in the many ceremonial events associated with the life of a ship. This is the menu from the 50th anniversary dinner held at the ANMM for HMAS VAMPIRE, part of the museum's historic fleet. It is often the focal point for navy reunions and ceremonies. These events form part of the vessel's history.