HMAS Derwent (DE 49)

HMAS Derwent (F22/DE 22/DE 49), named for the Derwent River, was a River class destroyer escort of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Commissioned in 1964, the ship operated during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and was used for filming of the British drama series Warship. The ship was decommissioned in 1994, and was scutted as an artificial reef after use for ship survivability tests.

Construction
Derwent was laid down by the Williamstown Naval Dockyard at Melbourne, Victoria on 17 June 1959, launched on 17 April 1961, and commissioned into the RAN on 23 April 1964.

Operational history
On 25 May 1964, Derwent became the first RAN ship to launch a guided missile when she fired a Sea Cat missile.

During the mid-1960s, Derwent was one of several ships operating in support of the Malaysian government during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. This service was later recognised with the battle honour "Malaysia 1964–66"; the only one to be earned by the ship.

In 1976, Derwent was used to portray the fictional British warship HMS Hero during scenes filmed in Hong Kong and Singapore for the BBC action/drama series Warship. Footage of Derwent was used in the episodes Wind Song and Singapore Incident, which aired in 1977. Derwent and her personnel were issued with ship's badges, cap tallies, name plates, and life buoys identifying Hero as part of the filming process.

On 8 September 1980, Derwent joined five other RAN vessels to form the Australia Squadron. The Squadron, which included HMA Ships HMAS Melbourne (R21), HMAS Perth (D 38), HMAS Stalwart (D 215), HMAS Supply, and HMAS Otama, spent two months in the Indian Ocean as part of a flag-showing cruise; the largest RAN deployment since World War II.

On 24 January 1990, Derwent was awarded the Duke of Gloucester Cup for being the most efficient ship overall during 1989. From 1991 to 1992, Derwent's Seacat and Ikara launchers were removed. During this time, Derwent was used as a training vessel.

Prior to Australian ships deploying to the Persian Gulf, Derwent conducted trials in launching the RBS 70 surface-to-air missile from a naval platform.

Fate
Derwent was decommissioned at HMAS Stirling on 8 August 1994 after 30 years of service. Derwent had steamed 890927 nmi during her naval career.

Following scientific tests to study ship survivability, Derwent was sunk in deep waters, 15 nmi west of Rottnest Island as a "fish attraction device" on 21 December 1994. Her 4.5 in gun turret was preserved, having been placed at the Rockingham Naval Memorial Park, opposite HMAS Stirling and next to the fin of the submarine HMAS Orion.